Effing

Color me surprised. As I'm getting a little further into HP7, I've noticed that my beloved Ron, Hermione and Harry are SWEARING! Well, not really swearing, but a watered down version by saying, "Effing" blah blah blah.

I was mostly taken back that I had probably already passed a number of instances of this when I realized it. How sad is it that I didn't even notice that they were swearing? A kids book, and they are swearing! Of course they are supposed to be 17 years old at this point, and most 17 year olds swear a little, eh?

Did any of you catch it?
Do you consider it swearing when THE word isn't used?
Would you mind if your kid read that?
And yes, I realize there is death and murder going on around the non-swearing, but for some reason the non-swearing is bugging me more as I don't think it was really needed for the story. Prude? possibly.

Not how I want to wake up on Monday morning

Have you ever had one of those dreams where even though you KNOW it's a dream, the emotions from the dream totally carry over into your morning?

Right before I woke up this morning, I had a dream that I had forgotten my passport at home when I was going on a trip to England. My mother had just dropped me off at the airport, and I didn't realize my mistake until she had already left. Quickly getting on my cell phone, I started calling my mom and my husband to see if they could bail me out and get me my passport in time for me to catch the next flight, which I had already switched to (for only $36! My dreams are always incredibly detailed). No one was answering their phones and I was stuck. My own mistake but I was fulling blaming it on my loved ones for not being there when I needed them.

I woke up this morning very irritated with myself, my mother and my husband. All for actions that happened IN A DREAM! I needed a few minutes to calm down before I could greet my husband on this very lovely Monday morning.

What flavor are you?

Since Ice Cream is often on my mind and this weekend is gonna be another warm one, I thought this quiz was a pretty appropriate way to start the weekend.

You Are A Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Girl

Creative. Expressive. Unique.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Last year Mint Chip was my flavor of choice. Couldn't get enough of it, but mostly in milk shakes. This year? I've been sticking with my old time favorites of Butter Pecan, Pralines N'Cream, and recently I've been throwing in the novelty, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. If it's gelato we're talkin' then I'm all over the Hazelnut. But going out for ice cream lately seems such a chore when there has been chilled Watermelon in the fridge. Mmmmmm....

On a separate note, nothing super grand composition wise, but I've caught up on my quest to keep my Flickr account up to date. I got a few months behind, but I think we're pretty much caught up now. I threw in a few 'borrowed' shots of the wedding from family and friends, since you know... I was busy. Feel free to check it!


Have a loverly weekend all!

Cucumber Salad

Thankful to finally have a kitchen back after getting all of the wedding business out of it, I want to COOK!

Since it has been hot, I've been wanting to grill, so I cheated and bought some pre-marinated Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) from Trader Joes. It isn't exactly correct per what I've had at Korean restaurants but it's still tasty and very tender. To accompany the grilled meat, I of course had some Kim Chee on hand and added my own take on a Korean Cucumber Salad.

It was spicy, crisp, sweet and cool, and went perfect with the heat and sweetness of the grilled beef.

Korean 'inspired' Cucumber Salad
yields about 6 cups

1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Chili Paste (Sambal Oelek) - adjust for the desired heat level
1 tablespoon soy sauce
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds - toasted
1 English Cucumber - washed, peel on, julienned on the bias
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 Carrot, julienned
1/2 small Diakon Radish, julienned

1. Mix together the vinegar, chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 10 minutes. Best if left to marinade a few hours.
4. Toss occasionally while marinating and again right before service.
   

This recipe made about 6 cups, which would normally be plenty for 4 people as a side, but Eric and I polished it all off in one sitting (of course).

Wordless Wednesday - THE CUT

Making some changes

I'm considering changing things up a little around here. Taking comfort, emotions and effort into consideration, my closet and appearance may be taking a turn soon.

For the past 6 months or so, I have been restricted to how I cut and color my hair, based on how I wanted to wear it for the wedding. My hairstylist worked with the woman doing my wedding day hair so there was no bang trimming or fun coloring to be done leading up to the wedding.

