Missing St. Mary's today.....

This is where I went to college folks...How beautiful is this picture? I saw it on facebook today. It was posted on the alumni site and it immediately took me back to my freshman year the first time it snowed.....I walked outside of the building that is immediately across from this pond and stood almost exactly where this picture was taken. I think it was actually the first time I had ever seen snow fall and it was really amazing.

I miss this place!

annnnnd I am 5 yrs old again.

(this is me sitting on the sea wall in my parents backyard playing with manatees..cool huh?)

I really do feel like a five year old when it comes to Christmas and going home to see my family. I am pretty much peeing my pants waiting to see my mom, dad, grandmas, sisters, brother, brother in law, niece, aunt, uncle, cousin EVERYBODY! I can't wait to open presents, I cant wait to make delicious appetizers and drink champagne with Chambord, i cant wait to go kayaking, i can't wait to troll up and down the canals looking at Christmas lights in the boat (with hot chocolate), and I can't wait to ride my bike to the beach - every single day.

All of it...it is just so exciting.

And oddly, I have been looking forward to some other things that may or may not actually happen but for some reason I can't stop thinking "this is what we should do at Christmas" For instance, I really want to get a slip n slide for all of us to slide around on. I haven't been on one in years and from what i remember - they are freaking awesome. It is part of our Secret Santa gift exchange this year that we have to come up with some kind of gift for the family that will keep us busy - like a DVD to watch, or a game to play, or a tarp to slide on??? i dunno but i think i am doing it.

I also have been thinking about how much fun it used to be to make up dances with my sisters. Soooo, in my "I'm bored at work lets daydream about Christmas" time I have also thought about how much fun it would be to learn the beyonce single ladies dance and put on a show (yes I am married and I am 26 and this is how i would like to spend my time), but some things you just never get too old for.

Annnnnd I can't leave out the Marty time I look forward to. This year I am daydreaming about "keeping it together" a little better than last Christmas when it comes to trying to "hang" with Mar-tay. Ummm let me explain. Even though I am not the youngest in my family - I get treated like I am. Everybody gangs up on me and teases me like no other, especially Marty....which is fine - as long as you aren't playing drinking games!

Side note: Has anyone ever played moose? its kind of like quarters where you bounce a quarter into an ice tray instead of a cup. Each ice cube section has a point value 1-6.....If your quarter bounces onto the right side you drink for however many seconds the number says in the section. If you bounce your quarter and it goes on the left - you pass out drinks to someone else for the number of seconds that that section says. There is also a big cup of beer that you put next to the end of the tray...if your quarter happens to go in that cup everyone at the table has to yell "moose" and make moose antlers on your head with your hands. The last person to get their hands up and say it has to chug the beer...........

Well we played this game very late at night last last Christmas and guess who was handed out every single "you drink" - no seriously....every last one went to me.....and that didn't really help me speed up with the moose antlers so i had to drink those full beers too(every single time). Marty (and Pat and Lauren and Kristen)thought it was the funniest thing they had ever done. They were all laughing and i was just ummm a little to "moosed out" so i just cried. Yep I cried....on Christmas...playing a drinking game....because everyone ganged up on me and obviously I had too much to drink. Just picture....me way too much to drink, all dressed up sitting at a table with my husband brother and sisters, i am crying, and they are all falling on the ground laughing at me.PATHETIC....but funny nonetheless.

So - yeah, this is a really weird post.

Long story short.... I can't wait for Christmas!!!.....and all the weird stuff i miss doing with the fam.

Buh bye wrinkles.

All of my hope for the future is wrapped up in this little pump jar I just bought.
All of my hope that i will be preserved to look like Sharon Stone or Faith Hill when I am 50+ is getting smeared on my face morning and night.
All hope that an expensive eye cream will lead to better results than the grocery store body lotion I have been using is evident in my latest splurge.

So be prepared Nordstrom sales people.....there will be results or there will be hell to pay at the Dior counter.

I am NOT 44.

a day in the life of a "gazzoo"

I specifically remember being called a "long legged gazzoo" quite often by my mother when I was younger. Not surprisingly - I still have long legs. Which most of the time are awesome, but some times they prove to be problematic.

Case and point: the above picture.

I got the tights from Ann Taylor Loft. They were actually a gift, given in the appropriate size and according to the label they had all the hope in the world for fitting someone up to 6 feet tall.

Well, if you can make sense of the above picture you can see that that is not the case. I had to laugh and take a picture while getting ready for work this morning because, as you can see these tights, pulled to there max are only covering to just past my knee. You can see at the top of the picture where they end. I almost fell when i put my other leg into them and i looked like a conjoined twin with this super long torso for two that started at my knees.

