Tuesday, May 31, 2005
The weekend - recap (numero uno)
Like Father, Like Daughter
Well, Saturday morning I felt like shit. I woke up nauseous and with a sore throat. Those are the two things I usually equate with a night of partying. Nausea from the drinking and a sore throat from the smokes. Neither of those things happened Friday night. I drank iced tea and only smoked two or three cigarettes. I though gee, this is fucking great, I'm getting sick. My stomach calmed down about an hour later and thankfully so since
The Cake Lady and I had to set up the canopy for our table and unload her van. It's amazing how much crap you have to take with you to be outside for a few days...
Setting up the canopy took us like thirty minutes and then it was all smooth sailing from there. There was a parade at around 11:30 (an hour and a half late due to the rain that had stopped at around 8am) and after that parade, omigosh, there were people everywhere.
I am no newbie to the craft show scene. My father is a silversmith.
(You can click here to see some of his stuff...) My entire childhood was one gypsy run or craft show after another. He usually took Noah with him for these weekend runs, but I went a few times. He is a smooth guy, my dad, he could make conversation with anyone, he knew what prices to ask for what based on the person and he blended in well. He custom made jewelry for biker clubs and remembered people's names and more importantly what they had bought from him before. My mother always said he was a good bullshit artist and that is true. But being able to bullshit with other people is a handy tool and it is one I am glad I have inherited.
It's not hard to get into that groove of making chit chat with people. People who go to craft shows want to talk to you, they are social people. You stand up and start talking to them and they will tell you a story or talk about what they do. You make friends and you make a sale. That's how it goes. It's the same with my job, building a relationship. If I am nice and helpful and attentive when talking to a customer, then they will probably come in and possibly buy a car and then I make some cash.
Ok, some pics...
The Cake Lady makes these amazing candles and bath salts and a ton of other things that smell awesome and that you should buy by clicking on that link to the right that says Callaways Creations...
Here are a few shots of her things:



continued...
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 10:57 AM
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The weekend - recap (numero dos)
Other Vendors
We were so lucky. We were right next to this band... On their card it says "Victor Murillo, Classic Guitar, Latin Jazz, South American Music" God, these guys were awesome. Absolutely fucking great. The music was all mellow and soothing and fucking cool.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
They were playing instruments I haven't ever seen before. If you live around here and are hosting ANY event soon, email this guy at
andino2@hotmail.com. It doesn't matter what you are doing, the music is an attraction all by itself. They were playing headliners as well as their own music and it made the ambiance so appealing. My favorite thing that they used was the Siku. There were small ones that he could strap on with one of those things used to hold harmonicas on and then there were some as tall as he was.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

There was also the cooler guy: Rustic Furniture by Joe. Joe banked. Joe was also very nice and helped us with our canopy on Saturday morning. See, when you are doing a craft show, you want to be next to cool people because the cooler their wares are, the more people they attract and therefore the more people see your stuff. Joe had some cool shit. He made these cedar trunk/chest things. They had drains on the bottom and a Styrofoam cooler in them. The crowds that these things attracted were insane. And I learned something. There are two types of people in the world. There are those that say 'cooler' and those that say 'ice chest'. Anyway, like I said, Joe banked. He sold every single one he brought and all the ones he made while there, something like twenty-five of them at a hundred twenty nine a pop. Lucky fucker. Can't fault him though, they were very cool. He was ordering more Styrofoam cooler thingies on Sunday.
Rustic Furniture by Joe
Want one? Call him :) 361-726-9291 That black dot thing on the top right, off to the side of the Texas? Yeah, it's a bottle opener.

I'm telling you right now, if you can design and maintain websites at all then you should hit craft fairs. Some of these people have the coolest shit. Half of them don't have cards and none of them have websites!! Can you believe that? Joe could be making a fortune if he was on ebay or had his own site where people could order his ice chest/coolers! And the dudes in the band? They should have some mp3s on a website for downloading! Get the word out, you know? There was a lady selling these cool spinner metal things and they were so way beyond cool. The lady selling them had neither cards nor a website.

The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. When it spins, it looks round. It's very cool and they had one with a dolphin in it... Now that I am pricing them online, I wish I would have went and asked how much they were. I figured it was better not to know then to justify spending thirty bucks :)

Continued...

so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 8:23 AM
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The weekend - recap (numero tres)
The Experience

All in all, it was a good weekend. I was so tired on Saturday when I got home and still not feeling 100%, so I took some
Nyquil and crashed. When I woke up a few hours later, the rain was coming down like it had never come down before. It wasn't just pouring, it was dumping. There could have been a fire hose aimed at my roof and it would have sounded the same. Sunday morning when The Cake Lady and I arrived at the site, so many canopies were ruined. The early birds said that there had been a tornado and it had come right through there. I don't know if that was true or not, but our canopy was fucked up pretty good and should have stayed anchored. The camaraderie was refreshing. Everyone helping everyone else. Some of the vendors had come back the night before to check and secure things and had done the same for other vendors. There is no feeling of competition here, even between people selling the same things. Maybe that was why my dad did this his whole life...
Once we got the canopy fixed and the table set back up, we took all the pictures you have seen in the previous posts. Here are a couple of shots of my things:
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Image hosted by Photobucket.com
The big spinning wire display is the one I waited on for over a month! It turned out to be a good investment though... but if the wind kicked up, then some of the charms would blow off. The Cake Lady and I were picking them up all weekend.
The chair and I became very good friends as the weekend progressed. I highly recommend that, if you are looking for lawn furniture, you contact The Cake Lady and ask her where she got them because they are very comfortable.

It was fun. I got to sit in the shade on some of the most gorgeous days that there ever are in Texas. I got to mingle with a ton of cool people. I got to spend time with The Cake Lady with out either of us feeling like we needed to up doing something else. I gave out the card to the store where I sell my charms to a ton of locals who have bracelets. It was a very relaxing atmosphere. Oh, and I made some money :P More importantly, I told as many people that would listen that I had my charms in the store down the road and gave them cards. This weekend was advertising for me and I think it went well.

Ok, now I sooooo have to work!
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 8:21 AM
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Friday - the recap
Lemmesee... So, yeah, Friday. Friday was Ruthie's graduation! It so rocked. The things I felt sitting there watching my sister accept her diploma and graduate. So much pride. I am so proud of her, for the fact that she stuck with it when it was so easy to just give up. She looked beautiful, of course that could be because she is beautiful... pictures? why of course! this one is my favorite, I wish the quality was better
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
So, we leave graduation and head to The River Walk. Which is San Antonio's big tourist trap attraction. We ended up eating at the Hyatt (where my uncle, aunt, and grandmother were staying) after wandering up and down the River Walk with the other out-of-towners.

