I love I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. So yes, because it brings me absolute joy every time I hear it on my blog, you are subjected to it too! It's so happy, bubbly and simple ... like me! Ha, sometimes :) Don't worry, I'm sure I'll take it down in a month or two ;)
Saw Iron Man w/ The Man this morning. Wow, who knew Robert Downey Jr could be a super hero?! Good look for him! And he pulled it off. I want to see the movie with him, Jack Black and Ben Stiller. Oh man, I love movies that make me laugh and laugh and I think that one will deliver. I hope! Anyway, we really liked Iron Man. Poor Jon, he was so disappointed when we saw Get Smart but now he's happy again because we saw a good movie. We still need to see The Hulk, Batman, Kung Fu Panda ... The Man wants to see Wanted but I won't see it because I am sticking to my boycott against A. Jolie. Hey, everyone's entitled to my opinion. Same reason I won't buy anything by R. Kelly.
Going to fondue with some girlfriends tonight. I love cheese so I'm in trouble! Hopefully I can control myself. It's been so hard now that I don't have to fit into that dress ;)
Going on month three and still asked, "How does it feel to be married?" My answer? Feels good! He's pretty fantastic ... shhh, can't have him having a big head. Oh go ahead, tell him I said he's all that.
Thankful list:
1. My morning coffee, Ganoderma. That stuff wakes me up and keeps me regular.
2. Braces - man, my teeth would be all kinds of jacked if my parents didn't pay for them.
3. My hair salon - next month will be nine years with my hair stylist! I just visited the salon - I chickened out, as I predicted. Just got a trim, highlights and lowlights. Anyway, I adore my salon.
4. The breeze we get from the Bay
5. Waking up next to The Man and our puppies wedged in wherever they find room on the bed
Have a great weekend!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Natural disasters and such
Yes, I'm crushin' on Fridays again :) I love this day of the week! Like a little reward for surviving yet another work week.
The air quality in our area isn't so great right now. Luckily, I have no respiratory issues. I feel really bad for those that do, though, because it smells like campfire outside and it's really hazy. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your home to a fire. Or any other disaster, for that matter.
I was really worried about my relatives in the Philippines earlier this week. There was a major typhoon that flooded certain areas. Because I'm geographically "special", I wasn't sure if it affected my relatives so I sent out an email asking if everyone was OK. Thankfully, everyone in the family was fine, just experiencing very wet weather and some were without electricity. They told me how some of their colleagues and friends lost everything. Can you imagine? You lose all your appliances, your clothes, your special momentos ... your home. Some of them could barely see their rooftops. I know that people are experiencing that right here in the US, too.
Personalizing everything (which is sometimes good, sometimes bad) I wonder what the heck we're going to do when the next big earthquake hits. We all know it's bound to happen, we just don't know when. We all know, especially in the Bay Area, that is the risk we take for living in such a great area. I mean, many are knowingly living right on top of a fault line! I know I live fairly close to one - most people in the Bay Area do.
I remember exactly where I was when the big 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I was doing my homework in the family room and my mom was watching TV. Then things hanging from the ceiling started swaying and items around the house started shaking. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Later we found out that while driving on his way to work, my dad missed the collapse of the Cypress (part of the Nimitz Freeway) by two minutes.
OK, enough of being a downer it just makes a person think, you know?
I'm thankful for ...
1. $15/month gym membership: "What?!" you screech. Here's the thing. The Man pays a hefty gym membership so that he can go to any 24Hour Fitness in the Bay Area. He didn't want to just commit to one location because he works far from where we live and wanted to keep his options open. I asked if I could be put onto his membership and we added me to his account for $30/month. Typical me - I didn't end up going to the gym. I felt bad for wasting money so I called to cancel my membership. "Ma'am, would you be willing to stay if we lowered you to $19.99/month?" "Hellz ya!" I replied. OK, not really but I that's what I was thinking. After a couple of months, The Man asked me if I threatened to quit again. I told him no, I had only called that one time. He showed me the bill and I was being charged $15/month. I don't know what the heck happened but that was fine by me! So I pay a $15/month membership ... but a GRIP on personal training. I'll just concentrate on being thankful for the cheap membership.
2. Rum & Diet Coke: 75 or so calories of pure bliss. I had two yesterday with some coworkers (and my boss!) to celebrate the end of the fiscal year. Rum & Diet Cokes know how to take the edge off, let me tell you! And unless I have a whack bartender, they are hardly ever not "effective." By that I mean "provide a nice buzz." I've learned to be careful at the Mexican restaurants, though. The peeps there make them s-t-r-o-n-g. No complaints because I love to get my money's worth. I've just learned I better have some chips and salsa or I'm floored. Or seeing stars.
3. Bill Payer: Bless my little credit union, I love this feature! I am terrible at having stamps on hand and even worse about remembering when bills are due. My bank charges me 25cents for each bill I pay online - cheaper than a stamp! I love how I can decide when I want my bill to be my paid, too. This way I never forget and incur late charges. Suh-weeet.
4. Proximity to my parents: My parents live about five minutes from my home. Yes, they can drive me crazy at the drop of a dime but I also love them to pieces. They have always been so supportive of me. And yes, that's what parents do but they have always supported my decisions, even when they didn't agree. When I was miserable at one of my previous jobs, my dad told me that I should quit. I told him I couldn't quit, I needed to find another job first before quitting. He told me that I was always welcomed in the house and that I would never starve or be homeless. After our conversation, I thought about how he and my mom worked at jobs, staying until retirement, because they had to support their family. And how they probably dealt with way more bull$hit then I have because they weathered through decades of change, bad bosses, bad coworkers and whatever other drama normally occurs at work. It could have so easy for my dad to say, "Buck up! Do you know what I've dealt with through the years!? Do you know how many times your mom and I wanted to quit but couldn't because we had to support you guys?" But he didn't. He just wanted to see me happy. My parents, crazy makers they may be, are wonderful folks and I'm so happy they are close by.
