May 30th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Well, let’s see. I could talk about a lot of things.

I COULD talk about the gondola ride through Naples that my Grandma surprised us with.

I COULD talk about the Hotel Del Coronado and all of it’s fabulousness.

I COULD talk about my SWEET new Dell Laptop, courtesy of my place of work.

But I won’t. At least not today.

Instead? I’m going to show you some pictures. Some awesome, HILARIOUS pictures from our anniversary weekend that have nothing to do with us or our anniversary.

Picture A was taken on the beach in front of the Hotel Del. We were walking along, snapping sunset pictures on the gorgeous beach when we walked past what I believe is the most ingenious use of toilet paper ever.

Picture B (aka “THE BEST PICTURE EVER”)– is Jose Canseco. Jose Canseco by himself, kind of interesting to run into at Huntington Beach. Want to know what is really interesting? Jose Canseco . . . in tight biker-esque swim shorts at Huntington Beach. Even more interesting? Jose Canseco in MOON BOOTS and tight biker-esque swin shorts at Huntington Beach. See?

Seriously, when we saw the picture of Jose Canseco in moon boots and tight swim trunks that we had miraculously captured after jogging after him and just randomly snapping away, trying to look inconspicuous, we were rolling around on the floor and laughing to hard we couldn’t see or talk for about twenty minutes.

We had a wonderful weekend, full of fun, romance and immense amounts of food. I will catch you all up on that later. For now, enjoy the pictures. Jose Canseco obviously wants it that way.

May 26th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Two years ago this Monday - May 28th, I made the best decision of my life and I married my best friend for time and all eternity.

May 24th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Ahhh the memes just keep on comin’! (and i MISSPELLED my original title. I’m so embarrassed)

I am flattered that Gunfigher likes me enough to tag me . . . so here goes. Meme number four bazillion . . . titled “In the Spotlight”

When did you start blogging?
Well, I officially started blogging with this post(and oh my gosh that was almost YEAR AGO??? Where has the time gone?) but it wasn’t until the day I wrote this post that I actually discovered the world of blogging as I know it now. I was searching for a picture of a tiny BYU cougar and came across Daring Young Mom’s old Blogger blog and then, in turn, her current blog and I realized that there was MUCH more to blogging than I had originally thought. I had written some pretty random posts and was on my way to being the blogger I am now, but discovering Katherine’s blog and blog hopping from there showed me what was really out there.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Because I have some pretty freaking cool parents, my childhood is filled with amazing memories. But I think the memories that have stayed with me and that I think of most often, I wrote about in this post from my old blog. Every time I hear thunder, see lightening, or smell the rain, I re-live those memories.

Are you a spiritual person?
I am a very spiritual person. I was raised LDS (aka Mormon) by my LDS mother, but my father is Catholic (but not exactly a church going strict Catholic), so I had to decide at an early age if I wanted to take the spiritual route or the “sinner” route as I joke with my Dad (Oh please no one get offended by that. I’m totally kidding I really truly am. I am very lighthearted about religion I swear). I did, and I have no regrets. Having a strong belief in God has helped me more than I could ever say. Abiding by the seemingly “strict” rules of the LDS church has been somewhat challenging at times, but SO SO worth it. I am healthy, I am happy, I am confident in my eternal marriage and family, and I have faith that no one can shake. I feel blessed in so many aspects of my life, and all the credit goes to God.

Do your moral values affect the way that you blog, and if yes, how?
Absolutely. I am not perfect in the “no swearing” rules . . . but I try very hard to keep the subject matter clean and rated PG. My religion and my moral beliefs are so intertwined in my life, there is no way they couldn’t affect my blogging. I live and breathe it, and while I have no desire to push my beliefs on anyone else, they are bound to be part of my stories and ongoing life experiences.

I also have a desire to be readable by all and offend as little as possible. I’m a little “rough around the edges” when compared to some of my same religion, but I hope to be a good example wherever I can and to be uplifting and fun at the same time. It is possible - and for me without alcohol! Plus, if you ever meet me in person, you’ll realize that it’s probably better I don’t ingest alcohol, as many people seem to think I live my life drunk. My boss recently said “the more drunk I get Kate, the more sense you make.” Touche!

