Back to School

Wait? It's summer? Back to school! We just celebrated getting out of school!

Not me! Getting back to school is actually a celebration for me. See I graduated in 2010 & with two almost-made-it-to-med-school attempts under my belt, I'm taking some more classes to broaden my biology experience.

My first lab was yesterday for anatomy & physiology. And in just one session I learned nearly all the bones and structures in the skull. Holla!

Fresh office supplies make me giddy. Fresh notebooks waiting to be filled. Fresh pens ready to write and doodle. Binders for organizing, books for reading. It just brings back so many good memories from studying in college.

There are few things more fulfilling than learning!

What are you excited about this summer?

Tuesday Tutorial: Customized Outdoor Bench Cushions

For a birthday present for my sister's boyfriend, we made him some bench cushions. He made the benches from scrap wood, a project that didn't cost him a dime (it did cost him some sweat, though). The wood was a bit splintered and was therefore not very comfortable to sit on. Splinters + bare legs = ouch!

We made a trip to Joann's, bought some indoor/outdoor fabric (50% off, holla!), sat down on foam in the middle of the aisle, bought the schtuff (40% off!) & went to work. This project may seem like a huge undertaking, but rest assured, this will only take a few hours!

*Photo heavy post!*

[source]

$50 x 3 benches = $150

$29 x 3 benches = $87 at least

Here's how you can make your own customized cushions for less than buying them!

Sew the side just across from the fold and along one of the bottoms. Leave one short side entirely open.

To make the fabric take on a more boxed look, using the fabric from the long sides and the bottom sewn side, fold the fabric in a triangle against the seam. 

See below or here for a more detailed explanation on this technique.

Repeat for the other corner as well.

For finishing, I turned the fabric right side out and stuffed the foam inside. With the end edges, I folded the fabric like an envelope (see below) and pinned Velcro on the inside for an invisible finish.

Pinned Velcro, ready to sew. Notice how the Velcro spans the whole cushion.

 To make sewing the Velcro easier, I pushed the foam down and out of the way.

 I used a zig-zag stitch to secure the Velcro.

It looks something like this.

 To finish, fold in like an envelope, just like you did before pinning the Velcro.

This is what mine looked like finished.

Not even cute! So, we decided to sew some ourselves.

Linking up to:

Ready to Run

The Color Run recap:

On Saturday, my mom & I participated in the craziest most colorful 5k out there, namely The Color Run. We started the race about 9:35am after waiting at the starting line so the race course wouldn't be too congested. While waiting everyone started throwing their color packets. We were quite colored before the race even started. Here are some fun pictures from the day.

Chrissy, my mom & me ready to get colorful!

These are all pictures before the race started, mind you!

Inching closer to the starting line

We did it! I am so proud of my mama! She has had recurring problems from a broken ankle & was really hesitant about running. But, she did it! Yahoo! Next to conquer: a sprint triathlon!

Who knew climbing a tree would be so hard!

The champion finishers!

This was a really low key run, no timing, etc. I had so much fun.

Any fun fitness challenges for you this summer?

I'm trying really hard not to rush things along...

but.... I am very excited for fall & winter. See, the leaves change here in Colorado, they do, but you've got about a week window of green to yellow to gone & then it's over, quick as it came. A very ephemeral change yet so beautiful.

As a child, summer was my favorite season, but as I've grown autumn seems to move my heart just a bit more. Riding my one gear-back pedal brakes-bike to classes at Creighton, feeling the cool breeze on my face, becoming reacquainted with my backpack again, hearing the wind rustle the crunchy leaves, smelling cinnamon and pumpkin baking in the oven... oh my goodness, I love fall.

I went to Powder Daze on Monday and perused the ski coats, goggles, socks, etc., which made me so excited for winter & ski season, but again I'm trying not to rush things along (be where you are!). I did buy new ski pants & a ski coat yesterday though...

So, I will keep enjoying summer for the two weeks it remains so. Drinking iced coffee, going on evening walks, wearing shorts & tanks, eating watermelon, going to baseball games, eating frozen yogurt, and soaking up the sun (because there is just sew much sunshine!).

PS- I was going to do a "What I Wore Wednesday" post, but I went to the emergency room last night & the plan got halted. Nothing serious & yes, I'm fine. See, I'm allergic to dogs... & I love dogs & I own a dog. Occasionally my eyes get itchy from said allergy & I rub my eyes. Apparently yesterday I rubbed them too vigorously (Griff told me to stop & go wash my hands, but I kept itching and rubbing my eye...). I finally looked in the mirror and washed my eye out. It looked like my sclera or lens had detached and that the white part of my eye was swelling and overlapping the iris. I then couldn't see for a second and got really freaked out, so off to the ER we went. No wait time (thank you, Centennial) & great doctor. She dyed my eye orange and looked at it under a fluorescent light (aka black light) and it glowed neon yellow. She even gave me a mirror so I could see. I'm not blind & my eye is healing. Doin' fine! Thank goodness for that.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!