Amazement

We met our little girl on Monday - she's doing well and has very long legs.  Can't wait to meet her in person.

Woe to the Missing Poster

I have a good excuse.  Really I do.

I was afraid to post...afraid that I might slip and say the big news before I was ready to make it public...but now it's okay.

I'm pregnant! At the time of my last post, my little bean was just beginning to brew!  We are so excited!!

Okay, enough exclamation points.  So with all that said, I am hoping to be much better about posting, because I have so many more observations to make before the little bean makes it's live debut.  To start - instituting wordless Wednesdays - I saw this on another blog and thought it was brilliant.  So here goes - to a wordless Wednesday post, okay, well going forward they'll be wordless.  A little bit of sleepy Olive for you!

Wordless Wednesday 

Suitcases

Suitcases have multiple personalities, in my opinion.  When the Hubs travels his suitcases get yanked from under the spare bed and thrown on said bed ready to be stuffed with his needs for the week.  Occasionally, he'll ask for my help in packing since I am the queen of "Jenga-ing" But overall, I hate to see the suitcase out because that means he's going somewhere.  But his suitcase represents what is to come for him on the trip.  Did he pack a suit?  Or was this strictly a khaki/polo trip?

Don't get me wrong...I love to travel, and at those times, suitcases have lovely personalities.  Blooming like the trip itself...full of possibilities.  Do we pack more shoes or do I need the sundress for the nice dinner we'll have one night?  Do I need the sneakers for hikes or a workout?  To bring the swimsuit or not bring the swimsuit?  Is this trip's suitcase a glitzy, girl's weekend?  Or is it a simple weekend at the parents house? 

I'm always amazed by the various personalities that match your suitcase.  In an effort to find your own case off the luggage carousel at the airport, many folks now tie string, ribbon or various noticeable items to be able to snag your bag. Did you ever stop to look at the color ribbon or item that your fellow baggage hunter has used?  The hot pink, polka dot ribbon for the businessman next to you?  Or the frog prince luggage tag the size of a small dinner plate - that goes to the 90-year old woman with the bad Christmas sweater next to you.  And so on...so what identifies your bag?

Because it may or may not be a good representation of you and where you've been, not to mention where you're going! Bon voyage!

Outgrowing the Teenage You

Does that ever really happen?  Do you ever truly outgrow the teenage version of yourself?  I think yes and no.  Yes, you learn and you grow and you develop thoughts and opinions and everything.  However, no, you still hold on to some pieces of childish innocence and fun in your life, if you're lucky.  Take, for example, me.  My enjoyment of the teenage literature and movie culture craze - the Twilight phenomenon.  I'm one of those for sure...however, I'm not the extreme, but I haven't ignored it either.  Last fall, I went to the midnight showing of New Moon.  It was quite the experience.  And I'm not embarrassed to admit that I was there...I found it hysterical that my fellow movie goers were women both teenage and middle-aged and a smattering of young men too.  The crowd definitely hooted and squealed when certain male cast members graced the stage.  The teenage me had a great time and you know what, the adult me had fun too...it helped that I didn't have to be at work the next day. 

And now, fantastic fate has added to my teenage glee. I discovered a fantastic new cupcake shop in downtown Elmhurst.  Fabulous and delicious!  I wish I'd found them sooner.  Apparently they even make a margarita cupcake that sounds yummy!  However, I digress...check out the perfect combo of teenage angst and cupcake wonder...

Devil's food cake (ironic) topped with deliciously light buttercream frosting coated in vanilla jimmies on the outside to give it the right crunch.  And the edible image of the wolf pack on top.  Hooray!

Now the teenage self knows that eating this will be yummy and a good reward for a hard workout.  The adult self doesn't feel much different but knows exactly the points value and how long that workout will have to be.  But it was worth it.  Actually - this was almost as yummy as our wedding cake.  And trust me, our wedding cake was irreplaceable!

