Personal

Little Kathleen (9) died today.

If you don't remember Kathleen Edward, please watch this video. If you want to know more about this story, watch more videos on this page. (click "read more" below)

Aaaahhh... finally I am off the Flu and will resume to normal life! It has been a week plus of whirlwind pain and suffering of unable to get out of the house, eating bland foods, taking medications, and inability to sleep. 

I wasn't sure what I had but at one point I had 103F fever that lasted for 2 days. I had such a hard time getting up that my family feared I had gone to fever coma. I had to take so many meds (because nothing worked) that I started to hallucinate. In fact, I started to have a fever on top of a fever. It was sooo crazy! When it finally went away, I woke up without my voice for about 3-4 days. During this time I begin to appreciate the strength of vocal box and the wonderful invention of ipad and texting. I also learnt how others react learning about my disability - from people at the store, at work, close friends/fam.

I went to the docs and still not sure what I had other than the flu and laryngitis. I went there asking for a super strong cough medicine that will knock me out with a hint of codeine and super strong expectorant in there. I basically just ask the doc to prescribe me a cocktail of super strong drugs. And super strong drug I got. I was finally able to sleep even though I was in pain. 

Other noticeable things while I was sick: how bad the air is. My lungs were so sensitive to the slightest dust and it is pretty dusty out there!

And, that our processed foods are way too salty and sugary. I'm not fond of sugary stuff and will eat certain ones I think are less sugar. Well, big surprised... too sugary! I tried eating some of my other fave foods... waaaay too salty! Ugh that limited my choices to very very bland foods. 

Nevertheless after the illness dissipating I immediately ordered a big feast to go from Lucille's. Life is too short to play it safe. Hahahaha!

So, now I am a lot healthier. I'm still coughing, expelling phlegm and have to occassionaly blow my nose. But I can breathe the bad air and swallow the yucky processed foods without problems. And, to me... that's healthly!

I'm ready to begin 2012 (I completely missed the new year). And, I see a Costco trip in the near future.... (today or tomorrow)!

Happy New Year!! 

I'm Bleufacez... a name that was picked off an ocean fish from a tropical country. Normally, I go by Sandra. I ran into this website by accident because I was looking for information on the Coach's Oats oatmeal. I fell in love reading John's blog and when I look around my house I see that it is covered in Costco's products. So, I decided to contribute as a regular blogger, especially since I'd buy girly-like stuff that I know John wouldn't normally buy. It is also nice to blog here because John has all the categories of all the things I'd write about like Money and Single Living. After a few blogs, I figured I should write something "About Me" to introduce myself.

I'm 30-something single hardworking woman and I purchased my first home last year in the sunny side of California. My house is located in the suburbs complete with farms, cows and flies. At night, I'm being lullibied by cows and in the summer flies are my regular guests. But, the view of the farm is hard to beat. And, other than the occassional cows stuck in the middle of the road... there's hardly any traffic here. That's a luxury thing to say about Southern California.

Living off in a farm, we don't get a lot of access to shops, including grocery stores. I traded my option for disney annual membership for Costco's because it's the "adult" version of Disney. For $50/year that includes free parking... that's pretty hard to beat. I love Costco because it has non necessary products that are not sold in regular stores. They also sell things in bulk for a tad cheaper. This helps when the nearest store is 10 miles away from home.

After the house, I became obsessed with living frugally and so I spend my free time finding ways for DIY projects using items readily available. I love reading DIY, eco friendly and frugal living blogs. And, of course.. Costco blogs. 

And, of all the blogs I've read I feel that I, too have much to say. So, I hope that some of the people who come here would enjoy the things I've written.

Thanks for visiting.

~Sandra 

I've been sick for the past 3 days. I woke up with what feels like a grapefruit of a tonsil in my throat on Thursday at around 3 AM. I tried different remedies to put me back to sleep only to wake up with super bad headaches, even bigger tonsil that made me hold my tongue up as I speak and a fever. I immediately called my friend to cancel her 50th birthday party that I was hosting on Friday. I offered to lend her my house (she lives at a small trailer park) while I holed up across the street at my sister's. She declined and suggested we'll have one in January. 

