Drum Roll Please....My 2013 Personal Goals!

Hello my dears and happy Friday!  I don't know about where you are, but it's colder than a witch's heart here.  But this cold can't keep me down - after weeks of consideration, I'm excited and ready to share my 2013 goals with you guys! 

You might remember that in November I spoke about my goal setting process.  I've spent the last two months thinking about my personal development in 2013, and here are the goals I've come up with, in broad strokes:   

1. Fitness:  Maintain and increase my physical exercise. Incorporate more vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains into my (and my family's) daily consumption.
2. Career:  Strengthen my skill set by taking continuing education classes.  Look for a new career opportunity.
3. Intellectual:  Read more non-fiction books and watch more documentaries.
4. Cultural:  Take Bebe to museums and kid-friendly events.  Take some family weekend trips.
5. Spiritual:  Attend church regularly.  Volunteer with my church.
6. Wild Card:  Month of Glam project, as inspired by the lovely Dita Von Teese!

Now, that sounds all well and good, but we're not stopping there.  I've unpacked those broad goals using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) filter:

Fitness:  Walk 2+ miles every weekday.  Do 45 - 60 minutes of yoga once a week. Consume two additional cups of vegetables and fruits at least 3 days a week, through such mediums as the Glowing Green Smoothie.  Cook with whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice at least twice a week. Cook fish once a month.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water during a weekday, and at least 32 ounces of water on a weekend-day. 

Career:  Write a statement of intent describing my desired next position in my professional community of practice. Take at least two professional classes this calendar year. Check twice a week (Monday and Friday) on job-post forums to see if any new opportunities match my statement.  Apply as appropriate.

Intellectual:  Read at least two non-fiction books this year (possible candidates: Bringing Up Bebe, The Omnivore's Dilemma).  Watch at least four documentaries.

Cultural:  Take Bebe out to at least one museum or kid-friendly event every month. Plan two weekend overnight trips (one in winter/spring, and one in summer) to areas within a three-hour drive from our house.

Spiritual:  Attend at least two church services every month.  Volunteer with my church at least once this year to cook meals for the homeless.

Wild Card:  Undertake and document the Month of Glam project in May 2013. 

Do you see what a difference it makes to get really specific about your goals?  When I apply the SMART filter to my original goals, I go from well-intentioned but vague statements to specific and measurable action items.  Now, of course, the challenge is to implement them! 

I will be entering reminder alerts into my iPhone and work calendars to remind me of some of these action points.  Putting a specific date (such as May for the Month of Glam project), also helps to solidify and target a goal that might have otherwise gotten pushed off over and over again throughout the year. 

What do you think of my goals?  And what goals have you set for yourselves in this new year?

xoxo,
MF

P.S. Am excited to announce that the next posting in the Embracing Change series will be going up next week!  Stay tuned!!

Winter minimalist

Saw a Modern Femme walking at a fast clip through the Metro this morning.  Her blond hair fell in a straight line down her back.  Her patent leather flats (and bare ankles) flashed defiantly through the cold morning air.  Loved her bag most of all - the white body and black handles drew my eye, and its simple lines echoed the sleek minimalism of her outfit.  She looked like an ice princess, ready to tackle the dragons waiting for her at work. 

 

Happy new year, my dears!

 

Winter minimalist by modernfemme featuring dooney & bourke

Happy Boxing Day! And a Christmas Recap

Hello my dears!

I hope that everyone had a marvelous Christmas...or if you don't observe Christmas, a fabulous couple of days off. 

I can hardly believe that it's Boxing Day.  Christmas arrived like a hurricane, with Mr. MF and I desperately trying to hold on and get everything done before the day dawned.  We had a wonderful Christmas at Chez MF, celebrating with family who were kind enough to drive down to be with us, and Facetiming with those who were elsewhere.

