So we are just about ending the second month of 2008 and so I thought I should check in and let you know how I am doing on the resolutions I have set for myself this year.
1. My first goal was to go to the gym 3 times a week and I am happy to report that I have been working out 6 out of 7 days a week (an average of 4 times at the gym and 2 times outside). I have been training for the Avon Walk and also trying my hand at a body flow class (I wrote about this a few weeks ago).
2. My second goal was to lose 20 lbs. I am on my way - last time I weighed myself I had lost 6 lbs! I know that as I continue to work on goal #1, I will make this goal too!
3. My third goal was to read to Jasmine everyday. I am doing pretty well on this one. The days I miss, Lorne takes over, so the little one is being read to everyday even if I am not always the one doing the reading.
4. My fourth goal was to read my scriptures every night before going to bed. This one is actually a hard one and I am sad to report I haven't been doing as well on that one. Our bishop asked us to read the Book of Mormon this year so I am going to buck up and get this goal to where it should be.
5. My fifth goal was to purge the house of unnecessary things. This is not something that can be accomplished in only 2 months but I did purge the yellow guest room (that was a wreck) so that is clean now and have been slowly going through my clothes to get rid of the ones that don't fit or that I don't wear. This will be something I work on all year I think!
6. The sixth goal was to organize my home and keep it tidy. I think the house is beating me on this one but I will prevail - I am still working towards this one!
7. My seventh goal is going well. I resolved to keep up this blog with at least 2 entries a week and I have not failed yet! Yay!
8. My eighth goal is not yet reached. I have not yet finished Jasmine's first year scrapbook but I am up to month 9 so hopefully I will finish before she turns 3!
9. My ninth goal was to make healthier food choices and take my vitamins daily. Well, I suck at remembering to take my vitamins but I am making better food choices so that is alright I guess.
10. My last goal was to plant a garden. As it is not yet spring, I have not even gone towards this goal except to gather seeds for some of the flowers I would like to have in the garden.
All in all, things are not that bleak and I feel like I am getting on track and have not broken the resolves. It is good for me to do a self-evaluation every so often so I can keep my goals and I know that when you have them written down and feel accountable, that helps you reach them. So don't forget to ask me now and again how it's going and how I am doing - I promise not to be offended if you ask about the weight loss! :)
1. My first goal was to go to the gym 3 times a week and I am happy to report that I have been working out 6 out of 7 days a week (an average of 4 times at the gym and 2 times outside). I have been training for the Avon Walk and also trying my hand at a body flow class (I wrote about this a few weeks ago).
2. My second goal was to lose 20 lbs. I am on my way - last time I weighed myself I had lost 6 lbs! I know that as I continue to work on goal #1, I will make this goal too!
3. My third goal was to read to Jasmine everyday. I am doing pretty well on this one. The days I miss, Lorne takes over, so the little one is being read to everyday even if I am not always the one doing the reading.
4. My fourth goal was to read my scriptures every night before going to bed. This one is actually a hard one and I am sad to report I haven't been doing as well on that one. Our bishop asked us to read the Book of Mormon this year so I am going to buck up and get this goal to where it should be.
5. My fifth goal was to purge the house of unnecessary things. This is not something that can be accomplished in only 2 months but I did purge the yellow guest room (that was a wreck) so that is clean now and have been slowly going through my clothes to get rid of the ones that don't fit or that I don't wear. This will be something I work on all year I think!
6. The sixth goal was to organize my home and keep it tidy. I think the house is beating me on this one but I will prevail - I am still working towards this one!
7. My seventh goal is going well. I resolved to keep up this blog with at least 2 entries a week and I have not failed yet! Yay!
8. My eighth goal is not yet reached. I have not yet finished Jasmine's first year scrapbook but I am up to month 9 so hopefully I will finish before she turns 3!
9. My ninth goal was to make healthier food choices and take my vitamins daily. Well, I suck at remembering to take my vitamins but I am making better food choices so that is alright I guess.
10. My last goal was to plant a garden. As it is not yet spring, I have not even gone towards this goal except to gather seeds for some of the flowers I would like to have in the garden.
