Category Archives: life

Not Sure I’ll Make It

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Well, I finally made the appointment with the allergist.  Turns out I need to be antihistamine and medicine-free for a week.  Mind you, two days straight of not taking my pills and my entire body starts to itch and my eyes start to water.  We’re talking, I scratch myself raw in my sleep (I still have the scars to prove it).  I’m already psychosomatically itching away and I’ve taken my meds today so there’s no excuse.  This should be interesting, very interesting indeed.

One thing my doc told me though is that if I am allergic to the cat that I can probably start on some desensitization sort of therapy.  I will say, the acupuncture is working quite well.  The lump in the back of my throat is pretty much gone until about Wednesday (from a Friday appointment).  I’m sure she can also help with the itching when I visit tomorrow. So between the two, I’ll be spiffy in no time.

But tell me, how could you not want to love and snuggle with this little guy.  Itching be damned, I’ll still be cuddling with him.

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It’s the Simple Things in Life

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I’m so happy!!  I finally got around to calling a bookkeeper. No really, this is reason to rejoice.  Our books are finally going to be taken care of.  Best part, I think we’re actually going to use her to actually input our reciepts as well.  This means even less stress for me.  And by less stress, I really mean less tears at the end of the year.  I’m so happy.

I spent a good chunk of this weekend working on our books and our filing.  I still had all of the ’07 paperwork filed in the cabinet and not organized or boxed up.  Which of course meant that my ’08 paperwork was just piling up since I could actually file it away.  Not any more.  Now my desk is not only cleared, but I no longer have mountains of papers threatening to topple over.  Such a good feeling (even though I still have a bit more to file away).

So now I’m going to spend the rest of this week focusing on writing and getting my website up and running the way I want it to.  I’m finally going to get that newsletter subscription service running.  Enough putting it off.  The time is now.

On that note, I can’t say I’ll be blogging all that much this week.  I really do need to get caught up on things (and no, I haven’t even tried to get caught up on my backlog of blogs – though my email is all caught up!)  So bear with me.  I’l be back shortly…

Heading into the Weekend with a Slew of Random Thoughts

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I feel like I should be writing a real post here, but seriously I have too much going on in my head to bother with focusing on one particular topic or another.

* To start with, my Reader is once again heading awfully close to 1000 posts.  I know that CurlyWurlyGurly says that I should only worry about her posts, but something tells me I might need to trim my reader a bit.

* On top of my Reader backlog, I also have an email backlog that I’m slowly working my way through.  Come of people, it was only 3 days.  What’s going to happen when we head out to Ireland for 10 days?!?!?!

* My landlords are petsitting their grand-dog and it’s driving me crazy.  Here I thought my dog barked a lot, but that thing never shuts up…especially when outside our bedroom in the early morning.

* I have to say that sometimes I wish my little guy was a big dog – big dogs bark so much less during the day.  Our guy has taken to sitting on the chair, looking out the window specifically for something to bark at in the evening.  Makes TV viewing a bit of a challenge.

* Speaking of the little guy, I can’t believe that after fighting with the Hoover steam cleaner,  a couple weeks back that my dog had the nerve to throw up not once, not twice, but in six spurts on my clean rug!!!  Thankfully I haven’t yet returned the steam cleaner to my brother-in-law so I guess now I’ll be testing out the spot treatment capabilities *sigh*

* My basil plant has managed to survive over a month now, including 2 extended weekend trips.  But now, it seems to have those stupid little black bugs that eat the leaves.  I’ve already cut off the more intested branches as I’m hoping I can save at least some of the plant.  I haven’t made my panzanella salad yet this summer!  Wish me luck.

* My sinuses and throat starting acting up within an hour of returning home this week.  Seriously, I’m bummed that there’s something in the house that I’m allergic to.  More importantly, it’s seems likely that the cat is the culprit – and we won’t (I won’t) be getting rid of the cat anytime soon.

* Accupuncture is going well.  I can feel my sinuses releasing and my breathing getting easier while I’m resting in the office.  Today I was a bit more bothered by the actual needles and felt most of them (at least the ones in the face and hands) the entire time.  Normally, I don’t feel a thing.  She’s thinking that I need a total of five treatments, so I have three more to go.  I don’t care as long as I feel better.

* My arms have been itching a bit again lately.  I guess it looks like it too since the accupuncture doctor asked me about it.  And of course, that just made me feel itchier.  Go figure.  As long as I don’t start going scratching crazy in my sleep again I should be fine.  Needless to say, I’ll be asking my doctor for a recommendation to the allergist when I see her later this month.

* I have less than a month to read one more book for the Elle book thing.  And I’ve a week to finish my book club book.  And two more books came in the mail for me this week (not including our Ireland planning books and the work-related ebooks I have piling up).  Yeah, um…again I go off on the book thing.

* I’m thinking of doing the 29 Days of Giving thing.  A fellow LWL gal started up the site and a few of my friends have been doing it.  I always love how giving and setting intentions really change the energy and get things moving.  I just need to make sure I’m commited to the entire 29 days.  Feel free to play along.

