Your girl can COOK!

This weekend consisted of some fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cooking.

Do I cook? Hell to the no.

Did I try? YES MA'AM!

And how did I do? RIGHTEOUSLY, if I do say so myself. I don't normally toot my own horn, but this time, I gotta. I cooked more this weekend combined than I have in the last 5 years.

So what did you cook, Katie? Welll.........

I do have to admit I skipped right over PB&J stage to Rachel Ray level. LOOK OUT!!! I rounded up some taboulleh salad, along with some spinach triangular pies on Saturday night, and last night, I threw together a squash casserole.

My friend Anne taught me how to make the salad and the pies a couple of weeks ago, and so I decided, in order to keep my chops up, I better make them again so I don't forget. I didn't forget. ((Nice teaching job, Annie Bo Nannie!)) The squash casserole was a recipe that Anne sported me a couple of months ago. I was browsing through my recipes, feeling brave, and saw that I had all the makings for the casserole, and decided "What the heck? I'll give it a whirl!"

Joe actually called his mom and bragged about my cooking. Now, THAT'S an accomplishment! He devoured it last night, and the leftovers today. Even Joey at his plate full.

Can you believe it? Your girl can COOK! I have a hidden talent. :) haha!

Days like these

Ever have those days where you feel like you have cobwebs crowding your brain? I'm having one of those days. Nothing in particular has happened to make me curse the cobwebs, but I just haven't been able to "get out of bed" today, in a sense. I'm fully dressed, make up on, hair pulled up, teeth brushed, fed, shoes on, already went to the post office and Joey's already on his 2nd nap of the day - but my head is still in a fog, and I have a dull headache.

I didn't have any coffee this morning. I just didn't have a taste for it. I'm out of chai and my little town grocery store has pulled it off their shelves (despite the fact that I was buying them out every week...Hell, they have grape leaves that don't sell here, but they pull the chai.).

Our state in the south is cold. Its impossible, I know. Not as cold as Iowa is - as those were the to-the-bone cold days - but it is cold here. I've grown used to the mild winters, and this one's getting me. Its less than freezing, which is not bad, but I just don't enjoy being cold.

I've been working on my business A LOT lately. I will be able to "open" in a few months with my services. I'm teaching myself a trade, and I'm having to squeeze in the tutorials in between Joey naps. I'm really enjoying it. I need to come up with a name for my business. More on this later.....

Joe and I started back on an exercise regiment. I'm not focused yet on it. Its hard when I can't get outside. I don't like exercising inside. But I'm stuck. The elliptical machine just doesn't seem to do it for me. I feel soreness, and I think its working, but mentally I'm just in a box. Warm weather and longer daylight hours are on the way.

In the meantime, I'm reading "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. Its pretty good. It gets me thinking. So far, I'm on Chapter 6. Thirty-four more chapters to go. They are short little chapters that are more like daily devotionals. I like it, I think. I just have to dive deeper into the words to find how it applies. I've already addressed a lot of the topics already in my own heart, but its asking me to reopen these thoughts and re-evaluate my path. Thats good, because up until a few weeks ago, I was feeling pretty frustrated and boxed in. I'm doing better these days, especially now that I'm able to dive into something that expands my purpose. We'll see....

A year in question for 2007

Alright ..... courtesy of Maria, here we go.... :) Maria, this was a good one (loved your answers!!!!) so I did it too.....

1) What did you do in 2007 that you've never done before?

Never lived in "in this southern state" until 2007...

2) Did you keep your resolutions, and will you make more next year?
I never make New Years' resolutions. I have to make my resolutions daily, or else I'm just completely over-expectant. I've learned thats an easy way to get discouraged. But if I renew my self daily, there's a better chance of accomplishing what I want to do.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
My dear friend Heather had a little baby boy named Gavin. My cousin Jason had a baby boy named Kaiden.

4) Did anyone close to you die?
Yeah....my dear friend and music buddy Michael Bushnell.

5) What countries did you visit?
Well...physically, or in my mind? ha! I didn't have a chance to venture out to the great abroad.


6) What would like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
More chances to travel and see more of the world.

7) What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
January 21 - Joey's christening.
October 31 - Gavin's birthday.

And a whole slew of other dates..... "Joey" dates, like June 1 - cut first "toof" and November 16 - first steps. I have many more....