What is the weirdest thing that ever happened to you?
My life is seriously so weird, it’s hard to pick the “weirdest.” I am constantly baffled by the weirdness of the world and how small it truly is. Plus, I am a weird, weird person. I constantly do weird things and have fun, weird friends. So there are a lot of things to choose from.

One of the weirdest . . . and funniest . . . and most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me, goes as follows:

Summer of my junior year in college, I was working on my “self image.” I was a theatre major and also participating in beauty pageants (another post for another time) and I needed to be skinny, hot and original looking. Oh and zit-less. So I was working out like a fiend, I’d dyed my hair dark red and I was on the dreaded Accutane. For those of you who don’t know, Accutane is the zit killer drug which basically works by COMPLETELY SUCKING ANY MOISTURE OUT OF YOUR BODY. You are walking around like a dried out corn husk. The doctors recommend dumping an entire bottle of lotion on your body daily, as well as snorting vaseline to prevent bloody noses. It’s SO FUN. So I was hot, skinny and all dried up. See? (OK other than the weird eyebrow. What the crap?)

I had started dating a guy I had met at my first pageant parade (again, another post for another time) and we had waited quite a while to start “the kissing” but once we started, we decided we really liked it, and we kept it going despite my dry nose issues, which were many and sort of disgusting.

I must also say that this was a guy like Jerry on Seinfeld. He’d dump a girl for looking at him funny, or for having a weird toenail. So, I was doomed from the beginning for sure, as I have many weird toenails and many funny looks. Add in the weird Accutane issues and I was done for before we started. I just didn’t KNOW it.

Cut to two weeks after the kissing started . . . and had kept going. We were at his house, which was, at the time, empty, because he was moving out of it to live with his parents (WAS I BLIND DEAF AND DUMB TO THE WARNING SIGNS OF A LAME BOYFRIEND???) and we were alone, in the dark . . . doing what two 20-something Mormon kids do when you’re ALONE and in the DARK. I’m embarrassed to admit this publicly, but it was a fairly . . . intense . . . make-out session that had been going on for quite some time. At some point, I noticed some . . . wetness, on my face. I didn’t think much of it, you know SPIT and all being involved, but it kept getting worse . . . and then I realized what had happened. The horrible, awful thing that had happened:

I
HAD
GOTTEN
A
MASSIVE
BLOODY
NOSE
ALL
OVER
MYSELF
AND
MY
BOYFRIEND

I pulled away and said “uh-oh.” We turned on a light and unveiled what appeared to be a BATTLE SCENE. We were both covered from the neck up. COVERED. I was MORTIFIED. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. Luckily he just started laughing. He went to the bathroom and cleaned up the best he could . . . and came back for some more of me and my hotness.

Five minutes later? Yeah. Another bloody nose.

Followed by the line my boyfriend uttered that I will mock him for behind his back for LIFE.

“Wow, my Mom does my laundry. How am I going to explain THIS?”

Needless to say we called it a night, and shortly after that? He called it a day with me and my hotness. Mama’s boy.

And that folks, is it. That is the completion of my Meme. I hope it also counts as the Kateastrophe of the week, because if my sharing my bloody nose story doesn’t count, then something is very very wrong.

Now I’m supposed to tag five people, but I seriously don’t have it in me now. If you want to play, you can go here to find the rules. Just make sure to let me know you’re playing along so that I can witness some of the fun.

May 23rd, 2007 by Kateastrophe

While I have been overwhelmed with Memes in the past . . . I was kind of relieved when Brillig mentioned to me that Cherann had tagged me AND given me “linky-love” as dear Brills lovingly calls it. I have been a bad blogger. I must have writers block or something, or it could possibly be that work has finally become busy and challenging, with the complete initiation of the new minion . . .who knows, but I haven’t been feelin’ the blogging this week.

Anyway, back to the point . . . I am supposed to list five blogs that I read but aren’t on my Blogroll (which is growing day by day.) This is actually going to be somewhat challenging, because I try hard to immediately add a new blog when I decide I love it. (I am such a blog whore.) So here goes . . .

