Christmas gift guide: Toddler Niece

1. Skirt from Grosgrain $25 2. Wooden workshop (just like her daddy's) $65 3. Handmade wooden car $30 4. Ugly Doll $20 5. Carnival of the Animals book and CD $15

Christmas Gift Guide: Girlfriend

I'd gush over any one of these gifts.

1. Jewelry by Julie Garland ~$30 2. A Year of Mornings $14 3. Linda and Harriett 2009 calendar $24 4. Year subscription to the Pretty Little Things Club $100 5. Palace bag from India Rose $42

Christmas gift guide: Creative Sibling

You know those people who just love making projects? If they don't already have this stuff, they'd LOVE to find it under the Christmas tree.

1. Holga starter kit $70 2. Gocco Printing Kit (hard to find this year) $185 (more on ebay) 3. Gingher shears $40 4. Prismacolor markers $20 /12

Christmas Gift Guide: Coworker or Neighbor

Wouldn't these be fun to give and to get? I think so.

1. I am not a paper cup (this is actually porcelain) $20 2. Bubble calendar $30 3. Ultimate pocket protector $5 4. A dundie (only if they really deserve it) $20

Christmas Gift Guide: Husband

Well, this is really a gift guide if your husband is MY husband. If so, then he'll love these things:

1. Sport's Illustrated College Football Book $30 2. Nerf N-Strike Vulcan Blaster $40 3. BBQ sauce of the month club $20/month 4. A nixon watch ~$200

Christmas Gift Guide: Baker

Do you have someone on your shopping list who loves to bake? Well, if so, here's some great little gift ideas that they'll probably love. I know I would.




1. Mauviel Copper Sugar Pot $120 2. Fleur de Sel $10.50 3. Whole nutmeg $4.25/4 oz

Thankful for...

...families that love me, even if I'm not genetically linked to them.

...a home, which I don't technically own, but feels like mine.

...friends who let me hold their newborn son and remind me of the miracle of birth.

...a job that challenges my mind and helps support my family.

...fellow bloggers who forgive me for changing to a Christmas layout 4 days before Thanksgiving.

...a husband who loves me and thinks its funny to do this to our dog:

Enjoy your turkey, family and friends!

If only

If I had more money or these were cheaper I'd get them for my cousin Megan.




I think she'd dig em....

But maybe not. Hillz, what do you think? Am I heading in the right direction?

(seen on Oh Joy! )

In awe

My husband isn't an MD. He's a doctor, but he's not the same kind of doctor that my brother-in-law is going to be. He's actually an audiologist, a specialist in hearing.


Before I met him I never really realized how important hearing is. When asked, "would you rather loose your sight or your hearing?" I'd always immediately say I'd chuck the hearing for a chance to see. It used to be an easy choice. Now...not so much. He has taught me critical role that hearing plays in brain development and interpersonal relationships. And I am so proud that he has chosen to be a member of such a compassionate and serving community.


As a result, I was deeply moved this morning by the story shared today over at Rocks in my Dryer. Every Thursday she has a post written by someone who has experienced something unique in life. They describe what it's like to walk their path and share things that they've learned. I love it.

And I could not be prouder of my husband and his ability and desire to help people improve their hearing.

I need a new scraper

This morning I had to scrape the windshield of my car. And it wasn't that "oh, look, a light dusting of dry Colorado snow that I can just shake off and be on my merry way" kind of job. It was the "dead of winter, quarter inch of frozen, drizzly rain" kind. The kind where I seriously consider getting the ear doctor's wood chisels out of the garage and going to town.

As a result, my mind is set on chilly Colorado mornings that I'll have to walk my dog through for the next 5 months. Which, logically, leads me to boots.

I need some.

Badly.

But I'm not really sure what kind of boots to get. Here is the dream list for boots:

1) waterproof

2) warm

3) good grip on the bottom so I don't end up on my rear

4) durable...I'm not going to be buying this type of boots very frequently so I'd like them to last

5) easy to pull on and off for emergency puppy potty runs

6) kind of cute...I know this is asking a lot from a snow/mud/rain boot, but if at all possible that'd be nice.

So far these are what I've got my eye on:

The Sarek Outlast by Trentorn

Now if someone will only loan me the dinero to purchase them...

Wow, I'm getting lame

Sorry for the absolute dearth of good stuff here. I'm sure that my fans my mom is getting dissapointed when she clicks over here and just finds random pictures taken from my desk chair. Although, to be honest, over 11 hours of my every day this week has been passed from this chair so really, that's a pretty accurate depiction of my life.


What's that, mom? You want to see more pictures of my cubical? Really? You don't think that'd be so boring that you'd want to blow your brains out after seeing them?

Ok, since you asked:

Please disregard the creepy diet coke graveyard. I really tried not to drink soda, but it didn't last long...

