So much excitement!!!

So much to be excited about!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS, EVA & JOE! My friend that is temporarily in Memphis is expecting her first baby! HOW EXCITING! Come home soon, you two!

Secondly, I christened my new house this weekend! Not just THIS house's first house-warming... but really, my first party, EVER! I've "hosted" parties for friends, but always at someone else's house... Pampered Chef, Body Shop, etc.

Not as many friends were able to come as I had hoped, but it was very cozy, and very fun, and my house is officially "broken in!" And WOW - some of my friends were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Two of the best guys in the world spent most of Friday evening and all day Saturday helping me get ready. And my friend Tina brought NOT only her daughter, mom and dad, but enough serving platters to MORE than accommodate my wine-n-cheese theme! THANKS, EVERYONE! YOU ARE THE BEST!


Although, I am still a little concerned with Sydney's school's choice of reading material for an EIGHT-YEAR-OLD! :o)

But I was very proud of Tuggles and Maggie.
They were excellent little hosts. Tired, but on their best behavior. All-in-all, a good time was had by all!

I have pictures!

Check out my Blog! I just downloaded a bunch of photos thanks to my new Dazzle Media Card Reader. It was tough to get those pictures off my ancient digital camera, as it has a SmartCard with a serial port cable! But my new USB card reader had my photos ready to post within minutes! Isn't technology fun?

Ok - WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO BE LEARNING FROM ALL OF THIS?! I just found Adam is spending this semester in Twin Falls. Kim has moved. Eva is out of town for the next few months. I feel so alone!

Thank goodness for Tuggles!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Almost there... January 15th is almost over.

All-in-all, not a bad day. Kinda quiet. I wasn't too motivated to leave the house. Got the rest of the Christmas stuff up into the attic, changed some light bulbs, did some more laundry, and poor Tuggles got a much-needed bath.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition - does EVERYONE end up crying when they watch this show, or is it just me?

I have successfully ripped all my music onto my PC. I had to do some research on some mp3 files I copied from a friend, so I went to www.cdnow.com. Ever heard of a 1989 movie called "Shirley Valentine," starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti? Yeah, didn't think so. Interestingly enough, it is listed on cdnow.com's site, (now part of Amazon.com) as the Top Seller in Video. Today. Mom's birthday. It was just Mom's favorite movie, that's all. Hmm...

Love ya, Mom!

Boxes, Anyone?

Woop, woop! Anyone moving anytime soon? Well, no worries - I HAVE BOXES FOR YOU! Lots and lots of empty, no longer necessary BOXES!

What a great feeling to be able to park TWO whole cars in my 2-car garage! Sigh... this nesting thing is addictive. "Hi, my name is Kat, and I have a Nesting Problem!" "Hi, Kat!"

Not too sure where this burst of nesting energy came from today. I mean, I'm having a ball in my new house, but I made an unusual amount of progress today. Cloudy weather? Re-energized after a night of margaritas and hot-tubbing at Krysti's house last night? (Had a great time, Krysti - thank you! But I think I'll have to pass on getting my very own hot tub - I crashed like I was in a coma when I got home - and it WASN'T the tequila!) I don't know...

I imagine it COULD have something to do with tomorrow's date = January 15th. Mom would have been 74 years old. I have become more perceptive about the "milestones." I can predict a "tender" day on January 15th, of course, and September 4th, the day Mom died. It's the non-milestone-dates that continue to throw me, even after five years and four months. Something out of the blue that reminds me.

Yesterday for instance. My co-worker, Robin, had a busy day. She was out on Thursday, so she was playing "catch-up" - didn't hear much from her. We have only worked together for a short time - we enjoy chatting about running (I'm holding you to your goal of placing in the top 20 for this year's City of Trees, Robin!) but we don't know each other all that well yet.

All of a sudden, an Instant Message popped up on my computer: "Mouse, how are you doing?" Whoa. Mom used to call me Mouse... in fact, I am HORRIBLY ashamed that I asked her to call me that "one last time" about three weeks before she died. Yeah, and I'M the sensitive one - NICE, Kat! But I was instantly choked up - nobody has called me Mouse in a long, long time.

I sensed that Robin would be open to the fact that I was choosing to interpret her calling me Mouse as somewhat mystical... and she concurred. Said she wasn't known for using diminutives like that, so I was welcome to interpret as a sign that Mom was communicating with me... Mom always did like having the last word!

Part of the moving process that is refreshing, but sometimes painful, is discarding things. I just threw out a box. Ok, so I have thrown out a LOT of boxes today! But this was the last box Mom ever sent me. Sound dumb? Probably. But I had to take a moment... observed her handwriting (always flawless, even though she hated it) and the date - about three months before she died. Took me right back there. Imagine? Sick with cancer, in pain, constantly nauseated, and she made sure to send me a box full of Christmas items, so I would have them in my (then) new duplex in Twin Falls. Man. The stuff I took for granted.

