fumofu

Being homeowners is scary. Suddenly we are in debt for 30+ years. Logging onto Quicken and seeing our finances updated and organized used to be so much fun. Now it’s just depressing. Albert and I made a budget for June, and checking on it, now that the month has passed, is just sad. Needless to say we spent way above budget. At least the extra expenditure came from home improvement projects. But those are just the beginning. We still need to hire painters, and most likely upgrade the smelly fridge.

But we’re enjoying the prospect of our home (since we’ve only visited it a couple hours!). Knowing we will be settling into our own place for a long while has a safe feeling and calming effect. Albie counted the number of moves he’s made since exiting his parents’ house in Ohio for college. That’s 10 places in 12 years for him, 8 moves in 11 years for me. Along the way we’ve accumulated a lot of stuff, but we’ve also shed some of it away. Starting with a clean slate is exciting, but it will cost us! especially since we’re trying to stay away from IKEA. I guess the trick is to furnish at a slow pace.

We also bought a car for me yesterday (talk about cabin fever!!). It was by far the best car purchase process ever, since we asked for AAA-member pricing. No negotiations needed. The car salesman showed us the invoice, how much above that price AAA members are to pay. I wrote a fat check, and took home a shiny, spiffy new car. We were at the same dealership a few months back test-driving the 2010 model. The rattle really bugged. Plus the greasy sales guy didn’t inform us of AAA-member pricing, and badgered us mentally and psychologically for hours trying to coerce us into paying more than we wanted. In the end, I really didn’t want to pay so much for a rattling car. So here we are paying a similar price for a 2011 model, with no rattle. Woohoo! I love this car. Now I need to call the police station to schedule an appointment to get the infant car seat installed. Apparently there’s a one-month waiting list. I may have to head to Gilroy to avoid the lines.

We have most of the utilities set up at the new place, except for internet. I think we’ll try living without cable first. Wish us luck!

Happy 4th!

Addendum: Do not watch anything depressing on TV while pregnant. I just cried my eyes out watching “Deadliest Catch”. Caught the middle of an episode, even telling Albert it’s one where Captain Phil is still alive. Then I realized it’s the episode where he suffered his stroke in the wheelhouse. I couldn’t hold back the tears. It’s already sad, but even worse when I know the man passes away. RIP Phil Harris.

That is how I feel about this loan process. I’ve been in contact with people involved in our home loan application. I didn’t understand why Albert was so frustrated. Well after dealing with these people I understand. A conversation should be a dialogue between two people. One person says something, the other should listen, process, and respond accordingly. How hard is that? I don’t like when people give me responses that do not answer my questions. *sigh* These people tire me out, more than my baby.

We just finished watching “Where the Wild Things Are.” I’ve never read the book (don’t brick me). But the movie is scary. What have we gotten ourselves into?! That’s gonna be us in a few years. Kids will throw tantrums, no matter how good a parent one is.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. One step at a time. Tomorrow is the big 8-hour childbirth preparation class. Wish us luck.

We made an offer on a townhouse in Mountain View. It’s 0.4 miles away from the German sausage/deli shop with other grocery stores and shops in walking distance. I hope we get it!

Found mold on my flower seedlings and in the soil of some of my herbs. :( Guess I’m overwatering. Have to wash the mold away, transfer seedings in larger pots, and put them outside. I guess the garden was going too smoothly.

Got the diaper bag today at 67% off on Gilt.com. I’ve already attached it to the stroller. :D

I made spinach fettuccine from scratch today, using the food grinder and pasta attachments on my KitchenAid standmixer. The pasta rollers were really fun to use. The trick is to get the pasta dough the right consistency. My recipe was way too dry – a little splash of water did the trick. Tossed the pasta in a variety of mushroom, cream, thyme, basil, and cherry tomatoes. Albie complained there was no meat, so he cooked the Italian sausages that was meant for another pasta entree as a side dish.

Last attachment to go is the sausage stuffer. This may be the biggest challenge yet. At least I know the Germany sausage and deli in Mountain View sells casings.

Anyhow, I am all for homemade pasta. Now I really want that pasta press attachment so I can make even more kinds of pasta. (This shall be on my Christmas wishlist.) Rigatoni bolognese anyone?

Addendum: In the car today, I saw a female driver plucking her neck hair. Later on, I noticed that the UPS guy wore brown UPS-logo’d socks. Teeheehee.

