Not a Fan of the Civic

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I’ve been driving my hubby’s car since last Friday.  He had his brakes done recently and then proceeded to commute to work over the hill (either using Outpost, Laurel or Coldwater — all very, very curvy and hilly roads).  Needless to say, his brakes started smoking because it was all too soon.  Since he really has no other non-hilly or curve-free route to take, that left a car swap.

So yes, that means I’ve been driving the Civic.  I know many folks just lurve their Hondas and their Civics.  But I sure as hell am not one of them.  I feel like I’m driving a cardboard box on roller skates.  I hate being that close to the ground when my car isn’t sporty.  I also hate how empty and noisy it sounds.  So not a fan.

Normally, since I work from home on the my site and various other website, business stuff, I don’t go out much.   Thing is, we can’t swap cars until his brakes have been driven for 200 or so miles (not counting the smoky driving he’s already done).  So I’ve been going out of my way to drive places; Bristol Farms, a CVS miles away, Ralph’s one town over, the cupcake shop in Studio City (more on that later).  Well, the car is officially over 250 miles (his work commute is less than 30 round trip) so I think we can finally switch cars.  Thank God!

This also means that I can finally get the disaster kit stuff for our cars out of my car and package them up for both of our cars.  It took me nearly 4 years to get our disaster kits ready (why I didn’t just buy one of the kits already made, I’ve no idea).  But now we have everything but a bowl for water for the boys (Ikea here I come!).

Now I just need to decide (totally unrelated to my Civic rant) if I want to head on over to the local Stitch n Bitch tonight.  The hubby will be out at the Kelly Willis show tonight, so I’m on my own.  I’m still kind of bummed he never got me a ticket, but he said he’d be “doing business” with her manager and didn’t necessarily want me around for that.  Understanding wife that I am, I guess I can understand that.  So I ask, Stitch n Bitch tonight or just veg out in front of the TV?  So many choices.

Can You NaBloPoMo?

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nablo07_seal

That’s National Blog Posting Month to you and me. Not to be confused with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is also happening in November.

It’s a pretty simple process. You start up a blog (unless you already have one, that is) and then you head over to the NaBloPoMo folks and register your blog and commit to posting once a day, every day, for the entire month of November. You don’t have to blog on the Ning.com site, you can still use your own blog. But either way, it seems fun and easy. And better still, you can get some new online friends!!

Woot! I might actually start getting comments on some of my posts now…

An Ashy Sunset in the San Fernando Valley

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An Ashy Sunset in the San Fernando Valley
Originally uploaded by katysabrat.


It’s still about and hour or so too soon for the sun to set (I have the blinds down since the pupster was going crazy over the maintenance guy outside). The whole apartment is full of a yellowy-orange glow. I can’t smell anything, but the sky is just amazingly hazy. So hazy that you’d think the biggest storm is a’brewin’.

Didja Know…

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That you can put water-based lube in your nose when it’s so dry you’re nearly dying?  Honest.  Even the Mayo Clinic says it’s okay.  It’s been my savor today thanks to our extreme lack of humidity and the smog of the fires.  Mind you, now my husband is going to wonder what I’ve been doing all day when he sees the lube out.

That Husband o’ Mine…

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This morning, as the hubby was getting ready to leave for work:

him: oh no boys, mama found the picture of my cute real estate lady [as he walks into the office to hand me her business card].

me: this, is going in the trash.  We don’t need it [toss].

him: but what if I need to ask her real estate questions?

me: you won’t.

him: but what if I need to talk to her about real estate?

me: you won’t.

him: what if she says “oh no, this wine is going right to my head?”

me: ???

him: [goofy grin] I love you baby! [smooch]

Yes, my husband is a whacky nut job, but lordy I love him and his crazy antics so!

Oh You, Bristol Farms!

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Hello, my name is Kat and I am an impulse shopper.  When I was younger, and first on my own with my first real salary, Target was my weakness.  I wasn’t able to walk out of that store for under $100.  Yes, you read that correctly!  And sadly, there was a Target right around the corner from my apartment complex.  As a teacher, I worked extra over the summer just to pay down my credit cards that I ran up (mostly at Target) during the rest of the school year.

