2011 Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I can't believe another year has already flown by.

Guess it's time to make another round of pesky resolutions... a lot of years I don't even bother making them as I'm just going to end up breaking them.  But this year, I'll go ahead and make one.

I won't bother with the standard eat healthier or exercise more... I'd rather stay curvy with my extra 10lbs and enjoy my love of food and spend what little free time I do have doing everything but exercising.

I will however go with the standard enjoy life more.  It's quite abstract and not really measurable so maybe I will succeed this year!  Another way I could describe this would be to loosen up.  I am definitely a Type A personality who is stubborn, headstrong and a rules-based perfectionist.  In 2011, it's time for me to let go of some of these self-made rules of mine.  It's time to enjoy the little things.

As it relates to blogging... it's okay for a blog post to not have pictures.  It's okay to not be in chronological order all the time.
As it relates to money... it's okay to splurge here and there.  It's okay if every purchase isn't fully practical and functional.
As it relates to work... it's okay to make a mistake.
As it relates to friends and family... it's okay if they're not perfect... no one is.  Let the little things go.
As it relates to me... it's okay for me to do what I want to do.  To have me time.  To not cater to everyone else.

Day 1: So far so good!  This post has no pictures and I didn't wait until after I caught up with my December travels, I enjoyed an afternoon cookie snack without guilt, and I'm spending the afternoon playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii because it makes me happy.

Happy New Year friends!  Good luck with your resolutions (if you decide to make any.)

Thanksgiving, the American Chinese Way

I just wanted to share a picture of all of the food (minus my pumpkin cheesecake pie) we had for Thanksgiving.  We had all of the normal "traditional" Thanksgiving foods plus what my family considers is necessary at family gatherings...

Yep, we had turkey (super juicy), stuffing (with venison sausage!), cranberry sauce (not from a can this year!), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (with soup from a can), sweet potatoes, potato salad, tater tot casserole (in honor of Opie's BBQ and the craving Stasia's wedding created), stuffed mushrooms, deviled eggs, rolls, fruit salad, pumpkin cheesecake pie...

Then we also had sweet & sour chicken, pork loin, a noodle side dish whose name I only know in Chinese, and rice.  

Side note: My family believes rice should be eaten with practically every single meal.  Noodle dishes (like Italian) or pizza are pretty much the only exception.  Seriously, they eat cheese hamburgers without a bun and with a side of rice instead.  My plate and my cousin's wife's plate would be the ones without rice.  We allotted no room for a filler like rice! 

Gotta love Thanksgiving done my family's way!  It makes eating the leftovers a lot less boring, that's for sure!

Thankful

Growing up, Thanksgiving was never about sharing what we're thankful for.  It has always been about food, football, more food, and then more football.  It was enjoyed with the extended family but if you got in the way of food or football, you may as well have not been family.  Unconditional love did not cover getting in the way of food and football.  People fought over who got the dining room table seats that had the best view of the living room's TV.  I always lost...

I don't fault my family.  Daily, we ate home-cooked dinner together at the kitchen table (with no TV allowed) but conversation was never lively.  We just didn't (and still don't) discuss the little things of life, the details of our days.  Big events were discussed and as I got older, my dad and I can discuss current events and politics.  It's just the way we are and I can appreciate our peacefully silent yet still enjoyable meals.

This Thanksgiving, I would like to reflect on some of the things I am truly thankful for.  It's really good to take a step back and think positively rather than fret over all the little things.

I am thankful for my family who has always supported me no matter what, always forgives me after angry outbursts, has taught me the morals and values that shaped who I am today.  They may frustrate me but they love me and have done nothing but push me to be a better person.  

At Chichen Itza - Family Cruise 2010

I'm also thankful that my grandfather is temporarily living with my parents and has been here to celebrate my birthday and now Thanksgiving.  He's 97 and each day with him is a blessing.

At my cousin's birthday party - we love food!

I'm thankful for my wonderful boyfriend, Josh.  I'm so lucky to have found him.  He brightens my day and lifts my spirits.  He reminds me to be a little less serious and enjoy life.  He introduced me to the fun of costumes (as evidenced by the picture) and does want to talk about the details of my day.  His family welcomed me into their family with WIDE open arms.

At Texas Renaissance Festival - 1001 Dreams Themed Weekend

I'm thankful for my dog, Zoey.  She's a lover.  I wish I could spend 20 hours of the day lounging around on the bed/sleeping and then the other 4 hours of the day getting belly rubs, hugs and kisses, and treats.  She lives a good life - everyone spoils her and in return she rewards us with her unconditional love.  

At my parents' backyard - lab/spaniel mix (aka mutt)

And lastly, I'm thankful for my friends.  They pick me up when I'm down, they share the good (and bad) times with me, they make me smile and laugh, they're an extension of me that without I am not whole.

