Most beautiful person

It has been one of those days...where you're just not in the mood you know? I usually whip out my posts earlier in the day but I didn't feel like writing today. Instead I browsed around the blogosphere reading up on other people's more interesting things. Lately, I've been visiting Jeremy's blog a lot >> Discovering Dad, he has had a series going on moms to dads topics like, Moms on marriage, physical appearance, and sex. It's VERY interesting what everyone has to say, so make sure to check it out.

This morning as I watched the Today Show, they were talking about the People's 100 Most Beautiful people with Kate Hudson as the cover model. I love KH and I'm glad they put her because she's absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion though, they left out this little person:

This is my little Elsie, aka LC as I've written before, she's my 8-month old bundle of pride and joy. This little girl has changed my life no doubt, in the most positive way possible to be the best person I can try to be. Mommy loves you baby!

Amateur Sushi

Yes, I, Jojo the BuddhaBelle, have conquered the world of Japanese cuisine with one roll at a time. We had a bunch of imitation crab meat laying around so I picked my little brain on what to do with it before it started to stink up the fridge. A-Ha! I said, I will attempt to make a California roll and I'm proud to say I've succeeded. It tasted just like the sushi we get at our favorite Japanese place. Here's the photographic proof of my awesome endeavor:

I'm not a foodie blogger and I don't have a good handle on giving real "proper" recipe instructions and yield sizes...but I'll try my best.

1. Rice (cooked), I made 4 cups but I think 3 would have been enough since I got LOTS
2. Rice vinegar (seasoned is ok), put 1 tbsp. for each cup of rice, while it's hot and fork it around to make sushi rice
3. Imitation crab, about a cup, make it super tiny in the food processor
4. Sprinkle some salt on it and mix it with about 2 tbsp.'s of mayo....it took me a whole canister to finally realize that Light mayo really sucks ass...so just go for the real thing
5. Mash up some avocado, I used 1 medium one but for the amount of rice and crab I got, would've used 2
6. Peel and cut a cucumber into thin, long strips
7. Seaweed + sesame seeds (I forgot the sesame seeds a couple of times, so you don't really miss them, it's alright if you don't have it)
   

Ok, now you're ready to assemble and roll!

- Lay out your seaweed on a bamboo sushi roller, I don't own one so I just rolled it with my hands although that doesn't make it dense enough...it's all going to go in your mouth anyway, it's the pretty factor you'll miss.
- Put a thin layer of rice to cover 2/3rds of the seaweed, use cold water on your fingers to make it easier to pack it down. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the rice, just a little
- Put couple of cucumber strips, a strip of the mashed avocado, and a strip of the crab mixture all on top of each other a little off center of the rice.
- Now roll the whole thing as tight as you can and you can sprinkle a little water on the empty end of the seaweed to make it stick together.
- Use a sharp, wet knife to cut up the roll..you'll get 8 cute little sushi pieces out of one roll. Put some wasabi on, dip it slightly into some soy sauce and ENJOY!

TA-DA, You have now made a California roll!

the Genie Complex

So LC and I are up at 5am excitedly watching the Nickelodeon channel...yawn! She had this cute little playful look on her face as if saying "Mommy, let's attack the morning together!" So I got helplessly recruited into the little monkey butt's scheme, but it's all good. Thankfully I'm one of those people that like cartoons early in the morning.

As I laid awake the first couple of minutes contemplating forcing her to sleep another six hours with my mental magic wand, I got the Genie Complex...my everlasting wish for more sleep. This is one of my favorite games to play with none other than the hubby just because there's no one else, of sitting around and taking turns shouting out our "wishes".

If our favorite blue genie popped up one day and asked to grant all my wishes, this is what I would ask for:

• Ability to turn off lights with a blink of an eye
• Not to be a millionaire or anything, but to have enough money to meet all our needs
• I'm still willing to work on it, but to make it easier to lose weight!!!
• That my husband could only work until lunchtime and play with us the rest of the day
• That we had all of our good friends live closer to us
• Have the ideal Mary Poppins pop up whenever I needed to get away
• Be able to wear the really skinny jeans, slim through the ankle, with stilettos, unfortunately I'm sad to say that my legs just aren't built that way...................................
• Have a personal chef! That's a big one
• For my daughter to never get sick or hurt
  
• To have the Merry Maids at my disposal
• and finally, take a vacation 4 times a year

...ok ok, I'll add World Peace too!

Tell me, what would you wish for? Yes, and I better think of MORE before the Genie goes away...LOL aren't we all a little greedy?

For Ladies....only

WIM (weigh-in monday) has revealed a tiny step towards progress in a form of ONE....can ya tell it's a slow process? Yup. My daughter magically woke up right when we were about to go to bed last night and we had to sit around watching late-night crappy TV until 2:30. But the upside to that was we stumbled upon a channel that was, let me just say, interesting. I just had to post about it!