* Last week my bloggie friend, Geggie gave me a “Smile Award” and I’ve yet to say thanks or pay it forward.  I’ll work on that.  And Geg, thanks!!

* I forgot just how usefull that Mac remote control is.  I’ve been doing a lot of iTunes library playing lately.  And well, the library on this particular computer is a mix of my stuff and the hubby’s stuff.  So is nice to not even have to switch between all my open windows.  I just click next and I’m on my way to the next song.  Genius.

Okay, I’ve got to stop at some point and this seems good enough.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Damn that Reader

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I have over 1000 unread blog posts piled up. Sadly, I won’t be reading the majority of them. “Mark as Read” is my friend. Sorry if I haven’t been around to comment lately, I just haven’t felt all that motivated to read my blogs (my books, yes – my blogs, no).

Some Completely Random Things

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* Lunch went well.  My husband has a great team that he works with and the gals are all super sweet.  I was right too – one gal is an immigrant from China (she did our ordering) and the other two are first generation, as is one of the guys.  It was good fun though and all perfectly normal food.  They ordered jellyfish and I tried it, but I didn’t much like the consistency.  Otherwise it was a fun lunch.

* My good friend wrote me to tell me that he and his new wife just put a bid in on the house next door to where I used to live.  How odd is that?  Those houses are HUGE too, so I’m kinda surprised their going for something so large with no kids just yet.  But they are beautiful homes and it’s a great neighborhood (as long as it doesn’t snow – very steep hill at the entrance to the sub-division).

* My husband is a bit of a work-a-holic…surprise!  He had permission from his boss to work the rest of the from home, but chose not to.  He’s got a big project set to launch on Monday and we’re gone Tuesday and Wednesday so he wants to make sure it’s completely ready to go.

* I’ve scheduled an appointment with an acupuncturist.  Hopefully I can get this sinus thing under control.  I’d settle for the stupid post-nasal to just go away.  I still need to schedule with an allergy specialist so I can rule out whatever might be making me so crazy here in the house.

* My desk is a mess and covered in piles o’crap.  I haven’t filed our receipts or worked on our books in months!  Insanity.  Guess what I’ll be doing this weekend?

The weekend is full of shows and visits with friends so it should be a good one.  Can’t wait to head up to Sonoma on Monday.  It’ll be the first time I’ve seen my friend in about 5 years.  We met up in Vegas leading up to the wedding for a quick weekend the last time she was in the states.  So even though this trip will also be quick, it will involve a lot of wine (woohoo!) and a lot of catching up.  So excited.

Okay, off to get needles poked in me…

With My Freeze Ray I Will Stop The World

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Teaser from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve stopped humming or singing the songs from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  So let me tell you, there’s a good reason it’s called a sing-along blog and that Joss Whedon and co. are working on a soundtrack.

But on to the more important parts, just who is this Dr. Horrible and how can I see what he’s up to with that freeze ray of his?  According to Joss’ himself, ” Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is the (true) story of Dr. Horrible (wow, really?), a low-rent super-villain trying to get into the Evil League of Evil, defeat his boorish nemesis, Captain Hammer, and win the girl of his dreams, Penny (or at least talk to her.)”

Our low-rent super-villain, Dr. Horrible is played by Neil Patrick Harris.  The hero who keeps beating him up, Captain Hammer is none other than Nathan Fillion (who hasn’t done much comedy since Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place back in 2001).  And the love interest, Penny, the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to, Felicia Day.

Currently, there are three acts, but at Comicon this past week, Joss let it slip that there will be a fourth act and a soundtrack still to come.  Your best bet is to purchase the series through iTunes (which secures any future episodes as well) for $5 or so.  Or, for this week, you can once again stream the episodes live over on Hulu.

For updates, be sure to follow along on Twitter.

My First Earthquake!

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Well, technically it was like my third or fourth, but ones when I’m sleeping and totally unaware don’t count, nor do the ones that happen when I’m driving, since you can’t really feel those.  My very first one was a rolling quake a couple of months after I first moved here. I had no idea what was going on. I just remember feeling nauseous and thinking that that was just odd.

As was this one. I was getting ready to walk out the door to head to the dreaded laundromat and the hubs stops me saying “earthquake.”  I didn’t feel anything at that time so just looked at him saying “really?”  He pulled me to the front door just as the shaking started.  Crazy.  For us it wasn’t bad, just a lot of shaking and noise.  The pictures aren’t even crooked and nothing fell or moved…thankfully.

The landlord came down just now and he said that upstairs it was shaking like crazy.  It was a 5.8 in Chino Hills. Great, and now the news is saying “not to alarm, but there is a chance that this was a foreshake to a larger quake to come.”  Now I’m scared to leave the house and a little worried about the nieces since they’re home alone out there in Corona, which is must closer to the epicenter than we are (and all I’m getting is a busy signal).

