Becoming self-aware

At my new job I share a large office space with a very awesome fellow engineer. We are both brand new and work on the same team. We've split the office by putting up very high backed desks. This way we have privacy...and at work I revel in privacy. So much of my time is spent jumping from meeting to meeting that when I sit at my desk I really like to feel a bit alone.

My office mate is a cool, courteous guy...which I RELISH. We both put on headphones to listen to music, we both speak quietly on the phone.

However, with this politeness come a few drawbacks. The office is almost too quiet. The silence has produced in my an abnormal neurosis about a few things:

1. I sneeze more than your average person. I probably sneeze about 10 times a day. A DAY people! I cannot control it. And the fact that my awesome office mate is the only one who hears this constantly it must be driving him bonkers.

2. I used to love to bring carrots to work to munch on in the afternoon. No longer. Do you have any idea how L-O-U-D crunching carrots are? Too loud, that's for sure.

3. I feel bad leaving my banana peels in our shared garbage can. For some reason when I look down and see that flaccid empty peel it grosses me out to think of him having to look at it. I'm sure he wouldn't care at all, but I just can't do it. I carry it out and deposit it in the large community can.


See....strange, huh?

The verdict

Wow! You are quite the opinionated group! I was a bit overwhelmed by everyone's advice on the great dress purchase of 2009.

In the end, I've decided to follow my good friend allimarie's sage words. I ordered them both on Saturday. When they get here I'll post photos and we can then decide which to keep and which to send back.

Sound like a plan?





Oh, and I've PROMISED myself that I'll return one of them....I'm sure I will....I hope I will...I might...well, I guess we'll see how cute they are and then make up my mind...

Perspective

Yesterday at church I went into Sunday school class alone. I saw a new young couple I didn't really recognize and decided to plop myself down next to them and chat it up for a few seconds before class began.

The wife was an adorable girl, perfectly curled blond hair, big beautiful smile, adorable yellow skirt and I was immediately drawn in. Her husband seemed nice in a straight-out-of-jcrew catalog kind of way. I asked them a few questions and their responses made me laugh. I found out they were currently in Colorado selling something for the summer and would return to their home in Provo for the beginning of fall semester. It was a nice casual meeting of strangers.

Happens a million times a minute all over the world.


That is until I set my bible down on the chair between myself and the blond beauty. My bible has my full maiden name stamped on the front.

Two seconds later this stunning girl looked at me with a smile from ear to ear and asked, "Do you have a sister named Maggie?"

Stunned, shocked and filled with joy I responded, "Yes! I do! She's the best! Do you know her from Provo?"

Smiling she responded, "No, I know her from Spokane. I grew up there. Our parents are very good friends! I knew that you looked familiar, and I knew that Maggie had an older sister named Katie."

Then we marveled over the smallness of the world. I went to high school with her older sister. She'd heard all about me and my sister growing up.

I was floored.

And for a split second I saw myself as this girl saw me. When I left home for college she was probably 10 years old. I was someone who she'd heard about and sort of knew. And now we were sitting there as peers a world away.

I hope that she saw in me the person I am trying to be. Someone kind and open. Someone friendly and welcoming. Someone who she'll remember next time she's calling home and say, "my, that Katie sure has become such a nice and awesome person. She made me feel like a million bucks."

And then maybe her mom will tell my mom.

And hopefully that will make my mom smile.

Cool Denver House Friday

I am over the moon in love with this house. It's in a prime area, blocks to a huge park/lake and just oozing with curb appeal!




Sure, the inside is a bit of a train wreck. The ear doctor and I are up for the challenge! For only $199 this 2 bed, 1 bath, 1636 sq ft beauty built in 1900 could be OURS!

Rock the vote

I've found two dresses that I'm considering buying for a wedding later this summer. I really love them both and can't make up my mind. So I'm coming to you, dear friends. Which do you like better?

#1

#2

And how would you accessorize the one you like better. (confession: I'm a horrible accessorizer...)

