5 More Free Fit Things

This month's challenge, for me, was to get a bit more exercise each day. A challenge at times, but I've been notably more successful on this one then last month's NANWRIMO. Walking is all fine and dandy, but can get a bit time consuming, and not feel like you're actually getting anything done, so here are a few more intense ideas:

1. Walking through deep snow is much more intense then just walking, and you can pretend your lost in Antarctica.
2. Walking up and down stairs. Sure, hopefully you're not winded after one set, but going up and down can really ware you out fast; they even have machines to simulate this at our school gym, so it must be good!
   
3. Bike riding. Just as scenic as walking, I usually bike to escape the limits of where I can walk, in search of new artistic inspiration, or when I need to get to the library really fast, when I don't have the leisure to meander there and back staring into space. Biking, I have also noticed, gets my heart rate up a lot faster then walking, but isn't nearly as painful as running, especially in winter.
4. Do push ups. Well sort of, I can't really do a good push up even at the best of times, but what I can do is lay on my stomach, push up, and hold myself in an upright push up position for as long as possible.
5. Stretch. Being flexible in and of itself is a very good thing, but stretching can also help build your muscle, while actively preventing becoming muscle bound (not a danger for myself, but yeah). You might hear a lot of mixed opinions about what kinds of stretches to do, and which to avoid, so you'll probably want to look into this yourself (taking into consideration your general health and physical abilities); so far I've not heard anything about trying to touch your toes, so that's probably safe.

Some random pictures I took on today's snowy walk :)

Upcycle: Easy ways to Transform Trash into Socially Acceptable Gifts

As Christmas is less then a week away, I thought I would share some super quick and easy upcycled gift ideas.

• Refill old glass bottles with candy; either be ironic, and don't take the label off the old jam jar before gifting, or go for a classier feel with a wine bottle.
• Remake a gaudy necklace into a funky necklace.
• Give the gift of going green, and turn any old t-shirt into a tote bag in three easy steps.
• Transform an old tin can into a pencil holder (or temporary candy holder) with a little festive decorating with strategically placed paper or paints.
• Make some paper weights by painting rocks.
  

Christmas Cookies

As mentioned yesterday, my schedule got thrown off yesterday because of a lack of ingredients, so I posted today's post yesterday, and will continue today with yesterday's post.

I don't usually cook anything, and I don't particularly care for Christmas festivities (as I attempted to communicate on Sunday), but what I do like to do is make cookies and make my family eat them.

First off I found a really simple (practically boxed) recipe that my mother had stashed away once upon a time; who can resist Devil's Food Cake and peanut butter chips?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 Package (18 1/4 ounces) Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Package (10 ounces) Peanut Butter Chips

1. Beat mix, eggs, and oil until stiff.
2. Stir in chips.
3. Lightly grease sheet.
4. Roll batter into 1in Balls, and flatten slightly on sheet.
5. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F.

Next, my younger brother and I decided to do a somewhat cliche twist on traditional sugar cookies; we went a little heavy on the red coloring, and our "gingerbread" girl turned into a vampire.

Traditional Rolled Sugar Cookies

• 3/4 Cup (1 1/2 sticks) Room-Temperature Butter
• 3/4 Cups Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Grated Lemon Peel
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• Water

1. Cream butter in large bowl.
2. Beat in sugar until creamy.
3. Mix in the egg, peel, and extract until well blended.
4. Gradually mix in flour and salt until well blended.
5. Mix in water, a little at a time, until dough separates from sides of bowl.
6. Wrap dough and place in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
7. Preheat oven 350F.
8. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inches thick.
9. Place on buttered cookie sheet.
10. Bake 10-12 Minutes, or until edges are brown.

Finally, you can't have the sugar cookies without the coloring!

Food Coloring Mix

• Egg yokes

1. Devide the egg yokes between the desired colors and mix in food coloring.

Simple, no?

Although it might be painful for me to admit, Christmas might not be the same without sugar cookies (well except the one year that I accidentally made them with wheat flower...); anyone else have favorite foods that make the season?

A Refreshing Glass of -

I am posting my feature today because my cookie plans have been put off a day; so yeah, come back tomorrow for a DIY post.

Today's feature is Refresh Glass; a company that recycles wine bottles into glasses and vases.
A simple idea, but very creative and green at the same time; I really love their design.

Photographic Technique: What is ISO?

What, exactly, is ISO: The ISO setting on your camera is how you adjust your camera's sensitivity to light. This is reminiscent to the speed of film in the pre-digital world. The faster the film, the higher the number, and the larger the film grains. Similarly, in digital photography, the higher your ISO setting the more sensitive your camera will be to light, the less light you will need, and the faster your camera will take pictures; unfortunately this is usually at the price of quality, and your pictures will often turn out "noisy". The initials ISO does not actually stand for anything apparently, but actually taken from the Greek word Isos, meaning equal; at least, that's what word on the street says.

Setting ISO: Most cameras seem to let you set your ISO, and it's usually under the general menu settings.

How-To Use ISO:

• Get snappy pictures in lowlight situations.
• Know how to get nicer pictures, even if it means a somewhat longer shutter speed.

Next week I share my thoughts on Pixels!

Upcycle: Rethink Wrapping Paper

Well, today wraps up finals week for me, so the holiday season may really begin, and what is more of a staple of this holiday season then wrapping paper; really cheesy, ugly wrapping paper too unfortunately.

So how can you have a greener Christmas, and rethinking wrapping paper?

Think about the wrapping paper as a blank canvas:

• Draw on it.
• Stamp it (either with rubber stamps, or go retro with homemade potato pieces)
• Paint it.
• Decoupage it.

Think about the whole problem creatively:

• Comics
• Ironic newspaper pages.
• Junk mail.
• Festively patterned cloths.
• Tins.
• Boxes.
  

And finally, Recyclenow demonstrates the Japanese tradition of Furoshiki gift wrapping

Stainless-Steel Jewelry

Today I'm featuring Prismera's stainless-steel collection, Flora & Folium. The series is made from stainless-steel, a durable and largely recycled substance (they claim even more so then plastic or paper).