HKW07: Random Thoughts

1. how has it been six...oops, seven, weeks already?
2. how has it been only six...oops, seven weeks?
3. how is it that less than 3 weeks ago, we were freezing our backsides off at night, and now it is so hot and muggy at night that we've managed to burn up 3 out of 4 a/c units (only one of those literally caught fire...the other two are "just" malfunctioning)?
4. my five-year old can now walk several miles and/or for several hours before she utters a peep about being tired.
5. my two-year-old can manage to walk almost a mile before i put him in his stroller simply because i want to walk a little faster.
6. two-year-olds + escalators = bad idea. there was a spill. there was a traffic jam. there was a baby being held up by his wrists. it wasn't pretty.
7. we now all recognize enough stuff around us that we can get around the mid-levels area without getting hopelessly lost.
8. i found cilantro...thanks to a new friend who also likes to cook with it, i now know where it is. this is good news for my tex mex efforts.
9. shopping for fruits and vegetables in the wet markets (outdoor markets) is crazy cheap. i got several items today for less than 4 dollars USD...total. bananas, limes, cilantro, red onions, and cauliflower.
10. i cannot find hoagie rolls here. i made an attempt at making philly cheese steaks for josh tonight...missed the mark by a bunch, but he liked the sammies anyway.
11. ebay seems to have instituted some really great scam protection features. i "bought" a toddler hip carrier on ebay a few weeks ago, and the transaction seemed fine except for the shipping. for some reason, the seller expected the shipping cost to be paid separately from the rest of the ebay purchase. i should have wondered why the whole transaction was so inexpensive, but it wasn't until recently that i found out the seller was a fraud and the reason they asked for shipping separately is because they were stealing that money...the rest of what i paid has been refunded by ebay. all of this happened without my instigating anything...i was wondering where my stuff was and had planned to contact the seller this week, but before i even got around to it, ebay contacted me. cool, eh?
12. i still need a toddler hip carrier.
13. i am now addicted to my nook and have read no less than 4.75 books since we got it working last saturday. 3 of those were total brain candy (stephanie plum series by janet evanovich), one was pretty intense, but a super-fast read (Rule Number Two by Heidi Squier Kraft), and now i am 3/4 of the way through "Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat," which is a pretty great book, though it does make me miss my fur babies even MORE.
14. speaking of fur babies, i am thoroughly enjoying hearing all about their antics from my dad. i think there's a chance sookie might get herself shipped to china, but copper is being a very good dog.
15. i am still working on convincing josh that we need some fur in this house...specifically a couple of gerbils or hamsters or something else equally cute and furry. this building does not allow dogs, but there's a contraband poodle down one floor from us (the guards know all about him, so he's only "sorta" contraband). i am THIS close to going down there to knock on their door and ask to pet the poodle. i REALLY miss living with our pets.