This Christmas

I did not expect much from Christmas this year. In fact, I was even avoiding and dreading it since I know it'll be just another work day for me. I had no Christmas cards to send, no gifts to give, no gatherings to attend and our home was totally void of holiday decor. But Christmas turned out to be special anyway. I came home early from work since all non-essential activities were cancelled at the hospital. Hubby and I ate at Tokyo One for lunch. Then we took Hiro to othe dog park and had a long walk around White Rock Lake. So, I'd say we had a rather untraditional Christmas, but it was so nice anyways. In the future, I'd love to totally immerse myself in the Christmas spirit. The Christmas tree, the holiday photo cards, gifts for friends, holiday parties, Christmas church service. . . eggnog, mistole, tinsels, etc., the whole nine yards.

~*~

Christmas day was a gloriously sunny day, a gift from God. Here are some pictures taken around our apartment. Yes, I know the pictures to follow are so canine-centric, but Hiro in his Santa suit is the only holiday effort we have to show for.

Hiro all aglow


"I'm flying!" Look at his ears all up like a rabbit!

It's fun to run.

Santa sighting.

Today is the first day of my week-long vacation. I was so happy getting off work today, like, singing a silly song, swimming in bed, and chasing the dog for no reason -happy. I look forward to visiting Arkansas, shopping a ton, sleeping in, spending time with my mom, watching movies, taking pictures, meeting friends' new baby, playing with dog. . .oh gosh, I wish I had more days off.

This Cursed Monday!

Bad things happen in threesomes, I am convinced. . .

1. I was stuck in a traffic jam for 3 hours on my 15 minute commute home!

2. Hiro pooped on the carpet!? Okay, so he's 98% housetrained.

3. Found out I can't attend the resident Christmas party because I'm on call that evening.

I am still fuming. . .

Cute, cute, way too cute!!

"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. *clap, clap* If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. . ."

Okay, but if you're not happy, forget the song and claps, skip on over to www.cuteoverload.com. I'm on call tomorrow, :( but I was cheered up once I saw these pictures.

Ahhh, seeing pictures of cats make me really really want one. I'd love to have the meow of a cat around the house again, their small paws making biscuits on my stomach and their purring putting me to sleep. I told hubby tonight that as soon as we buy a house I'm getting a cat again.

Also check out http://www.stuffonmycat.com and www.stuffonmymutt.com. If these pictures don't make you laugh then hmm, I don't know what to say except something's seriously wrong with you!

New Month, New Moments

A new month also means a new team, new resident, new co-intern and new attending. And this month promises to be a very promising one. First of all, I love my co-intern, an anesthesia intern whom I worked with in October as well. When I think of S, I think of calm. She's African-American with a great sense of style and a head of hair to envy. She must live with a hairstylist or something because her hair is always amazing. One day she comes in with dreadlocks, another day with a bun, then the next with a updo in a head wrap. As for me, my hair is always the same, tied back with a rubber band. I must get to the bottom of what's her tress-rific secret. Ha, I love that pun!

Second of all, my resident in December is the super-great CK. I worked with her in July, yep, she was my very first resident in my very first month of internship. I couldn't have asked for a better resident during the overwhelming "First Month." What's more, CK gave S and I the day off today!!! Just like that, CK said, "we are on call on Sunday, so why don't you take Saturday off and I'll see all the patients." Oh my gosh, I had to ask, "are you sure?!" I was afraid if I said too much, CK would change her mind!

I hardly knew what to do with myself today. I slept in, of course. After hubby went to his Saturday class and usual date with badminton, I went shopping --just for work clothes. (Any new clothes in photos are loot from earlier shopping trips of months past). I picked up a couple of new sets of scrubs and a new white coat. When it comes to scrubs, there are name-brands, you know the Calvin Kleins of medical wear, and then there are the no-name brands of the Target variety. Even Grey's Anatomy and Katherine Heigle now have their own lines of scrubs and white coats!! Back in summer, Malini and I visited this little uniform shop (Scrubs-N-Chef Uniform Depot on N. Stemmons) hidden in a half-abandoned shopping center. The store owners are an old Indian/Pakistani couple. Although not a glamorous place to shop, but for only $16.99/set, I have discovered that the scrubs I bought there fit very well and have stood up to the test of time and frequent visits in the laundry machine. So today I went back for more and also picked up a generic 37" white coat. I have discovered that the life of a white coat for an intern/resident is 6 months, at most. My white coat is my single most frequently worn piece of clothing and after several months, it just won't wash clean anymore. It's rather nasty looking and probably colonized with every hospital germ there is. So I was really glad to see a new whiter than white white coat today and decided to get my name and speciality embroidered on it in the store. Unfortunately it was seriously botched!! The lines are lope-sided and a little too high. I didn't realize this until I came home. Maybe that's why the Indian lady gave me some free scrunchies!

