Author: kakakakaty

Good-Bye 2008

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I’m nothing if not a lemming, so when several other bloggers posted nice re-caps of their years I figured it would be a good way to break my posting hiatus.  So here it is, iKate’s year in review (in no particular order):

  • Had my first gallbladder attack
  • Spent 9 days in the hospital
  • Walked 100s of miles in training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day
  • Failed to complete all 60 miles of the walk
  • Raised over $2000 for breast cancer research
  • Spent our first week in our condo
  • Traveled for work to Baton Rouge (with a side trip to New Orleans – my first visit), Chicago, & Las Vegas (twice)
  • Weaned my daughter at 17 1/2 months
  • Moved M to a new daycare
  • Finally screwed up the courage to introduce myself to two local bloggers
  • Got a new car
  • Was blown away by my daughter nearly every day
  • Realized our house needed way more work then we thought
  • Missed our old house dearly
  • Lost 47 pounds
  • Reconnected with a ton of old friends via Facebook
  • Finally gave in to Twitter
  • Had our first (and last thus far) childless overnight in 18 months
  • Celebrated M’s 2nd birthday
  • Paid off a very substantial financial obligation
  • Visited some fabulous locally-owned restaurants; especially our beloved Bar Cento
  • Went to a concert for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-many years
  • Began seriously contemplating some ink
  • Tried to get pregnant but failed
  • Was more aware and involved in a presidential election then ever before
  • Won a political debate with my father
  • Was able to celebrate Obama’s win without too much gloating to my family
  • Celebrated the 10-year anniversary of meeting my hubby
  • Grew my own tomatoes
  • Realized just how much I love my job and how lucky I am to have it
  • Had to deal with de-skunking for the first time in my life
There is a lot more but those are some of the things that stand out for 2008.  Here’s hoping 2009 is just as full and lively!

Tales from Two

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Assertions of “I do it myself!” accompany every task

The perfection of the pout came overnight

Wicked tantrums followed by wild laughter.  Repeat all day.

An endless supply of new words.

Running EVERYWHERE!

Singing songs all the time.

Generous hugs and kisses, especially kisses.

The parrotting of our words and phrases is constant.

The immediate response of “I here” when you call her name (just like playing Marco-Polo as a kid)

So far while M at 2 has been tiring, it is more fun then I could have ever imagined… and continues to get better everyday.  This kid is smart, funny, ornery and so damn lovable.

Try, Try again

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I didn’t win the HP/Microsoft giveaway I posted about. But, the folks at HP and Microsoft Windows Live have chosen 50 different bloggers to give away $6000 in the latest gear from their companies and I’ve decided to give it another go over at Stop, Drop & Blog. I haven’t come to my senses yet so if I were to win, I would still GIVE IT ALL AWAY!

The very cool HP TouchSmart IQ816t series – the one I would really, really like to keep – would go to Shaker Heights High School right around the corner from me. They are doing some amazing things with design classes, and as my hubby is a designer himself he’d love to give them this awesome machine, Corel VideoStudio software and the printer to help inspire them as he was when he was younger.

The HP HDX would go to the school where my sister teaches – they are in need of a laptop for classroom use by all the teachers. My sister, who is the Tech Coordinator for the school, just bought a laptop with her own funds as she had been waiting for years for the school to buy one.

The HP Pavilion dv4 series Notebook, the HP Mini 1000 and the movie would go to the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital. I work at the Clinic and while we treat some the sickest kids around, the thing the kids want most it to feel connected to what they left behind – friends, school, family. These machines could help them keep up with schoolwork they are missing while hospitalized, connect with friends and family, or lose themselves in a great movie or game for awhile – all while being treated for their illness.

This is an amazing thing for HP and Microsoft to do and I really hope I win as I know that these computers could make a difference in so many lives!

