Tonight we went out to dinner and decided to check out a steakhouse we had never been too. It's a chain, and I had heard it was ok so we gave it a shot. I have been talking about wanting a steak for a few months, so we finally bit the bullet.
***Long run on sentence tangent warning***
Now I would normally grill my own steaks, but our patio is having a bit of an issue right now, so I won't be using the grill until we spend some quality time together with gloves and brooms, trash cans, and any organizing know how tossed out the window because Eric just will NOT be neat and tidy with his tools, but his current method is not working, and the BLACK WIDOW we helped not build her nest next to MY GRILL will be all the reminder he needs that it is REALLY not working.
Ok, back to my steak eating outing story...
So we found ourselves in a bit of a cheesily decorated chainy type restaurant. As we walked in I glanced at the platter the guy behind us was chowing down on. He got the Prime Rib, and although it wasn't cooked to the doneness I prefer (way not enough pink), the whole meal looked pretty good. Eric and I had already decided we wanted to try their Ribeye before we got the menu, so the meal was underway quickly.
The steak was ok, drier then most ribeyes I've had, but the seasoning was great. The rest of the meal was tasty, but when I was about 3/4 full, I glanced up at the TV which was pointing towards the bar, but I could VERY easily see. On the screen was possibly the most appetizing movie a steakhouse could possibly be absentmindedly be showing.... SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
I stopped eating, and couldn't understand how Eric continued. But continued he did... until his plate was clean. Of course I realize that I was full on eating and enjoying the flesh of a cow, but having Hannibal Lecter's beady eyes looking down at me made me a bit uneasy.
Blech.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
What NOT to do with your beer mug
What was that you say? Oh! You haven't heard from me for quite a while? Yes, I suppose that does happen every once in a while. Pretty much life has overtaken my free time, and when I'm not lifeing, then I'm trying to sleep and well.... I REALLY like sleep.
But I did want to share a little advice I learned this weekend...
When carrying a beer mug in a big parade/walking event/festival thingy (aka Bay to Breakers) where you are part of a 500 person float which contains 25 kegs of beer and 8 taps integrated into the float frame (Disco to Breakers ), do not keep your cell phone and lip gloss in said mug thinking you'll use it like a "purse" because eventually you WILL put beer in the mug and cell phones DON'T DRINK BEER!
And yes, this happened at 8:30am and I hadn't even had any beer. Guess that lack sleep catches up with a person. So if you are trying to call me, give me a few days to call you back so I can see if the poor phone will dry out enough to be revived (hopefully the beer smell will go away too!).
But I did want to share a little advice I learned this weekend...
When carrying a beer mug in a big parade/walking event/festival thingy (aka Bay to Breakers) where you are part of a 500 person float which contains 25 kegs of beer and 8 taps integrated into the float frame (Disco to Breakers ), do not keep your cell phone and lip gloss in said mug thinking you'll use it like a "purse" because eventually you WILL put beer in the mug and cell phones DON'T DRINK BEER!
And yes, this happened at 8:30am and I hadn't even had any beer. Guess that lack sleep catches up with a person. So if you are trying to call me, give me a few days to call you back so I can see if the poor phone will dry out enough to be revived (hopefully the beer smell will go away too!).
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Missing my Husband
Ever have those periods in your life when you just don't seem to have time to do what you would normally do?
I'm kinda feeling that about now. I don't know exactly what is happening, but I haven't been home much and when I'm home I'm pooped, and can only seem to get the most basic and essential tasks completed. My routines just feel off.
We still have clean clothes, and there is milk, eggs and bread in the fridge, but we seem to be in a state of chaos.
I think work has kind of taken over our lives at the moment. I've gone into my cyclical routine of doing just one more thing before I head home from the office and then suddenly its 7pm or later. I work best in the early morning and in the evening, and over the years I have found that I will do these spurts of working later and later and then I burn out go back to normal-ish working hours. Eric's business has been keeping him very busy. He is currently having to schedule jobs months in advance and juggling more then one client project at a time, which is awesome but taxing.
We are finding we are missing each other, which is sad for newlyweds who live together. So many nights someone goes to bed alone while the other is either not home yet or is just finishing up one more thing. We haven't even been sharing meals together which as many of you probably know, is a big deal in my book. I haven't been cooking, and have been eating a lot of crap lately. Yes, fast food containers have re-entered our lives. Eric actually eats more dinners with my parents then he does with me (his plant nursery is at their house so he often works there until the sun goes down and then my dad fixes him dinner). Which is cute, but I miss him.
Since one person has said they need to work late, then the other justifies working late too, and then... we don't see each other.
Finding balance is something we have always struggled with, so we'll find it this time too. But we will probably have to keep reminding ourselves.
I'm kinda feeling that about now. I don't know exactly what is happening, but I haven't been home much and when I'm home I'm pooped, and can only seem to get the most basic and essential tasks completed. My routines just feel off.
We still have clean clothes, and there is milk, eggs and bread in the fridge, but we seem to be in a state of chaos.
I think work has kind of taken over our lives at the moment. I've gone into my cyclical routine of doing just one more thing before I head home from the office and then suddenly its 7pm or later. I work best in the early morning and in the evening, and over the years I have found that I will do these spurts of working later and later and then I burn out go back to normal-ish working hours. Eric's business has been keeping him very busy. He is currently having to schedule jobs months in advance and juggling more then one client project at a time, which is awesome but taxing.
We are finding we are missing each other, which is sad for newlyweds who live together. So many nights someone goes to bed alone while the other is either not home yet or is just finishing up one more thing. We haven't even been sharing meals together which as many of you probably know, is a big deal in my book. I haven't been cooking, and have been eating a lot of crap lately. Yes, fast food containers have re-entered our lives. Eric actually eats more dinners with my parents then he does with me (his plant nursery is at their house so he often works there until the sun goes down and then my dad fixes him dinner). Which is cute, but I miss him.
Since one person has said they need to work late, then the other justifies working late too, and then... we don't see each other.
Finding balance is something we have always struggled with, so we'll find it this time too. But we will probably have to keep reminding ourselves.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Taxing
Have I mentioned we are procrastinators? Yes both of us are, and even though one of us plugged in HER numbers into the ol' computer days before the deadline, the other one didn't get on it until a few hours before the witching hour. Most frustratingly to the person who gets very stressed out about rules and such.
I kept begging him to work on them sooner (while also begging myself to work on them sooner). The worst part, was that hours before it was time to click that e-file button, we realized there might be a problem with my part of the paperwork. Not knowing enough about it, and no luck in searching the internet for help I concluded that I had screwed up. So little miss high and mighty over here, who was freaking out on her very busy husband ended up being the bottleneck to the filing on time, and off went the extension.
