catiecake.

Twelfth of November

Telephones sitting on a shelf in my house. Even though the pink one is not plugged in, I use it regularly to talk to people.

Dear Kittens,

It's the 12th of November and while I do not think I have to tell you what that means, I will. It's only THREE months until my first Large Number birthday. I am not dreading it quite as much as I thought I would. This is in large part to working with Life Coach. If I were in the same place mentally as I was when I first hired Life Coach, I would be very sad about turning 40, but I'm not! I'm in a much better place and really, it just keeps getting better. So, I'm not hugely excited about turning 40, but today I do not hate it.

Also, this morning I went for a walk. I've been walking most days, but not always in the morning. Lately my goal has been to just get in one walk a day and not to be invested in when it happened. One of my issues is setting up ridiculous rules for myself like if you don't walk first thing in the morning, there cannot be any other walks! Just so you know, rules are said loudly and usually with a British accent in my head. As another aside, there are real reasons I prefer to walk first thing in the morning (less going on, less sun, nice way to start my day, etc.). So, this morning I went for a walk and my orange cat, Seamus, came with me. He was in a very happy mood to be going on a walk. He leaped over puddles, he said hello to various animals, he chatted happily, it was great. The best thing we saw on our walk was an orange fluffy cat that looked like a tiny fox. The foxy orange cat was looking for trouble, but we were on our fitness walk and so we ignored him.

This week begins the holiday madness. On Wednesday, I do into my mom's classroom to make a Thanksgiving craft with the kids. On the weekend there is a friend date and a housewarming party, then next week is Thanksgiving and then the freaking holiday parties begin. This is all very good and fun stuff, but it also means things are BUSY. I realized the other day, this is why I like to stay at home and keep it quiet for New Year's Eve. Firstly, the whole forced party thing seems ridiculous, but also it's usually a pretty busy holiday season for us and it's really nice to spend the last/first holiday quietly drunk at home.

I started reading a book last night, called The Snapper by Roddy Dowell. So far it's all dialog and it's quite funny, but also very familiar. I looked it up today and I learned it was a movie. And I saw it a long time ago. I remember liking the movie quite a lot. The story is set in Ireland and the thing I like about it is that the author writes out a good portion of the dialog phonetically and so you're reading that Irish accent and it makes the experience that much better. 

Here are my promises to you, My Very Most Favorite Delightful Kittens-

1. I'll post a new photo every single day (Mon-Fri).

2. I am going to buy candy for that big jar on the shelf so when you come over you can have a piece of candy. (Only 1 piece, though.)

3. I will get rid of a BUNCH of magazines this week. A BUNCH! And I MEAN it.

But right now, I'm going to bed.

Love,
Catie

Kitty Cat Boyfriend

Berries. Taken at the Bonneville Locks in Oregon

Dear Kittens,

I better get my shit together because in exactly a week I will be starting NaPoBloMo. Wherein I will be required to post Every Single Day of November. Every day! Can you even imagine such a thing?

Today I went to Sephora and spent an obscene amount of money. All manner of new face potions, new eyeshadow, a new blush, and maybe some other stuff I forgot about. Can I tell you Kittens something? Of course I can, you are my baby kittens. I can tell you anything. I am in love with my eyebrows. Pretty much everyday I make out with myself via my eyebrows. I bought this Anastasia kit from Sephora a while ago and it came with these little eyebrow stencils. EYEBROW STENCILS! The stencils did not work out for me, but they did help me correct the shape and size of my eyesbrows and now they pretty much always look awesome. It's okay if you don't care about eyebrows, but let me tell you this- good looking eyebrows go a very long way towards making a face look good. Well groomed brows make up for never wearing makeup, even.

Earlier in the week I roasted trout for dinner. Kittens, trout is so delicious. Tomorrow I'm making pomegranate balsamic glazed pork tenderloin with fennel and orange salad and sugar snap peas. I know! It sounds delicious.

Starting Monday, I'm putting myself on a whole new program of wonderfulness. I'll outline the whole thing on Monday, but I promise serious wonderfulness. Or maybe not so much "wonderfulness" as "making some significant changes."

