Here’s me working on a Frida-inspired something special for Kelli.

I’m putting it in the mail tomorrow. Really!

Tonight’s dinner is one of my favorite meals!

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage, Red Bell Pepper, Mandarin Oranges, Avocado, Toasted Almonds, and a dressing of Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Fresh Ground Pepper. Yummy!

In other news, Eric and I joined a gym today! We’re planning on our first class–spin–tomorrow evening!

Peace,

^_^

Here’s a sneak peak.

I promise Eric he could take the pictures of me modeling the outfit. By his reaction you’d think he had just won the lottery.

The Arg… Yippee!!! lists are filling up. I’m not sure it is super-productive, but am not yet ready to bail out. I generally quit things very prematurely.. Hrm..

Eric and I have been enjoying homemade lemonade lately. Sparkling water, powdered sugar, lemon juice and ice cubes. Feels like summer is just starting.

The photo of the Eiffel Tower is one of my aunt’s.

Peace,

^_^

So it feels like I’ve been on a vacation since June 4th when we drove out of St. Louis. Since we’ve been in California we’ve been bunking in a relative’s pool house. We’re being spoiled silly and I’m not about to complain.

What a sweet treat after all the hurdles graduate school sent our way: Eric’s cancer, a close friend’s electrocution/death, unfulfilling work environment for the first 2 years for me, a broken arm, a car wreck and back pain that continues until today, our two-year-old cat dying in front of us–even with Eric’s kitty CPR–for some undiagnosed reason, Papa’s death, MIL’s melanoma, other Papa’s fall off a ten-foot extension ladder, all our buddies leaving for their internships last fall, etc. 

That is not to say we didn’t have some great times in graduate school. Our Tuesday night brewery church group–miss y’all, adopting two great new kitties, volunteering to help other kittens get adopted, 3 Team in Training events raising over $13,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!!, finding a great job in the fashion industry, never needing to borrow money for medical bills or other bills–thanks to everyone for al y’all’s generosity, Eric’s “remission” (he’ll never be cured, but his levels are undetectable at the moment), the city itself-Grant’s Farm, Farmer’s Market,  the zoo, wineries close by, our upstairs neighbor and her dog Junior–Scotch’s crush, countless trips to CA (4 I think), Sasha’s Wine Bar, $3 buck chuck, etc.

This is culminating in my one “issue” with vacations. I eat whatever I want. My triathlon was right before we left. After that working out has been sparse. My clothes still seem to fit, but man do I feel it. Like I’m doing laundry and wearing my hubby’s shorts. Shorts that would probably be easy to pants him and they are fitting a little tighter than that on me! Thankfully, I have gym access and have been able to work out a bit the last two weeks!

I’m not sure what my next “event” will be. There is a Napa Valley Marathon in March which looks beautiful. Also, as part of the Big Sur Marathon is this 6 mile Mud Run. Watch the video and tell me that doesn’t look awesome. For now, I feel like yoga is a great focus. I was just gifted a new mat–since ours in on a truck somewhere in Oakland and it is great. Even my sweaty hands and feet don’t slip! 

Since we’re talking about vacations, let’s talk about work. As in, I’m unemployed. I’m more worried about what other people think and how the lapse will look on my resume than I am about a job right now. We only have one car, and we live 30-35 miles south of where our apartment is, so any commute would quite possibly be killer. That being said, how do I respond when the umpteenth parishioner asks me about my job hunt? I know they mean well, and we don’t know each other yet, so there isn’t much else to talk about, but still… It makes me feel awkward about being so okay with my unemployment. Probably because in the past, I took some jobs that were pretty terrible because I HAD to work, and now that Eric’s being paid, I’m taking my time to find a job I really want.

So there you have it. My never-ending vacation still has no end in sight, and I’m quite okay with that!

Peace,

Katy

I hate cancer. In fact, there are coffee mugs that say $#%* cancer and I’m almost to the point I’d buy one of those. In case you don’t know in about two months my husband will be a interning for a year then officially ordained as a pastor. Society, and my mother, keep telling us that cussing and church don’t mix. Though I’d be the first to admit more than sometimes I say bad words.

