I'm in Zebu, taking my lunch, and NOT DOING WORK! I refuse. I've been doing too much of work outside of work that I can feel it...the burnout coming. But, I'm not going to let it get to me. I still have a little over a year before I get my clinical license, and almost 2 before I can quit if I wanted. Just waiting it out. At least my coworkers are great and supportive. I think I would've gone bonkers a long time ago, if it weren't for them.

The weather's gorgeous outside. It's chilly, but bright and inviting. I'm tempted by their giant cookies here, but I'm trying to be good. The Hubby and I started the gym this month, and I don't want to end up with a negative workout. =P

My mind's all over the place. Hehe. I think it's 'cause I got up at 5:30am. Because of the gym. Yeah. Not sure how I feel about the early-morning gym sessions. However, I don't know if I can actually force myself to go after work either. Oh, decisions. The dilemmas of being a grown up, with a metabolism no longer being that of a supermotor.

I've been in the mood to bake/cook a lot of things lately, working in my favor. In the last several weeks, I've made: soups and stews (chili, chicken noodle, spinach gouda potato), chicken (asian bbq-flavor and mexican), breaded eggplant, and pecan pie muffins. I'm also planning to make some meatloaf minis (italian, bbq, and mediterranean), bolognese sauce, and some morning muffins. It's great. I'm really happy about it. I portioned them out into smaller containers, so I can pull each one to thaw when I need it. I only hope my motivation lasts through tomorrow, to finish cooking and freezing the rest of what I want.

I can't wait to try the muffin recipe. It's a basic recipe that I can add stuff to make savory or sweet variations. Maybe then I'll stop craving doughnuts for breakfast. =P

Well, not really. Up to quite a bit of cooking and contemplation though, as usual.

I've decided to make my resolution all about not procrastinating as much. So far, I'm doing okay. There are still things I try to avoid (like cleaning the kitchen sink and my bathroom), but I'm doing better with trying to get things done as they happen, in order to reduce my stress later on.

My holidays were good. We spent a lot of time with family, and I took off the week between Christmas and New Year's. It was nice to stay at home, play video games (we got a Wii!), and sleep in. I definitely needed the break.

Everything else is still a work in progress, as I'm slowly sorting out through old clothes, pictures, friends. I've decided to try to cut people out of my life that cause me too much grief and stress. A hard thing for me to do. I caved, and joined Facebook, but I'm being more selective with whom I add as "friend". Though I'm not really that exclusive, I have some old classmates from high school who are "friending" me that I may choose to ignore because I feel I have never had any personal connections with that person whatsoever.

It's all about weeding out and organizing this year. Today's organizational tackle: cooking/prepping foods ahead of time for weekday meals. I'm enjoying it, too, which is great. Sometimes I wonder if I should've gone to culinary school instead. I like to do an awful lot of cooking/baking, and I'm always hungry. =P

How's everybody?

The greatest news thus far (for me, anyway): my mouth is feeling so much better! There's still some discomfort, like when my teeth used to shift after getting the wires adjusted in my braces, but so much better. I almost slept all the way through the night. I'm still taking some pain killers, but I don't need as heavy a dose at all times of the day now. =D

However, the best part of my day is that it's Friday! Lots of good stuff happening this weekend. After work today, I'm going out to dinner with my coworkers to Carabba's. Yum. Sangrias, here I come! I also have a 3-day weekend because I have my commencement exercises on Monday. For the occasion, I'm getting my haircut on Monday, too. After graduation, we're heading to Penang for dinner to celebrate. There isn't much else going on this weekend except more spring cleaning, but with my mouth feeling better, I feel like I can be more productive than a slug. ^.^

Whatcha up to this weekend?

First part of May Madness did not disappoint.

Work was busy, what with all the defiant kids climbing fridges and running amok. They were handled. I did not fall into beating myself up over "what I could've done differently". I'm very proud of myself for this. Found out my coworker's putting in her resignation. My feelings over it are bittersweet. On the one hand, professionally, I learned a lot from her. On the other, personally, I took her constructive feedback pretty hard. Overall, I think I'll miss her. She had a way with the kids that awed and inspired me. I'm also jealous that she's leaving before I am. She's doing what's best for her right now, and that's really important. I respect her for that.

