It's a New Year.  I've had days and days of family time and we didn't kill each other so I'm all touchy feely right now...

Big and Loud
I love it.  I love when everyone is together.  At least 30 people but I've known all of them since I was tiny.  I super love our great big family.


Psychic Family Members
There are some people who are so in tune with you and your history that no words are really necessary.  They just know and act accordingly.  Love that.  Love them.

Cute Kids Running Around
It's always loud.  There are always kids under foot.  Pretending they're kitties crawling on the ground.  Playing Zombies.  Crying because they ran into a tree.  "Who got hurt?"

BFFs by my Side at Every Event
Secret conversations with our eyes.  Yeah, just like that.


Making Fun of People
"Uncle Dan is wearing a Speedo.  Why is he wearing a Speedo and cowboy hat?"
"Aunt Suzanne is wearing her toe socks.  Seriously someone needs to steal those and hide them from her."

Everyone Pitching In to Help
If you cook, you should never have to clean.  Other people clean.  All my mom did was look at me and I knew I should get up and start clearing the table and helping with dishes, one of my favorite things she taught me.  NOTHING annoys me more than when people don't help or just expect other people to do things for them.  I believe it's a character flaw.  So, get up and do your part.

In my family we do our part.  EVERYONE helps.  High five.


Famous Food
We all have "our dish."  Well mostly my uncle has his dishes but at our gatherings we can ALWAYS count on Wings and Poppers.  They never last long because the vultures get to them but they're amazing every time.  I'm trying to perfect my own "dish" so they keep inviting me.


Picture Time
It's so annoying.  You're all trying to have conversations and Amy calls everyone together for a "family picture."  And it take freaking FOREVER to take that thing.  "Kids in the front.  No, put the kids on the sides.  No, put the kids near Nana and Papa.  _________, stop kicking your brother.  Boys, stop trying to climb the fence.  SOMEONE take the damn picture. "

And then everyone says, "Amy, tag me in that picture."  And Amy rolls her eyes because we all bitch and moan but we are all glad it happened.

Until next time...Happy freaking 2013!  I'm so happy!

In case ya'll thought you may have blinked and missed it, I'll let you know now.   I did not get married or pregnant in 2012.  We know that from your constant Facebook updates.  Ok, just wanted to be clear.

What did I do in 2012?

Let's first review the goals I set for myself this year which I was reminded of when I looked back here

Goals for 2012...
1. Run 3 5Ks, without walking
                  - Ran 2
2. Go on 1 date...I'm setting the bar low so I can attain this one ;)
                  - Check...actually, 2...what, what, look at me!
3. Drink 1 glass of green tea per day
                  - Um, no...why is the hell did I even write this?!
4. Eat an apple each day
                   - Or this one?  Committing to doing something EVERYday for a year...no, fail.
5. Put at least 100 miles on my bike
                   - Check, check, check


What else did I do in 2012 if I didn't get married or have any kids?

Blogging
I blogged my ass off...literally.  I wrote and you read.  Thank you for reading my rants.  Your comments are my fuel.  I don't know if I really realized how much I like writing until starting this blog.  I actually love it and, if we're being completely honest, I think I'm pretty damn hilar.



Whole 30ed 
I had no idea I had no much will power.  I did at least 4 complete Whole 30s.  I learned exactly what different foods do to my body and I'm so happy knowing more now than I knew then.


Crossfitted
I did things with my body that I didn't know it could do.  I got so strong.  I worked out more in 2012 than I did in 2009-2011 put together.  Go Katie.


Tattoo
I got my very first tattoo!  It's the first line of Desiderata which is a poem that has always been in my house, my mom's favorite.  The whole poem is full of such great advice on life.  A tribute to my mama and a reminder to myself to keep on keepin' on.

Best Shape I've Been in 5 Years
Yes I did it.  I busted my bootay.  I ate great.  I worked out.  It paid off.


New Job
I applied for and got a new job.  I am making mistakes every single day.  I'm learning new things and I'm loving it.  There are a thousand things I could do better...and there are a few that I'm already pretty damn good at-such is life.