It's really crucial to get the right dress since it's the only article of clothing I'm allowing myself to purchase this summer.

WWYD?

Look what I stumbled upon in a dark forgotten desk drawer in my new office?

I love Nutella. It is delicious, but I hardly ever buy it for myself. I especially probably would never buy a little individually portioned, lunch size container.

But my mom told me not to eat things from strangers. Or things you don't know where they've been.

So now I'm torn.

Should I eat it? Would you?

Blogger to Blogger

Oh, did you notice that I missed a blogger to blogger last week? Well, I was building up the suspense for this week's interview with Reb of Reb and Jeb and Our Little Men. As soon as I found her I know, what with being a fellow Coloradoan and all, I had to get her on the ole blog. And she was SO nice to agree!

Reb asked: Boulder is such a great place. If I only had 3 hours to spend there, what should I do?

Katie answered: The best thing about Boulder is that you can mix the rural with the urban without having to drive very much. If you only had 3 hours to be in the area I would first get lunch on the front patio at Brasserie Ten Ten. The food will knock your socks off, and I could bring little Roscoe and tie him up to the railing while I eat.

Then, I'd take off and do a little hike up to Boulder Falls. It's such and easy short walk but who doesn't love a waterfall?

If I still had time after that I'd grab some frozen custard from Bova's on the hill.

Reb asked: When are you going to actually make audible contact with the Bizarro Katie and Ear Doctor Look alike. When you do, what are you going to say?

Katie answered: Here's the thing. I'm the kind of person who normally just walks up to strangers and starts talking. It's a trait I inherited from my dad who is the most charismatic and

friendly person on the planet. So the fact that I haven't just walked up to them is kind of amazing.

I think I like the intrigue and mystery of NOT talking to them. It makes me feel like a bit of a covert spy.

However, when I see them next (because I know I will) I may say something like, "Isn't it kind of creepy how similar we are?" or maybe "stop stalking us already" or "did you see that episode of Gossip Girl where Blair and Chuck find dates for each other that are cheap copies of themselves? do you consider yourself the "Blair" or the "Blair-knockoff" in this situation?"

Or I'll probably say, "nice hair" and walk away hoping that they saw the resemblance.

Reb asked: I know you're a skier. What places do you like to go to and why? What do you think of Coloradans who do not ski? Isn't there a law against it? I know it's expensive and bla bla bla, but c'mon really?

Katie answered: Well, first of all I have to admit that my favorite place to ski isn't in Colorado at all...it's Alta in Utah. Hands down.

Secondly, since I'm still an intermediate skier (mostly blue/black runs) my favorite place to ski in this state is Copper. It's closer than Vail, better runs that Breck (for a skier), the bumps aren't as deep or steep as they are at Winterpark/Mary Jane. That being said, I have to admit I've never been to Loveland or A-basin yet.

Lastly, I get it why some people don't ski. My sister is the type that hates to be cold and willingly sacrifices the potential thrill of the hill to avoid it. I never complain about people that don't ski here. The resorts are crowded enough and the traffic makes me want to pull out my hair. The more people who stay off my hills THE BETTER.

...and then...

Katie asked: What is your favorite detail of your new house?

Reb answered: There are so many details of my house that I am tickled about. The hard wood floors are beyond, the laundry room off the kitchen is dreamy, but I'd have to say my favorite part is the master bathroom.

You have to understand, we used to share a tiny bathroom, all six of us in our other house. It was tight. It was cozy. It was hard to get any privacy. The new bathroom, all of them, allow me to actually sit on a toilet seat without the possibility of sitting on pee first. Jeb and I can do our thing at our own sinks without bumping into eachother all the time. There's also a jacuzzi tub! I can't believe I get to use this bathroom and not give it back at the end of the weekend. I keep smiling and having to pinch myself and think of the words to that song by Talking Heads, "This isn't my beautiful house, this isn't my beautiful car...ect...Many many days go by..."

Katie asked: How do you discipline your kids? What has worked the best for you?

