Day 14!!! The Final Day!

Again, no theme, just cute! This is one of my favorites. I kinda want to keep it!

Thanks for joining in on this journey. It was tough but I got a bunch of stock out of it! Let me know which one was your favorite! 

My next venture is going to be a blog and a mailing list, so be on the lookout for that. I'm getting ever closer! I'm really excited.

Day 13!!!

No theme today! Just cute!

Day 12!!!

This is the last installment of the Star Wars theme. It was programmed for etiquette and protocol.

Day 11!!!

Theme number two again! This one is electrifying!

Day 10!!!

Another one from theme number 2!

Day 9!!!

Guess what! This one is a part of a NEW THEME! I'll give you a hint: bubble beam.

Day 8!!!

Aaaaaand again with the Star Wars theme!

Day 7!!!

Continuing with the Star Wars theme, (Congrats to Perrey Lee for figuring it out) can you tell what character this is inspired by?

Day - 6!!!

Again, this is a part of the aforementioned theme. Are they getting more obvious?

Day 5!!!!

Finally, some legitimately new fascinators!

Also, part of the aforementioned theme. Seems like no one cares about the theme... but when these come out, I guarantee, some of you will be like, "WOW!"

Day 4

This is one of my more subtle fascinators, but with bright colors.

Day 3

Good morning! I must confess the last two I posted, I made weeks ago. However, I have been making 1 a day, I just don't have great pictures of them yet. Tomorrow, I'm going to take some pictures of my new stuff and you'll probably start seeing genuinely new stuff on Friday. So for now here's some "old" stuff. It's still new to you though!

This one is one of my favorites. It also follows the same theme as the last two. No one has guessed the theme yet. Do you have an idea?

Day 2 of A Fascinator-a-day for two weeks challenge!

Ta da! This one is inspired by a caped fellow who breathes funny. What do you think?

One-a-day

Long time no see!

So, I've been busy trying to get my own business started. If you don't know, I make pretty hair pieces and sell them! I've already had a few orders and I'm working on building my stock up to open an Etsy store. I've decided to challenge myself to make at least one fascinator a day for two weeks to jump start my stock. So, in order to keep me accountable I'm going to post a picture of each fascinator here and on instagram! If you aren't already following me, my name is @risboombah. You can also follow me on the Twitterz with the same name. So here's the first fascinator! Let me know what you think!

Meant to be a little rough around the edges, this piece is inspired by a robot of similar condition. Can you guess who?

Boo!

So I guess, since I am bedridden and can't do any actual work... I'll treat you to a blog post. ;)

We closed our season on Sunday at the Rep, and I am thankful. I like my job, but it gets a little tedious sometimes. Plus, I'm not working nights anymore, so I can spend time with my family and friends more often. At strike, I was lifting with my back and not my legs and something made a bad noise in my back and now I can't really do anything! YAY! Aaaand it's right before the start of tech week of the high school show I'm designing. Huzzah. I have soooo much to do and I can't even bend over to put on socks. At least I can update my blog now, right?

I'm playing a game that I predict will be the most underrated game of 2013: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.

It's pretty great. I liked the original one for Gamecube, even though it was SO EASY and a very quick play. I figured I'd try this one out and see if it was better. And YES, it is! The reason why I predict it will be so underrated is because no one has a 3DS, so no one will play it. But here's why you should.

It's funny.
The humor in LM: DM is mostly at the expense of Luigi, making him out to be a timid, reluctant hero. He seems to be unwillingly thrust into his ghost busting career by a scientist dude, who's name escapes me but he has the coolest voice noises.

I tend to skip the story part as it is pretty one-note and doesn't add much to the gameplay, but most of the cut scenes have great comedic timing, and they all pretty much revolve around scaring the pants off Luigi.

It's rewarding.
There are 5 locations where you do a few different 20 minute missions. Even though you're entering the same location multiple times the game does a good job of subtly changing the location of pieces of furniture in the rooms every time you enter it, which causes you to want to check out each piece again because it might contain different loot! Speaking of loot, it is abundant in this game. You have a few different mechanisms at your disposal and using all of them in different ways in the environment can unlock coins and collectables.

They don't make it too obvious though, and sometimes it's a challenge to find everything. Your coins aren't arbitrary though, they add up to get you better upgrades for the mechanisms you already have. And the cost of the upgrades increases exponentially, so it takes longer to get all the upgrades.