We all sit down at three combined tables and more or less have the place to ourselves since it was after ten. I am helping my daughters decide what they would like and situate their napkins in the lap, reminding them to use their manners and behave... so you can imagine my shock when I discovered that, on the other end of the table, my mother, aunt, brother, and uncle were having a spit-ball fight! In the HYATT! OMFG. My daughters, who are seven and eight, are just staring in disbelief, utter and complete disbelief - of course, I was as well.
sheesh, lol
Amanda asked my what they were doing and my uncle looks at me and then her and then tells her to come on down to his end of the table and he would show her how and (bless her heart) she declined. She may have been more into it had she not been so tired. My uncle asked what time they went to bed normally and when I answered 8:30, he just kind of stared at me... then he asked 'every night?' Instead of an appreciation for my parenting, I get astonishment .
It's strange how much your family changes as you age. Really, they don't change at all, rather your view of them and how much they let you see changes. Last year, there was a feud of sorts between my aunts and I got copied on a lot of emails. I was sitting here, at my desk, reading them, shocked. Growing up, these people were the epitome of 'mature' and I was to aspire to be them... and now I have been allowed to see behind the curtain, accepted into their club. I am constantly astounded by how they aren't intimidating any more, how it is all rather façade like, being an adult. So much of a front. Since I have landed into the role of being a 'grown up', I am constantly shocked by how strange it is, how different it is compared to how I expected it to be. As a child, I idolized adulthood. Now that I am here, I enjoy it but I am always surprised at how different it is compared to how I thought it would be. But I digress...

So, the spit-ball fight in the Hyatt continued until our food was served. Afterwards, the girls and I rode the elevator up to the top floor and the looked down at my family in the restaurant -shudder- from the walk way.
It was very late when I got home and I was so far past tired that I literally just passed smooth out. I let Noah go to Fairy's to pick Triniti up and the girls were asleep before we ever even got home. Plus, I had to be up at the ass crack of dawn the next day for my craft show :)
More to come...
~Kate


so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 7:45 AM
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good morning and all that jazz
Well, the three day weekend is over and I am so far past pooped. I promise that you guys will get a nice update with pics from the craft show and all the cool shit I saw over the weekend... but you will have to wait! Try not to chew off all your nails with anticipation :)
Fact-o-the matter is that I blew off work yesterday and instead spent the day with Veronique's mother. Initially, I was going over to her place to help go through some things and get some stuff packed up... that, however, only took about thirty minutes and then she and ended up sitting on the couch talking for like four hours!! She is really sweet and I am going to miss her when they move to Florida this weekend. Seeing as how she is Veronique's mom, they are a lot alike and being with her is kind of like being with Veronique... so I guess it helps with the missing her. Plus she has hit the point of wanting to talk about things she was ready to talk about before like how it happened (info I got from the guy she was with that night) and what she had been doing the last few months in Dallas. It was nice. I really enjoy her company and I am really going to miss them.
Fast forward a few hours and I am sitting in a bar with Fairy, K (her new dude), and my brother (Noah). Noah is totally digging on the blonde bartender and I am scoping the out the guy playing pool with the bitchin' arms. Anyway, the dilemma? Well, we are two girls and two guys so of course everyone thinks that we are two couples. It is painfully obvious that Fairy and K are together since their faces are stuck together half the night but Noah and I were going to great lengths to make sure no one thought we were. We were successful on his end since he made it out of the bar with the blonde chic's number. I wasn't as lucky, sadly. Guy with the nice arms split about two hours before us.
Ok, so I am going to start my month end reports but I will try and get the pics and the update on the weekend up in a little while!
Hope ya'll had an awesome weekend!
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:06 AM
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Monday, May 30, 2005
I've decided to marry...
Yes, I know... you are all surely shocked as I have proclaimed that marriage wasn't something I would enter into lightly nor likely encounter before trying on and out at least a half a dozen more men. But I can't help myself. I have found him, the one, my perfect match. I can't let this opportunity pass me by, I have to throw caution to the wind and follow my heart and my true path.
Let me tell you about my love: he is an intellectual, a genius in fact. He has exquisite taste and has won my heart by combining two things only he could combine with this type of unbridled success and perfection. I'd love to tell you that he is an awesome lover... alas, I have yet to try him out, however if he can give me the ecstasy I have already experienced since discovering him then I am sure that he will surpass superb in bed. Who is he? I know you are curious. Shall I tell you? Should I share with you the identity of the man I am destined to marry? Well, why not? :)
As soon as humanly possible, I will be wed to the man who created the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Only a master of such perfection is deserving of my undying love.
Come on, did you really think that I was getting married when there are still many a man out there in need of my... uh.. time ;) AND did you really think I would marry someone without first tying them to my bed? Doubtful.
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:51 AM
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Saturday, May 28, 2005
wow... just - wow...
I’m sitting here looking at my counter stats page and I cannot believe my eyes. I’ve had more than five thousand hits since I started this little blog back in December. "You love me, you really love me!" I remember when I first started blogging and how it was discouraging because you weren’t really getting a ton of hits or none for an entire week until Blogger put you into a rotation and you would show up on the ‘next blog’ list and some dude in Korea who didn’t speak English would glance at what you had written briefly before hitting ‘next’ again. I remember idolizing other blogs (all listed over there to the right) and wishing I could write something as good as they were and have twenty something comments on all my posts. I never once thought about giving it up though. I love writing here and I love reading your comments and I love reading your blogs.
Five thousand hits! That’s huge. Thank you guys, for reading and for hanging in there through all of my mindless babbling :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:00 PM
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Friday, May 27, 2005
Prepared I am not
Tomorrow morning I will be forgoing my usual Saturday morning routine of sleeping in as long as humanly possible [read: 9am] before my kids are incessantly jumping on my bed demanding to be fed. Why oh why, you ask, would I skip such a major morning ritual? Well, because, I will be pulling my ass out of bed at 6am, like I do every other morning and heading into town for the Memorial Day weekend. The Cake Lady and I have split the cost of a table and are going to be peddling our wares. Town will be especially pack seeing as the Pro-Rodeo will be in town, not to mention the normal Memorial Day hubbub.
You may have caught my
previous post about said wares, but if not, I’ll reiterate. I sell Italian Charm Bracelets. I think that they are very awesome and had purchased some for myself and my daughters before taking the big financial leap and buying a shit load of them in bulk to resale. They've been in the store for... about a month now. I haven't went and asked if any have sold because I am a giant chicken shit, lol. It's just that you don't want to invest the amount of money I have invested and then find out your aren't getting anything back... Anyway, I am hoping that this weekend will be a sufficient advertising campaign.
Italian Charm Bracelets
Well, I got an email from The Cake Lady asking me how prepared I am. Hmmmm, let's see. A list of things to accomplish before heading out to sell things this weekend.
1. Buy stock - check...
2. Buy displays - check...
3. Design cute logo with pictures of daughters - check...
4. Obsess over what to write on little cards with logo on them - check...
5. Buy little baggies for charms - check...
6. Agree to do craft show - check...
7. Pay for your half of craft show - check...
8. Print off little inserts with cute logo for baggies - ummm... half way done
9. Put little cards with cute logo in little baggies with charms -
10. Have all bracelets ready for display -
11. Put bracelets on their display -
12. Put charms on their display -
13. Figure out what to wear (um, HELLO, pro-rodeo? Cute cowboys -grin-) -
14. Get bottles of water and snacks -
15. Ice and cooler -
16. Check weather... I can do that right now :) - check
Shit... Fuck...
Saturday 28th
T-Storms
High79°F Low63°F
Precip: 60%
Showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the low 60s.
Sunday 29th
Scattered T-Storms
High78°F Low64°F
Precip: 60%
Scattered thunderstorms possible. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 60s.

Well that is just fucking great.

Thank goodness The Cake Lady is dealing with all the major details. So, this is me having to go because I clearly have way too much stuff to do. Wish me luck this weekend :)

~Kate

ps. just checked out The Cake Lady's blog and I feel slightly better after having read this :)
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 3:02 AM
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Thursday, May 26, 2005
Yoda, I am...