1. Cherann, I’m ashamed to admit it, but you are number one. I read you and haven’t added you to my list. BAD KATE! Bad! You have fun things to say and I do love reading you. I will remedy the situation toute suite!

2. Lizzy the Botanist is a newly discovered blog, linked through my other BFF, the amazing Jewels of Blonde Canary. She is super funny and has all these hilarious nicknames for everyone and her son Nash “Radical” is SUPER cute.

3. Amy Furstenau I “read” for her amazing photography. Most of the pictures are of her gorgeous daughter Estee, but she has other stuff in there too. I’m uber jealous of her uber talent and I uber want to be like her someday. Uber.

4. Follow Ling Ling As She Gives Lymphoma the Beatdown is the most uplifting, heartbreaking blog I’ve ever read. If you read it, you must start at the beginning to understand what’s been going on. I put a disclaimer: HEARTBREAKING. I sat and cried the first time I read it. It is however, also very hopeful and wonderful, so, as hard as it is to read from the beginning, trust me, it’s worth it.

Honestly though? Four is all I can-can come up with. I try really hard to pass the love on to everyone. But hey, any lurkers out there . . . come ye forth! I LOVE finding new friends in cyberland. Just today I discovered that one of my favorite bloggers might be my long lost twin!

And uh . . . I tag . . . uh . . . everyone! It’s good to share the blog love right?

May 18th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Flashback to about four years ago . . . I was living in Utah working at a small graphic design firm with some of the funniest, most unusual people I’ve ever met. We had so much fun every day, and you never knew what adventure was around the corner.

At the time, I was (and still am) into Shakira. We used to listen to her music at work and make up dances. (Don’t ask.) It was kind of our office soundtrack.

One day, I returned from lunch, sat down at my computer, unlocked it and found this as my desktop.

One of my co-workers had hacked in to my computer . . . downloaded the Shakira album cover, scoured my hard drive for a picture of me that had a similar angle and viola . . . you have the ugliest picture in history.

Apparently, I arrived to soon for him to give my face a tan.

May 15th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Look! A Pile of rock! And Matt’s Jeep!

Showing here, Matt’s favorite feature: A huge saguaro cactus in the wash north of our lot. I myself do not like cacti. Reminds me that I live in HELL.

View from the back of our lot (look! No one across the street from us!)

View from the front of our lot. Look at that HUGE 30×50 backyard! And our backyard neighbor’s frame. They bought eight months after us! Bastards!

In great news, we discovered that we got the deal of the century on our lot. We paid a very small premium, and it turns out we have five extra feet on one side of the house (Five measly feet you say?! In Arizona that’s like an extra football field) as well as no one for almost 1/2 acre of a landscaped wash to the north of us and absolutely nothing and no one in front of us. We totally lucked out because normally those features would have added an extra $12k or so to the price of our lot. And we didn’t have to pay it. YIPEE!

Now, in case you’ve forgotten or have never seen it before, here’s what the finished product will look like. Except flipped with the garage on the other side . . . and a different color (more of a sage greeny feel). And with less cool landscaping. And a carriage garage door. And stuff.

May 13th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

On this Mother’s Day, I wanted to share a little bit about the three most influential women in my life . . . to let them know how much I love them and let all of you know a little bit about the women that have so influenced me.

My Momma. Words cannot describe how amazing she is. She is the most fun, vibrant, amazing person I’ve ever met. She is not a . . . conventional mother. She taught desert and mountain survival classes, took all of us camping and hiking and on numerous adventures. I’m trying to get her onto “Survivor” because I’m pretty sure she’d be the runaway winner! She lived in a tee-pee during college, if that helps put her into perspective! She raised four kids alone, and did a pretty darn good job. She has been through so many trials, it’s hard to even comprehend. Her’s is a life full of miracles and also full of the most intense adversity I’ve ever witnessed. Her faith is unwavered, her courage unmatched. I love her more than I could ever describe.

