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T minus 12 minutes.

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

So technically I should be on my treadmill sweating away getting all warmed up for my trainer. I should. However my blog calls to me.
I have all of these posts planned to write, one about fraud, one about credit counselling, one about Kyle Brandt and also the usual drivel. But I only have 10 minutes, so I will talk about my house.
My house is a disaster. How can 2 adults and 22 pounds of pet make so much of a mess? Why do I hate cleaning so much? I am a wife, shouldn’t I love it? Did I forget to take the housecleaning pill? Damn I knew I was forgetting something the day I said “I take you Adam…”.
We’re getting ready to go on vacation to BC. We leave Thursday after Adam gets off work and we’re going to drive until we’re bleary eyed, then we will sleep and drive until we get there on Friday. I’m not looking forward to the driving. Although I am a Berkan in name now, I have not yet assimilated the love of the open road. The Harker in me pukes and gets grumpy. It’s going to be a fun ride!
So today I must pack! I am packing for the dog, who requires a crazy amount of stuff. I also am packing various gifts for various children I need to see while I’m there. Also I need to pack clothes for me and Mr. Berkan. If left to his own resources he would be really stinky after 2 days on the boat. I don’t like sleeping with the stinky man, I like the Kenneth Cole* version of that man. I’m also a cleaning maniac today. I want to take everything off of our counters and give them an extra good scrub to ensure no little ants come and infest our house. They’ve been the bain of my existence for the past while and I don’t want to come home to find them everywhere. I am hesitant to get ant bait because of the small beastie we have who eats everything. I think one very expensive vet bill a year is good, and we’re one past our limit already this year.
So that’s me lately.
Oh yes I must remember to pack vats of sunscreen. I’ve declared that I won’t get burnt on this trip, but now I’m worried. Adam and I went to a festival on Sunday and I was in the sun for 3 hours and managed to get burnt, and I was wearing properly applied 70 SFP. So I guess I should reapply every 2 hours. I wonder what the long term affects of sunscreen is?
Well I have one minute.

* it’s his cologne

Posted in Adam and me, BC, California, Chachi | No Comments »

My Big Fat List of non Grievances (Edited)

Friday, May 18th, 2007

To counter the one below this.

1. I remember that I have a block of 70% cocoa solids chocolate bar in the freezer.
2. My nurse today said that a year is a long time to try to have a baby, and I don’t need to qualify it when I say “I’ve ONLY been trying a year.” (I almost started crying when she said that.)
3. Chachi is doing a lot better, he’s really playful and close to 100%. He still can’t jump up on to things, but it’s okay. He gives me the puppy dog eyes and I help him. He’s also loving his new chew toys, which is good.
4. It’s Friday.
5. Adam and I bought a tent yesterday, and we’re going camping next weekend in the Redwood Forest in the north part of California.
6. One of my friends here is very close to giving birth and I haven’t seen her online all day, so I think she might be having her baby today. (edited to add: I was right, she had her baby, and she’s just the prettiest little baby!)
7. I’m making spaghetti and meat sauce, with black olives in it!

Posted in California, getting pregnant | No Comments »

My Big Fat List of Grievances

Friday, May 18th, 2007

Okay, so I’m at a point in my cycle where I am super grumpy. I need to vent and I’m going to do it here, in hopes I spare some random, unlucky Californian my rage, and mostly to spare Adam.
1. I can never find my glasses and I can’t see the screen without them.
2. There isn’t enough chocolate in the house.
3. Drivers here are convinced that a yellow light means “gun it”.
4. I’m covered in an annoying hormone induced heat rash which is driving me crazy with the itchies.
5. My body isn’t responding to the hormones and I have to increase the dose again.
6. I told the doctor that I should start with a high dose!
7. There isn’t enough chocolate in the house. (this one bore* repeating)
8. I bought a juicer attachment for our Magic Bullet and it’s not all that great.
9. I have a killer headache because I had to get up really early so I could get to the lab early and have my blood drawn.
10. My fridge isn’t big enough to hold a big watermelon.
11. My car is dirty, and the stupid pollen won’t go away!
12. I’m tired of feeling bitchy all of the time.
13. This is the 12th cycle** we’ve been trying to get pregnant. It’s starting to wear on me.
14. Dog poo, cat poo.
15. The grocery store nearest to us doesn’t have tahini.

Okay I guess that is enough for now. I have more, but I can’t think of them now and I need to make dinner.

