Another New Acronym: GFTYFSATFTIYTTCP

Good Friends Trash Your Finished Starbucks and then forget to invite you to the Christmas Party

OK. I'll stop, this was the last one, I just couldn't help it.

True Friends Toss Your Turkey

For Thanksgiving, the last couple of years I have cooked a turkey for the homeless. This year, my mom was in the ER and I was not able to cook the turkey in time. I called to say that I was really sorry and the person I called said it wasn't a big deal (there would be enough food) so just keep the turkey and cook it for yourself. Um, okay, I did feel bad but what could I do? The date the turkey would expire was November 28th and I planned to cook the turkey on November 26th.

On November 26th I opened the refrigerator and it stank! The turkey went bad early. The trash had just been picked up so I couldn't just throw it in there and let it stink for a week. I left it in the fridge. On the 28th I couldn't take it any longer. I put the turkey in a plastic trash bag and went to pick up an accomplice, we would dispose of the turkey somewhere.......

Shortly I after I picked her up, my accomplice discovered that a stinky turkey was in the back seat of the car. I explained my predicament and as expected the accomplice gladly participated. Proof is provided below:

New Acronymn: TFTYT

Today, I came up with this new acronymn. I challenge everyone to guess the meaning. I will tell you that it includes a description and an action and I can't wait to see your submissions!

TFTYT

Starbucks? Joy or Depression

Last week, I was with James waiting for my drink at Starbucks when the following conversation took place:

James: When you go to Starbucks are you normally happy or depressed?
Kim: Thats an odd question, normally happy, what about you?
James: Well it depends if you are going to sit here or get it to go.
Kim: I love to sit here and people watch
James: Yeah, me too but look at that guy
Kim: That guys a dork
James: Yeah, now thats depression

I can say that probably 95% of the time I am at Starbucks I am happy. The other 5% is a mixed bag, I have definitely had some bad days there......Saturday, I was angry and ended up arguing with a homeless man. Thats a blog for another day.

My Husband, The Photographer

Over the last year, David has become quite the photographer. A couple of days ago, I added his slideshow to the sidebar and unlike the historians photos, they are really, really good. To see larger sizes you can visit his picassa albums: David's Albums

Here's one of Katie:

Oink Oink

I guess,
I just have
to be a
hog!

"Two Historians", The Photo Blog

You've seen my occasional photos now visit my photo blog and see history documented one day and one photo at a time. Two Historians (Of course this is all made possible by my Blackberry Pearl)

Dream Dinners Get 4 Stars

Back in August, Becca and I went to "Dream Dinners" The concept is to save you time and help you make healthier meals. The way it works is you review their online menu, make selections, sign up for a date/time and then go into the store and make your dinners. There is a minimum order of 36 servings so I made 12, three-serving dinners. (You can choose any combination of three and six servings). My order cost me a $153.74 and it took about and hour to make.

I wasn't too hopeful that I would like the dinners and was put off by the fact that usually it is only the main course. Becca was convinced this wouldn't be a problem because you always want some fresh veggies and side dishes are easy. I was not so sure and wasn't sure it would be worth the money. I couldn't have been more wrong. The dinners are absolutely fabulous. I have made 10 of my 12 dishes and each one has been great and things I would normally never make, like: Parmesan Crusted Chicken Dijon, Chicken with Papayas, Shrimp Scampi with Artichoke Hearts (Thats what we had tonight), and Mango Glazed Chicken. In some cases dinner just needs to be heated and in other cases you need to cook the meal but the instructions are simple and VERY quick.

We are going again and this time taking mom and Rachel. Here are some pictures from our first trip:

What I Learned At The Zoo

Check this out, the giraffe's tongue can reach, not 21, not 23 but 22 inches in length. How great is that?

Joshua Visits Hot Dog On a Stick

How cute is he? The funniest though is that hot dog, he has completely demolished it. A few minutes later he pulled the hot dog off because he just wanted to play with the stick.

Black Friday 2007

I had no intention of going out early this morning however I awoke around 3:30 and as hard as I tried I couldn't go back to sleep. Around 5:00, I called James to find out where mom and him were and they were headed to Target so I decided to meet up with them.

Target had an interesting market campaign this morning. Upon arrival, we got in line to wait for the doors to open (they opened at 6:00) and Target workers began passing out tote bags entitled "Target Shopping Survival Kit". The following was printed on the card: "Join the race! Here are a few things to give you the stamina you need for the shopping marathon ahead of you" . The Survival Kit included the Target dog stuffed animal, Target Cinnamon Vanilla Coffee, Animal Crackers and a Granola bar.


