cousin's reunion 2010

i remember when my girlfriends and i would do our yearly "reunions" and always go to a lake somewhere near chicago...i was thinking that we could do something similar for ours.  michigan is always awesome, but if you guys don't want to drive too far, we could always do one of those places in illinois.  that's one of the biggest things i miss about chicago...the lake!  i'm picturing all of us in a cabin somewhere, sitting around a bon fire....

and to all of you northerners...it is actually cold here in h-town today.  you'd probably be celebrating and wearing shorts, but i could actually see my breath this morning!  (this is a really big deal!)

so, start thinking of a good time to do something like this...and we'll save up our vacation days.  we're still planning for the J/A Fundraiser on august 14...so i'm gonna need all your help!  keep checking in...i'll get some more pics up here very soon!

Brrr....it's cold up here

Well I've finally decided to write, yes I know...long time coming. I just have to say it is FREEZING up here in p-town, so all you "southern" folk need to bring some warm air up here. Everything is going great on my end, except of course for the weather. Rob and I are lovin our new house, so that's been fun. I think that Lo and Casey are the only ones who have been over when we had our fun get together at xmas. Ahem...Katie you live in town so you need to come over soon!

Another thing that is starting to freak me out is that I will officially be entering my 30's here in about 22 days! Woah! Although I must say I'm really starting to look forward to my 30's and start to say good-bye to my 20's. My 20's were definitely a big learning experience and I think I FINALLY started to grow up around 29. So I'm looking forward to the future as I enter the BIG 3-0!

Jod, loved all the old school pictures of us from Christmas when we were all so young. Those were definitely the good ole days...miss them a lot! I definitely think we should try and figure out a cousins reunion this summer for sure. Maybe we can all meet somewhere? I love all the laughs we have when we're all together, it's like time never goes by and we pick up right where we left off.

For now....I'm done with my update but I promise to post again very soon! Now we need the youngins to post. :)

want some help?

Hey friends.

I was thinking that maybe we needed a little help to get going.  If you go here and there may be lots of prompts to help us blog...

I am planning on using them on my own blog.  Just sharing...

xo
katie

it won't stop raining...

So, it won't stop raining.  And, it's getting old.

We haven't seen the sun in 10 days here in the P, and I think it's making me cranky.  I will try my best to be upbeat and positvo in my update.  Okay, so I don't know about you guys, but I have some new favorite things that often make me l.a.u.g.h.  Something we all do well together and something that as we get older, just doesn't happen as much as it should.  Like, cheeks hurting, stomach cramping, pee holding laughter.  Yeah, let's get that cousins reunion planned. 

Okay, so my updating...my life...

School, school, and school.  Oh, and more school.  Grad school is driving me mad, and I don't EVEN have to go to Bloomington-Normal nearly as much.  I am doing my research - borophyll.  The goal is to get published in a journal.  So, that will be my exciting updates from here on out.  Hold onto your seats.

Teaching fourth grade.  Tough this year, and not much else to report.  Nothing good anyway.

Dating.  Oooooh.  I am the only one left dating.  I was thinking about that the other day...and trying not to let it get to me.  What's up with that?   I actually am doing fairly well with being me and not caring too much about the dating situation here...letmetellya, it's slim pickin's.  I have been on lots of dates...but nothing substantial.  Nothing. 

Although, this guy I met before Thanksgiving - M - is someone who keeps calling me and taking me out on dates, but not much else...I wish we were all sitting around so I could get some good funny advice.  To be quite honest, not really caring too much.  On paper, we seem perfect, but in real life...you need a little passion, right?

Things I am loving right now:  jersey shore, project runway, avatar, champagne, and the gym.

Things I am SO excited about: lost, the end of may, painting my kitchen (well, after), seeing the sun, and sleep.

Oh, and there's this new game I heard about that I really want to get...the game of things.  :)

Update.  Update.  Update!  I want to hear what all have been up to. 
xo.
k

a trip down memory lane...

i posted this on MY blog, the day after christmas....

the phone on loud-speaker...too many voices screaming, laughing, remembering...us here and everyone else there. we called ourselves "small but mighty" this year...just my husband and my parents in the house over the past few days. we made christmas eve a party, lots of snacks and cocktails...but the call to all of our cousins/aunts/uncles in illinois just proved how small our party of four really was. i was reminiscing with my cousin over the phone: remember those christmas eve's with the care bear sleeping bags and santa coming to visit??? so many years ago, yet so crisp in my memory...the smell of cookies lingering in the kitchen, newly made (matching!) outfits for me and my sisters, taking our shoes off on grandma's "new" carpet! there were whiskey sours for the adults--sometimes a sip for us older kids--and all the hors d'oeuvres you could imagine...standing around grandma's dining room table, laughing way too loud. my sister and her husband were there at grandma's this year...they promised to give us the play-by-play when they got back to houston. and my cousin agreed to post lots of pics on facebook, but it's just not the same. i want the sounds of babies crying and my uncles laughing and glasses clinking in the kitchen. i want the hugs and smiles and wrapping paper in my hands. i want the cozy warmth of grandma's living room with the fire roaring, tree lights twinkling and all of us squished in a circle on the floor. this is the christmas i remember.

welcome back!

i definitely missed all my cousins this year...i think i'll cross-post my "christmas eve" entry so you can see how lonely we were without you!