New Years Resolution

Hi Y'all! I hope you Christmas was as splendid as mine was. It's always so nice to spend time with family isn't it? Well, assuming that everyone can get along. But I was definitely blessed with peace and harmony among family members, a belly full of ham and mashed potatoes, and the company of my ever-loving boyfriend. Oh, and some pretty great gifts, but how small is that blessing in comparison to a warm home with loving people surrounding you?



Anyhow, it's already New Year's Eve! It seems to come faster and faster every year, and to be honest, I was still getting used to writing 2013 on things like checks and research papers.I guess I'd better get with it for the new year!

So to help me do this, I have resolved to try something new every single week of 2014. New recipes, new nail polish colors, new movies, new knowledge, new exercise routines, new crafts, new skills, new organization techniques, new books, new hairstyles, new restaurants, new, new, new! Of course, I haven't specifically planned anything out for any week of this next coming year, but in exactly 365 days (it's not a leap year is it?) I will have introduced 52 new things into my life, which will be awesome. I will be blogging about these new endeavors every week, but I can't guarantee it's going to be a consistent day every week. Because let's be honest, everyone has a certain amount of crazy in their life, and I have a feeling that my amount of crazy is soon to double (besides, having my posts on new days of the week kinda goes along with my whole resolution, right?).

But I will not let this resolution fall by the wayside in mid-February, like so so SO many of my past ones have. I must say I am looking forward to breaking out of my shell that was built with easiness and comfortable things to find a smarter, more confident, and especially more experienced me on the last day of 2014.


Happy New Year!!

Winter Dates

This time of year, it seems like everyone has someone special in their life. I spent many a holiday season as a single lady, sipping hot cocoa by myself and avoiding any public scene that was guaranteed to be swarming with happy couples. This year though, I have a wonderful man in my life and I could not be happier about it. We live in different cities, so we don't get to spend a lot of time together, but I will be heading his way soon and there are a sleigh-full of things we are planning on doing while I'm there. Here is a short list of dates we have planned:

Drive around to look at Christmas lights
Drink peppermint hot cocoa from Starbucks (if you haven't tried this stuff, you should know it's amazing)
Watch Elf (with Will Ferrell) and other Christmas movies
Bake and decorate cookies together
Make a gingerbread house
Attend a local production of The Nutcracker (the university there puts it on every December)
Last minute Christmas shopping at the mall (so we can see Santa of course!)
Cut snowflakes out of white paper and hang them up


We live in southern New Mexico, so snow is scare. For this reason, I've left off other dates that would include being in the snow like making a snowman or snow angels, going sledding, and having a snowball fight. Rest assured though, if we had snow on the ground, we would be doing all of this as well!

What are your favorite things to do with your significant other this time of year? Leave a comment and let me know!

12 Days 'Til Christmas

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— 
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord" 
Isaiah 11:2-3

What an amazing truth that God sent His only son down to this wicked earth in which we inhabit to save us all. Sure the decorations are fun and frivolous, the cookies are delicious, the music is cheerful, and the gifts are a great way to show that you love someone, but in the end none of this stuff lasts.

The impact that Jesus made on the world however, that does last.

Christmas is upon us. Lets not forget what we're truly celebrating this time of year. 

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I made this recipe a could days ago for breakfast and it was fantastic! I'm a pretty big fan of blueberries to begin with, but this just enhanced my love for them. Plus, breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day, so it doesn't get much better than that. Now if only I could find a way to make time so I could make treats like this more often...


I found the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 2 tsp lemon zest (if you're a big fan of the lemon-blueberry combination, you may want to add a little more because the lemon flavor was very mild)
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour (you will use 1/4 of this to toss the blueberries in)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups blueberries (the original recipe called for fresh, but I used frozen to save a little money and it still came out delicious)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (to make your own, add half a cup of milk to 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for about five minutes)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream sugar, butter, and lemon zest until well-combined and fluffy. Stir in egg and vanilla until combined
3. Toss blueberries in 1/4 cup of flour. Mix remaining flour with baking powder and salt.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
5. Fold in the blueberries. (The only thing about using frozen blueberries is during this step, the butter starts to solidify because it starts getting cold. Never fear though, it was not a disaster :) )
6. Grease a baking pan (I used a 9"x9" pan). Pour batter into pan and spread it out evenly. I found the batter to be really sticky, so coating your fingers with flour for this step might prove to be helpful. If desired, sprinkle some extra sugar on top to create a shimmery look (I opted out of this).
7. The original recipe says to bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, but when I made it myself, it needed closer to an hour to finish cooking. You will know it's done when the top is a golden brown and an inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving and enjoy! 

Confession: It is NOT done in this picture! My toothpick tricked me so I put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. My point is, this is not the golden brown I was referring to.

Yummmmy! It was the best breakfast I had all week. ( This is the golden brown I was referring to.)

Exercising

This is a topic that most people don't like to talk about. It's something that everyone knows they should do, but very few actually take the time to do it regularly. I used to be like the majority of the population in that going for a 20 minute run or lifting weights three times a week sounded less desirable than sticking my head into the mouth of a hungry bear.

