New year...

New.

It's a frightening word: new year, new job, new relationship, new, new, new.  It's intimidating and full of expectations.

This is a new year: 2013.  I'm not sure yet what I think it holds for me, just like I'm reeling from the shock of how quickly 2012 seemed to pass.

Then I think about change and how willing I am (not) to embrace it: weight loss is a welcome change, more points on my license because of a speed trap is not so welcome. It all has to do with perspective.

Here's where I'm at as 2013 begins:

Homeschooling one kiddo, working for a great company
Waiting for what feels like a non-existent mate
Writing and revising what should be my pre-lims
Eating healthy and pushing the limits of my body
A full 50 pounds lighter than I was one year ago
A full 3 clothing sizes smaller than I was one year ago
A licensed teacher snooping around for open positions
A doctoral student praying for a full time job with full time pay and full time benefits

A daughter with loving parents
An aunt with a loving niece
A sister with an awesome brother

A gift for cooking, baking and eating
A knack for writing
A shelf of books to read, and soon
A working and terrific car
A passport for adventures if the plans would ever come together
A plan for investing and letting moolah work for me

Life in my veins, breath in my lungs, laughter in my throat, a song in my heart and a skip in my step.

I'm going to try to write more frequently... unless, of course, life gets in the way.

Grace, blessings, and peace to you...whomever you are, wherever you roam.
M

...the times, they are a-changin'...

Well, to say that it's been awhile since I've updated would be the understatement of, well, this month. Since moving to the house in July, it's been pretty insane around here: unpacking, organizing, doing laundry at the laundromat, school starting, intense drama with the Kid, my classes starting, trying to figure out when I'm going to finally do pre-lim exams, a puking cat, one rowdy puppy, the death of the family dog, migraines a-plenty and the loss of my sanity. I've also learned how to caulk a shower, process a ton of tomatoes into sauces, salsas and various other things, blanch and freeze eggplant, and still not get everything done that needs doing in 24 hours.

I've learned that I am finally without a friend in administration at my job because things are changing and people that were there are no longer there. I've found out that just because you have a teaching license doesn't mean you'll have a job, and that for whatever reason, cats knock all of the water from their bowls because they prefer it to be running water instead of still.

I've also found that I have great friends that attempt to help me find balance and that are always willing to help...and that they don't just care about me but my entire family. My brother being here has been wonderful--talk about calling in a ringer!

My brother drinks about a gallon of milk a day. Not really, but you get my drift. I'm pretty sure it offends him that I only like enough milk to make the cereal appear as though I attempted to moisten it.

I've become something of a shower ex-pat. I stopped sharing the upstairs shower because I can't stand to be away from my mom.

Just kidding, it's because the Kid and my brother lack something in the way of keeping the bathroom as clean as I like it.  However, I really love my mom. That lady knows how to keep a bathroom clean....she also tends to listen to my kvetching.

I've also discovered that motion sickness medicine works great for migraines...at least that one time I took it.

I take melatonin and it helps me sleep. That's right. Something helps me sleep. Be jealous--i sleep like a rock when I remember to take it.

I've gone girly and have gotten serious about playing with make-up. I bought powder and blush. Today, I used a skin primer. I'm pretty sure that I looked less pale than normal.

I need a haircut. I probably need a good cry. I definitely need chocolate.

<3 the long haired Kaiser.

...Chess...

This is Chess. Chesser. Dawg. Puppy. Friend. Companion. Licker of toes. Eater of all things funky. Escape artist when it was time to clean her ears. Foot Rest. Squirrel Chaser. Cat Pursuer. Barker. User of an "inside voice" bark that I taught her. Yogurt container cleaner. Carrier of your hand when she wanted you to take her outside. Door Scratcher. Pillow. 'Fraidy cat of thunderstorms. Car Rider. Protector. Licker of faces, hands, necks and ears. Tackler. Good, good dog.

She went to the big squirrel chase in the sky today. Labored breathing, congestive heart failure. Old age. We rescued her in 1997. She was either 15 or 16 years old, still trying to act like a puppy. My dad stayed with her and scratched her ears and told her our names and stories of all of our love for her. She went peacefully. She will be sorely missed.

She answered to "what's up dawg" everytime I saw her because I thought the "gangsta" play on words was too funny to stop doing.

We love you, puppy. We'll see you soon.

Jesus, when you see her, scratch her ears and the white part on the front of her chest. That's her favorite. Then ask her, "what's up dawg?". I promise you'll get licked.

</3the Kaiser.

...Madison, WI...

So.

In San Antonio, I used to go to shows all the time...indie ones, country ones, PUNK ones...I've got rock-n-roll in my soul, boys...there's a little anarchy in there too. But since leaving S.A., I haven't been to any shows, except for the end of one I caught in Dublin. Then, my favorite band to see live decided to come through my new town, Madison, WI.

