Moving Day

Due to some enhanced capabilities, I'm moving to Wordpress.   I'm shedding my "Kateypooh" moniker (don't worry Patty, I'll always be the Pooh) for Being Kate.

I haven't been updating my blog as much as I'd like to, mostly because of Facebook and also because I haven't been taking the time to really think about my posts and write somewhat meaningful content.  Hopefully that will change.

So come and visit me at my new blog Being Kate on Wordpress.  All of the content from ALL of my blogs over the years is archived there as well so there is plenty of catching up to do if you haven't somehow received my life story of the past 5 years.  Hope to see you there!

"Reading" Like Crazy

I've discovered a great way to both read and stay calm during my commute-audio books!  My mood has improved and frankly, I am actually enjoying my time in the car these days.  I've been reading at home like crazy too, although many of them aren't actually on my book challenge list, I'm working my way through those as well.  I don't have a lot of full book reviews to give though; I do think the Classics should be read whether they are enjoyable or not, simply because they are considered literary wonders and were often pivotal works that changed literature as those at the time knew it. 

The books I've read and listened to lately are:

Tender is the Night- this was ok.  It was a little bit confusing at some points but it was a very interesting piece.  I also read The Great Gatsby and I much prefer that book to TisN.  Though I will say this-why oh why are we reading these books in early high school?  I was actually able to look at it a lot more critically as a grown woman that as a child that didn't understand the underlying themes.  (and not because I was a moron)

1984-I freaking loved this book.  LOVED IT!  It was just really interesting and the end got me thinking so much that when it was over (i listened to this one) I drove about 30 minutes in silence thinking about it.  Timeless.

Slaughterhouse Five:  And so it goes.  I did not like this at all.  I liked the interview with Vonnegut at the end of the cd as well as the preface to the book, but other than that, no thank you.

Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Secrets:  Loved this book.  Sometimes I want to dislike him, but at the end of the day he is just a really straightforward guy and I'm glad that he has the No Reservations francise-it suits him. 

Still reading Pride and Prejudice.  Book club is next week and I need to get caught up so we can discuss!

I'm almost 30% done with the book club, but I'm almost 50% through the year so I need to step it up!  I've just been reading a lot of other books too: Jonathan Kellerman and Harlan Coben both released new titles this spring and I had to read those.  I read the Alchemist and started reading Edgar Sawtelle, but I haven't finished that as it got a little strange halfway through.  Seriously folks, read 1984.

Wedded Bliss

Mircea and I have been married for almost two months and it is great!  There are some subtle, magical changes between engaged (and living together) to married (and still living together).  While Mircea is still really busy with school, and will be for the next four years really, I have been in full on nesting mode.  It's kind of funny all the stuff I let go in our house (painting, decorating, etc) from when we moved in, but all of a sudden I'm in full on clean, organize, decorate mode.  I live and breathe to make our home comfortable and clean.  And sometimes it seems like the cats live and  breathe to make our home furry and stinky. 

Another interesting item of note is that for the first six weeks of our marriage, one of our friends was living with us as she goes through a seperation with her husband.  It was one of those double-edged swords: it was SOOOO nice having my close friend there but it was also hard for my fragile ego to have someone so adorable and wonderful living in our house...and thinking that Mircea wouldn't go "you know, I probably should marry that girl".  It's funny how insecurity works, but it's definitely something that I'm working on.  I don't feel too crazy though, it was definitely a big change, but still, I need to be able to feel confident in our relationship.  I'm only sharing it because it was definitely an interesting way to start out our marriage.  :-)

If you haven't seen wedding pictures, and you're interested, there are a few on our wedding blog and tons on Facebook.

I hope you are all doing well, I feel like with FB I'm definitely not as engaged in Blogland like I had been before.  I think from updates on others blogs that maybe they aren't either.  Either way, I do have some book reviews and yummy recipes to share and will make every effort to update those soon.

Losing Focus

How many people out there find themselves saying, "could I have A.D.D.?"  I find myself saying this at least three times a week and then feeling really guilty that I can't keep myself focused on one thing at a time.  I go from task to task, getting distracted by Facebook or emails, the cats, or the phone.  I never seem to be able to get anything done.  That's why I read in the bathtub-nothing can interrupt me in there.

While pondering this a couple of days ago, I got distracted and started surfing the internet.  That's when I realized that yes, I'm getting super distracted all the time, but it's because there are so many distractors-not because I should probably be medicated (for this!)  My life seems to be one gigantic distraction.  I could go into all the ways I'm distracted, but I'm probably distracting you from your own life.  So bottom line, I'm going to make an effort to focus on one task at a time, giving it my full attention from start to finish.  The Internet is truly sucking my life away.  I've turned into this monster who can't focus on one thing. I watch tv while working on other stuff, I find myself bored to tears if I'm just sitting without some sort of media in my hands.  I want out-and I'm getting out.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how they've decluttered their brains and focused on completing tasks at hand?

Reading Challenge Book Review: The Virgin Suicides

No, I'm not dead, and yes, I'm still blogging.  Apparently I'm just blogging in my head though and no one gets to see what I write.  Although I had some setbacks in the reading challenge (I just couldn't get into Angela's Ashes, I tried, I hated it) I'm reinvigorated and ready to dive in.  My first jump: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. 

I'm not really sure what to say about this book.  I really enjoyed his other book, Middlesex, but this book sort of left me with a bewildered look on my face and a big question "why?"  The story is told from the perspective of a now-grown man who witnessed the family across the street and the tragedies that struck their teenage daughters.  It sort of left me with an odd taste in my mouth because I kept wanting to know "why".  Were the girls so upset with the suicide of their youngest sibling that they simply went off the deep end?  Were they tired of being repressed by their parents, particularly their mother who allowed them little joy in their lives?  Unfortunately, none of these questions have answers, but I do think the book was very well written, though not a "tender, wickedly funny tale" as advertised on the back.  Funny it was not.  Although I might rent the movie at some point.  I'm guessing that point will be a very dark time in my life. 

