12.31.2010

.. year at a glance ..

here is a review of my year .. it's not all there but it's done ! 


i got my sister to drink with me ! 


i got my wisdom teeth out ! 


I started cutting up fruits and veggies the day i got them .. instead of letting them rot ! 



we went to clearwater beach florida for spring break ! 





alexandria graduated from high school .. it was insanely hot ! 


we went to the indy 500 ! 


we went to jason's parents house for a week and his mom took me to a blueberry farm .


i turned 22 !


me and kirstie out for my birthday .


i made a video slideshow for my parents 25th anniversary .



we went snowboarding in oregon .


we put up a christmas tree ! 


i started teaching gym ! 


we took pictures for our parents for their anniversary .

some of these are out of order .. it wouldnt let me switch them around .. but it's all here .

happy new year ! 


12.22.2010

** .. tis the season .. for birthdays .. **


December 16th my BABY brother turned 13!


He unwrapped each present before he opened a single box.


I opted for practical gifts this year instead of frivolous gifts.
A nice new pair of brown shoes, a black leather belt and boxers from American Eagle.
The kid is in love with boxers, makes me chuckle.


Dad checking to see if they fit his big feet ok.  
Size 12, he has bigger feet than my dad and Jason!


Alex used my paper to wrap her gift.  
A Nike dri-fit shirt and Nike shorts.


We love each other so :) 


This picture just makes me smile :) 
I lvoe my brother and sister ! 


Decemebr 21st my momma turned 47 ! 


We got her a wii fit and an assortment of other random things she loves.


On another note, my grandma passed away on January 6th, 2006.  
She kept a journal for the last year and wrote nearly everyday.  
I have wanted to type it up that way each family would have a copy of their own.  
I started in May of 2009, after my grandpa passed and we got the journal.  
It was too tough to read and I put it in the closet until just last night.  
I randomly decided to get it out and start working on it slowly.  
Well I got started and couldn't stop!
I started around 1 am and finished at 6:01 am.  
I cried a lot and had to make my way through the tears to continue reading.
I laughed some as well.
It made me happy to see the days she wrote that I had come to visit or spend the night (which wasn't often and that made me sad).    
It ended up being about 35 pages, with mulitple entries on each page, as she only wrote a little bit each day.  

I sent it to my sister and asked her to proof read it.  
She replied, I fixed it, put a picture of my mom and grandma on it, took it to Office Depot and had it printed on nice paper with a clear cover and a black back.  
Only cost me $8.41!  
I was going to give it to my mom for Christmas but got anxious and gave it to her today.  
She didn't really respond, I think she was surprised and happy, just caught off guard.
My goal is to get a picture of each of the other 5 kids with my grandma and make each one unique.  Then give it to them on January 6th, as it will be 5 years.    

So much for my (semi) wordless Wednesday! 

12.16.2010

** .. catching up .. **

Tomorrow is my last day of finals for this semester.  I am currently working on straight A's and that will be the first time in YEARS .. I don't know that I could be more excited or nervous!  The final two exams are hand written, plus I had a paper due tomorrow in each of them as well.  So much writing.  Yet here I am.  I just sat down to check my facebook and decided to post.  Very random for me.  I am sure my grammar is all over the place and to be perfectly honest, I don't even care.

My baby brother, Jack, turns 13 tomorrow.  I posted a blog about him a while back at this link http://kaitididwhat.blogspot.com/2009/06/jack-johnston.html >> (i don't know how people do that 'here' thing and then you can click .. maybe someone could fill me in?!)  It's heartwreching to think about.  I know that he's my brother but we have always been so close, it just makes me sad to think about how much he is growing up.  He is just about my height and weight, with a shoe size bigger than Jasons!  Hopefully he grows into those size 12 feet!  I bought him sweet new shoes for his birthday, that's how I know all of this :)

Alex is home from college for winter break.  I am excited to have her home.  Now we can work together and go shopping and probably go play bingo once or twice!  I don't even want to think about her going back yet!

Jason and I leave for Washington on Christmas day at 8 am.  I am totally dreading being at an airport that early and having to drive to that airport even earlier.  The trip should be fun though.  We are bringing our snowboards, I am SO nervous to snowboard there though!  I am kind of accident prone when it comes to being away from my parents, at least I was when I was younger.  Hoping I am not still like that!

