The Burb Blog - Life in a Suburban Neighborhood

Sorry for the Blogging Interruption

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:23:00 GMT

Sorry for the Blogging Interruption,

but we have been ....

I'm a Mommy (Blogger)!!

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:26:00 GMT

On May 19^th at 9:20 in the morning, I finally met my little baby Lulu. After 26 hours of labor I held her in my arms (well, after they bathed her of course)! It was amazing! However, I’m not going to lie. It’s been really, really hard. Our first night home was one of the more difficult nights of my life. No one warned me harshly enough about the reality of night #1.

More later. You know, when the baby is sleeping or when I can one handed type while I'm feeding her.

I'm In Labor

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:54:00 GMT

I'm having a baby today!

Follow the progress of my induction on Twitter: http://twitter.com/theburbblog

Final Full Week of Bed Rest

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 16 May 2010 13:14:00 GMT

Garden Update - Week Three

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 09 May 2010 10:15:00 GMT

With the induction of Baby LuLu scheduled, I know that my gardening days are numbered. Oh wait, I’m on bed rest (have I reminded you enough?) so my gardening days have been waaaay limited. If I’m lucky, I’ll take photographs next Saturday and it will be one of the last things I do BB (Before Birth) and then the following Saturday, hopefully I’ll be home and I can take photographs AB (After Birth – gag!). It is also my hope that my wonderful hubby will have time to get my seedlings into Garden Box #2 sometime this week. It’s almost time for all kinds of births!

This past week we had some rain, we’ve had wind and super cold temperatures. Currently, we are preparing for a frost by bringing in all of the seedlings and potted plants. The fear of frost is supposed to pass after Mother’s Day but I’m surprised that we even have a frost warning this late. However, the chilly, chilly, fall-like temps promise that it’s not a joke.

Garden Box #3, the only one that is planted has some sprouts. However, I’m not totally convinced that they aren’t weed sprouts. We’ll know soon enough. Have you ever accidently pulled out good plants, thinking they were weeds? I’m guiltier of letting weeds grow too long, worried that they might be good plants!

This year I want my apple tree to flourish! Last year it had a few fruits but the squirrels and birds got them before they were even golf ball sized. This year we already have a few fruits and I’m trying to figure out how to keep them safe.

When I see the difference that a week or two makes with my seedlings and their growth, it makes me ever more thankful that we’re going to be able to make it to 37 weeks with our pregnancy. This is MUCH better than the 28 and 34 weeks marks we were looking at before!

60 Days of Bed Rest

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 09 May 2010 09:42:00 GMT

I'm Taking That Away

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 08 May 2010 08:26:00 GMT

You know how sometimes people give you or even your children something that they just aren’t capable of taking care of? Maybe it’s a pet or a toy. It might even be a clothing item (hello, if I have to dry clean it, I can’t take care of it). When I was a kid, if I couldn’t take care of my things, my mom and dad took them away from me until I was capable of taking care of them.

See these babies?

We love them. The two on the right are ours. See how hairy they are? One of the reasons we love Golden Retrievers is for their beautiful mane. HOWEVER, since I was put on bed rest I haven’t been able to take care of my house as well as I used to and so as a result, there is dog hair EVERYWHERE; on the floor, on the stove, on the table, on my clothes, in the air, in my mouth, in my food. I’ll just stop the list and reiterate that it’s EVERYWHERE!

So, since they can’t take care of their own hair, I took it away!

We had or Golden Retrievers shaved. Yes, I am a mean abusive puppy mommy. I know that Golden owners everywhere will be outraged and shocked at our actions. However, I do know that they’ll understand the hair everywhere dilemma. Maybe they’ll just be jealous.

A lot of people say that they’ll be more comfortable now that it’s summer. I agree that they’ll be more comfortable because it will be a lot easier to get out of the lake without all of that wet hair bogging them down. Maybe they look a little “necked” as my friend Isabel says but believe me, they’re happy.

Except for Jolly, the one on the right. But that’s because she also got fixed this month.

Hey! I’m having a baby! We all had to make sacrifices. At least theirs will grow back.

Hospitalization & Pregnancy Upate

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:26:00 GMT

In case we're not friends "in real life" or at least on Facebook, let me tell you what has happeened. On Monday I was admitted into the hiospital again due to high blood pressure. I have pre-eclampsia so they are monitoring my blood pressure and my baby. Baby LuLu is fine, I'm just falling apart.

Here are the ever important questions that my Facebook friends have asked:

1. How long are they keeping you?

2. Do they have good room service?

and of course 3. Do they have free wifi?

I have pre-eclampsia so they have to monitor my blood pressure. I'm staying all week and he said he might let me go home for the weekend.
The room service is good EXCEPT for I'm on a low sodium diet AND I'm not doing so well with meat so my meals are something like this: French toast with peanut butter, broccoli, rice pilaf, chilled pears, chocolate milk and 7up. Tonight I had pancakes instead of french toast. Now I'm pretty much over it. I WANT REAL FOOD! LASAGNA, CHIPS AND SALSA, ENCHILADAS!

OF COURSE THEY HAVE wifi! I based my hospital selection on how technologically advanced and friendly they are! However, we are working on getting them to unblock ABC.com, FOX.com and Netflix.com so that I can stream tv and movies.

I'll let you know more as my week progresses. Oh, and I'll be taking your questions 24/7. What else do I have to do with my time? :)

I Still Don't Understand...

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:18:00 GMT

... how a baby is going to come out of there.

There's a greater possibility that it would fit out of my belly button.

Yeah, I'm freaking out a bit. Okay, a lot!

Bed Rest Update

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 02 May 2010 12:26:00 GMT

Garden Box #3 - What Are Your Contents?

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:26:00 GMT

1	Blueberry Bush
2,3,4	Corn
5	Sunflowers
6	Brocoli
7,8	Orange Carrots
9	Red Onion
10	Brocoli
11, 12	Green Beans
13	Red Onion
14	Cauliflower
15	Green Beans
16	EMPTY
17	White Onions
18	Red Carrots
19, 20	Zucchini
21	White Onions
22	Green Onions
23, 24	Zucchini

Garden Update - Week Two

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:09:00 GMT

About 2 weeks ago I sat at the dining room table and planted my garden. Yes, that is what you do when you are on bed rest, garden from the inside. You see, I would have done that anyways though. I always (okay, for two years now) plant my garden inside in March to avoid the frosts the happen up until MOTHER’S DAY! This year however, it didn’t happen until halfway through April. I guess we have a few things going on that may or may not have caused that to be pushed off.

Also about 2 weeks ago, my raised garden boxes were filled to the brim with the finest soil that you could imagine. It’s mushroom compost with black topsoil and bark fines. Doesn’t that just sound glorious! Like something you would want to live in if you were a plant? I would! I’ve seen quite a few earthworms that feel that way.

Yesterday, my husband Jay put the grids up in the garden boxes. See, I ascribe to a form of pseudo-square foot gardening. My form is a hybrid of square foot gardening and “just throw and see what grows”.

Now, my seedlings are growing and hardening (we had to bring them in 3 nights ago because of a frost) and we have on garden box with seeds in the ground (yeah, I’m being risky here). Now we just wait and hope for some yumminess to come our way!

What a difference a week makes!

Let the Freaking Out Commence

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:33:00 GMT

1. Find a pediatrician – I had no idea I needed one of these NOW! I don’t know WHEN I thought I needed to get one but I had no idea!

2. Order Crib – I think we’re just going to go with the one they have at the store, rather than order one online and pay another $70 shipping in addition to the higher price.

3. Order Bedding – I still can’t decide! The only things I’ve decided on are waaaaaaaay too expensive!

4. Assemble furniture, baby gear, etc. – Ha, ha! Jay will be doing all of this! Yesterday I got the diaper genie put together and Jay got the little bouncy seat put together.

5. Order drawer pulls – I still can’t decide on these either! But I need 16 of ‘em!

6. Paint Wicker Chair and cover a cushion for it – I guess I better pull it in out of the rain so it has a few days to dry!

7. Hanging Closet Organizer – Yeah, we’re going for a REALLY organized closet here!

8. Something for toys in closet – I found something really cute at Target BUT all of the ones they had there were dirty so that tells me that they get dirty easily.

9. Bins for closet shelves – We found some that we love BUT they are too big for the slots and the smaller size are on preorder only, not available till JUNE!

10. Pack Go Bag! – This is probably half packed but I keep using the things in it.

11. Curtains/Mini Blinds for Nursery – I’d LOVE to do plantation shutters but we’ve pretty much blown the nursery budget. Looks like it might be $5 mini blinds afterall.

12. Pay Bills, especially utilities – I guess the one on the list before this one should be “Print money” so that this can be a reality.

13. Find Dog sitter for when in hospital – Anyone want some hairy beasts for 3 or 4 days?

14. One final BIG shopping trip – Just to stock up on essentials like paper towels, detergent, trash bags, stuff like that.

15. CLEAN the house – Ha ha!!!

16. Get the car cleaned – Ha ha!

17. DOGS SHAVED and cleaned – This is sooooo happening next week! I just need to make the appointment, I think I’ve found a good deal. And it includes having their anal glands expressed. How gross is that! But(t) there will be no unexpressed anal glands around when MY baby comes home J

18. Plant garden and any seedlings that are ready – tomorrow I’ll show you the photos of my garden as it has evolved so far. I still need to get some seeds in the ground now. The rest are still waiting until all danger of frost has passed before they are placed in the ground.

19. Car seat installed and tested at fire department – AFTER my car is clean. But soon. Just in case.

20. Switch Car insurance and check life insurance – My monthly premiums went up almost $40 without notice! I haven’t had any accidents or tickets, so why?

47+ Days of Complete Bed Rest

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:45:00 GMT

Work Day Awesomeness!

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:36:00 GMT

Life here at The “Mansion” has been so crazy! Weird statement for someone pretty much through her second month of bed rest, but life has continued nonetheless.

We have such wonderful friends that we love so much and who obviously love us or else they are gluttons for punishment! A week ago we had 10 or so friends at our house doing all the things that we needed and wanted to get done before Baby Lulu arrives. They hung our outdoor light strands (remember from last year?), they chopped back the overgrown brush, they painted a baby dresser, they built a closet system, they moved soil into my garden beds, they spread mulch in all of the gardens, they cleaned and rearranged furniture, they replaced light fixtures that were broken and oh yeah, brushed and bathed our two hairy, stinky beasts of golden retrievers.

We figure that if all goes well, we have about three weeks until LuLu arrives (about a month early) and we think we might actually be ready because of the time and talents of these great friends.

This week I spent some time in the hospital during two days getting injected with steroids to help the baby’s lungs grow quickly in case I have to deliver this week. Our friend Mary sat with me for almost five hours on Friday as I was monitored and pricked and tested and so on. I actually didn’t feel too horrified to show her my atlas page of stretch marks all around the globe of my belly. Oh, don’t even tell me that yours are/were bad too. I’ve seen a ton of people with stretch marks and I’ve googled photos. Mine are the WORST! After this is all over and photos can’t be linked to me, I’m going to post the photo somewhere anonymously to help make people feel better about theirs. Believe me, there are no photos like mine ANYWHERE on the interweb!

I’ve had a plethora of wonderful friends who have come to visit me week after week. During the past two months there’s almost not been a single day that I haven’t seen the much needed face of a friend. For this I am so thankful because believe me, I’ve been so lonely. When you are so used to being around people ALL THE TIME and you get your energy and WILL TO LIVE from being around people and worshipping with loved ones, bed rest is a hard pill to swallow.

Yes, I know it will all be worth it but gesh, I wouldn’t be even the slightest bit sane without all of these people.

33 Weeks

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:19:00 GMT

Baby LuLu,

You and I have spent a lot of time together sitting and laying around at home. This makes me feel robbed. I am unable to get your new home ready for you in ways that I thought I would. I am here at home with you on this side of the pregnancy instead of on the other side when I would be able to actually sit here and hold you and look at you. Robbed.

On Saturday, some of our friends came over and performed CPR into our home. What I mean by that is that they revived us and gave us hope that we just might be ready for you. They built your closet, they painted your dresser, they helped us turn our loft room into a “family room” and they cleaned and scrubbed. Our friends helped prepare our gardens and backyard so that you would come home to a beautiful home and so that when your friends and family come to meet you, the house looks like a home.

Oh LuLu, we are all so lucky and blessed!

In less than a month we will officially meet you! Your grandparents have their airline tickets to meet you and so does your Auntie Malia. Every day it seems I’m making arrangements with someone to come and meet you and be with you!

This week, Mommy (that’s me!!!!) is working on finding childcare for you once she has to return to work. There are so many options yet there aren’t because you deserve the BEST and I’m sorry but you are being born into a life of very little money. This means that we’ll do our BEST to get you the BEST we can but all that you deserve is just a bit out of reach.

On Sunday, the youth at (one of) our church(es) are throwing a baby shower for you. After that the only day on our calendar in the near future is your birth date! This date keeps moving and for that we are thankful! Right now the date sits on Monday but hopefully on Thursday we’ll see that date get moved even further back!

I thank God that you appear to be healthy and growing and successful in your end of the deal. Hang in there a few more weeks, please!

We love you.

Mommy & Daddy (and Pixy & Jolly & Heidi the fish)

Mathematical Monday

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:01:00 GMT

Week 32

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:14:00 GMT

Hi Baby LuLu,

VERY, very soon I’ll be able to say that to you and KNOW that you’ll hear it and see my face in some form. Right now I have to settle for knowing that you are safe and warm and hopefully happy.