 At a UT football game with Amber

At Britt's wedding 

At Maggiano's - my birthday dinner

At Peaches' wedding

Friends who were not pictured, I am still thankful for you but we need to hang out more so I have pictures!

What are you thankful for?

Appreciated

I showed up this morning to work to find a thank you card from a staff.  It really touched me.  It made it all worthwhile to know that someone appreciates that I take the time to teach and mentor rather than just dictate the right answers.  It made it all worthwhile to know that someone appreciates how flexible I am about when we work and how we work.  That there's more to life than just this job and that it's important to be flexible so that we can all have the outside-of-work things that are important to us - friends, family, religion, downtime, etc.

Such a simple gesture to renew my spirits and remind me why exactly I do my job the way I do it.

Grateful

I'm back!  It's been a crazy couple weeks trying to get through my 9/15 busy season deadline but I made it and this marks my first full weekend off in a while.  And even though I'm sick with some crazy infection/inflammation thing, I'm still having a fantastic weekend thus far and just want to reflect on the things that I'm grateful for this weekend.

- My new Martha Stewart "french oven" (enameled cast iron casserole pot) from Macy's.  It's not Le Creuset but it'll do for now.  One day I'll splurge for the real deal but for now I will remain the bargain shopper because closeout prices rock.

- New shoes!  I just keep finding super cute ones on sale/clearance and I just can't resist.  The latest craze is BRIGHT colors - pink, blue, green - I'm sold!  And boots for fall because at some point I do realize I'll have to pack away the flip flops for at least a couple months.

- A new electric griddle because pancakes are just so much more perfect when made on a griddle.  (Also on sale at Macy's!)

- New stainless steel pots and pans to replace the nasty nonstick ones we currently have.  Yay Brother for agreeing we needed new pots and pans!  (On sale at JCPenney's!)

- New bright and colorful shirts!  I know it's about to be fall and the fashion police would say I should start wearing more fall/darker colors but I don't care.  I need the hot pinks and yellows in my wardrobe to brighten up my day.  

- Spending time just pampering myself and creating a spa day at home.  Mmmm smooth skin that glows!

- Relaxing with Zoey.  I love my dog.

- About to watch The Blind Side.

- Hanging out with friends tonight to watch UT Football!!!

- And lastly, the most important: my family, friends, and Josh who have been so supportive during busy season and taking care of me now when I'm sick.

(No pictures this post.  I'm sick, give me a break.)

Leap Year (movie)

I watched Leap Year the other night.

Boyfriend thinks "chick flicks" have killed romance.  That they create unrealistic expectations and now women are unable to find the "perfect guy" because he no longer exists.


I beg to differ.  (No surprise there.)


I mean really - it's not as if the "perfect guy" exists to begin with.  So I'm not going to watch a movie and then be like - yes!  X, Y, and Z absolutely must be done/present or he's not acceptable.  I watch them because I *need* a happy ending sometimes.  I *need* to know everything will work out somehow by the end.  It's not like "chick flicks" are happy and perfect the entire 2 hours.  No way.  There is always pain, heartache, struggles, and tears followed by a happy ending somewhere down the road.  Call it a silly faith boost but I just like being reminded that life will work out somehow.  It will require work and it won't be easy but it'll be happy if I work towards making it happy.


And what's not to love about sexy accents and good looking men.  If men get Megan Fox and Jessica Alba, we women deserve equality!  :o)


Ok, I'm off that soapbox.  Back to the reason of this post.  Leap Year had one of the very best quotes I have heard in a long time.

May you never steal, lie, or cheat,

But if you must steal,

Then steal away my sorrows,

And if you must lie, 

Lie with me all the nights of my life,

And if you must cheat,
Then please cheat death because I couldn't live a day without you.

Janet and the Pink Crayon Introduction

If only life could really be like one of my favorite childhood books, Harold and the Purple Crayon.  If that were so, I'd be living "Janet and the Pink Crayon" and I would be able to draw anything and everything I want and then it would come to life.  But even if that were possible, it'd still end up just like the book where even though Harold draws exactly what he wants, it often twists into different situations containing a lot of obstacles that he has to continue drawing to overcome.  Guess the author was trying to keep it real even in a children's book.

That won't deter me though - I'll always be a dreamer and I'll continue to use my (imaginary) pink crayon to take charge of my own life and attempt to create the life I've always pictured myself having.

I'm quickly learning I can't control everything no matter how hard I try.  Therefore...

What To Do When You Feel Like You're In A Rut

(1) Start a blog - check.

(2) Chant a new mantra: "Enjoy today, quit worrying about tomorrow" - check.

(3) Cut off the long hair - check.

(4) Have a little faith that everything will work out - in progress...