Monday, July 31, 2006

Weekend Update - July 31

I am so jet lagging on this blog. Let me give you guys a quick run down on the events that transpired last week.

On Monday I finally took The Sequel to get a haircut. His hair was so long that everyone thought he was a girl! Ok, he is wearing a blue collared shirt, some khakis, and sandals and people are still saying she, what is up with that? it was not like he was wearing pink or anything. Anyway, his first trip to the hair place was a little crazy, he cried, he screamed, he cried some more and at the end I was left with something that did not even resembled my baby anymore; I was left with a little boy. It was kinda sad. It took me three days to finally get used to seeing him with no hair. My little man is growing up, sniff, sniff.

Speaking of growing up, have I told you guys that Baby Girl will be making her first public school appearance in 15 days? I can not believe that she will going to kinder. Her bday is this Saturday. I kiddingly tell her after this birthday she is not allowed to grow up anymore. I tell her that she has to stay small forever. She laughs and tells me that she HAS to grow up, she has to get taller. What she does not know is that I wish I could really keep her from getting older.

On Tuesday we had some guy from Sears come over and take a look at our treadmill. It has not been service in forever and it makes a squeaky sound when you walk on it. He looked at it and said that it needed a new belt and some other thing and that the bill would be almost $400! I told him I would think about it, but I still had to pay $96 for the service call! I guess I will have to stay chunky a little longer.

On Thursday I left for Dallas (work). It was the first time that Baby Girl accompanied me without my mother around. It was fun for me having her around, but I think she got a little bored; she was always waiting for me to finish working. We got back home on Friday.

During the weekend we saw one of the worst movies ever, no I am not being picky, it was really, really bad. Every time I see a movie I always check out imdb to see what it says about the flick, or for any behind the scenes info. Anyway the people at imdb were as confused about I Love Your Work as I was! That is a bad sign.

Two movies that I have seen recently that I really liked are – The Matador and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Both movies were very entertaining with smart and witty writing. Both movies are highly recommended.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

My ABCs

Accent: Yes, sometimes, it depends on what words I am saying.
Bed I sleep in: What kind of question is that?! Mine.
Chore I Don’t Care For: Washing dishes, yuck.
Dog or Cat: Neither, I hate them both. Used to have a cat – Killer (pronounced Kyler) – but gave him to my mom.
Essential Electronics: Computer, cell phone, camera.
Favorite Perfume: Une Fleur by Chanel
Gold or Silver: Silver
Handbag I Carry Most Often: Depends on where I am going and with whom. If I have to carry the kids stuff then it is the latest Coach Summer big bag. If I am going out with grown-ups then it is Louis Vuitton.
Insomnia: I am a very light sleeper, but don’t know if that counts as insomnia.
Job Title: Network Analyst – yeah, not that interesting.
Kids: Two. A girl and a boy.
Living Arrangement: Us four, a fish that keeps having babies, and Mr. T (a turtle).
Most Admirable Trait: I am a positive thinker.
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: I used to think that I could do experiments on my sister.
Overnight Hospital Stays: Both kids (does childbirth count?). Also when I was little I stuck a bean in my ear and had to go to the hospital to have it taken out. For some reason I was at the hospital for 3 days. Maybe I should have a talk with my mother.
Phobias: Water. I do not like being in water too deep that I can not touch the bottom. I do not like rollercoasters. (JR is giving me a list right now, I need to kick him).
Quote: I put the following quote on the holiday cards from last year “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice” T.S. Eliot.
Religion: None
Siblings: One sister, she is 10 months younger that me.
Time I Wake Up: I love to sleep in. I usually wake up around 8:30.
Unusual Talent or Skill: I can touch my nose with my tongue.
Veggie I Refuse to Eat: ONIONS, yuck.
Worst Habits: Over eating.
Yummy Stuff I Cook: Sorry, I don’t cook. I hate cooking. It takes so much more time to prepare a meal than to eat it, I don’t see the point.
Zoo Animals I Like Most: I don’t really have one.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Weekend Update

JR turned the big 3-5 on Friday, so we decided to go out on the town to celebrate. We stated the night at Hooters (per Chris’ request). From there we moved to Baker Street Pub, Two Rows, and Gingerman. It was fun.

Here are a couple of JR pics with the Hooter girls.





On Saturday we went to Lot 8. Chloe Dao’s spread in Elle finally came out and she was signing autographs. While I was there I looked around and found an awesome dress, perfect for the beach at the Cayman Islands.



Thursday, July 20, 2006

Women Rule!

I am fuming. There aren’t many times when I get angry at words someone wrote. I think it is a free country and people are able to write whatever they want (yoo, hoo, first amendment), but I feel compelled, torn, perplexed and flat out angry about what I just read on a comment in someone’s blog (I will NOT give publicity to such blog here).


