sometimes, the past comes back to haunt you

omigosh, on a whim, i was just looking at the old archived posts of this blog. can you believe that i've been writing in this blog since 2003?? i couldn't either...

i think i'm going to set up archiving for this blog. they're kind of fun to read through.. on a quickie glance-through, i had written a post obsessing about how david turned 27 and how old that made me feel. guess how old i am now? yup, that's right, i'm 27.

*sigh*

da dum dum dum da da

so i haven't written in here in a while. what've i been up to? well.. i've been making my way through my final semester of nursing school. even though it hasn't been terribly busy compared to the course load of other semesters, i still find ways to procrastinate and waste time, and end up being super-busy as i cram a ton of work into the course of a few days. some things never change...

my preceptorship has been an eye-opening experience. i still have so much that i need to learn, there are so many more skills that i need to acquire, and i definitely need to work faster. at this point, as a novice, i feel very far-removed from experienced nurses. sometimes i get caught up in making sure i make the grade and obsess about doing well in my tests. but as nik (appropriately) reminded me, it's not about getting the grade or passing boards, it's about doing right by your patients and having the information you need to know when your patients need it.

i definitely need to study/work harder. so for the next couple of weeks, i'll be working on knowing what i need to know to be a safe and effective nurse.. and hopefully i'll be able to pass the boards in the process.

another thing that i've been working on is my running. after the disneyland half, i set up a pretty ambitious goal of running 25 miles per week before the end of the year. so i've been tacking on the miles each week, and have been keeping a religious running schedule. up until last week, i had actually worked myself up to 21 miles a week. but.. unfortunately, between the rainy weather and getting the flu, i haven't been out to running much this week. now that i'm in the recovery stages of the flu, i plan to get back to running soon (maybe tomorrow). still have a week or so left!

also, if you haven't figured it out yet, i have a significant other. nik and i have been going out since february, so there've been a lot of trips up to the bay area on his part and lots of trips down to l.a. on my part. aside from the long-distance, things have been going wonderfully. the long-distance aspect of the relationship can be tough, but lots of phone calls, letters, and postcards, along with frequent visits do help.

so.. on to the primary reason for this post: I'M GRADUATING TOMORROW! it's been a tough year and half, but i made it out in one piece--mostly through support from nik, my family, friends, and classmates... i feel very lucky to have been surrounded such a good group of people throughout this time.

the title of this post? it goes to the tune of 'pomp and circumstance'.

mm.. yogurt-ey goodness

while i was visiting my grandma this summer, i discovered that canada is THE place for yogurt-ey goodness. pinkberry and the like are okay, but they don't hold anything over yogen fruz. which, i'm excited to announce is making its debut in the u.s.!

unlike pinkberry, which simply puts mix-ins on the side of the yogurt, yogen fruz actually mixes fresh frozen fruit into the yogurt.. which equals super-duper yummy yogurt. plus it's canadian and most canadian things are good (i.e., celine dion, etc.).

mm.. yogurt...

inspired!

running a race is always so inspiring. you have the hoards of runners, blaring music, the crowds cheering.. and the energy. there's just so much energy during a race that you don't have during a normal i'm-jogging-by-myself-for-kicks run. despite the fact that nik put together an awesome training schedule for me, i ended up slacking on my training about a month or so before the race. not ideal.

anyway, i still had a good time. even though the race started at 6 am, it was super-duper hot as the sun started rising. still, it was great to run through the parks, it was fun with the characters cheering you on and people running off the course to take pictures. the run through anaheim was torturous. we ran up and down streets as the sun rose, and it felt like it would never end. when we finally got to angel stadium, there was an awesome group of boy scouts and girl scouts who cheered for us on either side, and running into the stadium and around the field was a pretty neat experience.

good times. next time, more training. and there definitely will be a next time.. now i'm inspired. (see the castle in the background? awesome!)

THE LAST SEMESTER!

just when i thought it'd never end, i'm heading off into my last semester of nursing school. things are quiet so far, and i'm catching on some reading--i spent the last few days reading life of pi.. no school reading yet, thank you very much. anyway, i find myself trying to read more often these days, probably from nik's influence, and it's a good thing. i miss reading books.

i also got back from a road trip up to portland and seattle about a week ago. my brief vacations and short and precious, so i try to make the most of them.

a flock of birds flying along the oregon coast

crater lake

kwik-e update

ALMOST done with my next to the last semester. i still have a few random things that i need to work on here and there, but i'm pretty much there (thank goodness!). just one more semester to finish my degree, the nclex to take, and i'll be a nurse! i'll write more later, but i just wanted to update with a picture, because i recently went down to the l.a. kwik-e mart with nik and a few friends...

dood, i've never had to wait in line to get in a convenience store before, but i guess it was worth it, because i got to take a picture with apu! (and eat a terrifyingly sweet pink, sprinkilicious donut)

continued...