5. Crystal Light: I know, kind of quirky. I do not enjoy the (non) taste of water. When I made the decision to eat better and work out, drinking 64 oz a day was the easiest thing I could change in my life to treat my body better. But how could I stomach that much water and resist drinking the diet sodas that I loved so much? Easy - Crystal Light. And they have those To Go packs now that are just awesome. My favorite flavor? Peach Mango Green Tea. Tastes like Snapple Peach Tea. Yumm.
The air quality in our area isn't so great right now. Luckily, I have no respiratory issues. I feel really bad for those that do, though, because it smells like campfire outside and it's really hazy. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your home to a fire. Or any other disaster, for that matter.
I was really worried about my relatives in the Philippines earlier this week. There was a major typhoon that flooded certain areas. Because I'm geographically "special", I wasn't sure if it affected my relatives so I sent out an email asking if everyone was OK. Thankfully, everyone in the family was fine, just experiencing very wet weather and some were without electricity. They told me how some of their colleagues and friends lost everything. Can you imagine? You lose all your appliances, your clothes, your special momentos ... your home. Some of them could barely see their rooftops. I know that people are experiencing that right here in the US, too.
Personalizing everything (which is sometimes good, sometimes bad) I wonder what the heck we're going to do when the next big earthquake hits. We all know it's bound to happen, we just don't know when. We all know, especially in the Bay Area, that is the risk we take for living in such a great area. I mean, many are knowingly living right on top of a fault line! I know I live fairly close to one - most people in the Bay Area do.
I remember exactly where I was when the big 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I was doing my homework in the family room and my mom was watching TV. Then things hanging from the ceiling started swaying and items around the house started shaking. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Later we found out that while driving on his way to work, my dad missed the collapse of the Cypress (part of the Nimitz Freeway) by two minutes.
OK, enough of being a downer it just makes a person think, you know?
I'm thankful for ...
1. $15/month gym membership: "What?!" you screech. Here's the thing. The Man pays a hefty gym membership so that he can go to any 24Hour Fitness in the Bay Area. He didn't want to just commit to one location because he works far from where we live and wanted to keep his options open. I asked if I could be put onto his membership and we added me to his account for $30/month. Typical me - I didn't end up going to the gym. I felt bad for wasting money so I called to cancel my membership. "Ma'am, would you be willing to stay if we lowered you to $19.99/month?" "Hellz ya!" I replied. OK, not really but I that's what I was thinking. After a couple of months, The Man asked me if I threatened to quit again. I told him no, I had only called that one time. He showed me the bill and I was being charged $15/month. I don't know what the heck happened but that was fine by me! So I pay a $15/month membership ... but a GRIP on personal training. I'll just concentrate on being thankful for the cheap membership.
2. Rum & Diet Coke: 75 or so calories of pure bliss. I had two yesterday with some coworkers (and my boss!) to celebrate the end of the fiscal year. Rum & Diet Cokes know how to take the edge off, let me tell you! And unless I have a whack bartender, they are hardly ever not "effective." By that I mean "provide a nice buzz." I've learned to be careful at the Mexican restaurants, though. The peeps there make them s-t-r-o-n-g. No complaints because I love to get my money's worth. I've just learned I better have some chips and salsa or I'm floored. Or seeing stars.
3. Bill Payer: Bless my little credit union, I love this feature! I am terrible at having stamps on hand and even worse about remembering when bills are due. My bank charges me 25cents for each bill I pay online - cheaper than a stamp! I love how I can decide when I want my bill to be my paid, too. This way I never forget and incur late charges. Suh-weeet.
4. Proximity to my parents: My parents live about five minutes from my home. Yes, they can drive me crazy at the drop of a dime but I also love them to pieces. They have always been so supportive of me. And yes, that's what parents do but they have always supported my decisions, even when they didn't agree. When I was miserable at one of my previous jobs, my dad told me that I should quit. I told him I couldn't quit, I needed to find another job first before quitting. He told me that I was always welcomed in the house and that I would never starve or be homeless. After our conversation, I thought about how he and my mom worked at jobs, staying until retirement, because they had to support their family. And how they probably dealt with way more bull$hit then I have because they weathered through decades of change, bad bosses, bad coworkers and whatever other drama normally occurs at work. It could have so easy for my dad to say, "Buck up! Do you know what I've dealt with through the years!? Do you know how many times your mom and I wanted to quit but couldn't because we had to support you guys?" But he didn't. He just wanted to see me happy. My parents, crazy makers they may be, are wonderful folks and I'm so happy they are close by.
5. Crystal Light: I know, kind of quirky. I do not enjoy the (non) taste of water. When I made the decision to eat better and work out, drinking 64 oz a day was the easiest thing I could change in my life to treat my body better. But how could I stomach that much water and resist drinking the diet sodas that I loved so much? Easy - Crystal Light. And they have those To Go packs now that are just awesome. My favorite flavor? Peach Mango Green Tea. Tastes like Snapple Peach Tea. Yumm.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Things
I know, material things are just things. But I'm also grateful for certain things because they make our lives easier. And they make chores a little more bearable. I won't go as far as writing "fun" but material things help me out a lot. For instance ...
1. I'm thankful for the kick ass Dyson that we got as a wedding gift from The Man's best friend and Vero! The Man vacuums so much now! I'm not exaggerating. He likes to point out all the hair we can both see through the canister. Whatever. It gets him to vacuum a lot (I'm not joking, The Man vacuums at least once a week. Usually more!!!) He likes gadgets and this one is a fine one for him to play with and enjoy. As the former sole vacuuming person in the house, this was a welcome addition.
There's just seems to be this fascination in us being able to see the gross stuff we are vacuuming from our floor over the mysterious vacuum bag that came from our Hoover.
