The end of the year brings a blog...

learned in 2007:

* true friends are hard to come by, but best friends are even harder to come by. I am lucky enough to have a few of both.

* love is always there, though not always in the form you think it is. Embrace it- it seems to be such a rare commodity these days.

* drama isn't worth the wrinkles it gives you.

* "Your body is a wonderland"- no truer words have been sung. Treat it as your temple and it in turn will do you right.

* trust in doctors, it's called the practice not the exact science of medicine for a reason.

* family may drive a sane person crazy, but I'd rather be crazy than alone.

* incorporating new people into a family keeps it interesting, having your family embrace and love the new people is priceless

* making new friends and acquaintances is the spice of life.

* long chats with dear friends over a glass of wine makes for a great evening.

* smiling, saying please and thank you, and treating people as you would like to be treated are coming back into style- I swear! (I'm bringing them back dangit!)

Just a few of the many. Happy New Year to all! I hope 2008 brings you smiles and great times, I know mine will! :)

Tis the season

The stockings are hung. With tape yes, but plaster walls suck so at least they are up. LOL


The tree is trimmed and presents are starting to fill the underneath....


And decorations are all over the house, along with great Christmas smells.
Every year gets so very different for me. The holidays have totally different meanings, and different things become important. Healthy family members and friends top my list this year. Along with smiles and warmth from people and homes.

The more materialistic this world gets, the more simple I make my life. Enjoying the things that matter and the people that make it all worth while. The older I get the more I value friends and family and start realizing that they won't always be here. Sad but true. The more I love the more love I get and the more calm and relaxed I am the less there is to worry about.

To all of my friends and family love you all and know how grateful I am that you are a part of my world. You are all amazing and have touched my life in one way or another. I wish you all the Merriest of Christmas's and the Happiest of Holidays and can't wait to see you during these festive times.

And Fishstick, special thanks to you for making all of my dreams and wishes come true. I love you lots butt head!

*Smooches*

Life happenings as of late......

It's been busy, crazy and everything the end of the year brings. (Well it's usually a bit chaotic, just kinda how things roll in my life! LOL) But I have had the greatest support system through friends, family and a lover than I could have ever asked for. The past few weeks have been interesting to say the least.

I had an appointment with my surgeon- a follow up on my anemic state of being. Unfortunately my iron decided to be stubborn and not come up, even with diet and pill changes. This worried both Doc and I, so he referred me to a Hematologist. Go to Mr. Iron, he says that my body will never absorb iron the correct way, because of the surgery I underwent almost three years ago. Okay, so how do we fix the problem???? Iron infusion. Great! *insert sarcasm here* But, when it comes to my body, gotta do what I've gotta do!

So a week went by, and last Thursday I had an iron infusion. Fishstick being the sweetness that he is, came to be bored out of his gourd with me. We arrived at 10:30 am, returned home at 4:45 pm. It was a long day. And to dig the dagger in a bit further, I am expected to feel like poop for the next 2-3 weeks! I have decided that I would rather feel bad for another few weeks, and then start feeling better than continue to feel as I have!

So what are the side effects you ask???? For the first two days I was soooo sick to my stomach. Next- my bones hurt. I now know where every joint in my body is and how important it is to daily function. My fingers even as I type this are just screaming. It's like the description of Harry Potter growing his bones back in the hospital wing. I empathized with him as I read it, but never figured I would have the pleasure of actually feeling something that painful.

Christmas decorations are slowly going up at home. We did a test run with the fake tree Sunday and Fishstick came home yesterday to it toppled over. He was so sure it was my kitties in ka-hoots, but last night I watched his "little angel" walk right up to it and start pulling on the branches! My kitties I'm sure! :P

Thanksgiving was different for the family this year. It included Mom, Dad, Gramma, Nanner, Fishstick, Nanners friend from school Mary, Solitaire and myself. It was wonderful. We haven't had a big family Thanksgiving in so long. After dinner some family friends came over for coffee and desert. So total there were 13 people in the house on Thanksgiving. I know some of you have massive families and what not, but this was great for our family.


I think that's about it for now. I am looking forward to seeing some people I haven't seen in a long while (Dezzie) and spending much snuggle time with Fishstick and the girls on the couch. I can't wait to get my energy back up and be a holy terror again! :)

Yet again- APJ's fault!

:)

Boston Dating

$3590.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

San Diego Dating

50% Geek

Phoenix Dating

I SCORED A 95%

Denver Dating

zx3gurl.blogspot.com

WANTED FOR THE HORRIBLE FILIBUSTERING of a JADED BUNNY RABBIT

$2000

What's Your Blog Wanted For?

Milwaukee Dating

I wee-ed me! :) ***UPDATED***

Me!

and a few others as well....



APJ......


Fishstick.......


and Generik!

Enjoy! :)

One very tiring Saturday night a Katie and a Fishstick get a phone call to go bowling with their cohorts in crime. Being enticed by beer and the possibility of great pictures they went.
And thus I give you a photo diary of two frames......