After Target, I went home and was able to take a nap before going back out and doing a little more shopping. Truth be told, I don't need anything and only bought a couple of items. After some shopping we had a quick lunch and I headed home..........to take another nap.

What Are You Grateful For?

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving holiday I think it would be nice to share with our fellow bloggers and visitors some things that we are grateful for.

I think it goes without saying that first and foremost I am thankful for my health and family and friends. Beyond that, this year I am specificially thankful for:

Sydney, healthy and on the way
A supportive and loving husband
Elizabeth, the newest addition to our family
The people I have reconnected with via the blog and the new people that have entered my life because of it
Laughing often throughout the year
22

and it wouldn't be my blog without being thankful for some of the little things in life like:

My Blackberry Pearl
Emily died on General Hospital
My Southwest Companion Pass
Iced Venti Chai
Blog Comments
Ketchup

Holiday Catalogs

The number of holiday catalogs that arrive in November are unbelievable. How do these people get your name and address? The other thing that is amazing is the disgusting crap that people must be ordering. Take a look at the photos below:

(1) The catalogs that arrived at my house this last week. (2) Disgusting looking dips that you can buy for $5.50 each.








All that beef and cheese can be yours for only $22.99. And, in case 16 sticks of beef and 11 types of cheese arent enough for you, you can have 8 different spreads in this gift "Buffet".

Mr Ketchup Goes To Disneyland

We Are No Longer Having An "It"

The question we have all been asking since September 20th has finally been answered. Today, we had the ultrasound which determined the baby's sex. Everyone that was annoyed by my referring to the baby as "It" can rest easy as I no longer feel the need to say "It". Going forward, we will refer to the baby as Sydney or at the very least "her".

We are 99.9% sure that her name will be Sydney Leanne. If you are female please don't feel the need to suggest your name for the .1% , chances are, I have already ruled it out. Unless of course your name is Jenn Ann or Ruth Anne or Rachel Ann or Rebecca Ann or Carol Ann- we're definitely sticking with a variant of Ann for the middle name.

P.S. All tests look great, I am up 1.5 pounds since before pregnancy and we are at just about 21 weeks. Thats the full update!

Queen B, You're Hired!

Earlier this year, on January 16th to be exact, I commented on how much I hate putting up and taking down the Christmas Tree. Queen B responded with what just may be the funniest comment of the year. Here it is:

Um, yes, I am here today to apply for the open req of Substitute-Tree-Decorator.

Objective: to utilize my skills as a Christmas tree installer and remover across multiple environments. Additional skills with Christmas tree decorating may also be used, if the position requires.

Experience:
- 2 years experience as director of Christmas decorating (since I got married)
- Over 5 years experience in decorating my own personal tree with no additional manpower
- Over 20 years experience in Christmas tree installation and removal in a team environment
- Over 26 years experience celebrating Christmas

Three Sisters Eat Yams

Our entire life, the three of us have refused to eat Yams/Sweet Potatoes. We all agreed that they looked disgusting and therefore must be disgusting. We never tried them.

Growing up, my Grandfather and Uncle Will were the only ones to ever eat them. When David started coming to family holiday gatherings, he tried them, and loved them. Mom continued to make them because "Grandma always did" and she would "Make them for David". Jason, ended up following suit, as did Kevin. Tonight, Rachel decided that she was going to branch out and go ahead and try them. When she actually liked them, I figured that I would try them and at the very least have some blog material by adding them to Gatorade and String Cheese for 2007 food firsts. After I had them and really liked them, Becca decided to try some. All of us agreed that we actually thought they were good and I even went back and had more. Heres the proof:









P.S. While we are trying the yams, from the other room we hear Matt and Andrew yell out to Mom. "Where are the funeral potatoes" Thats a blog for another day.

Happy Anniversary!

I just wanted to wish a happy 10 year anniversary to Luke and April! I mean, Larry and April....

1977 JC Penney Catalog

This blog speaks for itself. My favorite? The men in the terrycloth. The barrel furniture is a serious gem and I couldn't help but post the photos of the best friends.
Home Furnishings:

Fashions:

In Honor of Kays Birthday

Here is a list of 22 favorite cliches:

1. Living High off the hog
2. Yank your chain
3. Old as dirt
4. Bent out of shape
5. Drive me up a wall
6. Go through the roof
7. Bend over backwards
8. Dangle a carrot
9. Drink the Koolaide
10. He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword
11. Swim with the sharks
12. Making money hand over fist
13. One foot in the grave
14. It ain't over till the fat lady sings
15. Light at the end of the tunnel
16. Don't bite the hand that feeds you
17. Put your money where your mouth is
18. He never met a doughnut he didn't like
19. His elevator doesnt go to the top floor
20. Raining cats and dogs
21. At the 11th hour
22. If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk

Happy Birthday Kays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rewind 365 Days.......

