life+running » michael jackson

See ya later, Y’all + Swagtastic Trail Mix Cookies

chimes — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Guess what I did yesterday …

… besides bust into Thriller* at the gym?

Hey. There were some creepos staring at me. So I gave them a reason to stare. Thanks, MJ.

I finished LIVEFIT. Finally. Oh, and I RAN. Yeah. Considering my blog is life + running, I’ve been seriously slacking on the running part. I’m going to come clean: It’s because I’m slow. And I can’t run as far. This bothers me. But what’s the only way to get back into peak running shape? I’ll give you a hint — it’s ACTUALLY running. Slowest run of the decade (I can say that honestly because I’ve averaged 8:30/mi since 2009! Previously about 10/mi).

And sorry. There aren’t any awkward bikini photos to share. I don’t think I look any different than I did at the end of Phase 2. So clearly, I didn’t kick as much ass as I should have in Phase 3. I’m going to repeat Phase 3 again sometime. But not until after Fitmixer Boot Camp.

And speaking of Fitmixer? I’m giving some amino away. Enter if you’re interested. AND if you are unlucky, like me, and don’t have access to any in your area, you can purchase some from the link on my blog by clicking on this (or click on the one in my sidebar):

BUT THIS ISN’T WHY I’M SO EXCITED THAT I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! AND USING MULTIPLE !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!! (ok you get the point)

As of 4:30 PM today I will be on my way to Austin, TX for the Renegade Craft Show. My friend Amanda is selling her ceramics. And she was kind enough to invite me along to help her. Why yes, please. I’m going to be using the hashtag #howdychimes on twitter and instagram so I can easily stalk myself later for blogging purposes, in case you want to follow me.

I have a slew of interesting guest bloggers lined up for this weekend. So please come back and read. Some of the posts are from non-bloggers (who should start a blog, cough cough, Calee Spinney). All of the guest posts have to do with healthy living — mentally and physically.

While I’m out, why don’t you make some of these cookies and let me know how you like them? It was my first experiment with Xagave. And I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into a cookie and didn’t get the sugar rush that I normally get from regular cookies.

I also used a bunch of granola samples that I got in my swag bag from Blend. Along with some other great finds from my local co-op’s Incredible Bulk sale (yeah, they did that — and Mark and I made the executive decision to become members. Finally. It took a jug of beer to convince him. Boys.)

And in an effort to integrate my profession (graphic design) into my blog, I’ve started setting up my photos a little nicer. And I’m giving them some pizazz — making them pop — if you will (I’m cringing just writing those two things — I HATE when clients ask me to “make something pop”. Really? How does one make something POP?). Though, I haven’t found my groove yet. This is looking a bit slapped together. Sorry. It’s pink? Sorry if I give you a migraine or a seizure (no kidding there).

And I am fully aware that my photos of food can be better. But that requires getting out my big kid camera and setting up lights, and that’s just a step I’m not ready to take yet (though, I do have some amazing tilapia taco photos that I’m a little proud of. Next week kiddos).

Anyway. Here is the recipe. I made these for my dad and grandpa for the cookie of the month club this month. Let me know if this works out for you! They’re semi-healthy. And you can tweak your mix-ins to make them even more healthy.

swagtastic trail mix cookies

ingredients
1/4 c butter (1/2 a stick)
2/3 c Xagave OR 1 c brown sugar if you don’t have Xagave
1 t vanilla
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c Nutella (could use 3/4 c peanut butter OR Nutella OR nut butter of choice instead)
2 1/2 c granola, oats, hot cereal mix (I used a mixture of granola sample packets from Blend and 7 grain hot cereal, which is the consistency of rolled oats)
1/2 c crisp rice cereal (could use 3 cups of granola / oats mixture, but this gives a fun texture)
1 c chocolate chips (or other mix-ins like white chocolate chips, craisins, etc.)

directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix butter and Xagave (or sugar) together until blended.
Add egg, egg white and vanilla and stir until combined.
Mix your nut butter in.
Add granola mixture.
Pour in rice cereal. At this point if it seems too liquidy, add more rice cereal OR granola mixture (I think I added about a half a cup extra of the granola mixture).
Stir in your chocolate chips or other mix-ins.
Drop by tablespoonful onto the parchment paper-prepared baking sheets.
Bake 15-17 minutes (these take a little while longer because of the extra liquid from the Xagave instead of sugar — if using sugar, bake for 10-12 minutes).
Remove from oven. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5-7 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

How do you feel about substituting sugar or other things when baking to make something more healthy? OR Have you tried the Fitmixer Amino yet?

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PS I realize I linked to Bollywood Thriller. That wasn’t an accident. You have to watch. Try not to pee your pants.)

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Sweet Tunes Thursday: Power. Songs.

chimes — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

~~I’m taking a break from Blend Recapping (don’t worry. there’s more. if you’re sick of it, come back next week when I leave for Austin).~~

EDIT: I wasn’t going to recap today (I have tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday for that!), but Janetha posted her Friday night recap last night and I was so excited to see that I was featured on her blog. As you know, I’m kind of a fangirl of hers and pretty much do every workout she posts. You’ve seen her right? There’s a reason I’m a lemming.

Anyway, she was kind enough to post this very … special … photo of me enjoying the cupcakes from Street Fare at Friday night’s dinner.

I love how Ashley and Laura are all cute and Christine might have noticed my posing for photo … or was just as enthused about getting a photo of us eating as I was. I’m pretty sure somebody said “Can I get a picture of you ladies eating your cupcakes?” And that she did.

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Now instead of another recap, I have so much music for you this week! I compiled ~~all~~ 10 11 of my favorite workout songs into this post.

Those of you who use Nike+ know that they have this thing called a “powersong”. You push a button, and the song that you picked that gets your heart pumping will play. Pretty cool, eh? I think so. I’ve definitely had some runs in which I’ve punched the button and listened to one of these songs on repeat for several miles.

Also, if you’re new to my blog, note that I have pretty schizophrenic music taste. So hopefully there is something for everybody here.

And if you’re not a fan of watching YouTube videos, here’s the playlist on Spotify instead. In case you didn’t know, Metallica is lame and doesn’t have any of their songs on Spotify. So if you really want to hear Master of Puppets, you’ll have to watch the video (I suggest a listen — you might recognize it from the classic — yes it’s old enough that I’m calling it that — Will Ferrell movie Old School.)

Jimmy Eat World / A Praise Chorus

Amon Amarth / Pursuit of the Vikings

Michael Jackson / Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Not my favorite version of this song — but I watched this concert SO many times when I was a little kid. Gold. Bodysuits.)

Ke$ha / Blow — Cirkut Remix (just so you know, it pains me to actually use the $ for an S and it made me shudder typing “cirkut”)

Iron Maiden / The Trooper

The Faint / Paranoiattack (Note: These guys are stellar live. the light show? they spend most of their $ on that, from what I hear)

Daft Punk / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (giving you this video because it cracks me up)

Metallica / Master of Puppets

Andrew W.K. / She is Beautiful

3 Inches of Blood / Deadly Sinners

Okay — I’m a fan of turning things up to 11. So here’s one more.

Children of Bodom / Are You Dead Yet?

Those guys also have a pretty hilarious cover of Oops I Did it Again. In case you were wondering

This song was singlehandedly the reason I came back from an injury and shaved 2+ minutes of my mile time. It also helped that I have a slight crush on their lead singer / guitarist (<===== oddly enough, that is the post that continues to bring the most traffic to my site). Yeah. I have weird taste in guys. Don’t judge. Tattoos, beards, guitars, long hair? If you have one or more of those, I’m in (Mark is obviously bearded and he plays guitar. And banjo. I was responsible for him continuing to grow his hair out in college, though we weren’t dating — oops.)

[ source ]

What songs pump you up? Do you have a go-to powersong? And how do you feel about facial hair or tattoos? Discuss.

