Sandoogans' Log

A few weeks ago I decided I was going to boycott Starbucks. I felt I was paying too much money for crappy coffee AND crappy service. I held out for awhile but of course eventually I caved. Turns out I was wrong about the crappy coffee and service. Recently our babysitter asked if I could start dropping off Sam at her place instead of her coming over. I agreed. She's awesome and we ALL love her. Having to wake up earlier to get everything ready has taken some adjusting. One of the things I haven't had time for is making my own coffee. Needing a solution for my little dilemma, I decided to go to the Starbucks in Montebello. I was a bit hesitant at first but felt I had no other choice. They have coffee in my office but its instant. I hate instant coffee. So off I go to the Montebello Starbucks. There is no drive-thru here so I was forced to get off. Bleh. Parking lot is a tad small so sometimes finding parking could be a drag. Other than that the place is great. The baristas ...

One of my favorite songs and video. It reminds me of some of my friends. Thanks Lucino for suggesting the video. It is pretty sweet.

Photo by Salesman Photo by Scully Photo by Honda-Element.com I LOVE my car! I cannot begin to tell you how much. I think its the most convenient car ever! I had been wanting a Honda Element for quite sometime. Finally, last year I finally became the proud owner of my Orange Bang. We've been on many road trips together and hopefully will continue to do so. We're able to fit everything in this little magic mobile. The seats can be taking completely out or laid out flat to make a nice comfy bed. The inside is made out of rubber so its easy to clean it up. There are a few things I'd like to add to my car. I'd like a hitch to be able to port my bike conveniently, without having to take out the front tire. I'd also like to get a satellite radio. Lord knows how much I miss Howie AND great commercial free music. Lastly, I'd like to get a luggage rack for the top of my car. As I mentioned earlier, we love going on road trips and having all the free space in t...

You are my sunshine, My only sunshine, You make me happy, When skies are gray, You'll never know dear, How much I love you, Please don't take my sunshine away.

Classic.

After many years as my loyal hampy, its time to say adieu. Yesterday I finally caved and bought a new hamper. I had put it off for many, MANY years. Hampy had been with me for many blissful years. We started our friendship at my parent's house. My mommy dearest had bought it for me in hopes I'd do my own laundry, it worked. Hampy and I became well acquainted soon after. We moved around a bit. We lived in Montebello, Westminster and Downey. Good years and good memories. Au revoir hampy I shall miss you.

That's what I'm going to be listening to for the next 5 weeks. For the last couple of a years I've been wanting to do some kind of competitive run. At first I wanted to do a marathon. I think back then I was totally capable of doing it but not so much now. This year I finally took the big step of signing up for a 5K. I know its no big deal to some but, to me its a major deal! I decided to start of slow since its been eons since I've actually ran a full mile. Now that I've signed up for the 5K I need to get some good running shoes. It's so confusing with all the options out there. I tried researching to see what shoes would be the best fit for me. I think I found some. I have my eye on the Asics GT 2160. They are bit pricey (well for me, I'm not use to spending 100 bucks on running shoes) but seem very much worth it. I do question if I should spend so much on running shoes. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it up. I would like to but my motivation h...

  I know there are many of us shiny happy people out there. I might be confusing some of you with what I'm referring to. What I'm talking about is oily skin. Grrr! Some of you might be lucky and have perfect skin, so this might not apply to you. However, you can perhaps give this info to a friend or family member who is a shiny happy person like the rest of us. I had been in search of product that would help me control my oily skin without clogging my pores. I know all about those blotting sheets but, they never really appealed to me. True, I have my powder and can easily reapply to take the shine away, right? Actually, that's not such a good idea. That's something that you really shouldn't do. Reapplying powder gives you bigger pores and will usually leave you with that cakey look. It is definitely a no go. I won't deny that there were those occasions when I was so shiny that I had to reapply my powder. I hated doing it but I felt I had no choice. I finally...