But today... today I get to do whatever I want (cut wise). Go short? Layers? Bangs? Or go for my basic slight trim and let it hang there look. It's finally to a length that I think is fun, young and kinda sexy, but do I hear the words of Stacey and Clinton in my ears? "Age Appropriate" Is it flattering? Appearances do matter. "Dress not for the job you have, but the job you want". Shouldn't I be taking some time on my appearance every morning, or should I continue with my run out the door with wet hair look.

Since the wedding I have been taking a few moments each day to apply a bit of make-up, since I really liked the look my make-up artist gave me (and I now own some of the make-up). Not much, but just a touch to feel a little more girly. Since I don't really dress very girly, I thought a little something would be nice. The guys I work with have finally gotten used to it and no longer ask, "Are you wearing make-up?" So I know change will be noticed, but it won't be made to be too big of a deal after a week or so.

I'm also considering changing up my daily uniform of the jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops too, since the jeans don't really fit anymore with my temporary bump, and I've just been feeling sort of dumpy since I have to wear larger sizes. Moving to maternity pants is depressing, but the saggy jeans are equally upsetting. So, I'm thinking of moving to skirts. It will be shocking I know, but I can still get away with the t-shirts and flip flops. Baby steps!

So what about you out there. Have you ever made that conscience effort to make a change in your appearance? Did it stick? Was it noticed?

Staying awake

As I mentioned earlier, I'm sleepy. I'm REALLY sleepy. I'm sleepy enough that I am considering having some coffee, and I RARELY drink coffee and certainly not caffeinated. Except I've had a tummy ache since this morning, so coffee would be bad. So I am considering soda or a red bull, but again with the tummy pain. Luckily it's not "Tummy Action" as one of my co-workers calls gas and indigestion, it's just a general tummy ache.

Other then banging my head on the desk, or taking a walk (didn't work), does anyone have any tips to staying awake which will be gentle on my tummy?
Something which will preferable get me through a 4pm presentation/meeting and the drive home, and does not involve actually taking a nap.

Thanks!

Weekend Wrap-up

I'm sleepy.
I need another day off this week so I can sleep in. Luckily I have a pretty flexible work schedule, so I was able to come into the office around 10am. But man I am beat!

I had a most lovely weekend though. Nothing too exciting, but Eric and I finally got to see a full movie, actually 2, at the drive-in. I don't know if this is standard, but our drive-in shows double-features, so we went to see Harry Potter and Ratatouille. Sadly I slept through the middle of Ratatouille but I think this is to be expected when you are sitting in your car, in a reclined position especially when the movie began at 11:30pm. I'll watch it again when it comes out on DVD I'm sure. After all it is a movie about food and cooking!

I also finally did some cooking of my own this weekend. Our kitchen has been a little messy since the wedding... ok, since before the wedding, but everything in there has some tie to the wedding, mainly gifts I can't seem to find a home for. I have a very hard time having the desire to cook when the kitchen isn't spotless. I've been wanting to, but have had less of a desire to clean then I have to cook. But this weekend I bit the bullet and dove in. On Saturday I made a lovely lunch of grilled Korean Beef (Bulgogi) and a cucumber salad (recipe to follow later), and on Sunday I taught Eric how to make Fresh Spring Rolls. He had a blast, and was amazed at how easy it was.

While we were out running errands on Sunday, we had to buy a new water glass and bowl for the cats. Cosmo has a case of kitty acne where his bottom lip swells up really big and he basically gets a huge zit, and has now been given the nickname of 'zitty kitty'. One of the possible causes of kitty acne is when they drink/eat out of plastic bowls. Since we are weak and have given in to the cuteness of the cats drinking out of a "people glass" we have given them a designated glass on the bathroom counter, as well as a normal kitty bowl downstairs. They had an old Tupperware tumbler upstairs, but now they have a fancy blue glass from Tuscany, and a large soufflé ramekin on the floor. Lucky fancy kitties!

By Sunday night I still hadn't cracked the spine of the final HP book, so finally, at 10:30pm Eric had rolled over to go to sleep so I got to lean back to finally enjoy the last book. Around 11pm I woke up with the book on my face at page 8. I think this is going to be a slow read for me. Can't wait until next weekend so maybe I can get to page 10!

