KC'S Masterpiece

Weekend pro

2012-02-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Why is it that things only go wrong in our house when we're expecting visitors?

Last time my sister came to visit our water heater broke the day before they were supposed to arrive. $500 and a visit from a repair man later it was fixed and we were ready.

Friday night the ear doctor was finished up the dishes and noticed a puddle forming at his feet. He opened the sink cabinet doors and there was water sprayed all over the inside. We flipped the disposal on and were showered with water spraying from a crack in the side of the disposal unit. And we were hosting friends for dinner the next night.

Luckily I married a man who wasn't even phased. Saturday morning he disconnected the whole thing and took it to home depot. Turns out the one we had installed was a crappy Badger1 that people usually put in flipped homes (although ours wasn't flipped). We decided to upgrade to the Badger9.

Yes, we are high rollers.

He had it back and installed in place within an hour.

And I only forgot that there was nothing hooked to the bottom of the sink and turned on the faucet full blast once while he was gone...which in my book is pretty good.

day dreamin

2012-01-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

The ear doctor have starting kicking around an idea for starting a restaurant.

We probably won't because having a restaurant seems like the hardest possible job in the world and I'm not sure either of us is really cut out for that kind of thing, but it's kind of fun to day dream about.

As of now, our restaurant would be called PorkPie. And we'd serve pork (bbq) and pie. It'd be old, vintagey and laid back. Nice, but not formal. A place where a bunch of guys wouldn't feel uncomfortable in, yet it was cool enough that a group of women would also consider it for lunch.

I don't know if it's blogs or what, but branding has become a particular interest of mine. As a result, designing the (fake) logo for our (imaginary) business has been really fun. Here is what I came up with first:

I sent it to the ear doctor and he sent me back this:

Which is when I sent him this:

He sent me this:

And I sent this:

I feel like that last one may be moving us farther away from the vibe we're going for, but it's pretty funny...

old dogs can learn new tricks

2012-01-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Getting older is kind of weird. Cool, but weird.

For example:

My dad has always loved football. Even though he didn't have any sons of his own, he still dedicated significant amounts of his free time to coaching little league football. My sister and I were both little league cheerleaders for his team.

Once we got too old for little league, he got an opportunity to coach for a semi-pro football team.

My dad is a guy's guy and always has been. Not macho, per se, but defiantly masculine.

Except today I called him during lunch to talk and I found out he was baking scones. At first I thought maybe someone asked mom to bring something to a church function and then she realized she'd be out of town and he was covering for her.

Nope.

He was baking scones. For himself. For lunch. And that's not all. He has recently become a bread baking aficionado.

I doubt he ever would have done this kind of stuff in his early years, but I think it is so cool that my dad is still learning new hobbies. Weird...but cool.

Boots

2012-01-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day since Christmas that it's been really snowy and I've had to go out in the weather. For Christmas, the ear doctor got me not one, but TWO pair of new boots. The fashion pair are buttery soft brown leather...not for snow.

The other pair, the pair I'm wearing and LOVING today are rubber and built for the white stuff.

Can I just tell you how much I love these boots? Everything from the teal stripe around the foot, to the soft shearling lining, to the pull tab on the back to the reflective stripe that wraps around the leg opening...they are PERFECT.

The only thing I need now is more boot socks. These are the socks I use inside my ski boots when I go skiing and they are perfect

LOVE THESE BOOTS!

real life TV

2012-01-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

I know there are a lot of people out there who really like the Real Housewives series on Bravo. I am not one of them. I'm not saying that I'm in anyway too cool to watch reality TV...in fact I may have lingered a little longer than the ear doctor would approve of on the Bachelor last night.

But, for some reason, the Real Housewives just don't really interest me.

I think it's because they seem, to me, like grown women acting with the insecurity of high school girls.

And I thought that just wasn't very realistic.

But maybe I'm wrong.

Last night the ear doctor and I went out for dinner at this local Italian place. We sat in a booth in the corner and another group of diners had pulled two tables together and were sitting right next to us. The group consisted of about 8 women in their 40's. Since the dining room wasn't very full when we started eating and our tables were so close together we couldn't help but overhear snippets of their conversation. At first I thought they were a group of coworkers out for dinner together. They seemed nice, friendly and appeared to get along well. They seemed comfortable and happy together.

About 30 minutes later the dining room had filled and we all were tucking into our plates of spaghetti. There was a lull in their conversation and one woman said something like, "well, we did come together to have a meeting so we might as well get started."

To me, this seemed to be even more evidence of some professional relationship. Or maybe they went to the same church and were organizing something. Or a volunteer group or something. I was a bit shocked by what happened next.

One of the women went on the aggressive defensive and started yelling at the group saying how they weren't good friends and were expecting too much from her and how she never felt like she was part of the group. Then another accused her of being a fake friend and how her facebook status was offensive.

This craziness started getting louder and louder and more and more intense until they were swearing at each other and everyone else in the dining room had fallen silent.

It was the most amazingly awesome/rude/frightening/compelling thing I've seen in a long time. It was like being too horrified by a car accident to turn away. I had to sit there and wonder why they thought what was happening was acceptable to do in public.

I felt like I was watching an episode of the Real Housewives in person.

I guess that show isn't as unrealistic as I originally thought.

Christmas Vacation

2012-01-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be a Katie vacation recap if it wasn't mostly self-portraits. First, we left Denver the day before a huge snow storm hit Colorado. We had clear skies and dry roads all the way down to Santa Fe. Driving for extended periods can make me a little nuts....

We almost ran out of gas as we pulled into town...good thing it's mostly downhill as you drive into Santa Fe. We checked in to our beautiful hotel. I just love places that not only accept dogs but provide treats and staff that fall all over your cute little boxer boy. The hotel was only a block away from the historic center of the city which is so cool. At Christmas they light up the whole square and all the adobe style buildings are lined with luminaries...so cool.

The next morning we went to breakfast at our favorite place in town and the ear doctor humored me by letting me take pictures in front of this cool wall of ironwork.

We all piled back into the truck and pulled into the ear doctor's grandma's driveway just as the sun was going down. They had dinner ready and waiting for us...including my favorite vermicelli salad. It's so good and I ate about a pound of it while I was there.

Between eating and talking the time flew by and before we knew it, it was Christmas morning. Roscoe boy greeted us all decked out for the occasion.

One of the funniest moments of Christmas morning was when my mother in law pulled this beauty out of her stocking. It's a nylon sleeve with a design that you slip on your arm to look like a full sleeve tattoo. Seeing my mother in law all tatted up was HI-LARIOUS!

We spent the time at grandma's house relaxing, eating and we went to the movies almost every single day! Awesome!

After the festivities we packed back up and started the drive home. We were truckin along when we noticed signs for the world's best preserved meteor impact site. That sounded like something to see, so we turned of the freeway to check it out. We drove up to the visitor's center and were getting really excited about seeing the big hole in the desert...until we found out that the admission was $15 per person! Crazy! We decided that was outside out budget...but were still pretty disappointed.

The trip from Denver to Arizona follows the old Route 66 most of the way. Every time we went through a town in the song we couldn't help but bust out in song. When we got to Winslow, AZ we wen a little crazy, because not only is it in the old swing song, but it's also featured in a song of one of our favorite groups...the EAGLES.

Here the ear doctor is standing on the corner of Winslow, AZ. He's such a fine sight to see. And there's a girl over there in a flat bed ford slowing down to take a look at him.

Self portrait of us and the girl in the ford...

We pulled into our beautiful hotel in Albuquerque and there was some mix up about us bringing out dog into the hotel. I guess someone hadn't noted that we'd need a dog room and they were all filled up. I was scared that we'd have to find somewhere else to stay. Luckily, they decided to upgrade us to one of their beautiful suites. I can't recommend this hotel highly enough. The next day we walked around Old Town and saw the beautiful church that's been continuously operating for 300 years! It was so awesome.

The last stop we made was to a mormon battalion monument in the middle of nowhere New Mexico.

We were so lucky to have such great weather the whole drive and be able to spend so much time with our family. That's one holiday for the books!

Knowing my limits

2012-01-03T09:56:00.001-07:00

Why I never make weight-loss related resolutions for the new year:

With this many goodies laying around it's impossible to not fall off the wagon...

Kind of pathetic

2011-12-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

Growing up my parents always got a ton of Christmas cards from their friends. I remember how my mom displaying them for the entire month of December. I can imagine it made her feel awesome to know so many people cared enough about us to spend a quarter and send us a family update.

I think seeing all those cards up must have made an impression on my young mind because every Christmas I find a way to display the well wishes we've received. But, I have to admit, since we haven't ever sent out Christmas cards our tableau isn't really that impressive. In fact, it's kind of like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of card displays:

Starting from left to right:

1. The card left for us in our milk box from our milkman...not even personally addressed to us
2. A card my husband's advisor gave us...this one is legit
3. A shockingly awesome rainbow card from an old college friend and his wife...this thing is so amazing...literally the most awesome Christmas card I've ever seen
4. A photo card from the ear doctor's office mate...who reads every post I ever write but never comments...
5. A picture card we got in the mail of kids we don't know. It was addressed to the previous owners of our house.
6. A card given to us from the people who run the Christmas tree lot where we bought our symbol of the season
7. A thanksgiving card from ear doctor's grandma...what...we needed more cards to fill the shelf...
8. An invitation to a New Years Eve party

Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have a confession....I'm only really attracted to strong looking guys. Probably because my dad is a big guy. There is nothing more comforting that falling asleep on his side during church. It's the most safe, snugly feeling in the world. In my dad's world, the worst name you can call someone is a pencil neck.

As a result of his stature, my whole life people have been trying to get my dad to be Santa. He'll never say no to someone's request, but according to my mom he really doesn't like it. He doesn't like telling the poor kids that they're going to get everything they want when he knows full well that it probably isn't going to happen. It breaks his correspondingly big heart.

But I just can't tell you how awesome it is to see your dad dressed up as Santa....

Do you think that since he was one of Santa's helpers this year that he has a direct like to the REAL Santa Claus? If so, dad, please tell that guy up North that I'd love for him to fix the horrible crack in my windshield and/or buy me a double sink for the bathroom from IKEA for Christmas...

Back in the saddle

2011-12-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

Remember how I kind of stopped blogging for a while? I just couldn't get excited about writing anything. My life seemed ho hum. People kept asking why I wasn't writing and it was really hard to put my finger on anything.

I was just uninspired.

A week or so ago the ear doctor and I were driving to a friend's house for a party. As we turned the corner onto her street my eyes fell on the most beautiful, awe inspiring sight:

I'm not sure that picture really does this justice. These people had constructed a set of rigging to hold this HUGE snowman up in the air. You could see this guy's top hat from 3 blocks away. I attempted to scale it to give you a feeling of just how amazing this accomplishment of festive engineering really is:

An almost 60 foot snowman perched on top of a cute 50's ranch house? Now, THAT, is something to blog about.

