Boooorrrrreddddddd

Ever felt so bored that you feel like you are being hit by comatose? You turn on the TV and nothing interest you. So you just stare at the TV like a dullard. And then you start counting invisible specks on the carpet, and feeling more and more like a dullard.

My husband on the other hand is watching an Alton Brown marathon on TV. As much as I like Alton Brown, 7 hours of Good Eats is a wee bit too much for me. Especially since they are repeats and we have watched most of it before. But Jason worships Alton Brown, so that is a different story altogether.

Ok, excuse me, I am going to continue counting the specks on the carpet. If I stare harder, I may just be able to get some sort of enlightenment.

They grow up too fast

The boys looking like big boys now. I haven't seen the boys since the funeral almost 3 weeks ago. I need a nephew fix soon.

It's only Monday????

Both Jason and I have been feeling stressed about work. The feeling is beginning to consume us both and Jason has been talking about taking a few days off. I know he needs a break. I do too. I have been feeling my one year itch. A vacation is overdue. Every year, I make it a point to go somewhere during this time of the year. Just to experience a different culture, breathe a different air, and have a different view. In short, just to get away. But this year, it ain't going to happen. Partly because we are quite broke. And also I do not have any vacation days off since I am only working 30 hours a week. And whatever limited days that I can take off towards the end of the year, I want to save them for when my parents come for a visit.
So I'm stuck. I will console myself by saying good things come to those who wait. In the meantime, I hope I don't lose my sanity.

Friday isn't supposed to be this way

Don't you just hate it when you wake up thinking.."yayy, it's Friday. The weekend is here!!", and then you check your work emails and you get bombarded with a pile of work. Not just from one, but several people throwing stacks of projects on your already laden staggering pile. As if that's not sucky enough, they tell you that it's ALL urgent and everything is due next week. Knowing very well that these projects sometimes takes weeks or months to accomplish. I have every reason to sulk.

I need a vacation.. I need a vacation...Where art thou vacation???
Forget vacation. I need a different job.

Not easy finding a stylist who understands my hair

Reading this article triggered an impulse to post.
It took me a good 8 months to find a stylist who understood my hair and not turn me into a mushroom head. Generally, the fibers in the Asian hair is thicker and each strand's diameter is two to three times larger than the strands of a Caucasian. I've tried 4 different stylists in Great Clips , one Jordanian stylist and one Asian stylist. And I always end up coming home with a mushroom head. I was about to give up and accept the fact that I will have to bear with a mushroom head forever or until I go bald.
Then one fateful day, I stumbled upon Hair Cuttery. I had two hours to spare while waiting for Jason and decided to waste some time by getting a haircut. The worst thing that could happen is that I'll walk out with another mushroom head. No big deal. But my stylist, Onnie (I know, what an unusual name) knew exactly what to do with my hair. He textured and thinned my hair just the way I wanted it. And I even got a hairwash ! And then he applied some serum to reduce the frizziness. I walked out with a smile on my face. My search has ended.

Those lazy, hazy (uncrazy) days of summer

Inspired by Elizabeth, I spent the entire weekend scrapbooking. I was working on our wedding scrapbook last year and stopped when I got a job in December. I told myself I have to finish this project before our one year anniversary but procrastination got the better of me. So yesterday, I gathered all my scrapbooking materials again and resumed my project. Looking through all the photos made me nostalgic. It also made me realize I married such a wonderful man. Not that I didn't know that when I married him. Oh the wedding was so much fun, but I'd never want to go through all that again. I was close to being a bridezilla.
This weekend was all about recharging batteries, nesting , do-as-you-please and being lazy.
I stayed up till 2am last night reading a soppy Nora Roberts novel until the cat insisted I turn off the lights and go to sleep. I think I'll just spend the rest of the Sunday reading in bed and sipping green tea and munching on pringles potato chips. Ahh..Heaven!
Oh wait, I have to remember to nag the husband about mowing the lawn or end up doing it myself. Well, the do-as-you-please Sunday is coming to an end. The bubble of fantasy bursts.

Random pics from our so-called trip

Saw this sign in Zaxby's.
I am told that this is Bert's motto :)


The horendous traffic leaving Atlanta.


