The neighborhood is having another round of garage sales. This time around there are 7 houses are participating. Our neighbor asked us if we want to join in with him, I do not feel like digging up our junk covered with several inches of dust. I wanted to go around the sales and look for some light fixtures for our outdoor lights. I might do that later, maybe tomorrow. But then the thought of spending money again is keeping me away from these sales.
- Blogging on my life events & whatever that comes to my mind!
Monthly Archives: August 2008
Early Christmas pressie
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I received a very early Christmas present yesterday. It came in a DHL package, asked DB what’s in there, he said it was for me. Saw the returned address from IBM Corporation and then…..my bro’s name, the bro in Boston. Opened the package and box which was so light, as if there is nothing in there.
Then korek-korek the paper, I saw this…….
What it is??? It’s an iPod Nano. Holy schmoly! I was beaming from ear to ear. I was going to hook it up to my PC to download my music and podcasts, but was too busy dinking with DB’s Blackberry. He needs me to customized his phone…..i guess he thinks I’m more efficient with these sort of crap.
Ok, back to the iPod, I’m sure shocked to received it. Never mentioned an iPod to him before. So is it becoz he got one for my sis last year, he got one for me, too? I had to call him today to thank him instead of writing him an email. Unfortunately, the call went into his voicemail. You know how it is talking to a machine, a lot of ahs, ers, and mhms. Hope he gets what I was trying to say.
So, now, I’m gonna go mess around with it…….
The little fella did it again
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Yes, I am talking about Chase, the little fella. He had the worse Hershey sprays ever last night or could be very early this morning while we were still sleeping. There were poop sprays on the walls, carpets, rugs and patio door, from the dining room to the executive office. We still could not figure out why he does not whine to let us know he wants out like how the other will do when they need to got out urgently. DB woke up and smelled the wonderful smell of “fresh flowers”. He spent the whole day getting the stains/smell out, vacumm and then shampoo the carpets again. So much stress for me even I was not doing the cleaning. Why? Because of the smell that is still lingering in the house, stress which give me all the zits I don’t want. Soon I will need to get acne treatments for my zits if I am not going to de-stress myself and also if Chasey boy won’t stop licking me all the time. He has this licking addiction in him that is not going away. Anyways, I am going to sprink more baking soda on the spots where he did his emergency tomorrow, let them sit for an hour and then vacumm.
Creativity from a kid
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I bought some plain t-shirts from the craft store last week and what am I going to do with them? I am going to get some airbrush and paint for my friend’s kid, Gina. I told her I would get some for her last month but I spaced it right out until yesterday I was at the craft store I remembered it. Gina is only 9 years old but she is so artistic. She is able to draw and paint at an early age. She wanted to draw her designs on t-shirts, paint them and sell them for her cousin’s fund raising who is now in the hospital recovering from severe burns. Thoughtfulness from a young-un.
Sickness in her family
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Went to work this morning to find out one of my coworker’s brother is suffering from cancer. All of us in the office did not know where she went to for the past 3 weeks. It turned out she had to take care of her brother who the docs diagnosed him of cancer from mesothelioma. His brother used to handle asbestos in his job. All the dust he was breathing into his lungs is now making him so sick. He is now in his second chemotherapy and will see how the treatment goes, he will have to go through radiation, too.
The weekend…
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…was going by too quickly for me. I have been slacking a lot on my blog and let alone Facebook. I am not doing much with Wordsraper either. Wordscraper is the other version of Scrabulous. Scrabulous was taken down for a few days due to some patented legal stuff going on between the creators of Scrabulous and Hasbro, the owners of Scrabble. So the Scrabulous creators worked on re-designing Scrabulous and it became Wordscraper. It still works the same but with this new application, the person starting the new game is able to create their own rules.
