Pre-30...Really?

As most of you know, my birthday is coming. There WAS a list of things that I wanted to do before I turned thirty. Didn't happen. Surprise. So, being as I am turning 30 and have accomplished NOTHING...I thought I would start my list over except that it is now a things to do before I am 35.

So, here goes....

1. Go to Yosemite.

2. Get back to my pre-marriage weight.

3. Grow my hair out again.

4. Be successful at something.

5. Get out of debt. Completely.

6. Make a difference in the world.

7. Adopt a baby or six.

8. Change a life.

9. See the Yankees play baseball. Live.

10.Grow my own garden, complete with tomatoes.

11. Be organized.

12. Make my own skirt.

13. Make my own purse.

14. Go somewhere incredible.

15. Take a class.

16. Laugh until I cry.

17. Be a better wife, daughter and sister.

18. Go to a concert and see an artist that I admire...

19. Spend more time on the important things.

20. Spend less time worrying about stupid things.

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