Tis the season

2011-12-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

We've been getting about a million catalogs in the past 2 weeks. Most are pretty predictable...Jcrew, Crate and Barrel, Boden.

However, we got one that really got the ear doctor excited...Filson:

This place is like Eddie Bauer on crack. Everything the outdoor sportsman could ever dream of. This catalog is filled with stuff that my husband already has (the skeletool in the center):

Something he would probably consider buying to keep our dog warm on camping trips so he doesn't have to sleep inside the sleeping bag with one of us:

And when he decides to pick up his newest hobby of falconry I'll know exactly where to look for gifts...

Thanks Filson, for making all the ear doctor's wildest dreams come true.

festive hijinks

2011-12-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last April our house was broken into and our TV stolen. It shook up the whole neighborhood and as a result we got to know our neighbors, exchange numbers and we always keep an each other.

This year we have someone leaving us little gifts to celebrate the first 12 days of December. The first night the ear doctor got a little zealous in trying to figure out who was leaving us the gifts...he chased them into a neighbor's yard and trapped them in place. I, dramatically, told him to back off so that the people doing this super nice thing could have a little fun.

So since then, we've pulled it way back...and they stopped knocking on the door to announce their deliveries.

But then, on Monday they left us a taunting note saying that they were trickier than we were because we didn't know who they were.

Well, we know we're the craftiest and to taunt us? It's not going to end well.

Last night we decided to leave our solid front door open, but our glass outer door closed. That way if they wanted to try to leave it on our porch they'd have to get creative.

At about 9:30 our dog started going CRAZY. We knew they were here. We waited and watched to see what they would do. I guess they hung around for 20 minutes or so deciding what to do because Roscoe was barking like crazy.

We never saw them, but I peered out the glass door and saw that there was a little gift on the hood of the ear doctor's car. I ran out on my bare tip toes through the snow to retrieve it and came in to the ear doctor talking to someone on the phone.

Our neighbor had noticed a stranger in a hoodie lurking around our house for the last 20 minutes and wanted to make sure everything was OK.

So now, not only is our nice barer of gifts going to have to avoid getting caught by us, but the entire neighborhood watch is on their trail...

...they're never going to make it to December 12th without getting caught...

Spoils

2011-12-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to an ornament exchange party hosted by a good friend. She asked me to come early, so I did. I helped her cut fudge and layout food. I helped her arrange chairs and open the door for guests.

There were about 20 interesting, smart, funny women attending this party. And the best part is that I only knew about half of them.

Have I mentioned that I love meeting new people? I love it. Lately I've been feeling a bit stale and boring, but meeting new people always makes me feel like a million bucks. I can tell them my funniest, best stories and I get to hear brand new things about them.

And to top it off, I ended up getting the best ornament in the bunch...a blue wool whale with a big wide smile across his little face.

It doesn't get much better than that.

in between

2011-10-27T15:36:00.000-06:00

Last night we had our first combined youth group meeting.

I'm in charge of helping lead the spiritual progression of the teenage girls who attend my church. Unfortunately, the numbers of teenage girls attending our congregation has dwindled. In an attempt to bolster our young ladies we've decided to combine our Wednesday evening youth groups with 2 other groups in our local area.

So last night we had about 65 teenagers all come together and play toilet paper dodgeball together.

It was pure and utter insanity.

Instead of hanging out with the same 10 kids I've spent every Wednesday with for the last 2 years I had a whole crop of new kiddos to get to know. My girls were all excited by the new, cute boys and the boys had a new group to play basketball with. At first, the energy was exciting and intoxicating. Meeting new people always amps up my energy; I live for the balance between excitement and anxiety. It was really exciting for me until I realized (again) that I am no longer the target audience for these gatherings. These kids don't see me as a cool slightly older peer, but as the grown-up. The adult.

And if those kids had been just a little bit less over the moon with excitement then I might have felt a little ripped off. A little neglected. A little...separate.

I'm not a youth. That's for sure. But I donn't really seem to fit with the rest of the adults since I don't have kids of my own.

Sitting squarely in limbo is where I found myself as I swept up spilled popcorn kernels and ripped pieces of TP.

An official new holiday

2011-10-10T12:47:00.001-06:00

Saturday was the first gray, cold, wet day of fall in Colorado. We decided to celebrate the turn of the season by having MAN DAY.

First, we slept in....not necessarily a man-exclusive activity, but I've never met a guy who didn't appreciate a nice lazy Saturday morning.

Then, we played Wii for 5 hours. New game on our brand New TV.

Then, we changed out of pajamas and went to get Denver's best pastrami sandwich. I know it is the best pastrami in Denver because my husband has done an exhaustive search of all the options and this, my friends, was the best.

Went home, took a nap while watching True Grit.

Woke up, finished up an easy but infinitely rewarding home improvement task which appropriately covered us in sawdust.

Ordered pizza for dinner and watched the BYU football game.

Rounded out the night with a Aerosmith Guitar Hero jam session.

Personal reminder

2011-10-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

Today my coworker complimented my outfit and then said that she thought I always looked so great and had the cutest clothes.

It totally made my day.

Note to self: when I think someone nice about someone I should SAY it. It might just make all the difference in their day!

Midnight musings

2011-09-29T10:53:00.017-06:00

Today my littler sister wrote a really great post about what keeps her up at night. She's pregnant with #3 right now, so most of her nocturnal worries center on the welfare of her little ones.

I have always been a good sleeper. Always. When we were little my parents played a game where they offered a dollar to the kid who fell asleep first. I'm pretty sure I was always the winner...and come to think of it, I was never really reimbursed for my obedience.

Even now, as an adult, I'm a rockstar sleeper. But occasionally something keeps me up.

Money.

It's the only thing that can tear me from my dreams, rob me of slumber and motivate me to sit at the dining room table in my underwear signing checks and licking envelopes.

How about you? What keeps you up at night?

One down

2011-09-19T09:59:00.001-06:00

Saturday night our friends treated us to free club level tickets at the Rockies game. Usually, I don't really like baseball, but this weekend it was perfect. It wasn't unbearably hot and at the club level the chairs are farther apart and you have a waiter that will bring you food so you don't have to bother the people on the end of the row getting up and down.

And even though our team lost, it was a totally awesome night.

Why?

Well, I'll tell you.

After going to a million games and longingly watching the jumbotron filled with happy smiling faces I FINALLY made it up on the screen! Yep! that's right. If you'd been at the game on Saturday night and looked up in the middle of the 8th inning you would have seen the ear doctor and I going crazy because they'd chosen us! US! to do the macarena in public.

Even cooler?

This morning at work my coworker asked if I was at the game because he saw a girl who looked just like me on the jumbotron!

Scratch that one off the bucket list!

Favorite NY moment #4

2011-09-13T06:54:00.000-06:00

After we'd spent a few hours strolling around the MET we needed a little sugary energy infusion. So, upon the advice of the lovely Sharon, we strolled a couple of blocks over to William Greenberg Desserts. We bought two black and whites and couple of cans of diet coke.

There is only one word for what transpired next.

Nirvana.

At first I was a it skeptical...could this simple cookie have just changed my life? Could I have found a new favorite confection?

Then I became suspicious that everyone around me wanted to steal it and have it for themselves...

For my whole life I thought these cookies were just normal sugar cookies, but they are so much more than that! They are more like a slice of cake that is easy to eat and covered with beautiful chocolate and perfect icing:

Take a look at that beautiful crumb!

We had one every single day we were in the city and right now as I type this I'm craving another!

Favorite NY moment #3

2011-09-12T10:45:00.001-06:00

The first day we were in the city we decided to go on a REAL TOUR of NY. I have to say, I was a bit nervous it would be super touristy and I would regret spending my cash. I was totally wrong. It was awesome. Small group, funny guide, awesome hole in the wall dim sum place that we never would have found for dinner...all in all awesome.

One of our first stops was to see ground zero.

I was a little bit overwhelmed by how fresh the events of a decade ago were in the memory of New Yorkers. Fresh and painful. We walked through St. Paul's churchyard and I was totally overwhelmed by the sense of love and support that ordinary people offered...without any kind of government organization helping them out. I found tears silently rolling down my cheeks as I listened to our tour guide tell us how his mother was supposed to go to her job that morning in a gift shop on the 40-something-ith floor and how her 25 year old boss told her to take the morning off. That 25 year old saved his mother's life.

More than the devastating loss that was experienced that morning, I'll remember the pure charity, unselfish devotion, overwhelming unity and unconquerable spirit of hard work that poured our of our nation following the disaster.

At St. Paul's there is a table were you are encouraged to leave your prayers and thoughts. I wrote this on a card and left it there:

"My prayer is that it does not take another disaster to unify us again"

Favorite NY moment #2

2011-09-09T12:13:00.000-06:00

OK, just to preface this. What happened isn't exactly my "favorite" experience in the world, but it just seemed so perfectly iconic New York that I couldn't resist sharing it.

The entire time we were in the city we ate 2 dinners. First dinner usually happened around 6 pm. It was usually at a normal restaurant and in a normal setting. Then we went out and found something fun to do or see and around 10 we were hungry again. This is when second dinner occurred. Sometimes it was 3 huge desserts we shared, sometimes it was piping hot pizza fresh from the oven.

One night after second dinner we were riding the subway back to our hotel. The train was filled with the usual interesting array of people. People chatting, reading, staring off into space, singing along to their ipod, whatever. We pulled up to a stop and an elderly gentleman boarded the train. He took his place standing in the middle of the car, even though there were plenty of empty seats. As soon as the train started he looked around the car, slowly lifted his hand and proceeded to flip off the entire car.

He kept his hand raised and slowly spun on his heel, making sure that everyone in the car had the chance to take in his totally unprovoked message.

The next stop came and he got off the train.

The ear doctor decided that he was probably upset with the fact that the platforms were unbearably hot (underground, no ventilation, 85 degree days and 80% humidity) and the trains were all running slow from construction on the lines.

Considering that, I am inclined to add a nod of agreement to the gentleman's outward expression of frustration.

Favorite NY moment #1

2011-09-08T16:09:00.000-06:00

All I've ever heard is how New Yorkers, and east coasters in general, are a bit cold. Somehow I got a stereotype into my head that they are a bit rude, unfriendly and pushy.

One morning we were sitting on a bench looking at a subway map (my favorite pass time) and trying to chart our course to the closest shake shack. It was early and getting warm. People were out walking their dogs. One guy was on a jog and reached into the pocket of his gym shorts to pull out a piece of paper. Suddenly, a huge wad of cash spilled out of his pocket. The wind caught the errant bills and started blowing them all over.

I expected people to either totally ignore this guy's plight or to bend over and scoop up a bill for themselves.