Simmie came over this weekend which was really nice. A nice break from my every weekend crap I do i.e. cleaning, bathe the boys, dusting and all the fun stuff that needs to be cleaned. She and I chatted till midnight. If I wasn’t yawning my head out, I would have stayed up with her and continued on our chitter-chatter. Our malaysian accents/slang were flying out from our mouths. DB said the dining room was flooded with Malaysian accents, the Manglish. Of course la, two Malaysians, hang out together, that is the only time to practice our Manglish, ma!! Good thing he is cool enough to speak to me with all the la’s too the next day .
Both Simmie and I went to Eden Prairie’s Costcos, a very nice place compare to Sams. Sams is getting to be so filthy and very “chaap”. I was comparing the prices between the two places of the items I usually buy. Some of the items are cheaper and some a little tad bit more. What I like is at Costcos, there are more organic stuff and best of all there’s Caribou’s Obsidian coffee beans. I told DB about Costcos carrying Caribou Obsidian, he was wild about getting it from there. It is cheaper by the pound. And yes, Simmie got me a membership card, she being the primary cardholder. She is just so SUHWEET!!! Thanks, Simmie! I can see me going to Costco in the coming weeks.
And from Costco’s we went to Albertville Outlet mall which was on the way to St Cloud for Simmie. It was my first time to the outlet mall. It is a great place to shop. I almost went into each and every store, look see, look see. The only two stores I bought anything was Banana Republic, a pair of shorts and Aeropostles. Aero is the only place now I can find pants that fit me. Yep, I needed new pants, coz my size pants went up. I blamed it on having an office job, sitting 8 hours a day, widening the butt. I have to say I didn’t pretty good with this shopping trip. The prices at the outlet are factory prices. Going into the Coach and Nine West stores was definitely a will-power challenger. I so wanted to get a Coach bag or a wallet. The price for a handbag is $108 and the wallet thingy is $39. Where can you find such great prices? Nope, didn’t get anything in there. Same with Nine West. Always love their shoes and boots. Nope didn’t get one and good thing they ran out of the size I want. If not I would have bought the pair of boots.
And that’s the weekend which brings the start of the work week again…… I need a vacation. can’t wait for this coming weekend. I will have to take a trip to St Paul to visit the State Fair. It ends Sept 4 on Labor Day. Fair food here I come.
Filed under My Weekend, Personal
Aug 25, 2008
Photohunt: Wrinkled
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This week’s PhotoHunt got me wondering, looking all over the house, closet, office and the car and finally something struck my melon. There’s always a piece of a wrinkled item in the linen drawer. Yes, the bedsheets. Once they come out from the dryer, they are folded and go straight into the drawer and when it’s time to change new sheets, this is what the sheet looks like and no, I don’t iron my sheets. I’m that lazy.
Mid August already??
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Time really flys by for me, the older I get, the faster time zoomed by. Why didn’t time fly quicker when I was a kid or teenager? It’s already mid August and this Thursday is the start of the Great Minnesota Get Together, the State Fair. I might go this year since I will be taking time off again to burn my vacation during the Labor Day weekend which is usually the last day of the fair. School reopens after Labor Day. Traffic is always heavier during school terms. Wow, where did the time go to?
I have decided not to register for any classes this fall. The reason I’m flat broke and just cannot afford to use my savings. Darn, tuition fees are so expensive now. I know my boss will understand my situation, coz I have added fall classes on my goals and objectives. It will probably take me another 4 years to complete my 2-year degree. How pathetic! 
Speaking of time, this little missy is growing like a weed. Her hair is turning red, sure looks like it, doesn’t it? DB was sitting her on Monday. She was very cranky, fighting her sleep but drinks her milk like she’s drinking water. She is still very smiley and yap a lot when we put her down to change her. She is still drooling a lot which makes us think she is teething. I’m waiting for my coworker to bring in her Baby Einstein DVDs she bought when she had her babies. I’m sure it will keep this little missy occupy.
