it was an odd thanksgiving.

lunch was at 1. well, it was supposed to be at one. we were all supposed to be at my sisters house by 1 and the only people who were there on time were the people who live there. mom and i were a bit late because the potatoes weren't done on time. mom was still mashing at 1. and at five after, i got the, why-haven't-you-left-yet phone call. that's always a great way to start the festivities.

so we get to her house a little after 1. probably at 115...i don't really know. and then my brother wasn't there. ever since he got married and had two little girls, time is only a figure of speech. it drives me bonkers. not enough to call him repeatedly, like someone wanted to do (hint: my sister & brother in law). it wasn't pretty. it all went down hill from there.

once we all made it to the table and started to eat, things were much better. it wasn't too bad. but it wasn't thanksgiving. we weren't sitting around a pool eating summer sausage and cheese spread. i know that doesn't sound like the best thanksgiving but that's normally the highlight of my year. today wasn't thanksgiving to me, it was an odd day where all of us were in the same room for a short period of time where we actually made food. not a typical day. but certainly not thanksgiving. and if i had any doubt, the fact that it's 11:50pm and i'm not sitting in a hot tub in the middle of iowa and on top of that i'm getting up at 430am, not to shop like every year in iowa, but to work. and i'm happy about it too.

bah humbug

if i ran for office...

if i ran for office, the first thing i would do is pass a law that every old or overly cautious driver would be required, A. to use a booster seat. and B to drive a volkeswagon bug. and heres why.

they would have to use a booster because, lets face it, you just keep getting smaller and that's not really helping anyone out there in traffic land. the most frustrating thing is to get behind an overly cautious driver who is only overly cautious because they can only see the speedometer. if that's all you see, it probably seems too fast at about 45 mph.

why is it that every single old person or overly cautious driver thinks that the bigger the car, the safer they will be. here is what i witnessed tonight i was waiting for a parking spot and this little old lady gets into the lincoln and about three minutes later, starts to pull out of the spot. this is where it became boldy obvious that we need to do something about this for the next FIVE minutes it was like a sad version of austin powers when he got stuck in the golf cart backing up and going forward trying to dislodge himself in the hallway, do you know which scene i'm talking about. hysterical! but only in the movie! the best part is that in the movie, austin only has about an inch and a half to be able to manuever through. this lady had a good eight feet in front of the car and behind it but she would still go an inch, back up an inch. and all in the mean time she's trying to pull herself up high enough to look over the dash. it was painful to watch but all the same, it was like a car accident, i couldn't help but watch. sad.

i'll post again later. when i get to it. i might go hunting...

katie

so, it's happened. i'm not happy about it. i didn't approve it. and i griped about it all day long. snow. snow is here and i hate indiana, once again. i don't know what it is between march and november, but i seem to forget how absolutely torturous snow is. i hate it. it's cold. it's wet. and it's slippery. i slid through two intersections this morning. not good, my friends, not good. here's the other issue, indiana is flat. so flat, it's sad. so, even if we do have snow, we can't ski. you put skis on and you stand still. indiana sucks. the worst part: i notice its snowing and has been and i grab the coat and gloves and head out the door. between the front door of my house and the driver side door of my jeep, it happened. i took the official first snowflake straight to the eye socket! i would rather slip and fall on my butt than take a big wet cold snowflake to the retina! that's the worst

however, i'm attempting to find the lighter and 'positive' sides of things... (enter laughter here). so, here is what i've come up with. i actually have a reason to drink a hot/warmer beverage. i normally fear hot beverages. in fact i HATE coffee. it is a vial drink that should be abolished. it's disgusting! i typically avoid a star bucks but on this odd day of the year that we had our first snow, I hit up the star bucks not once, but TWICE. i am a sucker for the caramel apple cider. it is to die for. if i have to have a hot beverage (which, i do to keep my hands warm in my car with no heat) this is the one i would chose, twice. :o)

here is another positive. the target dollar section has a random group of pet things. great for a laugh. i bought some great squeaky toys about two hours ago and they are almost destroyed already. however, in this pet section they had a fun little surprise. doggy booties. now, i am not normally evil to small animals but, again on this odd day of the year where we have our first snow, i had a need for some...pain of small animals apparently. i bought the little black booties and headed home. i then, very slowly approached the dog (not mine because she could take me, but my moms little 7lb schnauzer) it was great!!!