Go Pretty pink bowling ball go!!!!!


Nuts! Gutter ball!!!!!






Lets try this one more time......




Oh hell yea- I rock the alley!
Happy HNT!!!!

Things......

Work:
It's slow and somewhat driving me nuts, but they have finally fixed the damn internet so I can actually do my job.

Home:
Eddie (kitty #1) had a bout with some tummy troubles and peeing troubles. Now the trouble is getting the friggin pills down her throat. At least Fishstick and I can laugh about it after the struggle. The house feels settled, and I love having someone to come home to at night. Someone to cook with, someone to fall asleep next to.

Health:
I had posted a long while back that I was diagnoes anemic. Well, it's gotten much much worse. I had six months to change iron pills, change to a high iron diet and start on some other pills that were to help with iron. Non of it has helped. I saw the doctor last week for my 6 month follow- up, and although my hemoglobin did go up from 8.2 to 8.6 (not significant enough for him) my iron didn't move. It's stuck right around 5.2ish. So I now get to go to a Hematologist. I'll be going to a Hematology. Oncology center and be sitting in with the cancer patients getting an IV of iron. Not sure of the schedule just yet, find that out in 2 Mondays. I am terrified and excited at the same time. I can't wait to have my energy back. I feel like a wet mop 99% of the time. So this is going to be good.

Family:
Mom and Dad are good, getting ready for the holidays. My sister is rockin it at school. I'm not sure she knows how proud I am of her. The cats are good and the dog is what she is- crazy! Gramma is silly and how I love that woman (and no Mustang you can't play with Gramma!)

In general things are grand. Wedding planning is going very slowly, but still going. I am so excited about all of this!

Next year will be a big one for my family, and I couldn't be happier that adding another family to it is one of the big things! :)

It's a Devilish HNT

Happy HNT! :)

I'm

full of smiles

and that's all I have to say about that!

Hope everyone else's Monday ended up as wonderful as mine did when I walked in my front door! :)

What has Katie been up to.........

There was some camping, which included a LOT of rain, cold weather, big ol fire, boys moving logs in a very manly way, and lots of food. It was awesome. I prefer the cold and wet to the nasty bugs we had the time before.......


Then came the cleaning. Cleaning up after camping, cleaning the house, getting re-organized and adding another's belongings into all of the crap I had accumulated in the past year. We had a very productive yard sale that helped out a lot!




This past weekend we wandered Big Lots. It's been a while. Although we didn't see individually portioned SPAM meat, we did see reindeer antlers that light up and sing- Fishstick had to have them..... candles, crazy kitchen stuff, cool ornaments, ugly pillows, funky curtains and as always the greatest shoppers in the world! :)


I celebrated one of these a few weeks ago. Still can't believe it's been her and gone already!



The Jaded girl and I went to a store that sells the very fancy dresses for me to try on. I told her no strapless, but alas ended trying on a strapless dress or two. With the exception of needing a LOT more boobies to fill out a few of the dresses, I fell in love with a strapless number that made me look like some sort of royalty......
*sigh*
so fun!

So that's what I've been up to. With family functions, wedding planning and the like all thrown in there! So if I don't answer the phone when you call, my apologies!

Quizzes for the season! :)

Come on APJ you know you wanna..... :P

Gummy Bears

You may be smooshie and taste unnatural, but you're so darn cute.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?

You Are

A Scared Pumpkin Face You would make good pumpkin puree.

What's Your Pumpkin Face?

Your Vampire Name Is...

Countess of Prussia

What's Your Vampire Name?

Your Monster Profile

Wicked Slayer You Feast On: Starbucks You Lurk Around In: Candy Factories You Especially Like to Torment: Hipsters

What's Your Monster Name?

With the change of a season....

Comes changes in life.
This time big changes.
But I am so excited about them all.
Most know parts here and there
Some know it all

I am ready to embrace love in a different way
I am ready to share precious space
I am ready to start a new part of my life

Support and love from one in particular
Makes these things so easy to want and so wonderful to have
These changes are huge for him and this I know and accept
I'll do whatever is necessary to make it all work out

Seasons come and go, one right after another
People stay for a while, and can vanish is a heart beat
But this will be forever, I know that in my heart.

Belief-O-Matic

Got this from a forum I post on- very interesting...... check it out for yourself!

1.	Neo-Pagan (100%)
2.	New Age (97%)
3.	Theravada Buddhism (96%)
4.	Mahayana Buddhism (94%)
5.	Unitarian Universalism (91%)
6.	Liberal Quakers (87%)
7.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (70%)
8.	Secular Humanism (68%)
9.	Taoism (68%)
10.	Reform Judaism (61%)
11.	Jainism (60%)
12.	New Thought (58%)
13.	Orthodox Quaker (53%)
14.	Scientology (50%)
15.	Hinduism (45%)
16.	Bahá'í Faith (43%)
17.	Sikhism (43%)
18.	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (41%)
19.	Nontheist (38%)
20.	Orthodox Judaism (33%)
21.	Seventh Day Adventist (23%)
22.	Islam (19%)
23.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (18%)
24.	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (18%)
25.	Jehovah's Witness (15%)
26.	Eastern Orthodox (11%)
27.	Roman Catholic (11%)

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

Travels...

