february is over and the blogosphere is joyous!

i must say i am happy to have fellow feb haters out there - it almost makes the month not so bad (with our common complaint bond and all!) oh and, plus, nothing shitty happened this year.

there are several things i would like to accomplish with this blog:

1. wish my sister a happy belated birthday. 2-3 old lady. say goodbye to 22. everyone's favorite age. see above picture of the hotness and brookey brooke (also the hotness).

2. show you this cute shower invite for the Su and the Seth and the impending baby mulhearn. (I have had several RSVP calls and emails so I assume everyone has gotten their invites so i feel okay sharing now) i must say they are cuter on the computer than printed. i still have issues with kinkos and printing. it's much easier to make graphics web ready than professional print ready. sigh. someday. karl helped me and i am very proud of this little guy. p.s. i also blurred out the location for blogging purposes. in case we have stalkers which i highly doubt but people always yell at me for putting too much personal info out there! i mean, really, even if i did have a stalker would they really want to come to a couple's baby shower? Doesn't exactly sound like a stalker's ideal saturday.

3. Send a special shout out to my friend Mark J. Friedman and his precious daughter "Little Sarah" who is getting to be NOT SO LITTLE anymore. Karl and I saw them Sunday at the good ole Purple Cow....mmmmmm.....purple milkshakes and violet cows everywhere!! Mark and I worked together at Arkansas Business and little sarah and i liked to hang out and color when she came to visit her daddy-o at work (well she colored while i worked and passed the requested highlighters over and then we cut her little pictures out and pasted them to our office lockers). you might recognize her stories from Little Rock Family (and THIS ONE is for sure true - her teeth are all wiggly and kittykattywampus!)

4. welcome you to march, the month of working out. DO IT. NO EXCUSE. Walking Club starts Wednesdays at 5:30. Today was the first SUCCESSFUL day. If you are interested in walking and live in the LR, email me for details. If not, I'll be at gym in ALL MY SPARE TIME. i don't diet. i over exercise.

5. i don't normally share forwards on the bloggity but THIS (especially funny credit from melissa p. haney) and THIS (if you like Dirty Dancing; find credit to ebeth) are really fun.

off to watch karl's kiddos play basketball with their favorite COACH (yea, we're pretty sure they don't know his real name. why learn when coach'll do the trick!)

Dear Weekend, where did you go?

the requisite cool kids pics! we had a low-key weekend - helped trevor and brooke celebrate his birthday at the oyster bar! (red beans and rice didn't miss me.) some additional hanging out happened w/ elizabeth and kristen (see our sea of brown picture).

this no tv thing is working out for me.
i reorganized my entire kitchen sunday.
things i learned:
1) we could survive for maybe a week - maybe - from the food from our pantry. if that.
2) we had some peanut butter. i scoffed at all the people FREAKING out about peanut butter. karl checked the lot # online. ours was recalled! and almost empty. oops. we threw it away.
3) we don't need one million bottles of seasonings (i used to work for a spice wholesale company in STL so i brought my stockpile of spices and seasoning with me to yee-haw arkansas. yea, three years ago. if i haven't used you in three years and you're all clumped up in little spicey balls, you go in the trash.)
4) i am going to cook more now that my kitchen is more functional (i didn't actually LEARN this so much as dare to hope it might be true).
5) we have a plethora of corning ware. plethora. corning ware. hehe.
6) we also have a plethora of koozies (or coolie cups as some of us might call them - what the hell is a koooozie?) from events we didn't know about and never attended.

my two shows were: grey's and the amazing race. not watching anything again till wednesday. i even went to the gym today and worked out (interval cardio scuplt for one hour thank you very much!) for the first time in a long time (real workout vs. walking the dogs). i just rejoined my old gym (yea DAC!!) and now they have TVs attached to every single tread mill and eliptical! hahaha. go figure. oh, well, i am there to go to class and get skinnY.