I will get around to posting some pictures of the festivities later this week (once I've gathered them all from the various cameras on which they reside), but as I'm thinking of it, let's have a quick "Christmas lessons learned" post on the past few weeks.

Lesson #1:  You can never have enough ribbon, and the ribbon you do have won't be enough.  The standard ribbon roll is deceiving and often only has enough to cover one big package and maybe a small package. I had to make an emergency ribbon run this year because I ran out halfway through wrapping.  My mother and aunt told me that they went all out at Costco and bought ribbon and packs of gift tags, splitting their loot, and still have plenty left over.  I think that sound brilliant.  "To do" list? Checked!

Lesson #2:  Save the gift boxes you get for next year.  This year I did 95% of all my shopping online, and most of the gifts I bought didn't come with a gift box.  To add insult to injury, the stores where I did shop in person were saavy enough to charge for gift boxes.  Outrageous!  I'm saving all my gift boxes from this year for next Christmas. 

Lesson #3:  As always, Nigella Lawson rocks. Using her Nigella Christmas cookbook, I prepared a wide assortment of recipes for the various holiday parties I hosted over the weekend and into Christmas eve.  The following were huge hits:  Chocolate Chip Chili, Spoonbread, Steamed Chocolate Pudding, and the delectable Poinsettia cocktail.

Lesson #4:  Remember where you put your light timers.   Mr. MF and I love using light timers so that we don't have to mess with unplugging the Christmas lights on our trees.  We program the timers for a 4:30pm "on" and a 9:30pm "off" and we're set for the season.  The exterior tree has a manual timer that gets packed away with the Christmas decorations every year, but the indoor tree's digital timer is often used at other times of the year when we're going on holiday.  Which is why it's important to remember where you put your timers so that you don't have to constantly plug and unplug your tree's lights, gnashing your teeth in frustration because you know that the light timer is somewhere...only to find it right in front of your face on Christmas night.

Lesson #5:  Here are the stores that came through for me big-time for gifts this Christmas season:  One King's Lane; Stella and Dot; Amazon; Lands End; Old Navy; and Ikea (for children's toys).

Lesson #6:  Be sure to plan out time for the little Christmas activities you'd like to do, otherwise they may not get done.  I didn't get around to doing the following things, despite my best intentions: making a homemade handprint ornament with Bebe (will be doing that this weekend!); having a Christmas movie night with Mr. MF; throwing a low-key holiday lunch for family and friends; making homemade stocking stuffers (homemade chutneys, jams, infused spirits); making sugar cookies to handout as party favors to friends; going to a performance of the Nutcracker ballet; and doing an "ooooh-cruise" where you drive around neighborhoods and admire the festive holiday decorations.

What did you do this Christmas season that you will (or won't) repeat for Christmas 2013?

xoxo,

MF

Delicious and quick weeknight supper...a Christmas season essential!

I have a bit of a crush on Nigella Lawson.  I adore her and everything she stands for.  I have almost all her cookbooks (can't wait to get my paws on her latest, "Nigellissima"), and use them in my regular menu planning rotation throughout the year.

As I planned my menu for this week, I worked exclusively out of Nigella's Express cookbook.  I figured that with the office holiday party, various gift exchanges, and a fair amount of Christmas baking I had scheduled, I needed to cut myself some slack in the dinner department.  And am I ever glad I did, because last night I made a variation on Nigella's Rib Sticking Stir Fry, which was fabulous!  I adapted the recipe a little for the culinary preferences of the house, and so that's what I'm going to share with you here.  This recipe is so fast, is cooks in mere minutes. 

Here's what you need:

• 2 Chicken Breasts (I like to use the Smart Chicken brand)
• Package of frozen stir fry vegetables (I used Birds Eye Sugar Snap Stir Fry)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I prefer Kikoman's low sodium soy sauce)
• 1/4 cup sake (I've been using this Fu-Ki sake)
• 1 heaping tablespoon chili garlic sauce (I LOVE the Tuong Ot Toi Viet*Nam paste)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1.  Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips (Tip: the thinner you slice the chicken, the faster it will cook).  Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat. 