My Grandma. Anyone who has ever met Shirley will agree . . . I have the coolest Grandma in the history of Grandmas. She was a runway model back in the day, and she is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has an elegance and grace that I cannot describe. Everything about her is just . . . poised and beautiful. In spite of that, she knows how to get dirty and have fun! My Mom has hilarious stories of camping trips on Italian beaches interrupted by hurricanes, and Shirley refusing to leave the beach. Of skiing trips to the Swiss Alps with three young children. Even now, my Grandma is still full of adventure. She takes trips to Nepal and hikes mountains and sleeps on dirt floors. She takes safaris in Africa, trips to Europe. Just a year and a half ago, I had standing room only tickets to the Fiesta Bowl where. This amazing 75 year old woman with bad knees and a cane drove here from California on a moments notice just to see the Ohio State Band play and then stood with us and cheered through the whole game . . . at the very top of the stadium. She is a trooper! I talk to her at least once a week on the phone. She is my style and decorating consultant, my confidant and truly one of my best friends.

Finally, my amazing step-mother, Lisa. She is more than a step-mother. She welcomed my family with open arms and has treated us as her own. From the minute I met her, I knew she was going to be good for our family. She has been a voice of reason in troubled times. She has been a source of sound financial advice, as well as a friend to laugh and giggle with late into the night. She is like a rock . . . steady and unmoving. I don’t know how we lived without her. She has, in many ways, been a saving grace for myself and my siblings.

Today, I am so grateful for these women. I don’t know where I would be without each one of them. I truly am the luckiest girl alive to have been able to have their influence shape me into the woman I am . . . and hope they will continue to shape me into something even better. I love them with all of my heart.

May 13th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

I have been feeling the “volunteer itch” for quite a while now. That feeling that my life is pretty freaking awesome and I should really be giving back to the community somehow. I just couldn’t pick a cause. I feel strongly about many, but seem to have commitment issues.

Well, take THIS commitment issues. I found my cause.

I have started volunteering for the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center. There have been a lot of stories on the news lately about the awful treatment the Vets receive at the government hospitals, and they are notorious for horrible treatment, long lines, endless red tape, and frustrated patients. Luckily, the VA hospital in Phoenix has a better reputation than most, but they are still in desperate need of volunteers. So I got myself all fingerprinted and stuff, and I’m officially a VA Volunteer. Yipee!

I chose this as my cause for many reasons, but mostly in honor of my brother, Sean. About three weeks before 9/11, Sean decided to sign up for the Marine Reserves. His reasons for signing up had little to do with money or help with school, but were much more personal than that, and, for his sake, I will not share the details . . . let’s just say he felt he had something to prove, and he thought the Marines were a good way to prove it. Once those airplanes hit those buildings that horrible morning, I realized that Sean would have his chance to “prove it” much sooner than any of us had originally thought.

He got “lucky” and was in boot camp when his unit was sent to Bosnia in early 2002, but not as lucky once the war in Iraq started. I remember distinctly the moment I heard war had been declared. I was running on a treadmill at the gym, and I had to stop and run to the bathroom to cry, because I knew my brother would be there soon.

Sean was deployed to Nasiriyah right around the time the hostage situation with Jessica Lynch was taking place. He was in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. He saw and experienced things I cannot even imagine. Luckily, Sean came home to us safe and unharmed. He dealt with things no twenty-one year old should ever have to experience, but he was in one piece and was, for the most part, fine.

Sean was one of the lucky ones, in many respects. He had a bad case of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and has had some problems with alcohol abuse and anger issues, but my brother is an amazing person. He recognized the symptoms and immediately sought help. He took advantage of every single option available to him to help him deal with life after the war. Sean was not ashamed to ask for help, to seek counseling and to talk to others who had experience similar things to help him deal with what had happened. My brother is a well adjusted, smart, wonderful man, and I am SO proud of him. He has consistently made the dean’s list at his college and will be applying to law school this coming year.

As I said, he is one of the lucky ones. So many of the men and women who have been to war over the years don’t know what is available to them. They don’t know what to look for or won’t admit their symptoms and seek help. They are confused by the lengthy and complicated processes involved to sign up for free medical care or counseling. They need more information.