It's puzzling.
I enjoy a good puzzle game because I feel like it's making me smarter somehow. Although, the puzzles in LM: DM haven't proven to be extremely difficult, they aren't always completely obvious either. It makes for good brain food.

So if you have a 3DS, get this game! There aren't very many good games on the 3DS, so I'm sure you're looking for one to make your purchase worth it!

Sweetly Skinny

Wow! I haven't posted in almost a month! I was doing pretty good there for awhile, but then life happened and got in the way! Good news though, I'm back and this week's blog post is pretty sweet... literally.

Since I've been watching my calorie intake, I have been neglecting my sweet tooth (or over indulging it on occasion). So, I've been on the hunt for some delicious low-cal alternatives.

First, my friend turned me on to a recipe that was new to me but seemed like a no-brainer for everyone else. You can find a million recipes via Google but this is mine.

• 1 banana, peeled, sliced and frozen (it's better if it's over-ripe, but it works either way)
• 1 tbsp of peanut butter
• a splash of milk of your choice (I prefer unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• unsweetened cocoa powder to taste

Put in a food processor and blend until smooth. You could also forgo the peanut butter, cocoa powder and milk and just process the frozen banana... that's a scoop of ice cream for 100 calories! The possibilities are endless.

I use a variation of this recipe for a breakfast shake as well. I add everything to the blender, and instead of a splash of milk I use a whole cup. Again, you can forgo the peanut butter and cocoa powder, but I find that the peanut butter is very filling and I add the cocoa powder because I love chocolate.

Another recipe I've been experimenting with is low-cal chocolate sauce. This is what I tried last night.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Combine sugar, oil, cocoa, and almond milk in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add vanilla extract. It makes about a 1/2 cup and is 50 calories for 1 tbsp. I like to pour it over a banana or Skinny Pop popcorn. Last nights experiment turned out rather thin, and I would like to find an alternative to sugar but I'm afraid that's what will make it thicker. I will work on perfecting this and if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear from you!

What are your sweet low-cal must haves?

Day 3: 3-Day Cleanse

I did it!

Day Three was such a piece of cake! Definitely the best day of the three. I felt good all day. Consistent energy level. There was one hair raising moment where an actress handed me about a pound of English Toffee and I about cried... but I kept my cool and my determination... and let other people enjoy it. I hardly felt any hunger at all. I attribute this to spacing out my "meals" better and my body being used to it. I actually skipped one of the smoothies because I just wasn't hungry. Victory!

Now I will go into the world of food, and eat healthier!

If you want any more information about my cleanse, visit www.brittanylynnkriger.com. And even if you don't give two shits about the cleanse, go there anyway and give that girl some hits! You might discover something you like. Try that chai recipe... it's super good.

Cheers! Thanks Brittany!

Day 2: 3 Day Cleanse

I woke up yesterday morning feeling really great, despite the sub-par sleep. The challenges of yesterday did not repeat themselves, however a few new challenges surfaced.

I ended up programming the recipes into MyFitnessPal on my phone to see exactly how many calories I was getting. I was sure it was going to be way low, but it was actually around 200 calories over my daily budget for weight loss. Luckily, I had done 30 minutes on my stationary bike on Day 1, so I had come in under budget that day. Yesterday I had a 2 show day, and normally I don't bike on 2 show days, so I had to come home between shows to bike for 20 minutes to break even on my calorie budget. It wasn't a tragedy, though. Normally, that 20 minutes would've been spent preparing a meal and Brandon and I watched "How I Met Your Mother" on TV while I biked, so it worked out.

The toughest part of the day was after lunch and before the evening "snack." I think I drank my lunch smoothie a little too early and got hunger pangs in the late afternoon. I was at work during this time, so I actually couldn't cheat even if I had wanted to. I rushed home and was a teensy bit grumpy with Brandon, but as soon as I took a drink of the snack smoothie, I felt great again.

I did not feel the consistent energy level of the day prior. I felt a crash around 6:30pm, right when I had to go back to work. I'm wondering if this had to do with the spacing out of my meals, or if the 20 minutes on the bike just did me in. Regardless, I was tired.

My sleep was pretty much the same. I took my melatonin supplement this time, and it helped me fall asleep faster but I still woke up in the early hours when my housemates got up for work. Interesting side note: Not sure if this is related or not, but I woke up recalling my dreams in the morning. Hmm.

2 days down! 1 to go!

