It’s that time of year where we, take a couple of moments to toss about ideas for resolutions. So… here I go.

I resolve to do the following:

1. Shed 30 pounds
2. Post to the blog, at least once a week
3. Take time off to smell the proverbial roses
4. Meet up with my various friends who are all over the country for a long weekend here and there.
5. Enjoy the ones I love.

This year it’s only five little items, but sometimes making our resolutions obtainable means, results in them actually coming to fruition.

Here is wishing each and every one of you an incredible New Years! Take time to enjoy 2010!!!

Love,

Kat and the Kids

You know it’s funny. When we take a job as a ‘worker bee’ for a large company there are certain expectations, that we as workers are afforded;

1. That we will be allowed do to our job without interference from supervisors who feel they should share their personal lives with us.

2. That our decisions, be it good or bad, will be reviewed by the company.

3. That we have the right to go to the proverbial bat for our policy holders.

4. That we won’t be singled out by a supervisor because we chose not to share our personal life with them.

Now, before you wonder if this is in regards to me, I have to say no its not. This would be a little blog about how a certain Geico Supervisor on the East Coast, has the ability and wear with all to harass, harangue and in general make life miserable at work for a certain male, yes I said MALE employee.

It seems that she feels it’s ok to corner him at work to discuss her sons issues with his penis, her mother in laws incontinent issues and more. Now when this male employee doesn’t chose to share his personal life with said supervisor, she feels well within her power to make his work life a living hell.

Now let me ask you. Is this considered sexual harassment in Geico’s book? Apparently not, as he was pulled into a room with two other supervisors to be told that he is considered a substandard employee for NOT being willing to discuss his personal life.

Why the blog you might ask? Because this employee feels that if he escalates his issue with this supervisor, he will be put in a situation that he doesn’t wish to be in… i.e. moved to another department or another job or worse yet fired.

Lets think about this. Over the years, women are conditioned to register a complaint with the human resource department, when they feel they are being harassed at their work place. We are also conditioned to submit complaints when we feel we are working in a hostile work environment, however let a male do this and what happens… his issues are swept under the rug because he’s a guy and we all know men shouldn’t have this issue.

Honestly, I feel this is quite unfair for the employee who is just doing his job. He gets up every morning, goes to work, healthy or sick, not to mention he was so sick recently and while his boss took a mental health day, he was encouraged to not leave work to deal with this virus and proceeded to spread it through the office, thereby costing the company several employees, who were allowed to take legitimate days off for being ill.

Sad to say that this supervisor is akin to an office Hitler and that doesn’t bode well for Geicos bottom line. It leaves them open for a potential lawsuit, this employee open for continual harassment and at the end of the day a bad taste in the mouths of those who feel that Geico is a company that does not support it’s employees.

Is this really the type of company who we’d want to insure our vehicles, homes and other items?

I wish this ‘worker bee’ the best of luck with his situation, as we all can attest that one bad supervisor can spoil the working environment for all.

Here is to hoping that Geico will actually step up and sort this issue out for this gentleman.

Have a wonderful friday!

~Kat and the Kids

It’s that time of year again, lent is nearly over and the Cadbury bunny is around the preverbal corner. It’s the time of year that we over indulge in racks of lamb, ham potato salad, boiled colored eggs and more candy than even Willy Wonka can produce with his staff of oompa loompas.

What is Easter to me you ask? To me Easter is when we celebrate the rising of Christ from the grave, to remind us that not all is lost in this world of ours. Bringing us new hope and renewed faith in that which is not tangible but surrounds us all the same.

In a world that is in an economic down turn, where people are losing their jobs, their homes and often time their faith in what is good. Easter brings about a renewed sense of hope.

So as your eating your deviled eggs and gorging on that rack of lamb, take a look around you and remember to thank the good lord above for our friends, family and all that we have.

Have a very Happy Easter!

Kat and the Kids

I’ve been reading and watching segments regarding Miley Cyrus’s lack of judgment in a series of photographs she had taken for the magazine Vanity Fair, and I have to say I’m rather shocked at the publics’ backlash for her tastefully done photographs.

We as a society tell young girls her age or younger that it’s ok to dress in a fashion that Miley is now being criticized for. In an artistically taken picture of her father with her lying on his lap as well as a few other pictures, I’ve heard over and over that she bared her midriff. People she’s wearing AGE APPROPRIATE clothing for her generation. Clothing that we as a society allow our daughters to wear to school, out to public functions, trips to the mall without thinking twice and now we would condemn her for wearing clothing that our children wear? Shame on YOU!

