Organised

Sometimes I get a really strong urge to go through my things and get rid of anything I haven't used.  Usually this happens when my clothes get really disorganized and I can't find anything to wear even though I know I have a perfectly good outfit hiding under a pile of sweaters.  Or ice skates taking up a giant tupperware box.

Found some loose change.

Taking an extended vacation to Goodwill.

I clean things out every 4-6 months.  Yesterday I started with my bedroom closet.  I had a dress in there that I haven't worn since 2001.  2001!  The style is nice-ish and it fits but the fabric is so awful that it went in the giveaway pile.  I also had a brown cotton dress with gold sequins on the bust and a drop waist.  Drop waists look terrible on me.  Giveaway pile.

Beliveau Barracudas!.

Last weekend some ladies and I were looking at some old photos.  I'm trying to decide which photos to keep and which to toss.  I have two giant boxes filled with photos and journals and other notes from grade school through University.  What do I do with all those things?  I only look at them when I'm trying to clean out the house and then they go back in their bin.  And yearbooks?  I have 6 of them.  Do you still have yours?  I'm considering getting rid of mine.

WHAT?

I don't care if they're Missoni. $70 for a plastic-y flip flop is ridiculous.  I might reconsider if these came with a purple or pink strap.

Gross to sexy

I love watching horror movies but grossness for the sake of grossness is a waste of time.  I'm a little behind (get it?) but I finally watched Human Centipede II.  It's on Netflix streaming.  I saw it in 2 installments because halfway through V came home from work and I didn't want him to have to see someone's tendons being pulled out of their knees (and also because I was very, very ashamed).  It really was one of the worst (as in bad) horror movies I've seen.  The story was weak.  I prefer the ones that are tense as opposed to super gross.

This is the main character.  His body made my stomach churn but I was still able to sleep last night.

One of the most disturbing horror movies I've seen is Martyrs.  Have you seen it? It is really violent and tense.  I saw it a few years ago but I remember cringing at some of the final scenes.  I recommend it if you have a very strong stomach and brain.  Just when you think the worst is over, there is a whole other level of awfulness.

On a completely different movie note, we watched a Beach Boys movie with some pals last night in preparation(?)/anticipation (?) for the show on Friday.  I liked it.  I barely know anything about the Beach Boys.  Maybe because I didn't really listen to them growing up.  I don't think my parents did either but I could be wrong about that.  I remember mainly listening to reggae records, Sergio Mendes, George Michael and dance/pop music when I was younger.  

What a hunk.

Stars and stripes are serious

V and I had a very late night crafting session on Friday!  I'm not sure where I got the energy from because after my interview in the afternoon I felt like a wet noodle and was dragging myself around all day even after eating my favourite sandwich at Bows (the Cubano, so good).

Craft supplies

Crafting assistants

I bought a simple dress pattern a couple of years ago and decided to make another dress with it. (I've used the pattern four times now).  The bodice never ever fits well and even though I've trimmed the pattern pieces down I still have to do some adjustments.  I think I'm going to look for a new pattern for my next dress.

V helped me position the straps Saturday morning but it was too cold out to wear the dress to C&C's BBQ so I made myself a a little scarf instead.  V called me Yankee Doodle.

Want to know what my Dad looks like?  Just imagine my face without long hair.  Total Dad!

The weather for the pool party on Monday was much warmer so I was able to wear my full on Yankee Doodle outfit to bike to the party.  Some of us even jumped in the pool!

It's a little hard to tell but the straps are red and white and there's a ribbon pin too.  This dress will make another appearance in about a month.

Have a great long weekend!

I'm pooped from my interview this afternoon.  It went pretty well.  Fingers crossed!

Book recommendation

Oh my gosh, I'm reading the best book ever!  JUST KIDDING!

I have an interview tomorrow!  As nerdy as I feel to have it, this book is actually helpful.  I review it every time I have an interview so I can go over potential questions in my mind before the day.  I really wish the interview was today because I'm going to be worrying for another 26 hours.

This silk blazer is so pretty.  I would love to wear it to the interview but it's too expensive, even on sale.  Also, I would probably get it all sweaty because of my FRAZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZLED nerves.

I am really hoping to do well on the interview so please send many positive thoughts my way.  I've read that this company can interview for up to 4 hours, which seems SO long but that includes aptitude tests and meeting the team.  Details tomorrow.

Pop!

I feel like I am vacuuming the bathroom floors constantly.  My hair is getting really long which is great for low maintenance summer do's (and sometimes don'ts ..wah wah wahhhh...) but in this heat, sometimes I want it off my face.  These Cynthia Rowley oversized barrettes are perfect.  Such bright and pretty colours.  I would choose the turquoise-y green, or the purple.

The Nordstrom women and kids sale has started.  I'm not shopping but it's fun to look.  There are some really good deals if you need something new for your wardrobe.

fancy maxi dress

missoni dress (sigh)

Date-iversary

Ta-da!  It's our dating anniversary today! It's also our 5-month wedding anniversary. xoxo

Overkill

This beach hat is totally ridiculous and TJ Maxx has a whole wall of them.  I had a hard time walking towards the mirror to take a photo because the hat was so big that I couldn't see where I was going.

