So I've been to mass for the past couple of weeks. Palm Sunday and Easter had something to do with it. I am going
to try to go every week. We got into a text war over words and I was consumed with anger. After sitting in church and
daydreaming for about an hour, I got rid of all my steam. St. Francis of Assisi is my type of church. It's not too stuffy and the priest is engaging.
I went to St. Joseph's once for Ash Wednesday and was not a fan. The priest just recited from the book and could
care less if you listen. It was nice to walk to that church but I would rather hop in my car and drive a few blocks up.
This week is Tess Awareness Week. It's a marathon of working out and eating meals together. Plus, she wants me to
help her plant some seedlings at her house this weekend. Hooray for gardening! OK! My goal is to lose four more pounds.
I think when I arrived here last fall, I was at my New York weight. The pounds kept adding on. I didn't realize the added
pounds until I participated in the Biggest Loser Challenge. I am now keeping my weight in check. I also watch what I
eat. Don't feel like you need to finish everything on your plate. If your stomach says no more, then don't eat anymore.
John Tesh says not to crave into the hunger unless your body is giving you actual signals such as headaches, shaky
hands, stomach growling, etc.
March 22, 2016
Dollar Tree is pretty amazing. We went there to stock up on tupperware for my cookies, but walked out of there
with $50 worth of stuff. There's a whole section for Easter stuff. You can build Easter baskets. Fill them with toys,
candy, fake grass, etc. I also loaded up on gift bags and tissue paper. Sharon actually picked up a pair of sunglasses
for $1. Stock up on candy that you plan on getting at the movie theater. Sneak these in when you go to the movies.
Do not go to Family Dollar or Dollar General. Those stores do not carry $1 goods. They are actually more
expensive than your Walmarts and Targets. These stores exist for the convenience of not having to drive to a bigger
store. Dollar Tree is the true king of bargain shopping.
March 19, 2016
Happy 7th Birthday, Carter and Carson!
March 18, 2016
Friday is finally here again. I found the hair gel that works for me. It came in as a sample in one of the
Birchboxes that Chang got me. I compared that the first four ingredients of the old gel
and the new one are the same. This is why I am liking it. I looked on Amazon and found only three left in stock.
I picked up one for my mom and the other two for me. I only use a small amount to style my hair. I wonder why
companies discontinue products. Perhaps no one really bought the old gel. I need to return the ones I have been using
back to Amazon. They simply do not work. It's like playing with water. It does not add volume to your hair and
barely keeps your hair in place. Sharon is kicking everyone's butts with the brackets. It's very tempting to track
your progress. If you choose a wrong team and send them through the next few rounds, you're screwed all the way
through. It's best to sprinkle with some "upsets" here and there to diversify your portfolio.
March 17, 2016
Kygo's playlist keeps me awake throughout the day. I am trying to stay away from coffee. Coffee really does
prevent me from falling asleep at the desk. I immediately react after one or two sips of coffee. I stayed up pretty
late last night to watch the SNL episode from this past Saturday. Ariana Grande was amazing on the show. All of the skits were
on point. My favorites were Maria from Sound of Music and her singing from Tidal. Khoi, I can always count on you.
Keep the venting coming. I baked a batch of cookies for Charli. I don't think the other batch contained 70 something
cookies. They're always around 45 cookies or so. I think I found the hair gel that works for me. The ones I've been
using all these years discontinued. Taylor joined me on the walk to work today. She will be at the office through
July assuming she will stay in OKC. The shit show starts today.
March 15, 2016
It was pretty warm yesterday at a comfortable 81 degrees. I had to turn on the AC to cool me down from my walk
home. On the day before, I spent way too many hours decorating my final cake. I didn't know what to do at first.
I jotted something down on a notepad to get me started. You really do need to plan ahead before piping the frosting.
Have your plan in place, including picking out your colors. I think I went overboard by making six different colors.
I only really needed four colors at most. Tess said to save the leftover frosting for practice sessions. Hopefully,
we will get to bake Sarah and Wyatt's cake this weekend. Petra is at it again with her "free publicity". If we
are in DC now, Olivia Pope would be all over it. She will send her gladiators to fix the job. Taylor brought ripe
bananas to the gym so I can take them to the Bullards to bake bread. Very ripe bananas are the best to use when making bread.
