Saturday, 01 December 2007

5 Things

Dear Kittens.

1. We often leave the front door and screen open so the cats can come and go as they please. About 2 times a month the grey cat from across the strees saunters in like this is his house. He walks in all fake confident with shifty eyes and goes straight for the food bowl. He eats a couple bites of food and then decides if he should continue down the hall or go out the door. It amuses me when he walks through the house, sees where the cats are sleeping and then leaves. The first few times this happened I shooed him out and then I decided to not fight city hall and let that cat come in. One time Petey was sleepily coming down the hall and saw the grey cat and LOST HIS SHIT. He sputtered and puffed and hissed and looked at me accusingly. The grey cat hauled ass to the front door and then just sat on the porch and waited for Petey to come out side so they could deal with it like men.

2. I troll Etsy all the time for people selling vintage stuff. I have gotten some amazing things this way. Today the lovely letter carrier delivered 4 milk glass footed sherbet cups and Homemaker's Encyclopedia, published in 1952. Both things are so awesome I cannot find the words to adequate express my happiness. I plan on using the encyclopedia in my collage art and the sherbet cups will be used for sherbet and pudding and pound cake with fruit and whatever else I can think of. I have a tray (it was my grandmother's) that matches the sherbet cups, so this doubles my happy luckiness.

Here's something that's a pet peeve. When someone calls something vintage retro. Vintage is an old thing. Retro is a new thing meant to look like an old thing. So if something in vintage retro it's a old thing that was once a new thing that was meant to look like an old thing? No. Do not say something is vintage retro. Because even if it's cool and exactly what I was looking for, I will not buy it.

3. My brother-in-law one time took a class from a woman who wrote on her syllabus what we pet peas were. Yes. Pet Peas. This so tickled me that whenever someone says pet peeve, I correct it in my head to pet pea and it's instantly funny. I hope you begin to do the same thing.

4. Have I told you about the new sofa I want? I have begun to think of it as the Good For Your Marriage sofa because it's very large (four feet deep!) and the cozying that can be done on a large sofa is endless. Right now Andy sits in his chair and I sit in my chair and there is no cozying. Our currently sofa is just not that comfortable for it. This potentially new sofa is ideal for cozying. I would like that and so would Andy. The biggest issue with this new sofa is that it is giant and our living room is not giant. Our living room is petite-ish. So in order for this sofa to work we need to replace the speakers, replace the big shitty chair and possibly replace the beloved leather chair. So now the new sofa costs a lot more money than just the sofa. This is a very common occurance for us. We decided to do something and then it turns into a big giant deal.

5. For the first time ever in our adult lives together we are totally out of debt. Well, except for the mortgage, but surely you are not counting that, right? Both cars are paid off. Our credit card balances are all paid off. It feels so good. I didn't ever give our credit card debt much thought. I mean, I didn't like that we were in debt, but it wasn't something that I fretted over. But now that the cards are paid off, I feel such relief. It is so great to not have to make those bi-monthly payments (I've been paying double the minimum balance every 2 weeks for some time now) anymore. It's going to be an amazing savings each month and I really cannot wait to watch our savings account grow to it's pre-house buying level.

I do have a cold, but it's not that bad. And! Here's something for you to consider. I woke up this morning with considerable congestion in my head and I remembered that earlier this year I did some research regarding relieving congestion and I found this website that said chewing gum that contains xylitol can help with congestion. It's been my experience that it does help quite a lot and is significantly better than taking a decongestant.

Love,
Catie

Saturday, 17 November 2007

Seventeenth of November: 5 Things

Dear Kittens,

When I started doing the 5 things thing, I did not know there was a site called 5ives. I just wanted you to know that.

1. Things I like to eat for breakfast

a. An apple and a slice of cheddar cheese

b. some sort of eggs.

c. In the winter I really like eating soup for breakfast.

d. Baby burritos are pretty good for breakfast

e. European breakfast of meats and cheeses is my very most favorite.

2. Things I really hate dealing with

a. Any car thing.

b. Returning things to stores.

c. Crazy people

d. Sick or injured cats

e. Going to the doctor's

3. Things I love about Thanksgiving

a. How everyone helps with the cooking

b. How all the food tastes just like how it did when I was growing up, even though I'm the cook now

c. Leftovers. We pretty much make Thanksgiving just for the leftovers.

d. Going for walks in super quiet neighborhood with all the leaves all over the place

e. Having my parents here for the whole weekend.

4. Things I love about Andy Anchev

a. He's funny.

b. He's really cute.

c. He makes me breakfast pretty much every morning.

d. He is only slightly annoying.

e.He is the most generous and kind person I have ever known and he is wholly accepting of me and my stuff. Also, he knows pretty much everything.

5. Things I'm doing today

a. Getting a manicure and pedicure

b. Eating a pumpkin muffin

c. Hanging out with a good friend.

d. S H O P P I N G

e. Keepin' it real.

Love,

Catie

Saturday, 27 October 2007

5 Things, Take 2

Path

walkway at a park in Portland, OR

Dear Kittens,

5 Things.

5 Things I Eat Pretty Much Every Day

1. Cottage cheese

2. Salad

3. Nuts

4. Chocolate

5. Fruit

5 Things I Do Pretty Much Every Day

1. Go for a walk

2. Make the bed

3. Create something

4. Talk to my mom

5. Read blogs

5 Of My Favorite Books

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Poisionwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

3. Children Playing By  A Statue of Hercules (short stories collected by David Sedaris of various authors)

4. Feast of Love by Charles Baxter

5. Anything by Ellen Gilchrist, but especially Net of Jewels.

5 Things I Use Too Much Of

1. Hair products

2. Toilet paper

3. Salt

4. Toothpaste

5. The cats' tolerance for being smooched (which varies greatly by cat)

5 Things I Want To Do This Weekend

1. Finish all my Christmas stuff for Catiecake Cards

2. Go to the Farmer's Market with Andy Anchev

3. See a movie

4. Go for 2 extra long walks

5. Get the Parlor cleaned up.

Love,

Catie