Miley is a product of the Disney machine, now while Disney pays lip service to worrying about Miley and the possibility that Vanity Fair took advantage of her, the truth of the matter here is they are trying to protect their investment. Miley carries the weight of a successful show Hannah Montana on her 15 year old shoulders, this includes but is not limited to; the television show, massive merchandising, concerts and various other avenues. They are worried about the possibility of losing revenue if the star of their show no longer is attractive to parents with young children who idolize this young lady.

Now I’m going to point something out, IF you have a young child, perhaps you should point them into AGE appropriate shows. I’ve seen many a segment where parents of children who are three and four, who are stating their disappointment regarding Mileys’ behavior. Three and four year olds shouldn’t be watching Hannah Montana; they should be watching shows that are suited for their age such as Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street.

Also lumped in with the outcry of Mileys photographs is her behavior on various sites such as MySpace and YouTube. I think people forget that she’s a teenager and bound to do the same things that any teenager would do. Yes I know she’s an Idol to many children, however this is why children have parents. To trash her for doing things that a normal teenager can be found doing is at anytime is wrong and inappropriate, a responsible parent should be monitoring what his or her child watches on television, looks at online or reads in a magazine.

So let’s remember that we didn’t have the mediums available to us that Miley has to her in our day; however we were once teenagers prone to making mistakes and learning life’s lessons the hard way.

I count myself lucky; throughout my life I’ve met scores of people.  Some have touched my life for a brief moment, while others have remained for a lifetime.

I often times wonder about those friends who have graced my life then have for some reason or another left it.  Where are they now, I truly hope they are happy and that life is treating them well.  I’ve been blessed with the friendship of a few who no matter how long it has been since we’ve spoken, when we call each other, it seems as though we’ve never been apart.

My friend Dianne is one of those people.  Though her travels have taken her to Africa on a mission for two years, then home to Seattle through nursing school, we’ve always taken time to connect and spend quality time together.  Everyone deserves a friend in their life who loves them in-spite of themselves, who is non judgmental and who will always wish the best for them.

Then there is my friend Tim, whom I’ve posted, rants from.  When we first met through the power of AOL, you would have thought we were both nuts as I live in California and he lives in Washington, but we have a great friendship.  He’s the combination of best guy friend/big brother.  He makes me laugh till my sides hurt and holds nothing back. He just tells me as he sees it and expects nothing less of me.

As my girlfriend Dianne once told her friends, everyone should have someone in their life that makes them laugh so hard that they have sore sides for days.

Then there is my sister Becky, who I count as my touchstone in life.  God graced us with being sisters, but we determined our friendship, from the age of 2½ until now, she’s the one who has no issues bopping me over the head and saying “What were you thinking Kat?” She’s also my biggest cheerleader, supporting me in my work, listening to my relationship excitements and woes and always being there no matter what. 

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold. This is what my mother has always told us girls, and it holds true.

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Kat

How do you know when you’re dating someone? My girlfriend and I were talking about men and relationships. We are trying to figure out, when does it go from just friends to something more substantial like dating them.

I guess this is a question that plagues most people. As we get older, it becomes more of a blurred line, when does going for coffee, catching a movie and just hanging out with someone become he’s my boyfriend, she’s my girlfriend.

Is it more along the official lines when someone says I love you? Or is the constant presence of the person the defining factor? Is it when you introduce them to your family and children?

These are the questions she and I have been posing to each other all morning long. I suppose there is no easy answer to this question… but it does make for a good discussion over a cup of coffee.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Kat

Last night we as a family were off and running doing one of our favorite Christmas traditions that make the holiday season truly Christmas for us.

Yes it was time for the Annual Trek to see Santa.

Our trip started with a trip to the Seattle Center, where they have a wonderful Christmas train display. My nephew, who is into trains, was nearly beside himself with joy just watching the trains and over the top with excitement getting to drive one, with a $5 donation he also received one mighty cool mini train whistle. Uncle Nate, Michele’s husband, came up with the most ingenious way of getting Andrew to leave the trains by enticing him with a ride on the Monorail. Riding in the front of the car he was able to watch the driver guide us along the downtown corridor to the heart of Downtown Seattle.

Off we went to our appointment to see Santa. My sister Michele surprised both Becky and I by hopping right onto his lap. Most years she fusses but not this year, she climbed aboard his knee and had quite the conversation with him. My mom officially has 40 Santa pictures of her daughters. Starting with me at 4 months old and going through this year.

This is one of the traditions that never seem to die. Several years ago my mom decided we could stop going if we chose, however, we girls planned the trip right around her. It’s taken on a life of its own. No matter where anyone of us girls has resided in or out of state we always manage to make it to see Santa and sit upon his knee.

