First Day of Work: Good News/Bad News

Good News: I am no longer a bum, freeloading off of the productivity of the rest of society. I am now a rank-and-file employee, punching a time clock, and working hard. Of all the new hires that started today, only I and one other person didn't intern with my company, so my head is whirring with new information and acronyms.

*deep breath*

Bad News: Although I have always liked rain, we are on pretty shaky terms right now. Since I moved to San Jose over 3 months ago, I can only remember two rain storms.

Storm #1: The day I got my California Driver's License picture. Frizz City. The guy taking the picture seemed pretty stone-faced, but I'm sure he was laughing on the inside.
Storm #2: Today, right before I got my work badge picture that I will wear around forevermore.

I don't know exactly who Murphy is or was, but his Laws stink.

The Power of Positive Thinking

By Lisa

What should you do when a couple of your fabulous college roommates (We missed you Judi!) come to visit and you have such a wonderful time, you can't stand to let them go?


After you drop them off to the airport, spend a couple minutes feeling sorry for yourself. Lament that your husband is out of town on business and that you're about to spend another Saturday night alone. Then snap out of it and start hoping for a miracle. Before you know it, you might just get a call from said roommates, informing you that their flight has been overbooked and they're being given a bundle of airline credit to come back tomorrow. You might be back at the airport a few minutes later, ready for Round 2 of fun!


A Few Lessons Learned This Trip:

1. No matter how old you are, carousels are always fun.
2. You can spend a day in San Francisco without having to pay for parking.
3. No matter how many times you've seen it, you haven't lived until you've actually driven down Lombard Street.
4. Few things in life are more precious than true friends.
5. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

P.S. Have I mentioned that I love visitors? And that you're all welcome to come stay with me? Simultaneously, if need be. :)

True Love Is . . .

. . . walking into your room after brushing your teeth and washing your face to find your husband warming up your side of the bed because he knows you hate the cold.

(He's not really asleep, he just doesn't like to cooperate for pictures).



In other news, we had a fun fall getaway to Petaluma, CA. But right now I'm cramming for my last CPA exam (Thursday!), so rather than writing a post, I uploaded this facebook album. Lazy blogging at its finest.

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

Did you hear about the new promotion for 2010?

When you volunteer a day of service with the Hands-On Network in 2010, you get a free day in a Disney park! (The first million people to qualify).

I'm in.

Note: I've signed up for reminders, so I'll give more information as I get it (come January).

Top 3 Gems of the Internet

by Lisa

Crunched for time? Skip to #1.

Being the wife of a . . . what's the word . . . techie? What do you call a super-handsome nerd? Anyway, Bryan's a genius and being married to him has improved the quality of my life in many ways, including technologically. He and his peers spend hours scoping out the web for the finest sites out there. I feel compelled to pass along my three favorites.

Disclaimer: You have probably already heard of all three of these popular websites. I *hope*, for your sake, that this whole post is a waste of your time because they are already the top 3 bookmarks in your web browser. But if you're not employing ALL of them, you are not taking full advantage of the internet. In my opinion, these are the GEMS of the world wide web. Things that I, El Cheapo, would pay good money for, but don't have to, thanks to the glory of internet advertising. So feel free to ignore me. Or read on.

#3: Pandora.com--A music station

If you have an i-phone, you're probably laughing at me right now, as this is the most popular app out there; but for those of us who still own cell phones with the fanciest feature being an alarm clock, you might not be using Pandora. Do. It's fantastic. Put on a classy Ella Fitzgerald station while eating dinner--it'll be more romantic. Put on a pump station while doing sit-ups and lunges around the house--you'll work harder. Put on a trendy station while doing your hair and makeup--you will find yourself being more creative and happier with the turnout. The list goes on! A MoTab station for Sundays! Debussy while you're studying! Christmas station for the holidays! It's fun to see how Pandora gets to know you. It's totally entertaining. I even got Rick-Rolled one time (10 points for each of you who appreciate that).

#2: Yelp.com--Reviews and ratings for restaurants, salons, doctors, stores, etc.

Yelp is a lifesaver. We never eat anywhere without it. Plus, it helped me pick out my dentist, who is hilarious. And I spend a lot of time at the dentist, so I am jazzed we were able to make a good choice. If you don't use Yelp yet, I guarantee you will (or wish you had) as soon as you move away from home. DEFINITELY use it to plan your next vacation. It's also a fun way to discover what great restaurants/things to do are right in your own backyard.