A co-worker’s mother has been battling cancer. Things were not going well, but hope always seemed to be lurking in the corner. Now she is in hospice. No freaking fair! My co-worker isn’t old-she is 25.

I just heard of another co-worker who has a brother with terminal cancer. And friend of a friend–though we’ve eatten a meal together so we’re closer than that–who has a dad with stage 3 colon cancer and a mom with stage 4 breast cancer.  I’m so sad for them. I wish I could say the “right” things–at least something real and honest. Cancer sucks. We all hope for the best, sometimes it doesn’t happen. Makes me think of tentatio. A term I’ve found much comfort in. Here’s my better half-explaining the meaning.

Tonight we are eating and hanging out with a dear friend. The photos on my site are of her. She was bribed with wine and happily amused when she found out we were going to use them!

Peace,

^_^

First off, Alabama Chanin recently posted the upcoming dates and locations for future workshops. I highly, highly recommend making it to one of them if you are able.

I really enjoyed the entire weekend. Even the 6-hour drive there and the 6-hour drive back. Since I made it through 4 states, it really felt like I had accomplished something! Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama if you are curious.

Friday Night Reception~Friday night there was a cocktail reception. It was low-key and laid back. We got to meet Natalie, Angie, and the other participants. I took one picture that night. Here’s a coffee table spread from the evening with flowers made from fabric scrapes. Yes, they are that gorgeous in person. The gossip that night was Billy Bob Thorton was in town. I tried to go see him, but the venue was full. I enjoyed my walk around the downtown. It was really cold and even managed to snow on Friday night!

The Stay~While in Florence, I stayed slept at a Bed and Breakfast. I say slept, because I spent very few waking moments there. The time I was there was great. Their breakfast was fabulous, the room was spacious and clean. And it was walking distance from the main few streets in Florence and The University of North Alabama. I got to make the first footprints in the snow that dusted the campus on my Saturday morning run. I love B&B’s but must say I felt slightly odd staying there alone. It is definitely less awkward going down to breakfast if you have someone to go with.

The owner said her daughter called the room I stayed in the treehouse room. I think it must have been added on to the house at some point. It was so restful there. I really did feel like royalty.

Saturday~Saturday was one very, very long day. Not in the terrible it wouldn’t end way, but more in the oh my gosh, I got to do what? And for how long? With really cool people? Really? Wow!

Everything happened at GAS Studios. It is gorgeous. And the owner and his family are gorgeous too–and saying they are hospitable, is a major understatement.

So Saturday and Sunday we worked on our projects and chatted and generally just enjoyed the process and people. We were also spoiled silly by the cooking workshop participants. The food was just amazing and steeped in Southern tradition.

Here’s a ton more photos. These are food related.

These are sewing related.

And here is my finished corset! Yep–it is done and I’m wearing it as I type this.

So all in all I had an amazing time.

Peace,

^_^ Katy

It was snowing when I woke up. It certainly doesn’t feel like Easter. My parents came to visit us for the weekend, and my dad is known around the family for bringing bad weather–so he got the blame. It really wasn’t too bad. It didn’t stick. Snow on Easter, however, just doesn’t seem right.

Happy Easter to you all. I feel like life is blasting by me–so it is nice to have a holiday to make me slow down and reflect on things greater than myself.

I just signed up for a “practice” tri. Practice and 5 mile run don’t seem to belong together though. We’ll see. It’ll at least get me used to transitioning–even if the entire event is  capped at 250 people.

So, I mentioned my parents are in town. It feels like all we did all weekend was eat. The scale said I’d gained 6 pounds right after dinner tonight. Yikes! Considering I’ve already put on 5 with my training, even though I’m trying really hard not to eat poorly. I’m really not amused. Does anyone have any tips?  I’m trying to add weight lifting to the workout plan–but it is difficult considering I already devote at least an hour 6 days a week to running, biking, or swimming.  So needless to say, all of my projects are getting delayed slightly. I caught up a lot on my Alabama Chanin corset this weekend.

