April 17th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
In case anyone is interested, all the gory details of my D&E are over on Growing Kateastrophe. It’s not pretty and I don’t hold back so if you don’t want the whole story, I wouldn’t click.
You’ve been warned.
April 5th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
A few weeks ago when Matt and his friends decided to do a semi-spontaneous (for them) trip to Vegas to watch our college team, the BYU Cougars - and don’t forget about Jimmer - play in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. I was thrilled to get out of town and spend the weekend in a fancy pants hotel despite not being a huge fan of Vegas as a vacation spot. That whole Mormon thing just takes some of the lustre out of gambling, drinking and smoking at will. Call me crazy. I do, however, love the restaurants, the shopping and the shows. So I suppose I have a 50/50 love/indifference relationship with Vegas.
We stayed at the Aria for the second time in a year. We love it. It’s new, it’s clean, it’s posh and it’s not eight million dollars like the Cosmopolitan (which was actually my first choice. Boo $400 a night). We ate at some of my personal favorites - Max Brenner and Serendipity. We attempted my favorite breakfast at Hash House A-Go-Go but the hour and a half wait was more than our starving selves could handle. We tried STK at Cosmo which had amazing food, but was SO LOUD. And apparently making a reservation means they’ll sit you at some point within half an hour of your arrival. What the what? If the food hadn’t been so good I would give it two big thumbs down but it’s sort of an in-betweener for me. Maybe better on a week night when they aren’t trying to make it a club AND a restaurant? The hotel was amazing though and is absolutely worth just hanging out in for a few hours. Someday when they lower their rates to less than my mortgage I’ll stay there.
Unfortunately, I missed the really great game where BYU beat New Mexico for the first time this year and Jimmer (if you don’t know who he is, please do yourself a favor and go find some of his highlights. I’m close to being talked into naming our first child after him - boy OR girl - I love him that much) scored a career high 52 points. The new job prevented me from taking a day off so I had to fly out that night. The second game - the championship - was rough. San Diego State handed out a butt-kicking to the Cougs. Also? San Diego State fans are officially my least favorite humans. It’s rare that people offend me and get under my skin and this crowd was really able to do that. Insulting my religion and things that are sacred and special to me at a college basketball game with the kind of disrespect and language that they were using is just crossing the line. I’m all for a good Mormon joke and poking fun at people’s quirks but this was OUT OF CONTROL. Needless to say that walking away from that with a loss was painful but what can you do?
Oh and we shopped. I have a new best shopping friend in Matt’s friend’s wife Courtney. We made out like bandits at Coach, Kate Spade, Banana Republic and a bunch of other stores at the big outlet mall north of town. Courtney actually did much better than I did but we both walked away with some treasures and matching necklaces we accidentally both wore the next morning.
We had a great time and I think maybe we should make it an annual tradition. I loved getting to know Matt’s friends and their wives better and spending time with my husband away from our busy lives and responsibilities is always a bonus. We SUCKED at taking pictures on this trip but managed to get one halfway decent one on our last night out. It’s only halfway decent because my fat head managed to block out half of Matt’s face but he’s almost really smiling which is rare in pictures and he’s a total babe. Rawr. Also, I was wearing sequins. Because it’s Vegas and I could.
After this trip I decide Matt and I just don’t travel enough, especially considering the relative lack of ties we have to home on the weekends. There are a multitude of reasons for this and some (many) will even say that I’m lying and we travel more than most people, but I would disagree. Our Europe trip has been put on hold AGAIN thanks to the new job. Many of the weekends we’d use to travel end up spent catching up on our much needed and much missed sleep. Plus I think my idea of travel includes a plane and exotic places I’ve either never seen before or am dying to see again. The places we can go on our short weekends are limited and, let’s be honest, sort of lame when compared with places like Venice, Paris, London and the other cities I dream of spending all my time in so rather than trucking to Tucson (which we did once. Snoozer.) we sort of just stay home and try to save up time, energy and fundage for big trips. But I’m going to try to forget about that and be a little more adventerous and find places to go on little weekend excursions.
