Little Dirty Secret

I didn't have the wherewithal to travel last night, so the chips are still in the cupboard.

I was however, trying to come up with a system to get my "stuff" organized around the house. I don't know if any of you know this, but one characteristic of a cancer is messiness - which always miffs me because my Grandma Netti was a cancer and was so completely neat, it was crazy. The one area for me that ALWAYS has needed help, my ENTIRE life has been my bedroom (Mom, feel free to comment on this one). I am pretty organized when I cook, sew, craft, whatever else, but once I get in my room, I just put things on my dresser and pile my clothes on the trunk at the end of my bed. The worst part is my dresser...poor girl, she is so pretty when she is clean, but as of late, she is covered in jewelry, things I have pulled out of my pockets when I get home from work, random receipts, folded socks, hair clips, rubber bands and cat toys that have gone flying in the air and have decided to land right into no mans land. I was thinking about getting someone to come in and help me organize my home, with the baby coming, etc. but it is SO expensive there is really NO WAY that is going to happen. Then I spoke to my friend Angela, who has offered her help and is the one person that has been privy to my "inside world" who I know would help me without any judgment and would make me laugh the entire time even though I would be so embarrassed of my immature untidiness. My plan right now is to manage the little things that I can organize on my own and bring her in as the voice of reason when it comes to the larger things, making space for baby and putting things in storage. If I have Tim help me, we will argue and I will feel bad about being messy and that is not fun. Plus, if it isn't his stuff, he wont really help anyway.

Anyway, I have a couple things to put my jewelry in (a pretty glass box and the fabulous pink jewelry box Wendy got me for my Birthday) but those are on a shelf in my closet and I need a little more room and found these fabulous beauties at Pottery Barn Teen and thought I would share them with you. I can't afford them right now, but maybe after Christmas I will purchase them for myself - hey, maybe they will be on sale then too!

My plan after getting the top of the dresser done is that I am going to finally finish my closet and inside the dresser purge. I have this book that Lucky magazine put out a couple years ago and it tells you how many of each item of clothing you should have. I can tell you, I have scaled down a lot, but not nearly enough. Really, I wear the same 4 pairs of jeans all the time, the same black cardigan, the same tank tops and the same shoes the majority of the time. So, I am getting ready to purge, yet again, and try and make some money off of the things I no longer need. The problem with me is, when I am in the cleaning mode, I just want to get the stuff out of my home and not keep it, take it to a used clothing place, etc. besides I don't have any really nice stuff anyway, so I may be making a donation to the Goodwill very soon.

OK, enough of all that. I am secretly hoping that by airing my dirty laundry it will help me out a little. I think the first step in mending an unsavory trait it to recognize it and come up with ways to fix it.

A Vacation Anyone Can Afford

For those loyal readers of my blog, you know I have not had a vacation since October '06 when I went to Malta (my homeland). I have been really itching to travel but am in lock down money wise and my next trip will be to Vietnam to pick up our little one. With all of that said, I truly believe I have found the perfect solution for those who need a vacation but can't afford to take one. I would like to let you in on my new find...I have not opened the bag yet. First of all, I am allergic to mold (cheese), but am willing to give these a try; who knows, it may be worth it. Second, I need to get bathing suit ready, pack my bags and make sure I have up-to-date sunscreen. You bet your booty when I open these, I am expecting a full ray of sunshine to burst out of the bag, my cousins will be there to greet me and a mandolin will play 'O Sole Mio or Volare as I put the first chip in my mouth. As I make my way through the bag, my olive skin will begin to darken to the color of the perfect cappuccino (which I hope to find at the end of the bag). I won't be gone long enough to mail you all postcards like last time, but I am on my way. I will try to take some photos while I am there.
Ciao!

PS - If I don't post again for the next couple days, it means these chips really deliver! Please call the Kettle Chip company and let them know what I wrote above REALLY happened to me and they MUST choose some other destinations for the travel deprived!

Cooking Shows and Christmas Time

I stayed in all weekend and watched cooking shows and dreamt of Christmas time.

Tis the season to fire up the oven, start baking more and start staying home after work to finish up all of the holiday projects I started over the summer. I still need to get my timing down. I think I literally need to start projects right after the new year for the holidays next year. I tend to put things down for a while and then pick them back up when I am in a rush to finsh which is not good. I need to give myself more time to put my heart into it when I am working and not just pick it up to "get it done".