I think these tights were made for elves.

I mean seriously - They would fit no one. There was a 22 inch inseam. oh well, funny nonetheless.

"Black Friday" for a whole new reason.

So most people think of Black Friday as this wonderful awesome shopping bonanza.

I used to agree, but everything has changed.

Black Friday will forever be remembered as the day that the bitch at Nordstrom "guessed" that I graduated high school in 1983.

High School in 1983? Are you kidding me? I was breast feeding in diapers barely out of the womb in 1983!

I can't believe this. I realize that most people would not mistake me for being almost twice my actual age - but the fact that one hooker beyotch did - well obviously some changes need to be made.

I might throw my glasses (which i was wearing at the time) out the window of my car to be lost forever.

I plan to stop eating because i think my fat face is making me look old too.

I will not go out in public when i have a cold anymore....apparently the puffy eyes and runny nose could be mistaken for an extra 18 yrs.

I might have to change my email address because that is actually how the whole fiasco started.....

beyotch:"Mrs O'Brien can i have your email address?"
me: "sure: katieobrien83@hotmail.com
beyotch: " Ohhhh I bet I know what that is?"
Me: What? (i genuinely had no clue what she was referring to)
Beyotch: "That's the year you graduated right? I always do stuff like that with my email har har har."
Me: no words....death stare.

I mean, again are you kidding me? I think i might contact customer service. Do you think they give free clothes for EXTREME pain and suffering caused by idiot sales people?

ouch guys...not sure i can recover from that one.
44? that hurts.

If you are wondering what to get me for Christmas, a healthy dose of self esteem and some plastic surgery might do the trick.

whatta bitch.

An imaginary conversation with my niece....

Hi there Aunt Katie,

I was just sitting here looking all cute wondering if you were planning on joining us for Thanksgiving?

You aren't!?!?!?!?!?! What the heck?

It might be kind of scary without you here....I mean, I really like when you tickle my cheeks and hold me up so I can wiggle dance....

Good thing I will still be hanging out with these people. I suppose they can provide the same entertainment.

I'll make sure my gorgeous mommy knows that that is what i want to do on Thanksgiving. Usually if I cuddle her like this she will do anything I say...

Total bummer you can't hang out though....How bout Christmas?

Love,

Amory

Okay so she can't really talk being 11ish weeks old and all, but obvi...thats what she wanted to say in all those pictures :)

perfectly delish pasta dish

very rarely do i get a request for a repeat performance of a specific meal....but last night Pat asked for the same pasta I made last week - and let me tell you it was just as good the second time around. This isn't really a recipe, becasue I don't know exact amounts but it is close enough so try it on your own....oh yeah and this makes a large portion (we are all about the leftovers) so don't freak out about the amount of butter :)...or actually maybe you/I should.

In a large pan combine:

3/4 of a stick of Butter (i know so Paula Dean of me)

fresh garlic - then let it melt

Add:

chopped mushrooms

chopped sundried tomatoes

quartered artichoke hearts

sliced black olives

parmesan cheese

white wine (probably about a cup - i just poured though)

then let it simmer so all the flavors mesh together

Grill up some chicken with crushed black pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning.

Boil up some bow tie pasta

throw it all into the pan....toss it around until the pasta is coated

and Enjoy!

Thank you Holly from China....you made my day

I opened some junk email (which i never do) but I am so glad I did because this brightened my day. Good ole' "Holly Smith" from China sent the following message:

"We are famous wholesaler from China, Christmas will coming,we preparing and supplies more brand products for this ceremonious days, including diet pills(2day diet ,3x diet, 3day diet......)shoes, bags, shirts,sunglasses,watches,belts of Gucci, Prada,Nike, LV.Puma.Chanel"

I mean is it just me - or is it HILARIOUS- that the first necessity listed for the "ceremonious day" of Christmas was DIET PILLS! Lol.

I like this betches style....diet pills and belts of Gucci! Woo-Dream Big.

Ohhhh Shoot.

I got an award! from this nice lady . And actually it wasn't the first one... I just have extreme anxiety about coming out as a blog stalker to a large list of people whose blogs I stalk, but I am slowly getting over that so I decided to post it - and follow the rules

Thanks Ashley!

The rules are to write 10 interesting tidbits about yourself, and pass the award on to 10 fellow Sugar Doll bloggers :)

So here are the links to a couple of recent contributors that I will admit blog stalkerness to (some are new bloggers and some dont blog much at all but they are all fabulous):

Christi

Christina

Erin

Lauren

Mommywonderland

Heidi

Shelly

...and here are the 10 tidbits about me:

1. If i could be anything in the whole wide world it would probably be a country singer. I have put so much thought into the why's and the how's but i will keep my explanation brief: you get to enjoy all of the perks of celebrity without all of the crazy paparazzi attention and seriously how fun does Faith Hill's life look?