I feel bad but I spent the day in bed with some strong medication, hot water, and my loyal dog, Bori. I was awaken on/off. I managed to be somewhat productive with some home projects (right now I'm obsessed about wine bottles and converting old laptop into a framed art decor) and babysitting my nephew. My parents who live with my youngest sister and her fam accross the street kept coming by to deliver some food and love. And, I felt soo much better I feel like I could host a party.

At about 10:30 PM I received a hysterical phone call from my oldest sister while she was at work whose child has been picked up by the Child Protective Services because her husband took him to work (and I just finished babysitting him a few hours before). I was confused, shock, and not sure what to do. To make a long story short... as it turned out her husband had taken their almost 10-yr old child to work because there was no one to babysit him (I was sick) and he stayed in the car to play some games. They were parked outside the store when around 8:30 PM a customer who was a social worker with high ranking saw my nephew alone in the car. She striked up some convo but failed and decided to call the cops as abandoned and neglected child. All the while my brother in law was clueless... came outside and with some short questionings got arrested. They both got hauled in separate black mariahs: one to jail and the other to the children shelter. 

The whole thing was a big misunderstanding because my nephew is genetically small... as per DMV it is okay to leave a child over 6 yrs old alone in a car. Further he was parked a few feet from the store, he has a cellphone, the doors were unlocked and it was within curvew. It took a lot of heart wrenching efforts but we got our nephew back. The poor thing was so confused and scared to be taken by police in a strange building with strange people, asked deep questions and poked and prodded by a doctor in the most unusual parts of his body. Imagine... the poor boy has a hard time getting a haircut and he had to endure all that. So he cried and begged to come home and after CPS did a home visit evaulation of my sister's house, they finally let him go. Of course, not before we had to bail my bro in law from jail, getting my sister all hysterical at the social services, us not sleeping and all sorts of chaos. 

At the end... I told my friend, it was a sign that I was forced to cancel our party the day before as this happens. And, glad that she refused to proceed with the party anyway. With all that drama, I was in no shape or form to host. In fact, halfway through the day I almost passed out. 

Today... everything is quiet, except after yesterday's bruhahaha... I'm sicker than a dog. My body is in pain, my throat is on fire, and I dont want to move. I've spent most of today reading other people's blogs, evaluated whether I should continue with home projects that will require me to go outside and shop, or maybe I could catch up on some magazine and comic books reading, or just at least take the dog out while the sun is still out. Whatever I decide to do... it has to be quick, not too energetic and close to home.  

Happy 2012.

Smart and Final had a special price on green onions.  They were only $0.49 each (bunch).  This is when I buy 4 bunches, chop them up, and freeze them. 

I am supposed to completely dry them before freezing.

I saved $1.20 - $1.60 this way.  But, most of all, I will have quick & handy access to green onions for months to come.

If you live alone, you must use your freezer and food saver wisely. 

My neighbor called today.  She said she's short cash and needed help.  She needed to borrow $53.00.  So I told her to come over.  I know her financial situation. I couldn't say no.

She came over with an empty bottle of beer.  She gave me the bottle and asked me to buy her 50 bottles of that beer for her 50th birthday. It was some kind of funky (cheap) beer from 99 Cents only store.

Then she tried to haggle the amount of money she can borrow.  We settled at $63.00, and I gave her the cash.  She cut me a post dated check.  I made a statement that there would be a good chance her check will bounce.  I told her I will talk to her before I cash it.

Then she saw my tequila and wine.  I offered her my booze that I never drink.  My Tequila was 4+ years old.  She was downing shot after shot.

Then she read my palm and told me I will become disabled in a few years and die in 20 years.  I thought that was pretty messed up. 

