Quick Update...

Hey Guys!

So I figured I should probably give you a quick update...I don't have time right now to do any blogging unfortunately, so no new posts right now. Rowing season has started up again, and lots of school, and those are my priorities.
Thanks for taking the time to view my blog every now and then! If you want to be sure to know when I post again you can enter your email in the bar to the right.

See you later!
-Lily

Low Carb Pizza!

Hey guys!

I finally had a chance to take photos for the pizza recipe! I love this recipe so much because it is super easy to make and your pizza comes out with a normal texture, not soggy and horrible like a lot of cauliflower recipes will do. Which means you can finally pick up your low-carb pizza!

Source: Cooky's Creations

You Will Need:

1 ½ cups cheese (you can do all cheddar or a mozzarella and cheddar mix)

¾ cups almond flour plus some for adjustments

1-2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 425F and set a silpat on a cookie sheet. You need to do this now because your hands will be messy later.

Melt the cheese in the microwave using 20 second increments. When the cheese is a little bubbly you can stop.

Add in all the ingredients and start mixing with a spoon or fork. When the cheese cools a little (so you can handle it without getting burnt) dig in! Use your hands to mix it really well.

If it's still sticky like the photo you can add a tablespoon or two of almond flour.

Then press it out onto the cookie sheet. You can shape this any way you want. I did a heart for Valentine's Day!

Then bake it for 7-10 minutes. This is a little more done then I usually do, but it was still delicious!

Then top as you like and bake for a minute or two more to melt cheese and such.

And you are done! I love this pizza so much I could go on forever about it. But I won't because that would probably get boring. In short, definitely try this for yourself!

See you next week!

-Lily

Printable:

Fun things to do with friends!

Hey Guys!

It’s raining here, which makes me very happy because my workspace is on the top floor and I can hear the rain on the roof.

Yes.

Anyway, a friend and I have put together a list of things to do with your friend(s). Feel free to consult it if you are in need of entertainment.

Fun things to do with friends:

Go to an arcade.

Go to a theme park

Take all the photos

Dance and sing

Pool your resources and do something extra

Exercise...then laugh at your failures

Paint

Draw

Race

Play video games

Place bets on a coin toss

Play trivia...and place bets

Draw portraits of each other

Make food

Make sweets

Craft competition

Pinterest craft competition!

Window shop...then “accidentally” buy stuff

Lip sync battle

Style switch!

Read books

Watch a movie

Watch a super cheesy movie and laugh at it

Hang out at a library...or bookstore

Drive each other to a random place, then judge it on interest, beauty and how funny it is.

Do each other’s makeup.

Do imitations

Play charades  

If you do any of these things, please tell me in the comments below, or share a photo with me on Instagram @lilyingeneral42.

See you next week!

-Lily

Valentine's Day DIY's!

Hey Guys!

I’m sure you’ve noticed that Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with it lots of fun decorations! I’ve put together a compilation of my favorite ideas so take a look:

Flowers with a twist:

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Flowers are a Valentine’s staple, but they are even more fun when surrounded by M&M’s! Put the flowers and water in a small vase, then set it in a larger vase and pour in the M&M’s. You could do this with flameless candles as well.

3D Heart Ornaments:

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I made these last year with my little sister and they turned out really well! Cut out 3 or 4 hearts the same size, then (optional) fold each one in half. Glue half of one heart to half of another heart, then repeat this until you have come full circle. Then punch a hole in the heart and pull the string through and knot it. And you’re finished!

3D Wall Hearts:

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This is another one I had fun with. It’s tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it you can make them really quick! Go to How About Orange for the full tutorial.

Heart Garland:

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I make these every year in different color combination because I love it! Click the picture to see the full post.

Pom Pom Pillow:

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This one is a bit more long-lasting, but super versatile. Put a piece of cardboard inside the pillowcase to protect it, then trace your design onto a pillowcase using chalk or a pencil. Finally hot glue pom poms on, following the lines. Easy peasy!

Yarn Hearts:

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Now you know what to do with all your yarn! Cut some cardboard to look like a heart, then tape the yarn to it and start wrapping! Finish by knotting the yarn around a previous loop.

And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this post and found something you might like to make. ;) If you do make something be sure to tell me in the comments below!

See you next week!

-Lily

Glitter

Hey Guys!

Normally this time of year is when I would do a Valentine’s Day themed post, but Pinterest went down in the middle of it. So instead I am going to use Google Images to fulfill a follower’s request, “Do photos of glitter!” Now let us all enjoy the sparkle of glitter without the endless hassle of trying to clean it up.

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And there you have it! This is something different from what I usually do but it was really fun to make! Remember, if you have something you would like me to try tell me in the comments below.

See you later!

-Lily

P.s. Valentine’s post on Thursday!

My Bucket List

Hey guys!

We all have a bucket list. It might be a fully decorated, meticulously thought-out list on your wall, or a random few things in your head. Whatever form your ‘to-do someday’ list takes, it’s nice to have, and to know what you’d like to accomplish. Right now I am going to share my bucket list with you, and maybe inspire you to document your own!