They make the bread sweeter and more moist. I like my fruit on the cake stand on the kitchen counter. My goal is to
satisfy my sweet tooth by eating fresh fruit. I am a big fan of bananas, oranges, and pineapples. I think it's time
for another visit to Super Cao Nguyen to restock my beef jerky. I still need to check out the Chinatown Supermarket.
I hear it's on a much smaller scale than Super Cao and a bit more trashy. I'm also craving banh cuon from Nhu Lan.
March 11, 2016
I'm ready for the weekend. Kim's birthday dinner got pushed indefinitely. Paul made thit kho instead, which was
super good. I wondered why he picked up eggs at the grocery store. He hates eggs. I actually needed more eggs to
bake three cakes this weekend. Two of the cakes are for my final class. The one remaining cake is for Sarah and
Wyatt's birthday. I want to incorporate two birthdays into one cake. The cake is for a boy and a woman.
We need to split the frosting color and decorations to align with the two distinct demographics. Everyone else got
evaluations except for me. I guess I don't get one because I am a new hire. The only evaluation I received was for
a project I worked on right when I started. Now I see why people get those billable hours in. The bonuses distribute
every quarter can be significant if you put in beaucoup hours. I never really got this at NYU. It's all about those
billable hours. I think I'll partake in the whoppers tonight thanks to Brad.
March 9, 2016
Happy Birthday, Sarah!
March 7, 2016
I don't know why there are so many debates scheduled. I understand that there are primaries and caucuses and
these debates are to get voters to come out and vote. These debates are pretty much the same thing over and over again.
The last Republican debate was a circus.
The top three guys kept insulting one another and the audience was eating it all up. The only mature one on stage
was the guy from Ohio. It was pretty bad. I was cringing while watching with two Republicans. I was embarrassed for
their party. As an American, I am embarrassed that outsiders are laughing at our election process. Yesterday's
Democratic debate was not so bad. They stayed on course and focused on the issues. There were no personal attacks.
However, the two candidates keep repeating the same promises. Bernie keeps blaming Hillary for bailing out Wall Street.
Hillary blames Bernie for not voting on legislation to keep the economy growing. It's really nothing new.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who wins. We will still live our lives.
March 4, 2016
Yesterday's luncheon was a mess. It was the Oklahoma's Ethics monthly meeting. They were a bit too much for me.
It was about being appreciative and thanking one another for being in each other's lives. I felt like I was at church.
After they gave out awards to the high dollar donors, one of the board members came up and gave a very short speech.
He basically talked about being grateful and to make sure to thank those around you. This was a precursor to the
group activity where we discussed how we are grateful to "be alive". In the meeting's program, the organization's
mission and values were plastered on every page. They basically strive to uphold Oklahoma's values. By the way, what are
Oklahoma's values? Are they different from everyone else's values..all other human beings out there? I'm surprised there was no mentioning of Jesus Christ. I was also surprised that they didn't
start the lunch with a prayer like they do at the Thunder games. The main speaker talked about relationships and how
it is unethical to be on our mobile devices in the presence of others. He also said that working women come home
worried about caring for their kids, cooking for the family, doing laundry, and cleaning the house while the men
go straight to clicking on the TV remote. He also said that every child deserves a dad. Last time I checked, there
are plenty of stay at home dads and every child deserves a parent or two regardless of their gender. It was very cult-like in every sense and the attendees
were eating it up. I do no think I want to come back for this group's monthly meetings. It was out of this
world. My colleagues told me "It's Oklahoma". Frankly, I am tired of people saying that. You can't get away with it by
saying "It's Oklahoma".
March 1, 2016
Yes, I'm all about getting those female candidates in and getting them to work. Merkel has done amazing things
for Germany. Let's see if we can replicate that in the U.S. I just found out that a friend of mine is with the other
party. We were texting away and I described party members looking a certain way. Yes, I was judging. She wrote back
and said...well, we all don't look like that. It was a total shock. She said she is surrounded by folks in one party
and didn't want to disclose her affiliation out of fear. We joked about it and at the end of the day, it really
doesn't matter who you like to associate yourself with. When it comes to the general election in November, you
can make your decision regardless of your registered party. This election year is crazy and it will only get
crazier. Too bad America only has two major parties to contend with. I'd like to be given plenty of serious options
to choose from. That's just not how the wind blows here in the Land of the Free.