T minus 250 days: disney world here i come!

In order to get revved up for my commitment to this whole marathon process, I needed to bite the bullet and sign up for a marathon. Since I don't exercise, don't run, and am basically a couch potato, I obviously needed very strong motivation. What better motivation then a race through Disney World's Magic Kingdom at Disney World??!!

I've been to Disney World 3 times, Disney Land once, and I must say I love all things Disney.
I signed up for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. I'm on my way to Disney World, baby. January 10, 2010. 26.2 miles and then all the rides I want. :-) Wooohooo!

I ran 1 mile this morning and wasn't phased at all. Can't wait to run another one.

day 1: yes I can!

My plan this morning was to wake up at 5:30 and hit the ground running. Well, it was more like 6:00 and I didn't get down to the gym downstairs until 6:15. But once I got down there it wasn't that bad. For my first day I decided to take it slow - 30 minutes on the treadmill. I did a walk/run - 5 min. walk/10 min. run/5 w/10 r.

Hopefully, tomorrow I can wake up again. :-) Today I will find a marathon to sign up for so I can't back out of this challenge...White Rock in Dallas or ING in Miami?

Yes You Can!

I have decided to set a new goal for myself and in order to ensure that I accomplish the goal I decided I needed to hold myself accountable for it by making it public on my blog. So what is this new goal you ask...I am going to run a marathon...an actual 26.2 mile marathon. This goal is a little crazy, especially for me. I don't run. Throughout most of my elementary and high school days I was the girl who finished last or next to last in those mandatory one mile runs. Why is this? Because I have always been a fat kid at heart. I like to eat, watch tv or read a book, and sleep. Now I bake and do crafts. None of those activities involve any exercise and there has been a reason for that. But now, I'm 28...almost 30. When I was 26 I was finishing up my JD. When I was 27 I was planning my wedding. Now I'm 28 and what am doing...nothing. I'm working. I'm about to buy a house. But what am I doing? Not enough is the answer. I figure I need to have a goal each year and this is my new goal. I will run a marathon before my 29th birthday. Right now my target date is December. This sounds impossible, but I was told by my marathoner/triathlete/iron man friend that it's doable. She said you can train in five months if you want to, but I'm going to be more realistic.

Tomorrow is definitely the beginning of a new day. :-)

birdie diaper cake

Ever since I first saw a diaper cake online, I have been in love with them. I make a diaper cake for just about every shower that I throw. They make cute and practical centerpieces. Sunday's shower for my cousin Lisa is no different. I'm excited about my momma bird/baby bird theme, especially after my invites turned out so cute. I was fortunate that I was easily able to continue the theme into the cake.

Step 1: Get some diapers and receiving blankets. I found some cute pink birdie blankets by Dwell for Target.

Step 2: Make topper. Usually I use a stuffed toy for the topper, but I couldn't find a stuffed birdie that the was the same shape as the birds I used in the invite. So I drew birds on pink and yellow card stock and cut them out, just as I did for the invites only bigger. And then I took the hanger that the receiving blankets were wrapped around and taped the birds on either side of the hanger.

Step 3: Roll the diapers and layer them into a 3 tier cake wrapping the receiving blankets around each layer.

Step 4: Stack the tiers on top of each other. Stick the topper in the cake. Add a couple toys for good measure.

I hope Lisa likes her cake. :-)

25 Things

1. Pebbles (my dog) is my favorite everything...she can always make me smile.
2. I love horror movies and romantic comedies.
3. I'm a hypochondriac. I spend a lot of time self diagnosing myself online.
4. I'm fascinated by all medical mystery/documentary shows on discovery health. Especially if it concerns medical abnormalities.
5. My dream job would allow me to be more creative - like a graphic designer/event planner and part time fashionista.
6. Like most Asians, I used to to want to be a doctor, until I went to college and realized I was far better at research and writing then math and molecular structures.
7. I'm addicted to office supplies...highlighters, pens, and sticky tabs oh my! This addiction was realized in law school.
8. My other addiction - spicy food - when I was little I would eat it until my lips would throb so much that I would take an ice cube to cool them down.
9. I am incredibly unimpressed by brand name things - cars, purses, clothes, etc. I would rather spend the money on a fabulous trip with someone I love because I value life experiences over material things. That doesn't mean I don't love shopping...b/c I LOVE shopping.
10. I am a news junkie - I listen to NPR all day - when I'm driving, in my office, weekend mornings while I'm making pancakes or working on a project.
11. I hate Valentine's Day.
12. I read the NY Times every day.
13. I am easily startled and can get so engrossed in what I am reading that when someone comes into my office and says something I jump in my seat.
14. I am very stubborn, I must win every argument...I guess that's why I became a lawyer.
15. I prefer cultural/educational vacations. I'd rather spend an entire day in a museum than on a beach.
16. If I take on a new hobby - right now it's baking - I get obsessed with mastering it.
17. I am a dreamer, I guess that's the Pisces in me.
18. I didn't start doing my own laundry until I got married.
19. I'm 28, but get carded all the time. Recently, at a legal conferences I was carded at the bar even though I was wearing my name tag which clearly indicated that I am a lawyer.
20. I don't really like coffee, but drink it every morning at work just because.
21. I am jealous of those who don't have to go work...but I didn't get a JD so I could spend my days shopping and watching tv.
22. I want to be as good of a parent as my parents were to me.
23. Even though I love romantic comedies and cheesy asian soaps...I am not particularly romantic. I don't believe in love at first sight or soulmates. I believe that our physical attraction to certain people is all biological and based in science. I believe that our emotional attraction to a person is a choice.
24. I am not easily convinced...of anything.
25. I love politics and political discussions. Laws make the world go round, and I am annoyed by people who don't vote or who vote but don't understand the issues before doing so. I hate talking to someone who has obviously resigned themselves to apathy and ignorance.