Day 1: 3-Day Cleanse

So, it was tough. But I survived.

Something I think is really helpful is Brittany's daily e-mails of encouragement. I forgot to sign up the night before, so I'm getting them on a delay. But it pretty much summed up exactly what I was thinking, and reassured me that this is going to be great.

I think the hardest part of the day was just after the breakfast smoothie. I was hungry and no amount of water would suffice. Brittany does say, in her instructions, to listen to your body, and if you have to cheat, then do it. Don't feel bad about it. But part of my goal was to come out of this feeling satisfied with eating smaller meals, so I chose to wait. And I was distracted by the completely immersive video game I was playing (The Walking Dead Game) and couldn't be bothered to get off the couch... except to pee... which I did a lot.

As for the rest of the day, it went pretty smoooooothly (get it?). I didn't think any of the smoothie were particularly bad... just different. And the dinner smoothie was actually pretty good! I was so worried about lying in bed, trying to sleep and feeling hungry (which happens to me almost every night, and I give in to the hunger) but I actually felt fine.

My energy level throughout the day was pretty consistent. I didn't feel like I had more energy than usual, but I felt less tired as a whole... so I guess that is more energy... By the end of my work day (which is 10:30 at night) I was pretty tired, but it felt like a good kind of tired. Like I was supposed to be feeling this way. Normally, after work, I'm either WIRED or just ridiculously exhausted. Last night I was just pleasantly tired.

I was hoping that I would sleep better than normal, since my tummy wasn't busy digesting the crappy food I binge on before bed, but actually it was about the same. I always have a tough time falling asleep and when I'm finally asleep, I get woken up by one of my housemates or my cat and have to do it all over again. Maybe tonight will be better.

Here's to day 2!

A new adventure

This will be a short blog post, as I have a busy week planned. I'm embarking on a new adventure today. I'm starting Brittany Lynn Kriger's Soul Fueling 3-Day Cleanse! Brittany is a friend of mine from college, (and a member of Berk Clerb) and she has become certified as a wellness coach. Her website just launched this month and I think it looks fabulous! She is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian (hence the clever name of her show: Delicate Princess Tummy) and she has amazing recipes and natural remedies. I highly recommend you check out her website.

My live-in boyfriend, Brandon, is also trying the cleanse. He's done this before, but with juice he buys at the store. So, I know he can do it, he's just a fickle eater and a handful of kale in a smoothie doesn't appeal to him. But he has promised that even if he doesn't like it, he's going to do it. So I'll be posting our progress and feelings each morning right here. We're both hoping this will help jump start our weight loss. Brandon is more prone to giving in to junk food than I am, but I think we could both use this as a respite and help us kick bad habits.

Okay, see you tomorrow. I'm off to start my day!

P.S. Here's another picture of my cat.

Delicious Abomination

So I set out this week to fix something new for dinner, and I did! I had bought a spaghetti squash at the farmer's market a long time ago, intending to fix it that week, but promptly forgot about it. But at a very opportune moment I saw it and had a stroke of genius. I'll get into that more later. First, here's how I prepared my spaghetti squash...

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Then cut your squash in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the guts! Just like a pumpkin!

I decided to toast the seeds, also like a pumpkin. There weren't very many and the end result wasn't bad but ultimately unsatisfying.

I did find a couple that had sprouted, so I looked up how to grow spaghetti squash, and it seemed pretty easy.

So I planted it in my weak-sauce window sill garden.

Anyway, then you grease a pan (I used a mixture of half olive oil and half water in a spray bottle) and set the halves face down on the pan.

Then bake it for 30-40 minutes. I did 30 minutes, and it was fine but I think next time I'll do it a little longer to get more mushy.

Then you start the stringing. Just take a fork and start raking the flesh. It's super easy.

Look how much I got off of one half!

Now here's where my stroke of genius comes in. Spaghetti squash is pretty tasteless by itself (like spaghetti noodles) so you could put all manner of toppings on it. I chose left-over turkey chili and low-fat cheese to make a delicious abomination: Spaghetti Squash Bean-less Turkey Chili Mac Supreme.

Everyone makes their chili differently. Here's my recipe:

1 lb. of ground turkey

1 can (19 oz.) of Progresso Tomato Basil Soup

1 can (12 oz.) of Hunts Tomato Paste

1 can (15 oz.) of Hunts Seasoned Diced Tomato Sauce For Chili

A bunch of random spices (You could do whatever you wanted, but throw in cinnamon, paprika, seasoned salt, Italian spices, red pepper flakes and chili powder)

Put it all in a crock pot on high for 8 hours

YUM.