After some frustrated words were shared and knowing the alarm for 5am would be going off too soon, we sat in bed talking about why we do this procrastination thing to ourselves. We didn't come to any conclusions, but being unorganized and living in a slightly functional chaotic way might have something to do with it. Soon we laughed it off with the thought of us sitting there, looking defeated with tax papers all over and the word "FAIL" written over our heads.
Yes, we will be hiring an accountant very soon to help our sorry asses with organization and do's and don't, and hopefully setting up a better financial system for the business. It was one thing when we each were only responsible for our own monies, but now we have to be all responsible as a family and business owners. Man, growing up is hard.
I kept begging him to work on them sooner (while also begging myself to work on them sooner). The worst part, was that hours before it was time to click that e-file button, we realized there might be a problem with my part of the paperwork. Not knowing enough about it, and no luck in searching the internet for help I concluded that I had screwed up. So little miss high and mighty over here, who was freaking out on her very busy husband ended up being the bottleneck to the filing on time, and off went the extension.
After some frustrated words were shared and knowing the alarm for 5am would be going off too soon, we sat in bed talking about why we do this procrastination thing to ourselves. We didn't come to any conclusions, but being unorganized and living in a slightly functional chaotic way might have something to do with it. Soon we laughed it off with the thought of us sitting there, looking defeated with tax papers all over and the word "FAIL" written over our heads.
Yes, we will be hiring an accountant very soon to help our sorry asses with organization and do's and don't, and hopefully setting up a better financial system for the business. It was one thing when we each were only responsible for our own monies, but now we have to be all responsible as a family and business owners. Man, growing up is hard.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
East Coast Trip
Soon, I will be going on the first business trip I've been on in over 4 years. The itinerary is packed with working a conference booth and customer visits. I was completely overwhelmed when I saw I would be flying into Philadelphia, driving to New Jersey, staying in New York, and back to New Jersey for more meetings and then flying home, all over 3 days.
This California girl doesn't know much about East Coast living and got a little upset by the packed trip. My husband, who grew up in Pennsylvania, has assured me that my trip won't be as crazy as I think it'll be. That really, all of the places I'm going to visit is completely reasonable in a few day period.
After closer inspection of the itinerary, my co-worker and I will actually have the night we are staying in New York free of planned meetings and this has definitely lightened my outlook on this trip. I've only been to New York once, and that was the last business trip I was on. I had to work the entire trip, and my only sightseeing adventure included going out on my own at 11pm with my now husband on the phone telling me where to turn on my guided walking tour, assisted by Internet Maps. My hotel overlooked Ground Zero and I pretty much just walked around that area.
I just checked the website of the hotel we are staying at on our night in New York. It is located near the Southwest end of Central Park. I've never seen Central Park! I'm totally going to go for a walk in Central Park!
When I first found out about the trip, all I knew was that I'd be going to Philly, and I said I would be fine as long as I get a cheesesteak sandwich (which I better still get!). Now, I have a whole night in New York to experience. Even if all I get is another phone assisted walking tour, I'll take it.
Any suggestions?
Also, since this California girl is also an engineer in a tech company she also doesn't have any business attire to wear (got rid of all of that stuff ages ago), so she will be going shopping in the next few days as well. Look out closet! You will get to house more then t-shirts, jeans and tennis shoes soon. Hope its nice because I don't think I'll be able to find cold weather clothing in these parts at this time of year.
This California girl doesn't know much about East Coast living and got a little upset by the packed trip. My husband, who grew up in Pennsylvania, has assured me that my trip won't be as crazy as I think it'll be. That really, all of the places I'm going to visit is completely reasonable in a few day period.
After closer inspection of the itinerary, my co-worker and I will actually have the night we are staying in New York free of planned meetings and this has definitely lightened my outlook on this trip. I've only been to New York once, and that was the last business trip I was on. I had to work the entire trip, and my only sightseeing adventure included going out on my own at 11pm with my now husband on the phone telling me where to turn on my guided walking tour, assisted by Internet Maps. My hotel overlooked Ground Zero and I pretty much just walked around that area.
I just checked the website of the hotel we are staying at on our night in New York. It is located near the Southwest end of Central Park. I've never seen Central Park! I'm totally going to go for a walk in Central Park!
When I first found out about the trip, all I knew was that I'd be going to Philly, and I said I would be fine as long as I get a cheesesteak sandwich (which I better still get!). Now, I have a whole night in New York to experience. Even if all I get is another phone assisted walking tour, I'll take it.
Any suggestions?
Also, since this California girl is also an engineer in a tech company she also doesn't have any business attire to wear (got rid of all of that stuff ages ago), so she will be going shopping in the next few days as well. Look out closet! You will get to house more then t-shirts, jeans and tennis shoes soon. Hope its nice because I don't think I'll be able to find cold weather clothing in these parts at this time of year.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Finding Old Friends
Last night I had the pleasure to re-connect with some dear friends from my past. As I mentioned here and here, I have joined Facebook and was able to find a friend who I was sad to have not kept in touch with after high school graduation.
This weekend, my friend had a Spring celebration BBQ and invited my husband and I. Very excitedly I accepted the invitation. I was a little surprised that I did not feel nervous or especially anxious when the day came, which would be par for me. I made a few dishes to share potato salad and cupcakes, because as you already know I share food to express emotions. I had to stop myself at two, but I probably would have made a whole buffet to show my excitement.
When we arrived at her house, there was a small amount of squealing and hugging. There was an immediate feeling of welcome and familiarity. Through the night, I saw a little bit of the life she has lived over the last 16 years. I was also able to catch-up with 2 other people I haven't seen since high school, which was an added bonus. By the end of the night, we both felt like we knew each other but really there is so much that we don't know. Perhaps through catching up, sharing and time, we will each find ourselves a new friend.
PS - Neither of us thought to take pictures until the end of the night when we were both pretty tired. But next time, for sure!
This weekend, my friend had a Spring celebration BBQ and invited my husband and I. Very excitedly I accepted the invitation. I was a little surprised that I did not feel nervous or especially anxious when the day came, which would be par for me. I made a few dishes to share potato salad and cupcakes, because as you already know I share food to express emotions. I had to stop myself at two, but I probably would have made a whole buffet to show my excitement.
When we arrived at her house, there was a small amount of squealing and hugging. There was an immediate feeling of welcome and familiarity. Through the night, I saw a little bit of the life she has lived over the last 16 years. I was also able to catch-up with 2 other people I haven't seen since high school, which was an added bonus. By the end of the night, we both felt like we knew each other but really there is so much that we don't know. Perhaps through catching up, sharing and time, we will each find ourselves a new friend.