I got my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. It hurt like a biotch! Not the usual extraction either - impacted. Yep. I waited that long. I drugged myself up for the first day with 4 doses of generic Vicodin (at the appropriate timely doses) because the pain was so bad. I still can't decide whether or not I think the pain was worth the nausea I had. Bleh. I ate solid foods today - salmon with mashed potatoes, which was great. I was starving! We had chocolate ice cream for dessert. Yum. =P I still look like a chipmunk with the swelling, but at least I can sit up without too much pain, be somewhat useful at home, and I can enjoy the rest of my weekend. Woo! We're going to visit The Hubby's cousin for lunch and a trip to the boardwalk tomorrow. =)

The upcoming week will be just as busy. The Hubby's getting his extraction Tuesday. BIL's bday is Thursday. I have homemade gifts/cards to make for all the important mothers in my life. I want to bake now, but I think I should do a little more resting before I go overboard with baking and making. I'm excited. When I've figured out recipes to use, I'll post them here.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend.

It was such a nice weekend, I hate for it to end. Though it was cold and I have a slight cold myself, the weekend was sunny, filled with friends and food.

I had Friday off because I took my licensing test. It was hard. Most of the time I wasn't sure if I was answering them right. I started a bit early, and finished the 170-question exam within 3 hours. As a computerized exam, my score would flash on the screen within minutes of completion. However, the computer held it hostage, while it made me fill out a survey. Ack! *grumble, grumble* After taking a possible 4-hour exam, I'd like to have my score, thank you very much. I guess it makes sense to do it that way, or they'll never get any feedback from anyone. =P Ah, well. It was worth it: I passed my exam! Yayayay! The hardest part of getting my license was over. =D

After the exam, I called my family to tell them the news. I broke down in tears of relief and joy. I was so stressed out for the past couple of weeks, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I did it! The Hubby took me out to dinner to celebrate. Delicious steak and maple butter blondies a la mode. Yum!

Saturday was a continuation of the celebration - this time, with our families. We took them to Minado, a Japanese buffet restaurant. We stuffed ourselves silly, to the point that many of us felt like we needed someone to roll us out the door. The Hubby was so full, he couldn't eat for the rest of the day. >P We spent the evening vegging out, watching TFC (The Filipino Channel) or something we taped on the DVR.

Today was a mellow day. My cold didn't let up this morning, so I spent most of the day sleeping/lying down and blowing my nose. Stupid cold. At least the worst of it is happening now, rather than my exam day. That would've sucked. My cold is a little better this evening, so I was able to be productive. I did a load of laundry, straightened up the living room a bit, leisurely read, and baked some brownies.

The brownies came out pretty well. I have 4 different variations of 1 vegan brownie recipe. I made: (1) a batch with Ovaltine (more cakelike, almost has a light german chocolate cake-taste to them), (2) one with macadamia nuts and toasted coconut on top, (3) one with a melted chocolate center, and (4) one plain. I used my cupcake pans to make them the right serving sizes. I thought I'd bring some into work tomorrow as a "thank you" for their votes of confidence and for helping me out in my times of stress there. However, I did make enough for The Hubby and me to enjoy. ;P

I did the stereotypical girl thing and went shopping with my sis today. Though my only intentions were to buy sweaters and a skillet pan, I bought a lot more. However, I found these great stuff for really cheap prices. I bought two lovely sweaters and a cami from NY&Co., brown suede ankle boots from DSW (very comfy, a rare find), my skillet, and a couple of things from VS. It was great. I got everything for under $100, thanks to additional store sale discounts and the lovely Christmas gift card The Hubby gave me.

After spending more money and time than we intended at the mall, we headed off to have dinner with her boyfriend at a Portuguese restaurant. The food was delicious. We had calamari with a spicy marinara sauce and codfish bites for starters, then charged into the seafood paella and a barbecue chicken and beef ribs combo. The seafood and the rice in the paella were cooked perfectly, and melted in your mouth. The chicken and ribs were moist and thoroughly cooked. We topped the meal off with a couple of cappuccinos and their "sawdust" dessert (a vanilla whipped cream-like pudding with crushed vanilla cookies). I slipped into a food coma shortly afterwards. =P

Luckily, the food coma did not affect my driving. I got home around 11:30, and I'm still up because The Hubby's still up. I just sent a text to my sis now to say I got home okay because I'm a spaz and forgot to do it when I get home. I did warn her. Doh.

I think the post-holiday shopping-for-me kick is almost over. Thank goodness. I don't know if my wallet can take anymore. o.o

♥ Cutting back to fit the page requirement is hard. Hopefully it makes sense. At least I finished my paper, with more than an hour to spare. Woo!

♥ Policy paper deadline EXTENDED to Thanksgiving week. I'm still going to try to finish it for next week. =)

♥ Bought tickets to the Chocolate Show for Saturday. The Hubby's going with me. CHOCOLATE! Squee! =D

♥ Going to a friend's birthday party Saturday night. Burgers and FRIES! Yummyummyummy. =P

♥ It's sunny outside.

♥ It's time for breakfast. Mmm. Rice with eggs and dilis.

