Benefits of Being a Kitty Owner

First and foremost, I love my cats. Anyone who doesn't know that doesn't really know me at all.

I believe there are many benefits of owning a kitten or two. Of course, I am slightly biased, so I researched it. And then I added some of my own. Enjoy.

* Emotional Support-kitties are always snuggly when you need them to be.

* Significant reduction in cholesterol and blood pressure.

* Attention provided to you by a cat provides a significant reduction in feelings of stress and loneliness that lead to depression.

* Weight loss- my kittens often want to share my lunch. This results in me eating less. :)

* Humor- my cats do the funniest things. See picture below.

* Entertainment- cats provide hours of entertainment. I could watch my cats do silly things all day long.

* As an added benefit, when you have no children, you have no one to dress up. They may fight you, but dressing up cats is also fun.

* One more thing, I just love them. They are the best kittens in the world and keep me entertained, happy and healthy. They are such good companions and listeners and friends.

(actually, this was just an excuse to post pictures of my kittens...)

Merry Christmas

Here is a variety of links that make me laugh about Christmas, which is a great accomplishment, because I am currently a giant scrooge.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/12/12-wrecks-of-christmas.html

http://kraftmstr.com/christmas/humor/confuse.html

Christmas Letter 2010 from Scrooge.

It's that time of year again. The time of year when my mailbox is FULL of letters about you, your children, their activities, etc. I don't have children. So, I figured that very few people actually care what Tim and I are doing. Everyday. Because it doesn't change. So, here is my Christmas letter. If you read it, great, if not...then you are obviously not seeing this. I thought about making things up to sound amazing and wonderful, but that's just not who I am, so here you go.

Dearest Family and Friend(s)-

This year has been rather eventful, if you consider having burst sewer pipes, stitches, dead trucks and vet visits eventful.

We added two furry children to our family: Jack the Cat in December, and Lily Belle as an Un-Mother's Day present in May. They don't play soccer, go to school, or have ballet. They sleep, eat, purr, scratch my couch and eat my lunch when I am not looking. And I love them.

Tim and I have been busy. We work. Sundays we go to church. Then we come home. That's all. We are grateful for our jobs, our home, our cars and each other. We love our family and our kittens. We love each other. Nothing else matters.

I went to Girls Camp as the Head Chicken in Charge in July. Tim came too. The cats stayed home. We went to Yellowstone for Mothers Day weekend. It was awesome. The cats stayed home. We visited my Granny Hippo in Rexburg once or twice a week until we moved her to IF to be closer. The cats came along. My brother got married to a girl that's a great cook. I like her. We went to Boise for that....and you guessed it-the cats stayed home. I started teaching piano lessons. It's pretty fun. The cats watch and Tim listens from the other room.

Welp, that's all there is. Sorry it's not more exciting. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Best Solstice wishes and whatever else I'm missing. Hopefully next year will be much more entertaining and I'll send a real letter. :)

Love,

Katie

All I've Ever Wanted...

Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year when we all feel thankful for everything we have, until Black Friday...the day when we all feel the urge to spend tons of money on useless garbage we don't need. So, this year, I'm going to work on being grateful for what I already have. I have started a daily "Gratitude Journal" in which I am trying to find SOMETHING to be thankful for everyday. It's not always easy...In this process, I've come to realize that there is something to be grateful for in every aspect of my life, even in my trials. There are lessons learned, friends made, qualities gained, relationships strengthened, and skills sharpened. For example, in dealing with a certain trial in my life in the last few years, I've become much more empathetic towards others trials and have gained a softened heart. So, in honor of this realization, I'm going to post some of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by Michael McLean.

What I Need

All I ever wanted,

All I ever dreamed of,

Everything I hoped and all the things I prayed for

Couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given,

I've been given what I need.

A mansion on the hill or love like in the movies

Perfect little lives, where no one has a problem

Instead of all those things I thought I really wanted

I've been given what I need.

Even when I didn't understand,

When I thought you had no heart,

Thank you for rejecting my demand

And always giving me the better part.

All I ever wanted,

All I ever dreamed of,

Everything I hoped and all the things I prayed for

Couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given

I've been given what I need.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, I'm grateful for each one of you!

Love, K.

October~where did you go?

Okay, hullo. Been a while, right?

First and foremost, we celebrated our 9th (yes, 9 years) anniversary.

Reasons that this is great:

I love my husband.

I love that he is nice to my cats.

I love that he supports me and my family.

I love what a good uncle, husband, friend, brother, person, hero blah blah blah that he is.

