Super Best Friends Forever - Supergirl

One of the many things I've noticed about the Heroes Alliance is that the more popular the character the more apt a child is at saying hello.  I thought long and hard about Batgirl (purple and yellow) but I just didn't think I could make a cowl that I would be satisfied with, either out of fabric or sculpted.  I really didn't think I was a good candidate for Supergirl because she's got a midriff baring costume and yikes!  No one wants to see my pale tummy and cycling tan lines.  I really was in a small kerfluffle until I saw Super Best Friends Forever one Saturday morning.  Not only was this Super clothed but she had curves.  Hourglass curves.  Here was a character and a costume that I could connect with!

This costume is a for a Heroes Alliance event that takes place at Comfest at the end of June.  In the heat.  I decided to use a red UnderArmor running skirt and to purchase a UnderArmor shirt and to make the cape, boots and belt.

First I drafted the "S".  It's quite different from any other "S" out there and I wanted to make sure I could reflect the style of the cartoon in the costume.  Next I used Fuse n' Tear to stick the red to the yellow spandex.

 Make sure you flip the "S" over and get the Fuse n' Tear to stick to the bottom layer!

And place your "S" on your shirt with a new sheet of Fuse n' Tear.  From here I will follow the previous directions and using a microtex needle, will top stitch in red about 1/8th" away from the edges.

Stay tuned for the rest!

Service Learning Paper

I had mentioned earlier that I used the Heroes Alliance as part of my Service Learning requirement for Human Growth and Development last semester.  Here is the required paper I wrote for the class.  Enjoy!

Part 1

Heroes Alliance

Stroll for Epilepsy- Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio

Polaris Mall

Heroes Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn

Jan. 26^th, 2013 8:00am-1:00pm

    The Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio assists persons and their families with epilepsy. They provide education, support and methods of coping. The Stroll for Epilepsy was a charity walk at Polaris Mall that raised money, provided education, and raised awareness for the Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio. The participants walked through the mall, stopping at different areas to listen to a mini-educational factoid about Epilepsy and get their booklet stamped. After you had completed the walk, your booklet was entered into a drawing for prizes.

http://www.epilepsy-ohio.org/events/stroll-for-epilepsy

    

   The Heroes Alliance was on hand to entertain the children and parents. The group encountered all age groups from toddlers to grandparents. We posed for photos, interacted with the children, and gave out plenty of hugs. One of the best encounters was with a family of 4 children, all elementary school age or under. The oldest two girls ran up to Superman and proudly declared that “Our sister has epilepsy and we are here for her! You have to come meet our sister!” The girls each took Superman's hands and led him across the food court to their sister and parents. The rest of the heroes followed and we were engaged with the family, interacting with the children. What stood out the most was how proud the older sisters were of their younger sister. This was not only concrete operation stage (182) but social cognition (216) in action. They knew their younger sister was different and because she was different, she was special.

Heroes Alliance

Columbus Zoo – Chilly Open

4850 Powell Rd. Powell, OH 43065

Heroes Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn

Feb. 2nd, 2013 Noon-4:00pm

    The Chilly Open is a fundraiser organized by the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club and benefits many central Ohio children's charities. The goal was to raise over $250,000 for Flying Horse Farms, Children's Hunger Alliance, Mt. Carmel St. Ann's, The Ohio Trooper's Fund, W.A.R.M., and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It has been held at the Columbus Zoo for the past seventeen years. The event is held in heated tents and is a local food extravaganza. While parents sample food from over 30 different local restaurants and listen to local live music, the children have a heated indoor play area, free pizza, and activities provided by the Zoo. Each parent checked their child in with security and was given a wrist band with the child's name and parents contact information. The entrance and exit to the play area were monitored by the zoo staff. The Children's Open had coloring, hula hoops, animal encounters, laser tag, bounce house, wii Just Dance, face painting, and the Heroes Alliance.

    As part of the Heroes Alliance I spent the day interacting with children ages 5-12. The children were excited to meet and greet their favorite heroes but also were enchanted by being able to play games and spend time with Superman, Batman, Black Canary, Robin and Supergirl. Some children were shy at first and would parallel play, (169) choosing to color at the far end of the table or to wii Just Dance across the room. One of the older girls who was familiar with the wii game became an organizer and took it upon herself to help the younger children so the group could get a higher score. This cooperative play was really intriguing to watch because the children did not need the superhero to lead the dancing, but wanted the heroes to dance with them (169).

    One group of girls made up their own game, placing hula hoops on the ground and jumped from hoop to hoop. They requested that I jump with them and while we were jumping from hoop to hoop I was asked what my favorite color was, if I watched cartoons, if I could really fly and other questions. While you try to stay in character, the girls just wanted to talk and were happy to have me ask the same questions and were happy to find similarities in favorite colors and favorite cartoons.