I’ve been getting free panties from Victoria’s Secret since I was in junior high school. When I was still mooching off of my parents I would still buy some undies during their sales every once in a while, even less so when I started making my own money. Now that I’m unemployed, getting freebies is the best thing in the world. Albie thinks I’m ripping off of VS because I never buy anything from that store.

Anyways, last week I got myself another free pair. For the first time, I got size large. Wearing them right now. So big and comfy. :D

When I look straight down, all I see is my belly. I can’t see my crotch any more. And if I slouch, it gets uncomfortable because my upper belly gets rolled in right underneath my boobs. Ahh, the joys of pregnancy.

Albie comes back in less than 5 days – yay! I miss him, but Google chat and Skype make life a lot easier. Can’t wait for him to come back so he can feel more kicks on my belly! He likes talking to his baby already. Such a sweet daddy-to-be.

Last night on our way home from a ramen dinner, somehow smegma entered our conversation. It’s not a word I use at all. I thought it referred to pop paste. So I had to whip out my Droid and look it up. Albie advised me to Google “smegma Wikipedia” to eliminate any suspicious hits. There were some interesting information in that Wiki. But in summary, smegma is actually not pop paste but schlong poop. Good to know.

In other news, Baby is growing bigger inside me day by day. His kicks are much stronger this week than even just two weeks ago, to the point where I get a bit startled when he suddenly starts a bout of kicking. These past couple of days I’ve had Albie try to see if he can feel the kicks from touching my tummy, but no luck. I even read on a pregnancy forum that other expectant moms can see the kicks. So after that I lifted my shirt up when I felt Baby starting to kick (again, right after a meal). And I saw them! It’s easy to miss because my belly is already going up and down as I’m breathing, but I could see, for a second long, this slight, sudden lift on my lower belly. My goal for before Albie leaves is for him to feel Baby kick, and he finally felt it last night when we were getting ready for bed. The feeling that there will be three of us in our family is getting stronger by the day. We’re still in awe that there’s a little person growing inside me!

So yeah, Hubby left for India today for two weeks. I’m a little bummed, but I know I’ll gradually feel worse as the days go by. I’m spending the duration at my parents’ place in the City. It’s most lonely during mealtimes when I’m figuring out what to eat; cooking for one is just too much. So I’m spending some quality time with the ‘rents. Too bad Winnie x3 are in Tahoe this week. I don’t get to see Mason!

My mom talks about her growing grandson all the time. She’s such a doting Paw Paw. :) Just talking about the little boy makes her smile. She said earlier today that this Christmas will be quite crowded with three babies. The 6 of us couldn’t have timed it any better. How will she hold the grandkids with just two arms? I’m glad there’s something in her life that cheers her up so much, even though her health is not the best.

Albert and I are still trying to figure where to go on our babymoon. I was almost sold on organizing a trip to NYC at the end of April. Then I realized Patricia’s due date is May 3rd, and we’ll be taking care of Bahamas. So…we’ll have to stay put. Maybe we’ll just find a last minute deal on TravelZoo. When Albie comes back from India, we’ll have to finish doing our taxes. If we’re in the black instead of red, maybe we’ll treat ourselves to a nice vacation. :)

Late night earlier this week I was making chicken nuggets as a pre-bed snack. Albie wanted some too, so we turned on the TV while waiting for the nuggets to cook. We settled on “Death Race” aka Jason Statham driving movie. I don’t know if it’s the hormones or mother’s instinct, but I just couldn’t stomach the violence and brutality. I used to never do this, but I covered my eyes and asked Albie if it was over, and after that I just had to walk away. Even he was surprised, “What’s happening? You used to love this kind of stuff!” I think my days for violent, horror and gory movies are over. But not ready for Disney or Pokemon either…

Happy One-Month Birthday, Mason! Hehe…I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks, hope he’s OK.

Brownie points for Albert’s Dad for badgering him to change the air filters, coz today I woke up with just a slightly stuffed nose and no parched mouth. It’s a miracle! If only we had changed them 3 months ago, my first trimester would’ve been more enjoyable. Not like it was bad though.

I watched almost the entirety of the Super Bowl, save for food and bathroom breaks. More than Albie did, who had to check in on work every now and then. I don’t think I’ve watched an entire game before, especially not one I actually paid attention to. Well…there were a lot of fatties to keep me attentive. ;)

It’s finally the new year in California. Hope everyone had a good 2009 and have an even better 2010!

Current Mood:  hungry