The morale of this "saga" (ha, ha - fellow Twi-hards will understand) is that new bakeries are always great to try and you never know what you'll find.  And never let go of the teenage you...I'm certain that without her, I'd miss out on great books, movies and definitely good times over popcorn with friends and silly movies or late night talks with my sister and of course that crushy feeling about the love of your life.  I'm just lucky to still have all these pieces in my world.  Go teenage me!

Rainbows and Rain Drops

Summer storms are one of my favorite things.  I love the lightning and the thunder...when I'm safe and sound inside.  Unfortunately, you never know when something is going to happen, so you can't plan to be safe and sound ahead of time.  Take for example last Wednesday.  The crazy weather (that resulted in a tornado in neighboring towns) resulted in the trains being stopped during the storm.  And let me tell you, seeing the streets covered in water and the rain coming down so hard you can't see out the other side of the train is enough to freak out even the calmest person. 

Some of my fabulous fellow train passengers were great fodder for people watching as well as a study in people.  The individual that asked the conductor about 100 times when the train would start moving and if we were going soon.  So frustrating, because you know that the conductor is choosing to hold the train of course.  It's part of his evil plan to hold us all hostage on an elevated train stop in the middle of armageddon.  The young businessman that has to be somewhere immediately.  This individual is willing to take the conductor's offer to get off the train in the middle of the monsoon and walk to the nearby El train line.  Because where they have to go is important and not worth staying indoors for.  The helpful person...the one that is willing to console the panicked child or the uncertain father of the panicked child or the young adults unsure of what to do next.  All these pieces made up the puzzle of the train I rode.  Craziness...so many down trees, so many damaged houses, fortunately, I don't believe anyone was hurt in the process.


The best part of the storm...it's result.  This beautiful double rainbow.  However, it was there for only a minute or two...but then it was gone.  More clouds rolled in and it wasn't there anymore.  So I'm so glad that I was able to see it. 

So even though the night was full of raindrops, thunder and lots of lightning, it ended well.  With rainbows in the sky and a great time with my family.  Thanks to Mom & sister for picking me up from the town I was stuck in. 

Friendship Defined

Three things make a great getaway: Good fun/drinks, interesting sites to see/visit and great company.

I was fortunate to benefit from all three this past weekend.  My gals, most notably my book club gals all decided we needed a getaway and we went to Michiana/New Buffalo, Michigan to one of the best rental houses EVER.  (Highly recommend it by the way - www.casagreta.net.)

We had a great time, visited some wonderful places, laughed a lot, read, relaxed and okay, we may have had a bit of wine and cocktails.  We also played a mean game of Euchre.  Overall, great times with some amazingly great gals.

An observation that I've made after this weekend and even today...great friends really are forever.  Even if you don't speak to someone for ten years, you can be there for them on the most important day of their lives.  Or you can be there to chat with someone every day and be there for them through all the minor and major dilemmas in their life.  Ultimately, friendship is just like a getaway, some great substance, interesting things to do and some fabulous company along the way.

A Stone's Throw

So I've heard some clamor for news on our family...Like a pebble filled beach, some of our news is larger, some seems much smaller and some is super tiny but puts a huge cramp in your style if you step on it.

The Big Stones
I'm loving my new job. I don't usually get into too many details on this blog about our careers, personal life, etc.  But my new job is great. It's expanding my skill set, allowing me to focus on what I'm good at and I have a great team to work with that is supportive and fosters positive work and personal pieces of my life. 


 Middle Size Stones
Our dog is amazing. Since we don't have children yet, she's truly our baby.  Embarrassing, but true...we even have a puppy-car seat for her since she'd prefer to ride in our laps, it's safer to belt her to the seat and keep her safe.  In addition, she's fantastic - we've enrolled her in agility training.  Yup, the kind of training that has her literally jumping through hoops for us.  We'll put some videos up on the YouTube/Smugmug sites sometime soon.  Enjoy - please note that the Hubby is the primary trainer.  She seems to love it!

