"The truth is you could slit my throat and with my one last gasping breath, I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt." -You're So Last Summer, Taking Back Sunday

"Roped me in, so mesmerizing, so hypnotizing, I am captivated...

...And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well. I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself." -Vindicated, Dashboard Confessional

I love this boy. That's all I wanted to say today.

Felt iPod Case + other crafts

I have so many crafts I want to make and so little time to do it! My boy came home for the weekend from his business trip in St. Louis. He goes back all week this week :( so I wanted to hang with him all weekend. My mom also came up to visit Friday (thanks, Mom!). It was a great weekend but went by way too fast. I can't believe there is only 2 weeks left of summer! Ahh!

I spent a couple hours this afternoon out on the deck making some crafts and listening to Say Anything on Pandora. Fun fact: Lead singer Max Bemis is married to Sherri Dupree Bemis of Eisley (see her website on the sidebar, "Me: A Work in Progress).

Anyway, back to crafting! My last post showed a picture of an iPod case I was planning on making. For some reason, the pictures aren't showing up anymore. Oh well. This took about an hour to make the first one, and about a half hour to make the second one once I figured out what I was doing. They both turned out great!

I found the tutorial on the Crafted Love blog to the right. She has a lot of cool stuff on there! She is also planning a wedding and has a link with all her ideas :) If you're not interested in making one yourself but would like one, let me know! It was super easy and I love doing it. Pick your colors and I'll mail it to ya!

Here are the materials! I didn't end up using the pearls because it didn't really go with the vibe. You also need a needle that is not shown here.

Finished product! The example I followed used an arrow but I wanted a music note. I found an outline I liked online and traced it, I pinned it to the felt and cut around it.

Ahh how I love it! I gave the purple one to my cousin and I kept the blue one. Seriously, if you want one don't hesitate to ask. I could also make a cell phone cover.

Also, I made this tree at the beginning of the summer and thought I would share it. I love this thing a lot! It took awhile to cut out all the leaves but was very very easy. I'm not sure where I found the tutorial, but here is my modified version:

1) You need paper (I used a pad of scrapbook paper that was thicker than normal paper), floral wire, cardboard, rubber cement (or any kind of glue), and branches.

2) Cut out a few sizes out of the cardboard for leaves.

3) Then cut out a bunch of leaves (however big you want the tree to be) using the samples.

4) Cut the wire about 4-7 inches, depending on if you want the leaves right next to the tree or to hang off a bit.

5) Use two paper leaves for one final leaf. Glue two leaves together, putting the wire in-between, kind of like a vein in a real leaf.

6) Twirl the wire around the branches however you'd like! Arrange in a vase and voila! Super cheap and easy decoration. Mine is on my desk.

I also made this to-do list picture frame a few weeks ago. Here is the tutorial to make the rosettes. I have also made them for hair pins that are very cute. They're really easy, again, and very inexpensive! To make it into a "white board", I wrote "to-do" on a piece of paper and put it in there like a picture. Then you just write with a dry/erase marker.

One more! I have made a TON of fabric covered button earrings. Here is the tutorial. No matter what I wear, I have earrings to match :)

Pumped Up Kicks

LOVE THIS SONG! I finally found an alternative/indie type radio station here in DSM (I think it's 105.1 for those in the area) and this song has been on it a few times and it ALWAYS gets stuck in my head.

It's called "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. If the name of the song isn't reason enough for me to love the song, here are a few more. The band members are pretty good looking, it's an offbeat song that isn't overplayed a bajillion times on the "popular" stations (yet anyway!), and it's a pretty catchy song that I think is about a kid who is bullied/abused and threatens the bullies with a gun :(. No, I don't support bullying or guns. But the song is so dang catchy for the subject matter! Does that make sense? Now I sound like a terrible person. I'll stop rambling. Here's the vid.

I need to know the lyrics to every song. They're kind of hard to understand here, so here they are! You can form your own opinion on what the song is about.

Robert's got a quick hand
He'll look around the room
He won't tell you his plan
He's got a rolled cigarette hanging out his mouth
He's a cowboy kid
Yeah, he found a six-shooter gun
In his dad's closet hidden in a box of fun things
And I don't even know what
But he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
x1

Daddy works a long day
He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late
And he's bringing me a surprise
Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice
I've waited for a long time
Yeah, the slight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger
I reason with my cigarette
And say your hair's on fire
You must have lost your wits, yeah

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
x1

http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858837818/

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
x3

P.S. I spoke too soon. It's #4 on iTunes. I like it a little less now. :(

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Yes mom, I'm actually giving advice about making food! (Kind of.)

In the spirit of eating healthy, I made this recipe the other night and wanted to share in case some of you have never heard of it. It can be healthy depending on how closely you follow the recipe. This is very very delicious and is a good snack and something easy to take along to potlucks. This is the original recipe I followed. Here's how I made it:

What you need:

3 kiwis (you can use two but there was a deal at Fareway for buying 3!)

2 apples (I used one and a half bc they were pretty big)

Strawberries (I just used enough until the bowl was full... you see what kind of a chef I am?)

