I still play Paper Dolls

OK so I haven't blogged so much lately, but who needs to hear the doldrums of work? Um NOBODY!
I have been keeping myself busy lately with a new online fad, polyvore.com. I hadn't heard of it until a few weeks ago, when a group I joined in Facebook sent me a contest notice. Whoever creates the best fashion sheet from their clothing store, wins the clothing. "So, why not?" I thought. Anyway the contest ends August 31, and there are alot of interesting entries. I haven't explored polyvore.com completely, but I feel like I am 7 years old again playing with paper dolls!
Here are the fashion sheets I created for the contest:

Sum it Up!

It has been forever and a day since I last posted, but at least I can say there has been fun had in my absence. I will try to sum up this last month in this post and catch up on everything!
June was a busy month at work and for the most part I was a drone in the hive. When my wee brain gets taxed I tend to withdraw, and hide a way after work, and become a bit neglectful. I hope my family and friends understand and forgive me my introverted ways, but I really do the best I can every day. OK enough of the wallow...

The highlight of June was my anniversary.... LUCKY 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kitty likes the roses

Mike and I were married in 1996 on a whim, and I am lucky to have found someone like him. I believe the greatest reward in our lives is to be able to go through life with love. Anyway, we went on a celebratory 4 wheeling adventure, and while Mike is "Quad Savvy" I was NOT! So I got to learn on a cute little automatic, and putted around for the afternoon. Mike catching air

He tried to pull the Adventurer out in me, and it worked just a little, so maybe next time we go Mike will clock me at 15 miles and hour instead of just 12! Brave, brave, brave, braaavvee Miss Katie NOT. I was on spot with the camera though and got some good shots of Mike on the Salt Flats. My camera is great when there is plenty of light, but doesn't catch movement very well. So some of the pics are blurry, too sad. Mike got better pics of me driving around, but that is only because I was going sooooo sloooooowwww.Ready to Ride!

Our front room project had finally been completed, well at least until I paint it with color. For anyone who doesn't know this story, here's the blurb: all interior walls are currently white and I don't like it. I told Mike a wanted to re-paint, and he stated only after the walls scuffs and dings have been corrected. No problem. So we get 95% done, and Mike does a preemptive strike and buys the same white paint and has recovered the walls. GRRRRRR. I will win someday and there will some color, someday. In the mean time I am grateful the room is ding-free and clean.

The last and most recent highlight has been our July 4th weekend. We ate with Mike's family, and I got to see my sister in laws 6 month old. He is all eyes and smiles easily! He is the newbie, it seems everyone else is growing up. Mike has two brothers, both are over 10 years younger, and they are graduated and almost full grown. It seems a bit surreal to me; I have this crazy mental image of myself in my twenties, and time changes around me but I still seem to stay young in my head. Of course it is only in my head, crow's feet and doughnut butt just don't lie.
Yesterday was my last adventure, though I guess I should admit I am the spectator, not the spectated. Mike and I went to Wendover so he could race his bike. I slathered spf 45 on my arms and face and luckily came away only slightly pink. Mike did well, but he commented that the bike wouldn't grip the track easily this time. He ran a 10.48 second 1/4 mile, which is fast but he thought he could do better. I am just happy he can still walk and talk.

Mike doing burn out

Simplicity

I have turned off my TV and the music. Right now, the only sounds for me are the washing machine, the bathroom clock, and the ra-tat of the keyboard. Stillness and Silence. It is

SIMPLICITY.

My job is not simple. At work, I am Alice's Rabbit and will forever be trying to beat the clock. But somewhere inside of me is Alice herself, wondering if there is a way out of the Madness, back to the SIMPLICITY of childhood. I was the girl who dreamed the day away looking at the sky and making stories from the clouds. I didn't understand why Gilligan and the crew were so upset to be marooned on the Island, and I secretly wished to be Jeannie (her bedroom was a big pink bottle)! For awhile I wanted to be Samantha, but Darren was too much of a goof. Major Nelson is the BOMB.

Like most people, daily life can be complex and taxing for me, and I need to remember to practice simplicity. I am reminded of something my husband said about his time in the Coast Guard. He would be out to sea for a length of time, get Sea Legs, but when the ship finally docked, he would have to re-acclimate to walking on land. I can relate to his story. Moving toward something can also mean moving away from something. I need to be grounded and focused, but I also need to feel free and new. I need to get back to being a "Dreamy Girl".

Put SIMPLY,
I need to watch the clouds more often.

My 10 Simple Things ToDo List

Give a Hug
Get a Hug
Read more Dr. Seuss
Cloud Watching
Color something with my favorite crayon color
Watch films in black and white
Hand Write a letter and mail it
Walk to the market
Hold hands with my husband
Do one thing at a time

A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of a child.
Author: Chinese Proverb

Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.