At 8:54pm she said she was hungry that she didn't eat anything the whole day.  She asked me if I had any food in the house. Since I was not ready for a guest, I offered to take her out to a fast food restaurant.  There, she started to haggle which restaurant I can take her.  She wanted me to take her to a fancier restaurant.  "It's 8:54pm, everything will close in 6 minutes", I said.  But, she asked me to call the restaurant and order a dinner to pick up.  She was very excited about free meal. She rushed me to hurry up and make a phone call.  What she was asking was not realistic.

Everything I try to do for her, she was haggling to get more.

That's when I told her politely that she should go back to her own apartment and cook for herself.  "I can't believe I'm being kicked out" she cried.

I gave her the opened bottle of wine, which made her happy.  Then she asked me if she could take tequila as well. This time I said "No" in more firm manner.

Then she asked me if she could take my hat.  And she muscled her way to my bedroom and saw 30 jars of Yankee Candles.  She told me she wanted to take a candle.  She was drunk, and she was about to grab my candles (glass jars). So, I had to stop her.

At this point we were literally pushing and shoving each other.  She was heavier than I was, so I had to really fight her.  And she was giving everything she's got to get to my candles.  At one point we fell on the carpet, still wrestling to gain control of each other.  It was a nightmare. I couldn't believe how quickly it became a wrestling match.  She looked around for something to take.  She grabbed my camera and asked if she can keep it.  I snatched the camera off her hand.

I propped her up an took her to my car.  I was afraid she would puck in my car.  I took her to her apartment and got the heck out of there.

The End

PS. Don't worry, it was not that bad.  She was just drunk.

Update: I took the check to her bank and successfully cashed it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
This is my Turkey 2011 Mini Blog (Newer post on top)

I've been making turkey for last few years.  I had a female friend with me last year.  But, I'm usually cooking alone for myself. I will be home alone this year.  This is not sad.  I cook something special every weekend. So, this is fun for me.

* My opinion on brining: I think brining is just a hype.  I would prefer taste of pure turkey.  I would not put sugar in wine.  I wouldn't put A1 Sauce on a good steak.  I will adhere to my Epicurean philosophy and enjoy the taste of pure bird.  I gave brining a fair chance.  And now, I officially declare myself an anti-briner.

• November 25, 2011: Leftover taste even better.  It makes me sleepy just as same. 
• Thanksgiving Day (7:00pm): Live video is now switched back on to candles.  I put away leftover and finished doing dishes. 
• Thanksgiving Day (4:45pm): Oh My God! This is the best meal I ever made this year.  Ah~ hahahaha~! very happy.  :)   :)   :)
  
• Thanksgiving Day (4:00pm): The bird is out of the oven.  It's burned on the top... I hope inside is better.  Making side dishes now.
  
• Thanksgiving Day (2:00pm): The bird is in the oven.  A lot of snacking going on.  (wine, chocolate, shrimp cocktail...)
  
• Thanksgiving Day (11:00am): Woke up late.  Live camera is now pointing at my kitchen.  Started by making coffee... a lot of snacking & TV watching going on.
• November 24, 2011 (2:30am): I got wise and made some changes inside the cooler like this (below). 
• November 23, 2011 (Wednesday) - I went to Bed Bath And Beyond on my lunch hour and bought a turkey rack and a fat separator. After dinner, I put the turkey in brine in the cooler with ice.  I used a Ziploc Big Bag.
  
• November 22, 2011 (Tuesday) - After work, I mixed brine solution and did 3 loads of laundry.  I wanted to take care of some work later (at night).  But I fell asleep on the couch.  I woke up with a stiff neck at 2am.  ZZzz.
  
• November 21, 2011 (Monday) - I bought more stuff such as vegetable stock, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, etc.  It was a nightmare looking for sage & rosemary.  They were sold out everywhere. I found the last of sage & rosemary at Ralphs.  It was a Thanksgiving Miracle!
• November 19, 2011 (Saturday) - Bought 11lb fresh turkey and ingredients for green bean casserole.  It's beginning to feel like Thanksgiving.
  