I don't quite know how to go about this in a classy way. I'm blushing just anticipating the coming sentences. This is a time where I'm glad none of my family reads this blog.

Adult toys are now sold on TV....geez...have you guys seen this???

Let's start with their nightly web specials: Savanna's G Tickler, Don Wands Pink Graduate....who sticks this stuff up their hoo-haas? It looks like it could rip you open from the inside. There were girl's toys and guy's toys...which looked like they belong somewhere in the toolbox deep inside the garage. There was a "PUMP" which apparently goes up and down, and then also vibrates inside the "fleshy, soft" jell thingy...and ironically, the ENTRANCE...hahaha god, I can't stifle my laughter...was shaped like LIPS.

Ok, so then my favorite product was a device with a bullet or something that you "insert" you-know-where, and then plug into your i-Pod which then vibrates you to the beat of your music. This is not the end though, the lady then using her marketing muscles, says, "Hey, if you are at that boring job, just plug it in, INSERT it, and have a smile on your face." Seriously. If next time, you walk into an office where you had an appointment or whatever and the lady is sitting listening to her iPod in the middle of the day at work....can you just imagine?

Oh yes, then there's this strap-on butterfly shaped thing that you put in the area that starts with C, I guess you can already imagine what it does. But then the kicker is that the salesman tells you, OH you can just put in on under your clothes. So who's walking around out there with this strapped on, just buzzing you away into orgasmic oblivion? If YOU are, you better leave a comment here. You better.

Indeed we live in a crazy world. Who would have guessed that Bunnies worked SO HARD! LMAO and then some. No, I'm not putting the link here, you can find it yourself.

Meditate with Eva

Eva Cassidy is one of my most favorite singers. Unfortunately, cancer took her at a young age and all that's left behind are soul-stirring memories reflected through her heavenly voice. I'd like to share a favorite song of mine...it is so relaxing, hit play, close your eyes and enjoy a lazy Sunday.

Ugly Fight

Let me amuse you with a little piece of observance this nice Saturday afternoon. If you see this couple above, you may look back and think of the times you were in this exact situation.

F: You just don't understand! You never listen!
M: What is there to understand? You don't know what you're talking about!
F: You're an ASS#$@!
M: Stop nagging me!
SLAM
...the doors are closed as the argument halts....leading to silent treatment and lots of dirty looks

Yea, we've all been there, probably over something as trivial as laundry or giving the supposed "eye" to the waitress. Here's a fantabulous tip from BuddhaBelle herself: Always look GOOD when you're having an argument with your boyfriend or your spouse...well especially your boyfriend since the spouse is tied by law...that little inconvenience..uh-huh.

Don't have your breath stinking up the room while you bark out your witty comebacks, hair all greasy from the hours slaved over the deep-fryer and, gasp!, with no make up on. Seriously ladies, and dudes too! The receiving end may build up all the resentment inside, look at you while you do your snarl and think, "What the hell am I doing with this person?" Things may be all well and dandy while there's world peace in your household, and your spouse may think that the sun shines out of your behind...but come fight time and no such thoughts prevail, except what may Susie Q be doing down the street.

Trust me...a perfectly good guy was dumped by my girlfriend recently over this exact fact, so I think I may just know what I'm talking about. Put on your Victoria's Secret and bat your lashes a bit when you tell him you hate him...he may just be thinking of something else with his other brain and give in to APOLOGY. Hahaha...ok so this is not the solution to your serious "real-world" problems but whatever...you came to this blog for some entertainment anyway. Have a good weekend all!

Are we revealing TOO much on blogs?

The other night we watched "Untraceable" with Diane Lane. It's a thriller about cyber crimes, surrounding one sicko who abducts and kills people while streaming the murder live online. I won't give it away but the movie touches on the fact that people are "amused" at someone else's expense, and how the internet propels the rate at which nasty things can spread online.

My husband, who is in the IT industry, predicts that in the future, law enforcement units surrounding cyber crime will expand, of course, correlating to the increase of the crime itself. Thank for the input, B. As much as the internet has made our lives easier and accessible to all kinds of things...it has upped the creativity of those rogue few.

Then there's blogs. Sometimes I'm scared of how much information about our personal lives we share on our blogs. I'm aware that most of our identities are anonymous and we change the names, or at least provide only initials, for the people we talk about...there are still ways strangers can find out about us. We leave virtual footprints and records EVERYWHERE. How many networks, social media sites have you joined...maybe you're not aware of the places you're mentioned. GOOGLE YOURSELF.

