More Flare!

It's Dec 1st and the Christmas season is upon us. With that said I thought I'd share three more Flare presets for your photo editing pleasure. One of them is an adaptation of an existing preset and the other two are my originals. You can click on the picture below to download each preset. Hope you enjoy!

Red Velvet

B5-4

That was Rich

Flare!

Hey everybody,

Dusting off the cobwebs of this here blog to share about some photo software that I have been enjoying. It's called "Flare" and it is an App that you can download from Apples App store online( I don't think I have ever typed "App" before and moreover twice in one sentence!). It allows an amateur photographer like myself to add great effects and textures to my pictures and it's very easy to use. It comes with set presets that give your photos specific looks. It also allows you to mix and match over 100 effects, textures, frames & borders to build custom presets. You can check it out here- Flare

I wanted to post some pictures showing some of the recent custom presets I have created. You can click on the picture if you'd like to download the preset for yourself. Those of you who are facebook friends might have already seen some of these, but now you can apply the preset on your own pics. One of my presets has already been approved to go on there website, which I'm really excited about. Those of you who were referred from the site welcome and I hope you enjoy!

Check it out yo!

Green with Envy
 

Scurvy

Happy Feet

Candyland

Ominous

Lovestruck

Subzero

Vintage Red

Citrus Revolution

Remember That Time In the Forest?

Hi friends! It is your on again, off again writer pals, Sarah and Will. Well, this is really just Sarah, but you know, it is a joint blog. Hope everyone is enjoying life and for those living in Columbia, SC, the already sweltering heat. Forecast 98 degrees today, May 31. If I knew a song from the band 98 degrees, I'd have inserted it there for nostalgia but alas, not one comes to mind.

As I am sure I've mentioned before, I have such a finicky stomach and battle with the "c" word so much. Constipa...yeah, that word. Sometimes it makes sense. Like if I go ape on a carton of ice cream or gnaw my way through an entire block of cheese. Traveling and strange food and weird time changes too. That I get. But my body has a way of seizing up and completely ruining me for no good reason.

I had a recent bout of this and when I was at my whit's end decided to do something about it. I don't like "forcing" my body to do what it supposed to naturally do, but sometimes I just have to. I was out of my normal help me NOW meds and thought I'd need to make a run to the store when I saw a familiar little bottle with the name Guttalax on it. And the whole scenario came screaming back to me....

There's the stuff

Have I ever shared with you the story of that time, while in Slovakia, I found myself in quite the precarious spot. Why don't I do that now? It is humiliating and not exactly a "pretty" story. Hopefully it will make you laugh, though.

In the summer of '09, I had the pleasure of taking my second trip to Slovakia with my amazing husband. We helped once again lead a group over to do an English camp for Slovak youth. It was a wonderful camp but a bit more rustic than the year before. Our electricity went out completely every night and if you had to get up for whatever reason you had to feel your way to where you needed to go.

Our amazing class!

Well, as you might have guessed it, I got the "c" word on steroids, and I could take it no longer. About mid to near the end of the camp, I knew I needed to take something because I was literally miserable. I don't remember this vital detail, but I, for whatever reason, found myself with no meds. I don't remember if I forgot to pack them or lost them or what not but I had nothing. Laura (sis-in law of awesomeness) and Maruska (Slovak woman of awesomeness) were going to the nearest town to get some things for camp and knew I was in need, so they brought back the Slovak version of x-lax...you guessed it, Guttalax!

Sweet Maruska translated for me and the directions said to put 10-20 drops in a glass of water. Well, I know me and my body's resistance to such medicine and decided to up it to 30 or whatever squirted out. This was in the afternoon. It was supposed to work in like 5 hours 6 hours something like that. So, I was trying to get it to where I would be able to see my way to the bathroom before the lights were cut off, midnight or so. That would give me about 10 hours....yeah. Exactly!

I remember going to sleep and then waking up again sometime in the early hours of the morning with a feeling so intense I thought I was going to literally explode. So, I got up and dropped to my knees and began to crawl to the bathroom. Gripping my stomach and trying not to moan I managed to get there. No fans, no lights, just me and the amazing sounds of days without going to the bathroom. I just had to go for it. I did so, stumbled in the darkness and eventually made it back to my bed. Ahhhh, it was over....or was it?