PS - Neither of us thought to take pictures until the end of the night when we were both pretty tired. But next time, for sure!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Disposable Memories
One of my goals this weekend (other then taxes) was to go through my box of photos to find some memories to share. There were 2 sets of pictures I was specifically looking for, some from Jr High and High School, and some from about 10 years ago.
I am meeting up with a friend from high school this weekend who I haven't seen for 16 years, and I had some funny and mostly dorky pictures of us together from the 80's. We were pretty close back then and after graduation we never spoke again. Frankly I only kept in touch with 2 people. Thanks to Facebook, we have gotten back in touch and if the emails are any indication this weekend is going to be a blast. She recently posted a photo of us from Jr. High and I joked that I would do that same.
The other photos were of a 3 year old's birthday party which I had separated out all of the doubles for her mom. That 3 year old is now 13, and I thought her mom might appreciate the pictures. I remember putting them in an envelope to mail to her but I don't think I ever did. I wanted to make sure she got those pictures as her little baby with blond curly hair is now a beautiful TEENAGER with black and green hair. HA!
Sadly, as I pulled down that box of pictures, I realized that it was far lighter then I had remembered. Very vaguely I remember "cleaning out" this box last year. I think I was tossing photos that weren't in focus, or weren't clear from using a crappy camera, ones I would never put in a book or scan on the computer. Perhaps there were also some memories I decided I didn't need to keep a photo of because I had them in my head well enough. I had probably just watched "Clean Sweep" on TLC and had been inspired.
So now I'm bummed. Sad that the memories aren't quite as clear as they had been on that cleaning day. Sad that I don't have the fun pictures to share, or the history to archive. I do know that there was a large bunch of pictures in there that I had once thrown away when I was still living at my parents and my father pulled them out of the trashcan and gave them to me, telling me that someday I'll regret that.
Papa, you're right. I do.
I am meeting up with a friend from high school this weekend who I haven't seen for 16 years, and I had some funny and mostly dorky pictures of us together from the 80's. We were pretty close back then and after graduation we never spoke again. Frankly I only kept in touch with 2 people. Thanks to Facebook, we have gotten back in touch and if the emails are any indication this weekend is going to be a blast. She recently posted a photo of us from Jr. High and I joked that I would do that same.
The other photos were of a 3 year old's birthday party which I had separated out all of the doubles for her mom. That 3 year old is now 13, and I thought her mom might appreciate the pictures. I remember putting them in an envelope to mail to her but I don't think I ever did. I wanted to make sure she got those pictures as her little baby with blond curly hair is now a beautiful TEENAGER with black and green hair. HA!
Sadly, as I pulled down that box of pictures, I realized that it was far lighter then I had remembered. Very vaguely I remember "cleaning out" this box last year. I think I was tossing photos that weren't in focus, or weren't clear from using a crappy camera, ones I would never put in a book or scan on the computer. Perhaps there were also some memories I decided I didn't need to keep a photo of because I had them in my head well enough. I had probably just watched "Clean Sweep" on TLC and had been inspired.
So now I'm bummed. Sad that the memories aren't quite as clear as they had been on that cleaning day. Sad that I don't have the fun pictures to share, or the history to archive. I do know that there was a large bunch of pictures in there that I had once thrown away when I was still living at my parents and my father pulled them out of the trashcan and gave them to me, telling me that someday I'll regret that.
Papa, you're right. I do.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Jabbawokeez!!!!
If anyone has been watching Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew on MTV, you already know how awesome this group is. We have been enthusiastically watching from the beginning and although my call for the final 2 didn't pan out (Kaba Modern was robbed!), I did call Jabbawokeez to win it.
Here is the performance that finalized it for them, Evolution of Dance. All of the crews had to dance to the same music, incorporating the same dance phenomenons while still having their style shine through.
They rocked it for me, I hope you enjoy it as well.
Here is the performance that finalized it for them, Evolution of Dance. All of the crews had to dance to the same music, incorporating the same dance phenomenons while still having their style shine through.
They rocked it for me, I hope you enjoy it as well.
Mmmm Crap!
So today wasn't so good of a day. I woke up rather sore from yoga and with a headache, ate breakfast, took pain pills and went to work. Headache continued so I skipped on the yoga today, and instead went to my 3rd lunch out of the week (crap rule - only 2 lunches out per week).
I was hell bent on eating fried food (crap rule - No fried foods), so off we went in search of Fish N Chips (if i'm gonna crap on my crap I oughta do it right!), but the Irish pub we walked into only had beer. So we found a little burger joint and I got a sensible-ish sandwich, which I ate half of, and onion rings, which I again only ate half of even though re-heated onion rings are gross and I would usually justify eating all of something due its poor reheatability.
After being at work already later then I should, I was shown where to find a bowl of mini peanut butter cups, which is my favorite, and I wasn't feeling guilty yet so I had one. (Crap rule - no candy). I was on a roll! What? There are still some Girl Scout Cookies in the fridge? Well I can't have that.... Gone (but I had help with those).
Funny thing about this is that while I was realizing that I was crapping on my crap rules, I wasn't exactly feeling guilty but I wasn't feeling all high and mighty either. I was just feeling like I kinda want some crap today, so crap I got. At least I was making the conscience decision about putting the yummy crap in my body.
Before I left the office I did wander into the gym to do some weights and I had a bunch of asparagus for dinner, so at least I did some of the positive things on my list.
Perhaps my next list should include going to bed at a reasonable hour because once again, NOT SLEEPING! Quiet brain... Be Quiet! Maybe I should've done that yoga after all!
I was hell bent on eating fried food (crap rule - No fried foods), so off we went in search of Fish N Chips (if i'm gonna crap on my crap I oughta do it right!), but the Irish pub we walked into only had beer. So we found a little burger joint and I got a sensible-ish sandwich, which I ate half of, and onion rings, which I again only ate half of even though re-heated onion rings are gross and I would usually justify eating all of something due its poor reheatability.
After being at work already later then I should, I was shown where to find a bowl of mini peanut butter cups, which is my favorite, and I wasn't feeling guilty yet so I had one. (Crap rule - no candy). I was on a roll! What? There are still some Girl Scout Cookies in the fridge? Well I can't have that.... Gone (but I had help with those).
Funny thing about this is that while I was realizing that I was crapping on my crap rules, I wasn't exactly feeling guilty but I wasn't feeling all high and mighty either. I was just feeling like I kinda want some crap today, so crap I got. At least I was making the conscience decision about putting the yummy crap in my body.