In your ultrasound last week you had your mouth open a lot! You were yawning and sucking on your fingers and moving around in all sorts of directions. When you are out here, flipping over and around like that won’t be quite so easy, at least not at first.

Your daddy is working really hard to get your room ready for when you move in here. It’s a beautiful room; very bright and cheery. You should see all of the presents that people have bought for you and made for you! We have some very talented friends and family members who want you to have beautiful things.

Little girl, you are kicking so much these days. It’s funny for me to lay down and stare down at my belly and watch it wriggle and squirm this way and that, moving my stomach in ways that look hilarious because then my tummy is all crooked and twisted. It’s like a cartoon (which you may learn a little something about in your life time), where a baby dinosaur or chicken is twisting and shaking to get out of an egg and eventually the egg cracks open and the baby stretches all the way out or the legs pop out the bottom of the egg and scurry away. Let’s not do too much of that kind of stuff with my belly.

Last week your other grandma was in town to visit us and make sure that we were okay. She and I relaxed all week and kicked our feet up. Okay, I kicked my feet up and relaxed, your grandma worked hard helping us make way for your arrival.

Everyone said that this time would go so quickly. They lied. However, I will say that despite time moving slowly, we will never be ready enough and our house will never be perfect enough –especially if you come early. So, don’t come too early, please. It’s hard enough trying to get ready when I can’t even do anything but that combined with you coming home early is just too unfair.

Love,

Mommy

The Cookie Monster

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:21:00 GMT

When I was a kid, my parents used to take us out to eat only for special occasions. There was this one particular restaurant that has always been special to our family. We rarely went but when we did, my little brother, little sister and I would always order a very special drink called The Cookie Monster. Often our mom and dad would let us order more than one! We didn’t even want food, we just wanted Cookie Monsters!

When I was older I discovered how to use a blender and I began to make my very own Cookie Monster drinks. To do this I used 4 or 5 Oreo cookies and a cup of milk. When we had it in the house I would throw in a scoop of vanilla ice cream. However, cookies and milk in the blender were good enough! Try making it with your family today!

I was told about this great promotion that Nabisco is having on their Facebook fan page: Become a fan by following this link: http://bit.ly/NabiscoCookiesFacebook . Print a coupon for a free package of any Nabisco cookies with the purchase of another package of Nabisco cookies and a gallon of milk. You can do this for the rest of today (Monday) and the first Monday of every month this year.

30 Weeks

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:53:00 GMT

Dear Baby LuLu,

Happy Easter! You have no idea what that means but I can tell you that there are many traditions surrounding the holiday known as Easter. Most of them are religious and are pretty important to your dad and me. We hope and pray that they will be just as important to you. We also will incorporate the less important traditions because although they are less important, they are still traditions that your daddy and I grew up with in our families. We’ll let you make the decision that we can’t agree on, turkey or ham.

Right now you are about 3 pounds, 10 ounces. Even though you pack a powerful punch to the innards of my belly, you are tiny. Our ultrasound from a few days ago shows that you are head down in preparation for your grand entrance. All day long I can feel your little bootie moving around in my belly. Sometimes I give you a poke or just put my hand on top of your bottom and you move it out of the way. Hopefully this is not tormenting you because I’m enjoying this little game so much!

The last ultrasound we had showed that you have a ton of hair on your tiny little head! How exciting! I’m going to go buy some barrettes and bows for your pretty hair. We also know that you have these ginormous cheeks and gorgeous lips!

We love you so much and can’t wait for our life alongside you to begin. Every now and then I’ll giggle and daddy doesn’t even say anything anymore because he knows I’m just thinking about you. Also, several times daddy has said, “Our kid is going to be so rad!” You don’t know what that means yet but it’s a pretty important word from our adolescence that means you are amazing, beautiful, and perfect, the best, awesome, wonderful, fabulous and so much more!

Love,

Mommy

Prenatal Parental Failure

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:28:00 GMT

So, it’s official. I’m a failure as a parent before I even officially have a child.

1. I bleed like a banshee in the beginning of my pregnancy.

2. I acquire swine flu and pneumonia,

3. I pick up the stomach flu and become dehydrated,

4. My blood pressure is too high, requiring hospitalization, medication and diet changes,

5. I am low in iron making me anemic

6. And I fail my 1 hour glucose test.

7. Oh yeah, my baby might be born waaaaaaaaaaaaay too early.

I’m already creating a toxic environment for my baby.

Here are the letters we sent to our family members to solicit prayers and sympathy. Yes, please make me feel better. Tell me that this happened to you, tell me that your baby is fine, and tell me that it’s all going to be okay.

Last week, following a business trip to Chicago, I went to the hospital for an IV because I was dehydrated following a nasty bout of the stomach flu. Instead, they decided my blood pressure was too high so they kept me overnight for monitoring and to start blood pressure medication. The following afternoon I was released with permission to visit my husband Jay for the weekend as planned (in San Francisco for work). We relaxed and took it easy and I returned home without incident.

This morning was my follow up appointment in which I was told that the protein levels in my labs were too high and my blood pressure continued to be too high despite not working (much) and being on medication for a week. LuLu and I are now sentenced to bed rest until Monday. At that time we will receive more information because I'll have some test results back.

Right now the focus is on getting my blood pressure down and keeping the swelling or water retention in my feet/legs to a minimum. We are at 27 weeks and as much as we cannot wait to see LuLu, we want to make it into the 30's. I'll keep you all updated, as if I have anything better to do with my time :) Please keep us in your prayers. Jay will return from San Francisco on Saturday and I'm counting down the hours!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I broke bed rest for a few hours so that I could attend the baby shower that my friends threw for LuLu and me. It was a beautiful party and it was so nice to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a while.

This morning we all went to the doctor for a check in to see if anything has changed since last Wednesday. Last week it was decided that if my blood pressure did not go way down by today I would be hospitalized and LuLu might be born this week. Today my blood pressure looks better and the doctor would like to see me make it to 34 weeks and then quite possibly have LuLu at that time. We're still waiting on the results of a few other labs but if my blood pressure alone is any indication, things are looking better.

Sadly, I am still on bed rest so the books, movies and TV watching continue.

In our ultrasound last week, LuLu was "spontaneously" breathing well and she was full of movement. She's growing and developing very well. Currently, she weighs approximately 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

On Saturday, Jay returned from his 3 weeks of training in California. For a souvenir, he brought back a nasty case of poison oak. He has been suffering with it for almost two weeks and unfortunately it hit his blood stream so it's all over his body. After a trip to the emergency room he is undergoing steroid treatment and slowly healing. He is on "bed rest" until the 17th.

Thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes. We'll keep you updated.

Tingly & Prickly

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:02:00 GMT

I’ve gone through the past month or longer with no feeling in six of my ten fingers . Most of the day they don’t function well enough to type for more than five minutes and this is time devoted to work. Generally I have trouble with opening door knobs, jars, caps on bottles and picking things up. I’m having problems with both my fine motor skills AND my gross motor skills. Yes people, Baby Raspberry has given me Carpal Tunnel.

I’ve begun wearing a brace and it had succeeded in not allowing the condition to worsen at all but it hasn’t alleviated the pain and discomfort I feel. I don’t understand how people go through their life or years of carpal tunnel. It’s terrible! It’s debilitating! It’s darn near impossible to function during the day and the tingling, fuzziness wakes me at night.

Beyond this, all is well. My stomach issues have subsided and baby LuLu is doing amazingly well! She’s kicking and bumping me a few times throughout the day now. This is nice because the time between my appointments doesn’t seem to stretch on and on as it did before. Prior to being able to feel LuLu’s movements I was so worried for almost every day of the four weeks between because I couldn’t tell what, if anything was going on in there.

Everyone says that time flies in the last few months. They are liars! Sure, I feel as though we’ll never get enough done but that is how I always feel. I WANT TO HOLD MY BABY! Time is dragging!

I’ll begin physical therapy soon and then perhaps I’ll be able to keep you abreast of it all a lot better.

The Naming of a Baby LuLu

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:29:00 GMT

Jay and I were certain that once we got pregnant (if we ever did) that we would have a boy. We’ve had a boy’s name picked out since even before we were married so as my pregnancy went on, we just knew in our hearts that we were having a baby girl. This caused quite a bit of stress for me because I didn’t want our little baby to go without a name. Several friends would laugh at me as I’d refer to the baby as “IT”. Knowing the sex of “It” and having a name for “It” would allow me to stop using the word “It” to refer to my baby.

Some of the more trustworthy gender tests led us to further believe that “It” was going to be a girl. Sure enough, “It” is a girl!

Towards the end of my first trimester I began scribbling girls names in Sharpie onto the mirror in our bathroom. Occasionally, I’d be relaxing in the bathtub (a cool bath, of course!) and I’d notice a few names with lines through them.

I began to give my husband Jay a hard time. “Why are you de-contributing but not contributing to the list?” He pointed out that it didn’t count if I kept writing the same name down multiple times. I didn’t know what he was talking about but the next time I was in the bathroom I noticed he had numbered three names. And they were all the same. Alexis/Lexi. None of the three had been eliminated.

We had our name! Until…we realized our neighbors had a dog named Lexi. Already they had unknowingly taken another name that I liked and used it for their daughter, Lindsay.

The weekend before our gender discovery ultrasound we lay in bed looking up the meaning of the names on our list. Through the process of elimination we had only a few names left on our list including: Tenley (which I stole from The Bachelor), Sydney and few others. When we looked up the name “Lucy”, we both fell in love with the name and the nickname LuLu.

When we saw our little baby girl on the ultrasound we greeted her as Lucy. When we told our families that “IT” was a girl, we introduced her as Lucy.

I think that Lucy and LuLu are just so girly and I love that! Hopefully she does too!

Menu Plan Monday - Slacker Week

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:04:00 GMT

Menu Plan Monday

Monday – Crock Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and any other vegetable leftover in the fridge. Biscuits with apple butter.

Tuesday – Dinner Out with Friends

Wednesday – Leftovers Packed Up for Late Night at Work

Thursday – Valentine’s Dinner for my husband’s fraternity. Dinner at Broad Ripple Steakhouse.

Friday – Vegetable Stir Fry made by my wonderful husband!

Saturday – Surprise! I’ll be chaperoning a high school ski/snowboarding trip and I’m not sure where we’ll eat!

Sunday – Subway dinner on the road back from the ski retreat.

Yeah, none of this is interesting at all is it?

Project Nursery: The Chair

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:16:00 GMT

This Design on a Dime project is getting really fun! The only thing that would make it even better is if I had heaps of cash to pay for even the cheapest of the ideas! Really though, planning and dreaming is just as fun as actually doing it I think. No, never mind.

The inspiration behind Baby LuLu’s nursery comes from the Serena & Lily website. It is the room that features their Lucy bedding line (fitting, I think). I was looking for something totally girly and simple and of course, pink. Today I’m looking for a chair. The chair in the inspiration room would most likely be found at a thrift store, yard sale, an estate sale, an antique store. Somewhere like that, it’s a bit older looking. Please excuse my decorating terms; I have no formal education in interior design.

As cute as the chair is, I don’t think it’s really super practical for what purpose I need it to serve. I need to be able to rock the baby and/or nurse. If I had a HUGE house, I might have a separate chair or place to do that but no, this room needs to be pretty all inclusive. So, here are the chairs I propose even though they look NOTHING like the inspiration chair. Your ideas or links would also be appreciated!

1. Best Sweetheart Glider $379 and Ottoman $139 (JC Penney) 2. Regency Premium Glider Rocker and Ottoman Set $300 (Target) 3. Storkcraft Glider and Ottoman $170 (Walmart) 4. Dozy Dotes Ellies Garden Rocker & Recliner $180

Project Nursery: The Cribs!

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:56:00 GMT

On a recent episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County I saw a twin set of ROUND CRIBS in the nursery of the home of Alexis. After that I was SOLD.

I searched and quickly came to the realization that in order to get my hands on one of these I was either going to have to steal it or cough up about $1800 for the crib, the mattress and the special bedding. Not an option for us at all! Not leaving out the fact that the round crib is not convertible. Once it’s done being a crib, it’s just done. No toddler bed, no double bed, nothing.

So now I’m on the search to find a crib that fits into the design scheme that I introduced yesterday. At a real person price. Which of these options do you think is closest to my Serena & Lily inspiration room crib? Yeah, I know the round crib doesn't fit in but I had to throw it up there to show you how adorable it is!

1. Little Miss Liberty Round Crib BEST PRICE FOUND $450+. 2. Baby Mod Serena 3 in 1 (Walmart.com) $300. 3. Baby Mod Park 4 in 1 (Walmart.com) $300 4. LA Brentwood 4 in 1 (Target.com) $300 5. DaVinci Parker 4 in 1 (Target.com) $234 6. Delta SoHo Crib (Target.com) $300

I actually came across a website called Project Nursery! I'm SOOOOO addicted!!

Project Nursery - The Fabrics

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:51:00 GMT

Here is my PRE-Home Show fabrics inspiration board. I LOVE this room from the Serena and Lily website. I also am totally, absolutely in love with all things Serena and Lily. I want this bedding or this set so badly but the price tag (although totally worth it) is nowhere near in our price range. So, I’ve been searching the internet far and wide to find some design on a dime ideas to replicate this room.