This by far has been one of the best weekend I've had in quite sometime. Mr.Andrade and I had our date night on Friday. We decided to trek out to Pasadena and have some Italian food. I made the suggestion of going to Louise's Trattoria. I had been there once before and remember the food being delicious. This second time around, not so much. I had the seafood Alfredo and Mr.Andrade had chicken parmigana. Unfortunately, both of our dishes were very disappointing. We both came to the conclusion that maybe it was a bad night for the cooks and would come back another day. After dinner we decided to go out and have some drinks. We decided to go to Kelley's and have a few. Bad idea. That place really isn't what it use to be. As soon as I got there I wanted to leave. We had A drink and then took off. We then met up with my buddy Jacob at Imperial Strip. Mr.Andrade thought he was winning because, he swore up and down it was a strip club. He was sadly disappointed when we arrive...

Today would have been Ms. Eleanora Fagan's (a.k.a Billie Holiday) 95th birthday. Although she's been gone for many decades now, her sultry voice still gets me to the core. When I listen to Billie Holiday it often makes me feel like I'm in some jazz dive bar. I picture the place very dark, smoky, filled with men in suits and women in their best Sunday dresses. This might not be a high end bar but the patrons sure do look it. The stage is small and has one light center stage. The crowd anxiously awaits for Ms. Lady Day to get up on stage. The bartender pours himself a drink, having it ready for when his favorite song is sung. The lights begin to dim, Ms. Lady Day steps on stage as the audience looks on. They seem to be hypnotized by her voice and beauty. This is what I picture when I listen to Billie. I like to put her records on and pour myself some whiskey. I must admit I haven't done that in quite sometime but, I use to do it almost religiously. Her music gets me to...

I can't believe its been 17 years since we lost Kurt Cobain. Man, time flies. I know I've talked about my love for Kurt and Nirvana in the past (Read "Oh, Me" December 2010) so I'll try not repeating myself. I'm still bummed Kurt is gone and strangely enough, still in disbelief. Get over it, I know. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. This year I'm hoping to maybe, finally, make it out to Seattle. I would love noting more than to visit his house and sit on the infamous bench. Just have a moment. I'll be sure to take my green Docs. Although I quit smoking, that day I'll be sure to make an exception. 

That's what my goal is. Yesterday (after many weeks of begging Miguel) we decided to go bike riding with Sam. I can't tell you when the last time I rode my bike was but, I know its been quite awhile. The choice was between Santa Fe Dam or Whittier Greenway Trail. We opted for the latter. We thought this would be a better scenic route for Sam. Turned out not to matter much since shortly after we started she fell asleep. We arrive at Palm Park, which is where we usually park our car to start the trail. I decided to haul Sami. I figured I wanted to get as much of a work out as I possibly could. We started off and within less than 1 mile into it my thighs were absolutely killing me. I was laughing in disbelief! I couldn't believe how out of shape I was. Though I play soccer, I guess its not enough to get me into better shape. We were both laughing and complaining about the pain we were feeling. Miguel was feeling it in his calves, I was just feeling it on my thighs. W...

 These were my Old Navy sandals. You shall be missed.  I am currently on a mission of finding some cute sandals. I love sandals! For some reason when I wear sandals I feel like my feet get happy. True story. I'll wear them all! Well, as long as their cute and comfy of course. I love flip-flops (I am from L.A), strappy flats, thongs, jellys, gladiator sandals and whatever else you wanna throw my way. I'm down to give it a try. I had a really cute pair of black sandals that I had bough at Old Navy eons ago. Now, sadly, they are holding on by a thread. I really don't wear them anymore and if I do I make sure to carry spares. I feel they're going to quit on me any day now. Since those are going into retirement, I need to find something soon. I had gone to JcPenny and bought a cute pair. I wore them once and that was it. The strap broke. I couldn't believe it! I was super stoked too because I had gotten a great deal. Luckily they took them back and gave me a re...