This last summer, I saw a piece on the news about some pedophile freak who has a blog or website or something, where he tells other assholes like himself where to find children....and PRETTY children, no less. This just turns the pit of my stomach and makes me want to pull out his COJONES Sin City style. I suppose they did a check on him and he's never acted on his urges...but he F$%&Kin goes around town and LOOKS.........God I can't even continue. Who's to STOP him when he does act on it.

Not only blogs are a great outlet for us normal people...it's a way for those ROGUE humanoids to advertise, or even encourage to others their devious actions. Now that I have a child, my ears and eyes are so alert, that I feel like a pitbull ready to strike at whoever that even THINKS about getting too close to my child. Just be careful and always use an alias. What are your thoughts on this, I would love to hear more input!

To My Younger Self

Have you ever thought, "If I knew what I know now....if only". Yes, we wouldn't be who we are without all our experiences, but there's always regrets...something you wish you could go back in time and tweak. Life is full of mistakes, mishaps, triumphs, and achievements. We take those in stride and remind ourselves to do something different, something better next time.

Whether you are 15 or 50, there's always something we could have changed from yesterday, last week, in the last ten years. Or at least, we wish we could tell someone not to repeat our mistakes and gracefully present ourselves as a lesson. Whilst someone grows and turns into their future self, they could take what they need and leave what they don't from our stories.

It's also nice just to reminisce. As we laugh back on our silliness, cry over our tragedies, or relive moments of glory...nothing makes the story of your life more meaningful than sharing it with someone to become a witness to your memory.

That is why I've decided to announce the "To My Younger Self" letter writing event for all my readers and myself, so we can share our stories here at Buddha Belle. Anything goes, there are no rules or guidelines for submission. I think Mother's Day being such an important day for me, as becoming a mother has been one of my most life-changing events, I'll set May 11th as the deadline. Submit your letter to Jojo@Buddhabelle.com and I'll feature your story as a guest post on this blog after 5/11. Although you don't have to, please include a little introduction about yourself and if you have a blog, even better, get some link love here.

I Wonder...

• Why it's been such a long day
• Why the hell did I pig out with a 1000 calorie lunch....now in shame
• Why does fixing cars have to be so expensive...when the cause was POT HOLES and not our fault
  
• Why did the lady at the car repair shop have a very peculiar mullet, when her hair was super THIN and CURLY....isn't that JUST wrong? Hmmmph
• What should I make for dinner
• Whether if I even should eat dinner
• How wonderful is my child that she learned to pull herself up to her feet thus becoming an official Homo Sapien with opposable thumbs and all
• Why do other people's cars smell so bad

Ok that's enough sitting around wondering but I would love to hear what you're wondering about hehe...I have some interesting posts thought out for your guys, but that'll come later

What do moms look like?

So now you're a mother, maybe once you were the Cool girl who had all the guy friends (who prolly thought they'd score). After you became the SAHM and wife, you see them and they begrudgingly shake their head and can't BELIEVE you're a mother, plus not even looking like one.

What's this "You don't look like a mom" thing? What DO moms look like? It brings up body image issues and how becoming a mother automatically categorizes you in the "women with muffin tops and saggy breasts" club. Let it not rule you! Work that SH$% out and become the MYLF you were destined to be. (I try to keep this blog G-rated, so you know the definition of MILF, just exchange the I with YOU!)

Yes, my laundry has suffered and my perfectly purple underwear has bleach stains in unmentionable places, which would cause some to question just how acidic my excretions are LOL. And, you no longer wear the satin Sexy Little Things undie with the peek-a-boo underneath the cute ribbon...but it's ok. Swallow your pride and let the Grannies RULE!

My musical tastes don't reflect my nearly mid-twenties age...yes I raise my arms and announce I like teeny-bopper music. Who cares? You do?...how sad for you. I've been hearing this song on the radio lately and it's got me shaking my head harder than the Roxbury Nights duo. It's great to run to and I shake my tushie so hard I swear my ass stretch marks have doubled. I'm not ashamed. Listen along readers and put on your fave undies and DANCE!

Men Outside My Marriage

Yea..I know what you were thinking..hahaha but it's not THAT! I'm a faithful one-man woman...except in my occasional daydreams. This post was born through a conversation with my husband about our favorite guys and gals on TV - but you know that BuddhaBelle didn't allow my man to recount his while I freely dished out my own. That's right, jealousy is not a sin, it's a whip - shazaam! Here are my Sexy Seven, in no particular order:

First up is Anderson Cooper. Hello hotness??? He's smart, funny, dislikes Paris Hilton (a plus in my book) and makes watching CNN worthwhile through all the depression of the current world.

Brian Williams...phew! He's just so cute, All-American...he could be the most popular guy in your high school. As you can see, I watch a lot of news...not that I'm an informed citizen or anything, but here and there, IF Brian Williams is talking about it, I listen and stick. And did you hear his voice by the way?