2. Ummm since the country thing isn't really workin out for me ( i can't sing to save my life) I really regret not becoming a nurse. I think i would love it and find it very fulfilling. I always kind of thought i would do something like that, but when i realized how much math and science was involved in the coursework (obvi) I switched to something a little more creative and a little more "passable" although i know tons of nurses now that I am sure I could hang with....i shouldn't have given up so easily.

3. I have all of these fun parties planned out in my head for my friends and I. One is a tan-tini party where i have an airbrush tanning lady come to my house to tan all of us while we drink martinis in bathrobes, and the other is like a fun little cooking party where I have a chef come and do a demonstration, teach us the recipes and then we eat the food. These will happen - I just need to work out the logistics.

4. I would secretly be devastated if babies like hated me. A lot of my friends (and one of my sisters) have new babies and I'm not going to lie....i kind of feel like a badass when they don't freak out while I am holding them. Weird that I am admitting that- yes....but i bet we all think that

5. Sometimes I am glad I moved away because I am not around the people that knew me when I was super insecure, gossipy, and all teenage angsty. I really am much more level headed now and I like myself more (the only good part of getting older).

6. I have massive plans for plastic surgery down the road. Shallow -yes, but i am all for self improvement and things don't seem to be looking better as the days go on ( oh yeah and being an old lady with big boobs just sounds like fun)

7. I am baffled by some people's wardrobes. I make a decent amount of money and can't seem to find it in me to spend more than a couple hundred dollars every great once in a while. Some people seriously appear to spend at least $500/week to look the way they do. Is that standard? Should i be spending more on clothes so that i don't look homeless? Or should i just be happy that i am not homeless and as a result my clothes are a little shabby? I mean of course I am happy i have a house, but sometime i think "this sucks! I can't dangle that house off my arm like a louis vuitton when I am out to dinner"

8. I have this big idea for Christmas this year. My whole family is going to be in Florida and ALL i want to do is buy a HUGE Crocodile Mile Slip n' Slide for us to play on. Doesn't that sound like the best time ever???? We all have decided that in addition to individual gifts we are going to each bring something for the whole fam - like a DVD to watch, or a giant bottle of Rum....or a slip n'slide. O'Connor Christmas' rule! (ummm that was supposed to be said like the O'Doyle guy in Billy Madison just in case you didn't realize)

9. I grind my teeth like you wouldn't believe while I am sleeping. Sometimes I even wake pat up with my teeth clanking. I used to have a "night guard" that i slept in, but just about every time I wore it I would throw it across the room in my sleep and not be able to find it.

10. I talk about the people who write the blogs I read like they are my real life friends (some of you actually are but you know what i am talking about). I think it is so fun that you can have so much in common with people you have never met. I love when you read a blog and someone has the same funny - shit day story as me, or you find out that everyone else you know also hates skinny jeans and the hills.

cute little diddy

I love when there is good news in the news.....

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Sanitation workers sorted through 10 tons of trash to recover a wedding ring accidentally thrown away by a New Jersey couple.
Bridget Pericolo had placed the ring in a cup that her husband, Angelo, threw out with the garbage before leaving for work.
When he realized the mistake, he contacted the town's sanitation supervisor, who suggested coming by the dump, the Daily Record reported.
Supervisor Michael Brotons and sanitation workers Edgar Lopez and Joseph McGee dug through the refuse until they found the garbage bag that Angelo Pericolo had thrown away.
The Pericolos recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.

I would say 55 yrs is worth a dive in the garbaggggge :)...and what nice guys to help this man!

Why I love my husband....

* this post clearly violates my wife/husband agreement that states that i am not really allowed to talk about or Blog about cute things (or not cute at all) things that Pat does. Although, this one was so hilarious, I kind of have to share and i guess the reprucussions will be worth it :)

Sooooooo, yesterday was a really really long day for me. I worked all day, had an awful day at work, came home to a giant pile of dishes that I had to do from the night before (okay 2 nights before....ewww I know), and almost as soon as I was done with that I had to leave for a Junior League meeting that started at 7. Yep I am in Junior League. So anywho Pat was really cute and offered to get us some take-out sushi since i didn't have time to make a decent dinner in between work and my meeting. We ate together and then I went off to my meeting.

