Time just keeps flying by...

... and I'm trying to keep up.

The last couple of months have been extremely busy at work. As a result, when I get home, I tend to just zone out in front of the TV or computer and just look at brain candy sites, or play video games. I've recently discovered the joy of Guitar Hero... yeah, I'm a nerd.

Monte has been doing better. His blood count is back up. He did have a couple of weeks where it dropped again, because the vet changed his med dosage. When we changed it back, his numbers went back up immediately. I also gave him his shot for the first time last week. My hubby usually gets that honor. I just can't help but feel that I'm hurting him and I freak out. Anyway, I know I can do it now (when I need to).

On a much lighter note, I'm feeling like a kid again - rediscovering make-up! I've found these great tutorial videos on YouTube and have been experimenting with different products and colors. Yep, stuff I did when I started wearing make-up back in high school. Of course, nowadays, there's much more stuff to select from and enjoy!

To the ladies out there, I'm so excited about this one product, I have to share. I don't know how I've lived without this before. Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Girls - it's amazing. I get greasy eyelids that tend to crease regardless of whatever eyeshadow I use. I've used the Shadow Insurance for about two weeks now - no more creasing. Seriously. None! It's $17 at Sephora. A bit pricy, but you use so little of it each time, the tube will last forever. And now I actually enjoy wearing eye make-up because I don't feel it's just being wasted.

Silly stuff, I know - but with work and Monte, I just need some non-serious fun.

Also tried out Everyday Minerals make-up. I tried it only because you can get a free sample kit of three shades of foundation, a blush and a concealer - you only pay for shipping of about $3 (at least, that's what it cost for me). Unfortunately, one of the shades of the mineral make-up made me breakout in hives (light olive), but their flat top brush rocks! So soft - it feels like feathers on your skin when applying mineral make-up. I use it with my Bare Minerals now.

Another great find is e.l.f. (eyeslipsface.com). GREAT deals on brushes... most are only $1. ONE DOLLAR! Where can you get anything nowadays for a buck? Anyway, the eyeshadow brushes are amazing. No more $18 ones from Sephora for me. Ever.

Yep - getting really girly lately, but that's OK. :) These are some great bargains and products and I just thought it would be fun to share with my friends. Enjoy!

Where does the time go?

Busy, busy... no wonder I've kind of been letting this blog get dusty and cobwebby...

My cold turned into bronchitis - but I didn't know it. Never had it before. Husband dragged me to the doctor, where we discovered I was risking pneumonia if I didn't start on antibiotics STAT! So I did - much better now.

Hubby had surgery on his shoulder (old sports injuries), so I was taking care of him for most of December. Included in the chaos - handling all things Christmas (shopping, wrapping, shipping, cards, dinners, birthday parties) and playing chauffeur. Yeah, this chick is glad the holidays are over. Sad to say, I never did get into the holiday spirit. Aside from the gifts, there was nothing Christmasy in our home for the first time EVER.

Good news is that hubby is well on his way to a speedy recovery. Work is getting back to it's usual busy pace. I'm no longer the designated driver either (very sad during the holiday parties). The stress is slowly going away. WHEW!!!

Looking forward to a calmer year in 2009!

It's been a while...

Almost a month. So many things going on - there's just no time to really sit and blog lately.

Been fighting a cold for about a week, but it finally did happen - so that's slowed me down. Been doing Christmas shopping and wrapping - something I usually get done by November. So, I've been a little stressed about that. Hubby just had shoulder surgery (for old injuries) so I've been taking care of him. His arm will be in a sling for about 3 weeks, so with that, everything for the holidays falls on my shoulders.

Do I sound stressed? Maybe a little?

Still haven't gotten into the holiday spirit - and at this point, just waiting for Christmas and then New Years... and then looking forward to getting back to a normal schedule.

I did manage to get to Downtown Macy's and check the little kittens and puppies at their SPCA display, and see the big tree in Union Square - those made me happy.

Hoping I'll be able to enjoy Christmas a bit more when it finally arrives. Pass the egg nog!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I haven't been around for a while. Been keeping busy - lots of stuff has happened in the last few weeks, but it's all good. Christmas is looming around the corner already! Where did the year go?

Before all the activities of today starts, I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm so thankful this year for my family and friends. My life wouldn't be the same without you in it. Life is good. I love you all.

What a month!

Sorry to be out of touch for so long. It's been a roller coaster ride with Monte and while it's leveling off a bit now, we're still in the middle of tests and trying to find out what we can do to make Monte comfy.

To spare the details about the endless vet visits, we're at a point where we've found that Monte is just not generating enough red blood cells. No one knows why. He has CRF and anemia is a symptom of it, but he's no where near that stage yet.