Can you tell I'm hungry? *L*

I went to Shoprite today and got 8 packages of Ramen for $1!!!  Needless to say, I am very happy about it. We're having Oriental flavor for dinner tonight. /drool

Today's been a pretty nice and productive day. Despite the occasional bouts of anxiety about pending schoolwork and future encounters with the oppositional clients at work, I've been able to keep myself relatively calm and positive. Food creating, shopping, and house straightening helped with the anxiety. I got a lot of things done today.

I'm almost done with the Earl Grey chocolate truffles I promised to make for The Hubby's birthday, and I'll be baking his cookies shortly. I've been craving cookies all weekend, so this is good. =P

The dean of students for my masters program finally contacted me about my January graduation. There's a form I can fill out, but I'm still deciding on whether to have it mailed to me in my tiny mailbox, or to pick it up at my Registrar's. I'm so excited!

I went to A.C. Moore and I found some pretty good stuff I've been looking for to use for some presents. I'm getting into some simple jewelry-making, so I bought some elastic cord for bracelets. Hopefully I can figure out how to do what I want to do with it. I also bought some candy boxes for the truffles. =)

The Hubby will be home soon. I'm hungry. I want some pasta. =P

---

If anyone can help me with a legal question:
For the past couple of years, I've used a creative moniker to label my creations: cards, candy boxes, crochet projects, etc. I've been thinking about it more and more, and I wonder if I should get a copyright on the name. I've been making so many things and using the name for them, it seems to make sense. I guess it would make the most sense to get a copyright if I decide to start selling some of the stuff I make because I don't want to step on any legal toes. Does anyone have any idea how I'd go about doing that? Would it make sense to do it, even I make small sales?

The Hubby and I watched CSI tonight on the DVR, and I found a few things intriguing:

• The new chick, Ronnie Lake, made reference to being offered a position to the other CSIs in Miami and NY. Yeah. Not too exciting, but the intriguing part was me catching this tidbit before The Hubby did (he picks out everything).
  
• They briefly made mention of a delicacy in my culture (Philippine culture): balut. ( Don't read this cut if you're easily squeamish. ) I have never eaten the stuff 'cause I think it's gross, but the reference was kinda cool. Random though. It had nothing to do with the story plot. *shivers at the thought of balut*
• They had bees featured in this episode, but their appearance was also random. This tidbit stood out because in the last couple of weeks, we've had 4 or 5 bees dropped dead in our home office, in front of the window. 2 questions come to mind: where are they coming from, and why are they dropping dead?  =/

Gotta love CSI. The random facts they put in go very well with the random thoughts in my head. =D

It's dreary outside, but I'm happy it's almost the weekend. Here's a few updates:

• I finalized my new schedule with my supervisor. I drop my extra morning hours next week, and I go 80% the following week through to Christmas week.
  
• The prof who seemingly picks on me told me yesterday that I'm "doing much better" now. Ya mean I wasn't before? 0.o  *scratches head*
• It's dreary outside. Today should be a stay-inside-and-sleep-'cause-it's-raining day.
  
• Oppositional people still get me really, really anxious. Luckily, I have great coworkers helping me learn to deal with them more appropriately.
• I can focus my efforts this weekend on cookies and truffles. Yay!
• I'm feeling really motivated, and I think I'm going to try to start some research this weekend for my paper due at the end of the month.
• I'm feeling much better. Thanks for the support.

After getting all worked up that my barbecue might not happen, the clouds broke and God blessed me with sunlight for a good part of the day.

The Hubby and I awoke early to prep everything for the split-second decision we would make about going forward with or cancelling the event. We were tired and we easily got on each others' nerves. However, our moodiness subsided when headed out to scope the picnic area. We pushed our thoughts to *BBQ-happening MOJO*, while the sunlight danced between the clouds. We talked about what we would still need to get, and who said was coming. A few times during the drive, I'd say out loud that I hoped the weather would keep, especially with the forecast calling for 30% chances of thunderstorms/showers all day. Just the worrier in me. =T

We arrived to the site, happy to see that the area wasn't as mucky as we thought it might be after lots of rain, and decided to have the barbecue. Yay! We quickly headed over to ShopRite to get some last minute barbecue items, and went home to pack and get ready. We had to be at the site at 10:30am, so we needed to hustle. We took turns getting ready and standing watch at the picnic site before our guests arrived.

( I had so much fun at the barbecue that I'm exhausted now. )

I'm happy and grateful. The Hubby was just as happy as I was that we were able to have it. I know he recognized that I needed this decompression. I think he needed it too.

I feel really good today. Tired, but content.

/Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds II

I woke up in a funky mood, which lasted until early in the afternoon. ( The rest of my Sunday was relaxing and pleasant. )

We finally got home about an hour ago. The Hubby's watching The Sopranos right now, and I'll be watching some CSI soon. I can't tell whether I'm feeling tired, or restless, but I know I'm rambling now, so I think this shall be the end of the entry. Good night!

This is a recipe I discovered, while watching the Food Network. I tweaked the ingredients a bit, to cater to my tastes and what I had on hand.

( Recipe here )

I made them without nuts, and they came out somewhat cake-like. They also tasted like the Vegan brownies I found on AllRecipes.com. I liked them this way. Very tasty. It definitely satisfied my chocolate cravings. =P

I've been a bit preoccupied with food lately (translation--baking and craving chocolate like there's no tomorrow). Thus, I baked some triple chocolate cookies today, and I lusted after the chocolate pizzelles I made the other night. I haven't tried the cookies yet, but one has my name written all over it. After lunch, of course. =P

Since rice is for dinner, I made myself a spicy tuna salad rollup, toasted on the Foreman. Yum.

I have about an hour or so before I head out to work. I'm deciding between watching an ep of CSI, or napping. Or both? *ponders*

20 minutes later...

Tasted the cookie. It's very chocolatey and delicious. They kinda taste like the vegan brownie recipe I have, except it's a bit more cakey, which I like. =P I'll have to make it again. =D

Yep. I think I'm gonna watch CSI and nap. I believe I have enough time for both.

Despite the forecast for rain on the CW11 this morning, there was none. However, the excessive rain for the last few days caused some major traffic delays around the area. Thus, my class last night was cancelled, and I had to reschedule my counseling appointment today because I wasn't getting anywhere in the awful mess. I checked my school email account, which stated that NB (where Rutgers is located), was in a state of emergency because practically all the roads around the area were flooded/affected by the storms. 0.0 Crazy.

So, after doing some grumbling and mentally kicking myself for not checking the traffic reports and leaving sooner, I headed home, and proceeded to do some work on my presentation for tomorrow's class and wrap some prizes for my friend's bridal shower this weekend.

The weather's warmer now, and the birds are chirping. Put's me in a bit of a good mood. The batteries are finally done charging, so now I can finish off my presentation. I hope to get it done before The Hubby gets home, so I can make pizza and bake some cookies tonight.

Someone has coffee in my class. I smell it. Mmm. I don't like the taste of coffee, but I do like tea. So, that's what I feel like right now. I want some tea with milk and honey, and a milk chocolate toffee wafer from Janam Tea. Or chocolate chip oaties. Yum!

The rest of my weekend wasn't very exciting. Instead of catching up with phone calls, I spent the rest of my Saturday taking naps and cooking/baking, while The Hubby finished up his laundry and started packing.

I made a pork stew from a recipe I found via AllRecipes.com. It was supposed to be for dinner, but the potatoes weren't ready as quickly as the recipe stated, so we had our backup dinner: rice and dinuguan. So, while the stew bubbled in the crock pot, I baked a yellow cake and tried to perfect my recipe for honey-roasted pecans. The yellow cake came out beautifully, and The Hubby was very happy (he was craving cake since Friday). The pecans didn't fare as well. About half of them came out burnt beyond saving, but the other half survived and travelled with The Hubby. Downtime was spent watching many back episodes of Scrubs, finally catching up to Season 5.

Sunday morning we woke up early so The Hubby could finish packing. We went to Church, and then I made one of our favorite brunch meals: lox and bagels. The Hubby and I left for JC about an hour later, and he left for the airport with my FIL and MIL shortly afterwards. I miss him. *sniffle* To put off going home to an empty condo for 2 weeks, I spent a few hours at my parents'. I brought over some of the stew that finally cooked, and a portion of the cake I baked. It was nice spending time with them, talking and laughing about PI, family, and food. I stopped back at my in-laws house (up the block) to visit for about an hour, before I dropped off Marco and headed for home.

Hm. Looking back on it now, I made a lot of food this weekend. Maybe I was making sure he'd miss me and my cooking? ;-P

Tonight, I go back to my ritual of classes and internship. I think I'm supposed to meet with a classmate tonight for coffee before class, but I'm not sure. I'll have to give her a call later this afternoon.

Got to sleep in for the first Saturday in a loooooong time. I woke up about 30 minutes ago because the sun was just too bright and weird dreams about wedding stuff again. Now that I've been up for a bit, I'm hungry. Not sure what to have. Maybe some eggs and rice with tuyo (these stinky little fish, yum!).

What does the rest of the day hold? Not sure, except there are a few people I wanted to call, and a load of laundry that needs to be done before The Hubby's trip. Right then, I should get to it.