I swear, I never get good quality time with Dora anymore.

365 Days ago

Had I only known what that little adventure would get me into.....

When In Doubt, Look Up

You never know when you might see something that will change your outlook. "Hey, look at that giant bug"

P.S. I believe several months ago I promised on one of the blogs to share the "Bug on Building" in Reno...so here it is.

One Day, I'll Be The MOD..

Several years ago, I received my first tour of the Mission Hills Data Center. I believe I was there working on the Help Desk Migration from a local facility to the Mission Hills Help Desk. On the wall, there was a scrolling LED sign that stated who the "Manager on Duty" was, that day it was my good friend, Sharon.

When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be someone who was in charge of all the keys. That could have been anything, I was always impressed that the janitors had so many keys. Another great job would be a supermarket checker. They used to wear the key to the drawer on their arm. That was too cool. When I worked at the Residence Inn (Marriott Hotel) I used to always wear the key to the cash drawer on my arm, it was cool...I digress. But that day standing at the data center I thought, "It would be great to be MOD".

FAST FORWARD MANY YEARS: Three years ago, a much smarter Kim decided that she never wanted to be MOD. I basically just kept quiet and luckily managed to avoid it until last year.

Being MOD sucks! I would encourage everyone reading not to strive for this job. It would be better to return back to the days of wanting to be janitor versus wanting to be MOD. At least the janitor has regular hours, they aren't pregnant, on the phone with someone from Sacramento at 3:00AM on a Sunday morning, with a terrible headache, and trying to decide if the ticket is a Sev 1 or 2. Nope, the janitor is sleeping peacefully, as is the supermarket checker.

Pass The Cheer!

In celebration of the holiday season and Starbucks new "Pass the Cheer" cup messages, Jane started the "HCBC Pass the Cheer" posts. They are a collection of her all time favorite posts from each of the HCBC members. Check out Jane's list. Ruth Anne followed suit and has passed the cheer on by reminding us of our first posts. Teri soon followed with her own Pass the Cheer tribute. Here's my favorite posts from the official members of the Hot Chicks Bloggers Club:

Queen B: Having the Right Signage
JennAnn: Trip to Wallmart
Ann: TSA Idiots, Definitely a Special Breed
Jane: The Way I See It
Ruth Anne: Late
REM: Who Is That?
Happy Bunny: Big Mouth
Teri: Welcome Nalia to Our Home

We're About 1/2 Way.....

And I finally put on some maternity clothes today. Frankly, I think I could go a little longer in my regular clothes but I figured I would go ahead and try them out. My first thought is I like just pulling up my jeans as opposed to buttoning/zipping them. I think regular jeans should be this comfortable.

Thanks to my Pearl, I was able to capture the outfit for others to see. P.S. The pile of clothes in the background is for the Goodwill.

The Meaning Of These Owls

Last month, I was on a Goodwill adventure with Jane and she pointed out how sad it was to see these owls there. The significance being that these Owls obviously belonged to someone who was recently deceased. How sad that these meant nothing to anybody in her family and they just donated her precious owl collection to the Goodwill.









This week I showed these photos to Dora and Plankton and asked them about the owls. Here is how the conversation unfolded:

KT: "What is the significance of these owls".
Dora: "I don't know"
Plankton: "I don’t give a hoot"
Plankton: "It reminds me of CSI Las Vegas, you know because of the Who song"
Dora: "All I can think of is give a hoot don’t pollute"
KT: "You guys are way off....so what is sad about these owls"
Plankton: "Their ugly?"
KT: Laughs, "no"
Dora: "Nobody wanted them?"
KT: "Okay your starting to catch on….nobody wanted them, what else Plankton?"
Plankton: "Who gives a damn"
KT tells why Owls at the Goodwill are sad.
Plankton: "Oh….that is sad…."
Dora: "OMG

Watch Out For Falling Cows

In Washington state, a "missing" cow plunged off a 200 foot cliff an onto a moving minivan. The article can be found here: Cow plunges.

After I stopped laughing, I decided to read the article. Best line: "If the cow had fallen a split second later, the animal would have landed right in their laps."