Hello,
On the topic of stay-at-homes mum etc. - don’t you think housewives are redundant?
In all seriousness, our great grandmothers all had horrible lives as slaves without rights (aka housewives) but actually had to do some hard work.

They made their own bread, had to hand wash clothes, beat the dust out of rugs, chop firewood etc. these days we have appliances and supermarkets- a woman who has no career in favor of stacking the dishwasher and putting a load through the washing machine seems to be a person that is merely inherently lazy or otherwise severely oppressed.

Given the availability of reasonably priced appliances, it is ridiculous to suggest a housewife is necessary. What, can’t those big old tough chauvinists figure out how to start the damn machines? If women grew some confidence they could have successful careers whilst sharing the menial housework tasks with their husbands (by that I mean 50:50 not 80:20).

And I’m sick of hearing ‘not everyone can afford a dishwasher’ - if a couple can’t afford a dishwasher, that’s even more reason for both to be working.

Which brings me to a side rant of ‘daycare’s too expensive’- maybe if these women bothered to get an education and had some work ethic instead of spreading their legs and morphing into heifers, they’d have a high-paying career with generous maternity leave and be able to afford the ‘overpriced’ daycares upon returning to work and an identity outside of fetus oven.

Men can have careers and family; have them make some sacrifices for a change. However, that said, many mums I know think the world owes them a living because they’re a ‘mummy’. So they reproduced- big deal, it’s a fact of life, nothing special so stop budging and get back to work!

TC.
(PS This site lets me blow of steam- thank you so much for that!)


Jerk!! I wish I had him/her in front of me so I could choke them. I am a mother, career women, and business owner. I have a degree. I also waited to have children until I was more “mature”, but let me tell you guys something - it is A LOT easier to have a job than to be a stay-at-home mom. Being a stay-at-home mom is a 24-hour a day job, no sick days, no lunch breaks, no raises; frankly I do not know how they do it.

According to Salary.com, “Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000”.

I believe that a woman can do and be whatever she wants. That is the beauty of being us! We can choose to be mothers, wives, single, married with kids, married without kids, career women, and we can also choose to stay at home to take care of our children. Every woman makes a decision, a decision that is hers and hers alone based on beliefs, income, and background. How does the saying go? You can not criticize someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. More people should remember that.

Being a stay at home mother is not for everyone, I am envious of the ones that love it and do it well. I wish I could. So, I am sticking up for you my sisters – the ones that are paid daily with hugs and kisses.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Working, Vacation, and the Thyroid??

I am currently in College Station, Texas working (go Aggies?!!). This time I was able to bring the kiddos with me, since I drove and all, and, of course, my mom to help me take care of them.

I will be here until Wednesday. I think I might be going to Dallas next week, huh, we will see. I finally asked for vacation. I can not believe that we waited until the last possible week for us to take time off. Baby Girl will be starting school on August 16 and we will be back from the Cayman Islands a whole 2 days before her public school induction.

Baby Girl has had me worried a lot lately. I have seen her gain weight little by little during the last couple of months, to the point of worrying me. I was taking her jogging and had her on an exercise plan, but the weight did not go anywhere. I was worried and thought about calling the Dr, but did not know how that conversation would go – “Dr. my daughter Baby Girl has been gaining weight and I don’t know what is going on”, “Do not worry Chica, what kind of signs does she have?”, “Well, since she got out of school she has been going to sleep late, sleeping in, eating junk food, and doing things kids do during the summer”. The doctor would have obviously told me to wait until her next physical, next month, to take her in.

I was going to have to be sneaky about it. I waited until Baby Girl complained of an ailment and I took her in. I told the doctor about my thyroid problem and told her that Baby Girl might have the same thing; she agreed and ordered a blood test. Now, taking blood, or getting it done, from a four year old it is not my idea of fun, but we were lucky that the person taking the blood knew what he was doing. The whole process was fast and painless.

A few days later the doctor calls us and says that Baby Girl has no thyroid activity what so ever! None, nothing, nada. She is completely hypo. This saddens me because I have had my blood taken out, in average, once every six months for the past 10 years and I HATE it. Just imagine having your blood taken every six months from the time you are four years old!

When I was pregnant I was told that the baby would not be affected by my thyroid problem. The Sequel would be tested in a couple of months. I really hope he is ok.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Houston Bound

To answer Greg at Dissonance's question, yes, I am out of town again. This week pretty much sucked, but today it is looking a lot brighter.

