Category Archives: life

Share & Tell: My Desktop Image

I’ll admit it, today is one of those days that I just don’t have anything planned to write about. Of course, I had tons of stuff swarming my brain yesterday, but it was the weekend so I was holding off on posting. And yep, you guessed, now, I can’t for the life of me seem to remember what it might have been.

So instead of rambling (and I can ramble with the best of them), or bore you with the boring details of my day, I’ll leave you with a Share & Tell – both are photos that I took and both are straight out of the camera with no editing…

My desktop

My laptop

Apu Must’ve Gone Back to Springfield

It’s August now, so our local Kwik-E-Mart is long gone. I have to say, after a full month of driving by and seeing cars parked everywhere and a line around the building, it’s kind of sad to see just a regular ‘ol 7-Eleven again. It’s a bit of a mess as well – the main storefront is marked up with the sticky stuff from all the signage.

I didn’t have my camera with me today or I’d have taken pictures for some before and after shots. I’m sure by the time I get out that way it’ll be all cleaned up.

Too bad I never did get my Krusty O’s 🙁

Gotta Love Those Mini Melons!

I am addicted to those Dulcinea watermelons. They’re thin skinned so they’re easy to slice up. They’re virtually seedless (every once and a while a seed or two can be found). They’re the perfect size for just the two of us over a couple of days. The majority of the time they have just the right consistency and sweetness. And well, they’re just perfect. What more could you ask for in a watermelon? Especially when you’re addicted enough that every other day you’re at the store buying a new one? Luckily, they’re only 1 WW point per cup.

And did you know that in Japan they grow their mini watermelons into shapes? Think how much easier it would be to slice up a square watermelon. They actually grow the melons in glass boxes so that the melon will naturally assumed the same shape – and then charge upwards of $80US for them! I hear they do similar silly things with their cucumbers.

I Think the Universe Has a Message For Me…

And it’s not to eat tostada pizzas all day long. Sadly, it’s not. Earlier today, I met up with Megan Crane to interview her for my website’s blog. I brought the recording equipment with me so we can hopefully run it as audio and not have to transcribe it. So we’re sitting at CPK, chowing down on our salad pizzas (tostada pizza YUM!) making small talk, just fine and dandy.

The waitress comes and clears away the plates and we set up the recorder and the mics. I through it on to do a test to make sure the controls are right and boom, we’re off! We’re talking, we’re laughing, we’re getting some really good, really casual, really breezy, quality stuff. Then I look down to get a time check and fuck a duck! I managed to re-pause the machine so nothing, and I mean NOTHING recorded!

Then, on the way out (here’s where I really go “what the fuck?”) I get into my car and realize that I can’t find my cell phone. Now obviously, I know I had it considering it rang mere seconds before we started the interview. So I tear apart my pockets and my backpack and then run back upstairs. Of course, it’s no where to be found. So I head back down to the car, check my backpack again, reach into a pocket that I already checked at least twice and there it was (boy am I grateful that it wasn’t gone).

So obviously, the Universe is trying to send me some sort of message through my cell phone. For those of you counting along, this is like the 4th time I’ve misplaced or forgotten my phone in less than a month. So what’s the message? Disconnect? Communicate by not speaking? Don’t talk on the phone any more? I have no idea, but it’s something. And I better figure it out before my phone disappears for good!

One of the Cool Things About Living in SoCal

A while back, the hubby and I were driving back from brunch and took a different, more scenic route home through the hills. And as we were twisting and turning along, admiring the houses, I scream “a Frank Lloyd Wright house! Turn around!!!” Thankfully, my husband, does on occasion listen to me. He turned around at first opportunity and let me oogle it for a few minutes.

The hubby was cute though, he looked at me, all confused and asked me how I knew it was a Frank Lloyd Wright house. I explained that I had seen one of his concrete block homes before and I noticed the National Registry plaques. I get the same way when I notice some Green & Green’s. I think he sometimes forgets all the art appreciation classes they make elementary teachers take – LOL.

