Hide them from your daughters

As a parent and a closet feminist, I can't tell you how much I hate these things.

No Excuses

Monday is library day for Kailee and I. And I make sure nothing gets in the way of that. It's critical that I read to her every night and when I have the opportunity to do so leisurely. And I can't stress enough how important this is because not only is she learning new words and using her imagination, but it helps her build a routine. A responsibility.

She recently spent her spring break at her grandparent's house and last night it was like she never opened up a book in weeks because we were having trouble reading simple words! It bothers me A LOT. And I know spring break is spring break and kids should have fun or whatever, but please take at least 15 minutes a day to read to your child.

Primetime's Hottest Guys

Matthew Fox, "Jack" from Lost


Milo Ventimiglia, "Peter Petrelli" from Heroes


Wentworth Miller, "Michael Scofield" from Prison Break

Engagement Anniversary

Where to begin.

For those of you who have not followed along with my blog a year ago from today, which is virtually impossible anyway because my archives from 2006 have been deleted accidently by an idiot (me), Leo proposed and I, with my eyes ready to fall off their sockets from the unbearable flood of tears, said yes.

However, there were a couple of minor set-backs that unfolded. But Leo's improvisational quick thinking made it impossible for me to even tell.

On that fateful morning of April 23rd, 2006, above the cliffs of a quaint coastal village in Maui, my emotions got the best of me. The moment I turned around and saw Leo on bended knee, I immediately knew. And the sight of the ring strangely impaired my hearing. Too surprised to even say the word yes, I almost fell to my knees crying. My inner-emotional-whore came out in hiding. It was horrible. What's even more horrible, was that I don't even recall saying "yes." Although, I did recall the snot I smeared on Leo's left shoulder.



Despite the fact that my face had swelled up into a heap of what almost appeared to be Botox fluid, it was the perfect fairy tale engagement story. Being on a tropical island, on a bright sunny day, on a cliff overlooking the ocean, breeze blowing through our hair, embraced in each others arms. How picture-perfect can you really get?



And not to mention, the ring. OMG. I don't know where to even begin. Leo knew exactly what I wanted and more. Not that my expectations would be any less, but he just totally exceeded the criteria of the ring I had in mind. He's even gone as far as doing his homework on diamonds which really surprised me. Going store to store and asking sales people. Researching online and customizing the ring band and diamond down to the last carbon and milligram. Well not that far. But close. He's a total nerd with exquisite taste. Now that has KEEPER written all over it.

To read about how it really went down from the beginning to the end, here's Leo's version of the engagement story.

Enjoy.

Monthly Self-Portrait: The antique mirror

I found this antique mirror in my father-in-laws house of knick knacks and artifacts. Every single wall is literally adorned with stuffed dead animals or Native American paintings. It's pretty neat. My walls at home would kill to have this much character.

Photo inspired by these guys at the Mirror Project.

It's just fucking weird

...when your partner in crime is on the other side of the state. It's never fun when you have to go out and grab Mexican food alone.

Good Luck to My Little Engineer-That-Could

Just wanted to say good luck to Leo who is flying out to San Jose right now to take the final portion of his CCIE test/lab tomorrow. For the unenlightened, this test is supposedly the holy grail of his career as a senior network engineer. The creme de la creme of all test. A major milestone that will put a huge dent on his resume and will justify how geeky he really is.

It's really cute to watch him explain routing and switching to me. I'm almost convinced he gets turned on by this stuff. Almost like dirty pillow talk but having to use every single part of your brain to comprehend the solution to reaching "climax." It's that convoluted.

So good luck, Sweetheart. Don't sweat it. You'll do fine. Just remember... Momma needs a new pair of shoes!

xoxo

And so it begins

Leo and I have been together for almost 4 years now. Three years as boyfriend/girlfriend and five months as a married couple. In the years I've known Leo, he's always maintained good "guy habits." Habits that I didn't appreciate till last weekend. The weekend HE LEFT THE TOILET SEAT UP FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

His response was a meager, "Oh...wow...I guess I'm just letting myself go."

Was I surprised? No, not really. And it's because I've already accepted the inevitable -- that eventually we would succumb to letting ourselves get fat and that our weekend activity would only involve handing each other the remote control. That does not surprise me one bit.

What REALLY surprised me, however, was when he did not slap my ass to get him a cold drink and call me "Women" after the incident. Because that would have been a predictable way to end the conversation for a man who says he "let himself go."

The Envy of the Nation

A daily reminder of why our mortgage is so damn high.

(Weekly weather forecast brought to you by MSN.com.)

Something eHarmony should include on their compatibility survey: How do you rate in "tact"?

(Leo & Mary Anne walking towards the grocery store from parking lot.)

Leo: (*Loud belch*) "Buuuuuuuuuh."

(Lady with a shopping cart looking repulsed.)

Lady: "Oh, excuse you. How awful! How disgusting!"