2.  When the oil is shimmering, toss in your chicken strips, spreading them out across the pan's surface, and sear them on both sides, about 2 minutes a side.  (Tip: once you've added the chicken, leave it alone in the pan until it's time to flip it.  If you resist the urge to get in there with your spatula and stir it around, it will brown faster and more evenly.)

3.  While the chicken is cooking, combine your soy sauce, sake, and chili garlic sauce in a Pyrex measuring cup.  Give it a good whirl with a fork to combine.  Set aside.

4.  When the chicken is done, add in the frozen veggies. Though the veggies are frozen they will thaw quickly in the heat of the wok, and that's all you want, so don't go too far away from your range.  You are also allowed now to put the "stir" in stir fry, so get that spatula and go to town! 

5.  When the veggies have lost their permafrost, add the sake-soy-chili garlic mixture into the wok.  Stir away and enjoy your savory perfumed steam facial.

6. Et voila!  You're done!

I had some dried Udon noodles that I boiled, drained, and tossed into the wok at the last minute.  (Nigella's original recipe uses cannellini beans in place of rice or noodles, but that wouldn't fly in the MF household, unfortunately.)

You could make rice as well, though that would require a little advance planning, since the stir fry is the work of minutes.  Udon noodles can be found in the international section of your supermarket, and take all of 3 minutes to cook in boiling water.   I use the Hakubaku brand (pictured at right), which I quite like.

So there you go, my dears!  I whipped this up last night after lounging on my couch and complaining about my aching feet.  It was a nice respite from some of the more traditional Christmas fare I've been chowing down on, and the spicy-soy flavor is really refreshing to the palate after all those glasses of egg nog, and plates of gingerbread pudding and chocolate truffles.  It's also quite light, surprisingly enough.  Try it tonight!  

xoxo,
MF


P.S.  For those of you interested in making the original Rib-Sticking Stir Fry, here's the recipe from Nigella Express:

Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry
Serve 2
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz. chicken or turkey breast fillet, cut into 1-1/2 inch x 1/4 inch strips
4 cups chopped stir-fry vegetables (from a package)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Heat the oil in a wok, and over fairly high heat add the chicken or turkey strips and toss them about to color. Once the meat has seared, add the vegetables and toss around again until beginning to soften, then add the soy sauce and the wine. The soy will help the meat strips bronze beautifully. Once the heat is back up and sizzling, add the beans and toss everything about to mix before tipping onto two plates. Sprinkle with the herb and serve straight away.
 

Modern Femme loves...Christmas Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Time to eat treats with impunity...

Using up the last of my colored sprinkles on Nigella's Chocolate Christmas Cookies...

Breaking out the silly Christmas tree cake pan that I found at TJ Max last year...

Looking out the living room window at our "outside Christmas tree" always makes me happy...

As does looking at my inside Christmas tree, adorned with lights and festooned with ribbons...

I love the Nutcracker Ballet and have been slowly gathering a collection of Nutcracker ornaments...

Uncle Drosselmeyer grins mysteriously, backlit by fairy lights...

The Nutcracker battles his foe, the Mouse King...because what tree is complete without an action sequence?

The Nutcracker theme continues on my mantle with my beloved Steinbach Nutcrackers...this one is a nod to my husband's Irish roots...

This Merlin Steinbach was my husband's as a little boy...

Steinbach Nutcrackers are expensive, but so wonderful to collect. Here is my Beekeeper, and his little miniature companion - a gift from a sweet friend!

Aside from Nutcrackers, my other obsession is Christmas stockings...I had these made by my tailor from festive fabrics...

And my newest Christmas addition is this wonderful card tub I found on One King's Lane...perfect for displaying your Christmas cards from friends and family!

How do you decorate your homes during the holiday season?

xoxo,
MF