Study Abroad: Hunan, China. Distance DIY.

Yes that is right.. CHINA! Ethan got accepted to Study Abroad through Hunan Normal University. We got a $1200 scholorship to SUU & $400 dollars a month from Hunan Normal. Getting paid to go to China? Fine by me! I'm currently trying to volunteer with a place called China Horizons. They actually don't have a school they partner with there.. But I've been speaking to a guy named Jacob & he is finding me a school through there. He said one has shown interest in me, but other than that we haven't heard much!  He's been an amazing help! I hope that I can get accepted by them cause that means a reimbursement of $1200 for my ticket. & saving more money through them along the way! We leave August 19th and come back January 26th! CRAZY! I cannot wait. So today I was bored & decided to play around in Paint & made some cute signs for my loved ones that will be staying in the States. I have family in Utah. (St George & Salt Lake area) & Ethan has family in Hawaii (Big island & Oahu) So I made signs for them which I'm planning on printing out & framing for them as a goodbye gift. :) 

Here they are: 

Hilo, Hawaii:

 Salt Lake, Utah: 

St George, Utah:

 Waimea, Oahu:

& surprisingly its really simple! Heres how. 

Look up the state map that you want. Save or Copy & Past into paint. 

Then with the fill in tool & eraser. Fill in all the color with white. (Except for the lines) With the eraser tool get all the pieces that the fill in tool missed (not shown in picture below) 

Then with the paint tool use the color black and the thickest size. Follow the lines of the state. To look like this: 

Then open a web browser & go into picmonkey.com. Click on edit a photo, upload the background you want. 

Then click on the overlay button. Click on upload your own. Choose the picture we did in paint. Then make it to size, click on the drop down menu & choose Darken. & Wallah! In the same overlay tab you can choose a heart to put in where the city is. And just about the overlay tab will be a Text tab so you can add your own text! Simple & very cute! :)

Work with what we got.

Hello! So browsing pinterest found a recipe that was easy enough for me to try. ;) Carrot fries! So simple! 

Just cut your carrots, cover in olive oil and sea salt, and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Yum.

But I had to work with what I had. Which I only had baby carrots. So they were little baby carrot fries. And I only have a toaster oven. Not an oven oven. The door on my oven is broken :(

(Long story short it had to deal with a karate moves, a water bottle, and an upper cut punch. Not even slightly joking here)

Still worked though. Just preheated it on the bake setting for 10 minutes and then I probably had it in there for 12-15 minutes. Still suuuper yummy! 

I paired it with Leftovers that Ethan's mom made of some Chicken. & I do apologize but I have no idea what the chicken is called nor any recipe for it. Just leftovers. & with some lowfat cottage cheese. DELISH! 

Hope you enjoy! 

-Shelby

Pre-workout yummies!

{need to take pictures, will soon}

Wondering what to eat before working out? Like a recipe per say? Hmm... Well you came to the right place! One hard part about losing weight is knowing what to eat and when.  And also making something that tastes good and is satisfying. So here's my blog post of what I like to have/why its good for a pre-workout. 

So my schedule is I wake up around 9 or 11 (not an early bird) I also go to the gym in that time frame. So morning mid evening. Now the most important thing for weight loss is to prepare your meals. (Sounds so complicated! I know! But its not) So what I do the night before is get oatmeal started. 

This is how: In a bowl I mix 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 almond milk, 1/4 cup water, and 1/2 smashed banana. Mix all together & then put in the fridge {covered} overnight.

Why oatmeal? Oatmeal boosts your energy level. & what people need to understand is carbs aren't scary! Carbs give you a better ability to to perform better in your exercises. Doctors have found people on low carb or no carb diets tend to suffer from light headedness, weakness, & fatigue. That is NOT how we should feel. We should always feel GREAT and energized and happy! Don't make a silly diet make you feel otherwise. It all makes sense! Our bodies need access to fast burning energy which is precisely what carbs are!  

Then in the morning is when the magic happens! I put my oatmeal over the stove and I add Apples, Peanut Butter, & Cinnamon for taste. 

Why apples? 

Because fruit provides a natural sugar that helps your body convert that sugar into fuel. They do say that an apple also gives you more energy than a cup of coffee! 

Why peanut butter?

