it just occurred to me that i never blogged about thanksgiving. i didn't get to go to iowa this year. it helped that the family didn't go. if i had to miss it and they were all going, i could have quit my job.

so, thanksgiving. my friend kat and her husband joey bought me a ticket to vegas for thanksgiving day. so, i had to work the day before and the day after so i flew out on the morning of thanksgiving and back that same night. it worked out well.

i woke up at 5. (ouch) got ready and headed for the airport. i got on the freeway and it was like a ghost town. it was so cool. it was like driving in luxury. i could pick and chose what lane i wanted to take. it was fabulous. and then i got to the airport where i realized why the freeway was empty, it was because everyone in orange county was at the airport. so, i waited in line, and then another and then got on the plane and sat next to a guy who thought that he had purchased a seat that allowed him to use my arm and leg space. not good friends. i actually had the thought go through my head, "if he elbows me one more time i'm going to scream at him." and i seriously would have. i would have ended his miserable british life.

joey picked me up at the airport and then i hung out at their house until kat was ready to go. so we all hopped in the car and headed to her parents house where we were having dinner. kat, her mom kathy and her sister nicole and i helped make dinner. at one point, nicole was making the green bean casserole and telling a story about how her in laws had driven her nuts the night before. the next thing we know kathy, kat and i all look over to nicole who was supposed to be 'rinsing and draining' and we all see her ringing out the green beans to which kathy yells, "you're murdering them!" and then we all buckled over and laughed for a good long time.

we had dinner with kats parents, nicole and her husband, katie and joey and nicoles in laws. before the in laws got there, nicole wanted to play a mean little game about how many times can we mention that she's never having kids. the in laws are pressuring her to have kids now and it's really funny to see the reaction when you say, "nicole, you are so lucky you're never having kids." it's hysterical. well, to us at least.

after a fabulous dinner we headed over to some of their friends' house and hung out there for a few minutes and then joey took me back to the airport.

as we pulled up, i looked at joey and said, 'ya think there was a bomb threat or something?' there wasn't a single car in the departures. not a single sky cap. no living body was there. my flight left in fifty minutes so i hop out, tell joey goodbye and go check in. i walked directly up to the ticket counter. (strange) i walked up to the first security check. not a single person in front of me (even stranger). and then walked right through the metal detector check point. (and this one was just creepy) there were 12 people on my flight. 12! it was hysterical. so, fabulous flight home.

i got home and walked through the door at 10pm.

oh, when i got to vegas, i had to call sharon and steve and beg them to let my dog out. i completely miscalculated how long i was going to be gone. so, sharon and steve saved me and certainly saved my dog and my carpet. thank you thank you thank you! i owe you huge!!

i need to sleep
k

just so you know, this is what a happy dog looks like!!

hysterical. the pop thing is right on. the wisconsin and chicago thing is true too. so funny!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
North Central
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

pretty sure this could void a warranty.

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notre dame lost. may i just say that it sucks to live in usc country right now. i will say that usc deserved to win this game. they played well. and maybe next time we meet, notre dame won't soak their gloves in oil. maybe that will help them hold onto the ball.

seriously.

1. Rockstar name (your first pet’s name + current street name) - "Kitty Newport"

2. Gangsta name (fav. ice cream + fav. cookie) - "Vanilla Cowgirl"

3. “Fly guy/girl” name (first initial of first name + first 3 letters of last name) - "kHol"

4. Detective name (favorite color + favorite animal) - "Green Squirrel"

5. Soap Opera name (middle name + city where you were born) - "Elizabeth Kenosha"

6. Star Wars Name (First 3 letters of your last name + first 2 letters of first name) - "Holka" (not bad!)

7. Superhero name (”the” + second favorite color + favorite drink) - "The Pink Margarita"

8. Nascar Name (first names of your grandfathers) - "Stephen Robert"

9. Stripper name (favorite perfume + favorite candy) - "miracle kisses"

10. Witness Protection name (parents middle names) - "Mae Bryant"

i stole this from my sister.

i'm going to vegas tomorrow for thanksgiving. it hasn't hit me that it's thanksgiving. this seems so unreal. i have to leave the house by 6 to get to the airport. it should be an interesting event getting on the freeway towards the airport. we'll see how this goes.

happy turkey day!
k

i had a staff meeting until 1130pm last night.
it takes 30 minutes to get home.
i couldn't fall asleep until 3am.
it's now 7am and i'm awake again to go back to work.
i have to work at 8pm.

the bed bugs bit. HARD.