You scored as yoda. You are Yoda. You're a very wise and practical green midget thingy. People underestimate you but that's okay, you can still kick their asses!

yoda

92%

luke

71%

leia

67%

han

50%

darth vader

38%

the emperor

29%

Which Star Wars character Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 12:48 PM
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Sad news...
Got a call yesterday informing me that one of my co-workers (DL) had a heart attack. He was actually a previous co-worker as he is no longer with the company, but since he has only been gone for a few weeks he still feels like a co-worker.
Night before last, while asleep in bed, he had a heart attack and died. That was it - his life is over. He had been working here for the better part of the year and was a really nice guy. In his late forties, remarried for three years to a woman he really seemed to love. He met her online and moved, from the UK, here to be with her. He had a great sense of humor and could make you laugh. He was caring and considerate. He came into my office more than once and sat down and talked with me about my daughters. He, too, had children. His son was here over the summer and I remember that he was really happy that he had been able to see him. He also had a stepchild with his new wife that he really cared about and would often run ideas of things that he could do with her by me.
One thing he told me that stuck- One day, he and I were standing outside on the patio, on a break, talking. I had recently had a flat tire and a guy had stopped to ask me if I needed any help. DL told me that he was often afraid that when he stopped he would scare the woman he wanted to help. He said he made a conscious effort to park a good one hundred feet up the road from her. Then he would get out of the car and ask her if she needed help from right next to his door. He said he would only approach her after he made sure she felt safe being in his presence.
That’s how I will always remember him. As the type of guy who would always make sure you felt safe around him. He was a great person and I know many will miss him.
~Kate


ps. I know the song of the day is a repeat, but it's appropriate. And who of you are paying such close attention to the song of the day anyway that you would notice? Just download what ever is up there and send me thank you emails (or presents, your choice) for sharing my eclectic and awesome taste in music with you.
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 5:53 AM
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Wednesday, May 25, 2005
When was the last time that you laughed so hard you cried?
Well for me it was last night. As you all know, my brother is here on leave until June 8th. At which point in time he will steal my sister and fly back to Hawaii leaving me here as the sole sibling still in Texas... sigh...
Anyway, my mother and my brother were both here and getting ready to leave. We say our goodbye's and then they head outside and I head to the couch. I had TIVOed House and was dying to watch the season finale (I'm a loser, sue me). So, I plop down onto the couch and head to my recorded items screen and no sooner than I hit 'play', my mom walks back in. Apparently, her and my brother made it all the way out to the truck before the debate that they had going became one they felt they needed to include me in. So, of course, back inside they come. They are both talking at once and I can't understand either of them. After a few minutes of this, I am staring listlessly at the screen which is displaying 'HOUSE' on it in an inviting way so I ask them what the hell they are arguing about. My mom looks at me and then my brother and then back at me and does something I have noticed that we, in my family do, quite often. She asks me, in a neutral way (so as not to give away her opinion and therefore influence my answer in any way), to give my opinion on the matter they are arguing about. So, by now, surely you are wondering.. if not slightly curious, why my brother and mother were debating? Let me apologize ahead of time because it is way less interesting then I may have led you to believe :P
My mother asks me "If you are an alcoholic and you stop drinking, are you on or off the wagon?"
Yeah. These are my genetics. Any questions you had before now regarding my intelligence or sanity? That question right there (and the simple fact that my 47 year old mother and my 22 year old brother were having a discussion serious enough about it to come back into the house and involve me) should clear everything right up for you.
I told her that when you are off the wagon, you are drinking. When you are on the wagon, you aren't drinking. She gives my brother than look of I was riiiighht and yoooouu weren't. I can mentally picture her sticking her tongue out at him. Sad huh? Anyway, I asked Noah what the hell he thought it meant and get this... He says to me that he thinks you are drinking while you are riding the wagon and when you get too drunk they kick you off and make you walk behind it until you sober up, then they let you back on. There may have been more but by the time he finished with just that, I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. He really is a very smart lad, I assure you. It must be the jetlag or the lack of ocean scented air that has caused his (hopefully) momentary lapse in intelligence. Poor boy.

~Kate

Appended 5/26: Eek did the research for all of you out there who thought that my brother was right :) Check it out! Plus he gets some serious points for making me look up the word: etymology
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 4:01 AM
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Tuesday, May 24, 2005
I am officially freaked out...
I am just sitting in my office, innocent and working (of course) when Jiffinner walks in and asks me if I know what a 'donkey punch' is. I told her no, because I didn't know. Notice the word 'didn't' as in past tense, as in I KNOW NOW and I was better off before. Want to know? I'll tell you right now that you don't. But, in case curiousity has gotten the better of you, click here, but remember, I warned you. Send all compaints to Jiffinner.
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 11:19 AM
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friends and logic
I was reading this blog yesterday… I stumbled across it while out wandering the blogosphere, bored out of my mind. It popped up while I was working and despite my many efforts to close it, refused to be closed. Iin fact, demanded I read it or it would cause my computer to explode - thereby rendering all of the hours of tedious working I had done to disappear. Well, I had to read it! I mean, I was working for hours and hours on emails and restructuring of templates and reports for the end of May! I couldn’t let the computer explode! You understand right? Anyway, I digress…
So, I was forced to read and read and read… Fortunately,
Malcolm is rather entertaining, so this was no major chore. Whilst perusing March, I ran across this post which really made me think. It was, more specifically this “Friends are the measurement of how good you are as a person.” And this, “And that above all else is what friends are, a reflection of you and your character. I have good friends, therefore I must be a good person! So the biggest compliment in the world is to have nice friends because what that tells you is that you are valuable.” This rang so utterly and completely true that I had to share it with all of you.
With everything that I have been through this year and in past years, I have had such awesome friends. But
this year was especially hard and in being so made it clearly obvious how many real and true friends I have. I know I get all mushy sometimes and go on and on about how lucky I am to have all of you, but this time it was Malcolm’s fault, not mine :P That's my excuse anyway for again getting all mushy. Or, of course, I could have just been so distracted by the picture directly below this post (shot from neck to navel) that my imagination was running away with me and I am just babbling incoherently… What can I say, I am sucker for a guy without his shirt...
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 3:52 AM
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Monday, May 23, 2005
Poison-Berry
Yesterday morning, I got up at 6am to pick my brother up from the airport. We arrived thirty minutes before his plane was scheduled to arrive. Amanda and I went inside to check the arrival screen and see if his plane was on time, it was. So we went back outside and sat with my mother who was chain smoking. At about five of eight (ten minutes before his plane was scheduled to land) we went back inside and sat by the hall where all the passengers come out to claim their baggage. Lo and behold, there is my brother. I so hate that. They should have put ‘arrived’ or ‘unloading’ or something so we would have known he was there.
Anyway, since he had been flying all night from Hawaii, I took him, my mother, and my daughter all to IHOP for breakfast. Let me start by telling you how cute our waiter, Aaron, was. See, I can get away with some very discreet flirting when it’s just me and my daughter or me and another female but, take my twenty two year old brother and my daughter and we look like a family. Flirting was pointless. So, instead, I tried to help Amanda decide what to eat. She wanted chicken strips at nine in the morning. Crazy little girl. Noah was trying to convince her that she really wanted pancakes because of all of the syrup choices you get at IHOP. She asked what flavors there were and Noah told her. When he got to boysenberry, she freaked out. She says to him “Do you think you can trick me into eating ‘poison-berry’ syrup? I might be a kid, but I am not falling for that one Uncle Doh-Doh!” There was no convincing her that she wanted pancakes after that.
Well, I wanted the same thing I always want when I go to IHOP, the Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity®. The problem with that is, without fail, you sound like a moron ordering it. Years ago, in a less secure time in my life, I would have just pointed to the menu or told someone else what I wanted and let them order for me. I shared my hesitancy to sound like an idiot with my family who laughed with me. That was when I realized that the last time I ordered the Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity ® I was in a relationship. Wow. Time to jump that ‘scared to sound like a moron to my cute waiter’ hurdle. So Aaron comes back over to take our orders. Noah orders French toast, mom ordered Cheese Blintzes (which I had never heard of before), and I ordered Amanda’s food. Then Aaron asks me what I would like and I say it, ‘Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity®’ [insert cringe here]. Then I laughed and told Aaron that I guess there was no way to say that with out sounding like a fool, you can’t really shorten it. He concurred and admitted to me that the next time, should I want to get in on the lingo, I could just order a ‘Rooty’. He said that was what the employees of IHOP referred to it as.
So there you have it, readers. Should you enjoy IHOP’s famous Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity® breakfast combo, I have just given you the proper jargon for ordering it. You can somehow manage to look semi-cool by at least referring to it the way the waiters and waitresses do. Just make sure you don’t eat any of the ‘poison-berry’ syrup on your pancakes.
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:23 AM
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Saturday, May 21, 2005
Allow me to share with you...
Allow me to share with you the lovely weather report from Texas. Today, I went outside and snuck a peek at the thermometer and the little red line was half way between 'HOT' and 'FUCKING HOT'.
Can't take a step outside without breaking a sweat. I'm so unbelievably fucking happy that Summer has finally arrived. Gotta love Texas :)
Hope your weekend is creeping by ever so slowly...
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 2:01 PM
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Friday, May 20, 2005
perusing hot or not…
The word… or should I say non-word? ‘Peeps.’ Are you serious? Did you really just say ‘he’s one of my peeps’ to me? Please tell me that you didn’t.
Another word I dislike? ‘Wassup.’ The whole ‘what’s up’ thing doesn’t really do it for me… In fact any variation of the question bugs me (‘wuz up’, 'what up'). I guess I am more of a ‘hey, how are you doing?’ kind of girl.
Please, please, please, stop using ‘u’ as a word. Could you? I would consider it a personal favor.

