Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Happy 7th Blogiversary to ME

Happy 7th blogiversary to me, 
myself, 
and I.
Crazy to think I have been blogging all these years.
wait, did I just call myself crazy?

A lot has changed in 7 years….


Sweet Wishy is no longer a junior in high school …
she's a Boston University graduate 
and been working for a year already...  
however, she's still sweet.


Colinboy is no longer in college…
he graduated from Berklee College of Music, 
moved to Nashville and 
plays bass for country artist, Dustin Lynch... 
however, he's still a boy (haha)…
now a Colinman.




Big C is no longer in college…
she graduated from the University of Alabama, 
moved to Atlanta, 
and is marrying Austin, her college sweetheart,
 in 11 days...  


however, she's still our Big C.


Duncandog is no longer …
he left us for Doggie Heaven... 
however, we still miss him every day.



I have started calling PaulA "babe"...
(so we can be a cool couple)
however, PaulA is still amazing.
wait that's Keith Urban.


This babe is da man.




This Kat has gotten 7 years older, 
7 years wiser, 
and wears her sun visor.
It happens to rhyme and also be true. 

Anywhooooo.....


Today I am copying and pasting the blog I wrote on 9/13/2007.
When I first started writing, I rambled on..and on..
(much like you are doing now, Kat)
and never once posted a picture...
but I've come to realize that people 
don't want to read blogarrhea...
their time is precious and limited.
So...feel free to skip over entire paragraphs...
that's what this Kat would do.

Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tales of an Average Family of 5

What to do……..
Well, let’s see….My “to-do” list has lots of chores on it, clean the bathrooms, (the only time I wish I had 1 bathroom), go to the Stop and Shop, do the laundry.  No thanks.  I don’t want to do any of that. I find those chores irritating, but I guess that is the real meaning of chores, isn’t it? So here I sit thinking, “Hey, maybe I’ll start a blog and avoid doing any housework for a little while. Then maybe I'll feel inspired and get my rear in gear.”…..there’s always hope! 

For some reason, I like writing online. I have three children and the two that are away at college have said that I am much more fun to talk to online (very interesting comment)…we’ll see if anyone out there agrees.

Another thing I like to do when I write online is to use dot, dot, dot, like this...For some reason, it seems like such a natural thing to do. It's a good segway...so I can change unrelated subjects...it's a way to think while I write….. kinda like a written “ummmmm”...and it gives people a chance to take a breath when they are reading. (You breathe when you read, don’t you?)

My name is Kathy-Anne or like my husband and friends call me, Kat. Actually, K-A-T were my initials before I was married…so I guess you would say it is a fitting nickname. I am still not sure why my parents gave me a double name….we were not from the south, unless you consider that Vermont is south of Canada. It also contains a hypen. How many names do that? Then there is the business of no middle name…….huh, what were they thinking? So, I like the name, Kat, although I do not have a cat. I don’t dislike cats, but I just don’t have one….I own a dog. His name is Duncan and is a Portuguese water dog. I don’t know how fitting the name Duncan is for a Portuguese water dog. My sister-in-law's family got a dog like ours and named him Magellan…now that makes sense….a Portuguese explorer….why couldn’t we have thought of that?

So it's the fall and the kids are back to school. I'm a stay-at-home mom on the brink of an empty nest. It is good that I have 3 kids that are spaced out over 5 and a half years, that way my nest doesn’t get dumped all at once. 

My oldest child, Chelsea, is a senior in college (not wanting to graduate in May and join the real world….unless you are talking about the reality TV show.) She likes to think of herself as the boss of the kids…and the other two let her think she is. She has earned the name “Big C” given to her by her brother and his friends….she commands respect! She has also stated that she is the guinea pig kid child…she may have a point, but I go on record that we have never once caged Big C.

Colin is a sophomore in college. I call him Colinboy...it's just one of those family things that happen...probably from saying goodnight...remember Johnboy on the TV show, The Waltons?  He loves playing his bass guitar and performing in bands. Colin has been referred to as “6 degrees of Colin". Colin seems to know many different people from many different circles, and if you don’t know him, he knows you….does that make any sense??? Okay, quickie story to give you an example…We, the family, were at a Red Sox game and I looked over and saw a man eating an enormous piece of meat, that looked something like a chicken or turkey bone….I’m talking the whole animal and it was very gross. Food was falling from his mouth and the grease was dripping from his face, that he didn’t even bother to wipe off. So being the immature mom that I can be …I say, “Colin, check that man out!” He looks and says, “Oh, I know him!” I say, “Come on Colin, how is that possible?” He replies "I’ve seen him at the Y….he goes to the same YMCA I do.” There you have it, enough said about Colinboy…he knows the random man aggressively eating a massive animal leg.