Corners of My HOME: Volume IV

on this rainy saturday i am posting my CMH4. (sorry - one day late!) This little guy rests of my window ledge (we don't say windowsill in my house. i shudder at the word sill. and moist. and ointment. they hurt my teeth and tongue to even type). anyway this little hootie (a gift from daddy-o), well, his head comes off and you can put things in him. he is like two inch tiny so i use him as my ring holder. he can't hold much more than that. everyday after work i walk through the door and deposit my rings in him. love him. and can't stand wearing my rings to cook and clean in so it works out perfectly.

i have so many corners i want to share. i spent some time this morning (after sleeping in until almost 11!!!) taking some photographs of it all. so now i have some stock. though i already had some stock last week and didn't use it because i got inspired by my little buddy. eh, whatever.

so the tv thing. i haven't gone totally off the tube. i am allowed two one hour shows per week and one movie per week. weeks are wednesday to wednesday. so far i have watched grey's
and karl and i watched a movie last night... so i have ONE HOUR left until wednesday. the funniest thing about this whole thing is that karl has been watching tv - and i hear the sounds of things i would never (or not normally) watch like old star wars movies, goonies, and guns instead of my normal abc family or reality tv programs. since we only have the one tv - did i really deprive him of these things for so long? is that bad?

it is pouring down rain here in the rock. arlo is hiding under the desk (he no likey the thunder) where karl is working and rox is curled up next to me on the couch. (shhh... don't tell she is on the furniture). i do believe i am off to organize my kitchen. maybe if it is organized, i will feel more compelled to cook in it more often instead of spending millions eating out! these are my goals: de-clutter, organize, and get rid of the "noise" so i can focus on goals that are important to me instead of getting bogged down! but more on that soapbox later - enjoy your weekends!

a word from your fearless, tvless leader

so. we were really good at the fat part of fat tuesday. er. fat monday i guess. (in anticipation of fatty tues of course!) this shot depicts jennifer and i in our comfy pants after pigging out on some pf changs. literally eating our weight in changity chang. we took a break after the food to play on our lap tops and then hit the wall of chocolate. no, really, it's a real dessert called the wall of chocolate. WALL. being semi-athletic, i don't really like the word WALL... so we just kept our eye on the end goal and don't you worry, we plowed through like champs and polished it off. i'm just not sure if the end goal was finishing or vomiting.

fat tuesday continued the fat chain - cheese dip and margaritas at El Porton with some boys and girls (and a fabulous hair cut and satisyingly rippy eyebrow waxing from ms. emily prior to the copious amount of mardi gras food and drink) mmmmmm cheese dip. mmmmmmmm tacos. bad girls and boys. oh well! now we can diet and stuff...er... er.... crap. i am going to have to say the LR Mardi Gras celebration was a bit lame. In this instance, STL outshines LR by miles and miles and miles. sigh. maybe i should try and be IN CHARGE of it next year - think it would get BIGGEEEEERRRR? i think it is going to take a change in people's basic MARDI GRAS mind set for LR to "get it" and it probably ain't ever gonna happen here? oh well.. one night. a week night (old lady comment ahead) at that so we didn't party too hard anyway!

on to LENT: today is DAY #1: no television! so far so good and i have been home from work for about an hour now! Aren’t you PROUD? Hahahaha. Sorry I haven't posted Su's cute ass shower invite; I am addressing them right now. I feel like the people who are actually coming should view them first. They are going in the mail tonight! And can I just say that 1. i have nice handwriting and 2. i adore addressing envelopes. adore it. (like won't buy those stupid return addy labels because i like writing on envelopes that much!) Don't consider it time wasted at all. Which is good. I am taking my time. NO TV FOR YOU! What is on the BOOB TUBE tonight? (and where did that awful phrase even come from?!!) Regardless, I won't be watching! I will, however, be sitting at my computer, listening to Pandora, licking pretty envelopes, ALL WINDOWS OPEN AND ATTIC FAN ON. yea, that's right. my attic fan is on and all the windows are open. And I am in a tank top. Spring Fever here I am. Is there such a thing as SUMMER FEVER (in february!!?!!) Oh you just know these last lingering Feb days are going to take FOREVER.

happy bday daddy-o.

just want to take a second to say happy b-day to my daddy-o (celebrated on Sat. the 17th). Though I don't like February it does have some great birthdays of friends and family. this pic is from karl and my rehersal dinner (get ready for your aaaaaawwwww moment of the day). Dad is wearing the same tie he wore to our first father/daughter dance in high school when i was a wee little freshman *complete with my tigger friend on it* Happy Birthday, OLD TIMER!