Status: IN TRANSIT TO FINAL DESTINATION

Ok. Ok. Maybe I'm getting excited now.

I thought about staying up and in line at a bookstore last night, but then I'd have two! So now I must sit at home and wait. I think I might leave a note on the door for the UPS man as I can't just sit around ALL day. He better just leave it!

The worst part is that I live about 2 blocks away from the UPS depot, and I know those trucks filled with books that must be delivered today, have already left (they usually all hit the highway around 8-9am). So now I must wonder, will my book be at the top or the bottom of the stack.

Perhaps some floor scrubbing will distract me...


**Update: It is now 4pm, the bathroom floors are scrubbed, laundry is done, and the book is here. I'll catch ya in a few days!

Open Weekend

How odd.
I seem to be at a loss for words.
No whining, or complaining, or worry.
No witty stories, or anything to report on.

Just looking forward to a weekend with no firm plans.
Maybe a hike.
Maybe a movie.
Maybe some reading.
Maybe some baking or ice cream making.
Maybe even some house cleaning. Ah yes, some cleaning would be good. Ohhh, even some down on your knees, scrubbing the floor corners of the bathroom might even feel rewarding and therapeutic. We also have some wedding gifts that haven't quite found a home yet, so maybe if we get them put away, we might find the kitchen table and might even EAT at it!

Darn it. I liked it better when the weekend had no plans.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! At least here, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful one!

Pre-op

I had my pre-op appointment yesterday and I think it went pretty well. I got to ask the questions I needed to ask, we both gained even more confidence in my doctor and her abilities, and were able to leave the appointment actually looking forward to the surgery date and getting to the healing part. She explained the hows and the whys and what to expect all along the way. She was real, and honest, at the same time compassionate to our worries and desire for future fertility.

Can I tell you how oddly "normal" it is becoming to be in such a compromising position? No longer do they need to say "Skoot. Skoot. Just a little further..." and I think Eric is even getting used to seeing me in "that" position and having a doctor's head "down there". He even handled hearing about the details of the procedure, where he would have likely passed out a month ago.

I also talked to her about how uncomfortable I have been and she said there isn't really anything I can do about it. I haven't been able to sleep through the night, my pants don't fit (maternity pants are an option but totally depress me since... I'm not pregnant), I have to pee ALL the time, the constipation, the heartburn, OH the HEARTBURN! I don't know if this is like some of the physical aspects of a pregnancy without the morning sickness, but it kinda sucks. I'm not looking forward to the pain of recovery, but I am totally looking forward to how I'll feel afterwards. The surgery date has moved around a bit, and this final date is about a month away, and I can't wait!

The most difficult thing was actually hearing her say I will never experience labor. Sure hearing the risks of infection, blood transfusions and hysterectomy were there too, but I had already fully known those. Due to the surgery compromising my uterus, if I were to get pregnant and make it to the 3rd trimester, they will schedule a premature c-section. How premature would depend on how everything is going. Multiple doctors had talked to me about having an early c-section because of the fibroids even without the myomectomy, so I KNEW about it, but no one ever said, "You will never go through labor".

So why did hearing it, in those words, finally get through to me?

I'm not really upset, more disappointed and am coming to terms with it the more I think about it. Better to know now then to have it be a surprise and an emergency, eh?
I've described how I feel in a bazaar way:
It's kinda like my desire to go to Las Vegas. I've never been, and even though I don't gamble, I hate the smoke, I don't really want to pay the prices, I still want to go... to experience it.

Plenty of women have c-sections, and after having one they often deliver all future babies the same way. Do they feel like they've missed out on some amazing part of being a woman and a mother?

Commuter Love

I am casually sitting on a crowded commuter train with people standing in the aisles. The trains are like this every morning, but usually they are pretty silent aside from the rumble of the train moving on the tracks and the occasional announcement of an upcoming station. This morning I get to sit next to 2 people arguing in the aisle and they don't even know each other.
As any regular commuter on this line knows, you kinda get over people being in your personal space. The trains jostle everyone around, people stumble, people with backpacks on forget how much space they take up, we're all in this together and USUALLY you hear apologies and everyone helps each other out.

