From my eyes…

Enjoying my last day off work, I decided to spend some time clicking the “random blog” button at the bottom of my page. On one fortunate click I found this…..too perfect not to copy.  I stole it from this comedic blogger.

Have An Enjoyable Winter Celebration

Every year I make resolutions. Every year I don’t meet them all. I still like them. I think it’s good to have goals. I swear I posted mine already, but I can’t find them, so I’m doing it again.

In 2006, I would like to:

floss daily
go to the gym every work day (days off are days off people!)
go downtown a minimum of twice a month
go out every Saturday night
travel more - even if I have to go by myself, weekend jaunts to neighboring states totally count
pay off my debt (except for my school loan, just make a big dent in that)
get a new job
get involved in a community effort (like the democratic headquarters….mmmmm, barak obama)
read the accumulating titles on my bookshelf - all of them
go on a cruise
wear a bikini on said cruise

What are you working on this year?

It is New Year’s Eve. It is 9:21. I am home on the computer for several reasons.

1) I invited someone to come visit me, but he never responded. Whatever. Stupid head.

2) I called every EVERYONE I know that is in Chicago and NO ONE called me back.

What the hell? What’s not to like about me? Why can’t I tag along?
Seriously, I am fucking hilarious and I am a good time on the town.

Your loss suckas!

I hate them. Forwards. They are awful. That’s why I felt obligated to share this bit of humor I stole from Rebilou.  Click here and scroll down a tad to the anmiated box. Make sure your volume is on and sit back for a quick (2 minutes or less) bit of humor that will leave you saying “Amen!”

This summer I started what I am hoping I can keep as a tradition for myself: the mid-year cheer holiday card and letter that was sent out in July. 

However, I feel left out in not having sent the traditional holiday greetings to my friends and family. Second best, I thought, would be a holiday post on my blog. So here it goes….

The move to IL went well. It was a quick, smooth drive and the pets did a great job. They insisted on sitting on my lap most of the time, but they were well behaved.  All three of us like IL better than AZ. I am still relishing in the fact that my allergy symptoms are not active in my new home.
Abby loves that I can take her outside so much more and she’s made some puppy friends at the local dog park that we frequent….well, we did until the snow came. Abby wasn’t too sure about the first snow. She growled and barked at it until she realized it wasn’t going anywhere. Now, she really enjoys playing ball in the backyard and digging her face into the snow.
Ricky, is Ricky. Obnoxious and in charge of the house, but still so darned cute you can’ t help but love him. Since moving to IL he has begun to act more kittenish than usual and we are working on breaking his countertop habits. He recently knocked mom’s water glass off and turned on the gas stove! He is still as social as ever and makes friends with anyone who enters our house (whether they like cats or not), including climbing the legs of the cable man and sleeping with guests who stay the night.  I tried to get him to come out in the backyard to see how he liked the snow. He tapped it with one foot and decided to sit in the window instead.
I am teaching 6th grade Special Ed Language Arts and Social Studies at a junior high in Joliet. It is not my favorite position and I miss my 4th graders everyday. Currently, I am working at finding an elementary position closer to the city. When I do, I will probably move downtown (or at least the outskirts of town) and see if I like it better.  Like Abby, I am enjoying the snow. I am sad that Autumn didn’t last longer, but I am loving the whole seasons changing thing that AZ just doesn’t have. My poor car is not happy about being in the cold. It is 8 years old now and has never been in the cold. I’m getting it serviced this week to make sure it’s safe and ready for the next few months.
My family is well. My little brother returned from his year long deployment in Iraq the night before Thanksgiving. His fiance and my parents were able to meet him at the airport and were on the news. I I just got back from a quick 4 days in AZ to visit with my family and closest friends. I didn’t get to see everyone, but I will be back in June and plan to see everyone then.  Mom and Dad are doing well and enjoying adding the finishing touches to all of their remodeling and spending time with my brother and his fiance, Heather. Heather just graduated from ASU, so we celebrated that while I was home, too. Well, the family did. I didn’t make it to the breakfast after graduation, because I rearended someone. Nice huh, and in my dad’s new truck, too. Everyone was fine.
I also made a quick, but super fun, trip to the Big Apple this month. I loved New York and plan to go back within the next few years. I’ll need some more knockoff Coach purses before too long! If you ever plan to go, let me know. A great friend emailed a ton of useful pointers that I would love to share.
The upcoming months will be spent landing a new job and getting through the second half of the school year at the current one. I’ll also be getting ready for my brother’s June wedding and continuing to adjust to my new life in IL.
I hope all is going well at your home and that you have a very happy holiday!
Love,
KC

PS~ Recent photos can be seen on my Flickr page at http://flickr.com/photos/55758909@N00/

Every year my girlfriends and I email to each other our list of the things that we have been reminded of over the past year that we are thankful for. And by every year, I am saying that since we left for college in 96 or 97, back when email was beginning to become a common everyday thing, we have been writing no less than 40 emails per day, including that annual “What I’m Thankful For” list. I decided this year to publish my list. Now, I don’t often include the standard friends, family, health, etc, unless for some reason those have been compromised over the past year, so please, while reading my list, understand those are a given and the following is my list of daily things that make me happy with my life.

What I am Thankful for…

Affording a gym membership & actually having it part of my daily routine
My shoulder actually functional on most days
Remembering what it is like to like someone, like like I mean
My pets loving me unconditionally
My brother having a return date from Iraq
My upcoming trip to NYC with one of my dearest friends
My blog
Owning my own car and not having payments
Loving my job everyday - not this year, but in general I love teaching
Good tv - Desperate Housewives, Charmed, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, Related, What I like About you
Internet - emails, blogs, shopping online
My cell phone & text messaging
My digital camera
Making no sew fleece blankets as gifts
Losing 10 pounds since I moved
Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream from Baskin Robins
My kitty’s fatness
My Bon Jovi CD
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and the like
All the little babies brought into my life this year
Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer
The experience I’m gaining at work this year - still not thankful for it, but I know I will be once it’s over
The dog park
Wearing my new winter coats
Living somewhere that has Autmn - loving every single minute of it.
My pets when I dress them up in their little gray hoodies
Making new friends
Feeling validated at work

And the number one on the thankful list this year (remember the friends and family and how I couldn’t get by even one day without them, is already a given)…..

Living somewhere I don’t have allergies!! I can live here! I can go outside and my concerns are no different than anyone else! I don’t have to plan my life around weather or not I’ll make myself sick just by being outside too long. I can live. I can live. I can live! YAHOO!!

I am thankful that I no longer have the same symptoms from my allergies! I knew they were inhibiting my life, but I just didn’t realzie exactly how much I was missing out on until I was out of the situation. I can’t even explain how wonderful it is now.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I hope you have a list miles long of the things you can be thankful for this year!