2010 In Review

What a great year 2010 turned out to be.  Another year older, a little more wiser, I hope and a life full of love and friendships.  This year I finally followed Kristin Kuhn’s demands and joined Facebook.  What a great thing that turned out to be.  I re-connected  with old friends I hadn’t talked to in more years than I can remember.  It has allowed me hours of enjoyment reading what is going on in the lives of friends and seeing pictures of their children and fun times.  The only downfall is seeing how old some people look.  Damn, do I look that old too?  I mean I must right?  We are the same age and that stupid eye cream I bought hasn’t reversed me to look 12 again, damn it!!  All in all though, good advice taken.

The whole Facebook idea turned me to think about writing this blog.  I have a blog that I have read daily for years and thought I’d give it a go.  I can happily say that it has turned out to be a really fun outlet for me to flex my creative muscles.  I get a kick out of seeing that my audience spans from the USA to Russia, China, India, Lithuania, France, etc.  It cracks me up wondering what you Russian readers think of my blond ramblings.  Thank you for reading and I hope to keep you entertained in the years to come.

Our 8 nieces and nephews flourished this year.  My sister’s (who’s name we do not speak) little girl turned 4 and her son turned 12 all within days of each other.  Kyle and I had them over to stay the night and had a special birthday celebration for them, hiding presents throughout the house for them to find.  A highlight was when the 4 year old was pulling a stuffed dog around the kitchen, by a leash we made from ribbon, and announced “This dog is pissing me off!”.  Damn… kids say the cutest things.  I still laugh when I think about it.  Our 12 year old nephew is now 5’10”, wears a size 13 shoe and can throw a baseball so fast you better not blink or you’ll miss it.  And, obviously, at that height, he rocks at basketball.  NBA lookout!!

The other 6 are thriving as well.  The 3 older kids just finished semesters at college, all with straight A’s and still manage to find time to come to family functions so we can see them.  We spent many a Saturday in the stands cheering for our 15 year old nephew, who is the quarterback of his school’s freshman football team, and then went on to see our 13 year old niece kick butt in soccer.  The youngest of their kids is 11 and the sweetest little man you could ever dream for.  He still likes to sit on your lap and will snuggle up to us.  We are enjoying it as long as we can.

This year I rounded 3 ½ years with my current company and still love what I do.  How the hell does that happen?  Oh yeah, I work with a really great group of people and us girls just laugh our asses off.  Hopefully you recall the purple panties on the floor at work blog.  Kyle got a really great new job, and within four months of being at the company, has already been promoted.  He is so awesome and I am just so happy for him.  Well - for him and for my wish list at Tiffany’s. 

My mother in law was diagnosed with breast cancer this year.  She had surgery and radiation for many, many weeks.  I am very pleased to report that in December she had her 6 month follow up mammogram and it was clear.  Thank you God!  Go healthy Boobies!

Kyle and I couldn’t be happier or more in love.  Having the relationship we do is something we are thankful for every day.  This year we have come to the conclusion that if we can’t have kids, the 8 nieces and nephews are good enough for us.  We spend our time how we want, sleeping in, eating out, basically doing whatever, whenever we choose.  That, we decided, is a pretty sweet deal after all.  Well 2011, there is much more chardonnay to be consumed and calories to burn.  (Yeah right)  Well at least the wine part is true enough. 

Everyone, have a safe and fun New Year and I’ll catch you later

A Totally Expected Blond Moment

As you've already learned about me, recycling is not at the top list of things I think about.  Not because I'm a bad person or anti Earth, I just have other things on my mind.  And, to be honest, those who subscribe to the Mayan calendar know, why the hell bother, am I right???

For Christmas, we usually decorate the outside of our house every year with so many lights and blow ups and reindeer that we could rival the Griswalds.  This year neither one of us was into it.  Climbing on the roof, balancing on one foot on the ladder trying to reach as far as possible so you don't have to climb all the way down and move it again.  That sort of thing.  The inside of our house already looks like Christmas threw up anyhow.  We put up 4 trees, wrapped the banister with garland and lights, set up the little village, basically covered every surface with something Christmasy. 

