Didn't want it didn't need it but we knew that we could see it ...

I expected to come home from the car show with a long list of cars that I wanted to buy TOMORROW unfortunately that wasn't so. The good news is that Dave and I both found one vehicle we loved (and it was the same vehicle!) but the bad news is that for now the purchase price is not in our budget. For the $48,000 Lexus 400h we would need to put a down payment of $15k in order for our monthly payments to be $550 per month. With our income this is easily do-able but we're about to begin a kitchen remodel and the kitchen is more important then the SUV. *whine* Why can't I have both the new kitchen the 400h AND the Lexus IS250? Yes, I am a spoiled brat and yes the fact that I will have to wait to buy the 400h makes me extremely pouty and yes you can feel free to hate me for my pissy princess thoughts.

In slightly less shallow thoughts, when we bought this house 8 months ago we were convinced that we would be eating budget meals for the rest of our lives while we stretched our budget to afford a $450,000 house. Never did we think that in less then a year we'd be able to afford a contractor to remodel the kitchen but also be able to contemplate buying a new car soon after. It's amazing how things just have a way of working themselves out.

The Lexus IS250 which I love even more then the 400h but unfortunately is not as practical

Greed is the New "It" Sin

I want a new purse. I have a really cute deep red purse that I have been using that is somewhat small but super adorable. I really want a Coach purse in brown or deep red but I know that I will tire of it much too soon.

I want a new car. I am loving the Lexus Hybrid 400h SUV but not liking the $48,000 price tag. I am also loving the Range Rover but not loving the fact that it only comes in gas engine. Right now Dave and I are sharing one vehicle (my 2006 ford focus) which is fine since he works from home most days and I only work 5 miles from home. I'm just so bored with the safe blah-blah focus and want something much more exciting that also has navigation and Sirius satellite radio built in (ooo! also leather seats). We have a portable Garmin Nuvi as well as a handheld Sirius radio but trying to juggle both of them for car trips is frustrating. We are going to the auto show on Friday so expect me to come back with a long list of DINK cars that I have drooled over.

I want to go on a vacation but really don't have a specific location that I would like to visit. We are going on a mini-holiday to a mountain lodge resort to play in the snow in mid-January as well as a longer vacation to Lake Las Vegas in March. I just want to go someplace right this second (and never come back).

I really want to lose weight. Since late October when the fires happened, I have lived on a steady diet of ho-hos and late night McDonalds combined with root beer and zero exercise. Needless to say I have gained 15 pounds as well as become flabby. I hate flab. Now that things have slowed down (or seem like the will be slowing in the next few weeks) I need to get back in the grove of eating healthy and exercising daily. I'm actually looking forward to not feeling so yucky and unhealthy. Now talk to me in 2 months when I complain about not being able to eat the cake in the break room ...

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Good News: I am finally in the Christmas spirit and ready to decorate my house!
Bad News: The holidays are over.

Good News: I braved the crowds and did some after Christmas bargain shopping.
Bad News: I spent tons of money.

Good News: I have so many cute things to use as Christmas decorations.
Bad News: I have to store them in our attic until next year.

Good News: Christmas went well and we had a nice time.
Bad News: Now I have to go back to work. I am not in the mood to work.

The End.

He Makes Me Laugh

Scene - He is preparing dinner and I have just arrived home after a long day at work.
Him: How about angel hair pasta with mushroom spaghetti sauce?
Me: Ummm ... no.
Him: Por que?
Me: I just don't feel like mushroom spaghetti sauce. Is there any garlic spaghetti sauce?
Him: pero tu quires mushrooms.
Me: ehhh ...
Him: No comprende.
Me: No necessita comprende. Idiota!
Him: I give up.
Me: Wait! Did you just go from English to Spanish to spanglish and I didn't even notice until I answered you back in Spanish.
Him: I guess.
Me: Only in San Diego County (aka Northern Mexico) would it be so common place to hear Spanish everywhere you go and begin incorporating it into your everyday language.
Him: haha!
________________________________________________________________________

Scene - We have just arrived back at our hotel room after attending his work holiday party. I am very drunk and we are in the middle of doing what married couples do.

Us: kiss, kiss, smooch, smooch ...
Him: Look there are crumbs in the bed!
Me: ummm ... yeah, crumbs.
Him: *stops doing what he was doing and begins brushing the crumbs off the bed*
Me: Holy Hell! What are you doing?
Him: Brushing crumbs off the bed.
Me: I think not! Get your head back in the game and Man Up!
Him: *blank stare*

12 Days of Christmas

I was reading this blog and this blog which did a 12 things about Christmas meme and it made me think how differently the holidays are celebrated by each family. Since I'm not into tagging and I don't care to wait until I am tagged, I thought I would do my own 12 things about Christmas.

1. I hate gaudy xmas decorations! The type I am talking about is the snowman snow globe, tacky multi-colored lights, and other garish cartoon like decorations. I much prefer something like the picture above; classy, simple, and yet still festive.