The total opposite happened.

Every single person in the surrounding area ran around collecting this guys money. People jumped out into the street for a $1 bill. People across the street, on the next block even scooped up the cash and trotted over to return the money to it's rightful owner.

It was the final little push I needed to help me fall head over heels in love with the city.

Photo Series

2011-09-07T18:19:00.000-06:00

I can't tell you how much we loved our trip to New York. People always talk about how great the city is, but I never really got it. I've been to big cities and liked them, but I've officially joined the I (heart) N Y bandwagon.

And is there any better way to document a great trip than through self portraits? I think not.

Times Square

The Met

New Amsterdam Theater

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

Ferry Ride

Moma

Brooklyn Bridge

Birthday Cake in our hotel

30 Rock

New York trip prep day 4

2011-09-01T08:06:00.000-06:00

The ear doctor and I brainstormed songs all about New York to create a mix tape.

We then went out and found a ghetto blaster.

We plan to bump those tunes all through the streets of NY.

CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OF!!!!!!

New York trip prep day 3

2011-08-31T08:01:00.000-06:00

Monday afternoon I went over to my friend's house to get my hair cut in preparation for the trip.

When I moved to Colorado 8 years ago I met this really awesome, funny, beautiful girl. I found out she was a hair stylist and gladly cut people's hair in her kitchen. Well, I was new and didn't want to put the effort into finding a salon. Plus, I 've never really been that picky about my haircut.

So I sat in her chair for the first time...and have never looked back.

She is probably the most talented hair stylist I've ever been to. Usually when you get a cute cut and time passes it starts to look a little raggedy. I don't know what it is, but every time she cuts my hair, as time goes by it just looks better and better.

And I love the fact that we've stayed close enough that I can come over and get my hair cut, then have dinner with her family, then play in the grass with her two little boys (4 and 2). Who else gets that kind of special treatment from their stylist?

New York trip prep day 2

2011-08-29T07:40:00.000-06:00

I told myself that I would attempt to cool it on the scheduling of this trip. I have been known to over plan a vacation and not allow any free moments for relaxation or spontaneity.

But I just couldn't help myself.

We're only in the city for a few days and there are so many things to see and do that I would hate to get there and spend time schlepping around and looking at each other and asking what we should see next. Or even worse, end up eating at some crappy chain restaurant because we didn't take the time to find somewhere amazing to eat. That would be a real tragedy in my book.

So here it is, our plan for the trip. I know it seems a bit detailed, but that's what happens when my type A personality gets a hold of a spreadsheet. Our tickets are purchased and our reservations are made. The good thing about me is that the moment a trip begins my red personality morphs to yellow and I have no problem dropping the schedule entirely.

Is there anything totally awesome that we've missed in our exhaustive research? Something we MUST add to our trip?

New york trip prep day 1

2011-08-26T08:33:00.001-06:00

In one week the ear doctor and I will be leaving for our trip to New York and I am R-E-A-L-L-Y excited. There are very few things I love more in life than being away from work with my best friend doing things we've never done before.

In an attempt to convey my excitement I'm doing to do a series about how we're getting ready.

This morning the ear doctor and I decided that we're going to start practicing talking like native New Yorkers. Unfortunately, the most exposure we have to real New York dialogue comes mainly from Seinfeld and movies featuring Brooklyn Mobsters.

So this morning there was a whole lot of "yadda, yadda, yadda" and "fogetaboutit" goin on in our house.

Clearly, we need help.

What other lingo should we be practicing to avoid standing out like the country bumpkins that we are?

Age appropriate

2011-08-17T07:41:00.001-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in Panera eating my lunch alone at a table for two. I do this about once a week. Unlike 14 year old Katie now I actually really enjoy sitting by myself in a crowded lunchroom. I like to watch the elderly couples consume their bowls of soup and enjoy the comfortable silence that only people who've lived together for 60 years can create. I like to watch the young moms attempt to wrangle their toddlers and convince themselves that the $5 peanut butter and jelly sandwich that sits uneaten doesn't annoy the crap out of them. I like to see the other people like me, taking a break from work, eating a meal alone.

But yesterday as I was sitting there at my usual table I looked up and made eye contact with an elderly gentlemen. I was about to politely look away, when I noticed the corners of his mouth turn up. Then he gave me the most perfect wink I've ever seen.

It wasn't creepy and it wasn't paternal in the slightest. It was flattering and I actually felt myself blush the tiniest bit.

What is it about the men of the greatest generation? They effortlessly wear a fedora without any of the pretense that radiates off most 20-something hipsters who attempt to don the accessory. They seem strong, independent, honest, real.

Or maybe it's just that my own grandpa is an amazing man, and I transfer my perception of him onto every like-aged gentlemen I see?

Getting the timing right

2011-08-03T10:46:00.000-06:00

Last night when the ear doctor came home I was sitting on the couch, watching Rizzoli and Isles unpicking 3 seams. I've been working on creating a masterpiece of a dress and it just wasn't coming out right. The gathers were all uneven, the plaid pattern wasn't matching up perfectly, my top stitching couldn't walk a straight line if the chief of police pulled it over and asked it to.

I'd cocooned myself on our big leather couch with pillows stacked up to either ear, my feet propped up and my body covered with rumpled, yellow-and-brown plaid, poor quality work.

And I was feisty.

The weird thing about me is that sometimes when I'm feeling feisty I don't even know it. My emotions work about 3 times faster than my reason.

So when the ear doctor walked in the door and started asking me what was wrong I snapped at him. I unintentionally ignored him. I finish unpicking my seams, tossed my seeming failure of creation aside and went to look at my garden. Which is FULL of weeds. And the tomato plant that is actually producing fruit had slumped off it's cage and those green little beauties were sitting in the mud. After stomping around the garden a few time I came in and was enraged by the dishes we'd left linger in the sink from the day before. I testily grabbed the scrubber and started tackling the pile.

And the ear doctor through this? Looked at me like I was insane. Probably because I was. My brain had yet to catch up with my temper. When he, again, kindly asked what was wrong with me I totally lost my mind. I was mean to my sweetheart. I was snarling for about 3 minutes...until I looked up at his perfectly sky blue eyes and my brain caught up to my soul.

I wasn't mad at him at all. I was stressed out with my job and defensive because I knew I was taking my fury out on the one person in the world who never deserves that. And I started hysterically laughing at myself.

Two minutes later I was sobbing in his arms and apologizing for the mismatch in timing from my heart to my head.

I ate some dinner and put myself to bed early.

And at 3 in the morning when I couldn't fall to sleep I decided it was the perfect time wage an epic steamroller battle.

Do you know the game steamroller?

Anyway, the point is that I'm learning to work out the timing between my emotions and my reason. Trying to feel slower and think faster.

Birthday Recap

2011-07-25T09:29:00.001-06:00

I'm going to try hard not to make this a brag-about-my-awesome-husband post, but I don't really see that there's any way around that.

Simply put: he is amazing and made my birthday perfect.

Friday afternoon we went out for lunch at my very favorite sandwich spot in Denver. Fantastic. Their hot ham and swiss is so melty and delicious that juice runs down my chin every time. Then, we packed up and headed to the mountains. He'd found us the cutest little cabin tucked beside a pond up in the beautiful Rocky Mountains above Idaho Springs. We fished, caught big beautiful rainbow trout and grilled them up for dinner. We watched the sun go down and he brought out a little, adorable lemon curd cake and sang me happy birthday.

Saturday morning we slept in. The first thing I did when I woke up was run over to my phone to see if anyone had already called and left a message on my phone. It was then that I realized my phone was totally dead and I'd forgotten the charger! TRAGEDY! My birthday is the one day a year I keep that phone with me all day and answer all the incoming well-wishing calls.Bummer.

We packed up our stuff and headed farther up the mountain to Echo Lake. This place was beautiful. Stunning. If you haven't been to Colorado before and want the full experience, go here. It is breathtaking. We drove up the highest paved road in North America to the top of Mt. Evans which stands at 14,240 feet. It was at the top of this mountain that he handed me a letter he'd written. A letter expressing his heart.

Then, he handed me a letter written by my mom.

Then one from my dad.

Then he explained that he'd hacked into my email account and send out emails to most of my close friends and family asking them to write me a letter telling me what they thought about me. All day long he kept handing me letter after letter from people I love most in this entire world. Each one brought laughter and tears. Seriously, I don't think I've ever felt more love.

I slid each one into a plastic protector in a beautiful green album.

It is something I will CHERISH for the rest of my life. One of the 4 things I will grab if my house is ever on fire.

After the mountain climb we drove home and he took me to dinner at Fruition. If you ever plan a trip to Denver, this place should be on your list of places to eat. It is fantastic. And I know you have to get a reservation 2 months in advance so the ear doctor has probably been planning this forever.

After the best meal in recent memory, we came home and I opened my last letters and his gift. His gift was a new Vera Bradley trip kit. Inside was a travel book for New York! He got us tickets to be in New York for almost a week over Labor Day! I have never been to the city before and can't wait to go!

All in all, a FANTASTIC way to celebrate my first 30 years of living on this planet.

Unexpected mortality check

2011-07-21T13:25:00.000-06:00

Today for lunch I sat in the middle of a crowded fast-casual restaurant at a small table all alone.

I was surrounded by moms with strollers and elderly retired couples. There were teenagers on dates and groups of girls shopping for cheap clothes.

And I sat alone enjoying my spinach salad quite contentedly. Well, the salad was bit overdressed and for $7.50 I had hoped for a few more blue cheese crumbles.

I was really pretty perfectly happy until I decided to aspirate the balsamic fig dressing. Vinegar trying to make it's way into your lungs? Not a great feeling.

As I started coughing and hacking I looked around to make sure I wasn't bothering someone.

And guess what? No one even glanced my way!

I wonder if those happy lunch goers would have let me DIE sitting right there in the middle of the crowded dining room?

The thought was really creepy...and it made me remember why I don't really like eating at Noodles & Co.

Busted

2011-07-20T07:42:00.001-06:00

I have a deep, dark, guilty secret.

I freakin love Kraft singles.

I love their slightly rubbery texture, their over salted flavor and I take great joy in peeling off that clingy plastic. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good fancy cheese too...but the kraft singles will always hold a place in my heart.

When we were little my parents bought my sister and I the cheese. We would sneak slices all day long and thought my mom never knew about our pilfered prize...because we stuffed the plastic wrappers between the cushions of the couch.

When she sat in that chair and heard the tell-tale crinkle of plastic wrappers her brains exploded. She ripped the couch apart and picked out every single piece of greasy plastic.

Kraft singles were banned in our house from that moment forward.

This morning I woke up and found this note, lovingly left for me by my husband on the kitchen counter:

I hope he doesn't decide to ban Nature's Valley granola bars from the house, because I really REALLY like them...