2. I'm thankful for Gertrude who came to us a few months ago and is great addition to the family! I started to write about her back in April when we first got her but I deleted the entry because I felt like I was showin' off. Well, whatever. She's a few months old now and I really am grateful for her! Some of you may remember Cupcake, my old but kind-of-sturdy black Pontiac Sunfire. I swore I would drive her into the ground because she was paid off! And by golly, I stuck to my word and done nearly drove her into the ground! The passenger window had become fickle, sometimes not rolling up. NOT good since I drive a lot for work. And then Cupcake simply cut out on me while I was driving on Mission Blvd. Well, we debated if we should make the repairs and when The Man looked up her safety ratings, he came up with a really good case for buying a new car. With all the driving I do, he rationalized that I will have a pretty great chance of one day being in an accident. Morbid, I know, but he's right. Since he loves researching online for gadgets (and yes, I consider cars a really expensive gadget) he researched every night for about eight to ten weeks on different cars. Yes, while I was planning for the wedding ;) I was really big on fuel efficiency (I had no idea that gas was going to be $5/gallon or I would have argued more about it!) and The Man was really big on crash safety ratings. I really wanted a certain car and would not budge. Then he showed me a video on a crash test for my #1 pick. The video went on to say that the driver would likely incur "brain hemorrhaging" should he/she be hit from the side at 45 mph.
The Man knows how to argue his case, let me tell you. But I still need something fuel efficient, I argued back! He was exasperated by then and said, "Well I really don't think you will care much about fuel efficiency when you're missing a limb or something!!!" Point taken. So there went my #2 pick, as well.
Not to worry, he also had to compromise. I test drove his #1 pick and did not care for it. We ended up with his #2 choice which was my #3 -
Her name is Gertrude. Gertie, for short. Dirty Gertie when she's not clean or is acting up. The reason why I named her Gertrude is because her voice is kind of stern and formal. The Man did not care for this name. He wanted me to name her something more exotic. I had named our GPS "Sabine" because she had an Australian/British accent and the named sounded appropriate. Oh well, I'm driving it so I'm naming it! Gertrude has proven to be an awesome car. The Man is less anxious about all my daily driving and I feel pretty safe, too. She has butt warmers (for the life of him, The Man does not understand why chicks dig butt warmers! I told him butt warmers rule!) and a great A/C which Cupcake, sadly, had a hard time with - not sure if it's because it was a black car or just getting old but Cupcake was H-O-T! Didn't matter if it was winter or summer, if it was sunny, she was an oven. As I mentioned, Gertie is a stern sounding car but she also gives clear and accurate directions and is extremely useful for my job. It costs quite a bit to fill 'er up but I actually fill her up less frequently than I did the Sunfire. Phewww!
3. We finally, FINALLY, started using the slow cooker Kim & Ryan bought us for our wedding! Our home gets super hot during the summer, especially whenever we use the oven or stove so this appliance really comes in handy right about now. It doesn't make our house one big oven ... thank goodness!
What's moded is that I haven't bothered to look up recipes to get the maximum benefit of this great slow cooker. What are we using it for, you ask? To cook the pups' chicken! I know, I know, you think it's ridiculous. Well, they won't eat just kibble ... they have gone two days straight without eating. We mix up some chicken with it and problem solved! They eat. So if anyone has a great recipe we can use so that we can make a nice meal, please let me know! I've had people tell me, "Oh! Just throw some chicken, onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes and you've got yourself a meal!" I am not that secure in my cooking, people. I like exact measurements.
The reason why we finally unearthed this great gift, along with the rest of our fantastic wedding gifts, is because The Man has finally unpacked all his stuff. It's hard to explain since it's not like we moved into a new place. But if you could have seen what it looked like when he finally moved in all his stuff - it was something else. We still have one room that needs some serious help :( Anyway, we are finally finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place!
4. My Sonicare toothbrush - I've had this for a while. It's a great contraption, I tell you. After I got three cavities, I take my dental hygiene very seriously. Those cavities were my first ever, by the way. I conveniently got them right after I was taken off my parents' insurance and I was working at a job that did not provide medical or dental!
Those have been my only cavities and I think a lot has to do with my Sonicare toothbrush. I'm not keen on the idea of wearing dentures ... I'm not a hater, I'm just trying to keep my real teeth for as long as possible.
5. OK, I know this one sounds ridiculous but I forgot how much I loved this product until we stopped using it and then recently bought it again:
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I used to work for Bath and Body Works back in college. I loved all their stuff and wore it all the time. As I got older, I stopped using many of their products. But there are two that I love - their hand soap and their antibacterial gel. We ran out of the hand soap a couple months ago and never replaced it because we both hate going to the mall. Instead, The Man bought some soap from the grocery store and we used that. No biggie, it totally worked. Last Saturday, we happened to need to go to the mall and walked by Bath and Body Works. Whooohooo, they were having a sale - 3 antibacterial products for $10. I bought some hand soap, of course!
Oh my word, the Midnight Pomegranate is di-vine!!!! It smells so good, it makes our hands smell good and because BBW stuff is strong, it makes the bathroom smell good! All that scent-y goodness in a squirt of hand soap. Awesome.
So these are a few of my favorite things. Please remember that if you have a good slow cooker recipe, send it my way! The Man and I will be very grateful.
Oh, and me joining the bandwagon a little bit late ... here is MY weemee!
Taken from one of Daisy's Mama's entries!
No, no, I'm not dillusional. I know I'm no angel! But I try to be good. Most of the time. And out of all the expressions to choose from, this one seemed the most calm. Happy without going overboard. What I really dig is that she's tan so it's pretty accurate representation! Now if only they made slated eyes an option ...