Dad had another seizure last Sunday.  I went to their hosue after work, because I teach gym on Monday mornings.  It's silly to drive back and forth.  Anyway, his eyes were rolling back and kind of bulging, his hands were clammy, his head kept rolling back and forth, his speech was slurred, I decided to take him in.  My mom, Jack and I spent 45 minutes convincing him to let us take him.  He kept trying to hide, which was scary, just becasue of a whole other story (for another time).  Finally we went.  The nurse said he most likely did have a mild seizure and we got the after affects.  They gave him morphine because he had a horrible headache, which he has fairly often, and 3 other shots.  A steroid, something for vommiting and something swelling, his face was getting pretty big.

When we got home he passed out and woke up the next morning feeling better but not sure what had happened the night before.  I told him.  He was bummed.  When we were leaving my mom and Jack went to get the car and dad leaned against the wall and said to me "did she say I had another seizure?" I said, "yes, she did, just a mild one".  Dad hit his head softly on the wall and said "Gosh dangit."  I wanted to cry.

I e-mailed him the next day when I got home from teaching.  I told him that he needs to let us help him.  We can't help if we don't know what is going on.  He may do it subconsciously though, especially when he's having a seizure.  It's just tough, but we will learn to deal.  I am trying to talk him into yoga, he let me lead him in a couple poses last Friday.  Hopefully he agrees to try it again, he said it hurt pretty bad.

Well I need to catch some zzzzz's before tomrrow morning.  Nighty night.

12.01.2010

** a little help for someone in the giving mood **

I have a small predicament that I would like some input on.

Jason works with a lady, who could not get pregnant therefore they adopted a little girl.  They adopted this girl, years before we knew them.  Since then they have gotten pregnant two times.  Last year around this time they had a little boy.  I went to GAP and bought him 2 outfits, because her husband had just lost his job and she is the only income, as a credit union teller.  And I like to buy clothes for babies!  About a month ago they had another baby, a girl.  They were obviously not expecting either of the pregnancies and now have 3 children and still only one income.  When they had their last baby, we were super busy with school and work that it slipped my mind to buy the new baby something.

When I went shopping on Black Friday GAP was having an amzing sale, so I bought an outfit for each of her children for Christmas.  It was like $35 for all 3 outfits!  I figured that I could say, I wanted to get the baby something and didn't want to leave the others out.

Oldest Girl - I didn't get a top to go under the sweater yet, because I was silly and forgot.
Does that look okay for a girl about 5?



Boy about 1.5 years, these aren't the exact pants, they are black corduroys, but this helps.



Baby about 2 months old



Photographs courtesy of www.gap.com

Predicament:  Does this sound rude?  As if I think that they are poor and need gifts from other people to make their Christmas better?  Or does it seem logical?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated .. Thank You

11.29.2010

** teaching gym **

As some of you know, this year my brother's grade school could not afford a gym teacher. I went in and volunteered to be the teacher for grades k-8. I have never taught gym before nor have I taken any classes to do so.  As a volunteer they weren't complaining.  I get a free lunch and I get to spend time with my brother and about 10 cousins.  I enjoy my time there for the most part.  I do struggle with getting the kids to pay attention to me though.  I still haven't figured it out completely, but it seems to be getting better with time.  I knew so many of these kids before I started teaching that I think they thought I was more of a friend than a teacher.  I do want them to know that I am there for them, but I can't be walked all over.

In October I kept 4 kids (3rd graders) after class to discuss there inappropriate behavior.  They didn't participate like they should in regular activities.  Two of them were singing and not participating in yoga.  Which I had chose to end gym classes with, I had a teacher ask me to do so.  Because she knows that is what I want to do with my life and it will calm the kids down to go back to class, instead of them being all riled up.  The kids that I kept were late back to class, the teacher asked them why and she sent them to the office.  The principal came down and talked to me and informed me that they would all be getting detentions.

Well my family is close to 3 of the kids' families and one of them is my boss's daughter.  I was scared of how they would all respond.  My boss's wife has barely acknowledged me at all since then.  Another parent came in and complained that yoga is a form of Hinduism and he didn't want his child participating in it.  I had NEVER taught the religous aspect of yoga and never intended to do so.  The principal informed me and said that the parent had brought in a list of other 'stretches' I could use that were not yoga.  Well she is a yogi herself and she told me over 3/4 of them were yoga poses.  She suggested I continue on and just not call it yoga.  For a while I completely cut it out of my lesson plan, I was pissed off.

I am almost positive of who it was and this person has been close to my family for years.  It does not surprise me at all, but it really hurt my feelings.  I asked the principal if I could print off the benefits of yoga for kids and send them home with the kids and she suggested I just drop it.  Which I did and I did bring 'streching' back into gym class.  It still upsets me though. What kind of person comes in to a school to complain about a volunteer?

