beebers' blog

damn these hormones

2011-02-09T21:39:00.001-08:00

i can't sleep. obviously i'm bored if i decided to check out my own long-lost blog in curiosity of when the last time i posted was. almost 15 months ago - wow. what's happened since then? a whole host of things but i'll sum it up: bought house, moved across country, husband got new job, daughter turned 2 and started preschool, and baby #2 is on the way. and in that order, actually.

i'm not capable of clever right now. maybe i'm not capable of clever anymore at all. thank goodness for facebook - it's like i can blog but in one-sentance increments. which is good because my brain capacity has shrunk significantly since i birthed a child.

so there. that's it. i'm going to put some belly butter on my stomach and try and get some sleep.

from 12 wks old... to 12 months old!

2009-11-19T11:50:00.001-08:00

clearly time flies when you're having fun. and it also flies when you're busy raising a child!
the past year has been filled with indescribable emotions and joy, as any mother can attest too. it's something you can't even begin to understand until you're in it. i love being a mom. i am truly amazed each and every day, watching my little girl explore the world around her and how much she learns and grows. and i love how much she entertains me!

12 weeks old

2009-01-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

my munchkin is now 12 weeks old! i absolutely cannot believe it. the first 6ish weeks were rough. pretty darn rough. but i think i was blessed with an absolute angel of a little girl. we turned a corner at about 8 weeks: she sleeps a ton, we're on a pretty predictable schedule already, and she has a very sweet disposition. *knocking on wood*

here she is!

i'm a mom

2008-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

i'm finding it extremely difficult to update facebook, my pregnancy message board, and the blog. thus the blog has fallen to the wayside.

but i'm a mom, and it's the best feeling in the world. well, some of the feelings aren't so good, like the bleeding nipples, the sore nether-regions, etc. but i am 100% in love with this little girl, and i am cherishing every single moment i spend with her.

4 years today!

2008-10-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

today is my 4 year anniversary. despite the fact that being pregnant has caused us to miss our annual anniversary trip up to the wine country - my absolute favorite thing to do, and i can't wait to continue the tradition well into the future (post-baby) - i couldn't be in a happier place today. i'm looking forward to a lovely dinner out tonight with my husband, and i'm really looking forward to a glass of champagne!

happy anniversary timmy! love you.

4 weeks and counting

2008-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

since last post we haven't done very much towards getting ready for baby. but we have made some progress.

we got the bedding ordered and it's being made as we speak. should get here in a week or two.

and the car seat will be here next week - thank you, staci! and that's somewhat important if we want to bring our child home with us from the hospital. which i think i will want to do.

and i'm still growing a baby, so that is progress every single second that passes.

four weeks to go now. well 3 weeks and 6 days until the due date. i kind of hope she comes early - like 10 days or a week early would be nice. i'm starting to hurt all over and going to work just blows. only 9 more days of work left though! woo hoo!

making progress

2008-09-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

last weekend tim and i tackled the "nursery" - which is really just our guest room but will be Presley's room until we move back to texas. we cleared out closets and drawers for her, and did 3 humongous loads of baby clothes laundry. we made a big trip to babies r us - or as tim likes to call it "hell" - and i felt much better about the impending arrival of baby girl.

this weekend i feel even better! today we got our crib delivered, bought our stroller (i still don't understand what makes it worth $1000, but whatever), and bought a few more essentials, like tylenol, diaper wipes, those itty bitty fingernail clippers, etc.

left to do:
* decide on bedding (and order fabric, have it all made)
* wash more clothes
* determine which cloth diapers we're going to use
* maintain optimism that cloth diapering will be easier than everyone thinks and that we're not crazy
* organize kitchen drawers so we can have a "baby drawer"
* keep growing baby for 8 more weeks

i am trying not to complain about being pooped right now, because i know it's only going to get worse the further along i get. and then i'll max out on my pooped-ness when she actually arrives. so i'm trying to stay positive.

but frankly, my back hurts. thank goodness i have a massage scheduled for tomorrow morning.

retirement

2008-09-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

34 working days to go! can you tell i have a one track mind???

i just got back from my final pregnancy trip. i went home for a week, and as always, it just flew by. we looked at houses for our upcoming move (in about 6-8 months!), went to the UT football game (hook em horns!), had a baby shower (such good stuff!), and spent lots of time with my little munchkin neice and wiggle worm nephew. it was a great trip, and it's so depressing to be back already.

starting to really freak out about my upcoming due date. we have done nothing, and have everything to do. i returned from this trip with a suitcase full of gifts and clothes, so i now must undertake the daunting task of organzing and putting away. we need to buy a lot of stuff in the very near future as well, and i'm starting to feel the time crunch. i must make this weekend extremely productive!

that's it for now. off to write thank you notes from this past weekend!

m.i.a.

2008-08-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

wow, i haven't logged into blogger in so long i didn't even recognize the start up screen. that's sad.

what's been going on with me? just growing a baby in my belly. she kicking and doing somersaults all the time, and has recently started tap dancing on my bladder. ten weeks to go until we meet our baby girl!

what else... hmmm... not much. i hate working, and am counting down the days til my retirement! 39 working days to go. and counting!

rockabye baby

2008-06-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

tonight timmy and i are taking our fetus to a concert! we're going to see augustana. kind of on a whim, but what the hey - makes it more fun that way.

i'm such a sucker for concerts too, and with the great summer schedule coming out, i got all excited, envisioning taking the baby to hear all these fun bands. we haven't gone to any yet, and as i'm in the process of purchasing tonight's tickets i got a little worried about whether or not it's safe to go to a concert while pregnant. have i ever noticed any pregnant women around me at concerts? not really. so i got online and asked the question: is it safe to go to a concert while pregnant?

well that was dumb. i shouldn't go to the internet for any baby advice. because there's so much out there and who knows what kind of people weigh in with their opinions (well, i have a clue as to what kind of people... mostly paranoid nutsos!) it set in the fear that i will be damaging his/her developing ear drums, and that the amniotic fluid actually enhances the bass sounds, and could cause other deveopmental problems too. so i called my doctor for the final word and she said "go ahead and go."

so we're going! i'm going to need a nap before we head out at 10pm. wow, i sound like i'm elderly. but hopefully it will be a good time. and hopefully the baby will enjoy it too!

sucky news

2008-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

i had a pretty great time in austin this weekend. man, that place is hot. and it's so hard to imagine moving back there and dealing with the heat everyday. on the flip side, tim and i froze when we got back to san francisco last night. our house was 62 when we got home b/c i had turned the heat off while we were out of town. our feet were icicles when we got in bed.

so now for the sucky news, my grandmother (mimi) has lung cancer. they waited to tell me until i got to town on friday. that pretty much ruined the day, but we had to forge on because it was my mom's birthday and we had to ensure she had a good day regardless of the horrible news about her own mother. and i think we pretty much succeeded. well, the kids did - my dad really blew it. no card, no present, and a foul attitude. wow, what a dream! my poor mom.

okay well now i'm onto my second lunch of the day now. no chance of anyone stealing it because i just bought it!

first lunch of the day - 10:23am

2008-06-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

it's 10:23 AM and i am devouring the second half of my foot-long sub from subway, which was yesterday's lunch. i'm disgusted with myself, but at the same time absolutely savoring the tanginess of the honey mustard sauce and the banana peppers.

i'm escaping the 55 degree weather and heading directly into the 100 degree heat of austin tonight. i'm really excited to see my family - my mamacita is turning 60 tomorrow. i cannot even believe she is 60, and you wouldn't either. she has a great plastic surgeon. ;) even more importantly, she is young at heart and i hope she stays that way forever.

so ta-ta! i'm taking my husband, my dog, and the baby in my belly (who made me eat that day-old sandwich!) and getting the heck outta dodge!

2008-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'm pregnant so I'm hungry all the time, right? This morning for lunch I packed up a small remaining portion of mac & cheese, as well as some leftover black bean soup. Two lunches is not uncommon for me!

So by 11:00am I was starving and I ate the mac & cheese. Then at lunch I left the office to run to Whole Foods. I purposely didn't eat my soup, knowing that I could eat it when I returned. I was gone about an hour - maybe a little more.

I jsut went to get my soup and SOMEBODY STOLE MY LUNCH FROM THE FRIDGE in the hour I was gone!!! Why the F*CK would they want my food? It was in a white paper shopping bag that I always use, and the pyrex dish full of food was in the bag. So they stole my lunch – a PREGNANT WOMAN’S LUNCH – and my pyrex dish. I am so freaking mad. I don't know which I'm more mad about... the pyrex dish disappearing, or my nourishment.

I just put a big sign on the fridge that says “WHERE IS MY LUNCH??? Somebody removed a white paper bag with a pyrex dish full of soup. WHY??? You should never take food from a pregnant woman!!!” And I put my phone extension on there too. Not like whoever did it is going to call me or anything, but whatever.

Maybe a little over the top, but f*ck it.

message boards

2008-05-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

so much for "back to blogging" huh? i'm worthless i know.

i've been spending most of my spare time - and by spare i mean time at the office - on babycenter.com message boards. it's sad, i know. it's not near as entertaining as blogging or reading blogs. but i guess i'm in the mommy realm now. or at least the pregnancy realm.

so there is this board called Confessions where you can go on and confess all the "bad" things you have been doing lately. "bad" is considered eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting, or having caffeine, or silly things like that.

well i found this one woman's confessions awesome! i can totally see myself doing this when i'm pregnant with #2. i hope she enjoyed herself!

I confess that today I told my husband I was really sick to my stomach and I so I needed to spend some time in the bathroom. I passed our DS to him, went into the bathroom, locked the door, and took a nap on the floor with the bath pillow.

bun in the oven

2008-04-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

so i'm pregnant. that's what i've been up to... keeping this secret for the past 2 months.

i've been eating everything in sight, sleeping 9 hours a night plus naps on the weekends, and having mood swings like no other. so far the "pregnancy glow" is a bunch of crap. and i need a facial.

here's to turning the 1st trimester corner and feeling better, looking better (crossing my fingers!), and acting better!

am i 6 years old?