Mary Anne: (*Laughing*) "Oh my God. She totally heard you...that lady over there."

Leo: "Well she can suck my dick."

(Lady turns around in complete and utter disgust.)

---------

(Leo & Mary Anne inside the grocery store's vegetable aisle.)

Mary Anne: "Did you know that one teaspoon of semen has 5 calories?!"

Leo: (*Embarrasssed*) "Uh...no."

Mary Anne: "Leo, I'm on a diet. I refuse to (*censored*)!"

---------

(Leo & Mary Anne at Blockbuster Video. Leo picks up a copy of a DVD with two girls in scantily clad attire.)

Mary Anne: "What's that?"

Leo: "It's Van Wilder."

(Walking towards the register.)

Mary Anne: "Oh, of course. Because you like girls with huge tits."

(Leo looking embarrassed, again.)

---------

(Leo & Mary Anne get in the car. Leo breaks silence.)

Leo: "I don't like it when you do that, Babe."

Mary Anne: "Do what?"

Leo: "When you yell tits out loud!"

Mary Anne: "No, I didn't. I didn't yell it."

Leo: "Yes, you did. Your voice gets loud all of sudden when you said girls with huge tits. And when we were at the store, people were looking at us weird because you were yelling out that you didn't want to (*censored*). Have some tact! Geez."

Mary Anne: (Tact?) "Well you know what my answer is to that? THOSE PEOPLE CAN SUCK...MY...DICK."

Leo: "Oh-kay. Why?"

Mary Anne: "Because that's what you told the lady when she heard you burp out loud! It's not like, when I do something to embarrass myself, I tell people to suck my dick. And when it's you who does it, I just laugh it off. I don't get mad at you for not having tact."

Leo: "Why did she hear me say it?"

Mary Anne: "Uh, she looked right at you."

Leo: "Touche... I guess we were meant to be. Don't you think that's kinda sweet?"

(Silent treatment.)

Progress

All right. Since I'm feeling mentally and physically capable of writing a serious post, I can finally open up and tell you what's been happening lately. Stuff I've been balling up inside for quiet some time now.

I've been seeing a doctor regurlarly, okay A LOT, for the past 2 months. More than I have ever seen a doctor in my entire life combined. And unfortunately for two seperate reasons. I'm currently on three different medications. Many people might not know this because talking about health problems is not something I like to share. It's really personal. Almost like having your menstrual cycle while your sitting at work and NOT sharing your pain with everyone else. No one needs to know about these type of things. And that's the way I've dealt with it.

To avoid getting into too much detail, I saw the doctor again yesterday and she told me I was making progress. She told me that eventually I wouldn't need my heart monitor anymore, but instead to take my meds regularly. Pathetic as this may sound, but that was music to my ears. The same feeling you get when God crowns you King of the World.

Me: "Oh my God, I love this stuff."

Doctor: "Great! I'm so glad. Do we need to go up in milligrams? Or are you okay with 50?"

Me: "How high can we go?"

Doctor: "As high as you need to go. Depends on the patient."

Me: "Wow."

Doctor: "You can call me if you think you need to go higher. Whatever's comfortable for you. I'll write you a prescription to have it filled."

Me: "Sweet. Can I also get a refill on *bleep*?"

Doctor: "Are you out?"

Me: "Almost. I really love that stuff. It works better than *bleep* and *bleep*. I love it."

Doctor: "Wow, you're loving everything today! I'm really glad it's working for you."

The doctor has never seen me this chipper before. I can tell by her face. The face of relief of not having to deal with me anymore or atleast regularly. And the way to remedy my presence was to distract me with all these meds. Meds that I'm happily taking with open arms.

The other week, I saw a different doctor because my doctor was out sick and when I asked her about needing a stronger medication, she referred me to seek counseling after I had suggested that. Somehow I sense that she thinks I'm an addict, which is far from fact. However, she did give me the right meds that I wanted. But now I'm on the waiting list for a counseling program. Great. According to my doctor, I should be expecting a call pretty soon.

Despite the fact that I'm a qualified candidate for some serious help, I am better now. And having shared my story, I feel even better.

For the photography buffs

Check out John Connor's photography tips on his blog. I found myself saying "ohhhhh, that's how you do it" several times. Very useful stuff. You can also view some of his examples here on his Flickr. The photos are stunning. I'm so envious of his talent and eye for such unique subject ideas. Such an inspiration - I can't wait to put his techniques into test.

Unfortunately, by the looks of this post, it looks like I need to invest in some serious gear. Probably not all of it, but a few. Ironically, I own the same camera bag in that photo. It was a Christmas present from Leo. Still, I'm not even half way there.

Weekend in Photos: Dad's 60th Birthday

I'm easy like Sunday morning

Things I'm really looking forward to this week(end):

1.) Thursday, 12:00am - cha-ching!
2.) Friday, 5:00pm
3.) Another sunny weekend in paradise (San Diego)

It seems like recently, it doesn't take whole lot to please me.