It’s really not that difficult to go ahead and spring for the two extra letters. In fact, they are all with in a three key radius of each other. I could probably ignore it (probably not, but for the sake of argument) if ‘you’ actually had something like fifteen letters in it, but it’s only three and you are going to type one of them any way!
The word ‘holla’… Well pseudo-word anyway. No huge rant on that one, it just bugs me.

Some quotes:
“Looking to go back to school, but currently in management at Target…”
“i like to drive around and look at the world...grass, trees, sky...”
shiny objects…
“down for whatever mixed race black and pr not in to full figue women sorry. no getto girls or gold diggers”
“Just wanting to find a friend or a bi female…”
“im romantic and i can also be whipped too, if you like haunted houses i work at one”
“I love the outdoors though not having a car right now is kinda playing against that.”
“Technology gear-head with strangely Luddite thoughts, film buff, book worm, happy drunk, wants to be reincarnated as a dog, occasional hater of cats, religiously ecumenical, and instant Zen fatalist when flying commerical air.”
“i am 24 and still in colleg…”
For good reason…
“most people like me for my hummer”
“Hey my name is Bob i am 37 years of age and i like large women”
“love candle light dinners on a thursday night and finger painting small animals.”

And that concludes our quote hour here on LOC :P

I did happen across three guys whom I considered worthy of sharing here with you, my loyal readers. Click and check 'em out...
Guy number one, reminds me ever so slightly of Jon Bon Jovi.
Guy number two, who makes me want to move to Turkey.
Guy number three who makes me wonder what the legal age is in whatever the hell country he is from…

Signing off :) Have a nice weekend readers.
~Kate



so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 2:52 PM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

Almost the weekend...
It’s Friday, readers. I think it is physically impossible to NOT get excited about Fridays: the promise of some extra sleep tomorrow (for those Mon-Fri workers, like yours truly).
So, I think I may have mentioned this already, but it’s my blog so I’ll repeat myself if I want to :P My brother is arriving on Sunday! My brother is two years younger than me. He joined the Navy right after he graduated. It actually really sucked at the time. He enlists and they give him the day when he is supposed to be there, which was mid October, and then what happens in September? Yep, the Twin Towers. 9-11 happens and my brother is supposed to go off to basic training like three weeks later. We were all freaking out. Our freaking out was in vain however, since my brother actually ended up getting to play in Amsterdam for a few weeks and then Japan for six months before he scored his cushy gig in Hawaii, where he has been for the last two years. I know, rough right? I’ll have to see if I have a picture of him to post here :)

Ahh, yes, here is his place, his house is circled:

Noah's House

Anyway, I haven’t seen him in almost two years. The last time he was here was August of 2003! That is way too long!
It’s strange how someone you quarreled with incessantly as a child can mean as much to you as he does to me as an adult. I miss him terribly now that he is in Hawaii. And now my sister will be flying off to Oahu with him on June 8th. What the fuck am I supposed to do with both of them gone? Makes me want to cry. I have been talking about Ruthie leaving with friends for a while now and may have even mentioned here a time or two. She graduated next week and then that’s it, readers. She is eighteen, all grown up and ready to move on and start her life. Which means that she will inevitably be moving out and on. She had been a part of my day-to-day life since she became a teenager and now she is just going to leave.
Fuck, I am going to have to be committed when my children actually start to move out and on. Ten years. That’s how long until Amanda will be eighteen. Yeah, ten years sounds like a long time but how long is it really? She is turning nine this year and it seems like no time has passed at all. Half way to eighteen.
Ok, getting all mushy here! Sorry! So, my brother is flying in on Sunday! He will be here until June 8th and I am so fucking jazzed :)
Try and get something else on here today to make up for Wednesday!
But just in case I don’t, you guys have an awesome weekend!
~Kate

so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:27 AM
| link to this post | 1 spoke |

Thursday, May 19, 2005
Pardon my absence...
Good morning readers :) Sorry for my absence yesterday. I woke Emilee up at six yesterday morning and she did not feel good at all. So, I had to call Jiffinner and ask her to work for me. Anyway, I ended up taking Emo to school about two hours later but rather than come to work I decided to stay home and actually take a day off -GASP-
Many things were accomplished but the one thing I couldn't figure out to save my damn life was how to record something from my DVR onto my VCR. This is so frustrating for me. These are electronics that I own. They live on my entertainment center. I dust them and give them the electricity that they need and... well, that's pretty much it. But the thing is that they are mine. I own them. And yet, they beat me yesterday.
Of course, part of this probably has to do with the fact that I can't find my manual. I am not a stupid chic, I do look things up and use instructions. But my owner's manual seems to have disappeared. So, I figured, how hard can it be... Right? I mean, I'll just start the show I want to record and hit record on the VCR and all will be well... wrong. Apparently, you have to know the magic code or words or specific channel settings or some such shit.
So, I did what any intelligent chic would do. I gave up and did something else. Stupid machines. I am going to call DISH today and ask them for help because I have like eighty hours of shows recorded on to it and I need to move them.

