ssmokey!

One of the things I will miss about CA is its smoking ordinance. I love it. I hate the smell of smoke sticking to my hair and clothes....not to mention the chance of getting lung cancer due to second hand smoke. I know I am no longer in CA when I smell the nicotine in the air the second I step off a plane or a car. I hate going to a smoky bar. I hate it even more when they ask me if I prefer smoking or non-smoking area in a restaurant, and I say non-smoking, but they sit me where I can smell and see the smoke in the air because there isn't really a solid barrier between the non and smoking area. What the eff did you even ask me?! There isn't a difference! The frigging air is contaminated with nicotine!!! Even in CA I loathe when people smoke couple of feet away from the building entrance. Keep your smoke to yourself; I don't want to have any of it, thank you.

What's ironic is that this week mother nature graced SF Bay area and Central Valley lightning spectacles setting hills on fire. One of the fires that started last Saturday afternoon was between the Napa and Solano counties boarder which is about 10 miles from our house. There were more than 800 fires ablaze by Tuesday. That Saturday night I fell asleep watching the news and was abruptly awaken when the power went out - the AC went out. It was pretty scary. So much for the save the air day campaign for the week, the air quality has been really horrible from last Saturday fires. I drove to SF yesterday for our weekly pm meeting, and I felt like I was in Lost Angeles. The sun had a weird orange glow in the smoggy atmosphere. On my way to work this morning, the air is still smoky and the sun still looked like a giant glowing peach. I suppose I can forgive nature, but I will never be okay with cigarette smoke and automobiles that spew black toxic cloud in the air. argh!

salty, you got to have a plan

Nothing happened from my last post and hopes on getting fit and eating healthy. I did the total opposite. I binge eat and sat around my lazy ass. My boss A buys me lunch and not the deli lunch type lunch, but the Yankee Pier or the Chow where people usually makes reservations in the Lafayette business center. My boss B takes me along with boss A to his fave Celia’s which boss A and I loathe because we don't think the food is really good, but it's boss B's fave place, and he's paying. He orders the same dish: pollo crema. He says it like he's ordering a creamed shirt. My fave shrimp dish is probably 3k calories. I couldn't say no and take my fat ass and jog around the reservoir instead. I can't say no when the company is really good, good food, good laugh for the day, and goodwill. The deli type thing comes in when a bid is due, we and can't go out of the office.

Last week was unbearably 100F in Napa. It was bordering hell for me. On Saturday, I must have changed 15 times because none of my summer clothes fit. I looked like a sausage in my shorts and camis and an overweight oompa loompa in my sundresses. Looking at my sausage figure was another notch down to my depression. I know my body has been craving to get fit for the longest time, but lost and joined my lethargic mind. Yes, it's mind over body. Mind wins.

yes i can, yes i can!

after a year of being sedentary, yesterday i donned my running gear cob webs and all and jogged my usual route in lafayette. my lungs were burning just as i approached the slight incline after the reservoir. i thought i tasted blood. i am really out of shape. i wasn't running like a mad dog, i was taking it easy as if it was a sunday morning. im out of shape and decrepit. 2.5 mi in 40 mins. i had to walk the steep inclines. my goal this week is to run at least 3x a week for a month. i don't care if it takes me an hour running 2mi as long as i get my lazy self running again. see how that works. i was telling my friend that i had lost motivation to get in shape. he said, "how about an lbd?" a little black dress....hmmm. may be. i threw a couple of those bitchy lbd's last month just because i couldn't get into them. i did fit on one, but the fat rolls were obviously saying hello to me. can't have that. so i threw them out. hah! do i dare apologize? eh... i'll just run.

the blues

our backyard photo last fall:

it rained almost everyday last week, and it rained the whole day on Saturday. I love cuddling with my kids watching tv on a rainy day. i love the sound of the wind blowing against the trees, the sound of the raindrops on the side of the house and the windows.

i was going to cook brunch on saturday, but i decided to ask my husband to bring us to G0ld1locks. I don't really like their pinakbet and palabok, but it's close enough...i know for sure i will miss it. last wednesday, when my husband had to stay late and dine with his bosses, i took my little one to eat at Max's. it was just the two of us, but I ordered for four. again, their pinakbet was overly salty, i did mention to the waiter when he asked how everything was, and the manager was willing to fix it and or give me something else, but i politely declined. i didn't want to be difficult, like i always am. it felt good...as if i did something good....well, i thought i saved someone from my wrath. it just felt good not making a fuss and not making someone go out their way even though they were responsible and actually taking responsibility. it was weird.

anyways, i told my husband that i have not taken full advantage of the Filipino stores and restaurants in our neighborhood. i will blame it on my commute. i drive an average of 180mins/day, and when i get home, i don't want to drive another 13 miles just to eat at Max's or Red Ribb0n. i can cook, but i get home pretty late, and i usually am exhausted - i just want someone to wait on me, but it gets to be pricey. so we do a lot of grilling and steaming veggies. it's healthier. now the move date to nc is getting closer, the reality is setting in, the thought of not having the convenience to quell my sinigang cravings, and not being able to eat pancit palabok when i feel motivated to drive to vallejo, makes me sad. wah.

i know i will adjust well in our new home. right now, my thinking process just shuts down whenever i try to imagine or put a list of things i need to do for this move especially thinking if my house will even sell in this current market.