When I got home, Pat was watching Top Gun. I love that movie and i hadn't seen it in a while so I sat down next to him. Right around the part where whats her name tells Maverick that he made some mistake in flight class.....and right before they chase eachother all over town on the motorcycle and in the car - Pat tells me "this part really reminds me of us"......My heart melted for a second. I knew this was like 2 minutes before they finally tell eachother they love eachother and "Take my breath Away" starts. So I am watching and I am like "wow that is so not typical Pat to be all shmoozy like that. Ahhhh" ............

And then the movie moves on.....Whats her name is running after Maverick "trying to explain" and Maverick jumps on his motorcycle. "This is it this is the part that reminds me of us" pat says. Then one second later Maverick turns his motorcycle on so loud that he cant here what whats her name says and he says "i can't hear you" then speeds off.

That was it. The part where Maverick acts like a little bitch and ignores the woman he loves. THAT reminded Pat of us. EFFFFFF.

No "Take my Breath away".... no sexy, sexy "I love you." Nope, just the part where he doesn't care to listen.

Okay seriously.Is it weird to love your husband more than anything in the whole world, but also to be fully aware that he is such a piece sometimes? Duuuude.

In reality, my feelings weren't hurt at all. I wasn't reallya ll that surprised. It certainly wasn't romantic...but oddly it made me love Pat more. I am glad he isn't all shmoozy. Who wants a husband that is all soft and fragile? I would much rather get a hard time from him and get to laugh at all of his ridiculousness.

If he had some more feelings, my life would be easier. He would be easier to figure out. But, dare i say it, I might not think he was as "tough" or "cool" if he was always being cheezy and loving. He makes me work for those moments I guess and I like that much more.

Seriously Pat - you are fantastic. I love you....and I am so gonna use that "i can't hear you" line sometime very soon. When you least expect it :)

Mine is better than yours

Okay...... Hawaii +

Sweet potatoes +

+ Bananas = OMG

Okay, no offense but i can almost guarantee you with 100% certainty that the sweet potatoes that my mom makes are better than the ones you or your mom makes. Like seriously. No chance. Unless of course you have the same 25 yr old cook book that my mom has.

Heidi (who just moved to Hawaii for real)- You totally have to try this if you are staying on the island for Turkey day - or actually even if you aren't. It is delicious and you wont regret it. I promise. This truly is my favorite part of Thanksgiving at our house. My mom has always made it (ever since our family lived in Hawaii) and I love that it is unique and marshmallow free.

Ono Sweet Potatoes
By Judy O’Connor

Judy says:
" this is one more recipe from my Taste of Aloha cookbook that I love… A must for Thanksgiving dinner! If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, they are just as good as the first time around!"

2 40-oz. cans sweet potatoes or yams, drained
4-6 ripe bananas (depending on size)
3 tsp. cinnamon (I like a lot of cinnamon...you could cut this down to 2- 1/2)
1 tsp. salt
Light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups macadamia nut bits
4 cups corn flakes, broken in small pieces with your hand
1/2 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash sweet potatoes and bananas with cinnamon and salt. Place in baking dish making nooks and crannies on the top with a fork. Top with a layer of brown sugar.
3. Melt butter and mix with the nuts and corn flakes. Evenly spread over the top of the brown sugar layer. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the corn flakes are golden brown.

Oh and P.S. I always make more of the topping and add more brown sugar because lets be honest....it is Thanksgiving and you can afford to have a little bit extra of the good stuff one day a year!

Undies and Airplanes.

I feel like this is a story that i made up for seventeen magazine but it really happened. I swear.

Do you know what happened to me this weekend? oh you don't? let me tell you.

It is freaking awesome when you get on an airplane with an over stuffed carry-on, only to find out that your bag is too wide to be wedged into the over head compartment. So once I find this out I start to empty the contents of my top pockets onto my seat. I do this quickly becasue I don't want to be the jerk holding up the line. So, I take out my phone charger .....throw it on the seat.....I take my clear baggy with all of my liquids out and throw it on the seat....then I took those two belts out that i had worn....and also (quickly throw them on my seat). Then I completely ignore the fact that I just made my tiny airplane seat look like a messy bedroom and continue to proceed to stuff, stuff, stuff the slightly smaller bag into the little overhead space - and finally with boatloads of effort I won and it was stored.

Only that really wasn't the end . I turned around, went back to my seat and I notice that the guyy in the military uniform next to the window is laughing. Okay 1 second passes, then two - Nope he is not laughing becasue I couldn't get my bag put away....oh no.....he is laughing becasue I also managed to take a pair of leopard print DKNY undies out of that bag and just let them chill on top of all of my unpacked junk.

