Katy Hearn Winter Challenge 2015

Today I signed up for the Katy Hearn Winter Challenge and my friend Shayla will be doing it with me.  It starts January 19th and I cannot wait to take my fitness to the next level!  Shayla and I already workout 4 days/week and eat relatively healthy but this challenge will push us past the plateau we've reached.  I hope to use this blog to keep track of my progress during the 8 week challenge! 

I graduated from nursing school and passed the NCLEX so I'm working full time as an RN now and I'm doing my BSN online, so life is going to be crazy busy with this fitness challenge on top of that!  

Not to mention I got engaged May 5th, 2014 so I'll be wedding planning as well :)

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Baby Shower Gift Basket

 This past fall, my friend had her baby boy!  Naturally, a baby shower preceded this happy event :)  I wanted to create something cute, but inexpensive.  Here's how I did it!

The Basket:
Basket {Dollar stores often have these in various colors}
Ribbon {I happened to have the perfect blue color laying around}

Cupcake Onesie Items:
Cupcake Wrappers
String/lanyard string/thin ribbon {To secure the onesie cupcakes}
Cute onesies!
Baby washcloths

The picture to the left shows how to make the
cupcake onesie.  Roll the washcloth into a tight cylinder and place it onto the end of a onesie that has the arms folded in (it's basically folded in on itself in thirds).  Let part of the washcloth hang over the edge of the onesie (this will be the "cherry" on the cupcake).  Tightly roll the washcloth up in the onesie and secure with string or ribbon.  Place it in a cupcake wrapper to complete the look!

They aren't perfect but, aren't they cute?!  I lined them up on top of a box of wipes that was in the bottom of the basket and also included three towels rolled up in the back of the basket.  On Etsy, I found big round stickers with the monthly age of the baby that you can stick on their outfit for their birthday to take pictures!  And to finish, no baby shower gift is complete without a stuffed animal.

To really complete the gift, I'm fortunate enough to be somewhat skilled in photoshop and work at our local UPS Store, so I created a precious little card and printed it on card stock :)

Basic Clean Eating Shopping List

I can get a lot of my shopping done between Trader Joe's, Target, Walmart and supplement stores (like Vitamin Shoppe).  Other great places to try are Amazon.com, Publix, Ingles, and Costco.


Pantry


• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Vanilla extract
• Stevia
• Cinnamon

• Almond flour or Coconut flour (Trader Joe's)
• Coconut oil spray (Trader Joe's)
• Unsweetened apple sauce
• PB2 (Walmart - powdered peanut butter with significantly less calories & fat than regular peanut butter)
• Almond butter
• Natural popcorn (great snack in place of chips if you're craving something salty!)
• Steel cut rolled oats (not the quick cook kind!)
• Qunioa
• Brown rice
• 100% Whole-grain bread (Ezekial brand from Trader Joe's)
• 100% Whole-grain pasta (Trader Joe's)
• 100% Whole-grain wraps (Trader Joe's)
• Mrs. Dash no-salt seasoning
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Agave syrup
• Organic honey

                                                      Dairy

• Pasteurized liquid egg whites
• Eggs
• Nonfat plain Greek Yogurt (Chobani brand is my favorite!)
• Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt (Chobani)
• Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Low fat cottage cheese

Produce

• All fresh or frozen fruits & veggies! (beets, broccoli, asparagus, peas, carrots, beans, spinach, kale, tomatoes, berries, apples, bananas, kiwi, pears, peaches, etc!)
• Avoid canned products

         Meats

• Tofu
• Seafood of all kinds (Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Tilapia, Shrimp, etc)
• Pork chops/tenderloin
• Deer meat
• Chicken

          Supplements

• Protein powder without sucralose in it (try Whey Factors)
• Delicious Greens 8000 powder (for those who don't eat enough veggies!)
• Quest Bars (eat in moderation)
• Flax seed (Trader Joe's, maybe Target)
• Chia seed (Trader Joe's, maybe Target)

This is not an exhaustive list by any means! You can find clean items everywhere, just make sure to read labels and don't get anything with "added sugar."  Keep track of where you find clean items and new interesting clean items so that you can always go back for more :)

Two Ingredient Clean Pancakes

Clean Eating involves a lot of cooking for yourself.  Unfortunately, I really don't like cooking!  But, I had to learn in order to commit to eating healthier because it's awfully hard to eat clean at restaurants or by eating microwavable foods.

The reason I love this recipe is because it only has two ingredients and only takes a few minutes total to prep & cook!  It yields about 4 pancakes, depending on what size you make them.

Ingredients

• One large banana
• Two eggs (yolk and all!)
• 2 tbsp ground flax seed (optional, found mine at Trader Joes)
• Coconut oil spray (found at Trader Joes)
• Sugar-free maple syrup

Directions

1. Put the banana, eggs, and flax seed in a blender and blend!
2. Spray a large skillet with coconut oil and put it on the stove set to medium high heat.
3. Pour whatever size pancake you want onto the skillet (I can fit about two pancakes on mine).
4. Cook until the tops and bottoms are a tan color.
5. Top with sugar-free maple syrup!

The Essential Items All Nursing Students Should Have

As a nursing student less than 4 months away from graduation, I feel like I can accurately provide you with a list of some great things all nursing students should have throughout nursing school.

Nursing school is unlike any other degree program and requires some school supplies that are not on your ordinary back to school shopping list.  Here is my list of what I have come to find as extremely useful throughout my program!

- Thirty One Organizing Utility Tote:  the best way to carry all your nursing supplies for clinical in my opinion! Plus it has plenty of pockets to separate all your items.

- Daily Planner: one that is large enough for you to write plenty of stuff in for each day because you will be a busy person for sure!  I use a super cute one I ordered from here.

- Lunch Box: you'll be spending a lot of long days either in clinical

or in class and it'll save you a lot of money (and weight gain!) to pack your own lunch instead of going out to eat everyday.

- Water Bottle:  pretty self-explanatory, but drink plenty of water!

- Good Moisturizing Lotion:  you will wash your hands more than you ever thought possible...invest in some quality lotion or you'll suffer from cracked, dry, split hands!

- Keurig:  I'm not kidding...if you like caffeine this will save you time and maybe some money.  You can make coffee or tea with it.

I just got it this semester and wish I had had it all along!

- Airborne:  It's an immunity booster and boy will you need it!  Just imagine all the bacteria and sick people you'll come in contact with.  Coming down with something when you're in the middle of a semester is never easy or fun.

- Micromedex App: quick, easy, accurate information on most medications...a must-have for researching your medications the night before clinical!  Always use the drug guide recommended by your teacher for more detailed information, but this is great for a general overview and getting enough information to know what you're talking about!

If you're a nurse or nursing student and have something else that has been an awesome resource for you, please comment!

*only the first picture of the Thirty One Bag is my own picture.   I do not claim to have any ownership of the other two pictures.

The Happiest 5K :)

This morning, my friends and I ran The Color Run - aka The Happiest 5K! It was an amazing experience; we had so much fun.
Lately, I've been all about experiencing new things, seeking out my own happiness.  I do a lot of thinking about what I'd like to do in life and not enough actual "do-ing."  So, I started with The Color Run.  Tomorrow I'm going to a Carolina Panthers football game just for the sake of going and in about 2 weeks I'm going sky diving!
I intend to keep planning new, exciting things to do so that I have stories to tell when I'm older instead of just a bucket list that grows longer each day and never gets checked off. Now that I really think about it, I think Mac is my inspiration for living life instead of just day dreaming.  He's a big "do-er."  Not one to sit around much.  And he has definitely introduced me to new experiences.