Moving to the left:

Anyone who can tell me what the book on top of the bookshelf with the red title is gets 10 bonus points.

Rotating again to the left:

(This corner is behind me all day).

The only corner you didn't get to see just has a crappy old filing cabinet, which isn't really mine anyway. (That's Herb's domain)

So there you have it. My home away from home.

Oh the weather...

Today it is 75 degrees outside. It's really very beautiful, but something else is on my mind. Any idea what it could be?

Pretty decent use for post-its, right?

Guess what

We adopted a baby!!!!!!!!!!























Just kidding. This little cutie is the brand spankin new little son of some of our best friends here in Colorado. We went to go meet him on Saturday night after freezin our little bums off at the BYU/airforce football game down in Colorado springs (hence the monochromatic outfits). Oh, and don't you just love the sunburns we're both sporting? Gotta love that intense Colorado sun...





But I almost tricked you, didn't I?

We are going to be THOSE parents

I'm a little worried about the future children born to the ear doctor and myself. We're both just so totally dorky that it's hard to imagine that a kid might be normal after spending their formative years with us.

For example, before we decided how bundled up to get for our morning walk the ear doctor peered through the blinds that prevent the creepy neighbor from being able to watch us slumber. He turned to me and said, "you gotta look at this"

Immediately the story from the Nielson kid's first morning of snow popped into my mind and I excitedly asked, "Did it snow?"


Before he had a chance to answer I was next to his side, peering trough the cheap, embarrassingly dirty blinds. (give me a break...like I'm really going to take the time to clean the blinds....)



Yup.


The first thought in my mind did not consist of sugar plum fairies or snowball fights as in days of yore. Instead, they focused on one, adorable, stubborn, little thing.





Roscoe.

It would be his first snow. I flew around the house in a tornado of excitement. Much to my chagrin, I noticed that battery on our camera was dead! HOW COULD I HAVE LET THE BATTERY RUN OUT!!!!!!! THIS IS A MOMENTOUS DAY THAT WILL NEVER COME AGAIN!!! I MUST DOCUMENT IT!!! (the ear doctor is rolling his eyes and cringing in pain as he reads this)

Oh well, my crappy phone camera would have to do. There was no way I wasn't going to capture on of our little guy's firsts. I threw whatever warm clothes were on top of the pile at the back of my closet and practically pushed the ear doctor outside with the dog. I instructed him to let me go ahead so that when we got to the snow I'd be able to capture the dog's very first moment with snow. Crouched on the ground, my pants getting soaked I waited to click.


If this is how freakishly excited I get over my DOG's firsts in life can you imagine what it'll be like for a kid....

(shudder)

Turns out that without flash, in the dark of a pre-dawn morning a cell phone does not do a great job of capturing a moment. The only halfway decent record of this mornings activity is of my dog peeing. I'm sure that's really at the top of your I-MUST-SEE list for the day.




No need to thank me.

In which I never learn

My grandpa grew up in Eureka, UT.

Ever since I was little I've been enthralled by the countless stories of Eureka as told by my grandpa. First and foremost, it was a mining town. My mental picture of that town in the 1930s is eerily similar to the town where Adam Pontipee meets Milly in 7 brides for 7 brothers....small, rough, and filled with men. This is probably not accurate, but that's what I've had ingrained in my mind. Thanks a lot, unnatural love for musical theater.

My great grandma was the cook for the mining camp. Talk about a tough job. Cooking up food for all the miners who probably weren't the most genteel of diners. I don't remember ever meeting my great grandma, but the one thing I know about her is this: She could take hot pans out of the oven without any mitts! And not get burned!

A genetic trait I wish I had.

Last night as I watched the opening episode of my beloved Top Chef I gently cradled my burned hands in my lap. As I excitedly noticed that not one but TWO of the contestants are from my hood I cried out in joy and pain. As I thought that since I'd probably eaten something that a contestant on my favorite show had made that pretty much means that I am PERSONALLY experiencing TOP CHEF I glanced down and saw the all too familiar shiny marks that indicate seared flesh.

And then I realized that I really shouldn't have grabbed the red hot handles of my big shiny stock pot earlier that night. It seems that every time I put a pan that is traditionally used on a stove top into the oven to broil or braise I almost always end up trying to pull it out with my tender, fleshy bare hand. I never learn that a handle that's been in a 300 degree oven for an hour will probably be approximately to temperature of the sun. And it will surely not bless, but burn my beautiful hide.


And that is not what a top chef would do. Or my great grandma.

Out sick

Don't mind me, I'm just shivering under a mountain of down comforter, watching Rogers and Hammerstien and realizing one of the biggest perks of marriage...not having to go to the store for my own Sprite and crackers. 

How did I do it without him for so long?