    During the event the heroes were able to rotate through the different activities and as the day progressed and children were dropped off or picked up the environment was always active, fun, and surprisingly not very aggressive. The cost of the tickets were $35-40 per adult and free for children under 12. I do not want to make the assumption that the families that participated in the Chilly Open were from a middle to higher socioeconomic status, however with the noticeable lack of violent, aggressive behavior it could be inferred that it may have been the case (220).

http://www.wendyschiliopen.com/

Heroes Alliance

Helping Hands Center

2500 Medary Ave, Columbus, OH 43202

Heroes Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn

Feb. 11th, 2013 8:34am- 11:15am

The Helping Hands Center is a non profit school in Columbus, OH that focuses on meeting the educational and therapeutic needs of children with Autism and other developmental disabilities. The center offers school instruction from preschool to 8^th grade, before and after school care, and summer camps. The class rooms are small and most classrooms have a 1:2 or 1:3 teacher to student ratio. The Helping Hands Center also offers counseling for parents and provides developmental evaluations for autism spectrum disorder.

The Heroes Alliance was contacted by one of the directors and was asked to come into the school and interact with the children. Heroes Alliance was given the use of the gym and each grade would visit the gym and have fifteen minutes to interact with the heroes. The Heroes Alliance decided the best thing would be to read a short Superman picture book to the children, lead them in a song with hand motions, and allow the children to pose for photos and hugs. Each classroom is given an animal name at HHC and the heroes were able to greet each class by their name. The more verbal children were surprised that the heroes knew their class name and this delighted students and teachers alike. Superman read his picture book to the class and I led a song that incorporated hand movements and humming. This turned out to be a real hit as the children who couldn't vocalize were able to still move their bodies or hum. There is a wide range of autism and each child is affected differently. Some children were shy and hid behind their teachers, while others chose to sit facing away. Superman almost got knocked down several times by children running up for hugs while others just wanted to touch the costumes, capes and wigs. While the three hours was physically and mentally exhausting it was an honor to be invited to work with the Helping Hands Center. The Heroes Alliance has been asked to participate in Walk Now for Autism Speaks Columbus in the fall and I look forward to participating in the event.

http://helpinghandscenter.com/

Part 2

    The aspect that I enjoyed the most with the Heroes Alliance was the variety of activities the group chose to support. While the group does do some self promotional events, there is a wide variety of groups who ask the Heroes Alliance to support their event or cause. I had discussed with Aaron Einhorn about the relevance towards PSY 2340 and was very intrigued by the planned visit to the Helping Hands Center. My interest in autism first peaked during the Fall 2012 semester while I was enrolled in PSY 1100. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders had just released updated information on autism. One of the most drastic changes to DSM-V was the labeling of Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) to Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. This created a two day class discussion on Sternberg's triarchic theory and Gardner's eight type of intelligence (189) and how society frames intelligence with 1 in 150 people showing some sign of ASD (181). While I had encountered several people with was called Asperger's, I had never encountered autism in a child. The visit to the Helping Hands Center allowed me first hand experience with autism and I was able to view the entire spectrum. Our textbook did not prepare me for the overwhelming differences I would experience at the HHC. Students are placed in classrooms based on their evaluation and the difference between Asperger syndrome and autistic disorder. The children with Asperger syndrome were more engaged overall but some were not interested in either the story or song and chose to hide or use a different method of communication. One child spoke only through a teacher and another used his ipod exclusively for communication. The classrooms with autistic disorders could be either very vocal with screams, loud vocalizations, or banging. There was repeated gestures like head or hand shaking and several students had fixations. One child knew his favorite ball was inside a storage bin in the gym and when his class arrived, he took off for his ball. The teachers were able to convince him that it was not time to play ball but the level of focus was amazing. Several children throughout the visit were fixated on superheroes. One six year old boy, high on the autistic disorder spectrum, would not talk but ran right up to Superman and placed his hand on the S and clung the entire visit. Our textbook discusses how autism can be detected as early as age one (181). The last class of the day was a group of eight children, all between one and three. The story and song plan went right out the window and the heroes and teaches sat down on the floor to interact on the student's level. A teacher got out a few balls and we spent well over our fifteen minute window playing with the children. It was both a heartbreaking and wonderful experience to see children this young affected by autism.

    The Helping Hands Center is set up like any other grade school. The grade school classrooms use the same materials and textbooks as other schools, allowing each student to have a least restrictive environment. The students also have music, art and language classes just like other public schools. While the students may not score high on a Stanford-Binet test for intelligence, Gardner and Sternberg allow us to reclassify their types of intelligence through other means.

Part 3

Do you think Service Learning is an effective type of learning? Why or why not?

Service Learning is an effective type of learning because it allows the student first hand experience of the concepts and terms that we are using in class. I compare it to a hard science lab. A student does not need to make scents in Organic Chemistry but it is nice to see and experience the classroom concepts in a real world setting. As someone who learns hands on, this solidified the concepts in the book better than the mini lectures or soft chalk exercises.

Do you think you learned more or less from Service Learning than from other types of learning? Explain why you think so.