However, I have overcome the hump and have been working out regularly for exactly one month now! Don't get me wrong, I'm nowhere near the realm of a fitness junkie, but I can easily say that it has become less terrible. I have more energy now and I'm not cold all the time (like is usual for me this time of year).

How on earth did I find the motivation to continue doing such a dreadful thing five to six days of the week? Well I'm glad you asked because I have some superb advice to share with you!

1. Start small. If you expect to go from zero to ripped in a week, you'll likely give up before you even give yourself a chance. There are plenty of websites dedicated to building up muscle slowly or endurance when you run, so those might be useful resources to check out.
2. Set reasonable goals for yourself each week and push yourself to accomplish them. It will feel great when you get to the end of the week and you've stuck to the goals you set out to accomplish. I have found this to be quite encouraging.
3. Don't be too hard on yourself. We're all human, not superhuman, so don't expect to get the body of a Greek god or goddess. Everyone has a healthy weight and body fat range. Aim for yours.
4. Switch it up once in a while. I found that if I was doing the same workout routine or running the exact same route, I got bored and started making excuses to skip it or to push it off just one more day. If you're planning on targeting your abs one week, try different moves each day.
5. Find motivation that is personal. There's a saying that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, but maybe looking good in a bathing suit doesn't sound nearly as enticing as chocolate pie or deep dish pizza. If this is the case, your motivation for exercising should probably be something else. It could be inspired by entertainment such as The Walking Dead or the newest Hunger Games movie. Being physically fit enough to survive in either of worlds portrayed there might just be the thing you need to get off the couch. Or maybe your motivation could be as personal as wanting to be healthy enough to be around as your future grand-children grow up. It really is up to you!

If you need an idea of how to get started or were curious about how to switch up your workout, check out my board on Pinterest called Recipe for Bikini Body. I've pinned plenty of good ideas there for targeting different muscle zones, a variety of aerobic exercises, a few stretching routines, and some other fitness-related things. Good luck my fellow to-be fit individuals!

 

Catching Fire

The newest Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire came out this last weekend and I was crazy enough to go to the midnight premier on Thursday. I thought they did a great job of following the book as closely as they could. I also thought that they did a great job casting the new characters. I mean, Finnick Odair was quite the cutie don't you think?

However, I was disappointed that they didn't include the scene where Peeta and Katniss were watching the video of Haymitch's hunger games win. That was something I was definitely looking forward to seeing in the movie, and they totally left it out!

I am already looking forward to the movie (or movies?) of the last book. What did y'all think of Catching Fire? Leave a comment and let me know!

Deluxe Pecan Pie

Deluxe Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
1 pie crust for 9" pie
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup pecan halves (I like to throw a handful or so into the filling, and then use the rest to make a pretty design on top)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In small mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter, syrup, and cream together. Once well combined, stir in vanilla extract and brandy. This is also the time to stir in the pecans, whether it be a handful or the full cup. (See pictures for the design.)
3. Pour mixture into pie crust and bake 40-50 minutes, or until filling is set. Let cool.

My dad loves pecan pie, so my mom always makes it around the holidays. Let me know what you think and share the recipe for your favorite pie in the comment box below!

I guess it was a hit! It started disappearing before I could even get a picture of the whole thing finished.

Peachy Yams

Peachy Yams

Ingredients:
3 yams (1 lb. peeled and chopped) or 18 oz. can of yams, drained
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. ginger (mixed into brown sugar)
1 Tbs. butter or margarine
1 8.75 oz. can of peaches, drained
Cashews or Marshmellows (I like to use both!)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In 1-quart casserole dish, layer half the yams, half the brown sugar, half the peaches, and half the butter. Repeat the layer and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until yams are glazed.
3. Spoon the liquid from the pan over the yams one or two times. Sprinkle the cashews and marshmallows on top and cook for 5 more minutes.

This was always one of my favorite recipes at Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy it too!

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can fruit cocktail
1 pkg. frozen strawberries
1 6 oz. box of red jello
1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (cut into chucks)
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip
1 cup of nuts (I prefer pecans)

Directions:

1. Prepare jello as directed, but don't use the cold water that is called for, as the moisture in the other cans will make up for it.
2. Add the pineapple, fruit cocktail, strawberries, and cream cheese to the jello. Let jello set.
3. After the jello is set, stir in the cool whip and nuts.

Here it is, all finished and delicious!

Welcome

Hello wonderful world of web surfers and blog readers, my name is Claira. I have always loved the idea of starting a blog, but I have never taken the time to learn how to do it successfully. So here I am. Just a relatively normal college student trying my hand at creating a blog that might just be worth reading one of these days.

 I suppose the best way to start would be to tell you that I interested in an array of different things, and chances are I'll be posting about a good majority of them over the next several weeks, as I'm learning how to do this. I love cooking, camping, crafting, children, and most of all, Christ. I also have other interests that do not start with the letter "C" that you will just have to stay tuned for.


I would be delighted to have you come along with me on this journey as I share my passions and every-day experiences with you. Please don't hesitate to comment on anything I post. I would truly love to hear from you!

(And if you have any suggestions or tips that might be helpful as I dive into this blogging experience, I would be eternally grateful for those as well!)

Well, don't let me keep you here any longer. Have a look around and tell me what you think!