Masters Degree...so, so close
I'm so close I can taste it and it tastes like...time!  Lots more time for ME!  No more paper writing.  So, lucky blog readers I'll get to spend more time here, writing about awesome things (like myself <---totally not narcissistic at all) and not lame 30 page research papers.

It's been fun NAU but this time next year I'll have a new little piece of paper that cost me way more than a Kinkos photocopy.

Aunt Katie
Oh yes, I'm still Aunt Katie.  Oh, Katie, we KNOW.  Those are the only pictures you EVER post on Facebook.  Yeah, well, get used to it Kids!  I still have the BEST niece and nephew in the world.


Lily is 2!  Oh my gosh...when did she get so big?  She's a little daredevil that talks all day long.  This is probably my favorite age she has ever been.  Every time I see her she has changed so much and just gets cuter each time if that's possible.

Yesterday as Tom, Danielle and I were talking about tattoos, she said, "I want a Dora tattoo, and Boots tattoo."  Ok, sweet girl, when you're 18 you can get a Dora and Boots tattoo.

And she says, "Watch this Aunt Katie."
I'm watching Lily...I'll be watching forever, promise.


Philip is 4 1/2 (and the 1/2 is apparently a big deal because it means that you're "way older than just 4") and the sweetest boy you'll ever meet.
 Knock, knock on my door.  "Who is it?"
"It's me, Philip!"
"Who is Philip?  I don't think I know anyone by that name?"
"Yes, you do.  It's your favorite nephew."
I open the door and swoop that boy up and say, "How do you know you're my favorite nephew?"
"Because, you tell me that!"
Oh yes, baby...favorite nephew forever and ever.

Goals for 2013:
1.  Go on 4 dates...What?!  <---Who am I!?
2.  Get even healthier than I got in the last year.
3.  Get surgery on my ankle...it's not something I want to do per se but something that needs to be done so this summer.  Ready, set, go.
4.  Get a new bedroom set.
5.  Pay off my medical debt <---Another necessary evil.
6.  Pass my Principal Test
7.  Go to hot yoga at least 36 times in the next 3 months.
8.  Get my ankle healed and back to Crossfit.
9.  Put 300 miles on my bike...I better get moving!
10.  Do at least 20 hikes.
11.  Keep balance and keep moving.


Your turn!  How was 2012?  What's on tap for 2013?  Get it done!!

I haven't posted a blog in over a month.
That doesn't mean I haven't written a blog.
I have written about 7...all still in the Draft folder because sometimes I get a little too honest on here and then I just don't feel like I should post it.

Like, should I tell you that my dad is getting married?
Yep, married again, to a woman who is fantastic.


She's so wonderful to me and our whole family.  She asks about us.  She remembers details.  She welcomes us into her home.  She's great.

And I'm so happy for my dad.  I'm so happy that he's found someone to share the rest of his life with.  I'm so secure in knowing that he has someone to lean on forever.

And somehow his getting remarried makes my mom feel more dead.
Gasp, did she just write that?
She just wrote that.



I knew she wasn't ever coming back.
I know that.
I don't wake up surprised that she's gone anymore.

I rarely accidentally pick up the phone to call her.
It's not nearly as often that I have some slip,
Where I speak of her in the present tense as if I saw her yesterday.

But somehow, now, it feels more real.
She feels more distant to me than ever.
We don't really talk about her anymore.

I'm starting to forget the way her voice sounded.
I can't remember how it felt to hug her,
What she smelled like.

There are ways to make her memories race back like a flood.
Favorite songs hooked to so many deep rooted memories.
Old letters written just the way she talked.
Old stories told just the way I remember them.

Delighted and Distant in Phoenix.
Cheers to a new and beautiful union
Here's to safety, security and a lifetime of love
to my father and a wonderful, wonderful woman


And a reminder to me that Mom is no more "gone" than she was yesterday
or two years ago
or five years ago.

Gone is such a relative term anyone.
She can be as close and I want or need, right?

