Five for Friday - vol 14.1.3

The excitement of the new year has not faded on me a bit yet. In its honor, here's a Five for Friday about things I am looking forward to or hoping for in the new year, in no particular order.

1. A trip to Cali with my love to see FSU win the BCS championship. I am looking forward to the trip. I love to travel period and love to travel with John. He's such a good travel partner. I am hoping FSU wins the game. Even if they don't, however, I still believe this will be a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish forever -- the last BCS game, my team playing for the title, at Rose Bowl stadium. But let's be real..they're [hopefully] going to win.

2. One of my BFFs, Patty, having her baby boy. I am looking forward to my friend becoming a mommy and hoping to meet him sometime in 2014.

3. John getting a promotion. This is more so a looking forward to; it's just a matter of when. My hope for him is that it's sooner in the year.

4. My mom moving near me or my brother. This is a total hoping for. It's all going to depend on if she can get a civil service job in either of our areas to continue working toward her retirement. *fingers crossed* Even if she doesn't move where I live it would be so nice to go visit her and have my brother and his family (my niece!!!) close enough to visit when I'm in town.

5. Speaking of my brother and his family, I hope they have another baby in 2014! Obviously I am so in love with my niece I want them to have another one for me to love and play with. Good thing they hope for this too, it makes it a reasonable hope for the new year.

2014, I think you are going to be golden. I look forward to everything you have in store for me, my family, and my friends!

Hello, 2014!

Happy New Year from the Woos!

Most of one day into the new year and I say again, the year is mine.

Looking Ahead

Watch out world, 2014 is going to be my year!

Wordless Wednesday - Expanding

Random Writings - Proud

I know I've been bad about blogging lately.  I will try to be better.

Today, I'm feeling super proud of myself and optimistic about my goals before I turn 30.  It is not very often that I would say I truly feel proud of myself - I think the last time was when I passed my SPHR exam.  I may feel other positive emotions about myself but proud is not a feeling I can say I is among the top five.  Fact is, it's not a feeling I use lightly.

So for me to say I feel proud today, that deserves a blog post.  Even if it is short. 

To me it is oh so sweet.

That is all. 

Tasty Tuesday

Sunday I made enchilada from scratch right down to the enchilada sauce and chili con carne.  They turned out pretty good but we had a bit extra of both the sauce and the chili.  Tonight I'm modifying my usual stuffed bell pepper recipe which I think is delicious to make the stuffing mixture with the chili con carne.  I hope it comes out!  I'm very intrigued to see if it will.  I may take a picture if looks ok and I remember.

On a slight side note this weekend my two Cake in a JIF cakes were devoured!  Keep in mind these are layer cakes and one of them was gone in like an hour and half!  I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it, especially since it was a recipe I just made up.  I'm thinking one day I may try making a chocolate cake with my peanut butter frosting I use, or use the peanut butter cake recipe and use chocolate frosting just to mix it up.  The only thing is Mr. Woo won't be able to eat much of it since he's allergic to caffeine.  (Sad, huh?  No chocolate, no coffee would equal a sad, cranky me.)

Oh and I was with my MIL in the kitchen on Saturday morning and learned how to make biscuits from scratch.  I was thrilled with learning and spending that time with her.  I am so blessed I love all of my in-laws and that I have such a great relationship with MIL.  I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving day with her in the kitchen.

Hope you're doing well!

Random Writings - Books

• It's Friday!  Woo hoo!!  I am happy about this fact.
• The Monthly Menace Express finally left Funkytown and it's now stationed in Normal City.  Thank goodness.
• I recently made a blueberry cake from scratch loosely following my Berry Natural Strawberry Cake recipe.  The result was an outrageously cookie-monster-blue cake with purple whipped cream frosting that was just as delicious as it was odd to look at. 
• The blueberry cake was only made because the thing I tried to make, a blueberry roll, failed miserably.  John did eat it and said it was good but I still consider it a fail since I tried to follow a recipe and it did not come out as it was supposed to.
• I am going to the library to return some books and am really excited to check out new ones.  I do find it a bit overwhelming though to try and figure out what books I want to read.  I am interested in so many things that finding the right book is a bit daunting.  As of late my current choices in books have been non-story books.  I've been in the mood to learn.  To improve.  To do.  Story books, fiction and non-fiction, are great but lately I've wanted to take action.  On my list of books to pick up today are two self improvement/motivational type books and two cookbooks.
• This weekend shall consist of things such as cleaning the house while watching college football.  That combination sounds delightful at the moment.
• I still have to post the last day of the photo challenge I started in April.  Maybe I'll do that this weekend too.

How do you pick which books to read?  What is a non-story book that you love and recommend?

The Return of College Football

Thursday marked the start of college football and the beginning of my favorite time of year. 

The start of college football doesn't just mean I get to cheer on my Seminoles and CATS while wearing my garnet and gold or blue and white.  The start of college football means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, fall, my birthday, and the holiday season are just around the corner. 

The fact that three of the four guys on College Game Day are picking FSU in the BCS title game doesn't hurt my excitement either.

Tears of Relief

This is a post to recognize that miraculous moment when you spend thirty minutes on the phone with your childhood best friend who sounds like she never went through brain surgery two and half weeks ago. 

I sobbed for at least ten minutes when I got of the phone.  (And cried all over again when John came home and I told him the story.)  Tears of relief.  Tears of joy.  Tears of thanks.  I am still weak with disbelief.  My friend is doing amazingly well.  I am too overwhelmed too explain it all but I want to thank anyone who sent a prayer or a positive thought to Christy and her family.  Everything was heard. 

