New Additions

In a few days my Dad's fiancee's children will be coming to stay with me! Since I moved into my new home, I have only had Carl as a house guest, but I have felt no need to go out of my way to impress him- he loves me and my dirty dishes. New family is a whole different story. While I have only met them once, I still feel like I am in "first impression" mode. This is the first time they will be seeing me in my city, my home, and my comfort zone.

I'm very weird about my home, it is extremely personal. I often wish that there would be people over all of the time, but I shy away because my home is an exact reflection of me. If it is orderly and clean then I am doing well. If it is chaotic and a hurricane zone, something is wrong. All of my belongings are displayed around me like an out pouring of reminders of who I am. Family photos, coveted knickknacks, books, things that just put me in a better place. Opening my home to someone new is a big deal, because in that moment they will know exactly who I am.

Granted, my home has been slightly chaotic, but they don't have to know that. I have gone so far as buying new towels with matching wash cloths ( I have no wash cloths, they are so strange to me!) so they can see that I have my life together. I know what you are thinking, "These kids are teenagers, I think you are fretting too much about this, dear." True, I know I am. I even have our agenda planned down to the minute- but after September, when our families combine, I will be the older step-sister, and I take that very seriously.

Until then, I will pamper them with ice cream and take them to Busch Gardens for the day. After all, I want to be the fun older step-sister.

xoxo
Catie

Summer

There is no doubt that it is officially Summer time. Richmond's infamous heat and humidity have struck us with record-breaking highs, making the mean temperature in my house 88+ degrees.

I don't do heat.

Hearing my somewhat defeated tone, my Dad texted me one morning, "I'll be in Richmond at 2pm with 2 new a/c units, where will you be?" Amazing. If there was a father of the year award, he would win it, hands down. By the time I got home, the house was cool and he had cleaned my apartment. With all that is going on, it was so nice to be taken care of for a change.

So now, my outlook on the rest of Summer is much more positive.

I have the best family ever.

P.S. I am going to have to change my motto, no longer a Successful, *Single*, Sober girl. Just Successful and Sober ;)

Merry Merry

Hope that everyone is having/had a wonderful holiday! Mine has been swell so far. Right after work on Wednesday, I rushed home shoved laundry, random clothes, and the cat in the Volvo and hit the road. That night the family and I had chinese food, opened gifts, and laughed a lot. Good times. The next morning we woke up and had breakfast, said goodbye to my Dad (a little peeved that he didn't actually stay to see me for more than a night), and then my Aunt and I started baking!

Jerrie and I made kiss cookies and Amish-style sugar cookies. The latter was the most tedious cookies we've made yet. Last year, we made lemon cookies dipped in dark chocolate, these required fridge time, double-boiler, and fishing line. This year, the sugar cookies required me to sculpt them on the cookie sheet since the dough was more of a biscuit consistency. We followed the directions and 20 minutes later we had the largest cookies you've ever seen. Seriously, the size of my face. Needless to say, it took three people to 'test' just one of the cookies, so the recipe was cut in half.

I love family, even if i'm the butt of their jokes. The feeling of home is what is really making me consider moving back.

Cookie disasters, routines, and predictability.

Graduatation

Yesterday officially marked the end of my time at VCU. For me, the graduation experience was better then I had expected. Being in a room where families, friends, loved ones came out to show their pride and support for all of the graduates, it hit me kind of hard. Maybe this whole thing really was a big deal? This idea was reinforced to me when I saw my family jumping around and waving like crazy, and again when I hugged my Dad and there were tears in his eyes.

Waking up today I feel like the world is moving forward and I'm taking a breather. I've decided that tomorrow is the 'first day of the rest of my life' and today shall be the no responsibility, sleep until noon, eat pizza kind of day. I feel like I deserve an actual day off, haha.

Tomorrow begins my opportunity to see how far I can go. Now that my time is not divided, I plan on being an unstoppable force, not that I'm not one already.

Travel

Off I go to Maryland and DC. I am satisfying my internal monologue which has been screaming "Get out of Richmond!"

I enjoy being able to disconnect myself for a while and reflect on the very good, the bad, and the ugly. I also enjoy seafood, haircuts, and seeing family.

This will be a nice trip, which will set me up nicely for what I hope to be an awesome Summer.

Chances are I will be blogging a lot (this typically happens when I'm home) so stay posted.

Truths XV

"As long as you're happy, everything else is crap." -My Dad

J'ai Deux Amours

Recently, I faced my fears and went to Maryland to visit my Dad.
Unfortunately, my Mom was only a faint feeling there...
...then we went through her memory box; I lost it.

One of the goals of my trip was to collect love letters sent to her when she was in her 20s. When she was in foreign missile sales, she was involved with a French Duke.
I found about 25 of his letters, and 5 various other ones.

These letters are going to be the basis for a book I'm writing.
I spent 20 years with my Mom, and I'm eager to find out more about her from these poems and hand written wishes.

Incredible.

December 24, 2008

Oh family.
Most of my time today has been spent either baking Slovak cookies with my Aunt, or letting my Grandma in on what she missed while she was in the hospital.

It's pretty strange talking to a person who pretty much fell of the face of the planet for 5 months.

Right now, my Dad is crushing my Aunt in Scrabble.
He has all the “S” and blank tiles, while my Aunt has all the “O” tiles-- harsh.

The General (my cat) received an elf costume today. He has been sporting the holly-wreath necklace pretty proudly, but the green pointed hat came off hours ago.

Pictures coming soon.

Remembrance

Today my Mom would have turned 55 years old.
I miss her everyday.

I love you forever and always.

Home Sweet Home

I woke up this morning to the sound of family, which is one of the most comforting sounds you'll ever know.

After a groggy bowl of cereal, I've begun to bake my famous Thanksgiving specialties: clover rolls and pumpkin pie!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

love.

P.S. My Dad bought me alcohol free champagne, score!