One event I missed out (on Sunday, August 17) and actually the first I have heard of since I came to MN is the Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival out in Como Park. It is an annual event where Corrine will open a stall selling her famous bakeries, soba noodles and drinks. I wanted to go so bad but I had so much to do at home, my usual cleaning day and bathing day for Ranger (I still bathe Ranger every week because of his allergies). I was debating about til the clock hit 7 p.m. and I finally told myself I’m not going since I know if I go I won’t get home till 10 or 11 because I know I want to spend time with Corrine, Tammy, and all the rest. Next year will be a must for me, I will take the next day, Monday, off.
Photohunt:Colorful
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This week’s Photohunt theme is Colorful. Here is the picture of the colorful crystal flowers found on the lobby ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas. Not very good pictures of them but at least I got them for memory sake.
New floors some day
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Our carpets in our house were almost brand new when we moved in. The former owners replaced new carpets 4 years ago and maintained them very well. When we saw the house we knew they have cats (the main reason why they had to replace their carpet) but their cats did not leave any mess at all. Moreover, they had some home improvements to the kitchen and main bath, back hallway and the entryway. They installed tiles on these floors which helped make cleaning much easier. And the Berber carpeting in the basement is durable, very tough looking where the dogs have been romping downstairs most of the time when it’s hot upstairs and the carpet is still holding together, still looks good. Any carpeting needs to be shampooed, well, so does the Berber downstairs.
Now that we are in this house for over 2 years, we can see the carpet needs to be replaced in some rooms. The carpets in our house are cleaned at least 5 times a year especially where there are heavy traffic like entrances where the dogs go in and out and even with a rug/mat over the carpet, the carpet will still get dirty from the dust and any particulars they have under their paws. If we were to replace our carpets upstairs, I would rather get rid of the carpet and replace them with laminate flooring from Empire Today.
The reason why I want to pick laminate flooring is because it will be more versatile than the carpets we have when we have 3 dogs in the house. Like I have said earlier, these dogs are not as clean as they look. They do roll on the grass, bringing in the dust, dirt on them into the house. If I want to get laminate flooring, I would get the hardwood laminating style flooring which looks exactly like a regular hardwood floors and cost much cheaper. Moreover, with regular hardwood floors, they are easier scratched up by the dogs’ nails. This happened to our hardwood floors when we were living in the rented home. Once they are scratched up, it is hard to get rid of the scratches no matter how much we polished them.
I do hear commercials from Empire Today almost every day on TV where it says you can order them today and Empire Today will install them for you tomorrow. They will have their sales rep over to your house, goes through what you want and provide all the suggestions they have for your home flooring installations. The very next day their installation guys will be at your home to install them. If anyone who would like to get more reference stories about Empire Today’s services, you can check out Empire Carpet Stories which inspired me to contact Empire Today for my next carpet or flooring installation.
New phone
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DB ordered new phones for us last week since his phone fell into the toilet and has gone haywired. Funnily, the phone can still received text messages but it cannot send any calls or text messages. He purchased a Blackberry Smartphone for himself and a LGenV2 for me through Verizon Wireless.
Yes, the LGenV2 arrived on Tuesday and of course I was spending most of my spare time dinking with the new toy. I was going to transfer my contacts from my old phone to the new one before activating the new phone. Well, tough luck for me, DB had already activated the new phone for me. This LGenV has an internal QWERTY keypad with a bigger screen when the phone is opened. I forgot to take a picture of the phone opened. Click on the above link and you will be able to see the phone from all angles. I totally love the Qwerty keypad coz I can type faster that way although I am still using my two thumbs. I can receive calls both ways: from the front where I just have to hit Send or flip open the phone and put the call on speakers. Suhweet! The screen is so clear where it actually is capable of downloading pictures and videos for viewing. And there voice activation where I can record my commands like say call home and the phone will call the number for me and this voice activation is also used in the the VZ Navigator, a GPS for the folks with no sense of direction like me.
New toy and treating it like a baby. Oh speaking of baby, which is out of subject, just heard from DB that Ally has already rolled over. She was over at her grandma’s in Rochester, she rolled over. Man, this little missy is so advance. She was already half grown when she was born. Can’t wait to see her again. DB will be sitting her on Monday. I’m wondering if we need to get a pack and play for her when she comes over our house. Will have to discuss with the grampie.