Similar setting

Next day, all day hike! We'd been hiking all day. I'd been falling and losing my mind a lot and then there we were on the top of the mountain, mid afternoon, THE FOLLOWING DAY and all of the sudden that feeling like thunder just sounded in my belly. We got lost, by the way and ended up having to go down a path that wasn't really a path. We were all just sort of holding hands and falling down the side. Sliding, grab a tree, fall, grab a hand, slip, try not to defecate on yourself. Yeah, so for like 2 hours, I went down a mountain all the while feeling like a wild boar was gnawing its way through my stomach from the inside.

Once at the bottom and still a good 30 -45 minute walk back, and surprised I hadn't already had an accident all over me and the side of the mountain, I reluctantly asked Susan if she had any tissues. Thankfully Slovaks are in the habit of carrying them on their person and she had a fresh little pack of Kleenex. I told her I had to go to the bathroom. "No biggy" or something similar, she said. I looked at her intensely and said, "No I've got to go the bathroom, you know", winky face and desperate. "Oh okay, no problem", "Go", she commanded and off I scurried. While the Slovaks hung out by a nice creek and enjoyed some relaxing and others still made their way down the mountain I ran my way down the creek.

Think I could have gone through all of these!

Once I'd made it a good couple of hundred feet away, I could still see our friend, Laci frolicking in the water. Darn him. Stop playing, Laci and get out of sight so I can take care of business. Further I ventured and made my way into some sort of little patch of what looked like lily pads or something. I was out of sight. It was just me and nature and that doom in my stomach. I prepared myself and assumed the position and while stooping there had visions of a bear coming upon me or all of my group suddenly showing up or me somehow losing control and ruining my clothes....I pushed those thoughts away, took a deep breath and did the deed right there and then. Yuck. Gross. Blehhh!!! Yeah, those tissues didn't stand a chance.

Okay, I looked around at those poor lily pads and felt sorry I had done that to them. What now? It was just out there all nasty. Could I cover it somehow? Gross. So I lugged some rocks over and covered it all. Probably feeling more disgusting but lighter than ever, I came back. Susan stuck out her hand for the remainder of the tissues. I shook my head. "They're gone, Susan, all gone". She completely lost it and laughed and laughed as we made our way back to camp.

There you have it friends. The story of that time in the forest in Slovakia when I pooped in the wild! Ahhhhhhh....I gross!!!

Happy Slovak hike the year before!

Three Years??

Hey, everybody. I know I never gave you all a cleanse wrap up blog. I'm done and not still drinking lemonade and eating nothing. It was a good thing all in all. I think I would almost like to do mini-cleanses throughout the year. Like a 3-5 day every month or something. We'll see.

Well, Will and I just returned from three glorious days in Charleston. Oh, how glorious they were! I had to wake up this morning to the darkness and the rain. I wanted to call in sick. I didn't.

Well, I won't bore you with every detail of our trip. Only a few highlights. My wonderful parents booked us two nights in their timeshare on East Bay (same place we celebrated our honeymoon 3 yrs. ago). There was some confusion, however, and it was supposed to be for Thursday night as well. I had taken off work for Th. and Fri. and we found ourselves with no palce to stay for Th. But, with a great lead from a friend, we found ourselves only shelling out a cool 50 or so at the Red Roof Inn in Mt. Pleasant. It was a fun adventure and it really made us appreciate our suite in Charleston!

We got Will the raddest shoes of all time!

And me some cuties!

Picked up some cute stationary...

We ate our first French macaroons...raspberry and chocolate. Wow. I mean, I've been wanting to try them for probably 6 months now and it was well worth the wait. The lady there even handed out warm chocolate and sea salt cookies. We'd just had gelato next door but couldn't possibly say no. That would have been rude, and that's just not our style. We took our bag of macaroons to go and enjoyed them later on for dessert that evening. If your in Charleston check out the "Macaroon Boutique". Mmmmm....

We took a walking Ghost Tour, ate at Bocci's, dined at a friend's family restaurant, Chucktown Tavern
, took some pictures, walked and just thoroughly enjoyed being with each other in such an amazing environment.
I could take another 10,000 blogs to speak of the amazing that is my husband. Reflecting over the last three years, I am amazed that I could have this much more love for Will than I did the day we were married. I didn't think it was possible then to love him more, but it has increased greatly. While in Alpharetta, I saw him work hard at a job he didn't really love, and through that prayerfully consider a move, going back to school and a complete career change.