Seriously? Way to go Katie. Let me just say - You are welcome Teen Magazine (you may print this as long as I am given full credit) ....and also, in closing I would like to say how glad i am that cute undies have always been a priority of mine. It would have been way worse if the undies were fug.

Thanksgiving Dessert a la Cristina.....

As promised, here is the first of what will hopefully be a series of fabulous ideas for your Thanksgiving dinners. Cristina (who is a friend from high school and happens to have one of the cutest little girls ever) sent this little diddy in. She totally gets a cookie for being the first. See below for her recipe, and click here if you would like to check out her adorable blog too!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Ingredients:
2 packages of cream cheese, softened (8 oz packages)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not the pie filling, the plain old pumpkin)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
- you can use pumpkin pie spice if you prefer instead of the 3 spices
Graham cracker crust (9 inch) or Oreo crust if you are feeling spicy!

Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove a cup of the batter and spread it onto the bottom of the crust. Add pumpkin and spices to the rest of the batter and mix. Spread that mixture over the top of the crust. It will be really full!

Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes, until the center is almost set. Let it cool then put it in the fridge overnight (although I have made them early in the morning and put them in for about 4hours and they were fine.)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Cristina

So I went back to what I know.

Apparently I am afraid of change..... I didn't find anything cute in my search for a new background and I realized that I am terrifyingly non-tech savvy. Ya'll with your cute fancy custom blogs - you are great, but I am going to stick with my clumsy template that I know so well :)

So moving on....I feel like I need to sort of explain one of the many reasons I decided to stay with my fall/thanksgivingy background. I feel bad for Thanksgiving. I wanted to represent it because everyone else seems to have forgotten it. Especially the retailers of the world. Christmas keeps popping up earlier and earlier every year. I see Christmas trees and lights and wrapped gifts everywhere and that was all while i was picking up pumpkins for Halloween! There hasn't been a single turkey decoration in sight!

This slightly bothers me.Being that I am an old lady now at the ripe old age of 26- I have a new appreciation for slowing down and smelling the roses along the way. Why rush. I want to just enjoy each holiday as it comes.

SO in order to do so, I want to start a little special Thanksgiving feature on this blog. I want you to email me with your favorite Thanksgiving dishes - and I will post the recipes for all to see.....You can also just post them on your blog and I can post a link if that works better for you.

You can even pretend that you came up with these recipes on your own when everyone at dinner tells you how delicious they are! Of course, I will have some of my own to post as well.

Send any/all recipes to katieobrien83@hotmail.com - OOh and pictures would be great if you have them :)

Enjoy the holiday with me!

Refuse to celebrate Christmas until after November 27th!

And begin building your Thanksgiving recipe arsenal.....because even though I will not be hosting this year, my time will come and obvi, I want to be the best at it :)

ewwww

Okay - hang in there with me. I know how ugly my blog looks.I am trying to figure this ish out. I just want a clean background and a cute header. Apparently I suck at this :)

tips please....

okay so I am SO sick of my background. I want something fresh and updated. Can someone send me some tips on how i can look like a cool blogger???

Cutie Mc Cutie Pants

I have always loved the little mermaid.....But my love for this cute little mermaid multiplied times one trillion last night when my sister sent me the latest picture of little Amory in her Halloween costume:

Who knew that a little red wig and mermaid costume could make this little baby so darn happy?

Oh and P.S. this is especially cute becasue pretty much the whole time Kristen was pregnant with Amory she referred to her as a "mermaid" becasue of how she moved around and the fact that she was just chillin in a bunch of water 24/7.

So, as if the one above was not enough - I have 2 other cute Amory picture updates below:

Ahhhhhh......

And its official - I think Amory needs a little cousin friend.

(okay it isn't really "official"...but who wouldn't want a little baby after seeing these pics?)

As Halloweenie as I am getting......

I did carve some pumpkins last night, and although they are not my best work I am happy with the way they turned out.

I am also happy that the tedious task of seperating pumpkin seeds from pumpkin guts paid off. Warm roasted pumpkin seeds are delish....especially with some sea salt.

Excuses, Excuses.....

"Excuses, Excuses - they are only a lie.
Excuses, Excuses - they mean you didn't try."

Pat says that.
I hate it and I love it all at the same time.
Mostly i think it is funny - but i also think it is true.
I thought I would post some of my excuses for why I have been absent from my little blog for the last 2 weeks.

Excuse #1:
I was sooooooo busy with work. ...And even though I was busy, I would be lying if i didn't mention that i was also having fun. I was out of town doing a shoot for a hospital that we work with.