Short and Sweet

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In the last 7 days…

Cookies: baked (and frozen lest they be inhaled prior to Christmas)

Surgery: cancelled

House: decorated

Dust: swiffered

Laundry mountain: summited

Shopping: started and finished

Holiday cards: ordered, addressed and mailed

Big-ass TV: set up

World: rocked

A week from today is my big family Christmas gathering.  After that it’s pretty low-key and low-stress.  My sister & her kids will be coming up for a couple of days to watch M during a daycare shutdown and I know M will have a blast – she adores her cousins.  p1040875

M and her cousins, the morning after Thanksgiving

Tagged

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Yippee!! I’ve been tagged!  As a realitivly new blogger I was pretty excited when Ben and Sara of one of my favorite blogs – Heights Eats – tagged me last week with my very first first tag.  But then I got super busy – ugh. So without further ado here is the fun and games:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

The 6 things:

1. Broccoli makes me gag.  Even the smell of broccoli makes me gag.
2. Mark and I got married on a Canadian island.
3. I say I am a knitter but haven’t finished a single knitting project since before M was born.
4. I am an NPR addict.
5. I am the lone democrat in a republican family.
6. I love to bake.

I’m tagging some of my favorite blogs:

Foodmomiac

Diabetic Running Mama

Mark G. Davis

M2Z

Chef’s Widow

Kicky Boots

Give It Away Now

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The lovely and talented Casey at Moosh in Indy is having yet another fabulous giveaway.  The folks at HP and Microsoft Windows Live have chosen her to give away $6000 in the latest gear from their companies.  Since our household bows to the Apple-gods and has enough computer equipment,  and since I know a lot of people who could benefit from this gear – if I were to win, I would GIVE IT ALL AWAY!

The very cool HP TouchSmart IQ816t series – the one I would really, really like to keep – would go to Shaker Heights High School right around the corner from me.  They are doing some amazing things with design classes, and as my hubby is a designer himself he’d love to give them this awesome machine, Corel VideoStudio software and the printer to help inspire them as he was when he was younger. 

The HP HDX would go to the school where my sister teaches – they are in need of a laptop for classroom use by all the teachers.  My sister, who is the Tech Coordinator for the school, just bought a laptop with her own funds as she had been waiting for years for the school to buy one.  

The HP Pavilion dv4 series Notebook, the HP Mini 1000 and the movie would go to the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.  I work at the Clinic and while we treat some the sickest kids around, the thing the kids want most it to feel connected to what they left behind – friends, school, family.  These machines could help them keep up with schoolwork they are missing while hospitalized, connect with friends and family, or lose themselves in a great movie or game for awhile – all while being treated for their illness.

This is an amazing thing for HP and Microsoft to do and I really hope I win as I know that these computers could make a difference in so many lives!

Rock with your Daddy

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Today we finally got to experience Rock-n-Tot and we all had a blast.  Pumping music, toys, snacks, art and people to meet – what’s not to like?  Naomi puts on one hell of an event – I could not believe all the things she thought of… from goodie bags to a sports center to get game updates.  I will be watching for news on the next date and will get my tickets quickly as this one was sold out.  

rnt1

rnt2While we were there I recognized Erika’s little girl shakin’ it on the dance floor and eventually spotted Erika and introduced myself (no small feat for this shy girl).  Hopefully I’ll see her again at the Kurt Vonnegut Book Club in a few weeks.

rnt3

rnt4

As with everything worth doing in Cleveland, Bar Cento was involved.  And upon seeing this sign we immediately knew where we were going to dinner:

rnt5

It was fantastic, as always.  I branched out from my usual (sunnyside pizza) and had the mussels which were fabulous.  We also all shared the olive oil cake which was very, very yummy.  And, in another display of finally overcoming my social awkwardness, I introduced myself to the famed Amelia – AKA Chef’s Widow. The KVBC is her brain child so I hope to see her in a few weeks, too.

All in all it was a fabulous family day on all accounts.  Now I’m looking forward to the short week and more family time ahead.