With faith, he led us to Columbia where he did all of the above and in less than two months, he will have his masters in clinical counseling and begin his career in the field. He has worked INCREDIBLY hard. His grades have been impressive and he has done so well at his internship. Bragging much? You bet I am.

I'm so grateful that Will has allowed God to work through him and strengthen him throughout this process. I can only give Him the glory for where we are now, both as a couple, location, vocation, etc. Will has been a willing vessel. He has been stretched and his faith has been tested with so many uncertainties and unknown territory, but the Lord has proven faithful.

Okay, I'll wrap up now.

Day 9

Day 9, guys! Wowza! I'm feeling good today in terms of hunger and what not, but the nights are always more difficult anyways. I was in a hurry last night and slipped a couple of laxative pills as opposed to the tea. I know it is harsher on the system, but I didn't have time to steep the tea and wait and sip it. So I did the next best thing.

Was up early with the cramping and the nausea and running to the bathroom clutching my stomach. I'm kind of ready for that part to be over. Everyone who knows me knows I love me a good potty time seeing as how I have tendencies to be constipated for no good reason, but I'm ready to not be waking up to what feels like being sick.

Didn't have time to make my lemonade at home, so I toted my ingredients to work in my nifty Trader Joe's bag. I was creative with what I was given. I cut my lemons with a plastic knife and squeezed the lemons into an empty coffee pot and then poured into my nalgene. It worked and our break room now has a wonderful lemon smell. There is one stubborn lemon seed stuck to the bottom of the coffee pot. I'll work on that later.

I was reading what to do if you "slipped" and ate on the cleanse. I had that little chip slip and while I've been cooking will taste the minutest of bites for flavor checks...I think I'm okay. I don't think I've shot myself in the foot this entire time. I've done this thing. Last day is tomorrow.

I know tonight I'll definitely wish we could go out for dinner or bring in chinese or something, so another weekend with no food is going to be a challenge for sure. I won't eat solid food again until Tuesday. So....its "technically" over tomorrow but not eating for another 3 and a half days.

Definitely losing weight and feeling good. I'm gaining better perspective on food and health and how I want to eat once the cleanse is over. With an ankle and foot that can go into an athletic shoe again, I'm ready for the gym, some weights and some machines. I am not well enough yet for group fitness, but Will and I are excited about the prospects and results from weight lifting.

Day 8

Kind of skipped blogging yesterday. Not too much to report. Did cook up what I was told to be a delic pork loin, rice and salad for my ridiculously awesome husband. He just got a haircut, and he is even more handsome than he was on Tuesday. How that's possible, I don't know. Thank you, Kristen, for taking such good care of my man.

Looky looky its hubby in Austria
Today is day 8! Tomorrow is my second to last day. WHAT??? I sit looking at my lemonade and cayenne pepper pills. Friends, your about to be packing up soon. It's been real; quite the ride, but I am not sad about not packing you up in my two nalgenes and toting you, cayenne pills, in my little baggy.

I didn't have time to squeeze my lemons through a strainer, so I'm dodging seeds today. That's a fun task. All the while I'm praying I don't dribble lemonade down my white shirt. Fingers crossed.

Today, I've been daydreaming about European getaways. I've "booked" flights plus hotels in September for Prague, Vienna, Barcelona and Rome. Comparing the prices, Prague and Barcelona are neck in neck. I'd love for Will to experience Prague. Heck, I'd love to experience it while not running around like crazy doing intern training and amazing race stuff.

We're so happy and my thumb is weird!
Whenever the weather turns just slightly warmer, I get the Slovakia fever. I've been getting hints of it here and there and my online getaways are proof that the time is upon us once again. I just so associate the summer with going to Slovakia, that I naturally desire to be there when it gets a little warmer. Prague would be amazing right now.

So, to squelch the thoughts of cleansing and not eating and having a rough night of being called to the bathroom by my churning stomach more than once, I am doing a little daydreaming for Will and I. We'll be in Europe again soon. I just hope it's sooner rather than later!!

