Category Archives: life

Who Needs Sleep?

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There’s just something wrong with being jarringly awoken from a dead sleep by the sound of a GIANT roll of packaging tape ripping off the roll as it tapes up a house (okay, that’s what it sounded like to me). And of course, this is punctuated with the pneumatic nail gun bang-banging and the air compressor turning on and off. Really, it’s not a good way to wake up. I feel like I’m terribly hungover, yet only had one of my hot-damn-these-kick-ass! margaritas.

Tonight were in for another late night (off to see Great Northern at the Hammer) and tomorrow I have a crazy early day babysitting for a friend. Yeah, this day will surely turn out well. But really, who needs sleep?

Me, dammit, me!! I get horrible bags under my eyes and don’t function well. So guess who will be taking a nap once the house people go home? Seriously, how does my husband function on less than five hours of sleep a night? I just can’t do it.

Heading To Chicago – Let’s Hope it’s My Kind of Town

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Lakeshore Drive
Originally uploaded by noms78.

In a couple of weeks I’m off to Chicago. The hubby will be attending a conference during the week and then shooting a music festival out that way (Pitchfork) over the weekend so he invited me along for the weekend. For the most part, I’m going to be on my own from about mid-day (which is morning for us night owls) until late eveningish. We don’t know specifics just yet and he can’t seem to find the answers anywhere – so if you know how things run at Pitchfork, feel free to drop me a comment!

We’ll be staying at the W on Lakeshore, and I’ve already booked my visit to Bliss. Way back when, when I was taking care of my dying father-in-law, my husband offered his sister and I a spa package. Man I was psyched! At the last minute, he offered her some Kenny Chesney tickets and bam-o, my spa trip was canceled (I can’t quite blame her though). So I decided to treat myself while in Chicago, so I’m going with a 90 minute Carrot and Sesame Buff with a Hair Dew. Yummy. I can’t wait.

I’ll also be meeting up Saturday with one of my moderators and another friend from my site out in the ‘burbs somewhere. I’ll actually be taking the train out to meet them – yikes! We’ll visit, get tattoos (we’ll I won’t since I have my scrub the following day, but that was the original plan anyway) and have some good drinks, good food and good company. We’re keeping it small since it’s such short notice. I’m really looking forward to it.

And well, since I’m meeting up with my moderator and some members, why not turn it into a biz trip, right? So I’m also meeting with the admin/mod team of a local Chicago community that broke away from the Knot (much in the same way my site broke away from the WeddingChannel). Should be fun to be able to chat and share ideas.

Which of course doesn’t really leave me with all that much free time, but since I’m not that much of a shopper, I thought maybe I could just check out Chicago. Or at least my end of Chicago. I really, really want to go on one of the architectural cruises – I just have to convince the hubby that it’s worth the time and the money. I think the photo ops alone would excite him (I know one of my motivating factors!) Otherwise, I think I’d like to just kind of wander around and take pictures. I’m even going to confiscate his old D70 for this trip!

This is probably one of the only vacations we’ll take together where the hubby won’t have to have music since he’ll be at the festival all day. But because of being at the festival all day, we’ll also need to find some nearby, late-night restaurants. It’s not so much about the price tag of the meals as it is about being good food with a good ambiance – bar food is fine if it’s good. So again, I’m more than open to any suggestions.

With luck, we’ll fall in love with Chicago and just have to come back and visit longer. Since I’ve never really done the carefree-gal-alone-in-the-city thing before, I’m definitely open to hearing all about the must-see, must-do, on-a-quickie-visit-to-Chicago suggestions. So suggest away!!

That and well, if anyone wants to meet up for coffee or drinks, I’m always open to that too! 😉

Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank, CA

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DSC_3263.JPG
Originally uploaded by katysabrat.

As you may or may not have heard, in a promotional stunt to back the upcoming Simpson’s movie, a select few 7-eleven stores have gone through a complete overhaul. Here in Burbank, we’re the proud residents of the new Kwik-E-Mart. So of course I had to stop by first chance I got. They did a great job.

Everywhere you looked the signage was all about the Simpsons. The place was packed, but everyone was in good spirits. Folks had their arms full of products all while trying to take pictures. There were plenty of uniformed volunteers on staff to help answer any questions or to offer to help take pictures with Homer (and quite a few local police milling about as well).

The temporary ‘Kwik-E-Marts’ will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO’s cereal and the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees, Squishees. So of course, I had to try a Squishee and a donut. I’m sure I’ll be crashing from that sugar high in no time. I picked up a six pack of Buzz and I’ll be going back a little later to pick up some Krusty O’s since they were sold out. I was kind of bummed that there wasn’t any Duff’s beer, but oh well. And don’t worry about missing out on all this Simpson’s goodness, all over the US and Canada, 7-elevens will be carrying the Simpson line.

