Productive Sunday

Today has been a very productive day. We laid out padding for all the area rugs we bought yesterday at Target. Can you believe it? We looked in every rug store in the SF vicinity and couldn't find anything we liked. Went to Target and found three of the four we were looking for. One for the living room, one for the kitchen sink area, one for the entry hall, and one for the dining area. The one for the dining area, we ordered from Home Depot - so it should be here in about two weeks.

So, today was 'fix up the condo' day. For the first time, we drilled holes in our immaculate walls. Oh, the pain of hearing that drill! I love our beautiful walls - and I know it's silly - but it's kind of like getting that first little scratch on your brand new car. You know it's enevitable, but it still hurts. We put up a little shelf for the speaker that goes behind the TV. Then, we worked on laying out all the padding and the area rugs.

Right now, my hubby is in the living room putting up the curtains. So, I'm hearing more drilling. It's all coming along. I'm in the study going through the pyramid of boxes. I've cleared out two so far, still dumping stuff along the way. It's slowly coming together - hopefully, once the hectic month of August is over, we'll be able to sit back and enjoy our home together. Our clean home.

We also bought a Swiffer vac yesterday. I L-O-V-E it! I just wanted something simple that could vaccum up all the hair in our bathroom and the border areas of our living room. There is so much cat hair! And to think I used to lie on the carpet all the time in our old apartment. No wonder my allergies were terrible! The little Swiffer vac just sucked it all up. The pad protected our bamboo floors. It's perfect! Can't use it on carpet at all though, but that's OK. As long as our bathroom and living room floors are hairless, I'm happy. It's kind of gross to see clumps of hair everywhere, you know?

Speaking of cat, here are today's Monte Moments...

Let's go to the movies

Over the last month, and I don't know where we've found the time, my hubby and I have been able to watch several of the movies we saved from the last year. We finally watched Taking Lives, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, I Heart Huckabees, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Confidence, and a special preview of The Island.

Except for I Heart Huckabee's, I loved every single movie and would recommend them all. I'm not a huge Jim Carrey fan, but every movie I've seen him in, I've really enjoyed. He was very good in the Lemony Snicket movie - but he was excellent in Eternal Sunshine (Kate Winslet was fabulous also). Ewan McGregor is very good in The Island, and Scarlett Johansson, you just can't believe the girl is only 21 years old. She's a wonderful actress.

I've felt very guilty that I've been working almost every night for the past four weeks. My poor husband, though he finally gets some quiet baseball time, would rather have me nag him to change the channel than him sit there by himself all night, while I'm on the computer. So, I've been trying to make time and we, at the least, watch a movie together over dinner before I head back to the keyboard.

It's been a rough month of July. Hopefully August will be better. Still very hectic, but hopefully better.

Why?

Why is it that cats just love burrow? If I open any drawer, suddenly, I'll have a black and white cat next to me peaking in. Eventually, if I leave the drawer open, its contents will be shoved out, and Monte has found himself a new place to hang out. Any open boxes or bags? He's in it.



Kind of slows the unpacking process a bit, ya know? Yes, we're STILL unpacking - and far from being finished. July and August are our busiest months, so we really don't get any good weekend time to ourselves. We have a big trip to upstate New York in a few weeks - so once that's over and done with, we will be able to actually have more than one weekend in a row to try and finally make our new place look like a livable home.

Here's one more Monte moment for the road...

Missed it...

I can't believe I missed it.

Les Miserables - my most favorite musical in the world, has come and gone. It was only in SF for about two months. I believe it's on its way to Bejing for its debut there. Aside from our budget being much tighter now, because we only moved on July 2nd, I've already seen it six times in the past several years. So, I just couldn't justify $180 for two tickets. But then again, it's not like a DVD you can pop in any old time to see it - when it's here, that's the only opportunity to enjoy it. The CD just doesn't bring you that thrill of that first note of the music hitting your ears, and the audience comes to a complete silence.

I hope it comes back in a few years. I'm more upset about missing this production because when I first saw it in 1989, it was at the Curran Theater and it was a full scale production that stayed for about 2 years, I believe. I saw it three times then. The other touring shows I've seen in later years were much smaller scale tour companies, and just simply were not that good. This latest visit was back in it's original home at the Curran. I heard that this was, again, a full production, not the skimpy travel show. I'm bummed.

