Asian-American Month

Well, it's the end of Asian-American month. I was rather disappointed that PBS didn't show nearly enough documentaries on the subject. I was able to catch a couple and the one called Hollywood Chinese had a few seconds of my great-grandfather in it. That was rather exciting since we don't know a whole lot about what he did. He was a super pioneer in our area in movie making so that is pretty cool. There does happen to be some truth to the family rumor that he might have discovered Bruce Lee. As it turns out, he had him in a film or two when he was young.

I really wish that "we" weren't still considered such a low minority s that there would be more said about the contributions that have been made in this country. That also goes for people in other ethnic groups too.

Good Game?

It's funny how many men play golf and really stink at it but won't admit it. This guy I know does exactly that. He gets up ridiculously early and goes out with a bunch of guys to some course they found and then goes home with the most strokes out of all of them. The funny part is how good he swears he is. Why are guys like that?

Someone was bold enough to get him a golf training aid once but he got all mad as if it was an insult and wouldn't use it. I don't think he took that hint too well. LOL Then he'll say that he's only doing it for the relaxation of it and it doesn't matter if he wins the round or not. Um, I would think that you'd want to win at least one game in your lifetime, right? To me, using a training aid is much less embarrassing than taking lessons from someone if your ego is really that high.

Exercising the Right Way

Everyone's always out to find the best fat burner as if there's some magic pill or something. There of course isn't and if you're looking for something like that then you'll probably never lose weight. The GOOD news is that there are things out there that can aid you with changing your habits and give you incentive to actually keep going. The worst is doing tons of work and not seeing one result. Some people do the wrong kind of exercise and find out they've even gained weight even though it's muscle mass.

The best thing to do is to start walking. Cardio of any kind will help you in all areas of your body and will increase your blood flow. Add to that some strength training and eating properly and you should see results. If you don't it might be a good idea to try an aid to help jump start things but you will want to consult your doctor first on what's suitable for you. There's nothing wrong with getting some help when it gets tough.

New Job? Nope

I'm really pretty bummed out. DH totally thought he was getting hired and it turned out the guy was only sending him to an interview day there! That's SUCH a big difference from getting hired that I have a hard time with why the guy made it seem that way. Really though, that's just cruel with the way things are right now. DH said that there were tons of people there trying to get this job which makes the whole thing even more mean. I would never say anything like that to anyone knowing there are so many people wanting help.

So really, I have no idea what we're going to do. The money that we had saved is running out and there's hardly anything that we can apply for right now. I don't see us making it at all anytime soon...we've been barely making it for months already. ugh!

Sleep Tight!

Is this bed crazy or what?! It does remind me that we need a new mattress. It's killing me trying to sleep on the thing that we have. I have been split for a long time between the memory foam kind or a sleep number bed. I'm really starting to lean towards the sleep number because it's adjustable on both sides and DH and I have different preferences. The only upside is that we both have messed up backs. LOL I like the idea that it's something that you can control and it's filled with air. It is still a toss up for me though since I'm so used to a pillow-top spring mattress but we could use something sturdier...bigger would be a plus too. I'm glad that the companies offer a trial period now, just in case.

I think that our bed is the most comforting place in the whole house. I mean, there's nothing better on a cold rainy day than being wrapped up all snug in bed with our big fluffy comforter. The only ting missing is a more supportive bed. We'll need to find something soon since my back can't handle much more of our ancient saggy thing. LOL

My Office is...

...small, cluttered, unorganized, and...in my CLOSET. Yes, the only room that I can get for my little workspace is in the walk-in in our room. I would LOVE to have something like this! There would be so much room to spread out in.

Okay, I did pick out some of the cutest office furniture that I could afford (which includes my hand-me-down tiny kid's desk) to put in there but it still lacks a whole lot. I've had to improvise in a lot of places and only have really what I need. I wish I could afford to buy all new stuff because it has all gotten to be SO modern and stylish in the last few years!

I have such an obsession with office supplies and all the little knick-knacks. I could forever buy notebooks and neat colored pens but would never have enough stuff to fill them with. I can't even begin to tell you how many of these things I've gone through! Of course it all started with Hello Kitty and all the cutesy things that Sanrio sells. It may be kind of sick but I still have my favorite characters and have to buy pens at the least to put into my collection on my desk. LOL! I have my Chococat tape dispenser and my Pochocco pencil box too. There is more that I've stored away to save for No-No but I'm not sure I'll share. I can't wait to get my business going full blast so I can actually use these things!

New Job!

DH some how landed himself a crappy little job last week! It's not much, pays crap, and he has to use his own car but it's SOMETHING. It's been such a pain to find anything at all for him. He really doesn't have any skills to do much and even the simplest thing has been so darn difficult. The poor guy has been freaking out for months since he got laid off from his last one. The stress was almost unbearable.

It is a relief for me as well since I've bee hauling butt to try to pay the bills...plus, he's been getting on my nerves. LOL I can only handle so much of my own stress and his put me over the top most days. I can't carry everything on my shoulders and had to remind myself that a lot.

So anyway, he starts this gig tomorrow morning and is nervous and excited as with any new thing. I'm really happy for him (and me, LOL) and hope that things will calm down a bit now. Finances are still difficult but at least it won't be a total panic.

Counting on Costco

If you shop at Costco chances are that you will understand everything I'm about to say. I'm getting pretty frustrated with them. They are a really great store to shop but it seems they can't make up their mind about what kind of business they want to be. They offer such a variety but then they decide to stop carrying something that you've come to use or eat on a regular basis and you're just stuck. Isn't that the whole point of why families want to buy things in bulk? Now why would I want to shop there only to buy a ton of stuff that I only need small quantities of? It's just ridiculous. One can only have so many toothbrushes.

