Groceries

Today I had to go and get groceries. Joy. But it has to be done and I went early enough to beat the church crowd. Awesome. No line ups, just the way I like it.

When I get to go by myself, I take a little extra time to browse. I like to see new products and I like to see what sales are happening so I can stock up on some stuff that can sit around.

Today, I found a new product. And it wasn't a "hey, how cool, can't wait to try that food product" moment. It was more of a WTF food moment.

I was in the FROZEN aisle. I looked at this one box. And basically it was a box of pre made sushi...you're supposed to just thaw it out and eat it like you would with a shrimp ring. Does that sound wrong?! Because I think it's a terrible idea! I'm willing to be wrong in something, but I'm not paying $8 for a box to try it.

Seriously, at $8 a box, go to a restaurant and get it fresh!

Who thinks up this kind of stuff?

Ears

Well, I'm in my late 30s, and I can't believe that I'm just contemplating this decision now. I'm thinking of getting my ears pierced on my next birthday. WOW. Big decision right?!

Why have I not had them pierced yet? Because my dad never let me. He always made it clear to me that he would not allow for it. And the holes in my ears would get really large and therfore would look terrible. I would live a life of disgrace. Ok, the last part was totally exaggerated, but my dad was definitely not into me getitng my ears pierced.

So why am I thinking of getting them pierced? Silly, but I saw this one pair of earrings that are just the cutest little things! And after seeing that one pair, I went looking at other earrings to see what else is out there. Oh, what have I been missing?!

I know this by no means earth shattering to those that have always had earrings or have more than 1. But for a girl that has never had one, and has an irrational fear that the holes will get really large and gross, this is a big decision.

I haven't had them for over 36 years, there is no rush in deciding.

Tub

My husband and I have lived in 2 different places. We started off with a townhouse and now the current house we live in. Each time before buying, we both made a list of 1 must have. If it didn't have it, we wouldn't get it. My husband wanted a dishwasher. I wanted a fireplace. Having one of those soaking tubs was optional, but would be awesome.

And so I got the fireplace and tub. Oh, I would soak in that tub. But fast forward a couple of years...the big tub is now used for my two kids to bathe in. I can't remember when I got to enjoy that thing.

Well, at least I got my fireplace.

Chat

I have a friend that I have been friends with for a very long time. I've lost count. Maybe 18 years? Or is it over 20? Gosh, I really don't know. But after she got married, she moved away. But she came home quite often and we would always touch base.

Even if a visit wasn't possible, then phone calls were the way to go. But in the last year, I really felt distant from her and one of the main reasons was the actual distance. She's a 3 hour time zone difference and she starts work at 3:30am. Makes for conversations difficult. And when I e-mailed her, I never heard back.

We did end up connecting here and there, but I always felt that it was a "cold" conversation and nothing like what we had before.

So I e-mailed her and asked her what the heck was going on. Before I get crap about not calling her, remember her schedule. She is probably up at 2:30am EST to get to work for 3:30 but sleeps at a very early time. Time zones make it difficult.

In the e-mail, I told her how awesome I think she is, how I valued our friendship, but how I was concerned about our friendship, and my feelings, etc. I also gave her the option to get out of the relationship if she opted to. People change and sometimes people don't stay friends forever...and that's ok. People shouldn't stay friends forever because they've been friends for a certain period of time.

I really put a lot of thought into this e-mail as I didn't want it to be accusatory. I didn't want to throw away the relationship. But I wanted to let her know that I was upset, felt that we were growing apart, etc. I wanted to stay friends. I really felt that the relationship was built on enough trust and honesty that I could go to her with this and she would be honest with her feelings.

And I was right. She felt that everything was going just fine and didn't realize how I felt. But when she understood where I was coming from, she was apologetic and explained to me what was going on with her that may have made me think that things were going bad. We both came to a conclusion of how we could make our communication better between the two of us so that we weren't in this position again.

It was just such a good affirmation that we were good, if not great friends. It was a moment for us to both realize that friendships can not be taken for granted. Even the closest of friends have their problems and issues. But the great part about these friends is that if both parties put their mind to it, the friendship prevails and whatever issue is in the way can be dealt with.

