2 Potatoes
Splash of milk
1/4 c. butter, split 1/2, eventually melted
Thyme
Basil
2 cloves garlic
Dust of salt
Water

Little cute cooking bowl thing
Pot
Lid for said pot, or something close
Stove
Microwave
Serving Bowl [optional?]
Fork
Paring Knife [something to chop up garlic]
Cutting board
Peeler
Potato smasher of your choice
Someone to clean up after you since you're sick

1. Shred skin off of potatoes with peeler.
2. Cut potatoes into approximately equal sizes. Usually involving one inch as height, width, length or all. Just makes sure they're all close-ish. [I personally, cut the whole thing in half, then set it so it lays on it's newly flat side, then cut along the y-axis (height) where the ends have a greater x-value (width) than the middle pieces, so in result you get about the same area.]
3. Put pieces into pot, fill with water just until it's covering the potatoes. Put your oven up to where ever water starts to boil, cover your lopsided like so air can still kinda escape, and start boiling.
4. While waiting on potatoes/water: Peel and cut up garlic cloves with paring knife. They do not need to be super tiny, just broken up enough, so the juice will escape well enough [that's where all the flavor is]. I usually try to get one middle-big size clove into forths the long way, then chop each of those into forths or fifths [this is where a good paring knife makes life a lot easier]. Throw them in the water which should hopefully be boiling by now unless you're wicked fast...or you just don't know where your boiling point is yet on your stove [newb!!! :p].
5. Sprinkle basil from about 6 inches above pot, so that it covers the top of the water when your done, three or four shakes for me. This *should* rehydrate the basil...if nothing else it makes it smell good in your house.
6. Move around potatoes with fork to distribute flavorings.
7. Still while waiting: Put (1/2) (1/4) of butter (1/8 c. for you "I don't ever need math again," people) in the cute little prep bowl thing, microwave for 30 seconds.
8. CHECKING ON POTATOES: Poke with fork. They are ready when your fork pokes without any resistance...they might also be visibly falling apart...
9. Finish melting butter for 30 sec.
10. Hopefully potatoes are squishy now, wait until they are if they aren't [it's hard to overdo this step btw]. Drain water, add a splash of milk, the melted butter, and smash away. Add thyme like you did the basil somewhere in middle of smashing.
11. Put fully smashed potato mix into serving bowl. Melt the other half over the butter in 30 second intervals with a pause in between [keep butter from exploding] and pour slowly all over potatoes. Press pockets into potatoes to only slightly distribute butter. If you mix it in, it will get gluey and not taste as buttery. Sprinkle top with very lightly with salt.

**Second portion of butter is not recommended if actually sick. I'm just getting over my sickness and am slowly adding foods back into my diet. Boiled potatoes have a reputation of being an okay food to digest, which is where this came from. Along with not being able to eat gravy. Salt is okay, especially since you should be eating bananas if you're having trouble digesting food, as well. Salt is only bad for you when you do not have the potassium intake for how much salt you're consuming, bananas provide that K :)

Wanting to be a runner is different than wanting to start running. After being in wide variety of sports through my life including cross country and track in them, I thought I would share my experience.

Runner Lifestyle

Quality over quantity when judging calorie intake. [Should be true for anyone wanting to lose weight in general.]

For beginners: Eat a banana a day. A tasty and filling suggestion is cut one in half twice, put some peanut butter on wheat bread [doesn't have to be low sodium since sodium is bad when potassium is absent, however the banana provides that so it's not as big of a deal] with the banana on top and if you wish another piece of bread to make it a sandwich.

Do. not. drink. soda. No. exceptions. NONE. No "just this one time". No "I'm going to treat myself since I've been good." None! [If you wish I will write an article over why soda is bad for you.]

I know water is boring, but man when you're really hydrated it makes you feel so much better and when you run you won't be wishing you were dead or feel like you're dying. Additionally adding one ice cube per glass and a dash of lemon adds flavor and some extra health benefits if you put it in every time or at least quite often.

Drink milk at breakfast time. If you're allergic, I'm sure you've heard enough calcium/vitamin D lectures. If you're not though, there's a high chance it gives you gas, and no one wants that, so a lot of people avoid milk. However, if you get it out of the way in the morning you're good to go. You need the calcium and vitamin D. Tasty suggestion: add Hershey's Dark Chocolate Syrup or a chocolate milk mix.

If you drink coffee, put a dash of milk in it. It lowers the acidity and helps coffee be better for you. If you're drinking the proper amount of water and only having one or two cups, you shouldn't have dehydration issues either.

Eat breakfast. Doesn't need to be that great for you, just make sure it's not terrible for you [i.e. no candy]

Don't go out to eat all the time. Try to learn to cook if you don't know how. It's overall healthier and it can be hard work [especially bread...].

