July - Fireworks, Fighting and Fun

July started with the Fourth of July celebrations. Every year, we go to a party at Steve and Tam's. It's always really fun. I wore my new outfit, like I promised in the last post.

These are yellow and gray palazzo pants that I got when Patrice was visiting and a plain white tank.

I even had yellow and gray sandals. Funny how I just seem to have everything, isn't it. Wonder how that happened.

There was a 6.9 earthquake that day, but I didn't feel it because I was out running. Then on Friday the 5th, there was a 7.1. Boy did I feel that. I was terrified. Then I spent the next week worrying about another one, but thankfully it did not happen. We had a seche in the pool, and it seemed like it lasted 10 minutes.

I made tacos the next day. It turns out that Pandi will do just about anything for taco meat. Who knew?

On July 8th, it was back to work for four days. This is what I wore:

My beautiful cerulean blue Calvin Klein dress with a gob of silver and blue topaz jewelry.

I spent a good part of the week taking my board exam. We have to get recertified every five years. I passed-( go me !!) even though Mercury was in retrograde. I thought the test was extremely difficult.

Here is what I wore on July 12th, the last day of the work week.

This is an INC embellished skirt with a sequined trim T. I didn't like this outfit, mostly because of my gut.

The jewelry looked nice.

Every now and then after I eat a lot, my giant colon causes my gut to bulge. It did the same thing last year on July 18th. Oh well. I spent the day sucking it in and practicing good posture.

Snow Ball was released from the hospital on Wednesday. She looks better than when she went in. But today, the inside handle fell off. So I sent an email to the shop, telling them she would be back. We will see how this goes. I can't see how they can fix it without taking the entire panel off.

My July Birchbox came.  It's lemon and oranges. Cute. I put some costume jewelry in one to better sort it and make it easier when I am looking for something.

Here is what I got, top to bottom:

1) Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser - haven't tried it yet, because I was using a good one from Korea and now it's gone. I will try it tonight.
2) Nest Fragrances Black Tulip -tried it today, I like it. Very different - heavy but floral.
3) Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel. I am going to go lighter on the eyebrow pencil since my brows are getting a little thicker and better shaped.
4) Grande Cosmetics Grande Mascara.
5) amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo- to give "buttery" tones to your hair. I just colored mine red and put in lighter highlights, so I'll wait a few days. Also, a conditioner in the same formula.
6) Oribe Straight Away Smoothing Blowout Cream.

All in all, a good box. Will try every item.

 

Look how it's addressed - the Electric Rosemary Holtzman. Accurate.

On Tuesday, I was jonesing to go to the stupid stuff store, Daiso. It's so stupid and so fun. Here is what I got:

Two big white erasers - an emu and a gator. And a grow big sponge turtle for Calista.

I got a workhorse sized pack of cotton squares and an assortment of thread to hem and repair stuff with.

This is one of those foot files that has a cheese grater on one side and pumice on the other. And eyebrow razors or mustache razors. Go me.

Poo bags for all and a new collar for Kenni.

In the kitchen, a surface sponge holder and a chicken timer.

A plate for Pandi and a mug for me, featuring the chi.

Gingham cupcake papers and multi citrus toned sponges.

And a flexible rubber set of measuring cups and spoons. And a mini strainer ladle - I have never seen one of these before, so I got it.


Yesterday, Preston had a jiu-jitsu meet. We went to watch him. It was really interesting, in a sociological observational way.

It was held at Mayfair High School, in Lakewood. Lakewood is about 15 minutes away from Huntington Beach, inland and north. It was originally built for the military housing, then turned into family housing, and built up further by the aerospace industry. That was huge here in the 60s and 70s. There was Boeing, Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas. Everybody knew a few kids whose dads were engineers. My FIL, Win was an aerospace engineer.

There were six rings, all going simultaneously. Boys and girls, up to junior high age. Preston is 10 and weighs 88.8 pounds, so that puts him in a certain category.

Behind the rings were the practice area and the bull pen.

These two boys were the in the class with the biggest kids. Some were small enough to cry when they lost the fight. I felt bad for them.

There were also girls up to the same size and age.

Here is Preston's match. He is in the white gi. He lost this one when the other kid twisted his arm, which oddly enough, is Preston's favorite winning move.

The referee starts and stops the action.

Preston didn't do as well as usual this time. He was a bit disappointed, but we think maybe next time he should eat less right before the meet. He loves to eat, which is good. He looks strong. Here is the evidence - one healthy looking kid.

Some more Preston-in-action footage:

And here is the group on the stand. The kids are all very good sports. They are all friends.

And that's about it. I went running yesterday before the meet. Today, I made tacos, went running and now I am doing this while Doc is in the pool.  A nice relaxing weekend. Stay tuned.

A Short Week

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and I will be off from Thursday until Monday. Four glorious days with not a lot of home upkeep stuff to do, like I did on Memorial Day weekend. We are going to a party, and I am excited to wear a new outfit that I bought waaayyy back in April when Patrice was visiting. I finally have the proper occasion.

Anyway, I am still driving the Nissan Altima. It's a nice car. It is big, and has nice AC, a nice sound system, and a back up camera.

 But....... it's not my Snowball. She is still in the shop. First, they removed her wing to bang the dent out.