2. This year I haven't even decorated a single bit for the holidays. No tree, no stockings, no outside lights. I've just been way too busy the past few months and to be honest we don't have little ones nor do we have family in the area. What point is there in decorating when no one besides ourselves will see it?

3. Growing up we always opened presents on xmas eve. We'd travel to my Grandparent's house, visit with extended family, eat tamales, then open presents after everyone but immediate family had left. Xmas day was spent being lazy and eating breakfast at Denny's.

4. I really hate that the holidays have become an over commercialized affair. I would much prefer to go sans presents (except for the kiddos) but this idea is never appreciated by our families. I would really like to do some type of charity work as a family since in my eyes this is what xmas should be about. At the very most I would do a secret santa exchange but even this idea is never liked by anyone but me.

5. I REALLY hate opening presents in front of others. For starters I think it sucks to have to pretend to love your gifts when the gift giver is staring at you from across the room. But I also think it sucks to have to sit there for a long period of time while I watch each and every family member "ooh" and "aah" while they open their gifts.

6. I never send holiday cards and I never will!

7. I love holiday parties. I look forward to them for days. I love dressing up, seeing friends, drinking, eating good food (usually), and the festive spirit.

8. Even though it may sound like it, I'm really not a Grinch. Each year I look forward to the holidays but I just sometimes think that the reason for the season has been forgotten.

9. Dave and I alternate where we spend the holidays. One year we do Thanksgiving with my family and xmas with his. The next is t-day with his family and xmas with mine.

10. Dave and are I doing stockings this year as our presents to each other. I do love waking up on xmas day and digging through a stocking full of goodies. I always think the little presents are the best (mmmm ... chocolate candies!).

11. My perfect holiday would be xmas eve spent at a holiday party (at my house or at a relatives) during which we eat, drink, and catch up. Everyone would then exchange presents and take them home to be opened later that night or the next morning. On xmas day the hubby and I would wake up in our own home. We would cook a good homemade breakfast and then open our stockings and spend the rest of the day lounging around the house. Xmas dinner would be spent with immediate family.

12. Next Saturday Dave and I are going to my grandparent's house to learn how to make tamales. I am so excited since tamale making is something you can't learn at your local culinary school. It's a weird association but more then anything, tamales remind me of the holidays.

How do you spend your holidays?

Snippets of Vacations Past

1) Glamis, December 2001 - We've driven for over 10 hours and have finally arrived at our destination. We're dirty and extremely tired but at the moment all we can think of is how excited we are to finally be here. We jump out of the truck and immediately I am blinded by the bright sun, white sand, and blue sky. It is December but in the middle of the desert it feels more like July. That night the opportunity arises for us to sleep together in the same bed. I will attempt to touch his penis but he will shy away each time. Two years later he comes out as gay.


2) Las Vegas, February 1990 - I am ten years old and we have just arrived at our hotel. While my Mom checks in I stay in the lobby and stare at the carpet. At that moment the gaudy, brightly colored designs look like the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I vow to never forget the carpet and focus all my attention on remembering each feathery loop.


3) Vancouver BC, December 2002 - We are walking through downtown after visiting a local wine bar in search of more ice wine. Between giggles we talk about our futures and what we want our life to be like someday. A few girls express their wish to live in the country on a farm. I look up at the high rises and realize with a sudden clarity that a thriving city is where I need to be. Our conversation turns and we begin talking about what to eat for lunch and someone suggests sushi. Three of us have never had raw seafood and politely refuse. A few years later on one of the rare occasions when we are all together we devour sushi.

That's what I'm waiting for

I'm really not gonna shut up about Modest Mouse.

Someone posted a clip from last night's show. This was actually one of their more sedate songs that they played and while it was good I didn't love, LOVE it but it still shows their awesome rock starness.


Even better, they recently released a video for their kick ass song Little Motel. Watch this video from start to end and be prepared to cry.

It rained and its over a shooting star
Landed directly on our broke down little car
We fold and we had made a wish
That we would be missed
If one another just did not exist

Right wing, left wing, chicken wing

You know that feeling you get after you've just had a fantastically fun time? A bit of the ho-hum blues when you realize that the moment you just had will.never.happen.again. *sigh* Last night Dave and I went to the Modest Mouse concert. Easily it was the 2nd best concert that I have ever attended (1st is the Dave & Friends concert at Oakland Coliseum which was a once in a lifetime opportunity where I was just the right amount of inebriated and had 8th row seats).

I was hesitant about going to the concert as it was held at an open seating concert hall and Modest Mouse is notorious for being too drunk to perform which is why I've never seen MM in the past even though I have loved their music since 2003. Dave and I got there 30 minutes before the opening act because I wanted a good spot and Matt Costa was the opener (Me + Matt Costa = Forever). As soon as I found out that Matt Costa was the opener I should have realized that the stars were aligned and this concert was made especially for me. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Matt Costa is more like Jack Johnson (he makes me want to surf, smoke some up, then eat a breakfast burrito) while MM is just so spastic (they make me want to take a long drive while singing at the top of my lungs). Two great styles (in my book) but not exactly two types of bands that you expect to support each other.