Just a little jealous

2011-07-15T07:40:00.000-06:00

Last week we found out that a good friend of ours got laid off from his job.

He and his wife went away for a long weekend to celebrate their anniversary and the morning he got back to work they told him not to come in anymore.

I would totally freak out if this happened to me. I know it's always a possibility, but it just seems crazy to have your security just uprooted so dramatically. To his credit, he's totally taking it like a champ. For the last week he has been a stay at home dad, taking care of their 10 month old baby 24 hours a day.

On Wednesday his wife told me that he was totally going crazy. She asked the ear doctor if he could take her husband golfing this morning. And, since the ear doctor is really great at service and sacrifice he rearranged his schedule and was up bright and early this morning organizing his golf bag and cleaning out his soft spiked shoes.

Instead of getting to go out to the links, I had to haul my sorry buns to work.

To make it worse, my commute takes me right by a huge reservoir where people were out water skiing on glassy water.

And then, to really emphasize the fact that I'm working and not having fun I had to drive under people launch hot air balloons!

I know I should be grateful to have a job, and not feel any jealousy at all for someone who unexpectedly lost his. I know that to the depths of my soul. I get it that I am SO lucky to have such a great job that I really do like 90% of the time.

But wouldn't it be fun to golf, or water ski, or ride in a balloon today?

Time rolls on

2011-07-14T08:07:00.000-06:00

I hate it when I find myself being a total cliche.

Up until last week I was totally fine with the idea of turning 30 next week. Excited even.

But this week, as I calm my mind and lay in my big fluffy bed attempting to fall asleep a little bit of dread washes over me.

30?

How did that happen.

And why do I still feel like I'm 22? Will I always feel that old?

Maybe it's because I haven't had a baby yet?

How old do you feel?

I'm havering to you

2011-06-30T11:48:00.001-06:00

Last night I took the teenage girls from my church group to a free concert in the park. We got them awesome pizza, every flavor of Izze soda we could find, laid out blankets to lounge and I even had red velvet cupcakes to top off the evening.

The performers, however, were a little...well...not what your average 15 year old girl wants to listen to. It was a "band" of 3 brothers singing traditional Irish songs. None of us knew any of the songs so we just kind of listened and giggled and made fun of the lead singer's long stringy man-ponytail.

Half way through the performance one of the girls got up and started crazy hippie dancing to the songs. So we all followed along. It was hilarious, but I wanted to make sure the girls felt free to be silly. I wanted them to let their self-consciousness go and realize that no one cares how you look. So I acted a bit of a fool. I felt like I was a 16 year old girl hanging out with my friends.

The concert drew to a close and the band struck up for it's final number. Within the first few bars I knew we were in for a treat. I would walk 500 miles by The Proclaimers. A song I will always know. A song that brings me squarely to my middle school days. I remember being 13 years old and getting that song on a movie soundtrack compilation disk. I remember having my friends over to my house, putting the disk in the computer drive, turning off all the lights in the office and jumpdancing around the room with flashlights. Over and over and over again until we were sweaty and doubled over with laughter-induced stomach cramps.

And so when I looked around and realized that not a single one of the girls that was with me last night had ever heard the song before I just shook my head in awe.

And realized that, yes, I will be turning 30 next month...and it's beginning to show.

Muscle Memory

2011-06-28T08:16:00.000-06:00

Last night after work I came home and needed a break.

A break from thinking and feeling and being frustrated and being anxious and being nervous.

So I put my old gross crocs, an old beat up pair of shorts and went out to harvest food out of my garden. Someone in my neighborhood must be feeding the birds like crazy because there are about 100 times more birds trying to eat my salad greens than there ever have been. As a result we draped netting over the top of my garden. So now, when I go in I have to crawl on all fours to stay under the bird netting.

At first I thought having to crawl around would be totally horrible. I thought it would hurt my back and scrape up my knees.

But guess what? I totally love it. It reminds me of the tent that my sister got for her birthday one year. It had a fitted sheet on the bottom so you could make it right on top of your mattress and always feel like you are sleeping in a cave.

It reminds me of when I was 10 and would climb into the closet under the stairs to read the Chronicles of Narnia by the light of my favorite pink flashlight.

It reminds me of climbing into my 4 year old niece Charlotte's pink princess tent while we play make believe.

Turns out that almost every memory I have of crawling into small places is warm and familiar and friendly.

Getting it right

2011-06-22T10:26:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the ear doctor and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.

Did you know that the traditional gift to give your spouse for the 4th anniversary is linen or silk? Usually we try to honor the tradition in some way, but this year I totally dropped the ball. Which is a total bummer because the ear doctor could have really used a new maroon silk smoking jacket and coordinating ascot...

This year my husband got me milk delivery from a honest-to-goodness milk man. From now on, when I wake up on Friday mornings I'll be able to go out to my porch, open up that shiny metal box and find perfect, fresh, hormone-free dairy products and eggs produced by animals that actually live in my own state.

How does this tie in with the traditional 4th year anniversary gift? Well, he got a carton of Silk (soy milk), emptied it out, cut a trap door in the back of the carton and glued the logo of the dairy that delivers to our neighborhood on the inside. I knew immediately what that meant.

Before he gave me the gift, he tried to explain it to some people. They just didn't understand what could possibly be romantic about giving someone diary delivery for their anniversary. They thought he should be getting a box of Godiva chocolates and a couple dozen long stemmed roses or something.

But Godiva chocolates once made me spend a weekend wracked with uncontrollable vomit and roses, to me, are more of a flower meant to stay in the garden.

Romance, to me, is knowing your spouse so well that you know exactly what will totally knock their socks off. Which for me? Is totally a milk man.

Happy 4th!

2011-06-22T06:28:00.001-06:00

Want to know what the ear doctor looks like when I totally suprise him with an unexpeted picnic in public to commemorate our 4th wedding anniversary?

I thought you'd never ask!

Last night after dinner with my man I suggested we take a leisurley stroll through downtown Denver. As we walked toward our favorite bridge he noticed a beat up box that was kind of opened a bit with light coming out. He reached down to look at it and saw his name on it. When he opened it, there was a balloon, candles and chocolate cake inside.

We sat on the bridge, ate cake, danced to the same song as our "first dance" (I've got a crush on you).

I love this guy like CRAZY!

Acting like Frenchies

2011-06-21T11:47:00.001-06:00

The ear doctor and I try our very hardest not to watch TV on Monday nights. Monday nights are special for us. For talking. For laughing. For family.

Last night I got off work late because I had to stay and attend a really frustrating meeting. I stopped by the market to get some fish for dinner and a pre-made salad. It was just one of those nights.

We made the dinner and I could literally feel the stress rolling off my back. By the time I was sopping up the delicious buttery fish oil from my plate with a chewy slice of sourdough I was ready to laugh.

We spent a hour playing keep away from the dog with an old chewed up basketball. We laid in our pretty green grass that just months ago was a bare patch of dead dirt. We decided to grab the leash and walk the dog 2 blocks away to our favorite gelato place. We sat on a bench and enjoyed zabaglione (which I pronounce as zag-a-ba-lonie) and raspberry sorbet.

At which point the ear doctor turned to me and said, "let's go home and watch Harry and the Hendersons"

A perfect way to spend the evening before we celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary.

adventures in pet ownership

2011-06-14T14:30:00.000-06:00

Last night the ear doctor and I went over to a friend's house to return their grass edger and we ended up sitting around chatting for a bit.

These particular friends have the most beautiful little puppy. A vizsla. The puppy and I have almost the same color hair. They love their little puppy more than anyone I've ever met loves their dog and because she happens to be a pretty perfect specimen of the breed, they've decided to start showing her.

And I didn't know this, but when you show dogs you can't get them spayed.

Which means that sometimes your dog has her period.

Which is why last night their puppy was wearing a pink plaid flannel diaper with a jumbo maxi-pad slid inside.

Maybe you're more used to seeing a dog wearing a diaper...but I sure wasn't. All I could think of was how gross it would be to take care of a dog during her "time of the year" (which I found out only really happens every 6 months or so)

And I thought, "I'd never do something gross like that for a DOG"

That was, of course, until this morning when my dog had a long gross piece of grass coming out of his butt hole that he couldn't shake loose.

What did I do? I put my hand inside the poo bag, got a grip of the piece of grass and pulled the long slippery thing out of him.

I didn't even hesitate.

Who's the gross one now?

2011-06-13T09:04:00.001-06:00

Friday night the ear doctor and I went out to see Super 8.

The whole time I just sat there totally enthralled with the story telling. About 8 minutes into the movie the ear doctor turned to me and said, "this is like Goonies" and I said, "or the Sandlot." Both of which are probably in my top 20 movies of all time.

I literally gasped a couple of times at the beautiful camera work: the reflection in the gas, the slow closeup on the soldiers shuffling boots, the turn of the gas station sign obscuring our view of what exactly was going on.

And the music choices for the movie? Perfect. I left the theater singing My Sharona out loud, thus making the sweet abuelita standing with me in the bathroom line just a little bit nervous.

Let's not even talk about how great the costumes and hair were.

I totally nerded out over the whole thing and it made me think two thoughts. First, I MUST get myself a Super8 camera. How great are those old grainy images?!?!Second, I'm so glad I used those 3 credit hours of undergrad taking Intro to Film. I probably never would have noticed the beauty without taking that class.

a whole new world

2011-06-09T16:14:00.000-06:00

So turns out I should listen to my sister more often.

She said I would love falafel...but I just couldn't wrap my head around eating garbanzo beans...or chick peas as my mom taught me.

I've tried hummus in all it's myrid of forms and found it gross and grainy and completely unpalatable.

But, falafel? COMPLETELY different. Divine. Wonderful.

AMAZING!

Moving

2011-06-02T08:55:00.000-06:00

Right now my little sister is throwing the last few boxes into the back of a moving van and hauling her family from the sweltering heat of summer in St. Louis to the promise of sub-zero winters of Minnesota.

She's closing the door on the perfect little 100 year old row house that they shed blood sweat and tears over to renovate from top to bottom in just 3 years. She's saying goodbye to the amazing friends who loved and supported her for the last 4 years...probably the hardest 4 of her life. She's taking off and driving north without knowing if they'll have a house to live in when they get there.

And while I know she's probably excited for the next phase of her life, I can't help but be a little bit heartbroken for her today.

The day we pack up our little house and move away is going to rip my heart in two.

Neither of us were really built for change.

Missing Out

2011-05-25T11:37:00.000-06:00

My little sister and her husband are in Orlando right now enjoying a full week at Disneyworld. I'm sure my little 4 year old niece Charlotte is having the time of her life. Surrounded by her cousins, meeting princesses, getting to eat as much junk food as humanly possible...that's the stuff of dreams for a 4 year old.