Rich in protein & easily digestible! & yummy. ;) 

Have with some Green Tea which is full of antioxidents to help rid of those toxins! 

Hope you enjoy this post! I'm off to the gym weeeee.

-Shelby 

About me, Weight, Cleanse, Salmon, Asparagus.

So before I start this post I just want to do a little "About me"{Even though I hate about me's. Its good to show you my past experiences and I even created this blog.}

So Hello. 
My name is Shelby Gali. 
I am only 20 years old. {I know}
I've been married for a year. {Yes I know that too} 
I have the cutest Shih Tzu in the world. His name is Butters. {Yes, Butters from South Park.} 
I probably like my dog more than I do you... Sorry? 

I've always been battling weight. Well sorta. When I was younger I didn't really care. I was just fat & happy. I never watched what I ate. & by that I mean full bags of cheez-its. No shame. When I got older in middle school/high school I cared a little bit more ate a little better, did weight watchers one time.. I don't know how to cook at all. My diet was sandwiches, cereal, anything microwavable, or anything I could just get through a drive thru or sit down resteraunt. Then when I actually started caring about my weightloss is when I met my Hubby. He claims it was "love at first site" The day I walked into Wendys. {romantic I know} For him to love ME. Is still just mind boggling to this day. I started to do a meal replacement shake called vi-body & lost 15 lbs on that. Kinda fell off & gained a few more lost more again. Just yoyo'd through and all together now I have lost almost 30 lbs! 
Here's my progress so far:

 Crazayyyy!

I've done the whole starve yourself, workout like crazy, gorged myself and I never felt good. And this was when I finally decided to start eating clean! I first started the DR. Oz cleanse which is this right here...

& surprisingly it wasn't bad at all. I LOVED it. It made me feel soo good. I wasn't that hungry ever. I had great energy and THE BEST PART I haven't had to take my ADD medication SINCE! that is HUUUUGE guys. Can you even imagine what I could have been eating to cause my ADD to be so severe for medication and all the sudden clean eating it just vanishes? Ya.. I know. 

So I've made a commitment to myself to eating clean and it isn't hard at all. Me the person WHO CAN NOT COOK AT ALL. Has made the bestest yummiest food I've ever tasted! And they are so easy. I am the queen of easy. {HEY not that kind of easy!} This blog will never have something way complicated! Pretty much cause I'm too lazy to handle anything complicated {seriously} 

So here are my two obsessions old & new.

Old is PICKLED asparagus! I've always loved it! Its pre-canned in its deliciousness and you get it at Costco. 

Its the best snack! & Low calorie.

Way better than pickles in my opinion! 

The new: SALMON! I LOVE IT! SOOO GOOD & easy. 

seriously just put some olive oil, seasoning (I like italion & dill) salt & pepper and throw it in the oven to broil. 

ugh so good. What are some of your favorite recipes for Salmon?

 This newby would love to hear! 

-Shelby

The fluffiest, yummiest, protein pancakes you'll ever make.

did someone say pancakes?! yes that's right I said it! 
& healthy too! Yum! Here's a picture... 

OH MY FREAKING LANTA! ITS DELICIOUS JUST LOOKING AT THEM! 

Here's how...

Ingredients: {pancakes}

in the blender add..

- 3/4 cup oats

- 1/2 cup almond milk

- 1 large egg

- 2 egg whites 

- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

- 2 tbsps of non fat greek yogurt

- 1 tsp of baking powder

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

{frosting} -uh ya, FROSTING.

mix

- 1/2 greek yogurt

- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

- cinnamon to tast 

top w/ any fruit, or have it plain. Add some granola. SO YUMMY. 

Let me know how yours go! mmm I'm hungry just thinking about em! 

-Shelby 

I heart rings!

DIY Rings!

So this one time I thought I'd be cool and make wired rings. 

I only ever made one and it turned out like poop. 

So as I'm pinning my life away on pinterest..

 I saw a DIY adjustable rings <-- Click on link for full instructions.

(cause I suck at instructions)

So I took my ADD medication to clean my house, but after I found 

that DIY and I had ALL the equipment (when does that ever happen?)

I spent like an hour SUPER focused on making rings.

and not my house....

Have fun! 

(I always see the trend of knuckle rings,

 just never knew where to buy them..Now I don't have to!) 

-Shelby