1. I'm thankful for the kick ass Dyson that we got as a wedding gift from The Man's best friend and Vero! The Man vacuums so much now! I'm not exaggerating. He likes to point out all the hair we can both see through the canister. Whatever. It gets him to vacuum a lot (I'm not joking, The Man vacuums at least once a week. Usually more!!!) He likes gadgets and this one is a fine one for him to play with and enjoy. As the former sole vacuuming person in the house, this was a welcome addition.
There's just seems to be this fascination in us being able to see the gross stuff we are vacuuming from our floor over the mysterious vacuum bag that came from our Hoover.
2. I'm thankful for Gertrude who came to us a few months ago and is great addition to the family! I started to write about her back in April when we first got her but I deleted the entry because I felt like I was showin' off. Well, whatever. She's a few months old now and I really am grateful for her! Some of you may remember Cupcake, my old but kind-of-sturdy black Pontiac Sunfire. I swore I would drive her into the ground because she was paid off! And by golly, I stuck to my word and done nearly drove her into the ground! The passenger window had become fickle, sometimes not rolling up. NOT good since I drive a lot for work. And then Cupcake simply cut out on me while I was driving on Mission Blvd. Well, we debated if we should make the repairs and when The Man looked up her safety ratings, he came up with a really good case for buying a new car. With all the driving I do, he rationalized that I will have a pretty great chance of one day being in an accident. Morbid, I know, but he's right. Since he loves researching online for gadgets (and yes, I consider cars a really expensive gadget) he researched every night for about eight to ten weeks on different cars. Yes, while I was planning for the wedding ;) I was really big on fuel efficiency (I had no idea that gas was going to be $5/gallon or I would have argued more about it!) and The Man was really big on crash safety ratings. I really wanted a certain car and would not budge. Then he showed me a video on a crash test for my #1 pick. The video went on to say that the driver would likely incur "brain hemorrhaging" should he/she be hit from the side at 45 mph.
The Man knows how to argue his case, let me tell you. But I still need something fuel efficient, I argued back! He was exasperated by then and said, "Well I really don't think you will care much about fuel efficiency when you're missing a limb or something!!!" Point taken. So there went my #2 pick, as well.
Not to worry, he also had to compromise. I test drove his #1 pick and did not care for it. We ended up with his #2 choice which was my #3 -
Her name is Gertrude. Gertie, for short. Dirty Gertie when she's not clean or is acting up. The reason why I named her Gertrude is because her voice is kind of stern and formal. The Man did not care for this name. He wanted me to name her something more exotic. I had named our GPS "Sabine" because she had an Australian/British accent and the named sounded appropriate. Oh well, I'm driving it so I'm naming it! Gertrude has proven to be an awesome car. The Man is less anxious about all my daily driving and I feel pretty safe, too. She has butt warmers (for the life of him, The Man does not understand why chicks dig butt warmers! I told him butt warmers rule!) and a great A/C which Cupcake, sadly, had a hard time with - not sure if it's because it was a black car or just getting old but Cupcake was H-O-T! Didn't matter if it was winter or summer, if it was sunny, she was an oven. As I mentioned, Gertie is a stern sounding car but she also gives clear and accurate directions and is extremely useful for my job. It costs quite a bit to fill 'er up but I actually fill her up less frequently than I did the Sunfire. Phewww!
3. We finally, FINALLY, started using the slow cooker Kim & Ryan bought us for our wedding! Our home gets super hot during the summer, especially whenever we use the oven or stove so this appliance really comes in handy right about now. It doesn't make our house one big oven ... thank goodness!
What's moded is that I haven't bothered to look up recipes to get the maximum benefit of this great slow cooker. What are we using it for, you ask? To cook the pups' chicken! I know, I know, you think it's ridiculous. Well, they won't eat just kibble ... they have gone two days straight without eating. We mix up some chicken with it and problem solved! They eat. So if anyone has a great recipe we can use so that we can make a nice meal, please let me know! I've had people tell me, "Oh! Just throw some chicken, onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes and you've got yourself a meal!" I am not that secure in my cooking, people. I like exact measurements.
The reason why we finally unearthed this great gift, along with the rest of our fantastic wedding gifts, is because The Man has finally unpacked all his stuff. It's hard to explain since it's not like we moved into a new place. But if you could have seen what it looked like when he finally moved in all his stuff - it was something else. We still have one room that needs some serious help :( Anyway, we are finally finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place!
4. My Sonicare toothbrush - I've had this for a while. It's a great contraption, I tell you. After I got three cavities, I take my dental hygiene very seriously. Those cavities were my first ever, by the way. I conveniently got them right after I was taken off my parents' insurance and I was working at a job that did not provide medical or dental!
Those have been my only cavities and I think a lot has to do with my Sonicare toothbrush. I'm not keen on the idea of wearing dentures ... I'm not a hater, I'm just trying to keep my real teeth for as long as possible.
5. OK, I know this one sounds ridiculous but I forgot how much I loved this product until we stopped using it and then recently bought it again:
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I used to work for Bath and Body Works back in college. I loved all their stuff and wore it all the time. As I got older, I stopped using many of their products. But there are two that I love - their hand soap and their antibacterial gel. We ran out of the hand soap a couple months ago and never replaced it because we both hate going to the mall. Instead, The Man bought some soap from the grocery store and we used that. No biggie, it totally worked. Last Saturday, we happened to need to go to the mall and walked by Bath and Body Works. Whooohooo, they were having a sale - 3 antibacterial products for $10. I bought some hand soap, of course!
Oh my word, the Midnight Pomegranate is di-vine!!!! It smells so good, it makes our hands smell good and because BBW stuff is strong, it makes the bathroom smell good! All that scent-y goodness in a squirt of hand soap. Awesome.
So these are a few of my favorite things. Please remember that if you have a good slow cooker recipe, send it my way! The Man and I will be very grateful.