Had yet another weekend of
travels, and many more to come. This next year is going to be so busy, but so fun. There is nothing like a Trip up to the city, walking around like a tourist and being able to breathe! LOL
Great weekend, I'll bug Fishstick for pictures tonight! :)

Friends are what it's all about....

From camping.....

Happy Almost fall!

Hi, my name is Katie and I am a camp-a -holic

Yes you heard that right. This past weekend we went camping- in a tent, in the woods, with potties. It was awesome! It has been some 15 years since I had been camping, not to the mountains or even staying in the mountains, but actually building and cooking over a campfire and sleeping on the ground in a tent. It was great!
We couldn't have gone with a better couple of people- you guys are amazing! The air was clean and crisp, and we had the entire campground to ourselves. We hiked, played in the stream, read books, cooked, ate, laughed and just all around relaxed.
The next trip is planned in just about a month for my birthday! YAY
Hopefully I can wrangle pictures out of the photographers from the trip soon, but yeah- I am a whole new person!

Fishstick- smooches!
Cadie- you make EVERYTHING fun and damnit I lub ya for that!
Chris- you are great, thanks for showing us a great spot!
Mike- thanks for bringing a smile to the trip!

I'm a princess!

Which Disney Princess are you? (Girls only!)

You are Nala! Spunky, fresh, and always loyal, you are a wild and free spirit. You have a soft side that yearns for love, but easily cover it up with a tomboyish attitude and carefree humor. You laugh in the face of danger and take on any new challeneges you can. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Smoochy kinda HNT

The kitten really liked my lipgloss! :)

HHNT everyone!

Women...

We love
We laugh
We hold and comfort
We cook and clean
We smile and nod

Living the way we should
Enjoying what we have, but always wanting more
Marriage, family, cats, dogs, fish- who knows
There is always more
Or is there

Things take a turn
Something uncontrollable happens
And we fight like crazy to maintain composure through out
But in the shadows, and alone we can't
As much as it shouldn't affect us, it does- but we refuse to the let World know

Moms taught us to be strong
And walk with heads held high and shoulders thrown back
Taking on every little thing thrown at us
Making sure everyone else is taken care of, even when we feel low
Knowing that our gratification will come through that

It's hard, but we deal
It's sad, but we cry
It's scary, but we manage
Giving love and laughs is how we get through it
Receiving love and laughs is how we know it's all worth it.

My horrible addiction......

Is to Fashion Magazines. I have subscriptions to a few, and a doctor that supplies me with the rest from her collection. *sigh* I know its a horrid thing to be addicted to, but I just can't help it- the makeup the hair the clothes- the SHOES!

On my last adventure through one magazine, I found a haircut I am in Love with. It's going to take a bit of time, but I will make myself patient for this one- it's great...

I know, I know- she's a bitch she's ALWAYS in some trash magazine, but my goodness she has great hair.....

:)

Thoughts after the drive to work

1. Construction work sometimes irritates me, especially when I am attempting to make a right turn and the corner is all torn up
2. The sun is extremely bright at 7am
3. I think the humidity may kill me
4. When did it become okay not to identify yourself on the telephone when conducting business?
5. Dinners with lovers are awesome!
6. Target clearance racks are super fun to browse, and even more fun to purchase from
7. Surprising my father with coffee at his work is fun, but seeing the smile he gets on his face is heartwarming

Simply Living

This weekend was full of wonderful people, great food and conversation and the simple pleasures in life!
Friday night Fishstick and I had a few friends over for drinks and some food. Last year when the weather cooled off we had "cocktail and music night on the front porch". It was awesome. I'd hit the grocery store on the way home from work on Fridays, and we would nibble a bit and have drinks and listen to music and talk for hours. It was always the perfect way to start the weekend. This past Friday we decided to share it with a couple we adore so very much. It was great. We talked until 11:30, had cocktails and laughed so hard at times. Perfect start to the weekend.
Saturday he worked all day, but my Cadie girl came over and we just hung out. Folded our laundry together, watched tv, snacked, talked and ended the evening with her cutting her hair off, my dying it for her and us making a killer frozen pizza. Her hair looks awesome! But, sometimes an estrogen fest is just what the doctor ordered! :)
Sunday was a lazy day, made breakfast we watched baseball, read books, had dinner with my family and dessert with Zen Bunny and the Misses.
Got home last night to two kitties that wanted nothing more than to super snuggle with me.

When I keep the important things in life to simple fun stuffs, everything is always wonderful!
Thanks to all the great people that made my simple weekend one of the best I have had in a while.
Love you guys! :)

Oh yeah I extended my morning walk to 3 miles this morning and did it in 40 minutes!
YAY!

The LOL cats crack me up! So I decided to share a few that made me laugh today! :)