I have a huge craving for home made turkey.

I will be home alone for the Thanksgiving weekend this year (as usual), and I have decided to bake a full bird alone. I will not buy "Turkey dinner to go" from restaurants. I want good stuff. My craving for fresh baked turkey is unbearable. I am going to really enjoy the meal.

I enjoy cooking, so I am looking forward.
And I will take that rest I need. ZZzz..

On Thanksgiving Day, I plan to set up my live video camera pointing at my kitchen (oven & counter). I'll try, we'll see... :)

OK, I'm getting excited now.

Plan #1 - clean up my kitchen. Make room in the refrigerator.

more coming...

I'm still very busy

Let me do a quick update.

• I am busy
• I see very tiny basil plants budding out from the pot.
• I met one girl from a dating website.  I met her once and I stopped seeing her.  In 2 days, she wrote me 25 emails and called me 3 times.  Each email was very long.  I am still kicking myself that I invited her to my place.  She knows where I live. 
• I joined 3 dating websites.  It's a desperate time, I need to change my profile title to "Personal Hygiene Not Important"
• My ex coworker got a job at Guitar Center (corporate office).  This can be significant.  I may be able to buy all the guitars I want CHEAP.
• I went to Costco, but I didn't buy anything fancy.
• My kitchen sink was clogged.  So, I went under the sink and ran 25" snake through it.   It was horrible.. the smell...  but drain is unclogged.
• I am trying to play "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" with my guitar.
• For the first time this year, I made more money than I spent.  We may be at the turning point.  Please send positive energy to my way.  I am totally wiped out.  I just want to sleep day and night.
• I am still having fun.  I feel positive.  I am tired, but not sick.
• I love the girl who says "Ride that spicy chicken" at Jack in the Box commercial.

I've been busy.  I am still busy.

I spent last weekend alone at my apartment (as usual).  I bought a small pot and basil seeds from Home Depot.  I decided to give it one more try.

My neighbor's cat was keep looking at me as I was getting the pot ready.  She is my favorite cat.  So I stopped what I was doing and played with her for a while. 

I hope I have a better luck with basil this time.

It gets cold during the Winter time.  So, I need to bring in the pot when I go to sleep.  Let's see how it goes... 

OH boy, I hope I don't get obsessed about growing spices.

Wish me luck, guys. I opened match.com account.
Actually, pray for me.
I think I'm going to be home alone for Christmas this year for 4th straight year. I don't mind it much, but...

Anyway, here's a tip for middle aged ladies.
Please do not write "Life is Short" on your match.com profile header. I mean, really... That's pretty sad. I hear you, you are walking the last miles.

Also, I see a lot of pictures of girls where the pictures show two girls standing side by side. So, how am I to know which one I am flirting with? I *almost* emailed some of them and asked "Which one are you? are you the ugly one? or are you the one with cankles?" Haha.. joking (I know it's mean.).

What happened last 7 days.

Last week was a nightmare.
I tried to upgrade my website and it was a major disaster.
I spent about 30 hours without success. I will take that experience and give it one more try sometime soon.

For now, I had to restore website from 1 week back. So, I lost a few members who joined during that time (sorry). Anyway, last weekend was tough. My God I was so tired. I had a nosebleed. But, this is my hobby, I do this for fun.

I went to Costco 2 days ago. Blog coming...
(preview: I bought Chocolates of the World~!!)

Last surviving member of Four Freshmen passed away not too long ago. I had an opportunity to visit his house, talked to some of the family members, and got a CD autographed by his wife.

Don't get sick everyone. Have fun.

I will talk to you soon.
:)

I bought a small pot of  basil 10 days ago at local Smart & Final.  I enjoy fresh basil on my pasta and tomatoes.  I eat tomatoes at work as snack.  I sprinkle some fresh, chopped basil on my tomato.  They taste so fresh and good.