Matt Costa was fantastic. His voice was pure loveliness and the crowd was very polite even though Matt is still relatively unknown and I think I was the only one in the crowd who could actually sing along to his songs. MM began to perform after an obscenely long set change during which 2 drum kits and a stand up bass were brought out. For once Isaac Brock (the lead singer) wasn't doped out of his mind and could actually sing the songs well and with understandable lyrics. The two drummers (who were beating their little hearts out) combined with the guitar god Johnny Marr and a on-top-of-his game Brock made for a spectacular concert. The set list was just the right combo of classics from their early days combined with songs off their new album. They jammed out and funked up some of their songs but didn't spend half the concert going off on some musical tangent *cough* DMB *cough*. It was just the perfect type of concert where the music infuses your soul and makes you dance and sing without consciously realizing what you are doing. *sigh* All in all it was a perfect evening and I am so sad that no recording was made of the concert because I would love listen to it and over and over while reliving the concert.

If you haven't done so already: fall in love with Modest Mouse.

Pain (Invaded)

When Dave first graduated college he worked for Makita Tools in their marketing division and as a result he became the proud owner of almost all the top of the line tools Makita has to offer. This is great now that we are first time home owners and need to do some type of home improvement on a regular basis.

We're getting ready to remodel our kitchen so this weekend I've been playing around on Ikea's on-line planner tool trying to lay out the kitchen cabinets. I was stomping around in the garage trying to find a tape measure and getting progressively pissy that no tape measures were to be found when I threw open one of the garage cabinets and discovered that it was empty. Bare. The cabinet we use to store all the Makita tools. Barren. We have lots of bright teal Makita tools and for all of them to be missing from the cabinet is a bit jaw dropping to see. I keep our garage very clean so I took a quick spin around the garage to make sure they weren't sitting on top of the washing machine. Nope. Missing.

Dave and I searched the house and garage again and sure enough they were no where to be found which means that someone came into our garage and burglarized us most likely when we were home. This thought has been so unsettling to me. Not only because we live in a private country club and you just assume that you are safe but also to think that someone might have invaded our personal property (regardless if we were home at the time). Even scarier is the thought that since only our Makita tools were taken that likely someone "cased" our home and had watched us for awhile to determine where the good stuff was. Creepy.

I've been so busy at work so we haven't done any home improvement projects in some time so Dave and I were trying to rack our brains to determine when the tools might have been stolen. Luckily, I took pics of the entire house during the fire (in case it burned down) and in those pictures I found many of the garage and the tools. That means that the person who stole from us targeted us within the last 6 weeks. Scary.

Luckily, we have a home alarm and plan on using it a lot more in the future. Still I find myself in a very sad mood to think that there are people out there who invade others and take things that aren't theirs. Errr ....

Vacation

I saw this picture on dooce.com and it immediately made me want to run away to someplace cold and curl up near a fireplace. The high here today is 77 and it's sunny. I'm so ready for winter-like weather and a vacation.

PS - Tammy, don't suggest Iowa!

Pump You Up

Sorry I've been MIA but after working five straight weeks of 70 hours plus, my body is finally starting to feel the stress and break down. It all started when Dave made me leave work the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so that we could fly up to my in laws house for the holiday. We weren't due to return home until the following Saturday (4 days later) and the thought of being away from work all those days was STRESSing me the f'ck out. Plus, Dave's mom tends to stress me out naturally so that didn't help my anxiety level much.

Thanksgiving evening I began itching all over. I blamed the dog and its fleas but apparently I was the only one feeling the bugs. By Saturday the itching had turned into ugly red welts all over my chest, arms, legs, back, and stomach. On Tuesday I went to the doctor and learned that I am having an allergic reaction to something. He put me on steroids which helped but I'm still having a hard time breathing because of the allergic reaction. I go next Monday for testing to see what the offending allergen might be. Obviously it is something that I am encountering in my everyday life.

Then last Thursday (the night before a very important deadline) I woke up at 11pm yaking my brains out. This lasted every 30 minutes all night until 5am. By dawn I could barely walk because I was so weak and was shivering cold. It's not even hyperbole to say that I truly wanted to die at that moment from being so miserable. Showing my true commitment to work, I slept from 6am to noon and then went into work to finish my project. I think I deserve the #1 Federal Employee Award (or maybe just the #1 Crazy Award).

OK. This post isn't even funny or entertaining but unfortunately I couldn't think of a way to make hives and puke interesting. Only 3 more weeks of this heavy workload and then I am taking one long arse week of vacation during which I plan on doing nothing but sitting on the couch and watching TV. The countdown begins ...