Me tossing the football in Slovakia

Happy cleansing and daydreaming, wherever it might be.

Love!

Day 6

Man, I gotta get caught up. Day 6 was yesterday...right I'm on day 7. It can get confusing.

Well, yesterday wasn't great. It was fine until I got home, famished and tired. I had no caffeine and was just really low. In this low state, I messed up. I had a handful of chips. I know. I feel really bad about it. I don't like admitting it, but I also don't want to give a false impression of perfection throughout this cleanse. I told Will, and he was super encouraging.

I had the evening to myself because Will was in a 4 hour night class (poor baby.), hence the alone time and the dippy dip into the chip bag. So, after my slip, I cleaned the kitchen and went to the Fresh Market for more lemons and maple syrup.

Day 7 and going strong. I'll hopefully post more later on events of today. That's all for now. Peace!

Day 4/5

I'm alive. My absence isn't because i've wasted away to nothing, although I'm shrinking a little. Seven days without food will do that do you. I say seven because there were two days of "easing in" where I only drink liquids, but I am allowed a smoothie or veg juice. I know, decedance, right??

I spent my day 4 using the bathroom a lot and cooking over at my in-laws. Can I just take a moment to speak of the amazing that they are...their home is always open to us to come wash clothes, print out stuff, work a puzzle. Yes, I did impressive damage on a 1,000 piecer. But, seriously, I have AMAZING family.

I cooked because Mama Gayle's usual Sunday dinner yumminess wasn't going to make the table due to having to do extra work over the weekend. I stepped in and created a feast! I worked with something new. Shrimp in their shelled, veined and poopy selves. That was new and time consuming, but I welcomed it gladly. Took my mind off my hunger and growing distaste for lemons and maple syrup.

I prepared shrimp stuffed with a little horseradish then wrapped in bacon. My sweet husband helped wrap em up in the bacon. That was fun! I heard that it was amazing. I imagined it was. I do a lot of imagining. There was a dipping sauce too! That was difficult. Not tasting something that took so long to prepare and had never tasted and looked and smelled like a bit of heaven...

So there was that, creamy risotto, baked chicken, big salad, green beans and sweet potatoes. It got rave reviews! Yay!!! I found myself longingly and inappropriately allowing my gaze to linger on everyone as they ate. Thankfully I didn't get caught and I didn't drool and I DIDN"T EAT!!!

Yesterday I had the day off from work. Thank you presidents present and past. I spent a lazy morning with husband and then sent him off to work like a real housewife. I was still in my robe. Then I set to working and cleaning some until Will's lunch break. I made him a sandwich, grabbed an apple, bagged some chips while holding my breath, lest I be tempted to sneak one and headed off to see him. That was fun, and I drank my lemonade and watched him eat. Right.

Then....I did a little clothes perousing at Urband Threads. Shout out to the Cola ladies, half off Anthopologie goods! I got me a skirt half off....adoreable and a dress from Urban Outfitters, which I thought was also half off, but it was pretty inexpensive to start. I also got my very first Columbia parking ticket. I feel like an official Columbian now!

Tired and a little depleted but happy with my purchases, I made my way home and cleaned some more, took a little down time for some Airport Mania 2,my latest gaming addiction and then colored my hair. I am such a geeky woman! I have to stay busy or food thoughts will overcome me.

I'll wrap up my yesterday with a not so great cooking moment. I attempted my first whole chicken. I opened him up, got all the junk out of the cavity. I was a natural. Rinsed him off, patted him down and stuffed him with lemons and garlic. I moved my fingers under the skin with precision and skill and then inserted pats of butter in there. Coated with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and oregeno. Sounds just right, right?

Well, after checking for doneness after the recommended cooking time, my meat thermometer seemed right on...but taking him out and beginning the carving process proved to be an altogether different outcome. Parts were done and parts were not. That was frustrating. So, I put the undone parts on a rack above my roasting pan and finished it off. I guess it was to humble me for the deliciousness the night before.

I started day 6 today! Halfway there!!! So hard to believe. I'm gonna finish this thing. I leave you with a picture of what I will be making post cleanse for a little sweet treat! Candied ginger/chocolate cookies! Goodness sakes!

Day 3

I'M HUNGRY!!!