In November I started tournaments for 2nd and 3rd grades, 4th and 5th grades, 6th grade, and 7th and 8th grades.  I wrote everyone's names down and drew them randomly.  The older kids have really enjoyed the basketball season, we will have a tournament after each team play each other once.  I mostly just let the Kindergartners and 1st graders run around and try to shoot the ball and dribble as much as possible.  They seem to enjoy it and it's pretty easy for me :)

11.11.2010

** it's been a while **

Oh my, this is like my diary, I swear I am going to write, then never do.  So much has happened since the last time I blogged .. in MAY!

My dad is still not doing so hot, he went to IU med center for an MRA this past weekend.  We don't know anything yet.  He wrote a short story about his life over the past 4 years and how much I, personally, have been there for him.  It meant a lot to me.  He also mentioned that had he known what it would be like now he would have taken his grandpa's shot gun out to the woods years ago and ended it.  Something that no kid should have to hear, but it's how he feels.

My mom is still struggling with her parents passing away.  In January it will be 5 years for my grandma and in February it will be 2 years for my grandpa.  I can't imagine how she feels or what she goes through, but I feel like she takes a lot of it out on us.

Jason and I have been 'talking' about getting engaged for months now.  We started dating in January of 2008.  I knew then that I would marry him.  We broke up twice and both times I felt like we would get back together and here we are.  Both break ups were dumb, but lasted about 3 months.  We had our space, figured out our issues on our own and got back together.  We have lived together since April.  Now he's saying that we need to stay together for at least a year before we get engaged.  My whole thing is, don't tell a girl you want to get engaged then keep putting it off.  I know I should just put it out of my mind, but I can't.

I am full time student, I bartend at 2 restaurants, I clean a house, I volunteer to teach gym for K-8 grade at my brothers school, because they can't afford one.  I am a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend and a mom to a dog :)
I am tired, I am sad, I sometimes think that I am depressed.
I just want to be happy.
Some days are better than others and some are not.

Sorry, I know this wasn't very upbeat, but I need to put it out there.
I could use some advice or a slap in the face :)

5.21.2010

A Little Time Together .. **

Today I woke up to Jason talking to me.  I was sleeping very well, but today was his day off so he wanted to spend time with me.  Granite it was about 1015, but I was still sleepy.  I work nights as a waitress so when I get home I'm usually not tired.  I need time to wind down and usually TRY to fall asleep around 2 or 230.  If I am lucky I fall asleep soon after.  So to me sleeping until 11 or so isn't a big deal.

I always complain about not spending enough time together though, so I got up.

The first thing that we did was go to the leasing office for the apartments that we live in to add my name to the lease.  I had to fill out this 8 page packet and I have to pay like $90.  Which I am not thrilled about, they have never made people pay twice for leasing fees and now they are taking money like it's their jobs.  Late fees on rent are now $200!  It used to be $55 plus $10 per day its late.  It is what it is though.  The lady told me to go home and finish filling it out, and I needed 2 pay stubs and mail from my old address.

We went back to the apartment and got Raven.  She had a grooming appointment at 1230.  Jason got a new car this week, a black Impala with black leather interior (which I am NOT a fan of, but it's not my car).  The car has storage under the back seats though, if you fold them up its just plastic, so that's how we transported her to the store.  We dropped her off, they said it would be 3 hours.

We then went for lunch at Logan's Roadhouse, it was delicious!  Afterwards we got Jason's car washed at Mike's (it rained tonight).  Then we went to the mall and looked around, I didn't buy ONE thing! I am so proud of myself, I haven't been shopping in months.  Trying to save some money.  I HATE it, but I am doing good.

Jason took me home so I could chill before I had to go to work tonight.

He came home right before I was leaving with his buddy and Raven.  She looks beautiful!  I'll have to take a picture tomorrow.  Then I went to work for the night.  We weren't very busy, but I made $67 in about 5 hours.

Came home to my new clothes line, after a couple reminders to him!  Now Jason is in bed and I'm up winding down.  hoping to get to bed soon.

All in all it was a great day .. that we really needed! I am so thankful for it!

5.13.2010

.. job A or job B ..

