I was going back through some of my notebooks that I used a few years ago. Here’s a poem I wanted to share:  Sunset  The light is glowing, no clouds in the sky I hear the noise of the birds as they fly by  Like flowers this sunset has many colors too Layers of orange and small threads of blue  No picture can capture the beauty, the awe  Of the sadness I feel when the sun starts to fall Hope this inspires you today!   

  Here are great healthy meal ideas (breakfasts and lunches) and their nutrition facts.  1. 1/4 cup granola with 1 cup of whole milk with 1 teaspoon of honey. You’ll get calcium and the benefit of nuts and or fruit if you use a certain kind of granola. Around 300 calories  2. 1 buttermilk biscuit, 1 low breakfast brownie bar, 1 small pack dark chocolate almonds. You get dark chocolate antioxidants and it is around 300 calories.  3. 1 chobani Greek yogurt black cherry, 1/3 cup granola  You’ll get protein, fruit, nuts, for 300 calories.  4. 1 Granny Smith apple, 1/4 cup dried strawberries 

Since I just did a coffee post, I decided to keep going with another popular topic - the health benefits and negatives of chocolate, using online articles as resources for my research. Here’s the table of contents for you:  1. A brief overview of chocolate  2. Health benefits of chocolate  3. Negatives of chocolate 4. Percentages and data  5. Chocolate: healthy or harmful?  A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CHOCOLATE:  The end product we call chocolate tastes more of sugar than of cocoa, and is not representative of the delicate flavor potential which craft chocolate makers are working on promoting. Chocolate still has a long way to go. Commercial chocolate doesn’t give cocoa producers a taste of what they could contribute to; it only tells them what has already been established. But this is not to say that the chocolate making process around the world is wrong. Far from it. Over the last several centuries, the world has been experimenting with various  chocolate recipes , many with great success. W

Would you like to know a bit more about your favorite drink? Here is a science packed article to help you figure out whether coffee is healthy or harmful. What does this have to do with crafting? Absolutely nothing. Enjoy! ☺️ Here’s an excerpt from an online article: Coffee is in the news regularly and it seems the body of data suggests that it could be beneficial for a number of medical conditions is steadily growing. It’s an amazingly potent collection of biologically active compounds which have far reaching effects on the body. As such it needs to be perceived and respected as a potent drug. Caffeine, the most widely known compound in coffee, only makes up a mere 1% to 2% of the bean. The other ingredients such as chlorogenic acids, caffeol, polyphenols, phytoestrogens and diterpenes are now being researched regarding their effects on health. Did you know coffee was made up of such a small amount of caffeine? I sure didn’t. (Read the full article here:  https://www.naturimedica.com/

  Sour (and salty):  In a food processor, combine the juice from 2 lemons, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1/2 tablespoon parsley, and 3 tablespoons cilantro. Blend until the herbs have the texture of a chiffonade  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwit353B8LP_AhUxMVkFHUoIAhgQFnoECEcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FChiffonade&usg=AOvVaw0hsGIhaEDwUno2P3_eqR-7   without all the work of doing the complicated cut. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper, and you are good to go! (In the picture, this sauce is on the far left)  Garlic Salt  (The second jar in the picture)  This is great for popcorn and my homemade potatoes recipe. Using a spoon, whisk up 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 pinch of cumin, and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.  Sweet Mixer (Third jar in the picture)  This is a household favorite when mixed with some espresso. It turns boring coffee into a mocha. 

 Want to spend some more time with your cute pup this summer? Here are some great ideas to get some more time in with your dog, and create a strong and loving bond.  Here is an excerpt from an online article about the human canine bond.  No one disputes the clear bond dogs have with us and there have been many studies that explore this attachment. Some researchers reason that it has to do with the dog’s cognitive abilities, but others believe it has less to do with intelligence and more to do with friendliness and sociability. Some researchers have used the term “hypersociability” to describe this trait in canines. Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University , used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to follow what goes on in a dog’s brain during interactions with humans. He found that a dog’s reward center is as active when the dog is praised as when they’re given a hot dog. And we all know how much dogs love hot dogs! In additional research, Dr. Berns demonstrated that some dogs

 Well, don’t you find it annoying when you are on a recipe and they have a bunch of random stuff before finally telling you the ingredients you need? They overload on photos and cheesy cliches and make you quite frustrated by the time you are finished scrolling? So I am going to hit my jump-to-recipe button and give it to you straight.  Ingredients:  (Crumb)  1 pinch cinnamon  1 pinch salt  1/2 cup whole wheat flour  1/3 cup brown sugar  3 tablespoons slightly softened butter, crumbled  (Cake batter)  1 cup Greek yoghurt (to replace the butter)  2 eggs (organic, cage free)  1/2 cup whole wheat  1/4 cup vegetable oil  1 teaspoon baking powder  1/4 teaspoon baking soda  1/3 cup white cane sugar  1 teaspoon vanilla  1 pinch cinnamon  1 pinch salt  Are you ready for some cooking magic? Start by mixing up the crumb in a small bowl. Then mix up the cake batter in a large bowl. Grease a Pyrex pan with zero cal butter spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop the cake batter into the