Tiny #$@*$% Stones
The Hubby spent time in the ER last night.  After five hours, they sent him home with a prescription for two drugs and his own personal pee funnel.  Sorry to be crude, but it's true.  Apparently he has a kidney stone the size of a single pea.  What the big deal is, I'm not sure, since when I have children they'll be the size of a watermelon when I finally give birth (God willing).  Regardless, he was in tremendous pain and very sick all day yesterday and thrilled to be feeling better last night and today.  I'm sure the follow up on "taking care" of the stone will be very funny when we look back on it, but I am certain that Hubby will fail to see the humor in it this week.  Too bad, stupid pebbles!

There are two sides to every story...

As many of you know I am a huge Twilight Saga fan. To further prove this, I thought what better way than to add a countdown widget!

In Threes...

Well I have thirty-three minutes (from the start of typing) to get this blog completed and posted in order to meet the three post rule for this month!

So, whatever to talk about - oh, I know. The reasons to hate technology. First, let me start off by saying, I'm not one of those people. You know who I mean. The ones that believe that ALL technology is evil or that big brother is watching or something crazy, I mean different, like that. I am however a victim.

Yes, a victim. Technology recently raided, pillaged and removed ALL my life. (I know, dramatic, right?) But it's true! In an effort to "help" fix my phone and correct the major annoyances and problems I've been having, it was discovered there was a syncing error. Easy to fix right? WRONG! With my current piece of crap...I said phone, right?...it merges all your contacts from any sources into one big lump - this includes anything stored on the phone and anything from an outside sync. By correcting the sync, anything, yes EVERYTHING, is removed since it's all assumed to be on the former sync. So very easily, my entire database in my phone was erased. AHHHHHH!!

Backup? Backup you say?! Alas, no...I had tried more than once, but this same sync error prevented the backup system from running and wouldn't allow me to override the issue to get the information into or onto another source. AHHHHHHH!

What precipitated this crazy action that removed all contacts - trying to fix it. And after speaking to the "representative" at the store, I've learned two things - 1) all cellular companies are evil, 2) I cannot renew/change/update or do anything without a fee for another three months. AHHHHHHHH!

So there you have it three full and completely frustrated AHHHHHHHs - just for you.

Good news, my wonderful friends, family and colleagues/past colleagues have been wonderful about sending their updated information. So on the sunny- side - I'll have the best contact database ever when I'm done with this mess and don't you think for a second that I won't have it in sixteen different methods and stored in five different locations.

If only it were an April Fools...

Sassy? Did you say sassy?!

Do you think it's my color?











Deal Fool! I've got a great hand!

Kate's Fables

Aesop, he had a point.

Failure
It's happened. Tragedy has struck. I missed a third post in February. OH, the agony. The inhumanity of it all! I apologize to our devoted reader (okay two readers) and promise to keep working on doing more in the upcoming months. I do have a measly excuse. I honestly was 100% sure this was a leap year and hoped to post the photos on Monday. BUT, Monday was not February. I feel very guilty and I do apologize, but I'm hoping you'll forgive me and enjoy the pix of Olive anyway! Morale: pay attention the calendar, it has a way of creeping up on you! Moving on...

Attention
I do not have a perfect driving record. I'm sorry to admit it, but it's true. However, I consider myself to be at least a decent driver. I don't read the newspaper, browse magazines or surf the web while driving. Tonight, on my way home, a "gentleman" behind me in a minivan (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) was obviously so important that he had to work and drive. Along the route, there was a harder than usual stop (not a screeching halt, but a hard stop due to some traffic). Mind you part of the hard stop was caused by the police cruiser a couple cars up as he was stopping on someone that turned last minute. The "gentleman" behind me was not paying attention. I don't know about you, but when there's a harder than usual stop I look up out of some misguided sense of being able to do something about the person behind me stopping or not I guess. Well, I see the man in question reading a piece of paper and holding another piece in his other hand along with a pen. He had to slam on his brakes to not hit me, thank goodness, but BARELY made it. I mean really. What gets better, that wasn't enough for him. He screwed around for the next mile or two to the point where he swerved off the road. Literally into the grass off the road. I pray that someone is watching over him to keep him from killing someone, but I was just appalled. Morale: Man who works in car while driving cannot multitask like he believes he can. Also, pay attention on the road!

