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October 08 New BlogI have a new MSN (or Windows Live) space and you can find it at http://softwaremom.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
My new journey will be published there. September 06 Off to MauiI didn't expect the good fortune to be able to visit the state of Hawaii once again so soon. My last visit was a year ago. Nor did I thought I will be able to afford to bring myself, my two kids, and my mother on the trip. I was burnout from all the hard work before the long weekend. Working more than 12 hours a day several times a week took a toll on me. When the project wrapped, I was sleep-deprived, emotionally drained, and memory-impaired. In another word, I was just a shell of my former self. I can't remember what I did with my spare time before I got so busy. Reading seemed like hard work and spending time with my kids seemed like hard work. The easiest thing to do is sitting in front of TV and watch show on my DVR. Yes, that's exactly what I did. In fact, I called DishNetwork to add 100 more channels to the lineup, just to get shows like Top Chef and Project Runway on Bravo channel.
Fate has it that I came across a great deal to fly roundtrip from Seattle to Maui for $144 one way. I grabbed the opportunity on Sunday and we are leaving tomorrow (Thursday). Once again I waited for the last minute to pack. Since I am the sole sponsor for this trip, everything had to be on the cheap side. I managed to get Westin Maui, a wonderful resort with big water park and flamingos that we've stayed 4 years ago for $125 a night. The list price is around $350. The trick is to find the Priceline accepted price on www.biddingForTravel.com. Car rental (6 days) sets me back for just a $100 for a small SUV. The transportation and hotel together costs me around $2100 for 4 people, not bad for Maui.
I am packing my trusted Panni maker for the trip. Two years ago I leveged it to save on breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner. We enjoyed Grilled Philipinno sausages, hot dogs, and even salmon from the Panni maker. Cereals are also great for a cheap breakfast since it would cost us $25 per person in the hotel for breakfast.
My plan is to not taking any costly tours and use the hotel and the beach for activities. I plan to get myself in shape, and my stamina back. With my mother with us, I can have some time alone to sit in the hottub and ponder life's lesson. I had been asking my mom to go with us but she always think it cost too much cause she lives in Taiwan. This summer she stayed with us and helped me a lot and this is a great opportunity for her. I know she is excited. Right now I am not in the state of mind to really enjoy it cause there's too much going on in my life. But, I believe one day I will look back on the experience and be glad that I've done this. August 06 Breitenbush Hot SpringsWe’ve visited the hot springs at the end of the last month. It took us about 6 hours to drive to due to the I-5 traffic but it was well worth it. We (two girls, my mom and I) stayed in one small cabin and they severed 3 vegetarian meals a day with produce from their garden. They also have daily yoga and other classes. The natural hot springs are open all day and it was wonderful. Most people don’t wear clothe but we wore our bathing suits. It’s great to sit in the hot springs and watch the meadow and river below. I decided to make it our family’s annual event, in additional to the Lavender Festival in Sequim. Breitenbush Hot Springs - A Place to Bring Life Into Balance July 16 Update on my last entryI've written a blog last weekend about taking some of my old clothes to the consignment store. Well, they called me this afternoon and told me that they are not going to take any of them, and, if I don't pick them up in a week, they are going to donate them all!
I felt a little insulted. Come on! They are nice clothes and there's even one Jessica McIntoch night gown that I've bought 3 years ago but never worn! I decided to pick them up without asking them why. I will take them home and think about what to do with them later. Most of the clothes are gone so these are just a fraction of what's left to get rid of, fortunately. Getting Rid of the Old ClothesYesterday, after watching one too many "Mission Organization" show on HGTV, I decided to clean up my clothet. I have not done that since I move to the U.S. 17 years ago. The finer things I took to a consignment store and the rest packed in two full garbage bags for drop-off donation station.
Many items I thought is going to be accepted by the store: formal, designer items got rejected by that store. I guess they judge base on the currentness of the style rather than the quality. I should have give them more casual pieces, which I packed in the garbage bags. Whatever they reject, I donated them.
I was surprised to see a long row of empty hangers in my closet today. I could have hold on to some of the nice ones. However, donating them symbolizes letting go of something that still have their value. Willing to let go of them, I had accepted the following:
June 04 Intensive LivingRecently, I had changed the course of my life. Even thought it was not of my chosing. I decided to enbrace my destiny. In one month, I've done the following:
Other than the last two, I don't think I would have done the rest had I been in the same situation I was a month ago. I was working too much and wasn't home every night of the week. Looking at this list, I can find the main themes:
Now I felt I am getting new agy. Perhaps by the time I visited Breitenbush, I will be hippy enough to fit in. :-)
May 31 I washed my car today!Today I washed my car with my own hands, alone, for the first time.
I dropped by the Chrysler dealer to check out the new PT Cruisers. The buttery yellow one caught my eyes but I am still relunctant to trade in my car (97 Nissan Maxima). My car was so dusty and dingy that the sales person won't even look at it, not to mention give me a quote for trade-in.
So, I got home and washed my car under the later afternoon sun. I think I did a good job - it's shiny now. Sometimes I felt my car is like me - stable, with great quality, but got hurt a little. When we clean up we can still be beautiful but most of the time we just let it go. |
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