Let's see, this weeks list:

• It's Monday.
• I was more productive this past Sunday than I think I have been in the last three months combined (pertaining to house and home organizational work).
• I am feeling positive about the old jobby job and am not going to be negative about it anymore. i allow positive thoughts only. i am learning. (and whoever left the comment below can bug off!)
• I think Sunday's productivity was due to one thing: i am debating about giving up television for Lent and this weekend was a test. And I passed. And exceeded my own expectations! so i think i might do it (with some stipulations like two shows a week or something!)
• I got Su's & Seth's shower invites done! I will post them tomorrow so you can see how freaking cute they are. i am in love with them. you will be too. i promise.
• Over the weekend we tried GEOCACHING with Elizabeth and Jeremy and i liked it. a lot. we are going to set up our own amazing race series in LR. er... something.
• The weekend was pretty lame. And I liked it.
• Jennifer Lenore Barrow is on her way in town for work and we are going to have DINNER. yea.
• ummm... i think that is all i got for you. seems like there was something else....hmmm... stay tuned tomorrow for the shower invite!

Corners of my home: Volume III

Yes I am aware there are two pictures, and not both are from my home.

The first is from my home - and it is my corner of the week - our desk!! (get excited - isn't it "cute" hahah... maybe not so cute; we actually got the desk from the Secret Service Office in the Stephens Building that is on the same floor as Karl's office because they were giving it away (remodeling) and it is freaking heavy and obsenely large and karl and i were the only ones there to move it and i was less than helpful and some nice man of the facilities staff helped us and i will forever be thankful to that guy and now that it takes up literally 1/2 of a room in my teeny house i want to get rid of it but we *and by we i mean karl and our neighbor Bill Dauterive* had to disassemble it to get it through our door and so i feel guilty getting it out and i don't want to buy a new desk right now so it stays. and i like run on sentences that tell stories I wasn't intending to share in the first place. Breathe.) ANYWAY our desk as you can see contains three computers. two people. three computes. i find this amusing. the reason i chose the computers as my corner this week is because i was on said computers last night until my eyes were closing trying to finish some stuff. (thank you to my husband for forcing me to work when i didn't want to! and don't worry it was for us (Simple Click Design) NOT my office. i don't do that anymore)

Speaking of THE OFFICE... that brings me to picture #2 and funny Kat Office Stories of the Day. I like them. They make me laugh. You don't have to read them. This morning I got to the office to find like a 10 page scribbled out note on scratch paper with a hand-written to do list from my boss to me. hand written to do list. that didn't really make sense. there were #'ed items but they were all #'ed weird with arrows and scribbles and things underlined like "if it can be done in 30 minutes or less" (so i guess start and when i get to thirty minutes scrap... most of them were easily under 30 min. tasks anyway). It seriously probably took him a long time to make this list - longer than it took me to follow up on it i think and longer than it probably would have taken him to just DO some of the things since he was excruciatingly specific on some of them. (you guys may remember he has given me a project based on this before.) anyhoo, i could FEEL my little heart pitter pattering a little faster out of annoyance and i thought i shouldn't let it get to me... so i gave the sheets of papers a nice, satisfying accidental TOTALLY ON PURPOSE rip in half. and POOF all bad energy was released. then i used a massive amount of time and TAPE that our company can't afford putting them back together again. then i felt MUCHO better and spent the rest of the morning finishing them all up - in addition to the 8 million other things i had to do! yea for being busy though. (the pic shows my ripped up pages and some taped pages and my little TAPE! holder may it rest in peace after this roll is gone!) (and, yes, i realize i am being bratty and overdramatic and a bit bitter but i must try and maintain some sanity!)

yet another reason i love living in a digital world

a- the amount of blogging going on lately has made me a very happy girl (and so has google reader. for real. it rocks.)

b - as a certifiable "list freak" i adore the quantity of lists being written in the sphere

c - i like carrie's letter usage instead of numbers for the blogging list so i am switching for the day

d - so far V-day has been fun - there are so many ridiculous and entertaining valentine's day gifts on the internet and in the blogosphere i just can't help but laugh - picture case in point. Check out this article with some other V-day Funnies - the nintendo cake is truly awesome. and i don't even like nintendo. and here is a link to some great links - so you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of v-day funnies out there. i might be finding some room in my heart for holidays (gasp!).