Reb answered: I use a taser or a tranquilizer gun. With four boys, these are a must! And then if that doesn't work then I use Love and Logic. It saved my life and my sanity when I had just the two little ones. As all parents face a shocking discovery, I found I didn't have a clue how to raise my children. I felt like I was parenting without having read the directions to that darn instruction manual that didn't come with them. I also found that I was hot tempered when dealing with strong-willed children. I purchased the Love and Logic book on CD and listened to it when I went running. It was magic and my parenting, my temperment improved ten fold. I wasn't yelling anymore. I was smiling and happy. The feeling in our home was so much more peaceful. I still use it and am so thankful for it.

Katie asked: What is the best advise your mom ever gave you?

Reb answered: This is the most basic and obvious advice, but she always says, "Do not try to raise your children all the same way. They are all different." Easier said than done, but very wise advice indeed. All my children are so different and trying one technique on one, gets stonewalled by the others. So yes, remember, your children are all different, awesomely different.

Married realization

Last night the ear doctor and I had a long discussion about how lucky we are. We both love our respective in-laws.

My mother- and father-in-law are fantastic people: kind, thoughtful, concerned and loving. I know they will never be the type of people who are controlling or pushy. They'll never force us to make a decision we don't want to make. I know, in the future, they'll never tell us that we're doing something wrong in raising our as-of-yet-unborn kids. They love me the way I am. They don't hope that someday I'll change into what they want me to be.

And I was taking this for granted.

Because the more people I meet and the more stories I hear about in-laws the more I realize this is rare.



How is your relationship with your in-laws?

2 down, a billion to go

This weekend the ear doctor and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary. For some reason, it seems like the planning of events like this usually falls squarely in the ear doctor's lap. Is that a cultural thing? The it's the husband's responsibility to think of something creative? Is it just me? Where does that come from?

This year I offered to plan our big day. And since we are on a budget (remember, we're buying a house soon) I planned us a little sta-cation. (Am I the only one that feels like a total dork when they say that out loud?)

We stayed the night at a swank hotel in downtown Denver Friday night. Saturday we woke up bright and early (8:30) and started the day off right at Sam's. If you're in Denver you MUST go here for breakfast.

With full bellies we hit the pavement. I'd driven through the civic center about a million times but never really learned the history behind it all. So, I did a bunch of research on all the old buildings and showed my man around. Here are a list of things we learned on our day playing tourists in our own city:

1) The Colorado history museum has A LOT of little plastic people dioramas. A lot of them. And they're all guarded by a mighty mighty buffalo.

2) The Denver Public Library houses an amazing collection of western history. Not that we read much of it, but we should have because the reading room up there is pretty jaw-dropping.

3) The Byers-Evans house may or may not have ghosts flying around in it. It's been investigated by the CCPI (Colorado Coalition of Paranormal Investigators) and they're doing a follow-up study in August.

4) The state capitol building has a gold dome that was most recently restored in 1991.

5) Taking a pictures of your feet with you own camera phone can be really hard.

Cool Denver house Friday

From the first time I laid my eyes on the porch railing of this beaut I knew I'd found a sweet deal. Plus, the ear doctor loves a garage door that's not parallel to the front of the house.

This little ranch is 4 beds/3 bath/2796 sq ft for $210K. I don't even know what we'd do with all that square footage.

Granted it will need a little TLC and elbow grease to restore back to it's lovely 1960 self, but I think we could be up to the challenge...

Communication differences

Last week we had the chance to do a backpacking/hiking trip (trek) across Wyoming with a bunch of high school kids that go to our church. Before the trip we didn't know any of the kids at all. We knew we'd be responsible for watching after a small group of them and keeping them happy and safe. I was a bit nervous that we'd get stuck with a few whiners/wimps. There are only a few things more miserable in life than attempting to motivate and cheer an out-of-shape, unwilling, down-in-the-dumps teenager.

Well, luckily, the 6 kids we were assigned were AWESOME! Funny, outgoing, hardworking, in-shape...the best possible scenario. And aside from the less-than-romantic hook-up between two of our kids on the bus ride home (sorry parents) everything went perfectly.