And I was getting pretty bummed that I was sitting in my cubical, in rainy, cold, gloomy Denver, working crazy long hours and missing out.

So I went to weather.com and checked was it was like in Orlando.

Over 90 degrees...yikes!

Then I imagined how I'd feel if I were in Orlando, in 90 degree weather, holding my 2 year old nephew's little heater body while we stand on hard black pavement waiting in line to meet Lightning McQueen....

...and I felt a tad better about missing the fun.

obsession

2011-05-24T12:09:00.003-06:00

Last year the ear doctor and I failed at Homeowners 101: Keeping your grass alive. Total, utter failure. Our yard was the only one on the block that dried up and turned into a big dirt pit by August.

Probably because we didn't water it all summer?

This year we have both become grass-loving freaks. We water the grass. We fertilize the grass. We had it aerated which it probably hadn't been in 20 years. We mulched. We reseeded the thin spots.

Every time we walk through the front yard (at least twice a day) we crouch down and inspect the new growth. We measure the progress. I'm pretty sure I've even said a prayer under my breath to ask for divine intervention in saving the grass.

It's our newest obsession.

Even now as I sit in my cubical at work and eat my lunch at my desk I'm taking glances out the nearby window and thinking, "I really hate that it's raining today. I wore awesome new shoes and they got gross water spots all over them when I walked the 30 feet from my car to the building...

...but at least the grass will look beautiful"

Leavin

2011-05-18T10:23:00.002-06:00

You can always tell it's the day before I leave for a trip by the strange outfit I throw together. I pull something out of the back of my closet that I hardly ever wear because I want to make sure I have my cutest clothes available for the trip.

Because I've never once had my picture taken the day BEFORE a trip.

Never once been immortalized in that moment.

So today if you looked at my clothes I'm pretty sure you could tell that at 3:30 this afternoon the ear doctor and I are boarding a plane and flying off to St. Louis to celebrate my brother-in-law's fantastic achievement. He's worked harder and sacrificed a lot and is finally getting to take the Hippocratic oath and graduate from med school.

I couldn't be prouder.

And I get one last trip to St. Louis in before they move away and I never have another excuse to visit the city again. There are 3 absolute musts that I will be participating in this week...other than the ceremony, of course:

1. Gooey butter cake from either ]Park Avenue coffee or Gooey Louie...or maybe both
2. City Museum
3. Frozen Custard from Ted Drewes

Usually I wouldn't post about going away on a trip and leave the creepers on the internet an open invitation to check out our house, but since we got robbed a month ago and haven't replaced anything yet we really don't have anything worth stealing!

Weekend update

2011-05-16T09:34:00.004-06:00

Friday night the ear doctor and I were invited to a housewarming party. But it wasn't held at the honoree's new home, it was held at someone else's place that had more space. I thought that was kind of strange, but was willing to go with it. And it was a really fun, pretty typical party until about 10 pm when someone brought out a trumpet and started stumbling through a barley recognizable version of battle hymn of the republic. Yikes.

I just looked around and was a little amazed at what I now considered a fun Friday night out.

Saturday morning I spent the whole morning at work desperately trying to get a jump on the week.

Then I drove myself over to a friend's house for a graduation party. That party was a lot less likely to produce a crazy symphonic talent show, but i did find out about half way into the party that 3 of the 4 people living at the party house had just been diagnosed with strep throat the day before.

At which point I stopped eating from the big bowl of help-yourself-with-your-bar-hands ruffles and started feeling the back of my neck to check for any signs of immediate onset fever.

Sunday I spent the whole day laying around on the couch in my new favorite sweatpants from Walmart. I was attempting to recover from the midnight puke session I had the chance to experience brought on by whatever rotten thing I consumed the day before.

Try not to be super jealous of my life...

life saver

2011-05-12T12:19:00.000-06:00

Yesterday it was so cold and rainy here in Colorado that it put everyone in a funk.

It was so funky around here at work that someone actually yelled at me, stormed out of a conference room and slammed the door behind himself so hard the walls shook.

So funky that I dropped a huge glop of guacamole on my pants during lunch and I had to wear the stain the rest of the day.

I'm telling you, EVERYONE was feeling the funk. After work I started getting a flurry of texts and calls asking about our regularly occurring Wednesday night youth group activity. The other leaders were tired, had grumpy babies or had to drive all over town to get things for their new house. The idea of trying to cheerleader a bunch of likewise funky-attituded teenage girls seemed about as daunting as summiting Mt Everest.

But we just couldn't cancel on our teens. So, I altered my plan for the night.

Luckily, I had read Designmom recently and her awesome daughter reminded me how awesome it is to learn to make friendship bracelets.

So with the last ounce of energy in my soul I went to the craft store, bought 3 dollars worth of embroidery floss and pulled off a miracle. A fun activity for teenage girls with zero planning involved.

Blogs saved my life last night.

On TV

2011-05-10T10:04:00.009-06:00

Friday afternoon we heard that the food trucks from Food Network's Great Food Truck Race would be pulling into Denver for the weekend.

There are very few things that the ear doctor loves more than eating his food from a truck in the street. I think it comes from him living in Mexico for 2 years and eating his weight in Tacos Al Pastor. Every time he sees anyone selling food on the street he is drawn to their offering like moth to flame. So it's no wonder that his eyes lit up and our plans for Saturday afternoon were set.

We'd be driving all over Denver hunting and gathering our meals from kitchens on wheels.

Our first conquest was the Roxy's grilled cheese truck in Wash park. Delicious goat cheese, duck prosciutto and fig preserves toasted perfection. Definitely a strong contender.

Then we drove into downtown and found the Cafe con Leche truck and I had my first taste of amazing Cuban food. Since I don't really care for pickles I've always shied away from a Cuban Sandwich. We walked up to the truck and I just told the guy to make me the best thing he had.

It was awesome. He took a flattened grilled plantain, piled sweet, pulled pork on top and finished it with this creamy sauce, tomato chunks and grilled onions. This was my favorite thing we ate BY FAR.

Roscoe wanted some BAD!

The third truck we searched out was the Korean BBQ/taco truck called Korilla. By this time the fatigue and heat of the day was getting to me. We stood in line behind the most annoying kids in the world who wouldn't leave our dog alone and the food, to me, was just OK. The ear doctor loved it. I think his eyes even rolled back into his head with joy each time he took a bite.

We intended to keep driving around and try the other 3 trucks, but I was full and tired and sore. So we went to our favorite ice cream place instead...then came home and passed out.

Now we'll have to tune into the show to see if we made it into any of the background shots! There were camera crews at 2 of the 3 trucks we saw.

The only other time I was on TV my best friend and I were sitting in front row seats at our high school state basketball tournament looking totally bored out of our minds. It was awesome.

two steps back

2011-05-09T15:53:00.004-06:00

Fact: I am physically incapable of taking it easy.

Fact: My shoulder is still not healed from my accident almost a month ago. I can't use it to reach around my back and grab my towel to dry my back so I just kind of throw it across my body and hope that my skin gets dry enough to pull clothes on. Oh, and I can't really pull up my pants with both hands. And trying to push myself up off the floor with that hand? Impossible.

Saturday morning we decided to dedicate our precious free time to landscaping. A few weeks ago I got a little crazy with the round-up...killing our perfectly fine front lawn in spots so I could plant a whole row of pretty pink Peonies.

See? I'm a total blogger. I love peonies.

I couldn't stand one more day of ugly dead grass staring back at me whenever I walked up to my front porch, so we rented a tiller, bought bags of compost and got to work.

But I was really no help at all. I defeatedly asked my husband to lift, haul and perform all the hard manual labor while I sat my butt in the dirt and attempted to pull year old dead grass out of a chain-link fence with my left hand. I was useless. And really, really frustrated.

I love to work hard in my yard and I consider it one of the best traits my parents bestowed upon me. But I just felt oppressed by my shoulder.

And I was even more annoyed and frustrated in the middle of the night when I had to wake up and soak in a tub to soothe my screaming muscles.

Turns out recovery is every bit as hard as everyone promised it would be.

Great debate

2011-05-06T09:22:00.004-06:00

I can't decide.

When our house was robbed, my DSLR was stolen. And as much as I loved my old one, it isn't being made anymore. So now I have to pick what model I want to go with. I've narrowed it down to two options that are basically the same price...the Nikon D31oo and the Sony a33. They both seem like great options, but I just can't decide which I want.

They both have 14.2 megapixles and both take movies.

The Sony has a cool translucent mirror technology in the body so it doesn't have any moving parts inside the camera body. I like this because in my last camera this part got messed up and it was an expensive fix. Also, the Sony is a little lighter and smaller. The Sony takes faster pictures (7 frames per second vs 3 with the Nikon). And it has a cool flip down view screen making taking self portraits really easy. And we all know how much I love self portraits...

The Nikon has a true optical view finder. In the Sony when you look in the eye piece you just see the same display as on the back screen of the camera. A digital image...not a reflection of what you're actaully seeing like a traditional camera. There is a digital interface between you and what you're seeing...I don't really like that very much. Lastly, the Nikon battery lasts almost twice as long as the Sony battery.

Anyone have any experience with both and know which I should pick?

Garden update

2011-05-06T09:02:00.003-06:00

Last year my vegetable starts looked like this at this time of year:

And this year they look like this:

So now I'm a little worried that I'm not going to have a good crop this year.

These are the kind of things that keep me up at night.

Accessories MAKE the look

2011-05-05T09:48:00.003-06:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with the intricacies of the LDS (mormon) culture, allow me to shed a little light.

For some reason, here in the states, there seems to be a fascination with all things Polynesian/Hawaiian woven into our collective conscious. It's not really surprising. Not that I've ever been to any tropical island, but from all accounts they seem very nice.

In our congregation we have a bona fide Hawaiian lady. She grew up on one of the islands and now suffers through the dry, cold Denver winter every year. Why? From the frequency of her expression of fond past memories, I'm not quite sure.

Last night she came to teach all the teenage girls in our youth group how to make Lei's out of yarn. I was just going to sit in the background and watch, but peer pressure got the better of me and I grabbed a skein and got to it. I made a "lovely" bright green and yellow lei. When I came home I hung it up on a coat hook in our mudroom...next to the garbage...I'm pretty sure I knew it's final resting place.

But then this morning I got this picture sent to my phone my the ear doctor:

Seriously? How can I possibly get rid of it now?

self promotion

2011-05-04T08:36:00.004-06:00

One of the great things about America is that anyone can run for public office. Your neighbor who has an axe to grind with the city can pony up the dough to make himself posters, ask his friends to stick them in their yards and get elected to be on the city council.

And I know that technically ANYONE can run for office, but come on? Really? This guy?

If your last name is Schitter you should probably think twice about politics. You just should.

Half of me wonders if my neighbors put this in their lawn as a joke.

