Jun 13, 2020
I know many of us are always looking for new healthy snacks to try and I came across an idea similar to these on Pinterest. I made a few changes to make them more my style and you can also adjust to meet your own personal taste. You can cook these in either a muffin or mini muffin pan–I’ve tried both. My preference is to use the mini muffin pan because they are quick bite-sized snacks for when you’re on the go or just want a little something to curb your hunger. Do not line your pans with paper liners. Use either oil/flour or a spray. I personally use a quick spray. For the mixture you will need: 1. 3 cups of oats 2. 1 tsp of cinnamon 3. 1 tsp of vanilla extract 4. 4 large bananas Mix-Ins: This is the part where you can add whatever mix-ins that you would like. I have made quite a few different varieties to see what I like best and honestly, they have all been delicious. Here are a few suggestions below. 1. Raisins 2. Strawberries 3. Pineapple 4. Apple 5. Banana 6. Chocolate Chips Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Grease your muffin pan. 3. Mush your bananas up and add in your other ingredients, mixing thoroughly. 4. Fill up close to the top with your mixture because it will not rise. 5. If you are baking in a regular sized muffin pan, I would suggest 15-18 minutes. If you are using a mini muffin pan, check them at about 10 minutes. 6. Let them cool for a... read more
Mar 29, 2020
Finding products to help clear our skin can feel like a nightmare. I searched through so many blogs and couldn’t find anything that worked for me or would help me figure out what was going on with my skin. I had visited the dermatologist several times over the course of 2 years and he was unable to diagnose what I had. It left me feeling pretty hopeless. I’m going to share my experience in the hope that it can help others find a product that works for them too. Seeing the dermatologist was frustrating to me because I knew something was abnormal with my skin. The first dermatologist gave me various creams to try, had me tested for Lupus and finally had me replace all of my makeup with Bare Minerals with the advice to get an allergy test for makeup product ingredients. Listening to my intuition, I bought the new makeup to try–which didn’t change what was going on with my skin–and decided to seek a new opinion. The second dermatologist immediately diagnosed my skin with rosacea and gave me a few different products to try along with a prescription cream for my face. Want to see what was hiding under the makeup making me feel so self-concious? Here’s a photo showing my skin three months apart. You can see how well my skin has improved with the right products. It initially took about 2 weeks for my face to be mostly clear of the little red dots and the pinkness has continued to decrease over time. It was such a relief! If you’re looking to try new products to see if... read more
Mar 24, 2020
On August 29th, Disney World opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. There are some really cool experiences and very realistic props–equating to a dream for any Star Wars fan. My boyfriend and I frequent Hollywood Studios just to visit Galaxy’s Edge quite a bit. We both wanted to make a lightsaber so bad but they come with a pretty hefty price tag ($199, and about $215 after taxes). As a pass holder, you do not get any discounts either. I’m guessing you want to know what it is like to build the lightsaber and if the cost is worth it. For Christmas, I was surprised with a trip to Hollywood Studios where we had an appointment to make our lightsaber! For the price, you get a really rad experience and the following: Commemorative pin based on the hilt that you select Carrying bag Custom hilt Blade Kyber crystal (Available in red, green, blue and purple. You can purchase white or yellow at an additional cost). The experience begins when you check-in for your appointment. This is where you will be asked which lightsaber you would like to craft and receive your commemorative pin. I would recommend that you look inside of a stacked container to the left of the check-in desk that holds all of the pieces used to make the custom hilts. This was really helpful to see the pieces up-close. My boyfriend decided to switch the lightsaber he was going to make after seeing the Sith hilt pieces (Power & Control). Things definitely look different in photos than in person. Below is the menu that they will show... read more
Jul 15, 2019
Learning isn’t always fun, especially when someone keeps throwing statistics and figures at you. I get it, it can be confusing. Infographics aren’t for everyone. What I decided to do was create a realistic atmosphere where people can learn about the affects heart health can have on the body and mind. I’d like to introduce you to a two-part series that I am calling Heart 2 Heart where I will be introducing you to experts in the mental health and fitness fields. It’s free to tune in and you can totally participate. This series will be done through Facebook Live at the Ms. Florida United States Facebook page. Schedule: Friday, July 19th at 6:15pm EST: Licensed Mental Health Counselor Natalie Rosado will be discussing mental health’s impact on the heart. Wednesday, July 24th at 9:00pm EST: Coach Taz of Taz Fitness will be talking about the role of fitness in heart health. I will post the links to the sessions in this post after they have been completed. I hope to see you... read more
Jun 20, 2019
When I was twenty-one, I was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. The doctors in the Emergency Room told me if I walked up a set of stairs I could die. A month later I had the surgery to correct my problem. It may have physically corrected the problem but mentally I was still in shambles. I was experiencing PTSD every time I had to walk up the stairs to my then second floor apartment, and crumbling from anxiety anytime I needed to leave my safe space. Over the years I have connected with other WPW patients over social media and we’ve talked about what we went through. I have still never met someone that had surgery prior to when I did, so I’ve never had anyone to measure my experiences with in that regard. However, the people who I connected with that had their surgeries after me, I could tell exactly where they were at in their recovery. It felt good not to be alone. I participate in a group on Facebook called #GoRedGetFit and I asked the ladies if they had fears when they started working out again and what it was that they began doing. For me, after about 7 years of living in fear, I jumped on a treadmill when nobody was around and ran until I couldn’t run anymore (which was 3/4 of a mile!). Our bodies are such amazing things. My desire to workout and get back to something I enjoyed finally trumped my fear of, “What if something bad happens?” My new mentality became, “What if something good happens?” The women in... read more