Before I left the office I did wander into the gym to do some weights and I had a bunch of asparagus for dinner, so at least I did some of the positive things on my list.
Perhaps my next list should include going to bed at a reasonable hour because once again, NOT SLEEPING! Quiet brain... Be Quiet! Maybe I should've done that yoga after all!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Putting my Face Out There
I've been finding myself reminiscing a lot lately. Mostly about the school years and loosing touch with friends. I am terrible at keeping in touch with people even if they live very close by. My co-workers tend to be my closest friends because I see them everyday. But then (oh about 10 years ago) with the growth in popularity of Instant Messaging, I was able to keep up with more friends so even though I didn't see them everyday they remained part of my everyday and therefore remained close. Of course this only seems to work out with my friends who are able to be online during the day.
What about the others?
In comes Facebook. I know, EEK! Yet another online community project? Well, my young'n co-workers kept talking it, plus a few of my good friends were on there and not wanting to be left out, I joined. Sure most of my "friends" on there started out being co-workers (masses of techy folks all up on the latest online thing), but then I found some bloggy friends, and then... childhood friends! (including one who I found out lives a few doors down from me!)
I've been having a good time finding out where people have ended up, and catching up a bit. I wasn't very involved in high school my final year (you know that most important Senior year), as I was dating someone out of high school and working, so I really failed to cement those relationships. Sure there are always friends from school who you grow apart from and many you never see again and that's cool. But these were some really great people, who I would like to know today, or at least be able to connect with again.
I kinda see the whole Facebook thing as a form letter type of blog where people can search and connect IF YOU WANT TO. People can stop by and see what you're up to, contact you if they want, or just leave a comment. Kinda like on here, except you can't ignore someone on the blog, it's out there for people to find if they want to find it. Sure there are tons of silly things on there, but you can use it how you want to use it. And since part of why I started the blog was to connect with people (from my past or future), I see it as a good thing.
Here's to friends! Old and New!
*************************************************
Update on the crap:
As J noted over here, as soon as you want to cut something out of your diet, it is exactly what you want! I really don't eat that much unhealthy stuff, but I do eat a whole lot of the stuff I should probably moderate. But man I keep thinking of fried stuff.
I did get up this morning to do some strengthening and stretching back exercises (I messed up my back and neck while I was recovery from surgery all slouch on the couch for 6 weeks), and I'm in the process of doing an hour long yoga session (with the TV, which is now paused because going from zero to 60 makes my head spin - literally, ok J, not literally but it does make me dizzy).
What about the others?
In comes Facebook. I know, EEK! Yet another online community project? Well, my young'n co-workers kept talking it, plus a few of my good friends were on there and not wanting to be left out, I joined. Sure most of my "friends" on there started out being co-workers (masses of techy folks all up on the latest online thing), but then I found some bloggy friends, and then... childhood friends! (including one who I found out lives a few doors down from me!)
I've been having a good time finding out where people have ended up, and catching up a bit. I wasn't very involved in high school my final year (you know that most important Senior year), as I was dating someone out of high school and working, so I really failed to cement those relationships. Sure there are always friends from school who you grow apart from and many you never see again and that's cool. But these were some really great people, who I would like to know today, or at least be able to connect with again.
I kinda see the whole Facebook thing as a form letter type of blog where people can search and connect IF YOU WANT TO. People can stop by and see what you're up to, contact you if they want, or just leave a comment. Kinda like on here, except you can't ignore someone on the blog, it's out there for people to find if they want to find it. Sure there are tons of silly things on there, but you can use it how you want to use it. And since part of why I started the blog was to connect with people (from my past or future), I see it as a good thing.
Here's to friends! Old and New!
*************************************************
Update on the crap:
As J noted over here, as soon as you want to cut something out of your diet, it is exactly what you want! I really don't eat that much unhealthy stuff, but I do eat a whole lot of the stuff I should probably moderate. But man I keep thinking of fried stuff.
I did get up this morning to do some strengthening and stretching back exercises (I messed up my back and neck while I was recovery from surgery all slouch on the couch for 6 weeks), and I'm in the process of doing an hour long yoga session (with the TV, which is now paused because going from zero to 60 makes my head spin - literally, ok J, not literally but it does make me dizzy).
Monday, March 24, 2008
Cutting the Crap... for 2 weeks
Last December I had decided I was going to challenge myself to CUT THE CRAP for 30 days. My friend Liz said she'd do it too so we talked about defining what the crap is first. We chatted about it a few times but never wrote down our lists. Last week she said she's going to try for 2 weeks starting after Easter and then see how things are going. Seeing as I am becoming increasingly irritated at the thigh/butt growth but have done nothing about it, I'm in. And since accountability is worth more then my word to myself, here goes:
CUTTING THE CRAP! (and some general healthy living goals)
Now some of you my note that I made cupcakes yesterday and planned on bringing them into the office today and yes... this personal challenge means I can't even have one of those coconutty goodies which are not too sweet and perfectly dense but not too dense and are sitting within my view. Oh sure, I could have one as a treat but I'm stronger then that and might NEED it more nearer the end of the week! When we were talking about our personal lists (we each have slightly different ones), I mentioned that I was going to bake this weekend and Liz suggested that we could eat it if we made it but I see that as a dangerous loop hole so I'm going to just leave those yummy treats over there for the masses, besides I still have a bowl of leftover frosting at home and I TOTALLY MADE THAT!
It's only 2 weeks (no redbull? My only form of caffeine? Really?) I'll be ok, I know I will. (Most of Dim Sum is steamed right? That makes it healthy, doesn't it?) It's only 2 weeks.
After 2 weeks... we'll tackle portion control.
What crap would you cut out?
CUTTING THE CRAP! (and some general healthy living goals)
- no candy
- no soda (including diet!)
- no fried foods
- no fatty foods
- no fast food
- healthy snacks ok - in moderation - nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, veggies,etc.
- limited red meat - no more then 2 times per week
- at least one veggie side dish at dinner
- at least one piece of fresh fruit per day
- don't eat when not hungry/stop when full
- breakfast everyday
- work lunch - eating out no more then 2 times per week (saves $ and calories)
- water - 2 liters a day
- cardio - 3 times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes
- strength - 2 times per week
- assigned back exercises - 3 times per week
- up to 3 treats per week (moderately sized and using good judgment of course)
Now some of you my note that I made cupcakes yesterday and planned on bringing them into the office today and yes... this personal challenge means I can't even have one of those coconutty goodies which are not too sweet and perfectly dense but not too dense and are sitting within my view. Oh sure, I could have one as a treat but I'm stronger then that and might NEED it more nearer the end of the week! When we were talking about our personal lists (we each have slightly different ones), I mentioned that I was going to bake this weekend and Liz suggested that we could eat it if we made it but I see that as a dangerous loop hole so I'm going to just leave those yummy treats over there for the masses, besides I still have a bowl of leftover frosting at home and I TOTALLY MADE THAT!