This post is not about politics or they “whys” of the War in Iraq. Whether or not anyone agrees with what has happened over the past five years doesn’t matter when it comes to the Veterans. They did what they were asked to do, what they signed up to do, and they are owed respect and all the help and support they can get to move on with their lives. My step-father was a Vietnam Veteran who was spit on and ridiculed when he got off the plane after surviving being buried alive in the jungle and digging himself out with a pocket knife and who knows what else while he was in service there. Too many people let the politics of the time cloud their judgment when it came to the treatment of the service men and women of that war. Luckily, it seems this country learned from their mistakes during that time and hasn’t treated the Vets that way this time around. But they still aren’t getting enough help they deserve, and politics have nothing to do with it. It has been the case forever, in war or peace time, during a Republican or Democratic Presidency. The Vets simply don’t have enough help or information.

That is why I chose to volunteer. If I can help ONE person get the information and help they need to become well again after a horrible experience with war, I will have made a difference.

My very first assignment as a volunteer was helping out with a fair to help veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan (which is called Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom or OIF/OEF) utilize all of the benefits available to them. This was an especially fitting assignment for me because I organize all of the trade shows for my office. I know how this stuff goes. I worked with Brenda, a great social worker in charge of the event for the past month or so making sure she had things semi-organized, since this was the first fair of it’s kind in Arizona.

The event was today. The room was too small, the tables were too big. The vendors and organizations were a little bit irritated with the situation . . . but, and it’s a big huge BUT, the Veterans who showed up were so grateful to have all those resources in one place, to be able to go through their huge list of questions and find the answers to almost every single one. Since it was the first fair, the turnout wasn’t great, but one serviceman’s wife summed it up when she said “When we got that invitation in the mail, it was the answer to so many prayers. We just didn’t know what to do next!” Today, we made a difference.

It was an emotional day for me. I am older than most of these guys (there were only two women Vets there, so I’m just going to sort of generalize and talk about the guys. No disrespect to the ladies). They are just . . . babies! I saw my brother’s face in each one of them. I saw them struggling to find the words to explain what they needed. I saw some of them trying to smile, but saw the pain in their eyes.

I had a long conversation with the head of security at the hospital He himself was a Vet and saw some pretty crazy things in his day. He said that he wished more of the Vets took advantage of programs such as TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors). He kept thanking me for being there, for being willing to share my family’s experiences with these guys so they would know they weren’t alone.I kept telling him that there was no need to thank me. I hadn’t done anything compared to what most of these guys had done. I was just there, helping people know which way to go.

I left feeling lifted and heavy, all at the same time. There were so many people who didn’t show up . . . so many men and women who might be suffering in silence. I wish I could personally reach out to all of them and help them. I know I can’t, but trust me, I am sure going to try.

May 10th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

Exactly two years ago this week, I was having a complete melt down because my wedding dress arrived from the shop dirty and with a giant, permanent crease in the skirt. It was also supposed to pour rain on the day of my bridal shoot at Thanksgiving Point and I was a total bridezilla, complete with fangs.

So I guess it’s also a Kateastrophe . . .

Anyway, despite a horrid hair day and pouring rain, I was allowed a few minutes of perfect photography weather and some pretty amazing bridal shots. My favorite, ironically, wasn’t taken by the photographer. My Mom shot this with her little digital camera.

I loved my wedding. I seriously want to get married again (to Matt of course) just to have another wedding.

May 10th, 2007 by Kateastrophe

I’m not nice this week. I’m not even halfway pleasant. I am a giant ball of mean, nastyness.

I’m trying not to talk to people. I’m actually trying not to LOOK at people, for fear my eyes will become deadly laser beams and I’ll kill someone I care about. I’m trying to hide in my cube and say nothing.

And yet . . .

PEOPLE KEEP CALLING. Or they keep “stopping by my cube” to say hi. Or they ask me to DO THINGS for them. To like, work. Or they want me to do things like EAT LUNCH WITH THEM. Are they crazy?? Have they MET me this week?

I need a door . . . or a sign or something. They need to know it’s not safe to play near me right now. Maybe I’ll make one that says “Swim at your own risk: lifeguard eaten by a Kate shark and not likely to return.”

If you have a better idea for a sign, let me know. I’m getting desperate at this point.