One campaign we were shooting for was for their Emergency Services. I spent about an hour buttering these guys up trying to get a ride on the Life Flight helicopter....

It worked! I got to sit up front and actually had a really good time. For anyone who knows me: this was an extremely brave thing for me to do.

I just hope they don't send me a bill for my ride :)

Excuse #2
I have been enjoying the gorgeous fall foliage....

....that only exists in half of my neighborhood. Seriously. Isn't that weird? The next picture is what my street looks like (this is only 15 feet away from all of these gorg red trees.

Bummmer......but i guess it does make the clean up easier.


Excuse#3:

I have been busy decorating my house.

I finally had a very lucky shopping experience at Home Goods and found all kinds of fun stuff to fill the annoying void that is my foyer. There is still so much to do on the ground level, but filling this ledge with colorful little finds has already made the are seem way more homey.

and this - wasn't actually one of my projects but i had to mention it. We desperately needed a refrigerator for our basement. I mean - do you know how inconvenient it is for boys watching football to have to walk upstairs to get a beer???? Ummmm well Pat took care of that. He also made sure that there were 7-9 different kinds of beer available, along with mixers. All of the labels are faced forward in true cribs fashion and he did replenish the missing beers after we finished watching the ND game. I love him.

Next project will be to build the shelves that this beverage center and wine fridge will sit on. We want it to be more of a built-in look.

And here is the most exciting find of the weekend. Our new GORGEOUS chandelier! This is hung up in the antique store we found it in. No, I do not have floral wall paper with matching floral draperies in my house......but i do have this giant piece of magnificent bling!
It is like 70+ years old but absolutely gorg.... once I get the drapes up and the mirror hung i will post pictures of this dining room. I think buying/owning a chandelier officially makes me an adult. Whoa.

And there you have it......That accounts for at least 6-10 hours of the last 2 weeks. I really have been busy, but i miss blogging so I will try to kick it up a notch in the coming weeks

xoxo,

Katie

It isn't 666....but its close

Actually it is 66 - and it represents the number of sunny days per YEAR in Cleveland Ohio.

Wow. That's it. That is all of our sun? OUch. I think need to give myself a pep talk after hearing that one:

(WARNING: this is one of those annoying "internal dialogue" posts where I try to convey my thoughts without using the proper punctuation - so it probably makes no sense...feel free to read along if you want to see how my mind works....and be very confused, but you have been warned).

According to the news last night, only 18% of my life is now spent in the sunshine- well 18% + vacations, but who is keeping track? Just saying it out loud amazes me. I am a California girl: In theory, this means that I need lots of sunshine to be happy...I "should" by my very nature and west coast upbringing hate it here, but in the last year-and-a-half I have realized that that is not true.

Despite the dark gloomy, freezing, crap that is our weather - I AM very happy in Ohio. Seriously I am. And before that news biotch told me this little fact - I would have guessed that there were at least ....mmmmm 80 days of happy weather :)...that is way better than 66 right? But the weather is not what makes me happy anymore....that would just be an excuse - oh and it was when i was in college but I have since gotten over that little issue.

Sure I miss the beach, and having a pool that is actually useful, and being able to wear flip flops year round, but there are so many advantages to living where I do that those things are starting to not matter as much.

• I no longer have a tan ever......but i do have a beautiful home with a huge yard.
• I have a job that I really like and so does my husband....it is good to be a big fish in a small pond sometimes ( i guess that insinuates that I am a big fish though - I am not...but there is potential to be because everyone that graduates from college here moves to Chicago or some other big city- so if you stick around there actually is potential to be a "big fish" ummm i guess.)....and now that I said big fish so many times it makes me think of that one south park - where they tell Kanye West that he is a gay fish because he loves fish sticks. Hee hee....anways......
• I don't live near any of my friends that I grew up with...but I have made a ton of new friends that are fabulous and I still keep in touch with all of the girls I miss so much. It is awesome having friends all over the place....there is always an excuse to visit someplace new and cool.
• My kids wont know how to surf or skateboard....but they will get to go sledding during their recess (How cool is that?) Oh, and they will still wear cute little baby Vans too. I don't care if they are the only ones.
• I no longer get to see lowered vehicles with airbrushed naked ladies and Jesus on the hood....but i do get to occasionally miss work for snow days.
• Shaq and Lebron live within 5 minutes of me.....not just people who pretend they are Shaq and Lebron :)
• I get to make delicious soup and crock pot dinners all winter long...and they taste better here because you don't get all hot from eating them
• I don't have palm trees in my backyard....but I do get to see the unbelievably gorgeous season of fall. The smell of burning leaves, and actually having leaves to rake up makes me feel like i live in a commercial sometimes.
• My closet is the size of the apartment I could afford in the part of California that i would want to live.
• I get to spend every other Christmas alternating between a snowy winter wonderland with the O'Briens and beachy, hot, Christmas wake boarding with my parents. I really do get the best of both worlds during that time of year....and seriously- is there a better time of year anywhere?
• I am doing something totally different than what i am used to. I will never regret not moving around or trying something new.
• I am perfectly positioned to pick where Pat and I will retire....you compromise now to get everything you want later :) ( and this is not just in reference to location. It is good marriage advice in general).

