In Other News...

• My job rocks. End of story. 

• My husband rocks. End of story.

• Except NOT end of story. Because that is how much he rocks. Jacob Eugene is the newest Front Line Lead [a.k.a kind of a big deal] at Allstate. Yep, you are remembering right. This is Jake's second promotion in a matter of 3 months. Respect.

• Too bad Jake's awesome promotion means we are on COMPLETE opposite schedules now. I mean before we had at least one day and one night off together. Now? Only one day. One measly day. I go to work before Jake gets up and I am in bed by the time he gets home. Big, big bummer. At least he FINALLY has Sunday's off. Big, big YIPEE!

• Our front yard has...wait for it...GRASS! Green grass! Oh so pretty, newly grown, ourwaterbillissoexpensivenow bright GREEN GRASS! Who cares if it is a little patchy...at least it's a change from our previously owned "dirt yard".

• It snowed today. All over our oh so pretty newly grown bright green patchy grass. Idaho weather has more mood swings than I do. And that is saying something. 

• Bullet points are probably the best invented blogger tool ever. Ever, I tell you.

• Speaking of green, our backyard has recently sprouted its own green goodness. Bright green, rapidly expanding...weeds. Eh, at least our front yard looks good. 

• Work is sending me to a training in Denver at the end of the month. Even rented me a nice little car to pick up once I get off the plane. How freaked out am I to drive a rented car in Denver, you ask? Slightly freaked out on the borderline of hysterical crying. So...really, no big deal. I grew up in Malta. How different could Denver be?...

• Jake's work is sending him on a training to Chicago a few weeks after I get back from Denver. Too bad we can't go on these little training trips together, right? Right. 

• But don't feel bad for us. The day after Jake gets back from Chicago, we are both jumping on another plane -- together this time. Woohoo. Three cheers for Vegas. Three cheers for a family vacation. Three cheers for a whole 5 days together!

• Maycie Laine's adorable little headstone is promised to be done by Memorial Day. Honestly, I think I might even be a little more excited for it to be done than our trip to Vegas. Can't wait to see her cute little name on her cute little headstone.

• Blog posts are pretty boring without pictures. I will work on that.

• The end. 

Sometimes...

Sometimes // I go to bed at 8:30pm. Just because I can.

Sometimes // I change my clothes 16 times and then put back on the first outfit I had on.

Sometimes // I miss my husband so much that I Facetime him while he is in the other room. No big deal.

Sometimes // I decide to go on a diet. And then Jake brings me home a Caramello.

Sometimes // I throw my diet out the window.

Sometimes // I quit my job. Then four months later they hire me back in a different position. Awesome.

Sometimes // I give up soda. And this sometime happens to be up to 23 days. Even more awesome.

Sometimes // I check my blog stats and see pageviews from Russia, Singapore, Japan, Israel, and Poland.

Sometimes // I see the visitors from these crazy places and think I should become a private blogger.

Sometimes // I go into Maycie's bright turquoise room and imagine her playing in her cute white crib.

Sometimes // I start a new job and Jake gets a promotion on the same day. Awesome.

Sometimes // I find myself in awe at the kindness of others. Pure awe.

Sometimes // I write random blog posts just to pass the time until Jake gets off work.

Calendar of Events...

TODAY // we spent the morning in bed while Jake sang hymns to my belly ... in Spanish. No harm in culturally enhancing our pre-birth baby is there? By the way, baby Maycie loved it. Loved it!

TODAY // I gave Jake his very first haircut. Well, I mean his very first haircut given by me. We hit two milestones actually as this was the very first hair I have ever given. It looks great. Professional even. Well...except for the bald spot. Yep, we could have done without the bald spot. Whoopsies. No harm done though...he already scheduled a follow-up appointment with me in two weeks. I guess he likes bald spots.

TODAY // we took a trip to Idaho Falls to buy Maycie a crib. Don't worry, I was prepared. I checked Target.com to make sure the exact one I wanted was in stock. Too bad Target.com lies. Lies, lies, lies. Moral of story? Maycie still does not have a bed. Or anything else for that matter. Boo.

YESTERDAY // I listed a bunch of my old clothes on Ebay. Only took me about four hours. Geesh. Let the bidding wars begin - and may the odds be ever in your favor. [This movie quote is extremely overused. I apologize for jumping on the bandwagon.]

YESTERDAY // I said adieu to my beloved iPhone. It is now in the hands of a gentleman buyer from Craigslist. I listed the phone, 20 minutes later he emailed, and 30 minutes later we made the exchange. Talk about fast Craigslisting.

THIS WEEK // we turned on our heaters in the house for the first time. Then we wished we would have done it sooner. It is nice not to have to walk around our own home bundled in coats, gloves, and six pairs of socks. Nice, indeed.

THIS WEEK // I visited my old office. Oh how I miss working. Oh how I miss having a social life. Oh how I miss having something besides laundry to keep me busy.

THIS WEEK // I visited Sonic Happy Hour four times. Wait, maybe five. Newest pregnancy craving, you ask? Extra Large Cherry Limeades for a buck. A buck, people!