I'm not sure if it's the driving beats or the way I still identify with being from the south side of Chicago, long after leaving Chi-town that gets me. The music is always awesome and those lads are some of the best guys around. They also love Jesus, which is a huge plus.

SO, they showed up to play at the Memorial Union Terrace, which is incidentally, one of my favorite places to chill in Madison. I almost didnt get to go, but made it just in time. I sang along with every tune, screamed along when appropriate, and had the best time I've had in 3 years....it's probably enough of a high to get me through the rest of grad school. I saw like a 40 year old dude skankin'...he tore it up. Some girls were do-si-do-ing. It was stellar.

So, forgive the poor sound quality on most of these vidz...i don't know why it's muffled....either way, it's a good time. Sometimes the video is a little dark, but they played at 11 pm, outside, with minimal light.

If you aren't a Flatfoot 56 fan, you should be.

...cuteness quotient...

I haz a kitteh. His name is Ivan. He's cute, just shy of being a year old. He sounds like an elephant charging when he runs. He licks my toes. He prefers to sleep by my feet instead of cuddling by my side like other kittehs have done. He also prefers to hang out on my window sill than anywhere else. He purrs in weird little bursts. He pushes the bathroom door open when I go in there so he can get his ears scratched while I take care of business.

Ivan has green eyes.
He likes to sit around.


Until this morning...


He chose to do something radical.

He wanted an early morning snack.


In the form of my toes.

This iz what delicious looks like. I can honestly say that it wasn't the most gentle way to wake up.

Ivan also does this thing when I have ANYTHING in my hands....He stands on hind legs, stretches up, and uses his front paws to pull at whatever it is so he can check it out. It's really funny.

<3, the Kaiser.

Oh, feast your eyeballs  on these amazing things I've taken pics of lately...it's been a long time since there's been a post full of pictchas.

...a busy bee...

So,

Here I sit in the math building at UW-Madison, watching my students take a practice ACT test. I've run out of things to do, and am simply biding my time for the next 18 minutes. I'd so much rather be working on material with them, but my day will come. Next Monday. Boo for having to be a test proctor.

In other news, my brother is here. It's exciting. He's probably bored to death with our laid back life, there's not much action goin' on in town, and he's gotta start from scratch with finding friends, etc. Ah well.

My cat, Ivan doesn't answer to his name. Today, I tried to see if he'd answer to anything else...Heinrich, Bob, Thomas...the list went on and on. He didn't answer. He only seems to respond to my voice when I'm filling his food dish. Ah well, it's still early in our relationship. He's also not a purr-er. He does like to sleep between my toes at night, when he's not knocking stuff off of my dresser or stealing my stash of rubber bands. Apparently, according to my bro's girlfriend, homeboy is something of a ferret. He finds somewhere in the house to keep his stash, picks his treasure and goes about transporting it to said hiding place. I find this hilarious. I'm waiting to see what he'll steal. I probably won't find it until we move. Good times. haha.

Job and house hunting continue. Gotta say, this is getting ridiculous.

<3, the Kaiser.

...summer...

Yes, it's summer time. Time for my usual ritual: sunburn, blister, peel, repeat. Time for tanlines on my feet from endless flip-flop wearing. Time for all the freckles on my body to make an appearance. Summer.

The kid graduated the other night. It's official: she's a middle schooler. She's going to 6th grade. I'm trying like crazy to find a house in the district so she can be with her friends. She's got a long summer ahead of her if she thinks she's going to be disrespectful and still get to do whatever she wants.

I have too much to do and not enough time to get any of it done. Packing, finding a house, reading, organizing for my fall semester and only one more week of "down" time before I start teaching for the summer. There's no rest for the weary. It will all be worth it. Incidentally, I may have found a house....may have.

OH-survived my first tornado. Well, tornadic event. All's well. Power outages and being sent to the basement because there was actual, real danger was kind of exhilarating. 80+ mile an hour winds. Good times. The KID freaked out. My most excellent friend, Liz, was there to help calm her down. Good, good times.

Also, I'm getting a cat. I think. His name is Ivan. Ivan the Terrible. It's my little brother's girlfriends cat. she doesnt want him anymore, so I think he's going to come with my brother. I can't wait. It's been 9 years since my cat died, so I think I'm finally ready to commit to a new love.

I got the best card from my dad today. Little things like that brighten my day. My dad is proud of me. That's a great feeling.

Also, I stumbled upon a bunch of really old pictures. I'm going to have to post some soon...it'll be funny. It'll be funny to watch people's reactions to old photos of themselves.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm sleepy.

<3, the Kaiser.