I started this weekend. I requested a Jeep ride without a destination. If you know me, you’ll know my least favorite thing to do is drive around aimlessly with no goal, no idea where my next meal is going to come from and the possibility of needing a bathroom and not having one. I threw caution to the wind (literally - you should have seen my Jeep hair) and we drove around the outskirts of Phoenix for almost four hours, listening to music, talking, laughing and just having a blast. It was awesome and now I’m praying the heat spell we had last week was a fluke and we have at least a couple more months of awesome weather so we can do it again. I’m hoping for a trip to California in the near future and I’m trying to come up with somewhere new and different that’s within driving distance. Maybe New Mexico? Maybe I can pretend it won’t make me crazy and set off without a specific destination and we’ll just find a place to stay? I may not be that brave yet but we’ll see…
Eventually, so help me, we will get to Europe and have the vacation of a lifetime (scratch that, MANY of them)but until then, here’s hoping for some amazing adventures a little closer to home!
March 5th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
I have a blog? Weird…
As I’m sure you’ve gathered things got a little nuts around here. After giving three weeks notice at work, we interviewed the perfect girl the next morning…and then took two weeks to decide to hire her. And by we I don’t really mean “we.” During those two weeks I spent a lot of time writing instructions and tying up loose ends and throwing our yearly awards banquet. Then I had a whirlwind four days to get her trained and ready to go. It was complete insanity.
Last weekend I think my body had finally had it and decided to succumb to the sickness that’s been floating around so I started my new job Monday with a bad cold. Luckily my first two days were in a computer lab doing basic orientation and security training but unfortunately, by the time I headed to meet my team and start my real job, I wasn’t much better. I’m sure my team was super excited to have the “new girl” sneezing and blowing her nose a lot in the cube next door. Despite this I’ve already managed to make a new friends and think I will LOVE my team. I’m back in the world of geeky technology surrounded by nerdy developers and web weirdos and I’m so happy to be there. Real Estate was so not the world for me, just so we’re clear on that. The company takes SUCH good care of their employees in so many ways. We get a certain amount of money every month per employee and we’re “forced” to use it go go play. Our team saved up three months worth and is headed for a full day VIP tour of the Out of Africa park next week. There’s a rumor we get to feed a tiger. I wish I were joking. Only downside so far is that I’m back in a dark cubicle and no longer in my swank corner office. Oh and the parking blows. I’ll miss my free underground space. But really, the trade-off is so worth it.
My actual job is going to be awesome. And hard. Really hard. I’m responsible for the website pathway of the second largest revenue stream in a very lucrative company. Roughly $10M a MONTH comes through my areas and I’m in charge of making them more lucrative - planning, designing, the whole thing. Holy crapoly. Right now I’m learning about our site and products and then next week we’re starting a re-design. Might as well jump right in the deep end, right? I will be busy all the time and I can already tell I’m really going to love it. I may have to finagle my voice students around due to the overtime I’m sure I’ll be working but I’m hoping to be able to figure something out that works for everyone.
The weather in Phoenix has been amazing and being sick has really made me miss out on the amazing 80 degree days. Today I have all the windows open and I’m wishing I could go hiking. I’m also missing my exercise. I was up to almost 3 miles two weeks ago when the crap hit the fan. Hopefully I can pick up right where I left off when I’m finally feeling better. I’m really hoping to run a 4.2 mile race next month but I’m not holding my breath that it will actually happen.
Matt continues to work his (very nice) butt off. They just moved his office which more than doubled his commute (boo) but he keeps trucking along. It seems the company and his team love him but right now we don’t see a whole lot of each other. Aaaaand of course with a new job our European vacation had to be postponed. Again. BOO. But we’ll go, mark my words. It just might have to wait six months or so until I have the vacation built up.
And now that I’ve absolutely bored all of you to tears, I’m signing off to go lay on the couch some more in hopes this cold will finally go away. Wish me luck.