We got a lot of moans and groans from our neighbors when they heared we weren't decorating.  Every single house on either side of us, and halfway up our street, decorated.  Hell, Dave and Lisa who aren't even here for the holiday this year, had a couple little elves go over and decorate for them.  That really stings because we thought at least we could be in it together.

Steve and Kathy, one of our favorite party couples, live about 4 houses up from us.  They hadn't decorated yet either.  We went up there a few Saturday's ago for drinks and fun.  When the subject of decorating came up we were just saying how thrilled we were that they hadn't decorated either and we could be in it together.  The following is how the conversation went:

Me: We are so glad to see you aren't decorating the outside.  We've been getting crap from everyone.

Steve:  Oh no, you know what, we are going green this year.

Me, aka, Blondie: Steve, I don't care what color of lights you are hanging up, WE AREN'T DECORATING.

Yes folks that's right.  That's how it went.  Steve, Kathy and Kyle just took pause while I figured it out.   If I'm nothing else, at least I can be counted on for other's entertainment.

A Quick Update

I realize that I haven't posted in weeks, and yes, I have been catching shit from everyone for it.  I fully plan to start blogging again daily, and hope all my loyal readers are still out there and ready to read my random rants.  Kyle and I have had a most amazingly crazy and fun filled month with decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking and giving.  I can't wait to tell all the stories and detail the goings on.  We are both off for the next week together so we plan to shop, relax and drink copious amounts of wine.   I also promise to get back to blogging my daily thoughts and crazy-brained ideas. 

I'd start now but Lucy just farted, jumped up as startled as if she'd just been cattle branded, and ran across the room looking at her own ass shocked, as if she'd just been assaulted.  I'm laughing too hard to go on.  Every time this dog has farted for the 11 years we've had her it's the same reaction.  She's just so shocked and assumes something bad has happened to her and not her actually doing it herself. It really is hilarious.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, no matter what you celebrate, and all my random and fun Kim stories and experiences will return starting tomorrow.

Much love and thanks for your loyal reading.

A Less Than Fascinating Update About Me.

Today I have two things running through my mind to share with you.  Hair and wrinkles.  Settle in folks, this should be fun!

A few weeks ago some of you might remember that I wrote about aging and wrinkles and my intense hatred of both.  Well I have, religiously, been putting on my new eye cream, in the morning, in the evening and before bed time.  Low and behold it is working.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resemble a 12 year old by any means, but I have noticed a small difference.  Whew.  That sure is a good thing. 

I work in an office of around 500 people and I see all these women walking around with these dark, dry, wrinkly patches under their eyes and it makes me just cringe.  Perhaps they were always there and I just never noticed until I started to have issues myself.   Or maybe the global condition and green house effect that all of my lack of recycling, gas guzzling car driving self has inflicted on the environment has finally come back to bite us all in the ass, and the air is toxic and drying out our precious under eye areas….Hmmm, I’m guessing maybe not.  But a good rant none-the-less.

Along the same topic of looks, let’s discuss my hair.  I have worn it super short and sassy for a ton of years and for the last couple I had been growing it out after a tragic haircut where the hairdresser cut my bangs as short as Mia Farrow’s and I went home crying, face down on my bed, having to be comforted by my little niece, convincing me that “No, I did not look like a boy and she really did like it”.  That was a shining Aunt Kim moment.  I can still hear the shrieks of my friends at work when they first saw it.

Eyes, closed, going to my happy place.