2008-04-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

because i just ate a chocolate & vanilla swirl pudding snack pack, and i feel like i'm on top of the world. man, i love pudding!

i used to be funny

2008-04-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

yeah, i did. i used to be funny. i used to make people laugh. i used to make myself laugh.

now i don't. what the heck happened?

that's it. over a month without posting and this is all i have to say. bet you're disappointed you wasted the 45 5 seconds to read, huh?

in suspense

2008-03-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

i have been a faithful watcher of Project Runway this season. i just love it! but i couldn't stay up late enough to watch the season finale last night, so i have to wait until tonight.

since i work at a fashion retailer everyone around me watches the show too. i had to instruct everyone to not talk about the show unless they warned me so i could put my headphones on first.

i can't go to any gossip sites either, as i've been told they reveal the winner. and i spend a good chunk of my day on gossip sites!
this day is torture and it's not even half over!

i stew

2008-02-25T20:19:00.001-08:00

i've been sitting on so many things lately. no, not literally sitting my ever-expanding ass on things. but i've just had so many things that are consuming the small, vacant spaces in my head. and instead of bloging about them like i used to, i'm just stewing on them myself. and it's making me bonkers.

so i think that calls for a vacation! tim and i are off to vail tomorrow for some fun in the ~~sun~~ mountains. more than anything i'm looking forward to just escaping work and doing a lot of nothing. i can do nothing like it's nobody's business!

off to pack for trip. it is ridiculous how much room in the suitcase ski clothes take up. especially when i'm not even planning on skiing.

below is a picture from my ski trip last year with my mom & sister. wait, i mean last 1987.

valentines day goodie

2008-02-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

This is a late Valentines Day post. I’ve been busy, so bear with me on the slightly untimely story.

My parents were in town for Valentines Day so we decided to stay in, have some friends over, and cook a lovely gourmet meal. My mom brought out her Cornish Hen recipe – which I think she’s made 3 times in my life because they are such a pain. But they are so delicious, and since it was a special occasion, she agreed to make them.

A couple of days before V-Day she picked up the hens at Whole Foods. She asked for 6 because they were going to be 6 of us. She saw that they were $6.99 a pound, but didn’t run through the calculation in her head before they handed them over and realized she’d just spent $68.00 on meat. The next day she saw them at another store for $4.99 a piece – she kicked herself over and over and over.

Regardless of the cost, she got to work on the hens V-Day morning. She had to cut their necks, clean them out, season them in and out… all sorts of nasty prep that I wouldn’t even consider doing. But she got them going, and into the oven they went for however long they had to cook, with continual basting every 10 minutes. These puppies are a time investment, but definitely worth it.

The table was all set with my china, crystal, tulips… I must say it looked fantastic. Our guests were set to arrive any minute, and we had just popped some champagne so Mom & I could have something to sip on while we finished up the meal preparations.

I was standing at the kitchen sink cleaning the asparagus when the oven timer went off – time for another basting. My mom opens the oven door and pulls the rack out. The hens are looking mighty good, and she turns around to get the basting sauce (aka melted butter) and says "Damn, I am good!"

Just as the words came out of her mouth, the pan slid off the rack, hit the oven door and tumbled onto the floor. Hens and sauce went absolutely everywhere. I turned around to see our dinner on the floor, and my mom looking like a cartoon character as she slipped with every single step trying to get her balance. Oh and she was also now screaming "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! Grab the hens!!!"

Our kitchen is in a direct line with the front door, of which has two windows that anyone can look through into the house and down to the kitchen. I was just waiting for our guests to ring the doorbell as we scurried to collect the hens. Luckily for us, they were late. We grabbed the birds and got them back into the sizzling pan, and collected our breaths.

Then like nothing had even happened, my mom grabbed the sauce and basted them again and threw them in the oven. We both looked at each other and said "Nobody has to know about this!" Even when Tim came into the kitchen and asked if everything was okay after hearing the ruckus we said "Oh, yes – just spilled basting liquid all over the floor like a klutz. Can you help clean it up, honey?" After all, my mom had just mopped the floor that afternoon, and those darn hens were $68.00!!

And you know what, they were delicious! I accidentally swallowed half of my wish bone though. That can’t be good for luck, can it?

Definitely a fun V-Day story to remember and tell to everyone. Well, everyone except our guests!

monday minor breakdown

2008-02-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

after being at work for only about an hour, i managed to completely lose it in a meeting with boss.

things i said resembled the following:
1. i don't like the work i'm doing.
2. i don't think any of the other work our team is doing sounds interesting.
3. i have no motivation.
4. i hate coming here everyday.

yeah... i actually said the word hate. think i'll still have a job by the end of the week? i'm taking bets.... i'll need the money!

reflections

2008-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

i took this picture while driving on the golden gate bridge the other day. i love it not only because you can see one tower of the bridge in front of me, but in the reflection of the gas truck you can see the other tower. kind of cool, i thought.

if only my ability to photograph with the iphone while driving were a bit better, the picture could be really cool.

#1 baby gift idea

2008-01-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

If you are in need of fabulously chic gifts for babies, be it other people's babies or your own, run - do not walk - to The Initial Impression.

The site has the cutest personalized bibs, onesies, diaper covers, and burp cloth couture - bet you didn't know burp cloths could be this cute!

They just did gift sets for the Quaid twins - little Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace were the recipients of the brown polka-dots with apple green embroidery for boy and hot pink for girl. Absolutely adorable!

I am a repeat customer, and my favorite gift to give is the single-candle cupcake diaper cover - perfect for first birthday parties!

tunes that make me happy

2008-01-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

I am completely obsessed with Cease to Begin, the latest album – or sophomore effort, if I want to sound like a music critic – by Band of Horses. I just love, love, love it. I haven’t loved anything as much since Matt Nathanson’s Some Mad Hope album was released last August. And wow, I still really love that one too.

On a different note, while I’m sitting here at work listening to Band Of Horses set to repeat on my iPhone, my head feels like it’s in a vice. Major headache. Today marks day 7 of me giving up caffeine. It wasn’t really intentional, me giving up caffeine. Not a New Year’s resolution or anything. Basically on the morning of New Years Day I decided to have hot tea instead of coffee. Probably because I had a cold, and I normally opt for tea when I’m under the weather – I secretly hope that the antioxidants in tea will speed my healing. And probably also because our all-in-one latte/cappuccino/espresso maker decided to quit making crema coffee that morning, as well.

So I opted for tea, and I’ve continued to “opt” for tea since, although the headaches have gotten more aggressive as I reach this one week mark. And the afternoons without my Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper have made it increasingly difficult to get through the days at work. My motivation is at an all-time low, but hopefully my body is better for it. Because that would totally make up for me hating my working-life 45 hours a week, right?

My body better freaking thank me, somehow.

a new year's feast

2008-01-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

as per usual when i haven't posted in a while, i find that i really want to post but can't find much to post about. thus i've stolen the feast.

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?
the last surprise i got in the mail was a luggage tag from my friend catherine. it had a little note on it about joining her on the journey to her wedding, and asking me to be a part of it. a great sussy in the mail! (my family calls surprises sussies)

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?
summer home: lake tahoe, ca or dana point, ca (i heart california)
winter home: cape town, south africa

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.
i want a smoothie with all of them!

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.
does "nicest" = most expensive? if so, my wedding gown (yowzers on that price tag! thank you, dad!). next in line, two $500 dresses i just scored in NY for $75 each!

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?
the noble thing to say is that everyday is a blessing. and since i've made it through every single one, whatever happened has made me who i am.
the more truthful thing to say is it's amazing how i already manage to block out some really horrible ones.

iPhone

2007-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

I can post from my iPhone. I probably won't do it again after this time. But I could if I wanted.

Happy Ho Ho Ho.

las vegas

2007-12-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

dear las vegas:

you thrilled me and chilled me (it was in the 30s & 40s) last weekend. you wore me out. i'm still trying to catch up.

thanks for helping me celebrate the big 29. if only i could have made some money while there. damn, damn, damn.

until next time,
29 year old beebers

determined to post tonight

2007-11-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

but what to say? that's my problem lately. i feel like i'm in a rut because my everyday routine is so boring and not worth writing about.

i really don't like my job - still.

tim is busy with school and work - still.

i go in and out of town a bunch, because that's what i do to escape the previous two points above.

even our anniversary last week was in a rut. on the night of our 3 year anniversary tim had a finance mid-term. how's that for romance? we were supposed to go to Napa the weekend before, but he had an all-day class on sunday, so he had to cancel our weekend getaway plans. and he didn't even make up for any of it with anything sparkly! boo.

anyway, in true rut fashion, i will retire to bed to do my kakuro puzzle... and yes it's only 8:45pm.

title-less

2007-11-03T01:41:00.000-07:00

i have so much to say, but when it comes down to it, it's going to be so short of my own expectations.

i just walked about a mile home this evening, and the whole way i narrated my blog post in my head. and it was so good - believe me!

but i get home, and all that nonsense in my head doesn't seem to matter anymore.

because you know what does matter?

my sister had a baby boy this morning! and as much as i hate that i wasn't there for her 2nd (or the 1st), and as much as cried all morning knowing that he was safe and sound... and 4 weeks early... he's here safe and sound, and that's all that matters. i can't wait to meet this stinky little boy that has graced our family of girls. i love him already, and i've only seen one picture!

at the end of the day... which it definitely is now at 1:50am... it's the little things that matter, and the little ones in our life. i don't have any little ones - although Leo would KICK MY ASS for saying that - but i love my sister's kids like they're my own. and i can't wait to meet my little nephew, mr. townes. and i'm so thankful that my sister and the baby are healthy & happy.

well, "happy" might be a debateable descriptor, at this point in time.

schnikes, it's been a while

2007-10-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

so i have been vaguely aware of the fact that i don't blog much anymore. but wow, it's been almost 3 weeks. yikes.

unfortunately, i don't return with anything really great.

except that i think this ad is creepy. it's p. diddy's ad for his new Unforgiveable - Woman cologne, and i saw it while flipping through my new Lucky magazine yesterday morning.

i'm sure he was trying to portray a passionate, do-me-up-against-this-wall-because-i-can't-wait-to-get-home kind of vibe here. but to me, it just looks like she's his receptionist and she had a little too much to drink at the holiday office party. as she tried to stumble out of the party she bumped into the wall and lost her balance, but her "boss" caught her just in time. he starts to say something like "vanessa, you need to get home" but then he realizes just how convenient a state she's in, and instead, decides to whisper in her ear "oh yeah, baby - just let daddy take care of you. i gotcha girl."

creepy.

okay, ta-ta for now. and perhaps another couple of weeks.

b.o.r.e.d.