A part of me prays that I fall in love with some other design idea at the home show but then again I’ve already done so much work to start copycatting this room.

A friend offered to make a quilt for Lulu and the fabrics from this bedding set can be purchased by the yard on the Serena and Lily website. My plan is to splurge and snag up some yardage of that stuff (around $20 per yard! Yikes!) and have the quilt made with those beautiful fabrics. Another splurge MIGHT be the bed skirt. Isn’t it just darling?!

1. Watermelon Linen (Serena & Lily) $20 per yard. 2.. Green/Pink Espadrille Cotton Sateen (Serena & Lily) $20 per yard & $45 bedsheet 3. Pink Pixie Dot on White Cotton Sateen (Serena & Lily) $20 per yard. 4. White Pique (Serena & Lily) $20 per yard. (5-7 are my economical options) 5. Pink & Lime Stripe Crib Sheet (Carousel Designs) $34 6. CoCaLo Baby Tropical Punch Crib Sheet (Target.com) $14 7. Lamby Crib Sheet (Target.com)

Indianapolis Home Show - Project Nursery

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:41:00 GMT

This weekend we are going to downtown to the Indianapolis Home Show. Hilary and I go every year and we LOVE it! It takes place at the fairgrounds and they BUILD A WHOLE HOUSE inside the exhibition hall! It’s always absolutely amazing and we oooh and ahhhh every year. The house is even fully landscaped with decks, patios, flowers, ponds and more!

In the past we’ve gone just to lookie loo and buy gourmet dip mixes and stuff but in the past few years we’ve had specific quests: flooring, gardening and this year I’m hoping that they have a nursery in the showcase home. Jay and I THINK we have an idea of what Baby LuLu’s room will look like but this could change if I see the perfect room at the home show!

Other than safari and ladybugs, what themes or colors have you all seen or used in your nursery?

Baby Presents!!!

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:10:00 GMT

Baby LuLu got a present today!

Leslie, my neighbor from back home sent her an adorable little hat! Isn’t it soooo cute! And it just so happens to be in LuLu’s colors too: pink and green! Yes, we’ve already decided that LuLu will HAVE to like pink and green.

Leslie’s boys were the first kids that I ever babysat for. Now, her babies are in college! Isn’t that weird?!? It’s so strange for me because I remember when they were born!

They moved to Washington a long time ago but I remember they had the most beautiful backyard and I loved their house too. Leslie used to have some hand dipped taper candles hanging from her wall. I had never seen candles sold that way. One day I found some, I bought them and to this day they still hang behind the door in my bedroom at my parent’s house.

Candles Image from Gift Shop Mag

Introducing the Baby Formerly Known as "Raspberry"

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:40:00 GMT

Some of you know and some of you don’t so I’ll start by telling you that the Drano test was 100% accurate. We’re having a little baby girl in June!

We’ll call her LuLu and we just can’t wait to meet her!

I’ve still had some pretty bad days of sickness but they are getting fewer and fewer.

Now the fun begins! Next weekend Jay will paint baby LuLu’s bedroom, next month baby LuLu will have a baby shower and then we’ll settle into getting the rest of our life in order!

I am pretty overwhelmed by everything that must happen and the order that it must happen in.

We’re just so excited to enter the crazy world of being parents.

Baby Gender Predictor #5 – Sweet or Sour?

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:23:00 GMT

“It is said that the particular food cravings you have are caused by the gender of your baby. So, craving chocolate or other sweets during pregnancy would mean that you are going to have a boy, whereas if you crave sour things like lemons your will have a boy.” (Babygenderpredictor.com)

Everyone knows that girls are sweet so this makes sense! Reminds me of the rhyme that girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. I LOVE lemons but I always have. When I’ve wanted candy it’s only been sour candies. But again, this has always been the case for me; I’ve never been a huge fan of sweets except for soda pop. Then again, I’ve loved eating a lot of fruit lately but fruit is pretty tart.

If the sweet or sour Old Wives Tale is right on, Baby Raspberry is a BOY!

Results Scorecard

Boy – 3 Girl – 2

Past Gender Tests we've completed:The Drano Test, The Heart Rate Test, The Ancient Chinese Gender Chart , The High or Low Belly

Baby Gender Predictor #4 – Does Your Belly Hang Low?

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:14:00 GMT

“In this particular old wives' tale, if you are carrying your baby low, it is predicted that your baby's gender will be male. If you are carrying high, then, it is predicted that your baby's gender will be female.” (BabyGenderPrediction.com)

For all intents and purposes I’m carrying my baby low. I guess it would be better to stand next to another pregnant woman who is also halfway done with all of this craziness and compare but with just looking in the mirror; I’m going to say I’m carrying low.

If the Belly Hanging Low test is accurate, Baby Raspberry is a BOY!

Results Scorecard

Boy – 2 Girl – 2

Past Gender Tests we've completed: The Drano Test, The Heart Rate Test, The Ancient Chinese Gender Chart

It’s Gross But I Did It For Science

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:16:00 GMT

After a lull, the Gender Prediction Experiment continues. This morning I jumped up and decided I could hold it (sorry for the gross out) long enough to measure out 2 tablespoons of Drano into a pickle jar (Pickles? Pregnancy? More on that later.)

The Drano test comes with many, many cautionary tales and warning labels. All of which say, DON’T DO THIS! Even my aunt has a story that ends with singed lady parts. I safely completed that test as directed by babygenderprediction.com and the results were:

According to the site: If the mixture darkens to a brownish color within the first 10 seconds - It is a boy.
If there is no darkening or color change after 10 - 15 seconds - It is a girl.

A friend wrote to me, "Drano is for unplugging your sink not gender testing. Don't you read the label?" to which I responded. "Maybe the original intent was for gender prediction and then when people dumped it into the sink they were like, "WOW! It unclogs my sink too!" That sounds pretty acurate, doesn't it?If the Scientific Drano test is accurate, Baby Raspberry is a GIRL!

Score Card

Boy – 1 Girl – 2

Past Gender Tests we've completed: The Heart Rate Test, The Ancient Chinese Gender Chart

The site also warns that there are many different interpretations of the many different color possibilities but I am committed to using the information from one site for each of my tests. If they don’t have the information about a particular test THEN I will use additional sites.

A Sandwich Made Me Cry

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:29:00 GMT

Something so strange happened to me today. I’m sure millions of women have been through it before but it was so strange when it happened to me!

My husband and I decided to go to lunch today and get something warm since it was so cold outside. I decided I would like a chicken salad sandwich and some soup at Paradise Café and Bakery. But then I started thinking about chicken and fat and gristle on it and started gagging and dry heaving. We passed a Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant and all of a sudden I was overcome by a craving, no a LONGING for a pulled chicken BBQ sandwich with Devil’s Spit BBQ sauce. This is not how it’s made; it generally has their house BBQ sauce on it so I ordered it without just like I ALWAYS DO!

My sandwich arrived WITH BBQ sauce already on it. When the waitress came back she walked up to me and said, “After you ordered that I started thinking that we don’t serve it naked, it’s premixed with BBQ sauce.” Well, that might be so but it’s never been a problem in the past. I told her so.

She came back later with a CHOPPED CHICKEN sandwich, not pulled. It had very visible fatty chunks and hard yellow gristle pieces on it. I started gagging after she walked away. I told my husband that this wasn’t what I wanted or had ordered. I told him I’d rather have the other one back. This was not edible. HE begged me NOT to say ANYTHING and to just take it home and he would eat it later. I burst into tears. I tried to stop and was finally successful.

We left; I was starving but couldn’t think past wanting anything except for the sandwich that I really wanted! On the way home I cried the entire drive. About a SANDWICH people, a SANDWICH! I felt ridiculous and tried to laugh at myself because it was all so silly but the more I tried to laugh, the harder I cried. I had SNOT BUBBLES coming out of my nose!!! I cried hysterically for almost 15 minutes until we got home and I lay down and slept for a few hours.

I cried and threw a full blown hysterical temper tantrum and could not stop crying over a sandwich. What is wrong with me? I was trying to describe to my husband how I was feeling. Through tears I told him that it was like he had told me he would take me to Disneyland and that we got all the way there and then he changed his mind and said I couldn’t go in. I was mourning the loss of a SANDWICH.

Famous Dave's Photo is Stolen from Chickpeas, Please.

Summer Plans...Because it's Snowing Outside

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:34:00 GMT

Now that I’m pregnant (yeah, I’m pregnant, have I said it enough yet?), I’m learning all about all the things I should have done before it happened. The biggest one being: GET SHORT TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE! Yeah, I know. Obvious, right? No, it wasn’t. Obviously.

In about 22 weeks I’m going to be a mom (God forbid any further bad fortune). I have to be able to work up to the day I go into labor. Well, I need to work that day too AND get back to work as soon as I can. I can work from home a little bit but only if I also work on site. If I am unable to work onsite, I cannot work from home; there would be no work for me to do. I know that this is all a little confusing but try to understand. With the exception of my vacation and sick days, I do not have paid maternity leave. So be it.

Here’s my plan: Approximately five weeks after I my due date I am scheduled to go on a weeklong trip for work. I will be able to work from home most of the two weeks leading up to that trip. That means I will have to use all of my sick days, personal days and part of my vacation. Thank the Lord I have those days available! So far I’m in good shape. My mother in law has agreed (excitedly) to join me on the trip as my nanny. Awesome!

One to Two weeks after this work trip I plan on attending Blogher in New York. Baby Raspberry will have to come along also, AND I’m bringing the hubby this time. Well, that’s the plan anyway. So far we have the ticket covered (it’s my Christmas present) and we have the transportation under control (road trip, baby!). Right now we’re trying to figure out how to pay for the $200 a night hotel room. Any ideas?

On our way home from Blogher, our plan is to try to visit family members along the way so we can see everyone.

Two or three weeks later our Annual River Float Innertubing Trip will take place. Camping! Do you think all of this is possible with a new baby or am I a crazy, inexperienced, childless dreamer?

Menu Plan Monday - New Year Edition

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:33:00 GMT

Baby Gender Predictor #2

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:34:00 GMT

For Baby Gender Predictor #2 we used the Chinese Gender Chart.

This ancient chart boasts 90% accuracy! That’s amazing! Looking at the chart I matched up my age (almost 30) with the month that Baby Raspberry was conceived (September).

Chart from http://www.babygenderprediction.com/chinese-gender-chart.html

If the Chinese Gender Chart does us right, Baby Raspberry is a BOY!

The Scorecard

Girl – 1 Boy – 1

Baby Gender Predictions - #1

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:13:00 GMT

In about 4 weeks we may or may not be able to see the gender of our baby! Yes, we’re those people who HAVE to know! Before then though we’re going to try a bunch of those old wives tales for predicting the gender of our baby. Join us in the fun!

Predictor #1 A boy’s heart rate will be under 140; a girl’s is over 140

Well, Baby Raspberry has had a consistent heart rate of 160 EVERYTIME we go to see the doctor or have an ultrasound. This has been measured a total of five times.

If the heart rate theory is correct, Baby Raspberry is a GIRL!

Pre New Year's Resolutions

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:16:00 GMT

Pre New Year’s Resolutions

1. Have the house looking beautiful so that we start the year off right!

2. Get the tv out of the bedroom – we never wanted it in there anyways, we just didn’t have anywhere else to put it. We always said, “We’ll never have a TV in the bedroom”. Lies.

3. Have a few make ahead meals done for when I don’t feel like cooking (which is ALWAYS!)

4. Have a monthly budget ready for January!

Bonus Item: This is one that isn’t super important but might be nice. Christmas decorations down before January 1^st!

I'll Be Fine Tomorrow

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:14:00 GMT

I’m surprised my computer even remembers how to get to my blog!

As of three Fridays ago the pregnancy is going well. Actually, I can’t really confirm or deny that because my doctor never told me how he thought the ultrasound looked that he had me go to the hospital to get. The voicemail for his nurse says that if I have an appointment scheduled that I shouldn’t leave a message asking about test results, that the doctor will go over them in my next appointment. I can say that the baby was still there and it’s heart was beating. I can also tell you that I am still vomiting sporadically. Doesn’t sporadic sound great with vomit? Right up there with projectile! All of these things are true!

My husband Jay wanted me to blog about my whole pregnancy. Believe me, you all are so glad that I haven’t been. Sadly it would be mostly complaining and fear. No one needs that. Also I would tell you that I feel bullied. It’s like the second you tell people you are pregnant you get pummeled with advice and stories. I’ve been so thankful for most people who share their experiences and their stories with me because it helps me feel not so alone. The hard ones are people who criticize everything you do, every choice you make. From how to bathe to what medicines you should and shouldn’t take. I will remind those people that I am under the care of a doctor. Absent as he may feel at times, I am under his care.

These people may do things differently and may or may not have a healthy child to show for it but I’m not you, I don’t make all of the same decisions as you and my pregnancy is not the same as yours, even if you do have one or two things similar to me, they aren’t the same. The absolute worst is when they use others to TEAM up on me, especially others who don’t even have kids! It’s just not right. I’m going to take the advice of a doctor who has seen my baby AND my vajayjay over the advice of someone who has one or two kids. No offence but med school trumps your personal experience and opinion.

Has anyone else ever felt this way about any sort of medical condition?