writing more, as promised. i'm always getting myself distracted with nonschool stuff when i'm supposed to be working on school stuff. but that's not really anything new...

anyhoo.. let's see, recent life-going-ons... finished yet another semester of the nursing program. although i finish at the end of this year, it still feels like aeons away since i still have to get through this summer and the fall. spring semester was crazy. with the completion of each project or exam, it felt like there was another project or exam to work on.. and the semester just went on and on like that, from deadline to deadline. and what about all that baking and knitting that i had done over the winter break? nope.. no time for that. i think i'll have to hone my baking and knitting skills after i pass the n-clex.

but it was funny, last semester as i was just walking down the halls at regional, and i was thinking to myself, "i can't believe how much i've learned in the past few semesters." really, it's true. i can't hardly believe it, but i'm really almost there (even though it feels like a long ways away).

i've been up to other things other than school too, but i'll write more about that later...

oh! and i'm running the disney 1/2 marathon in september with anny, kent, and joanna. getting my body into running shape again sucks. i was running all through fall of last year, but it just went down the drains after winter and spring. working my way up to 13.1 miles sure isn't fun.

penguin.. eddy penguin, signing off.

dreams

lately, i've been having weird dreams with people from my past. it's just weird.. i haven't seen some people in ages, yet they keep coming up in my dreams. isn't that odd?

okay.. now i guess i shouldn't be writing just now. i actually have an assignment due today, which isn't done yet and (in typical amy fashion) i'm working on it right now.

i'll write more later.

apple banana muffcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

ha, so i should be studying for a med-surg midterm tomorrow, but was having a muffin craving, so what better time to bake? i've made this recipe many times before and it's not bad. as always, i substitute vegetable oil for shortening and substitute yogurt for buttermilk. somehow, i think that they end up being healthier this way... i also reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup white and 1/2 brown. unintentionally, i also used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup wheat flour (since we ran out of all purpose). so all in all, these muffcakes ended up being pretty healthy considering the ingredients. i call them muffcakes because the recipe calls them cupcakes, but i honestly think that they're more muffin-like than cupcake-like, but maybe that's just me.


anyway, hope that everyone that i haven't kept up with is doing well. drop me a line if i haven't heard from you in a while!

happy (chinese) new year

so today is chinese new year's eve. no resolutions yet. but i'm sitting here in front of my computer, wearing my running clothes, so hopefully i'll go for a run. it's been a busy past couple of weeks. a lot of things have been going on, and i certainly haven't had time for baking in a while (although my mom still wants more zuchini bread). =P i've been doing a lot school-wise, those three clinical days a week have been interesting. personal life-wise.. it's good, and there's been some stuff going on lately.

i'll write more later. but if i keep procrastinating, i'm not going to run. so i'd better go.

chocolate chip cookies 2

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

(from allrecipes.com)

so is it that obvious that i love allrecipes.com? i was kinda hesitant to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. after all, the other one was an obvious winner, so why redo an already good thing? but during my small group this week, one of the members brought these awesome, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and i thought that maybe it's time for a change. you know, the recipe says chewy, but they aren't really. i'm not sure if it's the way i'm shaping them or what it is, but they're just not coming out soft and chewy. my cookies are always fat and round. still, the recipe's a good one, uses less butter than the other recipe, and (according to my older brother) they're softer than the other cookies (although i think that may have to do with the fact that he ate these cookies right after they came out of the oven).

so the older brother deemed them better than the other cookie since they 1) have less butter and 2) are softer. i'm not sure about that, but anyway...

(as an aside, i made these terrible oatmeal cookies about a week ago. my mom wanted me to try this recipe on the back of the oatmeal container. we didn't have shortening, so i tried to substitute using butter and vegetable oil.. *sigh* another case of a substitution gone very, very wrong. the cookies looked okay.. in fact, i'd say they looked good. but they were rock solid. i guess that's what happens when you get rid of fat. i'm not sharing this one though...)

cranberry oatmeal cookies

• 1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped white chocolate

1. In a small bowl, soak dried cranberries in orange juice to soften, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Drain cranberries and stir into the dough along with white chocolate making sure not to over-mix and make tough cookies. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

(from allrecipes.com)

for christmas, matthew gave me a bag of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (it's obvious he wants something =P). so i felt obligated to bake something using these ingredients. so i searched on allrecipes.com for a recipe using these two ingredients, and this recipe came up. i normally don't use a recipe which hasn't been reviewed too much and which doesn't have a picture, but there weren't many options for recipes using white chocolate chips and cranberries, so i decided to give it a go. i must say, the dough was DRY before i added the cranberries to the mix and it was kind of scary looking. but the cranberries (which had been soaking in oj) added plenty of moisture when i added them. it actually made the dough really WET, which looked scary too.