I feel like I am skating by for Thanksgiving this year, which is kind of nice. I am making desserts for a gathering of 10 and that is my only responsibility, which I am excited about. I already have some recipes picked out, but need to narrow them down.

Other than thinking about and planning for the holidays, that is about it for my weekend.

I want to give a shout out, one day late to all of the Veteran's out there, Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you all for your service.

CRABBY but still smiling...

Ugh, the last couple days have been really rough emotionally. Most of you know Tim and I are in the adoption process, and we recently heard some disturbing news about a couple of the provinces our agency works in. More info at Operation Olive, our adoption blog. All of this is very upsetting to both of us and we are keeping our heads up and our hearts committed to our baby that is out there some where for us. We have faith that everything will work out for us when it is supposed to.

I had to get out of the office for lunch today and needed a laugh so I had Wendy take this photo of me. I am a cancer afterall, and needed to find humor in something today.

The Color Purple (the musical)

This afternoon, I went to see The Color Purple which is part of the best of Broadway series. It is a musical based on the movie (which happens to be one of my favorites). Sort of the same story line, but with a couple changes and of course, singing and dancing. Robin planned the outing for Angela, Wendy and I - it was an early Christmas present and so much fun. Robin, you are too kind, thank you so much for getting us together today. I wish we all lived closer to each other so we could get together more often.

Following the musical, we went to Pad Thai for dinner. Everything we ordered was fantastic! The pad thai was better than I had last time (I updated my post called "the search continues"). Tim was a good sport all day, dropping us off at the theatre and picking us up, he joined us for dinner which was nice.
A good weekend all around.
Stay Tuned...

It's November!

I cant believe it is already November! Tim is flying by so fast and before we know it, the holidays will be here. I have already gotten a few holiday catalogs in the mail and so far, Wisteria has some of my favorite things for the holidays. These are the things I have picked if
I had the time and money to decorate for the holidays this year. If anything I think I will put my mini tree out and little Christmas village on our console table.

Some sizes of these candles are already sold out!

I have a tiny tabletop tree, but if I had a real full size tree, this skirt would be perfect.

I love these little birds, I would love to just have them and some cranberries on my tree this year. Simple and sparkly, l think the lights on the tree would reallly make these birds pop, I love it.

Friday at Last!

This week went by sooooo slow and thank heavens it is O V E R!

I officially have a new boss. Not my top pick, but we will see what happens. I am trying to be really optimistic about it and we will see what happens. The one positive thing is that I will be assisting just one person by 2008 (fingers crossed) as opposed to the 4 I have had for some time now. Looks like I might just be getting the job I was hired for 6 and a half years ago. My dream job is still radio DJ. There are a couple places here that are looking for an "on air personality" but I need to make a sample CD of my voice, etc. and am not too sure how to go about creating that. Anyway, somewhere in my future, I WILL be on the radio! I don't have any experience, but I think my personality will crush that! ha ha!

I am currently doing a pretty good job at balancing my two jobs (second job is part time at Craft Gym), home life and getting ready for baby and I still have time to ride my bike and go to yoga and keep my mind in line. I am having a lot of fun at this point in my life as well. I miss Apache so much though, that is one thing I would like to add back in, but can't because of the cost associated with riding. I am so sensitive about Apache, can't write anymore about him or I will cry at my desk and I don't want to do that right now.

I am so looking forward to getting home tonight. We have plans to watch a movie (Mr. Brooks) and just chill out. I have not gotten home early at all this week and I am aiming to get out of here at 4:30 today. Wish me luck!

Halloween is next week. Wendy and I are going to be Laverne & Shirley. We are still trying to figure out how to get the Shotz logo on our blue factory smocks, but I think I have it down (stencil and fabric paint). I am going to put the "L" on mine this weekend. I need to go and get decorations for the office this weekend or on Monday, that will be fun!

Well, I hope you all have a nice weekend!

The Search Continues...