Sarah

Day 2

Nothing quite says Friday night like cooking up breakfast for dinner and watching a definitely just okay movie. Oh, did I mention I cooked up breakfast but didn't eat any. No, I just sipped on my lemonade cleanse juice. Who needs eggs, bacon, gits and toast when you've a nalgene full of delicious lemonade. Picking up on the sarcasm?

I make but don't eat!

Day 2 hasn't been awful. My break at work was spent not thinking about food with my sweet friend, Julianna. We sat outside in the AMAZING weather and did non-foody things. I didn't have too bad of a headache and while I was hungry, I didn't feel like I was dying inside. Definitely thinking about food and realizing that for the entire weekend, I won't be doing any eating. Mentally I think its more difficult than being tempted to eat necessarily.

Drinking some smooth move tonight for the first time. TMI? This is all about the cleanse so the smooth movin' is part of the job.

The just okay movie was "Unstoppable". It got good reviews but there was definitely an element of cheap despite the solid acting styles of Denzel. Sigh.

Will check in tomorrow on Day 3!

Love and a grumbling tummy,
Sarah

Day 1

Whoever said that the first day of the cleanse would be filled with thoughts of ease and cleanse domination was right! I feel amazing! I can do this. No problem...I am clinging to this feeling with a death grip. I know there will be days ahead where I'll want to punch random strangers in the knees and eat my way through all the contents of our refrigerator, so, yeah, I'm remembering this feeling.

Look at that crazy...energy!
If you recall from last cleanse the worst part was the awful burning sensation that the cayenne ingredient brought. That was bad; read bad. But...I read that you can put the cayenne in a capsule and just swallow one with your 8-10 ounce servings. I bought little capsules last night and filled them with cayenne.

I woke up this morning and cut my lemons poured them into my two nalgenes and then put some of my "grade B" maple syrup in there and filled the rest with water. I then toted that junk along with my cayenne capsules to work. I settled into my little nook at work and nervously uncapped the top of my nalgene. I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be nasty, okay or shockingly tasty? So, I tip it back, sip it and what do you know...it was...shockingly tasty! I've already had 16 ounces, and I'm about to drink some more.

One empty and another on the way!
Now...I am doing something that isn't recommended on the cleanse and that is drinking any caffeine. I am having 1 cup of coffee in the morning. That can't possibly kill all benefits of the cleanse. I'm not looking to wean myself off of caffeine. I'm perfectly okay with my daily need of the stuff, so any savvy cleansers out there, back off!

Day 1, guys....there you have it. I will drink some of my "smooth move" tea tonight. Yes, that's the name. Hopefully it will do its job. ;)

More details to come tomorrow. Master cleanser out!

The Master Cleanse Take Two

Hey y’all (I’m embracing my southern ways)!! How is everyone doing out there in blogville? I’ve seen better days. It really has been such a tumultuous 2011 thus far. I travelled to Richmond, VA two weekends in a row, once with Will and once without. The first trip was to see my Maw Maw one more time before she went home to be with Jesus (which I KNOW is where she is right now) and the second trip was for the funeral. I missed almost a week in those travels but so worth being with family and celebrating the life of my amazing grandmother.

Upon returning, I was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I hadn’t been active for almost two weeks, and travelling and eating on the road wherever you can and whenever you can takes its toll on the body and mind. Monday was upon me and so was my glorious Body Step class. I was so motivated, so ready! I did great for about 25 minutes until my feet, legs and mind all decided to do something totally different and resulted in me crashing to the floor. I clutched my already swelling ankle and knew this wasn’t good.

So, here I sit two weeks later with a badly sprained ankle, still no workouts under my belt and am now suffering from one of the worst “cricks” or muscle abnormality in my neck EVER. Since my ankle is still bruised and painful, Will and I had decided we could lift weights while my ankle heals and do some core stuff. I guess I’ll push that back a little longer and give my neck time to heal. Bother. Sigh.

