Month of August , 2009

Oh boy.  This is good... makes my day.

Somebody sent me a gift.  It's a coffee gift set.  You know I like coffee.

I'm going to try it tomorrow.

Thank you, thank you.

* Today's Costco shopping: 28th time this year, 3rd time this month

I didn't have to go to Costco today.  But I was having a long, boring day.  I wanted to drive somewhere.  So I went to Costco.

* The small, black package is a cheese.

*65, 66, 67, & 68th packages of the year

I don't even remember what I had in there... let's see...  two large boxes are personal stuff.  Yellow envelope was a telephone headset. I don't remember the small box.

NOTICE: It's August and I have the lights on on my Christmas tree

This is Gibson Les Paul.  This particular model is almost $1,400.00, which is pretty cheap for a Gibson.

I have been eye-balling this guitar for... about 25 years now.

This morning, I put this guitar in the shopping cart.  I almost checked out, then I stopped.  I didn't have guts to click "Submit" button.

This was the second time I ALMOST bought Les Paul.  Now I'm older and have some cash, but it's still a lot of money.  I already have 2 professional guitars.

I guess I will buy this guitar sooner or later.  But... it's painful.
It's painful to buy it.  It's painful not to buy it.
When I think about buying this guitar, my heart beats faster and my face gets warm.  I feel like I am at the final showcase of "The Price is Right"

You know what I mean, my fellow shopaholics?

This is my last blog post on Vegetable Shopping - I think I made my point.

I enjoy driving to supermarkets at night.  It's very relaxing. 

Total cost on tonight's shopping was $7.77 (Vons & Ralphs).  I saved $15.28.  But who really pays $2.50 for a pound of tomatoes.

I get onions, bananas, and potatoes from Smart & Final - their regular prices are usually better than sales prices at supermakets.

I've been doing very good with diet and exercise. 

I lost at least 5lb since April.  My weight does not fluctuate.  I am doing everything right. The progress is slow and solid.  I pig out once or twice a week and I know I am still on the right track.

I can now wear my 5 years old jeans with 30 inch waist

As a result, all of my dress pants are too big.  Even my boss pointed out that my pants started to look baggy.

I bought about 18 pairs of dress pants from Costco last year.  I spent roughly $400.00. I have a similar situation going on with my underwear.  I bought 18 pairs of size M underwear 2008 after thanksgiving. I am now back to size S.

I need to buy about 8 pairs of size 30 pants and see if I will lose more size.

29 inch would be perfect.  But 30 is good enough.  I cannot go under 29 inch, because Costco doesn't sell pants smaller than 29. :)

* Today's Costco shopping: 27th time this year, 2nd time this month

I'm still trying to figure out how these came out to be $173.57

Coupons saved me $45.49 - And I still spent $173.57 

Like it or not, here we go.  Get ready for Christmas.

This is what I saw at Costco today (August 20, 2009).

*63rd & 64th package of the year

A cheap telephone & a glass repair tool

Coupon book is here.

I see a lot of stuff to buy, oh boy.

I hope I will find the time to post picture.

So busy...

* Today's Costco shopping: 26th time this year, 1st time this month 

I bought one more of those adorable Adidas shirts.

I am trying to buy a sofa.  So, I need to make a room.  In order to do that, I need to organize everything.  The File organizer was what I needed to clean up my paper mess. 

One Costco chicken gives me 4 meals.  I usually get sick of Costco chicken after finishing it.

So, you know I enjoy Maury's Paternity shows.  I still record every single episode of Maury Show so I can scan through paternity clips.

But, there are Maury episodes that I absolutely hate. 
They are "I used to be ugly, but look at me, I'm sexy" episodes.

This show is so pathetic. This is why.

*First of all, they have achieved something great.  I give them credit for it.

