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Dear Kittens,
I'm waiting for a friend in the West Village. I am extremely early, which is fine because I need some time to recover from the scary cab ride. Second death defying cab ride so far & we haven't even been here 24 hours yet.
My parents & Andy are together looking @ art or whatever.
Yipee! New York! Love, Catie
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Dear Kittens,
You know I love the hell out of the list and it's time we stop pretending that I am ever going to write a blog post that is not in list form. I mean, it could happen- it just seems unlikely.
Here's what you need to know:
1. We had a lovely Easter with my parents. We had brunch, yummy Bloody Marys and we colored eggs. And also ate candy. Because that's the real meaning of Easter, candy.
2. Um. This week has sort of been a blur. One day I had lunch with friends and their adorable baby. One day I probably cleaned the house a little bit. Another day I cut and colored my mom's hair and then we went shopping. That day I spent a bunch of money at Sephora and I do not mind telling you that it was 85% for my eyebrows. These eyebrows have a life of their own now.
3. I've been using Facebook more and here's what I learned- it is, without a doubt, the biggest waste of time currently available on the Internet. Even though I am participating, I still have no idea what the purpose of Facebook is. I mean, besides wasting time.
4. We leave for NYC tomorrow morning. The main purpose of our trip is to visit Andy's family, but now I am lucky enough to have some awesome friends there that are up for some visiting, too! Plus I might get to meet a long time Internet friend. So Hooray for Hollywood. Or..you know..New York City!
5. I don't know if I'll be making real posts while I'm gone, but I will be Twittering and Utterzing. Also, there will probably be some camera phone photos uploaded to Flickr.
And now I need to get back to putting away laundry, laying out stuff to be packed and blah, blah, blah. I hate getting ready for a trip, but I am looking forward to this trip.
Love!
Catie
Dear Kittens,
A wordy list.
1. I believe I've mentioned that our original plan this year was to remodel the kitchen. Then we had the fence fire and a focus changed to the outside of our house. The new plan is to replace the burned up fence, replace the back fence (wind damage) and to build a new fence along one side of our property. We're also getting new windows, painting the outside, getting the built-in in the living room finished AND fixing the texture on 2 walls. Oh, and landscaping! Or you know, whatever we can afford. Actually, I believe we can afford everything on that list. The costliest thing is going to be the windows and today some dude is coming out to take final measurements. Only one window is changing size. We've decided to put a sliding door in our bedroom that will lead out on two what will eventually be the patio. Right now it's the horrendous enclosed patio which we hate with a white hot passion. I hate the enclosed patio so much that one time I kicked it. Really hard! Nothing happened, except I hurt my foot. I may have cried, but who can remember for sure? We're looking forward to the outside of our house looking good and I'm sure our neighbors are as well.
2. Last December marked 7 years since I've actively pursued a relationship with my dad. Most of my readers know that I stopped talking to my dad 7 years ago mostly because he's abusive and participating in an abusive relationship did not feel good. While it was not a happy decision, I do feel very strongly that it was the right one for me and while I regret the necessity to make such a choice, I chose right. I mostly do not hate my dad and have some very fond memories of him. One being that we would go to a hot dog chain called Wienerschnitzel and get a chili dog for me and a corn dog for him and then go to the park to eat our food and play. And on Wednesday nights we would go to the library together where we would check out armloads of books to take home and read.
3. Yesterday I went to Target to get some Easter candy for our baskets and while I was there I picked up a pink cloth shower curtain for under $8! That means it was pretty much free, which is awesome. I also picked up a cute patchwork quilt and pillow sham set. That was not free, but it was a decent price ($60) and I really like the colors. While I was wondering through Target I kept running into the same woman talking on her cell phone. As is the case with 98.3% of public cell phone users, she was an Ass. Her conversation was extremely private and after the 3rd time of running into her, I stopped pretending to be ignoring her and stared openly at her. I'm imagining that's what she wanted because why else would you have an extremely private conversation while shopping at Target. She huffed a couple of times at the attention I was giving her, but never did she stop talking or stop shopping. The positive thing about people like that is you can immediately identify them as Assholes. Still, I would prefer they be required to wear a T Shirt, but whatever.
4. I bought a new bag the other day when I was shopping with my mom. It's meant to be worn across the body. It's a great color of green and I mostly love it. The part I am unsure about is the built in wallet part. Theoretically, this is nice because you do not have to carry your wallet, which just adds weight. Except, the built-in wallet compartments are not quite ideal and it's vexing me. I think it's going to work out perfectly for travel.