Fall "Festivities" and 14 weeks

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:56:00 GMT

Let me just tell you a little bit about our Fall “festivities”. Upon my return from my California business trip/high school reunion trip we learned that we were pregnant AND that my husband would need to have surgery to remove a herniated disk in his neck. Talk about stress! Add regular, every day stress and job stress and I feel like someone other than myself. Not only that but I’ve been extremely sick from aforementioned pregnancy.

While sick because of what we’ve been calling baby Raspberry (that was how big heshe was when we told our families), I came down with a case of H1N1 and pneumonia and my little sister came to stay with us for a week (sucks to be her since it was pretty much one of our worst weeks ever).

During her visit we were at the hospital so I could be treated for the illnesses. A few days later we got a flat tire and then we left for a small road trip to Virginia so she could see my grandparents before she makes her permanent move to England.

When we arrived at my grandparent’s house in Virginia I got out of the car and felt the worst warm sensation fall from my body. I had a moment of embarrassment where I thought I had somehow peed my pants. I looked down my pants and saw more blood than I’ve ever seen in my life. I stood in shock as my husband and sister came around the side of the car. “I’m miscarrying,” I stated.

They both looked at me and said something to the effect of “shut up”. It was completely random but really, I was not kidding (not that I’ve ever kidded about this, we’ve just feared it). “No, really.” I said and I pulled down my pants to my knees. Hey! There was not time to argue!

Jay pushed me into the backseat of the car on top of a quilt so that my now bled through pants wouldn’t continue to bleed onto the seat. We said good bye to my sister and left her in the driveway of my grandparents without even saying hello to them. We raced to the hospital where over several hours I bleed through blankets, extra pairs of pants, pads and whatever the hospital had. I also passed several blood clots including one the size of a tennis ball which put me into a serious panic of screaming, “I don’t want to see the baby!”

To make a long, miserable story shorter; baby raspberry was fine and hopefully still is. We saw the most amazing ultrasound. The bleeding finally stopped and my cervix was closed but no one can tell me WHY this happened to begin with. Even Google can’t provide any satisfactory answers. The doctor in the emergency room said that he wouldn’t be surprised if I did miscarry but he also wouldn’t be surprised if I carried full term. One week later at my OB appointment we heard a strong heart beat so a week later all was well. Now it has been another week and I’ve experienced more bleeding but nothing like 2 weeks ago.

I’m scared.

Image from http://www.fruittiyogi.com

Written a Month and a Half Ago

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:58:00 GMT

My husband and I had dinner at home and I had the table set and candles lit. He grilled the chicken I marinated and then we sat down to eat. I made a little bit of a show of shaking out my napkin (cloth) and putting it on my lap. Jay did the same. Out fell two pregnancy tests. Jay looked at me, “I don’t know what this means.” He said.

“You don’t know what it means?!?!?” I exclaimed. “Well, you could look at them or you could just assume that those wouldn’t normally be in your napkin if they didn’t mean anything.”

Thus begins our journey along the waters that are foreign to us.

I’ve been really sick. Sick, Sick. Sick. I’ve only vomited once since this all began and it was the result of chewy chicken that caused me to dry heave into the oblivion of vomiting. I haven’t felt well at all. I spend days on the couch. Yes, I’m working while I’m on the couch but it takes every ounce of determination to get up and go to work on the days I’m expected in the office or at meetings or at events.

Today I am seven weeks, three days. We will be first time parents on or around June 8^th.

Paid in Gum?!?!? These People Are Lame

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:46:00 GMT

I’ve seen this new commercial a lot lately for Trident Layers. It features a girl who is babysitting and the parents come home and ask her if they can pay her with gum. Yes, chewing gum. She agrees and the kids decide they want gum for their allowance and the chimney sweep guy or maybe Santa (I think that’s what he is – or just the creepy guy in the fireplace) wants to be paid in gum. I laugh. A lot.

When I was about 12 and just beginning my babysitting career (it was for my neighbors and my parents lived next door), one time the mom came home and gave me a dollar and a handful of colorful gumballs. If she had asked, I would have said, “Hell no! You can’t pay me with gum!” I wasn’t asked. I was just handed about $2 worth of gumballs.

So, laugh if you want at this commercial but some people have the audacity to abuse their young babysitters and take advantage of them.

Backyardigans

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:37:00 GMT

There are quite a few things going on around here at the “Mansion”. We are hustling around this weekend to get ready. This weekend we need to take down the lights that are strung across the backyard. They need to be boxed up and put away so that they stay in good condition for all of the fabulous parties we’ll have next summer.

We also need to pull all of the plants out of the beautiful gardens so that they can be prepped for next season. We need to get the soil ready and then the planters need to be mulched.

We have some things that need to be taken to the attic and stored for another day and the perpetually messy garage needs some really good cleaning and organizing.

Why are we in such a rush to get all of these things done THIS weekend? My husband Jay has been suffering from a herniated disk in his neck for the past month. He’s had pain medication, he’s had physical therapy, he’s had a steroid epidural and he’s met with several specialists. As it comes down to it, he will be having a disk removal surgery on Monday morning. It is anticipated that he will be out of commission for just enough time to head out to California for two weeks of classroom training. We are also working against some other time sensitive factors.

So, as you can imagine I WANT THIS STUFF DONE NOW! I NEED this stuff done now!

A Weenie Roast and Hay Ride

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:39:00 GMT

Another fall event that is pretty popular here in the Midwest is a hayride/weenie roast. I’ve never been to one so I was pretty excited when I found out that our church was hosting one! On Saturday we showed up at the state park with our pain in the bootie puppy and took part in games and hot dog and s’more roasting.

Everyone had a great time and then the wagons showed up! There were four wooden wagons pulled by two tractors and we all piled in on top of HAY! Well, we weren’t exactly on top of it, we smooshed right into it! The tractor drivers explained to us that we were to stay inside of our wagon but that the hay was not. We were instructed to throw the hay at other wagons as we passed them on the trail. I’m not totally sure but I also thing that they told us to throw hay at cars that passed by and any people out on the roads or trails. Like I said, I don’t remember for sure but I will tell you that many joggers had some hay in their hair. Cars with windows down? We showed no mercy!

I’d like to show you in some photos below what happened once the wagons pulled up next to each other at the end of our hour long ride. These people are the same people I sit next to on Sunday mornings and give the peace blessing to, these are the same people I worship God with.

I’d also like you to notice my pastor and his wife on the far right side ducking and covering for their lives. One thing you must learn from this experience. Hay or straw or whatever you want to call it HURTS as it stabs into your skin beneath your underwear, your pants, your bra, and your eyelids. It hurts. The hour long car ride wasn’t over quick enough and I am still finding hay in my pockets and around my house!

Apple Orchard Fun!

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:05:00 GMT

Two weeks ago my husband Jay and I had a fabulous typical fall weekend. We woke up kinda late on Saturday, jumped in the car and drove south to an apple orchard. It was a new one for us. We’ve been before but it was our first visit to Appleworks. On my agenda: pick apples, get some apple butter for my sister in England, grab some pumpkins, decorate the house and then off to another fall event.

We were surprised when we arrived at Appleworks that you are not allowed to pick the apples. They are already picked for you. I guess this was okay since even the parking lot was super muddy from the storms the day before. We walked around the grounds and saw the Goat Tree house (not even kidding), some turkeys and a pumpkin house. When we were done, we stopped by the store and had an apple sampling. We were able to taste about 12 of the 60+ varieties that they grow in that very orchard!

Jay and I decided on some Jonagolds and some other redish apple. We had no idea there were so many kids of apples! Jay even told the lady, “I thought there were just 2 or 3 kinds; red and green”. She didn’t laugh so much but I thought he was hilarious. I guess that’s why were married, not only was I the first girl to say yes but I actually laugh at some of his jokes.

Thankfully I didn’t go all out and buy pecks and pecks of apples as I had planned. I wanted to make some sauce and butter and pies and crisps. I’ve not been feeling well so there is no way that any of this would have gotten done by now! We just bought a ¼ of a peck of two kinds which equaled a total of 8 apples. This is a fun thing to do and despite it being just the two of us, we had a blast!

An Open Letter to The Swine Flu

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Dear Swine Flu,

I feel left out! One out of every two of my friends has received a nice warm, cuddly appearance from you. This has been their excuse for bailing on our plans, for getting out of work, for staying all snuggled up on the couch watching Bravo all day. WHERE’S MY PRESENT! I’m pretty sure they are running a marathon of the Real Housewives this week and on MTV I sooooo need to catch up on The City and The Hills. Also, Desperate Housewives is at the top of my list too.

This would also help me in the blogosphere. Perhaps I’d have something exciting to blog about other than the half a chicken salad sandwich that I just puked up into the trash at work because there was a piece of fatty, chewy chicken in it. I could have an excuse for NOT writing other than the fact that I’m feeling unmotivated and exhausted from three weeks of stress and confrontation and hard decisions.

Throw a girl a bone, please. Help me!

Love,

Kat

Yeah, You Need to Watch the Whole Thing

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:33:00 GMT

How Many Dwarfs Can You Name?

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:52:00 GMT

How many dwarfs can you name?

When I was a kid that was a huge question. Like it was some sort of challenge that proved something important. I could name like three. My husband Jay agreed that he could probably only name the same three. Well, that all changed last night when we had a date night in watching the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition Blu-ray & DVD combo pack.

I can tell you that we totally watched this movie in a different way as adults than we did as kids (well, I’ve never seen the whole movie but Jay has). We backed up the movie a few times to watch some seriously funny things that might have gone over our heads as kids. In the beginning of the movie I asked Jay who the dwarfs worked for. He thought they worked for themselves. When the clock hit five and they went home, I pointed out that there was no way that they would live and work by the clock if they worked for themselves. He agreed. So, he asked Cha Cha, “Who do the 7 Dwarfs work for?” After about 10 minutes, Cha Cha interrupted our movie and told us that the Dwarfs worked in a mine. Thanks.

During the movie, I pointed out that it was kinda creepy that some lady would just come into the house and start cleaning up after people that she didn’t know anything about. Jay said, “Yeah, but the animals told her it was okay”.

I can’t wait for the day that he thinks it’s okay that I do things because the animals told me it was okay.

The movie was really cute but we all know that! What you might not know about this re-release is that it comes with both a DVD AND A BLUE RAY DISK which is perfect in case you don’t quite have a Blue Ray player and are still operating on 90’s technology (ahem). Also, a Blue Ray player WILL play DVD’s so it’s not like you’re going to lose your whole DVD collection. The DVD does come with some extra special features, including a sneak preview of the new Disney movie Tiana where you can experience the amazingness behind hand drawn animation but the Blue Ray bonus disk has even more amazing features including games and karaoke. Yeah, your kids will probably be more interested in this kind of karaoke than you will be and that’s okay because Blue Ray disks are way more scratch resistant that DVDs.

Make sure you add this set to your movie collection! I’ve heard there are some discount coupons floating around out there through Disney Movie Rewards. Check out the trailer here so you can see the improved video quality and hear the improved sound.

Oh yeah. I got the DVD/Blue Ray Pack for free. For more info about my honesty and other blah, blahs about writing reviews, check out my disclaimer!

King What?

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:48:00 GMT

Last week I wrapped up my little history lesson regarding my life. One thing I didn’t tell you about was my opportunity to experience someone else’s history. Really it was the history of a few people with the focus on a hugely famous manboy. I had the opportunity to join a few other Indianapolis bloggers at the Children’s Museum for the King Tut exhibit.

I love the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis so I was really excited to see what kind of fun we would be having with King Tut! As we drove to the museum, King Tut was everywhere! All over town all of the billboards are talking about King Tut. When I tweeted and Facebooked that I was visiting King Tut, a lot of people had a comment and recommendation for the best way to view the exhibit, including that the audio tour was a MUST!

The Tut exhibit was something that appealed to me because the Real Housewives of Atlanta did it and heck, if they do something you KNOW I have to do it!

I was surprised by the exhibit because it wasn’t in the Children’s Museum fashion that I’ve come to know; it wasn’t hugely colorful (but there was gold – tons of gold!) and the interactive component didn’t really rise above the use of the audio tour remote. Jay and I enjoyed ourselves and shared an audio tour. We gagged over the jewels and the amazing artifacts that had been collected from the tomb of Tut. We were also really amazed at the whole idea of taking all of these things into the afterlife with you. Yeah, this was my favorite lesson back in Ms. Kellogg’s 6^th grade class but it was an interesting reminder and way more in depth. PLUS, I was staring at the REAL THING!

We had a great time and totally recommend King Tut to anyone near Indianapolis. The exhibit will be here until the end of October so you have a bit less than a month to check it out. Also, you might get some Halloween costume ideas! For more info, check here.

Don’t forget to stop into the Gift Shop (can’t really avoid walking through it) and check out some of the jewelry. You can make your very own on a computer! Also, there is a necklace there (bad photo) that is $10,000+ . The shopkeeper was excited to tell us about it. I don’t know how many he’s sold but it comes with a pretty box so I’m sure it’s sooooooo worth it!

I was also really excited to get to the museum to check out this new dino! A family that has done a lot for the NonProfit I work for, donated this big guy and I've wanted to see it in person. I must also mention that I'm on to PastaQueen who IS following me. She followed me to Blogher, she folled me to Subway and now she followed me to the museum. It could be that we run in the same circles, if Subway has a circle but I'd rather think I've made it in the blogging world big time and have a stalker! Also at the museum was a blogger that is new to me but I'm sure you all know her. Quatro Momma of 4Tunate was there with her hubby. It was cool to hear some of her story and read the rest on her blog!