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FO Friday: MJ Beat it Pillow

chimes — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Mark’s brother-in-law likes MJ probably as much if not more … okay … who am I kidding? Nobody could like MJ more than me.

Anyway, I had a threadless shirt lying around and I decided to make him a pillow out of it. I like how it turned out. I think I like it better than if the shirt would have fit the pillow because I added some contrasting patchwork on the side.

[and it's envelope-back, so if it's too cheesy for him, he can easily change it out]

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Awesome Goodwill Finds.

chimes — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I recently discovered that you can shop online at Goodwill. And I’ve taken advantage of this.

Lookie what I got in the mail! ($5-7 a piece)

Did I mention that Thriller is in near-mint condition? Crazy. If I would have tried to find this on eBay I probably would have paid upwards of $50 for it. Instead, I got it for $5.

Now I need a record player. I would actually like to start getting vinyl. I love vinyl — always have. I used to alphabetize my dad’s collection and I’ve called dibs on that collection should he ever want to get rid of it [MINE, Coree!]

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5, 4, 3, 2, 1 about chimes

chimes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Hi. I’m chimes. If you’ve been reading my blog and are just now figuring this out, well howdy. I’ve decided to try Craftzine’s 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Profile questions. Enjoy!

One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of

1. My musical flowers pitcher. And the resulting photos of it. I really miss my little brick wall porch at my old place in Des Moines.

Two Mistakes You’ve Made in the Past

1. Not saying no when I should. I’m to proud to admit when I can’t take on a project — I love being a jack of all trades. I recently took engagement photos of my friend’s little sister and her (now) hubby. I really shouldn’t have. I’m not a photographer. And I said yes to taking her WEDDING photos too.

[okay, so they didn't turn out too horrible]

2. Using parchment paper to bake these amazing brownies. The result? What my roommate coined “reverse brownies” — gooey on the outside, done in the middle.

Three Things That Make Your Work Unique

1. I’m cheap — but in a good way. I use EVERY scrap of fabric — including the selvedge edges — every discarded dish, every possible inch of batting and use cereal boxes for patterns for sewing projects. I’m currently making a map of the states quilt out of pieces of fabric that are less than 2″ big. Partially because I’m a fabric hoarder too.

2. Asymmetry. I hate symmetrical and being matchy matchy. I will never make a quilt from a traditional pattern — it has to be wonky.
3. Obviously, I love handmade objects. And as a graphic designer in my professional life, I try to incorporate hand-done items into my work as much as possible — whether it’s my own illustrations, found objects, fabric or paintings created by a friend.

[album cover for a band I was in that never took off]

Four Tools You Love to Use

1. Rotary cutter. I have no idea why, but there is something so damn therapeutic about cutting fabric and placing it in neat piles.
2. Adobe Creative Suite (especially InDesign — use it daily at work)
3. Sewing machine — ~~I sometimes think I need a fancy one with more bells and whistles, but the freebie one I got from my aunt has been kicking out great projects and working just fine~~. I actually got a new Janome in October and it has been rocking my world! I even completed a quilt last month using that machine with no blips in the fabric or dropped stitches. I’m saving my old machine for threadbangin’ more crafty projects.

4. Sketchbook + Prismacolors. I don’t just do things. I think them through first and find several ways of accomplishing what my desired end result may be. It’s surprising what you come up with when you take some time to brainstorm.

Five Inspirations

1. Quilters like Fussy Cut and Oh Fransson!
2. Michael Jackson. Yes. I’m serious. If you’ve not read my blog before, then newsflash: I heart MJ.
3. Every DIY and craft blog out there. ever. I think I follow all of them in my google reader.
4. My granny — she left a TON of unfinished projects when she died and I’ve been randomly finishing them up in the past several years. Here’s a quilt I completed out of blocks she made from what we think may have been old clothing (she was also cheap and thrifty).

5. And I have to mention my boyfriend. He’s constantly helping me refine my work and offers up suggestions and critique as well as an incredible amount of support.