On this morning, a lady stumbles and steps on a man's foot with her heels. He is startled, rubs his foot and says, "Man, those heels hurt!" And so it begins. She calls him a 'baby', he spouts off about manners, she says she almost fell, would he rather her fall? The man wants her to acknowledge his pain and maybe she could apologize, she tells him to drive if he can't handle crowded trains. This continues for about 5 minutes. Then all is quiet again. Oh but then a seat nearby opens up. She turns to him and says, "Hey baby, you can go sit down now". And thus it starts up again. He's trying to ignore her, but she actually gets in his face to yell at him, bending down when he does, walks around him when he turns away.
As we finally pull into the first San Francisco station, they both appear to be trying to get off the train. She turns around snarling at him, and she runs into the door and bangs her head on a metal bar. He's not the only one to smile as half of the car catches what just happened. And now, she's yelling at him again, following him down the platform running around to yell at him to his face. As the train pulls out of the station, the people in the car who had the pleasure to catch the show, start chatting about what just happened. "Someone's having a bad day!" I say.

These two people appeared to be professional adults, at least by their dress. They looked to be your average financial district worker who just want to get their work week started. I'm sure neither got up this morning with the desire to piss someone off today but they did. Whether intentional or not (well, she was obviously intentionally workin' it). But they aren't the only ones affected by their actions. We all had to witness it. I wanted to get up to leave but there was no where to go. I wanted him to leave so she would shut up, but she egged him on to move to another car, so of course he couldn't. I've seen a lot of different behaviors on these trains in the 8 years I've been commuting, but the audacity of this encounter really takes it.

Pre-Ordered!

Final Book... Pre-ordered!
I didn't know if I really wanted to wait for a package to come to my door at some point on Saturday, but did I really want to wait in line at Costco or a busy bookstore? Nope! So instead I shall sleep in, and await the knock at my door.

I'm actually not nearly as excited about this book. Perhaps too much time has gone by since the last one. Perhaps I've just lost interest. Perhaps I'm in denial that this is the end. But I'm sure as soon as that last book is in my hands I'll get all swept up in the madness once again. Crazy isn't it?

McDonald's effect on me

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, McDonald's ran a seat belt campaign, where you'd get to check off a box on a card for every time you put on your seat belt, and when the card was full (about 25 boxes) you could turn in the card for an ice cream cone or a box of cookies. I remember it was such a special day when mom would buy me a box of those Ronald McDonald and Friend's shaped cookies or a soft serve cone. I think secretly she liked to get me the cookies because she could snag a few, but the cone was ALL MINE. So being the kid who would do anything for a sweet, I was VERY excited about this little card mom showed me.

When I was little we never wore seat belts in the car. In fact, the seat belts for the back seat were under the seat, and once this card of boxes came into my life, I insisted they be pulled out. With the power of this card, I became a tyrant to the seat belt rule in the car. Every time we were in the car I'd make sure everyone had on their seat belt.

After about ohh... 5 days, I had filled up that card. Mom took me on many errands so I had many opportunities to make a habit of this new rule. And still to this day, the car does not leave PARK until everyone in the car has a seat belt on. So even though I've had many a cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, french fries and ice cream sundaes since then, I still remember that day I walked up to the counter with my full card in hand to get my ice cream. I guess McDonald's had some good effect on me as a kid.

Do it yourself dryer repair

Steps to do it yourself dryer repair when you have no idea what is really wrong and are flying by the seat of your Internet connection:

1. Get husband to pull dryer out of laundry closet (space is tight in these little condos)
2. Do lots of Internet research
3. Get totally overwhelmed by diagrams found on the net and go downstairs for some breakfast and just a little bit of TV watching (ok, more like an hour or two)
4. Open tool box husband has left for you to find VERY few tools that are helpful for this project and swear openly (since husband is gone for the day WITH the key to the tool sheds)
5. Go back downstairs to process the complexity of this task with a cool drink
6. Ok, bite the bullet and start taking the thing apart per the AWESOME picture slide show and step by step instructions found on http://www.applianceaid.com
7. Get out the vacuum because um... GROSS! (I meant to take a picture but was too disgusted and just started vacuuming). You know that lint trap thingy.... It doesn't catch it all
8. Research what parts to buy and the cost of said parts
   