Emilee turned 7 yesterday. She loved her gifts which was a huge relief for me since I had no idea what to buy her. We ordered her the most awesome of cakes for her actual party, but that isn't until the beginning of June. I'll put a pic of it up then :)
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
We also had the girls gymnastics show. The both got their trophies and did a very good job.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
I want to see if I can find a free site that allows you to upload videos and then share them. Do any of ya'll know of one?
Ok, I have to get some work done :) Ya'll have a nice day!
~Kate





so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 5:40 AM
| link to this post | 3 spoke |

Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Take the Christian Fish off of your car if you are an asshole.
So, on 99.5 Kiss this morning, they are talking about things that annoy you. I am listening to the girl talk about how MTV should actually play music since that was why it was created. And how they even had the audacity to make MTV2 and still not play music. Those fuckers.
The next guy is pissed off about going to the convenience store only to have to stand behind the dude with fifteen lotto tickets, all worth a buck each. He was pissed that a good chunk of his lunch break was dedicated to watching the guy in front of him choose his next lotto tickets.
Then, a third guy came on and I didn't even hear what he said. Why? You ask... Well, because of the fucking Jag, that's why. Some blonde chic almost fucking hit me with her car. I know she fucking saw me. So, I shrugged it off. I mean, an early morning heart attack helps me wake up, right? So, I merge onto I-10 and then she is all up my ass. There was a semi in the left lane trying to pass some dude pulling a trailer full of lawn care equipment. So, I moved my ass over into the right lane to let her pass me. What do I care? She wasn't going to get any where. Well, she climbs so far up that semi-truck driver's ass that I doubt he could even see her. I mean, come on! You have to realize sometimes that you just aren't going to get to go faster. So you lay off the god damned accelerator and just deal with it. Unless you are the psycho bitch driving the Jag. When you have a Jag, does that just make you feel superior? Do you feel as though you have the right to cut people off in traffic because you have a nice car? Fuck you if you do.
So, anyway, she moves over and cuts me off and starts riding the guy who is pulling the lawn care shit. Well, he can't fucking go anywhere because some little Ranger had just pulled out in front of him and was half on the shoulder, half on the highway. This guy had to have been shitting bricks. A Jag up his ass and a little truck that can't decide whether to be on or off the fucking road in front of him. I was just staring at all of this in disbelief. So, I flip my blinker on because my exit is next and it occurs to me that she is probably going to exit too. Which really means she is a bitch because she was all over everyone and she only had to go like three miles down the fucking highway. Anyway, sure enough, she exits. Do you think she used her blinker? If you guess 'no' then you would be right. I'm sorry, but if you are so fucking rude that you don't use your blinker, it pisses me off. Well, she pulls up to the stop sign and do you know what I see? Oh, PLEASE guess. One of those fucking Christian fish things! The bitch can't use her blinker but has a Christian fish on her car! I really wanted to rear end her. If I wasn't a believer in Karma... I mean, it wouldn't have even scratched my chrome boat and I could have fucked up her Jag!
Anyway, I didn't rear end her... Instead I just took all my anger and frustration and shared it with you! :)
Do me a favor, post a few things that piss you off under comments :)
Have a nice Tuesday readers :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 5:58 AM
| link to this post | 5 spoke |

Monday, May 16, 2005
Do I feel different?
When I was a young girl, I was under the impression that when I lost my virginity I would feel different. I think that deep down all girls think that they will. Maybe some of them do. I didn’t. I didn’t look in the mirror and see anything different and I didn’t feel as though I had changed. There are a few milestones in a female’s life that are supposed to change them. There is the first period, which is supposed to make you feel all grown up when really the first few months you just feel kind of gross and with drawn. Then there is your first time having sex, which is supposed to make you feel like you have shared something wonderful for the first time with another person. I guess that there are the select few who do feel wonderful afterwards, but most of us just feel a little sore and a little more or a little less curious about sex. When you turn eighteen, you’re supposed to feel like an adult, but really you don’t feel any differently then you did when you were sixteen or twenty for that matter.
I think that becoming an adult happens when you feel truly responsible for another person. Nothing quite heightens your awareness of yourself and the world around you like being in full charge of another person’s well being. This happened for me when I was thirteen. I remember it happening, I remember feeling that change. My sister was seven and she and I were walking through the town where we lived. I remember that she was too close to the road or something and it scared the shit out of me. I literally felt that feeling, that one where you know it is your job to insure someone else’s safety. That was when I felt grown up. I moved out a year later, as many of you know, and my life changed a little more than two years later.
I was sixteen when Amanda was born. Too young? Yeah, I know. But, you know, I don’t think it would have been any different for me ten years later. When that little girl was born, I changed again. I became a mother and that was the strongest change I had ever felt. Suddenly, my life didn’t matter unless it was to take care of her. I would have died a thousand times, in tortured pain, quietly to protect her. I would give her anything she ever needed without a second thought. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I would have put myself second without ever questioning it. I was there for her and then eventually her sisters as well. Any mother can tell you that seeing and holding your first child changes you in a way that you never could have imagined.
There have been other times when I have changed and felt it, probably too many to list. But, normally, on my birthday, I don’t feel different; I don’t feel older or better seasoned. I rarely feel excited because I don’t usually have anything to be excited about. Emilee said to me last week “Mommy, there are only three more days until your birthday! Are you excited?” and while I told her yes, I really wasn’t. Not because I have a negative outlook on my age changing or anything, just because it is really little more than another day. Right? Well, not this year.
This year, for the first time, I feel different. When it became my birthday on Sunday morning, I felt different. I feel older. I feel different. Suddenly, reflecting on my past birthdays, even last year, I feel silly. I am looking back merely one year and am surprised by how different I feel about my actions. I could understand feeling adverse if I had done something. If I had gotten into another bad relationship and had regrets but really little has changed since my last birthday. Why do I feel so different now? My thinking process train literally jumped onto another track. Has this ever happened to you?
Ok, I am rambling and this is long, so I will stop. Thank you, all of you, who sent emails and ecards and commented to wish me a happy birthday! Thank you so much. One thing about this year, I have so many more friends than I ever thought I would have, whether they be real life or online :)
I’m a quarter of a century old now. How bizarre.
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 7:40 AM
| link to this post | 2 spoke |

Saturday, May 14, 2005
Tomorrow is my birthday...
...and tonight I have plans with some friends to get together and play cards and basically get drunk :) Hey, you only turn twenty five once right? Anyway, check out my horoscope this morning:
Are you going out tonight with some friends who mean a lot to you, Kate? You might be tempted to go too many places, eat and drink too much, spend too much money. Usually you have a pretty strong stomach; still, this is not the day to overindulge in partying. Go out for a little while, but afterward invite your friends to your house for coffee. That way you'll feel good about this evening when you wake up tomorrow!
Hmmmm, change of plans? lol Before I head out with my friends, I am going to Veronique's parent's house for a BBQ and I am taking my kids. Amanda and Emilee will do fine, but Triniti has been acting the role of a hellion lately and I am dreading taking her. She's a heathen, but she is so damn cute... That's why I keep her around :P
Have a nice Saturday ya'll!
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 8:33 AM
| link to this post | 2 spoke |