e - v-day also marks the half way point of this dreadful month. except in leap years. which makes v-day in a leap year particularly annoying. (heart frozen over again).


f - my boss wants me to use a GLUE STICK to keep track of some reciepts - previously i had to tape them to a piece of paper and keep them in a binder - and aparantly tape is too expensive so we must resort to glue. i haven't even held a glue stick since kindergarten.


g - the war rages on at work. this morning i was asked to clean up my desk - which isn't a total mess but is cluttery. but i can find what i want on it in a heartbeat. it is now absolutely immaculate - every drawer is empty, all piles have been trashed or put in a file (maybe never to be found again!). which is fine. i actually feel pretty good about my clutter-free work space.


h - i will take a picture of his workspace to show you at a latter date. i am going to get fired for blogging about the office but if i can't laugh about it i might have another fit - and we all know that isn't a good thing.


i - i i i i i


j - b&g finale tonight - megan&scooter better win b/c CECE G is an idiot.


k - my lunch is over. must go.


l - for LOOOOOOOOOOOVE. how appropriate.

karl is making his way back from Colorado where he and the guys have been since last week - marc and patrick and matt dill and karl and pr sheehan. they have been skiing pretty much non stop since thursday in keystone and vail. i am excited for him to come home - i am tired of feeding the dogs. i had to go get the 4-0 pound bag by myself (which i have done before) but this time when i brought it home and tried to unload i managed to spill its entire contents on the kitchen floor. rox and lo just stood there in doggie shock and, since i had fed them a bowl of treats only! for breakfast, i let them munch away for a bit.

i spent the weekend at a wedding shower for Mary (top left, in the turquoise) and with Susan watching 'the devil wears prada' and blabbing and figuring out how to make her breast pump work for when little baby setler (or griffin) arrives. it was hilarious... we had no idea how to "pump" - we sat on the floor in little man's nursery for a good half an hour trying to piece it together and then we were like, oh, well that seems simple enough. and GROSS. ;) suction is weiiiiiird. gooooooooooood times. mucho giggling.

and the dreaded, brutal month of feb-rue-ary is in full attack mode - sigh. i am trying to be positive. i hate this month. we're getting through! right?

bridget patricia kathleen crum costa & kathleen ann bridget horan hills

don't we look HAWT? A special happy birthday to my cousin bridget celebrated on saturday the 10th - we are pictured here after - if i remember correctly - a particularily grueling soccer game (complete with snow and freezing cold air - how did our parents sit through it all?!?!) at a tourney in cape with our Florissant United club team (F-U as we sometimes liked to write on our faces.. ok just the one time b/c i think we got in trouble). we are three months apart in age and have always had our bond - really more sisterly than cousinly. we played soccer (and many other sports) together and against each other. she pushed me around in my walker/bouncy/rolly seat thingey b/c i was too fat and lazy to walk when i was a baby. once when we were four, we had a grand old time with some expensive, snow-like powder in my parents bathroom. (we got IN TROUBLE for that one). she used to make me read to her cuddled up in bed or cuddled on a couch. we were carted to day camps, summer school, games, vacations, and many other things crammed in with all the other cousins and siblings in one station wagon or another and we loved it all ;). She once slapped a boy in the face for calling me a bitch in 7th grade. she was a force to be reckoned with - one time a big ole tall girl knocked me over on the basketball court and she went out the next play and very clearly took that girl down. we sang outside the mall together (as we stroll along together... holding hands and walking all alone). we also sang Lisa Loeb excessively and spent countless hours recording (on old school tape recorders) ourselves singing and interviewing our friends and family. we dyed our hair with kool-aid. once she cut off a chunk of her eyelashes. she helped me dye my hair blonder - and then blonder. we talked about boys and wore half shirts and teeeeny tiny shorts in all our skinny 15 year old glory. she made me one of my favorite wedding presents - my family scrapbook. i was in the hospital waiting room when she delivered her son joe but, sadly, not her daughter isabel. we share the month of our marriage (go august!) just a few years apart! now she and i are both married and live way too far apart. she and her husband brian just moved into a brand new house in troy, missouri with her little family... i miss her, i love her, and i wish her the best birthday ever!

weekend updates tomorrow afternoon - stay tuned!