anyway, after baking the cookies up, the thing about these cookies is that they look FUNNY. they look kind of pale, doughy, and raw on the top even though the dough is cooked through, and the shape that they take on is irregular. i tried different ways of shaping the dough, but i can't seem to make these cookies pretty. thankfully, i gotta say that they taste great. it's a good recipe, and the very sweet white chocolate perfectly offsets the tart cranberry. oh well, it's all the same in your stomach, no matter what it looks like...

brownies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

(from allrecipes.com)

wow, i love making brownies - so easy and no fuss (no grating vegetables.. thank goodness!). they came out kinda rich for my taste, but then i guess brownies aren't supposed to come out light and fluffy either. i skipped out on the frosting since i'm not much of a frosting fan in the first place, and that was fine. i was thinking of doing the healthy substitution of using applesauce for butter, but i had a bit of a brownie disaster about a week ago, so i decided to stick with the butter this time around, but maybe i'll modify it the next time around. stay safe and happy new year!


oh, and here's a picture of a whole different kind of brownie (ha!):

chocolate chip cookies

• 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 1 c butter, softened
• 3/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c). sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. stir in the eggs and vanilla. blend in the flour mixture. finally, stir in the chocolate chips. drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. edges should be golden brown.

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

these are totally killer chocolate chip cookies. i used another adaption of this recipe with a 1/4 cup more flour, which was fine, but i think that this one is definitely it. i used ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips for some extra "omph" and they are awesome. i love my dark chocolate... suzanne (the baker extraordinaire) has also baked a variation of this recipe using chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips, and they come out great that way too.

zucchini (or carrot) cake

another recent obsession of mine has been baking. there've been a few hits, but also the failed tries that ended up in the trash can. here's a good one that i got from my mom:

• 3 eggs
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c oil
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2 c flour
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 c grated zucchini (or carrot)
• 3/4 c walnuts
• 1 1/3 c raisins

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees f. grease and flour pan (9 x 13 x 2) or bundt pan. sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder in bowl. set aside.
2. in a large bowl, mix together sugar and oil until light and fluffy. beat in the eggs one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla. add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. add the grated zucchini (or carrot), walnuts, and raisins.
3. bake for 50 to 60 minutes in preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

i followed the recipe to the tee except for the fact that i only added 1 1/2 cups of sugar.. i actually think it'd probably still taste good with only 1 cup of sugar (i'll try it out and update later). another tidbit is that i squeezed the moisture out of the grated zucchini with a cheesecloth. it worked out pretty well, as the cake didn't come out too soggy.

my gauge for a good recipe is seeing what the family's reaction is. unanimous approval on this one. merry christmas and happy baking!

** UPDATE (12/27/06): so the cake was so popular that it disappeared almost instantaneously and my mom requested that i make more. instead of using zucchini this time, i used carrots using almost the exact same method except for the fact that i reduced the amount of sugar, using 3/4 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. that ended up tasting fine, but the big issue with carrot cake is that i squeezed the moisture out the grated carrots like i had done with the zucchini cake. totally unnecessary since carrots are (according to my mom) a drier vegetable. so the carrot cake ended up coming up much drier than the zucchini cake. next time: no squeezing the carrots.


p.s. i did learn how to knit after all! i'll post a picture of the finished product when i'm done.

procrastination

i was just telling judy today, i'm such a spazz. remember the last post where i mentioned that i finally wanted to learn how to knit? so i've apparently taken this resolution to heart and i've been spending way too much time learning how to cast on (i think i got it!), checking to see what types of needles and yarn i should purchase, and checking out free knitting patterns online. all of this BEFORE i have my last final on friday.

i'm a dork.

so between my knitting research and playing hours (sadly, i'm not exaggerating) of solitaire, i've been working on getting all the gi disorders down, and i still have yet to go through the renal material and all the stuff on fractures.. and then there's still all the cumulative material that i haven't yet reviewed.

okay.. need. to. study.

knitting and the lives of strangers

that's it, i'm learning how to knit.

after perusing the etsy site and seeing all the kick-butt hat styles, i've finally been sold on trying to learn how to knit after seeing what you can make on your own. although it may just end up in the back corner, thrown to the side like many of my other hobbies (i think i have five unfinished cross stitch patterns hanging around my room), but i think it'd be a good investment. people who know me often make fun of me since i'm addicted to buying hats and scarves.. which is funny to most people since i live in the bay area where that type of clothing really isn't necessary. but making my own would be doubly satisfying, i'd have the satisfaction of working on something and (hopefully) get something i like as a finished product.

oh. and i know that i haven't been updating this journal at all. sorry about that (does anyone still read this thing, anyway?).. but here's a quickie update on what's been going on since august.

