Like Kermit

I have invited some friends to join me this weekend for some grilled foods in celebration of aging another year. Now usually I run out to the party supply store to buy color-coordinated napkins, paper plates and plastic utensils. But I got to thinking. That's just now very environmentally friendly.

That meant that I have been spending a good portion of my lunch hour throughout this week exploring other options. I found the plates at Target. They are plastic and dishwasher safe. Plus they are my favorite color. Four plates for $1.99. The flatware came from my stepmother's favorite place -- The 99 Cent Store. Six forks or six knives for 99 cents. I know. Ridiculous. Next is a search for cloth napkins. And maybe some glass plates. I love the plastic because I won't have to worry about little people but sometimes you want something a little fancier.

It's kind of strange. This year I feel like I'm in a really good place. It's like I care but I don't care if people acknowledge my birthday. I know it will be wonderful even if I were to spend it all completely on my own. And so for me, that's being in a good place.

Open road

My mom had a tradition when I was growing up that I could pick one thing that I really wanted when she received her income tax return. The idea is that one's tax return should not be a part of one's regular budget. Therefore, some of the money is stashed away into savings while the rest is spent on something that you really want but just could not bring yourself to buy at any other time.

For years I have been wanting a bag from Timbuk2. This year seemed like the right time to take the plunge. I am hoping to do some traveling throughout this year -- and I'd like to be able to take my laptop with me. I needed a bag that would accommodate the laptop and other stuff. The coolest thing is that Timbuk2 also lets you custom design a bag, and of course I went with my usual pink.

Fortunately I will be hitting the road later this week and will be able to give the bag a test then. And that other photo? The packaging in which the bag arrived -- a waterproof map of San Francisco.

Kid in a candy store

I realized last weekend that part of the reason why it has taken me so long to take a cooking class at Piedmont adult is that many of the classes require you to bring your own knife. And my knives? Craptastic. The tamales class didn't require one to bring anything. And I had a lot of fun there. I decided that I no longer wanted to be limited in the classes I could take.

That's why this morning I headed over to East Bay Restaurant Supply. So many shiny pretty things there. But today was only about knives. And I think they're so pretty but I'm afraid to use them. After years of using that dull crap will I accidentally slice myself? Because I am the one who as a kid managed to grate her fingertips on the box grater. I just had to grate that last little nub of cheese.

Oh, and don't worry. I'll be returning to the store. Probably around the end of March. Because the salesperson said that they'll be having a sale then with tons of vendor demonstrations. Hmmm. Might even be worth taking a day off from work.

No food

As I mentioned before, I rarely really leave for lunch. Friday was one of my delivery days -- Indian food. Thing is that the Indian place has a $35 minimum for delivery. So I had to convince the HR person that she wanted Indian on Friday. After her part of the order, I was still left with about $26 worth of Indian food -- naan, chicken tikka masala, lamb korma, and sag paneer. Bottom line is that I was set for food throughout the weekend.

This should have left me free to party. Except I needed to get my hair done. And I showed up on Saturday for what I thought was my appointment to be told that it was too hot to do hair.

In an attempt to redeem my weekend, I headed to the Ann Taylor outlet. Because shopping there can correct so many ills in life. They are having my favorite sale -- buy one item on clearance and get the second clearance item at half price. Except there's almost nothing cute in my size. I did manage to find a dress and a skirt, all for $40.

So I kept trying to tell myself that my new dress was cute enough to compensate for the less than cute hair. But I had too much time at home. And so except for that one outing, I spent my weekend at home.

And I don't want your fucking sympathy. You can stuff that... Well if you know me, then you know where you can put that.

Here's the problem. Somehow I feel alright with writing here while for the most part I'm done with people. Everyone for the most part. Because most of my weekends are spent on my own so why the hell do I need people who aren't there? On any day of the week?

And yeah, I realize that a lot of this comes from the fact that September is quickly approaching. The month of birth of both my aunts and my stepmother. Let's be honest. The coming month is going to be hard as hell for me. And if I can make it through without other people, then so the better for me.