Ever since we got back from Portland I have been extremely popular with Petey and Seamus. Petey has always loved me the most, but lately he's become like a creepy stalker boyfriend. He follows me all over the house and if Andy makes a move on me, Petey is right there either watching or doing his best to get in between us. It's sweet in a very weird Kitty Cat Boyfriend sort of way. Now if Petey sees me giving Seamus affection he will let out this bitchy meow and then run away. He come right back and that's the part that cracks me up because when he comes back he's all sexy sauntering towards me. Petey's all, "how YOU doin'?"

And now I'ma take my new makeups and what not and go to the bed. I like to look at my new purchases before bedtime. What I really like to do, is spread everything out in a semi circle around me and examine each thing very carefully, the put it all back into the bag and go to sleep. I do this with everything I buy. Shoes, clothes, books, art supplies. Maybe it's really not so weird I have a kitty cat for a boyfriend.

Love,
Catie

Today, I am not your friend, Seamus.

Dear Kittens,

It's late and I don't stay up this late anymore, but there are some things I wanted to tell you.

Firstly, we had an Internet friend, Mary and her husband, Fred over for dinner. It was a lovely meeting and while I know there are plenty of people who do not meet Internet people, you totally should because they are always awesome.

Secondly, earlier today Seamus attacked Roo. All the cats decided to go outside at the same time and while I was doing some straightening up, I heard Roo scream, I ran outside and Seamus had him down and was biting the back of his neck. Roo was hissing and screaming and ugh! It was so awful. I slapped my hands and Seamus let him go and Roo ran inside. After a brief examination, I couldn't find any damage done to Roo. I don't know if Seamus thinks he's playing, or if he's trying to kill Roo because he's the weakest cat. Alls I know is, It was very upsetting and even though Seamus is extremely cute and sleeping on a pillow next to me as I type, I hate his guts today.

Going to Yosemite was a lot of fun, but I'm worn out from all the driving and my ears are worn out from the rapid increase and decrease in elevation. I've never asked a doctor if this is true, but it's my belief that the chronic ear infections I experienced from the age of baby until I was 20 has impacted the way my ears regulate air pressure. As in, my ears do not regulate air pressure well at all. Swimming under 3 feet of water is extremely painful for me.

This weekend is our anniversary trip. Andy has planned a trip for us. The destination is a surprise to me. I have a couple of guesses where we're going, but I don't know for sure and I haven't asked. I haven't asked because it's entirely too easy for me to guess. I know for 100% fact that we will have a good time, but I am not, right this second, excited. Mostly it's because we just got home and I'm tired and it feels like there's a million things to do, even though that's not exactly the truth.

Anyway, tomorrow (Wednesday) I am going to relax and do laundry. And maybe I'll watch a movie or read a book or IM people. Who knows? Anything could happen, it's Wednesday after all.

It's raining right now and listening to the rain fall is making me feel cozy and sleepy.

You are loved, Kittens!

Catie

There! I said it.

Dear Kittens,

I did not mean to let so much time pass inbetween posts. I don't know what happens sometimes. The stories are there, I just don't write them out. I'ma list it out so we get to everything. You guys know that you can click on any of my photos and see larger versions, right? Well now you do.

1. I went to my mom's class for the first time this school year. She's got another lovely set of kids. A little while ago she had a horrible bunch and it made her life so miserable. The nice thing about this group and last year's group is that they're fairly creative and so doing crafts with them is a lot of fun.

2. For the last several months Roo has gotten into the habit of meowing very loudly for me to get up and turn on the water in the tub to the perfect amount of trickle. And then sit on the toilet and keep him company. It's been going on for so long that my body had been trained to need to go pee at 5 am. A full hour before I want to be up. Andy finally decided to get a kitty water fountain that simulates a faucet. HAHA. Roo wants nothing to do with this "kitty water fountain" and had turned up his assholery to a whole new level. Instead of making him go cold turkey, I'm weaning him from the tub water. Today I put a fresh bowl of water into the tub. The best thing is that he kept looking at the bowl of water, then at the faucet, then at me. Like. "what the fuck do you think you're up to?" He did finally drink and I admit to feeling a small triumph over the smallest member of the family.