PS. Yes, I totally sneaked out early this morning to take a picture of my neighbor's front yard. I asked the ear doctor to come with me on my clandestine photography mission and this was his selected footgear for the operation:

Good thing no high speed chases ensued.

better half

2011-05-03T12:42:00.003-06:00

Last night I was a grump. Due to my lovely accident, my shoulder relentlessly hurts and my mood is all messed up. Due to the bruise on my brain and the swirling chemicals attempting to heal it, my emotions have been on an out of control roller coaster. Basically, I've felt like 3 weeks of strait PMS.

And I'm really lucky to have the ear doctor. Without him I would have eaten PB&J and macaroni and cheese for the last month.

Last night he not only grilled me up the most delicious lime-cilantro trout with his new fish grilling basket, but he also indulged my silly craving for a root beer at 9 pm. And when he got home from the "emergency" run to the grocery store, not only did he have an icy cold beverage in his hand, but he'd got us a container of cookies n cream ice cream.

So as I sat in a piping hot bathtub, read a murder mystery on my kindle and slowly sipped my soda I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the guy in the front room loudly chuckling to a 15 year old episode of Seinfeld that he's seen at least 8 times.

Low key holiday

2011-04-25T08:28:00.003-06:00

Our Easter was great.

It was the first day in 9 days that I really did my hair...but I still couldn't shave my legs so I wore a long skirt and just hoped that people at church were kind enough to look the other direction.

We were invited to a friend's house for dinner and I managed to bake the most perfect lemon meringue pie...an Easter classic in my mother's house. I managed to basically make it with one hand. The hostess said it was the best pie she'd ever had in her life and my husband said it was the best crust I've ever made.

Then I spent the entire evening laying around on the couch recovering from the great effort it took to do the above two items and eating jelly beans.

Why I love insurance Part 2

2011-04-23T10:03:00.002-06:00

It's probably because I've never been a really truly physical person. I've never pushed myself to run so hard that it made me throw up. I just never really saw the point of determining the physical limits of my body like some people seem compelled to ascertain.

Also, I've never really been hurt this seriously before. Sure I fell out of a tree when I was 10 and had to wear a neck brace and I slipped once in the tub, spraining my ankle and necessitating crutches. But this kind of all over, body and brain numbing pain? I never knew it until now.

Which is probably why I'm still surprised after a week of basically going to work and sleeping I'm still not healed. I'm still dragging...still limping...still wincing.

But there is a bright side.

2 weeks ago, the day before we left for our family spring break our house was robbed. I was sitting at my desk trying to tie up loose ends on a Friday before vacation when I got a call from the Denver police department. The officer informed me that our cute, perfect, cozy little home had been forcefully entered and our valuables pilfered.

I was in shock.

Visions of our dog being hurt or running away filled my mind and tears filled my eyes as I cut off the kind officer and asked out our little boxer-boy.

Turns out the thieves had come in through his doggie door, locked him in a room in the basement and took off with our beautiful new flat screen TV, our Wii, all our games (except Tiger Woods...strange), my lovely DSLR camera and some heirloom jewelry that the ear doctor's grandmother had given to him to give to me in the future.

UGH!

What a hassle. We have to arrange with our home owners insurance now to get estimates and reimbursements for all the stuff they took.

But you know what, I am so filled with gratitude that the intruders only took material things. They didn't ruin our house or hurt our dog.

And most especially, they didn't even touch our lovely, expensive big comfy brown leather couch.

And since this week I've pretty much been living on that couch while I recover from my ATV accident I can say for a fact that things could be so, SO much worse for me right now.

Why I love insurance Part 1

2011-04-20T10:06:00.002-06:00

I am not an athlete.

I've lived almost 30 years of my life without finding a need to wear perforated fabric.

Until now.

Last weekend I was in a pretty horrible ATV accident. One minute I was cruising down a dirt road, the wind in my face. The next I was sitting in a hospital bed, hours later with my mom softly smoothing my furrowed brow and sipping water from a plastic straw.

I was informed that I'd rolled the machine, bit a huge chunk out of my tongue, split my motocross helmet in two, wrenched my shoulder, bruised my hip and road burned my knee.

X-rays were taken and prayers were said. I am so lucky to first, be alive, second, be awake and alert and third, be surrounded by family who loves me.

5 days after my accident all I have to show is a really cool gray mesh sling, bleeding scabby knee and ringing headache.

Super annoying

2011-04-08T09:34:00.006-06:00

I don't talk much about politics. On this blog...or really in my real life.

It's just really complex issue and it seems like it's just a big land mine and it seems like, between voting times, there's nothing I can personally do about it.

But today I'm going to say something because I'm so totally annoyed by this shutting down the government business. My brother is coming all the way from LONDON to see me next week. I'd planned a really awesome road trip including stopping at 2 different national parks that I've ALWAYS wanted to see. And now they just aren't going to be open? What the crap? That's absurd.

Figure it out.

Learn to compromise.

Get together and stop ruining my SPRING BREAK!

My man is hilarious

2011-03-29T08:36:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I found this picture on another blog I read.
I noticed that the front door is almost exactly the same as our front door, so I sent it to the ear doctor. Plus I really think that couch is pretty rad.

The ear doctor responded with this comment, "What’s that girl doing in our house with her ugly dog?!!!!" (he's not a big fan of fluffy girly dogs)

To which I responded, "She’s our new neighbor who wants to go for a wine tasting and wear rubber boots even though it's not raining. We should take the old gross horseshoe out of the garage and nail it to the wall in our dining room."

To which he responded, "Did she ride her cruiser bike that has a abnormally large wire basket on the front for her hideous dog over to our house on a Sunday afternoon for a mimosa brunch on 32nd and Lowell (a very trendy spot in our neighborhood fully of awesome restaurants and hipsters)? Are the rubber boots plaid? Is she wearing a scarf when it’s 80 degrees outside? Does she also have a huge beanie that she wears so that it’s only partially covering her head/hair? Does she love tea?"

And that, my friends, is why my husband is not a blogger...

what are your three?

2011-03-28T15:55:00.003-06:00

Today I was challenged to think quickly of 3 things I know. Things I absolutely *know* to the depths of my soul. I was given 10 seconds to think of what I know. Here's what I thought of:

The ear doctor loves me...fully, unconditionally

I love my house because it's not just the structure that shelters me from the unexpected snow storm that happened this morning, but because it is my home

I am so blessed that it shocks and humbles me like nothing else

technical difficulties

2011-03-25T11:41:00.004-06:00

Today my little niece Charlotte turns 4. How has time passed so quickly?

This morning we skyped with her and she was so excited from opening presents and wired from eating mapley-syrupy-pancake-birthday-cake that she couldn't sit still. Her body was literally vibrating with joy.

And I love that I could actually see that...thanks to Skype.

oh, skype, how i love thee.

But there is something that I just can't stand about it, and I have drawn up a diagram to help me explain my slight frustration:

When my eyes are looking at the image of my loved one they are pointed slightly down because the camera is offset from the skype window on the screen. So I feel like my connection to the person on the other end suffers. In an attempt to make sure they know I'm listening to them, I move my eyes from looking at them on the screen and stare straight into the camera.

But then I sometimes miss seeing their expression change in response to what I'm saying.

And that bugs.

Am I taking crazy pills? Anyone else relate? What do you do? Just live with it?

not my brightest moment

2011-03-24T10:54:00.002-06:00

Last night I organized a pizza making party for 15 teenagers at my church building.

I thought it would be easy because I picked up pre-made dough and pizza sauce from whole foods and had a mountain of pre-shredded cheese.

I thought the fact that there were two ovens and pizza stones at 500 degrees would make the whole activity seamless.

About 10 minutes into the event I realized this was NOT going to be easy.

Cheese was flying everywhere.

There was so much cornmeal on the ground I kept slipping and sliding while holding piping hot pans.

The pizza makers didn't know how to stretch, or roll out dough. They got crazy with the toppings so they looked more like towers of pepperoni than nice flat food.

After about 47 minutes of furiously slinging a jillion small pizzas into and out of the oven one of my favorite little 12 year old girls came over, gave me a hug and said, "Katie....you look really tired"

At which point I wanted to melt into a puddle, cry and say, "yes, yes, I'm EXHAUSTED!"

But instead I just turned around and pulled 3 more almost fully cooked sauce covered dough balls from the oven.

It's official....I would never make a good Pizza Hut employee. There goes that dream....

a bit of a low

2011-03-16T09:14:00.002-06:00

Well, there was no morning dance party for us today.

Yesterday the ear doctor found out some pretty crappy news. The grant application he wrote last year to get his dissertation funded didn't even get READ by the committee who reviews them. It was quite the blow to our little family.

So, in order to cheer my man up I decided to take him to one of those Brazilian steak houses for dinner. The kind of place where guys in funny pants walk around with meat on swords and make you feel bad if you say that you're full and can't possibly eat another mouthful of beef without exploding.

Dinner was awesome...but the hours of food poising I've experienced since have been less than joyful.

So now the ear doctor feels doubly bad that he didn't get the grant AND his special dinner caused me a special morning of laying on our bathroom rug.

I told him that my problems weren't his fault...it's those @%$*&#% gauchos!

New traditions

2011-03-15T10:08:00.003-06:00

Well, today is day 2 of our new household tradition. And I'm loving it so much that I have officially decided that it will be a part of our life from now until the end of time.

What is it, you ask?

Morning dance party.

Both yesterday and today the ear doctor and I played a rockin tune and danced for approximately 3.5 minutes before I rushed out the door to join the rest of the rat race.

This morning the jam was MJ's Rock With You.

I'm not really sure why, but that short interlude with my man, my dog jumping 3 feet in the air to join in the fun and the king of pop made this day seem not only managable, but really fun and exciting.

Do you have any tricks to help the day seem brighter?

Under the influence

2011-03-14T14:49:00.003-06:00

Saturday I had my first full-blown allergy attack of spring. It's simultaneously awesome and horrible. Awesome that spring is here, horrible that my head might explode. I end up sneezing and sneezing and sneezing over and over again until people start turning around to look at the incredible sneezing girl like I'm a side show offering at a three ringed circus.

I made it through the day, but at 3 am on Sunday morning I'd had enough. I finally caved at took a Benedryl. The split second before that sweet little pink and white capsule passed my lips I thought, "this might make getting to church on time a challenge..."

And it did.

The ear doctor attempted to wake me up at 9:45 (for our 10 o'clock service) and I felt like a surgery patient fully alert, but trapped in the drugged web of anesthesia. I couldn't make my body move.

So at 10:30 when the drugs wore off I threw on a dress and made my way to our building.

I probably shouldn't have been driving.

I spent 90% of the remainder of the service staring off in space and giggling at how the speaker said the word prayer funny. She really emphasised that the word had two syllables. Pray-ER, pray-ER, pray-ER. Hilarious stuff when you're stoned.