I know I have not mentioned it before on my blog, but I am on a quest for the best Pad Thai in the Bay Area. I used to work up in San Rafael where I believe the best is there on 4th Street in one of the two restaurants - Tim and I have to go up there to determine which one it is. I think it is Tavan Thai and not My Thai, but like I said, we have to go check it out.
If anyone has any leads on a great place for Pad Thai in the Bay Area, let me know.
So far, I have tried:
~ Dusit Thai (too sweet and orange)
~ Pad Thai (you would think it would be the best, right? WRONG!) UPDATE - Went there for dinner tonight (11/4) and the Pad Thai was pretty good. Maybe I had it delivered before which damaged the taste, tonight it was very good though. Yummm.
~ Berkeley Thai Palace (WAY too much shrimp paste or something fishy)
~ Boran Thai Restaurant (nothing to write home about, lots of sauce)
~ Thai Stick 2000 (pretty good, we are getting close)
~ Herbivore (vegan and very good, it has a peanut sauce which I like, but it isn't the traditional Pad Thai so I feel like I cant officially enter it into the contest)
I know, I am not being very specific about what was so great about the best Pad Thai ever, so when we go up there to see if it is still the best and what it was about it, that made it the best. I remember it had broccoli and big pieces of carrot in it. I used to have lunch there every Friday with my old co-worker Greg. Maybe I need to look him up and find out what place it is - it has been years!

FRANKENSTEIN!

Look who I ran into at lunch today!!!!

Hard Knox Cafe

Do you like soul food?
Do you need soul food?
Do you have to have soul food?
Do you want to go to the best soul food restaurant run by a Vietnamese family this side of the Mississippi?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, you MUST go to Hard Knox Cafe in Potrero Hill (San Francisco).

HUGE portions, CHEAP prices and the food is KILLER...

Check out the menu: http://www.hardknoxcafe.com/

Local Crafty Event!

http://sfcraftmafia.com/mafia-made-2007-winter-trunk/

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day

The Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day trailer was at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival. I super love all of these products and just loved the purple trailer with the towel drying rack on top. The girls working inside did not seem too thrilled to be there, but whatever, I still loved it. If you have not used these products, you must treat yourself and get some. They are all natural, safe around animals and children and the smell will make your cleaning experience that much more enjoyable. They aren't too much more then the chemical products that cause cancer and they work just as well PLUS they wont ruin surfaces or the environment. over time. Wouldn't you rather be safe then sorry?
Be kind to yourself and the earth and try Mrs. Meyer's products.

PS - There is a new holiday Gingerbread scent in some products available online.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival

We are trying to check things like this out this year before we take the baby next year. We definitely want to make this a fall tradition, it was so much fun!
Cloudy and cold, but still a wonderful time.

Chicken Pumpkin Sausage!

We went home with this killer broom! Handmade and solid, here is the link to the site that sells them www.broommagic.com however, we got a deal buying it at the festival, they are more on the website. I have always loved my mothers Amish broom and now I have one close to it, the corn is from the Amish in IL, everything else is from Oregon.

Halloween Cards

I posted the quartet of cards I made last night on Magpie & Mockingbird, here they are one at a time. I purchased the blank cards, 3-D stickers and labels all at Michael's for less than $10.

Flea Market and Pizza!

I went to the Alameda Flea Market today with some friends. It was super cool but it was crazy hot and sunny outside so we pooped out earlier than planned. I can't wait to go again next month and pay extra to go in as an early bird.

Here are a couple photos:

After returning home, I had a craving for pizza, not just the delivery kind that is just warm when you get it and the box is soggy with steam. I wanted to go out for pizza, checkered tablecloths, coke by the pitcher and hot pizza right off of the pan it was cooked on. Tim and I decided to go over the Goat Hill Pizza and it was incredible.

Phew!

You know you have been busy when you can't update your blog because your job is making you a little nuts. Big changes at work, I am getting over the little hump right now until the big hump happens. I don't want to divulge too much about my workplace because this blog is not about that, but I am an Executive Assistant and the person that I assist left the company and I am kind of in limbo right now - not knowing who my new boss is going to be, etc. a little unsettling if you ask me. Some people I have talked to about it, get it, others act like it is no big deal maybe because something like this hasn't happened to them in their job or they aren't someones assistant. I guess you have to be in it, to get it. It isn't fun. At the same time, things may change for the better, which would be nice because my last guy didn't utilize my skills, he just sort of "pimped" me out to other people, which sucked because I never knew who I was working for AND I never knew who he promised I would help so I was in a weird situation. Lots of people asking me for things and not knowing who was a priority. Uck!

Anyway, enough about that, I hope to be able to update more often now. We will see how that works out.

BOOK SWAP

Helping out with a little PR.
Anyone want to join a bookswap? I know you must have a couple already read books laying around. Who knows...you may end up with some of my cast aways.
Check it out.
Bookswap!

Super Sonic Update

My super sonic update in a love/hate format (thanks Jihan for the idea).