If you randomly read my blog and have kids, I am BEGGING you to pay attention to this one.

In fact, if you don't want to read the entire thing I will give you the ending right now and you can stop reading...

No, not when you feel like it.  Not sometimes.  Every.  Single.  Day.  From the day you bring them home from the hospital.

Why then?  They can't even read yet.  
Kids are learning more in the first 3 years of their lives than any other time.  They are learning all kinds of things from books even when they are newborns.

My kids don't like to sit still for books. 
You're the parent.  Make them.  Make it part of the routine.  Read to them in the bathtub.  Read to them before bed.

But they watch TV in their rooms before bed to help them fall asleep.
Get the cuss word, cuss word television OUT of your kid's room!!!!!!!!!

What do I read to them?
Anything.  Board books.  Short books.  Long books.  Books with no words and just pictures.  Rhyming books.  Dr. Suess.  The same book every day.  A different book every day.  The Bible.  The Great American Novel.  Read anything.

How do you even know it will make a difference?
You can just go ahead and trust me on this one but if you're interested just Google it or I can sit down with you and give you and earful on just how I do know this but you're probably better off Googling it.
 

I know I should but I just don't always want to because I get tired.
Here's a conversation with my brother:
Tom-Do you really think I want to read to Philip and Lily every single night?  I get so tired.  Sometimes they want 4 books.  I don't wanna read 4 damn book.  I wanna put them to bed and have a beer.  But I do because it's good for them.

Tom and Danielle have been reading to their kids every day since they were born.  Completely taking the biased aunt side out of it and putting on my teacher hat...these kids are SO smart.  Philip can read.  He's not even 4 1/2 yet.  Not 3 letter CVC words, actual 5, 6, 7 letter words.  Lily speaks in 5 words sentences at 23 months.  

Now, I can attribute this to many different excellent parenting techniques but the biggest one...THEY READ TO THEIR KIDS ALL THE TIME.


Now...
I normally don't beg for comments but I would love for you to give your own testimonials on reading to your kids or what you have seen on this subject.  So, comment on this blog...or on the Facebook post!

I almost died the other day and I'm not exaggerating.  Ok, I am exaggerating but it really was the most scared I have ever been in my life.

Before I go on let me tell you a few things...
1.  I am not a wimp

Well that's the only thing I wanted to tell you.  I'm not a wimp.

I'm not a wimp.
Okaaaay Kathryn (you call me Kathryn when you're annoyed with me) we get it.  You're not a wimp.  Why?

Because... I was a wimp.

Come along with me on a little journey called The Most Scared I Ever Was.  That title needs work.  Yeah I got it.

I saw a sign posted at 480 that said "Flagstaff Extreme Adventure Course Sign-Up."  I had really wanted to try it but was nervous...mostly because I get nervous around people I don't know well and worry that I'll have nothing to talk to them about.  You? Katie.  You talk to everyone...about everything...all the time.  I know, peeps, but I get scared with new people.

I signed up...well LC signed me up when I mearly mentioned I was interested.

We get up there and start going through the training.  We put our harnesses on.  I looked lame.  I'm not sure how but the other 4 girls made harnesses look cute.

The guy was going over the rules:
1.  You always have to be clipped in with both clips, or at least 1.
2.  Your clips have to face opposite directions.
3.  The clips can be above you but never below you.

He said that if you break the rule 1 time, they would give you a warning.  2 times, they might kick you off.  So we're going through the little training course.  Guess who got TWO warnings on the Training Course...ME!  That's who.   Possible foreshadowing for events to come?  I think so.

So, we finish that.  They let me go on even though I was a bit of a slow learner.  We climb up on the first course.  I WAS SO SCARED.  Now, logically, nothing can really happen because you're harnessed in but it was so freaky.  Guess who else in my group was scared?  NOBODY.  That's who.  I was with a bunch of girls and they were SO BA.  I was not so BA.  My A was super freaked out.