So when, at the end of church, I was sitting by myself trying to detox I didn't find it strange when someone in my congregation approached me and began to express her condolences on my recent infertility. She went on to tell me that her daughter was also having a hard time getting pregnant and how it took her years to start having babies.

I just kind of looked up at her with glassy eyes and said, "I'm not trying to get pregnant at all"

And, at the time, I wasn't phased at her response when she said, "oh really? I thought I'd heard somewhere that you were trying and couldn't get pregnant..."

But now I'm super annoyed.

getting my groove on

2011-03-11T11:38:00.002-07:00

Last night the ear doctor and I hosted a daddy/daughter event for the girls in our church aged 8-12. In my mind this was a perfectly coordinating activity with cute favors, beautiful decor, fun games and delicious homemade food. The kind of event that made people feel really special because someone took the time to work so hard, you know.

And then I realized that my guests would be 8 year old girls and 30 year old dudes.

So we met at our neighborhood bowling alley, had pizza delivered and made our guests buy their own sodas about the snack bar.

But guess what? It was awesome. Everyone had a great time and I didn't do too horribly at bowling (122 thank you very much).

The funny thing about me and bowling is that it really brings out my inner Rock StAWr! I mean, when those big white pins go flying I just can't help but lift up my arms and commence violent and furious fist pumping. It doesn't help when the alley is blasting Michael Jackson. And I don't really have the self control to contain myself even after I turn around and notice that one of the dad's had his camera out video taping my antics.

So if you happen to see a crazy red-head dancing around like a fool at a bowling alley on facebook today I wouldn't be surprised. It's me.

He's so smart

2011-03-09T10:24:00.002-07:00

I just found out that the ear doctor was awarded the Outstanding Doctoral Researcher Award 2011 from his department.

He just sat down to his computer, opened it up and got an email totally validating all the hard work he's been putting in for the last 3 years.

I'm so proud of him I might just explode. Great work, babe.

Now get to work....no resting on your laurels...

Envision

2011-03-08T12:48:00.003-07:00

OK, so I fully know this is lame, but...

I was watching the Hellcats sometime in the last week and the episode was all about finding purpose in life by "following your bliss."

As embarrassing as it is to admit, the writers on the CW got me thinking. Am I following my bliss? Do I even know what it would look like if I were smack in the middle of my bliss?

So for the past few days I've been thinking about what would be my most blissful experiences and then see if somehow they could become my daily reality. Things that someone actually PAYS me to do.

Have you ever heard of a job where you spend the first 2 hours of your day up to your ears in dirt...planning, prepping, caring for, harvesting and maintaining your garden? Only then to go over to your perfectly designing bakery and serve up your delicious baked goods to people on their way into work.

You then get to take a long lunch with your sweetheart. Each and every day.

The afternoon is filled with technical work. You pull up your computer, design something really great for a client's home. You call a contractor and he immediately starts demo on the problem. You put your computer away by 4 pm and have the entire night to spend cooking dinner and playing games with your family.

Because that life? my personal bliss

Symbol of our love

2011-03-07T08:59:00.002-07:00

Last week the ear doctor spent an entire day judging a high school science fair. And he had a blast. He came home and told me all about the really smart kids, the projects that parents clearly did for their offspring and the attempts at science that some of the less technically gifted kids put together.

And then at the end of his description of the day he presented me with this beauty.

This is what marriage is. Always being on the lookout for what will make them really happy.

Astronaut Katie

2011-02-28T09:41:00.002-07:00

Friday afternoon I got to climb into the first article of the new space capsule that I'm working on.

Definitely the best day of work I've had at this company.

Design advice

2011-02-24T08:37:00.006-07:00

Hey all-

I got a new little entry table for our house on craigslist last night. It's a little beat up and a bit more formal than the vibe we've got going on in the rest of the house so I was thinking of painting it some happy color. What do you think?

I suggested yellow or green to the ear doctor and he thinks bright colored furniture isn't great for anything but a kid's room. Do you agree?

Young girl

2011-02-22T09:54:00.006-07:00

Did you see the Justin Bieber movie? Because I totally did.

I went because I am an unapologetic fan of pop culture AND the kid is kind of a phenomenon AND I was in a bad mood that nothing but a cheesy movie could correct. And I have a confession...it totally made me cry.

Not in that crazy Bieber-fever hysterical 10 year old girl way. Tears of adulation weren't rolling down my cheeks and at no time did I pledge my undying love for the teenager.

Here's what happened.

I guess the people on team Bieber wander around at the beginning of each show and find some fans in the nose-bleed section. Then they surprise them with front row seats and the little girl melts into a puddle of tears and thanks her lucky stars that Justin Bieber cares about her, personally.

Anyway, one person upon whom they selected to bestow front row seats was a middle aged, balding guy. At first I thought it was kind of strange for him to be attending that show...until I noticed that he was wearing a white T-shirt with BIEBER written across the front in rainbow puffy paint and covered in homemade music notes. The camera panned over to his little daughter dressed in a matching shirt and I just lost it.

Here was a dad who was dressed in a ridiculous shirt and was attending the concert of a teenage boy he probably would have never heard of but for the love he had for his daughter.

How could I not tear up?

20 years ago I WAS that little girl. My dad WAS that guy. He lovingly subjected his ears to the off-key, overproduced sounds of New Kids on the Block while my friend and I swayed in rapture to Please Don't Go Girl.

To be honest I don't even remember a single second of the show...other than my dad being there, loving me and buying me a blue bubblegum ice cream cone.

On this Valentines Day

2011-02-14T11:37:00.013-07:00

To my wonderful husband,

Oh sweet darling, how do I love thee? Let me list the ways...

Thy care and love for our sweet precious canine doth warm my heart with an deep, fervent and persistent glow.

The way your eyes doth take on an eerily possessed quality when we, together, consume the sweet, cool goodness that is fresh homemade ice cream at our favorite local parlors.

The smirk that overtakes thine face when thou feign fatigue at my incessant photo-taking.

The way thou are always excited for a most auspicious occasion wherein we both may, perchance, consume some chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick.

The dueling battles in which we both engage to prove our mettle and establish our domination.

Your shapely form while clad in the garb of my ancestors.

The way thou dons thine cap in support of the weaker competitor to demonstrate your unflagging support of those to whom thou has dedicated thine ardor

The strength of thine arm, the tireless protection it affords, thine immovable dedication to moral uprightness and truth.

The blueness of thine eyes, the warmth of thine smile, the perfection of thine head for filling out a typical Englishman's cap.

blast from the past

2011-02-10T13:03:00.002-07:00

On the way back to work from grabbing some Wendy's for lunch (GAH! Bad food choices!) I pulled up next to a truck with this load strapped to the flat bed...

...and if you didn't see that and immediately think of starting a bonfire then your undergraduate experience was a lot different than mine.

BTW did you notice that beautiful blue sky? Finally the weather is back to normal here in Colorado! Hooray!

On the John

2011-02-09T12:12:00.003-07:00

When I was little one of my favorite things about my grandma's house is that she had a big book of jokes in a magazine holder bolted to the wall right next to the toilet. We never had any reading material in the bathroom and I thought it was SO COOL that she had this book in their for some entertainment.

But I never actually adopted the practice in my own bathroom until I married the ear doctor. He's always bringing stuff into the bathroom to pass the time. Lately the reading material is getting REALLY good...

Can you see what that is, sitting there on our wicker laundry hamper? No? Need a close up?

Exciting, huh?!?! Now you know what kind of wonders await you if you ever have the chance to swing by Colorado for a visit at our house.

SIDENOTE: This morning the ear doctor told me that the author of this article lives in Canada with a whole herd of deaf white cats that he studies auditory/brain development. Now, that'd be something to see, right?

Being a grown up

2011-02-08T08:15:00.001-07:00

Another thing we did while my mom was here? She helped me pick out RED lipstick. And I mean RED.

When I wear it I either feel like a saucy minx...

...or like a kid who just finished her red Popsicle.

Workhorse

2011-02-07T10:54:00.004-07:00

My parents always tease me that when they visit I always ask them to work on our house. They (somewhat loudly) state how they just can't seem to get a trip to Colorado without it entailing trips to a hardware store. They brag that they could drive to the closest Home Depot with their eyes closed.

So when I found out that my mom booked tickets to come to the Sound of Music sing-along with me I was thrilled. And determined. I was NOT going to ask her to work on our house in any way shape or form.

The show was awesome on Friday, seriously, SO fun. See? Really fun! The ear doctor totally missed out!

And on Saturday I had plans to relax and eat and chat but as the snow started to fall and an idle second was spent relaxing on the couch my mom looked around and saw the stack of framed pictures on the ground that I'd been too lazy to hang she started rooting around for a hammer and some nails. And hour later we had this.

And then we still had some time to kill so we ran to the fabric store and whipped together cushions for the chair my dad made me a two years ago!

So much for just sitting back and relaxing! I never want to be teased again for "MAKING" my parents work on projects when they come to visit. Because I'm pretty sure my mom wouldn't have it any other way!

frightening scenarios

2011-02-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

Monday night I was attempting to clean our laundry room. It's in the basement of our 80 year old house and has a 2 foot deep cement shelf about 4 feet up the wall. I was gracefully attempting to climb down off the shelf and my stupid wet, slippery crocs skidded on the top of the slippery, wet step stool and sent me hurtling through space.

I prevented my early death by strategically placing my rear on the sharp corner of the dryer.

And now am seriously considering 3 very scary possibilities:

1) no one may ever read my blog again since I admitted that I own and wear a pair of crocs

2) I may be inclined to tell the story about how instead of being killed by a dryer 5 years ago I managed only to pee my pants in front of my super cute boyfriend

and/or

3) a picture of my very purple bruised butt cheek may find its way to the internet...

Impressive

2011-02-01T13:47:00.003-07:00

There is no denying that the ear doctor and I are really, seriously nerdy. What? You want proof?

well, ok, here goes

The thing I got most excited about today? Buying a broom from a guy in Kentucky who is the third generation broom maker in his family.

Richard Henson

The thing the ear doctor got most excited about today? Well, its a tie really. Between trying to talk me into getting him this huge industrial sized dust pan for his garage and being a judge at a high school science fair at the end of the month.

whether channle

2011-02-01T10:34:00.003-07:00

This morning it was -12 degrees F when I went out to scrape snow off my car.

-25 with the wind chill.

Today the high is supposed to be -4 deg F.

This is NOT normal Colorado weather. How to do you Northern Midwesterners do it?

My boogers froze into a solid plug in about 9 nano seconds!

inspriation

2011-01-27T11:36:00.003-07:00

You know what would totally help me be a more productive employee?

Afternoon dance party

It wouldn't have to be more than 10 minutes, but if the lights when out and some groovin beats started thumping through the PA system it would do wonders for my morale. And productivity. And stress level.