Next, Brad Pitt. How could he have NOT made the Sexy Seven? He's Green, talented, great actor, and frankly, Jen should've given him babies coz that's what he really wanted. If I didn't love Angelina Jolie just as much, I would've revealed my fangs already and started hissing. I wish they would adopt me together...I promise I'll be a good child!

Sean Connery is my ultimate "Older man". I don't care if he's 100, he will still be the hottest BOND there ever was. I'll clean his spectacles for him with my undershirt...blush. Usually old dudes staring at younger women strike me as perverted, but I'd let him peek a little with no objection! There I said it.

Terrence Howard. Oh his eyes just kill me! His smile is so warm and he's always in good movies. If he comes through the TV The Ring style, I wouldn't be freaked out at all. Actually Terrence, do you WANT to come over?

Funny guys always get the girl, in my opinion. Or maybe that's just how I got hooked to my hub-bubby. I'd tickle Adam Sandler's funny bone any day, hey get your mind out of the gutter! I love all of his movies, except Little Nicky which was plain annoying. Nevertheless, he scores high here, he's dreamy! Oy vei!

Lastly, there's Kevin James, my favorite Man in Brown. Did you check out his HOT asian wife? So maybe I have a chance? hahah...NO really. I want to rub his chubby belly with velvet and grab his cheeks and shake 'em. Did he not melt your heart in Hitch? That's what I thought. Even my husband likes him, so I'm in the clear with this one.

Who are your favorite men and why? Comment on this post and let's giggle about it together.

Mignight wishes

Close your eyes....and IMAGINE:

A full rack of BBQ ribs slathered in that sweet savory sauce with a side of garlic mashed potatoes smothered with cheese. Seasoned fries, cole slaw here and there dripping down your face, A ROLL with REAL butter...maybe some beans too, oh who can forget corn

then...

A big juicy burger, the one topped with fried onion rings on top sandwiched between the bun, that's OMG made with white refined flour...pickles, tomatoes, crunchy lettuce, LOTS of mayo...

and...

then chug that down with 2 gallons of REAL fizzling coke, sugar and all

end it with...

Hot, sizzling apple pie the size of your face with Lots of vanilla ice cream on top...this is just the beginning - lots of Appletinis, Cranberry vodkas, and Pina Coladas later, stuff your face with Doritos and then 30 minutes of packing all that down, gorge down on chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven with a glass of good ol' milk.

A girl's gotta dream right??? Now drown that sorrow with a glass of water and just go to sleep.

Fortune Cookies are the Devil ;0)

Happy Earth Day, everyone and I'm sure you're being bombarded by the Go Green movement on all the TV stations, newspapers, and blogs too, no less. Look at this picture...there are 3 plastic bottles in our local river that I took while LC and I were on a walk, I'm not completely GREEN I guess, but this just pisses me off. Haven't you ever heard of a trashcan dude?

A question everybody wonders is, "I want to go green but why is it so expensive?" A legit question, but just like I used to, these people are always thinking of hybrid cars, solar panels, green housing, and organic foods, etc. Big ticket items overwhelm the real meaning of being eco-friendly....as does, may I add, the "GO GREEN" marketing hype. I understand it's the slogan of the movement or whatever, but the concept of reducing our carbon footprint or thinking of our children's future in the world shouldn't be so hard that everything has to be so hyped up with words. I don't know, it's just my opinion. I don't think even last year, the slogan was around.
During my studies as a Bio major, we would extensively look at various diseases. My teachers would joke that nowadays when any condition gets an acronym, it's then considered a real disease. When you think about it, it's so true and funny. Can you say RLS?

When I looked at what the internet buzzes about this going green thing and expenses, the explanation that makes sense is, "Going green is expensive because all the cheap ways have been utilized already." For example, we already have recycling programs, milk cartons have changed from glass to plastic, refill services for your ink cartridges...things like that, there are so many resources out there, if you really want to read deeply into it, it's easily accessible.

You may think going green is expensive but going green helps out your wallet in the long run too...huh? Well say you pay a little more for the more efficient light bulb, but in turn, you will save money on electricity. You pay more for the hybrid car, but you will save so much money on gas...which by the way, in our area has reached 3.67 a gallon. So if you are in the market, maybe consider spending more on the hybrid. Unfortunately we're not, so we just have to be content with our loud Daewoo wagon....sniffles...well at least it's gas-efficient.