As for what I did rest of the day. . .I cleaned up our home a bit and took some frivolous photos.

Mixing the old with the new:

Cropped black jacket with 3/4 sleeves and ankle boots are these seasons trends, but the tee and jeans are last years.

Black n' white jumper dress, black tights and ankle boots.

My new tan cold-weather boots with last year's jacket and jeans. These boots have been "in" for the last couple of years, but I love them, perfect for the snow days.

My new favorite outfit these days b/c it's super comfy: mini jean skirt with black leggings, and black flats.

New work clothes: the ever popular ciel blue scrubs and my new crisp white coat. Even in this poor picture, you can see the screwed up embroidery.

November No More

November would have been a very monotonous month if it weren't for Thanksgiving. You know, work, home, sleep, doggy, husband, etc. We had settled into a perpetual routine, right down to when the dog pees and poops. Then my parents came here for Thanksgiving and broke up the monotony, in a very good way, of course.

Let's see, on Thanksgiving day I was post-call and basically greeted my parents in my jammies and went to bed until dinner. Hubby and my mom cooked our Thanksgiving turkey and untraditional fixings. I gave myself the permission to have the weekend off. I was already off from work, but I let myself off of ALL work. I didn't lift a single finger for the whole weekend. Somehow my family accepted this unspoken agreement of my total laziness and the three of them cooked and served. Not that I think I deserved it in someway, maybe I just took advantage, or maybe I was just tired. Before my parents left, they had cooked enough to stuff full our whole freezer and then some.

Whenever I've been able to get off at a decent time this month, I've been driving to a neighborhood across the highway to take walks with Hiro. It's a bit of hassel to drive off for a walk but somedays it's worth it. I feel like I'm "borrowing" the neighborhood since I don't actually live there. It has to be one of Dallas's most expensive neighborhoods with the prime location, huge houses, lovely old trees, nice seasonal decorations and professionally maintained lawns. There's also a little park with water fountain, ducks, and several inconspicuous stands that dispense disposable doggy poop scoopers. How cool! However, what's not conspicuous is that it's a largely Caucasian neighborhood. Any "foreigners" are the dark-haired nannies on the playgrounds looking after little blonde children and the lawn manicurists driving in their "lawncare" pickups. When I skip across the highway back to my neighborhood, I'll always see people waiting at the bus stop or walking down the sidewalk with grocery bags in hand. My neighborhood is mostly apartments buildings and condos, one of which was a Katrina housing. I see people of all colors here. This is also where we have a homeless man sneaking into our condo building at night and have frequent reports of auto thefts. The other neighborhood has their own police force in SUVs while we have a neighborhood watch group online. Their neighborhood have Oriental rug stores and boutique cookie shops and we have a bar and Condoms To Go store nearby. I only write this because I can't help but notice the differences! So this is America where the racial, social and economical divides are still so evident before my very own eyes. Part of me would like to think that this country has progressed more than this but I'm a bit disappointed to see it's not so. It seems like in America, the rich today tends to be rich tomorrow and the poor stay poor perpetually, Asian immimgrants notwithstanding. Keeping-it-in-the-family style. I really don't have an organized point to make. I'm no social commentator or political scientist so I'm sorry if you think I'm going anywhere deep with this. I'm just a lay person making an observation. Oh yeah, no where near do I see many Asians around me, except for the international students who, like myself, temporarily take up residence where dwelling is affordable and the drive is convenient. By and large, settled Asians like to live in subburbs on the outskirts of Dallas where houses are big, land is abundant and cows are nearby. True Texas style. I am jesting just a bit but ha, joke on me, as hubby and I will probably be one of those people someday. The pull of my ethnicity!