Slow sweater progress

Well, every night since I started this project over the weekend, I've been trying to do a couple of rows on my 'Under the Hoodie' sweater. I've only made scarves before, so this one, having 95 stitches per row - gets me to a point where it feels almost like one row takes forever to finish.

So, here's my progress so far...















I've never used circular needles before, and I must say I do enjoy being able to put down my work and not worrying about it falling off the needle. I like being able to roll it up and neatly put it away. My mother-in-law thought it was kind of funny that I was knitting a sweater while we were sitting in 80+ degree weather in Tahoe. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky if I actually finish it by December. It's also funny that, even though my favorite color is pink, I've only made one pink scarf. Everything else has been blue. What's up with that???

A bit overwhelmed

We just came back from a very relaxing weekend in Lake Tahoe. My husband's parents rent the same condo up there year after year during the summer - so, it's become our annual family weekend getaway. We usually head up there on a Friday, spend a gloriously hot day by the pool all day Saturday, get in a little more pool time on Sunday before heading back to the city. Ah... it was some much needed relaxation, vegetation time.

So, it's Monday again. It's only 12:50p, and I'm SO overwhelmed. There had been a lot of changes, some good and some bad. Bad is that my work has piled up 5x the usual load, and I'm completely backlogged. We're getting no help, and it just looks like it's going to get worse and worse. I complain to my buddies in my neighboring team every day, and I hate doing that. All I do is complain now. That's all my husband hears when I get home too - WAH, WAH, WAH! I try to do all my griping before I get on the computer and work again until 11pm. At least, since the move, my commute has been shorter now - so I get a little more home time, rather than bus time. Working from home, I can have dinner with my hubby and then get sympathy hugs every half hour or so while I'm working. It's just too much.


I did manage to start a new knitting project this weekend though. It's the 'Under the Hoodie' sweater from the Stitch 'N Bitch book. It's one pink picture on the right. My sweater is going to be two shades of blue with beige.

Did you know Debbie Stoller is coming out with a Crochet book soon? It's called Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. I can't wait to get it. I like the way she writes and I understand her instructions. Maybe I'll have better luck with the ski cap I'm trying to crochet for my friend for Christmas.

I wish I could bring my knitting to work - it would be so relaxing. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to, because when client's come around, we don't look professional. Whatever.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

As I wrote in my last entry, what more could you want out of life than good friends? Well, tonight, a very special group of people who are near and dear to my heart, really out did themselves. Nearly made me cry.

My husband and I went over to my friend Sue's place this afternoon for the BBQ taste test. As we all sat around chatting and snacking, Sue suddenly announces that there was an ulterior motive to this party. Out comes this big gift wrapped box with a sparkely yellow bow on it. It was a housewarming gift for us! Just reading the card was enough to get me teary - to see how happy our friends were that we were finally home owners.

What did they give us? A Kitchenaid mixer! Ah, but not just any Kitchenaid mixer. It's the PINK one!!! And not just the pink one, the SHINY pink one! Oh JOY! I have been wanting this mixer since forever! I never bought it because we never had room in our kitchen at the old apartment, and the current models of the mixer now come in a matte finish, which I don't like. Somehow, my friends found the exact one I wanted. I couldn't believe it. I get a big lump in my throat just thinking about what a wonderful group of people my friends are.

The first thing I did when we came home tonight was to make a special place of honor on the counter for my prized mixer. Oh, what a thing of beauty it is. First culinary masterpiece that will be made from my beloved mixer? Cherry topped, cheesecake cupcakes for my friends. Now, if I could just find my recipe book in our pyramid of boxes...

Friends and BBQ - what more could you want?

Check it out! Blogger now has the option to download images directly without having to go through Picasa or Hello anymore. What a convenience! So, first things first. Here are some pictures from our rafting trip last weekend. I took the two bigger shots of our friend's boat. The two smaller shots are of our boat - taken by the professional photographer they have there for that specific rapid. This rapid is called the Tunnel Chute. I love how you can barely see our boat. Yes, we were drenched.

