BLACK LIVES MATTER

2020?!

Whoa! How are we almost done with the 2nd month of the new year? I swear, time is FLYING. Since my last post, E turned 8 months old (crawling AND saying 'dada'), went on her first plane ride ever (learned a few things to share about traveling with a baby!), and work has just been all sorts of crazy. I'm not really one for New Years Resolutions but I think 2020 is going to be the year of finding balance.

Any tips for how to balance work/life?

E's 1st 6 Months

9/2019: Postnatal Yoga class with my chunky bean.

Baby girl has her 6 month appointment today and it got me thinking about some of her cute milestones:

Month 1- Gaining much needed weight after her tongue-tie procedure (phew!)
Month 2- Smiling!
Month 3- GIGGLES!
Month 4- Tummy timing like a champ and being SO chatty.
Month 5- Sleeping through the night. YES.
Month 6- Sitting up unassisted and being more playful.

And to think, there's still so much more to come!

35!

A month before E arrived...waiting for me to finish staring at cakes.

Happiest of birthdays to my sweet husband, life partner, & papa extraordinaire! Still can't believe that we've celebrated a decade of birthdays together. May this year be one of your absolute favorites. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Welcome Back!

It's been months since my unintentional break from blogging! Unfortunately, juggling my work with home life has been quite a challenge! I'm learning the value of prioritizing what's important to me and my family. I've learned that work is work and it's okay to leave on time (which is a very hard thing to do when you're a social worker). I've learned that my real job doesn't start until I get home (!!!) so I have to maintain my boundaries. But as I sit here at 5am while my little family sleeps, I've decided that we have some catching up to do!

Here's a quick recap of what's happened since 8/2019 and expect some *detailed* posts soon!

- Went back to work full-time in September.
- Struggled with finding good, dependable childcare.
- Took some interesting continuing education courses for career development.
- Started eating a more plant-based diet.
- Watched my tiny human continue to grow.
- Figured out how to mom (...that's a work in progress...)

Thank you to the internets for my tiny little corner of it!

Simple Matcha Bundt Cake!

For our recent wedding anniversary (#4!), I decided to bake a cake. And, in the spirit of saving $, I used ingredients we already had at home. Fortunately, husband is a big fan of matcha so we always have it on hand. 

Here it goes...

For the cake:

-1 box of yellow cake mix (follow instructions on the box to make the batter...instead of vegetable oil, I used coconut oil).

-1 heaping tablespoon of matcha powder 

For the glaze:

-2 cups *sifted* powdered sugar (sifting makes a HUGE difference, keeps the icing nice and light).

-4 tablespoons melted butter

-3 tablespoons milk

-1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 9 inch non-stick metal bundt pan.

2) Thoroughly mix matcha powder into cake batter.

3) Add cake batter to oiled bundt pan (I used a non-stick pan but really wanted to make sure the cake came out of the mold without problems).

4) Bake for 40-43 minutes.

5) Let cake cool on cooling rack until at least room temperature.

*Once cake is cooled...*

6) Mix all wet glaze ingredients together.

7) Slowly hand whisk wet ingredients into sifted powdered sugar.

8) Add glaze to top of the bundt cake.

9) Try not to eat it all at once. 

Let me know if you've given this recipe a try! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK :)

39

Today is my brother's birthday and although we lost him 7 years ago, I still think about him every day. It's strange to think that he's been gone for so long, that I've seen more birthdays than him. In my mind, he will forever look like a young man but hold the respect of being my elder. Since it was just the two of us, we were very close and always had each other's back. If it wasn't for his encouragement, I would not have followed my passion for social services.

I'm sad that he missed so many milestones- my engagement, wedding...BABY. I'm sad that he won't have his own engagement, wedding, baby. I'm sad that he'll never get to hold E and watch her laugh at his funny faces (my brother was a silly guy)!

My brother was one of the main reasons why I decided to move to NY with S. Losing him was a lesson that life could be cut short at any minute so take advantage of the opportunities before it's too late. If it wasn't for my brother, I wouldn't have the beautiful family that I have now. In a way, he continues to look out for me.

Happy Birthday, Kuya J. Wherever you are, I hope they're serving chocolate cake.