 Is someone’s birthday coming up? Here are some crafty hacks for finding and gifting presents under 20 dollars. First, I’d write out a list of things your friend or family member likes. Do they enjoy self-care? Or are they more artsy? Trust me, I’m a pro at this because each year I buy a bunch of presents for everybody in my family. I seriously bought 15 presents for Christmas with the fam and ended up spending only about thirty bucks. And the gifts were thoughtful and people enjoyed them. Well, now that my own horn has been tooted I’ll help you choose the perfect thoughtful gifts to give to friends and family for under twenty bucks. 1. Candles  2. Tea bags  3. Makeup  4. Nail polish  5. Beaded jewelry 6. Beanie Babies  7. Gardening gloves  8. Magnets  9. Oven mitts  10. Bath bombs  11. Paint brushes  12. Glitter paints  13. Hand cream  14. Body lotion  15. Drinking glasses  16. Candy  Happy gift giving!  

 Hi guys! Let me try and guess what job you’ll have in ten years!  1. How old will you be in ten years? (Please don’t lie)  A: forty or fifty  B: seventy or eighty  C: around 20  D: 25 - 30  E: between fifty and seventy 2. Favorite drink?  A. Beer B. Coffee C. Lemonade D. Tea E. Water 3. Best personality trait?  A. Good with people B. Creative C. Crafty  D. Good with animals E. Good determination  4. What salary would you like to have?  A. I’m fine with a small salary if I’m doing what I like  B. I mean . . . who doesn’t want a big salary? But I suppose it isn’t important  C. A big one  D. A steady one  E. I don’t care  5. What did you want to be when you were little?  A. Football player B. Poet C. Ballerina D. Farmer E. Astronaut  6. Fave color?  A. Blacks, browns, dark reds, and golds B. I like them all C. Blues, purples, silver D. Greens E. Red and yellow  7. Fave animal?  A. Lion or bear or stag  B. Unicorn  C. Mink D. I love them all!  E. I don’t like animals. I like people more 

 1.  2.  3.  4.  I hope you liked my homemade meme post today! And since this is such a short post (sorry guys) I wanted to give you a list of the posts coming up over this next week to give you something to look forward to!  A quiz  Gifts you can give for under 20 bucks  An amazing coffee cake recipe  Bonding activities for a dog and their owner  Seasonings to put on anything  I truly believe this summer will be the best one yet, and I hope that my posts will give you inspiration and ideas to fill the school-less hours. 

 Ready to start summer with a fresh mindset (which is kind of the week’s theme, am I right?) so here are ten summer resolutions for you and me to try together!  1. I, (your name here), resolve to read more  2. I —— resolve to spend more time with my family  3. I —— resolve to clean my room more (even when I actually LIKE it messy)  4. I —— resolve to not be bored and let my imagination run wild  5. I —— resolve to be more creative 6. I —— resolve to not spend the summer on the couch being lazy. Instead, I’ll get up and be creative 7. I —— resolve to not set too high of expectations for the summer 8. I —— resolve to view this time of rest and relaxation as an opportunity  9. I —— resolve to try to show kindness to everyone around me  10. I —— resolve to love the cool Christian crafter and her blog for as long as we both shall live (I suppose this one is optional.) 

  Yes, this situation is very grave. Very, very grave. Just kidding! Kind of . . .  1. Stop giving yourself huge projects with a deadline. Crafting will only be fun if you don’t involve any pressure. Crafting is supposed to be an escape from your job or school, and giving this relaxing activity deadlines like in work or school, will stress you out and you will eventually not like crafting anymore. And that, my friends, is a fate worse than death.  2. Stop making a mess! This one might seem weird. No one loves making a mess more than me! Except maybe my dog, when we leave her alone and she gets angry. Let’s just say her messes smell worse than mine. So I am not telling you to stop doing messy crafts! Just don’t leave a mess. It will eventually build up over time if you don’t clean it, and soon you’ll be too stressed out to craft.  3. Stop worrying! This is the main tip I can give you. Worry doesn’t help. Don’t worry about the final product. Just enjoy the making of it, and at the end of

 1. Visit great grandparents  2. Visit grandfather in nursing home  3. Go to summer camp with my friends for a week (thank you, church!)  4. Read at least three books a week (done, done, and more done)  5. Write all of my blog posts in advance, to be set up for the summer  6. Change out my wardrobe from “old man with depression sweatpants” as my mom calls them (her words, not mine! Dad, I love your sweatpants.) to more “young woman with an optimistic attitude” clothes. But be warned mom — if you leave me alone in the mall, I will go straight to the men’s department pants.  7. Finish my cookbook  8. Clean my room  N9. Clean my craft studio  10. Switch up my makeup look  11. Try to grow my hair out  12. Finish my beach book (called: the saga of two adorable girls and their plethora of evil teddy bears)  13. Give my dad the best salsa nuggeting LOTR birthday party of all time! (Apologies from my cussin’)  14. Work on my documentary (which is about my family, emotions, and finding dreams) 