Kindness
In keeping with the road rage theme, there is kindness in the world still. I was fortunate to borrow a siblings red VW bug last week. What fun - truly a happy car! People are definitely kinder and more aware when you're in a car that zips and this car just feels like a cartoon. But again, I digress. Thank you to the random folks that pay attention to the road and the traffic around and let others in - whether it's a lane change or a left in heavy traffic. Thank you to those folks and shame on those that are too busy napping, eating, talking on their phone, working in the car (YES YOU!) and many other things to see anything outside the car. May you find kindness on the road too. Morale: Make your driving golden - karma will find you!

Ambiance
I'm thrilled to be organizing my new office. I share it with another person and she tends to get headaches from florescent lighting. Great - I hate florescent lights too. However, I'm shocked by the number of folks that have given us some heavy "teasing" about it. I know it's all in good fun, but it strikes me funny that folks can't just appreciate the lovely ambiance and find some solace in that fact that they can now join us in our small cove of peace! Morale: Ambiance good, headaches bad. Keeping opinions positive or if not positive, private - best.

Charity
I've worked in the non-profit sector for nearly eight years, in that time, I've learned a few things. There are essentially three types of folks that attend charitable events and get involved in charitable boards/committees. 1) The Heart of Gold - genuinely wants to help, whether it's for personal interest in doing good in the world or through a personal relationship with the cause - supporting your alma mater because it's where you went to school or supporting a medical research cause because you lost a family member to the disease, etc. These folks are amazing. Will go above and beyond and really in it for the right reason. The remaining two unfortunately can be great assets to a board and can help with events, etc. but they'll never have the dedication of those golden folks. Your second attendees - 2) Because someone invited them and there is a chance of meeting someone either to a)network or b) hook up with. These are great fun to meet and chat up. There's always some great line about why they're there etc. This category also includes those folks that felt like they "should" go because a friend or family member needed them to come. Also fun to chat with. 3) Someone said there would be free food or drink. Morale: Find the organization or cause where you can be in group #1. Being #2 or #3 sometimes if fine and can be quite a hoot, but seriously as a member of this planet Earth - find that #1 for you.

So, those are my nuggets of fables for today. Watch out for that tortoise or hare and enjoy March as it roars in like a lion...hopefully it will leave like a lamb and welcome some lovely springtime weather.

Observation Report

So in my time on this lovely home, we call Earth...I have made some observances of what happens around me. I tend to be fairly aware of my surroundings...granted, not when ice is involved. If there is ice within a 20 mile radius, I am certainly the one that will find it and not only do so through sight, but I will have my rear end, knee or entire being come face to face with the ice to be absolutely sure that it's there. I have fallen on ice THREE times since Christmas. I mean really?! But I digress...here are some brief observances from my recent experiences.

Olive
Speaking of the little dear...OH what a handful. I promise to post again with more photos this month, but she's just too funny. Lipstick, tissue, you name it, she loves it. Her fur is so fine that it seems to matte very quickly. We had to have her shaved, quite a bit. She's very naked and she dislikes the cold ever more now, but Miss Olive is still the most adorable pup with her big brown eyes and pretty fur. Unfortunately, most recently, Olive has discovered her love of poker. As the hubby finished setting up his poker table and chips last week for a game we hosted, Olive was intrigued. She decided to join in the game...well at least she wanted to anti up. Since she's underage, we did not let her gamble, but perhaps in a few years. I think blackjack will be more her game vs. poker, but we'll see. Enjoy the photos.

