A Six Month Review

I decided to review my "goals" as seen in my January post "Starting Another Decade: 2010."
I focused on 5 things and here's how I'm doing as of June 2010.....

1. Read only FICTION
-- finished Amy Tan's "Saving Fish From Drowning"
-- read Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead"
-- just finished Jean Kwok's "Girl in Translation"





2. Exception to goal #1 -- The Bible.
I have not been reading. I have been listening to the NIV audio on my iPod to go along with our church's goal of reading the Bible in 90 days. I am 4 weeks behind and finished "Daniel" on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.


3. Start attempting some REAL cooking.
-- made Rachel Ray's "Hot Curry Noodle Bowls" (liked very much)
-- made Giada's "Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde" (DELICIOUS!!!!), Herbed Quiona, and Caramelized Onion and Grapefruit Salad (liked).
-- made Stuffed Zucchini and Red/Orange/Yellow Bell Peppers (liked alright).
** I can't say that any of these recipes are what I would consider "real" cooking, but they have all made me cook outside of my comfort zone dealing with an ingredient or two I don't usually use.
--> ENO #5 -- There is a ton of freedom to experiment with meals now that its just my adventurous hubby's palette and mine!

4. Get back into working out and losing weight.
-- On the wagon, off the wagon. Gain a pound here, lose a pound here. As of this moment, my weight is exactly where it was 6 months ago. Great, I haven't gained weight, but bummer, I haven't lost the weight I gained from last year.

5. Pray. ORIGINAL post: "Pray more. Pray in ways that seem trivial. Pray in ways that are uncomfortable. Pray in ways that are different. Pray more of scripture. Pray. Pray. Pray. No, I'm asking now for you to pray for ME! I want my life to reflect the character of praying. I can certainly "talk" well enough to those around me, why can't I pray to the God who is always around me?"
-- As my teenagers like to say, "Total FAIL." Ugh. So not praying. So lazy. I could blame my hubby. He prays for us in the morning and at night, so I figure he's got it all covered. I guess the harsh truth is success in goals #1-4 don't make a hill of beans if #5 doesn't have any action.....

Empty Nester Observations ["ENO"]

Now that Michael has moved to VA and Lauren is spending time with grandparents in VA, the empty nest season has begun. I have decided to do a series of how this transition is effecting my life. I will be posting various observations as they come up. I have decided to call them "ENO" (Empty Nester Observations).

ENO #1 -- I am a minimalist. I do not like clutter. I do not like to "keep things just in case." I prefer my environment to be tidy, organized and free of stuff. Now that the kids are basically gone, this bent in me seems to be flaring up. I want to clear out everything. Late last week, my first victim was the pantry. Specifically, I attacked the Michael and Lauren shelf. No need for snack items to stuff in lunch boxes, no need to keep all 3 hot chocolate mixes or Michael's grape drink mix and Lauren's lemonade mix. No need for 2 kinds of puddings b/c one child likes only vanilla and the other prefers tapioca. No need for after school quickie microwavable Mac & Cheese or cans of Beenie Weenies.

Rearranging and clearing out the pantry has made it almost twice as big with room to spare. There is room for my cookbooks and my "admin stuff" like rubber bands and tape, etc. There is now room for all the multi-vitamins and over the counter-help-me-function-like-I'm-30-something-again-even-though-I'm-40 pills.

ENO #2 -- The minimalist fashion. Now we may prance about the house in as little clothing as we'd like.

ENO #3 -- Only the front and back door need to remain closed. Why be bothered by closing the bathroom door now?

ENO #4 -- Oh, chores still need to be done. I might be Asian and slant toward the pro-child labor, but I am missing having the "extra help" to take out the trash, vacuum, feed the animals, bring in the groceries.......

Vacationing with the Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Immediately following the 70s bash, we headed to the Washington Harbor (again) for a security conference Danny had to attend for work. I, of course, served my role there as Danny's "arm candy." Turning 40 has made me realize there are not many years left of that job for me. Before you know it, I'll be the "walker candy".


The keynote speaker was John Ashcroft. Hail all things conservative!

I had hoped to spend the entire time there hanging out at the pool reading a new book Danny had gotten me for my birthday. Well, that never happened. Instead I spent a considerable amount of time with the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, both intentionally and unintentionally. There is a trail from the Gaylord Hotel across the bridge to Old Town Alexandria. It is 3 miles one way. I walked it 3 times which is a total of 18 miles. The other time, I spend almost an hr on it in stop and go "rush" hour traffic. Uggghhhhh.........hate DC traffic. Will NEVER live there again.

Anyway, the first day I got to spend an afternoon with my friend Kelly. She is a designer and we use to work together at the Freer and Sackler. We use to "slug" to work together and have some great "slug" stories. After having her son Warren, she decided to stay home full time and couldn't be happier! It was so fun catching up and remembering old times at FSG and being grateful for the current state of our lives!

The second day my gorgeous friend Christine aka "Fuji" came to the Harbor to meet me for lunch. She is a friend I hung out with at Immanuel. She works for the Christian Embassy (Campus Crusade for Christ) in DC. Again, was such a treat to catch up with her and even do a little shopping. Got myself a dark gold purse :) Fuji got me all caught up on the happenings at Immanuel. So much can happen in 3 short years! Whew! Since Fuji is 1/2 white and 1/2 Japanese, I like to say that when we hang out, we make 1 white person and 1 Asian person. Its a hapa thing, you wouldn't understand :P

The last night we were there we had dinner with his boss and family. That day Danny won a Flip video camera from a Cisco session. GO DULIN!!! On our way home, we stopped in Springfield to have lunch with Michael and Cory. It was good to come home to an empty house and no more activity.