After we got home from our adventure the ear doctor and I started missing these 6 raggamuffins. So, we decided to invite them over to our house for Wii Wednesdays.

Yesterday afternoon the ear doctor sent out emails to each of the inviting them over.


After a few hours, and zero responses I was getting a little nervous. Would they come? Did they get the message? Should I go buy something to eat since I doubt they'll really want munch on the 3 week old carrots that are sadly laying at the bottom of our fridge's vegetable door.

Then, inspiration struck. I casually said to the ear doctor, "dear, why don't you try texting them all?"



4 hours and about 203 texts later my husband looked up from his phone and said that they'd all be coming over next week.

Newness

My first day of class at BYU was a complete debacle. I hadn't had time to scope out where my classroom was so I wandered aimlessly around campus attempting to locate a building I'd never heard of. I looked and looked and looked getting more and more frustrated. I didn't want to seem lost or out of control (silly silly girl) so I refused to stop and ask someone. By the time my class was 45 minutes over I decided that I'd missed it and I sullenly stomped my way back to my dorm room; after which I melted into my bed and cried a few silent but soul wracking sobs.

I promise, I wasn't really upset about missing class. Instead I was totally and utterly overwhelmed by the newest and bigness of everything around me.

By the next day I was fine, but I've never forgotten that sense of being one small little cog lost in a huge piece of machinery. I've also committed to memory the lesson that the out-of-place feeling fades fast.

And that was a great lesson for me to remember this afternoon as I drove from one personality starved office complex to the next in an attempt to locate my new little cubbie. An office that, once found, had no network cable, phone or furniture less than 50 years old.

No, I'm not an intern

There are a lot of tough things about starting a brand new job. You have no idea where to get the pens, you can usually only remember one route to the bathroom and you're not really sure who you should be asking to help get your business cards on order. Your new health insurance plan probably doesn't make sense, and your retirement account? Forget about it. Way too much to take in on Day 1.

But for me, all those things pale in comparison to another larger hurdle. Reputation.

For the past 6 years I've worked very hard to make sure that everyone understood that I was there to be taken seriously. I made sure people understood that I was fully able to do my job. At the very minimum I wanted people to realize that I was NOT THE INTERN!

And what happens today?

No less than 3 people came up to me and asked, "so, are you enjoying the first day of your internship?"

UGH!

It is especially surprising since at this company they take interns from HIGH SCHOOL. No joke. The guy who sat next to me in the orientation meeting was worried that the HR people would forget to return his DRIVING PERMIT after they'd finished his paperwork.

And while I guess I should be excited that I could pass for a 15 year old in their eyes, it's a still a bit frustrating.

So far so good

Tomorrow I start my new job. I have no idea where I'm going or what I'll be doing, but if the introductory materials are any indication things are looking pretty good.

Just feast your eyes on the wicked awesome folder they sent me BEFORE I even started!


Yeah, you know things are going to go well when they're assuring me from day -1 that I'll be achieving all I can imagine. Please note the very professional snowman pen that I intend to use to fill out my paperwork. I am NOTHING if not professional...

Then, I went ahead and opened the folder to find the the CEO of this 140,000 employee strong company took the time to write me a personal, individual unique letter of welcome.



As you can see I was very touched.




I may have dabbed the corner of my tear-filled eyes with a dainty lace handkerchief.

Cool Denver House Friday

Alright, so at first I was a little nervous about this house. In quick-judging terror, I almost clicked right over it. Those crazy colors are INSANE..and chain-link in the front yard...

But then I decided to look a little closer and saw this picture:

You just can't get that kind of architecture in new houses. Am I right, or am I right? How hard do you think it would be to rip down this wall-o-mirrors?

It seems this gem is in foreclosure (so sad), but that means the price is quite attractive. For $158K, this 3 bed 1 bath 2660 sq ft home built in 1935 could be ours to play around with.

