Getting Back on Track

OMG! I've been slacking!

When was the last time I posted a blog.....January 12?!?! How'd this happen?!?! I was doing quite well in posting blogs with only a few slip ups. Now it's been 2 weeks since my last post.

Let's see what has happened in these couple of weeks.....work, dance, running and baking....the same old things I usually do.

Work has been hectic (to say the least). In my line of work, this month is when I have the most work. Not only I have monthly reports to work on, there are quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports that must be done by the end of this month. December reporting isn't a fun time! I only have 4 more work days left to finish everything.

Dance has been just as hectic since we only had two class practices for our 舞初め (first dance) celebration (will post a blog on my dancing blog soon). Had to make DVDs of practice so others could practice outside of class. I guess I should be fortunate to have a good memory.

Running.....I have been slacking a little in that area as well. I don't know why. The marathon is in a month! I guess I have to pick up the training. *sigh*


Baking...LOL! From New Year's the oven has been in use each week. From 乳団子 to  粘糕. Everyone asks where I find the time. Honestly...I don't know!


The last thing that has taken up my time was 舞初め. Even though it was supposed to start at 5:30 PM, when you perform, you have to get ready super early (well for me). I think I started getting ready at 2:00 PM. And the program didn't end until 8:00 PM-ish, but clean up went till 8:30 PM. So, almost half the day was dedicated to the 舞初め.


Now, I guess we are caught up. I guess there wasn't much that was interesting in my life....

Putting More Resolutions Into Effect!

Yeah, yeah, yeah....I missed 2 days! Monday was catch up time with my 民謡 friends. When I got home, I ate dinner then passed out. Not much that day anyways.

Tuesday, on the hand, was a day to put more of my resolutions into effect! A morning full of appointments! First...dentist. It's good to have a relative in that field. Things are much more lenient and cheaper. All I have to pay is the taxes for the checkup! Teeth are clean and healthy....gums is a different story. Cannot help it. I'm too busy to floss everyday! I guess that's something I have to try and achieve.

Next is optometrist! I was starting to get small headaches everyday and ibuprofen wasn't helping it. So I figured it had to be my vision getting worse. Every time I go to the optometrist, it's always more talking story than an eye exam. I am always amazed looking at the picture of my eye! At least nothing has changed with the blood vessels. The only bad thing....my eye sight has gotten slightly worse causing my headaches. I was at 1.25 on my contacts now I have to wear 1.50. Now I am getting close to my glasses power--1.75 and 1.50.

After work, time for some running! Time to break in my new Blurs! Ran with the Chins for about 3 miles and ran a total of 4 miles. Not bad for having to leave early today for a spa party!

A whole day of taking care of my health in all different areas...teeth...eyes...heart...and skin!

2 things I love....crafts and baking!

It's Sunday!!! It's my day off...nothing really to do. Everyday I have something to do--work, dance or running. Usually it's a day to run errands, but that was accomplished yesterday (such the overachiever)!

Since it's a "day off" I can do whatever I please....right? No, not really. Yesterday I took video of our practice so another girl can practice at home since she hasn't had the chance to get to class. Today I had to edit that video footage and make copies for everyone....easier said than done!

Converting the videos took half the day....so I cleaned up my closet during the conversion. Even though I took out a bit of clothes it still looks the same....but it still took me an hour to reorganize everything!

Time to take a break from this! What is there to do...arts & crafts! Sounds a little elementary school of me...but I love arts & crafts! Tomorrow is the first class of the new year for dance, so time to make New Year's tags for the goodies I'm going to bake later on.

I am glad the Cricut was invented! It makes my projects less time consuming. Plus I am OCD things have to be almost perfect or else I won't give them.

In only a few minutes all my tags are done! All I have to do is glue them together and write on them...but that wait till later! Why...cause the videos are finally finished converting!

Time to make the menu and chapters. I think I need a new laptop....things take FOREVER to do. My laptop is already 6 years old! It only has 512 MB of RAM....but I make do.

After making the menus and setting up the chapters...time to make some DVDs. One copy takes an hour (sigh). It's a good thing I only have to make 3 right now.

As the DVDs burn, it's time for baking! I love baking! I think it comes from my Grandma Nikaido. She would bake all the time. I think I should have started earlier learning her recipes, but it's too late now.