All in all, things are not that bleak and I feel like I am getting on track and have not broken the resolves. It is good for me to do a self-evaluation every so often so I can keep my goals and I know that when you have them written down and feel accountable, that helps you reach them. So don't forget to ask me now and again how it's going and how I am doing - I promise not to be offended if you ask about the weight loss! :)
Also, last week at school, they had a doctor come talk to them and gave them a plastic stethoscope and coloring book. Jasmine listened to Daddy's heart with her plastic stethoscope and had Daddy listen to her heart.
I just love watching Lorne play with Jasmine. He is such a good dad to her and I know that Jasmine will grow up in a loving and secure environment because Lorne understand the importance of being a good father to his little girl. He feels passionate about making sure he is there for her and builds her confidence because he believes that girls that have a good relationship with their fathers have good self-esteem and don't go looking for comfort from other stupid boys when they are teenagers. I sure hope that is true! I believe it wholeheartedly!
Monday began the prep for the busy Valentine's Day week. We put out a special for the big romantic day (cupcakes and cookies) and we had a significant amount of orders. I do not need to tell you I didn't sleep much on Tuesday night or Wednesday night (3 hours Tuesday night and 2 hours Wednesday night). Not only did we bake 8 dozen cupcakes and 8 dozen sugar cookies but we also baked 2 cakes. It was super productive but really reminded us about the space issues we have. I use a simple metaphor to illustrate how it feels to work this business in my home. It is like a child when it grows out of their shoes. They will complain that they are too small and then the parents disagree and shove the shoes on. Eventually the child complains louder and when the parent forces the shoe, the child cries and limps. We are at the crying and limping stage.
Also, as is tradition for me every Valentine's Day, I worked at Godiva for the 13th and 14th dipping hundreds of strawberries for eager (and impatient) strawberry wanting costumers. This was my 6th year doing it and as hard as it is to get to Godiva (in DC) at 5 AM, it wouldn't feel like Valentine's Day if I didn't do it. By the way, should you ever want to buy chocolate dipped strawberries, white chocolate is the best on strawberries. I don't even like white chocolate but the properties that it has makes it the best tasting combination as the white chocolate brings out the sweetness of the berry. Many people don't give the white ones a chance, do not overlook this amazing taste opportunity!
I had made reservations about 3 weeks ago for a nice Valentine's Day meal at a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria called La Tasca. They are a Spanish tapas restaurant and they had a 4 course dinner for the special night. Lorne had to travel and was worried he wouldn't make it back in time. He did however and we had a great night. He gave me a card that made me bawl and told me that my gift would be arriving the next day. He bought me the Nikon D40X that I had been begging for for about a year! We gave Jasmine some fun Valentine's stuff and we had a great and tasty dinner. The best part was dessert. It was the best dessert I have had at a restaurant for a long time. It was a dense rich brownie volcano lava cake with fresh sliced strawberries and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It was so good! They even did a heart-shaped design on the plate - so pretty we had to take pictures. 
Friday we had an appointment to look at a potential space for our business. I love it, it is the perfect size, the location is right and I just feel really good about it. Lorne of course was Mr. Negative Nelly. He will say the he is just being realistic but I know that he uses his hard cold exterior to negotiate. That is just not my style. Jasmine had a great time running around this big empty space and did a little ballet for us!
All in all, it was a busy but very fulfilling week. Maybe it will be a bit quieter this week although I doubt it! 
We sketched our design about a month ago and began working on some of the details on Monday night of last week. We worked a marathon 10 hours Thursday night to finishe the cake and took it to City Hall in Fairfax Friday night. We also had to include a tasting cake for the judges as this was not only a decorating contast but a taste one as well. When we finished our cake, we knew we had a solid entry and felt that no matter what happened, we put our best foot forward. We also did not know how stiff the competition would be. 
We arrived Saturday morning for the judging and waiting with anticipation for them to announce the winners. We were competing in the amateur category and we had 9 other cakes in the category with us. There were only 3 in the professional category. Well, we were so excited when we saw them place the first place Best in Show ribbon beside our cake. A few minutes later they placed a second ribbon by our cake for Best in Taste! We were so elated! 