This is the Alice Millard House, “La Minatura”* (built in 1923). It was his first concrete block house. It wasn’t the one we saw driving in La Crescenta (see below for that one). I do know where this house is though (not all that far from a slew of Green & Green Craftsmans).

This is the one we saw while driving – James Daniel Derby House* – built in 1926 (according to the National Registry)

* these are not my photos – I told myself that I’d go back with a friend (and I did), but I never got around to taking my own photos, we just did a drive-by.

Overheard: While Out Looking at Open Houses

We were driving around a local neighborhood looking for a particular open house that was starting in a few (without a map, mind you)…

the hubby: Ooh look!!
me: What? Where? (checking for street signs)
the hubby: A squirrel! (pointing up to the electrical wires above)
me: A squirrel?
the hubby: Ruuuff! Ruuuuuff roooff!
me: What?!?!
the hubby: That’s what Griffin says when he sees a squirrel.
me: ?? (baffled, but amused I just shake my head and continue to look for the correct street)

What Do You Save From Your Adventures in Wine?

Do you save the labels? Do you save those foil covers? Do you save your corks? Or do you just savor the flavor and maybe take some notes?

I ask because we’re of the cork saving mindset. And now, as our collection grows, I’m trying to figure out what to do with them. I just recently pulled them all out of the junk drawer and transferred them into a square, clear, glass vase. But sadly, the vase has no home. I saw a photo once of someone that had a HUGE jug full of corks next to her fireplace.

So I ask…what do you save from your adventures in wine?

Thursday Thirteen – 13 Things I Do Daily

1. check my email (over and over and over)
2. write either a blog or an LJ post (quite often more than one)
3. track my food at WW.com (well, as of this week I’ve been doing it again)
4. visit my site and do something admin-y
5. talk to one or another of my friends (business or pleasure)
6. try to figure out what’s for lunch or dinner (though I’ve been trying my hand at menu planning the dinners at least)
7. catch up on the blog-o-sphere
8. gulp down obscene amounts of water (right from the tap even – I’m weird like that)
9. basic hygiene (brush teeth, wash up, etc)
10. kiss all my boys (the hubby as he leaves for work and returns and the boys every chance I get)
11. reflect on my day (before, during or after – and sometimes all of the above!)
12. read a book or a magazine (really depends on my mood)
13. watching something, anything that we’ve got set up on the DVR (lately it’s been Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe & G4’s Attack of the Show)

Sometimes it’s the Simple Things that Matter

I used to absolutely love getting my brows waxed. I’m not a fan of the pain. And I don’t much like the lingering redness. But man do I love how it all looks in the end. I’ve recently started getting threaded instead of getting waxed. There’s still pain, but it’s must more temporary. Same can be said for the redness – in the time it takes me to pay, the redness and pain are gone.

I seem to be one of those compulsive tweezing, kind of gals. Typically, I can’t go into the bathroom without checking for strays. And I must keep a pair of tweezers in my purse and in my travel bags. So as you can imagine, the two weeks leading up to my waxing or threading is one of THE more difficult things for me to handle. I hate knowing that my brows are scruffy, and hairy and look insanely unkempt. I hate going out in public imagining folks are looking at me thinking how bad my brows look.

And even once they’re done, I have to use self-control of a different kind and do whatever I can to not touch them (stupid sensitive skin)! And yes, I do touch up once I’m home. What can I say, I seem to be compulsive like that.

But ah, in the end…so pretty. And so worth it!

One Boy, Two Boy, Three Boy, Love

Today was one of those days that when the hubby left I was just bursting with love and gratitude. Maybe it was the way our cat was scared of the lawn guy’s blowers and was crying and hiding behind my hubby’s legs. Maybe it was the way that our dog was barking at the lawn guys trying to keep them away from us. Maybe it was the way that my hubby just looked at me before he kissed me goodbye as he left for work.

I don’t know and can’t rightly say for sure. All I know is that I love all of my boys and today, all day long, my heart was bursting with love. As I’ve said before, sometimes, all you need is love.