Today I am attempting to make 饅頭. The last time I made it a little on the 焦げ side. This time I am going to pay more attention to them! I forgot how oily it is.

This time I did better! Now I have to finish the tags and pack everything together!

Here's the finished products!

It's been such a long day...at least I did some things I enjoy doing!

1 week done!...Already missed 2 days!

One week is already done?!?! Where does the time go? Last night I was soooooooooooo (you get the point) tired from the week that I passed out in my new bed.....the couch! Yes, the couch! For a couple of months I would fall asleep on the couch maybe 3 or 4 days out of the week. Why? Exhaustion!

Now it's time to put more of my resolutions into effect. Even though I have been sick this week on Thursday I finally went on my first run of 2012! The first day back is always the hardest....but at least I stuck with it. Friday  was a different story...I had running partners....the Chins.

I think I have hit a plateau right now. I don't how to break this........

So today I went shopping! We don't have any bookstores in town so off to the west side of the island, Lahaina (Barnes & Noble here I come)! I am a different person that most....everyone with their ebooks (I have a Sony eReader, don't get me wrong), I still like having a physical book. If I like the book enough...I will get the electronic version.

It's been a while since I've been in bookstore! The last time was probably in September after the Maui Marathon (how fitting).

I just roam a bit,and lo-and-behold I come across a running book....one of those "Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul" books. It must be fate! Of course I pick it up, since I NEED some kind of motivation or inspiration to get me out of this running funk!

Went to the Sports section hoping to find something to help me. Not much running books since the last time I went. I guess more people have been getting into running.....Finally there was a table with, what I would like to call, "New Years Resolution" books. Everything from dieting to improving your credit score. I find a book with a title I was looking for....BE A BETTER RUNNER....Fate again...most likely!

After picking up the books, it's time for more shopping. Time to pick up another pair of Asics Blur-33s! The Hello Kitty ones have been broken in and now I need ones to train in before wearing out my Hello Kittys. So off to Sports Authority since I don't have time to order a pair online and wait for them to come in. Plus I have a $10 coupon from the Honolulu Marathon (thanks to the Chins for reminding me)!

Trying to find the shoes were hard since....they labeled them wrong! At least the employee could help me and we found them...just not in the color that I wanted (I guess we can't be choosy when it's last minute)!

Mission accomplished! Time for some reading and running!

Day 5....Out and Running!!!

We're getting close to the end of the first week of 2012. Time seems to fly when you're not paying attention to it!

I've been sick for almost a week........yuck! I don't think anyone likes being sick! One reason why I hate being sick...I cannot run! One whole week of not running and my legs are now aching to go running.

Today I was feeling better to take a chance and go to the park. It seems like forever since I last went to the park! Started off really slow....walking (a brisk walk--a slow jog?). 15 minutes to walk a mile. Time to start running....well that's the plan.

Before my break from running, I could run 11 minute miles for hours. Today....well it was 12 minutes then 11 minutes 32 seconds. I guess that should be good since I didn't run for a week, and I am still sick. Tomorrow will be a better day!

Going home, I have another project waiting for me....more cleaning! This time I tackle my sewing patterns. I have so many, and for some reason I keep buying more.

Now that I've organized this mess, I guess I should start sewing!

Day 4....What happened to day 3?!?!

It's the fourth day and I have missed the third day! This is what happens when you catch a cold right before the year starts! At least I didn't start the year off with a cold. I ended the year with a cold (that's a better perspective)!

I guess I must have been really tired yesterday to not be able to get online for just a little while to say that I survived the first work day of the year! Being an accountant this month is a fun one (I hope you can tell I am being sarcastic)! 

This month I have to reconcile a month-end which is also is a quarter-end which is also a year-end! So not only do I have my monthly reports, but I have my quarterly and yearly reports to do! I still can't believe I survive this month every year for 6 years!

Also since it's the start of the new year...it's TAX TIME!!! That means I will be working with the CPA on my free time....there goes my social life!

I have to figure out how to fit work, running and dance this month!...it's only the fourth day of the month. 

Day 2 of 2012 -- Putting New Year's Resolutions Into Effect

It's the second day of 2012! What a better way to spend my day off with.....CLEANING! Yes, that's right. I cleaned the kitchen.