'morning' does not look good on me.

i had the day off today so i could see my friend meredith. i left my house around 3pm and got to her house, in the north-er part of LA. around 6pm. she was having a friends and family for her students. it was so much fun. three of her little girls stopped me outside the school and said, "are you miss carlson's friend?" i said yes, and then they said, "you're pretty. do you paint your hair?" i didn't really know what they were talking about. i thought they meant dye, they really meant highlight. so i said no, i should have said yes.

so cute though. the kids sang songs and talked about what they liked about 'miss carlson.' by what they said they liked about the second grade its like they're not learning. it's so funny. they all said theylove their teacher, she's the best teacher, she makes me laugh a lot, we go on field trips and we have fun. it was so funny. their field trip today was they walked 20 blocks...20 blocks to the library. they were crackin me up. it's so funny to see meredith in an adult job. i don't feel like i have an adult job. and seeing meredith in charge of 13 kids who absolutely loved her, made me want a real job. it was strange.

after the family and friends night i went to a fire house!! you have no idea how cool this was. they have actually hook & ladder (which if you're like me and don't know what that is, it's the fire engines that have the driver in the front and the back) they even have a dalmation! how funny. my friend dave, who is a fireman there, even took me for a ride in the truck. we went past the mayors house and the house they used for the adams family. it was so cool. they actually got two calls while i was there so it was a very quick goodbye. but i even told my friend todd it was very movie-esque. it was like everything i've seen in movies and everything i thought a firehouse would be. it was cool. if i could just go hang out there, i would. if you're reading this dave, thank you!!

i talked to my friend sharon (hi sharon!) and told her i was going to the firehouse and she asked me if it was a specific one because there was an episode of the dog wisperer on featuring this dalmation from LA. turns out, it's the same fire station. i thought that was great. click here to read the article about it.

after the fire house, i hopped back on the freeway and headed home.

it amazes me that she keeps getting more and more beautiful. this just isn't fair!

my friend meredith is having a friends and family night next wednesday...i think it's wednesday. the 14th. anyway, she's having her friends and family come to her classroom to meet her students. she teaches downtown LA. so, i'll be driving my soft top jeep in downtown LA after dark. there are about four things wrong with this idea but it'll be an adventure. it'll be great and i haven't been able to go to her class yet. i'm bringing apple flashlights for her students.

just to clarify, not flashlights in the shape of apples so much as flashlights with apples on them.

it'll be great.

i'm off to check rental car prices.

another bit of genius from t-mobile.

it was another 'five' commercial.

at a dinner table, a mom says, so did you guys pick who you're going to put in your five?

the daughter says, "yeah, i picked (and says five female names)"

the son says, "that's funny, i picked (same five female names). what? you're friends are HOT!"

the daughter turns to the parents and says, "are you going to do anything about this?"

the father, without looking up from his plate says, "maybe you should get uglier friends."

the mom looks up and nods.

so great!

Funny cat jump

Funny cat jump

okay, so i'm a jerk and haven't blogged in a while. it's not for a lack of things to blog about...i have plenty. it's my fear of having to put it all down on psuedo paper. hi grandma!

i get to spend thanksgiving day with my friend kat and her family in vegas, i'm very excited about this. kat and her husband joey bought me a plane ticket for a present so i wouldn't spend thanksgiving alone. and i get to spend christmas day with my grandma in phoenix, i can't remember the last time we spent christmas together, its going to be great!

ah, let's start at the beginning.

on the 25th, i got on a train at 8am and headed south to san diego to suprise my mom and sister at the airport. i was supposed to work all day but got an extra day off. so, i arrived, took a cab to the airport, they arrived, we got the rental and headed to the zoo. it went suprisingly smooth. so many things could have gone wrong. ie, i could have missed the train, the train could have been late and becky and mom would have gotten their car and left me at the airport...but, all went well.

we got to the zoo, and it was great. however, everyone i asked failed to mention that every part of that zoo was up hill. it's amazing how that works out. it is a HUGE zoo. i'm used to potawatami zoo or at best, lincoln zoo or brookfield zoo. this one is a monster. very cool to see though. we got to see tha pandas and polar bears, giraffes and koalas. at one point in the day, we were walking in one direction and we hear this...commotion. it sounded like someone was killing a couple of birds. it was loud enough to make all three of us to turn and look back at the same time and this flock of giant parrots came flying down, swooped over us, low enough to make us duck, and kept going. we were all a bit amazed.
after the zoo we went to la jolla cove, one of my favorite places in california, and chased some crabs. ahh, good times. then headed home.

the 26th started at 5am. we started the shower shuffle and i made breakfast. we hopped into the jeep liberty and headed north. i took the 605 instead of staying on the 5 freeway and it took us about 45 extra minutes to get to the CBS studios. not fun in rush hour traffic. we got there, went on stand by seating. had a run in with a crazy woman with a cat who got a "price is right" name tag for her cat named 'fluffy.' did i mention she had the cat on a leash and had it perched on her shoulder like a pirate. ah, los angeles. they interview us, i say, "i'm katie, from laguna niguel california, i work for apple computer." on our way in the door i say, "i hope i didn't just ruin our chances." i did. we were blacklisted. the fifth prize was a "shiney new apple mac pro with a 23 inch display." it was NOT cool. the girl across the isle won two cars. i was a little bitter. BUT watch the price is right on december 15th and you'll see us in our fabulous notre dame tradition shirts.
ah, after the show. well, it all started with someone suggesting that we take PCH (pacific coast highway) home instead of the highway. that was beginning of the end.