February 15th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
Well, Matt and I have become “that couple.” We were out shopping at Target on Saturday (looking for light bulbs. Aren’t we exciting?) and as we saw all the Valentine’s cards and candy, we realized that neither one of us had even thought of what to do for the other for Valentine’s Day.
We decided to move it to next Saturday.
See? That couple.
In fairness, it was on a Monday. And we’ve been insanely busy. Matt’s financial deadline at work is always the 15th so the 14th is the worst day of every month for him. Since giving my notice at work I’ve been “blessed” with insanity and a side of drama to usher me out the door. Plus the stress/anticipation of a new job is building steadily. Matt’s been sick for ten days and I’m fighting it off. We both pass out on the couch around 9:30 every night and have to drag ourselves into our bed whenever one of us is concious enough to make it happen. Last night was no exception. Again, that couple.
However, we have big plans for Saturday. We’ve got nothing to distract us from the day togetherness and we have reservations at the Brazilian chiaroscuro restaurant in Scottsdale and I’ve got some other fun stuff up my sleeve. Hopefully we can salvage this holiday although, as my husband pointed out in the Target candy aisle “We love each other every single day. We don’t need no stinkin’ Valentines.”
Sigh. That couple.
February 7th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
It appears that my prayers to get out of my own head and find ways to be happy and productive have paid off in a big way. January made a diving save on day 28 and is officially forgiven for sucking so extraordinarily. I’m so grateful it redeemed itself and it seems my prediction that 2011 will be my best year ever has already started to come true.
I just got back from a five day Disney World vacation and while I was there I got word from back here in AZ that I was offered a dream job at a dream company. With a dream salary and dream benefits. Downside? I had to give my notice today exactly five minutes after returning from said Disney vacation and watch the mayhem unfold. OK fine, that’s not really a downside. It’s more like a little hiccup which will cause the next three weeks to be a little strained and stressful. But it’s so worth it. I’m giddy with excitement.
For the record, Disney World is the most magical place on earth and I want to live there. With these girls. Love them.
Yay for DisneyWorld and yay for new jobs. Happy Monday and even Happier February!
January 19th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
So, if I’m being honest, my last post was supposed to have about ten more things on it. I wrote the post over several days and when I hit publish, it had some sort of freaky error and only published half my stuff. BOO. It was a sweet post too. It had links to all the stuff and fancy pictures and the whole shebang. Double boo.
SO, I decided to try to reconstruct the second part just for fun. So here you go.
1. NARS “Orgasm” Powder Blush.
I cannot be held responsible for the name, that’s what it’s called. I was doing a friend’s make-up once and I was telling her this was my most favorite blush ever and that it looked good on everyone. She asked what it was called and I shyly told her and her response was CLASSIC. “Well, no wonder it looks good on everyone!” HA! So, lots of people like the creme blush but I love the powder. It’s an awesome light pink with lots of gold so that it gives you the perfect flush. Plus it lasts for-ev-er. I bought mine three years ago and I’m just now at the point where it’s time to buy a new one. I get mine at Sephora but they carry it at Nordstrom, Saks and probably lots of other places too.
As a side note, I’m also a fan of “Deep Throat” for the occasions where I want a darker flush. It’s also fantastic. They also have “Super Orgasm” which I can’t wait to try. (And oh the searches I’m sure I’ll get after these last two paragraphs…)
2. Tangled
If you haven’t seen this movie, do yourself a favor and go right now. It’s so awesome. I would even be willing to say I like it as much as Little Mermaid and that is saying A LOT. Plus I love Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi so the fact that they’re the voices is a total bonus. I’m planning on seeing it again in the theatre. It’s sweet and funny and romantic and great for kids and adults. My husband even enjoyed it.