I have worked at a restaurant (A) for 5 and 1/2 years, I have never called in sick or not shown up.  While I was in high school I worked all the time, during the summers they would offer to put in a bed upstairs, because I was working doubles or triples almost everyday.  I am a rather good employee if I do say so myself.  Now, I just got a job at another restaurant (B) about 2 months ago, towards the end of school and I had needed off a couple of times to study for exams or to catch up on homework.  If I couldn't find someone to cover my shift I was always there.  When I work I do more than my fair share of side work and what not.
So, I go into work last Saturday and the schedule was up for this week.  I am on for Friday night, well I have never worked a Friday night there. And I already picked up bartending that night at restaurant A.
I went to one of my managers right away and told them my situation and he said, "Find someone or you have to work."  I have asked everyone that I could, no one can or will.  I even asked that same manager because he picks up serving shifts every now and then for other waitresses, never for me though. I texted him again today and said, "I don't know what to do, can you please help me?"  He said, "Find someone or you will be written up."
Here's the deal though, if I really wanted to I could call my manager at restaurant A and he would find someone to cover me, because that's how this place works.  Everyone helps each other out and we are all money hungry!  However restaurant B is not that way, even a little bit.  When I needed off for my exams I texted my scheduling manager because that's how everyone rolls now, two weeks early and she didn't even say thanks for the heads up or anything.  
Now I am thinking that because he is being such an asshole, that I should just say that I can't work.  I mean, my goodness, here I am, a part-time employee and I am already scheduled at my other job. I am not just wanting to go out with my girl friends.  I will be WORKING at the place that scheduled me first and asked me BEFOREHAND because that's not a night I normally work.
What do you think I should do?  Work for the place that will most likely just fire me?  Or work for the place that could easily replace me, but I have been at for longer?  AND that I want to work at because they treat me with respect, most of the time :)

5.10.2010

.. what to do ..

jason called me today and said, "kaiti just listen". so i listened . he got a call from his finance professor on his cell phone, at work . he knows a guy who needs interns for an actuary firm ? i don't even really know what it is . shocking .
anyways .. of course i am very excited and proud and i told him he'd be crazy not to take it . however .. when i texted him tonight from my job and asked if he wanted any food and he said no .. i was suspicious .. he seldom doesn't want food .. usually when he's with his friends . So i get off work and he says come to texas roadhouse we are celebrating . i didn't want to go .. because their waitress is one of his old friends who he was just talking to his buddy about last week .. about how hot she is . AND last time we were there she thought i was someones 12 year old sister .. needless to say i am not a big fan .. but i went .. to celebrate .
i got home first and went straight to take a bath .. with a bottle of wine . i am by no means looking forward to this . the summer is the ONLY time we get to spend together .. this is what i've been looking forward to .. for a while . of course he doesn't understand .. this is huge . he's excited i should be too .. why can't i be excited ? why do i have to think about all the time we won't get to spend together ? why do i think that this is just another sign .. as to why this won't work out . why . why . why . as soon as things get good .. something else comes up .. should we not be together ? am i pushing something that isn't there ?
every time we are apart i miss him like crazy . even if we don't talk for 2 months . from the moment i met him i've felt like he was "the one" nothing can keep us apart .. and i feel like if we sort through all this bull shit now .. it will just make for an amazing future .. am i completely wrong ?
any advice at this pint in time would be fabulous .

.. Need You Now .. Album Review ..

I am now a part of the Amazon Associates program, in hopes of making some extra money.  I have NO idea whether or not it will be worth it, but it's always worth a shot.

Hopefully when this posts, the same box will appear next to this blog and it will have the Lady Antebellum  album, "Need You Now" in it.  You will click on the said box and check out their CD.  And I will make lots of money :)

Here's a little review in hopes of enticing you to go ahead and check it out.

If you haven't heard their song, which the album is named after, "Need You Now" you are most likely living in a box, down by the river.  This song came out over my winter break from school and it was played almost every morning around 1am.

How do I know this you ask?

Because that is when Jason and I were broken up.  Of course I would hear that song after I had been out drinking all night (a whole other story that I should blog about).  While I was lonely and wanting to be held as I slept.  But I was strong, much stronger then I thought I could ever be.  And I did not call him and say that I missed him or that "I would rather hurt than feel nothing at all."  Quite possibly one of the most interesting quotes I have ever heard.  It really made me think.  I really did want to call him and talk to him and tell him that I missed him and I loved him, but I didn't NOT one time.  And I am still rather proud of myself for that, if you can't tell (again that is a whole other story i may blog about in the future).  But at that point in time, I really thought maybe I would rather hurt, then feel absolutely nothing at all (Sad, I know).

If you haven't heard this song do yourself a favor and go listen to it, RIGHT NOW!