#1: Mint.com--"The best (free) way to manage your money"

Those other two websites are just fun, and we can still be friends even if you hate them, but this one is serious. Mint is for those of you that cringe at the "b" word: BUDGETING. Being a hard-core accountant, my main thrill in life is budgeting, but I *still* love this website. If you aren't using Quicken or some other reputable way to budget, I expect you to sign up ASAP. Seriously. I guarantee that by using Mint and checking it at least once a month, you will spend less, save more, people will like you more, and your hair will be shinier.

Note: You DO have to enter you bank info, which is why I want to mention that this site was referred to us by Bryan's colleagues in the Information Systems department, heralded for it's impenetrable security. Trust me, Bryan is the most security-paranoid person I know (Ex. #1: We have a separate credit card for all our online purchases. Ex. #2: I was forced to memorize Bryan's social security number early on in our marriage, as he would often flat out refuse to tell me what it was unless we'd had a lengthy discussion to explain why I needed it).

That's it for my Internet Low-Down. Are there any websites you can't live without? Please share in your comments. A girl can only study so many hours a day.

10 Honest Things: Europe Edition

Honest Blogger Tag. Here are the rules. List ten Honest things about myself and tag 10 other bloggers who I think are honest in their blogging.

As I wrote a post similar to this one a few months agi, I decided to tweak it a little bit. Here are 10 Honest Things I learned about myself specifically while I was traveling Europe during August 2006.

1. I am the worst jaywalking offender I know. It drives Bryan crazy. I definitely learned this in Europe. Cars don’t stop for you, so I learned not to bother looking for a crosswalk. Just wait until it’s clear and go. I think more pedestrians are hit in situations where they think cars are going to wait for them. I have a whole theory on this, if you ever care to hear. Here is a picture of us stranded in the middle of a huge roundabout in Paris.

2. I really wish I was a good dancer. (In the Alps above Lucerne, Switzerland)

3. I can eat an entire half-gallon of ice cream by myself in only a few days.

4. I’m an adrenaline junkie.

5. At this point in time, I'd only dated Bryan for a few months. And we’d been apart for two months. But I already knew Bryan was for me. I thought about him a lot, as evidenced by these pictures.

6. I am a good orderer. Meaning, I can look at a menu and avoid possible pitfalls and order the best thing on it.

7. I do not photograph well in front of masterpieces. In this picture in particular, I look like that woman the movie "Monster" is based on. Hey, the tag demanded honesty. I feel like you have to put a least a couple embarrassing things to keep it brutally honest.

8. I can live out of a backpack for two weeks, but don't count on me looking good while doing it (see previous picture--bleh). And yes, I basically wore the same pants and a few different shirts the whole time. I did wash them, but that's a whole other broken- washer-in-Italy story.

9. I am easily entertained. The garbage boats working along the canals of Venice fascinated me.

10. I am enamored by old world charm and am completely jealous of those that are able to successfully incorporate it into their home decor. (Lyon, France and Burano, Italy)

I tag: Lauren I. P., Lauren R, Summer, Kali, Jessie, Karin, Laura, Casey, Emilee, and Brittanie (Britt, I lost the link to your blog, could you please e-mail it to me?) Also, my sister Amanda gets a personal invitation to write ten honest things about herself.

Perfectly Imperfect

by Lisa

Being almost 6 feet tall, my attempts at mainstream fashion and beauty have often been ill-fated. Nothing is long enough. Alas, years ago came along the 3/4-length sleeve. I was ecstatic! Suddenly the shirts that exhibited my monkey-length arms by only making it a few inches past my elbow looked purposeful! And capris! Heaven sent!

Now the only real hurdle became my frizzy, half-curly hair. Last time I checked, fros haven't been in style since the 70s. But along came the summer of '09. Oh, what a fateful summer it was. Although it brought some unfortunate mishaps, such as those atrocious booties or "hooves" (I thought we decided against those a few years ago?); Luckily, it also was the summer of my new favorite hairdo: the "tousled" look. I saw a feature on The Thread a couple months ago that included a how-to video (a must for me). I dared to try it and found that I can wash my hair at night, let it do its thing as I sleep (curl until I look like an electrocuted Medusa) and wake up already half-way to my new "perfectly imperfect" tousled hair-do.

Here are a couple pictures of my latest attempt--holding my adorable new nephew Nathan and my sweet Princess Macy wearing her Cinderella (or "Cinde-wa-wa") dress:

I wouldn't be willing to divulge the embarrassing reality that I refuse to spend more than 5 minutes doing my hair on any given day, but based on the gratitude I received for sharing my secret about the PMS buddy, I feel I owed it to you. So ladies, this is your official invitation to be lazy and (if you haven't already) join the tousled hair movement!