Nowadays, expensive grocery stores like Bristol Farms and Whole Foods suck me in.  That damn Bristol Farms got to me once before, but this time, this time I was gong to show them who was in charge.  All I wanted was a orange cranberry muffin.  Believe it or not, I drove 20 minutes just to get this damn muffin (well, that and because I’ve got the hubby’s car with new brakes and we can’t switch back until we put 200 miles on the brakes).

Of course, I just had to enter through the gift shop area.   It’s not like I parked that way, or like it was anywhere near the check out, but still.  Needless to say, I think in my brain I did holiday shopping for everyone!  Like I really need that Mrs. Meyers dishsoap set – well it might make a great gift.  Ha!  Actually, I was able to walk out of there without anything but a Women’s Day magazine (honestly, I don’t even read that magazine, but I just had to have it for some odd reason).

I also managed to walk right past the coffee, the teas and the chocolates. Of course, I couldn’t stop tasting the cheese – they had the most delicious gouda out.  But alas, I did not purchase any cheese!  I did, on the other hand purchase some mediocre chicken noodle soup (seriously, I expected so much more), my muffin, a muffin for the hubby, a diet coke because I was thirsty, yet another magazine at the cash register (damn that Martha Stewart and her tasty looking pot pie!) and a roll for dinner.

The damage…$23.  Not so bad this time. But not good either considering it was only six items.  But man, there’s a reason I stay away from that place.

Fire!

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Wow, I’ve lost count on how many fires there are in the general, LA area. I think, besides the three I’ve already mentioned, there are now 2 more out in San Bernardino, one in Fontana (less than 4 miles from my sister-in-law’s place), and now another in Irvine. And of course, they’re all big and they’re all crazy due to those damn Santa Ana’s. This is all just insane. Let’s hope the winds calm down enough so they can get things under control.

I thought I smelled smoke just a bit ago, but when we went outside we couldn’t see anything. It must just be smoke on the wind from one of the nearby fires. You should have seen the sunset today. While it was a beautiful sky, just knowing that it was all the smoke in the air that caused such beauty kind of ruined it.

Let’s just hope the fires stay away. One year we had fires in the hills over in Burbank, and a few months back we had the fire a mile or so away in Griffith Park. I can’t say I knew that SoCal was known for their fire season before moving out here. Fires and earthquakes, not quite my thing.

That was Quick, too Quick

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fire sunrise
Originally uploaded by hereinmalibu.


I just wrote yesterday how the Santa Ana’s have started blowing. Well, by about 4:15 or so this morning the fires started in Malibu. Now, a few hours later, buildings have caught fire and homes have been evacuated. I wonder how long this one will last. Here’s hoping no one is injured.Every year it seems to be something in Malibu, be it mudslides or fire. This year I guess it will be more of the same since after the fires, there’s usually the rains and of course, the rains bring on the mudslides. I think it takes a certain kind of person to live in part of California.Turns out we’ve got some large fires going on in Casaic and Porter Ranch as well. And due to the heavy winds, events all over the area are being canceled.  And you know you’re in LA when the LA Fire Department has a Twitter feed going on.

The Santa Anas are Coming!!

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Those hot dry winds that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. —Raymond Chandler, “Red Wind”

Well, so much for that cool weather we’d been having.  We’re going from highs in the mid-70’s to highs in the high 90’s in mere days.  In October!  Wait, in late October!  In fact, my weather widget says we’re going to be about 101 on Tuesday!!  This of course, also means the official start of fire season here in Southern California.   Damn those warm Santa Ana winds.

Many movies refer to the Santa Anas and the craziness it has on the people.  I remember this being a key plot point during  Steve Martin’s LA Story.  It was also mentioned during the more recent, The Holiday where Jack Black’s character says that when the Santa Ana’s blow, that “all bets are off” and “anything can happen.”  It’s also said to be a  important part of the storyline in White Oleander.  Believe it or not it really is a crazy experience, especially when you go from a cold snap, to the windy, dry heat that is the Santa Ana’s.

So consider yourself warned…the Santa Ana’s are coming!!

Big Money, Big Money!

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I had a dream last night that I won over $501 at a casino.  So of course, while attending my niece’s regional cheer competition I was just certain I’d win the 50/50 raffle.

Yeah well, I didn’t.

What’s the point of dreaming of winning big then?!  Talk about disappointing.  Well, at least her team won and they’re off to the San Diego state-level championships in November.