Oh, and me joining the bandwagon a little bit late ... here is MY weemee!
Taken from one of Daisy's Mama's entries!
No, no, I'm not dillusional. I know I'm no angel! But I try to be good. Most of the time. And out of all the expressions to choose from, this one seemed the most calm. Happy without going overboard. What I really dig is that she's tan so it's pretty accurate representation! Now if only they made slated eyes an option ...
Friday, June 20, 2008
OhmyGAWD, thank goodness it's Friday
Going all Oprah on y'all -
1. I love Fridays. I am thankful for Fridays. For as long as I can remember, it has been my most favorite day. Better than Saturday and far better than Sunday (Sundays kind of depress me because it's a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Monday.) Work always seems a little easier on Fridays.
2. My puppies. I adore the pups. They have helped me see that there are maternal instincts buried deep inside :) Check it out, even though Piko puked in our bed and it seeped through the sheet and it was at 5am, I can still look at her adoringly. They are fantastic creatures, I tell you - little people in fur coats! The Man has stressful days at work, at times, and before he would play video games or watch a kung fu movie to decompress. Now the puppies almost always do the trick. Pili lunges her body at his face to lick, lick, lick. Piko gives quick kisses and then rolls over for a belly rub. Their typical ways of saying hello!
3. Being regular. Thanks to my special coffee every morning, I am a regular gal. Yahhhh, I WROTE IT. Man, if you've ever been irregular, you know that is a freakin' blessing to be regular. I don't need to write more about that, do I?
4. Having dinner with a childhood friend last night. I'm not great at sustaining friendships. I could write a whole entry on it. But I'll just leave it with it takes a lot of work. Anyway, I have this one friend that I've known since I was 11 years old. We have been friends for 18 years!!! The last four years have been tough, though. Nothing major happened, we just lost touch, grew to have different lives and grew apart. Well, we finally got it together and had drinks last night! It was really nice.
5. Cool 60 degrees mornings. It has been in the 90s for the past few days so it's nice to wake up to comfortable weather ... before it gets uncomfortable! We have a lot of body heat in our bed between The Man, me, and our two very furry dogs so I love comfortably cool mornings.
Now the typical ramblings -
What the hell is going on with gas prices?!?! Unbelievable!!! And possible off shore drilling? OK, seriously, how did this man get reelected? I can't wait for a democrat to get into office!! Sweet mary, who would have ever thought gas would reach $5/gallon?
I am making a conscious effort to stop "gossiping" at work. It's with only one person in particular and she somehow manages to get me to say what I really think with very little or no censoring. But I'm putting it on me, not her, because in the end I control what I say. I can tell when our conversations going towards a negative direction but it feels so good to talk to someone who voices my same concerns that I just go right along with her. She's not at all a bad person, she's actually very nice. But it's just never good to gossip, you know? I justify it by convincing myself that they are MY feelings so why wouldn't I share? It's not like I'm revealing someone else's feelings. But in the end, I am talking about other people and I don't feel good about myself. So no more gossiping!! Especially since, overall, I really like my job.
Oh! For the single friends that will eventually have a wedding ... I saw the cutest wedding invitation the other day. If I could do it again, I would have totally taken the idea. It was very simple and just The Man and my style. It was the normal size of an invitation but heavier paper and semi-gloss. On one side was a picture of the couple. It filled up the whole page so from far away it looked like a professional photograph - probably one of their engagement pictures. They looked so relaxed and beautiful and the background was a park. On the other side was all the information for the wedding. Including a website where guests had to RSVP. It was a green background which matched the green from the trees in their picture with white lettering. It was so simple yet different and totally beautiful! Anyway, it's a wedding my parents are attending but because I liked the invitation so much, I told my folks I was going to hijack the invitation afterwards for anyone's future reference. I like it so much because it was a great picture of the couple and there was no fuss or muss with multiple envelopes or papers - I wish I had thought of that! Plus it didn't look that expensive to make - bonus!!!!! Now that my wedding planning days are over, I truly enjoy seeing other people's interpretations and ideas of their big day especially if it's completely different than mine. I know that destination weddings are all the rage (hello, we jumped on that bandwagon!) so I enjoy hearing how people make it work in the Bay Area. Weird, right?
1. I love Fridays. I am thankful for Fridays. For as long as I can remember, it has been my most favorite day. Better than Saturday and far better than Sunday (Sundays kind of depress me because it's a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Monday.) Work always seems a little easier on Fridays.
2. My puppies. I adore the pups. They have helped me see that there are maternal instincts buried deep inside :) Check it out, even though Piko puked in our bed and it seeped through the sheet and it was at 5am, I can still look at her adoringly. They are fantastic creatures, I tell you - little people in fur coats! The Man has stressful days at work, at times, and before he would play video games or watch a kung fu movie to decompress. Now the puppies almost always do the trick. Pili lunges her body at his face to lick, lick, lick. Piko gives quick kisses and then rolls over for a belly rub. Their typical ways of saying hello!
3. Being regular. Thanks to my special coffee every morning, I am a regular gal. Yahhhh, I WROTE IT. Man, if you've ever been irregular, you know that is a freakin' blessing to be regular. I don't need to write more about that, do I?
4. Having dinner with a childhood friend last night. I'm not great at sustaining friendships. I could write a whole entry on it. But I'll just leave it with it takes a lot of work. Anyway, I have this one friend that I've known since I was 11 years old. We have been friends for 18 years!!! The last four years have been tough, though. Nothing major happened, we just lost touch, grew to have different lives and grew apart. Well, we finally got it together and had drinks last night! It was really nice.
5. Cool 60 degrees mornings. It has been in the 90s for the past few days so it's nice to wake up to comfortable weather ... before it gets uncomfortable! We have a lot of body heat in our bed between The Man, me, and our two very furry dogs so I love comfortably cool mornings.