While waiting for our food in Cracker Barrel.... Jason entertains himself.

*&$ @#$%

We arrived home in Charlotte pretty late. The traffic leaving Atlanta was horendous. I left my car at Jason's office on Thursday since we drove a rental car to Georgia. But when we got to his office tonight, we realised that someone had broken my car window. It looks like that person smashed it with a bottle. The car wasn't broken into. I checked my tires. It was fine.
So I drove my car home and Jason drove the rental car. And we can only call the insurance agent on Monday and get the job done on Monday.
I am tired. I am pissed.

On the road again... One more time

We'll be driving to Conyers, GA after work this evening. Jason has to be there to oversee an installation and since tomorrow is a Friday and I only have to put in a couple more hours of work, I figured I could just take my laptop and work from Georgia.

Yahoo Maps says it will take us 4 hours 12 mins (269.7 miles) and Google Maps says it will take us 5 hours 20 mins(260 miles). Hmm....
Yahoo takes us through Columbia and Google takes us via Atlanta. I am guessing Google takes the traffic congestion in Atlanta into consideration.

I plan to make a stop at MaryJo's (textile warehouse) in Gastonia on the way home to get some curtain lining. I finally received the Indian Sari Fabric that a friend got me from her trip to Vietnam, which I plan to make some curtains out of it. The parcel was sent in February and it finally reached Charlotte after 4.5 months!! It must've taken the slow boat and gone around the world.
Well, better late than never.
In the parcel, were also some Christmas presents that my family sent us. Christmas in July!

Piggly Wiggly

We drove by this signage on our way to the church in Sims, Wilson County and it brought out the giggles. Piggly Wiggly is a grocery store. Thought it was cute.

A whole lotta driving

The past two days were hectic. It felt like a weeklong vacation. After the funeral in Sims, we drove to Raleigh and spent some time with Philip and Selena and had dinner in Crazy Fire with Selena and Bert. The sushi chef recognized Jason after 2 whole years. So we had to order a plate of salmon sashimi. Delicious! (really). We do not have any Crazy Fire restaurants in Charlotte, and almost every week, you will hear Jason or myself saying "Ahh, if only we had a Crazy Fire here". It is a Mongolian grill and attempts to tap into every diner's secret desire to play with food. You choose from a selection of raw meats, fresh vegetables and spices. Bring your bowl to the huge grill, and a cook will stir-fry it to perfection (complete with a shouting, banging show) on a big flat roundtable wok.

After dinner, we drove over to Apex to spend some time with Chris and Elizabeth. Unfortunately, their kids were already asleep but we got to take a peek at Marcus. We also had lunch with them the next day and got our first taste of what Dream Dinners looks and taste like. It is indeed an interesting concept. And Elizabeth baked cookies. Yummy!! Athena and Marcus are really cute. (I forgot to take pictures). Looking through Elizabeth's scrapbook has inspired me to continue my scrapbook project again. My scrapbooking project halted last December when I started working. Now I am itching to work on it again. Thanks Elizabeth!!

Before going to Chapel Hill, we decided to stop by a shopping mall. Our initial plans were to go to the big Asian Mall in Raleigh but realised it would be out of the way so we ended up in Southpoint mall. With dropped jaws, I realised that I haven't stepped into a shopping mall since Christmas. Lately, all we have been doing on weekends are grocery shopping or a trip to Home Depot or Lowes. So, withdrawal symptoms hit me big time. But I made a promise to be good and not buy anything. Unfortunately that promise was broken when Jason pointed out to me that Express had a "80% off" sign on their front glass. And I ended up with a pair of white jeans and a blouse. Both for a total of $17. Pretty good eh.

Then we went to Chapel Hill to visit Michael and Emily and their new baby girl, Lucinda. (Again, I forgot to take pictures) Rich was also there. And we had dinner at a Singaporean restaurant before leaving for Charlotte. I am glad Jason got to meet up with all his friends in Raleigh. That always makes him happy because he misses them so. They are a wonderful bunch of friends.

