I’ve been out of school for over a year; it certainly doesn’t feel that long.  When you’re in school, your life is broken up in quarters or semesters.  You have clear goals and timelines to accomplish things.  While I sort of have that at work, it’s not the same.  I like having schedules and things to strive for.  Let’s paint that in a positive light and say I’m goal-oriented…

Having things to look forward to makes life more fun, and honestly, makes the unpleasant stuff go by a little bit faster.

So in the spirit of reaching milestones and breaking up life to be a bit more manageable, here are a few things we can all look forward to:

1.  Pies

We all know I’m into pie-making.  I have a few pie recipes I’ve been itching to share with you.  I’ve made both of these pies at least twice (remember when I burnt one? Moral of the Story: Don’t read a book and get totally sucked in a forget you put something in the oven), and both times photography didn’t happen.

So I’m making them again.  Actually I made this one last night:

Chocolate Chess Pie with a Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Crust, but really I’m going to call it Chocolate Milk Pie with a Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Crust because that’s what it tastes like to me.  Like ooey gooey chocolate milk.  Get excited.

I also made this one twice.  Passion Fruit Cream Pie.

My brother-in-law claimed it was the best thing I’ve ever made.  He tried to whisper this so I wouldn’t hear (not sure why).  But I heard.  That probably means I need to make it again and tell you how to do it so you can impress.  You definitely won’t want to miss that.

2. TEDx SoCal in Long Beach on Saturday 7/14

I went to this event last year and am going again this year.  If you love TED Talks (or if you don’t know what TED is, check it out at the very least watch this 3 minute video on How to Start a Movement), then you’ll get an idea of why going to an independently organized event (hence, TEDx) is pretty awesome.

You get the same time of TED-like inspiration without having to shell out thousands ($25 with an old student ID, in case you’re not a student, not bad).

You should come too! We can meet up!  So Cal Food Blogger (and reader!) meet up at TEDx So Cal! Who’s in?  I might even bring you a blog treat to sample 🙂  Let me know!

3. My birthday

In 19 days, I will be 25 years old.  Fact.

I don’t usually do much for my birthday.

In an ideal world, I would spend the day grilling and having fun drinks outside, then music would come on and we would all dance for a little bit (or a while).  But I don’t have a backyard.  So instead, I’ll probably just make a cake.  I’m alright with that.

4. More Recipes

Maybe I’ll branch out from pies.  I accidentally bought some collard greens today.  Let’s see what I do with that.

Remember when I used to cook vegetables?

Maybe I’ll take that up again (or at least blogging about it).

5. China

In November, I’m going to China for 12 days.

Sometimes I feel like I should be the spokesperson for Travel Zoo.  I am always amazed at their deals and tell everyone about them (have you checked it out?).  I got a super great deal on airfare to China.  That should be fun and is more definitely something I’m looking forward to.

So that’s how I’m breaking up the rest of the year… with a few surprises, holidays, gatherings and other fun things interspersed.

What are you looking forward to?