I'm Back!

     Hey everyone, I'm back!  Hopefully all of you weren't too lonely with out me.

Today I start my new format of my blog and I'm really praying it goes over well and makes blogging easier for me.

Pretty much I'm going to talk about Food, fitness, writing/literature, and comedy in categories.  Wow, it's sounds like a game show.  Anyway, here it goes. :-)

FOOD

     Today is my friend Aliza's birthday party, so I decided to make her a few yummy things.  Now, these two things don't exactly go together, but they're great on their own.

     First thing is baked macaroni & cheese, and the second is a S'more martini.  The macaroni & cheese I don't really have a recipe for, but I'll update as soon as I can come up with it, and the martini is from Food Network.com 

S'more Martini Recipe

Ingredients

1 marshmallow
1 small piece of chocolate from a chocolate bar
1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 orange segment
1 teaspoon chocolate sauce
3 ounces chocolate-infused vodka
2 ounces chocolate liqueur
Ice

Directions

Using a toothpick, skewer the marshmallow and chocolate piece together. Set aside.

Place the crushed graham crackers onto a saucer or small plate. Rim a martini glass with the orange segment, and then dip the rim of the glass into the graham crackers to coat. Drizzle the chocolate sauce onto the sides of the glass. Set aside.

Combine the vodka and chocolate liqueur in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Light the marshmallow on fire and place into the martini glass. Pour the cocktail over top to extinguish the marshmallow and serve.

Warning: Use extreme caution when working with alcohol and fire. 

FITNESS

      Have you ever though about working stretching into your exercise regimen?  And I don't just mean breath in, breath out, reach up and touch your toes.  I mean intensive stretching.  If you haven't, you should.  It reduces the risk of injury a substantial amount, and it can actually help with weight loss. 

    The more you stretch, he more flexible you get obviously.  And being more flexible makes life in general easier.  It helps your posture, it helps you sleep better, and it reduces pain due to being not so flexible.

     Most people think when you stretch as an adult, you're stretching your tendons, but from what I've learn as a gymnastics coach this is not true.  Apparently when you hit maturity (when your body is finished growing) your tendons are no longer able to stretch.  When you stretch you're actually stretching your muscles.  I'm not exactly sure if this is true, but it's what I've been told.

     Now, your high school gym coach might have told you to stretch before running the track, but stretching with out warming up can cause serious injury.  You run the risk of taring your tendons or muscles.  So, you always want to do some kind of warm up before stretching.  Jumping jacks, running in place, or even running in circles a few times.  If you are unable to do those things to warm up, don't let that stop you from stretching.  If you're injured are disabled there is no better reason to begin stretching.  It can help tremendously in recovery.  Take it from me! 

     If you are unable to properly warm up, just jump in a hot shower.  This will warm you body up enough to be able to stretch properly and safely.

     Here are a few links to help you with your stretching journey!

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/a/stretchbasics.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/350449-12-stretches-for-beginners/

http://www.drillsandskills.com/stretching

 WRIGHTING/LITRITURE

     If any of you are anything like me, you love drama in the stories you read.  I don't necessarily like real life drama, but I crave it when I'm reading a book.  If there's no drama or cliché', most likely I won't read it.  So here are a few novels for you that kept my attention (which isn't easy to do) are were really exciting!  All by author Gillian Flynn.

SHARP OBJECTS

"WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming."

DARK PLACES

"I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.
The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club… and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.
As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer."
     These books are intense, but worth the read in my opinon.
Source: http://gillian-flynn.com/

HUMOR

     When I started this blog I really wanted to incorporate my humor into it, but then I realized I'm not intentionally funny.  I'm not quite sure what to put in this section yet.  I could put funny pictures, but most of you have probably already seen all the funny pictures on the internet.  So, I'm going to take some time on this one. :-)

     I hope everyone got something out of this!  Until next week... <3

Other places you can find me:
http://pinterest.com/missspinedecay/ 
http://missspine.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/missspine