    I believe that I learned more about early childhood development than I would have by just following the class. However because my Service Learning was focused on early childhood, I felt that I was missing the reinforcement from later developmental periods. I wasn't focused on the later development periods and this was reflected in my second midterm grade.

What was the most important thing you learned from others during your participation?

    I learned the importance of accountability in a group setting. One hero by themselves may look strange to an outsider but two or more heroes becomes an accepted activity. The group relied on the members to arrive in street clothes and change once we were on site. Costumes needed to be clean, pressed, and in good condition. Polish and professionalism is extremely important in a non profit group like the Heroes Alliance. The group is asked to bring a set number of members and when one does not show up, it can hurt the organization you intended to help. Due to the nature of the events, you can not show up on any chosen Saturday to be a hero, the events are few and far between and it is important to follow through with a commitment.

What did you learn about yourself through your participation?

    I learned to be more outgoing and less shy when talking to children. Previously I would avoid children because I was not sure how to interact with them. With the skills I was taught by the Heroes Alliance I feel confident that I can interact with children in costume. Unlike many of my classmates I can not have children and do not have much experience with early childhood development. The service learning project allowed me to interact with children on my own terms. I learned that they aren't as scary as I previously thought!

Do you think you will continue with similar service activities beyond this class? Why or why not?

    Since I have participated in three events with the Heroes Alliance, I have now qualified for full membership status in the HA and I already have several events on my calender for the rest of the year. Participating with the Heroes Alliance allows me to donate time to many organizations across Ohio. As a student, I have time flexibility but not the financial means to donate to multiple causes. As a member of the HA, I feel like I am able to make a difference to an organization and to have an enjoyable time while in costume. It is amazing to see a child's face light up when they spot you in costume and even cooler when they take you by the hand.

What changes or improvements would you suggest for the Service Learning project?

    The biggest improvement that could be made on the Service Learning project is to really treat it like a hard science lab. Ten extra hours is equal to lab credit in most science classes and I thought that overall the class should be worth 4 credits instead of 3. I certainly worked just as hard in chemistry as I did in PSY 2340.

A second suggestion would be to really use the entire semester of PSY 2340 for a college wide project. With 20 sections per semester at 25 students each class, this is a workforce of 500 students. Organizing them into a college wide service learning project working for the City of Columbus would be a great way to reach out to the community.

Part 4

Do you think that the experience would have been the same for you if you had done it five years ago, or even last year? Why or why not?

    This experience would not have been the same for me five years ago or even last year. I graduated from Otterbein College in 2001 with a degree in History and spent the past ten years as a territory training manager for a large retail company. I was home three days a week and would never have taken a class that required me to volunteer my time because I didn't have much free time. Now that I have made a career change to nursing and working part time, I have the gift of time to spend on class requirements.

    One issue I see with the Service Learning project is that you can not teach compassion or passion. Often people will volunteer their time to an organization that they feel passionate about. I had cervical cancer and enjoy cycling so it was easy for me to fund raise for the Pelatonia and bike the 180 miles. However I was turned off by the suggested service learning opportunities as I did not feel comfortable working with children and as a nursing student, I already spend time with the elderly. I do not agree with some of the Salvation Army's policies and on a moral ground could not volunteer at that organization. I wanted to do something that I was interested in and I am glad that I was able to not only find something I enjoyed but something I became passionate about.

What personal developmental factors influenced your approach to the assignment and your participation and appreciation of it (e.g., your own gender, SES, ethnicity, Erikson stage, etc.)? How did they influence your approach, experience or appreciation of the assignment?

    Initially my approach to the Service Learning assignment was extremely negative. It was hard to see the cost benefit of giving up my free time to work with organizations or groups of people that I did not feel comfortable working with. I felt that as a white female in my mid 30's I already had donated time to charities that I felt a connection with and was passionate about. It was frustrating to not be allowed to use a charity that I already had a relationship with but I understand now the necessity of placing the individual into an unfamiliar area. If I had used one of my current volunteer activities, I might not have appreciated the outcome and not been able to fully enjoy the experience.

    I am extremely grateful that I was able to work with the Heroes Alliance as my Service Learning opportunity. I had spent the past year thinking about volunteering with the group but could never quite fit them into my schedule. The biggest take away that I learned is that every member is needed and it is critical to the mission to have solid participation. The visit to the Helping Hands center took much more than the recorded time commitment. It was in the morning during a work day and it required getting up extra early to get into hair and makeup, and making sure that I had packed a change of clothes, lunch and dinner and my school books. I live in Delaware and did not have the time to go home between the visit and classes. If I did not have to do this event, previously I might of said “maybe” and then not shown up. Experiencing the reaction of the students to the Heroes make me realize how important it is to make events like this one fit my schedule even if it means a 12 hour day for me.