NEXT WEEK // marks the arrival of the Maycie's Day Parade of doctors. Bring on Tuesday! Six appointments starting at ten and ending at five in SLC. With a 30 minute lunch break. Wowza. Bring on the answers we have been waiting for!

NEXT WEEK // on Monday, I get to experience my first ever Glucose Test. Be excited. 

NEXT WEEK // we are one week closer to the arrival of our cute little girl. One. Week. Closer.

it's {just me} and my fashion faux pas...

The other day my sister Kim posted this lovely piece of reminiscing. And it got me thinking. This, plus a late night closet cleaning extravaganza, lead to the following:

I asked Jake if it would be okay if I wore the orange number to church. He didn't quite like the idea. But he did follow through with a slow dance stepped to the beat of his Linkin Park Pandora playing in the background. Touching. 

Isn't it funny how your tastes in fashion change in just a short matter of time? Burnt Orange and Hot Pink? Really Kate? 

And even better? The Orange was worn for my Junior Prom. The Pink was for my Senior Prom. I was able to squeeze [really, I don't think I even took a breath while wearing it] in the orange one. But the pink refused to zip even a little [I had to hold it shut so I didn't give you all a show]. 

Even worse? ...

This thing was so tight I could hardly breathe. It took a lot of tugging and pulling from both of us to even get the zipper up. Promise it used to be white. Ignore the grey shade it now adorns from all the mud I dragged it through. 

I dug a little deeper in the closet though and found something that still fits over my bulging hips. It gave me a little bit of my lost confidence back.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

What?? It sooo counts. 

Moral of the story? I have the worst taste in dresses. And I have definitely added my share of "badonkadonk" since I said "I Do". The end. 

2022

you know those nights when your mind runs a million miles a minute.

when you start thinking about tomorrow.

which leads you to think about tomorrow's tomorrow.

and somehow you end up thinking about the tomorrow of ten years from now.

yep, it is definitely one of those nights.

sleep, how you elude me.

darn you crisis of 2022's tomorrow.

go away.

you are pointless to me at the moment.

much like this post.

the end.

it's {just me} and my first impressions...

First impressions always get the best of me. I have tried to train myself against this instinct, but I fail miserably. Instead, I judge. I know, I know. It’s not very kind of me. But at least I admit it happens. First step is admitting you have a problem, right?

My first impressions of today, you ask?

Oh, crap!

---

I can always tell a lot about a new semester by the first day of classes.

For my first class of the day {Varieties of the English Language, just in case you were wondering}, I arrived 10 minutes early. You know, just in case. After 30 minutes of waiting, my professor finally arrived. She then spent the next 20 minutes trying to pull up her dang PowerPoint. {During this time, we did have a special bonding experience over the pros of having a Macbook versus a PC...what a fun moment}

All the while, I had to hold back my shout of "Hey lady, I came prepared to your class. How come you didn't?"

Oh, and the stench. It is so mean of me to judge, I know. But this woman brought with her, albeit 20 minutes late, a strong scent of cat urine into the classroom. At first I doubted my nose. That is, until introduction time {and the excessive amount of feline hair adorning her clothes}. Then she not only introduced herself, but also her four cats by proxy. Guys, I can't make this stuff up! Seriously.

First impression? Oh, crap!

After two long hours with the Cat Lady and her Mac, I headed over to Spanish.

Along the way, I met a jolly ol' fellow who flaunted his cut-off tee and carried a pint of Ben and Jerry Ice Cream {seriously}. And when I say cut-off tee, I really mean cut-off. It even included a very hairy plunging neckline.

He stared at me for quite some time while I eyed his Mint Chocolate Chip. He then said to me, "Dang, you look good in purple." I sort of let out one of those nervous please-don't-creep-me laughs and replied a quick "Thanks". He then held the building door open for me {what a gentleman} and proceeded to look me up and down with one of those "Mmm yah" escaping his lips.

I ran as fast as my purple heels would let me.

So back to Spanish. I sit down, make myself comfortable, and guess who walks in? Ben and Jerry. 

Oh, crap!

So I try to hide my face. And my purple.

But then, in the middle of her lecture, my professor stops talking, looks in my direction and says "Do I know you?"

I did one of those over the shoulder side glaces to see who she was talking to. So, she repeats herself. "Do I know you?"

After the third time she asked this, I finally realized she was taking to me. I let out a nervous, and super awkward giggle {I mean, c'mon, it was weird} and said "No".

She answered with "Oh, well you were smiling at me like I should know who you are".

Gosh, so rude of me to smile at my new professor. But that is besides the point.

Now that my professor drew the entire classes attention directly towards me, I could no longer hide. Ben and Jerry spotted me. And gave me a "full face involved" {super creepy} wink. 

Oh, crap!

---

Guys, it's only the first day of classes. I can't {and don't want to} even imagine the fun first impressions that are in store for me tomorrow.

Uh, wish me luck.
♥Kate

it's {just me} whining....