Of course that is the ONLY song off of the album that I have heard.  I am one of those people who doesn't listen to songs, unless they are popular.  Which Jason tries to change on a daily basis and is doing a fairly decent job (another story, another review).

As I read through the lyrics of the other songs, they look rather tasty as well.  At some point tomorrow I will have to listen to the rest of the album.  It is not going to get done at 3am, I'm just saying.

I hope this helps in your country music, CD purchasing endeavors and look out for more Amazon reviews to follow, especially if I find out that it's worth it :)

4.29.2010

A Little Dose of Putting Things into Perspective .. **

My dad sent me a text message last night and it was about the military and those fighting for our freedom and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis. I have decided to share it with you all, because it really puts things into perspective and I think that we could all use a dose of that from time to time.

You stay up for 16 hours.
We stay up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
We go weeks without running water.

You complain of a headache and call in sick.
We get shot at, as others are hit and we keep moving forward.

You talk about your buddies that are not with you.
We know that we may never see any of ours ever again.

You complain about how hot it is.
We wear our heavy gear, not daring to take off our helmet to wipe our forehead.

You get mad at the waiter for getting your order wrong.
We do not get to eat today.

You are mad that your class got held over for 5 minutes.
We are told that we will be held over an extra 2 months.

You roll your eyes when a baby cries.
We get a letter with pictures of our new baby and wonder if we will ever meet.

Just when you think your day can't get any worse, take a moment to think of those that are giving the ultimate sacrifice. Don't JUST think about them, think about their wives, girlfriends, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and friends that they haven't seen in several months. It is just as hard for the loved ones at home to not know what is going on all the time.

The bottom line, you don't have to support the war. If you don't that is your right, as my dad says, "We go to overseas to protect your home and GIVE you the ability to not agree with what we are doing. That is our option.". It's perfect.

But if you don't support the war at least support the men and women who are giving you the option to do so. And their families, because it is just as hard on them as it is on the one's that are away.


4.08.2010

me .. moving .. again .. ugh .. yes .

I was born and raised Roman Catholic, I was baptized at 3 weeks and attended church every Sunday morning the entire time I lived at home. (I still try to attend when I can .. don't judge me). My parents raised me the "right" way, no staying the night at boyfriends, etc.. I moved out of my parents house a couple months after I met Jason, then we stayed together from time to time. I have ALWAYS been against living together before marriage, because statistically it "never" works. People live together and either can't stand it or never get married, neither of which I want to happen to me.
However I have moved 5 times in the past 2 years, this past January 28th (my dads 47th birthday) I moved into a house with my 2nd cousin (or something like that) and her house was up for sale, but I was desperate. While I was on spring break, the house sold. So I have until April 23rd to have everything out of the house.
When I first found out, Jason said, " Well Kaiti, you are just going to have to move in with me."
I responded with, "I don't know Jason, you know our parents will freak out"
"Well Kaiti, what other option do you have?"
"I don't know? I could move home."
Well my parents moved to a new house recently and because I was moved out they turned the extra bedroom in the basement in to an amazing den with, huge book shelfs and a desk. They use the closet in that room as storage for games and movies. My sister has a twin bed and a closet packed with clothes, shoes and bags (typical girl) and my brother is the same way, I honestly think he has just as much as me and Alex. When I called home to ask my parents, Jack was so excited, he said, "Kaiti, I just pushed all my clothes in the closet all the way over, we can MAKE your clothes fit in here. We can take down my Randy Moss and Tom Brady posters and put your dresser next to mine. You can sleep in my bed, I mean, I sleep on the couch most of the time anyway." I started crying, (because I'm ultra annoyingly emotional) honestly how much sweeter could this 12 year old kid be? Then my sister chimed in, "NO! KAITLIN WE COULD GET BUNK BEDS!" In the background I could here my parents sighing. One of the reasons I moved out of my parents house, was because my mom and I argued so much. I just wanted my freedom and they didn't want to just give it to me.
So, I decided that we could try this whole living together thing, and then Jason started getting nervous, we are honestly ridiculous.
Anyway, after several discussions, prayers and days/weeks of thinking about all the consequences we have decided to give it a try. He has a 1 bedroom right now and his lease is up in July, so we will get a 2 bedroom then. We have way too much stuff for this little place. We are trying to make it all fit for now and what doesn't I am taking out to my parents to put in the attic for now.
My parents are by NO means thrilled about the current situation, but they support whatever decisions I make and I think they really don't want me to come back. Alex will be gone in July for IU and they will just have Jack left, (the super easy kid).
What are your thoughts, feelings and opinions on living together before marriage?