I guess what I have realized is that Ohio is not better than California......and California is not better than Ohio either. They are extremely different but regardless of my location I am capable of creating my own happiness. Sunny days outside don't always mean that you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. So I am going to just concentrate on myself and my family -not my dark surroundings - and something tells me that everything will be just fine.

does tagging ever ruin your day?

Warning - This may be the most vain/insecure thing I have ever written but I mean it all in a fun sort of way.

Exhibit A:

----Picture Removed due to inappropriate content------

(okay not really....but i didn't have a really awful example because i insist on promptly removing all ridiculously fug pictures of me that other people have tagged online...the semi fug ones still exist and they have been coming in at an alarming pace lately. Hence, this post).

Exhibit B:

My sister and I cutting a rug at our friend Madeleine's gorgeous wedding.

Whats the difference? Exhibit A is an example of a picture that someone else would tag of me on Facebook....And Exhibit B is a picture I would post of myself.

ha ha - I bet you know what I mean - right?

in "A" I have a double chin. I do not have a neck, and my hair looks dull and icky. My skin is pastey white and I have probably consumed more than my fair share of adult beverages. I may even be in a freaking bathing suit.

In "B" i am tan and despite a lot of dancing i still have some makeup on my face. I am not holding a drink, and we look like we are having fun.

That is the way it should be. Pictures are supposed to capture and preserve good memories.

SO leave my little tagalicious tooshy out of the bad ones k? it ruins my memories of otherwise fun events!! This doesn't happen all of the time - but sometimes, when i get a "notification" that i have been tagged in so and so's pictures - my heart stops. Some people have absolutely zero judgement when it comes to posting and sharing information regarding other peoples lives. And they really should know - how day-ruining it can be. Sure I am to blame for taking an unflattering picture where maybe i am a little tipsy or maybe i just had chips and salsa, a margarita, and a burrito and I am wearing a bathing suit and you can see all of it perfectly outlined in my abdomen....but why the heck does the world need to know? Consider yourself a good enough friend to know that i am comfortable enough around you to wear a bathing suit and take pictures, but i don't necessarily want my office manager, 3rd grade teacher, and next door neighbor seeing me all icky and or half nakey on vacation.

And seriously....No self respecting 25+ yr old should want super drunk pictures of themselves, or really horrific bad outfit choices, or plump pinchy bathing suit shots exposed to other people. The only time this is sort of funny is when it was like 5 yrs prior and it really was a funny picture. I said funny though- not unflattering..... sooo do not be confused,there is a huge difference.

Use your judgement people! Us girl are fragile little beotches.
Bad pictures = Bad Chi......and i will get you back.
:)

(oh and Katie D - if you are reading this...our little tagging war a few weeks back fell into the funny category) that picture of my 21st birthday was so awful it was great....Just wanted to clear that up)

Tuesday Forecast: Crappy With A Chance of Tears

Why does everything seem to pile up all at once?

I have had such a bad day - and eventhough I will be the first to admit that nothing "big" actually went wrong, there were so many little things that now it feels more important than it should.

Maybe it is the rain that set the tone for today - and maybe i am just being a little ultra sensitive, but for now all I have that is keeping me from really seriously crying are a warm mug of mint tea, a fresh flower arrangement on my desk, and the idea of coming home tonight and turning my fireplace on for the first time since we have bought our house.

Please let it be sunny tomorrow, with less work stress, and more happy positive stuff. Two days of "Bad mood Katie" is pretty much unbearable for anyone. Trust me.

I'm Back, I was Busy, and I am Blonde (again)!

the title pretty much says it all - I AM back from a little blog vacation.... I WAS so incredibly busy with work, and being sick, and cleaning my house, and having company, that i didn't have time to document my life on here.....and I AM officially a very un-natural yet satisfying shade of blonde ....again.

As a quick update: I had a big chunk of my family in visiting this weekend for my cousin Kelly's wedding. We all had such a great time. I just wish that my sister Lauren could have joined in too. I did get to see little Marty for the first time since December, both of my parents, Kristen, Marty's girlfriend Jessie, and of course - the main event for all of us- was another visit with my beautiful niece/ God daughter Amory.