ZOMG I love my silver glitter Tom’s. They are comfy and they seriously make me want to dance everywhere because HELLO, silver glitter! I also love that they go to such a great cause. One for One. Every pair of Tom’s shoes purchased means an underpriveledged child somewhere in the world gets a free pair of shoes. I tried to convince my husband this was a great reason for me to get black and pink and gold AND silver glitter shoes, but he isn’t quite on board yet. You can buy them online at Toms.com but I got mine at Nordstrom because I had a gift card.
4. Basa Body
OK, so I’m weird with trends. Some I’m all for (see: Tom’s) others, I seem to resist forever before I finally jump on the bandwagon (skinny jeans) and others I just avoid forever and ever (sandal boots). Basa Body, due to the C. Jane phenomenon, seemed trendy. My oldest bestie Sheila came to town this weekend and brought me a Basa Body Stick and Peppermint Lip Butter and wowsers do I love both. The stick is great for chapped skin, eczema (thank you, Arizona), elbows, knees, feet…whatever. It smells divine and if you give it a second it soaks in completely and doesn’t leave any gross residue. The lip butter might just be my favorite thing ever. It has the peppermint extract for the tingle and the slight breath freshening and then it works miracles on my yucky chapped lips. And again, it’s for a good cause. The company was founded to give women in Kenya jobs to support and feed their families. You can read all about it here.
5. Homemade Tortilla Mix
So I was innocently walking down the flour isle at Walmart a while ago and something strange caught my eye…tortilla mix. It was like $3 so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s amazing. You add water and mix it up and let it sit for ten minutes and then you roll out little tortillas and heat them on a griddle or big pan. That’s it! They are delicious and they aren’t bad for you because they skip the lard step so common in tortillas. Matt and I both love Mexican food and I have often wondered if one could become a burrito or quesadilla from eating too many of them, so we are picky. These things pass the test. A bag probably makes 100 tortillas, depending on how small you roll them out so it’s totally worth the money.
Ok folks, that’s all I’ve got time for right now but I have a whole list of stuff I want to share. I’ve had some suggestions emailed to me and commented that I can’t wait to try so I’d love to hear more about your favorite things!
January 8th, 2011 by Kateastrophe
I’m not sure that anyone cares, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that make my life easier, more fun or just plain “more gooder” as my Stepfather used to say. I thought I’d share them with you! Just as a side note, nobody is paying me to say any of this. These are my honest to goodness favorite things.
1. My Apple Magic Trackpad.
At first, I was like WTH is this thing and how does it work? I couldn’t double-click, figure out the right-click (that’s right, Apple die-hards. I will NEVER surrender my right click! Shortcuts are for the birds! Unless they’re called CTRL-C, X or V.) Now I LOVE this thing. I have figured out how to maneuver it for the basics and now I’m on to the fancy advanced features such as the four finger swipe. SHAZAM! If you have an iMac I highly recommend it. Thank you Santa-Matt for the Christmas gift.
2. Speaking of Christmas gifts, holy surprise, Batman! Santa-Matt also upgraded the DSLR…BIG TIME! I had to trade in the trusty Rebel XTi but I am now the proud owner/operator of a Canon 60D. Ta-daa!
While it’s not for someone who hasn’t taken at least a beginner DSLR camera course, it might be the coolest camera ever. It has a hi-def video camera, 18.lots of megapixels, up to 6500 (!!!!) ISO (translation: you can take decent pictures in the DARK without a FLASH!) and all sorts of other bells and whistles. I’m still working on figuring it out and next I have GOT to take another class to get used to my fancy pants flash and other stuff, but I’m in love with it.
3. Streaming Netflix. HOW DID I LIVE WITHOUT THIS? We have been able to watch/become addicted to countless TV shows sans commercials or having to wait through the pesky summer for the next season, we watch (lots of times weird) movies all the time and holy johnnies I love it. We are able to stream it through our upstairs Xbox 360 and downstairs through the Blu-ray OR the Wii. And on the computer if necessary. And it comes with the monthly minimum Netflix subscription. Maybe the best $10 a month we’ve ever spent.