Blogger to Blogger

This week I had the chance to go on an awesome Mis-adventure with one of my favorite bloggers, K. We've been reading about each other's lives for almost 4 years now. If you like to read someone genuine who just puts it all out there, hers is the blog for you!

K asked: What will you miss the most and the least about your old job? How does your new job compare?

Katie answered: The first and foremost thing I'll miss about my old job is the people. I made so many great friends there and learned so much from each of them. They threw me a big going away lunch and I was touched I teared up a little bit. Second, I'll miss the support I felt from upper management. I was so lucky to have people high up in the company watching out for me and sincerely caring about my career and the direction it took. I think that's pretty rare and I doubt I'll ever get that kind of personal attention at any other company. Third, free tampons in the ladies bathroom. It's the small things in life. I don't know how the new job compares because I haven't started it yet. All I know is I'll be working with one of my best friends from grad school so I think that'll be a blast.

K asked: If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
Katie answered: Hands down, my mom's meatloaf and mashed potatoes finished with a huge helping of strawberry shortcake. I know it may sound a bit country, but this meal is simultaneously so nostalgic and delicious I can't get enough! I actually had a boyfriend in college who called my mom for the recipe so that he could make it for me for a special dinner...that's how much I love this stuff.

K asked: When you finally buy your first house, what color will you paint the walls? (And when is that finally going to happen?? It is a tease seeing all these cool houses every week!!)

Katie answered: Hmmm...good question. Depending on the light in the space, I imagine the main living space a kind of putty gray, the kitchen almost all white with honey colored wood accents. The master bedroom will probably have slate blue/gray and somewhere will be a nice earthy green. I'm always drawn to those colors. Oh, and we probably won't be actually buying a place until the fall. We haven't even set up any real meetings with Realtors, but when we do I plan to fully document the entire house buying process here....so STAY TUNED.

and then...

Katie asked: As someone who is so athletic, which would you rather loose, your arms or your legs?

K answered: Without a doubt, my arms. The things I love to do - ski, run, hike, would be hard with no arms, but even harder with no legs. When I tore a ligament in my knee last summer and was out of commission for 4 months, I realized just how important the use of my legs was to my life. I was absolutely miserable during my entire recovery because I wasn't able to do my favorite activities. Not only was I physically injured, but there was a huge mental impact as well. Daily life would probably be harder without arms, but I don't I could handle the reduction in mobility that would accompany the loss of legs.

Katie asked: If you were mistakenly thrown in jail, who would get your single phone call and why?

K answered: My mom. I talk to her more than any one else - and her phone number is the only one I know by heart, so I think I'd have no choice but to call her. Also my mom is probably the only person who can decipher me when I am sobbing into the phone, which I would certainly be doing if I was thrown into jail. She also has experience with the whole phone call from jail thing - my brother and I are very different people...

Katie asked: Do you fantasize about having a really big blog sometimes? Why or why not?
K answered: No - not really, for a couple of reasons. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my current little piece of the internet. I think it could turn something fun into something that was a lot of pressure. I feel like the big bloggers out there have a lot of haters (on top of all their lovers) - I don't think I could handle the inevitable criticism. Also, I like the semi-anonymity I have here. I think the bigger a blogger becomes, the harder it is to keep that. All that being said, I am going to start working on actually posting on my own blog again on a regular basis.

Second sighting

What on earth could make me instantly drop everything in my arms in the middle of shopping at Target and rapidly dig to the bottom of my purse for my camera phone?

THE SECOND SIGHTING OF BIZARRO KATIE AND EAR DOCTOR!


There we were minding our own business when, lo and behold, there they were. There was no mistaking the long red hair of the wife or the impeccably groomed facial hair of the husband. It was our alter egos. Our other half. I was so excited and overwhelmed that I almost fainted just like scene in Back to the Future 2 when Jennifer sees herself as a middle-aged woman in the future.

Luckily, I was able to keep it together long enough to snap a candid for you all to see.




Please ignore the huge tampon end cap....I am not sponsored in any way by feminine hygiene products.