2007-09-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

i'm struggling at work today. i had a somewhat busy morning, but now i'm just sitting here being a clockwatcher.

i have friends in town for the weekend, and so long ago i put on my calendar that i was leaving work early today... around 2 or 3. which based on how the afternoon is going will definitely be more like 2!

i've surfed all the web that i can take. i can't shop online because i shouldn't be spending money. i've already researched events in the wine country for our drive up there tomorrow. i'm so freaking bored!

oh goodie, blogging just took up a nice 2 minutes.

LAX

2007-09-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

we went to LA this past weekend.

i didn't see lauren or audrina, or any of the cast members of Sunset Tan, Newport Harbor, or Life of Ryan. (yes, the breadth of my entertainment choices has narrowed solely to reality shows that are filmed in southern california.)

but i did drink a lot of wine and soak up the sun with my meggy. it was f-u-n fun.

single again

2007-08-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

i'm not single in a divorced or separated sense of the word. but tim went back to school last night, and i had such a boring night on my own. i'm repeating it again tonight.

don't get me wrong, i don't need tim around to be entertained or anything. i normally relish in the nights i have to myself. but cooking for one isn't fun, so i ended up scrapping the cooking dinner idea, and just snacked on some leftover tuna and chips. and then some fruit. and some cookies. and some runts. being single is not good for my calorie intake.

tonight i actually cooked dinner for myself, which was nice and brought back some routine to the evening. but nothing is on tv and i'm bored out of my mind. could be the lack of netflix dvd's as well - all went back in the mail yesterday, and that makes for a boring 2 nights without movies. and i've already caught up on my episodes of the hills, sunset tan, and flight of the conchords.

i think i might actually do some work now. yikes, being single might be good for my work ethic. somebody stop me now! thank goodness his classes are only 2 nights a week.

i heart laguna beach

2007-08-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

tim and i were in orange county last weekend for a wedding. it was the best weekend i've had in a very long time! so lovely that i can't stop thinking about it, and am posting it about it 4 days after the fact.

we stayed at the St. Regis which is just insanely lovely in every way, shape and form. i lounged at the pool (see above) all day friday and saturday. it was gorgeous.

and the wedding, of course, just kicked ass. tim got tootie, i got tootie, and we danced all night. it was the perfect weekend.

can we move to laguna beach, honey? actually, can we move into the St. Regis? lindsay lohan lives in a hotel... why can't we?!

pepe le pew

2007-08-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

ugh, my feet smell tres bad today. i'm kind of sicking myself out in my cube. this is so embarassing.

i'm chucking these shoes when i get home. i was already questioning their faux-cork wedge. that was strike 1.

the smell... strike 2.

no strike 3 needed. they're outta here.

you don't need no stinkin' bag

2007-08-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

today's Green Topic: shopping bags

how many times have you been checking out at a register somewhere, buying only one or two things, and they put your purchase in a big ol' plastic bag, much larger than is necessary? what a waste!

i want to encourage everyone to decline the bag as often as possible. if you're only buying a few things, can't you carry them easily enough on their own?

now if you're buying lots of stuff (which for me, is regular shopping - hey, i like to shop!), then i highly encourage everyone to purchase reusable shopping bags, and reuse them all the time!

i have the standard green Whole Foods Bags, and i use them for groceries every single time i go to the market. not only do they fit more than the standard plastic grocery sack, but they have a great plastic insert that makes the bottom flat & sturdy, and they also have a great strap that fits nicely on your shoulder - which comes in handy when you need to carry all 6 bags in at the same time because you refuse to make multiple trips!

and they're not just for groceries! this weekend i took my bags to Target, Marshalls, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and the book store.

you'll be pleasantly surprised how fewer bags you have to store in that utility closet or toss to the landfills.

snap crackle pop

2007-08-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

my healthy afternoon snack - what i thought was going to be a juicy and tasty nectarine - was completely rotten when i just cut into it. ewww. i mean, so rotten that my little plastic knife just cut right through it, pit and all.

so oh darn, guess i have to resort to the yummy rice krispy treat i just purchased from our cafe. which they have totally just downsized to a fraction of the size they used to be, so i'm slightly angry about that. but happy that i'm satisfying my sweet tooth, nonetheless.

mmmmmm. sugar is good.

being green-er

2007-08-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

there's this little hippie inside me that is completely passionate about the environment and doing what is right to help reverse the damage we wasteful humans are causing. you'd never suspect the little hippie was there when looking at me and my senseless addiction to gucci handbags. but it is there nonetheless, and i'm going to start spreading the word on the simplest, tiniest, easiest things you can do to start helping reduce, reuse and recycle.

today's topic: Saving Water*

Wash well
Reduce your water flow to a pencil width when your turn the water on to wash your hands, fruits and vegetables, dishes, and more. An estimated two-thirds of the water we generally use for washing jobs is wasted down the drain. Reducing the flow won’t create more work or take more time—it simply saves a resource that is becoming more and more valuable.

Don’t wash twice
Prerinsing your dishes wastes gallons of water per load and isn't necessary to get them clean.

Get native plants
Planting native species will save water because plants that are indigenous to your region don’t need to be watered as much as others. Also use small bits of bark (mulch) to help reduce water evaporation

Water plants at the right time
Make sure to water your outdoor plants before dawn or after dusk so the water won’t be evaporated by the heat of the day.

Hand-wash clothing
Washing clothes in the tub or sink uses considerably less water than a washing machine—and it will also causes less wear and tear on the garments.

Go to a car wash
Most car wash businesses use recycled water for the job.

*Courtesy of Greenopia

various rants

2007-08-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

i am totally struggling at work lately. not because i have so much to do and too little time. but because i don't really have that much to do, and what seems like all the time in the world. which is awful because i tend to just look at the clock all day, procrastinating from what i should be getting accomplished. and i'm eating a lot. boredom = hunger.

and on that note, can somebody please tell me what the f happens to your body in your late 20s? it's like i woke up one day and just started storing fat in places i didn't know it was possible. i just finished another month of boot camp - it did nothing for me! my jeans are still tight, and i am still marching toward looking more and more like a sausage everyday. it's so not fair. once upon a time i had a pretty cute figure. i guess those days are gone?

on a side tangent - i hate hummers. no, not bj's, but i don't like those either. i'm talking about people who walk around and hum. what is it with these people? even in my happiest of happy moments, i never have the urge to hum. i would rather do a cartwheel than hum. humming in the bathroom is not appropriate, nor is humming while walking down the hall, nor is humming at your desk while you work. so shut up!

oh yippy - kelly clarkson just came on my Launch player. a little "since u been gone" always perks me up! and i'm not ashamed to admit that.

servin' up a feast

2007-07-20T09:32:00.001-07:00

decided to provide a feast today, for lack of creativity on my part.

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television?
I love taking a nap with a golf tournament on. That is the best. Otherwise, I hate all sports on tv, except Univ of Texas football and basketball. Even then, I'd rather be there in person.

Soup
If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick?
I already know just about every line of Tommy Boy. I know it's not a book, but it's fiction! And it puts me in a good mood to be able to recite funny parts.

Salad
What is your favorite breakfast food?
Breakfast tacos and Migas, hands down! But I don't let myself indulge in them very often. So on a regular basis, scrambled egg whites & breakfast potatoes.

Main Course
Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00.
Wine tasting.

Dessert
How long does it usually take you to fall asleep?
Normally about 3 minutes. But I remember a friend in elementary school telling me it takes 7 minutes to fall asleep, and I always believed it. Think I'll go google that right now...

kryptonite

2007-07-07T10:54:00.001-07:00

i work on crossword puzzles just about every night before i go to bed. for some reason it relaxes me and it's a ritual i thoroughly enjoy. tim always wants to help out, but he's not very good. for one thing, he can't spell for anything, and spelling is pretty much critical in crosswords. for another thing, he writes in pen - clearly a no-no, especially when he's rarely right.

but that's neither here nor there. this is what really got me last night.

clue: "Krypton, for example"

i asked tim, thinking he'd surely know because it relates to Superman and superheroes and all that boy stuff. turns out it was a stumper for him. and while trying to work it out he said aloud:

"a gas? isn't Krypton on the periodic table of elements?"

Krypton. on the periodic table of elements. what world do you live in, tim? and you call yourself a chemical engineer.

just priceless.

viva las vegas

2007-06-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

let me start this off by saying i am not a gambler.

i went to vegas this past weekend. holy heck, it was 108 degrees! i just had to throw that in there. thank goodness for the pool at the Bellagio and the frozen pink lemonade & vodkas. and all those bottles of veuve clicquot.

but i digress.

i have only been to vegas once before, 3 years ago for my sister's bachelorette party. and the closest i came to really gambling was losing $100 on the wheel of fortune slots. i hate to lost money, so i just don't gamble.

but this weekend my friend amanda introduced me to black jack. oh dear! we stayed at the tables til 5 and 6am. and we both won, too! not too much, but a few hundred dollars doesn't hurt. it actually feels good. real good.

i now officially love vegas. i am already planning another trip.

a few of my faves

2007-06-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

these are some of my favorite pictures from our trip to south africa.

we had such an amazing time over there. they say Africa awakens your soul, and i have to say that it truly, truly does. being in the bush with the wild animals is such a humbling experience, and like nothing you've ever seen before. this was absolutely the best trip i have ever had.

i want to go back. but i'd like to be beamed there, scotty. because 22 hours on a plane is not so much fun.

Here we are in the winelands outside of Cape Town.

Hippos in the water... just ears & backs.
A rhino with 2 oxpeckers on his head.
A big male leopard up in a tree.
Lioness and 2 lion cubs.
An old buffalo, napping.
Herd of elephants on the move, and eating trees as they go.
A big, big, big male lion. Half of the wildebeest he killed 12 hours earlier was nearby.

jetlag

2007-06-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

we spent about 36 hours getting home from south africa. we left "the bush" at 1:00 on Friday, and returned yesterday afternoon. the trip was absolutely the most amazing holiday i've ever had.

unfortunately my body is still in the south african time zone. i went to bed at 8pm last night, which was really like 4am according to my body. i've been up since 2am checking email and watching my tivo'd shows. i hope i get back to normal soon.

pics and more to come. it was such a fascinating time, i just don't have the brain power to do it justice right now.

i go on vacation in 5 days!