Commuting
Since my brief reprieve from a daily commute, I had forgotten how hysterical, fun, and annoying it can be. Obviously, it'd be great if we all lived on the Starship Enterprise and could be "beamed" to our location of choice, but we don't and commuting is always slightly tedious and a bit of a pain. Alas, it's a necessity and mine is fortunately not very long. However, I forgot how hysterical people are. That everyone thinks once their car door is closed no one can seem them - they pick their nose, they sing along to the radio, they talk on their phones and use their hands vehemently to explain their conversation to the person on the phone (because it does help them explain of course!) and my favorite one today - a guy in a car behind me was picking at his hair (or something in his hair) and licking it off his hand. Gross, yes, but is anyone else wondering what in the heck he was tasting?! I am very guilty of the "invisible in the car" mindset - I sing, I dance and I have fun...that is, unless I'm a passenger. If I'm a passenger, all bets are off and I'm likely sleeping. So if you see some crazy gal in a car buzz by you singing and having a good time, I ask that you smile and keep on licking your hair.

Mechanical Things
I hate them. No, that's probably too harsh. I dislike them a lot and I usually don't understand them, which makes me like them even less that I may have originally! So my car broke yesterday. It acted like it was possessed and I had no prior warning. It wouldn't start - the lights flickered and the trunk lock kept clicking like it was on speed. The ghosts of cars past temporarily attacked the car - as if to remind my current wheels that they're paid off in less than six months. Therefore, you must be broken and expensive right now. Argh. The car is fine, but it would just be nice to have all mechanical things work with me more often.

Lent
So far so good - no soda, no red meat, no pork. These were my sacrifices for lent and I've added the rosary once a week into my life. Why is it that when you decide not to eat or drink something, that is when you want it? The idea of a juicy hamburger and a refreshing soda right now sounds amazing. I mean incredible and yummy...but, the symbolism of lent reminds me that this is nothing in comparison. Something interesting that I've heard and seen this year - the Church itself is encouraging Catholics to consider reducing their carbon footprint as part of this season of lent. It's definitely made me more mindful this year, but I find that very interesting. I wonder what Olive would give up for lent? Hmmm...

So something ramblings from me about things just going on around me. On to the next random thing.

Beloved Bumps

A crazy beginning to the month of February!

My beloved Purdue Boilermakers turn out another winner in Drew Brees. I've always been a latent Saints fan, the whole God thing, loved the idea of New Orleans and thought it was great that Ditka went on to coach there too. Then they took on Drew Brees, even when his career was uncertain. And look what they got. Drew was the first quarterback I saw in one of my many visits to campus before I transferred from PUNC. He (and an awesome team and coach) took the Boilers to the Rose Bowl and on to a championship. A winner even then! Congrats to the Saints, I am sure the celebrating has not stopped and will go on long past Fat Tuesday next week - but fun times. And congrats to Mr. Brees and his family for all they have done for an amazing city. Maybe the hubby and I will make it there for a mini vacation sometime!! Enjoy Mardi Gras!!

That brings me to the question of the day. Mardi Gras, which is French for "Fat Tuesday" is the celebration or carnival before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Kind of the last hurrah before 40 days of watching what you eat and some form of devotion exemplified by giving up sweets, extra charitable work, etc. For a number of years, my sister has given up sweets or chocolate in some form for the 40 days. I'll be honest, I don't have the will power. And, it makes me wonder if there shouldn't be some way that those around you choose your lenten promise. I mean, if you asked my sister or family, they would choose something for me very different than what I might. For the sister, our family would definitely NOT pick chocolate if nothing else, but for all of our safety. It just begs the question - what would your loved ones ask you to give up for Lent? (If you were a practicing Catholic, etc.)