Conversation

The other day, I was standing next to a person that I hadn't seen in a while at work. This person is nice but odd. Social skills seem to be lacking, i.e. appropriate topics to talk about when seeing a person you haven't seen in a while.

So I start off the conversation with a simple, "hey, haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

Seems pretty neutral. Nothing out of the ordinary for a greeting. At least, so I thought.

The response I get is "I'm doing good! I'm enjoying things. My [child] is doing well. My sister breastfeeds both of her kids...and one is 2.5 years old..."

Ok, I could go on about what was said. But the last two sentences seemed totally whacked out. I was waiting for how her sister was going to find a way to produce more breast milk.

Can we say TMI? I'm not even remotely close to this person so I don't even know why this was disclosed to me. And it's not like I was in the middle of doing something that could bring on this type of conversation.

There are things that you can not unhear. Lucky you, you can never unread this again.

Acne

Oh Katy Perry. The latest to sell an acne product. Hey, go for whatever endorsements work. But I wonder, do these folks that endorse all these products actually use them?

Yes, I see Katy Perry with acne in her "before" pictures. Yes, I see the big zit. But hey, I can photoshop too. Does she actually have this acne treatment in her house? Does she give it away as gifts?

Hey, if she uses the product and it works, kudos to her and the product line. But if I were a consumer buying that product based on that endorsement AND she didn't use it...I'd be pretty pissed.

But I still love and adore her. I wouldn't give away my concert ticket over this.

TV

My husband decided to buy a new tv. The other one we had seemed to have something wrong with the screen. I didn't notice it much, but apparently it bothered him enough to buy a new tv.

To me, a sony tv lcd compared to one of those samsung tvs lcd, or any other brand...yeah, I don't know much about this kind of stuff. But he did his research, he priced it out, he measured the space. This was a big deal! I just let him have all the fun.

He's happy with his tv. All that matters.

Hosting

Those that start companies will also have a website. Having done some web design, I understand the need to do it right. But if you're running a business, sometimes your mind and focus needs to be somewhere else. You shouldn't be worried about the "back end" portion of your website. I think those folks should have managed hosting. Peace of mind and some sanity for them to actually run the business.

Might be some extra money, but you can't pay enough for peace of mind.

Wellness

There's always new wellness centres popping up all over the country. Some seem better than others. But that's from a personal stand point. I'm no doctor!

Some seem to use all forms of medication too which I'm not too big of a fan of. I think we already get too much of other things in our bodies that we don't need just from the environment. So it's refreshing to see that there are places like the allergist austin clinic that takes a natural approach to all things allergies and to the well being of a client. Sounds good. But it's a little too far for me to test out...well, at least until I win the lottery.

Hospitals

Lately, I've been visiting hospitals way too often. You should see my credit card bill...basically all parking costs at hospital parking lots!

And today was no different. I went to a local hospital during my lunch time today to see a man that is very special to me. He's known me ever since I came to Canada...so basically my whole life. Him and his family have cared for me for many years. I am grateful and truly fortunate to have them in my life. He is really another dad to me. He's that awesome.

I went to go see him at the hospital today as he just had hip surgery. We're talking about taking out the old hip replacement and putting in a new one. So major surgery. I don't even want to go into details as it was quite gross what they had to do.

I was amazed at how good he looked! He had great colour in his face, he spoke just fine, he joked and he asked about my family. Seriously. The man is in pain and can still laugh, joke and ask about my life. Craziness. But it was very nice to see and my heart was "lightened" knowing that he was doing well.

And I must say, the hospital renovations were awesome! Holy smokes. New pavillions, great equipment...even the medical computer carts rocked! Though, I must say, they could maybe try getting double ply bathroom tissue and save a little on the equipment side of things. I'm just saying.

So kudos to the surgeons for performing a great surgery and I'm thankful for this man doing so well post op.