2007-05-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

3 days in London, then 9 days in South Africa. holy shnikes, i am beside myself.

i could just pee with excitement!!

but that would require clean up, so i'll abstain.

actual text message to my inbox

2007-05-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

my husband traveled to DC today. here's what i get from him.

"Swans in the pool at the hotel and smells like vagina in my room."

the standards of communication are low in my marriage.

tasty treats

2007-05-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

mmmm mmmmm i love a little snack pack of orange flavored jello. delish!

of course i also love the rice krispy treat i scarfed down earlier this afternoon too. i probably love them more than the jello, actually. except for the whole million-times-more-calories thing.

i've just gotta ask

2007-04-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

is this okay?
this is my neighborhood gas station. it's crazy!
not as crazy as the $4.05 for regular unleaded that i saw the other day, but i thought that was probably blatant gouging.
this, on the other hand, seems to be the norm.

dear rude woman on my floor at work

2007-04-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

is it too much to ask that when i pass by you in the halls and say "hello" that you give me some sort of reaction other than raising your eyebrows at me?

you rude, rude, miserable woman! get some damn social skills!

confused

2007-04-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

do you ever get randomly disoriented doing something that you do every single day?

i just got totally lost coming up the same set of stairs that i take every single day, multiple times a day. i rounded the corner and i guess i was too deep in thought, because it took me by surprise that i was in a stairwell. and for a split second didn't know where to go.

weird. time for a drink, clearly. too bad i have a conference call with India tonight at 8:30pm. boo.

a new leaf

2007-04-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

so i tend to come on here and vent about things that are bugging me or making me mad. for the past week and a half i've been composing posts in my head that rant about various annoyances, from work to travel woes, to back pain.

well not tonight. i decided to make note of some things that are making me happy recently.

my husband came home from work with flowers and a card for me. the occasion? our 2 1/2 year anniversary. this was totally out of the blue, unexpected, and unusual... and totally made me smile from ear to ear!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - wow, this show never ceases to make me cry within the first 3 minutes. i DVR it every sunday, and love watching the people's lives turned around for the better. it's so inspiring to see the undying spirit of people who face such undeserving hardships, and they truly appreciate all they are given. the overwhelming outpour of generosity by the communities makes me all warm and fuzzy inside too.

our dog Leo is the center of our world. he brings us such joy, and i thank God every night for bringing him to us. imagine what i'll be like with children! actually i joke with my sister that i love my dog so much, even after we have children, instead of bragging with pictures of my kids growing up, i'll be pulling out pictures of the dog saying "here's Leo at halloween.... and at Christmas!"

red wine. mmmmm mmmmm. enough said.

my sirius radio. my dad was generous enough to buy me a car, and i love love love it. the sirius radio is something i never wanted, but now i don't want to give it up. we've become a population of people who want endless possibilities at our fingertips. with satellite radio, regular radio, a 6 disc changer, and an iPod port... i've kind of got it all. and i like it, damnit!

i am thankful for the things that make me happy, no matter how trivial they may seem. life is too short to not take the time to appreciate the things that make you smile.

procrastination

2007-04-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

i am totally pretending that i don't need to be upstairs packing right now. i'm ignoring the fact that i will have to get up in 8 hours and head to the airport, at which point i will need that packed suitcase that is currently sitting empty in my bedroom. i just hate packing.

and it's freaking freezing in pennsylvania right now. it's been so cold all across the country, except in sunny and lovely california. i like it here. it's not warm by any means, but it's also not 40. i'd already put away my boots for the year, moving into the open-toe and peep-toe variety of shoes that make me believe it's summer. but i'll be dragging out my boots again for this trip back east. along with sweaters too. brrr.

so we're heading to PA for the wedding of one of tim's friends from high school. first we will be spending a couple of days with tim's older sister in bethlehem. we finally get to see her new baby (our Godchild) who was born in december! and leo will get to spend extra time with them as we head off to the wedding for 2 days. then after the wedding we will head back to bethlehem, and we will get to see tim's younger sister who will come out from manhattan for the day. it will be awesome to spend time with them since we only see them once or twice a year.

then i'm going to meet up with tinapopo! oh wait, no i'm not.

okay, i think it's time to go pack. i hear tim up there and it sounds like he's made a lot of progress. i will resent him if he finishes before i've even started.

*zzzzzzip!*

yeah, i just heard his suitcase zip. i think he might be done. grrrr.

hasta la vista. back next week.

selsun blue, please

2007-04-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

i never really got those dandruff shampoo commercials they used to show. you know the ones that feature someone wearing a black suit with their shoulders sprinkled with flakes of "dandruff" and they have this horrified look of embarrassment on their face? i never really believed those because i always thought to myself "who has dandruff that bad? moreover, who has it that bad and wears black?!" i mean that's just dumb.

well.

remember my little trip to mexico a couple of weeks ago? one day my scalp got just a tad bit pink from too much sun. and now my scalp... well, it's peeling just a tad bit.

i forgot about that when i chose to wear a black t-shirt to work today. i was in the middle of talking to someone this morning and, out of the corner of my eye, spotted something on my shoulder.

flakes! FLAKES!

and not just one. not a couple or few. but many! i almost died. i felt like ally sheedy on 16 candles when she made it "snow" on her little drawing. ugh, i was so grossed out at myself.

it's not dandruff, so i still don't really buy the commercials. but it is gross. extra conditioner for me tomorrow!

it's been forever, i know

2007-04-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

i know i've been neglecting the blog. i've considered posting so many times over the past couple of weeks. but i haven't. and it's like the more and more time that passes, the more i dread it because it just means there is that much more to write about. it's like a snowball effect.

so here i am, on a friday, finally deciding to put something up here. choosing what to post/vent about is a difficult decision, and one that i just don't have enough energy for. so i'll do the bullet point thing and give a little run down of what's been going on.

mexico was awesome! so much fun being with my best friend and our moms. we drank sangria like it was going out of style, ate guacamole in the same fashion, and spent our days by the pool on lounge chairs. i regret that i did not return looking like coco chanel, but instead a slightly deeper shade of beige. this is probably due to the 30SPF i kept on my whole body the entire trip. better safe than sorry.

came home to a surprise in my garage. not for me, no. my husband decided he needed a Porsche. but he didn't get rid of his other car yet. so we have 3 cars and that totally makes sense because there are 2 of us. right. ethel... didn't your hubby pull a weaselly move like this?

been dealing with some identity fraud. enough said about that.

had to fire my maid because she was damaging the crap out of my house. and she wouldn't admit to it. so now i have to start cleaning. i am not happy about this.

booked our summer vacation: south africa here we come! we got our vaccines this week. we are pathetic because we couldn't move our arms for 2 days afterwards. those puppies sting!

oh, i got promoted a couple of weeks ago, right before my trip to mexico. awesome timing, getting that news a few days before you're going on vacation. it's given me a renewed sense of motivation for my job. we'll see how long it lasts though. i'm bitter betty. or bitter beebers. totally glass half empty kind of gal, if you hadn't noticed.

i guess that's all. we have no big plans this Easter weekend, unfortunately. tim has class tomorrow, so i guess we'll just go to church and out to brunch on sunday. it's so much more fun spending the holidays with friends and family, especially Easter. we wear the silly bunny ears and flower headbands and take pictures decked out in pastels. we have Easter baskets filled with candy and treats, and drink mimosas or white wine sangria all afternoon. it's normally so much fun! something tells me tim and i won't be able to pull it all off on our own. but i guess we can try!

happy Easter!

see ya!

2007-03-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

ugh, i should not have to work so hard the day before vacation. much less, i shouldn't have to do this hard work on the plane home to TX, and then all afternoon in TX when i should be playing with my adorable neice.

oh well. i'm off to me-hee-co! it's time for a long weekend in playa del carmen with my mom, my best friend, and her mom.

hasta luego!

it's all in my head

2007-03-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

i have started blogging at night over the past few weeks.

oh, what's that you say? you haven't read my posts? really???

oh wait, that's because they don't get published on blogger.com. all these posts are being published in my head as i get ready for bed at night.

getting ready for bed is my down time, my decompression time after a long day at work. as i stand there in my bathroom and take off my eye makeup, i start to rehash all the events that have happened during the day. the good, the bad, the ugly. for the most part, it's the bad and the ugly. we all know it's easier to remember the bad. and the ugly usually makes a better story.

while performing the simple tasks of washing my face and brushing my teeth, i actually form very eloquent and funny posts in my head. i even go so far as to edit the stories, coming up with better ways of phrasing things than what originally came to mind.

as i finish up and get into bed, i tell myself to remember everything i've created so i can publish the post the following day, and share my brilliance with the world. but everyday the time seems to slip from me and a whole day will go by without me even thinking about visiting blogger. next thing i know i'm standing in my bathroom again, starting to take off my eye makeup, and a new post begins in my head.

it's sad for me that i can't write as often as i'd like. but at least i have my night blogging.

pick my car

2007-03-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

i'm having the damnedest time trying to decide what color car to get. go to the site below, click on "Colors" and pick me a car!

http://www.fordvehicles.com/crossovers/edge/

and yes, i'm a ford girl. i may live in a city of hippies with priuses (no offense to hippies with priuses), but i'm a texan. i like me a good ford. no comments necessary, thanks.

you're pretty okay, yourself.

2007-03-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

i am halfway through a boot camp that i enrolled in 2 weeks ago. so 3 days a week, at 5:30am, a group of ladies meet down at a pier near fisherman's wharf and we basically lunge and squat for an hour. it feels invigorating, and i love doing it. i'm actually sad that it will be over in 2 weeks, because i know i won't have the motivation to do the exercises on my own.

though i feel better, i don't look any different yet. saddlebags are still there, my butt is still droopy, my thighs flubber. and last night as i was changing into my pj's, tim walked by and surveyed my rear view as i stood there in my hanky pankys. and he kind of chuckled. (nice, i know.)

"sorry babe, if you wanted a hot wife, you should have married someone else," i said.

"you're hot babe," he said, which is what i was hoping he would say, whether he meant it or not.

