Done!

My second bakers market is finally over and done with. I'm concentrating fully on things I need to do for Bangladesh now!!!!!! Here are some final pictures from my last bakers market :)

My sister and Judy were there to help and devoted friends like Jamie, Kels, Johnny, and Jodi came by! An exciting moment for me was seeing Molly and Corey!!! :)



"Prepping" the night before....and by prepping, that involved me going on strike and Judy and Crystal making fun of my receding hair line. Friends, can't live with them, can't live without them.

On a side note, my visa for Bangladesh finally arrived today!! I got it, opened up the fedex package to find a STAMP for a visa. That's the most expensive stamp I've ever invested in. At least India's visa was a piece of paper sealed onto my passport!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, hoops I have to jump through! :)

Last dayyyyy @ The Baker's Market

So it's 1225 and I'm exhausted from the semester, exams, and working at the clinic all this week. I've been struggling....really struggling to just get things together for tmr's sale but it's been really tough. It's ok, though, one more day tmr and then it's freedom central. And by freedom central, I mean I get to begin planning the first-aid course curriculum for the Nursing school over there.

Fun stuff!!!! And time to brush up on all my skills and patho knowledge! Woohoo!!! No pics today because I'm scrambling around, packing everything up!!! :)

Happy mother's day! <3

PO - not oral meds, but personal orders!

So the past few weeks since the bakers market have been school-filled but I've also managed to fit in some good quality time with family and friends!

The day after the bakers market, I had a birthday party for Ant and Bern so I decided to make them a birthday cake!


Since then, I've had two separate orders for birthday cupcakes as well!




Exams are in two weeks and after I have my shifts at work on Wed and Thur evening, I begin another full few days of baking my tush off!!! Mark your calendars, folks! May 8th is the day to come visit me again! :) This time, I'm making way less! I'll probably focus more on selling cupcakes cuz they seemed to be quite popular last time :)

Less than 7 weeks till Bangladesh!! I can't believe it. It's finally happening! AHhhh!!!

A bientot, mes amis!
xoxo

Easter Bakers Market!!!

After a very long hiatus, I am back to blogging!

Things have been SUPER crazy as of late, but yet again, I'm glad to say that I've pulled through again. Not without help from my family and friends, of course.

I haven't really been doing much since my last bake sale - I had clinical rotations on Tue and Wed of this week and after I came home and showered, I went right to prepping and packaging! My dear friend Vincent was over until around 2am that night helping me package and cut labels and such. On Thur, I had a little production going on here! And by little, I mean big. And by production, I mean I have some of the greatest friends anyone could ask for. I had 5 friends (Carmen, Chris, Crystal, Lawrence, and Vincent) helping me package, cut business cards, and just keep me company. Henry did a great job with the banner and designing the business cards. He made so many versions of business cards and banners for me!

Yesterday night was crunch time! My entire family was sitting here putting together packages and shamelessly promoting for me on facebook.

I think that the vast majority of my sales went to my friends and there were only about 10 ppl from the general public who bought stuff from me. I honestly am so just.....moved by everyone and their generosity. I made over $1,300 today and excluding my table rental and ingredients, I made about $1,100.

Here are some pictures!






Thanks for all the support, everyone! <3

xoxo

Bake sale #1

Well this week has been hectic to say the least! Amidst 3 exams, rotation switch over, throwing a surprise farewell party, and work, I managed to throw an impromptu bake sale!

On Monday in immunology, I decided, on a whim, to hold a bake sale to fundraise for Bangladesh. In hindsight, what was I thinking?! Sometimes, I think I like to tell myself that I can do more than I actually can. Actually, it's not that I can't do it, but things get compromised (namely, my sanity). Hahaha. I made 100 something chocolate chip cookies, 100 something oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and almost 100 slices of blueberry, chocolate chip, banana bread slices. Pretty small scale, but not too much to waste, and not too little so as to not make a decent profit.