* What is the past tense of bear?
** I swear if anyone says that 12 months isn’t a long time, I’ll magically fly through the computer and strange said person with some random computer cord.

Posted in California, getting pregnant | No Comments »

On buying Costco gas….

Thursday, May 17th, 2007

Tonight we went to Costco and then we bought gas. We only bought it there because Maggie-Car needed gas, and conveniently there were gas pumps there. However, as we were sitting in the gas line up for an insane amount of time I wondered if Costco gas is really a good economical choice.
I rationalize:
An average car holds about 12 gallons.
Costco gas is about 10 cents a gallon cheaper.
Therefore, you save about $1.20 per fill up.
However, if you are in line to fill up for over 15 minutes (like we were), leaving your car idling, I am sure that you have wasted close to what you will save just waiting. Furthermore, I am adamant that my time is worth more $4.80/ hour! So unless I need gas, (like tonight) I won’t wait in line at the Costco gas bar to save a little money.

I also wondered about the people who are waiting to buy cheaper gas. If they are like any other Costco shopper they went with a list comprised of frozen chicken breasts and toilet paper, which would come to a grand total of maybe thirty dollars. However they left with the chicken, the toilet paper, a bouquet of sunflowers, a giant watermelon, a package of Costco sized muffins, a movie, a camping stove, a infrared garbage can (we have that one, it’s great), a carton of Twix and a carton of Trident. Grand total $200.00, net over spending, $170.00. I can see why saving $1.20 at the pump is so worth it!

Moving on to bigger savings. When we bought Maggie-Car the dealer told us the price (which was in the tens of thousands) and then when we began the haggling process he dropped a couple hundred dollars. To which I replied that a couple hundred on tens of thousands isn’t really anything to be proud of. I told him that we needed to talk in terms of thousands, or we would leave. He gave me an utterly blank stare and went to “telephone his manager” to see what he could do. He came back with another offer of a measly couple hundred. I countered again saying that it was an unacceptable offer and that we couldn’t even consider it. He went again to speak to this manager and came back, sullen. This time I asked if I could speak to the manager, as I saw this back and forth continuing all day and I didn’t have the patience for it. The sales guys was shocked that I would suggest it and had no idea what to say. Apparently no one has ever asked to explain their argument to the manager before. So long story short I got my way. My theory was that it’s a waste of time to haggle over a small amount relative to the total amount. Much like a couple cents on a gallon is a small amount, hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things. Now a couple cents on a litre would be more noticeable, but only barely.

Maybe when our parents were younger and gas was under 40 cents a litre or $1.50 a gallon a couple of cents was a much larger portion of the total. I think that we’ve picked up budgeting from them and have it ingrained into us that a couple cents really makes a difference, when in reality not buying the carton of Twix, Trident, the flowers etc. is what will make the difference. But now I am getting onto another subject for another day.

Posted in California, finances, I'm a consumer | No Comments »

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Saturday, May 5th, 2007

Today is Cinco De Mayo. It’s a crazy big party here, like St. Patrick’s Day at home. (which is also a big party here) I spoke about it last year here.
Adam and I had grand plans for this weekend. First we made plans to go camping in Yosemite, but it’s still below freezing overnight and we want to bring Chachi. Our first plan nixed. The we decided to go to Monterey Bay Aquariaum, but then Chachi ate something that made him really sick.
Chachi spent all day Thursday barfing and being really pathetic. Then Friday we was listless and refused to eat or drink, so I took him to the vet. They pronounced that he must have eaten something and he should be okay today. They gave him sub. q. fluids, medication and a sedative. Today he was barfy again and would not eat or drink, so we took him back. The vet took blood, x-rayed him and gave him more fluids and medication. Once home he puked on Adam, then again later, this time a lovely shade of green. My poor puppy has been poked several time, been probed anally to check his temp. and been manhandled to see if there is an obstruction. It would be an understatement to say that he’s in a bad mood. Even sick he has a lot of fight in him. When the vet tech. took his blood it was a 3 person job, which is a little funny considering he’s only six pounds, and he was muzzled! Hopefully he is a little better tomorrow, because he’s cleaned us of all of our couch savings, which is really unfortunate because the place he chose to barf on was the couches! *have I ever mentioned how much I love Oxy Clean?* I do think that is feeling a little better; someone came to the door and he was able to muster enough oomph to bark at them, very convincingly, then took a nap.
My poor little puppy.
So next weekend we are going to go camping and perhaps the weekend after we’ll go to the Aquarium.