Since food and diet is one of our favorite topics here at BuddhaBelle, let me help you (and me) deter the junk even more:

• More reason not to eat McD's, not only is it unhealthy and fattening, fast food places are one of the biggest polluters
  
• Exercise not only makes you slimmer and stronger, it helps DETOXIFY your body of all the chemicals we ingest, breathe in, drink in, and POP in too, etc.
• Don't use the oven a lot, so no BAKED GOODS for you...HA! The oven uses lots of energy, heats up your kitchen, therefore requiring more cooling.
  
• Invest in a water filter (I did - a pat on my back!), save all the plastic of bottled water and drink more water, because your tap won't run out.
• Of course, lastly, walk, cycle, or use mass transport...which should require you to walk to the bus stop or something. You'll lose more weight and help clear the air a little.

The other RADICAL idea I had recently for going green is OBLITERATING CHINESE FORTUNE COOKIES...ha ha. Who needs that crap anyway??? The little pieces of paper inside, the plastic packaging, plus the big plastic packaging that all the cookies go in, all the ink needed to write those fake fortunes, the big boxes these are put in, plus the electricity and gas used to manufacture and deliver these...phew! Just get rid of those suckers....the world could use one less cookie.

Don't underestimate the importance of Wednesday

Weigh-in Monday with Mady revealed nothing exciting - not a gain or a loss. Whatev, right? But what it HAS revealed is my deep philosophical moment about days of the week. So as my daughter is nearby having one the most important conversations of her life with Thomas the Train on the PBS cartoon line-up, I ponder nearby and steal ideas from Wikipedia.

I thought as another Monday came by, "What evil genius invented the week and why the hell does it have to be 7 days exactly?" As I read the Wikipedia article, my eyes started rolling uncontrollably and my mind started to wander...hey, but if your attention span is longer, go ahead and check it out. Some crazy people back in wonderdays Egypt had a light-bulb moment and made up the 7-day week, I suppose. But what did catch my eye is that ancient Romans had an 8-day week! Thank god they changed it to 7 too. Can you imagine waiting for THAT week to end?

If those people were like me, we'd have a perfect 5-day week with only 3 working days! How awesome is that. I'm not a keen human nature observer or anything, but like anyone with free time on their hands, I do the normal "I wonder" and "Why?" stuff. Yet, you know thinking doesn't take that much time...hehe.

Speaking of days of the week, if you dread the beginning and celebrate the joyous end of the week...let me give you one of my bright ideas to calm your spirits. This is not a copyrighted gem, so feel free to share with other Debby Downers. When you reach Wednesday, remember that it is "HUMP DAY". I would use this when I was in school...Wednesday is right in the middle of the working week and the reason it is a hump day, is that until that day...you feel like you're climbing up and that the shit and toil of work won't end. After Wednesday however, everything's downhill...so work hard until hump day and afterwards, roll easily down towards the weekend. Not life-changing by any means but funny right?

Race Against Racism

At the end of my last 5K, all the runners (and walkers) got a pamphlet for a 5K in June, to be hosted by YWCA. It will be their first annual race against racism and I look forward to participating. I'm not going to be unprepared like last time, so I looked online for training schedules and have been following one from Jeff Galloway.

Starting this week (past Monday), it's exactly 10 weeks till the race and I had to scale down the original schedule, which was for 15 weeks, down to my time frame. I've included a link HERE to my Google docs page where I've posted the schedule in an Excel document. You can leave comments there, save it, print it, and use it if you're looking for a beginning runner's 5K training schedule. Come back and let me know on your progress!

This morning I ran my first "long" Saturday run per the schedule (it had to be today because it was raining yesterday)...the thing I love about doing it this way is that it just eases you in, you don't feel overwhelmed by too much time commitment, and 15, 20, 30 minutes throughout the week is not very hard. Don't think about it, just do it!

I've started getting lazy and the thought of exercising just to see the pounds drop has become monotonous. Training for something, for a goal far off in a reasonable time frame gives me more motivation. Along the way I know I WILL lose weight, but I have to shift my focus in order not to lose the big picture. Just how your body gets used to and gets tired of the same routine over and over, your mind gets tired of the same kind of thinking too. Change it up, change your vision, and go forward without a glitch.

Too costly to eat???

Recession or whatever it is that is happening sucks, no? Gas prices will reach $4.00 this summer, not that far off and FOOD has become more expensive week by week. Our friends, a couple, came by to visit for a day and we were discussing our grocery budgets, and how it's hard to cut down on the food in order to fit into your budget because of rising costs.

From what I noticed, it seems dairy and meat is always first to go up, then veggies and fruits. Everything else, I'm not really sure but I'm sure they've gone up too. Oh yes, hotdog and hamburger buns which were 99 cents, are like 1.18 or something. So I basically told her, "Eat less." What are we to do? With flailing jobs and a shaky economy, some luxuries deemed unnecessary may be cut out...the $5.00 Torrone bar only available at the Int'l market, the $7.89 a pound for fish...heard of frozen tilapia anyone?

