DIY Tutorial: Chalkboard Platter

I wish I could claim that this is my original idea, but it's not. Some wonderful blogger out there came up with this super simple and delightfully cute project, and she was kind enough to share it with the rest of the DIY-world on Pinterest.

The tutorial calls for a plastic silver platter or tray as this would obviously be the most thrifty option (who wants to paint their best metal platters??). Fortunately/unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) for me, I had this once-gorgeous aluminum platter sitting sadly in a closet. You see, many months ago, after a lovely night of entertaining our sweet friends, I mistakenly placed this platter in my dishwasher (I know, right?) and it ran through the entire cycle before I realized it. Let's just say it was late and I was delusional.

Imagine my despair when I unloaded the dishwasher the next morning only to find this beautiful platter hopelessly water and soap stained. I tried rinsing it, soaking it, scrubbing it, rubbing it, and polishing it...all to no avail. So, for the past few months it has sat unused and unappreciated in my closet (until now!). Thankfully, I just didn't have the heart to throw it away.

Essentials

Plastic tray (or dishwasher-destroyed aluminum platter)

Chalkboard paint (I used a paint from Martha Stewart's collection in this lovely sea foam green, $5.99 at Michael's)

2-3 yd ribbon (I had mine cut at Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts for $.99 per yard)

Chalk, of course! (I found a pack of 8 assorted colors at Walmart for $.99)

 Make it Happen

It's almost embarrassing to call this a "tutorial" because it's so darn easy. 

Follow the instructions on your paint bottle and paint the platter along it's flat center. Usually, this means adding 2-3 coats, letting each coat dry for a solid hour. 

Then, gently rub a piece of chalk along the entire "board" and erase to condition the paint. 

Finally, tie a ribbon around the handles and find a pretty place for your chalkboard on the wall. Yep, that's really all there is to it.

OH! And draw something wonderful!

Trust me when I say that literally anybody can do this! It's super simple and highly flexible...make it your own! So far, I'm having a lot of fun writing "good morning" messages to my husband on the board before leaving for work, and it's been quite handy for displaying each week's meal plan, too!

Grace and Peace,

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bake

Oatmeal. Apples. Cinnamon. All things that are lovely and good. And, on a cold January morning, they make a great addition to my morning me time.  

 
Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked rolled oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1-2 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• salt, to taste (1/4 – 1/2 tsp)
• 2 cups vanilla soy milk or other vanilla nut milk
• 1 tbsp oil
• Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine oats, sugar, apple, cinnamon, walnuts, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add soymilk and oil; stir to combine.
4. Stir in flax mixture.
5. Pour into a greased 8″ x 8″ pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until mixture is set. 
6. Enjoy with a homemade latte and a good book. 
   

 

Mmmm, goodness.

The Truth about Women and Weights

Dear fellow girls, this one's for you. Read it. Know it. And stop believing myths that simply aren't true.

Let's talk about weightlifting. What is weightlifting, you ask? Well, thanks to Webster, I have a great general definition for you, and here it is...

Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, either for the purpose of competing to determine which competitor can lift the most, or for the purpose of promoting health, fitness, or development of a muscular physique.

Let's pay greatest attention to the second half of the definition (because the part about competing really refers to a sport called powerlifting). The wise Mr. Webster says that weightlifting is used for "promoting health, fitness, or development of a muscular physique." Who doesn't want to do that? The truth is, there is this awful stigma that has been circulating for years that weightlifting is for men only, and women need only run on a treadmill or sweat it out on an elliptical to be healthy and fit. This could not be farther from the truth. 

 

Please hear me out: I'm not downplaying the importance of aerobic activity and cardiovascular fitness. They are both an extremely important component of health, weight loss, and fitness and should never be overlooked. Nevertheless, weightlifting got a bad reputation somewhere along the line, but it is EQUALLY important in maintaining general health, dropping body fat, and increasing overall fitness. 

You're not going to get ripped and look like a man by lifting weights 2-3 days per week at the gym. I think that bears repeating: you're not going to get ripped and look like a man by lifting weights 2-3 days per week at the gym.  

 

Men have more testosterone and other important hormones than women, and that is part of the reason that they tend to "bulk up" when lifting weights consistently. Men need a minimum of 2-4% body fat to remain healthy and keep organs insulated; women, on the other hand, need 10-13% (I know, it stinks). Because men are genetically predisposed to a lower percentage of body fat, more of their body percentage is freed up for lean mass (that's muscle, by the way). For these reasons and many, many more, women have an extraordinarily difficult time bulking up the way that men do when they lift weights. 