BUT I'M FINE! Let me state for the record - I AM OKAY! Had some concern expressed by one of my older brothers... yeah, but let's not forget my favorite quote from my good friend Wendy - "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Ok, so she can't take credit for that part of the quote - what she DOES deserve top honors for is the second part of the quote that she made up a few months after her father died of cancer: "Do we really need to be any FUCKING stronger?!" I love that!!

I embarrassed Wendy during her recent trip to Boise when I admitted that she is one of my idols. (Right up there with Mom, David Austin, Richard Arnold, Paul Schimp, (former teachers) Sarah Vowell and Michael Keaton!) At least I'm learning to say what I'm feeling NOW, rather than waiting until it's too late... right? RIGHT!

Tuggles Speaks!

Tuggles has decided he needs to be heard: http://westiewisdom.blogspot.com/

Cutie butt.

Oh, sad news. Adam cleaned out the pond filter this weekend... and one of the smaller Koi didn't survive winter. I feel like a bad parent!

"Home is where they have to let you stay."

Hmm... not nearly as sentimental a title as my previous post, but hey. Gotta give the big brother credit for his contribution... thanks, Bob!

I have received criticism of late from my good friend Adam... apparently, the only time a Blog is truly beneficial is if you actually make posts... at least, more than one. (Once a month isn't going to cut it?) So, I am shamed into Post Number Two - which is nearly half as many as my FIRST blog, the one about India (where I lived for over 8 months...) So I'm ahead of the game, right? Right!

Well, in my defense, this whole process is a heck of a lot easier with the newest addition to the family... my new Dell computer! Kinda hard to explain to the employer when posts occur during working hours, and my home PC (ok, Adam's PC!) was stolen during the move to my new house. (Don't ask.)

(Is this a good time to mention that I sometimes have to double-check myself on whether you spell defense with a "s" or a "c," and have to resort to a high school cheer to confirm? And what was that about your high school principal is your "pal," so you don't refer to him/her as your high school principle? I digress...)

So, after a mere two and half hours of set-up (okay, I did get distracted ripping all my CD's to my hard drive first, so I could test my new speakers!) I find myself online from the comfort of my own home! (Thank you, Earthlink!) It's like Christmas all over again!

I am enjoying a glass of Reisling, a little Nickel Creek (thank you, Eva!) and Death Cab for Cutie, (thank you, Sarah Vowell and Bumbershoot 2005!) and a warm, cozy Tuggles snuggled up next to me, enjoying the ambience of my home office. (Granted, the smallest room in the world, dimension-wise, but that just adds to the coziness, right? RIGHT?!)

(The photo to the left is a tribute and partial explanation for my current obsession - it is a shot of a fund raiser at Bumbershoot 2005 with Sarah Vowell discoursing on the Battle Hymn of the Republic, accompanied by Death Cab for Cutie!)

This is a real treat... it's nice to feel connected. The holiday season was tougher than I had anticipated. I thought having my own house would eliminate any homesickness or nostalgia for Christmases past... but it actually exacerbated it.

Putting up a tree was fun - I only got choked up once... I am in the fortunate (?) position of having been my mother's only daughter... so I inherited all the family Christmas ornaments. While I totally appreciate that my younger friends have to supply their own ornaments because their parents are still using the family ones, I am willing to gloat that I have the most colorful and sentimental tree in the world because I realize those ornaments came at a high price. So I put the Santa Claus ornament made of felt and sequins that Mom and I made the year we were too poor to buy any presents front-and-center, and tucked the one from Damon that said "Kathy-n-Travis" in the back! No uni-color ornaments hung on a fake silver tree for this girl!

Ok... so Christmas is over. New Year's Eve was... about as fun as can be expected. NOT to dismiss spending quality time with girlfriends (thanks for the New Year's kiss, Bonnie!) but I'm tired of the bar scene... time to start planning a house warming party! (Brings to mind that "Sex and the City" episode where single Carrie finally starts to cash in on all those wedding and baby shower presents she bought her friends! Is that terrible?!) Nah... presents are not necessary... spending time with quality friends? Priceless.

Speaking of which... the "winter blues" probably aren't being helped by the absence of two special people... Kim decided to follow her dreams (who KNEW dreams could lead you to South Dakota during December?!) and Eva decided to follow her Joe to Memphis... within a month of each other. OUCH. Keep in touch, Ladies... you are missed.

That's enough rambling... MUCH LOVE to Wendi after her baby shower... you look great, Girl! What an adventure! Enjoy every minute... even the aches and pains! You are very happy - and it shows. I'm glad... you deserve it.