4. C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Salve from Bath & Body Works
Back in December my Phoenix girls and I got together and had a “Favorite Things” gift exchange. It’s like a White Elephant but with GOOD gifts. We all had to bring something we couldn’t live without that was under $10. People brought the COOLEST stuff but my favorite discovery was this amazing stuff. My friend Alisha is very into all-natural products and she loves the C.O. Bigelow line because it’s just that and this stuff is awesome. It’s for dry elbows, lips, cuticles, whatever. And it smells delish. It’s on sale right now so you should go get some.
So this girl? Can bake. She went to a fancy-pants culinary school on full scholarship and then worked as a pastry chef. Now she does it on the side while raising four of the cutest kids you’ll ever see. She makes the most delicious cakes and LOOK AT THAT CAKE UP THERE! All those flowers are made of gum paste or something like that. They’re edible. She makes them herself. And she makes the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. And the best blueberry scones. And the best cookies. And the best everything. If you’re in the Phoenix area and looking for a cake or a baked goodie, please do yourself a favor and give her a call. She does cakes for all my company and personal events. (I sound so snotty. Alllll my events pshaw. My birthday cakes. But for my company she really does everything, I swear.) Confession: Michelle is my friend. Like, I get to go to her house and eat her food a lot. And hang out with her. It’s awesome You should all be jealous.
When Oprah said this was like a face lift in a jar she wasn’t kidding. I love this stuff. I love all of Philosophy’s stuff, to be honest but this is my most favorite. I have finicky, dry skin and Arizona really hasn’t helped the issue. I get compliments on my skin a lot and it’s all due to constant sunscreen, limited sun exposure and this stuff. I buy it in the face care sets because a) it saves money and b) their face washes and microderm abrasion kits are also to die for. So is their eye cream. SEE? I love everything.
7. M.A.C. 224 Tapered Blending Brush
Not even joking when I tell you this is the BEST MAKE-UP BRUSH EVER. If you want your basic, everyday eye make-up to look stupendous, do yourself a favor and go get this thing. It does crease shadow to perfection and it’s worth the money because if you take relatively good care of it (I wash mine about once every three months with baby shampoo and am careful not to let water get inside the metal part) it will last you forever. I’ve had mine for ten years. That’s not an exaggeration. I love all my M.A.C brushes but they’re expensive and they’re the only ones I will buy. I’ve been slowly adding one at a time to my collection so now I have a lot but if you’re looking for one great brush to get started or to add to your collection, this is the one to start with. It’s the one I started with and still the one I use most.
SO there you have a few of my favorite things right now. I’ll try to do this every few months because I’ve always loved reading other people’s lists and I figure I’ve got some little treasures of my own to share! I will always only tell you about things I REALLY use and I REALLY love. Let me know if you have any special requests or questions!
December 30th, 2010 by Kateastrophe
OHMAGOSH in sixty seconds I turn 30. 3-0. Nevermind, make that right now I’m 30. And we’re 24 hours exactly from 2011. Holy. Crap.
I’m not going to lie, 29 was a little (ok a lot) rougher than I would have liked it to be. It started out OK. I lost 18 lbs, I was working out 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. I had a fairly new job I liked, a trip to Greece planned and I knew it was the year to start our family. There were some fun surprises and then unfortunately, right around the end of June we turned a bad corner in Casa de Murph and have been sort of treading water ever since. My hormones haven’t been stable since May and thanks to them I’ve gained back all my weight plus some despite keeping up a decent workout routine and quite frankly my emotions are shot to hell. This was so not the way the first day of 30 looked in my head.
But.
There were so many amazing things that happened this year, too. Even if it was for a very short amount of time I had not one but two tiny lives inside of me. Despite not having the physical proof, I became a Mother at 29. I found a new level of love for my husband. I got to have my sister move five seconds away from me. I became closer to old friends and discovered deep love for new ones. I played and I laughed and laughed and laughed. Then I cried a bit. And then I laughed some more.