Odd how even when it’s over and done, you can still feel the adrenaline rushing through the body.  It’s like you’re humming from the inside.  Or just overly caffeinated.

Migraines Do Suck

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My migraine twinges finally turned into a full on migraine last night.  Of course, I was too focused on watching Vantage Point to let it get the best of me.  I thought Vantage Point was a great movie, too bad it ended so quickly.  I mean just a couple more minutes on everyone’s story would have made it about 15-20 minutes longer.  I was a little bummed with how easily it all tied up in the end and well, how short the whole thing was (less than 90 minutes).

Interestingly enough, once the movie ended, the head started to throb.  I headed into the bedroom to rest with my eye mask on (must get a new one, that one was a cheapie and it hurts after it’s been on for a bit).  After about 30 minutes or so, I realized that I needed to hit up the Vicodin or the throbbing pain would go on for hours.  The first time my doc prescribed the Vicodin for my migraines, I was really surprised.  But honestly, it cuts way, way down on how long they last.  And with the actual throbbing gone, the regular meds can just focus on kicking the actual migraine out of my head.

Today the hubs and I are heading out to a friend’s place for a BBQ. I’m quite happy since it will be in Santa Monica and that fact alone drops the temperature about 5-10 degrees.  Now I just need to figure out what to bring along since my request to provide something was shot down.  The old standard is wine, but I’m acatually thinking maybe cut up watermelon instead.

Just out of curiousity, what’s your BBQ take-along standby?

I’ve Been Done In By a Hoover Steam Cleaner!

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But God help me, my carpet looks good! I probably should have done it twice by seriously, that thing is a pain in the ass.  Not to mention that every third of our tiny room I have to empty the dirty (so gross!) water and refill the soap and hot water.

Now I just have to wonder how long it will be before I can move back in to the living room.  I mean our place is only so big – and I did the spot by my desk under my greasy (hand me down) chair. So really, that doesn’t leave all too much room to spread out in.

And well, since I’m sweaty, disgusting and probably stink (I refuse to take a deep breath) it’s not like I can run out some where.  Then again, I basically can’t shower until I put the living room back together since that will make me get all sweaty and gross yet again.

Of course, the hall is still soaking wet (I tried, but it’s such a tiny space), but I’m just too lazy (again) to lock up the dog, protect the cat and dig out the machine to suck up the water.  I also cleaned the kitchen floor a bit.  It looks better, but it’s still pretty bad.  But what do you expect, I think that flooring (hell, it’s that industrial crap they used to use in schools) is at least 20 years old.  How clean would I expect it to get, right?

And don’t even get me started in the major mess I made in the bathroom while dumping out the water.  I have brackish, black water everywhere!!!  So yeah, it is a pain in the ass, but dayum does my living room look good!

Now I’m off to eat my leftover tostada pizza from CPK.  It’s a salad. It’s a pizza.  It’s a salad pizza!!!! Yummy!

PS – It’s really boring when you can’t walk around your apartment, catch up on missed TV shows (since the hubby watches as well) and can’t really sit comfortably at the desk to poke around online.  Guess I’ll go read one of the many, many books I have to catch up with.

I Have No Voice Thanks to BlogHer08

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But don’t get me wrong, I had a blast.  I have some video clips, a couple of photos (not many come to think of it), and tons of business cards, but with such a wonky connection here in the room, it’s not worth even trying to get any of it up.  So instead, I thought I’d just post a little something while I wait for my shuttle back to  Oakland.

I really can’t wait to dig into my pile of biz cards and start checking out those new sites.  I met some awesome people that I know I’ll be keeping in touch with: Clair, Erica, Jennifer & Heather to start with (no blog links right now, but I believe I mentioned them in the previous post…dunno right now).  And it was great to finally get a moment to chat with Sizzle over champagne in Macy’s!

I’ll go into the pros and cons of the event itself in another post.  The things that were right, were so spot on.  The things that need some rethinking and improvement would make the event even better still.  But since I don’t won’t anyone to get offended or bothered (so much work goes into planning these sort of events), I don’t want to write it up on the fly.  Make sense.

Speaking of Macy’s, that was one helluva party.  We had private areas on four floors: purses, shoes, lingerie and a “club” in furniture.  We had wine, champagne, new Starbucks protein drinks, plenty of yummy appetizers and tasty macaroons.  We had contests to enter (which was how I won a new Lacoste bag – and of course, they have some flashy, flash site and I can’t find the damn bag!) and samples to pick up.  Then we ended up lounging around the living room sets just munching on food and drinking good wine from Oops.  Of course, eventually, the crowds and the music got to be too much and well, now I don’t have much of a voice.  Oh well, it happens right?

Okay, time to get downstairs and wait for my shuttle.  I should be fine with my bags.  All my clothes are in a carryon size bag that I’m checking and all my swag is in my actual suitcase.  Here’s hoping I’m not exceeding the 50 pound limit this way.

Catch you on the flip side!