I love that he makes me laugh everyday, even when I'm miserable.

I love that he is my knight in shining armor.

I love that he lets me drive his big, awesome, new to us pickup truck.

I love every minute of our life together, even when I say I don't.

I love him.

So there.

************************************************************************************

Second-we went to Boise to hang with my fabulous fam. It was Palin's birthday. And everyone was there. I made her a tutu, gave her a magic wand, some jewelry to match and have thus, created a monster. :) She put it on and ran around the living room full of people who now think I am nuts hitting them with her wand and screaming "TaDaa" at the top of her lungs. It's her party and she'll "tadaa" if she wants to.

All in all, been a fabulous month. Bring on the next one.

hugs.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

I demand you try these...

http://creatinglineuponline.blogspot.com/2010/08/muffins.html

Girls Camp!

G is for the Great time that I had.

I is for the Itchy feeling I got from the horseflies on steroids.

R is for Rest and Relaxation of which I had none.

L is LOVE! (that's something I have a lot of...)

S is for Smorritos-what else? Oh, yeah...and Starburst.

C is for the Christmas Carols we sang in the rain.

A is for Action-it was nonstop.

M is for Mischeif that we certainly got into.

P is for Party!

I had the time of my life! I worked harder than I ever have, but it was the most REWARDING experience ever.

To my little Chickens- I love you to pieces.

To my Directors with a K- my newest bestest friends.

To those of you who volunteered your time-I love you forever.

Can't wait for next year!

Being Bountiful...

I am a girl who LOVES a bargain. (note all the Deseret Industries bags at my house...) So, may I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bountiful Baskets. It is a heck of a deal. Tim and I have become faithful followers/contributors/whatever-ers. Maybe we should call ourselves Basket Cases...perhaps not. Anyhow, for the low price of $15.00 (plus a $1.50 service charge) we get TWO laundry baskets of produce. And it's usually awesome produce. Example-

last Saturday- Watermelon, pineapple, canteloupe, carrots, celery, lettuce, brussel sprouts, bananas, tomatoes, and bunches more. Two weeks ago, we got almost two full pounds of cherries and a whole bunch of plums as well as the usual apples, bananas, lettuce, etc. If you add all of this up at the grocery store, it will usually total up to around $70. In a world where we need to making more healthy eating choices, this seems to be the most economical way to go. Also, they support local farms when they can, recycle all containers and the entire operation is run by volunteers. (like me) We are currently working to open our own site, so stay tuned for that.

The other thing about Bountiful Baskets that I adore is that often times, I receive produce that I would not normally purchase such as artichokes, avocados, baby bok choy, brussel sprouts, and many other things. This encourages me to try new things and forces me to find new recipes. I have found that I don't love baby bok choy, I do love artichokes, and adding avocado to anything makes it better.

I also love the special bargains they offer. For example, my friend Jenn and I purchase 25 pounds of fresh peaches for only $12.50. This week I purchased 12 pints of blueberries for $20. The first time I contributed, I purchased 8 pounds of Strawberries for $1.00 a pound! Unheard of in this area...

I am strongly encouraging all of you to give this a shot. Head over to www.bountifulbaskets.org today! It will give you all the information you need to get started. There is a one time $3.00 set up fee, but really? Still a great deal. Caution-in this area-they go fast!

Love, K

Just so you know...

Because music is such an important part of my life, I have decided that I am going to occasionally post song lyrics that reflect my feelings as opposed to typing 8000 words and having completely un-organized thoughts. Enjoy!

Happy Family!

I love Mother, she loves me.

We love Father, yes sirree.

He loves us and so you see,

We are a Happy Family!

I love my brothers, they love me. (i hope...)
We love our sisters, yes sirree.

They love us (i think...) and so you see,

We are a Happy Family!

I love Jack the Cat, he loves me.

We love Lilly Cat, yes siree.

They love us and so you see,

We are a Happy Family!

Happy UN-Mother's Day to me...