It's only 2 weeks (no redbull? My only form of caffeine? Really?) I'll be ok, I know I will. (Most of Dim Sum is steamed right? That makes it healthy, doesn't it?) It's only 2 weeks.
After 2 weeks... we'll tackle portion control.
What crap would you cut out?
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Need More Weekend
This weekend had one goal written all over it, PREPARE TAX RETURN!! Did we get to that? NO!
That has been the goal of the last 3 weekends, and its starting to get on my nerves. My husband and I are procrastinators by nature so it's not like I'm surprised. Sure, there have been a few years where I have been one of the many down at the post office mailing my return with only a few hours to spare. But this year is our first to file jointly and I just know it ain't gonna be pretty. Plus... I feel like we can't plan out any big ticket purchases like getting the house ready to rent/sell, booking our postponed honeymoon, or paying off the last of the wedding debt. Sigh!
So what did we do this weekend?
I claimed to be cleaning and purging the crap around the downstairs and in the hall closet while really I was watching romantic comedy after romantic comedy on TV. Not only was I serially watching the romance, I was watching twice the romance on 2 different channels thanks to TiVo. I even watched a movie I said I'd never watch again and it STILL made me cry. Where was Eric during the love fest on TV? He was upstairs napping and working and then napping again. When he came downstairs he asked if I wanted to watch a DVD.... SURE I said, so we threw in 'Becoming Jane'. Does this say something about myself?
Here they are not because I think anyone of you really want to know the movies I watched, but because I want to write them down to see the craziness for myself. (What's worse is I'm sure I'm forgetting some!)
Sunday was lightly planned out with having my mom over for Easter Brunch and playing some cards, and then going to the climbing gym (assuming the taxes were done), and going to bed early to start the week off right! Of course it didn't turn out that way, but it was quite a lovely day even though the taxes didn't even get touched and the gym didn't get visited.
We both got up at a fairly decent morning hour and off I went to the store for brunch ingredients and Eric headed into the home office to finish a task which has plagued him for weeks. $100 later I return from the store (why can I not go to the store without spending so much?) and started in on the dough making and chilling, and the chopping and sauteing, and the whisking and baking and the frosting and decorating and taa daaa! Easter Brunch is served.
Mom very much enjoyed the Crab and Asparagus Quiche, green salad with pink lady apples and lemon garlic vinaigrette, some chunks of cantaloupe for freshness and finished off with coconut cupcakes. Somewhere in there I also made some mushroom turnovers for Eric to take to work over the next few days so we had to test those which turned out tasty while not the being the prettiest. But I think my mom most enjoyed the hours spent playing cards. We played until the sun started setting which triggered that she had been there for over 6 hours and should be going.
And now the kitchen is clean, leftovers are put away, the last batch of cupcakes are ready to go with me into the office and I'm heading up to bed for what better be a VERY restful nights sleep. (Man I hope I'm not jinxing myself!)
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend (and your taxes are filed and done!)
That has been the goal of the last 3 weekends, and its starting to get on my nerves. My husband and I are procrastinators by nature so it's not like I'm surprised. Sure, there have been a few years where I have been one of the many down at the post office mailing my return with only a few hours to spare. But this year is our first to file jointly and I just know it ain't gonna be pretty. Plus... I feel like we can't plan out any big ticket purchases like getting the house ready to rent/sell, booking our postponed honeymoon, or paying off the last of the wedding debt. Sigh!
So what did we do this weekend?
I claimed to be cleaning and purging the crap around the downstairs and in the hall closet while really I was watching romantic comedy after romantic comedy on TV. Not only was I serially watching the romance, I was watching twice the romance on 2 different channels thanks to TiVo. I even watched a movie I said I'd never watch again and it STILL made me cry. Where was Eric during the love fest on TV? He was upstairs napping and working and then napping again. When he came downstairs he asked if I wanted to watch a DVD.... SURE I said, so we threw in 'Becoming Jane'. Does this say something about myself?
Here they are not because I think anyone of you really want to know the movies I watched, but because I want to write them down to see the craziness for myself. (What's worse is I'm sure I'm forgetting some!)
- Monster-In-Law
- Clueless
- Wedding Date
- When Harry Met Sally
- The Perfect Man
- Titanic
- 13 Going On 30
- last 4 episodes of Sex And The City
- Becoming Jane - DVD
Sunday was lightly planned out with having my mom over for Easter Brunch and playing some cards, and then going to the climbing gym (assuming the taxes were done), and going to bed early to start the week off right! Of course it didn't turn out that way, but it was quite a lovely day even though the taxes didn't even get touched and the gym didn't get visited.
We both got up at a fairly decent morning hour and off I went to the store for brunch ingredients and Eric headed into the home office to finish a task which has plagued him for weeks. $100 later I return from the store (why can I not go to the store without spending so much?) and started in on the dough making and chilling, and the chopping and sauteing, and the whisking and baking and the frosting and decorating and taa daaa! Easter Brunch is served.
Mom very much enjoyed the Crab and Asparagus Quiche, green salad with pink lady apples and lemon garlic vinaigrette, some chunks of cantaloupe for freshness and finished off with coconut cupcakes. Somewhere in there I also made some mushroom turnovers for Eric to take to work over the next few days so we had to test those which turned out tasty while not the being the prettiest. But I think my mom most enjoyed the hours spent playing cards. We played until the sun started setting which triggered that she had been there for over 6 hours and should be going.
And now the kitchen is clean, leftovers are put away, the last batch of cupcakes are ready to go with me into the office and I'm heading up to bed for what better be a VERY restful nights sleep. (Man I hope I'm not jinxing myself!)
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend (and your taxes are filed and done!)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Not Sleeping
When I'm stressed I wake up around 2:30am and worry and think and toss and turn. Lately my back and neck have been giving me the run around so that has been waking me up and keeping me up, and then the thinking starts and the clock keeps ticking and then the sun comes up. So already the sleeping hasn't been going so well.