5. Speaking of travel- like I did right there at #4, we are planning some nice trips for this year. The scariest for me is Europe. I am not a happy traveler and I have all manner of anxiety over this trip. I know the awesome way to be is to be super excited about it and while I am excited, I am also anxious because it is unknown to me. It's now that I wish my parents traveled more when I was a kid. I am excellent at road trips. I am like a professional (you know, if there were such a thing) road tripper. I know how to pack a car for maximum efficiency, I know what sort of snacks to pack, how often you should stop and walk around, how many hours are reasonable to drive in a day, etc. And I know ever clean bathroom on the I-5 through California. What I don't know is Europe.
6. A lot of times I will do or say something and then follow it with, I'm FORTY! Like that is an age where a person says and or does certain things. For me, it pretty much is. Something clicked for me this year and I am more clear on my boundaries and keeping them swept up and tidy and in plain view. I've never been a person who is readily trampled on, but I do sometimes volunteer for things that I know at the moment I say yes I will regret. I'm looking to eliminate that this year. My friend Charlie is really good at saying no. If he's not interested, no amount of convincing will change his mind and even though that's something annoying when you're the one trying to convince him, I admire that about him, too.
7. I started this hours and hours ago. Now it's bedtime and I am so ready for it. I noticed the other night that I have more covers on my bed than during winter. Right now I've got a top sheet, a blanket, and 2 quilts! It's because now I have the window open at night. I love a cold room with lots of covers.
Love,
Catie
Dear Kittens,
Yesterday I was Grouchy with a capital G. I grouched around for most of the day, being sure to stomp my feet while walking through the house and never smile. It was great! Not really, but at least I'm not grouchy today.
This morning I was putting on a new pair of yoga pants. I arranged the fold over waistband, pulled my tank top down and then looked at myself in the mirror. Andy had been watching me and he said, Cute! I said, they are YOGA pants, for all the YOGA I do. Then he laughed and started quoting bits from this post. You will be hard pressed to read through that blog and NOT recognize yourself, even if you aren't white.
So, the whole thing where I am fancy with my food and take a photograph of everything I eat is going well. It's fun and it makes me more mindful of what I'm choosing than I might be otherwise but the best part is the fancy part. It's really nice to make each meal and snack feel like an event. The interesting part of me is that being fancy does not actually take that much effort and it brings a fair amount of joy to an ordinary thing, like lunch.
One really lovely thing that's been happening is that when I open the curtain and sit in the broke down cloth chair, the sun hits my head and shoulders and Oh My, it is delicious. It warms me up better than any heater and it feels so good on my skin.
Here's a cat story:
I put a pillow laying lengthwise next to me on my bed. That's where Seamus sleeps. I have no idea why I started such a thing, but I did and if his pillow is displaced he jumps up on the bed, looks around and then meows in a questioning manner until it's put back where it belongs. It should be noted that this pillow is a bone of contention among the other cats. Petey often looks at it in a hateful manner and more than once Roo had gotten on the pillow and stomped around. This morning I slept in and when I woke up it was to the noise of a cat noisily licking his chops. I open one eye to see Roo on the pillow. First he gave himself a proper bath. Then he commenced to rubbing all over the pillow the whole time making these happy moany noises. He did that for a good 5 minutes before he settled himself and took a tiny snooze.It will not surprise me when one of these bastards decides to spray the same pillow.
And now a short list:
A List of What's Happening Today by Catie Anchev
1. Getting manicure and pedicure
2. Laundry
3. Market.
4. Photographing some signs I love
5. Making some phone calls I've put off.
Love!
Catie
Dear Kittens,
I sometimes think that I owe you and explaination about why I have not been posting more regularly, but then I remember. You are a baby kitten. You are so easily distractable. I should not worry about explaining anything to you.
1. This week we have instituted Happy Hour. Before dinner we're having a small snack and a cocktail. Tonight it's chips and salsa and margaritas. Tomorrow salty nuts and old fashioneds. Wednesday is olives and martinis. Thursday- salami and Salty Dogs. Friday is crudite and Bloody Marys.
2. I've also decided to be extra fancy with my meals this week. My plan is to photograph it all, but I might forget here and there.
3. I think I mentioned a while ago that a new goal of mine was to read 1 book a week. I'm working on that, but one of my issues is that unless the book is REALLY engaging, I tend to get sleepy when I read. I'm thinking about reading in public to see if that helps. Otherwise, I will never make it through 1 book in a week because of all the napping.