Then there are all those dumb people that try to get you to upgrade your account. Like we the customer don't watch and hear our cashier yelling "REFERRAL" at least twice because they can't get a more sophisticated system. Ugh, that really drives me nuts and I can't tell you how many times we were so close to telling those horrible "sales people" off. They're pushy and rude and have no idea how to sway a customer. I mean, yeah, they've upgraded their POS systems to something better than what they did have but really, get an intercom or something geesh!

Commercial Lawyers

Not really "commercial" but more like TV advertisements. Would you really use one of these lawyers? There's always a bunch of them seeking out people that have taken certain prescriptions or have inhaled too much asbestos causing mesothelioma or something. The idea of doing things this way just seems so unprofessional to me. I'm sure they get a lot of business this way, and the poor people that call probably don't realize that they could hire a lawyer for a lower rate thinking that they have a specialized case and other lawyers wouldn't take it. I don't know, lawyers have such a sleazy reputation to begin with, why would you want to muck it up any more?

Smile!

I haven't posted a picture of No-No in a long time! It's so hard to get her to do anything but hide when we're trying to take a picture of her. Then I can't ever be in the picture because not only am I the one taking it, I'm the only one that can get her to smile if she does at all. Ugh, picky little booger. LOL Uploading the pictures is a whole other story since we don't have a micro sd in our phones and the software is finiky about when it wants to work. On top of that I can't find the software for the camera to put on my laptop and so on and so on... Of course I take pictures everywhere we go to post here and I can't even get them up. Typical. :o}

Goodbye Dr. Oz...sort of

I'm super bummed that Dr. Oz won't be returning to Oprah! They make quite a pair and it's helpful having Oprah asking all the naive questions that any one of us would ask. I always looked forward to the days that he was on and would absorb as much information as he gave.

The good news is that Dr. Oz will be having his own TV show coming in September. The bad news for me is that it's on a channel that we don't get very well. LOL Which is actually kind of crappy because in this area he would be on a different channel that is more watched to begin with. It's kind of a strange set up.

Anyhow, I'm wondering what Oprah could possibly be doing for next season since she doesn't have many "special guest" people left. It seems that there are 3; Nate, that organizing guy who's name escapes me at the moment, and the sex Dr. lady that I'm not incredibly interested in watching. Dr Oz was the most fun show to watch next to home and people makeovers. I know Oprah's been talking/considering about retiring the show...do you think it's even possible that she would do it? After ALL these years, can she really leave us?

Here Comes The Heat!

It's been super windy here the last couple of days and it's almost hard to imagine that it's going to warm up so drastically tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it though. It seems that the weather has been crummy since the last heat wave, especially since it rained right after. My parents are looking at patio sets because they found that some of the chairs we have that were supposed to be weather resistant aren't and the seats deformed in the sun. I think they're still fine and usable but whatever. LOL It's time to clean up the yard since the wind is blowing everything and anything down. I hope it's not TOO hot though, last time we were sweltering in the 93+ degree heat...and that was just inside the house. Ick!

"Designer" Moms

It's kind of funny...there's a few people that I know that have had kids long before many of the other people we knew had them and now they are all going for a "second round". I swear it's like starting all over again! When I had No-No, it was like a totally different experience. Just trying to find the most basic of things turned into mission impossible. Just about everything has gone "designer" so it all costs an arm and a leg. When I was looking for some small inexpensive stroller for shopping trips, I couldn't find anything that was decent. Then trying to find any kind of accessories for it was even worse. Just about every thing that I wanted was only specifically made for the Bob stroller. I hadn't even ever seen one of those. LOL I have to say, it was nice to have a larger selection of things but really, why do people feel the need to spend like $800 on a Bugaboo stroller or $100 on a Juicy Couture outfit for a 6 month old?! Gimme a break!

For Your Health

My stepdad isn't even 60 yet and he seems like he's kind of going downhill. He can't remember much a lot of the time and there's some other things but I'll spare you the details. LOL It's really pretty dumb because he eats all kind of junk all the time...I mean, how many people do you know that have a snack AFTER dinner?! Ugh, dumb. I'm thinking that he might actually need to try one of those colon cleanses and get into eating a healthier diet. I try to tell my om but it's more like "good luck with that one". He is totally going to fall apart before he's the age of when it should happen.

And That Was the Day That Was...

Today was a pretty decent day. I spent a lot of time cleaning the house...my uncle came from the UK this evening. It's rather bittersweet. He came out on short notice to help move my grandma into another home about half an hour away from here.

The family has been fighting for almost two years to get what my grandma needs. Of course, there's always one jerk right? My other uncle who has the POA, has held up and stone-walled every single thing that needed to happen along the way. Why? Because he wants only what HE wants and no other way will work. So, he's held up the money and wouldn't let anything that needed to happen, happen. LONG story very short, he's a jerk that my grandma has never felt comfortable around and now that things have taken a bad turn, he's getting his way.

I'm really glad my uncle flew out to ensure my grandma will get settled properly. God knows when we'll be able to see her. It's going to be really hard to spend quality time with her now. She falls asleep almost all the time and with No-No as needy as she is, there isn't a whole lot of time for travel and what not. I don't know, I'm really sad that the only people that she'll have contact with are the ones that she doesn't have a close relationship with. We'll see what happens...just one day at a time...