It's been a very stressful week at work. Office politics, coworkers, company transformation... it's all a big mess right now. At 9am, I sent an email to several friends calling for an Urgent Night Out. Yes, it's been that bad of a week. I needed something fun to look forward to. We all met up at the View Lounge at the top of the Hyatt. It was a very fun evening. After having a 'Toasted Almond' and a 'Pistachio Martini', work no longer bothered me. Hmmm, actually, nothing bothered me anymore. Hee hee... A couple of us walked back to our condo and we had a light dinner. It was a fun and relaxing evening with good friends.

This Sunday, my friend Sue is having a BBQ tasting party at her place. She's getting BBQ ribs and brisket from two places (I believe Big Nate's and Brothers???) and we're going to see which one has the best BBQ recipe. In all honesty, I don't care. The fact that it's BBQ ribs is enough for me. Wondering if I should eat today, so I can chow down more tomorrow. :)

White water fun

The weekend has come and gone. Twelve of us went white water rafting at the American River this weekend. We left on Friday afternoon and set up camp at the EarthTrek Expeditions site. Had the mandatory night around a large campfire, catching up with old friends, watching friends make new friends. The only thing missing was a guitar and smores.

The next morning, we had breakfast and were on the bus by 8:45am. By 9:30a we were geared up in helmuts and lifevests and putting our feet into the ice cold water of the Middle Fork river. I'll tell you, not even the strongest coffee in the world has the same wakeup punch as that ice water.

The day was AWESOME! I almost fell out twice, but my record has not been broken yet. At one point, my butt was off the raft and in the water, but I managed to grab on to a line in the boat and haul myself back in. WHEW!!! It's not that I'm scared of falling in or anything. It's just that the water is so cold - I really didn't want a full body dunk if I could help it. It was an exhausting day, but well worth it. Everyone had a blast. That night, the firepit was occupied by another group, so we sat around our little citronella candle and told ghost stories all night. Kind of a funny sight. Twelve of us huddled around a little yellow candle.

The next morning, we packed up and headed our separate ways. It was a wonderful weekend. I already can't wait until our next white water adventure next year.

Now, I get to actually go home each night and clean up our mess of a home. Our friend who stayed with us left this morning, so the study will once again become a disaster area as I spread out and sort all my little goodies and try to find the perfect place for everything.

Still haven't set up my computer at home yet, so pictures will have to wait. But I'll try to get them up soon.

Self-cleaning, a good thing

So, I think I've made my last trip to the old apartment. Everything is vacuumed, scrubbed, and sparkling clean now. All that is left is a huge pile of stuff to be donated, and my husband is going to get the van and take care of that.

As I mentioned before, I started the self-cleaning oven the other night. I've never done that before. The last time I cleaned the oven I used Easy-Off. I love the stuff! Well, being a little more tired lately, I just didn't feel like breaking out the bucket and sponges this time, so I tried the self-cleaning option. WOW - it must have been hell hot in there because it was spotless - just a pile of ash on the bottom. I just vacuumed it up and was done! Love it.

We're going white water rafting this weekend! We leave tomorrow afternoon. I'm so excited. I love white water rafting. We've made this an annual trip for the past five years. There's nothing more exhilarating than plunging down a waterfall (class 5 rapid) and the cold water just envelopes you for a few seconds. BRRRRR! It feels so good to look back and think "My God, did we just come down that!?!"

It's going to be so much fun because this time, more of my friends from work are going and we always have a blast together. I still hate camping (I'm 100% city girl), but one weekend a year with friends on the river, I'll sacrifice my hairdryer and computer for a day or two.

Exhausted

I am utterly exhausted. Sitting here at my desk, I just have no energy and my eyes feel like they're on fire. On Sunday, we went back and forth from the old apt to the condo, moving more stuff. On Monday, we loaded with car with 'almost' the last of our stuff (my goodness!) and then I vacuumed the entire apartment, cleaned all the counters and appliances in the kitchen, and then started the 'self-cleaning' oven. My hubby is redoing the caulking around the bathtub.

To explain a little on why we're doing all this... The apartment belongs to my parents. We've been renting from them for the last nine years. So, even though they keep saying, "Just leave it. We'll have someone come in to clean it," I just can't leave it in a mess. I just can't do it. In all honest, I did the same for all three apartments I had in an Diego. I just don't like leaving things in a mess like that.

