it's all about priorities and perspective

while waiting for my name to be called at the lovely allergists office i pulled out my iPad to read.  when the nurse called my name i had the iPad in my hands as i walked up to her.  her eyes fixated on the pretty pink cover and electronic marvel of my iPad.  she asked me to open it so she could see it.  since i am a shallow person and love compliments about my hair, shoes, jewelry, or electronic toys i was happy to oblige.  i even let her hold it. 

she told me how she really wants one but can't justify spending the money.  i totally sympathized.  especially after just having my personal realization #3.  as i was sitting down to get my first round of shots she proceeded to tell me that she couldn't spend the money because she had just purchased a pair of christian louboutin shoes that cost $2,000!  i tried to contain my astonishment and asked if she had a special occassion for the shoe purchase.  she told me that she wanted them and it was her birthday.  she hasn't even worn the shoes outside just slept in them.

i try not to judge or compare other's decisions to myself but when i heard about the $2,000 shoes that aren't to be worn i started to feel a bit better about my financial choices.  it is all about priorities and perspective. 

a couple of examples of christian louboutin $2,000 shoes are below.  still think my $300 iPad was a better purchase, but to each his/her own.

$1,995 at Barney's

$3,095 at Barney's

be careful what you wish for

it is hot.  it is humid.  it is smelly.  it is necessary to run the air conditioning.  it is now time to get pedicures, shave my legs daily and carry sunglasses in my purse at all times.

wanted the rain to go away and now it has.  it has been replaced with hot humidness.  is it wrong to kinda want the rain back?  would really love some 70s with low humidity.

and when did it become almost june?  i mean really!  anyone, anyone...

rain, rain go away

here's my dilemma...

rain means my allergies are exceptionally managable.  however, rain means that i often arrive at work or home with damp shoes and pants as well as stuck inside during lunch hour.

no rain means the opportunity to walk home from work while chatting with old friends.  no rain means being outside in the sunshine and surrounded by people while wearing casual footwear. 

but then my allergies get worse...do you see the cycle?

now that i've opted to begin weekly allergy shots for the next YEAR, i think i'm going to choose the no rain because then i can be outside and the humidity levels are generally comfortable.  so i beseech you rain to please go away at least for the foreseeable future.

personal realization #3 a.k.a. the bath earrings

i like nice stuff.  i like to travel in first class.  stay in hotels that are at least 4 stars.  buy jewelry (full of semi-precious and precious stones & metal) for souvenirs while on vacation.  latest technology purchases fill me with glee.  tickets purchased to attend broadway shows or concerts must be in a certain section or i won't go.  paying over $50 for a steak seems perfectly reasonable to me.  buy only brand name food stuffs from target. 

realized that in the last 4 years or so a shift has occurred where i will generally always choose the more expensive of two options because i'm willing to pay for "quality". not sure why i think it's okay to pay almost $200 for a handbag because it was purchased at the outlet and i have an additional 10% off coupon. i've become very good at rationalizing purchasing what i'm realizing are luxury items because as l'oreal has taught me with it's clever marketing..."i'm worth it."

i do think i'm worth it but i also think i need to reevaulate how much i'm worth if i ever want to buy an apartment, spend two weeks in australia, have a nest egg in case (heaven forbid) a family member goes through hardship, etc.

decided that the shift occurred after my trip to london in the fall of 2007. while on a quick trip to bath, netter and i wandered into a jewelry store in the main square. i found these gorgeous pearl and diamond drop earrings. the saliva in my mouth went into overdrive when i put them up to my ears. if ever a pair of earrings personified me in metal and stones, it was this pair of earrings. the price tag was £169 equalling about $400. we were scheduled to get on the bus super soon so i had to make a decision about whether or not to purchase the earrings. i chose not to buy them. just couldn't justify spending that much money. i have wished on numerous occassions that i had chosen the "i'm worth it" path and brought those gorgeous earrings with me back to the states.

now i use the bath earrings as an example of whether or not to purchase something that i want but maybe might need to spend some serious time contemplating. if a friend is with me as i'm contemplating all he/she has to say is "bath earrings" to put me in the thinking of whether or not i'll really regret not purchasing whatever expensive but pretty thing i'm holding in my hands.  generally the "bath earrings" result is my suitcase is crowded because of all the things i purchased knowing i would really regret leaving them on the store shelves.

this week's simple moments

1.  got a manicure and it looks awesome
2.  tried to donate books to the library...they said 'no thanks'
3.  learned i'm allergic to just about everything
4.  took the subway home twice this week
5.  this is my 500th post!

pinkies unite!

there were at least three other girls who i grew up with that had my same first name.  in church there were three of us that were literally born one after each other.  since i've moved to the eastern side of the USA i've run into very few women with my first name.  that all changed about a year ago.

the upper east side manhattan 2nd ward boasts three "pinkys".  that's right...three.  all three of us have leadership positions in church also.  pinky2 is relief society prez, pinky1 is young woman's prez and then there's me (aka pinky3) in the primary presidency.  when pinky1's name was read about young woman prez i had a brief moment of panic where i thought i was to fill that position and i didn't remember.  thankfully her last name quickly followed her first and i could breathe a sigh of relief.

it recently dawned on me that we needed to harness our natural power and unite in a pinky play date.  last saturday was the inaugural one.  we had root beer floats, explained how we got our name, chatted and played rock band at my apartment for a few hours while the wind blew outside.  it was so much fun!  i look forward to many more pinky play dates. 