I do not feel like I am exaggerating when I say I feel like I experienced a miracle talking to Christy on the phone. 

My heart hurts with gratitude and happiness for my dear friend and her family. 

Prayers to Memphis

Today I found out my absolute best friend from birth to middle school and still a dear family friend had a brain tumor for which she underwent brain surgery on Friday. 

Christy is the picture of physical fitness.  She only eats organic, healthy foods.  She dedicates her work life to caring for others as a nurse.  She's brilliant.  She's 29. 

I am heartbroken for her, for her family, and for the unfair situation she is going through (not that any of these situations are ever fair).

I am also hopeful and optimistic (if only for forced optimism) she will have a speedy and full recovery. 

My thoughts, prayers, and love are going to Memphis.  If you can send some that way too, I would appreciate it and I know the family would too.

Slacker

Ok so apparently I'm a slacker since it's been over a week since my last post.  It's not because I haven't thought about posting, I just haven't sat down and done it.  I have, however, done other things so let me catch you up. 

Thursday night I baked a pineapple cake from scratch for Mr. Woo's team builder/pot luck thing with his co-workers.  I made up the recipe for the cake and frosting and it got good reviews.  For those who may be counting that's cake from scratch #2 in 6 days.  I believe I have one picture which I will post later.

Friday night I baked a peanut butter cake from scratch for my FIL's birthday; cake #3 in 7 days.  Peanut butter may be his absolute favorite food ever so I decided to surprise him with this cake.  I may have to thank him for liking peanut butter so much because I am not sure my house has ever smelled so good.  The scent was like a cross between freshly baked peanut butter cookies and heaven.  Or something similar I suppose.  I think the only thing I really modified for this cake was the frosting and I put my own spin on it more out of need than because I couldn't find a good recipe.  The only picture I have of this guy is an empty cake plate but I may post that later too.  Overall this cake was definitely my favorite of the three.

[Totally random sentence to once again express how relieved, happy, and in disbelief I am that I am done with my SPHR certification!  I have so much more time now!]

Saturday we went to Holly's to celebrate my FIL's birthday.  We toured the Maker's Mark distillery, all of the original Woos dipped some bottles (and even one hat), we ate the aforementioned peanut butter cake, and played some Rook.  I think everyone had a pretty good time despite the three digit temperature and being outside for a couple of hours at the distillery.

Sunday through yesterday are kind of all a blur.  At one point I invited my MIL to dinner and some shopping -- for Katlin's birthday present -- while Mr. Woo was out of town for work.  I did some more shopping -- for Angela's birthday present -- and found a few things for me that I didn't need to spend money on.  Ooops!  I also made stuffed bell peppers and hubby finished them on the grill.  Stuffed bell peppers are always yum in my book but these were really good!  Yesterday I got a massage thanks to a Groupon gift from my love.  And I think that's about it or at least all that I can recall.

Tomorrow morning I have a hair appointment which is long over due.  I've been trying to save money by using at home box color two or three times between appointments to stretch out how often I have to go to a salon but at this point my grays are in desperate need of some professional attention.  The exciting and scary part is that I'm trying someone new after about five years with the same person.  Eeek!  I'm ready for a change and whatever that may mean.  (New hair style maybe?!)  After my appointment I drive over to Angela's to spend the day with the birthday girl and go to a comedy club at night.  Should be a fun and exciting day! 

On a side note, I can't believe this is the start of all my friends turning 30!!  It's making me wonder if I should make a "To Do Before I'm 30" list.  If so, I need to get on it.  I only have a little over a year left!

Happy Friday!!

Friday Fun - Cake Making

I am currently a cake making fool.  I've been working on this cake for five hours.  A cup of coffee and a glass of wine later I'm still working on it and loving every second.  I promise I would be a chef if it was a lucrative career and provided a work-life balance I find critical in jobs (specifically not having to work every weekend, holiday, and evening).  Either way this evening has been pretty much my ideal way to unwind after a hard week -- my loves are home keeping me company in the kitchen while I bake and listen to music.  Here's my progress on the as-from-scratch-as-possible (aka no box cake mix or jello) strawberry cake so far.  (BTW, I couldn't find a recipe for such a cake so I had to make it up.  I hope it comes out ok!  *fingers triple crossed*)

The star of this cake - 2 packages full to make sure only the best go in.

The start of the strawberry puree'

My mise en plas

Strawberry Puree'

The cake batter with the strawberry puree'

My current status

A Different Kind of Friday Fun

Just got home from work and don't go back until Thursday -- the day after I take my SPHR exam.  I'm nervous and excited all at once.  I really do enjoy learning, especially topics I'm interested in, and despite the self-imposed pressure to pass I find it all quite fun.   

I'm such a nerd.

But enough blogging for now..back to the books!

Have a great weekend!

YOLO?

My Pandora station just started playing "The Motto" by Drake. 

I am typically a person who tends to really like or dislike songs for its lyrics.  That's of course not always the case though because let's just face it, there are some songs that have addictive beats that make you want to get up and shake it like a Polaroid picture as Outkast put it.

Anyway, I had heard this song before but never listened to the lyrics.  The only thing I could ever remember about the song was the beat and Drake saying "YOLO".  What the heck is YOLO?

You only live once.

[Thank you, Google.]

Anyway, I kind of love that motto and am really feeling like that fits me right now.  I've been having a super productive, positive, take charge, optimistic outlook lately.  It's like I'm recharged.  And quite frankly, I love it.  Who knows how long it will last but I'm going to make the most of my time and myself while I'm feeling this way. 

YOLO indeed.