Monte gets a shot (at home) every other day for the next three weeks. We hope that this will help kick up the regeneration of blood cells. He's been eating more the last two weeks or so, and has gained back a pound. He's not as boney as he was before. We hope he'll continue to gain weight. He's more active and doesn't feel the need to hide all the time now. He's definitely more loving - nudging us, demanding some hugs.

It's good to hear those loud purrs again.

The GREAT news!

Monte does not have cancer! He does not have a tumor!

We brought him to a specialist on Thursday, and they confirmed it. Poor kitty has gone through two weeks of hell. Blood tests, ultrasounds, x-rays...

The final analysis is that his own body is attacking his red blood cells. No one knows why, but that is why we were seeing blood in his urine, and why he was so sluggish.

He's on steroids now, and some other antibiotics - but we're seeing a whole new Monte now. He's eating again, drinking water, running around, and just so incredibly loving. We can't sit without finding him in our laps almost immediately. And just to hear the most divine music every day (his purr) - there are no words to describe it.

One more visit next Friday to see if he's gained some weight back and to check if the medications are helping his blood production.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers for my little guy. He may be old (16 next month), but he's got some more time with us.

The Unknown

Well folks, Monte isn't doing too well. He's very tired (sleeping all day), and he's not eating much, so he's losing weight. He had a bad cold a couple weeks ago, and he's better from that already - but that didn't bring his appetite back. His whole routine/behavior has changed.

In checking something else online last week, my hubby read something about checking the cat's gums and tongue. Unfortunately, they were very pale - which means he could be anemic. I guess it's a common occurance for cats with chronic renal failure, which Monte has. When he was diagnosed back in March, he was at the very beginning stages of it. He had to be checked twice to be sure - it was so minimal.

We took him to the vet last week. They thought he may have a urinary tract infection - so he's on anti-biotics. Further tests of his blood leaves a question - and that requires more bloodwork and now an ultrasound and a full body x-ray.

I'm freaking out. Words have been tossed out there about the unknown... blood parasites, he may have had a stroke, cancer...

I know he's not leaving us right away, but the reality is there, and doesn't seem that far away anymore. What am I going to do without my Monte? He's everything to me. I held him in my arms today and made a determined memory of what it felt like. I want to keep every memory of him. How his fur feels, what his purrs sound like when I rest my head on him, that sweet meow of greeting when we walk through the door after work.

Cloud 9

Bad weekend. Still getting over a bad cold. Almost had bad news about Monte, but turns out he's OK. Long story short - we thought he had anemia (a common result of chronic renal failure). We took him to the vet and while they did confirm that Monte is mildly anemic, it's not the cause of his odd behavior and lack of appetite lately. Turns out he may have a urinary tract infection. My poor baby. He's on antibiotics now. Hopefully, he'll be back to his old self within a few days.

Why am I on Cloud 9 though? The day started out interestingly enough. Since I've been out of the office the last week, my coworkers took it upon themselves to totally load up my cube with cardboard boxes. A ton of them. Thanks guys.

So there I was for part of the morning, clearing out boxes and plotting revenge. Went for a late coffee run, and on my way back, who do I run into? Our beautiful Mayor, Gavin Newsom. HELLO GORGEOUS. I was so giddy, I couldn't take a proper picture. Luckily I grabbed someone close by and they took the picture for me. :)

I might as well go home. I'm useless today. He's just dreamy.

I'm married, but I'm not blind.



So all I can say is, "Thanks guys for messing up my office, and making me go for my morning coffee run late." HAHAHA!

Some things you just don't want to hear...

So cruel it is to come home from work and hear a dog outside my window howling and crying. My heart just went out the the little guy. New neighbors downstairs have a beagle and he was just tied with a leash to the gate of the patio area of that condo. Poor baby is totally whimpering.

I couldn't help myself. I went downstairs and stayed with him for a while through the gate. After he accepted that I wasn't going to let him out, he sat by me and I just pet him. He's a good little dog.

A security passed by and told me that the dog had gotten through the gate earlier today, but he wasn't sure if it was the owners or someone else had tied him to the gate with the leash. The dog had been crying for hours already.

While security and I were there, the owners came back. I felt like cursing them out, but I guess they didn't know the dog could get out of the patio area. It's not a small space - he would have had plenty of room to run around. His kennel was also out there and some toys - I think he would have been OK.

Maybe (hopefully) they'll put something on the gate to prevent him from getting out again. But it's so windy here, they really shouldn't leave the little guy outside all day anyway.

Found out yesterday that our new neighbors are smokers too. Can't tell them not to smoke on their own patio. How do I know they smoke? The smell comes straight into our unit. Isn't that lovely? It's 80+ degrees outside lately - can't exactly close our windows. No AC.