Those women that you see (like the one pictured above) that do bulk up have more than likely had some sort of hormone therapy, taken steroids, or are genetically predisposed to attain more muscle (perhaps through a hormone imbalance.

So, what does happen when girls lift weights? They tone!! I have several clients that ask to do specific exercises to "tone" a certain area of their body (i.e. "Let's do more sit-ups so I can tone my abs!"). The truth is, you have to remove more fat before you'll ever be able to see that 6-pack you've been dreaming of all this time, and that's where aerobic activity and cardiovascular fitness (running, swimming, biking, elliptical-ing) come in. The flip side of this truth is that all the cardio in the world won't tone your body the way weightlifting does. Both cardio training AND weight training are essential for toned abs, defined arms, and skinny thighs. And that, my friends, is the truth.

 

Happy Friday!

 

The 10 Commandments of Weight Loss

I have been saving this post for just the right Friday, and I think I've finally found it! I wrote this up for a friend a couple of months ago, and I'm really excited about sharing it with all of you. Enjoy!

 

 THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF WEIGHT LOSS

1. Thou shalt not starve yourself or skip meals. At 5'2 and 112 pounds, I eat nearly 6 small meals a day and NEVER skip. Skipping and starving only slow down your metabolism, so that when you DO eat, your body stores it all rather than metabolizing it.

2. Thou shalt count your calories wisely. Correct intake of carbs, fat, and protein (ALL of which are important) is essential, of course, but, to some extent at least, calories are calories. And, to lose weight, you must expend more calories than you consume each day. A lot of people try to make weight loss too complicated when, at the end of the day, it's just simple math.

3. Thou shalt eat breakfast early and stop consuming calories before 8:00 pm. This one is pretty general and can be broken once in a blue moon, but if you think about it, it makes since...if you consume a lot of calories (no matter what they're from) at 10:00 pm and go to bed at 10:30, your body has no reason to turn them into energy because you're going to be using very little energy while sleeping. Instead, it's just going to get stored (mostly as fat).

4. Thou shalt drink water...and lots of it. As a general rule, half your body weight in ounces is what you should consume in a day. So, if you weigh 120 pounds, you need to drink about 60 ounces of water each day. Add another glass or two on days that you exercise.


5. Thou shalt keep track of what you eat. Writing down what you eat is HUGE in weight loss. I have clients who plateaued in their weight loss until they started tracking their food and caloric intake...and then they dropped more quite quickly! Livestrong.com has a really great system for tracking your meals (it does all of the tedious analyzing for you).

6. Thou shalt keep in mind that foods made by God (raw fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, etc) are healthier than foods made by man (chips, candy, pepperoni, etc). This is true on a general basis, but it is a great thing to keep in mind when planning meals or grocery shopping.


7.  Thou shalt avoid fast food at all cost. Don't try to justify it. It's never a good idea.

8. Thou shalt not restrict yourself in such a way that you end up eating a bunch of foods you don't like and avoiding all foods that you do like. This will inevitably fail. If you don't treat yourself in moderation to something you truly enjoy, the end result will probably be a disappointing rebound to your old habits and your old health.


9. Thou shalt exercise. Repeat after me: skinny doesn't equal healthy, and a low weight doesn't equal high fitness. Weight training and cardio are ESSENTIAL for good health, and they help you keep the weight off forever. Muscle is directly proportional to your metabolism rate - the more lean tissue you have, the more calories you burn at rest and during activity.

10. Thou shalt memorize the golden rule: "Weight loss should lead to a healthy lifestyle, not a low number on the scale." At the end of the day, your health is more important than what you weigh, and you are more important than the number you see. You are a child of the living God who loves you and cares for his children, and what you accomplish for his kingdom is far more valuable than what you accomplish for your scale.

Happy Friday my friends. 

FITNESS FRIDAY: Burn 100 Carlories Right Now

Stop making excuses.

Today.

In fact, start stopping right now.

Got 10 minutes? What about a timepiece of any sort? Great. You've got time to burn 100 calories, no equipment required.

Do each exercise for one minute each. Don't rest in between the exercises. Ten minutes, and you're done.

March in Place
Jog in Place
Jumping Jacks
Long Jumps
Jog Lightly
Jumping Jacks
Squat and Kick(alternating legs)
Jog Lightly
Long Jumps

...Ready. Set. Sweat.