For 2 weeks the kitchen was a madhouse! I was baking for Christmas and the next week was New Year's. I still hadn't really cleaned up all the mess.

When I woke up, I felt ill! My cold still isn't over, but that's the best time to clean. I can't smell anything or even breathe so any cleaning products won't affect me. If I didn't clean today...it wouldn't get done for a LONG time. It's easier to do it all at once...for me.

First thing to tackle...the oven. For two weeks I abused it! 7 types of cookies, 1 batch of cupcakes, 2 batches of furikake mix, and 3 batches of chichidango. I think I used the oven over 24 hours total in the baking extravaganza of Christmas and New Year's!

I really hate cleaning the oven. So I thought to scrub it down and then use the "self clean" function. 3 hours is the shortest period you can set it?!?!

As I the oven was self cleaning, I go to the next section of the kitchen....the counter tops. OMG the amount of stuff I left on them is amazing. I still had the cooling racks and baking pans out.

Cleaning out all the things on the counter, I find so many gift cards from years of Christmas presents. I hope some are still okay to redeem. There's 4 packages of Halls...all opened of course. Stamps that were 39 cents. 5 sticks of Blistex, 10 packs of gum (yes, gotta love Costco!), and the list goes on. Time to organize this mess!!!

After an hour or so, it's better than before. Time for the next area...under the sink!

All the cleaning products and my fist tank accessories are under there. Since I don't have my fish tanks running right now, I decide to move the accessories with where I've stored the fish tanks....outside. Because I moved the accessories, I have more room for something else. Now what to put there? I know...the alcohol! All the alcohol on the counter top is under the sink.

The oven is still self cleaning. Where to tackle next? The dining table area of course! We've been putting everything that isn't on the counter top on the dining table. Mail and more gift cards.

We have so many shopping bags, what are we going to do with them?!?! I know it's good to environment to bring your own bag, but there are quite a few times when we forget to do that...and that seems to be the case when we go to Wal-Mart. OMG, the amount of Wal-Mart shopping bags is astounding!

As I am cleaning the dining table, the self clean is done...FINALLY! The dining area is almost done...well whatever I can do. There's still all the mail to sort through...what to shred and magazines to recycle.

Time to finish off the oven! You would think "self clean" would mean what it says....boy you're in for a treat! It "cleans" itself with high heat. Because of this you have to wipe all the ash stuck to the surface. At least it's clean now!

The last area to tackle is the refrigerator. At least this is an easy clean. Take out everything that is and reorganize what's left. The only hard part is cleaning the outside since it's stainless steel.

The last part is sweeping the floor....mopping can wait for later. I am FINALLY done with what I can do with the kitchen! It only took 5 1/2 hours!!!

Panorama of dining area to the sink

What should I tackle next when I have a free day....maybe the junk mail pile and the bedroom!

新年明けましておめでとうございます！Happy New Year!

first sunrise of 2012 at Haleakala

新年明けおめ！Happy New Year!

A whole year has passed so quickly! I had a nice little break from when I created this blog page. Now it's time to keep to my New Year's Resolution!

How many people in the world make New Year's Resolutions? This year, I made the effort and came up with a few for myself. I hope to keep on track with them. I think that's the reason for me creating the blog page...to keep me in check.

My list may seem small, but I rarely have made New Year's Resolutions the 29 years I have been alive. This is my real attempt at it.

The last week of 2011 I really contemplated what I wanted to change or accomplish in 2012.

What I want to change:

• I want to be more focused and balanced with all my extracurricular activities and hobbies (Japanese dance, running, sewing, reading, baking)!
• I don't want to stress about everything that can go or has gone wrong in my life!
• I want to be a little more organized around the house!
• I want live a more healthy lifestyle (that's why I don't want to stress as much)!

What I want to accomplish:

• I want to finish a marathon in 5 hours!
• I want to get back into a size 1 or lose 20 lbs!
• I want to keep this blog page as active as I can with all the randomness that goes in my life!

Is this considered a small list? To me it seems like a short list, but a lot of work and effort has to put into it!

2012 is going to be a busy and exciting year for me! In a couple of weeks we will change from the year of the rabbit to the year of the dragon! I should read up on how the lunar year (Chinese astrology) looks.