   According to our textbook, I am currently in Erikson's 6^th stage or Intimacy vs. Isolation (293). I have a tendency to continue doing what I am comfortable with and do not often step outside my comfort areas. The Service Learning opportunity forced me to meet different types of people that I would not normally encounter in my life. The Heroes Alliance has both liberal and conservative, and young and old members. People of all walks of life I wouldn't normally associate with were drawn together under one banner of spandex waving capes. It is nice to create new associations and friendships with a common interest and I look forward to developing and maintaining those relationships. I have committed to the Heroes Alliance for Walk for Wishes Columbus, Walk for Autism Speaks in both Columbus and Cleveland. Feel free to wave if you are there, I'll be the one in the cape.

Diaper Bag

My cousin is having a baby and I was invited to her baby shower.  Yay for pink everywhere and silly shower games?  I'm not very good with babies or what a new mother needs so I turned to The Google for advise.  Thankfully  Warehouse Fabrics - Diaper bag with a divider came up as one of my first search hits!  The pattern and directions were clear and easy to follow. 
 

The Supplies:

• 1.5 yds of main fabric (I used 45" wide home decorator fabric from JoAnns)
• 1 yd of lining #1
• .5 yd of lining #2
• .5 yd of lining #3
• 2 yds of Craft Fuse
• 2 yds of fusible fleece
• 1.5 yds of cording
• 4 purse rings
• 1 magnetic purse snap
• 1/4" elastic

Not only was the bag a hit, my mom wants a bag like this one for the beach!  I'm glad I made this bag, it really showed me how easy and fun making bags can be.  I'm inspired by this project to make my own messenger bag.

Dog Vest

Happy March everyone!  I wish it was the start of spring but unfortunately I'm watching spitting snow outside my window.  I have a 3 mile run planned for today but I might skip and spin inside instead.  I can be either wet or cold on a run but not both!  This morning DT was up and out early so I got a head start on today's project.

Deimos is my dachshund and is always cold!  His new favorite item of clothing is a vest from cloak & dawggie.  It is super cute and he can wear it all day without wiggling out of it like other sweaters so I decided to make him another one. 
The Goods:

• 1/2 yard of cotton Home Dec fabric (40% off at Joann this week!), 
• 1/2 a yard of fleece and 1 yd of interfacing.  I used Craft Fuse because I had some lying around but I think a lighter weight would work just as well.  
• One package of maxi piping or bias tape
• 8 inches of grosgrain ribbon
• 7" of 2" wide velcro
• D ring

 Since you can make two jackets out of the 1/2 yd of fabric I decorated one jacket with bias tape and one jacket I used reflective piping.  I traced around the existing jacket and used it as a pattern.  If you want one, just let me know and I will try to make a pdf file for you.
The Steps:

1. Cut out your face fabric, interfacing and fleece.
2. Fuse the interfacing to the fleece.
3. Sew the maxi piping to the fleece using a zipper foot (or piping foot if you have it!)
4. Sew the ribbon to face fabric, inserting the D ring
5. Sew face fabric and fleece, right sides together using the zipper foot.  Make sure to leave a hole to turn the vest!
6. Turn vest right side out and press.  Top stitch around the vest, closing the hole.
7. Cut 2 3.5 inch strips of velcro, rounding the edges.
8. Stitch velcro onto the vest, soft velcro side on the fleece.

For the bias tape follow steps 1-4 then stitch on the bias tape, sandwiching the two fabrics.  Then follow steps 7 & 8.

Step 9:  Show vest to doggie.  Have doggie do excited "New Clothes!" dance.  Convince doggie to model new vest for blog photos.  This process took the longest!

With flash- love that reflective piping!

Without flash

Ms Marvel

Inspired by this pin I decided to try a new way of color blocking my Ms Marvel costume.  So far I've been using Pellon's Fuse and Tear.  It was super expensive at Joanns ($16) so I'm glad I downloaded Joann's iphone app and used a 50% off coupon.  I did notice that Walmart carries Sulky's version for $11.88 if you want to use what is in the pin.  It is a pain to pick out the paper from the stitches but WOW does it look amazing.

Some tips:

• Test iron a piece first
• Use your "straight stretch stitch" instead of a zigzag!   Here is what it looks like on my $90 Walmart Singer.  It's the blue lines and it looks like three stitches next to eachother.  LIFE CHANGING discovery!  I will never use a zigzag ever again for top stitching spandex
• Use fuse and tear in strips to help put in zippers!  I ironed a strip 1.5 inches wide on the front and back side and I have never had an invisible zipper go in so smoothly on spandex before.
• Watch your seam allowance.  I got too close to the edge and when I put the suit on, the fabric pulled away from the yellow.  I had to pick out all of the stitching and re-iron and re-sew.  It was a time sink!  Make sure you draw your seam allowance onto the paper to avoid this issue.

Happy Sewing!

Two Birds, One Stone

One of my major's requirements is a Growth and Human Development psychology class.  It's worth 3 credit hours and the biggest time sink of this semester.  It's a good class as far as knowledge however along with class work it also requires 10 credit hours of volunteer work.  I was able to work out with my professor that I could use my pending membership in the Heroes Alliance as part of my volunteer work since I had not done an event with them prior to the class.  PERFECT!  I love costumes, they allow me to interact with children in a way that I'm familiar with and I get to show off my costuming skills.   