Generally it's only the staying asleep part that has been giving me troubles lately, until last night. Last night I opted for some extra pain meds before bed, but instead of being woken up I just didn't feel tired (Musta been the treat of a caffeinated soda I had at lunch!). I tried watching stupid TV to lull me. Then I read some blogs (not to lull me of course!). Chatted with a friend online until about 12:30am. Then I decided to do something dumb and check in on some stocks and options and thought about taxes and fun stuff like that (always a good thing to do when trying to sleep and not worry). None of that worked, so I got in bed and read(poor lovely trying to sleep with my lamp on, dawning an eye mask and ear plugs in). I managed to finish my book with a few tears, which are usually good at bringing on the sleep (Time Traveler's Wife borrowed from J and I LOVED IT!). By then it was 4am so I had BETTER fall asleep, and asleep I fell... until the alarm went off for Eric at 5:15am. AWESOME!
So after already having a few troubled nights of sleep with pain and stress, I had that weird night last night and managed to have a pretty productive day with NO CAFFEINE to ruin tonight. And yet.... here I am. 12:15am and I'm still awake.
Perhaps blogging right now isn't really helping. Maybe I'll try lying down instead. Yea, that might help!
Generally it's only the staying asleep part that has been giving me troubles lately, until last night. Last night I opted for some extra pain meds before bed, but instead of being woken up I just didn't feel tired (Musta been the treat of a caffeinated soda I had at lunch!). I tried watching stupid TV to lull me. Then I read some blogs (not to lull me of course!). Chatted with a friend online until about 12:30am. Then I decided to do something dumb and check in on some stocks and options and thought about taxes and fun stuff like that (always a good thing to do when trying to sleep and not worry). None of that worked, so I got in bed and read(poor lovely trying to sleep with my lamp on, dawning an eye mask and ear plugs in). I managed to finish my book with a few tears, which are usually good at bringing on the sleep (Time Traveler's Wife borrowed from J and I LOVED IT!). By then it was 4am so I had BETTER fall asleep, and asleep I fell... until the alarm went off for Eric at 5:15am. AWESOME!
So after already having a few troubled nights of sleep with pain and stress, I had that weird night last night and managed to have a pretty productive day with NO CAFFEINE to ruin tonight. And yet.... here I am. 12:15am and I'm still awake.
Perhaps blogging right now isn't really helping. Maybe I'll try lying down instead. Yea, that might help!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Investment Quandries
You may have heard this somewhere out there and just in case you haven't heard yet THE REAL ESTATE MARKET SUCKS! (unless you are a first time home buyer with a lovely down payment all saved up and ready to be handed to the happily awaiting banks).
4-ish years ago I bought a little townhouse in an OK area of town (I swear we haven't heard gun shots for years!). I was a little desperate at the time as we had to be out of the condo we were renting by a certain date and I felt it was the right time to enter the market. We looked at many homes and townhouses and I honestly don't remember why I picked this one.
I liked the place well enough to buy it thinking we'd paint and update and generally make it a nice stepping stone in the market, but quickly there after I started to HATE it. Then our HOA dues started going up, while seeing less benefit from the community living. We never got around to doing those improvements while normal wear and tear set in. And now, after years of a hellish commute we want to move but wait.... the value has decreased if we could sell at all, the place is far from comparable as most places in our complex have upgrades, so it's a little hard to now take on the expenses of upgrades when we don't know if we'll see the returns.
Do we do minimal work enough to rent it and buy another place in need of work?
Do we take a loss and just get rid of it to get out of the market?
I don't see a point in going through the pains of putting this place on the market until units start selling here. There are multiple foreclosures in our complex and there are new listings in here every week. I'd say there are at least 30 units with signs in the windows and I only know of one in escrow right now and none have sold in months.
So what project do we do first?
What projects will give us the most return on our investment?
Which choices will make our place more desirable then that one or that one or even that one?
And what do I just want to do because I want to do it, and not because it makes the best business sense?
Do we do the projects we had planned but maybe not with the same quality of products?
Money and Homes are heavy in emotions, and right now we need to keep it about the business.
4-ish years ago I bought a little townhouse in an OK area of town (I swear we haven't heard gun shots for years!). I was a little desperate at the time as we had to be out of the condo we were renting by a certain date and I felt it was the right time to enter the market. We looked at many homes and townhouses and I honestly don't remember why I picked this one.
I liked the place well enough to buy it thinking we'd paint and update and generally make it a nice stepping stone in the market, but quickly there after I started to HATE it. Then our HOA dues started going up, while seeing less benefit from the community living. We never got around to doing those improvements while normal wear and tear set in. And now, after years of a hellish commute we want to move but wait.... the value has decreased if we could sell at all, the place is far from comparable as most places in our complex have upgrades, so it's a little hard to now take on the expenses of upgrades when we don't know if we'll see the returns.
Do we do minimal work enough to rent it and buy another place in need of work?
Do we take a loss and just get rid of it to get out of the market?
I don't see a point in going through the pains of putting this place on the market until units start selling here. There are multiple foreclosures in our complex and there are new listings in here every week. I'd say there are at least 30 units with signs in the windows and I only know of one in escrow right now and none have sold in months.
So what project do we do first?
What projects will give us the most return on our investment?
Which choices will make our place more desirable then that one or that one or even that one?
And what do I just want to do because I want to do it, and not because it makes the best business sense?
Do we do the projects we had planned but maybe not with the same quality of products?
Money and Homes are heavy in emotions, and right now we need to keep it about the business.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Need To Find My Passion
The other night I was having a stuck in front of the TV moment (for a few hours), and I found myself watching a semi-new show on the TLC network, The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom. It's a show about Stay At Home Moms (SAHMs), who have given up a career or dream to stay at home to raise their kids. Hosted by Tracy Gold of Growing Pains fame, the show arranges opportunities for the SAHMs to "sneak" away from their mom duties to spend some time exploring their dream. The show that aired this week was about a woman who was a chef at a 5 star resort, who became pregnant shortly after getting married. Now with 2 adorable boys at home, she is given the opportunity to prove to herself that she can still make it in a fast paced restaurant and can still create imaginative dishes.
So a few of you may know that during the dot come bust, I took that opportunity of life throwing me a curve ball and went to culinary school. Granted, I returned to the high tech world as a contractor while I was in school, I also took on a number of catering jobs and eventually landed a job at a 4 start resort in Berkeley. I also won a few catering gigs on my own where I prepared wedding cakes, dessert displays and food for cocktail parties. While I loved all of these jobs working with food, I found that I lost the desire to cook at home, and guess what? the joy of the job didn't make up for the low pay scale.