Birthdays suck

Some of you might not realize it but today is my birthday. And today? I've spent most of the day on an emotional roller coaster. There have been a lot of tears. It wasn't until late in the day when I realized the why of the tears.

Birthdays with my mom are all about her. With my aunt? It was all about me. And this was the first birthday when I suddenly felt that it was all about other people.

It started with the phone call from my mother this morning. There was the wish of "Happy birthday!" but then it became 10 minutes about her. And I thought to myself, "It's my birthday. Can't it just once be about me?"

So I got to work. Where most of my life there is about other people. But I thought long about lunch. And I looked over the calendar. I would pick up lunch and then go sit somewhere other than my desk. Perhaps read a few pages of the book I picked up recently while I ate. Instead I walked into the door and was assaulted by people worrying about stuff that really didn't need worrying over. And then they walked out the door to their own lunch as they do every day. And then I felt the first tears run down my cheek. All I had wanted out of the day was a nice lunch and now that was shot.

So my friend, the HR person, insisted that I eat lunch in her office. But they still found me there. But I guess she said something to them all. Because later they surprised me with cake and a card containing an iTunes gift card. Because yeah, the AT&T store had called me to say that my new phone had arrived.

I left work with the thought of getting my new phone being the high point of my day. I don't know why I thought that that would be the high point of my day. I'd love to tell y'all about the experience but I just don't have the energy. Bottom line is that this salesperson rolled her eyes at me (I had my back turned to her and turned around at the "wrong" moment. She thought that I wouldn't catch it. Bottom line is the bitch should not work retail.) and I had the consuming desire to slap the shit out of her. (OK. That last part may have been a bit hormonally induced.) Bitch had the nerve to say that she did not see me when I was in the store for at least five to ten minutes. I am tempted to go to the point of the race card because all the other folks she noticed were of similar ethnic background -- not the same as mine. And folks wonder why there are issues in that area of the East Bay between Blacks and Latinos? I told the person who finally helped me that the bitch (I did not use that word.) owed me an apology for the eye roll. He said that he couldn't help me. I think it's time to write a letter to somewhere. Because I don't care how "unrational" a customer may seem, you just don't roll your eyes at them.

But I got my phone. Even though when I asked for the apology, they threatened to hold my phone and have me escorted from the store. I told the guy, "Oh no. You've already charged me for the phone so I will be leaving with it." This was after his snarky ass comment about keeping things civil. What? Saying that I would like him to tell her that her eye roll was inappropriate is not civil? Saying that I would like an apology was not civil? I can show them non-civil...

So at that point I decided that my birthday was pretty much hosed. The sad thing is that I have received more birthday wishes from folks online than I have from my own family. Oh, and Jade and Emerald as well. After all these years neither can seem to remember my actual birthday.

So right now I'm pretty much done with the whole birthday thing. Because is it too much to ask to have one little part of one day be about you and not someone else?

Everyone wins

During the moving process, I was frequently asked, "What new thing will the cats be receiving?" Ummm. Nothing? Except for the pleasure of continuing to live with me?


That was before I had to start sharing bathroom facilities with Boris and Natasha. One gets tired of looking at litter boxes. And Boris is always looking for new perches.

OK. It really started with an idea that Fluffycat planted in my head. While she was hanging out with me on moving day, she mentioned something about litter box things that look like furniture.


After a recent search on the website of one of my favorite stores, I found these babies. There's even a hook inside for the scoop. I like to think they're a great improvement. The cats haven't weighed in with their opinion yet but I'm sure they'll love them. And if they don't? They'd better get used to them because they're not leaving.

Caffeine-free life

Last week was all about the power of caffeine as my allergies kicked in. Now I don't have the "normal" allergy thing. No. When mine rear their ugly head, folks start thinking I have mono or some yet to be discovered strain of the flu. But I knew it was the allergies because I didn't have a fever and I was achy. I was just congested and coughing and really tired. Of course it could have been the long days at work as well. And the way it's looking, the long days at work will be continuing for at least another month. But hey. At least I still have a job. Unlike the receptionist who was laid off last Friday. And this week I'm trying to lay off the caffeine.