Anyhow, after that tragedy I was so afraid to let anyone near it and I grew it out to a few inches past shoulder length.   I was really enjoying it when one of my girlfriends showed up at a party, her hair freshly chopped and I was reminded of how fun short hair is.  I started to realize that long hair, limp, straight long hair, like mine, doesn’t do a whole lot, and by the end of the day would just lay down my head looking like I just couldn’t be bothered to do anything with it that day.  My sister (Who’s name we do not speak) was born with these fantastic curls and I was born with stick straight lameness.  My friend’s new haircut was my inspiration.  Of course the entire time I was in the chair getting it cut I held onto my bangs, threatening the hairdresser that if she cut them, I would cut her.

I started with a little chin length bob cut that I found online on a picture of Meg Ryan.  Super cute.  A few days into the style I couldn’t get it to look like the picture that I modeled it after, and just didn’t feel like me.  Then, low and behold I walk into work behind a woman that is 20 years older than me, at least, with the same exact haircut!  What’s that?  I now have the hipster hairstyle of the older lady in my office.  AGH!!!!  I did what I should have done in the first place.  I went into my computer archives and printed out my good old reliable picture of Gwyneth Paltrow’s super short haircut, from the movie Sliding Doors.  I have worn it for years and love, love, love it!!  If you have never seen this movie or haircut you really should Google it.   It is just darling.  That was just what I needed.

So to sum up, I have a sassy haircut, ever improving under eye skin, and things are going great.  Now if only Santa would bring me a live-in maid and chef this year my life would be perfect.  Oh, and that magic pill where you lose weight the more bacon and cheese you eat. 

Turkey Day

Kyle and I have hosted Thanksgiving for the last four years, basically every year since we bought our house.  We love to entertain, so we lucked out to find a house that was very open.  We love it when everyone is together.  We usually have between 20 and 25 in attendance.  Needless to say, it’s a lot of work.

This year, starting several months ago, I began the conversation, with Kyle, that I would rather someone else host this year.  I wanted a break!  I wanted to go to someone else’s house and be a guest…. to eat, drink and be merry and then to simply get to go home and not have to clean up after an entire party.  Kyle was completely opposed to this thought.  He loves to have the whole family over and so the arguments began. 

I had to really think about it and, as my husband treats me like a princess and I always get my way, I decided to give in and host with him.  It really means a lot to him, and our entire family.  Hooray, let the planning begin!!! 

The invitations were sent and the RSVP’s started pouring in.  This year our number had grown to 31, the most ever.  We always rent chairs and move all the furniture out of our front two rooms so everyone eats together.  We set up one really long table and then two smaller side tables.  (I’ve included a few pictures of the house before the guests arrived and the craziness started)  It is a really great set up.  I decided to find my happy place and prepare for a party.

Turns out it was the most fun year ever.   With the wine flowing, two turkeys, two crock-pots of mashed potatoes and a variety of other dishes ready, we all sat down and ate until we were all uncomfortably, yet happily full.  Six of our nieces and nephews came and we got to spend some quality time with 19 year old niece, Mary, who lived with us during her first year of college.  She has a busy, crazy life and we miss seeing her so much.  That was wonderful.

There are 3 little ones in the family right now, all under the age of 3 and they provided quite the little show for our post dinner entertainment.  My cousin’s little 3 year old boy even grabbed the metal handle off my father-in-law’s oxygen cart and began strumming it like a guitar and singing along with a Tom Petty song.  It was damned adorable.

All in all it was a wonderful day and we took our time cleaning up.  We are definitely not the type of people that are anal about rushing to clean up after a party.  Plates, silverware, water glasses, etc. for 31 people takes a while to run through the dishwasher, not to mention all the serving dishes to hand wash.  After our guests left we plopped down on the couch with the biggest glasses of wine that we own and just vegged out. 

I am thankful for so many things.  I have a wonderful life.  I’m madly in love with my husband, I have great friends and a wonderful family.  I’m still hoping for that lotto win but, in the mean time, I count my blessings and continue on my life’s journey.  To eat, drink as much chardonnay as possible, and never, ever, take myself too seriously.

Oh, and as much as I thought I didn’t want to host this year, I’m already looking forward to hosting again next year.