I also want to mention that on my semi-regular walks, I've met some dogs and their owners. For one thing, Hiro is too friendly and insists on greeting every living thing that we pass, both the two-legged and the four-legged. And the other thing, dog owners tend to be friendly and like to stop and chat about their dogs. Funny how we usually exchange dog names but rarely our own. I've met a man and his schnauzer named Drowser, a female nurse with her pomeranian named Dinky, and another lady with a black short-haired mutt named Shadow. I'm grateful for some doggy interaction for Hiro and bits of useful doggy advice for myself.

Bye bye November, until next year.

Doggy Galore

Hiro is now 5 months old.

The sad puppy look.

Playtime is a dog's favorite time!

Hiro is smiling, can you see? I know he doesn't have lips, but that's a smile!

It's like he's a different dog!

Hmmmm

Agggg, almost the last day of November, and only 2 posts??! How did this happen?! No siree, it can't be!! I'll be back with another post tomorrow, as for now, sleep beckons, otherwise I'll be kicking myself as I yawn through the day tomorrow.

The NEW Golden Rule. . .

"Those who have gold rules."

Isn't that terrible?!
Cynicism is infectious, as hubby replied.

November November

I just got off call a few hours ago. My days are no longer known as "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday", etc. To me, my "week" is divided into:

Call Day

Post-call day

Post-post-call day

Pre-pre-call day

Pre-call day

Call day. . .



It's Novemeber already! It's been almost four months since internship started for me. It felt like just yesterday that I started as an wide-eyed intern, and yet we are already one week into interview week for next year's intern class!



And lovely weather it's been. Perfect weather for walking Hiro, who's getting a lot of ohhh's and ahhh's from people he meet. One lady was driving, stopped her car, and got out to ask me what kind of dog Hiro is and the "if you don't mind me asking, how much. . ." Paul and I both have taken up training Hiro, mainly fun tricks and commands. He is half poodle and the circus-performer in him is coming out! He can sit and shake hands (his paw, my hand) on command, he stands on his hind legs when asked, and just yesterday (while I was gone), he mastered "roll over." Next up: play dead and bark on command. Since we are doing amatuerishly okay with training Hiro, it's making me think twice about taking the time and money out to get professional dog-training. I am going to take some new pictures of Hiro soon as he is growing up so fast!



This is also a sad month for us. My little Kitty is no longer with us. We finally made the decision to put her down. The decision was no short of a Sophie's choice for me. We had made up our mind on a date to take her in but at the last moment, I backed out. I just needed more time. I felt part relief and part grief when it was finally over with. I still remember the day she tentatively walked into our door onone cold December night and then soon decided she wasn't ever going to leave again. She was a little hapless stray but our sweet serendipity.

No Title Entry

I'm feeling a whole lot better and more optimistic this week. I just needed a couple of days off. That was not too much to ask for in life is it??! Amazingly, our last call was relatively light which meant I was able to wash my face, use the bathroom and eat (things that come second to patients in the ER) . . . and my clinic schedule had a few no-shows which meant I got out in time. Perhaps God was looking out for me:) Also, with hubby's help, I rearranged some furnitures at home that's both more functional and feng-shui. Okay, I don't know about the feng-shui part, but it works, okay?!

One thing I haven't managed to fit in my life is study time. I'm suppose to read about my patients every night, do questions for our monthly exam daily, and regularly read the medical journals that come in the mail. Oh yeah, and do research project on the side, as in "outside" of our 80-hr work week. Sometimes, I just meditate on the incredulousness of all the expectations around me. It's all just a little too much for me. I've got the dog, the cat, a husband, a home to take care of after work. I'm already not shopping, exercising and I hardly socialize, yet, I just don't have enough time in a day.

In light of this, a friend asked me recently, "why did you get a dog? how do you have the time?" I so appreciated her question, I thought it was very intuitive of her to ask. With no time for essentials like sleep and pray, why did I get a dog at this time? The simple truth is I had no idea how much it would take to take care of a puppy! Sometimes you learn the lesson after the fact. Luckily, I feel like I've been bailed out. Not only is hubby helping out so much with Hiro, he's a natural at being a dog owner/lover. I appreciate it since it was principally me that wanted to get the dog in the first place. And with Hiro being toilet-trained, that helps out a bunch, too!