On the road again

We're leaving in 5 minutes. Driving 4 hours to Sims, Wilson County for the funeral. We plan to stay the night in Raleigh and visit Chris and Elizabeth tomorrow.
I'm not sure what the customs are in southern funerals, but mom-in-law told me to wear the pink jacket with matching top and a black skirt. I hope I won't be the only one in pink!! I brought an extra black blouse just in case.
If Cooper and Wrenn shows up in suits, I'll die of cuteness.
Ok, gotta go.

She has gone towards the light at the end of the tunnel

Grandma (Jason's dad's mom) passed away a few minutes ago, after a long struggle with stroke which slowly took over her body and her life. I met her for the first time in November 2004 and I remember her first words to me were "Jason is a good boy. He was the cutest and sweetest baby ever".
It has been a blessing to have met her and know her, albeit for a brief period.
The second stroke totally claimed her entire body, leaving her immobile and speechless but left her mind intact. I do not know which is more cruel.
I am glad the struggle is over for her and that she is now no longer in pain. It is always sad to see someone go. Goodbyes are always difficult. But she is now in a better place.
May she rest in peace.

Happy 4th July!

I spent the day with my in-laws as Jason was out of town. We went to Lowes and Walmart to check if they had any 4th July sale. And ended up buying a Red Bud tree in Lowes because it was 75% off. Jason will probably flip when he finds out that we now have another tree because he had made it clear that we will not be digging anymore holes in his yard. The tree is now being nurtured at my in-law's house until it is strong enough to be transplanted into our yard...or until my husband decides not to flip. Until then, I will wash my hands off this case.
We also bought 5 bags of river rocks and put them around the crape myrtle trees. And cut up black mesh to be put around the shrubs in the front of the house to prevent weeds from growing around the shrubs. And added more pine straws.
Did I forget to mention that we were doing all this in the scorching 98 degrees F ?
I think I will stay indoors and hibernate for the next 3 days.

In the evening, we went to Matthews and camped out in Stumptown park with our little picnic basket and listened to the band of Gold spinning music from the 70's, 80's, and plenty of beach music. It was nice. And the crowd started going up to join in the line dancing and shags.
Almost everyone was dressed in patriotic red, blue and white attire.

I came home and was about to collapse on the bed when I heard fireworks outside. So I went out on the balcony and watched the colorful spectacle. Fireworks displays always gives me a warm fuzzy feeeling.
A nice end to a long fun-filled weekend.

A trip to the zoo

We spent the Monday at the Asheboro zoo with Brian, Sophie, baby Elise, Chris and Athena. Unfortunately, Elizabeth couldn't join us because she had to work.
We drove separate cars and Jason and Brian had fun with the walkie-talkie on our 2 hour drive there.
The weather was hot, hot, HOT!! Yes, even this Malaysian thinks it's hot. Probably around 96 degrees F.
And we walked, and walked and walked.
It is a pretty zoo and the animals were kept in their natural habitat as much as possible. No fences or cages.
I was pretty surprised the Polar Bears didn't melt in the sun.
Here's the link to the photos.
Don't have time to post them up here right now. Will do it tomorrow. Gotta run now to my in-law's place as we're staying over there tonight. Jason has to leave at 5am tomorrow morning and yours truly still isn't confident driving to the airport alone.

July 4th cookout

We decided to have our little July 4th cookout on Saturday because Jason has to go out of town on Tuesday. It will be our first little cookout party in this house.

The boys were running wild in the yard and playing with the rocks from the flowerbed. Atleast that kept them busy for awhile. Our friends, Brian & Sophie brought baby Elise who was such a delight to have around. Always gurgling and giving generous smiles.

My grillmaster husband worked hard on the grill for our little party of 11 people. We had plenty of sausages to go around. If you want to be reminded how those sausages were made, read this. We also grilled sweet potatoes, squash, eggplants and potatoes, and boiled some corn. Very southern.
But we forgot the pineapple which is now still sitting in the fridge. Sorry, guests.
My mom-in-law brought a fruit pizza pie and my sis-in-law brought devil eggs. I had the easy job of making the instant key lime pie squares and pre-cooked shrimps for appetizer.

They say it's good to throw little parties like this often because it brings in good chi. Well, good chi or not, I think we had fun and it definitely brought some life into the house.

Jason and I spent Sunday morning swatting flies. We killed atleast 8 flies in the past 5 hours. Hello, Summer!!