Only 35% of the people who start this course finish it.   We were only on the very first part and I was terrified.  We had to stand on these platforms and walk across a "bridge" and I put that word in quotes because it wasn't a freaking bridge.  It was a wobbly, movey, you could fall at any moment thing you try to and balance on.

I know it doesn't look high up and this part wasn't...and the camera's died before it was really high but you'll just have to trust me.

They said this is where most people have to be rescued.

There was one point where you had to swing from a rope.  Like Tarzan?  YES, like Tarzan!  And then you swung into a net and crawled on the net as if you were Spiderman.  My friend looked like Spiderwoman.  I. Did. Not.

Spiderwoman

The whole day went like this.  One of the memorable obstacles was where you rode a skateboard across a very tiny cable...while a million feet in the air.  Ok, it was 65 feet but who rides a skateboard in the air?  Nobody, that's who.

We were about 3 "bridges" away from finished and on one of the last ones all there were was a bunch of rings tied to ropes.  So you had to put your foot in 1 ring and swing and go into the next ring.  I was about to quit and somehow my Whole 30 Partner in Crime yells, "You're almost there.  Put your foot in the next one.  You got it."  Oh how I love her and  the Crossfit 480 way...always encouraging and never going to let you quit.


So, obviously all the BAMFettes that I went up there with, who never once made a peep about being scared, finished.  There was never any question.  They were so awesome the whole time but guess who else finished...ME!  So...let me recap...WE ALL FINISHED!  

It was the scariest thing I've ever done.

We're all done and I'm trying to catch my breath and remember that I really was still alive and the girls say, "We should do this again.  It was so fun."
"Hmm, I'll have to get back to you on that one.  Once in my lifetime may be plenty."

Then, as if to cap off my wimpyness one of the girls who is the most beautiful/fit girl I think I've ever met in real life says, "I feel like I actually got a little bit of a work-out without really working out."  I almost tripped her on purpose but my legs and arms were so sore they were shaking so I couldn't.

I think she did a WOD or 2 after this.

Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with some beer and burgers...but 2 of us just had burgers with avocados and no bun and no beer.

Overall...
1.  A fab day.
2.  It was super safe and affordable.
3.  I can do anything I choose to do.  You can too.
4.  It helps to have super encouraging, awesome BAMFettes with you.
5.  I aspire to be more workey outty in the future cause my friends work out WAY more than me...and I should join their fit club.

H & M
I hate when clothes are cheap and fall apart after a few wears.  So I buy a lot of my clothes at Ann Taylor Loft.  That was before I walk into this gem of a store.  Before it came to the states I went to H & M's in London and France.  KP and I stocked up on new tank tops because we have been rotating the same few shirts FOR WEEKS.  And then I never went back to an H & M.

Until the other day...
SUCH cute stuff for cheap!  Now, I still like good quality stuff and I'm not completely convinced that it's super well-made but, for tops, I'm ok with it.  I won't buy pants there but cute tanks, shirts and dresses?  Yes, yes and yes!


SFH Pure Whey Protein Powder
I love this stuff!  It's a bit pricey but it's the best protein powder I've never had.   All is derived from grass-fed animals.  Causes no stomach aches whatsoever.  I throw it in my smoothie every morning and wahla, breakfast!


SFH Fish Oil
Since we're on that company I must give credit to my fish oil.  It's liquid.  It's tangerine flavored and it's amazing.  It doesn't give ANY fish burps.  Excuse my crassness but if you've ever taken fish oil you know exactly what I'm taking about.


Tide Pods
I know I've done these before but I just can't get over how much I love them.  I don't understand why anyone would not use these gems.


Sumits Yoga
I've been to Bikram but this is so much better.  They play music and it's still hot, hot, hot.  I feel like I'm leaving lots of toxins in the studio when I leave.  Oh AND, I almost forgot the best part...they're wood floors in the studio.  If you've never read why this is so important, here's an old blog on Bikram.

Baskets
I LOVE baskets...of all sizes.  My favorites are the ones that have a  fabric liner on the inside.  They make organization so cute!