• Love that I have a bike now, thanks Brian!
• Hate that I have to get used to a new boss soon
• Love "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace", it got me through the last week of craziness
• Love the BayLee didn't freak out when he met Frankie
• Love seeing people after 4 years that look totally different but just pick up where you left off.
• Love that Jihan is trying out for next Food Network Star, she is SO going to win
• Love my new sacred heart necklace
• Hate that my stomach hurts a lot lately and I am nauseous most of the time (no, I am not pregnant)
• Love that I am going to the Alameda Flea Market this weekend with a gang of gals
• Hate that I don't have time to clean my house
• Love that I don't have time to clean my house!
• Love that Angela is going to come over and help me purge in November
• Love that our adoption paperwork is going to Vietnam this week and we won't have to wait too much longer for our baby!
• Love that it is Sara's Birthday and she is spending it with her love in New Zealand
• Hate that I have not had a vacation since October 11-24, 2006
• Love that I am getting my hair cut tomorrow
• Love that I start my second job in a couple weeks and already feel like a part of the team
• Love that I am going to get a new tattoo soon
• Hate waiting for the consultation and drawing appointment for the new tattoo
• Hate when people are sneaky and competitive
• Love making this list!

Busy as a...

ANTM Tonight!

Cycle 9 starts tonight on the CW network!

Back 2 School Swap

I went to the post office yesterday to pick up my Back 2 School Swap gift. What a great way to end the day!

My swap partner was Caroline who is an amazing woman. I honestly don't know how she does it, check out her blog. She is a new Mom and a jewelry designer and is always up to something super creative. Thanks Caroline, the gift was awesome. You inspire me to be SuperMom like you are.
Here is what I got:

* Super cute (and pink, I love PINK) Hello Kitty lunch box and thermos. I brought the lunch box to work today with my lunch in it!
* YanYan, which I learned about from Tim (his is Filipino and grew up with it), I call it yum yum!
* The cutest binder clips I have ever seen!
* Nice hemp twine that changes from dark gray to white
* A mini moon pie to snack on - love it and believe it or not, I have NEVER had one.
* 2 sweet little composition books - you cant have too many little pads around when you are always bubbling with ideas I like I am.
* A great pen, no one better steal this from my desk!
* To top it off, the sweetest earrings - I think they are garnet and I LOVE them! They are put together in such a way, they look like a little beaded lady.

Great swap! It is always nice to meet someone new as well. I have added Caroline's blog to my list of Blogs and Sites I Dig.

Weekend Recap

Monday is here, blah blah blah.

The weekend went by WAY too fast as usual.
Saturday, Tim and I headed up to Sacramento to visit Angela, Brian and Frankie. We had a great time as always. We basically rode bikes, sat outside and ate all day. It was wonderful. I haven't been on a bike in so long, it was so much fun! I felt like a kid again. Angela and I ran errands on the bikes. Tim and I were laughing because we had never seen each other ride bikes before, it was really cute. I can't wait until I have a bike of my own so I can ride it all over the place. I hope to one day be able to ride to BART and then ride from BART to work, it would save me some dough for sure. I love suburbia - I was telling Angela, her neighborhood totally reminds me of my hometown in Michigan, trees everywhere, modest size houses and nice people. I love sitting in the backyard just chilling with friends and playing with the dogs. To me there is no better Saturday afternoon.

Here are some photos of Tim with Frankie in the baby bjorn (which we both had to try!).

Winter is Coming

I never took a second to think....

Are the items in my purse getting cold this winter?

Until I saw this ad for Kate Spade.

Timothy Scissorhands

Saturday night, Tim offered to cut my hair (trim).

I was a little reluctant to let him do it.

I survived, and so did my hair! He literally only took like 1 mm off, it was pretty funny when I looked into the dust pan when he was done.

Low of the Day

First I want to thank Jess for introducing me to the High and Low of the day system. Thanks Jess, today I have a low...
Let me right-off-the-bat apologize for being all over the place right now. I am upset and am writing at a sort of stream of consciousness pace.