9. Research how much it would cost to buy the new dryer you want
10. Call husband for his opinion on the difference of the cost of the parts vs. a new dryer, factoring in the fact that really you don't know exactly what is wrong and are only guessing and may end up breaking the dryer even more
11. Grumble at the fact that husband is not answering his cell phone or returning your call
12. Resign to the fact that your alone in this decision and off to the parts center you go.....
13. Discover at the parts store that they sell a lovely discounted dryer repair kit, DRAT now we're saving even more money
14. Decide that waiting for husband would be smart due to lack of tools and third arm
    
15. Have a cocktail
16. Show husband all of the diagrams and parts and read him the directions, because you know he won't read them himself and after all you went through all of this hard work to get the project this far
17. Assist husband in dryer repair (see, now it's a team effort so he feels special too)
18. Turn it on.... Still making noise, yet now a slightly different one but still bad, like neighbors will be calling us any minute bad. (quiet little YIPEE! and silent planning of when you can be home for the new dryer to be installed) Oh but wait... husband has an idea, just let it run to see if it "works itself out"
    
19. Husband's idea works
20. Quietly start planning what to do with the savings

In the end we replaced the Belt Drive, Idler Pully and the Support Rollers. Parts $31 + a half day of labor vs. New Machine for $400 + delivery + take away of old machine + the ever present taxes. So I guess we saved about $500 and gained the knowledge of the simplicity of the dryer design and inner workings. Fine, Husband was right, and the dryer seems to run better then it has since we've owned it.
Perhaps the stove/oven/microwave combo thingy will go out next, or maybe the dishwasher. But first we will tackle the upstairs bathroom faucet. We've been without hot water up there for over a month.

Dryer Troubles

Being the multi-tasker that I am, I often run the washer or drying while we sleep. The main benefit being that it is the coolest time of the day so the dryer isn't making the upstairs sweltering hot.

Well last night we were laying in bed getting ready for a lovely night of sleep, when suddenly there was a loud bangady bang coming from the laundry closet. It sounded just like when the washing machine gets out of balance, except I wasn't running the washing machine.... it was the dryer.

CRAP!

Just to make sure we really killed it, we tried to turn it on again, and yup, it's dead.

Deep down I've been wanting it to die as it came with condo, and it's old and only has one setting.... REALLY FREAKIN' HOT! I'm sure Eric won't let us simply go out and buy a new one, so I'll look into repairing it. It sounded like a belt has come loose, so it may be a simple repair, but I'm not going to call a repairman as I'm betting that will cost more then the machine is worth. I guess I'm going to be putting on my handy-chick hat this weekend.

Super Sweet 16

This past Sunday I found myself blowing a perfectly fine Sunday afternoon on the couch, again. What had me glued to el'glowing box this fine day you ask? Well a marathon showing of the Top 10 Most Blingest My Super Sweet 16's, followed by a really BAD movie based on the same premise, all on the master of all great television channels..... MTV.

Once I got past the shame of just what I was wasting my time doing, I then got to the questions of why do these spoiled brats demand such extravagant parties and gifts? Why do they have such a sense of entitlement? And why do I find it so fascinating to watch? Does the show actually prompt the bratty behavior or do these kids really act like this without the cameras?

Now I myself was a spoiled brat, I admit that. I did not obey my parent's rules, they didn't really enforce them, and I pretty much did what I wanted to. But I wasn't like this. I didn't cry when my mommy gave me a $45k car on my birthday instead of at my party. No, I had to work for my car, I paid for it myself, but my mom did pay for the insurance. I had my own phone line, you know a land line, not a cell phone. I didn't get an allowance because I worked, but if I did my chores my mom paid for that private phone line. All $14/month of it.

If you have more to do in your life then watch MTV, as I should, but I seem to still watch the drivel, you may not know what My Super Sweet 16 is. Basically it is a show, documenting the planning of Sweet 16 parties for the rich and bratty. Sometimes they are 15th or 18th birthday parties, but they all follow one theme... see how much your parents love you by how much money they spend on you.