i apologize to those who i informed about my play date and turned away an invitation because your first name wasn't pinky.  please forgive the pinky exclusivity.

three days = three movies

spent last weekend in CT with clare.  as always our itinerary included personal pampering, eating, a little shopping and lounging.  this weekend had the added bonus of being the beginning of the summer movie season so of course we had to support the hollywood industry.  we ended up watching three movies in three days.  well done us.

viewed the moral dilemma rom-com Something Borrowed first.  it was a full house of women sighing over the comedy of john krasinski and gorgeous green eyes of colin egglesfield.  enjoyed the movie.

saturday's choice of viewing was hunky superhero of Thor.  well done chris hemsworth and kenneth brannagh.  think it was an improvement since my last experience with thor during Adventures in Babysitting. 



last but certainly not least was time with dwayne, vin and paul along with a lot of hot cars in Fast Five.  clare and i highly enjoyed this viewing.  i'm sure you can understand why - excellent dialogue, great characterization, scenic cinematography, deep drama and moral discussion.  or maybe it's because dwayne, vin and paul are really easy and highly enjoyable to look at on a giant screen.  i'm going to go with the latter...

the intelligence of an almost 5 year old

it's no question that i am rapturously in love with my nephews and nieces.  they are some of my favorite people in the world.  always very happy to be auntie pinky.  it was with great joy when my sister in law sunshine texted me this past week.

she let me know that her oldest son, the soon to be five year old blake, had told her sister (his aunt also) that i was his favorite aunt.  that's right...i was the favorite auntie.  woo hoo!  of course i made a point to have sunshine point out this little conversation to my sister moocher.  i'm such a kind and generous soul...

thank you blake for speaking honestly and from the heart that i am your favorite aunt.  all of your aunts love you and want you to be ecstatically happy.

think our close relationship was solidified when coyote picked me up from the airport with a 3 year old blake who pulled out of his arms and ran to me to pick him up as i got off the escalator.  wrapped me around his little finger at that moment.

this week's simple moments

1.  used coupon to see broadway royalty sutton foster and joel grey in anything goes.  it was excellent!
2.  never so happy to take a zyrtec pill
3.  ate at mcdonald's and arby's each twice within a seven day period of time
4.  trains back from connecticut on mother's day are CROWDED
5.  have legitimate reason for leading a cat-free life...i'm seriously allergic to them

a note to my allergies

all my life i have suffered from horrendous allergies.  i remember once in 4th grade riding my bike home from walnut acres elementary school that my eyes had swollen shut and i couldn't see.  once in utah in june they were so horrible that i was taking my 24 hour relief allegra pills about 4 times a day to try to stem the pain.

those two incidents combined weren't as bad as my suffering today.  the last two days i haven't been allowed to take allergy medicine because i'm finally being tested for what i'm allergic to on tuesday morning.  i would give up just about anything right now in order to take a small little zyrtec pill.  but alas...only 12 more hours until sweet relief from this absolute horribleness. 

i promise never to complain about my allergies again if only i can take medicine again...

oh tuesday night

i'm still awake because there is just way too much television to be enjoyed on tuesday night.  why did the voice have to actually be good?  why does alicia florrick on the good wife have to pull me in emotionally?  why do i want to root and be motivated by the contestants on the biggest loser?  and then there's glee.  oh sweet glee.  i love you glee but i'm ready for you to be just a bit better.  ready for the story line to dictate the music rather than wrap the story around a song you want to do.  and please no more gwyneth paltrow.  just sayin'.  no hard feelings.

not to mention that white collar is back on june 7th at 10pm on USA Network.  everyone set your DVRs. 

san francisco/muir woods/alcatraz/walnut creek pictures (lots of them)

pictures from my days and nights visiting the city by the bay

 2270 English Court (ages 6 - 11)

 Walnut Acres Elementary School (K - 5th Grade)

 Foothill Middle School (6th - 7th Grade)

 LDS Church for Ygnacio Valley Ward

1111 Snyder Lane ( ages 11 - 13)

a trip to san francisco

for the entirety of my vacation in san francisco i couldn't get the jingle for rice a roni out of my head.  "the san francisco treat..."

netter and i had a great time.  for one of the first times i felt like i actually relaxed on my vacation.  no alarms to get up at the crack of dawn.  no moving quickly from place to place.  no carrying massive amounts of gear on the off chance it might rain, snow or be intensely hot.  no fighting over who would get to shower first.  no hourly planned out itinerary to complete everything on our to do list.  it was great!

we rode cable cars. ate sourdough bread and ghiradelli chocolate. saw the pier 39 sea lions squawking. rode the double decker bus around the city with some sublime narration. took in a san francisco giants game at at&t park. walked along the bay. ate sunday brunch. saw a movie. bought cool accessories at the apple store. sat in union square to people watch. ate an amazing meal. took a zipcar to muir woods and felt its serenity. took a random road to the beach for brilliant sunshine. drove across the golden gate bridge and down lombard street.  night toured alcatraz island.  chatted with some australian tourists who were visiting the states.  attended the oakland lds temple.  visited my walnut creek life. saw english court house, elementary school, middle school, church building and final house.  drove to san jose to see netter's childhood home, schools and swim team pool. ate at cheesecake factory in palo alto. took another ride on the cable car.  hopped in a cab and flew home.

such a great and relaxing vacation to be in san francisco.  it had been many moons and i really enjoyed my time in the fog, sunshine and western chill of that city.

took some amazing pictures that will shortly be shared.