New Year! New Resolutions!

The new year is coming, the new year is coming!

No, that's not to warn you that we should pull out our rifles and muskets from the cupboards and whatnot; I'm no Paul Revere ;)

Well, since I didn't end up publishing this post before January 1st, I should say:  "The new year is here!!" :D

BUT, that I'm going to make a new set of resolutions!!  :D  Last year was the first year that I ever made resolutions.  I used to think, Resolutions?  Those silly things?  Nahhhh, I don't need them.  And probably, no, you *don't* need them.  But they really reminded me of what I wanted to accomplish.  And guess what?  I made 14 resolutions-- some super doable, some things I should have done long ago, and some kind of abstract / not sure if I can cross off.

Looking back, I think this variety is beneficial.  If I only made lofty goals, looked back at the year, and saw that I didn't even cross off... that... well, bummer, right?  Having things that I should have done long ago...  I have permanent retainers on my top and bottom teeth.  Flossing between the teeth is a little tricky on the bottom, but going in between the teeth up top is literally impossible to floss without threaders.  My dentist uses these needle-looking thingies when I get a checkup, and I used to bleed, every.  single.  time.  And it would hurt, because they have giant loopholes and need to squeeze their way into the gap between your teeth and your gums.  They said I had gingivitis and that I should go and buy some of these babies.  Hmm, so you're saying I should go and spend extra money when my current job at school can barely cover the costs of groceries and eating out once in a while to make my gums bleed, all while I could be spending the time making myself wince in pain frolicing in dreamland instead?  I never had any cavities, any dental problems...  I don't think so.  Nope.  Nuh-uh.  In your pearly white incisor dreams.

But one visit to the dentist made me realize that I had become actually *afraid* of going to the dentist!  o_o'' I used to think that was so weird; why would you be afraid of someone trying to help you?  Dental visits used to be like a spa for my mouth.  I would just lean back, close my eyes, and know that someone was cleaning all the long term gunk off my chompers.  So I decided to try threading between my teeth.  It hurt a lot at first, because my gums were pretty swollen and sensitive.  And it would seem like I was just punching holes in my gums.  It took forever too!  But gradually, it became a breeze; I think it takes me around a minute to floss my whole set of teeth.  :)  It no longer hurts, and I definitely see a difference in gum shape!  Awesome!  My goal was to get rid of gingivitis, not just to start threading.  My dentist recommended calcium, vitamin B and vitamin C supplements too.  I started eating vitamin B for anemia, but this goal helped me persist and actually take it every day XD  I think I get a pretty good amount of calcium and vitamin C through my diet (cereal and milk  + apples every day), so I just stuck to my multivitamin.  Encouraged, I continued, and although my next dentist visit also resulted in bleeding gums, the dentist said there was a definite improvement (I hadn't told her I was using the threaders).  The second visit? There was no blood~  Yayy!  See?  Resolution accomplished.  Easy. With just a wee bit of effort ^^  I have to admit that I'm not sure if I accomplished eating crunchier foods to help with the gingivitis...  I have a tendency to eat mush, haha!  Milk-soaked cereal, tender meat or eggs with rice, sauteed leafy vegetables, even palak paneer (creamed spinach curry!)...  yeah, crunchy is not my forte~  But I eat one apple a day, so I just pretend that that's enough~  :P

So before this post becomes a memoir about my bleeding gums, I will go back to resolutions!  I just wanted to encourage other people to make a set of their own.  I really do think making a set is the first step to accomplishing them.

One of my resolutions was to work out 3 times a week to get (what I called on my list) "toned abs."  I didn't get a 4-pack or anything, but I'm definitely slightly more toned in the abdomen area than before... getting my V-line back!!  Har har har~  I don't want ab-abs, because I think toned ones look better on girls.  But for guys-- holy crap, abs are so hot!!!!  x_x  *swoon*  Oh dear, I'm predicting another fitness-related resolution coming soon :P  Although I don't think I was as sociable (another from the list!) as I wanted to be, I was more than I expected, so that's promising.  Also, I make this list editable.  If I want to add more in, I just do it.  Like Nike.  (HAHA, I'm so funny!  *sees my sister face palm on the other side of the corner while I'm laughing at my computer screen with myself*)   Do you have any resolutions?  Write 'em down!  Feel free to share them too :3

And how can we not start off the new year with FOOD pictures??!  My family invited Auntie N to come over for dinner.  My sister and I were both in charge of 2 dishes, so the table ended up looking like this:

Yes.  I eat on a marble table.  LUXURIOUS :D  ... while I sit on the floor in various unlady-like poses XD

Connie made salmon!