It brings up the question in me, if I knew the EXACT consequences of every decision I make, would I still have made those decisions? I wonder how many experiences I'd have missed out on? Should all our decisions be perfect? Should we aspire to a life that always go according to plan? I mean, if I knew how I felt about medicine today, would I still have decided to become pre-med in college? If I knew how marriage is really like on some days, would I still got married? And the puppy, if all the work was revealed to me beforehand, would I have taken him home?

In my opinion, thinking too much is a sure way to kill an experience. It's like being at the mall, if I think too much about a purchase, I probably wouldn't end up buying anything at all. Or if you are skydiving, right before you jump, you start to think about what you're really doing, then how can you jump after that?

I'm not saying we shouldn't think before we proceed, but there are those of us who err on the side of thinking too much. Of course, bad decisions in life are inevitable. But I don't think regret does anyone any good most of the time. I used to know someone who said his goal in life is to have no regrets. That could mean you avoid making decisions so no bad OR good decisions are made, or you learn the art of making lemonade out of lemons in life. Perhaps it's true what they say, "nothing worth having in life comes easy." At end of the day, I'm still glad I'm a doctor, married and a mommy to a puppy. So that's my life in a nutshell. Although I'm constantly trying to fit more in a nutshell than it can hold.

Seriously, this is just for laughs. . .

A resident sent me this, it made me chuckle.

*CLICK on pic to ENLARGE*

Weighed Down

Yes, "weighed down" is exactly how I feel right now. Like a sinking anchor, a balloon that won't stay afloat, a bag too heavy for the back. And maybe even like what a lot of patients often tell me, "it feels like there's an elephant on my chest!" It's only the 3rd week into my 13 weeks straight of ward medicine, and I'm already "weighed down," on the verge of burnout. Ha, can you tell I'm a countdown person? I was at the store the other day, and a singing Christmas tree told me it was 74 days 'til Christmas. But no, I was not quite in the holiday spirit.

I am weighed down by all the patient care duties, all the work hours, demands of my pets at home. The pager calls from the hospital while I'm trying to feed myself and the animals at home, the insanely early wake-up calls, the regularly scheduled sleepless nights, aggg!!! What's worse, I have a BIG test this Friday that's woefully unstudied for and Kitty is getting sicker, quickly spirally out of our ability to take care of her. At work, it's one patient after another, admissions upon admissions. At home, it's books piled high to be read, and Kitty's intestinal mess to be cleaned up day after day. Thank God that Hiro has stepped up and leaving his business for me exactly where I want him to. But Hiro is getting older, and he needs professional obedience training now which I have not yet secured for him.

I've finally spent some time today realizing I'm overwhelmed and coming up with some ideas to fix this. My upcoming free weekend, although already planned full, is so much more needed now. What I need is just a little time off and then get into action:

1. Prioritize my to-do's
2. Cut down on the daily non-essentials
3. Maximize my spare time at home
4. Re-focus on the really important goals.

Ha ha, my life is sounding like a business plan, if only I had come up with a cute acronym. I'll be okay, a concoction of sleep and wise stategizing will do wonders for being "weighed down."

Randomness.

Ahhh, I'm tired, just plain bone-tired. It's like that line from Demi Moore's character on the old movie "St. Elmo's Fire" who says, "I'm so tired, I never thought I would be so tired at 27." It's a great classic movie, BTW, about the coming of age of a group of young people in the 1980's. There are so many good old classic movies that people miss out on because of the constant barrage of new and glittery movies from Hollywood every year. "St.Elmo's Fire", "Fried Green Tomatoes", and "Harold and Maude" are some memorable classics that come to mind.

Finally got home after another 30-hour call. I'm on my stretch of 12 days of work straight without a day off. My "golden" weekend (both Sat and Sun off) is next weekend. Yes, I'm so looking forward to some R&R. Need to straighten up the house, do laundry, clean up doggie's path of destruction, bathe the dog and just plain veggie out.