 Repeat after me!  This summer, I, (insert your name here, cutie pies), will try my best to be open to inspiration, free to follow my dreams, and to always be excited at the prospect of an artistic future. I will read many books to broaden my mind instead of being a lazy couch potato. I will devour the words of the great works of literature, becoming smarter and inspired by masterpieces of culture.  I will take care of family and friends, and be a rock for them all to rely on. I will be there for their texts, calls, and letters, and visit elderly relatives often. I will not focus on me me me, and instead devote myself to we we we.  I will dream big. I will never fail. I will never give up. I will accomplish all my creative goals, and use them to benefit not only myself but those around me.  Now I’m going to go and enjoy my summer! 

Are you going to give your home a slight summer remodel? Don’t worry! I’m here to help!  1. Add white, thin curtains to the windows. The white will make the space look big, and the thin texture will let the summer light filter in. The combination of the two makes the whole room look classy.  2. Display your dishes and cutlery on an open, white shelf. If the shelf is wooden, display your chipped white mugs for a costal vibe. Even add some sea grass to a mug to elevate the display!  3. Greenery, greenery, greenery! Not only do the plants make a space look natural, light, and healthy, they also release carbon dioxide, making the air nice and fresh!  4. Add some sculptures. Sculptures provide the space with a focal point for the eye to go to, like a painting.  5. Make a display of your summer reads, on a nice tray or small coffee table! 

 I love to buy lifestyle things. #Michaels! But, I don’t always want to be spending money on another throw pillow I won’t use. So here are 10 craft hacks to make your own home decor without spending a cent.  1. Cardboard box bench  I actually made this one, and it was fun! I took a cardboard box, filled it with trash that didn’t fit in the trash cam (bubble wrap, scrap paper, etc) and covered it in a ratty old sweater. The finished product looked better than you’d expect!  2. Candles - DIY Take old wine bottles and stick a candle in the top. So simple, so easy, and so effortlessly classy  3. Decorative tote bag hack  My grandma loves pretzels, and so I (of course) asked to borrow the tub when she was done. I covered the outside in all my fabric scraps I wanted to save but took up too much space. The result was a lovely tote or possibly a plant holder!  4.  Pancake shaper  You don’t need to buy special pancake molds! Just use a cookie cutter, set it on the hot griddle, and pour the panc

  1. Make a calendar that lists one important task per day.  2. Write out a to do list  3. Always have a bottle of water on hand  4. Take small breaks when you need them, and during those breaks do something other than look at your phone 5. Write down EVERYTHING  6. Read books instead of watching TV  7. Don’t make too high expectations 8. Take some self care time at the beginning and end of each day (look at my Sunday Night Routine post for more ideas)  9. Drink enough and eat enough to not be weak and have good strength to tackle any problems that might arise 10. EXERCISE! I try to walk at least three miles every day. Trust me, exercise is great for productivity!  

 Here is a stress free schedule to help make your Sunday extra special, and to start the week off right!  3:00 (pm)  Brew a mug of herbal tea and find a comfy spot to sit and read a book or check your emails  3:30  Take the leftovers of your tea or brew a fresh cup and go upstairs to your bathroom. Grab a colored bath bomb and some bath salts and set up a special bath tray to use throughout the week.  4:00 Test out your new bath tray and have a lovely relaxing bath with a book or some home decor magazines. Don’t forget the music!  4:45  Dry off from your bath and begin your evening skincare routine. If you don’t have one yet (insert horrified gasp here) don’t worry, I’m including my own routine below.  1. Wash off makeup with a bit of water mixed with micellar cleaning water on a cotton pad.  2. Apply a wrinkle-reducing eye cream  3. Apply a wrinkle-reducing face cream  4. Apply a Dead Sea face lotion  5. Apply a soothing face lotion 6. Set the skin care products with a hydrating cocon

These are tricks for all the summer campers out there (including me, for the first time). Here are some tips and tricks to help you feel confident and have the time of your lives!   1. Use a pale highlighter for your cheeks, which will glow in the sunlight when you are outside 2. Wear baggy t-shirts (done, done, and more done) for running and swimming  3. Bring card games, books, and DVDs for the cabin or hotel room or where ever you are staying  4. Don’t overpack your suitcase 5. Go with friends  6. Know your camp counselor in advance 7. Watch horror movies the week before. Now, when you hear a weird noise outside your cabin you can be appropriately terrified, which, trust me, is very fun.  8. Pray. Praying always helps, and God always listens!  9. Do NOT bring a diary or any embarrassing personal items. You do not want anybody making fun of you! I’m leaving the face brace and retainer to fix my big ol underbite at home!  10. Mousse and hairspray your hair. It will stay up through hou

  1. Genesis 1:3 2. Genesis 8:22  3. Psalm 84:11 4. Psalm 93: 4 5. Psalm 113: 3 6. Isaiah  40: 8  7. Jeremiah 17: 8  Look these up, print some out, and you are all ready for summer!