My first event with the Heroes Alliance was the Stroll for Epilepsy

 We had a great time with the kids and got involved in Zumba, dancing and other activities.  I'm wearing Ms. Marvel, a suit that I'm not happy with.  I love the hand dyed silk scarf sash but I'm working on a new way to color block the lighting bolt.

We went outside to get a few "Super People in the Snow" photos.  I totally forgot that I didn't exactly have warm clothing on.  Superman was kind enough to let me borrow his cape until we made it back inside.

My second event with the Heroes Alliance was this weekend at the Chili Open at the Columbus Zoo.  The event is a huge fundraiser for many charities in the area.  The Team was thankfully inside in the children's area.  We had a great time interacting with the children- lots of ways to interact and keep the kids happy while the parents were able to eat, drink and donate.  True to form I was DDRing with the kids and hula hooping and well, acting like a kid!   I wore a borrowed Black Canary body suit but the jacket, boots and tights are my own.  I have a bodysuit but it just isn't ready yet.

 I had to take a few Canary Cry photos at the Eagle exhibit. 


 I like goofing off, Disney pun intended.  Disney purchased Marvel and Rogue and I couldn't resist posing with THE MOUSE outside of the Disney Store.
 

Last Christmas Gift!

In between anatomy studying, making some supersuits and working out I finally finished the last Christmas gift.  My little brother is another aspiring DIYer and he remodeled his kitchen with the help of Ikea.  The kitchen is modern so I knew I wanted a unique design.  The black and white fabric was purchased from walmart for $6.99 and the red came from my stash.  I hope they inspire good dinners, fine wines and wonderful memories.

World's Yummiest Granola Revisted

I've been making new batches of granola as fast as DT can eat yogurt filled bowls of yummy goodness.  I have tinkered with the recipe a bit and here is all of my hard work:

The Changes:
Instead of 3/4c unsweetened coconut, use 1/4c sweet and 1/2c unsweetened.

Instead of 5 TBSP (really?) Just use under a 1/3 cup of oil and honey or maple syrup.  Make sure you measure out the oil first, then heated honey or maple syrup.  This way the honey just slides right out of the measuring cup!  I also sprinkled a bit of brown sugar during the roasting process and that gave the granola more sweetness.  Trying to balance healthy and sweet granola goodness is hard!

I hope you like the new granola recipe just as much as we do!

Finally the weekend!

Saturday night is one of my favorite nights in the Team PirateFrog household.  DT works Tues-Saturday thus Saturday night is our Friday night.  After he gets home, DT normally goes for a run, then we have a nice sit down dinner.  Tonight I found inspiration from two places.  On my 45min commute to CSCC's campus I like to listen to audio books.  Right now I'm listening to Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews.  One of the characters, Andrea, has lunch at a BBQ pit.  She professes the reason why the ribs are so tasty is due to the brine.  Brine?  I brine chicken breasts and turkeys but ribs?  I broke out the Google-fu and found Jason's BBQ Adventures.  It looked so tasty so I followed the recipe for brine and rub.  It's in the oven now and smells wonderful!

Dinner did take a bit longer than normal so I decided to treat DT to deviled eggs.  This pin has been floating around Pinterest and this is the second time I have baked my hard-boiled eggs.  The recipe states that you have to use fresh eggs and it's correct.  I used two older eggs and 6 that I had just purchased tonight.  The older ones cracked and when we went to peal them the shell stuck and they were not conducive to deviled eggs.  DT hoovered his eggs up while I made the coleslaw and cornbread. 

The Plum and Bourbon ice cream turned out well.  I was lazy and used store purchased jam.  I thought the ice cream base had too much of a custard feel but DT loved it.  After sampling the recipe I can say that if you like bourbon, add a 2nd shot to the base.  The ice cream still froze nicely with the extra alcohol.  Next time I think I will use a vanilla base recipe if I go the store bought route for the jam.  Plums just aren't in season in Ohio year round.

Pinspiration: Holiday Window Decor

One of the cutest holiday pins was this little gem.  Simple, elegant and EASY!  I mixed it up with jingle bells I had in my craft room and for $3.00 I had window decor.  I used my gun on the ribbon and the bells are jute twine.  I will re use this next year and maybe extend it to other windows in the house it was so cute.

Swim, cook, sew - the new triathlon?

It's been a few days since my last update.  With the semester starting I've been busy with classes.  On the workout front  I've been spinning at Breakaway Cycling on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights to help loosen up my knee.  I tried running yesterday but decided after 2 miles that discretion was the better part of valor.  This morning I made it to my first Master's Swimming practice.  It's so nice to be back in the pool.  My goggles kept fogging up which annoys me since they are new.  I normally spit in them and that does the trick but today the SCUBA trick just wasn't working. 