Corners of My HOME: PART DEUX

Happy FRIDAY. This has been a loooooooong week. Thanks to so many of you for your emails, phone calls, and support. And just listening to me rant in general. So, keeping with my CHILDISH theme of the week…… here is CMH#2 (corners of my home: part duex)

This little guy does indeed share my marital bed. I have had him since 1998. And I love him. We’ve been through some tough stuff – me and my t-i-double grrrr. High school, college, living in three states in one year (those taxes were fun!), boyfriends, girlfriends, tears, laughter, (hahahhaah this blog is ridiculous… I am stopping now.)

… oh, tigger, you little inanimate object/stuffed animal friend …. If you could talk, the stories you might tell. I don’t have too many quirks but I can’t seem to let go of this guy just quite yet. If my dogs ever eat him, I will disown them. That is not a joke.

P.S.

if you read below post, i am very happy and very thankful i have a job and get a paycheck. i really am. i know there are many jobs that are worse than mine, and i don't want to sound ungrateful. i really don't. i am just FRUSTRATED.

Tired of fighting to SHINE

Tonight we had mini- showers for Susan (baby) and Serena (wedding) at Kim's (ole abpg co-workers and crews, past and present). It was pretty funny going from opening sexy nighties to cutesie onsies in such a short period of time!! I will send you girls the pics - the whole night was a wonderful stress reliever for me. Lots of laughter and catching up happening! kat = happy. (pic: meg, su, kat, aud, serena, alissa, kim)

source of strees:
So. I had a shit day yesterday. Specifically, at work yesterday. And I am still trying to get over it. The day started out awful and it just kept on keeping on. We had a surprise staff meeting and evaluations (we just had our annual performance reviews & they went great; I got a raise) and they expressed some concerns about me as an employee (why didn’t they tell me at the review last month? – I defiantly haven’t done anything less performance-wise in the past month.) I don’t have a problem with them expressing their concerns - if that is the way they feel I would like to know about it; I just wasn’t expecting it and overall think I have done A WHOLE BUNCH to further the success of this company and I felt “under surprise attack”. (Keep in mind I have received a 9% raise from this company over 1 years time and keep in mind that I have old bosses I still talk to on relatively frequent basis that adored me as an employee). The thing is I know that I am an amazing employee. (My boss actually used the words “bad employee”) I freaking like my job and I am freaking good at it. I would go as far as saying I am amazing at it. (I know we all have things we can improve and I have a lot to learn but I know without a doubt that I am good.) Basically, I feel like all the projects and quality work I have done in the past year are being overlooked b/c they want me to “get back to basics” (read: answer the phones, make copies, file crap). I know in a four-person office everyone has to do these menial tasks – if you’ve ever worked in a small office YOU KNOW, and I don’t complain about it EVER. I don’t even mind doing them. I just feel like if they want someone be “back to the basics” girl, it shouldn’t be me. I have A DEGREE. Sigh. 25 years old. Feel like I’m not getting anywhere. But I will do it. For the moment. The worst part about it was that I got upset in the meeting – like tears upset. How absolutely embarrassing and unprofessional. I felt like such a child. Like everything I have been working on to further myself/career was accumulating to not a whole lot (I know – insert overdramatic thinking here but at that exact moment it felt awful and I couldn’t be unemotional. I work OT and don’t get paid, I rarely take a lunch… maybe stupid on my part but I was enjoying working hared…Maybe I just wasn’t born to be in the business world – I need to toughen UP! Who cries in the face of criticism?!?!? UGH!). And now, I am nervous that they are tyring to force me to quit or are going to have to lay me off or something crazy because of things out of my control – that would be a first for me and not something I have ever had to worry about. (Hi Mom and Dad – welcome me to the real world???!? Where bosses do sneak attacks and people lost their jobs not based on performance?!?!?!)

