Insomnia is a Bitch

. . .since I can't sleep, I'm gonna blog. I don't know what it is, I haven't had a lick of coffee, didn't take any naps today. . .perhaps it's hubby's very loud snoring. Seriously, snoring is NO small matter, what is the affected spouse to do??! I know it might not be an issue that parallels that of national security, but it honestly is destructive on a personal level, and creates anguish nevertheless! God, are you there?? The squishy pink earplugs from Walgreen's no longer work. Is hubby's snoring actually getting louder or did my ears grow superpower strength? I decline at prodding him, since I know I'm the one that pays no heed to alarm clocks these days while he's the one working 12-hr days. So I let hubby snore, while I type away.

I have several thoughts on my mind:

1. Resurrecting this blog: after a long absence, I'm gonna write here again. It's been a year plus three months since my last post. I stopped because I no longer had time and even less energy. Now I have both back. Also, I'm re-starting this blog with less pressure. Before, I admit, I had an inexplicable pressure to be positive and cheery in my posts, hah, just see the Blog title I came up with. I was beginning to feel like I was putting on a facade for readers who weren't there! Yeah, life is not sunny and puppy love all the time. The truth is, I have plenty of melancholy and it's okay. While I'm at it, screw spell check and correct grammar!! Celebrate life's imperfections and cloudy skies.

2. Oprah Winfrey: I decidedly like her a lot. I've been watching her shows as of late, a perk of my new found leisure time. Unfortunately, just as I've become a fan, she's doing her farewell season! She delves into issues of real substance on her show (unlike say Tyra) and not just the superficial. I love how she was an ugly duckling who transformed into a beautiful goose. She was a homely girl, abused and poor, and NOW, a mogul of worldwide fame. Most of all, I love her motto of "live your best life." What is that Socrates saying I first heard in High School? ---"The unexamined life is not worth living." But, Mark Twain rebuts, "The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the life too closely examined may not be lived at all." I want to live my life somewhere in the middle of those two quotes.

3. One in 4 girls are abused, 1 in 6 boys are abused: Just learned on Oprah today. It is things like these that feeds the melancholy in me. Do I need any more evidence that this world is in the crapper? When I have kids, I might never let them out of my sight. I'll have to do a "why this world sucks" list one day. I'm not someone that can easily shake off news like that. It stays with me, like dandruff that won't go away, reminders that this world is bad, bad, bad. Another example, the Nidal Hassan Fort Hood shotting 1 yr anniversary was today. What else? The war in Middle East, terrorists at large, both of which with no sign of stopping.

4. Bette Midler: I love her! Her music, I should clarify. I just recently found her, too. Also like with Oprah, I feel like I've missed the boat with Bette. Unfortunate for me, she's old, and unlikely to do another live concert or tour, but I'll just love her through iTunes. My favorite song at the moment is "From a Distance." The words alone move me. Unlike pop music, her music is great because of her voice, not the synthetic jumbo-mumbo that hide actual voices and call music these days. She's a singer in the truest sense, her voice and lyrics come through the music. Her voice IS the music, very human, simple and powerful. Sometimes, music is the only place where we can create ideals of love and life whereas the real world is so crappy, like I mentioned above. Yes, I'm a closet pessimist that indulge in the sappy, I mean beautiful. Yes, I like my movies sappy and happy, too --the world is crappy enough, the theme here tonight.

Signing off to catch some ZZZs, I hope.

Walk-Through

We had our walk-through (a.k.a home orientation) today in our soon-to-be-first-house!! Our tourguide to our own house is a guy who calls himself Ant, short for Anthony. He gave us a crash course in how to take care of a house: learned that the new green air con system requires monthly filter change up in the attic (that'll be hubby's job), learned that the sprinklers must be pre-set according to season (it's got cool things like "drip irrigation" and "rain sensor"), learned that the foundation of a house in Texas must be watered religiously (yes, like every Sunday) or it can shrink up to 8 inches, learned that I shall not wear pointy heels on our hard wood floor because it exerts 1000lb of pressure in one small spot and will dent. . .also learned Good Housekeeping seal-worthy tidbits like lemon and ice cubes down the trash disposer is a good way to keep it clean. . . there's so much more (why didn't I take notes?!)