Menu Plan Monday

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:06:00 GMT

Grrr.

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:55:00 GMT

I should have stayed in bed today. Or, I should have stayed in California!

I'm back in Corn Town now. I've had a pretty bad day at the Non Profit. Part of it comes from just trying to catch up on all the things I've missed the past week and a half and part of it comes from other things biting me in the butt. Those things are things I should have taken care of months ago but I gave the benefit of the doubt. I like to give people (more than enough) time to rise to the occasion and take care of things. However, this has rarely paid off. Today was no exception. Tomorrow and Saturday are my days off and I'm taking them! I have half a mind to not check my email until Sunday.

We were going to take the two brats (dogs) camping this weekend but a few things threw a wrench into that plan. I'll elaborate more later because just the thought of complaining some more right now just hurts my tummy.

The Reunion.

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:37:00 GMT

The high school reunion that I waited 14 years for is finally over.

14 years? I thought it was your 10 year. Yes, it was. But while I was in high school I couldn’t wait until it was over and I could look back years later and say, “Wow, I survived that and look at me now.”

“Look at me now.”

I really, really learned nothing in high school. Okay, that’s not true. I learned about the social circles that are out there, the types of people there are in the world and how I compare and where I stand on the ladder of life. The only reason high school was even relevant is because it helped me relate to the social issues that the kids at the Non Profit are going through.

Our former class president/reunion planner for all of life stood up and made a speech. He said he didn’t want to do any of the cheesy stuff they do at reunions like pull the yearbook out and talk about all of the “most likely” statements from back then. I wanted him to. I wanted the cheesy. That’s what I paid 60 bucks admission to see! Instead, my $60 paid for a lot of other people’s well drinks and dry chicken kabobs. I had a coca cola. Well, maybe people took one look at me and thought I wasn’t drinking because I’m pregnant. It’s not true but it would be an acceptable thought for them to have to explain away my 100 pounds I gained. I could handle that. Good thing no one asked!

I had a great time talking to the few people that I knew who where there. In all of the pre-reunion photos I'm sharing with you, only one of the people from any of the photos was there. I grimaced when a certain someone came to our table to say hi to everyone except for me. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time when we were all freshman there was this girl. We’ll call her Meital. Why? BECAUSE THAT’S HER NAME! There were also two other characters in this story besides me; Brent and Josh. Yeah, no names changed because they are GUILTY! When I was a young, shy, impressionable, 14 year old freshman, I asked a boy (who was in all of my classes) named Josh to a dance called Sadie Hawkins. I had waited all week to ask him until Friday after our final class of the day. He said YES! I was elated! I was ecstatic! I was hyper with happiness.

The weekend came and went and I was just thrilled all day Saturday and all day Sunday. On Sunday night my phone rang. I answered it and it was a girl named Meital and a boy named Brent. They were conference calling to talk to me. Neither of these individuals had ever paid a single hair of attention to me in the past. I was really confused as to why they were calling me now and how they had gotten my phone number. Yeah, I was cool, I had my own phone line.

Meital and Brent proceeded to inform me that Josh couldn’t go with me to Sadie Hawkins because he had already promised them that he would go stag with their group. I asked why HE wasn’t the one calling me and telling me. She told me it was because he was on a ski trip. Classy, huh? I had worked up the nerve to ASK and he had said YES but he couldn’t take the time to work up the nerve to TELL ME he had changed his mind.

Never have I ever spoken to Meital or Brent since that day and the favor has been returned. However, in my heart of hearts I REALLY wanted her to finally apologize to me. Nope. Not a chance. It’s not that I expected that someone capable of being so terrible would actually have a heart enough to realize what a beast she was and apologize for her actions but it doesn’t mean that I wasn’t holding out hope. Instead, she ignored me as if I didn’t exist and wasn’t a part of her world. It’s not that I’m not angry with Josh too. He’s just a coward and cowards are harmless. People who control the lives of others and flex their powerful fists for all to see are worse.

Katy, why let this one stupid, sorry experience and group of people ruin your evening, your blog post, your high school experience? I’m not. I just hope that they didn’t make a habit of doing this to other people and that I was the one casualty of their small minds.

See? High School Reunions, cheaper than therapy.

I still need that therapy we talked about.

Too Sleepy...

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:18:00 GMT

The convention has left me in an information overload. I'm way too tired to write to you about the reunion and such but here's a little present:

Holy High School Reunion, Batman!

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:31:00 GMT

I had a really hard time getting up and out of bed today. And Friday. My body is ridiculous like that. When I have nowhere to be and I wish it would let me sleep, I’m awake at the butt crack of dawn. When I need to be awake and ready to go, my body revolts and says, “You’re not the boss of me” and takes control of my hands and my arms, making them press the snooze button once, twice, thrice and so on until it’s impossible to have time to take a shower and look halfway decent.

It was pretty important that I look halfway decent today. Tonight was my class reunion. It’s been 10 years since I’ve seen any of these people. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve NEVER seen some of these people so it’s been longer for some. I’ll pretty much be heading straight there after my convention tonight. There are some pretty helpful sessions being held late in the day that I really want to/need to go to so I have to be ready to pull on a dress and get to the reunion.

I really didn’t picture my 10 year high school reunion going down this way. My friends and I went to EVERY dance and event that our school ever held. We had a HUGE group of friends and we had such a great time. Generally our group of friends would rent out a bowling alley or an ice skating rink afterwards just to keep things going all night and keep things safe. Yes, then we went to a hotel and slept. Seriously. Most of us SLEPT.

My visions of my 10 year reunion included a bunch of us renting a limo or a trolley car and rocking the whole night away and enjoying our built in ride home. Instead, my mom is dropping me off and picking me up. None of my super close friends are going. Luckily I found a few companions that I can stand next to at the punch bowl and wish the night was over with.

Why are you even going, Katy? BECAUSE VISIONS OF REUNIONS WERE THE ONLY THING THAT GOT ME THROUGH THOSE FOUR YEARS! And the highway robbery of the $60 it will cost me to go to the reunion is still probably cheaper than all of the therapy I desperately need due to the scars high school has left on me…and I’m not talking acne scars.

I’m not bitter. There’s no one I can be bitter towards. Okay, there are a few witches with a B that really impacted the way I felt about myself back then and even hurt the way I might feel now. Sadly, I know for a fact that they didn’t get fat and ugly and move into their parent’s basement. They are still pretty enough and in great shape and live a wonderful life (thanks for that Facebook). At least I won’t be disappointed when I realize that the myths behind after high school life AREN’T TRUE!

Next week, when I get home, I’m so renting some awesome movies that still ascribe to those myths.

HyperColor !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:28:00 GMT

In the 5^th grade I had a friend named Trevor who had these awesome shirts that I’ve always wanted since I first saw them. He wasn’t the only kid who had them, there were others. They were kind of a fad. I never got one (see why I'm so tortured?).

They were called Hypercolor. He had at least two of them; a blue one and a pink one. Yes, there was another time in fashion history where it was okay for boys to wear pink. It’s been over 13 years since then and I still want a hypercolor shirt. At the beach last month my best college friend had one that she bought at Kohl’s. I was reminded of how much my life has been lacking these 13 years since I don’t have one.

I found one on the American Apparel website a few months ago but the $28 price tag was a bit much for a fashion of the past. Yesterday, Malia and I passed an American Apparel store (that wasn’t there when I grew up here) and so I proclaimed that IF they had one in stock, I would be taking it home with me.

The girl at the front desk directed me upstairs. When I arrived at a display that appeared to be THE ONE, a sales girl was blocking me from what I thought was probably my treasure. “Are those the hypercolor tshirts?” I asked.

She looked at them and said in a snooty voice, “You mean, the monochromatic shirts? Yes.”

“No, I mean Hypercolor. They’ll always be Hypercolor to me”.

I grabbed one and tried it on for Malia right there over my shirt. If you don’t have any idea what Hypercolor shirts are, let me fill you in. Hyper color shirts are made with a special dye that changes colors with heat; if you breath into the shirt, if your underarm area is warm (who's isn’t?), if you get really warm. Malia said they look like tie dye when they are activated.

She’s wrong. Katy Shumar DOESN’T wear TIEDYE!

There was onely one time in my life that I wore TIE DYE. There was this dance called groovy lovin’. My friends and I went, we tie dyed our own shirts and I wore one. Yuck. I don’t wear tie dye but I’ll wear Hypercolor!

Katy’s Kalifornia Tour – Part Four: To the Beach

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:28:00 GMT

Yesterday was the final day of my explorations. Today I start my all day conference schedule in Los Angeles. Of course I’ll share with you any sites I see or things I do but really, this is it.

After my dad’s birthday dinner I popped an Ambien to see if it might help me get a complete night of sleep. Sleep, I really need it. After the summer I’ve had, I’d really just like to go somewhere far away, all by myself and sleep for 3 days straight. I woke early again after 7 hours of sleep, I didn’t feel any more or less refreshed but I felt confident that I had slept as much as I needed since I was awake despite being drugged.

My best friend from High School came over and we drove down to the beach for a quick afternoon of (window) shopping, lunch and toe dipping in the ocean. We found a great FREE spot to park on the street and began to walk down one side of the street, stopping into almost every shop, even the scary looking ones with names like, “The Electric Chair”.

Along the way we saw a bike shop with this baby in the window. Yes, that is bright orange. Once you were in fourth grade, my school allowed you to ride your bike to school and park it at the bike parking lot (haven’t seen anything like that at the schools in Indianapolis). One summer my dad and I sanded down an old Schwinn bike that I have no idea where it came from. We took all of the old paint off and primered it then we painted it … DAYGLOW orange. It was much brighter than this bike but this bike brought back those memories.

I loved that bike so much! Orange has never been my favorite color but DAYGLOW adds a whole new dimension to color. If you asked me my favorite color, I would say DAYGLOW. This encompassed all bright colors in that family; orange, yellow, green, pink. It’s been interesting to see these colors make such a huge comeback this summer. However, I haven’t heard the word, “Dayglow” in a while.

After the DAYGLOW bike sighting, we continued down the street and at the same time declared we wanted to eat at this Mexican food restaurant that we happened upon. We sat on the back patio with the sun beating down on our shoulders through a canvas triangle shade. We drank water and our yummy salsa and HUGE burritos and tacos. Our adventure took us down to the beach where we watched surfers eat it and stuck our feet into the chilly water that lapped at our ankles.

And yes, we ended the day with a Slurpee: Banana with a small shot of blue raspberry for me and blue raspberry and cherry for Malia.

Other things that happened on day three: I got to see Malia’s new condo before she has even moved into it, I had a FAST dinner with another high school friend at one of my favorite places, Jalapenos (yes, Mexican for lunch AND dinner) and I had an interesting night with my mom and dad.

Happy Birthday Dad - If you read my blog, you'd hate this title but I think I'm pretty safe.

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:34:00 GMT

So this photo pretty much sums up my family and my dad's ideal birthday.

We went out to eat at my favorite restaurant, Souplantation (of course my dad would want to eat someone for HIS birthday that is MY favorite) and then we ate at one of my dad's favorite places, Coco's.

In honor of my dad's birthday, I lounged around the house, swam in the hot tub (yes, I do call wrestling with a floatie raft swimming) and went through a box of stuff from my childhood.

We had a wildly exciting dinner with my mom, my dad and my great aunt all in attendance. Of course my dad refused to open up his birthday cards at the table lest the server find out it's his birthday and punctuate the evening with overly excited, overly phony birthday singing. On the way home we drove down a street a few blocks from our home and came upon the above treasure.

I wonder what the story is behind this painting? Scorned lover was my only guess, however it seemed to be placed at the trash cans with care, facing the street, begging a passerby to stop and fetch it to take home and hang in their living room. I'm not saying that my family will hang this in their living room but it will have a place of honor somewhere. Guests will probably look at it and say, "I bet that's one of their daughters".

Yeah, it looks nothing like me so they'll totally think it's my sister. I might help that assumption along a little. She is after all, not around to defend herself!

Katy’s Kalifornia Tour – Part Two : 300+ Miles

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:25:00 GMT

Yesterday I woke up, chatted with my little sister in England, sent her photos of my rugby sweater and my dad with a bird nose on, got in the car and drove over 300 miles and collapsed into bed just before 1am.

I hate driving so you KNOW I didn’t drive 300 miles just for the sake of driving 300 miles! Within those 300 miles, a lot of magic happened.

The first little stand out spots on my trip were San Onofre and San Clemente State Beaches. I didn't stop there but I did take note and spent almost the entire trip reliving the weeks I spent there the last few summers that I lived in California, including the last two summers of my high school career. It was in these two places that I fell in love for the first time and the second time. Real love. Well, love as I knew it back then. It was also here that my heart was broken one summer as I said goodbye to one of my loves. That's a whole other Oprah so perhaps another time?

For lunch I met up with my friend Sarah and her husband. We went to a little Greek place called Spinners. It was delicious. Their secret ingredient is cinnamon for sure! We spent the afternoon cruising around San Diego and checking out her awesome apartment. Sarah and her husband moved to San Diego to start a new Lutheran church.

On my return drive to Orange County I stopped in to Camp Pendleton Marine Base to visit one of the kids that was in my program at the Not For Profit I worked at in the OC. His name is now preceded with "Lance Corporal" and I'm really proud of him. I think that the last time i saw him he was 13 years old and now he's 21. Next year he is marrying another one of the kids from my program. I'm so happy for both of them!