This morning workout:
Warm up:  100 Swim, 100 kick, 100 pull and 100 drill
Workout:  10x50yds pull and 12x50yds swim.  I did these one 1:10 to let the clock count for me.
Cool down: 250yds

I felt like a big wienie, the cool down was the hardest part!  

Cooking wise I've been experimenting with a Plum and Bourbon ice cream recipe and plan on freezing the custard today.  We had a great time taste testing which of our three house bourbons to use.  We have Maker's Mark 46, Woodford Reserve and Ohio's own Watershed Distillery Bourbon.  I'm a fan of Woodford Reserve because it's the smoothest of the two but DT and H2OLupa voted for the MM 46.

Today craft wise I am finishing some place mats for my brother and starting work on a new project- my 1947 outfit for the IPMS model show in Feb.  Click here for my Pinterest board

The Granola Experiment

DT eats granola every morning.  I mean EVERY morning.  He can also eat the same thing for dinner every night and not mind.  I think his short term memory is shot.  On weekends I had to institute a new rule:  no granola.  It's expensive and since we eat 2 boxes every week, the food bill was getting out of hand.  Let's face it, feeding a 6'4" giant is no cheap feat!

I mentioned in a previous post about my new cookbook Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (thanks Mom!) and I found a granola recipe that looked tasty.  Doubts because some of the ingredients can be expensive but since I'm on the injured reserve list, I have some time on my hands.

The Recipe:
2 c. quick oats
1 heaped cup mixed nuts (I used almonds)
1/4 c mixed seeds (I used sunflower and pumpkin)
3/4c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2c dried fruit
5 Tbsp maple syrup or honey (I used maple syrup)
5 Tbsp olive oil

*not in the recipe but I added some rolled barley flakes since I had some in my pantry.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix the dry ingredients but not the fruit on a sheet pan.  Stir well and drizzle in the maple syrup and olive oil.  Bake for 25-30 mins, stirring every 5 mins.  While the granola is baking, chop any large fruit.  When it is nice and golden, take it out of the oven and mix in the fruit.  Let it cool down and store in an airtight container.  Will keep for up to 2 weeks.  This filled up 2 1qt mason jars.

The cost:
**I used package weights so my math will be wrong on some items  I do not have a scale in my kitchen**
 Quaker Oats: $6.99? for 42oz.  Cost per batch: $2.656
Almonds: (Aldi) $3.99 for 12oz. Cost per batch: $2.66
Seeds: Sunflower  (Whole Foods) $2.69 for 16 oz  Cost per batch $.224
           Pumpkin (Whole Foods) $3.69 for 8oz Cost per batch $.46
Coconut: (Whole Foods) $3.69 for 5 cups  Cost per batch $.56
Cinnamon:  ??  It was in my pantry
1 1/2c dried fruit:  I used 2:  a mix from Aldi (entire mixed berry 8oz) $2.49 for 8oz and Dates (1/2c)  $1.99 for 8oz Cost per batch $3.00
Maple syrup and olive oil were in the pantry.

Next time I'm in Kroger I will need to look up the cost of the oats and the exact cost of the granola.  If I continue to make this, I need to find a cheaper source of oats and dried fruit.

Total cost per batch:  $9.56 for 7 cups (56oz) of granola.  This is $.17 per oz.  I pay around $3.50? for 16oz ($.21 per oz) so I think that the Granola Experiment is successful.  I just have to wait until morning to see if DT likes the recipe!

UPDATE:  I don't eat sweet things for breakfast and this is leaving me wishing that I used some honey in addition to the maple syrup.  I also think I over roasted so make sure you are checking every 5 mins and rotating like the recipe says.  I had my timer go off and I was slow to get to the oven so I had it in for around 30.

UPDATE 2:  I made a second batch this morning with the following edits:  Oven temp 325.  Total cook time: 20 mins; turning every 5 mins. This time I used honey- you know the old nasty kind that gets solid in the bottom of an old honey bear?  Yeah, that stuff!  I microwaved the bottle for 10 seconds and drizzled on the 5 Tbs.  Best way to use "old" crystallized honey!  I also sprinkled some brown sugar on the top since DT asked how much I used the first time.

Happy Breakfast!

Downhill Skiing

This week, DT took me on my first skiing adventure!  Skiing is like wearing the worst pair of high heeled dress shoes and having no toes.  I felt like Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, every weight change was met with a knife stab to my feet.  DT on the other hand, lived in Breckenridge, CO for several years and managed a ski shop.  He laughs in the face of moguls!  Black diamonds?  Bring them on!

I met DT at ASBCO, his part time job, to find rental skis, pants and gloves.  Trying on ski pants is a humbling experience.  Apparently everyone who skis has tinny stick legs.  I have legs the size of tree trunks.  No fancy bright colored ski pants for me, I was sent to the back of the store to try on basic black pants.  Most ski pants are pretty expensive but mine came with free camel toe!  How exciting!