After our trip downtown we all head down to a local favorite, the Old Spaghetti factory. Down on the Seattle waterfront across from Pier 70, it’s an old warehouse converted to be a warm welcoming restaurant. Anyone who’s ever been inside of one knows they are filled to the brim with antiques, have beds for tables and serve some of the best spaghetti this side of Italy.

It’s Christmas Eve now and tonight we’ll head down to Church for the Christmas Eve Vigil. As always our family enjoys a wonderful program then heads home for a holiday Ham and visiting. After which we all snuggle down in our beds and wait for Santa to arrive.

Tomorrow morning the whole family will descend upon the house bringing Christmas cheer and laugher to our day. Andrew and Megan will be agog at the presents under the tree, baby dolls, trucks and other fun things are waiting in their bright colored packages to be opened and played with. After which we will share a Christmas turkey and all its fixings and more fun times.

Here is wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years.

From our house to yours!!!

Kat and the kids

There is nothing more exciting than knowing that the holidays are upon us.  I am sitting here typing to you while listening to KOST 103.5, Southern California’s soft rock station.  Through the holidays they play continual Christmas music, and I must say listening to both traditional and obscure holiday tunes songs that I grew up on is most comforting.  I’m sure all three of the kids are wondering why I’m listening to Christmas music, they will understand when they check their stockings and see that Santa has left them all catnip treats, crinkle balls and fun mice to play with.

I’m pleased to announce that NORAD has begun its official 2007 Santa tracking!  You too can follow along by visiting their site.  There are lots of things to explore in the North Pole and on Christmas Eve following Santa’s flight, just make sure you dive into bed before Santa lands on your roof top.  *Note: You can click the Norad banner above and be whisked away to the North Pole to check out the going ons up there this time of year.*

I am headed home to Seattle for the holidays and am looking forward to the trip.  My nephew Andrew is such a darling.  The other day I called and spoke with him.  He asked me “Auntie Kat… when is your birfday?” I told him “It’s in August baby.”  Then he asked the one of those questions that men should never ask a lady. “Auntie Kat how old will you be?” When I replied “40”, he stated “I’m four”.  He knows that Christmas means we exchange gifts and he has a little trouble with remembering the difference between birthdays and the holidays.  Then the imp asked me.  “Auntie Kat what would you like for your birfday?”  when I said “Well, I’m not sure.”  he stated with great certainty, “You need a new car because your car has a flat tire.”  I had to smile, the things this little man remembers, I mentioned during the thanksgiving holiday that my car had a flat tire and darn if he didn’t remember that.

During my trip home we girls will be embarking upon one of our family traditions of sitting on Santa’s lap.  My mother can chronicle our lives by those photos.  This year she will have her 40^th photo of me on Santa’s lap.  She loves to pull them out and we all enjoy looking at them and remembering when. 

In the beginning it’s just me, then as the years slowly tick by you see the addition of my two sisters.  There are years my mom swears she wonders if we girls had a mother, due to impart the current styles in the late 70s and 80s and into the 90s.  Then we have those years where one of us looked stunning and the other two, well not so much, and on the odd year when all three of us beauties looked just that simply gorgeous. 

I suppose if I ever bring home a fellow for the family to meet, instead of whipping out the obligatory Kat, as a baby naked on the bed, she will show them our life story in the holiday pictures.

I received a wonderful card from my moms God daughter Cheryl.  She and I have been pen pals since I was in 3^rd grade and begged my mom for someone to write to.  She is the woman I shared all my hopes and dreams with throughout the last 30+ years.  She’s shared the trials and tribulations of my life and I hers.  She knew every time I had a boyfriend, a crush, or just needed to vent about life in general.  There is nothing like having a confidant like she was for me.  Since she lived on the east coast and I live out on the west coast, it was to expensive to call however at the time it cost nearly nothing to send a letter in the mail.  I used to wait for her letters and read them over and over.  To this day I have every childhood letter she sent me, they fill an entire box!  I remember the first time I talked to her on the phone, it was right before I married at the ripe old age of 19 and she called me to confirm that my wedding dress was indeed white due to her dream that I was getting married in an ORANGE dress. 

In her note she sent along a picture, her three babies are no longer so little, her oldest is now 17, her middle is 15 and her baby is now 12, its amazing how time flies.  I’ve watched all three grow up through pictures, letters and heard about life on the occasional phone call we have now and again.  She to this day remains the one friend I’ve had the longest, with the one exception of my sister Becky.  I’d like to send her family warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years. *note: I’ll be sending a card snail mail too*

On that note it’s now 11:06pm and I’ve been sitting here singing songs along with KOST’s holiday songs and it’s time for me to retire to bed.