Friday, May 13, 2005
Oh, yeah, and...
Today is Friday the Thirteenth! How did that escape me? I guess that would explain why I am blogging about quantum physics :P
Be careful or whatever you are supposed to be on Friday the Thirteenth :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 7:39 AM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

You may remember...
You may remember my fantasy post about my own community a few weeks ago. I expressed interest in taking all of my friends and buying a nice chunk of land and then us all living close to each other...
You also may remember the post I wrote about the movie What The Bleep Do We Know. I know that I didn't really cover much ground when explaining that movie so let me just tell you about one part. The movie is about quantum physics and very intriguing. In the movie, some of the quantum physicists are talking about how you literally create your own reality. That if you project what you want and believe you will receive/accomplish it, then you will. This is of course a very rudimentary summary and doesn't even begin to encompass all of the ins and outs and big ass words, but you get the idea.
Anyway, I dig the shit out of the theory. It involves things I don't understand like 'brain nets', but the basic idea is that you create your own reality and the power of thought is actually real.
So where in the hell am I going with this, you ask...
Well, I have been thinking a lot about that whole having my own community thing, on a smaller scale of course, and turns out that Tempest is seriously considering moving up here and when I asked her about us buying some land together, she was totally in on the idea. Then I mentioned same idea to Fairy who also said she may be interested...
It may just be coincidental but I have to admit that it is curious. Anyway, I have been looking around for a nice piece of land in my area. I am ready to have my own place, I have been ready. I am just waiting for the perfect opportunity to come along.
I could be Mayor of Kate Town :P
Hey, it's Friday! Aren't ya jazzed? Have a great day :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 5:57 AM
| link to this post | 1 spoke |

Thursday, May 12, 2005
Religion Quiz

You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don't believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof).
Agnosticism is a philosophy that God's existence cannot be proven. Some say it is possible to be agnostic and follow a religion; however, one cannot be a devout believer if he or she does not truly believe.


agnosticism

92%

Buddhism

67%

Judaism

54%

atheism

54%

Paganism

54%

Satanism

54%

Islam

50%

Christianity

46%

Hinduism

38%

Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 9:49 AM
| link to this post | 1 spoke |

Shocked
I am so shocked. I spoke to my mother last night and she said to me: "I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for your sister and for me. You have been such a great big sister to her and I want you to know that I really appreciate it."

So, after I recovered from fainting and got up off of the floor, I was completely shocked. This highly resembles a compliment which seems unlikely since my mother NEVER compliments me. In fact she does pretty much everything with in her power to make me feel like I basically suck. I am never a good enough mother or daughter. I work too much, I don't save enough, my house is a mess, my kids misbehave... she can name my faults for days. She likes to do those not-so-subtle-hint-dropping things, where she says things like "when you guys were little, I never would have let you talk to me like that" or "when you were a little girl, I never went out and left you with a sitter, I didn't have a life" or "when I was working sixty hours a week, my house was still cleaner that this"... It goes on and on and I won't torture you with stories of how my mother and I have a strained relationship.
I am just completely blown away that she said something nice to me. She also asked me to forgive her for "everything". She said that she knew she had fucked up and hadn't behaved like a good mother should have the last ten years or so. Of course, then, as she routinely does, she turned it around into a pity party for her, one I am sure she accompanied with several beers, so I got off of the phone with her...
The fact is, that she should be thanking me. Ruthie is graduating in a matter of weeks and I would like to think that my supporting her for these last few years helped that. I would like to think that my giving her a home not riddled with alcoholism and abuse helped her make it. Of course, she did it herself and every drop of her determination got her where she is and I am insanely proud of her. I am also going to miss her so much. She will be leaving for Hawaii soon and her prom is on Saturday and she wants to move out when she gets back from Hawaii. Move out.... My first 'child' will be leaving soon and it just breaks my heart.

Ok, work now. I am going to need a whole damn box of tissues if I don't stop writing this :P
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:06 AM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..
Got a phone call this morning from one VERY yummy man. Used to know him about a year ago, he was off limits though due to his being married. He fell of the face of my socializing planet and disappeared. Anyway, seems he had a buddy looking for a car and he just so happened to think about me… Oh yeah, and he threw in there that he is in the process of getting a divorce – been separated for about eight months now. Oh and one more thing, would it be ok if he stopped by and said hello.
Uh, bet your ass it would be ok! Let me paint you a nice mental picture… Actually I will just sum it up with these four words: this guy is hot. Used to play football so he is built like a brick shit house. Very American-apple-pie, southern yumminess. :) –drool-
The down-side? Well, he isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. But, hey, who said anything about streams of conversation anyway :) Maybe I should invite him to my birthday get together... lol
Ok, I seriously have to get to work. I just wanted to share that with ya’ll :P
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:23 AM
| link to this post | 2 spoke |

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Just some updates
  • Amanda did win the election for Student Council! I am so unbelievably proud of her. Next year, she will be a Student Council Member. I believe it is the year after that when she can run for a position :)
  • Rob Thomas' cd was released recently. ...Something To Be is awesome and I highly recommend that you download it buy it as soon as humanly possible.
  • I got my bracelets into the store I wanted to put them in last week. Don't ask me, because I have no idea if any of them have sold and to be honest I am so nervous about going to check. I will be heading over there tomorrow or Thursday and I will let you know if I've flopped.
  • I bought a Death Machine for my birthday present. It should be arriving soon and I am so jazzed. I have learned however that once you join a gym, it's like a cult. They won't let you leave for some reason. I have tried to cancel my gym membership three times. I am going to have to go over there and sign my damn name in blood in order to end it.
  • I have birthday plans, thanks to The Cake Lady :) She called me up last week and asked me whether or not I had a sitter. So, Fairy, G, and I are going over to The Cake Lady's house to hang out and (hopefully) play some Uno :) I am buying a deck of Uno cards this week and I fully intend to kick some ass with my amazing draw four and skip cards :)
  • I am going to Veronique's parent's house on Saturday for a BBQ (pre-birthday plans). I talked to her mother last weekend and she wants Fairy, G, and I to come over and bring our kids. Her parents are still planning to move to Florida at the end of the month so I am glad that I am getting to spend some time with them before they leave.
  • And finally, I would like to thank you all for your emails, lol. Who knew that my sexual shortcomings would be so entertaining :P Anyway, I appreciate the advice from all of you and yes, I think it is funny too :P

All righty readers, I have to get to work. Have a great Tuesday!