Almost the Same Expression

Must be the blog family resemblance.....

"Champ, Where is Anna's Linens?"

Late Saturday afternoon MTC called me to see if I knew if an "Anna's Linens" store was in Burbank. I did a quick lookup on their website and while it was very helpful, I laughed at their location descriptions. Not only did they have the address, they provided additional information to help you find the store. For Example:

"Located between KMart and Ralphs"
"Behind the Food 4 Less"
"Next to Chuck E Cheese"
"Between Target and Mervyns"
"Next to the WIC Office"
"Where Target and Big 5 are located"
"In Food 4 Less"
"Next to Superior Market and Behind Famsa Furniture"
"Located near Ross"
"Store is located in the back by the Sears pick-up; Outside Mall next to Sears"
"at Main Entrance across from JC Penney's Inside Mall"

Luckily, MTC was able to find the Anna's Linens located next to the KMART and across the street from the IHOP in Burbank.

Documented Visits to the ER

What I look like when I visit the ER









What Mike looks like when he vists the ER. (Why is he so happy? Probably because he got out of work for the day)
What Jessica looks like when she visits the ER











Please note that I will be happy to post more ER photo submissions.

It's A Dead Man's Party....

They played Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party tonight on Desperate Housewives. Brought back some great memories, as there were several Oingo Boingo concerts in my past. The first one I attended with our good friend, Jinjer at Irvine Meadows. Best part about it is I had to hide the Dia De Los Muertas t-shirt I bought from my mother (which means I only wore it two or three times)

Favorite Oingo Boing song: Not My Slave, closely followed by We Close Our Eyes
Favorite Oingo Concert: Farewell Concert at Universal Ampitheater, 1995
Favorite Oingo Boingo Concert Companion: Jinjer

Do tell iIf you have been to an Oingo Boingo concert........what was the best part of your Oingo Boingo concert experience?

Purging Birkenstocks? Oh My!

I had to clean the closet to make room for all my new maternity clothes-YIKES! Not only did I clean the closet, we reconfigured it somewhat. David and I swapped one of my T-shirt bins with two of his shoe shelves. Now I have a casual shoe section and heels section. Even though I added shoe storage, I still found it necessary to purge some shoes. I got rid of six pairs of shoes, of which 3 pairs were Birkenstocks!

I was compelled to take a photo of this pair before putting it in the Salvation Army pile. I have almost parted with them before but always end up taking them out of the pile and putting them back in the closet. I'm afraid this time, they must go. I received this pair of Birkenstocks for my 19th birthday, that means they are almost 15 years old. They were my second pair of Birkenstocks and were given to me by my dear friend Jen. No detail was missed as they were also my favorite color (15 years ago). I still remember receiving them, they were the best gift and I was so happy. Parting with them makes me a little sad but they have served me very well and now they will serve someone else.....someone who has been dying for a pair of Birkenstocks which are few and far between at the Salvation Army.

Attention Birkenstock Haters: No worries, I still have six pairs. LOL

James Goes Driving

Earlier this week, James was insured and now legally can drive with an adult (over 25). This afternoon James, Mr Ketchup and I went for a drive. Some insight into our conversation:

1st part:
James: What I just did was legal, right?
KT: Yeah..........well, I think it's fine, I'd do it.

2nd part:
James: I just need to make sure I focus
KT: Focus is overrated

3rd part:
KT: Just Go!
*James crosses in front of a car that I thought would have stopped at the light but didn't*
James: Phew, thats the closest I have been to getting in an accident!
KT: Yes, mom teaches defensive driving and I tell you to "Just Go!"
James: I have a feeling this time mom was right

Document This? Yeah, Right!

First, let me just tell you that on a scale of 1-10 if you asked me how much I enjoyed being pregnant it would be a 1. So far, pregnancy has sucked. I have been assured that once I hit week 20 things will improve dramatically.

Tonight, I read an article: "what is happening with your pregnancy this week" It said:

Pregnancy Symptoms You May Experience This Week
Breast Changes, tenderness, fullness,
Frequent Urination
Constipation
Indigestion
Heartburn
Headaches
Stretch Marks
Itching

Don't forget these experiences! Document them with your very own online Pregnancy Diary! Makes a great keepsake that you can share with friends and family around the world and print for your baby book!

WHO ARE THEY KIDDING? I want to forget these experiences not memorialize them for my friends and family. In case you are wondering, the entire month of October was one big giant headache, literally. November isn't shaping up that great either........