10 Down, 20 to Go

I hate to publicly talk about trying to lose weight. What if I fail? Everyone will know. I guess that's why I'm posting in my blog (where I have just a couple of readers) instead of Facebook (where I have 400 friends).

Bret often asks me what my goals are for weightloss but I am afraid to put a number on it. I want to just relish and celebrate each pound lost. If I pick a number too high and I don't reach it, I don't want to feel like a failure. So far I have lost 10 lbs and that makes me super happy (line stolen from Ni Hao Kai Lan). If I lost 20 more then I will be at my mission weight, when I first met Bret. I think I'd be pretty thrilled to be there again. It's a high number but I am going to try for it. That is all. :)

Smoked Salmon Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
One Smoked Salmon Fillet (roughly 6-8 oz.)
One 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice
6-8 Chive stalks, thinly sliced

Directions:
Flake the salmon fillet with your fingers and then mix all ingredients well with a fork and serve with your favorite crackers. For a fancy look, garnish with tips of chive stalks.

Chickabaw

Bret shot this picture of me about a week ago when I was selling Shish-kabobs and Vietnamese Eggrolls on Saturday. Sunset Ridge was having a community yard sale but I didn't have junk to sell so I decided to sell food. It was a success and I sold all my food and made a nice profit. It was a lot of fun even though it did take a lot of time prepping all the food.
In Alaska my mom would sell Shish-kabobs. But in her Vietnamese accent she calls them Chickabaws. So that is what we call them in my little family. :) They are yummy and delicious and I was so happy when I had customers coming back for more or sending their friends my way. Good times had by all. (Especially little Kien who kept running by stealing one eggroll after another! Now I know how my mom felt when I did that to her.)

The Pretty Sister

There is no denying it. There is always a "Pretty Sister". That is just the way it goes. When I was a kid, Kim was the Pretty Sister. She was captain of the cheer leading team and also Homecoming Queen. Kim was beautiful throughout high school and college.


Then, of course, she got married and started having kids. It was my opportunity to steal the spot light! When I went off to college at BYU-Hawaii I ended up losing weight because I had to walk everywhere in the heat and I also became more active (not huddled up indoors all winter in Alaska). I felt like I had blossomed (yes, I just used that word) into a lovely young woman. It finally happened- I had become the Pretty Sister!


I held onto that self-proclaimed title for quite a while and relished it. I had finally stepped out from Kim's shadow. But then, of course, I got married and started having children as well. I didn't exercise like I used to and I was introduced to an endless supply of fast food in Utah which I'd never had much access to before in Alaska and Hawaii. What a horrible downfall.

The Pretty Sister title was lost in limbo. Kim and I would both have our ups and downs but neither of us out-rightly deserved the title. Until.................. Kim started exercising regularly and eating smaller portions and healthier options. Diet and exercise- who knew, right? Five months and 30 lbs later, she had taken back her title.


I am so very proud of her. She looks amazing. She knew what she had to do and she stuck to it. I am so happy for her because I know that how she is feeling right now is a great thing for her. We all want to be pretty and confident and now she has that all back. She is definitely the Pretty Sister.

But don't get too cozy, Kim. Because now you've got me motivated. So enjoy that title, that little trophy, while it lasts. I'm coming for it!

Family Photoshoot by Erin Fillmore

I know we're a great looking bunch anyways (haha) but Bret's sister, Erin, did an amazing job of getting some wonderful shots of our family. :)

Easter

Kien had a great time hunting for eggs at Grandma's house.

Book Signing

I recently attended the book signing up in Logan, Utah that had authors Ally Condie, James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Shannon Hale, and Jessica Day George. When I found out that the signing was the same weekend that we planned to go up north to visit family I was thrilled. This would be my first book signing ever! I have read Condie’s Matched and Dashner’s The Maze Runner along with its sequel, The Scorch Trials.

The Day we drove up was the day of the event and we ended up hitting some traffic along the way. We dropped off my family in Syracuse but my sweet mother-in-law came with me because I’d never been to Logan before and she was worried that I would get lost. We were late and I missed the presentations and most of the question and answer session but that didn’t get me down! I was still going to meet my authors when I got my books signed by them! I jumped into Dashner’s line first and when it was my turn I was beaming and blurted “I am a BIG fan!” He smiled and FIST BUMPED me! I went on to tell him that the scene in The Scorch Trials (MAJOR SPOILER HERE) where Thomas and Brenda were underground being chased by the Cranks freaked me out and really had me terrified. He told me that he loved reading Stephen King growing up and this was his first attempt at writing horror so he was glad it worked. We also discussed the character Minho. I asked if he was Asian and he said yes. He went on to tell me that the reason I couldn’t figure out who Minho was named after was because the great historical figure was in our future but in their past. Yeah, a light bulb just exploded in my head at that point. It was so great to get some insight from the author himself on a story that I love and with characters that I am attached to. Here is some fan art I made for his books (I’m a photoshop junkie):

Next was Ally Condie. I actually went to high school with Ally’s sister, Elaine. When I first read matched and saw Elaine’s name mentioned in the back of the book under “Acknowledgements” I immediately friended her on facebook and told her I loved the book. I then went on to ask her if the character Em was Asian (am I obsessed with Asians in literature or what?!) and she asked Ally and it turns out that she was. I had also made some fan art for the book and I showed them to Elaine who went on to show them to Ally. Anyways- when I met Ally to get my book signed I told her I was Elaine’s friend that asked those questions and made that fan art. She was so sweet to me and told me that she actually posted my art on her blog! I didn’t know that so I’m glad she liked it. Here are the banners if you’re curious:

I had one last line to stop in. You see, my neighbor’s daughter, Megan, is a HUGE fan of Brandon Mull. Apparently she stays up all night long reading his books. So before I left Cedar City I told her I would get her book signed by the author and she was thrilled. I went to Mull’s line and felt my heart sink to my stomach when I realized just how long his line was. I hurried and took a place at the end and watched the line continue to grow behind me. An hour went by and then another. There were several times that I contemplated leaving and just telling her ‘sorry’. There were other times where I considered forging the author’s signature and figured she would never know the difference. But then I would know the difference and I would feel bad about being dishonest. So I stuck through it and my good mother-in-law stuck by me, running out to get me food and drinks when I needed it. It had only taken me 30 minutes to get both my books signed by Condie and Dashner together. I ended up waiting in Mull’s line for FOUR HOURS! I guess I had underestimated what a big deal this guy was! When I finally did meet him he was very nice and charismatic. I told him how Megan would stay up all night reading his books and in the front he signed “Go to bed Megan!” Then he flipped to the back of the book and wrote again “Seriously Megan, GO TO BED!” We had a good laugh at that.

We ended up getting home at about 1am and while it had been a long experience I actually had a lot of fun. The people I waited in line with offered great conversation and were just good people in general. Meeting the authors and chatting with them was so much fun. I’m glad I went and would have no reservations about going to another event like this!