How does this compare calorie wise to the classic Steak 'n' Shake chili mac supreme?

    1,080 calories

 378 calories!!!

That's just unbelievable. And it even tastes like your cheating! Also, this recipe is insanely versatile. Make the chili with just beans for a vegetarian option, or just the sauce, or without cheese for dairy-free! The possibilities are limitless. And spaghetti squash itself can be prepared many many ways as well. I put a little olive oil, parmesan cheese, and Italian spices on some and even that was great. Go and spread the word about spaghetti squash. Be my disciples.

Plug, Plug, Plug

Yay! Tech week for Sense and Sensibility is over! This is my most challenging show yet but I also think it's the best show we've done this season. Go see it!

Ermahgerd! Berk Clerb! is having our 4th meeting on Saturday, February 16th at 9:30pm CST! Add me on Google Plus to watch. Join our group on Goodreads and comment in our forums!

A friend of mine just launched her business as a wellness coach. She's gluten-free and dairy-free and a really cool person. She's also a member of Ermahgerd! Berk Clerb! Even if you're not looking for one-on-one coaching, she has a really neat blog. Check her out!

WHOA! So many plugs. Sorry y'all, just excited about everything. Speaking of excited, I joined an a capella group and we have our first rehearsal tonight. I'm kinda nervous but yeah... so excited. I've been wanting to be in an a capella group for forever but I always thought it was never going to happen. But then one day a good friend of mine asked me, very randomly, if I wanted to join one she was starting up and I immediatly responded with, "It's only my greatest dream ever!" I'll let you know how it goes.

On the nerdier side of things, we may be starting our weekly Dungeons and Dragons sessions again, this time with a new Dungeon Master, who isn't trying to get his master's degree, and has a bit more time on his hands. I'm sooooooo happy we're doing this again.

So, since the holidays and vacation is over, I need to get back into the swing of my life, and the point of this blog. I haven't done any recipes in awhile! My goal for this week, will be to cook up something yummy and blog about it next Monday. Also, I am hoping to get started on starting my business of making and selling hair fascinators. If any one has any recommendations for website designers or programmers, let me know. I'd like to do this for realz.

Sorry this post is short and busy. Here's a picture of my cat:

Florida!!!!

Just got back from my vacay in Clearwater Beach, Florida. It was just lovely. I was ready to just move there and start anew. I would. I could do that 60 degree winter. Apparently it was just miserable all week in St. Louis. I hate winter here. Speaking of winter, we saw Winter the dolphin, of Dolphin Tale fame, at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. They are cashing in on that movie. Everywhere you look you see a sign that says, "This scene was shot here," and then a little clip of it playing on a television. It's a little annoying if you've never seen the movie but I think it's a good thing. It supports an aquarium, for one, and for two, this particular aquarium is dedicated to rehabilitating animals and returning them to the wild. They had a river otter there, who has partial paralysis and can't walk on land properly but he swims just fine. River otters are adorable.

We also went to two other aquariums, one in Tarpon Springs and the other in Tampa. Tarpon Springs is a little Greek community where they dive for sponges. I bought a sponge and some homemade soap to go with it. Plus, we had the BEST Greek food at Hellas.

The aquarium there was tiny but enjoyable. One of the people who ran the aquarium put on her SCUBA gear and dove into a large tank they had in the middle and fed the sharks and fish that were in there, while her counterpart told us all about the fish in the tank. He talked about each of their personalities, it was neat.

The aquarium in Tampa was pretty big and very nice. They had birds as well as all kinds of marine life.

They had a really neat tank demonstrating the school of fish dynamic. Loved it!

We went to a couple museums in St. Petersburg. One of them was the Salvador Dali Museum. It was a really great exhibit, and the building was really neat too.

While in St. Petersburg, we ate at a place called Taco Bus... literally a bus that served tacos. Best fish tacos I've ever had!

I think my favorite part of the trip was the boat ride we took. It was an hour long tour of the Clearwater area, plus you might get to see dolphins. Well, we saw them within the first 5 minutes and the captain actually got them to jump in the wake of our boat. It was pretty magical.

And on our last night we walked to the beach and watched the sunset. It was a lovely end to a lovely time.