The U.S. locations where a 7-Eleven store was transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart are New York City; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Burbank, Calif.; Los Angeles; Henderson, Nev.; Orlando, Fla.; Mountain View, Calif.; Seattle; and Bladensburg, Md. For more information, check out seeyellow.com. Hurry though, the Kwik-E-Marts will only be around for the month.

More photos to be found after the jump… Continue reading →

Fits Like a Glove

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And it was on sale to boot!!!

Out here in the Valley, it gets hot in the summer. I mean really hot – and I’m sure I’ll be posting about that quite a bit from here on out. And me, well, I work from home in our barely air conditioned apartment (thank God it’s on the bottom floor!!) that also gets hot inside with the AC on! And working from home, well, there’s never much of a need to dress up – unless you count running to the grocery store or visiting with the UPS guy (yeah, like we’re buds). So I’m always looking for comfortable clothes to lounge about in.

Since I’ve started working out some months ago, along with our hour+ evening walks, I’m just blowing through my sports bras. *There’s a connection here, keep reading* I keep buying new ones, yet I never seem to have enough. The other day I decided to stop by Old Navy and check out their rockin’ summer sale (they’re losing their in-store plus department and everything is bargain basement cheap). While there wasn’t all too much for me that I needed or wanted (again, it’s not like I need the perfect outfit to sit in our office and mess around on the computer all day), I decided to pick up a new sports bra.

I wasn’t really expecting much, but man, I’m in love! So much so that I ran out yesterday during our crazy day of furniture shopping to hit up a different Old Navy and picked up two more. I have a feeling I will be living in these all summer. So much more comfortable than my more bra-like sports bras. It doesn’t rub, chafe (not that mine ever did), or move around. It’s long enough that it sits super comfortable on my back and doesn’t cut into my ribcage right under the boobies. It’s great for working out as well as for lounging about.

So while this is a strange as hell topic to blog about. I just have to say…I’m just so damn comfortable that I just don’t care! Stay cool!

Off to a Good Start

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Alison Krauss & Union Station @ the Greek
Originally uploaded by katysabrat.

You know it’s going to be one helluva night when it starts out at Denny’s! Yeah well, they hubby figured it was closer to the ATM and wouldn’t have a huge crowd like anything in Silver Lake would have.

We got to the show a little late, but that meant for easy breezy parking. Luckily, since he’d won the company box seats through a work raffle, it also came with premium parking. So we were able to slide right into a parking space and cruise right on in to our seats. Let me just say, box seats at the Greek are nice! And you’re not nearly as cramped and crowded as you can get at the Bowl.

The show was fun. Alison Krauss has an incredible voice. And I had no idea that her bandmates (Union Station) were those Foggy Bottom folks from that weird George Clooney movie. They put on a very entertaining, and very blue grassy show.

Their last song of the evening before heading off stage was Oh, Atlanta. I’ve loved that song since the first time I heard it. Sadly, the band decided to mess with her and played it so slow it just sounded awful. She kept trying to do it, and wound up laughing. Eventually, she just told them to stop. It’s a shame because that’s such an awesome and fun song.

And their first encore was When You Say Nothing At All. That has to be one of the prettiest songs out there. I get goosebumps or tear up whenever I hear it. Again, it was a tad slower than usual, but not nearly as noticeable.

So now we’re home briefly before heading out to the Hotel Cafe for that super secret Hanson/Rob Thomas show. It doesn’t even start until midnight, so we have plenty of time. I’m interested in who their target audience will be. I mean, they’re all married with kids now (I think) and they’re not quite those Mmmmbop boys anymore.

So now back to my chilled glass of Pinot Gris (Valley of the Moon – bought while on vacation) YUM!

Thursday Thirteen – 13 Joys of Summer

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A Pedicure & New FlipFlops - What More Could You Ask For?

While I might not appreciate the heat of summer (and man, it gets HOT in the Valley here – nearly as not as Albuquerque, yet with humidity…gross!), but I do look forward to summer none the less.

1. fresh fruits and veggies straight from the Farmer’s Markets
2. better yet, watermelon – I could eat fresh, summer watermelon all day long
3. swimming outside or visits to the beach
4. concert season – better still, outdoor concerts
5. summer TV – for me, it means tons of reading since there’s nothing on TV and I just love that
6. comfortable evening walks with the hubby & the boy
7. gelato – for some reason, we only make time for gelato during the summer
8. grilling veggies and meats – tastes so good
9. family get-togethers – we seem to find more time to get-together once all the kids get out of school
10. summer clothes – I love not having to wear jackets or sweaters
11. summer sandals and no more socks!
12. flip flops – speaking of, where is that last order I placed for new flip flops?
13. pedicures, pedicures, pedicures!!