Before I got back on the 405 to battle rush hour traffic, I stopped at a 7-11 and picked myself up a Slurpee. I had so many choices!

Rather than select my original mix of 2/3 cherry flavor and 1/3 cola (but put the cola in slowly so that it doesn't shoot down to the bottom and poison the cherry flavor), I elected to get my new favorite (discovered on last weeks Chicago trip): 4/5 full of BANANA flavored Slurpee with 1/5 cherry on top (again, careful to not allow mixing). In this particular 7-11 there was an excellent buffet of choices!

While waiting for my best friend Sean to get off of work, I stopped by the old Not for Profit and said hi to two of my friends from there. They were so surprised to see me. That was a nice visit. Afterwards, I made my way over to the childhood home of my best friend and chatted with her dad for a while.

Finally, Sean was done with work and I had an awesome dinner with Sean and his mother at the Huntington Beach Beer Company. I'm pretty sure we were at the restaurant more than four hours. We shut the place down and left around midnight. I finally crashed into bed around 1am.

What a beautiful 300 mile day.

Katy's Kalifornia Tour - Part One : Dinner with Friends

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:12:00 GMT

Last night I had dinner with one of my close high school friends, his wife and his one year old daughter. We went to California Pizza Kitchen (which I have never been to) which is located in this giant shopping center that is home of two of my former places of employment. When I was 18 I worked as a hostess and eventually a server at Red Robin and when I was 16 I worked at one of my favorite jobs, the movie theatre!

I loved working at the movie theatre because I got to see free movies and bring friends along with me all the time. After a short while, someone started stealing from the theatre so they nixed the free movies. Somehow minimum wage wasn’t really worth the job without the movie perk. I began to loathe it.

During Christmas break my whole family drove cross country to Viriginia to see my grandparents. I couldn’t go otherwise I would lose my job. I was 16 years old, a junior in high school! Isn’t that a terrible choice to have to make at that age? My parents were awesome and paid for very expensive tickets that would put me in Virginia for Christmas day and get me back in time to not lose my job.

When I returned home to work I was abused because I had taken two days off of work. I was forced to do disgusting things that someone handling popcorn shouldn’t have to do; clean vomit up in the bathroom, scrub toilets, etc. From there I went back to handling food. Of course I washed my hands but what about all of the vomit fragment on my clothes!?!? Several of the other concession workers and I started planning a revolt. Remember, we had lost all of our perks and were being grossly mistreated during a HOLIDAY time. Oh, and we’re only in HIGH SCHOOL!

We all had this plan that we would walk out as soon as the big rush started. Generally there was a time each day that about three or four movies would start and so the concession area was a zoo. We all talked and planned. It wasn’t MY idea but I was totally willing to do it. Remember, I had vomit and crap fragments all over my clothes and body.

Scott, my boss, walked up to me, leaned on the concession stand and said, “Katy, come talk to me” and walked away towards the elevator. I walked around the stand and over to the elevator. He pushed a button, it opened and he said to me, “Step in to my office”. We got into the elevator, the doors closed behind us and he sighed. “I hear you are going to quit Katy” he said.

“Scott, you’ve been really awful to me just because I spent time with my family. We made HUGE sacrifices to get me back here and then you abuse me.”

“Well, I’m going to need your apron and your name tag.” He stated. (Wait no! I want my apron! Why! Noooooooooooooo! Not! Gross. Here’s your crap fragmented apron. I hope you lick it.)

“Scott, I’m willing to finish the day…”

“No.”

So was the first and only time I was fired. Although, was I fired? No, I quit.

Anyway, dinner. It was yummy and the friends were wonderful! Their baby is adorable! She looks EXACTLY like her daddy. It’s so strange to me that my high school friends are parents. As of this summer, I have been married for EXACTLY half of the time that we have been out of high school. To the day.

I don’t have kids. When I see my old friends I still see them as they were when we were 18 so it’s so foreign to me.

Home

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:28:00 GMT

Home.

That is where I am right now.

I had to travel about 2500 miles to get here but I made it.

I’m sitting on my parents couch, waiting for my mom to get home from work (so I can borrow her car) and doing dirty laundry.

Yes, I packed two whole suitcases of dirty laundry last night and brought them with me from Indiana to California. I never lived in a dorm or an apartment. I’ve never brought loads and loads of laundry home when I’ve visited on the weekends. Now that I’m almost 30, I thought I better try it. In the case of most people who do that, their mom washes it for them but in my case…I’m still doing my own laundry, just like back home. Same laundry, different scene.

Even so, I’m happier to do my laundry here and not just because my mom and dad pay the water and electric bill AND I’m using their detergent (costs I never considered until I moved out). Just the mere idea that I’m in California doing my laundry means that I am home!

Other things that I never realized were so expensive: toilet paper, paper towels and house cleaning supplies. We always had them so I never thought about it. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Sleepless in Suburbia

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:49:00 GMT

It's now 5am on Saturday morning. I've been awake since 3:30am. Most people sleep in on Saturday...I do not. However, 3:30 is a bit crazy, even for me. I will be returning to bed soon but I cannot sleep because the following things are on my mind;

My little baby puppy Jolly is sick. Her food has basically been poisoning her since the day she came home with us. We slowly weaned her onto it and she got progressively sicker and I can practically see her ribs! Not good for a growing, developing puppy! Her illness hasn't affected her demeanor; she's still super delightful but it has made potty training a living poop hell! She's had pudding poops almost every single day...inside!

I'm also thinking a lot about my new dishwasher. This long awaited appliance finally arrived yesterday! I really wish my husband had hooked it up before bed last night so that I could actually use it and get some dishes loaded into that baby to see how it works! We've been saving dishes for it all week. We paid a lot of extra money for this super duper power scour feature that cleans off baked on apple cobbler. I've never made apple cobbler but I might just so that this thing can prove it's worth!

My high school reunion is this month. 10 years! I'm thinking about how ridiculous it is that the only form of communicating that we're all getting together was via FACEBOOK! What kind of world is this? How tacky! I think that yes, this is one way but really! Not everyone is on Facebook. I know it SEEMS like EVERYONE is but they aren't! Facebook wasn't around when we were in high school and every year I end up seeing that more and more of my classmates ARE getting on Facebook but they aren't ALL on there. This makes me really mad! So, I'm going home that same weekend for a conference for work but so far I haven't bought my reunion ticket. Instead I'm having a get together at my parent's house. Oh, and it won't cost $60 to see that none of your friends knew about the party!

Chicago happens to be on my mind this morning. In 4 days, my best friend is going to be there. Since it's only a few hours away I'm driving up to see her! We're going to spend the night downtown and have a wild time on a Tuesday night!

Darn. I was hoping that writing would make me fall asleep since I am so tired. Didn't work for me but it probably put you to sleep! :)

9/11

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:11:00 GMT

Today's date has become a date that stands out on the calendar. When I was planning activities for the Non Profit and scheduled a football game get together on September 11th, I thought about whether or not that was appropriate. I went ahead and scheduled it. Afterall, it has been 8 years. Eight years!

The video above is from Newsweek and it interviews some kids who were about 10 years old at the time. Now of course, they are 18. It's so interesting to hear their thoughts and their return to that day. Many people are probably tired of hearing from others "where they were, what they were doing and who they were with". I'm going to share anyway.

I was sort of a live in nanny for a freshman in high school. Her father had recently passed away and her mother was a flight attendant.

I was asleep. At the time I was still living in Southern California and I was sound asleep when all of a sudden I heard loud, fast foot steps coming up the wooden stairs. This jolted me from my sleep. My door burst open and Little Kay screached something to the effect of, "They're bombing everything, they stole planes, they crashed into the tower". Still in a half sleep drunken state, I just stared at her as she flipped on my television.

We sat and watched as the first tower perished. It was awful. However, it was not quite as awful as what we saw next. We watched as the second plane flew right into the second tower. It was so surreal. It was as if I was watching a movie. A urban Blair Witch project of sorts. I don't think I said more than two words during that hour.

I was in love. I know that this is a stupid statement to make following what I just described to you but I was twenty years old and I loved this boy that lived half way across the country. We were broken up but I loved him. The moment that Little Kay left my room, I called him and left a message, frantic. Scared. Where would a plane land next? Would I ever get a chance to see him again? Was I going to die, full of these unrequited feelings?

We all understand loss. Not all of us have experienced the type of loss that the vicitims and their families experienced on that day and forever more. However, we are all deeply affected because at one time or another we have all loved and lost. At the moment that someone saw the plane go into the second tower, we all felt pain and imagined the feelings we would have if WE were to lose our loved ones. So, we grabbed a phone, made a few calls to people we loved and cared about and cried into our pillows. Many people had phone calls returned on that day but many of us didn't. And we mourned with and for the vicitims of that horrific day.

You Capture - Something New

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:30:00 GMT

I only started taking photos of this dog last week so yes, this is something new!

This was my favorite photo this week of our brand new little puppy, Jolly (Rancher). Oh yeah, and kids. I never take photos of kids.

Join in the You Capture fun!

Free Roast Beef Sandwich at Arby's Today!

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:22:00 GMT

Today: Buy any drink at Arby's and get a free roast beef sandwich! Yay!

Friday on the Prairie

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:30:00 GMT

Jolly Puppy Update

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:03:00 GMT

Our little Jolly is adjusting to our family slowly. She loves us and cuddles with us but she keeps getting the pudding poops and it’s been really hard getting her potty trained.

All of the neighbor kids LOVE hanging out with Jolly.

My favorite moments are when Jolly is sleeping and we don't have to worry about her peeing or pooping on the floor.

Yeah, She Likes My Blog Too!

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:36:00 GMT

Bad Things

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:59:00 GMT

Bad things happen to me. A lot. This isn’t to say that good things don’t happen to me. It’s just that bad things happen to me pretty often.

1. Furnace leaks gallons of water under our BRAND NEW kitchen flooring for a year before we notice.

2. Furnace needs to be fixed and insulated because it was never done to begin with ($$).

3. New wall and ceiling needed in part of the garage due to “water damage” ($$$).

4. Flooring needs to removed from the kitchen (check, oh, and that one’s on the house courtesy of my husband).

5. Flooring needs to be replaced ($$$$$$).

6. Dishwasher begins leaking a cup or more of water during each load. Dishwasher is not worth fixing and needs to be replaced ($$).

7. The oven stops working while all the rest of the house is in chaos from the other six messes mentioned in the post. New oven ($$$).

8. The brakes on my car are gone. At least they are the cheapest thing to fix on this list. I never thought I would say that getting new brakes is cheap ($)!

9. I need two new tires within the next 2 weeks. They are legally bald and the wear bar has shown through. YAY! ($$)

Someday I think I’ll be able to list all of the great things in my life but what fun would that be? Someday I will though. I promise.

Woe is Laundry

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:38:00 GMT

I know that it makes the most sense to fold laundry as it comes out of the dryer. I’ve never been like that though. It also makes sense to wash laundry as it gets dirty. I’ve never been that way either. I have to be in the mood to do laundry. The bad part is that I’m NEVER in the mood! So, I wait and wait and wait and all the laundry in the house gets dirty and I’m still not in the mood. So, I’m FORCED to wash it then. After it’s all washed, I wait and wait for the mood to strike me to FOLD the laundry.

It probably goes without saying that I have NEVER gotten into the mood to fold that laundry either. So, we go a few days of just pulling what we need from the pile and wearing it, wrinkled, crumples. Who cares? Finally, we hear that someone is coming over to visit so we need to clear a space for them to sit. At that point I MIGHT fold the laundry. Sometimes I just move it somewhere out of sight.

Menu Plan Monday

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:40:00 GMT

Join in on Menu Plan Monday over here!

We're super busy around here because our house is all torn up. However, despite long periods of time without water and little access to the kitchen, I'm going to try to get back into the swing of life and cooking and eating meals at home. And then I'll be doing dishes WITHOUT A DISHWASHER! I'm brave.

Monday

Cajun Chicken Wrap, Garden Greens Rice & Asparagus

Tuesday

Spring Tagine of Chicken with Salad

Wednesday (I’ll be teaching a class at the Non Profit)

Jay’s Make Ahead Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry with Garden Greens Rice

Thursday

Leftover Stir Fry and Garden Greens Rice

Friday

Grilled Honey Mustard with Corn on the Cob from our garden and a Salad

Saturday

Shrimp Kabob & Garden Greens Rice

Sunday

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot, Stuffing & Garden Green Beans

If I have my kitchen back at any point this week, I'll also be making salsa, pickles and pizza crusts. If I had thought about it, I'd be doing most of my cooking in a crock pot or something. At least 2 of our meals are on the grill and 2 will be made today. Hopefully the bulk of my dishes are from today's cooking only. You know, the one day I won't have water at all! Smart thinking, huh?

Cat Ladies & Dog People

kat@theburbblog.com — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:55:00 GMT

Do you know what would absolutely just make my LIFE? If someone were to come across my blog because they googled “Caty Lady” or “Crazy Cat Lady”. Yes, that would make my life complete.

I must, must become the resident expert on cat ladies without becoming one myself. How do I do this? Perhaps I need to move in with a Cat Lady for a while. Nah. Can’t do that, I have allergies. Maybe I need to become friends with a Cat Lady. Our neighborhood Cat Lady is seriously NOT AN OPTION. She’s crazy!