When we got to Mad River, DT strapped me into my torture devices and we hit the bunny slope.  He taught me how to stop (pizza!), how to bleed off speed (cut across the mountain, and other skiers), and how to change directions.  The one thing he didn't tell me was how to fall, or what to do.  This is pretty important for later.  I discovered why skiers have skinny legs, holy cow it's a great workout!  I would ski more if only I wasn't crying "GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!" after every other run.  I had to sit down and take off my boots for a bit.  DT told me that rental boots can sometimes not fit well and that even his boots don't feel like comfy slippers.  Needless to say I don't like getting the HTFU speech from DT.

Big smiles at the top!

After not falling on the bunny hill, DT wanted to go on a run with his friends.  I don't understand "going on a run" with a friend- you can't exactly talk while skiing.  I put on my brave face and we zoomed up the lift.  Mad River has several beginner trails.  Unfortunately DT wanted to go over the moguls.  I cut to the left of them and trying to bleed some speed, I both turned left and pizzaed at the same time, tumbling ass over teakettle.  Skis are long and when you fall, they tend to stay put instead of tumbling with your body.  I doubled up in pain 1/2 way down the hill, clutching my knee.   Several ski instructors came down to me and started asking questions.  Was I ok?  What hurt?  Did I need a lift down?  I had no clue what to do.  Remember, DT hadn't covered crashing!  I knew that I had to put on a good face for DT who was down at the bottom, looking up at me.  I don't remember skiing down to the bottom of the hill but I'm sure it was thrilling.  DT took me in for some hot coco and I couldn't control the tears.  I saw my 1/2 marathon goal just disappear in front of my eyes.  My entire 2013 season tanked.

 I'm not afraid of crashing, I know it's a part of skiing, cycling or even running.  What I am afraid of is going back to being fat and inactive.  Spraining my knee 1 week into marathon season has been heart breaking.  Soul crushing.  DT tucked me into bed and I caught a glimpse of my training schedule taped to my wall.  I couldn't help the tears.  I don't know how long I sobbed.  This was going to be my good season.  I was going into this being healthy and fit and WHAM!

It's been 2 days since the trip.  The knee is better.  I spent yesterday elevating it with ice and ibuprofen.  Today it was less stiff and sore but it started to throb when I ran errands.  I'm back on the sofa with some ice and my new Jamie Oliver cookbook Jamie's Food Revolution!

Pinspiration: Christmas Card Holder

 Here is a short, glue gun project that will help get all of those Christmas Cards off the nicely decorated mantel and on a blank space.  Based on this pin I created a Card Tree.  I used a sheet of foam core, existing fabric from my stash, red and white ribbon, sewing pins and sequins.

Cut the foam core to the shape you desire and using some sewing pins, pin the fabric to the foam core on the edges.  Wrap the fabric around to the back and glue down.  Next you will have to decide where to place your ribbons.  I used 4" between my ribbons.  If I have time after the holiday I will remake this using 5 inches between ribbons.  Some of the cards are larger and don't fit very well.  Use a decorative sewing pin where the ribbons cross.  I used a sequin to make it extra sparkly.  Total cost was around $5.00.  $3.99 for the ribbon and 1.59 for the foam core at Hobby Lobby.  Everything else was from my stash.

This would be a great beginning project for any crafter- sans the slight burning of my fingers with the hot glue.

Cap City Half Marathon

In my Christmas stocking I found an entry to the Capital City Half Marathon.  Thanks DT!  He knows that without the race motivation, I can become...inactive in the winter months.  I am not the best runner but have always preached that triathletes need to swim like swimmers, bike like cyclists and run like runners.  This year I'm going to suck it up, take my own advise and learn how to run like a runner.  H2OLupa, my fellow Delawarian, gave me a membership to Front Runner's training club.  Not only do you get a training plan but you also get a pace group to run with, how to run lessons along the way and all the support a runner needs.  Front Runner's program is an 18 week long program that takes you from running 10ish miles a week to really racing 13.1 miles.  Today was day 3:  2 miles.  This is the first time I've run back to back days and I'm slightly worried.  Previous years I have run every other or every 3rd day, with an average mileage of 10ish miles a week.  Today I didn't exactly feel as light as a leaf on the wind.  I felt like a lump of a woman, running through slippery snow quicksand.  Not every day can you feel like a god when you tie on your running shoes.  A bad day on the road is better than a good day in front of the tv!

I run in Newton's Terra Monentum and have been in them since August.  I can't say enough good things about Newton footwear.  Colorful would be the first thing that pops into my mind, but comfortable is the overall word.  The idea is to have a shoe that helps you run on the forefoot instead of heel striking.  I changed from heel striking to fore foot running 2 years ago and it's been wonderful on my knees.  Anyone who is making the switch should look into Newton's Isaac shoe- it's made for run/walkers who are learning how to fore foot strike.

On a side note:  I would like to thank the Hiram Lodge 18 for having the BEST sidewalks in downtown Delaware.  They beat out all 3 churches and OWU in snow/ice removal.