Back to my Olympics men’s swimming competition now and will be staying up for the women’s gymnastics individual rounds . Happy weekend, folks.
Bathroom improvements
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I was over at Nadine’s house over the weekend. Again, she and Mark did some home improvements to their house. It’s over two years since they moved into their new home and much were done to the home ever since. First was the family room in the basement where they converted it to a home theater. Then it was the kitchen and now the guess bedrooms and bathrooms. Mark and his buddies finally completed the installation of the shower stall and put in new tiles in the bathrooms. What is missing are farmhouse sinks which Nadine is not sure if Mark is really up for those sinks or the travertine vessel sinks. It will be interesting to see the two bathrooms once they finish the last installations.
Rabbit with a tumor
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Here is this picture i took of a rabbit that hangs out in our backyard all by itself. Look at its ears, the black thing between the ears. It sure looks like a tumor coz it’s growing bigger now. These pictures were taken last week. I have not seen the rabbit since then. If there are other rabbits out on the yard, this little tumored fella is always away from the rest. Make’s me think he is like the ugly duckling, shunned by his buddies.
Filed under Just
Aug 11, 2008
Crazy dogs
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A lady who walks her dog every day stopped me one day asking me if I have seen the German Shepard that lives in the corner house on 130th Street. I know which house she was referring to and she continued to tell me that her dog was attacked by the shepard. Her dog is slightly smaller than my two older ones, well, probably her dog is about 60+ pounds. She and her dog were walking passed the house and the shepard was in his outside kennel, scooted right out, grabbed a hold of her dog’s neck and not letting go. She said she was screaming for the shepard’s owners and eventually they came out. The shepard is a big dog too, I think that shepard is about 10 years old, always barks each time someone with a dog walks passed its house. The lady said she called the cops with her cell right away. The cops came and wrote a ticket to the shepard’s owners for not securing their dog from the public. Since the dog is an outside dog and withno fence, owners need to supervise their dogs when the dogs are unleashed. The lady’s dog is traumatized by that incident. Each time they are near that house, the dog will stop short and will not move. She is carrying a bear spray with her at all times.
Then, she told me a Pit Bull ran across the street and was about to attack her dog couple of days ago. What bad luck and the owner of the pit bull needs to be shot or hung. The owner was out on the driveway fiddling with the car and his dog was not leashed. The lady used her bear spray, sprayed the pittbull in the eyes. She said the pittbull was ready to charge her dog, bearing its teeth and has a very eerie growl. Damn, that’s really scary. The cops came and gave a warning to the owner, only a warning because it was the first offence.
All these routes she takes are the routes I take every day or every other. Where else is safe for the public to walk? I walked passed the shepard’s home every other day lately and I have not seen the dog anywhere. I am wondering did the owners put him down because even if the dog is in the house, he will bark at me and the boys. I still do not carry any pepper or bear spray, just my cellphone. Maybe I should get one since my boys are always too friendly with strangers. They are not guard dogs like shepards, rotweillers, pitbulls or dobermans. Definitely no walks for me in the crack of dawn since DB told me he don’t feel safe with me walking the boys at 3:30 or 4 am. I have yet to see the pittbull the lady was telling me, but I am keeping my eyes open each time I am out on my walks.
Filed under In the new world, Ramblings
Aug 11, 2008
Ann’s new bike
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Summer is usually quite short in Minnesota, about 5 plus months maybe and if we are lucky, from winter Mother Nature will skip the rest of spring and bring summer to the state in April. When the weather is warm enough, bikers will be out on their bikes zooming around town which look darn cool. Ann, our neighbor and her boyfriend bought a Harley from the used Harleys dealership in April. DB said hearing the sound of the Harley reminds him of his bike many moons ago. Indeed the sound of the Harley does has that deep “vroooom” that is very different from the other bikes. I asked DB if he will get another bike, he said he won’t.