We added a new puppy to our family this week. Her name is Jolly Rancher but we call her Jolly. She joins the ranks of four year old Pixy (Pixy Stix) and the dearly departed Reese (Reese’s Pieces). Don’t worry, we may be dog people but we’re not all weird about it like Cat Ladies are weird about cats. I mean, we do personify our dogs and put captions under photos pretending that we can read their thoughts but we’re not crazy or anything.

It's just not like that.

Dishwasher Dirt

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:13:00 GMT

A dishwasher has a purpose. It’s purpose is to clean dishes. Other than the occasional bottle of dishwasher cleaner, one might not think about the maintenance required to keep a dishwasher clean. When we bought this house (brand new), the kitchen and laundry appliances were “thrown in”. I can personally tell you that they have cost us far more than just buying our own appliances in the beginning. Since we’re discussing the dishwasher, I’ll tell you that this bottom of the line GE dishwasher sucks. We call it our dish sanitizer because it certainly doesn’t wash anything.

At least once a year I scrape the walls and the dish racks clear of the calcium and/or lime deposits that are a result of our extremely hard water. This is always a pain and hardly alleviates the standing water in the bottom of the machine. In the past year it has started leaking during loads. First it was just a few teaspoons of water trickling out and last time it was about a cup or more of water. “Lucky” for us, we don’t have a kitchen floor right now as a result of our air conditioning flood so now we can fix it or replace it without ruining our existing floor. In fact, I can just run it and it won’t matter because there is no flooring to ruin. Yay!

After the sticker shock we experienced while looking at dishwashers online and in-store, my husband decided to fix it himself. We argued a bit because remember, this thing doesn’t even wash dishes! Even when it was brand new it didn’t. He still went for it. He’s taken it apart piece by piece and here is what he found:

Gross, right? You might want to look under those traps and baskets in your dishwasher too! Who knew! I’m pretty sure that some of these things are growing... So much for sanitizing right? That darn water swisher has been useless this whole time!

An American Hen Night (aka - A Bachelorette Party)

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:42:00 GMT

While I was discussing bachelorette party plans with my sister’s bridesmaids, the British counterparts were not familiar with a bachelorette party. Once we all began passing information back and forth online we discovered that is was their version of a Hen Night.

Keeping in mind that the bride had been diagnosed with a severe case of mono the day before, we set out for a wicked Wednesday of low key fun that would put the bride in bed before she turned into a pumpkin. So, we headed out to dinner at the Huntington Beach Beer Company. I had a whole list of locations within walking distance that we could stop in for various drink specials and entertaining events but we knew that after dinner we should probably get the bride home.

Luck for all of us a young lifeguard walked in and invited us to the bar three doors down where the lifeguards were hosting a fundraising night that included auctioning off dates with themselves. We hung around, had some drinks, danced and laughed. Oh, did I mention that we all had penis headbands on? It was really easy to find the other’s in our party. All night people came up to me and said, “Do you know you have a penis on your head?” or “Are you part of a bachelorette party?” My responses were equally smart alecky.

At 10pm the lifeguard auction started. It began with Travis, a 24 year old 12^th grade teacher that wanted to “teach the ladies a bit about love”. The opening bid for Travis was $50. I raised my hand and bid $50. Opening bid right? Poor me. They couldn’t get anyone to bid even 50 cents higher. Going once, going twice. I won! Oh crap. I didn’t have $50.

When I won, they asked me to come up to stage so they could see how we fit together. Never did I think I’d say this, “Thank God for penis hats”. I was easily able to locate a group of the girls who just happened to have cash. 50 dollars to be exact. I handed it to the auctioneer and pushed the bride to the stage where she posed for photos with the lifeguard. He returned to our corner table with the 20 of us and posed for a photo. We donated him to my friend Kyleen (who contributed the most to the save my butt fund). They have a date set for this week! The rest of the lifeguards went for about $10-$30 each. At that rate we could have had three of them for $50!

So yes, this is the story about how I accidentally bought my sister a man for her American Hen Night! And, as her new sister in law said, (in an English accent) “We wore willies in our hair!”

Tea Party Bridal Shower for Barbie

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:15:00 GMT

In case you can’t tell yet, my little sister’s name is Barbie. She is named after my grandmother and has fully embraced the name. Some people say, “What were your parents thinking?!” but really, she loves her name and takes full advantage of the paraphernalia with her name. The closest things out there to Kat are cats themselves. I hate cats.

For her bridal shower I began an inspiration board a few months ago. From that inspiration board I focused in on a few key elements that I wanted to bring to her bridal shower. I settled on a pink candy buffet, pink donuts (I wanted to do cupcakes but since cupcakes would be a part of the wedding, I didn’t want to/couldn’t compete with them). My sister in law and I made pendant flags to decorate with. I spray painted a large tree branch and hung it with bagged cotton candy with custom labels and pink beaded necklaces. The idea was to use pink crystal rock candy but my shipment was delayed.

Thank goodness for all of the breast cancer research fundraising products out there; I found pink Oreos, pink whoppers, pink pixy stix, pink Twinkies AND starburst has a bag with just PINK AND RED flavors in it. Add that to Twizzlers, candy necklaces, pink and red ring pops and you have a beautiful buffet! Ideally I would have had larger glass containers to put these items in but keep in mind I was traveling with ONE bag from the Midwest to California.

I served a 6 foot Subway sandwich with toothpicks complete with the Barbie logo, shoes or purses on them. Also with logo stir sticks I served tea, pink lemonade and a vodka drink called the Pink Cotton Candy. Delish!

When I was to be married five years ago, my sis wanted to throw a shower for my where all of my friends would bring mismatched tea cups and saucers as gifts. That not really being my style (I mostly like things to match), I nixed the idea. Good thing because the gift idea was perfectly suited for her style!

The invitation read:

Barbie & Richard both like tea time in a special spot,

so we’ll shower the bride with tea cups and saucers or a pot.

They needn’t be new or to a matched set,

and if there’s a story, please write it down so she won’t forget

Because she is moving to England with her English gentleman, I also asked guests to pitch in a few dollars for shipping the treasures to her new home.

Barbie received adorable tea pots, cups, saucers, creamers, sugar dishes, aprons, tea collections and wonderful stories to accompany the treasures. Most touching were pieces from friends grandmother’s china sets, hand painted tea pots and wonderful stories!

Her England girlfriends had never experienced a bridal shower (apparently, not a tradition in England) so we played some crazy bridal shower games. It was really fun!

Monday Beach Day & Bonfire

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:19:00 GMT

It was so wonderful to fly home for the weekend to see my little sister marry the love of her life. Barbie met Rich several years ago when she was studying abroad in England at Essex University. They fell in love and then were separated by the ocean and many miles. After numerous visits back and forth they were engaged and were married on Saturday. My entry into the story begins last Monday.

I met Rich for the first time in the sand at Huntington Beach, one of my most favorite places in the world! He was cuddled up with my little sister in the sand. Barbie was lying on her stomach under an umbrella, trying to get some sleep. Later, her diagnosis of strep throat would be escalated to a severe case of mononucleosis. We were introduced and said our hellos. It stood out to me that despite his “mates” being there from England, he was paying much attention to my sick sister.

As the afternoon dissolved to evening and the evening to nighttime, we roasted hot dogs and them marshmallows. We laughed and joked and got to know one another. As newcomers arrived they were introduced and my sister glowed with fever and joy! By the time the beach closed at 10pm, there were a good 25 people gathered around the fire.

I felt old. I was so glad that my “old” friends were there to be old with me.

My Little Sister's Wedding Week

kat@theburbblog.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:14:00 GMT

What an amazing week we had in Southern California for my sister Barbie’s wedding. It was a lovely week with many, many lovely events!

Monday – Arrival, Beach Day and Bonfire Weiner Roast @ Huntington Beach

Tuesday – Bridal Shower Tea Party

Wednesday – Bachelorette and Bachelor Parties

Thursday – Bridal Party Garden Luncheon & Big Old’ Family BBQ

Friday – Nail Appointments, Rehearsal & Dinner

Saturday – Hair & Makeup Appointments, Bouquet Making, Wedding & Reception!

Sunday – Bruncheon, Gift Opening & Mint Julep Garden Party

Monday – Airport Runs, Home…

Indiana Fever - A Night Out In the City

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:25:00 GMT

In high school I was on the basketball team. Notice I didn’t say that I played basketball? That would be a lie. I made the team, I practiced, I owned a uniform, I bought the $100 shoes. More than 10 years later those shoes still look brand new (I don’t know why I kept them) and I love shooting hoops with the kids from the Non Profit and I kicked booty in our company Corporate Challenge. Recently I had the opportunity to sit as close to the team and get as close to the hoop as I did in high school.

I got a chance to sit and watch some awesome action take place practically in my lap (but not in an uncomfortable way)! My best friend, DD Momma, her two kids (ages two and four), three college kids from the not for profit and I sat on the floor (in chairs) at the Indiana Fever game at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Fever? I didn’t know either. If you said the name, I could tell you that they were the Indianapolis women’s basketball team but if you asked me the question in reverse and demanded that I tell you the name of the Indiana WNBA team, I might draw a blank for a while. No more!

I know it’s probably not the best thing to tell you but we taught DD Mommas babies how to boo when the Ref’s make a bad call (every call, duh) and it was awesome because they are way more loud and proud than the adults when it comes to booing. Can CPS take kids away if you teach them bad sportsmanship? It just seemed a bit more acceptable to have a four year old booing than a grown woman. Here’s a short clip of the game, some booing and a lady yelling, “You suck” again and again. Just so you know, she’s talking about the Ref, not the team. He made a few bonehead calls but he made one call that was just terrible and almost cost the team the game!

The women on the team are amazing, energetic and very talented! They play hard and holy cow, they won! It was close and the game against the Connecticut Sun was intense, dramatic, filled with fouls (the basketball equivalent to an Indy 500 car wreck) and downright fun! The seven of us women joined the crowd in cheering for the home team, gasping at the bad calls from the refs, booing (only when necessary, this IS a family arena) and praying for free throw shots. Thank the Lord we won in overtime during this very close game! I would have cried if my first WNBA game ended with a loss for my team. Yes, that’s right. This was the first of many evenings I hope to hang out cheering for MY team.

The Fever play through September so you and your family can enjoy an exciting night out even though school is back in session. Want to be in the best seats in the house for a fraction of the cost? Want to save some money and just be somewhere that you can see? Please visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/wnba and use the promo code wnbablog for 50% off of tickets! This offer is good for WNBA games in all cities. If you go to any Indy games I’m sure we’ll run into one another again! I’m hooked!

Things People Shouldn't Have to do on Their Birthday

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:18:00 GMT

I’ve always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to birthdays. I was born in August when school is not in session, so I never had birthday cakes in my classroom making me the center of attention as 30 of my peers were forced to sing happy birthday to me. Yeah, I’m one of those people that would have loved that. I never had the ease of passing out party invitations in person to my classmates that I liked as the other ones watched with envy. Can you tell I’ve been on the sad side of that scenario before? I’ve never been pulled out of school for a special day of treats and fun. You would think that all of these pathetic sob stories would prepare me for the disappointing reality that just because I was born almost 30 years ago on this day doesn’t mean squat.

I’m not prepared.

Things I don’t want to do today because it’s my birthday and because I wouldn’t want to do them anyway:

1. Wake up early.

2. Laundry.

3. Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and renew my expired license.

4. Sit in a staff meeting.

5. Write my personal and professional goals for my review.

6. Sit in an emotionally charged, intense council meeting from 7-10pm (or later if I’m really lucky).

Things I have to do today even though it’s the day of the celebration of MY BIRTH: All of the above.

Because Tomorrow I'm Almost 30

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:09:00 GMT

Instead of telling people how old I am, a few years ago I began saying I was "almost 30". My theory is that I can get away with saying this well into my 30's if I start half way through my twenties. Yes, now that I am actually almost 30, I'm terrified. I'm not really afraid of getting old (even though the side effects are already plaguing me and they suck), I'm not really afraid of dying (except for the part about dying before Jay and then him finding another wife, being super happy and realizing that there actually are normal women out there), I'm afraid that I'll never have it all together.

I fear never having everything just be alright. This is what that might look like; the house isn't falling apart, we're healthy and happy, we don't owe every man, woman and child some outrageous amount of money, we both have jobs that we love and are making a decent living at without the nagging fear of unemployment and our friends are having spaz attacks every time we have an opinion of our own. Yeah. Every year I hope that this might be the year. My calculations say that when I'm almost 60, this dream won't even be near fruition.

Menu Plan Monday

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:09:00 GMT

Menu Plan Monday

Monday – Dinner out with friends. Our air conditioning has been out since Tuesday. Can’t. Cook. Hot. House.

Tuesday – Food from fridge. Whatever is in there. No plans.

Wednesday – Loaded Baked Potato with Chili.

Thursday – Dinner with Not for Profit.

Friday – Camping! Foil packet dinners.

Saturday- Camping! Dutch Oven Dinner.

Sunday – Dinner at End of Summer Pool Party.

Yes, this menu plan is lacking many things. A menu and a plan. Oh yeah, and it's not Monday! So goes the end of summer! The next two weeks will be exactly like this!

Beazer Homes - Designed to be your dream home but built to fall apart!

kat@theburbblog.com — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:39:00 GMT

I feel like a jerk for telling you my woes on a day when there was so much rain and a few people have lost their homes but I must tell you what I’m going through right now.