4. The above photo is of my husband, Andy, kissing my neck. I made it black and white and dialed up the contrast to make it look more secretive. I've made it my desktop background to remind me to seek the love. This year marks 18 years of living together (June) and 15 years of marriage (October). Every relationship has it's ebbs and flows and it's inevitable that we sometimes get ourselves into ruts. There doesn't need to be deep meaning to the rut, other than we're human and maybe we seek ruts sometimes. I don't know. Alls I know is there was a time when we were so ATTACHED. And while I would never go back to the early days when we were untested and less sure of our future and each other, it's good to be reminded to seek the love. To reach for each other's hand when walking, to sit close together on the sofa, to make out in the kitchen and to list all the reasons you love that person- out loud- right before you go to sleep.
5. I am not afraid to tell you that I have 23 handbags. I laid them all out on my bed and took a photo. I know that's a lot of handbags, but with the exception of only two- one of which is brand new- I have used them all and will use them again. Here. You can look for yourself:
6. It's time for me to prepare for the coming home of my husband! Yay for husband's coming home.
Love,
Catie
Dear Kittens,
Do not get me started about Daylight Saving Time. I hate it's stupid guts and to everyone who loves it, keep it to yourself. Also- if you love the so-called extra hour of sunlight so much- GET UP EARLIER! The sun is there. I'm actually blaming everyone who loves DST for how I feel today. CONGRATULATIONS, JERKS! That is all for today. Tomorrow will include more bitching.
We should make a list today because I'm feeling vomity from the time change.
1. On Saturday a friend and I did some crafty stuff and then we went to go hear another friend's band play. It was a great time and it's always nice to get out and do something WACKY. I'm joking about the wacky part. It wasn't wacky at all. It was just fun.
2. Because of the time change, Sunday felt like it lasted exactly 20 minutes. We had brunch, I did a tiny bit of shopping and then we had sushi. I drank some iced tea at some point and I practiced my local TV news faces.
3. It used to be my goal to never be on the local TV news because invariably the normal person looks borderline stupid whenever they're on the local TV news. Then I saw this woman giving a comment about the not-really-a-recession and she made a total fool of herself, but it gave me the idea that it would be awesome to just hang out in various newsy situations and be ready with a bunch of ridiculous catch phrases and facial expressions. I think this is going to be my new career.
Here's what I've got so far:
4. Today is all about laundry. Mostly because I am too tired and grouchy to do anything else productive. The good news is, I'm getting a lot of laundry done. The grouchiness is absolutely related to Daylight Stupid Time and quite possibly Special Lady Time and so it's a real party with me today.
5. I want to eat tacos today. Earlier, I told a friend that I want to eat 20-30 tacos. That remains true, even though I know there's no way I could eat that many unless they were really tiny. Tiny like a tortilla chip tiny. Why with all the disgusting junk food available has no one come up with a miniature taco in a bag? Anyway, if Andy is ammenable we will be eating tacos. Chicken tacos. Delicious, delicious chicken tacos. With chicken.
Love,
Catie
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Dear Kittens,
The blog is an interesting thing. I like keeping a blog, except sometimes it feels like a chore. We are currently in that cycle of blogkeeping. I'm soldiering though only because I love you. You know there's going to be a list, right? Good.
Things I've Learned Recently: A short list
1. I can eat 4 Lindt mint truffles without feeling sick. 5 is too many, but 3 is ideal.
2. A dead body was found in our beloved park a couple of weeks ago. I did not know about the body when it happened. In fact, I just learned about it because our city councilmember wrote us a letter to tell us that there is going to be a community meeting regarding the dead body AND criminal activity at the park. The dead body got dead via homicide. That there is "criminal activity" at our park is beyond surprising and I'm actually quite curious to know what's going on there.
Other Things: A Slightly Longer List
1. We've sort of given up on Cinequest this year. There are lots of good movies to be seen, we're just not feeling it this year. That's okay, though. We both feel like Cinquest is a worthy thing to make donation to.
2. The cats have been particularly cute lately. Roo is making all these cute sleeping noises. Seamus is extra affectionate and Petey is the sweetest cat ever in the world.
3. I've been writing lots of letters lately, now I just need to mail them.
4. I got my hair cut and colored yesterday. I am in love with my hair cut. I know from doing hair that sometimes you do a hair cut and it's inexplicably awesome. Your talent hasn't changed, it's just the stars align perfectly or something. This is one of those hair cuts.
5. I have finally found a pair of jeans that work for me. I know that people of all sizes have issues finding clothes that fit properly and I think when you're at either end of a spectrum it's even more difficult. I choose to order online because I have greater options that way. So I've been ordering and returning for several months now. So here's the deal- previously the best fitting pair of jeans I had were tapered legged. Obviously this is not ideal. I hate bootcut. Straight legged is ideal, but the proportions are often wrong in larger sizes (One pair had legs that were large enough for me to put both my legs in one leg hole). I finally found a pair of full legged jeans that are comfortable and I think look good.
I think that's all for now.
Love,
Catie
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