I came home at 3pm to a nice simple lunch by hubby. As soon as I ate, I konked out on the couch, then zombied over to my bed. (Am I making words up?) I could not get up out of bed after a nap, I thought I could just stay in bed forever. But hubby dragged me out of bed at 6:30pm for our daily walk with Hiro. Yes, Hiro has finally taken his first step outdoors. He's taken to the leash like a child with a bicycle. Training wheels are almost no longer necessary. Speaking of training, he's 90% housetrained!! That is, he knows how to use his indoor tray for pee and poop. This has to be one of the best and surprising news as I feared housetraining would take months.

Then at 7pm, hubby and I had dinner (thanks to hubby again) and watched a movie, one of those forementioned newish Nicolas Cage movies. Kitty sleeping in a tight curl, and Hiro contentedly playing with his chew toy at the side. I'm so pleased to see my animals happy.

Some blogging time, and now time for sleep again. Tomorrow my 10-hour day starts all over again, until the fifth night from now, when I'm back on 30 hour call at the hospital.

I miss a lot of things when being busy, but right now I miss just having time to think about things, big and small, and even better, spending time thinking about nothing at all.

Puppy Love

Who can resist a stubby little tail wagging fiercely solely because you’ve come home at end of the day? I hope Hiro never loses the bounce in his steps, the seriousness he brings to play, the unending curiosity, the Speedy-Gonzalez energy, and of course his puppy adorableness. Check out his one lopsided ear, smallish eyes and Eistein-crazy hair. (I have yet to take him to the groomer's for a proper haircut.)

"No, it wasn't me, mommy!"


"I'm cute but I'm lethal, I can lick you to death if you let me!"

"Those are not bags under my eyes, they're tear-stains, common in my breeds, the maltese and poodle. Mommy can buy some Angel's Eyes to use on me but she hasn't had the time."


ZZZZZ, finally.

I've been wondering what Hiro would look like all grown-up. . .this pic (from the web) might be a close rendition minus the longer ears.

Of Cats and Dogs

Almost perfect: Hubby studying Powerpoint lectures, I'm next to him doing multiple-choice questions with Hiro sleeping at our feet and Kitty napping at a corner. . .all four of us on the same bed. Ahh, what peace, what harmony, the whole family, the “pack” together.

However, just earlier that day, I recall the scene of Hiro dancing ecstatically around Kitty inviting her to play, while Kitty, a grounded statue of calm suddenly break into a hissing fit followed by the rise of a sharp-clawed paw perfected for gauging puppy eyes. Hiro cowers back in such pitiful fear that I had to scoop him up and make sure his black marble eyes were still intact. All day long, I was chasing the cat away from dog food and chastising the puppy for eating cat food. Yes, I’ve got two animals who shows a great deal more interest in each other’s food than their own. In midst of trying to housetrain Hiro, my trusted litterbox-using cat has decided she’s going to pee on carpet, too! In midst of chaos, I am armed with gallons of Nature’s Miracle enzymatic cleaner, bags of doggy treats, and a floorful of chewy dog toys all in the hope of successfully raising a puppy. It’s been a challenge, no doubt. And on top of it all, I’m careful to pay Ms. Kitty extra attention to let her know she’s still special and loved. At least she’s already established her dominance over the puppy after just a few fearsome swats. I admire my cat as she walks with confidence, with a regal slowness befitting a seasoned and rightful queen. The puppy will dart side to side, back and forth, and then halt in his tracks to let the cat pass by.