Cool Denver House Friday

This house may be just the ticket for us!


Priced at $210, this brick 4 bed, 2 bath is 1876 sq ft and pretty much move-in ready. It's the cheapest house on the block by far and just ready for the ear doctor and I to come in and do a few touch-ups (building a garage, giving the kitchen some personality).

Mystery Solved

Last night the ear doctor took me out to the movies. As we sat and waited for the flick to start I looked around and was kind of surprised by the demographics of my fellow movie-goers. The movie we were seeing was a certifiable chick flick and it started at 9:15 pm. I expected to see mostly couples in the audience.


About 5 chairs away from us on the same row was a dad and his teenage son. They were both enjoying slurpees and texting away. Kind of a strange movie choice for a father/son outing, but, who am I to judge.

3 rows behind us and to the left were a couple of guys. I would understand if they were there on a date, but they way they acted toward each other they were deeply in the closet or straight as can be. What would 2 straight teenage boys be doing at a chick flick on a Thursday night? It baffled me.

Then, there was the predictable gaggle of teenage girls all sitting together way at the top of the theater. This group I understood. This group gave be deja vu a bit.


Just before the lights went down the gaggle let out their siren call. Loud, unstoppable, giggles. Probably quite similar to the sound I myself made upon seeing Leonardo Di Caprio's (I'm not sure if that's how you spell his name, but I'm too lazy to look it up right now) moody face in Romeo and Juliet. As I rolled my eyes, gripped my fingers and prepared myself for 2 hours of that annoying cackle, the boys from behind me called out, "hey, what grade are you girls in?"


Straight teenage boy attendance explained.


But then, before the guffawing girls had a chance to answer, the middle-aged man piped up and said, "one of them is my daughter"


I've never seen to scraggly headed boys whip around and sit up straight faster in my life. Their Volcom brims practically launched off their heads with the shear force of the twist.

Blogger to Blogger

This week the beautiful, talented, stunning, blog-queen Leslie of A Room Somewhere stopped by for a little chat. I've been thinking about this woman a lot and had some pressing questions to ask. So I did.

Leslie asked: As a mother of three redheads, I am immediately drawn to others with red hair. My daughter, in particular (the reddest of the three), hears comments about her hair pretty much daily. Does that continue through adulthood? How many times have you answered the question, "So where does the red hair come from?" because I'm thinking of having a pillow made with that question upon it. Also, I feel like redheads kind of are expected to have a gregarious personality. But what if you are shy and don't want attention? Did you have a hard time with it as a child? Do you love it now? Do you sometimes wish you were just a brunette? :)

Katie answered: Great question! And it shows that you really understand the plight of us redheads. I regularly get comments about my hair even now, as an adult. When my sister and I were little and people asked us "where we got our hair" my mom taught us to answer "I'm not sure...I think it just came with my head" I still think it every time someone asks.

Being a red-head people often lump you into a personality type. You are either obstinate and feisty or really really nerdy. I do feel bad for the shy reds out there because, with flaming hair they really don't have the option of blending into the background. I had a hard time with it as a kid because when I exercise my face turns BRIGHT red...kids called me tomato face after gym class.

But I adore it now. It is, hands down, my personal favorite physical feature by a mile.

And I've never wished to be brunette.

Leslie asked: You and your Ear Doctor seem like so much fun. One of the reasons I love your blog is that you are so playful and always seem happy (even at work!). I like happy people. Are you really as much fun as you seem to be on your blog?

Katie answered: Jeez, I hope so. One of the major reasons I married the ear doctor was because he brought out the kid in me. With him by my side I feel free to just do whatever grabs me. Together we've decided that this year, 2009 is the year of happiness and so far, it's working.

Leslie asked: You have had some fun cooking adventures on your blog. What's the best thing you've made for dinner in the past month? I want a recipe.

Katie answered: I'm not sure if this was awesome because we were both starving, or because it takes about 15 minutes to pull together or if it really was just that good, but this dish blew my mind.