Can They Still be Called Mean Girls if They’re Now Adults?

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I know it may look like I was being, like, a bitch, but that’s only because I was acting like a bitch – Mean Girls

A week or so ago I made some changes on our website. For some reason that I’ve yet to understand, folks freaked out – guess it’s that whole fear of change thing. But more interestingly, it gave the Mean Girls of our community just the sort of space they needed to stir up some trouble and look down on others. It’s recently come to my attention that these Mean Girls (no really, that’s how they refer to themselves!) needed to create their own space where they can privately laugh about others and well, just be mean.

Yesterday, I finished reading a book appropriately called Frenemies by Megan Crane. And of course, this book was about adult women and how there will always be That Girl – you know, the bitchy, perfectly coiffed, perfect boyfriend, perfect job, kind of gal that always feels she’s better than everyone else. Between the book and the recent activities on my site, I have to say that I just don’t get it.

I mean, can any happy, well-adjusted adult really be all that happy or well-adjusted if they can only find joy in being mean and looking down on others? Can acting like a middle schooler in their day to day interactions really help them find happiness and feel better about themselves? How can they not see that the way they treat others makes them look like horrible people? How can their husbands, friends, family and co-workers enjoy spending time with them? Does it really help them to feel better about themselves?

I’d think this is really just a small portion of the world, you know, an isolated incident. But really, many books have been written on the subject. There are books on how mean young girls are being towards each other and even books on how women sabotage other women in their lives. When does it stop? Is it really just about being the Queen Bee?

As cliche as it sounds, why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t we celebrate the successes of our fellow women? Why can’t we be happy with what we have and not define ourselves through the pain of others. Forget about that glass ceiling, we’re our own worst enemies (or so it would seem).

Me, I say the more the merrier and to each their own. ‘Cause baby, I’ve just got to be me!

Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Home Remodel

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Yes, the southern California housing market is still insane. So yes, we’re still renting. I don’t mind renting. Really. But I do mind that for the past two weeks, either our upstairs neighbor (landlord) or our next door neighbor have woken us up at the crack of dawn nearly every day to have something on their house done.

In the past year, our landlords have tiled the kitchen, remodeled the kitchen cabinets, sink and appliances, repainted the entire apartment, tore down and rebuilt their stairs (now that was some scary shit to wake up to considering the wall was where our heads were!), and are now putting in hardwood flooring. I get it, it’s their property and they can do whatever they want.

But it sucks to know that they’ve got some new awesome stove and we’ve got some used piece-o-crap that doesn’t even heat up correctly. Or that they’ve got new flooring while we’ve got this ancient tile that can’t even get clean any more. Then to have him basically say that once we move out, he’ll upgrade this and remodel that. Well, that just kind of sucks because let’s be honest, we don’t plan to move anytime soon. We love our neighborhood and we actually love our landlords and our apartment. We’re very grateful that we found such great place. I’m sure our time will come. In fact, I’m certain.

Now if we could only get our neighbors to realize the sound ordinance says nothing can start until after 8:00AM. Not that the extra hour would do all that much for us since we tend to not even go to bed before 2:00AM (and why we don’t complain considering we choose to live this schedule). But man, a little silence in the morning sure would be appreciated.

Oh the Glorious Universe!

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“The Universe is bringing all good things to me, for the good of all involved.”

While I’ll admit I haven’t been focusing a lot on my Challenge (I may have even gone over my 100 Days, to be honest), but I have been spending some time reading. I’ve been double-fisting it, as it were, with The Secret and with The Law of Attraction. And both are giving me quite a lot to think about.

My main mantra lately has been a myriad of variations on the above affirmation. I repeat it to myself over and over while falling asleep. I repeat it to myself while stuck in traffic. I repeat it to myself while washing my hair. I like it. It’s quick, easy to remember and to the point. I’ve found that for affirmations to mean something to me, I have to be able to remember them and repeat them quickly and easily. That makes this one a keeper.

I’m loving how simple it is to co-create with Spirit and the Universe. Let’s face it, it should be easy. And fun. If it’s a chore, it’s going to feel like work and won’t come easily. There are so many things to be grateful for (even my seemingly non-stop, barking dog – he just won’t hush as I’m writing this – guess he’s got a lot to say on this topic as well) to get bogged down in the details.