~Kate

so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 5:46 AM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

Monday, May 09, 2005
I give bad head…
I’m sure you didn’t expect to see that as a title. I honestly never thought I would type it. But, the fact remains, that I, your loyal and beloved blog author, give bad head. A little history on my head giving experience... Yeah, ok, next to none. With ex#1, I went down on him like maybe two or three times and always more as foreplay and not for a full blown blow job. With ex#2, it was more, like maybe four times…maybe six; half to completion. That’s it folks, the grand total of my experience (pre Mr. I) and I can count them on my fingers.
It wasn’t necessarily something I was adverse to doing, but rather just something that rarely happened. And I, with my limited experience in such things, never attempted to initiate it.
Enter Mr. I. Given his lack of sexual encounters, I foolishly assumed that he was also new to the oral side and thought I was giving him one of his first BJ’s, if not the first. With that assumption in mind, I had no problem going down on him the first time. I mean, who was he going to compare me to? He would probably just be jazzed that he was getting head. My Boss’ exact words “Let me tell you about the worst blow job I ever got… It was great.” Well, I was wrong, turns out that when you don’t have sex, you have lots of oral. Oh well, no big deal, at least I broke the proverbial cherry and had gotten that first time with him over with. But then, he admitted something that I would forever accept as a challenge. He told me that no one had ever finished him off, so to speak. Well, we can’t have that.
I became one determined chic. For some reason, I wanted to be the first person that did that to him. So, I talked to some girl friends and got some tried and true advice and then gave it another shot. Now here was the problem for me, Mr. I, well he isn’t a groaner or moaner or sigher or any of those things that would give me the slightest fucking hint that he is enjoying himself. So, I am paying really close attention to two things. The first is what I am doing (physically) to him. The second is how he is reacting. Since I am getting nothing noise wise, I have to try and judge by his movements and actions. What did I conclude from all of my studying? Not one fucking thing. The guy is unreadable to me in every damn way.
So anyway, I am there and I giving it my best shot because it would be just absolutely awesome to finally, after almost a year, be able to get this guy off. And do you know what he says to me? Put what ever you are drinking down because I will not be responsible for new keyboards. Ready? He actually asks me this and I shit you not.
“Am I getting softer?”

Yeah, I am so through with giving head.

~Kate

Labels: , ,

so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 12:05 PM
| link to this post | 4 spoke |

Sunday, May 08, 2005
Three reasons I LOVE being a mom:
Amanda

Emilee

Triniti

Make sure all of you call your Moms today. And to all of you Mothers, have an awesome Mother's Day! Remember all of the reasons you love what you do :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 12:16 PM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

Friday, May 06, 2005
Vote For Amanda
Ok, I will try not to go overboard here. But I have to tell you all that I have never been more proud of my daughter than I was yesterday. Amanda asked me a couple of days ago if it would be ok with me if she ran for Student Council. I told her yeah, that I thought that would be awesome. I thought that she meant she would run next year, so I put that very low on my 'things to think about' list. She said something about it on Wednesday, telling me which of her other friends wanted to run and I told her that I thought it was awesome and a good opportunity for them and her.
I thought she meant next year. Well, it turns out that you vote this year for the candidates for next year. I had no idea until I picked her up from day care yesterday and she told me she had brought home her 'sign'. I asked her what sign she was talking about and she said her 'vote for Amanda [lastname] sign'. I then told her that I thought that was next year and she filled me in about all that stuff I just said.
I literally pulled over the car and had her show me her sign. It's done in markers... I should take a picture of it! Anyway, it's done in markers and it says "Vote for Amanda [lastname] for Student Council" I almost started crying right there in the car. (Sue me, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.) She told me that she went to every second grade class and gave her little speech. I asked her what she said and it was this "Hi, my name is Amanda [lastname]. You should vote for me because I am responsible, respectful, safe, and fun."
Oh yeah, that's my daughter's speech. Stop. Go back and read it again! :)
Ok, now let me tell you why I am so excited about this. First of all, my daughter is eight. This year (second grade) was the first year she qualified for UIL and she took the initiative and signed up. She was in UIL Creative Writing and did a bitchin' job! Not to mention that she made her mommy proud by not only enjoying but excelling at something that I enjoy.
Next year is the first year for Student Council and she took the initiative and signed up. And not only did she sign up, but she is confident that she will win. She told me on the way home "Mommy, I think I am going to win. I make good grades, I never get in trouble. I haven't had a mark in my folder all year. I have lots of friends and the teachers like me." All of which is true. She amazes me with her ability to be popular and smart because I know (from experience) that having both of those things is hard. She is A honor roll every six weeks and everyone knows her and likes her.
But the number one reason why this is so great is because Amanda is shy. Talking in front of a lot of people or being in the center of attention freaks her out and here she is handling it confidently and bravely. She had her first crush this year on a boy named Chance and she couldn't say two words to this kid and if he said anything to her, her whole face turned red. She said when she gave the speech to his class that she just looked at the other side of the class room. I asked her if she blushed and she said no.
So, if you think that I am being to nuts putting that picture of the White House over there, think again. My daughter has impressed me so much this year with her tenacity and ability to excel and change and take risks. If you asked me right now if I thought she could be president, I would tell you 'yes'. Why? Well for one thing I am riding one hell of a proud mommy high. But also because I believe that kid can do and be anything she wants.

I so love being a mom :)
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:07 AM
| link to this post | 2 spoke |

Thursday, May 05, 2005
May is packed full of… fun?
Isn’t it funny how you spend most of the year looking forward to your birthday? I think it must be leftover excitement from childhood that you just can’t seem to shake. I still look forward to my birthday despite the fact that almost every birthday I have had since I was a small child has sucked. All of my ‘milestone’ birthdays went unnoticed and it seems that without fail something crappy will happen on my birthday. By the time the day arrives I am just trying not to shift the balance of the Universe so that the day will pass uneventfully.
Last year was one of the better if not the best birthday I have ever had. Veronique was hell-bent on getting me out of the house and out to celebrate. It seemed as though everything was falling into place since Amanda had a Girl Scout camp to attend that weekend. Emilee wasn’t feeling well but she was ok enough to be at home with my mother watching her. So, I went and got a new outfit and off we went… to the strip club :) We really had a blast. Lap dances and lots to drink… Pretty much any time I went out with Veronique I had a good time, even that time when we had to sit around for like a hour and half while we had the oil changed in our respective cars. We could just talk and talk… I am going to miss her this year. Anyway, then at about 2am there was a call saying they were taking Amanda to the emergency room. Her fever was at 105. We hauled ass from San Antonio to the hospital where they were taking her which was an hour and a half drive. By the time I got there, she was pretty much fine but really tired. You should have seen the looks on the Girl Scout leaders’ faces. Me, arriving all sluttyed up and of questionable sobriety straight from the strip club.

May is a busy month for me. Since I am single and a mom, I have to arrange for the girls to be able to make/get me something for Mother’s Day. This was another thing Veronique was awesome about. She would often offer to watch the girls for me and then surprise me with a visit at work and a gift befitting whichever holiday was near. I have a porcelain dolphin on my desk from last Valentine’s Day (’04) and a candy apple candle at home from last Mother’s Day. This year I bought the girls some little flowerpots and things to make play-doh flowers; one for my mother and one for me. I gave them to my sister who will help the girls with them and then surprise me.
Emilee’s seventh birthday is also this month as is Triniti’s third. My sister graduates from high school and my brother is coming in from Hawaii for the first time in two years. There is a surprise birthday party for my grandmother who is turning eighty. Add all of that to Mother’s Day this weekend and my birthday next weekend and you have one hell of a month. You’d think I’d be more jazzed…

~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 2:16 PM
| link to this post | 0 spoke |