1. Learn to snowboard and skateboard.
2. Also surfing would be cool.
3. Go to Vidcon. *bonus: get photos with youtubers*
4. Go to Minecon.
5. Go ziplining.
6. Hawaii?!
7. Play paintball!
8. Become a youtuber?!?
9. Skydive?!?!
10. Go to Uganda
11. Finish learning Italian
12. Work for Google?!
13. Go to Times Square
14. Visit New York (again…)

I think that’s it! Tell me what you want to do in the comments below; I would love to know!

See you next week...

-Lily

Duolingo!

Hey Guys!

Today I am doing a review on Duolingo!

Duolingo is a fun, free website you can use to learn a new language.

You start out by choosing a language to learn. For English speakers there is a large variety of languages to choose from, including Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Irish. For any other language you can only choose from 1-5 languages, approximately.

Once you choose a language, you can start with the basics, or (if you know the language a little already) you can take a placement test.

If you choose “basics”, this is the screen that will greet you. Each circle, or segment, is comprised of several different lessons, in this case there is 4 lessons. You cannot do a lesson before you complete the previous one. You can also “test out” of the lessons to skip a few, if you think you know enough.

This is the “learning screen”. The bar at the top is your progress. You have to get enough questions right to fill up the bar, but every time you get a question wrong the blue recedes. It can take anywhere from 5 to 20 questions to complete a segment.

The first time you see a word it will appear orange, like you see on this screen. After that it will appear black. If you see dots underneath a word, it means you can roll over it with your cursor to see the meaning.

Proper grammar is not required when filling in the answer. :)

When you complete the lesson, you will see a progress meter (not shown) and any added percentage. These end cards vary depending on what you achieved.

You can learn as many languages as you want at one time. You can switch languages by rolling over the flag next to you profile picture.

The flame is your “streak”, or how many days you have completed your daily goal.

The little ruby is a “lingot”, or Duolingo’s currency. You earn lingots by completing a segment and you can use them buy extra segments for your language, and you can gift them to other people. The bell is the notification center.

Duolingo is a very well done website that makes is fun to learn a new language. It’s very easy to add friends and be competitive with other people. My cousin and I enjoy competing against each other to see who has the most xp (earned by completing lessons, among other ways).

There are several way to interact with other people learning languages, including commenting on their feed, following them, and asking questions you might have about your language or the website itself.

There is an app to Duolingo, and I applaud them on how well made it is. Instead of trying to force every thing on the computer version onto the app, they changed the lessons slightly to accommodate the different interface on a smartphone.

There are many other settings you can changes, as well as other options for practicing your language more that I just wasn’t able to go over. I definitely recommend Duolingo to anyone who is looking to learn a new language. The website is well-made and easy to use, plus it makes it feel like you are playing a game instead of just trying to learn something.

In short: 10/10 would learn languages again. Definitely try it out for yourself!

See you next week!

-Lily

Polyvore Bedrooms

Hey Guys!

Have any of you ever used Polyvore? It’s a photo collage site, but with clothes or room accessories. Pretty neat. I spend a bit of time there now and then so I have accumulated a few different collages. As a result of that I have decided to do a Polyvore post: bedroom edition! Take a look:

I hope you liked! Which was your favorite? My favorite is the 4th one...but I want to see what you think!

See you next week!

-Lily

5 tips on Productivity

Hey Guys!

School is hard. Work, in general, is hard. Even if you love it, it is still challenging to get into the swing of things sometimes. So here are my 5 tips on being productive:

1. Figure out where you work best. My family does school at the living room table (we are homeschooled) but I recently found out that it is really hard for me to work there. Don’t ask why, I have no idea. What I do know is that I work best at a desk that is pretty separated from the rest of the family, and thus, separated from most distractions.

Now you might not work best at a desk, and that’s ok. Experiment! Try sitting on your bed, the couch, the dinner table, or even out at the library (depending on where you live). Figure out where you work best.

2. Decide how you work best. I like to do all my work as soon as I get up, without any breaks. But you might work better with a ten minute break every hour, or maybe later in the day after you’ve woken up a bit more and had your coffee. :) Again, toy around with different strategies.

3. Don’t procrastinate. If you are putting something off just so you can have fun or simply not do it now, it’s procrastinating. And if you do this, you are going to end up with a massive pile of work to do instead of hanging out with friends, or sitting down with an awesome book, or playing that video game you really love.

And that’s going to be worse than just doing the work.

4. Be strict now. If you are really slipping and letting the work go undone, then you need to be more strict now while you develop the habit of working. Once you do get into the habit, you can loosen up a bit.

For example: while you are trying to get the work done, turn off your text notifications, keep your door closed, and do not allow yourself to wander through Pinterest when you are supposed to do your work. When you get into the habit, you can keep your door open, and keep your phone on, though I still recommend not going onto Pinterest (or any other website) while you work.

5. Remember: it will get easier! This is like a backwards video game: the first levels are the hardest, and as you keep playing it gets easier. The more you stick to your schedule or plan, the more natural it will be for you to work. The more you do something hard, the easier it will become. Like working out. :D

And those are my 5 tips for productivity. If something here helped you, be sure to let me now in the comment section. And don’t forget to follow me for an email every time I post!

See you next week!

-Lily