This year I experienced horrifying lows but they were always followed by highs and new rays of light and hope. In 2010 more than any other year of my life I think I truly lived.
I’ve decided 2011 is my year. My stepfather (who passed away almost seven years ago) always told our family his favorite number was 11. One and one, together. He’d hold up his two pointer fingers and show me by shoving them in my fave and laughing. He insisted he marry my Mom on the 11th and always pointed out anything with 11 to any of us. He loved that number in a weird but awesome way. Now I’m sure he’s up there in Heaven giddy with excitement for it to be 2011 and to send us some sugar down here. I truly cannot wait.
Bring it, 30.
December 25th, 2010 by Kateastrophe
At the end of this Christmas Day I’m so grateful for so many things. For you, my friends. For my wonderful family - those who are here with me and those far away. I’m extraordinarily grateful that my Grandpa made it through lung cancer and three strokes this year and was able to tell me he loved me tonight when I called. I’m grateful for the wonderful man who chose to be my husband, for all he does for me and all he puts up with. But above all I’m grateful for the birth of Jesus Christ and for the faith I have in Him. I’m so amazingly thankful for the knowledge that none of the pains, great or small, that I may suffer in my life go unnoticed and that He is my loving brother who came to this earth with a divine purpose and through Him we can all have eternal life. May I never forget the true reason for this season.
Merry Christmas and love to all.
December 15th, 2010 by Kateastrophe
You guys, I’m almost certain that I’ve lost my brain. As in it fell completely out of my head and is gone forever.
Lately I can’t remember ANYTHING. I have been telling this poor friend of mine I’d come over and check out her serving dishes for weeks. “Tonight for sure!” I’ll say. Hahahhaha yeah right. It’s probably never gonna happen. In the morning I’ll remember that I rescheduled my voice student and then that night when it comes time to go teach them? You can find me sitting on the couch watching Vampire Diaries and eating something made of lard and sugar. I’m all over the map and it’s friggin’ annoying. I’m not sleeping well but I’m tired all the time. I’ll crawl exhausted to bed at a reasonable hour and proceed stare at the ceiling forever. Then of course I can’t wake up in the morning. Or do my job. Which lately? Has been nothing but spreadsheets. SPREADSHEETS. I said this on my Facebook status and I’ll say it again. If someone would have told me nine years ago as I was singing and dancing my little heart out that I would end up doing nothing but spreadsheets with N-U-M-B-E-R-S in them for two weeks straight as my JOB I would have shot myself on the spot. I’d like to shoot myself now but my Dad is flying in all the way from China on Friday and I turn 30 in two weeks and I’m having a party so I should probably wait until after then. Just saying.
As a small aside, that paragraph? Was a huge old mess. It shouldn’t even be allowed to be published but I think it’s fitting for my current mental state so I’m leaving it. I apologize profusely to all of my English teachers who are either rolling over in their graves with shame right now or searching for a way to get in a grave so they can do so. I also apologize to Anne Thomas Eliason and her perfect grammar. Please don’t break up with me over this.
My next two weeks aren’t going to get any better. I’ve got non-stop guests and trips to the airport until at least the 4th of January, a big Christmas Eve dinner, a 30th (EEEK!) birthday bash and I’m still not done shopping for Christmas. Thank heaven for online shopping and free shipping is all I can say. I’ve got until Friday to finish everything off or I’m going to have to actually go to a mall or something. Judging by my current status I think I’d get lost there and never come home. Someone would find me sleeping in a bed in the home section of Macy’s. And don’t even get me started on wrapping. I have a sickness, people. A matchy-matchy coordinated wrapping and bow sickness.
On a positive note, I am getting my hair colored for the first time in six months tomorrow (don’t judge me) so maybe covering over the blonde/gray/white hairs will help my brain reconstruct itself. I’m not really counting on it but I’ll keep you posted. Maybe I will walk out of the salon tomorrow doing complex equations and solving the world’s problems. Or at least knowing where I parked my car.