Eventually I went back to high tech full time, while continuing the resort job cooking on the lunch crew on the weekends. This gave me the best of both worlds, high tech pay (to pay off that freakishly high culinary school tuition) while still keeping my foot in the kitchen. But there was another catch.... no free weekends and holidays leads to a very tired cranky girl, and a lonely boyfriend. While the money covered the mortgage, bills and loans and allow the soon-to-be-husband pursue his dream job, I was too tired to enjoy life. So 2 years ago I quit all of my professional cooking jobs and returned to subjecting my co-workers to my experiments, cooking elaborate celebration meals, and finding the time to cook at least one really good home cooked meal a week.
Do you see where this is going?
So as I sat and watched this woman mess up, stress out, and then finally find her groove in the kitchen, full of re-gained confidence in her abilities, I cried (sobbed really). Sure she cried as well throughout her journey and facing her decision of giving up her dreams in the kitchen but I cried as I discovered that I'm not ok with where I am. I haven't felt a loss exactly, and I haven't really wanted to go back to either catering or restaurant work, but mostly I have been feeling numb since I left the business. My husband recently asked me if I feel passionate about anything, and I recall saying no, but now I realize when that numbness settled in. It was when I regained my weekends.
My life was no longer AS crazy as it was. Back then I had to remain incredibly organized and everything was structured and in its place, but when I decided I needed time to relax everything sort of fell apart. My finances haven't been as controlled, the house is a disarray, and low and behold... I think I'm more finicky in general and demanding of Eric.
I had resigned myself to being numb and letting my passion find me by chance, but after seeing my reaction the other night I want to get out there, reign it in, tie it up and never let it go again. I need to find the passion I felt so strongly those few years ago. Whether the passion is in food, or in cleaning the toilet, I want to feel it again. I want to have passion in my life, passion for life, passion about life.
So a few of you may know that during the dot come bust, I took that opportunity of life throwing me a curve ball and went to culinary school. Granted, I returned to the high tech world as a contractor while I was in school, I also took on a number of catering jobs and eventually landed a job at a 4 start resort in Berkeley. I also won a few catering gigs on my own where I prepared wedding cakes, dessert displays and food for cocktail parties. While I loved all of these jobs working with food, I found that I lost the desire to cook at home, and guess what? the joy of the job didn't make up for the low pay scale.
Eventually I went back to high tech full time, while continuing the resort job cooking on the lunch crew on the weekends. This gave me the best of both worlds, high tech pay (to pay off that freakishly high culinary school tuition) while still keeping my foot in the kitchen. But there was another catch.... no free weekends and holidays leads to a very tired cranky girl, and a lonely boyfriend. While the money covered the mortgage, bills and loans and allow the soon-to-be-husband pursue his dream job, I was too tired to enjoy life. So 2 years ago I quit all of my professional cooking jobs and returned to subjecting my co-workers to my experiments, cooking elaborate celebration meals, and finding the time to cook at least one really good home cooked meal a week.
Do you see where this is going?
So as I sat and watched this woman mess up, stress out, and then finally find her groove in the kitchen, full of re-gained confidence in her abilities, I cried (sobbed really). Sure she cried as well throughout her journey and facing her decision of giving up her dreams in the kitchen but I cried as I discovered that I'm not ok with where I am. I haven't felt a loss exactly, and I haven't really wanted to go back to either catering or restaurant work, but mostly I have been feeling numb since I left the business. My husband recently asked me if I feel passionate about anything, and I recall saying no, but now I realize when that numbness settled in. It was when I regained my weekends.
My life was no longer AS crazy as it was. Back then I had to remain incredibly organized and everything was structured and in its place, but when I decided I needed time to relax everything sort of fell apart. My finances haven't been as controlled, the house is a disarray, and low and behold... I think I'm more finicky in general and demanding of Eric.
I had resigned myself to being numb and letting my passion find me by chance, but after seeing my reaction the other night I want to get out there, reign it in, tie it up and never let it go again. I need to find the passion I felt so strongly those few years ago. Whether the passion is in food, or in cleaning the toilet, I want to feel it again. I want to have passion in my life, passion for life, passion about life.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Typo's that Cost Money!
My husband has a landscape design and installation company which specializes in edible plants. You may ask, well aren't all plants edible? Does he grow meat plants (as many of my male co-workers thought it funny to ask, since they apparently don't eat fruits, herbs or veggies)? Well, no. Not all plants are edible in that they might make you really sick and die and no he doesn't grow meat plants. But he does want to give people beautiful landscapes that productively use their land, big or small, to grow the foods they enjoy and to give them a space for their families to spend time in. As you can imagine, this is pretty specialized work so his possible client base is smaller then your run of the mill landscaper and being able to reach out to that population takes some creative marketing.
A few months ago he was contacted by a journalist doing an article on edible landscapes and asked to interview him. This can also be read as FREE MARKETING! Of course he was very excited about this, and the interview went really well but then he didn't here from the author. Today, he was contacted by a publishing house who specialized in re-prints and wanted to sell him re-prints of the article which ran in November 2007. They sent him the link of the article online. Online means searchable, and searchable means MORE FREE MARKETING!
The sad part of this story, is that they spelled his last name incorrectly throughout the article. Since his name is part of the company name, this greatly minimizes people finding and contacting him for his services. BOOOOO! They also didn't include his URL of his website, so again fewer chances of clients from the article.
So to anyone out there, if you are looking for Eric Beegley Landscaping and Design, you REALLY want Eric Beeghly Landscaping and Design. Just to make give more hints to the Google Gods, go to ericbeeghly.com for Eric Beeghly Landscaping and Design.
A few months ago he was contacted by a journalist doing an article on edible landscapes and asked to interview him. This can also be read as FREE MARKETING! Of course he was very excited about this, and the interview went really well but then he didn't here from the author. Today, he was contacted by a publishing house who specialized in re-prints and wanted to sell him re-prints of the article which ran in November 2007. They sent him the link of the article online. Online means searchable, and searchable means MORE FREE MARKETING!
The sad part of this story, is that they spelled his last name incorrectly throughout the article. Since his name is part of the company name, this greatly minimizes people finding and contacting him for his services. BOOOOO! They also didn't include his URL of his website, so again fewer chances of clients from the article.
So to anyone out there, if you are looking for Eric Beegley Landscaping and Design, you REALLY want Eric Beeghly Landscaping and Design. Just to make give more hints to the Google Gods, go to ericbeeghly.com for Eric Beeghly Landscaping and Design.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Enough With The Kitty Diet Talk!