Everything is new to Hiro, which makes puppyhood all the more refreshing and challenging. I remember the first time he heard my stomach growl, he stopped abruptly in his play and looked at me quizzically. And the day he discovered his own bark. It was a weak sound at first but now it’s a powerful resonance that sometime surprises me as it comes from a mop-headed and teddybear-faced three-pounder. He has decided barking is fine way of communicating with us. Ha, but no, little one! There are so many things to beat out of a dog’s nature before he can be accepted as a “good” pet, it’s a wonder that dogs ever became domesticated and civilized housemates to humans. Cats are much more of a natural fit for house-living. Almost from day one, cats will fit seamlessly into our lives as they come already litterbox-trained a la mode instinct, self-cleaning and odor-free, capable of independent play and has minimal destructive behavior which can be easily controlled with a scratching post from Petsmart. A dog, on the other hand, must discard much of his unacceptable doggy-ness and assiduously re-learn a set of house rules before he’s a free-roaming full-privileged member of the family. To be a good cat owner, one just have to love the cat, and everything else will either come naturally or one will be taught by the cat. To successfully own a dog, however, one better have an arsenal of patience, leadership skills and a hobby degree in canine psychology! It seems to be totally against a dog’s nature to limit his peeing and pooping activity to one area and one area only. Human feet, especially when moving, are chew toys to be reckoned with for a puppy. And unless I establish myself as the “head”, the puppy will attempt to become the “alpha dog” over me by humping my leg and with other deeply ingrained but socially unacceptable canine gestures. It was my fear that I got the dominant puppy of the litter, and I’ve done my darnest to assert my alpha-ness. As I clean up dog poo, prepare dog food, give dog treats, bathe my puppy, and engage in puppy play on all fours, I can’t help but wonder, hmm, who is really the master here? But enriched my life my animals have.

New Phones

The Motorola RIZR phone in blue and rose.

Paul and I finally got some new phones. The paint has come off my old one and I was literally embarassed to take it out in public, and let's just say hubby's old phone was the prototype with black and white screen.

LIttle Devil in Angel's Disguise

Meet our little puppy, Hiro, a 11-week old, 2.5 lbs apricot-colored male maltipoo. Sometimes, I think he came straight from hell and not the other place I got him, but other times, he's simply the most adorable thing there is.

Dog Names

Hiro*
Lucky*
Hachi ("good luck" in Japanese)
CoCo
Xiao Bai ("little white" in Chinese)
P. Bear

I met a little puppy this weekend. He might become mine!! They are reviewing the four-page application, calling my vets and friends for references, no doubt. So far, we like the first two names the best, partly because they are the only two Paul and I can agree on. We'll see.

As Luck Would Have It

Last week this time, I was preparing myself mentally for the onset of another month of wards, but at the last minute, the chief switched my schedule. So instead of doing calls and 80-hr weeks in September, I'm on my easiest month of the year (elective) with a week of mandatory vacation at the end. I was quite upset. You see, it means I will have 3 months of wards back to back, (Oct to Dec). I was also hoping to "save" my week of vacation when I really need it, a.k.a. burnout time. I had thought (and told all family and interested friends) that the worst schedule I have to get through this year is wards medicine 2 months at a time. But now, it's actually three months of calls with nearly no weekends all at once, which sounds soul-wrenching! The feeling I had was like being handed an unfair prison sentence.

They say every cloud has a silver lining. . .and in this case, it's actually true, just have to look at the bright side. Here are my silver linings:

1. I had my one holiday of the year off, Labor Day! And I enjoyed it thoroughly, although I didn't step out of my door and mostly cleaned.

2. Also, my car broke down so I was able to take a day off from my ultral-light schedule and get it serviced. I just imagine if I was on wards and discovered my car was not working one early morning, I think I would just break down myself and cry. Car problems should not happen to people with stressful jobs! (That would be a law if I ever become Queen of the Land). As luck would have it, I was able to spend a leisure day at Starbucks sipping a pumpking spice frappacino while my car was being fixed next door. BTW, the PS frap was good, nothing like it to welcome fall!

3. "Linda, I think you dodged a bullet on this one." This was the response I got from an intern after I told her I wasn't on wards with a certain resident in September. Apparently, this said resident is very difficult to work with. After hearing a few horror stories from this poor intern who had to work with this resident, I was completely convinced that I, indeed, got very lucky. Your upper level (aka resident), at best, is a good boss, and at worst, a slave-driver.

4. Lastly, I was able to hang out with Malini at a rather posh shopping area in Plano on this free weekend of mine. We walked around the boutique shops, chatted our way through aisles of hand-made jewlry and overpriced but unique T-shirts and then headed to Stonebriar Mall to actually purchase stuff from Macy's big Labor Day Sale. It was so good to catch up with Malini. Even though we see each other at the hospital almost everyday, we hardly get to talk. It's always running to this and that, body and mind running to several different directions all at once. We are bonded by a common experience, something that I just don't share with anyone else in my life. It's an exciting and trying time, intern year is. She totally gets me when I tell her about a particularly difficult attending I had. I can't sympathize more when she shares the story of how the night before her last call of the month, she sat down with her mom to have a good talk. "It was like preparing for war, I had to get some strength and encouragment from my mom."