Tuesday, May 03, 2005
My day was just made...
Hello… I have news. Not JUST news, but amazing-I-can’t-concentrate-on-my-work news. Are you sitting down? No? Yes? Ok, just stand up and sit down again and take a deep breath. Are you ok? Do you have heart problems? Do you need a mint?
So, I am sitting in Jiffinner’s office as I often do when I am ‘working’. She had picked up the issue of People with the fifty most beautiful people in it. I wanted to see the pic of Matthew McConaughey (because I knew he would be in there) so I was flipping through it. When I came to it, I held it up and declared (for the nine millionth time) that I would one day be marrying that awesome specimen of a man. Only, this time, instead of the eye-rolling and laughing that would normally ensue, one of the salesmen (K) told me something that has lead to this entire blog entry. SalesmanK says to me that NewSalesGuy KNOWS him. That they went to school together and are… get this… I can’t breathe… FRIENDS! I of course challenged this info but was constantly rebutted. Turns out that to the best of SalesmanK’s knowledge, it is legitimate information. Breathe, breathe, breathe… He even said that NewSalesGuy was on the phone with Matthew the other day. Is this possible? Could it be that NewSalesGuy is actually telling the truth and does know my future husband, personally enough to where I could… breathe, breathe… meet him??? I certainly
didn’t think that opportunity would ever present itself. Hey, don’t get any ideas, Billabong.
I will update with further information after I hog tie, duck tape, and torture talk to NewSalesGuy.
~Kate


Some eye candy to help out with your afternoon...
We'll start with my new job... I don't even think you would need to pay me to hold that...
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The things I could do to him on that seat...
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Imagine coming home to this? It's easier for me because my car is actually that old :)
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so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 9:16 PM
| link to this post | 7 spoke |

Welcome to Hell, 3 Billion served
I am in some special kind of hell reserved for those who put things off until the last minute. I guess I thought I still had a few weeks to get my shit together. I didn’t realize that when I went into the store on Sunday that I was going to need to rent my space ASAP or risk losing it. I also didn’t realize that the lady in charge was going to be a little antsy about seeing my things hit the shelves. I feel like I have twenty-four hours to get those damn crystals to grow for my science project or risk making an ‘F’. I didn’t think that you could get an ‘F’ when you were an adult but I feel that big red marker heading my way.
A lot of work. And I have no fucking idea how to make the site and I am hoping that Tempest is the goddess she professes that she is and can make some magic happen there. Of course, then I will need to send her some kind of AWESOME gift for being the rocking chic that she is (feel free to click comment and tell me what the hell you want).
I thought about cashing my last two vacation days in and taking a four day weekend this week and getting all of my shit in a row and my ducks together. I hate being so unorganized. I may scream... wait for it....
I’m not losing hope or my vision or whatever the hell it is that you lose when you become disheartened. I am going to do this come hell or high water. I am just taking my horoscopes advice: Take a break from assessing the possible snags in the (creative, romantic [snort], financial) project, and turn your mind instead to the people on your address book who could potentially help you out there.
Go Universe, you rock. I love it when my horoscopes are pertinent to my day to day life instead of annoying drivel. It’s a hell of a ride but it has the awesome potential to be something and it is a chance that I am going to have to fully pursue. Even if the only thing you hear when you are on the phone with me is ‘damn it! No, I’m listening I swear! Uh huuuuu… Uh huuuuuuuu… damn it! Can I call you back?’ Even if I can’t sleep because I am nervous that I making a huge financial mistake! Even if I can’t see straight because I have tons of html code in front of me and I am cross-eyed. Even if I get no work done because I am too busy trying to figure out how in the Sam hell I am going to get all of this done this week. I'm sure my boss will understand.. Right Jiffinner?

:P
Hope your day isn't this hectic and that you will all still love me despite my shit-posts and insanity... Hey! the name of the site was your warning.
~Kate
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 1:20 PM
| link to this post | 2 spoke |

Monday, May 02, 2005
Optimism on Monday
Ok, so my weekend was pretty great (despite my slightly bitter mood on Saturday). Sunday I went over to Neisha’s and played the envy game. I know envy is a bad thing, but I can’t help but look at her with her three kids and her husband and all of that happy and feel slightly envious. Her house is one of the very few places I feel totally comfortable.
Last year, over the July Fourth weekend, she invited the girls and I over. I was so worn out from work and the hundred or so things my kids were doing at the time that I was hesitant to go. But once I got there and plopped down into one of her lawn chairs, it was like utter and complete bliss. I sat there in the sun while her husband barbequed and chatted with her and their other friends and held her delicious son (who was only like five months old at the time and just enjoyed being part of her company. She and her husband really are great hosts. They know how to cook all kinds of cool shit that I have not even the slightest clue how to cook. They are both very laid back. Our kids mesh so well together and just pair off and run around for hours playing with next to no arguments.
Yesterday, the kids did the slip and slide for like two hours. Neisha and I ran into town where I signed up to rent space at a store for my bracelets. I am waiting for one more shipment of charms and I am good to go. I need to price things tonight and tomorrow so I can start getting them in there tomorrow. I also have to do the damn website. Who knew html could be such a royal pain in the ass. I mean, I edit my html on this blog all the time, but it is just inserting pictures or changing links. Very cake. But, building my own site… well, I know it will be something good for me to understand. Anyway, paying for my space is really lighting a fire under my ass.
And the last thing I am going to mention here before I get my ass to work is that I have really great friends. I am not going to name off everyone, but you should all know how much I appreciate you. I love the reassuring phone calls and the encouraging emails and the bbq’s :) I love that you guys call to see how I am doing and are genuinely interested in my life and my progress. I really am lucky to know all of you. Thank you.
~Katewho thinks that this will be a pretty good week
so eloquently put by katehopeeden at 6:56 AM
| link to this post | 1 spoke |


Who: katehopeeden
Where: San Antonio, Texas Yeah, so I am all that you see here. I am friendly and kind, crazy and bitchy, playful and flirty... sometimes I am funny but mostly I just write the first thing that comes to mind and then stop when it ends. I love life and I am lucky to be living the one that I am. Want to know more?
Click here!




12/14/84 - 1/26/05


"The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed"

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you might miss it."

"Guys are like stars, there's a million of them out there but only one of them can make your dreams come true." "Don't spend your life with someone you can live with, spend it with someone you can't live without."

"Reach for the moon, even if you miss you will still land among the stars"



Veronique

Yoda

Hot Toddy

Finding Liz

The Adorable DB

Tux Baby
Malcolm (he'll be back)

They'll All Fall

we grabbed the lion

Red Hot Sexy Papa

Snow

dooce

Madi (my stalker)

Did I miss you?
Do you feel left out and sad?
Click that link up there
and email me your blog!

Childhood Memories

My Mother

The Story of AZ

The Time In Between

The Beginning Of NY

The man from my dreams

The End Of NY

Growing and Changing

Learning to Cope

These are a work in progress. They are in the right order, but more will fill in the blank spaces in time as I write them.

"I just got done reading the history lessons on your blog (yes, I've been lurking on your blog). All the respect I had for you...has increased, like, tenfold. I don't think I could have done it. To go through what you have and not only still be able to discuss it with such wit and poise, but also to raise those three gorgeous girls. You are truly an inspiration. You are honestly one of the strongest people I have ever known, either online or IRL. Thank you so much." -Stef

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That cracked my shit up! TM

Kate went to Dallas?

You asked Kate questions?

Kate was stung by a Scorpion?

Kate met Mr. I?

Kate got pissed?

There was a mouse?

Kate shared?

Kate confessed?

Kate turned 25?

Kate shared some more?

"There are some of us out here who are living vicariously through you, okay?! So for god's sake, let us have some fun and excitement!" -Educated Liberal

"I LOVE inner monologues. They rock!"
-Hot Toddy


Ebay

The Gym

Morning Monologue

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sizzling RH 05







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