Jun 1, 2019
I feel like the best parts of a vacation are sometimes the ones that you don’t plan and happen to stumble across on accident. Being a big baseball fan, it was so exciting for me to catch a game at historic Wrigley Field. I’m still kind of in that “pinch me” stage and it’s been a few weeks. Following the game, my friends and I were hungry and I am a big dessert fan (if you couldn’t already tell), so we walked into Jeni’s. Oh, the flavors. You can’t walk into Jen’s expecting that you’re going to get a normal flavor. I settled on the Gooey Butter Cake in a cup. My friends haggled me because one of the cool things about Jeni’s is that they are making the cones fresh right in front of you. I needed portion control. However, I would have considered a round two for sure because the ice cream was outstanding. It was just the perfect flavoring of sweet and savory and melted in your mouth. There were many additional flavor combinations such as Lemon & Blueberries and Pistachio & Honey. The Wrigleyville location was super cute and trendy. It was a pretty small space but tons of people were able to pack in there because of the way that the seating was set up. While the line was long when we arrived, the staff was patient and kind to all of the customers. I’d totally go back a bazillion more times if I lived in the area. I’m hoping maybe they bring one a little further south for us Floridians. Turns out they... read more
May 11, 2019
May is Mental Health Awareness month so I wanted to take a moment and dive deeper into what I went through, mentally, with my heart diagnosis. I know talking about mental health is still kind of taboo, but let me tell you something, there is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to panic. It’s okay to feel depressed. These are real emotions. We go through hard times and feel real emotions. We are not robots. I didn’t know that after I received my diagnosis of WPW that I was going to almost have a mental breakdown over it. I literally didn’t understand what was going on with my body. I couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air. I couldn’t sleep. When I did start to fall asleep, I would have recurring dreams of what I was going through that would wake me up. I starting becoming reclusive. It was better to stay in my apartment in case I had an episode of whatever it was going on with me. When I would go out I had a routine of things I would bring with me. When I would arrive back to my apartment, I would stand at the bottom of stairs staring up at my second floor door. All I could hear in the back of my mind was the doctor telling me if I walked up a flight of stairs I could die. My heart was unpredictable. I became a shell of the Megan that I had been. I started wearing all black. I felt very alone and like nobody understood me... read more
Mar 31, 2019
I had gone for tea with a friend one day and noticed that there was a super cute Easter Bunny wreath on the shop’s front door. I took a picture and sent it to my friend Riley who immediately jumped on the idea to create our own. Riley loves crafting just as much as I do and has some amazing ideas so we put our heads together and came up with a plan. We went to our local craft store to pick up some supplies. You’ll Need: • Hot Glue Gun • Grapevine Wreaths in 2 sizes (head & body) • Grapevine to make bunny ears • Ribbon to create your bow, or buy a pre-made bow • Decorative eggs • Your choice of floral pieces • Crafting Wire • Scissors The Eggs I used about 5 bags for the smaller bunny that I made and about 7 bags for the bunny with the bigger belly. Yes, I made two wreaths–one for myself and one for my nephew. With the wreath for my nephew, I wanted to incorporate some blue so I hand painted the eggs to the specific color that I wanted. I would note to pay attention to the finish on the eggs that you are using if you wish to paint them to meet your needs. I used a matte paint but you may want to use a satin or gloss. There are several different egg packages to pick between at Michael’s craft store but for the one bunny I chose the speckled look and for the other I chose the light solid color look. The... read more
Feb 2, 2019
People often ask me why I care so much or why I choose to volunteer and advocate when there’s “nothing in it,” for me. It may sound crazy saying that I’m lucky to have gone through my experience, but I truly I am. Going through what I did changed pieces of me and gave me an understanding for what it is like to live and what it is like to LIVE. Would I want to go through it again? No. But, that’s the point. I cannot fathom going through another heart related experience. I take everyday as an opportunity to better myself, work hard and try to make a valuable contribution in this world. This year, rather than sharing a list of facts, I want to share my “why.” To me, it’s so important to make sure I am informing people of what I went through–not just physically but mentally too. It’s being open. It’s being vulnerable. It’s knowing it’s okay to cry and still be scared when reflecting back at what happened. It’s about being strong and having the courage to tell others that they don’t have to be a statistic. They don’t need to die from heart disease or stroke. I made myself a promise when I was facing my own uncertainties in the hospital, that if I was going to get up and walk out of there and be okay, that I wanted to lead a fulfilled life and I didn’t want to see anyone else that I love or care about in the same position that I had been in. Going through something heart related... read more
Oct 28, 2018
I haven’t written a post dedicated to sharing music for awhile so I figured what better time than now?! One thing that I have learned is that it is important to have a healthy mindset and to stay inspired because that positivity overflows to all different aspects of your life. Psychology Today points out that for inspiration to flow, start small. So, let’s start with a small list of 4 songs that I’ve been listening to for the last few weeks. 1. “Broken Hallelujah” – The Afters 2. “High Hopes” – Panic! at the Disco 3. “I’ll Find You” – Lecrae featuring Tori Kelly Shoutout to my friend Ricardo for introducing me to this song! 4. “Confidence” – Sanctus... read more