I bought a beach hat a couple of years ago in PARIS, at H&M for TEN EUROS and it's so cute.  It's the usual papery straw colour and has a navy ribbon with white polka dots on it.  I also have a floppy paper straw hat that I got from Urban Outfitters a few years ago but it's completely lost it shape and looks a lot like the hat above but not as huge.  I always like looking for a new hat - they're kind of hard to find!

Kate Spade, classic, and also comes in green.

Jessica Simpson, lacy!  Also available in neutral straw

Juicy Couture, pretty colours.

Roxy hat, might be a little too floppy.

Eugenia Kim, ridiculously expensive but really cute.

JAIL BREAK!

Look at this WILD escape artist!  Llorca is an indoor cat but he sneaks out whenever he can.  He is not the most slender of cats but he sure can squeeze through a tiny door opening.  Look how small the door crack is!  He opened it himself when we weren't looking.  Sneaky.

Did you have a great weekend or what?  We went to Bolinas on Friday so V could get his surf on and then drove to Point Reyes looking for dinner.  We ate at Cafe Reyes.  They have wood fired pizzas and organic salads so we shared one of each.  We also shared an awful overpriced bottle of wine.  Apparently the oysters are delicious if you're into that.

After dinner we wandered around the tiny town and stopped in for a drink at the Old Western Saloon.  There were photos of Charles and Camilla above the bar and two glasses in a plexiglass box.  The bar tender was busy keeping tabs on two dudes who looked like they were ready to start a fight so I didn't get to ask him about the royal visit.  Here's a funny article about their visit to Point Reyes in 2005.

A while back we picked up a hammock at a Vallejo thrift store because our old one ripped when someone sat in it.  V set it up this weekend in a shady corner of the yard.

Yesterday some lady pals and I hung out.  In preparation for our moonbeam pagan ritual we snacked at Tres Hermanas.  That place is dirty!  And our waitress had a nasty attitude!  However, the beautiful presentation of my burrito made up for everything.

See that knife with the wooden handle?  It was a handle full of dangerous wood slivers.  I'm not sure why I received a steak knife to eat my bean and cheese burrito.

Margarita and Horchata

Ambiance: bud light in a sombrero

We sat around and burned our eyeballs a little watching the eclipse last night.  Did you see it?  The light in the park was really interesting, like a dull version of how things should really look.

Sun and moon

Moon shadows

Binoculars and white card stock

Moonbeams

Pox

Have you ever had chicken pox?  I haven't.  I got the blood work back from UC Davis yesterday and they found out I hadn't had it and wanted to give me the vaccine.

I started signing the paperwork and then read that you have to agree not to get pregnant three months after the injection, which is fine, but out of curiosity I asked, why not?  The nurse said that the virus was an active virus and could kill a fetus.  At that point she told me that if I do get the vaccine I might also get chicken pox and wouldn't be able to leave the house for two weeks if I get it.  WHA!  That's when I changed my mind and was able to sign a release stating I'd agreed not to have the vaccine.

I looked at a couple of photos of chicken pox online but they aren't very nice.  So instead, how about this:

Reading

This poem appeared in the April 2012 issue of Harper's magazine.
 I love it so much I cut it out of the magazine.
Are you reading anything worthwhile?  I'm still working through the Grace Paley short story collection after hearing about Wants in another book and have read a few fluff books in the past month that aren't really worth mentioning.  We have a subscription to Harper's and the other day I read My Old Man, a memoir by Clancy Martin in the June 2012 issue.  I recommend it.  I sure do love an interesting memoir.

Interview

I just had the telephone interview with an undisclosed giant insurance company and will hear back in a few days if I'm selected for an in-person interview.  My cell phone reception in the house is often bad unless I'm in a good spot but this morning it was so awful that we lost the connection.  I'm blaming it on the helicopter that was circling the house.

I ended up frantically buying Skype credits and calling the HR lady back through Skype.

The worst interview question for me is "Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with your co-worker..."
I just don't get into conflicts with my co-workers. I'm an adult. DUH.  (that is not the answer I gave).

Turquoise and Caicos

I picked out a new summer nail polish earlier this week.  I love it!  I have a telephone interview tomorrow so I don't have to worry about looking EXTREMELY professional and taking off the polish.  I've never really had a serious telephone interview before.  It seems like an odd way to assess someone when they're not right in front of you.

Essie polish

I had my lifeblood sucked out of me yesterday at UC Davis Med Center to test for some diseases including chicken pox (?) and I had to get another TB test because the one I had in February for my immigration exam wasn't sufficient enough.  UC Davis needs two tests administered in case the first one is a false negative.  I really dislike the thought of needles.  Once I'm actually getting the blood drawn I feel fine but the whole waiting thing makes me queasy.  