Makes me love my neighbors even more.

Sharing my birthday

Congratulations to one of my bestest friends, Josephine. She and her hubby welcomed baby girl, Kara, this morning. Almost at the same time as I was born. HA! And also Year of the Rat, no less.

Baby is beautiful (from her picture) and mom and dad will be heading home tomorrow.

Welcome Kara! I hope you will know one day how much you were loved before you even arrived. You have two wonderful parents and I can't wait to meet you.

The kindness of strangers

So, walking back from my usual morning Starbucks coffee run, my friend and I passed by two people hovering over something. Taking a closer look, it was a little yellow and black bird. I mean, if one wasn't paying attention, you could have walked right over it and not even know. It was so small. Poor thing was just sitting there. At first I thought it was a toy, but then I saw his little black eyes blinking. Poor thing - didn't know where it came from, but there is was on the busy downtown street - probably hurt, most definitely terrified.

The two people hunched over the bird said that they had called SPCA and were waiting for them to come collect the little guy. One of them went and found a box cover and then gently placed the little one in it. At that point, we could see that one if its poor little legs was kind of mangled. My heart just went out to that bird.

I personally wouldn't have known what to do. I'm glad there are still people in the world who notice the little things and have the big hearts to do what they can to help.

Business trip

I just came back from a trip to San Luis Obispo. We have offices down that way and I had to go through testing to pass security and get a special badge.

To make a long, hectic story short... I drove down Sunday afternoon, went through my testing on Monday, packed and was ready to go on Tuesday morning when I received a call that they needed to ask me some more questions. I managed to get the interview schedule for Wed morning.

Still - on Tuesday, I scrambled to find another hotel because the original one I was staying at was booked, and they didn't expect me to need to stay one extra night. So, I moved over to a new hotel - but not before getting a little lunch and managing to lock my car keys in the trunk of the car. Sigh... Luckily, my work sent someone from the office who got the door open and pushed that magical little button to pop open the trunk. WHEW!!!

The stay overall was very nice. The hotels were in Pismo beach and at my first hotel, I literally walked 20 feet and was on the powder soft sand. They even had a swing set - right there on the beach. There's nothing like being on a swing, feet brushing sand, and watching a magnificent sunset in the distance.

Anyway, it was a long drive, but I'm proud of myself for doing it. I've never driven that long a distance by myself before. I used to drive from San Diego to San Francisco all the time during college, but I always had people with me.

So good... but so bad!

We had a pot luck luncheon today at work. Oh my gosh... totally ruined my diet for the day.

I brought in Balsamic/Sesame chicken wings. Other tasty treats included two kinds of BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, Peking duck, chow mein, fried chicken drumsticks, Mongolian beef, salad, rice crispy treats, ginger spice cookies, lemon squares... Oh my gosh. I didn't even taste everything - I was too full. But now my bag is full of leftovers I'm bringing home for hubby.

Time for a nice long nap. Might as well. Not going to get any work done for the rest of the afternoon.

Is it just me...

...0r is this just such an inappropriate commercial? Have you seen the new commercials for this new company called Cash4Gold? Basically, you can sell your gold to them.

The commercial starts with a couple at the dining table. Suddenly, the man starts choking and I guess passes out. Instead of helping, the woman starts trying to take off the man's exaggerated gold jewelry. Then it goes to another scene of an old woman sleeping. She yawns and you see that she had gold fillings. Another woman comes in with a pair of pliers and makes it look like she's pulling those teeth out.

What the F***?

At first I thought this must be some joke commercial, but nope. They played it several times during the show I was watching.

Holy inappropriateness...

Batman: The Dark Knight

We watched Batman: The Dark Knight this weekend. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. There was just too much hype about Heath Ledger - and I was sick of hearing about him before I even saw the movie. I mean, they were talking about Oscar nomination before the movie was even released in the theaters.

Well, I humbly step back and I have to agree. Heath Ledger was awesome. I didn't know what to expect from him as The Joker, but man! He delivered it. He was freaky, funny, and just left chills going down your spine with his complete insanity.

The special effects of the movie were incredible as well.

The only gripe I have is... what is up with the way Christian Bale speaks when he's Batman??? Half the time you can't understand what he's staying - and it's just stupid. Did he do this 'growl' in Batman Begins? I don't think he did - at least not this bad.

Farewell Auntie Rosalie

Well, this is a depressing month... we just found out that my hubby's aunt passed away early Friday morning. She was a wonderful and caring woman. She was never without a big smile. We had celebrated her 80th birthday earlier this year.

We will all miss you auntie. You always treated me like your true niece, and I always thought of you as my true aunt. And you always will be to me.