I, for one, am opting for many personal improvements (in addition to the resolution list - going very well, thank you for asking)...but the big one - less clumsy. I am going to work on being more coordinated and NOT injuring myself. My sweet pup and hubby decided to enjoy the weather on Tuesday night. There was an unexpected result...an emergency room visit. All is well, but what started out as a careful, but fun romp in the snow quickly turned into a display of my snow-skating abilities and keen skill in bouncing my skull off the (unshoveled and unsalted mind you) pavement! A small gash that of course bled like crazy, like all head wounds do, led to the ER. A thank you to the nurses and doctors that checked me out, cleaned me up and sent me home. And of course the awesome hubby for taking terrific care of me. I am now graced with a lovely egg on my head and have worn my hair in pigtails for the first time in my life to keep my hair out of the cut. And I've now spent the last three days with the worst hangover I've ever had and I haven't even had one drop to drink all week! The cruelty of it all, really.

ABC's of January

A for Addictions
Hi my name is Kate and I am a Twilight addict. Recently one of our movie channels added it to their lineup. I'm watched it a BUNCH since then. No, you don't understand...yesterday I saw it almost five times and I was busy all day! I had it on in the morning as I got ready, running in the background while I cleaned the house for guests. Watched it by choice to fill time before the guests got there and then saw it in the evening as the guests were heading out and my sister picked it. Then had it on as I settled in for the night in bed. It's an addiction! I do love the stories and I agree completely that the first movie may not have been cinematic genius, but more an awesome companion to the story. Anyway...I know the hubby is just dying to delete it from the TV, but the good news is that New Moon, the sequel comes out in March, I think, so I can change things up a bit. Is there where I should mention that for Christmas my sister gave me my very own Edward doll.

B for Blogs & Brunch
I'm proud to say I've done over three posts this month and promise to keep it up. I always try to avoid too many boring random thoughts, but ah well - if I'm boring, I apologize and hope that you will just pass by and come back for something more your cup of tea on round two. Resolutions are looking good, but I'll keep it up for those that care to read on!

For my new thing in January, I did two. My sister and I made and effort to do church and brunch and try someplace new. A great little hole in the wall diner in Villa Park. It was great food, good value (not so great service) but a good time nonetheless!

C for Crafty Day
My friends are awesome. We somehow work to find time to see one another in our crazy schedules. In an effort to create another reason to hang out we added a "crafty day" to the calendar this month. We had a great time yesterday and were super productive. There was card making and lots of it as well as an entire top side of a quilt finished - great job D!!

So as part two of new things in January - I present craft day #1. I realize that new things in January weren't as adventurous as some may have hoped not as outside the box, but I promise to do better. I'm making a running list of things for the other 11 months, but please keep sending the suggestions too!

So as the year keeps moving by I present the closing ABC's of January and look forward to the craziness that 2010 continues to bring...hoping for a lottery win or some phenomenal surprises to pair with my fabulous hubby, the wonder pup and great friends and family! Happy February!

Baking Blunder(s)

I consider myself to be an okay cook. Not a great cook, but good. I can provide meals for myself and my family without poisoning anyone or creating anything inedible too often.

Yesterday was no exception to this - I had a good friend over and the three of dined on steaks, double-baked potatoes, green beans and salad. As a special treat, I thought I would make my first attempt at a Boston-creme pie/cake, much like my Mom would make for my Dad on his birthday - one of his favorites. I knew I'd be making a couple "edits" to the cake to make it suit our needs.

So in my domestic bliss, I baked two 9" round butter yellow cakes in the oven. While those cooked, I made the banana pudding and placed in the fridge to harden. I milked the frosting recipe out of my sister - for her FAMOUS frosting with cocoa added. With all three ingredients assembled. I placed the frosting aside and the cakes on a cooling rack awaiting assembly.

Picture this - pristine cake stand, the first cake is carefully placed in the center. Banana pudding is layered onto the cake in a thin layer, predominantly in the center given that the second cake will force it to spread out. Cake number two is placed on top. A little bit of smoothing with the frosting knife and we're set to frost. Chocolate frosting layered on top. However, the cake is now sliding slightly to the left. A quick prod with the knife and we're all set, continue frosting. But, now we're leaning to the right. Some smoothing with the knife to frost the sides and make it all look nice.