started my second semester of nursing school. walking through the hospital the first time for clinicals, it really hit me that i was actually doing it. me, with my b.a. in econ, was going to be a nurse. considering where i was and what i was doing just two years ago, that's a huge change and i'm still floored by the fact that i'm actually doing it. clinicals just ended yesterday (eheh.. 1am, now) and i've learned a lot throughout. it's a humbling experience.. i've seen things and met people who make me realize just how precious and fragile life is, and i've been blessed by getting wonderful patients who tolerate my inexperience and let me do assessments even though i'm not always certain of what i'm doing. thankfully, the coursework this semester hasn't been like the stressful bum rush of work that i had over the summer. but it's still had its moments. still have two more finals to get through before this semester is officially over...

outside of school, i've just been doing little things here and there. les and i were doing the salsa thing pretty regularly over the summer, but that died down a bit and we've been going on and off.. we checked out cafe cocomo in the city last, last weekend and that was pretty awesome. live band and some really kind and patient dance partners who tolerated my terrible dancing. i still would love to get better one day.. i occasionally get inspired after i watch 'dancing with the stars' or shakira, but that kind of dancing requires so much work! laziness...

i did end up crashing the (half) marathon back in october (13.1 miles!). it was a really good, scenic run. we ran all the way down the embarcadero, ending up at the coast near ocean beach. i love races since they always push you harder than you would normally go on your own. i ran the whole thing, and it wasn't until the finish that they picked me out of the crowd of runners (since i didn't have a bib), but i ended up being able to finish the race by running in the sidelines where people were spectating. it was a frigid finish by the coast, but it was a great run, all in all. i've been keeping up with the running since then. however this past month's been hard since school's winding down and there's been a crush of schoolwork to get done.

i think those are the major things that have been going on in my life lately. there've been other things going on here and there.. but too much to write for one post.

one more note.. i know i never knew him, but for some reason the death of this bay area man has really touched me. it's strange to be so touched by the life and death of a stranger. maybe the story is just a little too close to home and given similar circumstances, i can see many people doing the same. i just wish the best for his family and friends.

take care everybody and enjoy the holidays! drop me a line and let me know how you're doing.

edit: and i forgot to mention (maybe i'm blocking it from my memory): i turned 26. ha. thanks to les who coordinated a surprise party and an evite with over a 100 people. i'm blessed with wonderful friends. =)

crashing the marathon?

i was just talking to nessie, and it looks like she'll be coming up north for the nike women's marathon. she's been running lately, and it's really inspiring to see all the progress that she's made in such a short time. it made me wonder if i can "crash" the marathon the way people sometimes crash the bay to breakers.. and just run with the crowd without registering...

hrm.. that'd give me eight good weeks to train for a half marathon. i think it'd be do-able... =D haha.. let's see if i actually follow through.

hot hot hot

i think that probably the only redeeming thing about these hot summer days are the nights. although the inside of the house is still sweltering from the day's heat, if you just go outside, the summer evening is slightly warm and that perfect go-outside-without-a-jacket weather. sitting outside at twilight, everyone has their windows open so you can vaguely hear the sounds of your neighbors' conversations and the kids are all outside running around.. it's nice.

but even though the summer nights have been nice, the days are still pretty miserable. supposedly it's going to cool down within the next couple of days. phew, not a moment too soon!

what a day.

so aside from the fact that today was a hot, yucky, summer day with temperatures just breaking the three-digit mark, today ended up being quite a day. started out today by going to the mystery spot in santa cruz with my small group. it was pretty mysterious, replete with billard balls rolling up inclines and people seemingly getting taller or shorter, but as the time on our 45 minute tour wound down, the tour guide quickly shuffled us out from the "center of the mystery spot" to make way for the next 45 minute tour. we were then sent off on our way with our very own mystery spot bumper stickers. pretty mysterious.. but a little rushed.

then we decided to head off to the boardwalk to enjoy the beach and cool down. unfortunately, we weren't the only people with that idea. after circling the boardwalk area for almost an hour through crawling traffic, we decided to skip the beach and just get some food and go home. bit of a bummer, but i guess that's just the way things go... at least the diner we went to for lunch was good. it has the special disntiction of being the only diner that i've ever seen which serves pho. no joke! along with your standard diner favorites such as 24-hour breakfasts, sandwiches, and hamburgers, this diner actually had a vietnamese food section on their menu. kinda cool, kinda scary... i was curious, but not curious enough to risk it, so i went for the omlette.

coming home was fine, until i got back to my car. somewhere along the line, a bolt AND washer had gotten stuck in my car tire and so i came back from santa cruz to a very, very flat tire. so now i'm driving on a donut and tomorrow morning, i hafta check with the tire shop to see if my tire is salvageable and if it can be patched up. i really, really hope so... (says the poor college student with no $$)

to top it off, it seems that our home's a/c and our ice cube maker are both broken. sometimes you just gotta laugh at the timing of things.

oh well! i guess that things could always be worse. =P