Bring It On

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Winter is here with a vengeance.  Cold temps, gray skies and bitter winds not to mention the snow we already have (and the several inches to come in the next few days).  All I can say is “bring it”!  While our basement is dank we have a 3rd floor which has sat empty for nearly a year.  Mark brought in the climbing cube from the yard, I dug out old Ikea curtains we don’t use anymore and a number of toys were hauled up.  It’s now M’s Playhouse and our (TV-free) hangout every night after dinner.  Stuff to climb, forts to build, flashlights to shine, daddy-horses to ride…it’s a lot of fun.

clubhouse

 

fort

 

horse

The snow can be fun, too.  Especially in snazzy new snowpants:

snow

 

Hot Salted Love

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saltedcaramel

 

 

Go directly to Starbucks and order yourself a Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200.  Do NOT look at the nutritional information.

You’re welcome.

From the Back of the Closet

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Please excuse the lack of posting, I had to go to Vegas for work (poor, poor me!) and was gone for 4 days. I won $47 on a free slot promo. I rock.
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At the start of 2008 my employer launched a new employee wellness program that is absolutely awesome. First they rolled out a “stop smoking” program and offered counseling and drugs (gum and the patch) for free. This was a bit ironic as we are a no-smoking workplace; they screen you for nicotine when you are hired and if you test positive it’s “thanks, but no thanks – find another job”. But there were thousands of smokers grandfathered in and this program was for them, free of cost, if they wanted to use it.

Next, they added weight loss programs and gave us two options: their own doctor guided program and Weight Watchers. With WW you could do the on-line program, find a local meeting or attend one of the dozens of @work sessions they offered on our campuses. Again, this is totally without any out-of-pocket expense. On my campus alone of about 700 employees there are 170 attending the weekly meetings. We are in week 15 of the first 18-week session.

Lastly, just a few weeks ago, they rolled out the final phase: exercise. This gave us the option of using one of the several employer-run facilities or joining Curves for free (yes, they are still working on another option for an off-campus facility that is not women-only). I have no idea how many people are using this new freebie but I hear the campus gyms are crowded; I myself have joined Curves.

First let me say that this entire program is fantastic – they have succeeded in wiping out the main hurdles to wellness: time and money. Second, to sweeten the deal they added incentives: when you complete the programs and reach certain goals (10% weight loss, 100 gym visits in 10 months, etc) you get a $100 bonus. It’s beyond generous and I am so very grateful.

I joined WW@Work the day it started in my building and haven’t looked back since. I’ve been heavy my entire life but this last year I gained a so much weight I was miserable. New job, new house, new city, new stresses and I was at my heaviest ever – I weighed more then I did at 9 months pregnant. Training for the 3-day didn’t help as all that mileage left me starving and with the mentality of “I walk 7-10 miles a day – I can eat anything I want!” but with my metabolism that was disaster. I’ve done WW before, a few times, and had good results but usually got to a point where I couldn’t afford it anymore, quit, did it on my own for awhile then fell off the wagon.

Now at 15 weeks in I’ve dropped 40 pounds and weigh less then I have since sometime in 2005. Make no mistake, I still have a long way to go, but I have never had this great of success (granted, I lost 10 lbs. in the hospital, but still). 15 weeks have gone by and I have not yet had a single gain, although the weekly losses are slowing a bit. I started the 30-Day Shred before I got sick to help keep the momentum going but have not re-started since I’ve felt better and I really need to (I will post about Curves later – I’ve only gone twice because their schedule is goofy and I sweat too much to go at lunch).

The suits I bought when I started this job hang on me. My pants are beyond baggy. And, at least for one more month, we are broke.  All of this means that I’ve had to go shopping in the back of our spare closet. Luckily, like any woman who has ever struggled with weight loss I have a few sizes of things shoved in the back of the closet and I’ve started pulling out the smaller stuff. It’s a great feeling but some of these things are horribly out-dated. The cash bonus comes to us in December and it can’t come soon enough because mama needs some new clothes!