This was salmon from the fish market on the shoreline, so it was super darn fresh!  I was so excited to eat juicy salmon, because my parents both like to pan-fry the heejibees out of these salmon steaks and then I look like a grazing cow trying to eat dry fish.  D:  My sister promised me "her version" was moist and delicious :)  When we pulled it out of the oven, my mom thought it looked uncooked and pushed the tray back onto the racks.  When she deemed it done, Connie and I were aghast; one bite... and grazing cow faces!!  Gnyuck, gnyuck, gnyuck.  So tough @___@  Well, not as bad as when my parents pan-fry them, but definitely not the juicist.  Stillllllll yummy though-- I tend to crave salmon all the time, and I never buy it at school because it puts a hole through my wallet, haha~

and beer-battered coconut shrimp!

Home made and delicious.  The coating wasn't super heavy, and I could taste all the coconut :3  Really good, we all enjoyed it!

I made a crustless spinach quiche

and cinnamon apple cheesecake bars

The quiche was mind-blowingly easy to make (goes something like *dump, dump, mix, bake, done!*) and they loved it too :)  And the apple bars?  OMGAHHHH I couldn't stop eating it when I took it out of the oven to cut into bars.  There are 4 layers: crust, cheesecake mix, apples, oat struesel.  I think my favorite is the apple layer (I'm a sucker for baked cinnamon apple pie!), but my sister and mom both raved about the crust.  I joked and told Connie I would just bake a crust for her next time, and she totally agreed, haha! :3

My parents made beef curry, mapo tofu, and sauteed bean sprouts.  Our rice also had steamed Japanese yams mixed in.  After we ate, Connie and I just laid on our backs at the table and died (too much fooood!) while our parents and Auntie N talked about deep, adult-related things.  :P

Yay!

Afterwards, my sister decided to try to take pictures with the camera.  Like Bacardi!

And Balto!  ... he looks kind of scary out of focus ._.''

And me + Mom cleaning up in the kitchen.  Do you see Balto on the bottom right? :P

AHH!!  What is *that* doing in the house?!  :P  Well, we used it to make the coconut shrimp~

After a few hours of rolling on the floor in a delirious state, Connie and I headed back to her place in downtown.  I was sleeping over!  Huzzah!  We literally just drove back to her place, went to Walmart to buy some baking supplies, and went to sleep XD 

And sleep she did, but not for me!~  Crush, her tiny doggie, decided it would be AWESOME if she bit on her squeaky toy for half an hour at 3 or 4 am in the morning!  *eye brow twitch / hide under the covers to muffle the squeaking*  Then Connie's alarm went off later, and she didn't wake up!!  I think I laid on the couch for an hour and a half, being too lazy to go turn it off and hoping she would do it herself.  *sigh*  I ended up going into her room and turning it off, can't believe she didn't even notice XD  At least... SHE MADE ME LUNCHHHHH :D

She calls this a "chicken fajita."  I call it a taco!  What do you think?

Also, while I was stuck at home when waiting for my throat to heal from tonsillectomy, I stalked my sister on Facebook and found out that she really wanted to make rainbow cupcakes in her life one day.  I've never made rainbow cupcakes before, but it should be easy, right?  So that was the whole purpose of sleeping over, to check off something from her list! :D 

We mixed the food coloring and batter and filled the pan together, but she went to workout while they were baking in the oven.  I was kind of bored during the 2.5 hour wait (workout + transportation time), so I ended up frosting half the cupcakes before she came home ^^''  She really liked them, took pictures, and packed a few for her friend too.  I'm happy :)  Glad she was so excited about these cupcakes.  So easy to do!~

Trippy!

Frosted.

Cute!  ^_^

Starting the new year off right-- a list of resolutions, already food coma-ed from gluttony, and making Connie's day by checking something off her bucket list.  Awesome.  Hope this year will be terrific!! :D