So, all that is to say I'm very grateful at this turn of event even though it means I will suffer a little deeper later on. Happy Fall!

It's Timeless, it's Lovely, It's LV handbags

Then. . .

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and now. . .

BTW, that's Audrey Hepburn circa 1960's and Hillary Duff (TV and movie actress) circa 2005.

Saturday Night Gathering

Here's at some friends' house all the way in Fort Worth on Saturday night.

The three of them all showed up wearing pink tees and khaki capris! What are the chances of that happening?!

He Says. . .

Hubby said today:

"I weigh myself every morning, and from that I figure out how much I can eat for the day."
(Hmm, how does that work again?)

"If I have a daughter one day, I want her to be just like you."
(Ahhh, thanks!)

Conflicts

I’m a conflicted person. Let me explain why. I strive to be a learned person, but I also indulge in the ultra frivolous. I really want to be thin, only to be trumped by my love of eating. I desire to be godly but I don’t love God enough. I like to see hubby healthy and long-living but I also want him to enjoy the time he has on earth. I love my husband but I’m ever so critical of him. I’m really fun-loving inside but I’m also the biggest worrier there is. In terms of fun, I think laughter ranks right up there with shopping and the other “s” word but I can cry just as easy. I believe I’m in the best profession there is but I would hate to do it full-time. I can’t wait for retirement but I don’t want to get old. I want to be a fashionista but I end up wearing the same old outfit all the time. I love shopping but that’s complicated by a strong sense of frugality instilled in me by my parents. . .

. . .actually, bargain shopping nicely compromises that last conflict. If there was “bargain shopping” in the Olympics, it would be my event. This weekend is Texas’s tax-free weekend for clothing items and so I took advantage. Here’s a look at the damage done (too guilty to ask hubby to take pics for me):

*CLICK on picture to enlarge*

(most pics will enlarge)

Polka dots!! I recently watched the movie "Because I Said So" and fell in love with polka dots! I bought 3 polka dot items today. Don't know why but I was really drawn to polka dots and the color green today.

I love this green top, so cute with red heart-shaped buttons. It's very urban-Asian, I think. I'm wearing it with black capris and red pumps.

I like this conservative and classic dress. You can't see it very well, but this dress looks perfect with with my string of pearls. I'm wearing it to work next week.

But I can also do fun and flirty, which is what this dress is. It's a really nice silver metallic color. Another shopper at the store told me it would go great with black stilletos and a night of dancing. I agree but since hubby and I are not dancing people, I'll wear it to a nice restaurant.

Cute baby doll shirt with empire waist. Why, oh why did I not discover this trend earlier??! It hides my tummy (esp post-eating) so nicely. I can also wear it for pregnancy one day, hehe.

Another fun, cute shirt to wear with my skinny jeans, which I hope is still "in" this fall.

I can't have fun all the time, here's a new shirt for work. It's crisp and clean with nice ruffling details.

The ever so classic khaki trenchcoat for this coming fall. Like pearls and polk dot dresses, every girl should also have a trenchcoat.

Just Having Fun. . .

Gray tunic dress top, black leggings and matching flats.

Hairstyle borrowed from Heather Graham in the movie, "Gray Matters." A delish small bun in the middle with 2 cute hairpins on the sides.

Pictures (of wedding and Kitty)

There are few events more enjoyable than a wedding. I've regretted the several weddings we were unable to attend this past year due to school, weather, work, travel, graduation, etc. Here's one we were able to attend in Arkansas, James and Melinda's wedding last Saturday.

We are both very cheeky (full cheeks), no?




With the happy couple.



Here is Kitty enjoying a movie. . .it was "Because I Said So."

Borrrrrrrrrinnngg. . .that or I'm just an old cat who needs her sleep.

Ahh, this elective month is great . . .I'm actually getting paid to read EKGs with the cardiologists.