I have managed to do some things other than work though. Like Saturday. The furnace guy showed up in the morning to take care of some other stuff for me. All for the cost of $21. I guess a smile goes a long way. Or maybe it was hearing for hours on end about all the problems in his life. I can be a good listener if there is a discount involved. So he was hard at work and I started feeling a little guilty. Somehow, as a result, I managed to unpack almost all of the boxes that were inside my condo. Know what that means? I could finally move more boxes in from the garage. I'm hoping to start on those boxes tomorrow. But the box moving was later in the day.

After the furnace guy left, I headed into San Francisco. There was this huge furniture warehouse sale going on and I was hoping to snag a new dining set. No luck there but I found some great wool rugs for the bedroom.


Boris would like it if you could ignore his pear shape.

Like I said, I'm keeping things simple food-wise around here as shown by Sunday's dinner.


Lamb chop, peas and baked potato.

Oh, and I guess I should share one of those things that Zombie Mom already knows. Notice all that blank space on the plate? If you don't see blank space in the photo, then I'm probably eating off of my usual salad plate -- something I've been doing for too many years to count. If it's a full dinner plate? Then I definitely did not eat it all in one sitting. Depending on what it is, it would take me 2-3 meals, or grazing over a period of 4-5 hours, to complete an entire dinner plate full of food.

Monday night I had no peas left so I decided to start with a salad. And since I had some cooked shrimp, I decided why not a Louis. Tonight I made the Louis my whole meal -- larger portion -- because I had to eat the shrimp before they went bad.


And finally, I leave you with this.


I picked this up on Friday and tonight I wrote my first blog post from it. (I spent a few days installing software and copying files. Didn't want to use it until everything was in place.) I love my new toy. Mostly because I can recline on the sofa while being online. I have dreamed of this moment. And today I ordered a snazzy bag to carry it in. And I think I'm done with intentionally trying to help the economy for a bit. Unless there is a Kate Spade sample sale this month.

Organic

So I'm trying to get back to my first love -- sewing. My dear friend, Zombie Mom enlisted me to make doll clothing for her daughters. Yep, the former partygirl has been making doll clothing since age seven. You have something to say? Because I'll gladly meet you outside. I'm from Richmond, beyotch. And even if I wasn't, I've taught in East Oakland. I have armor that most of the rest of you cannot even conjure up in your deepest fantasies. And I used to relate really well with those kids because just like them, I learned how to protect my heart at an early age. But I said I wasn't doing the emotional stuff here so please ignore that momentary lapse.

Doll clothing is different than clothing for humans. For humans, I usually start with a sketch and work from there. But doll clothing? Doesn't require much fabric. Therefore, over the years I have accumulated quite a collection of scraps and remnants. With doll clothing, I start by diving into my fabric collection until I find something that "speaks" to me. (Kind of like Crazy Carla on Top Chef.) Then I do a rough sketch of what I want to create. Of course, sometimes the doll clothing is a smaller scale of something that I have thought of for humans. Actually that's what I am trying to work toward.

Anywho, that's how I have spent the last couple of weeks. Going through the fabrics, looking for inspiration. And making the list of other things that I will need. It started with the velvet in the first grouping. I sketched out a couple of ideas. Then I hit Stonemountain & Daughter on Monday night for the second grouping. Because after sketching I went in with a shopping list. Still in need of materials for shoes. I'm thinking a boot. Oh, and I'm hoping to use the velvet in three different pieces. Wait until you see the other fantastic stuff I picked up. And that's all I'm going to say for now.

How could I forget?

One of my other allowable topics -- shopping!

That's right. Last week was the Kate Spade semi-annual sale. I got this lovely piece of leather for $71. It was too good a deal to not pick up. Unfortunately the next sale will not be until next June.