baby bird cake

My cousin's shower is Sunday, so I am finalizing my plans. I'm making a cake, and I'm thinking of doing something similar to the one pictured only with yellow frosting and pink birds. Does anyone else have any good ideas?

song in my head: I Don't Know by Lisa Hannigan

I Don't Know from ATO Records on Vimeo.

eenie, meenie, miney, mo...

Now that we may have a house, it's time to start thinking about how to furnish it. First things first, a new living room set. Our current sofa is apartment sized. I love it, but it's definitely small. Here are some of the new ones I'm considering. Which one do you prefer?

Westwood sofa from Room and Board

Piazza Sofa from cB2

Petrie Sofa from Crate and Barrel

Miramar Sofa from Crate and Barrel

Clark sectional from Room and Board

hopefully...our new home

So our offer was accepted and in June, if all things go well we will close on our first house. The inspection is next week. I'm not too concerned about the inspection. But I'm the type of person that worries about everything so nothing is ever 100% until we've signed all the papers. For now Below is a glimpse of the house. It's 4bed/3bath. It has an awesome glass mud room in the back overlooking the backyard. The garage is unfortunately detached, because the neighborhood is historic, but we'll live. It has ridiculously tall ceilings - 16-18ft at least. I feel like a midget in the house, but it's awesome. Below are some of the pictures from the listing website. For a better view of the house, feel free to check out this link from the original listing:

http://homesite.obeo.com/viewer/unbranded.aspx?tourid=520789

my favorite room - the kitchen.

More of the kitchen. I love the contemporary feel, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. Plus it's bigger than our kitchen now. :-)

Master bathroom. Shower, jacuzzi tub, huge closet, and an awesome japanese style toilet that is unfortunately not pictured.

Master bedroom.

Living room. Not our furniture of course, but hopefully they will let us keep the mirror above the fireplace in the corner. The fireplace is one solid piece of black granite. Beautiful.

Another bathroom.

Another bedroom. This one is going to be my office. :-)

what's for dinner?

tom kha gai - sweet and spicy thai coconut chicken soup
better than at any restaurant in town :-)

barbeque pork shoulder with mac n' cheese and corn

shrimp and asparagas pasta

pork wonton soup

We haven't been remembering to take pictures of our meals much lately, so this is we have for the past two weeks. Definitely the most delicious was the tom kha gai. I could eat that soup for days because it only gets better. And if you're looking for a recipe you won't find one here, Michael doesn't do recipes. :-)

must have: textured walls

So our offer was accepted, which means we are closing on our new house on June 15. Already there are so many things to think about...furniture, paint colors, accessories, etc. First things first, since we have so much time I know I will paint or add something distinctive to the walls before we move in. Our lease is up the end of July, so we will be moving in slowly and prepping the house first.

There are three specific walls in the potential new house that I know I want to make distinctive. (1) The giant living room wall. And I mean giant. It's huge and the ceilings are like 16 or 18 feet so it's massive. (2) The wall in the dining area. (3) One of the walls in my office. And I mean in my office. We have four bedrooms. Master, guest, Michael's office and my office.



What I'm considering right now for one of the walls is a textured wall tile. Better than wall paper, they are self adhesive and certain kinds are paintable. Pictured above is Inhabit's Seesaw and Graham & Brown's paintable small squares. Inhabit's tiles would look awesome in our dining room. And Graham & Brown's would look great on the center wall in the office and painted a cool blue or a yellow. Love it! And I already convinced Michael. :-)

invites

Last night I finally started making Lisa's shower invites. I started at 7:30pm and I quit at 12:30am and still had two invites left to go. Of course, I also took a break for dinner, but still it was forever considering that I came up with my simplest design yet. I didn't want to do anything fancy or time consuming.

Part of the problem was my bird theme. I thought I could find a bird punch or a bird stencil. I couldn't find either, so instead I drew some birds and cut them out. I thought that the challenge would be drawing them, but instead it was the cutting. The other challenge was the text on front of the card. I used rub on letters, which is my preferred method, but somehow it took longer than usual to rub on each individual letter. Oh well, it was worth it. I think that they turned out pretty cute.

baby shower inspiration

I love planning showers. In fact I have the tendancy to go a little overboard with the details. I suppose this is my hobby - party planning. Anyways, I'm planning my cousin-in-law's baby shower this April. She's having her first baby - a girl! So I've been perusing the web for some inspiration. I stumbled upon these pictures from the cutest themed shower - momma bird/baby bird shower. The candy bar at the end is from a different baby shower - but I'm definitely doing a candy bar for the favors. :-) I think it's time for my trip to Hobby Lobby/Michaels!