"yeah right," i shot back. but what i meant was "tell me more about how hot i am."

and he came back with a frank and honest zinger. i know he wasn't aware he was zinging me, that's just how tim operates. "you're pretty hot."

wow. be still my beating heart. i tried to come up with something that made him feel average and just adequate, but i was at a loss.

i proceeded to put on frumpy sleepwear, and then got the dog to sleep between us.

quote of the day... or maybe of the millenium

2007-02-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

i was just on the phone with my mom, talking about immunizations i will have to get for our trip this summer. i was going through the list of recommended shots, and she said i wouldn't need hepatitis because i'd gotten it in college. i remember that i never got the vaccine - i had the prescription in my car for ages, but never actually got the shots. it was series of a shots, and i couldn't take time out of my busy schedule (of date dashes and match parties) to go back for more shots!

she, on the other hand, got her hepatitis vaccines. she said, and i quote:

"well i got mine, i remember. i can have sex with anybody (said: An-knee-bod-dee) i want. i'm safe!"

this coming from a woman who has been married for over 37 years.

can i get a clone over here?

2007-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

sometimes i wish i could clone myself, just so i could hang out with someone like-minded... or exact-minded, if you will. sometimes dealing with other people is too much effort, you know? i mean, i never annoy myself, and i put up with my own temper and mood, whether good or bad. it just seems like it would be easy and enjoyable, to have a me to hang out with.

take this weekend for example. i'm most interested in getting through the 3 DVDs of "24" episodes sitting in my living room. my husband doesn't seem to have the same goals for the weekend. that's just a shame for me. he wants to do things. if i had "me" to hang out with, there would be no arguing. the conversation would go:

beebers: hey, what do you feel like doing? i kind of want to have a "24" marathon.
beebers clone: hey, me too! that's totally what i wanted to do today.
beebers: wow, self, it's so great having you around. i heart you!
beebers clone: i heart you too. pop in that dvd!

then when i want to travel on exotic trips, i could just take my clone with me. we'd always be on the same page as to what activities we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. it'd be so much easier than, say, trying to talk my husband into going on this spectacular trip this summer that i've been planning for the last 4 weeks. he seemed into it at first (and for the last 4 weeks that i've been planning), but now that it's actually time to book the trip, he's having second thoughts. my clone would say "giddy up! let's go!" i would love for tim to say that.

wonder what my clone would want for dinner tonight... wait, she'd probably want what i want. that makes cooking so much easier! agh, somebody give me myself, please!

i normally like doing laundry

2007-02-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

want to know what is more annoying than doing a load of laundry where a kleenex accidentally gets in?

doing two loads of laundry in a row, each with a kleenex slipped in.

ugh, all those little, tiny speckles and flecks of paper covering everything. such a pain!

rainbows and roller skates

2007-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

okay no roller skates, but check out this rainbow that is passing over my desk right now!

around this time everyday a blinding sliver of light comes in the window near me and, for lack of a better word, blinds me with its intensity. today it is sharing a rainbow too.

that's got to be a good sign for something!

and if you're wondering what's playing on my ipod in the picture, it's 'beverly hills' by weezer.

one trial and tribulation of a short girl

2007-02-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

i had one of those popo moments last night. i was at a pete yorn concert and i composed a very clever and entertaining post in my head. but i can't remember any of it now. that could have something to do with all the vodka tonics i had too.

instead, here's a picture of my view from the show. it sucks being short!

she bangs, she bangs

2007-02-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

when they moved our office to the middle of nowhere san francisco, i know i complained a little. it was a big adjustment, but for the most part i took the "whatever" attitude. which is much better than the "i hate the shit out of the place" attitude.

well.

this area is full of ground-breaking construction. and i mean ground-breaking, as in breaking new ground literally. it is making it impossible to concentrate. pile drivers BANG! BANG! BANG! every 3 seconds, for hours at a time.

when they're not banging, something else is going on that makes our whole building shake. my computer monitor quivers, like we're having an earthquake. we've all gotten used to it, but one of these times it is actually going to be an earthquake and we will all just continue with work because we think it's a result of construction. like the little boy that cried wolf, we're all going to be buried in the rubble of the building.

i think the shaking is worse than the banging, because at least i can put on headphones to drown out the noise. although i do have to turn the volume up to a somewhat unhealthy decibal level to drown it out completely. i'm losing my mind and my hearing.

it really is an abnormal working environment. i can imagine there are crazier places to work, like going down drain pipes to save baby jessica, or washing the windows of the petronas towers in kuala lumpur. but i didn't sign up for those. i signed up for a desk job. where i can surf the internet and eat cream puffs when they are passed around.

(man, that beard papa i just inhaled was to die for!)

do not see this movie

2007-02-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

my mom and i escaped the torture of having the super bowl on in our living room, and went to go this light chick flick for an afternoon of enjoyment at the cinema.

it was horrible.

i'm not going to go into a long movie review. but i will say that the characters had no chemistry, the mini-plots never developed enough for them to be believable, and it was just dumb. it had potential too, but just couldn't go the distance.

so save your $10.25, or however much it costs you to go see the movies in your town. it'd be better spent somewhere else.

i hate comcast

2007-02-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

comcast always lets me down in the end.

i love the comcast commercials. i mean, love them. they are laugh-out-loud funny.

and the customer service operators on the phone were totally delightful when i went to add DVR service this morning. i got off the phone thinking "wow, that was actually pleasant." despite the fact that she told me i'd have to go down to the comcast office and switch out my box... on a saturday... the saturday before the super bowl.

whatever, no big deal. i hopped in my car at 9am to get their shortly after they opened. i got there and there were only about 3 people in front of me. "awesome!" i thought to myself. this won't be painful at all.

this is where my hate kicks in. i walk up to the counter and begin to deal with a woman who can barely articulate words, and in broken english tells me "we ran out DVR HDTV boxes yesterday. sowwy. come back at noon."

right. at noon the line will be 40 people long, all because degenerates can't pay their bills through the mail like normal people, and then others want to upgrade their stupid service for the stupid stinking super bowl. i just want to upgrade mine for HGTV and new episodes of Lost.

grrrrr.

UPDATE - i retract my statement above. i went back to the cable office, preparing for the worst. it wasn't so bad... i waited about 7 minutes before i was called up to the next available customer service associate, who happened to be the woman who pissed me off on my first trip. she was so nice and told me i shouldn't have waited in line, so next time go straight to her and she'll help me.

i love her. and i love my DVR, which i have successfully used to only record "the hills" so far. there's much more to come though, as Lost starts wednesday!

blindsided

2007-01-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

doesn't it suck how a run in at work with one person who is in a bad mood can totally ruin your day?

normally it's the incompetence of those i work with that makes me cranky. but today, all it took was one foul-tempered (and incompetent) person to achieve that goal at 10:14am. she ruined my wednesday.

thanks, bitch.

as miss scarlett o'hara would say, tomorrow is anotha' day!

what is up with that anyway?

2007-01-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

in order to get to the links of my favorite blogs, i have to come to my own blog. yes, i'm clearly aware that i could bookmark your pages, but that's too difficult. plus i like seeing my own site as i'm a bit vain. (and also in need of a makeover. where is babyjewels when i need her?)

as i was typing in the web address this evening i was reminded of how it is in no way, shape or form, intuitive. and most people probably have no idea what the heck it says. no it's not tongues, it's not code. it's just my lack of creativity.

you see, when i joined blogger, i only did so in order to leave a comment on tinapopo's blog (the original one). she was so witty and clever, quipping about the "free katie" movement. for some reason i felt compelled to leave a comment, and was forced to create a blogger account to do so. i know dozens of other people came into blogland the same way.

i can't really remember all of the details of what you go through when you create a blogger account. user name? check. password? check. blog name and address? uh.... i don't know.

this is kind of a big deal. it's like choosing your first email address. wow, i remember having to do that for the first time as a freshman in college (yes, i realize i'm showing my age). i didn't really put a lot of effort into choosing my email address then, because i didn't yet realize that it would be something i would use all the time. i chose something dumb like beebers.ut@mail.whatever.com. beebers.ut? yes, i went to UT, but come on. before i knew it, i was stuck with it and hated it.

so when i was creating my blog, i realized that i should put some thought into the web address. but at the particular time that i was registering, i wasn't in the mood for thinking. why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? i decided to put in something temporary, and change it when i came up with something brilliant. i typed in exactly what i was thinking when i asked myself "what do i want the address to be?"

hmmmm....to be determined.

i tried to change it shortly thereafter when i thought up a brilliant name: beebersblog.blogspot.com. i know, i know. it's genius. but it was taken. and tinapopo had already linked to me in a post on her blog, so my readership skyrocketed (to 6). i couldn't just go and shake things up then. it would disappoint and confuse my fans... i couldn't take the risk!

and that's where you get hmmmtbd.blogspot.com. if you even care.

deep thoughts, by beebers

2007-01-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

do i blog because i like to write?

or do i write because i like to blog?

tuesday commute

2007-01-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

i drive to work everyday, which is somewhat silly considering it's about 3 miles and i live in a city with "excellent public transportation." i used to take the bus, and i loved the bus. it was my time to decompress and relax and be on my own. i got a ton of reading done when i rode the bus. my first 3 years living out here i was the biggest bookworm - i must have gone through 100 books.

and i think my blood pressure was much lower because i totally get road rage from driving. i hate arrogant people on the road who think they can do whatever they want. i also hate sunday drivers with nowhere to go during the morning commute. i hate tourists who don't know where they're going and make me miss green lights. i hate taxis and buses that run red lights. i hate people who get stuck in the intersection on a red light and make me wait for them to move so i can go on my merry way. i hate people who run stop signs. i hate homeless people who saunter through crosswalks when i clearly have a green light and they clearly have that big orange hand lit up telling them DO NOT WALK!