notice her enthusiasm with wearing booties... so funny!



now, the other funny thing is that at my mom’s house, we have a dog door built for a schnauzer; sadly, i have a golden retriever who disagrees. so she uses it all the time. so when you wake up in the morning, there is no perfect white, snow covered yard because my dog has been outside running laps like the energizer bunny on speed. its hysterical! but after she comes in all snowy, she goes back into attack mode. here are some rare glimpses of her being calm and sweet. (right after this, she lunged!





bah humbug
katie

a very relaxing weekend. it was gorgeous outside. it was the perfect weekend to rake the leaves, clean the car, watch the big game and enjoy every minute of it. i, on the other hand, did one of the things that i love to do but always get harrassed about. i opened all the windows to let the breeze flow through the house and i curled up on the couch and took a nap. a guilt free nap. that doesn't happen often. i loved it. it was a laid back, lazy weekend. i could have worked on some projects, mowed the lawn, or done anything else worthwhile. i did, however, find an apartment in CA if i get the job. i'm very excited about this. now i just have to convince my friends to come see me.

sadly, i took a sleeping pill a few minutes ago and i'm fading fast.

been fun. WOO HOO ! southern orange county, i love it!

meredith, if you read this, i think you should move in with me...it'll be fun! :)

WOO HOO!

so, here is the latest on the job front. i have gone through three interviews with Apple and i have now been granted a FOURTH interview for which they will fly me out to southern california. i fly out on december 1st for the interview on the 2nd and i should hear shortly after that. i am SOOOO excited. i LOVE southern california. i've talked about moving out there for a long time but it looks like i finally might get there.

here's the thing, i need as much prayer as possible. i REALLY want this job. it's down to me and one other person. i initially started interviewing for this same position in grand rapids but i was willing to relocate. so so. cal. here i come! (hopefully) so, if you could when you think about it, just pray that it works out the way it's supposed to. this would be the best job ever! this is my dream job in my dream location. i havent wanted to talk about it i feel like i'm getting my hopes up for something that isn't a sure thing.

i really hope this works out. i've already been preparing the dog for a three day journey in a wrangler...anyone care to join me??? (holly, you know you owe me this exact favor!!!)

holding my breath

i just have to say, this picture is HYSTERICAL to me. this is the same kid who, 23 days ago couldn't understand the physics behind riding a bike without training wheels. i don't understand what happened. it's mind boggling!

i'm back

okay so i went MIA for a while. here's the deal...nothing has been going on. at least nothing to 'blog-worthy.' sure there were a couple of things that i wanted to post about but i couldn't, so here's the update.

i interviewed for a job a while back. it was supposed to put me somewhere else, but still in the midwest. well, i went for the first interview and that went well. then i went back for the SECOND interview and i think that went well and now i'm waiting to hear about the THIRD interview. here's the kicker...the position isn't in the midwest anymore. it's in LA. I KNOW! i'm so excited about this. it's actually in the irvine california area. i can't even express how excited i am. but i've been keeping my mouth shut about it for a couple reasons. 1) i don't know that the position is mine yet. i don't want to get my hopes up too much to get the, 'we've decided to go in another direction.' 2) i was told not to really discuss it with anyone. so my mom knew, and her immediate phone line (patti, marilyn, grandma). i really want to get this job. this could be the change that i've been DESPERATELY needing. we'll see what happens.

i've been working on a series of projects lately. two of which, i think i'm completely in over my head. (again that i'm not going to discuss because they are suprises for people - from someone else) and the other is that i'm helping my friend amber cox do all of the christmas party invites for the salvation army of chicago. this is going to be great. as of last monday i was HANDMAKING 200. not a big deal. then tuesday, 300. come friday the number hit 540! i'm in over my head! i love it though because the more people they invite, the more it reflects on how great amber is doing her job. typically they don't hire in a new staff person and then say plan this party for 540 people, unless they are confident in what you do. i'm so proud of amber. seriously, the girl has some amazing abilities.

so that's it. my life in a top-secret nut-shell. so i haven't died and i haven't fallen off the earth, it's just that nothing in my life is discussable. i know it's not a word but JFK made up normalcy for cryin out loud, give a girl a break!

more later...sooner, i promise.