Being a Chinese Mom

Recently, an article was written by Amy Chua called Why Chinese Mothers are Superior. I read it and have been thinking about it...a lot. If you haven't read it, here it is: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html?KEYWORDS=china+parents

Though I never had a real relationship with my mother, my father was definitely there for me. And my dad, just like this woman, basically treated me the same way. Every Chinese Canadian kid will relate to everything in this article. In some ways, I hold some of these traits, but nothing to the extreme of this woman.

This writer responded to all the harsh criticism and it's obvious that she is a well spoken woman that basically doesn't take crap from anybody. And with her way of parenting, she has brought up 2 daughters that have played their musical instruments at Carnegie Hall, are smart and will do well in life.

So with all of this in mind, I thought about my own parenting. Perhaps my way is more the Western way. But then, perhaps it should be as my kids are Canadian Chinese rather than Chinese Canadian. I do want my kids to be happy and I do worry about their individuality. I believe that there can be a balance of discipline and ensuring that they are ok. I want them to have certain experiences in life and I think they can while still doing well in school.

And if this Chinese teaching is so superior, then something must have gone wrong because I didn't turn out "special" or with any special skills. In the eyes of the Chinese community, I'm no doctor, lawyer, engineer. (Gosh, try going to a Chinese dinner with amazing achievers. It's brutal!) I don't excel in anything. I was never number 1 at anything. I'm not putting myself down. I'm just stating what I think is true and I'm ok with it. Feelings, what's that in the Chinese way of parenting? My parents ridiculed me mericilessly in public or to my face about choices I made or things I wanted to do. But it was there way of showing that they care. I think I'm still healing from some of those scars! =)

So, what's right and what's wrong? I don't know. But there is no definitive book on parenthood. All I know that opinions are like assholes...everybody's got one. And with that, I will continue with parenting the way I have.

Other Pills

I mentioned that chocolate would be a great diet pill. But maybe the best weight loss pills would just be in coffee. This nation and this world drinks so much of the dang stuff that I have no clue how there are enough beans to support all of us drinkers. Starbucks would be reach with all the kickbacks. Hey, and every other coffee shop.

But until this happens, it's gotta be self control and exercise. Yeah, still working on that.

Saturday

This Saturday, I could only take one kid to their swimming and mandarin lessons. The other kid was sick. And sick enough that I knew that I shouldn't take her and if I decided to, would receive threatening looks from other parents.

It's one thing to take your kid to lessons, but it's all the waiting in between. I do try to bring other things to do...maybe a book/magazine. But sometimes I do planning. While my one kid was in her class, I sat in the car where it was blissfully quiet. Planned out what I needed to buy for my one kid's birthday party, when I was going to get it, etc. But I got it all done and did I say it was quiet? Because it was awesomely quiet.

The world is a noisy place. Sometimes, quiet is what I really need to hear.

Pill

You know what the best diet pill ever would be? Seriously, make it part of chocolate. Of course, let people know. But if it's in good chocolate, considering all the chocolate people eat each day, wow...we'd be one skinny nation.

I'm sure there would be folks that would totally abuse it and who knows what kind of eating disorder we'd create. But the thought of something easy is nice...and nice tasting.

Swimming Lessons

Oh, Saturdays. Lots of activities on this weekend day. Swimming is one of those activities. But for a 1/2 hour lesson, it 1/2 of driving (which isn't too bad) and about 20 minutes of getting the kids showered and dressed. So an hour and half of time to complete a 30 minute lesson.

It's hard sometimes because I just don't want to go. And it's not like I can do much while there. I try to read or I surf the next. Sometimes I meet some parents that are great conversationalists.

This semester is much better than previous ones though. I don't think I'll mind waiting. My eldest has a really good looking teacher. Think Date Night with Tina Fay...and her famous line of "oh, he's got all kind of right." Yeah, eye candy at the pool while waiting is a good thing.

Job Postings

I like to pick up the paper and see what type of job ads are out there. Sometimes, I just like to see what other opportunities there are, read up on what skills people are looking for...because you just never know when another opportunity may pop up.

I cruise through sections that I have no experience in or even knowledge of too...because I can. Machinest jobs...yep, most if not all require CNC tickets. The medical job listing ones require so many years experience or at least a MOA certificate (I sure hope so!). Flaggers need their special tickets. This is one I definitely woudln't want...being called a flag hag all day would piss me off.