*breathe. breathe.*

you can see the blood pressure issue.

regardless of all that, i now drive everyday, due to many factors actually. if i didn't drive it would basically take me planes, trains, and automobiles to get to work. well not really, but it would take buses, shuttles, and some footwork. my commute would be almost an hour. an hour! - to go 3 miles. so i drive. and i carpool with a girlfriend, so that's how i justify the parking fee (we split it) and the extra pollution (of which my car doesn't emit much... i don't think).

but this morning on my way to work i actually had somewhat of a lovely experience. i'm not sure lovely is the correct word, but i can't think of a better one right now, so it will do.

i'm driving through the tenderloin, which is the worst neighborhood in san francisco. the streets are dirty, the homeless are strewn along the sidewalks, the decrepit buildings have bars on the windows, or no windows at all, but boarded up with wood or cardboard instead. it's not a pretty sight, but for some reason i like to take this route to work. it reminds me how fortunate i am to have everything that i have. and it also doesn't have much traffic so i can zip through the city pretty quickly.

that's not the point of my story though.

sitting at a red light, in the shadows of the tall buildings all around me, i look in my rear view mirror and notice some 15-20 blocks in the distance is the reflection of this huge, white building, glinting and shining in the sunlight. two things caught my attention: 1) the sunlight was absolutely gorgeous! i love seeing crisp sunshine in the mornings. for some reason it makes me feel motivated to go out and be productive; and 2) what is that building? and where?

i felt lost because i couldn't figure out what that humongous, white building was in the distance. i thought to myself, if i saw that scenery in a movie and someone told me it was san francisco, i would have no idea where it was! and i hate that, because i like to think i can always identify the exact locations of where movies were filmed, particularly in san francisco. but i just couldn't place it, and for a moment i felt like i was driving in a completely new city.

i finally figured out what it was - this huge church whose roof looks like the inside of a washing machine. it's a big tourist attraction near Japan Town, although i've never been inside. or maybe that's why i've never been inside. regardless, i felt at ease when i put the puzzle together. i get all out of sorts and uncomfortable when my sense of direction is off.

it was a nice drive into work, complimentary of the sunshine and the limited traffic that causes my blood to boil. nobody cut me off, nobody made me want to scream. it was a lovely drive.

now where is that motivation that makes me want to be productive and do great things?

update - i can't post pictures for some reason. here's a link to St. Mary's Cathedral. don't you think the roof looks like the center of the spinner deal in a washing machine?

orthodontist anyone?

2007-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

my mom got my niece these bubba teeth for Christmas. it's actually bubba teeth on a pacifier.

now it's cruel and unusual punishment, i know. but i'll be damned if i don't start cracking up every time i see this picture.

it's wrong. it's just plain wrong!

this is all about my hair

2007-01-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

so, how long did it last? i went brunette the day after thanksgiving. and don't get me wrong, it's been fun. but it's growing out and it looks nast-tay. my blonde roots make it look like i'm going gray. either that or like my hair is literally floating on top of my scalp, like i sprayed it on with one of those mens miracle hair treatments. it's just wrong.

so i went back asking her to make me blonde again. she looked at me like i asked her to jump over pluto real quick while fetching me a starbucks. i said "come on, now adrienne. reese does it all the time. and mary kate & ashley have switched back and forth daily in the last 2 weeks with their light hair, then dark hair, then light hair." she made some comment about how they also pay thousands of dollars and fly their hairdressers across the country. i mentioned that i have to pay $10 to park downtown while i get my hair done, but that isn't the same i guess.

she did a boatload of highlights on my hair, and the overall effect is lightening. but not blonde lightening, like i thought. it basically looks like i'm a brunette trying to go blonde. which i guess i am. but i'm a true blonde so for some reason i think i'm better than those other brunettes who try to go blonde and fake it.

in truth, i kind of looked marbled and merled. what do they call those australian shephard dogs who are so black and white that they look gray? blue merle? i look like, but a blonde merle. i'm so blonde and brunette that i look a color in between. i'm not sure it's good.

and i'm not sure i should be writing blonde with an "e" on the end either. i feel regal and british though.

i just realized i wrote a whole stupid post on my hair. sorry. and i know you all got excited when you saw a new post and thought "finally! something new and exciting!"

well, it was new at least.

chewy goodness and other stuff

2007-01-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

mmmm mmmmmm! if you haven't tried the Orbit Sweet Mint gum... yum yum! go get some. it's good stuff.

no they didn't pay me to say it. free advertising.

in other news, i made it to the gym this morning. i got on one of those new machines that is a combination of the treadmill and the elliptical machine. i've seen a ton of ads on tv promoting them lately. you know, the ads say that you get the same workout in half the time.

"ridiculous!" i said. until today.

holy heck, that machine kicked my butt. it's like walking in sand... deep, wet sand! i couldn't walk near as fast as i normally do. i was averaging about 3.0 mph when i normally go about 4.3 mph. in 47 minutes i had barely trudged - and i mean trudged! - 2.3 miles.

"but wait, beebers, your math isn't correct," you might say. "anyone who can multiply knows that averaging 3.0 mph over 47 minutes would mean you walked... oh. 2.35 miles. okay, you rock the math."

will i use this machine again? probably. i did burn a boatload of calories. i guess it depends on how sore my rear-end is tomorrow. the more sore, the better! more to come on that. you're on pins and needles, i know!

beebers time

2007-01-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

i'm going to be enjoying a lot of beebers time this weekend. it's just me and leo this weekend with some chick flicks and HGTV all night and all day tomorrow. i cannot wait! sitting in my mailbox right now is hilary duff's "material girls" just waiting for me - i planned that netflix shipment precisely. you have to do that with those girlie movies.

yep, i will be flying solo because tim is heading up to tahoe to break in the new skis i just gave him. he'll be shredding it all weekend. that might have been a total inappropriate use of the word shred. sort of like when your mom tries to throw in slang and says "i told your father to drop it like it was hot" but articulates every syllable perfectly so that it sounds nothing like it should.

on another note, i think it's absolutely hysterical that when i run the blogger spell check, it recommends that every instance of beebers be changed to beavers. that just cracks me up!

ok this is not a very good 300th post. what do you expect at 4:45pm on friday?

chuckling hysterically

2007-01-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

since it is the beginning of a new year they are slamming us with a million weight loss commercials every chance they get.

last night while i was watching tv i heard the commerical say "wouldn't you love to be as slim & trim as you were 20 years ago?"

"actually, yeah!" i said out loud to tim as i started laughing uncontrollably at the thought of me with my 8 year old body again. i would love to have that body!

with boobs, of course.

i can't believe it's 2007 already

2007-01-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

they're over. the holidays are over, and thus so is my vacation. boo.

Christmas was fantastic - traveling to Austin & Naples was draining, but fantastic being with our families. the plane ride back from DFW to CA was great for tim. while he was stretched out in the exit row, i was 2 rows up with leo under the seat in front of me, no leg room, and a coughing & screaming 5 month old baby next to me. i ordered a vodka & sierra mist (how tacky can you get) and put on headphones for the next 3 1/2 hours. i deserve a freaking medal.

new year's eve was uneventful for the first time in ages, and we wouldn't have had it any other way. i cooked dinner, we watched a movie, watched the ball drop, kissed, then went to bed at 12:05am. it was perfect & just what we needed.

new year's day was even better. yummy breakfast casserole with mimosas. more champagne as we undecorated the house. more champagne as we watched the rose bowl. more champagne as we watched HGTV. more champagne after a nap at 6:30pm. it was great.

i don't want to be at work right now, that's for damn sure. what would i rather be doing? i'm not sure. but sitting at my desk is nowhere on my list of things i want to do.

speaking of lists, i'll give you a list. how about...

the top 14 things i loved about the past 14 days:

1) being away from work. i didn't even feel compelled to check email while i was gone.
2) seeing my gorgeous little niece sophie in austin. i can't get enough of her!
3) spending 14 days without having to lock my dog up while we go to work all day.
4) staying in pajamas til 3 or 4pm. (just the last 2 days)
5) getting the recycle bin out in time for trash collection when we got back to CA. it was overflowing with liquor & wine bottles from our Christmas party. yes, i'm aware how pathetic it is that purging for trash day invokes a sense of satisfaction for me.
6) tim grew out a beard. well he attempted to, at least. he was scruffy and pretty damn sexy until he shaved it off this morning. well he's still sexy, just not scruffy and sexy.
7) the yummy cornbread and black-eyed pea dip i made for yesterday. delicious and good luck.
8) got an email from sarah! cheerio girl - hope you're having fun.
9) had dinner with my best friend & her husband who just moved back to austin. can't wait til i move back too and we can do it all the time!
10) the 5 margaritas i had a dinner with my best friend and her husband. i got sauced.
11) 80 degrees in flordia on december 24th. that's nice.
12) tim not having class or homework. we get to spend time together! (this also might show up on a list of "top 14 things that bug the crap out of me")
13) the flaming lips concert on saturday was awesome. tim's quote of the night: "i've never seen so many hippies."
14) i didn't get sick. this is a miracle after flying and being around so many germs. i hope i didn't just jinx myself.

happy new year! i hope nobody out there is really working today.

tis the season to be jorry

2006-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

i'm still on vacation, but wanted to share my favorite picture of my niece and her little friend.

tis the season

2006-12-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

i recently read that the average person only gains a pound over the holidays.

well i'm not average. i'm an over-achiever in almost everything i do. so why be average here?

it's the time of year when everyone wants to pretend they like the people they work with, so they bake and share the goods from their kitchen with their co-workers. a few items currently sitting on the smorgasbord that is my desk include treats such as chocolate chip cookies, caramel/chocolate/peanut bars, bags of kitkat/snickers/kisses, and snickerdoodles.

okay so the snickerdoodles i actually brought in myself, remnants from our holiday party this weekend. i needed to get them out of my house so i wouldn't eat them. they are sitting on my desk, meant to be shared with others, but i find i keep reaching over and grabbing one.

these treats that i'm indulging in are only a small portion of the insanity that is my diet. bite-sized appetizers don't have any calories, so i have made sure to stock up on those over the course of holiday parties this past week. i have also consumed copious amounts of alcohol, because after all, eat, drink & be merry. nowhere in that phrase does it say "exercise" so i have left that out. all these things come together for an extremely healthy end of the year.

people aren't going to recognize me when we go home in a couple of days. when tim and i show up, people are going to wonder who the chunky brunette is that he is having an affair with.*

cheers, ta-ta, safe travels, Merry Christmas, and happy chanakah. i might have spelled that wrong b/c i'm not jewish.