3. My sister came down over the weekend and we did Catie's Girly Package of Fun. Which means manicures and pedicures, lunch and shopping. We were celebrating her birthday a little early. It was a lovely day and I'm so glda that we got to do it. I meant to take photos of our Girly fun, but I didn't. 

4. I've been doing a number of paper crafts lately. It's all in an effort to spark my creativity to finish my line of Christmas stuff for my business. This year has been particularly frustrating for me because, Kittens, the ideas just are Not working out. My dead line is Oct 20th (set by me), so I really need to get the show on the road and what not.

5. I should write about my family history. I worry about you Kittens getting confused.

6. This weekend we're going to Yosemite. We're staying in a hotel just outside the park, at the south end. We're celebrating my mom's 60 (!) birthday. When I was a kid we went to Yosemite every year in the fall. The last time we went was when my parents were camping there for 2 weeks and we visited them one weekend. During their camping vacation they had a bear peel down their truck door and steal some food AND there was an earthquake. That was something like 10 years ago, so we're long overdue for a visit to Yosemite.

7. So, my mom is turning 60, which means I am turning 40 and neither of us are particularly thrilled about the whole thing. I remember HER 40th birthday like it was just a few years ago. My grandpa died 5 months before her birthday and in total Grandpa Geoge style, his dying wish was that we throw a surprise birthday for my mom's 40th. So my grandma, her sister and Danny and I planned a surprise party for her. She was surprised and deeply touched by everyone who showed up to celebrate with her and she also let me know, in no uncertain terms, that there would never be another surprise party. And so, you know, there has not. Instead we go on trips or have tea parties and go shopping for antiques.

8. When people talk about cats being aloof and self sufficient- I know immediately that this talking person has never had cats. We have three cats, none of them are aloof or self sufficient. They all need huge amount of affection RIGHT! THIS! SECOND! and while I believe Petey and Seamus could keep their bellies full by hunting, Roo cannot. Speaking of hunting, there was a dead, headless baby squirrel on our walkway yesterday. When I asked Seamus what happened to the head, he said he had no idea what I was talking about. I'm pretty sure he's lying. Petey is absolutely my kitty boyfriend. He loves me so much, neither of us can barely stand it. In fact, as I sit in this chair and type, he is on top of me mushing my boobs and then my stomach and looking up at me wondering how I can continue to type with a fluffy black love machine on top of me. Seamus is more like a massage client. A few times a day he comes around looking for a particular amount of love, but he does not give love. Seamus believes his orange stripy presence is enough. Roo is a tiny furry human. Bacon and shrimps are love to Roo. And Andy. Roo loves Andy so very, very much. (Not in a gay way, though)

9. I'm participating in a group on Flickr where you take a self portrait every day for 7 days. I've been having a very good time playing around with my photo editor and even though I fully admit to such when I post my photos, there are members of this group who do not bother to read descriptions of the photos and so they're all- Your eyes! Dudes- my eyes and dare I say, nobody's eyes, are that color! C'est Impossible!

10. Do you feel updated? You LOOK updated. I do my best to be better this week with the updates.

Love, Love, Love,

Catie 

I want to kiss you all over and over again.

Dear Kittens,

I fell behind on the thing I invented where I post photos AND words together at the same time! I'm so sorry. Here's a quick catch up-

Here's my new hair:

I love the haircut. I do not especially care for the red highlights. The main reason for me to get highlights is because the minimal damage the highlights cause adds some body to my hair. I don't care for how they look, but I don't hate them either. It's just not how I want to look anymore, you know?

I had an assignment that was to show signs of fall in my neighborhood. There are other signs, but this is mine:

A wet sidewalk with some fallent leaves and an orange cat.

I thought you should know what I'm eating most mornings for breakfast these days. A 2 egg omelet with red peppers a dash of cheddar, tea and an apple on the side.

And now I've got to get my day going. I slept in because I had the fleece blanket of coziness on my bed. That blanket makes everything better and it makes you sleep way longer than you ever thought you would.

I kiss you!
Catie

Pink bike!