I emailed Carol (my old riding instructor) and told her my schedule had mellowed and I wanted to come and groom Apache and turn him out if I might. She wrote me back and told me that I better hurry because if Judy can't sell him she is going to "get rid" of him. I don't know what all of that is about and have had a permanent lump in my throat ever since I got that email. I told Wendy about it and really tried not to get upset at work, but once I walked in my door at home I told Tim about it and have been crying ever since. I checked pet finder and craigslist and Wendy checked the ranch website and he is not listed on any of them. I am going to go over there tomorrow and see what is going on. Perhaps a sponsorship opportunity will present itself. I am so upset. I don't really know how to explain the bond that I have with this horse. I feel awful that I haven't seen him in a while and then today all the sudden I tried to schedule something and my entire world came crumbling down upon me. You may remember me a while back (Feb-April posts) mentioning Cane and how he was really old and had a bad leg, well on top of the Apache situation, they had to put Cane down in late July. I feel like I let him and Apache down. I know Cane was sick and it wasn't looking good, so I can sort of let that go a little, but Apache. My sweet teddy bear Apache? You know, I am the only person he didn't buck off while working with him? You know that we used to "talk" to each other. He was always looked at as maybe not as built and svelte as the other horses but he has HEART. I think what we have in common is we are both a little thick around the waist and could stand to loose a few and we may not be the fastest or best looking beings on the block but we have strength that could take down the masses. I got over my fear of horses with Apache (Snickers (the horse, not the candy) helped, but not as much as Apache). I became a horsewoman with Apache. I NEVER thought that this would happen. I mean, if that kid at the ranch wasn't jumping him when he wasn't supposed to be Apache never would have gotten hurt, I wouldn't have stopped riding him and maybe this would have never happened. Poor Apache. I don't know what I am going to do even knowing that he is somewhere else. Can they install low jack on a horse so I know where he is at all times and plant a secret camera so I know he is being cared for? What horse person wouldnt want a horse that is like a giant dog? He is not a money maker, I know, but would be a great cowboys companion (Jess?). I have tp stop know because I have teared all over my keyboard and am getting a little sleepy because I am sad. If anyone knows anyone that is intersted in a sweet male quarterhorse please leave a comment. Maybe someone wants to buy him for me and I will pay the stall fee and take care of him? Again, like always, a girl has GOT to have a dream. If I dont have my dreams life is just a mass of grey.

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Pink Potty

We are getting a new potty today and my pink one is going away and will be replaced by a white one. Whaaa! It is going to bother me I know it, but it isnt my place and I have to let the landlord do what they want. Pooh!

Bird Tray

I love this bird tray - most of you may know my nickname is Magpie.

I think it would be so cute for a tea party with sandwiches on it.

3 Day Weekend

As much as I needed the money, I took Monday off due to the Bay Bridge being closed, BART on a holiday schedule and just a plain old pain in the ass to get to work. So, I took the weekend and got a lot of little projects done. For example I, :

• Completely gutted my cabinet in my bathroom (which was insane) and got rid of anything I hadn't used in the last couple weeks or was expired. Not sure why I had 3 mud masks, but only have one now and that is all that matters. I also cleaned out the medicine cabinet so on my side there are only things I use on a daily basis (face wash, toner, moisturizer, etc).
• Let the plumber in on Saturday morning to fix our old pink toilet that just keeps spinning water around but won't suck it down. Problem is not us, it is the city line in the street, old pipe and needs to be replaced, ouch!
• Took the pack-n-play and stroller along with other things that are taking up room for now to my storage unit. It will be easier to set up for Olive without all that stuff in there.
• Completely cleaned off the kitchen table (phew!) put the leaf back in and swept the floor.
• Mastered (not quite) my sewing machine and made this apron:
• Went super budget grocery shopping, and saved $30 with coupons and in store discounts. I love to see that on the receipt!
• Worked on Olive's Lifebook with Tim Monday morning. We sat at the newly cleaned off larger sized table and made pages in the scrapbook for both of our parents.
• Finished some embroidery projects that I had started some time ago.
• Made up a recipe for some cookies that are currently rocking Tim's world, SCORE! To view the recipe, click on Magpie's Kitchen.
• Cleaned out TON's of magazines I "thought" I wanted to keep. I tore out what I wanted in the magazines and put them in their appropriate binder.
• Page protected and bound ALL of our adoption paperwork. Needless to say, I need a significantly bigger binder. The project is on hold until I can get to an office supply store.
• Hung the reminder of my pie tins on my wall. My Mom sent some with Emily when she came to visit and I LOVE all of them. Thanks Mom!
• Much much more, but these are the major things. I still have a lot to do around my place. I wanted to gut my closet, I am sure there is some money to be made on some of my clothes I no longer wear. I will work on that this week (God willing).