Next stop...Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

When it Rains, it Pours (or should I say Poors?)

I think it's high time I start playing the lottery. In addition to the roof at our old house, the new tires Mircea had to have on his car and the brakes that are also required (luckily he can do them himself), I thought we'd been spending plenty of money lately. Apparently, there is another plan-to spend more! Mircea came home today and informed me that the rental house needs a new furnace. Oh my stars! The renter has had some troubles with the heat and Mircea admitted he was scared that it might explode. Wow! So yet another expense has found its way into our lives. I know I have not been a perfect person, but Karma is really being a bitch lately. A wallet hungry bitch.

I ain't saying Karma's a gold digger...

Still St Lucia Bound

I promised I'd update. State Farm will cover the damage after we pay a gigantic deductible. (yes, Mircea has learned his lesson on deductible setting) But at least we're still going as we definitely need the vacation. We're getting married 3 weeks from today-I can't wait!

Snowed In

Let me just say, getting snowed in isn't nearly as joyous as it was when I was a child. Long gone are the days of playing outside, building forts with the neighbor kids, and eating copious amount of ice cream that my dad would store out in our "snow freezer". Unfortunately, this is not how getting snowed in works as an adult. Getting snowed in involves tons of shoveling (which Mircea wants to do and won't let me help with) not getting mail for 5 days (Mircea didn't shovel in front of the mailbox) and EATING. I'm so bored I'm eating. Not getting on the treadmill, bike or elliptical downstairs. No, I'm eating. And here's why...

The roof at our old house caved in a little bit from the weight of the snow. We just filed a claim with State Farm this morning, but it will take them awhile to get out there. We sure hope it's covered, but people keep telling us that there may be an "act of God" clause that means its not covered. What? Why buy insurance on my house if its only for acts of humans? Surprisingly, humans are fairly competent at home care-at least the humans I know. So the long and short of it is that if we need to pay out of pocket for this repair...we're going to cancel the trip to St Lucia since we got full refund insurance on it, and we'll pay for the repair out of that. Terrible, right? But I can't imagine putting the repairs on our credit card, getting in debt (when we already have a small balance) and attempting to get our heads above water so we can start a family. So alas, that might happen...and it's launched me into an eating frenzy.

This frenzy of course started when I got snowed in with Robyn and Rebecca and we had fancy meals planned to go with our wine drinking. We made such yummy treats, drank tons of wine, and drove Mircea crazy. If I had to be snowed in with anyone, it would be Robyn and Rebecca, but by the end of the time, I was definitely ready to go back to my normal life. Which really hasn't happened yet since we keep having more snow and I've been working from home since my car is really the only one that works in the snow, and Mircea HAS to go to work.

I'll post some pictures later. And I'll post an update on whether or not we actually get to go to St Lucia

I'm Still Blogging (a little)

The only excuse I have for my lack of blogging is that there isn't a darned thing going on right now. I've put a couple of posts on the wedding blog but mostly it's just been so low key right now there isn't much to talk about.

I do have one exciting thing going on in my life, if you use the term "exciting" very, very loosely. I'm applying for a leadership development program through my employer and the application process is extremely difficult. I have spent a ton of time on this lately, but hopefully the pay off will be there. I'd really like to be a part of a program that can help me develop my leadership skills and make contacts within the command. My application is due the day we go to St Lucia and we don't find out who got accepted until June. JUNE!

Mircea's mom is throwing me a Bridal Shower this weekend. It's so sweet that she wanted to do that, and it's so cute that she's extremely nervous about it. I feel so bad for her-I know what it was like the first time I entertained-I was a nervous wreck. I know it will all go well and I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon with my best girls. I always feel weird when there's a party for me or a "look at me" moment, but all in all, this should be a really good time and there will be some yummy food.

Speaking of food. I would like to stop gaining and losing the same 2 lbs every week. This is ridiculous. I really have nothing else to say about that.

Looking Forward to 2010

I am really looking forward to 2010. It's going to a big year for me and for my sweet Mircea. I'm proud that all the "lessons" that I've learned and the experiences that I've had over the last few years have made me the person that I am today. I'm excited to get married, I don't have any anxiety over the marriage as I feel I'm finally bringing my whole self to a relationship and trusting the love that I am being given. It's a nice feeling, that's for sure. I think this year will bring a lot of changes in my life (and Mircea's) including our marriage and the prospect of having a family (though that won't happen in 2010-I at least pray it won't, but shortly into 2011 would be fine!)

Even though 2009 had some sadness to it, it was a pretty darned good year. And if you read my Christmas letter, it sure seemed like I traveled a lot while leaving Mircea at home with the kitties. Not this year! Mircea will be returning to school to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree. He's already studying and getting all prepped and I hope that he finds the studies reasonable and he's not killing himself trying to work full time and go to school. I'm proud of him trying, that's for sure.

I think 2010 for me really will have room for a lot of personal fulfillment, and I hope that I will follow through. I'd like to finally learn to knit (stop laughing Patty!) and if I can get my knee fixed I'd like to really start running again. Maybe I can finally learn Romanian too, but I'm not going to count on that. I'd like to lose another 20-30 lbs this year. I managed to lose 20 this year, so I'm happy with that. I guess it proves that some small changes can make a difference but I'd like to put a better effort to it next year. I want to lose weight and get healthy so I can basically get pregnant and gain weight all over again. :-) Not exactly, but I'd like to be my healthiest before getting pregnant so I've got a fighting chance of staying healthy once I'm pregnant and after I have a baby or two.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!