At the end of it all, Ant said "maintaining your home is a like a part-time job." Ha ha, I could've laughed and cried, I was thinking to myself, "but I don't want another part-time job, how many part-time jobs outside of full-time jobs can a person have?" But it's too late, it looks like we just about bought ourselves a house. And, I didn't even mention the whole lawn care business, our holly bushes, our Indian hawthornes, knockout roses, and four cute baby trees. . .they look innocent now but wait. . .

Here's an artist rendition of our house.

Dallas

There's only 2 things to do in Dallas, eat and shop. . .that is why I'm fat and broke.

The Answer to All My Problems. . .

. . .Ta Daaaa



An elliptical machine. . . yeah, okay, not ALL my problems but a fair amount of them, I hope!:) It's a Sole E55 2009 model. This ginourmous thing arrives in 1 to 2 weeks.

Boudoir

I have many dreams for my house one day. One of which, as I declared to hubby tonight, is to have my very own "girly room." As it turns out, there's a name for it, the "boudoir." No, I'm not talking about a genre of photography but a type of room! Leave it to the French to know my thoughts and all things feminine! Per Merriam Webster, a "boudoir" is a a woman's dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room. I envision my boudoir to be a place where my teddy bears can hang out in midst of my clothes, shoes and of course fabulously fun accessories. I want the walls to be some shade of pink and adorned with all things cute. It'll be a place for me to retreat and do my girly things. At first I thought it might just be an over-sized walk-in closet with a generous mirror, but I think I'll have a corner for gift wrapping, and maybe knitting or sewing, too if I ever take these hobbies up. Here are some pics for my future boudoir inspiration.

Dressing room of Carolina Herrera Jr.

The "Princess Room" of Xiaxue.

Girls' Trip

Here's our very first Girls' Only Trip this year which took place in sunny California. That means, no husbands, boyfriends, babies/children, dogs or pagers. This was our first but I hope not last reunion.

Our "reunion" memorialized in sand, which was soon erased by the ocean wave.

At the Santa Cruz beach. As Laurel said, the ocean waves and vista make one contemplative.

I can't help but dream of living in California one day, but hubby never fails to remind me of the inconvenient threats that come with paradise: earthquakes, forest fires, and tsunamis.

Shadow picture, Shoreh's idea.

With Laurel at Firshermen's Wharf. That's an eyeball flower to the left of me!

The awesome foursome, R to L: Joyce, Shoreh, Laurel, and Linda. We've known each other for 16 years!! My oldest and bestest friends.

Obamamania

"Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King Jr could march, Martin marched so Obama could run."

Hazards of Having a Dog

In his short life, Hiro has already chewed up and thereby destroyed 5 pairs of our shoes. Something about me is that I love my shoes dearly. Luckily, the shoes that Hiro have preyed upon and killed have been ones I was only half-heartedly attached to, the ones I truly cherish are hidden in safe high spots. Here's my sequential thought process when I discover the useless carcass of a plaything that was once a shoe: 1. "Oh my gosh, I hope Hiro didn't swallow something bad and having internal bleeding." 2. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to buy more shoes." 3. "Ohhhh, he's so cute, I have to forgive him."

However, it was different when Hiro broke a key off of my laptop! My precious laptop! Let's just say he was in one of his super-charged hopping mad episode (pun intended)... he jumped then landed hard on my laptop which he mistook for my lap since the said item was on my lap. The letter "K" flew off my keyboard like a mini UFO. Luckily, what's left of the key still works, and luckily, the letter "K" is not a often used key (never mind the fact that I just typed it 6 times!). Aggg, he's too cute, I forgive.

Anyone knows how to repair a broken key off of the keyboard?

Inspired to Clean

This was a very uncharacteristic day in which I came home from work early at 10am due to a scheduling mishap. As if to continue the uncharacteristic theme, I spent the whole day cleaning our home! After getting rid of loads of junk mail and other paper rubbish, dusting off the TV and furnitures, wiping clean the microwave and kitchen counter, washing trash cans (yes, I washed them), organizing my desk and vanity corner, etc., I found myself still with work left and utterly exhausted but wholly satisfied.

If only my hard work will last. . .I'm soo hiring a maid one day when I have more money. Like I said, it's very uncharacteristic for me to get inspired for cleaning.

My Day Off

The good thing about having weekdays off is that when you visit places like the park or store, it's not overcrowded. The downside is of course going to work on weekends, :( Here's our recent picnic and frolic at White Rock Lake. Yeah, we always go to the same spot.

"Too much sun in my face!"

Car ride home, "I'm pooped". . .

. . .Maybe not.