But, my plant is dying rather quickly.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I give 1/2 inch of water.  And I leave the pot where I get partial Sun light.

I thought I would enjoy fresh basil from this pot for ever (hehe).  I am going to buy another pot and give it another try.  I would like to figure out how keep them alive for a long time.  Maybe I don't live in the right climate?  I don't know.  I must find out.  It's mind boggling.

I hope I don't get obsessed about growing spices. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

10 days later

Dinner

Morning snack at work (I eat vegetables every day at work)

Happy Labor Day everyone.

I don't work physical labor.  But, I can use a long weekend.  I've been putting so much over-time that I've been totally wiped out for several weeks now.  I can really use some sleep.

I was home alone for the weekend.  On Saturday and Sunday, I ate babyback rib and ribeye steak.  I plan to eat good on Labor Day.  I can't eat meat three days straight.

I listened to a lot of Christmas music this weekend.  I burned Christmas candles and watched Polar Express.   Polar Express is a relatively new movie, but it quickly became my favorite Christmas movie. 

It's 2am Labor Day (Monday) morning.  Summer is unofficially over.   I have a door opened right now.  There is a hint of winter in the air.  It's crisp and cold.

I'm going to bed now.

It's going to feel weird not going to work on Monday.

Costco will be closed for Labor Day.  I wonder if Bed Bath and Beyond will be opened.  I was home alone for 2 days straight.  I want to drive around a little.

Good night~

ZZzz

PS. I thought about opening a Match.com account.  Mm... maybe later... 

Check this out, this is my new Costco bicycle.

• I replaced the seat.
• I installed a rear-view mirror.
• I have iPod Touch speakers in front.  It also holds my camera & keys.
• I put my Sunglasses under the seat.

I am having a lot of fun with my new bicycle.  I ride to local park and play backboard (tennis).  It gives me 45-50 minutes of light aerobic workout.  I sling tennis racquet on my back (like a guitar).  This is more entertaining then I imagined.  I just need to be very careful.

Also, as I ride around the town, I get to meet people. 

We have a really attractive neighbor.  She's a lean blond, kind of a rock band groupie type.  She was surprised to see me on a bicycle. She gave me a hug, for the first time.  That hug paid for my bicycle. :)

Also, I met another neighbor (I haven't talked to you about this girl. yet) - she also complimented my bicycle and my outfit.  NO, I do not wear tights.  I wear my regular running outfit I bought from Costco.   She invited me to visit her sometime.   She also gave me a hug.

I may be residentially challenged.  But, ah~!  the beauty of living in an apartment complex.

Anyway, bicycle is fun and it's good for me.  Money well spent.

I need to keep reminding myself to be very careful when I ride.  (fingers crossed).

So, everyone go out and buy Costco bicycle, hehe... :)

Generally speaking, any kind of soda pop is bad for you.  If you want to play safe, you should not drink any soda.   Diet sodas are just as bad, they say (or even worse).  I'm not an authority in this field.  So, don't ask me why. 

I don't drink soda every day.  Soda is a luxury item to me (I am poor).  I only drink diet cola on weekends or when I eat out.  As you know, I never eat out during the weekdays.

To curb my craving for soda, I drink water in these iced tea glasses, usually with a slice of lemon.   With these glasses, drinking water is more enjoyable.  I don't miss soda much this way.  When I serve water to guests, water becomes a refreshing food item, rather than a utility item for hydration.

*I didn't buy these glasses at Costco.  

Remember this picture from last year?

I bought five jugs of Chocolates of the World and three cans of European cookies 10 months ago (October 14, 2010 blog)

from October 14, 2010 blog

On my blog I said something about my self control.   And I also said these chocolates would last a year.

Today is August 10, 2011.  I still have one and a half jugs of Chocolates of the World.  I have more than a half can of European cookies. Cookies are in the refrigerator. One jug of Chocolates of the World is in the freezer.  It's been frozen for 10 months.