{This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post. But my mother told me she thinks blogs are boring without pictures. So here you go, Ma.}

Sometimes I am a big, fat whiner. Really. If I get a cold, I whine. If I have a headache, I whine. If I stub my toe, I whine. Getting the picture?

Turns out I am a very sick prone person. So that means I whine. A lot.

Poor Jake, right?

Right.

Want to know what makes me whine even more? When Jake gets sick. Oh man, then the whining gates break open.

Jake knows exactly what to do when I am sick. Me, on the other hand? Goodness, I am just plain helpless when he is the one under the weather.

Well, Jake has to have surgery bright and early on Monday morning. His basketball nose injury turned out to be a little more serious than we originally thought. Come Monday, he will be put out for quite some time while the doctors try some tricks to make it so Jake can breathe again.

Saying that I am nervous is a little bit of an understatement.

So naturally, I have been whining about it. A lot.

Sure, I have a hint of excitement over the fact that maybe, just maybe, after the surgery I will be able to sleep without a pillow over my head to have a little bit of quiet. And maybe I wont have to wake Jake up in the middle of the night to beg him to quit breathing SO loud {gosh, he sure is lucky to have me}.

But, man, having him out of commission for a week is really starting to freak me out. Like bad.

So, at 7am on Monday, December 19th, please have a little prayer in your hearts for Jacob. And his nose. And his wife.

And a special prayer to stop the whining. Thanks.

♥Kate

it's {just me} and the vegans...

Hi guys. It’s {just me} again. So my break from school was great, right? I think it was so great so I could be prepared for the AWFULNESS that followed it. Ugh, I don’t know if I can make it through the next three weeks of the semester. Really. It’s that bad.

…

Yesterday in my Gender in Lit class we discussed animals. Oh, excuse me, I mean “non-humans”. Apparently I am way beyond being politically correct when I call a dog an “animal”. So wrong, in fact, that my professor will correct me. Right in the middle of her lecture. My bad.

So we are reading J.M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals right now {do not even ask me why we are reading this in a gender class}.

Anyways, Professor Narcissism began the lecture with a very touching story on how she believes animals “non-humans” are on the same consciousness as humans are; meaning she believes a fly has as much cognitive development as the human species.  And if she was faced with a decision of swerving her vehicle to avoid hitting a deer or a human, she would have a tough decision to make. {Please remind me to stay very clear of her while she is driving.}

This was followed by several of my classmates agreeing with her. One student enlightened us with her current choices to make herself more spiritually "in tune" with nature. This involves humanely catching spiders or flies that enter into her home and releasing them back into nature.

Really, I am not trying to make light of their beliefs. Promise. {Okay, it is a little hysterical. But that’s not my point.}  And I thought some of their claims were actually quite reasonable. But I am just trying to give you a little background information for the following situation. {wait for it…}

So these types of discussions go on for quite some time. And after a really thrilling conversation on my Professor’s choice to become a strict Vegan, she turned to me and said, “Katie, you have been awfully quiet today. What is your take on the spiritual relationship between humans and non-humans?”

Doh. Talk about a deer stuck in the headlights of her oncoming vehicle.

I answered, “Uh, I really don’t want to offend anyone. So I have been keeping my mouth shut.”

She looked at me quizzically so I continued.

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” I said. “So basically, I have a great relationship with animals “non-humans”. You know, a relationship made through our dinner every night.”

Ha. Wrong move.

She should just be thankful I didn’t tell her about the turkey we had for Thanksgiving last year. 32 pounds of homegrown goodness from the in-laws, lovingly butchered for our own taste buds. Or about all the pigs my daddy would buy at the auction every year for bacon. Or the chickens my mother-in-law raises for their eggs, the venison my best friend’s husband collects every year, the cows we would show at the fair and then sell for our profit, and the list goes on and on.

…

Later, after regaining her composure following the shock of my blatant disregard for the “non-human” race, she informed me I should really consider becoming a Vegan. She says {and I don’t know why} that it is a great way to get over a coffee addiction. So yep, I am becoming a Vegan. Just so I can kick my dang coffee habit. Never mind the fact that I will have to give up meat. It doesn’t even begin to matter because, c’mon, I will be able to give up coffee!

I hope I haven’t offended anyone {besides my professor, that is}. Because really, if you have chosen a life of "veganism" I will stand and applaud you. I think it is great that you have such self control. But, I love me some chicken. So, get over it.

{Jake and I at Date Night tonight. Eating some chicken. My bad. Btw, completely off topic, you can see Jake's broken nose quite distinctively in this picture. Hopefully it will be fixed soon! ☺}

♥kate

it's {just me} and to whom it may concern...

To the “To Whom it May Concern” of Winco Foods,

I would like to file a complaint against the newest employee of your establishment. Not only did they refuse to move out of the way so I could get the produce I needed, but they also scared the living wits out of me. 

I would like to submit the idea of reestablishing criteria for the employees you hire.  Please take my advice into consideration. Thank you for your time.

A “close to a heart attack” customer,

Kate

Let me zoom in for dramatic effects.

♥kate