February 2012: Goal Check

I'd like to start checking in every month to make sure I'm keeping up with my goals.

Here's what I set for 2012:

• -get into a healthier lifestyle
• -continue with last year's goal of being more generous with my time, talents and money
• -open up my Etsy store by the end of January (look out!)
• -be a more thoughtful gift giver
• -keep in better touch with my family and friends on the mainland
• -do devotions with my husband once a week
• -pay off my car early as planned. only a few more months to go!
• -grow some edibles in our mini garden. last year I was still figuring things out back there.

Well, reading through those again makes me feel like I have so far to go! Good thing it's only February :)

Healthy Lifestyle

This is not a diet; it's a lifestyle change. I'd say that we are doing pretty well at this. Since Thanksgiving, I unintentionally lost 6 pounds. I think the culprit was working too hard in December :P I won't complain too much though, hehe! I am perfectly fine with my weight and lately I've just been wanting to feel more athletic and comfortable in my body.

I bought some swim goggles a few weeks ago and since then I've gone swimming three times, hopefully going again tomorrow!

Sunscreen and googles, that's all I need. Oh, and a suit.

I was on the swim team my senior year of high school and it was SO much fun. I really enjoyed it. So being back in the water like this makes me feel good. Swimming in the ocean is a very different from swimming a pool. Yesterday we had to deal with a pretty strong current. One way it was such a breeze. The other direction, it was like fighting a losing battle and I felt like I was going nowhere. What a workout! Also, there are more things to look at than just a blue line on the bottom. Where I swim, I try to stick to the "inside" where there's a sandy bottom. I've seen a few different types of fish and of course all the coral. There's also a channel which goes out, and I've swam there before, but it's super spooky. There's a pipeline to follow that goes out to a windsock and then you swim back. But I heard a rumor that someone saw a shark in the channel, so it creeps me out. I also once encountered a VERY large sea turtle when I was by myself and it freaked me out! I know they don't eat people but it was still very unsettling.

So my goal with the swimming is to get more comfortable going by myself, and go at least twice a week. I will only swim the channel if there is perfect visibility. Murky water gives me the creeps!

I also incorporated some strength training and I do walks and runs. Last week I rode my bike to work. I try to do this whenever it's not raining and I have the morning shift. It's safer and cooler then. It's only a 4-mile roundtrip ride, but it's a good way to sneak in some exercise when I don't have time.

Being More Generous
Yup, still good on this. Whether it's tithing monthly, supporting a missionary friend, or donating cookies, I feel good being more generous. I am trying to live life with more of an open hand than a closed fist.

Etsy Store
Stay tuned for an announcement tomorrow! I may not have made my goal of opening by the end of January, but that's okay, because it's still going to happen! LOVE IT when I reach my goals!

Be a More Thoughtful Gift Giver
I think I'm still working on this. I'll admit that I copped out on Christmas presents last year and bought a bunch of giftcards. They were easier to ship and just easier in general. However it's better when I can join the recipient in enjoying the giftcard. Sometimes you can't be present to do that, though.

Keep In Better Touch
I've been failing on this one. What is it that makes me too lazy to just pick up the phone and call? Or Skype?

Husband-Wife Devotions
We set the goal to do these once a week together, and so far it has been GREAT! I can't report any huge breakthroughs or anything, but it has been really fun and is a wonderful way to grow our relationship with each other and God. I love praying with my husband and learning together with him. Plus it's nice to hear someone else's perspective.

Pay Off the Car Early
We are on track. Estimated pay off date: July!

Grow Some Edibles
This is probably third on my list of things I need to take care of. However the lilikoi vine is absolutely growing out of control! I was training it to stay on top of the fence, but the top of the fence is flat so it doesn't have anything to hold onto. It was also pretty windy so it blew down a little bit. That thing grows so fast, I have to check every day to make sure it's not grabbing onto the clothesline! I got some nails to pound into the fence so hopefully it will be able to anchor itself on that way. I want to get it to grow across the whole length of the fence AND stay on our side so no one else can get the fruit (which will hopefully come out this summer!).

The garden is small but I want to try to make something of it! Besides the lilikoi vine, we've got a jasmine pikake plant, aloe, and three ti leaf plants. I killed the Amy Yoshioka Gardenia :( Oops!


I have a bunch of blog post ideas running through my head but just not enough time to do postings lately. Hopefully I can get on that soon.

Aloha!

Ocean Themed Cake

I had the sweet opportunity to bake the cake and cupcakes for my husband's cousin's wedding this past weekend. It was a lot of work but it was very worth it! I just wanted to share a few photos of the baked goods and I hope it gives you some inspiration if you make cakes!


The bride and groom are both artists and extremely, wildly talented. I wish I had their drawing/art skills! They made all their own stationery for the wedding (drool). One of my secret dreams is to one day make my own paper stuff. Stationery. Etc! I am a total stationery junkie and have to restrain myself from buying too many cards. Yes, I am keeping Hallmark and the USPS in business. But that is another story!


The bride was also cool enough to let me do my own thing with the cake. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Fortunately, I had some direction and inspiration - their invites/RSVPs!

She also had told me that she was going to make their cake topper. At first I thought it was going to be like the two little birdies on their invite, but she ended up making a pair of turtles. It is amazing what you can do with some clay and creativity! They came out SO adorable!

I colored the fondant a sandy color and put that over the whole cake. Then, to make the "ocean waves" on the cake, I used white fondant for the first layer of ocean foam at the top of the cake. This gave it some nice contrast. Then I made three different shades of blue/green fondant and cut out more circles, layering them on the cake in a scallop pattern. I finished it off with a nice brown ribbon border at the bottom. This was a fairly easy design to execute; it just took some time and patience to do!

These guys are so cute!

I don't really like my fondant recipe and will need to do some tweaking. It doesn't respond well to the humidity here, even when I avoided refrigeration. Gah! Any suggestions? I'd rather make my own than buy commercially made fondant.

In addition to the small cake for cutting (which was Red Velvet inside!) I also made 300+ cupcakes, half Red Velvet and half Chocolate with Coconut Frosting. It would have been a LOT faster to make all the components in a mixer larger than my Kitchen Aid. (Honey - 20qt Hobart Mixer for Christmas - please?) But I made it work. I also have a super tiny oven at home, but my father-in-law graciously let me borrow his oven to bake all the cupcakes so it took me half the time! I brought all the cupcakes to the venue and frosted them right before the wedding. I could not have done everything as fast as I did without the help of my awesome sister-in-law! I think she also helped me keep my sanity a little bit :)

I really liked the heart toothpics that the bride had made. They added a nice amount of color to the cupcakes and made them look really special!

The whole wedding was super fun and I could really feel the love the couple had for each other! Congratulations you two!


And be sure to check out their clothing line: Vers Hawaii