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
We successfully moved (with an infant) - a task that is nearly as difficult as climbing Mt Everest - really. If you could see how much "shit" we actually have, you would break down and cry. I did. A couple of times.

9) What was your biggest failure?
Losing a few relationships - got lost in the move.

10) Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really - none that I can think of. Thank God I had my health this year. A lot of stress, but I don't really know if that counts.

11) What was the best thing that you bought?
My computer.

12) Whose behavior merited celebration?
My friend, Anne. She stuck by us through thick and thin with the move, and everything before and after. We are growing as new sisters every day. She's my heart. I love my Annie Bo Nannie! She also has the most twisted sick sense of humor that keeps me belly laughing. She has my mind in the gutter about 98% of the time.

13) Whose behavior made you appalled or depressed?
Well... frankly, my brother in law and his motley mix of business supporters. Anyway...

14) Where did most of your money go?
You mean "all," right? Well, frankly, to my brother in law and his motley mix of business supporters.

15) What did you get really, really excited about?
Joey's first steps. November 16, 2007.

16) What song will always remind you of 2007?
This is a hard one. I have many. I think just one of them would be "Keep it loose, Keep it tight" by Amos Lee.

17) Compared to this time last year are you a)happier or sadder b)thinner or fatter c) richer or poorer?
I would have to say (a) happier, (b) thinner...that's only because I was pregnant most of 2006,
(c) poorer.

18) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sing. Laugh. Run.

19) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Raging. Last year, my bad side showed up when I got angry, and my raging bull would bust through the fence.

20) How did you spend Christmas?
At my inlaws with my niece and nephews and Joe and Joey. It was great.

21) Did you fall in love in 2007?
Oh yeah.

22) What was your favorite tv program?
Frasier and King of Queens

23) Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Naw. I can't hate. I don't have it in me. I'm very disappointed in a few people, and hurt, but no hate. All will work itself out in time.

24) What was the best book you read?
"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

25) What was your greatest musical discovery?
I realized that I had a copy of "Cantique de Jean Racine" in my itunes collection. Oh man.....I love that song. We sang it in college and it ripped my heart out.

26) What did you want and get?
To get out of our business situation.... Thank God for Miracles.

27) What did you want and not get?
A home of our own....but I'm not unfaithful or impatient. The Lord's got it in His hands...

28) What was your favorite film this year?
Bourne Ultimatum

29) What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 27 last year. I know, I know - but I'm not as "young" as you think. ha! On my birthday...... I had breakfast with my Witt family who was in town visiting. We had gone out the night before to the Como Steakhouse. I took my dogs to the vet for "teef" cleaning. That night Happy was less than perky from the anesthesia, so we kept close eye on his progress.

30) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A trip overseas.

31) How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2007?
My fashion consisted of my favorite pair of Bebe jeans (that I bought back in 2004, and have nearly worn holes in all areas because I wear them 4 days out of a week), a ribbed wife-beater styled tank top, and flip flops, or sketcher sneakers, or black heels. I went for easy-to-throw-on style, because my life was less than informal, and I was dodging pee squirts and spoonfuls of green beans being knocked my way from a frustrated infant who didn't want to eat his greens. This style continues to be my wardrobe. I'm sick of it, frankly, but hey, its "fast." Its not catching any 2nd glances from the cute boys. ha!

32) What kept you sane?
Not much kept me sane last year, because last year was the first time in a long time I lost my sanity. I think the few things that kept me pieced together were Joe, Joey (because i needed to stay together for them), as well as the Lord, chai tea, coffee, my computer, music, sunshine, Joey's stroller, my running shoes, my new brown sweater, flowers, hugs and smiles. Really.

33) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Ehhh....I don't know.

34) What political issue stirred you the most?
Where do I start.......?

35) Who do you miss?
My family .... I miss them all. Every last one of them. Even those I haven't seen in a while. I miss my friends that I've fallen apart from when we moved. I miss Kellie, Alison, Glenda, Annie, Nathan, Heather, Amanda, Addie, Terrie, and so many more. I miss Rob, whom I found out about his death last October and it nearly crushed me. And Michael....ugh....

36) Who was the best person you met?
My friend Elsa. She was the first person I met here after we moved. She befriended me whether I wanted a friend or not, and I've loved her ever since. She's awesome. And Miss Evelyn, Joey's babysitter, and her husband Felton. They are angels.

37) Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2007?
Love. Always love. People will be people - but just love.

38) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I'm going to have to think about this.....

To All Who Have Wondered...

.... YES, we did capture magic on this photo, and YES this IS in fact Joey on our Christmas card photo (courtesy of Stroud Photography).

He wasn't necessarily "scared"of Santa, so much as he didn't really know what to think of him. He's never really been scared of anyone, thankfully. But we did have a hard time getting him interested. He missed a nap on the way to the studio and was hungry by the time he sat on Santa's lap, so he wasn't too interested in saying "Cheese."

We put a book in his lap and he went crazy telling Santa everything he saw on the pages, but we still could not get him to smile or look at the camera. Towards the end, the photographer said "you know, i just have a few left. Lets see what we can get out of these." And then we got it - this shot. It was the last picture she took, and I knew that it was magic.

Oddly enough, that day, he also took his first steps in the lounge/waiting area of the studio.

Whew!

Well, that was close. Holidays come and gone. We're still existing, thank God!

They really weren't that bad honestly. Not at all. We spent Christmas with Joe's family, and we had a great time. We left on Christmas day so that Joe could get back to work the day after Christmas. We caught colds while we were there. I'm still fighting mine off. Last night was the WORST. No sleep at all, trying to breathe. Sudafed dried up everything BUT my nose. I was slugging down water like a fish, all the while blowing my nose, keeping Joe up all night too. Joey has a cold too - hopefully not my version of a cold - but I've been wiping his nose constantly. Joe's been fending off the flu. We're quite the family this week..... I'll be fumigating the house soon.

Joey's growing so much every day. Every moment just gets better and better. He's communicating really well. He's learning a lot of new words. He's getting really strong on his feet. He's a curious little booger though, like all kids his age. He's touching everything, and poking his fingers in light sockets, and electrical outlets. As soon as we feel better, we are going to go find him some "squeaky" shoes - he's so quiet when he walks. He sneaks up behind us and we have to look behind us before we move because he might be there. We've knocked him over a couple of times already.

The other day, he went running after Happy. He ran up to him, and stepped flat on his tail with both feet. Happy was startled and jumped up, running into the kitchen. It was as if Happy pulled a rug out from underneath Joey. He went flying up in the air, and landed on his head.
It all happened in slow motion. I saw it all happen. We had been sitting on the floor together looking through a book when he got up suddenly and went for Happy. He probably won't be doing that again anytime soon.

He likes to do "fly by nose touches" on the dogs. He'll be running by Happy, and stick out his first and middle fingers and lightly touch his nose. It happens before Happy can react, so once he knows Joey's done it, he's already gone. Its cute.

Rudy (or as Joey calls him, "Roo-Roo") has a green squeaky fish that Joey likes to find and chase Rudy with. Sometimes Rudy will play with him, but most of the time, he won't. Its just depends on what mood Rudy is in.

I finished "The Secret Life of Bees" the other night. I loved the read. I highly recommend this book. I love the writing style of Sue Monk Kidd.

Addie is just about ready to pop - just a few more weeks and she'll be having a little boy named Aidan Christian. I cant wait. We won't have a chance to get up there until after he's born. And even after he IS born, we want to wait until the snow clears. We just dont want to take a chance in bad weather with Joey. She is finally able to enjoy being pregnant, now that the last semester is finished. I was so worried about her - she had more going on than anyone I've ever seen - taking a full load of classes as well as working full time, and at odd hours of the day. I was afraid that her crazy schedule would take a bad toll on her baby. Hopefully it hasn't. I've never seen her more excited about something though. I'm so happy for her and Danny.

I think we are going to try for #2 in the near future. We were going to try this month, but I think I want to wait until February or March. I just need a litttttle bit more time. I've got a great handle on Joey, but only recently. I'm back under control, and I want to feel that stability for just a little while longer before life flips upside down again. We'll see....

This has been the year for babies though - My cousin just had a baby boy (Kaiden) in Wisconsin. Joe's cousin Joey is going to have a baby in about 7 months (his first! Very shocking - last time I talked to him, he just wasnt' ready to "go there." Well, its time....haha!) And my friend Michelle is having a baby in April. Heather had her baby in November. Something in the water....

Later: My cousin Mary Jo just called to tell me she's pregnant. ha! My other cousin Presley is trying so she's next.....