I've read of many frugal families who get by and very satisfactorily may I add with a food budget less than their insurance premium. We can do it! Plus, you'll lose those love handles too...nice. Losing unnecessary pounds by cutting out unnecessary extra food can only be translated into a bonus.

My daughter is progressing in her crawling, so we're busy cleaning little nooks and crannies and really considering getting the carpet cleaned....since people have never heard of taking their shoes off! I'm craving Chinese...what to do? what to do?

What Oprah says...goes

Oprah says (or has said) that being a mother is the "hardest job in the world." So what if I sneak in some naps sometimes and push the dirty laundry under the bed once in a while. I still waddle my butt over to the kitchen to make my husband a good meal after a hard day's work and whip out my abused nipples for my daughter's dinner. It definitely IS the hardest job in the world. From many mom's experiences, including my own mom's, I guess once your kids start growing up and actually mobilizing themselves and TALKING BACK...I'm in for one hell of a ride.

The first year is our honeymoon phase...and just like any good relationship worth its salt, it'll end and reality begin. You'll actually look back and give a hearty laugh at your naivete, how's that for maturity?

Money has been on my mind of late...just because I don't have any. And I'm too embarrassed to put a PayPal donation link on my blog here, as some have suggested. Who the hell would pay me right? For a SAHM, lack of money cuts your possible activities away by 100%. That leaves me and my daughter planted on the couch...firmly.

We can go to the gym that's already auto-payed, but she'd rather chew off her arm than stay in the child care and give me some workout time. We can go to the park, but she'll start fussing and I'll have to carry her AND push the stroller a half-mile back to the car. Kudos for biceps! What else does that leave us but Target and Old Navy, so we can emptily ogle at the clearance bin. Retail therapy was my thing until I started accumulating 10 boxes of clothes in the basement and had NO need to shop ever again, that is only if I lose the baby fat in order to fit into them...gosh what a waste huh? My daughter's clothes are all ready for the next several months...so there you go.

I'll grab our grocery budget and go crazy in the frozen foods section, that's my fun as of late. Not to give the wrong idea, but we're living on a single income and we have our priorities: emergency fund, if any of us get sick, our beater might break down soon, we are getting ready for a big change and a MOVE in the fall. When I was working before the baby, I saved tuition money for my return in the fall...I'm getting my accelerated second-baccalaureate BS-Nursing degree. Like I said, priorities and therefore, sticking to the WANT vs. NEED concept is important.

I don't want anything that costs me but what I WANT is a free activity that's stimulating...again, sleep is usually the winner. While you sleep, you don't have to do anything, you're not hungry, and not bored, it's free...actually your lusty dreams might keep your HR up and ergo giving you a good fat-burn! He he he.

Anyway, I was reading up on an article that states a value of a SAHM is $134,121 annually, if paid. So I better go nag my husband for an allowance or something.

Motherhood - it's not for wimps

It's certainly not. I just finished Stefanie Wilder-Taylor's Naptime Is the New Happy Hour. It wasn't only LOL and more, it was completely LMAO (Laughing my ass off) funny. I love her style of writing and dark mommy humor, that's what you call a kindred spirit. When I was pregnant, I was busy poring over the prequel Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, loved it and looked forward to more of her writing.



This book centers on what "ways toddlers turn your life upside down." Since I have a to-be toddler on hand, I took notes on what may be coming. I'm sure you'll love this book, check it out! Now my dilemma is what I should read next...any suggestions?

N.O. - NO!

There was an earthquake in Illinois last night. What??? At least it wasn't around our area, but that was weird...I hear on the morning shows today that even around Chicago, they felt it.
____________________________________________________________________

The post today is regarding discipline and children. How early should parents start and what methods to use? Well, I'm one of those moms that like to receive their weekly emails from BabyCenter, starting when LC was a fetus even, telling me how old is my baby now and what they should be or shouldn't be doing. Well, about two weeks back, the email suggested that I start discipline even if my baby is only turning 8 months today...happy birthday babe!

I have to start using NO! and just letting her know by the tone of my voice that she shouldn't be doing what she is. So I talked to my husband and we started NO-ing away. She'll work SO hard to kind of crawl towards the foot of her jumper and try to suck on the metal foot...so on cue, I say NO! she'll stop, look at me and then continue and I keep repeating NO! She won't go ahead and just do it, every time I say no, she'll look at me...and after a while she just starts crying.

I don't know if she can associate between NO and that she's not allowed to do something, but from the looks of it, she sort of gets the gist...at least that whatever she's doing is displeasing me. So it's not too early to discipline your child and if they catch on quicker, maybe they will keep themselves out of trouble, or at least out of some of it.

