Commitments

Happy Monday friends!

How was your weekend?

With 6 weeks off of work and a newborn, I have no sense of time anymore.  I really need to detail a ‘typical’ day for you because it is so not what used to be the norm.

This past weekend, my Mom left {read: sad } and my SIL arrived!  Despite being limited in what we can do, we did make it to froyo on Saturday along with a walk in Palo Alto, and a glass of vino at the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton on Sunday.  Not too shabby eh?

Otherwise, most of our time is pretty much spent like this:

Yeah he really is that cute   Oh, so is the hubby

Okay moving on to the title of the post: commitments.

At my company, each year we typically have to set ‘objectives’ for which we are then measured against at the end of the year.  This is how we eventually get raises, promotions, etc.

This year, our company is changing to ‘commitments.’  What’s the difference you say?  Well apparently there is a sense that there is more personal devotion by committing to something than to simply have an objective to do it.  I’m still wrapping my head around it a bit. 

While I am not sure what my 2012 work commitments will be, I do have an idea what I’d like my 2012 personal commitments to be.

This year I am committed to:

• Love and care for my son with every ounce of my being.
• Make one-on-one time for the hubby via date nights, getaways, small gestures of love.
• Reinvigorate my fitness – once I get the all-clear from the doctor, I plan to return to Bikram, bring Sawyer to PlaYo (mommy/baby yoga), etc.
• Volunteer more.  I don’t know what this looks like yet. but I do miss the feeling of giving back.
• Practice flexibility and patience.  I’m pretty sure this will be forced upon me by nature of having a baby, but I really want to put in the effort to be more relaxed in these two regards.
• Travel!  2011 was spent touring the US for various weddings.  This year, I’d like to take some dedicated trips: NYC (haven’t been since I was 10!) and perhaps Spain or Argentina in the Fall.
• Continue to take care of myself.  I’ve heard too often of ‘Mom’ falling off the priority list, but I know that I will be a better momma and wife if I make time for me.  This will include girls nights out, pedis, retail therapy (as required ), exercising, reading, etc.

What are you committed to this year?

How do you take care of yourself?

Some weekends are just good

Hey hey, welcome back to Monday

It’s a short week for me and possibly for you too if you’re going to the Healthy Living Summit in Philly this weekend.  I am so excited   It will be wonderful to finally put a face (in person) to the people behind the blogs I adore. 

Before I recap the weekend, thanks for weighing in on whether I should go with blonde vs brunette hair – there was a good mix of both, but brunette edged the blondes by a bit.  I think I’ll go back to brunette in another month!

Onto the weekend…

Friday:

After work, I snagged a large decaf iced vanilla latte from Peets (because now we know decaf and some caffeine is okay for preggers ladies!), then I was off to check out a new-to-me baby store to see if I’d want to drag the hubby back on Saturday.  More of that to come.

Long weeks and short weekend made staying in on Friday night an easy choice.  I whipped up some spaghetti and Trader Joe’s chicken-basil meatballs (<—if you haven’t had these, try them!  so good )  Besides I had to also prep the guest room for my bestie and her hubby since they were staying with us while in town for a wedding (win!)

Saturday:

It was all business, meaning errands, errands, and more errands.  We revisited Buy Buy Baby, which is the baby-sister store to Bed Bath & Beyond. 

We headed to the stroller section and I asked this young guy (21 yr old) if he knew anything about this stuff and he looked at me, like “yeah duh” (with a smile).  Turns out this kid is a stroller genius!  He knew *everything* and answered every question about weight, rank, consumer reports, color options, accessories, mix’n’match with other brands, collapsability, etc. 

I may or may not have asked if I could put him in my pocket and take him everytime I go baby shopping.  I heart him.  Seriously.  I may have a crush on him. 

We picked out the Baby Jogger City Elite and we’re both in looove

My hubby was having fun with all the bells and whistles, all-terrain air tires, and suspension.  I myself liked the aesthetics   We paired it with a sage green Chicco car seat.  Done and done.

Turns out every salesperson in Buy Buy Baby is extensively trained by department to know their stuff so every area we went to had another genius.  Can you tell I love this store?

So we also picked out this crib (ignore the pink):

And best of all?  Since we registered there, they offer up a personal consultant who will walk you around each department and let you know what (and how much) of each item is recommended.  So helpful for new parents.  AND we received no pressure to buy a darn thing while we were there (or even register at all).  Yipppeee!

I really didn’t want to make this a baby post, but I must tell you about another thing we did – we looked at my push present

My hubby managed to convince me that $3K is a bit much for a push present, so we’re settling on a “less” amount, which is TBD.  But I’m 99% sure I want this center ring:

Buuuuut, I am having them do some modifications – I want it widened from 4.7mm to 6mm, upgraded to 18ct white gold, and I want a mix of chocolate and yellow diamonds (also enlarged from current look of cognac diamonds).  I think we’ll have a verdict in  a few weeks!

Saturday night was spent at a potluck bbq party at our friend’s Mojan and Ali – someone brought Key Lime Pie and I maybe, just maybe might have had more than one piece. I made these again (Butterscotch smores bars):

Sunday:

Ugh, okay I hate long posts, so let’s wrap it up!  Sunday was brunch with the bestie and other friends at Hobees (I had pancakes of course!).

Then I got the hubby to walk the Stanford Dish with me (hecka hills!) by promising him I’d let him do this:

He hit range balls at Stanford while I read a magazine in the sun. 

Not too shabby of a weekend, eh?

Any highlights from your weekend?

Favorite kind of pie?  Mine will always be pumpkin, but I did love that key lime

Are you going to HLS?  If so, what are you wearing Friday?  I think I’m going to wear this new tunic-top from White House Black Market with my maternity leggings – it’s fun, dressy-ish, and should be comfy.

Lemonade Cupcakes and Tahoe

Happy Friday my friends!  As you read this I may be out shopping purchasing my first pieces of maternity clothing.  Whoop whoop!  Wish me luck on that one   I’m so glad you liked hearing the Good, Bad, and Ugly.  Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share more!

In the meantime, I thought I’d show you a few more Tahoe pics from the 4th of July weekend and round things out with a recipe…

Paddleboarding remains one of the most awesome outdoor activities ever! 

And of course, no gathering is complete without a lot of food, too many baked goods, and champagne (for those that could partake).  The bestie and I decided to bring cupcakes and after stumbling upon this recipe from Erica at Sweet Tooth, we knew we had a winner.

Here’s the recipe (with modifications shown below):

For Pink Lemonade Cake:

1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate – we used Minute Maid Raspberry Lemonade concentrate (and let melt partially)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 egg whites – we used extra large eggs for the whites

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffins tins with liners
- Combine all of the ingredients in an electric mixer and begin by mixing low for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium for another minute. (no electric mixer necessary – batter fluffs up a lot though!)

- Divide the batter evenly, filling the liners about 2/3 full
- Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean
- Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting

Frosting (our version)

Mix 1 tub vanilla whipped frosting with about 1.5 tbsp concentrate, 1 tsp lemon juice, and zest from one medium lemon

The final product ended up looking pretty tasty!

Note: These turned out fairly flat because we were baking at altitude. 

I still am itching to do some more baking and with BBQ plans this weekend, I’m confident the occasion will arise soon!

Also up for the weekend is some massive Spring Cleaning – gotta make room for baby!

What are your plans for the weekend?