The Dr. made me turn my neck, twist to the side and lift my arms.  He asked me if I had scoliosis but then pressed on my spine and decided I didn't so that's good news.  I don't know if this was part of the medical exam but he said that Canada produced a lot of good comedians and asked me to remind him of their names.

Once my blood and TB tests are reviewed then I am ready to be placed somewhere within UC Davis for a temporary job.

8 years old

Petey turned 8 years old yesterday.  He's practically still a baby considering he's going to outlive us all.  Maybe he can help me take my pills when I'm 85, or remind me to turn the stove off, or call for help when I fall down the stairs.

Petey and I celebrated a bit before V came home from work with a birthday peanut and some loud dance music.  He had already opened his "real" gifts in the morning, including something called the Bamboozler!

After dinner V and I drove to San Francisco to see his pal's band.  It was in a space I'd never been to called the Lab.  It sounded really good in there and smelled about average to below average.

Neither of us wore earplugs and our hearing is fine this morning.  We got home around 2 am so the fatigue level is pretty high.  

Black Dice

Today I am heading over to the UC Davis Med Centre to complete a medical exam so I can be hired as a temporary worker with them.  It sounds like it will be vaccinations and an eye test.  I had my vaccinations for my immigration application so hopefully I won't have to go through that again.  

I met a fellow green card holder at the show last night who got hers a year ago and she said that even though she had an updated vaccination record the US wouldn't accept it because it wasn't in English.  She also told me that after two years she and her Mr. will have to go through the interview process again.  So many hoops!  

Pearls

I had a dental check up today with a new dentist and I don't have any cavities!  To celebrate, I got this:

Just kidding!  I ate some strawberries and yogurt instead.  I bought a Groupon for $40 which included an exam, x-rays and cleaning at Capitol Dental.  I was a little concerned at first because I had to wait for 30 minutes before being seen and the receptionist discussed another patient's procedure really loudly so everyone in the waiting room could hear.

What I did like was that the dentist said I had really great teeth in excellent shape, which was nice compared to my other dentist who, on my first visit there, asked me if I'd ever considered braces.  Yes, I did consider them, in grades 7 through 9.

There was just a little bit of staining on the tops of my teeth.  I said, "must be from all that red wine I drink" and the dentist said, "oh, what kind?" and I said, "red".  Then he asked, "what kind of red?".  And I said "whatever's on sale" and he said, "you mean whatever's in your glass?"  Sassy!

The hygienist did a really thorough job scraping and cleaning.  I was impressed.  At my old place they barely even scraped and I always felt like there was some plaque left over.  I would go back once I get dental coverage through my job.

Busy weekend

Happy Monday!  Last night before falling asleep I was thinking about the Aleve lady in the old commercials who needed to take a pill before gardening.  I am turning into that lady.

We trimmed the plants and trees, ripped out all the weeds and finished laying down the weed blocker fabric that I'd started a while back before running out of anchors.  We bought some new plants at Home Depot and V bought some missing supplies to install a drip system in the front.  Everything looks a lot nicer.

Flowers in the trunk

While I was pulling weeds I realized something looked off about the front porch and that the planters and pots didn't look balanced.  I have no idea how long it's been gone but someone stole a small mosaic table I had on the front porch.  I'm sad it's gone but considering I didn't notice until this weekend and have no idea how long it's been missing I suppose I can't be too heartbroken.

On Saturday we attempted to go to the beach which was allegedly going to be 82 degrees but when we got there the fog had already started to roll in.  At Bolinas it was 52 degrees and windy.  The town was packed and there was hardly anywhere to park.  A lot of people were driving down the skinny streets only to have to reverse out because there weren't any spots.  There were a couple of tense moments when an old guy yelled obscenities at us because we didn't give him enough room to pass in his giant van and later when we were reversing into a parking spot and someone tried to steal it from us.  There weren't any waves and a ton of people in the water so we decided to leave, but only after I got my jalapeno cheese puffs from the liquor store there.  Have you had these?  They are TOO delicious.

I've finished my make-up testing!  My skin broke out about 4 hours into wearing the Nars pure radiance which felt like I had a layer of oil on it.  My cat jumped up on to my desk and rubbed his body against my face and I'm pretty sure he got some makeup on his fur.  Gross.

The Philosophy make up was too pale but did feel pretty good on my skin.  

The Clinique Moisture Surge and City Block are my favourites.  I especially like that the City Block has zinc, which blocks everything.  It's not marketed as a tinted moisturizer but has a light tint that works with my skin tone.  Good for relaxed outdoor adventures where you don't need to look like a bazillion bucks.  Clinique is giving out travel sized samples of these right now at Macy's if you're interested.

 

Stay cool

A friend posted on fb about a popsicle stand at the Wednesday Farmers Market at Cesar Chavez park (between 10 and 2).  I know a lady who happens to love popsicles so I roped her into coming along with me.  I had the coconut flake which was made with silk coconut milk and J had the pina colada popsicle.  Three cheers and two popsicles for summer!

We did a little boutique browsing in midtown too.  Everywhere mostly seemed to sell synthetic clothing.  I just can't do synthetic, especially in this heat.