— Sir Isaac Newton

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci

No Dreaming, Just Sneezing

2:36 am and I am AWAKE.
No rest for the weary, or people with allergies, apparently.
My cats can't tell time, but see me getting up from bed. So it must be time for breakfast.
OK - I pop open a can of Super Supper. Good kitties get a midnight snackez. But they really aren't hungry, so after a few licks they are off to go be cats somewhere else.
So here I sit, hoping to tire myself into sleep. I can hear my husband quietly snore from the bedroom. I am too uncomfortable to be jealous. Well, almost.
Hold on, need to get some more tissue. OK better.
I remember as a child in California being allergic to practically everything. I took medicine for asthma, we had to give away our cat, SnowBall, and I couldn't eat chocolate. We moved to Utah in 1980/81 and my allergies subsided; I have been able to keep cats, eat chocolate, and I don't need asthma medicine. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much about allergies, since I remember worse times, but at 2 in the morning my whiny side gets the better of me.
The last few weeks of May are when my allergies start and last year only lasted a few weeks, so hopefully I only have one more week. I am trying not to take any meds, except eye drops. I couldn't function without them. For anyone curious, here is what is pollinating in Utah right now: http://www.intermountainallergy.com/pollen.html.

Judging from their graph, Grass, Oak, and Mold are at the highest count. Grass is beautiful, but right now it is my enemy. I need the respite of four walls and cement.

Bloomidy Bloom!

One week later...

The insect spray worked wonders, and rid most of the pesky aphids. I noticed only a slight discoloration or browning on these first blooms, which I am sure is due to the spray since the temperature didn't climb high enough to cause problems. The roses border my front porch, facing east, and get a healthy serving of "Sunny-D" most of the day. Morning or evening are my favorite time for them as the light effects are most dramatic, and their colors most vivid.

There are three roses bushes, but so far only two have bloomed. I am still waiting for the white roses to emerge from their leafy cocoons. They are quite pretty, with broad flat leaves, and they unfold to a loose, white flower. Unfortunately they are delicate, and succumb to burning after only a few weeks of summer sun. Fortunately they bloom often, so if I trim every few weeks, the rose bush remains spring new.

Over the years, there has been some cross-pollination by our friendly neighborhood bees, and the white and pink rose bushes will sometimes carry some of each other's coloring. Also, they have different petal shapes, and the pink rose bush originally had a thicker cupped petal. But as the picture shows, the pink bloom flowered more like my white rose bush. (Go Darwin). But this is the first year I have taken consecutive pictures, so I could be remembering wrong. (Go Dementia).

I will continue to take pictures through out this summer; it will be interesting to see how things develop. Plus, roses are the perfect posers! Even a photo-novice like me can capture a nice picture!

Aphid Crossing!

It has taken until May for Utah to see Spring, and finally my rose bushes are showing their first buds. But every Beauty has her Beast, and roses are no exception. Looming around every perfect bloom, ready to nibble and chomp, is a host of wicked little APHIDS! I have come to the conclusion my roses will never be free from these pests, but I thought I would be able to get a head start this year. Last weekend, nothing. No buds, no bugs. But this weekend? Buds and bugs.

Buds and Bugs and Bunches of work.
OH MY!

Oh wait.

Bug Spray.

Buds and Bugs and BUG SPRAY.
OH YAH!

Thankfully, Mike bought the Aphid Spray on his last Home Store trip, and so I donned my garden gloves, and began spraying. Penny Kitty observed casually from the porch, and gratefully there was no wind, or she would've had to be put inside. It didn't take long to cover the rose bushes with their medicine, and in tepid weather, no worry of curl or burning. So now its just a matter of waiting to see how well my roses fare. I will keep track this season with pictures and hopefully some spray and a little Miracle Gro will give my roses the care they need to be beautiful this year!

"Get a Blog!"

I can't remember a time when I consecutively wrote in a diary or journal. I did seem to gather wonderful books, some with gold edging or dainty locks to tell the world this book is special so keep out! These helpful empty pages were just waiting for someone to pour out their innermost thoughts. I usually got about a week in, and then stopped. End idea? I have never been a chronicler, but in the past few months since I have started this blog, I have become more in tune with my need to express myself through writing. This blog doesn't serve up super facts or generate never heard before opinions, (though there is a useless facts banner at the bottom of the page) but this blog does serve up the opportunity for me to share myself with others with which I wouldn't normally communicate.
I do appreciate blogs in general, and anyone who can consistently put words to paper (or virtual paper). It is a gift I will try to emulate for the rest of my life.
Today was a particularly tense day at work, and the issues fell upon my desk at 4:50 pm, and had to be handled immediately. So I wasn't able to leave until around 6:00 pm, and I still have the gritty emotions clinging to me like crusty mud. Not 3 hours ago, I issued 5 termination checks, one of which is for someone I am fond of and have worked with since I started my employment in 2003. The termination is going to have direct impact on other parts of of my job, and I can just see organization getting flushed down the toilet, and me having to dive in after it.
I am deliberately blank at work, I work, I leave, I show up the next day, I work, I leave, and so on, and my desk is void of personalization. I have seen my sister in law fired about a year ago, and no matter how hard I work, I fully expect to be the next one out the door. On the day I am given my termination check, I don't want to suffer the humiliation of cleaning out my space, I only want to grab my purse and leave the building.
So now as I purge my negative emotions onto my poor unsuspecting blog, I realize the old sarcastic adage

"Get a Dog!"

can now be updated to
"Get a Blog!"

