My First Library Book

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

I love my public library. I read this novel in a day, while nursing a feverish child to health. Basically, he was asleep and used me as a pillow while I read on immobile. I watched the Sophia Copolla-directed film a few years back and it always haunted me. Suicide and depression are usually mood-dampening themes but somehow I felt lighter after reading this one. Made me think, "well at least I'm not THAT screwed up."

Good light reading on a rainy day. Very intriguing, I was drawn in immediately.

Axel Turns Three

Background music: Happy Birthday by Altered Images

Happy Birthday to Axel! Since he is (still) such a Blues Clues nut, we made his day special with (yet another) Blues Clues theme celebration. Despite the huge contrast from last year's shindig - he still had loads of fun. His gifts: a Blues Clues balloon, a Tickety-tock clock (bought from Ebay), a Blues Clues jacket (also from ebay) a 'Get to Know Joe' DVD from Tita Reitch and a Thinking Chair (yet again from ebay) from Oma and Lolo), and a cool red Radio Flyer tricycle from Lola.

Lunch was at his favorite restaurant, McDonalds. Dinner was crispy pata, pancit and lumpia courtesy of Lola Cheekie and Lolo Danny, who came over to visit. I bought an $8 cake at Albertson's and stuck in a grocery bought candle.

At the end of the day, Axel contemplated his life as an older and wise three-year-old while sitting on his thinking chair.

Warming our House

Lovely flowers from our friends Mabel and Steven =)

Second Hand Rules!

Since our arrival in the Bay area, I haven't been able to stop that internal exchange rate caluculator whenever we go shopping. PhP51=$1. So until this calculator runs out of batteries, I've found great shopping pleasure in anything second-hand!

My top favorites are Goodwill on Geary Street, downtown San Francisco, ebay.com, craigslist and Discovery Shop (benefitting the American Cancer Society). We also do regular rounds of garage sales but discovered most of the good stuff is already on-line. I've found brand new Osh Kosh and Carters outfits for my son at $1-2 each, old Navy fleece-lined jeans for $6. On ebay, I've won a Banana Republic suede leather jacket for $30. My favorite purchase is a second hand Fuji S2 camera for $600, which came with a 3 year warrantee and lots of freebies. And my husband was able to assemble an entire bike from parts advertised on craigslist.com, with a free toddler helmet and wheel thrown in. It's wonderful. I love it.

Of course, there comes a twinge of guilt that all my lovely cheap stuff is ultimately a product of a society of excess. But I get over it as soon as I think of the savings.

Now to finally win an auction on that gorgeous elusive Coach bag on ebay.