Raspberries (I didn't use them bc they were too expensive... see what kind of a shopper I am?)

Grapes (I substituted these instead)

2 tbsp white sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry... the more you used the jucier your salsa will be. I used too much and it ended up being a little runny. Stick with the 3 tbsp and don't be like me.)

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas (if you use wheat they will be better for you!)

Butter flavored cooking spray

Cinnamon Sugar (Not sure how much I used, I just made more as I went)

(Some of the ingredients... I wasn't exactly organized.)

1. Peel kiwi and cut into small pieces.

2. Cut up strawberries, grapes, and apples into small pieces. (The recipe calls for skinned apples but I think that's a waste of time and doesn't make much of a difference.)

3. Put it all in a large bowl and mix it up.

4. Add white sugar, brown sugar, and preserves. This will all make the juices come out. If you think it's not juicy enough to start, trust me, it will get juicier!

See! Jucier! Mmmm :) Doesn't that look delicious!?

5. Mix it all up! Salsa is done.

[Note: This takes longer than you would think, especially if you are multi-tasking like I was. You might want to pre-heat the oven in there too. See below for cinnamon chips directions.]

This is what I was doing instead of paying attention to making this, and why it ended up taking two hours. I love me some Sandra and Property Virgins! I am slightly obsessed with HGTV. It's a channel that you can turn on and there's ALWAYS something on that I can watch. I feel fully equipped to buy a house now. I just need to stop watching House Hunters International........ anyway, back to business!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Use a pizza cutter to cut up tortillas. They are easier to eat if they are more square than triangle.

3. Arrange on baking sheet.

4. Spray tops with butter.

5. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.

6. Spray again. (I'm not sure this is necessary but I did it anyway)

7. Put in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Note! If you are like me you really need to watch them because it's easy to leave them in too long. Then they get all glazed-like and aren't as good. You want 'em to be golden brown! I also put the broil function on for about a minute and a half. They seemed to be a little flimsy before I did that, and it made them a little crunchier. That wasn't in the recipe so I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of it. Hah!

8. Take them out of the oven using an oven mit. Failure to do so will result in a severely burned hand and a feeling of stupidity for the rest of the day. Set on a metal rack as to not ruin your aunt's countertops (hehe.)

9. Optional: let cool. If you're hungry, hurry up and eat!

[Pardon my post-workout appearance]

The verdict... delicious! And I didn't ruin my workout.

Hope I'm not forgetting anything. I suck at making anything, so if I can do this you can do this. I brought some to the family I nanny for and they loved it and asked for the recipe. Nobody has ever asked me for a recipe. This is probably the only recipe I know.

Let me know if you try it!

Amen, brother!

Come Down, and Waste Away with Me

I love acoustic music. A lot.

Enjoy.

Everlong, Foo Fighters

Oh Comely, Neutral Milk Hotel, covered by THE Jesse Lacey

Your Call, Secondhand Serenade (sorry about the advertisement. patience is a virtue.)

Dark Come Soon, Tegan and Sara (lesbian twins, so you know they're badass.)

MyFitnessPal

I have another cool thing to share today! Fitness enthusiasts take notice!

So, it usually isn't a problem to get me motivated to exercise, I usually enjoy it (as any former self-respecting fitness instructor would.) However, it is sometimes a struggle for me to eat as healthy as I should. It doesn't help that I spend the day with a five and seven year old who love eating mac and cheese and ice cream. I don't always have time to bring my own food (I know, excuses excuses). I also seem to make excuses on the weekends and when I'm out with friends. My boyfriend's ability to eat whatever he wants doesn't help my cause either.

In my boot camp class, my instructor asks us to keep a food log. I did this diligently the first week, but have since slacked off. Now, he has us all on http://www.myfitnesspal.com. This website rocks! Sometimes I find myself wondering, "Is this healthy?" and struggle to find enough meals that are really truly "good for you." On this website, you put in exactly what you ate (down to the brand and cup measurements!) and it tells you exactly what you ate. When you start, you set a weight loss goal and it recommends your daily calorie intake, while YOU set how much you exercise.

You put in your initial weight, your goal weight, and how much you plan to lose a week. It recommends 1 lb a week, which sounds like a good goal to me, however you can adjust that goal as well. I'm not one to get discouraged when I don't see results right away, or when I'm not losing weight. I know muscle weighs more than fat, and I think it's important to keep this in mind (my 2 years as a fitness instructor has also helped to form this mindset.) From what I have set up, I should be 5 lbs down by September 1st.

Anyway, you can form a community on here which is also helpful! If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know! My username is alliespensley and my e-mail is alliespensley@gmail.com. Strength in numbers! It's great for accountability. You can also connect your "ticker" to your blog or other websites, and mine is at the bottom of this site. Hopefully knowing my friends are looking at this will keep me motivated as well! (Tonia and Rachel-- I especially thought you two might be interested in this kinda thing from our previous talks about working out.)

Personal motivation: Hiked up the side of a volcano in Italy. The next time I go to Italy, I want to be able to SPRINT to the top! ;)