The thing that resonates with me is the amount of support I have received from everyone. On Monday night, I got off work at 9 something and didn't get home until around 10 and went grocery shopping. I had my obstetrics orientation on Tue morning at 0830 and was up until past 0200 doing my readings and assignments. I took a 4 hour nap and continued reading and finishing the focus questions. After orientation, I went home and prepped for my on-site orientation at Surrey Memorial the next day. Then I began baking! I was exhausted and just felt so....overwhelmed. At the end of it all, I made it through everything. The most meaningful realization is that I have an immense support network to draw on. It really meant so much to me, to receive offers from Megs and Ames to help me with baking on their precious days off. That's such a huge sacrifice, those days are invaluable for course work, and mental health recuperation. For them to offer to come all the way out to Burnaby was incredible for me. My mom and sister were great, getting me my float, asking me what they needed to do to help.

My dear friend Lloyd was so encouraging, all the way from Beijing. He sent me a msg telling me that everything I was doing was for a reason, though he didn't give me said reason, I realize now that monetary remuneration aside, it was to show me that ppl care about me. Enough to come give me a hug, tell me how incredible this is, and just to say "how exciting". I don't expect handouts, in fact, they make me exceedingly uncomfortable, what I value most is just a hug or a smile.

This week's been pretty brutal, but I made it through and I don't regret doing a single thing. :)



The fruits of my labour.....The poster is a make-shift one from one of Judy's logos!!!! :) Miss you, Judy! <3

Made with love

Home made cream puffs, banana muffins, and cookies for the wonderful patients and staff at Riverview! Amrit and I came over to my house after clinical on Thursday afternoon and slaved away for a few hours. And by slaved away, I mean we sat and ate ice cream after everything was in the oven. And by slaved away, I mean we sat around and looked at my childhood pictures. And by slaved away, I mean we got to relive our elementary school days!
Made with love - I did not carve a heart out of this strawberry - it's kismet!

I haven't made cream puffs in 4 years - I kid you not! I was so worried they wouldn't turn out, especially since the last time I made them, they didn't turn out very well. I think it was actually partly why I hadn't attempted them since. Haha! But this time, piping skills aside, they turned out very well baked and they were just well done, altogether! :) I was really happy. Hehe!

Blown away

You always hear the saying, "you can tell a lot about a person by looking at those surrounding them". I'm consistently reflecting on myself and things in my life - some call it dramatic, but my sister would call it reevaluating things around me to push myself to do better. I prefer the latter, even though thinking drives me insane sometimes. Haha!

One of my bffs is on vacation in SE Asia but her support has been plentiful. Prior to her departure, she made me a TONNE of logos to choose from.....



One of my dear friends from nursing, Carolyn, has asked me to make cupcakes for her gorgeous daughter's birthday party this coming weekend. I'm always apprehensive to take on orders for friends because I've had a pretty bad experience with it, but her heart is genuine. I think it may have been a confidence thing, as well. Upon reflection, I feel that I may simply say, "sorry, I don't mix business with friends." because I doubt my abilities. Who knows, right?

At any rate, I've been working quite a bit over this Olympic break at the clinic, thanks, in large part, to Ingrid for giving up two shifts for me to take. She knows how much I'm trying to save for this trip and she's so graciously given up four shifts in total for me to take. So thankful! :)

Tonnes of my friends have been asking over and over again what dates I have booked to be at the Baker's Market. April 3rd and May 10th!!! Mark your calendars and come say hello! I'm friendlier in person than I may seem on this blog! Smiles (and samples) are free! :) [Jamie, you can always come here to remind yourself of the date hehe]

I've had my Vancouver Coastal Health application approved, so I'm good to go! I'm awaiting the digitized form of my logos from the Henster before I set up the rest of my logos!

This Friday, I'll be dedicating myself to making Rhea's bday cupcakes and baking VALENTINES DAY COOKIES with my cousins, her two daughters, and possibly my other cousin and her two daughters!!! Yes, I realize Valentines day was weeks ago. Pictures to follow!