Summer of movies

The shows are on summer break, so what better time to go to the movies? This is rare. I think we've seen more movies in the theater these past few months than in the last few years! They have some good stuff out there.

Iron Man - GREAT movie. Recommend to everyone. I love Robert Downey, Jr.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - It was ok. I like the other films better.
Sex and the City - LOVED IT! If you love the show - go see the movie. That's all I'm gonna say.

Now We're waiting for The Dark Knight to come out. I hope it's awesome, because the trailers have me on the edge of my seat.

As far as catch up DVDs...

Marie Antoinette - didn't like it, but I loved the costumes and the shots at Versailles.
Grindhouse - if you like mindless blood and guts, go for it. I didn't like it.
I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry - good, funny, another good Adam Sandler movie.
Knocked Up - predictable, but it's good. Not hysterical funny, but good.
Office Space - "Work Sucks" e'nuf said.
Ju-On: The Grudge 2 - once is enough, not necessary.
Shrek the Third - like the first two better.
Fracture - it was OK. Not necessary.
Disturbia - frustrating. So many other things the character could have done differently.
Seasons one and two of Dead Like Me - great show. Big plot holes that should not have happened. Waiting for the DVD movie to come out this year.

Starting to watch Wonderfalls. Only watched the pilot episode so far. Kind of like Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies style of show. We'll see...

Farewell to my grand uncle 15

I have a huge family. My dad's side is big (13 uncles and aunts), but on my mom's side, it's crazy big. We're talking 19 siblings in my grandfather's generation. To explain, my great-grandfather had 4 wives (older Chinese times my friends). So, it's 19 siblings divided among 4 women. I guess it shouldn't be too shocking - after all, there is that family in Texas who has 18 children and just the two parents. So, kudos to my dad's parents who had my 13 uncles and aunts on their own.

In Chinese, we don't refer to uncles and aunts by their names in a situation like this. You don't say this in English, but in Chinese we call them uncle or aunt followed by their birth order.

With all that said, I just found out from my mom that my grand uncle 15 recently passed away in Toronto, Canada. I didn't know him well, but as he was one of the closer brothers with my grandfather, I had the opportunity to see him more often than my other grand uncles and aunts.

My grand uncle 15 used to perform magic tricks for me. They were simple tricks, but as a kid, I was amazed - and every opportunity when I saw him, I wanted a new magic trick. I remember he gave me a Donald Duck doll too. I guess my memory of him is that he made me laugh, and he was someone who did things that boggled my mind - and in a way, I loved him for that.

I will miss you grand uncle.

Completely confused - but not anymore

I'm a big horror movie fan, but last night, I was just completely confused and couldn't sleep until I figured it out - you know, the important stuff in life keeps me awake.

Most people know that 'The Grudge' series of movies staring Sarah Michelle Gellar were produced by the same guy who did the original Japanese versions. Ju-On is the title of the Japanese version. Fine.

Only talking about the Japanese versions now. I've watched Ju-on many times (or so I thought). I read a synopsis of Ju-on 2 - which is about a film crew making some sort of show based upon the terrible things that happened in the house, and then of course, things start happening to the crew members and actors. But when I actually watched Ju-on 2, the story was completely different. It was almost like an extended version of part 1, and revolved around a student - many shots in his school and at his family's home. What? What about the synopsis I had read? Where was the TV crew? Not to mention it was a horrible, low-budget film. Nothing like the first Ju-on I had seen. Did they run out of money or something?

Then last night, they were showing Ju-on 2 on TV again. With nothing else on, I decided to watch it. This time, it was a much better quality film and it was about the TV crew. I was completely confused.

Anyway, after researching on the web at 2am, I finally figured it out.

There is Ju-on, and Ju-on 2. Those were low budget films that showed on Japanese TV. Then a few years later, they made Ju-on: The Grudge and Ju-on: The Grudge 2. So, I guess what happened is that I've never really seen Ju-on, but went straight to The Grudge and then saw Ju-on 2. And then last night it was The Grudge 2.

I'm sure I've confused everyone who's reading this, but I'm happy to report that I understand now. So, out of the 4 movies made, I have never seen the very first one - which I'm going to try to find today and watch.

This is all crazy making, that's what it is. And to top it all off, they're making The Grudge 3 in America, which will be based on Ju-on 2 (with the TV show storyline). There will also be a Japanese version called Ju-on: The Grudge 3 - but I have no idea what that story will be about.

Sex and the City

OMG - I freakin' loved this movie! I'm a big fan of the show, so I was a little worried that the movie would make a mess of how the stories left off. Surprisingly, it was very well done. I laughed, and I even shed a tear (or two). Kind of predictable story, but that's totally OK. I loved seeing my girls back.

Any SATC fan should not miss this movie.