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

Posted in California, Chachi, culture | No Comments »

Monday’s Mumblin’s

Monday, April 23rd, 2007

Wouldn’t it be a great idea if I had 7 new blogs, one for each day of the week? Like Monday’s Mumblin’s, Titilating Tuesdays, Weird Wednesdays, Thrillin’ Thursdays, Friday’s Forcast, Sloshy Saturdays and Sober Sundays? Good idea? No?

Anyhow, Adam and I had a great weekend! We were invited to go to a SF Giants game, which thrilled Adam because he’s been wanting to go, but I’ve been dragging my heels because I’m not a baseball fan; rugby: yes, hockey: yes, football: yes, baseball: yawn. But the person who invited us had a suite to watch the game in. So to recap, baseball: not so much, suite at a sporting even: yes please!
Once there I quickly realized that I would be ruined for any sporting event ever again; sitting in second bowl seats at the HP Pavilion to watch the Sharks get beaten by some Canadian team will never be the same again. I’m okay with that. The suite was amazing. It opened up onto a balcony with an amazing view of the field and the harbour, since AT&T Park is built on a pier. The balcony had two rows of roomy seats and plenty of room to walk around and not get dead leg from sitting still for so long. Also there was a roof to the balcony, so when all of the people in the stands were breakin’ out the plastic bag jackets as the rain started, we were all dry and cozy, livin’ the life.
We arrived just as the game was about to start, so Adam and I took a seat on the balcony and settled in to watch the game. I decided that I would try to enjoy the game, even though I just wanted to marvel at the suite. The game started slow: swing, miss, swing, miss, ball, strike, blah blah blah…. Then Regan came to tell us that she was going to get food and so Adam went with her to get us something. This left me alone on the balcony with someone I had just met a couple of minutes before. I shrugged off my shy girl routine and struck up a conversation.
So he’s a baseball fan and was shocked that I had no clue who Barry Bonds was. (Some baseball powerhouse who was rumoured to be all jacked up on ‘roids) I had a quick lesson on Bonds and some baseball trivia as we discussed the merits of major league sports. (For the record I think that they are just a giant money making machine, and I don’t get that wrapped up in the hoopla, I figure there are better things in life to be passionate about, like the Flames!) So we were watching the Giants who were now up to bat, swing, miss, blah blah blah. Then Barry Bonds came out to take his bat. The crowd hushed as the pitch came. He swung, and connected! The ball soared high into the sky. High, as in straight up, it was a pop fly, and a foul ball. Some fan caught the ball and everyone around him congratulated him. He is now a minor celebrity with his friends and family. Then the next pitch, he swung and BLAMO! The ball rocketed across the field, the centre field guy tried to catch it, but it was above his head. He did make a valiant effort running and reaching, but alas the ball was a home run. The stadium erupted into a massive roar and Mr. Bonds took his bases, reminiscent of a NASCAR winner taking a victory lap with the checkered flag. Bonds reached home base and the Giants had the lead in the game with one to zero. The game ended and the only score was Barry Bond’s 739th home run, which is only 16 away from Ruth’s record of 755.
After the game ended the stadium emptied in break neck speed, but we opted to enjoy the suite a little longer rather than rush for a train that would be packed with excited Giants fans. Instead we watch the field crew come and repair the field. We watched them groom the pitchers mound and then cover it with a custom made tarp, which fitted exactly. Then they did the same for the spot where the batters bat. Finally they rolled out a huge tarp which they covered the dirt part of the field up with. (Which Adam has reminded me is called the diamond.) It was interesting to watch them do this, and they were equally amused by the crazy people in suite #49 (us) who were cheering them on. (My favourite was the guy in the cowboy hat who was clearly the leader, and also the guy who wasn’t wearing the yellow jacket and was clearly the rebel!). Eventually we were asked to leave because they needed to clean and we went to catch our train home.
Fun was had by all.
Once we were back in Sunnyvale, Adam and I went to a local pub for a really amazing dinner, a perfect end to the day.*

Yesterday we had some friends come over and we played lots of games. I lost most of them, which I am fine with since it was the first time I had played most of them. Also, I’ve come to the realization that while I am crazy competitive in sports and anything physical, I don’t care really if I win a board game, because it’s just that: a board game. Except when we were playing Settlers last night and I came out of nowhere, all stealthy and totally screwed Adam over. Yes Internets, there is nothing better than humiliating my husband at a board game. Ahem, I mean, I don’t have to win, it is a game after all.