I have been enjoying these snacks for last 10 months.  I eat one or two Chocolates every week.  I enjoy cookies with or without coffee.  My friends freak out when I serve these for them.  Stocking up on these Christmas snacks was a good idea. 

I hope Costco will carry them again this season, so I can do the same for next year.  But, I don't think I can spend $80.00 like the last time.  I am so poor this year.  I just thank God I still have a job.

These snacks are Costco's Christmas tradition.  If you haven't tried them, don't miss out this year.

August 10, 2011 - 10 months later

I went on an Alaskan Cruise last week.

We all had super good times.  I still think about the cruise.  I have a small Alaska Airline model airplane sitting at my work desk.  I play with the model plane whenever I have time.

But, this story is about my nephew, and the lesson I learned.

My nephew was at the cruise also.  I think he had THE best time among all of us.  I mean, he lived my childhood dream.  He was very cool.  It was like watching a movie.

My nephew is 16 years old, tall, and fit.  He's in high school football team.  As soon as he got on the ship, he started to look for kids at his own age group so he can introduced himself.  He made a lot of friends quick.

Looking back at myself when I was 16:
I was never like my nephew.  If I was at his situation, I would be too shy to introduce myself.  It would be too awkward for me to walk up to somebody and say "Hi, I'm John".  I would pretend that I didn't notice the girls.  Or, if I see other guys, I would give them evil eyes or something... like I don't care (sending negative message for no reason).

Back to my nephew:
On day 2 or 3, my nephew had a buddy.  Then the group got bigger.  He had a female friend as well.  At the end, he had about 10 buddies.

On day 6, when we were at Victoria Canada, I caught my nephew walking casually around the town with a girl from the cruise ship.  They looked so cute together.  I said hello to the couple.  The girl was from Florida (my nephew lives in California).

My sister said that, on the last day of the cruise, my nephew came back to the room crying.  Group of kids said final good-bye.  I can imagine the pain at that age.  I remember...

I looked up my nephew on FaceBook.  I saw a bunch of guys saying "I love you bro" or "I miss you, man".   He wrote "The best week of my life".  There were pictures of my nephew with girls as well.

I had a lot of fun at the cruise.  But, I keep thinking about my nephew.  He had a week right out from a movie.  He lived my dream.  It was beautiful.

Lesson I learned from my nephew:
Life is like a cruise ship.  We are all in the same boat and everyone will leave the ship soon.  We can get off the ship alone, or we can get off the ship with awesome memories like my nephew.  I still have some time left in my journey through life.  I am going to be more friendly and active when I meet new people.  I would like to be cool like my nephew.  Life will be more meaningful this way.

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I must get back to work now.  I have a lot of work backed up from last week. Talk to you later.

This blog is for lovers only.

I came to this conclusion long time ago that, for love song, you cannot go wrong with any song that contains soft whispering background vocals.

If a girl doesn't like any of these songs, I wouldn't go out with her.  Why even bother when she is that insensitive and dry?  hehe..

Here are a few examples of whispering songs from top of my head.  If you think of any other whispering songs, please let me know.

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This is my favorite. Ah~ the memories of the 90's

Randy Crawford - In my life

This is my favorite song, but YouTube took this one down :(

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I love this song since I don't know when.

 Dr. Hook - Sharing the night together

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Another oldie - This version is better than Sam Cooke's original version.  You know why?  That's right, because it's got whispering chorus.  That's why.

Mickey Gilley ~ Bring It On Home To Me

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Everyone loves this number

Gino Vannelli - I Just Wanna Stop

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I hope you are having a beautiful Summer (now that I picked out the make out songs for you).

Keep your eyes open for Christmas items when you go to Costco.  Christmas starts in Summer in Costco.

Sometimes it's better not to tell you what happened.

But, here's a card.

Sign of getting old.

My co-worker "R" shares the cubicle wall with me.  Without the cubicle wall, we would be looking right at each other.

Below is a copy of our communication at work.  It's a sign of me getting old.