5 By 5 in Seattle

If you click on me, I grow :)

I thought I would re-post my April trip to Seattle to visit my sister and two friends. I decided to delete the original posts until I was really happy about what I could show everyone. This weekend, I took the opportunity to create a collage of my visit, and highlight some of my favorite people on this planet and our mini adventures! In the collage is an afternoon of us walking about the pier, various photos of downtown, and of the Underground Tour. It was rather chilly, so I think I will not plan to invade their space again until late summer when layers are an option! Are they ever an option in Seattle? Still, I will bring a sweater...

So This is Spring Cleaning

As a result of our recent china acquisition, new space had to be created in our cupboards to accommodate for the two boxes making a temporary home on my dining room floor. I never believe I have junk until I actually rummage through things, and I guess I have a lot of junk. Dingy glass vases, mismatched salt and pepper shakers, old and worn pots and pans. 13 years of kitchen pile up.
Pulling things out, separating and tossing things into the D.I. (2nd hand in Utah) boxes is the easy part. It is putting everything back in order. Junk or not, I had my kitchen organized to be User Friendly. Most used items at hands reach, least used stuffed into the corners. Now my kitchen Feng Shui has to be re-established, and all of the sudden everything is important and I may just use that Braun soup blender ( I forgot I had) very soon, so maybe it should be in this spot, NO, maybe it would be better over here, and on and on....
After a few cupboard changeovers, I finally started to feel the "Shui" once again and rewarded myself with Chili's takout.
My husband told me giving away my kitchen to the D.I. wasn't an excuse to go out and buy new things. He can have his opinions, its a free country. Besides, he won't see the credit card bill until next month.

Hello Kitty!

My parents recently moved into a retirement complex and have given us girls various things they can't take with them. A few nights ago, my youngest sister brought me some boxes. Old books, clothes, and china. As I sorted amongst the wrappings, I noticed an oddly shaped piece of bubble wrap tucked in the corner of a box. Curious, I began to unroll the contents and couldn't believe my eyes! It was long lost Kitty! As children, my sister and I were quite precocious and had firm rules set on us about not touching certain knickknacks. Kitty was hand-painted by our Great Grandmother, and if we were caught playing with her we were in trouble. But just look at Kitty, and tell me young girls can resist her charm? Kitty, I am glad to see you again!

10 Simple Things I Love

Restaurants, for making food when I am too tired to cook.

Cats, for their curious, playful natures

Laptops, so I can watch TV and use the computer simultaneously

Body Scrub, soft skin is good skin

Rain, I love weather in action

Children, I pray for one each day

The first cup of coffee, made fresh in the morning

Saturdays

Computer Games, so I can still be a learning child

Hugs from my husband

Listening To The Rain

Rain reminds me I am a natural animal,

a blended part of Mother Earth's mosaic.

Saturday morning, and Mother Nature quiets me,

With a lazy drizzle of rain.

I wonder, does She have an ebb and flow too?

Knowing when to work and knowing when to rest?

"Hush," Mother Nature says.

"Too much thought," whispers Mother Earth.

Corrected, I listen.

Maybe I will grow instead of learn.

Lute

Facebook, again.

Okay, so I can't resist following the herd. It is hardwired into us, right? I like being where there are people, albeit virtual. Now I just need to remember some restraint and try not to pass out imaginary eclairs. While still a blogging newbie, I enjoy it because it prompts me to keep writing, writing, writing!

Tagged

OK, HERE IS MY LIST


MY FAVORITE COLOR:

MY JOB:

MY FAVORITE PLACE:

MY FAVORITE AUTHOR:

MY FAVORITE TREAT:

MY FAVORITE HOBBY:

MY FAVORITE ANIMAL:

MY BAD HABIT:

MY FAVORITE FOOD:

WHERE I LIVE:

Coffee is Brewing

Early in the morning and I wait for fresh coffee to brew, and my first cohesive thought to go with it.

OK it's done ... ah, the first cup.

Ethiopia to Africa to Arabia to Europe to Brazil to the Masses to my Kitchen.

Thank you little Ethiopian Goatherd.

Alice's backward TEA Party

Is this doughnut only 300 calories?

In a fit of weekend solitude, I made a scrumptious pot roast and a pan of decadent monkey bread.
Now, what was I saying about diet and calories? Dear, dear, I can't quite remember... oh well ... I am sure it must have been very interesting, though not nearly as tasty. Would you mind so much to pass the tea and cookies?

And Four makes Pride

How many cats does it take to make a pride?
Each of our cats has been a rescue to some degree, and they are all very sweet animals. Penny is the only girl and rules the lot, Kryton loves her and follows her every move, Beans is the Guard Kitty, and Rasputin is our Fearless Indoors man.