And now it’s today. How was your weekend?

*I would have taken pictures to document it all, but everyone had such nice fancy cameras and we only have a wee little digital which is so puny. I didn’t want to bring it out and subject it to camera envy.

Posted in Adam and me, California, friends, married life, sports | No Comments »

Hello world.

Monday, April 16th, 2007

I know I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties, I have no excuses, or apologies.
Now on with the show!

Adam signed us up for the Netflix’s beta program which allows you to watch movies directly off of your computer. Initially I was not to excited about it because the movies were clearly B rated, but lately they have been getting some much better movies. I’m most excited about the range of Jane Austen movies and the workout ones, which personally, I think is brilliant on Netflix’s behalf to include them. You see, you are granted one hour of watch now time per dollar you owe per month on your membership. Adam and I have the 4 at a time membership which is $23.99, so we get 24 hours of watch now movies a month. If you watch a workout video a day, that would take you over your limit. See? Brilliant marketing Netflix!

Also I’ve discovered this new product that I am all a-rave about. It’s castile soap. (I would link to a definition, but my linky abilities are a little disabled at the moment.) Anyhow castile soap is a pure vegetable product soap, no animal fats in it, so that’s great for vegetarians. I love it because it’s a pure soap, not a detergent which is loaded with other stuff which are irritants. Castile soap can literally be used for EVERYTHING in the house. I use it for laundry, and it’s been making my towels fluffier! I love it. I prefer it over detergents because I have crazy sensitive skin. Last summer I used a national brand which comes in a bright orange package, and it left me so irritated, I itched and itched until I bled. Bad news internets! So I try to buy sensitive kinds, but they still have the “stuff” in them, which bothers me. You can also use the castile soap to clean everything in your house (with a few exceptions). If you search it online you can find lists, I won’t bother here. Some marketers sell it as a body cleanser or a shampoo, but I am a little leery about that because it has a higher PH than your hair and can be drying. So be warned. Also I’ve found it in peppermint and lavender scents, we have the peppermint and it’s nice.
Oh and we mustn’t forget that it’s much more environmentally friendly than other detergents.

So that concludes my consumer report for today.

Onto other notes, I finally got all of the weeds pulled from my back yard which is nice. The citrus trees are blooming and the yard has this wonderful smell, it reminds me of jasmine tea. The past few days have been really windy and there are petals all over the yard from the flowers, and it kinda looks like a light snow! The neighbour has a tree that has flowers that grow in a ball, and several of the branches hang into our yard, it’s really pretty. I’m really enjoying spring in California, although it’s getting quite hot.
Next I aim to tackle my front yard, which the landlord have covered with large ground cover shrubs and trees, but there are still weeds which have infiltrated the plastic under the bark mulch. I hate that our yard looks so ghetto on such a nice block. Adam think it just looks like greenery, but I think it looks bad. I hope our neighbours see it like Adam does!

The pets are good. Chachi rolled over on command the other day and I was beside myself praising him. Bonsai is turning into an ornery old man, but he’s still happy and healthy. I’ve started both of them on a new kind of pet food which lists meat as it’s first ingredient, and contains no grain. Chachi loves it and pulls big mouthfuls out of his bowl and spits them onto the floor to pick out the new brand and leaves the old stuff behind. No matter how often I clean up the kibble around his bowl he perpetually has a radius of a couple inches of kibble around it.

Well that’s all I have for now. I’m off to make Adam dinner.
ciao!

Posted in Adam and me, California, I'm a consumer, pets | No Comments »

Californian Girl

Friday, April 6th, 2007

I’ve returned from the Great White North, which is really more brownish than white right now. While I was there I questioned myself if I still felt like The Okanagan was home to me. I didn’t really feel like I was home. So much has changed since I lived there 7 years ago. Kelowna has grown and changed considerably, I have grown and changed considerably. Also my mom sold the house I grew up in years ago, and my grandparent’s house was sold years ago, now my dad is selling his house, so I won’t have a “home” to go to anymore. It’s a little surreal to me, and a little sad. I can’t say that I’m losing something, because the draw of the Okanagan was lost to me years ago. However I am really realizing it now, it’s rather empowering. I still think the Okanagan is beautiful, and I will always encourage people to visit it, and possibly move there, I just don’t think I can live there, maybe later, but not now. I’m loving the Bay Area. I love our proximity to San Francisco, Sonoma and Napa. The culture here is fascinating to me, and I have to mention the lack of snow. It saddens me that we don’t have the close knit circle of friends that we had at home, but they’re still our friends and we will still see them frequently (and they all know they have a place to stay!)