Here are my goals for the week.

1. Complete all scheduled training–yes I skip every now and again. This is a recovery week, so the workouts are a lot shorter.

2. Work on one Illustrator project with Eric. We just bought Adobe CS3 with his student discount and are both hoping to learn a bit.

3. Finish corset and finally pull together my thoughts about my Alabama Chanin experience.

4. We currently have 3 things scheduled for the weekend coming up, a 1-hour appointment on Saturday, a 1-2 hour lunch meeting on Sunday, and group swim practice on Sunday. We’ve resolved not to schedule anything else! As I write this I realize an invitation to a VIP party before a runway show finale for St. Louis fashion week sits in my inbox. I must stay strong and politely decline. I’m definitely the queen of over commiting.

I hope your week is full of spring-time goodness.

Peace,

^_^ Katy

First off, this weekend was AMAZING. I had such a wonderful time and met some of the most interesting and caring women! What fun. More on that later. Thank you Natalie!

The lady in NY found a bone marrow donor! Yippee.

Fundraising is blowing my socks off. Seriously!! I’m so awed at people’s generosity. I will be updating the Fundraising Fun post with additional names. There are still several people that I don’t know at all. Thank you all!

This morning’s run was nuts. I didn’t have to bundle up–but it was so dark. Yay Daylight Savings time. I feared tripping. Instead I managed to trip when the sun had already started to come up. I was sprawled out on a stranger’s driveway with a little scraping on my knee and bruising on the bum–how did I hit both sides? Just as the other knee was healing from the bike debacle two weekends ago. Oi vey.

St. Louis Fashion Week is underway. I plan on attending a few of the events–mainly the free ones!

Much love to y’all and I promise more goodies and photos soon!!

Peace,

^-^

Hey All! I am alive!! No photos today, but I promise them sometime this weekend!! Tomorrow will be busy. I am going to training for volunteering at a women’s homeless shelter. I hope I can handle it. I’m a little nervous–I’m not exactly the most assertive person.
I found the most amazing site yesterday. The Daily Plate. You sign up and it use it to track your calorie intake, and usage. It is awesome! Hopefully it’ll help me get back on the wagon.
Tonight Eric and I worked on creating a duct tape dress form. I was saving to buy a nice dress form, but $500-$1000 is a lot of money if I can make one. It needs a bit of tweaking, but hopefully I’ll have it in working order soon. Here is the information I used to create the dress form. Enjoy!!

Well Eric (I’m tired of writing hubby and I think using his name won’t affect his privacy too much!) and I walked down the street to Jilly’s Cupcake Bar for lunch. I love living “in the city” close enough to walk to places!!
Eric had the three-cheese quesadilla and I had a spinach salad with shredded chicken, pickled onions, feta, walnuts, and blueberries with the dressing on the side (mango sesame seed). Yum!! The first thing we noticed was on a sign on the register. “We don’t accept tips, however we do accept donations to Siteman Cancer Center.” Eric visited Siteman with the entire family, mom, dad, his parents, and me to discuss a bone marrow transplant with the doctor that helped create Gleevec the drug he is taking. It was a nice facility, but a major-emotional visit. At that time they told us point blank, you won’t be able to have children. Since then research has shown it can be possible, so we may be able to. We’re not quite ready to start a family, but at least that is now in the realm of possibility.
Back to Jilly’s. Of course we tipped (donated) generously. Then out came the story that Eric’s 2 year cancer-versary is today as well as my birthday. They said we could both have cupcakes. Eric chose Bee Sting-vanilla, with honey curd, and lemon–delish!! I chose S’murtle– chocolate with chocolate and a bit of marshmellow cream–delish!! We’ll be back for sure. If you’re in St. Louis, please try it out–you won’t be disappointed!! Unless you go on Mondays–they are closed then! So maybe after all I’ll keep October 14th as my b-day.

Peace,
^-^