New Years Goals Update....

So as almost everyone seems to do, the New Year is the time to make resolutions to make yourself a better person. I'm not sure if I ever officially made resolutions in the past, but if I did, I definitely did not stick to them. This year I decided to do something a little different, instead of making resolutions I made goals. Goals that I could keep track of and feel accomplished each time I note them in my excel spreadsheet (yes I have a spreadsheet for my goals :-P).

Anyways my goals included things like losing weight (of course) which I am actually doing well with, 10 pounds down. Other things are to cook 60 new recipes, bake 30 new recipes, blog 30 times, complete 12 stained glass projects and last but not least watch every single Star Trek movie.

I'm sure there are more goals on my list that I have forgotten but whatever. So I have already seen 2 of the movies and blogged quite a few times and I have been diligently working away on my cooking and baking. Here are some of the fun thin
gs I have made (yes, Kevin did help with the cooking, not so much with the baking :-P ).

8 Layer Cookies (Adrienne helped with these)

Black and White Cookies (Adrienne helped with these too)

Valentines Day Breakfast for Kevin (First time I ever made french toast and bacon :-) )

Well I guess that's enough photos for this update, but you can definitely see all of the fun things I have made over on facebook. I hope that everyone has become a better person in this new year whether it be by making resolutions or simply by being your wonderful natural self.

Here's to an ever more exciting year in which we can all become even better people than we already are :-)

Kevin akan berada di Malaysia untuk setidaknya tiga minggu

For those who don't know what the title says, it is Malay for "Kevin will be in Malaysia for at least 3 weeks." Yes, Kevin left last night to go to the western digital factories in Malaysia for at least 3 weeks. He is super excited because it is a rite of passage to go and I am excited because I think he will thoroughly enjoy this time. Despite all of the excitement there is still the sadness that we will be apart for so long.

He left late Friday night for the airport and when he got in his stretch limo (yeah he travels fancy style) I cried like a baby. I cried for probably about an hour because I already missed him. I had trouble sleeping but hopefully I don't cry or break down again.

Kevin going to Malaysia has quite an impact on my daily life because he is my ride to and from work. I can still get to work during the week by taking the bus. I took the bus when I first started at the bakery so it is just like old times. The only complicated day of the week is Sunday since I have to be at work at 7 am. The buses do not run this early which complicates things a bit. Kevin and I have ridden our bikes from home to Los Gatos but with the impending pouring rain I don't really want to ride my bike at 5:30 in the morning. The only other real option to get to work would be to take a taxi. This is feasible, slightly expensive but would get me to work on time.

Me being the paranoid person I am cannot wait until the day necessary to try something new. So today I had a taxi scheduled to pick me up and take me to Los Gatos. This trip answered many questions such as would the reservation insure that the taxi would arrive on time? Simple answer is yes, in fact my taxi was about 10 minutes early. Secondly I was able to determine how much the ride will cost so that I will be prepared. After taking the taxi to downtown Los Gatos I waited at the bus stop and proceeded to take the bus right back to Campbell. A bit of a waste of time to most people, but a stress reliever for me.

I made it home, reserved my taxi for tomorrow morning and now it is simply time to relax. I feel relatively prepared for the time without Kevin. Although I may be lonely, I know that I will be able to get to and from work which relieves almost all of my stress.

Here's to hoping for an enjoyable few weeks without Kevin and that I find many fun things to fill my days :-)

I am a "To Do List" addict

They always say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Well the title says it all. I am addicted to making, following and dedicating myself to to do lists. I make a to do list all the time but especially on Mondays, which are my one day off by myself.

The list includes things like laundry and doing dishes but ends up being about 2 or 3 pages long because I have to include things like play video games and watch movies. This is how I know this is a problem. In order to justify watching TV or playing video games it must be on my to do list.

Then again, is it really a problem if everything gets done and I still have a good time. Regardless of whether this addiction is good or bad, it does relieve some stress and helps organize my thoughts into tasks that can be completed.

To do lists help me feel accomplished since I no longer have homework and work to take home so it is my own homemade assignment list. For all of you who love your to do list, keep at it. For those of you who find to do lists overwhelming or unnecessary that is fine too. As long as we all enjoy life while still getting all the necessary tasks done.

Come to think of my to do list for today I did not include writing a blog post on it. Hmmm.....should I simply add it on and then cross it off because I completed it or just count this as some sort of extra credit?

Regardless.....I love my to do list and I love to do things whether they are on my to do list or not.

Here's to finishing my to do list and maybe having a little extra fun along the way. :-)

Happy excuse to do something special day!

Well as everyone knows, I am not a fan of valentine's day. It is simply another day in the year that has convinced everyone in the world to feel required to buy candy and flowers and go out to a fancy dinner with their special someone. Now I know that for the single people in the world this day is yet another reminder of their singledom, but even for some of those in a relationship this day is just forcing love and romance down their throat.

Especially with working on and around holidays at a bakery I am engulfed in each and every holiday of the year so I am over holidays weeks before they actually arrive. So Valentine's day is a long finished holiday in my mind. I don't want heart shaped cookies or cute little candies of valentine's cupcakes. All just overly priced sweets that have no meaning because everybody in the world gets these treats on this oh so special day.

Last week I found out that I would work on the 13th and incredibly I would have the Sunday of Valentine's Day off. Not that I need to the day off to celebrate the occasion, but I decided that Kevin and I would do something "special." So my romantic planning skills yielded the decision that Kevin and I will go to the Campbell Farmers Market on Valentine's day. It is not because it is Valentine's day, it is simply because it is one of the first Sunday's since working at the bakery that I don't have to work and we are not out of town. Kevin and I have each independently gone to the farmer's market but never together and this just seemed like the perfect occasion.

Other than those extravagant plans Kevin and are going to have a casual normal weekend day except that I will cook breakfast. Scary considering I have never cooked bacon before in my life. In addition, Kevin did surprise me with the "All Edge Brownie Pan." He even baked brownies in it during the night so that when I woke up this morning the pan had already been tested. How sweet. I am most excited to have brownies for breakfast.

Here's hoping to a fun day with whatever you may do. Just enjoy the day with the one's you love whether they be a spouse, a friend, a pet, or your children. Take this commercialized holiday and simply spend time together. It is a free and yet very meaningful gift.

Happy "Let's Spend Time Together" Day! :-)

the day has finally arrived!!!

Today is the momentous day of my endoscopy. In just a couple of hours I will have to cease eating and drinking (including water....which is tough b/c i LOVE water). So for about 6 hours I will sit around waiting for my test, but come 3:30 hopefully there will be answers to my illness and pain.

Hoping for a successful and informative day.

**UPDATE: The endoscopy went fine and apparently everything looked normal. No problems on the stomach lining and all of the biopsies came back benign and with no infection. The doctor says great news which makes sense since there is no problem. Unfortunately it leaves me clueless as to why I have been in so much pain lately. I am going to step back from solving the problem for a while and just continue living my life until I am ready to go through more tests.

Hopefully everyone is healthy and happy......I at least have the happy part covered :-)