Now the typical ramblings -
What the hell is going on with gas prices?!?! Unbelievable!!! And possible off shore drilling? OK, seriously, how did this man get reelected? I can't wait for a democrat to get into office!! Sweet mary, who would have ever thought gas would reach $5/gallon?
I am making a conscious effort to stop "gossiping" at work. It's with only one person in particular and she somehow manages to get me to say what I really think with very little or no censoring. But I'm putting it on me, not her, because in the end I control what I say. I can tell when our conversations going towards a negative direction but it feels so good to talk to someone who voices my same concerns that I just go right along with her. She's not at all a bad person, she's actually very nice. But it's just never good to gossip, you know? I justify it by convincing myself that they are MY feelings so why wouldn't I share? It's not like I'm revealing someone else's feelings. But in the end, I am talking about other people and I don't feel good about myself. So no more gossiping!! Especially since, overall, I really like my job.
Oh! For the single friends that will eventually have a wedding ... I saw the cutest wedding invitation the other day. If I could do it again, I would have totally taken the idea. It was very simple and just The Man and my style. It was the normal size of an invitation but heavier paper and semi-gloss. On one side was a picture of the couple. It filled up the whole page so from far away it looked like a professional photograph - probably one of their engagement pictures. They looked so relaxed and beautiful and the background was a park. On the other side was all the information for the wedding. Including a website where guests had to RSVP. It was a green background which matched the green from the trees in their picture with white lettering. It was so simple yet different and totally beautiful! Anyway, it's a wedding my parents are attending but because I liked the invitation so much, I told my folks I was going to hijack the invitation afterwards for anyone's future reference. I like it so much because it was a great picture of the couple and there was no fuss or muss with multiple envelopes or papers - I wish I had thought of that! Plus it didn't look that expensive to make - bonus!!!!! Now that my wedding planning days are over, I truly enjoy seeing other people's interpretations and ideas of their big day especially if it's completely different than mine. I know that destination weddings are all the rage (hello, we jumped on that bandwagon!) so I enjoy hearing how people make it work in the Bay Area. Weird, right?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Lulu Updates
1. I just realized that I could use all the Target gift cards we received from our wedding towards buying my expensive ass conditioner!!!!! I use Pureology, which I love. But it is mighty tough on the wallet. I used to go to the fancy beauty supply stores to buy it. Well, I recently ran out and the thought of spending $55 for conditioner (see?! Granted, it's a big bottle but sheeeeeesh!) has been making me put it off. My poor hair. It's had to deal with Pantene shampoo - not even 2-in-1! Now don't get me wrong, it's all good and fine but I'm sure my hair will turn on me and break off if I don't get it some Pureology pronto.
2. I recently decided to see a chiropractor. Sort of. OK, here's the thing. I have had major pain in my left shoulder. I'm pretty sure it was when I started to work more from home than in the office. Yes, folks, all the ergonomically correct stuff that HR pushes on us is really for our own good. I was working from a laptop on a dining table. I got it checked out by my Kaiser doctor and she diagnosed it as tendonitis. She suggested I go to physically therapy. Since I knew I would have to pay a co-pay, I filed a worker's comp claim to see if I could get that covered. I ended up getting denied - I think it's because I am not technically a telecommuter. I didn't mind, though, because The Man and I ended up buying stuff to make my home office ergonomically correct and the pain went away. Well, it's back and my shoulder aches a lot. A good friend of mine swears by chiropractic care and appealed to my reasonable side by saying it was cheaper than a massage and the effects last longer than a massage. Sweet.
I love the Yelp. It's not always perfect but I feel like I can make a more educated decision than just looking in the phone book. I yelp-ed chiropractors and found Life Chiropractic College West. I read the reviews and it looked good. I know that my body is a temple and I should see a professional, not a student. But since it's my first experience with chiropractic care, I wanted to see what it was all about without shelling out a lot of money. Plus, this would also be a great way to try out a chiropractor. Once the intern graduates, and if I like her, I can follow the chiropractor and become of one her patients. I like the idea of holistic medicine (how Californian can I be?!) and this looks to be a great introduction for me. I am also comforted by the fact that these students had to earn a degree and then study roughly 18 months in chiropractic college before dealing with patients.
I had my first visit and, while the gal was a bit chatty, she appeared to truly know what she was doing. I liked that she was extremely thorough - we spend 45 minutes going over the paperwork I filled out. She then had to review her notes with a faculty doctor, who then works with her to determine the appropriate course of care for my condition. I am really looking forward to my next visit which is when I will get my first adjustment!
3. I gave in, I replaced my Nalgene bottle for a stainless steel one. Lawdee, I'm sorry for giving you a bad time, Sister! See, Sister told me early this year how she heard that certain plastic bottles weren't good for us and that they could leach toxins when kept in warm to hot temperatures. She showed me the bottle she was eyeing to replace her Nalgene bottle. "$22?!" I screeched. It didn't even hold a lot of water, maybe 18oz at most! I scoffed at her concern, saying something like it was a ploy for us to buy these new fancy bottles.
Over the months since this conversation, I saw more and more people carrying around these stainless steel water containers. Keep in mind, I work with a lot of health and wellness professionals. What finally did me in? One of the "gifts" we give to kids from my company is a water bottle. A principal gave me this note (I corrected the misspellings):
Dear Mrs. Bl00m,
I was wondering if the water bottles we got have BPA in it. I would like to know if I can use it, thanks.
Here was this third grader, granted, I'm certain her parents influenced her but here is this little girl who is concerned about drinking from the water bottle we gave her! (Which, by the way, is completely clear of PBA, thank-you-very-much.) But my Nalgene bottle - who knew? So I went onto the Nalgene website. It was vague. It basically said that bottles with the #7 weren't neccessarily bad. They weren't necessarily good either but it didn't mean it was bad. Maybe.