*for those of you just joining beebers blog, i'm a blonde. but a month ago i became a brunette for the first time in my life. so far nobody likes it.

this is awesome

2006-12-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

it's friday and my view still sucks.

so i just watch this over and over.

happy friday. wish me luck as i attempt to be martha stewart tomorrow night when we host a holiday bash at our house. ho ho ho

one hell of a monday

2006-12-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

so last thursday when i left my office, this was the view from my desk:

today when i walked into my new office, here is my view:

can't make out what view i have? me either!

this place is a humongous change and i'm having a hard time adjusting. it's this whole "collaborative workspace" which basically just means you have no privacy. believe me when i say that working in a cube farm would be a dream come true compared to this.

instead of cubes, there are desks in groups of 6: 3 lined up in a row that face another 3. these groups of 6 desks fill the floors. we basically just have a small divider up between our desk and the one next to us. my director is in the spot directly across from me. luckily there is a partition so we don't have to stare at each other all day. but unluckily i sit on the edge of a walkway, so everyone and their dog has visibility to what i'm doing at all times. like right now, someone just walked by and saw me blogging. oh well. i've given up caring, after only 5 1/2 hours.

whoever designed this building is living 6 years in the past and is under the delusion that we are still in the dot com era. there are all these lounging areas with little mushroom chairs, which are just a step up from bean bags. the building is very open and unfinished - lots of concrete and metal. there is only wall around me that is painted, and it's the color of my husband's bow tie & cummerbund from prom in 1994 that matched his date's three-tiered ruffle dress. it's pretty hideous (sorry tim & cailin).

the location of the building is in an area of town with "incredible potential and opportunity for growth." which equates to being in an industrial part of the city with concrete and cranes all around, and is abundant with people living in their vans. it adds an additional 15 minutes on to my commute as well. at least the parking is a bargain at $6 a day.

needless to say, beebers is a bit cranky today. necessito muy bebidos con alcohol tonight.

twenty eight

2006-12-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

dear 28:

i must say that i'm not overly joyed that you joined me yesterday. i'm not sure why, i can't quite put my finger on it. but you're not 100% welcome yet.

regardless, we celebrated your arrival with great food, great wine, and too much prosecco. which has left beebers with a smidge of a hangover this morning. thankfully i have been blessed with the day off from work today.

so i guess since you're here, i'm going to have to recategorize you from the late-twenties group into the mid-twenties. it's just more fair to you, and to me. we'll leave the late-twenties to 29. i'll deal with that bitch next year.

regards,
beebers

sophie goes to san francisco

2006-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

so i was chatting with my 9 month old niece Sophie tonight and she really wants to blog about her trip out here to san francisco last weekend. unfortunately her mother won't let her leave the bouncy swing long enough for her to get to a computer. so i told her i would tell the tale for her. here's her recap of a fantastic weekend in californa.

"my trip to san francisco was one of the most splendid times in my life, to date! i documented the whole trip, and wanted to share some of my pictures.

this is atop the hills overlooking golden gate bridge with mama & daddy

i'm all bundled up here because mom thought i would freeze. it was only 62 degrees after all!

we went to the beach and i got to discover sand for the first time!

wow, that stuff sure did feel funny in my little fingers. i played with it for a long time. i was extremely messy when mommy finally picked me up.

here i am hanging with leo - i just love him! yes i know my diaper is hanging out of my outfit, and no i'm not trying to be britney spears.

i had a great trip, and i can't wait to get on a plane and do it again! thanks aunt bebe!"

new baby!

2006-12-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

there is a new child in our family! well, not the family that consists of me, tim & leo.

but my sister in law just had a healthy baby girl this afternoon, our new little niece Brooke! or maybe it's Brook, they haven't specified the spelling. and they haven't given her a middle name yet either. but that's okay, she's our little Godchild and we cannot wait to meet her!

congratulations to cindy, dan & maya on the new addition to their family!

in other news...
tomorrow i'm posting pictures of my other little niece, my munchkin, and also a Godchild, miss sophie. she visited her aunt bebe in san francisco and we had so much fun! stay tuned...

double take

2006-12-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

is it just me, or is the resemblance between these two uncanny?

you know, jess might not have much going for her. after all, she did sign on for the 3rd season of laguna beach, being the only cast member who wasn't enrolled at LBH. perhaps she could start serving as a body double for little sister spears if things don't look up soon.

huh?

2006-11-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

now what the devil does this mean? i was just walking behind this guy on the street in san francisco.

seemed like a normal enough guy, until i read his sweatshirt. i tried to get closer and take a better picture, but i can now attest to the fact that running down the street and trying to take a somewhat decipherable picture with a camera phone is not easy.

in case you can't read it, it says "Exodus. Satan - Death - Blood. Fuck. Nor Cal."

yeah, okay. i backed off a little after i realized the harshness of it. didn't want him to turn around and clock me.

no attention span

2006-11-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

i feel like my husband today. no, i'm not feeling extra hairy under my armpits or on my butt. and i'm not walking around constantly checking to see if my balls are still in my pants. but i feel like i have no attention span whatsoever. and that is why i feel like my husband. tim is definitely lacking in this department.

my parents got here yesterday for the Thanksgiving weekend. my mom and i hit the grocery store and started mentally preparing for our Thanksgiving feast. i'm so ready for wednesday evening to be here, i forgot i had 3 days of work ahead of me before i get to enjoy the long weekend. i'm having a hard time concentrating here, and i'm definitely not being productive. why must i have a j.o.b.?

ho hum. think i'll go peruse pictures of TomKat's wedding on my favorite gossip sites. that'll kill some time. then maybe some online shopping to knock out some Christmas gifts.

ugh, is it 5:30 yet?

yesterday i was a blonde

2006-11-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

today i am more of a golden brunette. what do you think?

please note that camera phone photos:
1) add 10 pounds;
2) add redness to the face causing you to look like Bozo the Clown with a runny nose;
3) are blurry;
4) make a picture appear as if you took it in the bathroom stall;
5) overall make me appear unattractive.

okay wait, #4 was true.

this is the first time i have dyed my hair. i love it! i kind of want to go darker though. this could be addicting.

man, this picture is ugly. i can't believe i'm posting it. i think i need a nose job.

UPDATE - the picture was really bad. i updated my face.

the wellness nazi

2006-11-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

so this girl in my office – the one that is coughing and sneezing all the time – she starts at it again today. except when she coughs, she pulls out this throat spray to use on her phlegmed up throat.

i am terrified of getting sick. i had this sinus infection/strep throat thing 9 times last year. 9 times! (the exact number of times Ferris Bueller was absent, yes.) so since i’ve only been sick once this year, i’d like to try and continue with this winning streak. i do not want to catch what she has! and it’s a miracle that i’ve gone a week without getting it.

so this morning, after a particularly long cough, i opened the window in our office. it’s about 60 degrees outside. not cold, but not exactly warm either. after about 30 minutes she got up and went to the window and asked, rhetorically, “can i close this please?”

i turned around and said “No!”

she paused in her tracks and looked at me like a) i was crazy for wanting to sit in the cold, and then b) i was a bitch because she realized why i was keeping the window open.

i said “i’m sorry, but i need the fresh air. with all the coughing in here, i need the fresh air.”

she quickly moved to work from a cube outside our office. she emailed our team to let us know to “find her if we needed her.”

who’s rude now?! sheesh. just trying to protect my immune system. my little toes and fingers are about numb, but it's worth it.

the verdict stands

2006-11-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

i'm gonna have to say that not much has changed since last monday. i still think mondays suck.

except now add in chillier temps and rain that blows sideways. winter is here.

mondays in the winter suck way bad.

people who sit in my office coughing and sneezing and sniffling and spreading their germs suck the most.

off for coffee now and a humongo dose of vitamin C.

mondays blow

2006-11-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

i have a case of the mondays, again.

i guess i get them every monday. i do not like them. i turn into a clockwatcher and a snacker. i compulsively check my email, check my cell phone, and ignore any bit of work that needs to be done. sometimes i even blog.

it's procrastination to the nth degree.

when is monday over? 2 hours and counting. then i'm making yummy tomato basil soup (from scratch) and fancy gourmet cheese toasts for dinner.

mmmmmmmm.

(un)productive day

2006-11-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

i'm struggling here, people.

maybe it's the rain and soupiness outside that is bringing my motivation to a stand-still.

maybe it's the sangria i had last night that left me with a wee bit of a hangover today, that makes it harder and harder to concentrate.

maybe it's the ridiculously delicious mac & cheese i had for lunch that is making me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket & my dog and waste the rest of the day away.

maybe it's that i am just not very juiced about my job right now, and that makes it easy for me to want to just pack it in.

i think it's all of the above, and i must say i'm getting absolutely zilch done in the office today. well, not zilch. i have:

* caught up on personal email. and i replied with long emails too.
* watched last night's episode of "Lost" on abc.com - that is just the greatest idea. thank you abc!
* filed my nails and oiled my cuticles
* read a lot of celebrity news online. do you really think lalohan is sober and going to AA?
* looked at photos of my niece from halloween... 12 times.
* strengthened my abs by doing exercises at my desk. abs of steel, baby.
* contemplated the meaning of life. i didn't come up with much.

now i have about 2 hours left of the day. what in the devil will i do with the rest of my day?

halloween... yes i know it's november 1st now.

2006-11-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

so tim and i aren't really halloween people. the whole idea of dressing up in costumes bothers me for several reasons that i just won't go into. last year we made a valiant effort at attempting to dress up and go out. it didn't work. i was just Britney Spears (aka pregnant white trash), and tim was a sumo wrestler that looked like he'd gotten gastric bypass surgery, lost a lot of weight, but didn't lose any skin. we tried. and we realized it was overrated.

this year i didn't even turn on the lights for trick or treaters. before you poo-poo me on that, i have to explain that we live in san francisco, so we don't get too many trick or treaters anyway. last year i got so excited, put up decorations, bought a boatload of candy, and then i only got 4 ding dongs to my doorbell. another waste of time.

however, despite the fact that we weren't dressing up, and we weren't handing out candy, i couldn't resist putting leo into his little halloween shirt. it's green and has a glow-in-the-dark ghost on the back. it was hilarious b/c he'd come running through the dark house and you'd just see the little neon ghost "flying" through the air about 6" off the floor. he was our little bundle of halloween joy.

i think next year i'll stay the course with just dressing leo up and ignoring the rest of the day. except maybe i'll indulge a bit in the tons of cookies & cupcakes people bring to the office for the day. man, those are goo-ood! but i won't go out at night. too many weirdos out there to deal with... like the guy who walked into a crowd in the Castro and shot 10 people??? no thank you!

politics schmolitics

2006-10-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

so i never talk politics on my blog. and this is no exception. i'm not going to spout my beliefs, endorse any candidates, or rally for any propositions here. i actually won't do that anywhere, but that's beside the point.

i've been inundated with television ads over the past several weeks, all focusing on the upcoming election. they are telling me to vote yes for proprosition 8892, then immediately afterwards i see another ad telling me to vote no on proposition 8892.

i'll be the first to admit that i'm confused by all the ads. i can't tell you what any of the props actaully stands for. and my confusion is just compounded when they bring up things in the ads that actually have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

i saw one this morning that really made me laugh. it said that millions of children are born each year with asthma, and that they are suffering at the hands of our dependence on foreign oil. millions and millions of children & babies can't breathe. because of oil.

what? what the hell does that have to do with anything?*

my husband has asthma. i looked at him this morning and apologized for him being a casualty of war. he just laughed.

i can't wait for the elections to be over so we don't have to listen to this crap anymore!