Posted in California | No Comments »

Mish Mash, vol ?

Thursday, March 8th, 2007

On Decluttering.
I was on a message board a couple weeks ago and saw that there was a thread where people were posting their goals on how many things they were going to throw away and declutter their lives. I thought it was a great idea, but unsure if I could just throw away stuff. But, ya know? I can! This weekend I threw away another 5 pair of shoes. I know shocking, 5 pairs! I was a little aghast but I hadn’t worn them in over a year and they were takin’ of space and we were paying people to move them, seemed ridiculous to me. So they’re gone, although I had to get Adam to actually carry them to the garbage. Baby steps, right? I also garbaged some other random stuff, which takes my number up to 14. Which made me wonder, what would be a good goal for me? 100? 250? 500? 1000? Before we moved I culled my wardrobe, reducing it by two thirds, but I won’t count that, since it’s done.

On Trolls.
So you know that I have anonymous commenters. Mostly I’m fine with them, but I don’t like them being rude, or lecturing me. Arg. So if you love me, tell me.

On Spring.
Spring has sprung! It’s been springing for a while, but it’s wasn’t quite there, and now it’s all sproinged! I’m spleased! I find it a little amusing that I’m getting excited over spring, uh, springing, since there was no snow, no cold to shake. However the fresh cut grass smell, and the blooming flowers, and even the ozone smell of rain, I love it all! I’ve always said that I love spring and fall best and here I am in the land of spring and fall!

On Ceramics.
I don’t have any new photos, but I have a bunch of new pieces. Right now I am making a fist of rock for my brother, although he doesn’t know it. I’m also making tiles for my table, rather than use mosaic tiles to create a design, instead I’m making puzzle piece tiles, and giving them an interesting finish. I can’t wait until it’s done and I can show you.

On Chachi.
Regan wrote how her chihuahua is a surly teenager, and it made me think of Chachi. Adam and I joke that he’s a teenager with the quirks of one. To elaborate, he’ll sleep all day given the chance. He would love nothing more than for me to lay in bed all day so he could too. When I get up in the mornings he gives me the look disgust and makes his way over to the couch in the sun. He’s developed a selective listening habit, which is highly annoying. I have proven to be more stubborn than a five pound chihuahua, which I think is a feat on it’s own. He’ll do anything for food, be it puppy treats or human food. Hoever he only has a taste for high end treats though, won’t eat the cheaper ones, but he will play with them. For some reason he figures he’s the enforcer and when I chide the cat for something he runs over and nips at him. Why Bonsai doesn’t lay the smack down on him is beyond me.

On My New Blog.
It’s call What I Had For Lunch. I find often when I am talking to Gay (my stepmom) I relay recipes that I have recently made. I figure this will be a good way for me to keep track of everything I make and how I did. I like to take a recipe and alter it to make it more my taste, and I always forget what I did, or lose the post-it I wrote it on and stuck to my cupboard door. Also the number of times I’ve asked Gay for her chocolate pudding recipe is shameful…. It’s so good though, it’s English style, so it’s cakey, not all gooshy like American pudding. De-vine!

On Bosu
Oh I heart a Bosu more than ever now. So much so that I might have to buy one. I still use them a lot when I work out, but now I’m using it while I work with weight, which really adds to the workout. Julie’s started having me to pushups on them. It’s freaky hard, but I can do it! I was explaining to my friend Lauren, who I started my journey into climbing with, about the rush I get when I work out with a bosu. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I can do something on it. Although I love to strength train, I never has the same feeling of accomplishment, but when I do it with the bosu, I do. It’s great.

So I think that mostly covers what’s going on in my life.

Posted in California, Chachi, my blog world., sports | No Comments »

There is hope.

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Hilary Clinton announced that she is going to run for presidency. If she wins, I won’t moan about living here so much.

To be clear, I don’t dislike the country, just the man running it. He reminds me of this bully I went to elementary school with, who wasn’t that smart, wasn’t that big, wasn’t that charming, but was rich and therefore had a following of people. (He was mean, pushy and clearly had/has a small penis. There was no other reason why he was such an a$$.)