Whaaaaa?!
Then I went onto Amazon and found this:
National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health Opinion:"Although there is no direct evidence that exposure of people to bisphenol A adversely affects reproduction or development, studies with laboratory rodents show that exposure to high dose levels of bisphenol A during pregnancy and/or lactation can reduce survival, birth weight, and growth of offspring early in life, and delay the onset of puberty in males and females. Recognizing the lack of data on the effects of bisphenol A in humans and despite the limitations in the evidence for "low" dose effects in laboratory animals, the possibility that bisphenol A may impact human development cannot be dismissed. More research is needed."Source: National Institutes of Health, National Toxicology Program. 14 April. 2008. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. 29 April. 2008. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/media/questions/sya-bpa.cfm
All right, to heck with THAT. So I caved in and bought this:
I love me some Amazon. The Man bought this 27 oz container for $16! And what's great about it is that the mouth is wide enough for me to use a baby bottle brush to clean it and it fits into my cup holder unlike the old water bottle.
Wow, this is probably one of THE MOST boring entries I've written. But I am big on drinking water. It' s one of the easiest things that I can do that is very healthy for me so I make no apologies for being very excited about my new water container :)
2. I recently decided to see a chiropractor. Sort of. OK, here's the thing. I have had major pain in my left shoulder. I'm pretty sure it was when I started to work more from home than in the office. Yes, folks, all the ergonomically correct stuff that HR pushes on us is really for our own good. I was working from a laptop on a dining table. I got it checked out by my Kaiser doctor and she diagnosed it as tendonitis. She suggested I go to physically therapy. Since I knew I would have to pay a co-pay, I filed a worker's comp claim to see if I could get that covered. I ended up getting denied - I think it's because I am not technically a telecommuter. I didn't mind, though, because The Man and I ended up buying stuff to make my home office ergonomically correct and the pain went away. Well, it's back and my shoulder aches a lot. A good friend of mine swears by chiropractic care and appealed to my reasonable side by saying it was cheaper than a massage and the effects last longer than a massage. Sweet.
I love the Yelp. It's not always perfect but I feel like I can make a more educated decision than just looking in the phone book. I yelp-ed chiropractors and found Life Chiropractic College West. I read the reviews and it looked good. I know that my body is a temple and I should see a professional, not a student. But since it's my first experience with chiropractic care, I wanted to see what it was all about without shelling out a lot of money. Plus, this would also be a great way to try out a chiropractor. Once the intern graduates, and if I like her, I can follow the chiropractor and become of one her patients. I like the idea of holistic medicine (how Californian can I be?!) and this looks to be a great introduction for me. I am also comforted by the fact that these students had to earn a degree and then study roughly 18 months in chiropractic college before dealing with patients.
I had my first visit and, while the gal was a bit chatty, she appeared to truly know what she was doing. I liked that she was extremely thorough - we spend 45 minutes going over the paperwork I filled out. She then had to review her notes with a faculty doctor, who then works with her to determine the appropriate course of care for my condition. I am really looking forward to my next visit which is when I will get my first adjustment!
3. I gave in, I replaced my Nalgene bottle for a stainless steel one. Lawdee, I'm sorry for giving you a bad time, Sister! See, Sister told me early this year how she heard that certain plastic bottles weren't good for us and that they could leach toxins when kept in warm to hot temperatures. She showed me the bottle she was eyeing to replace her Nalgene bottle. "$22?!" I screeched. It didn't even hold a lot of water, maybe 18oz at most! I scoffed at her concern, saying something like it was a ploy for us to buy these new fancy bottles.
Over the months since this conversation, I saw more and more people carrying around these stainless steel water containers. Keep in mind, I work with a lot of health and wellness professionals. What finally did me in? One of the "gifts" we give to kids from my company is a water bottle. A principal gave me this note (I corrected the misspellings):
Dear Mrs. Bl00m,
I was wondering if the water bottles we got have BPA in it. I would like to know if I can use it, thanks.
Here was this third grader, granted, I'm certain her parents influenced her but here is this little girl who is concerned about drinking from the water bottle we gave her! (Which, by the way, is completely clear of PBA, thank-you-very-much.) But my Nalgene bottle - who knew? So I went onto the Nalgene website. It was vague. It basically said that bottles with the #7 weren't neccessarily bad. They weren't necessarily good either but it didn't mean it was bad. Maybe.
Whaaaaa?!
Then I went onto Amazon and found this:
National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health Opinion:"Although there is no direct evidence that exposure of people to bisphenol A adversely affects reproduction or development, studies with laboratory rodents show that exposure to high dose levels of bisphenol A during pregnancy and/or lactation can reduce survival, birth weight, and growth of offspring early in life, and delay the onset of puberty in males and females. Recognizing the lack of data on the effects of bisphenol A in humans and despite the limitations in the evidence for "low" dose effects in laboratory animals, the possibility that bisphenol A may impact human development cannot be dismissed. More research is needed."Source: National Institutes of Health, National Toxicology Program. 14 April. 2008. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. 29 April. 2008. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/media/questions/sya-bpa.cfm
All right, to heck with THAT. So I caved in and bought this:
I love me some Amazon. The Man bought this 27 oz container for $16! And what's great about it is that the mouth is wide enough for me to use a baby bottle brush to clean it and it fits into my cup holder unlike the old water bottle.
Wow, this is probably one of THE MOST boring entries I've written. But I am big on drinking water. It' s one of the easiest things that I can do that is very healthy for me so I make no apologies for being very excited about my new water container :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
A truly deep and important topic
My hair. This internal battle happens every so often, usually when I have too much time on my hands or if it's hot.
Well, it's getting hot.
I remember when I was 21 years old I promised myself that I would cut my hair when I turned 25. I wanted to be a reporter and knew that I would have to have a stylish yet sensible bob. Yahhhh, and when that time came around, I was in grad school studing broadcasting and realizing that I didn't want a career in television. Oops.