I am at the airport in San Diego. I talked the guy at the security check point to let me try our newest weapon against terrorism, the EntryScan 3. He laughed when I asked him, but he agreed. He told me to stand still and let the machine do its magic. I put my feet when the carpet with the shoes told me to. I stood still and all of the sudden spurts of air were shot at me from the bottom, my hair went every where. You stand still some more, which seems like an eternity, while everyone in line looks at you and wonders if you are really a threat.

According to the security guy, the air that is shot at you is analyzed, then gamma rays at beamed at you from all sides and you are rendered virtually sterile, nah, just kidding, but I did wonder what was going on. The door on the other side eventually opens and you are free.

I am on my way home today. The week has been crappy, cheez and it is only Wednesday! I will tell you guys all the events that transpired, but keep in mind that there is a 3 hour difference between Texas and California.

On Monday I boarded a plane in Houston that took me to Sacramento, Ca. Oh, yeah, wait, there was a little 4 hour lay over in Phoenix. I finally got to the airport and it took the hotel shuttle almost an hour to come pick me up. I got to the room and it was time to work, after work I managed to workout for 45 minutes. After that I ate dinner, watched a little tv and went to sleep. Got up at 10:40 pm joined a conference bridge and work until almost 4 am. On Tuesday morning I got up at 8:30, had breakfast, took a shower, and went back to the airport.

On Tuesday I headed to San Diego, but since our travel agency sucks and the people that work there suck even more, I had to go back to Phoenix, from Sacramento, and wait there an hour before boarding a plane to San Diego. When I got to San Diego I took a cab, worked, worked out, had dinner, went to sleep, woke up at 10:40pm to work, joined the bridge, and worked until almost 4am

On Wednesday, I got up at 9am, skipped breakfast, took a shower and made my way to the Airport. I am currently in San Diego, waiting for a plane that will take me to Phoenix; from there I will board another plane that will eventually take me home.

Phone Blogging

Sunset in San Diego

Monday, July 10, 2006

It is Hard Being a Woman

It is so very hard being a woman in today’s world. Ok, maybe I should change that to say, I am finding it hard to be a good woman nowadays.

My life feels very chaotic right now, I feel like I am drowning, but at the same time I am not yelling asking for help. I am drowning in silence. Why am I doing this to myself? Truthfully, I really feel like I would be letting myself down if I would quit my job, let go of my business, and just concentrated on the kids and the home. Would I be a better mom if I did that? probably yes. Would I be happy? probably not.

My mother stayed at home until we moved to the States. I guess it was comforting to get home from school and have someone always waiting for you, to open the door and have the smell of food welcome you in. I really liked that and missed it when I was older. I wish that I could have been able to write her a letter of recommendation after my father left. After we moved to the States we did not have the luxury of having her stay at home, she had to join the workforce with no skills what so ever. Life was hard, but that is another story all together.

Statistics say that if a woman leaves the workforce and stays out for 18 months she has 50% change of getting the same job with the same pay. The percentage decreases the longer she is out of the workforce. Do not get me wrong, I do not want to leave my job, I really like it. I do not work because of the money, I do not make that much, I do it because it makes me feel that I am doing something important for people that respect me and like the way I do my job.

The problem is that I have been so very busy with work that I have not had time to pay attention to anything else. Every thing is just falling to the wayside, but most of all I feel that I am not loving enough. Wow, it sounds weird saying it out loud. I AM NOT LOVING ENOUGH!! I feel like I am living in the tomorrow, tomorrow I will spend time with the kids, tomorrow I will clean, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. I am afraid that tomorrow might never come and I wasted my time on things that are not, gulp, that important.

As women trying to balance kids, husbands, careers, businesses, homes, and some personal time, how do you guys do it all? Is there a happy balance or does one side always wins? How does one become a Superwoman?

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

July 4th, 2006

Happy Birthday USA!

Monday, July 03, 2006

What Is Up With These Shoes?!



I just don’t understand these shoes at all. At first I only saw kids and very young girls wearing them and thought, well, that is a good idea, it is summer and you know those kids are always outside playing around. They are plastic and cheap so if they get wet or muddy who cares!

Well, I don’t know what could possess grown women to wear such shoes to the mall, or any where else for that matter, when there is no rain in sight or gardening to be done. Plus what would you wear with such shoes? I guess you could wear a garden outfit – overalls, big shirt, floppy hat, and of course those adorable shoes (they actually come in around 20 colors and designs!).

I don’t know about your family, but my sister has a fit every time I wear my Stuart Weitzman’s with the wrong shirt. I could just image what she would say if I ever showed up with the garden clogs. I am pretty sure the word “hoe” would be in there somewhere. She is just funny like that.

All I am saying is let’s keep it a kid’s shoe. Fashion is so forgiving on the young.