Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 Recap & 2016 Resolutions

My Resolutions from 2015
- run a 10K and 2 other "races" - I ran two color runs and the distance of a 10K (though not a race) so we'll call this one good. 1 point
reach my goal weight - I did reach it. Staying there...that's going to be my new challenge. But 1 point =)
- Buy stock/invest in a CD to better understand money - I made this one cause I didn't have any debt, and now I do have one (thanks to helping Ryan pay off his house) which gets to the spirit of the resolution, so 0.5 points
- Read the New Testament & journal my QTs. I did journal some this year, but mostly about cancer, and didn't touch the NT. 0 points.
- Try a new 'hard' recipe every month Yep! Read my last blog post for the success on this one! 1 point.
Memorize a new scripture passage monthly Sort of? I only started this in November to memorize the verses for the basketball team I am coaching, so...we'll call it a 0.5 point, but it wasn't the whole year.
- Finally visit a gynecologist Yep. It wasn't weird. Just do it girls. 1 point
- Learn how to do makeup Ipsy and Birchbox were great! I cancelled for 2016 - I had so many products! 1 point.
- Attend Grace Hopper (professional conference) and Brick Fair (Lego fan conference) Yep It was great! 1 point
Read the next 2 Song of Ice and Fire books with Ryan Yep. Caught up with the show, probably not going to keep reading since GRRM has not planned the next publication date. 1 point

So, 8/10. That's good!

My New Resolutions
01 - Build my own computer! This is about saving the money to buy the parts and about learning the inner workings of the computer

02 - Cook 12 dishes from non-US countries, one a month

03 - Reduce my running time to a 12 minute mile (for 3 miles, my standard)

04 - Read one non-fiction book every month (see my list here!)  http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2IORSKJ18J8LI/ref=topnav_lists_2

05 - Grow my own veggies! Herbs, Tomatoes, maybe some others but we'll start with those.

06 - Learn about car maintenance - want to be able to do my own oil change

07 - Listen to more podcasts. I think I can learn more from podcasts while running than TV
http://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2015/12/29/revisit-the-top-five-shakespeare-unlimited-podcast-episodes-of-2015/

08 - Make a Project Linus Blanket. I'd like to learn how to knit and if not, I did learn how to use the sewing machine at work, and now I can quilt a little blanket! I'd like to try both but one is a good resolution for now. :)

09 - Learn to make my own pasta! I've got to get the pasta press for KitchenAide, but I want to try

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Cook Something Hard Results

1) January - CrockPot cooking (I wrote a blog about this one)

2) February - Saffron Lamb - I made this fancy dish for Valentine's day, and it was delicious but expensive! I have not used the saffron I bought for it since.

3) March - Checkerboard Cake - I made this for Ryan's birthday and learned that angelfood cake is a terrible choice for this - it's impossible to cut!

4) April - DIY Celery Pickles - this was surprisingly easy, and delicious in egg salad!

5) May - Broiled Hawaiian Chicken - I spent some time trying to learn the difference between bake and broil in order to make dinner on mother's day

6) June - DIY BBQ sauce - I followed a recipe for beer sauce and made some tweaks to the sodium content

7) July - Quiche - I totally burned this one. But it was tasty!

8) August - Fried Plantains - This was so outside of my comfort zone but ended up being super easy and now I make them all the time!

9) Sept - Spaghetti Squash - Definitely an experience to cook this veggie. It's SO yummy though! Don't get fooled - it doesn't sub for pasta, but is good all on it's own

10) Oct - Butternut Squash soup - Ryan didn't like this :( But I also did roasted squash which he liked better - the carrots in the soup was what he really didn't like!

11) November - Pecan Pie - this one was a special request from Ryan for thanksgiving...and I burned it. My reputation with pies is not so great right now!

12) December - for a co-worker who doesn't eat sugar, I learned some baking science in order to make sugar-free banana nut muffins. They were a big hit! :)

When you say goodbye, what taste do you leave?

Yesterday, someone I work with left his job to go to another company. And while I understand why he's making that choice for his career and I think it's the right choice for him and I wish him the best, I'm processing a little bit how you say goodbye to someone that you've seen almost every day, and then your contact with them just...stops.

It doesn't really stop, I suppose - I am still able to reach out to him as needed, but the nature of how we interact fundamentally changes when he's working for another organization.

It's not like this is a new experience for me - at the end of every summer internship I've had, I had to say goodbye to the people who I worked with and saw everyday, and at graduation, I had to say goodbye to classmates I had been with for years. And with all of them, the nature of our relationship somehow changed. I still saw them, I was still happy for them when they got married, but something changed. Experiencing this before doesn't make it feel different, or feel easier, to say goodbye to someone. It's still a bittersweet experience.

At the end of the farewell luncheon for my co-worker, there was a long line of people waiting to shake his hand and say their few words - and three women (one of them me) who got (*cough*, asked for) hugs instead of handshakes. And yes, that was special, and I'm glad I got my hug...but that was it.

I know, from those previous experiences, that this feeling will go away and that my job will stay pretty much exactly the same. But it still feels weird, and I still feel like I should capture it somehow. Sometimes, people go out of your life and come back into them later, sometimes, people go out of your life without your even realizing that they're leaving. But moments like these - abrupt endings - make you think about how many people are in your life, how many lives you touch, and what message you may be leaving with them about you, what motivates you, how you work, etc. When you walk out of their life, how will they remember you? what taste will you leave behind?