Then year after year, I entertained the idea and chickened out. This past year, knew I wanted to grow it out for the wedding because I wanted long, pretty curls. Obviously the wedding has come and gone and here it is, 85+ degrees and I'm hot as all get out again.
Recently I've been looking at these women with their sophisticated angled bobs (you know, the one where it's longer in the front and the back is so short it's even shaved.) I've also been admiring those really daring cuts where the hair is just two or three inches long and it's spikey but still feminine with very cool highlights. Very femmebot, if you will. They look so cute and cool in this summer heat while I feel like I'm just melting away, looking sweaty and having limp hair. Ponytails and buns are my only boring saviors.
But I am a big ol' chicken. I'm still traumatized over my early college years when I chopped off more than a foot (result from a broken heart) and didn't know anything about hair to ask for it to be layered. So there I was, looking like a saucerhead. Or mushroom. Not a pretty time in my life.
So there it is, folks. All that hair. I posted a picture because other than it looking red from the sunlight (it's actually brown to dark brown,) it's pretty accurate. That hair, people, causes my body temp to rise 5-10 degrees from the actual temperature outside. OK, no scientific proof but it feels that way. And I know that I will just grin and bear it - or bitch and bear it - for the summer and then forget all about my urge to cut it in the winter. Because that's when I really appreciate being 5-10 degrees warmer.
Or I'll finally get the stones to do it and just chop it all off. We'll see.
Well, it's getting hot.
I remember when I was 21 years old I promised myself that I would cut my hair when I turned 25. I wanted to be a reporter and knew that I would have to have a stylish yet sensible bob. Yahhhh, and when that time came around, I was in grad school studing broadcasting and realizing that I didn't want a career in television. Oops.
Then year after year, I entertained the idea and chickened out. This past year, knew I wanted to grow it out for the wedding because I wanted long, pretty curls. Obviously the wedding has come and gone and here it is, 85+ degrees and I'm hot as all get out again.
Recently I've been looking at these women with their sophisticated angled bobs (you know, the one where it's longer in the front and the back is so short it's even shaved.) I've also been admiring those really daring cuts where the hair is just two or three inches long and it's spikey but still feminine with very cool highlights. Very femmebot, if you will. They look so cute and cool in this summer heat while I feel like I'm just melting away, looking sweaty and having limp hair. Ponytails and buns are my only boring saviors.But I am a big ol' chicken. I'm still traumatized over my early college years when I chopped off more than a foot (result from a broken heart) and didn't know anything about hair to ask for it to be layered. So there I was, looking like a saucerhead. Or mushroom. Not a pretty time in my life.
So there it is, folks. All that hair. I posted a picture because other than it looking red from the sunlight (it's actually brown to dark brown,) it's pretty accurate. That hair, people, causes my body temp to rise 5-10 degrees from the actual temperature outside. OK, no scientific proof but it feels that way. And I know that I will just grin and bear it - or bitch and bear it - for the summer and then forget all about my urge to cut it in the winter. Because that's when I really appreciate being 5-10 degrees warmer.
Or I'll finally get the stones to do it and just chop it all off. We'll see.
----------------------------
I like this blog. And her most recent entry reminded me that I had written a while back that I wanted to write about good things that happen to me just as a reminder that life really isn't that bad. And it's so easy to complain ... why isn't it just as easy to be positive? Here goes:
1. My parents invited us over for a BBQ dinner and it was goooood.
2. I'm looking over at the couch right now and both The Man and Pili are sleeping on their backs with Pili cuddling up against his leg. So freakin' cute!
3. I'm grateful I can work from home.
4. I talked to my long lost (well, for a few months!) BFF at work and although she's moving to a different department, she said we'll still be work BFFs :)
5. The purse I'm knitting up is looking nice.
It's kind of sad that I had to pause and think of five simple things that were positive. I bet, without hesitation, I could list all sorts of stuff to bitch about. Hopefully if I'm able to stick with it, the good stuff will be easier to remember! I know, how Sunshine Suzy of me but I don't care! I need a little more Miss Merry Sunshine in me!!!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Continuing to feel content ... despite the government having it in for me.
I was driving back home this morning, happy as can be. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and I felt at peace. My life, while far from perfect, is a good one and I was thankful for that.
Then I remembered that I received a letter that said I owed the government over $1,500. What is depressing is that it's true - I do. The Man made an oopsie when he filed my 2006 taxes. Not his fault. They were my forms and I should have double checked. He just thought that the bank had made an error. Uh, they didn't. And now I owe big bucks.
Ugh.
And then a couple days later I got two, yes TWO, summons for Jury Service. One for June 30th in Oakland and then another one for July 1st in Hayward. Is that even possible?! I have to call to see if that is an oopsie on someone else's part. Because that kind of sucks.
So, despite having to write a f-a-t check and most likely having jury duty in a few weeks, I'm still happy. I just want to know who I ticked off so I can do some major @ss kissing. Seriously - two jury summons?! There has to be someone who has it in for me!
Then I remembered that I received a letter that said I owed the government over $1,500. What is depressing is that it's true - I do. The Man made an oopsie when he filed my 2006 taxes. Not his fault. They were my forms and I should have double checked. He just thought that the bank had made an error. Uh, they didn't. And now I owe big bucks.
Ugh.
And then a couple days later I got two, yes TWO, summons for Jury Service. One for June 30th in Oakland and then another one for July 1st in Hayward. Is that even possible?! I have to call to see if that is an oopsie on someone else's part. Because that kind of sucks.
So, despite having to write a f-a-t check and most likely having jury duty in a few weeks, I'm still happy. I just want to know who I ticked off so I can do some major @ss kissing. Seriously - two jury summons?! There has to be someone who has it in for me!
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