J's comment the other day about questioning the safety of giving broccoli to the kitties got me worried, so I went off on an Internet research tour. Turns out in large amounts it has been found to be toxic, but that is more like a diet based on broccoli, not the occasional treat. PHEW! Many raw pet diet guidelines, (yes, there are people out there who do the raw diet thing and even prepare raw diets for their pets) include a fair amount of broccoli as well. I noted a few people even commented that their dogs gnaw on raw broccoli stems to clean their teeth instead of using bones to avoid any bad bone fragment/internal bleeding mishaps.
I admit that these cats are not your normal run of the mill kitties. Besides their temperament, they have a great love for fruits and veggies. Corn on the cob is GOLD to them. They want to eat the husk, the silk and most definitely the kernels. They know when it's in the house, and have been known to rip through bags, have the fridge door shut on them if a little silk is hanging out of the crisper drawer, and yes... jump up on the table and walk off with a cob in their mouth. Don't ask me how, but its darn cute.
Summer time is their favorite, obviously for the corn but also melons of all sorts. Cosmo isn't skilled at taking bites of larger pieces of food, so we mince up chunks of melon for him. His all time favorite is watermelon, but not the whitish stuff by the rind, he'll turn his nose up at that. He wants the bright red, sweet heart of the most ripest melon, and yes, we give it to him. We always have watermelon in the house in the summer because I eat a ton for its yumminess and it is also high in iron (Anemic girl here!).
And go figure, if we steam it they will eat just about any veggie too. Squashes (winter and summer), green beans, edamame (especially in the pods!). Truly funny to watch, and a pain in the ass because they are in that kitchen whenever we are, and not just when the can opener is used or the sound of dry food being scooped up.
Oh, and just in case you REALLY were dying to know there were no kitty gas problems the other night. Mousy did loose his dinner a few hours later, but there wasn't any broccoli in there so I'm assuming he just ate it too fast which is normal for him. He successfully ate a 2nd dinner later that night.
Mama Bear - We used to think they were Russian Blues as they have a very similar temperament, but really they are mutt kitties and look and act very much like their mama who was another mutt kitty. One of them has the eye color and is slinky like a Russian, but this head is too fat, and the other has the build, fur and eye color more like a Chartreux. Who's to say really, they are my little blue babies no matter what (even though they weigh in at 14 pounds).
I admit that these cats are not your normal run of the mill kitties. Besides their temperament, they have a great love for fruits and veggies. Corn on the cob is GOLD to them. They want to eat the husk, the silk and most definitely the kernels. They know when it's in the house, and have been known to rip through bags, have the fridge door shut on them if a little silk is hanging out of the crisper drawer, and yes... jump up on the table and walk off with a cob in their mouth. Don't ask me how, but its darn cute.
Summer time is their favorite, obviously for the corn but also melons of all sorts. Cosmo isn't skilled at taking bites of larger pieces of food, so we mince up chunks of melon for him. His all time favorite is watermelon, but not the whitish stuff by the rind, he'll turn his nose up at that. He wants the bright red, sweet heart of the most ripest melon, and yes, we give it to him. We always have watermelon in the house in the summer because I eat a ton for its yumminess and it is also high in iron (Anemic girl here!).
And go figure, if we steam it they will eat just about any veggie too. Squashes (winter and summer), green beans, edamame (especially in the pods!). Truly funny to watch, and a pain in the ass because they are in that kitchen whenever we are, and not just when the can opener is used or the sound of dry food being scooped up.
Oh, and just in case you REALLY were dying to know there were no kitty gas problems the other night. Mousy did loose his dinner a few hours later, but there wasn't any broccoli in there so I'm assuming he just ate it too fast which is normal for him. He successfully ate a 2nd dinner later that night.
Mama Bear - We used to think they were Russian Blues as they have a very similar temperament, but really they are mutt kitties and look and act very much like their mama who was another mutt kitty. One of them has the eye color and is slinky like a Russian, but this head is too fat, and the other has the build, fur and eye color more like a Chartreux. Who's to say really, they are my little blue babies no matter what (even though they weigh in at 14 pounds).
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
HOA's And Good Times
I live in a townhouse complex managed by an HOA. I can totally see the benefits of having an HOA to keep the peace when so many people are living close together, and it's kinda nice to have gardeners and maintenances men take care of things around here (although I still really want my own dirt in which to grow stuff). Generally things go really smoothly and I've had little to complain about in the last 4 years.... until now.I've sent emails and have left voice mail messages about a relatively simple issue and I just want a response. Sure, I'd like an answer and someone to fix the issues, but please be professional and give me a call back that you received my message and are looking into it, or point me to the right place if you (our property manager) are not the one to handle such issues (which you are). Our previous 2 property managers were AWESOME, so perhaps I have been spoiled for the last few years. But seeing as I sent the first email and left the first voice mail about this one issue starting last OCTOBER, and have since emailed and called, even talked to the old manager who assured me I was contacting the new manager correctly, and still... nadda.
And then today, Eric's work partner and good friend parked his truck in a guest parking spot while they went to go work on a landscape installation. The only rules for these spots is that they are for guests (which I would consider him to be), and you can only park there for up to 72 hours. Well, considering he got here at 8am, I do not consider it proper for him to get a towing notice at 10:31am. Plus, the freakin' towing warning sticker was put ON THE PAINT, and is very sticky and has now left sticky goo and sticker paper residue on his car. AND... there were only 2 cars taking up the 8 spots and both of them got these stupid stickers on them, so it's not like someone should have called to complain.
Ok, I realize I'm sounding all bitchy and whiny, but I am not going to live in an HOA controlled neighborhood again if I can help it. My irritation with living with HOA's goes beyond these 2 gripes but MAN they have put me in a mood!
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Broccoli
Yup, that's right. My cat's love their veggies!They get an afternoon snack (when someone is home), and I've been wanting to introduce something healthier in that time slot then just more dry food.
Our vet has suggested that an all dry diet is being found to lead to feline diabetes as it is high in carbs. Especially with indoor kitties who aren't as active as outdoor kitties. Who knew?
We also have battles with puking with one and constipation with the other.... GOOOOD TIMES! If you ever see my carpet, please know that we shampoo it all the time and yes we will eventually get the wood floor in!
Trying to take advantage of their love of the veggies, we are trying to supplement their dry diet with some veggie fiber to aide in the puking pooping issues. (Yes, that's right, I'm writing about my cat's poo, get over it! Don't tell me you've never talked about your kids poo). So today I steamed up some broccoli (over cooked it really). They were yelling at me to feed them faster, so I put down two bowls filled with green stuff, and I half excepted they would both look up at me with that WTF look, but nope, they dug right in.
(And yes, they started with 2 bowls, but Mousy eats really fast and likes to help Cosmo clean up.)
They enjoy their fruits too....see here.
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