Let’s talk about the slogan on the Beazer Homes Website: Designed to be your dream home. Built to stay that way. Holy Heck! My dreams must nightmares then!

Six years ago my husband bought a BRAND NEW Beazer home. In those six years we have had SIX major water problems/floods that were the cause of shoddy materials or workmanship. First it was the bathtub debacle. Then it was the washer (came with the house if we purchased by a certain time) overflowing and all of the water from that heading in the exact opposite direction of the drain that was in place for that purpose (un-purposefully tilted or unlevel floor). Did I mention the washer is on the second floor? Then the air conditioner was draining into our kitchen, creeping below the wall from the garage and pushing under our flooring. We thought we fixed it with a blow out of the drain but it still destroyed our flooring. Next, the toilet on the second floor was slowly draining or leaking into the ceiling of our garage (GROSS) and last spring the air conditioning issue continued and we finally had to replace the flooring. Finally, this summer we thought we had a slab leak because water pushed up through the seams in our newly floored kitchen. It seemed to gush at times! We ruled out a slab leak and found out it was again, the air conditioner.

The HVAC guy came out, looked at the furnace and said that it was not sufficiently insulated. One of the ducts or something (hey, I don’t work with HVAC equipment, I don’t remember the terms) had 50 degree air running through it and it was just out in the open, not insulated. We removed the furnace and behind it there was an issue that we’ll call mildew (for resale purposes) and the duct like thingy was not insulated up into the ceiling which also brought about mildew type growth! Over the past six years the furnace had so much condensation that it would pool on the ground and seep (or in the case of hot days, pour) into the kitchen under the walls and under the flooring, spouting up when we walked on it.

When our furnace was pulled out and apart, it looked so rusty and like it might just crumble into redish-orange colored dust in front of our eyes! Now, in addition to our flooring needing to be replaced (AGAIN!), we need to cut out the dry wall in the garage wall and ceiling and perhaps into the kitchen as well. We’ve never used our homeowners insurance, although I’m sure we could have last year but this year we did call them. They are being very fair but we still have to pay our deductible AND the HVAC guy out of pocket.

I’ve called Beazer Homes to complain about incorrect installation of the furnace but I’m sure they’ll do nothing. Last month when we thought it was slab leak, I had a snarky message in response to my call, reminding me that my home was six years old and waaaay out of warranty. It’s terrible to know that a company that we have given more money to than we can shake a stick at won’t even stand behind its product as long as some electronics companies stand behind their products. I know there are costs and issues involved with becoming a homeowner but let’s get real. We got the lemon of the block. Six water related issues (that we know about) and innumerable issues and shortcuts discovered ever year. There was a cigarette box in our wall for crying out loud!

As beautiful as their high end homes look in the publications I used to get every quarter, when I graduate from our starter home, I won’t even take a small peek in a Beazer home IF they won't stand behind this home!

One Week + Two Houseboats + 17 people

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Click here for a look at my links to my comprehensive packing list, personal packing list & menu plan.

This summer I decided to plan a week long summer trip on a houseboat. I selected Beaver Creek Marina at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky because it was a very large body of water (1255 miles of shoreline) with plenty of room to explore and it was only about a six hour drive from our home. On the trip were a total of five adults and 12 teenagers so we decided to go for two houseboats that sleep 10 people each. We also wanted a ski boat for daily activities. While surfing the web I came across a company that seemed to have decent prices but I decided to call a few other places. The company that I decided to rent from had an awesome internet special of about $800 per boat for a Monday PM through Friday AM rental period. This is a great deal because their published rates are about three times as much! The ski boat rental was about the same rate as both boats combined.

The boat provided the opportunity to pretty much move in with just your toothbrush, clothing and food. Did I say “JUST” food? This is a whole other chapter! Aboard the boat; a full kitchen, linens for the beds, dishes for eating and cooking, a grill with propane, 2 very large ice chests and even an optional hot tub. The furniture was nice and in addition to an indoor dining table (and living room), there was a patio set on the deck. Everything was very clean and well taken care of.

Driving the boat was an adventure! Before we left the Marina, we all watched a video that taught us a little bit about driving the boat and operating the boat in general. I would have liked a little more instruction but it all worked out well! The biggest problem was finding a place on shore that we could tie up to (boulders and trees), especially since we had two houseboats. We managed this with minor stress and event. Leaving our little areas was also filled with a bit of low grade stress and some yelling but it all worked out and we didn’t lose any of our deposit and no one was injured!

During the day we took in sun on the top deck (the roof of the houseboat), we floated around in the water, we swam or paddled (on an inflatable boat with paddles) to islands or other shores, we water skied, went knee boarding , wakeboarding and inner tubing. There were card games, reading times and writing times. There’s an opportunity for EVERYONE to enjoy themselves on a houseboat trip!

We were required to run the generator for about 10 hours per day so during this time we cooked and ran the air conditioner. This is also prime time to take showers because the water gets heated. Our group didn’t take showers all week long! We taught the kids to take lake showers. Yes, you lather up and then jump off the top of the roof or slide down the water slide. YES! We had a waterslide! The most difficult part is shaving. Plus it’s like taking a bath with 20 of your closest friends. If this isn’t your thing (but trust me, it feels amazing), there were two bathrooms aboard the boat, including one with a shower. It’s a good thing we took lake showers because just with our cooking and cleaning our fresh water tank went dry on one of the boats on the last day. This would have been easily rectified by returning to the marina but we didn’t want to since it was our last day and the other boat still had fresh water.

In addition to our unconventional showering practices, we slept on the roof of the houseboats despite the 5 double sized beds on the boat. It’s beautiful sleeping outside! You have no idea how many stars there are until you do that! Even if you don’t live in the city, there are still trillions more stars than you even know! The first night was a bit dewy so we woke up with some moisture on our sleeping bags (yes, you have to bring your own sleeping bags). The second night we were as dry as a bone. The third night there had been a rain storm all day so the roof was pretty wet. Five of us slept up top anyway. We watched a glorious lightening storm in the distance as we fell asleep. A couple hours later the storm was upon us and we had to retreat indoors. The final night there were three of us who slept outside. A storm rolled in during the early hours of the morning but there was no lightening and we were under a canopy since there were only three of us, so we remained outdoors. This was also a beautiful experience.

I used Marinas International for booking the boats and they were wonderful! We were well taken care of from the moment I called them for information. I have not been paid or compensated in any way to tell you about my trip. I just thought this information might be helpful for others.

Garden Box Summer

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:15:00 GMT

My garden box experiment is going well! Even with crappy soil I’ve had a great summer of veggies. My cucumbers and zucchinis seem to be radioactive! They are so big! My green beans are done so I got some more in the ground about 2 weeks ago and they’re growing quickly. It’s about time for tomatoes and boy do I have plans for them! Next year I probably won’t grow lettuce; it takes so much water to rinse it and get all of the bugs and dirt off. We’ll see after the next batch – I’m going to try soaking it. I had to replant my pepper plants. Only about 3 plants survived after I purged that section of weeds…maybe I pulled up more pepper plants than weeds? Next month I expect some corn and carrots! I'm not sure whats going to happen to the broccoli.

I’m beginning to think ahead to next year and what I’ll plant then… I can’t wait! Why am I rushing to next summer already? I saw mums at the grocery store yesterday! MUMS!!! A sure sign of fall, which is a sure sign of winter!!

Dear Mums,

I think you are beautiful and I love having you in my garden but I hate what you represent!

Kat

My Petting Zoo Approach

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:27:00 GMT

This week I spent some time at a fabulous petting zoo of sorts – I met almost every single one of my favorite bloggers. I pet their perfectly magnificent hair, I touched the lovely silk on their dress sleeves, I shook their perfectly moisturized hands, and I grasped their shoulders in an authentic hug. It was like being at a wild animal park where bloggers can run free in their natural habitat and then some are set aside behind bars where you can walk up and look at them and point and talk about them and still yet, others are in a corral where you can reach out and touch them with the thrill that their mighty roar might tear your chest in half or their bite may rip your arm off. I LOVED it!

My reaction to the women whose lives I’ve spent hours peering into over the last few years was very different from how some of my new buddies reacted. They were timid and unwilling to jump up and introduce themselves; they’d point out different people that they enjoyed reading about and say they hadn’t worked up the courage yet and then others would say that they had indeed finally introduced themselves to this person or that person.

Meanwhile, I would walk up to the person and introduce myself, ask about their dog or their job search or their new home. The reason I read blogs is because they are real and the people are real. If this is the case, why wouldn’t that person want to meet me and why wouldn’t I want to meet them? They aren’t any better or more fabulous than I am otherwise I would read about them and not of them. Most of the bloggers were warm and a pleasure to meet and for that I will continue to peer into their lives and pour out my own.

I didn’t really meet any of the unapproachable, “better than sliced bread” kind of women I’ve heard so much about. Perhaps it’s because of the quality of person I choose to connect with online. Not to say that there weren’t plenty of women who looked to be unapproachable or snooty but I didn’t introduce myself and neither did they. There was no need, I don’t read their blogs and since we didn’t have a connection in Real Life, I won’t for the time being. However, there’s always next year in New York!

As much as I ohh’ed and ahh’ed over these “internets,” the mega bloggers were equally ohh’ing and ahh’ing over Carson Kressley and others. Carson and the gang did nothing for my curiosity or enjoyment; it was all about the bloggers!

To the lovely ladies at Blogher 2009; I am not sorry I treated Blogher as a zoo (at least I didn’t compare it to a freak show!). I’ve enjoyed every opportunity that I’ve taken to interact with you In Real Life, I’ve appreciated the moments that you became a human to me and that your stories became authentic and tangible. Thank you.

Technorati

kat@theburbblog.com — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:36:00 GMT

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Unconditional Love - Rerun 8/16/07

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:52:00 GMT

This morning I woke up early to get ready for work yet I was still running late. In my haste, I made a peanut butter sandwich and set it on the counter and ran back upstairs to grab my shoes and socks. As I raced back downstairs my dog stood at the bottom smacking her tongue on the roof of her mouth and licking her lips…classic peanut butter mouth. I scolded her loudly as I rounded the corner into the kitchen to be sure my reprimanding was well deserved. It was.

As she lay down beside the back door and stared at me in my rant, I said, "All I do is get up and go to work all day just so that I can give you a nice place to live, food for your meals, medicine when you are sick, an occasional bath and an expensive dog park membership. All I ask for in return is that you give me unconditional love and don't steal my sandwich! Do you understand how hungry I am?" Then, I realized I sounded like my mom except really ridiculous because it was about a peanut butter sandwich and I was talking to my dog.

Tangerine Nightmares

kat@theburbblog.com — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:50:00 GMT

Good Morning!

The week disappeared so quickly but I do feel like it was a well spent weekend; I was able to spend quality time with my hubby J and a few of my "Indiana friends" (Drunk Dialin' Momma, Chandra and Camp Guy) and I picked up a beautiful bottle of Blackberry wine while wine tasting.

J and I went to the drive-in movies and lucky me, I got an interesting show in the bathroom. When is it okay to go out in public and not wear a bra?

A woman wearing head to toe tangerine was coming out of the stall next to mine. She has now has a felony hijacking charge against my brain. I cannot get the terrible image out of my head. Is it okay to not wear a bra to the drive-in movies and still wear a shirt that proves you aren't wearing one?

Summer Flowers

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:53:00 GMT

One of my most favorite things about having gardens is that I have fresh flowers inside AND outside and I didn't have to buy them at the grocery store! They are from my very own garden! Every year I add new flowers so that I can have a beautiful assortment for my home and my desk at work. What are some that I should consider for next year? I'm starting to plan for the planters now!

I'm getting super excited for BlogHer! Email me or leave a comment if you want to meet up. What parties are you attending? Is it possible to visit them all?

The Best Part of the Kiosk is Not Dealing With DMV Employees

kat@theburbblog.com — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:06:00 GMT

My apologies to all BMV/DMV employees!

Tonight I stopped by the BMV around 9pm (that’s the DMV for all people who live in normal states – they like to try to be different here with things like BMV and holding out on Daylight Saving Time), and had a super experience. The registration on my car and my trailer expires tomorrow.

Right inside the door they had a self serve machine that looks a lot like an ATM but it only has the ability to TAKE your money. I stepped up with my driver’s license # and the last 4 of my social security number and I was able to renew my registration in 45 seconds flat! This included printing time for TWO registrations!

Sadly, next month when I jump another year closer to 30 I’ll have to renew my driver’s license and I know that waiting in line for that privilege will take FOREVER! Especially when comparing it to my most recent BMV trip.

Houseboat Vacation

kat@theburbblog.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:24:00 GMT

I just got back from a week of living aboard a houseboat with 12 high school students! It was so much fun!

This was my 8th houseboat trip but my first one to Lake Cumberland in Kentucky and my first time aboard a little bit of a luxurious houseboat! It was also my first houseboat trip as an adult. A full blown adult. I had such a great time but I do remember being one of the teens on the trip and I must say that it was much better back in the day.

When I was 13 I went on my first houseboat trip with my church youth group and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was for that reason that I kept coming back. I turned 14 on that trip and I remember we had a charter bus full of high school students and four houseboats for a week. The next summer I rode in the old church van which had no air conditioning – making a drive through the Mohave Desert miserable. To remedy this, our youth director armed each of us with a water gun. He placed giant 5 gallon water coolers at the end of each seating row. It was so fun! Waaay better than a charter bus!

No charter bus this time and no water gun fight en route but still a splashing good time!