I didn’t mean to say this much in such a public forum. (Trust me there was a lot I left out!) I don’t think that my employer reads this – but at this point I am not sure I am concerned about it. I guess if things are going to change in my company, there isn’t much I can do about it. How much longer do I have to “pay my dues” before I get somewhere career-wise? I know I look young – I probably always will – but TAKE ME SERIOUSLY PEOPLE. So frustrated – mostly because I ACTUALLY LIKE MY JOB!

please try and keep your comments clean! Audra and I went to HH yesterday and I came home and chatted on my phone to like 8 people, beer in hand – anyone who was forced to listen to me, I thank you. Anyone who actually made it through this entire rant, I thank you. I’m over it now. Kinda. Just weighing some options/trying to decide the best approach. Def. cutting out taking any work home, working through lunch, designing any websites for free. Advice welcome. Don't criticize too harshly; I might cry! ;)

test.

please excuse. trying to get my google reader working.

Sloppy Superbowl XLI (41?)

Thought i would share the height of our winter wonderland here in Little Rock - lots of grass sticking out! arlo and roxy sniffed and freaked - this being their first time to see fresh powder (well, any powder).

Karl and I are watching the first quarter of the Superbowl - 2 Turnovers each! and a 14-6 Bears lead! In the first quarter! I must say the game is more exciting than i expected. Though i would be sad if i paid lots of money to sit in the rain in Miami. We are all cozy and comfortable having decided to stay home this year instead of attending or hosting a superbowl par-tay. I am curled up on the couch under my blankies, mac book in lap, doggies at feet, sunflower seeds within arms reach, reading a book. (multi-tasking is imperative to help me relax)

i feel a little guilt about not getting much done this weekend - i had a lie in today until almost noon! I know some of you say you can no longer sleep till noon, but somehow, when i get the chance, i manage just fine. night owl i remain. it messes up my schedule for the whole week and when i finally get readjusted it's the end of the week again and i mess it all up all over. sigh. i love sundays. but around 9 or 10 p.m. EVERY week i start getting the i have to go to work tomorrow anxiety. and i like my job. sigh. i need to be better about making better use of my time - particularly my weekends. the laundry just doesn't do itself.

also, snap.com the cool picture thing with the links - while i still think it is awesome - not so good on telling you if someone has truly updated in the blogosphere. i even tried clearing my cache and cookies and all that jazz. their blog/site says they are working on it - i understand the limitations (millions of blogs out there!) and i am going to keep it on mine for the time being in hopes the more popular they get the more development they can do! it's still pretty cool.

corners of my home

so i've been thinking about blogging and why i blog and the apologies that people always put on their blogs about lack of updating and blogging and how boring their blogging is and blah blah blah. (no apologies people!) i decided that the reason i blog and have always blogged is to keep in touch with my family and friends. this is why i started. specifically, i started to keep up to date with my family and friends that live out of town… most specifically, my parents, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles and extended family (both karl and my own). blogging just makes me feel closer to all of our friends and family - knowing that they know what is going on in crazy Arkansas even if it is some silly post about a crappy day at work. And it has put me in touch/kept me in touch with many people I probably wouldn’t otherwise interact and I adore that. I don’t mind if strangers or lurkers read the text as long as they don’t expect something revolutionary or INCENDIARY to be said. (not sure I am using that term correctly; I mean firey/controversial – is that right? I stole it from the movie Almost Famous when William Miller tells Russell Hammond Stillwater’s music is INCENDIARY)

ANYWAY, my point IS I am starting (attempting) a new tradition on my blog. Feel free to join me if you like. On Fridays. I will be posting a “corners of my home” post with little snippets (and pictures of course) of one little thing or area in our home that makes me happy. It can be as small as an apron or a cute teapot in your kitchen or as large as a wall (with new paint or a new picture perhaps) or something you created (like this). I am choosing to start with my fun Target bed spread in my green guest room. It makes me happy and is this week’s corner.

Also the CRAZY BRIDE story (see below video) made the Today Show, Jay Leno, and GMA. Almost 3 MILION hits on YouTube – probably over that now. It was staged by some girls in Canada! But the hair cutting was real. Click HERE to see the interview.

So check me out....

scroll over the links on my link list. isn't that FUN? karl found it (of course). don't panic if it says "queing up." It may take a second but it is well worth the wait. pictorial browsing. not sure if it works (when i say works i mean tells you when someone really has updated) but i am going to giver a go.

additionally, LEAH, it would snow on your birthday. kidding - happy day.

SOME OF US WENT TO WORK TODAY (ALL DAY)- no sticky icky from my house to my office. sigh. karl was so excited about putting us in four wheel drive. toooooooo bad. so sad. little rock was all a-panic anyway.