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gone too soon.

chimes — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:00:00 +0000

It’s been two years, and I still forget that he’s gone.

But, his memory lives on! In plastic. Which is kind of perfect if you think about it.

What am I talking about? I’m taking about MJ. Naked. And plastic.

It’s an action figure. The 1984 Michael Jackson doll that I obtained 2 years ago from eBay. Sans clothing. I didn’t set out to buy a naked doll. Sickos.

I thought it would be cool to own an MJ doll, so I bid on it, thinking I wouldn’t win anyway and that if I did, I could definitely just buy an outfit. But MJ doll outfits are crazy expensive. And I’m not going to make clothes. Tiny things on sewing machines are not fun.

Anyway, I’ve had MJ for 2 years. And he’s just kind of hung out in obnoxious places around my apartment. But why not DO something with him?

I introduce to you: Livin’ Off the Wall — nakedmj.tumblr.com

So MJ is now in my purse and he goes where I go so I get the best photo ops.

Today’s installment is appropriate, but kind of depressing. Not usually the style. I’ve been taking lyrics and other MJ-inspiration for the material.

ENJOY. And yes, I realize this is probably the most hipster thing that I’ve done, but realizing that makes me NOT a hipster. Or something like that.

**if you’re looking for my crazy weird obsessive sad MJ blog post, you should probably look two years back.

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Sweet Tunes Thursday: Chris Brown

chimes — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0000

So this song isn’t very good. I’m just going to throw that out there. What makes it good is the fact that the entire song aside from the new vocal track is Michael Jackson’s Human Nature.

Okay, so if I was a pop singer, what would the most obvious way to get a hit single be? Sample something from somebody else’s hit single. Namely Michael Jackson. Or maybe Madonna.

Anyway, I’m sure Chris Brown has a following and some talent — he’s obviously a talented dancer as this video shows. It’s basically a giant homage to the King of Pop. He’s apparently a huge fan.

So of course, I’m sharing with you, because I watched the video and pretty much exploded with happiness. It was like MJ reincarnated. But not anywhere near as awesome.

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Sweet Tunes Thursday: Kanye West + Bon Iver

chimes — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Most amazing and random team-up ever. Lost in the World by Kanye featuring Bon Iver. I discovered this on The Current recently.

Added bonus: definitely a Michael Jackson reference throughout the song — part of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”.

This is off Kanye’s new album “My Dark Twisted Fantasy” — which I’m not going to buy. But I’ve definitely purchased this track. Apparently there’s no official video for this on youTube, but here’s the song.

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PROM PIX PART DEUX!

chimes — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:00:00 +0000

My friend Kelly posted her pix from Prom 2011 on facebook. And here they are … note the amazing dancing skills. Mostly honed from the MJ Dancing game Mark got me for Christmas for the Wii.

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A Bit of Schizophrenic Music Taste

chimes — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I recently saw this meme on a friend’s Facebook, and though it’s not a new concept, I’ve never done this.

Procedure: go to iTunes. Set to shuffle. Post the first 15 songs that come up in order. NO CHEATING.

HERE is what I came up with — with links to a video or MP3 for each. It’s like 15 of my Sweet Tunes Thursdays in one post. Enjoy!

Home (She & Him)
Speechless (Lady Gaga)
Broken Face (The Pixies)
Live to Tell (Madonna)
B-Movie Scream Queen (Murderdolls)
The Sinister Minister (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones)
Off the Wall (THE KING OF POP — Michael Jackson — you should probably watch this video because it’s a live performance and he was amazing.)
Wendy Clear (blink-182)
Third Eye (Tool)
Planet of the Apes (Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 — no video/mp3 but the lyrics are HILARIOUS)
Dread and the Fugitive Mind (Megadeth)
Jeremy (Pearl Jam)
Erection (The Faint)
Line by Line (Ms. John Soda)
God Send Death (Slayer)

Hmmm … a little less hard than I expected. Maybe this shows an apparent shift in my music taste that’s happened in the last year or two?

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