Well, today nothing new popped up. Maybe tomorrow.

Phones

Oh, the plethora of cell phones out there. They are all good in their own way. And I'm all about choices, but sometimes, it's just too much. Though I'm more than happy with my phone, sometimes I still look to see what new features and new phones are out there. The new htc desire looks pretty awesome. I like the actual keyboard and the keys look big enough. The apps look good and it seems like a smooth phone.

But I can look...no point in buying. If I had to change my phone on my current contract now, well, let's just say I couldn't afford anything.

Star Trek

I would definitely call myself a geek. Not an ubergeek...just a gal that likes geeky things. But I think geek is cool! As they say, the geek shall inherit the earth. And I think there's something ultra sexy about being geeky, don't you think?

Part of loving my geekiness, I watched Star Trek VI this weekend. It's such an old movie and Captain Kirk was still at the helm. The older series didn't delve into tough topics such as space time continuums, or the paradoxes of travelling back in time, or even the science of nanobots. Again, all ultra cool things to talk, read and watch. But the older Star Trek series dealt with more of the human aspect. And even hundreds of years in space later, people are still people. And what I particularly loved about this series (and I'm talking about ALL the different Star Trek series) is that the series would always deal with truly relevant topics that happen in the world or what people are concerned about. The geeky stuff is just extra stuff they put in there which makes a geek like me very happy.

Detox

Watching shows like Intervention or some drug related show, you see how ugly detox is. This could be coke, this could be heroin or an opiate detox. The person basically goes through hell. And it's no wonder why the person goes back to the drug...they want to come back from hell and feel normal or at least not in pain. However, it gets into that vicious cycle quickly and it's downhill from there.

I love and I hate these shows at the same tim. I love the fact that in the end, every single one of them is offered help. Whether or not they take it is another issue. But at least there is some type of support to help them out of hell. But I hate these shows too as it just sensationalizes so much of the situation.

But if it brings at least some awareness to folks or acts as a deterrent for some to even start drugs, then the shows have been a success.

Corporate Gifts

Oh, when you work for the public sector, corporate gifts are close to zilch. And some of the promotional items are just uncool. Though, I must admit, the whistle/flashlight keychain that we have is actually kind of neat.

At our last staff conference, I was hoping to get some corporate gifts for the staff. But of course, it's all about money. I get it, but it's just not as fun at a conference if there are not some neat items!

I wanted custom usb drives or stainless steel water bottles. Those items people could at least use! No t-shirts please. No more pens. No more bookmarks. I like corporate gifts that have some use.

Though I will put these ideas to rest. If I'm thinking about them, I may just have to plan another conference soon. No thank you.

Activities

I have never been a parent that has over scheduled my kids. In fact, I'm sure other parents think I under schedule them. But I know when my kids reach their stress points and they're not pleasant during this time. And I also know my stress point. Driving to and from work takes anywhere from 1.5 - 2 hours a day. That's a lot of time to be on the road. To have to rush from lesson to lesson almost every weeknight would be too hard on me. My husband gets home much later than I do so he can't take them. And the amount of money needed for all of these activities.

But I know that some neighbours around here take their kids to lessons almost 7 nights a week. This can be equestrian lessons, ballet, hip hop, sports, etc. Hey, good on them. But a lot of them don't work and their job is a stay at home parent. Great!

I just know that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the time that I have with my girls if I was constantly taking them to lessons every day and during all my spare time, working, and doing what needs to be done. I'm one person with only so much to give. Balance is a good thing.

Easy Decisions

I've never opted for a pool or hot tub in my backyard. First of all, I don't know how often I'd use everything. And the cheapo in me would cringe at having to pay for the energy pool to have a heated pool or energy needed for the hot tub.

Of course, then you'd have to buy accessories like pool and hot tub covers. And I'm too lazy to clean all those covers.

And of course, there are the safety issues of having those items around with young kids. My kids would be curious and I'd be nervous leaving in the backyard.

It's so nice when decisions are so clear cut.