California Chicken Salad

Here's a funny side note. Every time I make dinner about half way through the ear doctor will raise up his hand and demand a celebratory high 5. We both love food and rejoice together over a slam dunk.

and then....

Katie asked: Alright, so this is 4 questions in 1 but I just have to ask: have you always lived in Texas? How do you stand the heat? Would you ever consider living somewhere else? Where?

Leslie answered: I have lived in Texas for eight of the past ten years. I grew up in Southern California and went to college in Utah, where I met my husband. He is from Texas, and was still a Texas resident when he applied for Dental School, so it made a lot of sense for us to move here when he was accepted. To be honest, the South Texas heat was really difficult for me. I have a hard time being sweaty and happy at the same time, let's just put it that way. They say that Southern Women don't sweat, they glisten, but glistening for 6 months out of the year can be tiresome after a while. I do love all the rain created by living in such a tropical place, though. I can't ever get enough rain! The weather in the Dallas area, where we live now, is a bit more my style. It's not quite as hot or humid, there's almost always a breeze, and the kids can play outside in the summer without fear of heat stroke. So I love it! (That being said, I could never live in Colorado! Way too chilly for us!)

I happen to LOVE everything else about Texas. The people are incredible, the food is amazing (BBQ and Tex-Mex), the schools are wonderful, and the cost of living is low (no income tax!). I feel very much at home here and we don't plan on leaving any time soon. It's fun to live somewhere that has "personality," and Texas has a big one. Could I picture myself living somewhere else? Oh yes, all over the world. I'd love to live in a big city at some point. I spent some time in college in London and thrived on that energy. I think it's important to find something wonderful about each place, though. An optimistic outlook can take one very far. At this point in my life, suburban Texas is perfect.

Katie asked: Does it sometimes bum you out to have a blog that is so dedicated to awesome pretty things and not be able to buy them all? How do you avoid feeling that way?

Leslie answered: It never bums me out to blog about pretty things I can't have. Because in the end, they're all just things. I feel like I have my head on straight when it comes to the important things in life. Sometimes I feel like I'm encouraging other people to buy things I put on my blog, and then I feel kind of bad. I don't want anyone to get caught up in the race for acquisition because you can't ever win. I like to use the ideas I find to inspire creativity with what I already have. If there's a gorgeous room full of designer furniture, I don't long for the designer furniture. I may take one element and recreate it in my own (cheaper) way. There are lots of ways to have what you love without spending your life away. Truthfully, my only real joy comes from my family and the love we have for each other. (Sappy, I know, but true.)

Katie asked: What is the most rewarding part of writing your blog?

Leslie answered: The most rewarding part of writing my blog is the way I feel like the world has opened up to me. Although I stay at home with my kids and love that part of my life, it can, at times, feel isolating. Through my blog, I have made connections and friendships that validate a different part of my personality. I feel like I've found something I'm good at and maybe one day, when the kids have moved on, I'll be able to put what I've learned to further use.

Movin on up

I can hardly believe I've been doing this blog thing for 5 years.

5 years to the day.


5 years ago I'd been living in Colorado for a year. All of my friends were single. My car was almost brand spankin new. I hadn't met the ear doctor. I hardly ever called my parents. My sister wasn't married and didn't have either of her two awesome kids. I bought new clothes at the mall because I didn't want to do laundry. I didn't think that lowering some of my personal standards was that big of a deal. I wore a lot more capri pants. I ate out almost once a day. I had a job that I barely knew how to perform.

And today? Well things are a bit different.


I've learned to LOVE living in Colorado...a place where probably 98% of my friends are married...most have kids. My car has a cracked windshield, huge scrape in the rear bumper and ripped off ground effect. I'm in love with my amazing husband of almost 2 years. I call my mother religiously every afternoon. I've made a personal goal this summer to not buy a single article of clothing (except for a dress to go to a friends wedding...that doesn't count). We hardly eat out at all except for a special occasion because I love cooking.

And my job? Well, today is my last day. On to bigger and better things.




What a difference a half decade makes...