Now that toddlerhood approaches, I look forward to TIME OUT and STAND IN THE CORNER....hahaha

Random jabber

As much as I want to think that I am, I'm not the busiest person in the world...sometimes I gotta think I'm lucky. While my husband is at work getting dirty looks for using up the plastic cups by the water cooler, I'm sipping my McCafe iced mocha and reading up on blogs and preparing my book review for my blog. Sometimes a SAHM life has its upsides. My babe is safely tucked away napping dreaming up GiGi the giraffe and endless plush toy dreams.

I look at the clock and it's ONLY 1pm...while people are dreading the rest of the half work day, I'm writing bitter emails to my husband to come home quickly because we're bored without him. He works hard enough to be able to check personal emails on the company's dime...YAy me for getting a romantic reply. All my readers are probably busy to be visiting me in the blogosphere and saving the evening to read my jabber.

How about cleaning the refrigerator? Cleanliness is not my forte, but a change of scenery will do. Frozen pees and chicken breasts are my friends. I promise all my posts won't be this boring. Maybe you can come over and marvel at my clean kitchen later over a glass of Merlot?

McCafe

Before I became a SAHM, I, just like any other responsible consumer, used to shell out upwards of $4.00 to Starbucks or a similar money-sucking impostor for an overpriced caffeine stimulation. It was my reward for getting up for the day and dragging my butt to work...er school. I had a quasi-disposable income left over after Chinese and my gynormous tuition bill.

I had to wean myself off of coffee when I got pregnant because my OB/GYN threatened me. But now I'm FREE! I can drink as much as I want...well not really since I'm nursing...but it's not as strict as before. What's the catch though? No income...anymore. Budget is a bitch. I break out in a sweat a little for that little indulgence...I mean once in a while it's ok but every day...in a week I'll be going through a month's worth of diaper money. Heard of potty-training anyone? I heard it's gratis.

Anyway, today I tried out the espresso drinks over at McDonald's, obnoxiously called McCafe. It's about a buck and a quarter cheaper than a Starbucks tall drink and less infuriating than the all-Indian drive-through at Dunkin Donuts. I got the Iced Mocha and I gotta say it wasn't half bad if you don't count the slightly coffee-over roasted taste...or maybe burned chocolate scratching down your throat. I don't know what it was. If saving money is your thing, maybe it won't be so bad. Plus with these ludicrous gas prices, a buck a quarter goes a long way, I might add.

Marriage at McDonald's

The synonym for marriage is compromise. Compromising to the diet that is...it goes a little something like this:

Me: I'm sad...
Him: Really? Why? What is it honey?
Me: I know we ate dinner already not too long ago, but I really want McDonald's
Him: Ok, honey, we can go get some
Me: Are you sure you really want it?
Him: Yea
Me: Ok, because if you don't want it, I don't have to have it
Him: No, I want some too
Me: Yea I know, we haven't been there in a while...maybe we can just go once a month?
Him: Sure, darling

Witness how I'm feeling guilty and trying to make him stop me but at the same time, I'm excited that he didn't object and go, BUT YOU JUST ATE! After a Big Mac meal with salty fries and a Coke, ok well chicken nuggets too...of course, I felt guilty. But we can't keep beating ourselves up over one greasy double cheeseburger, now can we? As long as you don't eat it every single day!

Note of warning: if you're going to mindlessly rake your lawn on a WINDY day, no less...wear gloves people. Don't be like me and get a small mound to grow on your hand, which burns. :( Good night!

Asian Day

My daughter and I attended "Asian Day" by an invite from my old colleagues at a local community college, where I worked in the admissions department while taking some classes there. They all wanted to see the baby and by celebrating my heritage, it was an appropriate event for us to attend, I suppose. Plus, I was desperate for some adult interaction after days of NANA and BABA.

When we showed up the first comment I get is, "Jojo, you look older!" Nice...so I said oh thanks! And then on cue, the reply is "No no, you still look the same as you did three years ago, you just look more mature." I just said yep, motherhood will do that to ya, mature your ass out. Anyway, the food was good, Malaysian, Chinese, Thai, etc. and they had some presentations and dancing.

We couldn't stay too long because LC started to melting down and letting everybody know how hungry and sleepy she was in a few decibels too high for the human ear...so we promptly left before they called Social Services. Overall, it was nice to get out of the house for a while and come home. It's weird how when you're home you're just bored out of your mind and WANT to get out, but when you do, it seems like there's nothing more heavenly than being at home, and not worry about sucking in your gut in front of a crowd.

Who told her to get up at 7am anyway you know? For sure it wasn't me, it would be perfect if kids just get up at 10 or so...but I'm gonna join in on the afternoon nap now. One of the perks of being a SAHM...don't be jealous! :)

How long do you want to live?