Then last but not least is Brianna. First of all, she does not like it when I write the 3 kids names and say “Chelsea, Colin and Brianna”…she insists I take the “and” out. I guess she feels like it makes her seem like an after thought, but I have to explain that it really distinguishes her and gives her the spot light that she so deserves! Our name for Brianna, other than Bri which the kids at school logically call her…..is Wish, Wishy, Sweet Wish, Wish Queen or Wish Queen of America! Okay, it is a little corny, but when she was really little, I would sing the Disney song “A dream is a wish your heart makes”…and then whisper good night “sweet wish”. Anyway, Wishy is a junior in High School and I am trying to hold onto her before she also leaves for college and leaves me to me!!

So those are my 3 kids, nicknames and all. And I do have a husband, Paul…I don’t have any cutesy nicknames for him like love bug, honey bear, or Sugams.  I call him Pauly or PaulA, as a joke, because on his airline boarding passes his middle initial "A" is run together with his first name and people think it is PaulA….for some reason, I think this is funny! But, other times when he’s traveling, out on the road…(or flying) and he is stuck in airports with late hours, I call him Willy……you know, Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman. He's a great guy working hard. After all, he’s got 3 kids and a wife, who hates to do chores, to feed!

I should end now….I plan on sharing stories of everyday life from an average family and life as I see it (no major life issues solved here)....so …I’ll be back. Not to scare you or anything…………….

Thursday, September 11, 2014

September 11th, 13 years ago


If you live in the Northeast and you are old enough,
you remember the morning of September 11th 
thirteen years ago.

Summer was transforming into fall. 
The sky was crystal blue.
The air was chilly and crisp.
The day was setting up to be a top 10 day.

But it was a day of contrasts...

at 8:46 am … 
peace and tranquility 

turned into 
devastation and chaos.


Today marks the 13th  anniversary 
of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
However unlucky the number 13 is...
we are fortunate to be US citizens.

The Freedom Tower now stands 
in stark contrast 
to where the World Trade Center once stood, 

rising up from the ashes,
reaching up to the heavens, 
proclaiming we shall overcome.


The lives of those lost that day are not lost in vain.
We remember the 9/11 victims, survivors and first responders and today 
we pay tribute to them
by uniting in 
charitable service as we did those days 
after September 11th.

That beautiful fall morning...
 we saw evil, 
but today we see hope.

9/11 - a day of contrasts.



Friday, September 5, 2014

Shark ATTACK


da -dum   
da-dum
da-dum
don't be fooled by his captivating smile


“Shark Week” ...

(the programming on the Discovery Channel 
developed to raise awareness and
r-e-s-p-e-c-t 
for the shark)

may be over

but apparently not all the sharks got the memo.
(Just because sharks can't read, should not be an excuse.)
just. saying.


It just so happens that it is shark week 
where we live at the beach.
(hmmm...usually it is margarita week. go figure)


Nothing like waking up this morning and seeing your beach stomping grounds
(or should I say, chomping grounds) on the Today Show.
The Today Show segment had Stephanie Gosk in a motor boat 
at Manomet Point (near Plymouth MA)
doing a story on
the 2 young women who were attacked by a great white
in their kayaks on Wednesday.

before


after
yikes

The Today Show footage link...

http://www.today.com/video/today/55992761#55992761



Anywhooo....


PaulA is always wanting me to go for a paddle with him out to the Point.
I do like kayaking, 
but I also like sitting in my beach chair 
staring at the back of my eyeballs and 
nodding off to the tempo of the waves,
The Point in the background 

but I usually end up going with him….
for the exercise/it's cooler on the water/PaulA can be persuasive
but
mainly to see the gray seals.
The closer I get to the seals, the better...
and they couldn't be cuter with their big eyes on their big dog heads 
staring back at us.
(And apparently they think we are cute with our small heads and beady eyes 
staring back at them.)
As much as I'm excited to see the seals...
I'm also afraid that a seal might come up from under my kayak and tip me over.
But whoaaaaa.....
Never thinking about a great white.