Happy Un-Mother's Day to me. Yes, I said it.
Normally, I would not advocate skipping church, however, I don't do church on Mother's Day. Regardless of what others say, or the reasoning they give me over and over, it's not the easiest day of my life. Partially because I miss my mom and partially because, well, let's face it...being a mother to a CAT is not something extraordinary.
So, my AMAZING husband (who I adore) made reservations at a GORGEOUS hotel in West Yellowstone, Montana and we have been blissfully exploring the park today and will continue to do so tomorrow. It has been a beautiful, unstressful and guilt-free day. We have acutally discussed making this a tradition. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yellowstone Park. There are so many things that I can see and learn and do every day here and NEVER get bored. Like today,for instance, I learned that a petrified tree is not actually a tree that got very, very frightened. It was actually covered in water, mud and volcanic ash and is now basically a rock. Also, I read in Yellowstone Today that personal pepper spray will NOT work on a bear. I am super visual, so I am picturing a small Asian woman spraying a bear with the pepper spray that you find in the check out aisle at WalMart and the bear laughing (mwa ha ha ha) and eating her anyways. Terrible? Yes. Funnny? Pretty much.
Also, today, I have become re-acquainted with Tim. He is funny and gentle and goofy and has better eyesight than anyone I have ever met. He is also very friendly and helpful and not at all afraid to share the fact that he just found a huge Grizzly Bear on the second ridge 8 gazillion miles away with strangers. I am reminded of how much I love him and how much fun we can have together. This was just what I needed this weekend. To remember that my life is NOT empty and meaningless. I am important to someone and he needs me and he will always love me...no matter what. So, happy Mother's Day to all!

AMAZING WOMEN

Here is my list of today-Women that I think are amazing.
Mom-you're my mom. that's why.
Mom Jennings- you gave me tim. thanks.
Terri (yes...you in CA)-you always make me feel better!
Lauri-fish-what can i say? you're my lauri-fish.
Jess-just love you.
Rachel Ann- and you too.
Jamie Lee- the sister i never had.
Krista Lynn-ditto
Becky Ann-ditto
Heidi- ditto
Crystal-ditto.
Julia- ditto.
Mary - supermom, super RS president, practically perfect in every way.
Colleen Ricks-for still being vivacious, amazing and beautiful through all your trials.
Natausha-best VT partner ever.
Kendra-just love you to pieces.

There you go. If I forgot you, give me a day or so to add more. :)

Obviously...

So, the hard part of this for me is keeping this silly thing updated. I obviously stink at it. So, here goes-a massive update. :)
* Weight Loss for Team Jennings-doing it. I am going to the gym three times a week and just spent a crud load of cash on the Wii Fit. Must. Be. Skinny. 15 pounds down-60 more to go.
* Jack the Cat- Love him. A lot. So much in fact that we are buying Jack a sister so he won't be lonely. Name suggestions for a little girl cat will be appreciated.
* Girls Camp-AARRRRGGGHHHHH! Old ladies gossip too much. Girls Camp WILL be successful, despite the doubts of certain people about me and my abilities.
* Family- busy. In Utah this weekend for Birthday Partays, in Boise in four weeks for *sniff* my little brother's wedding. *sniff* again.
*Work- :/ Enough said.
* Life- AMAZING! Just realized that it was 8 years ago that Tim proposed to me. How lucky am I? And how smart am I for saying yes?!?! I love him too too much.
There you go. See you in a couple months.

Jack the Cat, American in Paris, New Job, Blah, Blah, Blah.

Let's pretend that I have actually been doing this like I am supposed to. Ha. Slacker. Due to my lack of internet and my lack of actual caring, I have not updated anything since December. Currently, I am at work. Some of my sweet customers have been after me to update. So, that's what I am doing.
Okay, first big news, Tim got me a cat for Christmas. He is the most precious and precocious siamese kitten in the whole world. I named him Jack. After Captain Jack Sparrow, Jackalope, Jackie Chan, etc. Tim has been out of town for a week and Jack has been uber protective. He is always on my heels and has taken to sleeping in front of my bedroom door so if there is a monster or a mouse or a burglar or a stray piece of cheese trying to attack, they will have to get past him to get to me. I have been finding him in the strangest places like inside the washer, the kitchen sink (full of dishwater of course) and calmly sitting amid flannel, polycotton and fleece in my sewing room on the shelf. He is just like a kid. He likes to be rocked and covered with his blankie. Wierd.
Okay, next. My dad got a new job. In Wyoming. No, not as a cowboy. He is managing a store and seems to enjoy it, but really? Wyoming? At least it's a job.
And next, the highlight of my life lately, has been watching old, classic Gene Kelly movies. I had forgotten how much I love him! I advise everyone to watch these two movies-An American in Paris and Anchors Aweigh with Frank Sinatra.
Tim has been off in New Mexico hunting antelope on steroids (oryx?) with his sister. Sounds like they had fun, but I'll be glad for him to be home again today!
So, life in a nutshell. Not exciting. Still, it's mine and I LOVE IT!