I can't remember what I did on my 16th birthday, but I do know it didn't involve a car, a performing celebrity, a couture gown, catering or any sort of hall rental. I likely worked that day, and maybe hung out with some friends. Probably had some pizza.
Do you remember what you did for your Sweet 16?

More then meets the eye

Yesterday my company sponsored a little movie outing. Being the geeks that we are, we went to see 'Transformers'. Oh sure, the company was also sponsoring a sneak preview of the new Harry Potter movie as well, but that one was for customers only. HOW SUCKY!

Even though I wasn't excited about seeing a moving about alien robots who can take the form of vehicles, I went anyway since I actually really missed being part of something bigger then me and my living room couch. I of course asked if I could go to the Harry Potter movie instead, but I was encouraged to stick to the plan and leave the customers alone. Plus they might ask me work related questions and what fun is that at the movies?

I grew up with an older brother and there were plenty of days were I was out in that dirt pile with him pushing hot wheels around, and of course he had a few transformers in the mix. I know the theme song to the cartoon from back in the day, so we must have watched it. And I know the general premise to the storyline... yes, yes, I am a girl geek.

Well, surprise surprise.... the movie was pretty fun. Sure the plot was hokey, and the 2.5 hour run time was a little long, but it was actually pretty entertaining, in a geeky, throw back to the 80's sort of way. I think filling the theater with 80 of my brainy, co-workers also gave the mood of the theater a care free, go ahead and make comments if you want, light hearted fun time, sort of feel. As in all action flicks, there was the obligatory boy gets girl bit, which was totally forced. There were some cool special effects, some bad humor bits, some pretty funny ones too, and the closing 15 minutes were full of cheese. Mostly the movie was entertaining, but I was disturbed by the attack and military involvement in the middle east, and then the later attack and military action in a city setting. Although the whole premise of the movie was VERY fictional, seeing the military sequences were a little too close to home. At least the extras who were running around screaming in the city were REALLY fake and poorly done, so that dumbed up the realness of it.

And of course at the end of it all, all of the guys I saw the movie with were dissecting the details of the movie the whole bus ride back to the office. I wouldn't be surprised if the discussion continues today in the office.

I don't know if I'd pay money to see it, but I'm glad I went.

Surgery fun

I received an email from my doctor late last night, ohhh at 12:45AM. Why she is responding to email at that time of night is beyond me, but I am LOVING this whole email your doctor business. I love that I can write down all of my thoughts, and then they reply and I can re-read it as much as I need to, and can forward it to Eric so he can read it to so there is no mis-understandings or mis-interpretations. (Eric tends to not hear the whole message, but I think we all do that sometimes).

So my doctor is trying to schedule my surgery earlier then she had thought she could. I guess the doctors rotate surgery days and they have these days scheduled way in advance so when I last talked to her she knew she didn't have an opening until late August, and now she is trying to add a surgery day to her rotation to get me in earlier. Kinda scary, and kinda a relief.

Now I am trying to figure out how to apply for a medical leave and Short Term Disability, and coordinate my vacation days in there too. Since my company was recently acquired, the few HR reps that we have on-site are still learning the new company policies. This is the downfall to the big company. I can no longer just walk downstairs to have an HR rep walk me through the process. Oh no, all I get from them is a web address to go read and attempt to apply online. JOY!

Back to work

BUMMER DUDE!

Today I am back to the grind. Back to the 2 hour each way commute. Back to sitting at a desk all day, in a little room filled with brainy engineering men. Back to eating out for lunch, back to following email, and meetings and having to watch the clock. Sadly this also means no more naps, or TV, or eating dinner in my PJ's, or being able to go kiss my Lovey anytime I want to.

I suppose I will be able to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly after 3 weeks away but first I need to get my barrings and figure out all that has change.

My little company that I left a few weeks ago was acquired while I was gone. This wasn't a surprise, it was all planned out, but still things move fast in this industry, and even though I kept up on email while I was out, I'm still spending a ton of time this morning talking to people and trying to figure out where to dive back in.

Do you think anyone would notice if I were to go take a little nap this afternoon? This is the most activity I've done in weeks and I'm pooped!