My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

Back from Hawaii! It was wonderful vacation, but entirely too short. We ostensibly went for a friend’s wedding, but we mostly went because it was Hawaii. Unfortunately, with the new condo and the being poor and all, we had decided to do a very short trip – just three full days in Oahu. We got in late Thursday and left Monday afternoon.

Friday, we did a little canoeing and surfing (T’s one of the little surfing dots below) and pre-wedding BBQ .

Saturday, we drove to Lanikai to do some snorkling during the day. . .

. . .and went to the wedding in the evening.

Sunday, we made grand plans to go parasailing and jet skiing but ended up sitting in the shade, sipping Lava Flows and watching the waves. It was perfect.

T and I made tacos last night. It was our first homecooked meal since we moved into the new condo. They were fun to make, fairly healthy (we used lean ground turkey), and yummy. It reminded us of Taco Tuesdays in Westwood during our (respective) UCLA days, when Acapulco’s offered free tacos during happy hour. We’re thinking of making it a monthy tradition and inviting friends over next time. So, if you live in the greater LA area, your invitation is in the mail. =)

Overall, we’re settling into the condo nicely. Can’t believe we’ve been living here for almost a month. We finally got the curtains up in our living room (whether they’ll stay up remains to be seen). They’re aqua green with damask sheers behind them. The remaining curtain (in the guest room) and other major purchases (such as bookshelves and a new sofa set) will have to wait until we replenish our resources…

Remember several months ago when things were going so perfectly well in every aspect of my life that I was nervously waiting for the other shoe to drop? Well, the shoe hasn’t necessarily dropped, but I have found myself being majorly annoyed by several things lately. I’m trying to keep it in perspective – none of these things are at all major so I just need to let them go. In an effort to let them go however, I thought I’d indulge myself in a bit of an internet whine.

• My car has been in the shop for almost 6 weeks and no amount of bullying or cajoling seems to be working on the bodyshop. Or the insurance company, which will only pay for 4 weeks of car rental. I’m gearing up for that battle when (if?) I finally get my car back.
• My first rental car had to be towed because the battery was corroded. My second rental car needs an oil change or something. The brakes, while fully functional, occasionally make a screeching noise. I’m hoping if I can hang on another week, I’ll get my car back…
• Time Warner was supposed to install cable, internet and phone between 9am and noon a couple of weeks ago. The technician’s car broke down so he ended up arriving at 3:30pm…and unable to install the phone line because it wasn’t “activated” yet. We made an appointment for the following day, again between 9am to noon. When no one showed up at noon, we called only to be told no appointment had been scheduled and one couldn’t be schedule for another several weeks.
• The alarm technician was supposed to activate my alarm today. I drove home to meet him, only to find out that the builder hadn’t done something they were supposed to so the alarm couldn’t be activated. I then waited several hours for the builder to fix what needed to be fixed and have to schedule another visit with the alarm technician.
• I’m working on some really hard projects at work. Also, I’m starting to worry about how much time I’ve had to take off for various condo-related stuff, root canals, car stuff, and miscellaneous doctor’s appointments.

There, I feel better already. I think it helps just to vent a bit. =)

We had the best experience with 3-Day blinds. We scheduled a home appointment, they took measurements and brought over samples, we ordered (paying for express 3-day shipping) and they had someone over 3 days later to drop off and install the blinds. It was super quick and painless (other than the paying part).

Lulled into a false sense of confidence about how easy installing window treatments were, we decided to buy and install curtains ourselves for one of the remaining window.

*Big. Mistake.*

After several hours and at least one misplaced hole, we finally got the curtain rod up on the wall. We’d skipped putting the plastic wall anchor in and opted to drill the screw directly into the wall because we didn’t have a drill bit large enough for the anchor. After we got the rod reasonably straight and seemingly secure, we put up the curtains we had bought only to find that curtains which had looked a beautiful, subtle shade of green in the showroom transformed into bird-poop green on our walls. We ended up ordering new ones online, figuring that at least the hard part (mounting the curtain rod) was done.

The next day, I obsess over the fact that we hadn’t put the wall anchors in. After some quick googling, I figure I could easily do it myself and surprise T when he got home with a completed project.

*Bad idea.*

recariously balanced on several stools, I managed to get one wall anchor in, but broke the other hammering it in because the hole wasn’t big enough to fit it (I’d conveniently forgotten that was the reason we didn’t do it in the first place). So, I panic and figure enough of it is in that it’s doing whatever it is that it’s supposed to do and cut off the excess plastic broken bit.

*F*ck*

I couldn’t cut enough of the plastic to make the anchor flush against the wall so when I put the screw in, there was gap between the mount and the wall. It still seems pretty secure but I can only hope it’ll withstand the curtain we eventually put up. =(

I waited in anxiety for T to come home, convinced he’s going to be supremely angry with me. Fortunately for me, T is the best fiance ever and shows no anger at the fact that I’ve destroyed a bit of our brand new condo. Instead, he’s super supportive that I tried to do something nice and super reassuring that we’d be able to fix with it or deal with it.

Remind me never to try home improvement projects on my own. Ever.

(Although, I’m thinking if I can just get a bigger drill bit and drill a bigger hole, I won’t have to hammer the wall anchor so hard and it won’t break…)

Can’t believe the end of summer is coming up so quickly! I remember when I was little, summers used to last forever. Even when I was in law school, summers had substance to them. They stood apart from the rest of the year, which was marked by studying and classes and winter dreariness. Nowadays, summer’s just another season (especially in LA, when it’s pretty much summer year round), marked only by more kids crowding the beaches than usual and my increasing resentment at the interlopers on “my” beaches. (When did I turn into such a Scrooge?)