So, sometime this week, we're going back so my husband can finish the bathtub, and I will vacuum out the ashes from the oven. The last few items to bring back are the vacuum cleaner, various cleaning products, a couple of large, framed pictures, and my beloved Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera posters (yet to be framed).

All in all, this was an incredibly busy, non-stop weekend. I think this is the most calm I've been in the past four days. I'm drained.

New home

It's been a few days, but my lag in blogging is excused by a very good reason. We've moved! Yes, Friday was a hectic day to get everything ready - so that was pretty much a blur of sweat, stress, and panic.

Saturday, we woke up early and packed some more. As I had mentioned before, thanks to a friend's suggestion, we hired Delancey Street Movers to help us. I will tell you this in all honesty. If you are moving in San Francisco (I don't know if they do other cities/states) and in the process of researching movers, look no further. Delancey Street is EXCELLENT. My husband and I can't say enough about them. For our move, they sent four movers. Within 4 hours, they moved our boxes and furniture, and even helped pack up our closets for us (we had planned to move our hanging clothes ourselves). They were extremly courteous and polite. They were very careful with all our belongings and even just the buildings in general. No scrapes or dents in the walls. Everything is perfect. Thank you Cristian, Justin, Richard, and David! You guys are awesome! Go ahead and look for other people's reviews on Delancey's services.

In other news, I'm back to Dial-up Service for my internet. WAH!!! It is so difficult to go back! I've had Earthlink DSL for about three months, and it is just so difficult having to sit and wait five minutes before I can look a blog, or even something simple as checking my email. It's pure hell.

Why am I back with Dial-up? Because my service provider, Earthlink, for some stupid reason, declined to provide DSL service in my building. The only thing I can do in my area now, if I want to keep my current provider, is to switch to their Satellite service - for $69.99 a month. Uh, not going to happen. If I cancel my DSL service and switch to one of the other companies, I will have to pay Earthlink a penalty fee of $149.99 for early termination of service - because I haven't fulfilled my one year subscription. Unbelievable!

I'm checking with Earthlink now to see if they'll be smart enough to change their decision on this totally lack of judgement. I don't want to cancel my service, and then suddenly find out that they changed their minds and are offering service to my building. I'm in a new complex, with several hundred units. There is another complex on the next block that is being built right now. That project looks huge, and I'm sure will also be selling several hundred units. Is Earthlink going to miss out and make all of us go with Comcast or SBC?

No bonus check for the person who signed off on that agreement this year.

Anyway, on less frustrating matters, today we made two big trips back to our old apartment to move MORE things! Yes, we have that much stuff. Would you believe I found some outfits from my college days today? They were moved yesterday, but when organizing the closets this morning, I found clothes that I haven't worn in over 15 years! Amazing. Those went straight to the donation pile. We're not done yet. One more load to go at the old apartment. We haven't cleared out the freezer yet either. We're going to have to borrow a van from my husband's work and move a huge load of stuff we're donating. Can't complain. That means none of that stuff had to be moved. We actually have to bring back an old chair and a futon from here to be donated too. After that, we are goingt o vacuum up the nine years of dust bunnies that had accumulated under our furniture and is now out in the open in our empty apartment. It's pretty disgusting actually.

This move has really opened my eyes and soul to embrace the wonderful world of simplicity. I have way too much stuff. You'd think that since I love shows like Clean Sweep or Clean House, I would have learned that I don't need to keep all this stuff. Clutter is bad. Clothes you haven't seen in 15 years is bad.

Most important part of this move, little Monte has finally come out from under the bed, where he has been hiding for most of last night and today, and is sleeping comfortably next to me on his favorite blanket. It was a tough day for the little guy. We brought him over to my grandma's around noon, and then picked him up after the main moving was over and we had a chance to organize a little bit. He was so freaked that it took him a few minutes to come out of his travel box - and he HATES that thing. Once he saw the bed, under it he went. I'm so glad that I've been able to walk in and out of the bedroom tonight and he stayed on his blanket. He's actually up and wandering about right now. I think Monte is going to be just fine.

Home sweet home. What a wonderful feeling!