1. I would rather live alone for the rest of my life than living with a sexy girl who runs around half naked, telling people "Look at me everyone, I'm sexy~!".  Having that kind of spouse is a guaranteed headache and shorter life.
2. These people have issues.  They held grudges for 10-20 years.  They haven't moved on with their lives.  They bring out old high school friends so they can tell them off.  Everything will be just fine now that they look slutty.  I think not.  They are bitter.  I would hate to be around people like that.
3. She brings out a high school crush who didn't even look at her.  She wanted to let him know that he "missed it out".  No, he didn't miss out on anything.  He was lucky not to get stuck with an ugly girl for 10 years until she finally became a mental case.
4. This sets bad example to the kids.  This is why young girls are not happy with how they look.  She is basically putting down ugly girls in the world. Bad bad...
5. Girls/guys on these episodes are hyper.  They cannot control volumes of their voices.  They are very excited to tell the world "I am sexy~!".  That's pathetic.
6. They've been insecure with their look all their lives.  Now they don't know what to do with their new look.  It's embarrassing to watch how they act.

*62nd package of the year

I went to Vons, Ralphs, & Albertsons.

I bought:
bananas, broccoli, tomatoes, peaches, plums, blueberries, & squashes

I spent total $8.25
I saved $15.11
And I made $1.00 donation at Vons for MDA research.

I did good.

* 53 - 61st packages of the year.

Mm..  I cannot keep up with my online shopping.

(At work) We have a programmer from Brazil.

He's a lot younger than I am (in his 20's).  He's here for 18 months as a exchange student/internship.

English is not his native language.  But he learns very fast.

Yesterday, I saw him eating Cheez-It (crackers).  So I took some for taste.

He turned to me and said "This is a good sh*t" in Brazilian accent.

I was shocked at what he just said. 

I asked "Did you just say this is a good sh*t?" "Where did you learn that?"

"I learned that from you" he replied.

I thought he was joking.  So I let it go.

The next day I asked him again. Then he explained...

Three weeks ago, we had a BBQ lunch at work.  After tasting tri-tip, I said "This is some good sh*t right here." 

Personally, I don't remember saying it.  I don't normally say any bad words at work.  But BBQ is a relaxed situation.  But my boss was there.

So, now he's saying "good sh*t" whenever he likes anything (food,  movie, computer, etc..) .  Oh boy.

I need to watch my language.

Are you serious? Are you effin' serious?

Do they really expect me to walk around with these tags on my back?

Yikes...

This is another sign of getting old.  Nobody has to tell me to eat fruits and vegetables anymore.  I eat 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  Also, I workout.  And I still worry about getting sick and dying too early. Haha..

This is my typical day's diet.

• Morning: Juice (2 apples, 3 potatoes, 4 carrots, some fruits).
• Breakfast & snack (at work): Fruits - 2 serving size.
• Lunch: I stopped eating fast food.
• Dinner: Balanced with vegetables.
• Night (sometimes): 1 serving of fruit.

*Fitness
My take on eating good:

• If you eat bad - you feel satisfied for that moment.  And you feel bad for the rest of your life. You have a better chance of getting sick and die. And you look bad.
• If you eat good - Food is still enjoyable.  I can still enjoy bad food in moderate amount.  I feel good for the rest of my life. And I look better.
• Food is addiction just like tobacco.  - Food industry is putting stuff that people cannot resist.  Think about that the next time when you eat insane amount of fat, salt, or sugar.  If I open a can of Pringles, I usually finish the whole can in a day or two.  I know I must stop, but I keep eating.  Why is that?  But if you understand the fact that industry is designing food so you eat more, then you have a better chance of fighting that craving. 

I went out on a routine grocery shopping on Sunday night.  Ralphs had some good stuff.

8 corns, 3 peaches, 3 nectarines, 3 oranges, 3 bananas, & 2 bags of grapes.  Total Price: $8.56. All from Ralphs

inside of my mini cooler on a typical morning
Fruit of the season & any vegetables I found on sale