I hosted the extended fam at our house for some football and food in between the wedding and the reception..... and let me tell you: pizza and beer should never be combined prior to wearing a cocktail dress. It was all tons of fun but when it came time to actually get joojed up for the night I kind of hated myself for combining such opposites. I am a firm believer that fancy dresses should always be worn on an empty stomach. Thank god their was some interesting fabric detail that hid my poor judgement.

I will have some more pictures to post from the weekend once my mom gets back to Florida and loads her pictures, but for now - she is still en route....so just enjoy Marty and I .

Happy windy rainy Monday
:)

NyQuil = Crack!!

So i am sick.....and not sick in the kind of nice way where you get to sleep all day, lose your appetite, miss work, and get skinny. I am sick in the way where I feel like hot garbage, but i am so busy at work that I cant take time off. So pretty much I just sit in my desk until i have to blow my nose, then i walk out into the hallway blow my nose, hope that my hearing comes back, return to my desk and wonder if i am spreading H1N1 to everybody around me. It is awesome.

The silver lining to this sickness?????......well that would be the cracked out Nyquil dreams I have been having the last couple of nights. Does this happen to you too? I take a big swig of that stuff and before i know it I feel like the scarecrow in wizard of oz on LSD and that is before I even get to sleep. That is when the real fun begins! I dreamt last night that i was at a high school football game in California (normal), then i won some contest where i got to go to the moon (okay kind of weird), but then my space shuttle landed at an outdoor arcade and i figured out a way to get money out of some machine without even having to play, but then i found out that the money was fake - So i got back in my space shuttle with my sister-in-law (who hadn't appeared in my dream until this point), then we drove sideways through a resort tennis community in Florida until a giant fish that was knocking down bridges on its way to us took a bite out of our space ship (not normal). I jumped into the water then freaked out. It was like a moat but there were shelves i could climb up on the sides. SO my now- pregnant within the last 5 minutes (not in real life - just in this portion of the dream) sister-in-law shows me how to climb out of the water and when i get out......I am in a mad dash to fold a bunch of sheets. Some of them were baby sheets, some of them weren't but it sure was important that i get all of them folded. And then i woke up...in a panic about folding sheets???

What?

Really.

That is how my brain works.

Thank you Nyquil for making me feel nuts.

I want to go home NOW....and have another one of those dreams. ha ha.

Deco-drama....

I have a fall wreath on my front door.

Without a doubt, this means that I am officially old as rocks.....and Pat totally agrees. He thinks that we are too young to have a seasonally festive home. With the exception of a Christmas tree for a Christmas he thinks that we should stay away from the holiday decorations until we have kids. DO you agree?

I like to be creative and have a cute house....but I don't want to be cheesy. Are cute wreaths cool - or have I totally lost it?

Easy Chicken Marsala w/ Sage and Cremini Mushrooms

There are few things more exciting than finding a recipe online that sounds delicious and then having every single ingredient available in your house without having to make an extra trip to the grocery store. This was my luck at 4:45pm yesterday.

The coolest part? ....I even had fresh sage growing in my mini herb garden on my patio!!! I mean seriously? I felt like such a diva.

You have to try this this simple recipe that I found on http://dinnertonight.marthastewart.com/
All of their recipes are easy and fast....so if chicken marsala isn't your thing - they have plenty of other ideas for your dinner too!

Ingredients
Serves 4
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
Place flour in a shallow bowl; season generously with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour, shaking off excess.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until golden on the outside and opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm (reserve skillet).
Add mushrooms, shallot, sage, and 1/4 cup water to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until mushrooms are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and cream; simmer over medium-high until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter; season with salt and pepper.
Top chicken with mushroom sauce, and garnish with sage.

I love her.....and you are going to be seeing a lot of this little muffin!

Ohhhhhhh!

ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

oh my gosh.........

Gorgeousssssssss!

WOwwwwwww!

Serrrrrrrrrrrrriouslyyyyy?????

...Yep she really is THAT cute!

(more pics with Aunt Katie and Uncle Pat to follow)

She's Here!!!! Amory Colette Dowd....my beautiful niece!

This little cutie arrived 09/03/09 at 1:15 ish in the morning....She is 7lbs 6oz, 20.5 inches long, and absolutely beautiful!!

Her little tongue sticking out in this picture just melts my heart!

Kristen and Amory are both doing really well. I can't wait to see the whole fam-bamily this weekend.
Congrats you guys!!