If you eat breaded chicken a lot, try malt vinegar instead of ranch or BBQ. In fact, if you're trying to lose weight -avoid ranch all together. [I know it's hard when you love it, I used to eat it on everything and now I hardly ever get to just because I'm not as active as I was in highschool.]

Random fact: 75% of the time you feel hungry, you're actually thirsty. I don't know how accurate this is, but it is at least part of the time, so if you get random munchies try drinking a glass of water and waiting 5 or ten minutes before eating a snack.

Tea is good for you. A cup of green tea a day would do the world some good on the health bills. Normally green tea is nasty but if you go to your local grocery store and look around there's all different types of green teas. Just don't get plain...those are the ones that will almost definitely taste bad...unless you like that stuff I guess.

When it comes time to run

Get into comfy clothes [you'll learn what you like and don't like over time].

Grab your favorite CD that makes you want to dance and put it in.

Stretch -like a dancer. This means at least start working yourself into the splits, as well. Don't go any farther than you can handle and make sure your front leg is straight and your back is directly behind you, it's okay if you're barely spreading your legs at all if that's as far as you can go for now, something is better than nothing! Do each side and in the middle for 30 seconds. If you would like a stretch routine I could make a video guide to that as well if it is requested, but in all reality I would prefer to work with you in person [if you live in KS and want help let me know!]

Do at least some ab work-out. When you do crunches, don't pull your shoulders and head up, pull your lung/diaphragm area up. Do as many as you can handle, but make sure you push yourself at least a little past what's comfortable. [Beauty from pain!]

Get into push-up position where your arms are extended and just stay there. If you are okay with go half-way down or all the way down, whichever gives you a better workout. Stay there 'til it's a bit past what you can handle/normally want to tolerate.

Tip: Keep your mind on the music and not on the time or amount you do things.

Stretch if you think it'll make you feel better [I like to do a few quick things again before I get to running].

And now for the in-home running!

So you don't like to go outside and you don't like to go to the gym and you don't like the treadmill. Hey this sounds like me in the winter! I will say first off -it's good you don't like the treadmill, I've found it's super deceptive as I can miraculously go four miles on that but when I run on the ground I go one and feel the same. so here's what I suggest:

Start with a light cheer prance. This is that bouncy thing they do in all their cheers. I'm pretty sure if you see a cheerleader bouncing over and over in a cheer, watch her feet and do that. It is similar to running in place but you can do it for a lot longer and it's easy to turn into dancing, skipping, w/e you want. Keep your arms and feet/knees moving 'til the end of the CD. If you're almost at the end of the CD, switch it and play through at least 4 songs, if they're eight minute songs, do it, if they're 2 minutes songs, do it, just do something! If you can take on more than that, take on more. If you feel like you're about to die, calm it down but at least keep walking, maybe get some water.

Once you're feeling good and better about yourself, try doing everything except instead of prancing/dancing/w/e, go outside with your iPod with some energetic, or at least higher tempo music and run. Keep your knees and head up especially on hills, get your knees even higher on hills to take them on easier and stretch your legs out for a longer pace when going down hill. Stop periodically and stretch. Keeping your arms above your head will help you breathe. Country running is a GREAT place to start. If you can't find much country area then there's probably a lot of other people out running. Try to avoid the city if possible though, the car fumes make it harder to breathe sometimes. Oh and start with a walk [making sure you lift your knees!] for about an 1/8 to a quarter of a mile.

Tip: If you don't like to dance and act crazy, try reading while prancing, it'll keep yours arms up and doing something as well, just don't set it down somewhere in front of you, make sure you hold it. If you don't like to read or dance or act crazy...then fine, be bored and prance in place.

Stretch one last time. This will help with possible soreness the next day. And again if people want me to do a stretching guide, I will.

And I can't stress it enough...don't drink pop.

So you know how I said I'm taking time off from school? Well, I thought about it and I guess I might take a class or two, but I'm not taking a math or science class. I don't like it anymore. I rather kinda hate it right now. I want to like it, but omg I just can't, so I think being away from it will make me see why I like it again. Don't know what you got til you don't have it anymore. That phrase is so true of me. I'm so bad about taking things for granted. Not even thinking about it. Need to be more thankful.

I admitted this to Zack and Shay...they're actually in support of it. Not just "oh yeah, okay, w/e" but both of them actually, actively think it's a GOOD thing. I was taken back. I thought they would say "well you should at least take one still to make sure you keep going and get done okay." But they didn't. I'm kinda weirded out, but I'm happy that I have support in this and that they both really care. I think it'll make things go better...

If either of you read this, it means so much when you support my ideas like that, thank you so much [your support in school is definitely one thing I won't take for granted].

-min

p.s. maybe i'll tell that to them both today...