If I had a small business I'd make it a company policy.

Are the hills alive?

2011-01-20T14:47:00.004-07:00

See...this is why I love living in Denver! Look what came in my mail box yesterday!

I simply can't ask the ear doctor to accompany me to the SUPER dorky sing-along event. He's an awesome husband who happily endures my never-ending Disney Sing-It sessions so I can't, won't, would NEVER ask him to go to a public sing along of the Sound of Music.

Anyone interested getting their Von Trapp on while simultaneously making this little red head extremely happy?

How was your weekend?

2011-01-17T09:39:00.003-07:00

Friday night I hosted a real, honest to goodness slumberparty for 4 of the high school girls that attend my church.

And I'm pretty sure it was a raging success. What do you think? All of the following activities were accomplished:

-Rabid consumption of multiple pounds of M&M's

-Girl talk about our celebrity crushes

-Cute, perfect little faces covered in bright green facial masks

-Boy advice given to girls who were only just slightly younger than 16

-Karaoke to Disney songs

-Prank calls at 1:30 am

-Nails shined and polished

-Ice cream consumed

-My entire living room floor covered in tired sleepy girls in sleeping bags at 3 am while a chick flick plays on the TV in the background

I even still have my fingernail polish on...which is quite a feat for this girl....

...I probably only have it because all my remover was used in a single night. It's hard to pick what color you like best when you're 15!

Dear cat burglers,

2011-01-12T09:22:00.005-07:00

Don't even think about trying to break into our house. The ear doctor has the place on lock down and is anticipating your every move:

I know a lot of you wives out there may not be supportive of letting your man protect the home with a fully automatic weapon, but I can't tell you how much better I've been sleeping at night knowing that he can totally unload on any creep who attempts to cross our threshold uninvited.

And don't you worry, we know all about gun safety. We never keep it loaded, and it's always out of the reach of the younger members of our family.

One false move and these bozos'll get pumped full of nerf!

Snort

2011-01-10T15:14:00.005-07:00

I was just clicking through my sister's pictures from Christmas and I found the best picture of me that has ever been taken. Seriously, I look like a freakin supermodel. I think I'm going to crop it and make it into a headshot and send it out to Hollywood because I'm pretty sure they're looking for a beauty like me!

Seriously?

Dirty hair from not showering? Check! Ravenously eating a Subway footlong? Yup! Completely dead eyes from waiting too long to eat lunch and trying to remember if I washed my hands after bowling? You bet!

So Hot!

Dear previous owners of our house:

2011-01-10T11:13:00.005-07:00

Thanks so much for gluing aluminum foil to the ceiling to protect the ugly flush-mount light fixture from burning the house down. When we pulled the gross fixture off this weekend a bunch of layers of paint and stuff came along with your handy foil installation! It was awesome!

It looks really rad now that we've installed a hanging pendant light that has a much smaller interface at the celing.

I've always wanted to add a ceiling medallion there!

Also, look how cute our dog is on our new rugs! I know it's kind of ghetto to buy 2 of the exact same small rugs and put them together to look like one big rug but it was SOOOOOOOOO much cheaper!

Experiment

2011-01-05T08:41:00.007-07:00

Well, I got myself a set of curlers over Christmas break. I've been feeling like my hair is the same boring thing everyday, and since I've been hearing how BIG HAIR is in, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

So I rode into work today with big, red, plastic curlers all over my head.

And I'm just not sure about the results.

I kind of feel like a 5 year old just before her big dance recital...

New Years

2011-01-04T08:31:00.007-07:00

Even though our New Years plans abruptly changed this year, we still managed to have a pretty good time. We found a big band playing music from the 30's and lindy hopped the night away. I just love that my man can dance so well and loves doing it.

When I was a 17 year old girl and people asked me what I wanted in a husband I always said that I hoped I married a guy who made me laugh until I cried and loved dancing.

I got my wish!

Happy 2011...looks like it may be the year to invest in a tripod for my camera...

My review

2011-01-03T09:25:00.006-07:00

Since I spent the holidays in Orem this year I was bound and determined to eat at some of the new resturants people here in the blog-land have been raving about.

First, we tried Pizzeria 712. Awesome! Fabulous! I learned that I am crazy-in-love with speck.

Second, we had lunch at Communal in Provo. While the food was stellar and the interior of the restuaurant totally dreamy I thought the portion size to price ratio was a little lopsided. Too expensive to be a regular stop for this girl.

And last, we hit up SLAB pizza. No one told us it was in the basement of the Campus Plaza apartment complex! My freshmen roommate lived there her sophmore year so I already had tons of warm memories associated with the building! Then we stepped in and was hit with the most delicious aroma. The ear doctor and I gorged ourselves and left feeling perfectly satisfied.

How do you know you're having a great vacation, Katie-style? Your fist is full of cheesy pizza and both of the external pockets of your purse are buldging with boxes of candy!

Seems like the food in the valley is getting better with each passing year!

New Years change of plans

2010-12-30T11:34:00.002-07:00

Well, thanks to the storm that just rolled over Utah and Colorado the ear doctor and I will probably be spending New Years in Orem.

I'm pretty bummed because some friends of ours are planning on having an awesome fancy party to ring in the new year and we'll probably miss out. I even have a brand spankin new Kate Spade dress to wear to the fete, but now I'll probably be wearing my jammie-jams playing Donky Kong to welcome 2011.

Anyone have any fun ideas of how we should celebrate the holiday here in the valley?

ERROR

2010-12-26T11:33:00.001-07:00

GAH!

I totally just posted on my sister's blog instead of mine! And now I can get back into her account to take it down and put it here!?!?!?

I guess that's what happens when you share a laptop for Christmas....

Small world

2010-12-15T12:31:00.002-07:00

Last night I was invited to a ornament gift exchange hosted by a girl I hardly know.

As soon as I got there I was really excited because there were a whole bunch of women that I'd never met and seemed really awesome. Over cookies and wassail we chatted and got to know each other.

We talked about our families and our jobs. We talked about their kids and my dog. We talked about the neighborhood and the schools. We talked and talked and talked.

I can't remember how it came up, but at one point in the conversation, one of the girls said, "oh, I know Replikate..." (except she used her full real name which I'm not sure she'd want me to share and link to her blog) or something. My jaw hit the floor and I excitedly interrupted and said, "I know her too, she's awesome! We just went to the best show together!" and then a bunch of other people said, "oh, Replikate, she's the best." One said, "we went to church together when she lived in Boston." At which point a general consensus was made when someone said, "Basically, Replikate knows everyone."

So thanks, pal, for being so awesome and helping me feel super cool for knowing you!

Christmasy Date Night

2010-12-14T07:59:00.003-07:00

Last night I took the ear doctor on a date. A real, honest-to-goodness date where I even opened his car door for him. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant where I told him the sky was the limit and he could order anything he wanted.

He got the carnitas and I got flautas (I was really craving some fried crunch with guacamole on top). Then we drove down town to the Denver Botanic gardens. Every year they cover the entire garden in a million twinkle lights and you can walk through and enjoy the festivities.

Unfortunately, it's been almost 70 degrees here in Denver so the ice sculptures were just little pathetic melted lumps, but overall it was pretty stunning. We kissed under the mistletoe and held hands while we talked about our future.

We even bought these cool little 3D glasses that turned every light into a perfect little snowflake.

I love any activity that combines sentimental moments and ridiculous eye-gear...

A few things I wouldn't mind seeing under the tree

2010-12-13T09:10:00.001-07:00

In case you were wondering...

1.Poles (any will do) 2.goggles 3.gloves 4.Gold watch 5.Sweater 6.Polka dot tights 7.Black flats 8.100 sq ft of hex tile 9.Rug for my bedroom 10.OXO pop-top containers 11.Immersion blender 12.Square griddle 13.Sea salt 14.Pepper mill

Day 12

2010-12-12T09:49:00.001-07:00

“He whose birth the Christian world celebrates is indeed the Son of God, the Redeemer, the Promised Messiah. No message is more significant than the one He brought. No event is of greater importance than His atoning sacrifice and subsequent resurrection. And no mortal tongue can express sufficient thanks for all that Jesus has done for us” --Ezra Taft Benson

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4–5).

1.Thank journal $24 2. Gratitude necklace $24 3.Things I’m thankful for notecard $4 4.Be glad for this moment ceramic $22 5.Be thankful wall decal $10

Day 11

2010-12-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

“We need not wait for Christmas, we need not postpone till Thanksgiving Day our response to the Savior’s tender admonition: ‘Go, and do thou likewise’” --Thomas S. Monson

“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. … But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, … and took care of him. … Which now of these … was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” Luke 10:30–31, 33–34, 36

1.Everyone serves a porpoise print $18 2.Fleur de Lys serving platter $38 3.Wood and bone salad servers $19 4.Serve while you preserve print $12 5.Stainless pitcher $40

Day 10

2010-12-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love Christmas music. In fact, the other day I was walking my dog at 6:30 in the morning belting out tunes for the world to hear. I just love the way they make me feel and especially what they make me think of.

“Thoughts of Jesus … [should] be far more frequent and much more constant in all times and seasons of our lives. How often do we think of the Savior? How deeply and how gratefully and how adoringly do we reflect on his life? How central to our lives do we know him to be?” --Howard W. Hunter

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas albums:

1.Christmas Divas $10 2.H is for holiday $10 3.Time-life music: Treasury of Christmas $15/double CD set 4.Diana Krall Christmas Songs $10 5.Alabama Christmas $7

Day 9

2010-12-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

I remember a time just before I met the ear doctor and I felt so alone. Sure, I had some friends, but for some reason this overpowering feeling of loneliness fell on me and I felt a bit hopeless. I think being lonesome is the worst feeling in the world. It's just horrible. Whenever someone tells me they feel lonely my heart just breaks...it's such a tough thing to go through...especially at Christmas.

The thing that helped me most was relying on my faith and religion. It's maybe a little cliche, but it's true.

“Despite all we can do, we cannot have a fullness of joy in this world or through our own efforts. Only in Christ can our joy be full. This is why the angel proclaimed: ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day … a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:10–11). We are able to have a fullness of joy only when spirit and body are inseparably connected in the glorious resurrection to celestial glory. That joy, of course, comes only through the mercy of the Holy Messiah” --Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov.
1991, 74

Reminders to seek more Joy in my life:

1.Plush Joy pears $38/3 2.Comfort and Joy cards $16/8 3.Joy to the world gift tags $4.25/6 4.Joy to the World wall decal $9.95 5.Find Joy in the unexpected bracelet $55 (benefits juvenile diabetes foundation!)

Getting technical

2010-12-08T11:13:00.003-07:00

Just so you know, the technical name for this kitchen instrument is a WHISK:

And this?

Is a BOING-ER.