Dear Kittens,

I know how obsessed you Kittens are with my hair and so I will tell you that the cut is different and while the highlights are way more obvious than I wanted, they do look pretty. I will take a photo tomorrow for you to look at. The best thing about my hair is that I'vee got a bunch of layers and I can pretty much replicate my hair from my 9th grade school photo as seen here: (my hair now is much shorter)

I haven't been feeling that great this week, which is irritating. I am pretty certain it's all about what I've been eating. My choices haven't been the worst in the world, but they aren't the best, either. I really need to get back into the swing of cooking regularly and what not, I just haven't been feeling it. Maybe I should get back into cooking by inventing another theme week of dinners. Remember when I did the week of salads? That was so tasty and fun! Maybe a week of soups?

I am so tired. I really want to go to bed very early tonight. For a long time I thought that 7.5 hours was enough for me, but now I'm thinking that I need at least 8 and maybe even 8.5. Believe me, I am shocked by this, but when I get 7.5 I'm good for 2 days, but by day 3 I am really tired and headachey and complainy.

Also, this is really reaching to include one more photo, but can you believe that I have not been on my bike at all this year? NOT EVEN ONCE! That is clearly not acceptable. Look at it. It's pink and has a basket and had Hello Kitty Face tread. I mean what sort of ingrate am I. Well, let me tell you what, Kittens- I am riding my bike all fall! Except in the rain and or wind. I do not like wind and obviously you do not ride a pink bike in the rain.

Kittens, as I previously mentioned, I am so tired and so now I'm going to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and then I'm going to brush my teeth, wash my face, apply various European youth vita spheres to my face and then go bed. T

he End,

Catie

(I love you)

And now you get to see a small sampling of my favorite photos of our kitty cats.

Dear Kittens,

Man, getting up when it's dark SUCKS BIG HAIRY ASS. I feel very sorry for you people who have to do it every day because of your job. Even if you love your job, it is not good to wake up in the darks. I'm struggling today, Kittens. I do not want to walk. It's a beautifully crisp morning and what I would really love to do is to sleep in until about 8 am and then have my (imaginary) spa boy, Clive Owens, come over and bathe me and massage me and fetch Starbucks for me and then make me a very healthy breakfast and put me down for a nap. Yes. I would like to go back to my newborn baby schedule. Except without the crying.

Yesterday's Life Coach meeting went very well. She had me do this exercise that I resisted for a long time. She wanted me to write out my life story. I didn't want to do it. It kept coming up and finally I just did it and e mailed her and then she told me all these things about life that made me sound so totally awesome! When it's your life you just see these things as details, but when someone else reads it, they're like Awesome #1, Awesome #2, etc. It's one thing for your friends to be all, hey- we like you. But when someone knows the facts of your life and says, here is exactly where you are awesome it's a very nice feeling. Kittens, you are just babies and so maybe you don't understand this, but sometimes when you are approaching a birthday that begins with a whole new number it's gets a little difficult to see your greatness. Mostly you see the areas in which aren't so great and you lament how you life coulda/shoulda/woulda been so much better if you had just followed that plan your 10 year old self had laid out for you.

I am making and official declaration. Wednesday is Treat Day! Today is the day you do something really nice for yourself. It can be anything that makes you feel good and happy and you know, treated. For me it's going to mean a trip to Starbucks to get some delicious iced tea and a trip to the art supply store where I will spend no more than $40 on supplies that I don't exactly "need", but will all the same make me feel energized and excited about creating something new.

Today I'm getting my hair done. I'm schedule for highlights, but I feel like I'm doing them more for my hair girl than for me. Here's my problem, I see people with highlights and exactly 8/10 of them look so dated and awful that it makes me not want to participate. My instructions to my girl today will be to make them TINY and SUBTLE and practically invisible and then I think it will be my last time highlighting for a while. Also, I would probably like to change my haircut, but my super sonically straight hair is really a pain in neck because it's is super sonically straight, which is code for very straight and no body whatsoever. You know that hair you had when you were 4? I still have that hair.

Today is talk like a pirate day and I am not participating. Mostly because I think it zooms right past silly and dives head first into stupid. And also, I don't really want to encourage the idea of pirates being cute and charming. You know, like Coca Cola has done with one of the most viscious, brutal mammals on the planet? The Polar Bear. There, I party pooped on your pirate party and also on your polar bear obsession. You can thank me  later.

Love,

Catie