it took four hours to get home...it should have taken 1.5. not good friends. there were an undisclosed amount of u-turns done (legal in california), a lot of wrong freeways and we always seemed to have been going north. we took the 110 south, it didn't work. we ended up on a peninsula. my mom says, "i don't see water anymore." i say, "no, we're okay, it's over there." my mom says, "yeah. that's on the wrong side of the car." then, we stopped a man with a dog who told us to go over the two bridges in the long beach harbor, get on the 710 north and then take the 5 south. not a problem right? WRONG. we take the bridges. check. we take the 710 north. check. we go to take the 5 south. RAMP CLOSED. so, a lot of side streets later, i call my aunt and she said to keep going, we'd find the 5. we did. and then i went north instead of south. i was so very proud. eventually we ended up at home.

my friends steve and sharon came over so my mom and sister could meet them with their adorable puppy domino. so funny. we all laughed for a while. my mom and sister loved them. of course the fact that they brought brownies and ice cream won some bonus points. :o) thank you steve and sharon!

on the 27th, my friend steve took us sailing. poor sharon had to work. so we went out on the boat. it was a gorgeous day. steve showed us how you can lower yourself down at the bow of the boat and use your arm and shoulder strength to dip your feet into the water. i finally talked myself into it...this is while the boat is moving by the way...and i tried it. i wasn't brave enough to lower myself down all the way, so my feet wouldn't reach. it was very sad. but it was worth the shot. thanks steve!
after sailing we headed up and hung out with the california family. so funny. wendy and mark (my third cousins somehow removed in a way) are hysterical. my brother sent my sister out with a new phrase, "mean mug." so if someone gives you a bad look, they are mean muggin you. well, my cousin mark introduced us to 'ear hustlin.' if someone is eavesdropping, they are 'ear hustling." i LOVE IT. we laughed for a while about that. we got home and hit up the hot tub.

on the 28th we spent a relaxing day in laguna beach and then ruined the relaxing by coming home and shampooing carpet...my mom went on a 'we need to sanitize the apartment' kick. so, it's never been cleaner. and i've very greatful.

on the 29th, we headed south and spent some time at the harbor with some cool ships and submarines. ate some fish and chips, so good, and then headed further south to mexico. good times. my mom and i have a 'get out before dark' rule. you always, ALWAYS leave mexico before dark. it was fun. we only spent a couple hours there. don't worry, no margaritas.

after mexico, we headed to ikea to buy rugs for the newly shampooed carpets. after ikea we headed over the coranado bridge to coronado island to take some pictures and then headed to the airport. dropped off the rental car, had some final chips and quacamole and said our goodbyes. they flew home and i drove home. i had the top down and it was so cold i had a couple of the rugs we bought at ikea, wrapped around my ankles for warmth. ps.i'm a wuss.


so that was their trip to see a couple pictures check out web.mac.com/k_holt and click on 'mom and becky' or check out beckys blog beckycallender.blogspot.com and see all the pictures from the trip.

then, i worked all week.

evan started moving in on friday morning. that's right. i officially live with a boy. and i am SO not ready. don't worry all, there is no, i repeat, NO romantic interest between the two of us. it's strickly a roommate situation. it's a good thing to split your rent in half. so anyway. don't worry. all my guy friends around the country, plus my brother, are on call to attack at the drop of a hat. it won't be needed but aparently my little army is ready.

today was a long day. sharons sister and her family just moved to the states from south africa and sharon and steve had a huge welcome picnic today. a lot of food, a lot of people and a bounce house. it was great. plus, i got to drive my jeep through the park all stealth mode with my lights off. we threw the rolled up bounce house, which by the way rolls up pretty small, into the back of my jeep and headed back to steve and sharons. well, we tried, but i got all the way back to their house and i had steves car keys in my pocket so we needed to go back to get his car. oops, sorry steve! steve took the jeep then and drove the bounce house back and then fixed a bunch of stuff on my car, it's wonderful. did you know that your car shouldn't make noise when you turn? did you know that if it does it is low on power steering fluid??? who knew?!?!

so all in all, the day went well. it was great to see sharons family and meet a great group of people. and now, it's 1230am, and i'm stunned i'm still awake. i have to work tomorrow. not too excited, i'd love to have another day off...

i'll just look forward to wednesday.

i apologize for the misspellings, i'm very tired and can't really see straight.

peace, love and a very fluffy pillow.
k