I'm sure some people are really good at visualizing design. They can just think of all the different elements of what they want to create and then go after it.

I'm just not that way.

I have to start with an idea and build a bunch of prototypes until it evloves into something that I really like. This takes a lot of time and is probably the reason I only really do it for big projects. Like, for instance, my wedding. I decided that I would create the place settings and centerpieces myself.

I knew the look I was going for (simple, rustic...to match our venue), but had to actaully set up a practice table to get a really good feel for the scale and look of everything. The end result ended up looking a lot like the practice version:

This weekend the ear doctor and put together a beta version for the upcoming church Christmas party. What do you think:

Any suggestions/improvements?

Any ideas?

I know a bunch of you are just oozing creativity and have great contacts out there. Does anyone have a great source for bulk, cheap card stock? I'm in charge of the decor for the Christmas party at my church and I really want to make these for each place setting:









But my budget is SOOOOO small. Any thoughts?

Cute new (to me) blog

I found a little link over at my cousin's site and I think it's such a nice little spot. Along the same lines as Jordan at Oh Happy Day and Nicole at A little Sussy.

Enjoy!

One question

Why do people comment anonymously? I'm not talking about the comments that my grandma leaves me, because she signs her name at the end.

I'm talking about the rude anonymous comments that people feel free to make on blogs. Take today, this post from a woman who is painfully experiencing infertility. Someone felt the need to go to the effort to write a comment telling her to (basically) stop complaining and move on. Not only that, but the commenter came back a few hours later and wrote ANOTHER mean comment. Give me a break.

This kind of stuff just blows my mind.

Why bother? Why waste time writing about something if you're just going to be hurtful? You'd never say that stuff in person.

I just don't get it.

Confession

I'm listening to Christmas music today. I just can't help myself. And this year there are only 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I feel fully justified in starting my little secret celebration early.

It's not like I'm trying to short change Thanksgiving in any way. How could a food person such as myself try to rush past the one American holiday squarely centered on the celebration of the harvest and the creative mouthwatering things we can do with it? I can't.

I just love Christmas music too much to only give it 3 weeks attention.


So, when you do feel it's OK to start celebrating the season?

Probably not until after Thanksgiving...you're all probably more sane than I am.

Obligatory Nov 4th post

Guess what? We voted.

If you don't, I'll make you swab the deck and then walk the plank you scurvy dog...

Dear Scooter Girl,

You'll be glad to know you are no longer my #1 worst enemy on the planet. A far superior candidate has taken your place.

Last night we let my awesome neighbor take Roscoe down to the grass to play with her dog. She has a beautiful Golden Retriever who is Roscoe's best bud and we often take turns watching them while they frolic in doggie joy.

However, last night was a unique night thanks to the worst people on earth. While our little munchkin was running around, being his happy go lucky, playful self these two jokers with two Jack Russel terriers came out into the grass.

Now, normally I love a Jack Russel. My aunt has a great one who is awesome. But, news flash, a Jack Russel is the type of dog that needs a TON of exercise to stay balanced. These people lock 2 of the little guys up in a 2' x 4' balcony. Of course they are going to be a little out of whack. Every time I've seen these two little dogs they yip, lunge and bite at people.



Roscoe didn't know any better, so he ran up to these two dogs and one of them CLAMPED DOWN AND BIT OUR LITTLE GUY HARD on his droopy adorable jowl. He made him BLEED.

I admit, some of this is our fault. We let him run around without a leash. We weren't there supervising the meeting. We are partially to blame...but how can I feel anything but hateful wrath toward someone who let their pet to this to mine:




After going to the vet, doping him up so they can shave the puncture would site, getting the bite flushed with saline and sending him home to us with $90 worth of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories all we could do was lay around and make sure our little guy was alright.





So, scooter girl, consider yourself officially removed from my S*** list.





Love, Katie

You were oh, SO, wrong!

Friday as I was driving home from work I was feeling kind of lame. We hadn't been invited to a Halloween party, we'd been too lazy to throw our own, I hadn't got around to decorating the house and we had no plans to celebrate the holiday at all. I was bummed out.

When I threw open the door to my apartment I was greeted by this:

The ear doctor had totally decorated our whole house! I was so thrilled, but it was only a small portion of the joy I was about to experience when I saw this run up to great me:

I never thought I'd be the type of person to put a costume on an animal, but guess what...I totally am. Better still, the ear doctor whipped out an awesome costume for me too!

I think this may be our Christmas card photo this year:

(Guess what is hard? trying to get a dog to take a timer photo....)

Then, the unthinkable happened. Brace yourself. Against your passionate advise we went TRICK-OR-TREATING! And guess what...people LOVED it! No one gave us dirty looks and everyone's face lit up with joy as soon as they saw Roscoe's little adorable mug.

So there you have it: Ear Doctor 1, Blog friends 0.