Okay, we are smart enough to know that the shark"s favorite food is seal,
but the water is pretty chilly there and 
we always assumed the sharks preferred the warmer waters outside the cape.
(again, the sharks need to read the memo.)

our seal friends in the winter at 
"Flat Rock Hotel"

I just want to apologize in advance to our friends and families....
and recently our nieces and nephews...
for encouraging them all to go out to the Point to 
possibly get eaten by sharks
to watch the seals.

(That is what we do with the people we like who visit us.)  




My kayaking days to the Point are over.

 Like many people my age,
 I developed a healthy respect for sharks back in 1975
when the blockbuster movie “Jaws” came out. 

I know, if and when we go back to the Point 
to watch the seals....


Monday, September 1, 2014

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit-September 1st

Happy September 1st


This is a 
Big
Big
BIG
month
so

in honor of 
Chelsea and Austin's 
wedding day
this September 27th

the good luck rabbits
are dressed 
for the occasion.



Anywhoooooo.......


Hare they are:


Rabbit


Rabbit


Rabbit


Happy Wedding Month to 
this special couple....

xoxox

Monday, August 18, 2014

#MFM

Last Thursday,
I proposed the idea to give 
other days of the week 
the same social media attention as 
ThrowbackThursdays.

Hence....

#MFM   MoodyFaceMonday
#TGT    ToothyGrinTuesday
#WOW   WinkOnWednesday
#FHF   FreakyHairFriday


Anywhooo....


Keeping with my genius idea....

#MoodyFaceMonday

Granted, this pic is strikingly similar to Resting Bitchy Face, 
but I'm calling it "Moody Face."
(my blog, my rules.)




Thursday, August 14, 2014

The Right Way

This blog post might look like it is coming out of 
left field, 
and it is..
yesterday was 
International Left-Handers Day.

(a made-up day to honor lefties and
highlight the difficulties lefties face in a righty world.)

I find it funny to watch a lefty. 
Everything they do looks awkward to someone who’s a righty. 
Mainly because we do everything right. 
Think about it…why else would we be called right?


Sometimes, however, the lines get blurred…especially in politics. 
There are some us who are right-handed and right wing, 
and others who are left-handed and left wing…
but there are also some right wing people who are lefties, 
and some left wing people who are righties. 
And also those…who are left or right of center. 
I’m so confused. 
I have nothing left to say on that subject.


Anywhoooo.....


They say lefties are intelligent 
and historically some of our more 
influential and successful people are left-handed. 
That would include Clinton, Ford, George H. W. Bush, Obama, 
Hendrix, Michelangelo, Oprah, and Babe Ruth. 
Add PaulA to that impressive list. 
Saying “lefties are intelligent”…
is really a left-handed compliment...but not in the
"left-handed compliment" idiom way.
huh?


PaulA comes from a family of lefties, 
...his mother and 2 other brothers. 
3 out of 7 siblings are lefties and


4 out of 7 of them brush their teeth with CREST.


I’m a righty who married a lefty so throughout our marriage…
I have watched PaulA write with a …
left hook
eat and use scissors, (he doesn't eat with scissors)
tie his shoes and 
put cards in envelopes the wrong way.
The one thing he does the right way...
is play golf.
(If ya know what I mean.)



If I was left to my own devices…
(mwhahaha)
I would make lefties conform and do things the right way…
but I also realize I should stop being so self-righteous, 
and accept that lefties (and PaulA)
have rights too. 



Right-handed Kat 
has finally left the building.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Move Over #TBT

In the social media world,
today is known as


#TBT


I  love #TBT,
(although Thirsty Thursdays are my fav)
because I love seeing old pictures of our fam 
and friends.
(and who doesn't mind posting a pic of themselves 20 years younger?)

So in keeping with the TBT theme, 
I have posted some pictures of summer days gone by in Manomet...




rockstars




Anywhoooo.....


I got to thinking 
hmmmm.....
hmmmmmm
Why should Thursday be the only fun day?
Why not spice up the week with another day
of themed pictures?

We could have
Moody Face Monday (#MFM) 

Toothy Grin Tuesday (#TGT)

Wink On Wednesday (#WOW)

Freaky Hair Friday (#FHF)


I've always wanted to start a trend.
Come on folks...
you know this is a good idea.