*i'm not stupid, i can figure out what they were trying to say.

anniversary bliss

2006-10-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

on monday tim and i celebrated our 2 year anniversary - and we did it in style, courtesy of tim! he whisked me away to napa for the weekend, taking off of work monday so as to enjoy a full 2 day weekend (saturday doesn't count b/c tim has MBA classes). it was a weekend filled with excess - eating great food, drinking excellent wine, and getting some much needed R&R with my loved one in a gorgeous setting.

we got up there saturday night and checked into an awesome hotel called The Carneros Inn. our "room" was actually its own little cottage with a front patio, and a private side deck and garden. it looked like it was furnished straight from williams sonoma home, which is just right up my alley! the bathroom was huge with yummy marble & a heated tile floor. i love those! there was a gorgeous arrangement of lilies waiting, and a bottle of champagne. he did a great job!

sunday morning we had to get up extremely early for a "surprise" activity. it turned out to be a hot air balloon ride through the valley. it was absolutely gorgeous! we took a million pictures and enjoyed the peacefulness and serenity of viewing the world from above. we also enjoyed the bubbly of a champagne brunch afterwards. we were finished by 10:00 am, so after an amazing morning, we still had an entire day left wide open to enjoy.

we visited some boutique wineries and tasted some phenomenal wines. we couldn't resist splurging on some great reds, and i thoroughly look forward to enjoying those when tim will let us indulge... probably 2010 or so! in case you're looking for some not-so-mainstream cabernets, we highly recommend Reguschi (Re-goo-shee) & Robert Sinskey. de-lish.

the rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around the room & patio drinking a bottle of champagne. it was exquisite time together, which we don't get too much of these days between busy work schedules and tim's school. (i can't wait til we have kids... that alone time will disappear completely, i have a feeling.) we had another lovely dinner and i even got a new bauble! a, both phat and fat, cocktail ring. i love love love it!

monday we slept in and thoroughly enjoyed the thought of coworkers schlepping around the office while we lingered in bed and wasted the morning away. but alas, after a huge breakfast on the terrace by the zero-edge pool overlooking vineyards, it was time to pack up and head back to the city by the bay. the sight of the golden gate bridge as we crested the hill on the 101 made me cranky as the reality of getting back to our normal lives set in. our fantasy world full of delectable food and wine, devoid of responsibilities, disappeared into the fog and made me sad.

i wish we could permanently be on vacation. although i guess without a day-to-day of work and normalcy, we wouldn't be able to truly appreciate the specialty of celebrations like this weekend. oh who am i kidding, i'd appreciate it every single day!

You can see some pictures here: Napa Pics

go (red)

2006-10-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

i want everyone to get on the (red) bandwagon.

i know, i know. i wasn't too into it when i first heard about it either. another company jumping on the bandwagon with t-shirts whose profits go to "help" people.

but after watching bono on oprah last week, i am in full support of this initiative. it is an amazing way that we can help african mothers infected with HIV to get the medicine that will prevent them from passing the deadly disease to their unborn children. who wouldn't want to contribute to that?

so go to your nearest Gap store and buy a t-shirt. i, personally, love the two that say Hamme(red) and Bo(red). those will be a part of my wardrobe shortly.

thanks for your support.

inspiration is everywhere

2006-10-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

for the past couple of weeks i have frequently found myself pretty subdued, wanting to lay low, wanting to read a lot, and often in deep thought - well, deeper than usual. whether i am driving in the car, or just sitting around the house, my trail of thought wanders to more profound subjects than i intended. like the meaning of life, what we can do while we're on this earth, what we're meant to do here on earth, and wondering how my life will turn out. you always picture it one way when you're younger, but what does life really hold?

the death of my aunt has affected me in more ways than i would have thought. when she passed her husband said something that i am trying to consciously do: "All I can ask is that we each try and live our life with a little more compassion out of respect for DJ. That alone will make the world a better place, and that would make DJ proud." so i'm trying. amidst my road-rage frustration this morning, i halted mid-scream and said "i'm going to be a nicer person than this." it might not make a difference to anyone but me, but i think that is a start.

i am also trying to find joy and depth in the simple everyday, just as she did. i tend to pause more now, and notice life happening around me. and i try to imagine how DJ would describe what i'm seeing - she had a way with words like no other. she could take the ordinary, and make it beautiful. i did this yesterday when i saw a group of seagulls flying overhead. i imagined her standing there with me, pointing out how they appeared surreal in their formation, as they flapped their wings but gained no distance because of a headwind - so they continued to just float up and down in place. DJ's archive of adjectives was more extensive than mine, but hey i'm trying.

the admiration for my aunt continues to be with me, and i want to discover more things that inspire me. my brother in-law just shared the following with me, and it's one of the most moving tales i've ever heard. i have such extreme admiration for this man. and i can't help but wonder, what if that is me one day? what if i face the same fate with a child? will i be strong enough to give them a life they can enjoy? will i be able to handle it? this man and his son are truly amazing and extraordinary.

please read the story, then watch the video at the bottom. if you are not moved by this, i declare you heartless.

http://cjcphoto.com/can/

the soundtrack of my life

2006-10-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Sarah - I love this!

The Rules: Put your iPod, or whatever cheap imitation you use, on shuffle. The first song is your Opening Scene. The next song matches the next category and so on. There are 21 categories total.

Here goes:

Opening Scene: Beat Up Ford – Jack Ingram
This is an Austin musician, so very fitting that this would open up this TX girl’s life/movie.

Wake Up Scene: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
I can just picture the sun streaming into the windows, birds chirping outside, and I hope out of bed with a big smile on my face. Yep, that happens every day.

Average Day: Extraordinary – Liz Phair
Hell yeah, I am extraordinary! Although I don’t drive naked through the park or run stop signs in the dark.

1st Date: It Ends Tonight – All American Rejects
Wow, way to start a relationship!

Falling in Love: Stolen Away on 55th and 3rd – Dave Matthews Band
Romantic little ditty by the old reliable Dave – he makes everyone fall in love.

Fight Scene: Inside of Love – Nada Surf
Hmmm, maybe it’s a slow motion fight scene? Or maybe this is post-fight, and it’s me sitting there sulking and crying.

Breakup Scene: I’m Sorry Now – Jude
This is from the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack – the album of which USED to be the soundtrack to my life, prior to this little exercise.
Pretty appropriate – it’s about a break up.

Back Together: I am Missing – Dashboard Confessional
Not sure what this song is about, but it’s an upbeat sounding song. So maybe Tim and I are holding hands and running through the streets together with big smiles on our faces. We’ll occasionally stop to kiss and he’ll pick me up and twirl me around in loving bliss.
That would never happen by the way.

Secret Love: Dreamgirl – Dave Matthews Band
Guess I’m a lesbian lover. Or maybe this is the song that says I’m someone else’s dream girl. I like that better.

Life’s OK: When You Were Young – The Killers
Good beat, so yeah, life is okay. I really like this song.

Mental Breakdown: Hey Ya – Oukast
The repeating “alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright alright” will cause a mental breakdown.

Driving: Mr. Brightside – The Killers
This is a remix of the original song and it’s a little “chill” and 9 minutes long… so good for a drive.

Learning a Lesson: Breathe (2 AM) – Anna Nalick
I think this song is about an abortion, so I guess there’s definitely a lesson there. Luckily one I have never had to learn in real life!

Deep Thought: Dancing Queen – ABBA
Yep, this flaky dingbat is not capable of deep thought. Her head is just full of ABBA and dancing around with arms in the air.

Flashback: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – The Police
Good flashback.

Partying: Behind These Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson
I guess this night of partying is a Girls Night Out.

Happy Dance: Good – Better Than Ezra
This oldie makes me happy. It was goooooood living with ya, uh huh!

Regretting: Low – Coldplay
I guess this is fitting… I’ve never really listened to the words. Let’s see…”The sky could fall, could fall on me. The parting of the seas.” Hmmmm.

Long Night Alone: Gutters Full of Rain – David Gray
Anything from his old albums in the 80s are perfect for long nights alone. And also for slitting your wrists.

Death Scene: Sexual Healing – Marvin Gaye
Wow, I don’t know what to say here. The sex was so good I just keeled over and died? Tim would love to think he had that kind of power! I mean not so much to actually kill me, but you know.

Closing Credits: Let it Burn – Usher
Because after all, it’s been fifty-eleven days and umpteen hours. It’s time to say goodbye.

get down on it

2006-10-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

i have to thank nanayfazz for sharing this site. when i put this together last night i laughed until i cried. and i definitely needed that! so thanks.

and click below to enjoy leo.

yeah, yeah

2006-10-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

i know i've been MIA lately, but it's for good reason as you all know.

and every time you open my blog and see that there isn't a new post, i hope that kelly's little ditty of "Since U Been Gone" runs through your head.

because you know you love it. and you know you miss me, too.

sabbatical

2006-09-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

i haven't left and gone away forever. although i'm sure that's what my husband thinks since he's going on his 8th day without me around.

i'm still in austin. still grasping for some way to deal with what is about to happen with my aunt. i go back and forth on just wanting it to be over, for her to be out of pain. but then i just want her to hang on too. i want her to snap out of her morphine fog so we can find the DJ we used to know, but she's in so much pain that the drugs are necessary.

ugh, it just sucks.

on a lighter note, i didn't know we had tarantulas in austin. i've never in my almost-28 years seen a tarantula oustide of an enclosed pet cage. but apparantly my parents have, and last night mom found this one in the driveway. i made her put her shoe next to it for size comparison. the sucker was huge! i don't have arachnaphobia or anything, but this thing was scary.