Here is wishing you and yours a very Happy, Safe and Wonderful Holiday Season!

Love Kat and the kids.

So I finally did it… I got this wild hair to paint my bedroom a new bright happy color.  I went up to my local home depot and pulled all those little cards, one by one I rejected each color until I found what I thought was the absolutely perfect light yellow color,  Moonlit Yellow.  Now my internal voice is saying to me Kat, this color will lighten up your room, bring a smile to your face when you wake up and the sun is streaming into the room.

Armed with my chosen color, I went to the paint counter, handed my card with its little swatch selection over to the paint guy and had him mix it.  He opened up the can afterwards and it was this innocuous yellow, little did I know what would follow.

I was on the phone with my dear friend John, asking him a gazllion questions, such as what size roller do I need?  Is 3/8 nap what I want or do I want this one that is sponge?  I think he is glad that he’s in Kentucky and I’m here in California so I couldn’t try conning him into painting for me.  All proud of my selections I walked over, paid for it all and walked out.  I should mention I also spent a good bit of time looking for “Just” the right curtain rod.  Yep, I’m all girl when it comes to this shopping stuff. 

I spent the next two days cleaning out my bedroom.  Now I must say, I moved the bed out and I thought the dust bunnies were going to bite me on the ankles they were that big.  All I could say was DAYMN!  I also found out that Ace the cat is a kleptomaniac; he had a stash of toys, straws, socks, and other things I couldn’t find way in the back dark corner that I never saw before.

So it’s the big day, Saturday, and armed with my roller, paintbrush and plastic drop cloth I was ready to paint.  I started taping off the room with this blue tape that John told me to buy, then picking up the big one gallon paint can, I popped the top, poured out the paint and got going.  Rolling away I managed to drop the paint tray more than once, yes ladies this is why you use a plastic drop cloth or your carpet will match your walls for sure. I rolled and rolled, and when my friend Kevin called, he said “Kat, make sure you make big W’s so the paint will blend nicely” he also told me that while it looked light now, it would dry a touch darker than I might think and I’d see for sure if I missed any spots.  So I painted and painted until it late afternoon when it was so hot I had to quit. 

Now the fun part… watching paint dry.  Amazing but true paint changes colors as it dries.  It went from this light sunshiny yellow to a color that we as adults all know and associate with one big Sesame Street character “BIG BIRD”.  Yes to my dismay, my charming yellow was BIG BIRD YELLOW. Now imagine I’ve painted 3.5 walls and I even managed to run out of paint and made an emergency run for one more quart, only to see that Sunday just HOW bright my room was.  Good Lord, Moonlit yellow, yes, the moon lights up my room like a candle now.

So it’s now a week later and so far the Yellow has grown on me.  I’ve even managed to hang drapes, add a few homey touches and I’m starting to really like this bright cheery room.  Would I have picked this color out on my own, that’s easy No, but am I happy with how it’s turned out, well I have to say, sometimes a mistake can turn out to be a heck of a cool thing.

So St. Patrick’s day is upon us and world wide there were be loads of people tipping green beer, wearing green and celebrating this day. But what exactly is the point of St. Patrick’s day? I figured it was time to explore my Irish roots (yes I’m a typical American, I have a little of this and that in me)

So this is what I’ve found out about this man and the holiday we celebrate…

From what little can be gleaned factually about St. Patrick, he wasn’t an Irish man, Patrick was born in Britain, probably in Wales, around 385 A.D. His father was a Roman official. When Patrick was 16, seafaring raiders captured him, carried him to Ireland, and sold him into slavery. The Christian Patrick spent six lonely years herding sheep and, according to him, praying 100 times a day. In a dream, God told him to escape. He returned home, where he had another vision in which the Irish people begged him to return and minister to them: “We ask thee, boy, come and walk among us once more,”. He studied for the priesthood in France and made his way back to Ireland. This information comes to us from the autobiographical Confession and a letter written to Crotoicus, who was a slave taking marauder.

He spent his last 30 years there, baptizing pagans, ordaining priests, and founding churches and monasteries. His persuasive powers must have been astounding: Ireland fully converted to Christianity within 200 years and was the only country in Europe to Christianize peacefully. Patrick’s Christian conversion ended slavery, human sacrifice, and most intertribal warfare in Ireland. (He did not banish the snakes: Ireland never had any. Scholars now consider snakes a metaphor for the serpent of paganism. Nor did he invent the Shamrock Trinity. That was an 18^th-century fabrication.)

A good source of information regarding St. Patrick can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

So as you tip a green beer and celebrate this St. Patrick’s day… remember there is always more to the holidays that we celebrate than meets the eye.

Kiss the Blarney stone for me!

~Kat