All this sitting around and eating less than perfect foods for a stagnate body has left me feeling unhealthy and blah. And then I had an idea!
I wanted to do a cleanse in January, but got sick and decided not to do it while ill, but what a perfect time this could be. While I’m not doing much, I could do a cleanse!! Brilliant! Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with The Master Cleanse, let me bring you up to speed quickly.
Here are the basics:

You don’t eat any solid foods for 10 days

You drink 6-12 glasses of a combination of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper

You take laxative teas or salt water flushes twice a day

3 days of easing in and out of the cleanse to prepare body for less and more

And there you have it! My life for the next 15 or so days. As you can see intense cardio would be quite difficult on such a diet. I’m on day two of the ease in and will start my cleanse on Thursday. Am I nervous? Ummm, YES! I tried this about 1 and ½ years ago and was sick at the time and only made it like 2 days. It’s tough, but as my wise husband would say, “Short term negative, long term positive”.

Our old pal, Bobo, who cleansed with us 2 years ago!
My goal is to blog daily on what I experience. I’ll try not to be too graphic but I just need support for this. Letting the masses know what I’m preparing to do is like accountability to the extreme. I feel like if I fail, it would be letting everyone down. So, I need all of you in this with me. You can eat your burger, pizza, salad or what not in front of me…that’s okay. Just no Thai!

I bid adieu to you all and hopefully I’ll post something on Thursday.
Love and healthy systems to all!
Sarah

Observations of Annoyance…

Number 1:
I love me some Chinese food. I like the fact that you can order it pretty much any way you like. You can even order it without the sauce and dip your veggies and meat and reduce the amount of calories and sodium. I also like the full on goodness of a great Chinese buffet. I admit it. One of Will and mine’s favorites here in Columbia is the very reasonable Egg Roll Chen. You get gobs of food for such a great price. Two entrees usually last us at least 4 meals. That’s my plug for them. Amazing!
Where’s the annoyance you may be asking. Well, it’s in the neatly wrapped treat of sugar, vanilla and flour, known affectionately as, the Fortune Cookie! Now, they can be a tasty sugar blast after a delic Chinese food extravaganza but what I’m referring to is the “fortune” inside. Examples of fortunes to me are, “You will have much luck in business in the next year” or “You will meet a new best friend” or even, “You will get food poisoning in the near future”. But, unfortunately, I feel 50 percent of the time, you are more likely to get a “proverb” or “blanket statement” which is where I get super annoyed. Things like, “A good heart is worth 20 rose petals” or “A smile is worth its weight in pasta” or, “You have a winning hand shake.”

They even know it!

The kicker occurred last week. Will and I were dining at one of our fav Chinese buffets. We loaded up on the usual goodies like honey chicken, snow peas, broccoli, egg drop soup, and so on and so forth. We enjoyed good food and intriguing conversation. Then the moment came when the bill was brought and with it….our cookies. What I received this time was not only a blanket statement cookie but insulting to boot; “You constantly struggle for self improvement – and it shows”!!! Are you kidding me??

Number 2:
Zaxbys serves up some mighty fine food. I particularly enjoy some of their sal..I mean zalads. The Zensation is tasty and I was enjoying the southwest until they pulled the rug out from under me and took it away. Their naughty treats are good as well, like their boneless wings and fried ‘shrooms. The annoyance is not when they took away my salad but it’s simply in their obnoxious commercials. Whenever I hear that out of tune whistle, I want to cram a chicken finger into the neck of every celebrity they’ve demoralized by being on their commercials. I’m not shocked by some of the people I’ve seen on there, like the tool guy from that obnoxious show or some of the sports people, but I was kind of shocked to recently see Jamie Presley on there. I mean I know she’s no Meryl Streep, but I was kind of surprised to see her in her 50’s poodle skirt sippin’ a milkshake. Jamie, Jamie….

MacGyver awkwardly loves him some Zaxbys

Number 3:
Morning shows literally hurt my body. Whenever you’ve tuned into one, you know it immediately. It’s like when you pass a soap opera on TV. You don’t have to have seen it before or know the show, but it has this film that makes it obviously a soap. Same affect on the ears when it comes to a radio show. I might be offending people in Columbia who like the morning show on 104.7, but honestly I don’t care. They are some of the worst I’ve ever heard.
It’s like 2-3 idiots sit in a room and talk about nothing and their thoughts on it and laugh at themselves and just think that they are the coolest, funniest people on the planet. Just play music, please. Is that too much to ask for on a radio station that plays music? I don’t care about your clever insight into who you think is hot and who is not or how hammered you got over the weekend and the funny antics that ensued. I DON”T CARE! Who does? Anyone? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Hee Hee