Then they removed one eyeball and her bumper. Don't ask me why, but there was a little scrape on the bumper, and I am guessing that it will be all better. Kisses.

Right now, she has one coat of Polar White, and will get another coat on Monday. She might be ready next Wednesday. She will look flawless once again.

Last weekend, Aldi had sea scallops on sale, so this happened.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops !!! Abs delish.

I made home made tartar sauce and served them with rice pilaf, green salad, three bean salad, and beefsteak tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and fresh basil from my garden. And avocado.

I have two outfits to show you. On June 28th, I wore a Saks Fifth Avenue Black scuba knit dress.

It has black rib knit accents at the shoulders and waist.

An action shot.

I wore a costume necklace and a long faux emerald pendant.

On July 1, I wore my reversible dress that I have had for a long time. If you turn it inside out, it is bright blue with flowers. I went with the pink side this day.

I wore it with a gob of turquoise jewelry and a silver herringbone chain.

I attend Cancer Committee at the hospital, and i was showing them my pictures from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. One of the physicians on the committee is also a Mutter fan. He lent me a book on the topic. Way to make a dork happy - lend her a book!!

It's a great book. And thank God for anesthesia.

These little cookies shaped like onesies were the gifts from the opening of our new mother-baby unit. Very cute.

Well, see you all after the weekend!!!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I am currently driving a 2019 Nissan Altima. The reason for the car change from my little Fast N' Furious Mercedes is this ......

I was at the car wash on Sunday. After you exit the washing tube, there are bays on the right for vacuuming and detailing.   Well, the car that you see at the bottom of the picture backed right into me as I was going by.

The gentleman had an older Toyota Corolla and he bumped right into my Mercedes SLK. Here is his car. He was beside himself. I told him not to worry, it's only a car. I had a friend who was in a horrible car accident and died after 10 years in a coma. So a fender bender is a non-event to me.

 So here is little Snowball post collision. You can't even tell from a few feet away.

 As you get closer, you can see a very slight indentation on the passenger door.

Here's a close up view. The damage is $2718.00. It will take the body shop one day to bang out the dent and 10 days to paint the car. I remember this from several years ago. I had a Cadillac in a beautiful, limited edition color called Blue Chip. It was a midnight blue with metallic flecks. 

It took them 3 weeks to paint it, because they had top get the paint from Cadillac headquarters, wherever that is. 

Snowball is Mercedes Polar White. So they have to get the paint from Mercedes, but Polar White is a standard color. They have to paint the entire car so that it all matches. I don't care about any of this, since the other guy's insurance is picking up the entire tab.

I have three outfits to show you. On June 17th, I wore a chiffon dress from H&M. It is olive green with black, brown and ivory dots.

I wore a costume necklace and a gold herringbone chain with it. I love these Adrienne Vittadini booties. I have already had them reheeled once, and I bet they will withstand another reheeling.

On June 21st, I busted out some very old pants that I have always loved. They are from a store called Cache, and they are stretch wool. I will show you the pattern below.

The henley top is from INC, and it has rhinestone buttons.

I wore a statement necklace of buffalo turquoise and smoky topaz.

You can see the pattern of the pants. They are grey, with a feather print in tan, brown, and deeper grey.

On June 24th, I wore a lace skirt from J Crew, and a soft top with chiffon ruffles from Romeo and Juliet Couture. My shoes are Valentino.

Here's a better look at the ruffly front of the top.

Both of my beauty bags came while I was in Philadelphia. Birchbox had a nice box that had a tasseled pull-out drawer.

Here's what I got, from top to bottom:
1)Oribe Balm d'Or Heat Styling Shield. Love Oribe products.
2) Laura Geller New York Baked Balance-n-Brighten Color Correcting Foundation. I haven't tried it, since I wear Chanel foundation, but I will this weekend.
3) Air Repair Complexion Boosting Moisturizer.
4) COOLA Classic Body Lotion SPF 30 - Tropical Coconut
5) Jouer Cosmetics Sheer Pigment Lip Gloss in St Germain - a light peach color
6) CLEAN Rain Eau de Parfum - Lily, Daffodil and Melon.

Now we move to Ipsy.

Here is what I got:
1) Farmacy Hydrating and Brightening Coconut Gel Sheet Mask Duo
2) Etat Libvre D'Orange I Am Trash Les Fleurs Du Dechet Eau de Parfum
3) Tetris x ipsy Lipgloss in Tetrimino
4) TonyMoly Vital Vita 12 Jelly Cleanser
5) First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hyaluronic Hydrating Primer

I have been reading a series of books that were the basis for the Murder She Baked series on Hallmark Mysteries. They are very G rated, but they're cute, and they have recipes scattered throughout. One of them sounded particularly tasty.

Et Voila !!

It was easy to make, and pretty tasty, but not as good as it sounded. Perhaps a bit bland. I did use the leftover pork for Cuban sandwiches the next day. However, I gave the five day old leftovers to Pandi, and poor little sweetie got the trots. She is better today.


One of the girls in our office just bought her first home, so we gave her a little party.

I got her two cookbooks - The Best of Taste of Home, and Easy 5 Ingredient Meals. She really never cooked much because her mom and MIL both lived with her. Then I got her an oven mitt and hot pad set, and a bunch of dish towels with cows on them.

Well, that's it for this week. Stay tuned for more shenanigans.