Pintrest Christmas placemats

Pintrest is the devil.  Or at least his little sister.  I try to limit my Pintrest browsing time to during my morning coffee but sometimes that becomes two cups of coffee and then whoops- it's noon.  As a crafter my biggest beef with Pinners in general are the missing links.  I hate it when someone links to a tumbler (last time I checked at tumbler was a glass!) and there are no directions on how to accomplish the look in the pin.  I try to always link my Pins to good sites, even if I have to link back to my own blog.

This year due to money < time, I made all of my family place mats for Christmas.  The first set I tackled were for DT's brother and his family in Chicago.  Frogs have a special place to DT's family so I designed these place mats based on this pin.  I giggled the entire time I was designing this place mat.  I freehand drew out out the pattern, using the pin as inspiration.  The light green fabric is rit dyed Osnaburg cotton that I had dyed for a tunic (and promptly went yuck!) and cotton twill.  The buttons came from my button stash.  I made 2 frog place mats and 2 lily pad place mats with lotus flowers.  Unfortunately I don't have a pic of the lily pad place mats but DT liked them so much I will probably make a set for us this summer.

The second and third place mat projects I made were both easier and harder.  Easier because they are squares- yay!  Harder because these took forever to finish- at least a full audio book.  I made 12 place mats for DT's brother here in Columbus and 4 place mats for my sister's MIL.  I used the same fabric for both- a cotton yarn like weave from the fabric stash with a rust red cotton twill backing, again from the stash.  For DT's brother I used 2 sizes of cranberry grosgrain ribbon for trim.  My sister's MIL has a much more neutral decor and I used the below gold braid.  I also neglected to take a photo of BOTH d'oh!  I still have some of the below fabric.  I think it was purchased when I was still in my RenFair phase and thought I would make bodices and sell them.  Turns out I detest both Monty Python and the Holy Grail AND The Princess Bride and couldn't imagine spending my free time sewing for people who could only quote those movies.  I'm glad this fabric found a use, it was getting lonely in the WTF box in the attic.

Disney Christmas Dresses

This is the first Christmas in the past 15 years that I have had the gift of time.  I took my last final at Columbus State on Dec. 11th and since I am a poor college student with a fairly large fabric stash this is going to be a Pintrest Christmas. My first project I tackled were Disney inspired Holiday Dresses for my nieces, Gigi and Emma.

My sister and her family have been planning a trip to Disney World for February 2013.  Knowing that they needed Christmas dresses AND something cool to wear to the Magic Kingdom, (and something non-scratchy and washable!) I climbed into the attic and like a dragon with gold, started sorting through my fabric stash.  I have no clue what the cranberry cotton velveteene was going to be, but it became a Holiday Belle inspired dress for Gigi and a brothers Grimm inspired dress with pinafore for Emma.

Gigi is always HOT so I made sure her dress had short sleeves.  PopPop helped me pick out the gold and creme crepe back satin.

Unlike her sister, Emma is always cold so her dress has long sleeves.  The pinafore is made from white on white cotton purchased from Joann about 10 years ago. The trim on the pinafore was purchased at Pennsic and the velvet ribbon is from Momma Tingley's ribbon stash.  Both dresses have a generous hem and are a little loose so if they grow I can adjust the length.

 The dresses were a great opening project for me to get back into the swing of creativity.  I am hoping the girls have a wonderful time at Disney World and are still excited to wear their dresses at Be Our Guest Restaurant for dinner!

Thanksgiving

Ever since my life changed thanks in part to the cervical dysplasia, Thanksgiving has had new meaning. Thanksgiving means running shoes and thermal running tights.  For the past four years I have been getting out of cooking dinner by running in the Flying Feather Four Miler. Last year DT joined me in the Thanksgiving tradition. He was nice enough to run with me last year. However this year DT wanted to WIN. Not only did he want to win but he also wanted to run with the gazelles...dressed like a bunny rabbit. As much as I wanted to see him with a poofy tail, I just couldn't find bunny ears.

So I dressed him as a turkey instead which is more appropriate for a turkey trot. I used burlap and dowel rods and assembled the tail like a fan. Unlike the blueprint, I just stitched around the edges of the feathers and the dowel rods. My mom knitted DT a red scarf which because it was over 50 degrees the day of the race, almost caused him to overheat. Normally it's in the 30's during the race, last year it rained/snowed so I planned for the worst when I designed his costume. I felt bad but DT was a trooper and didn't ditch the scarf.  His post race report of the costume revealed that for next year, the arm loops need to be tighter.  I also want to make the tail feathers a brighter yellow/orange/red.

I finished at 41:49. Not too shabby, but by no means a PR (personal record) on the course. This just means I have room for improvement for 2013!

PS:  DT finished in 26:55 and in 61st place out of 4,000 even with a turkey tail!
PPS: You can sign up for 2013 Feather here!  Where else are you going to get a long sleeve technical shit, hat, gloves AND A BOTTLE OF WINE AT THE FINISH LINE!?!?