You guys know that I read a lot of other blogs, they range from personal finance to weight loss to parenting blogs. All equally interesting and all backing up in my reader...I gotta really read quicker. Anyway in some of the blogs, I've been reading about the "healthy lifestyle" and how people pursue this not only to feel better and feel slimmer, but to LIVE LONGER.

So I thought, well it's obviously not to die immaturely, but to actually live longer.

Let me plug my own two cents into the action here. According to the CIA World Factbook 2007 Estimates for Life Expectancy at Birth, the average American life span is 77.5-80, while the average Mongolian life span is 65-67.5. That's more than ten years apart. I understand that both genetics AND lifestyle contribute to this, but I guess also where you live matters as well.

If I'm a Mongolian who spent half of her life so far in Mongolia leading that lifestyle, and now I live in America leading this lifestyle as well...I think that puts me at possibly 70? Well I'm just fine and dandy with that...me dying at 70. I know the topic is quite morose, but I'm only speaking of stats here. Like I said before, nobody would like to go at 35 and this is not about health causing premature death - it's about how long you actually want to live.

I'm scared of my coming old age...getting old, sick and senile is what gets me. I paid my way through college working as a CNA, if you don't know what that is...good! It's not a glamorous job, literally shoveling S#%T , but like any other disliked job, it paid the bills. Therefore, I know firsthand the troubles of the old...Alzheimer's, cancer, dementia, countless others. Your family either puts you in a nursing home or pass off the care to a stranger, like myself. I never thought about this stuff, until I saw how the senile, sick old age can suck out not only your life but all that makes you YOU.

I don't want to live SO long that I don't know who I am or who my loved ones are, that I can't get out of bed or move....so long that I become a burden to someone because I can't care for myself. I want to go eat pancakes, go to the Y at 5am with the other seniors, play my Sunday crosswords, and host Thanksgiving and Easter at my house with my children and grandchildren, and to actually remember all their names and birthdays. So I'd take 70 any day. I suppose it's taboo, maybe, but I'm sure you think about it too. How long do you want to live?

For fun, you can calculate your life expectancy and virtual age, I don't know how accurate it is...but try it out here.

Weigh-in Monday

It's Monday yet again, and what an UGH monday it is? It's just a day in a week but Monday marks the start of work or the "schedule" of responsibilities you must follow through with or something equally as annoying. The only thing I look forward to is my Monday night shows such as Dancing with the Stars.

Last time I told you about the scale conundrum, well as it turns out, it was malfunctioning. I suppose I had been bloated or had retained extra water (because of salty sunflower seeds, maybe?) and I thought my ass grew a twin instead. The number went back to the one I had reported before. But it was a good wake-up call to make me realize, without my weight going yo-yo, that I indeed HAVE been slacking. Gotta get back on the wagon.

So, I've decided to make Monday, the weigh-in day. I really have to stick to this weigh yourself once-a-week plan because otherwise doing it everyday gives me hives of nervousness. I know I advised this to my readers before, but of course I haven't been doing it myself. Monday is perfect to do this activity because it'll get your butt in gear and start the new week off with new motivation. If you lost weight, it'll spur you on for the week of harder workouts, but if you gained, it means you gotta work even harder to get back on track.

Look out for this reformed scale ho!

Want to be a Former Fat Girl?

Time for the latest book review: Secrets of a Former Fat Girl - How to drop two, four (or More!) dress sizes - and find yourself along the way by Lisa Delaney. Now let me tell you what I liked about this book. It wasn't a book full of "healthy" recipes, nutritional breakdown, don't eat this and don't eat that, or an exercise regimen guideline. This book is more geared towards how to THINK in order to lose weight. It highlights the fact that losing weight is not just about a goal number on the scale or a dress size, it's about shedding the attitude, the image that accompanies it to reveal the real you inside. Sounds easy? It turns out not so much...it takes serious mental reprogramming to make this a LIFESTYLE and not a temporary situation.

To best sum it up, let me just write down a review here -

"This is it - the book which can actually help you lose weight by using the most powerful ally you have: your own mind. Unlike most diet and weight-loss experts, Delaney has truly been there, tried that...A brutally honest look at her personal battle and ultimate victory over obesity, and she generously shares all the wisdom she learned along the way."

- Alice Domar, Executive Director,
Domar Center for Complementary Health Care,
and Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dudettes and dudes, are you really going to argue with a Harvard professor? Right. The keywords here are MOST POWERFUL ALLY and MIND. Nothing could be truer, your mind controls you and if you get a hold of it, maybe you'll lose all the crap covering up your petite self for good, once and for all. Some parts were dragging on for me a little, but overall an excellent read with very good points and usable advice.

If you got some extra bucks laying around, don't spend it on junk food, ag