Well, it didn't look nice. All of a sudden the pudding and frosting are mixing on the sides and it's sliding pretty quickly to the side. I placed three extra long drink toothpicks in to try to keep things together. Until we were ready to eat, I put it all in the fridge.

It didn't look nice, but it sure tasted good. So for storage, there was NO way it would go into the cake keeper, instead, we split things up into tupperware and have now named it Smush Cake.

Ah well, there's always brownies!

Time with Tissues

I have a cold. A no good, very bad cold. So I have spent a LOT of time with tissues today and this past weekend. However, I have nothing on our puppy. In the fifteen minutes it took me to shower today Olive decimated an entire fresh box of Kleenex. Yup, tissues streaming from one end of the front room to the other. I mean seriously?! The best part is her innocent act. I come out of the bedroom and Olive is no where to be found. Mysterious. Then I notice the small trail of paper shreds from the doorway to under the bed and there - there I find the offending beast. A small mountain of tissue under the bed along with her. And to top it all off, she looks right at me and cocks her head to the side with a piece of tissue hanging out of her mouth. But honest, she didn't do it.

So I scoop her up and clean up the paper and leave the bedroom and then the true mess. I look at her and she literally hung her head and looked away. Hysterical. At least she shows some remorse.

A resolutions update...

1) This is post #2 this month!

2) Still working on it!

3) Every day since January 4th!

4) I've attended the same church two weeks in a row. So far so good. And a side story. My lovely sister accompanied me to church this week. We totally enjoyed the AWESOME job the choir was doing with the great song "Wade in the Water" and then "Taste and See". And then, she's giggling next to me, she turns and asks, "What are they saying?"

I reply "Taste and See."

The giggling resumes and she says, "Oh, I thought they were saying 'Tasty'." I was without words. But I did giggle quite a bit. We're all going to hell.

5) I've gotten all the holiday SmugMug photos organized into galleries and setup. Feel free to enjoy at www.kate-sam.smugmug.com.

6) Working on finishing up those to send out this month.

7) Already read January's book and excited to see the gals on Thursday.

8) Still trying to figure out where to head this year...Ideas welcome!

9) Still working on this too. Ideas welcome for the January first!! Great Chicago restaurant? Other suggestions...

10) Everyday and every way I can think of!

So between a massive increase in tissue use and the discussion of a "tasty" deity, it's been a great start to the month, but an interesting week.

Happy New Year 2010!

And what a year 2009 has been! The hubby and I spent the night together enjoying a fun time in downtown Elmhurst celebrating a year of absolute craziness. The addition of Olive to our family in February, the consistent hectic life of my former job, lots of travel for Sam and happy and sad times with friends and family throughout 2009.

Now on to 2010! Last night, among many glasses of wine, champagne and yummy treats, I decided to make a very ambitious list of resolutions. (And I expect all of you to remind me of these if I stray too far!) Hubby claimed he didn't need to make any since he was perfect, enough said.

Kate's resolutions for 2010 (these are in no particular order)
1) Post to this fabulous blog at least 3 times per month
2) Find great new job - perhaps not lifelong career, but a great job that will allow for work/life balance. Also, continue to focus on Stampin' Up! business to meet quarterly goals.
3) Exercise (in some shape or form, Wii counts if I sweat and burn calories!!) 3 times per week.
4) Put a new focus on mental/spiritual health. Finding the right church? Theraputic journaling, whatever. Make me a better me!
5) Organize photos/scrapbook/memory stuff. Work on scrapbooks and photos in SmugMug.
6) Remember family and friends birthdays and anniversaries and send cards.
7) Read all 12 book club books on time!
8) Travel to at least two new places that I've never been to (or don't remember because I was there before memories)
9) Try one new thing per month - a new food, new experience, new restaurant, etc. Suggestions welcome!
10) Share reminders of love with those most important to me - Hubby, parents, sister, friends. Remind those that I love how very special they are!

Good luck with all your resolutions, if you made them, and all the best for a fantastic 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!