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  1. And then there was me

    November 14, 2010 by Blondette

    I frequently find myself wanting to be someone else. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I want to be me. I like me. I just want to step into someone else’s life. A pre-built life. It’s like eating out all the time instead of cooking. The meals are already prepared and you know what to expect, how they will taste, look, and you can choose what you prefer that day.

    But building your own life is much more challenging. Is it more rewarding?

    hmmm.

    In school it was about being with the right people.  Being accepted, liked, and respected. But it wasn’t me. I wonder how much of everything I “like” or do is me truly liking or doing. And how much is me. What parts of my life are fakes? What did I strive for only to feel like a fake?


  2. things that make me happy

    October 25, 2010 by Blondette

    little girls in hair bows and coats

    Christmas lights

    cats watching kitten videos


  3. Word Association

    October 23, 2010 by Blondette

    I love a few things. Words and association are 2 of them. I’m currently obsessed with this song*:

    Which makes me think of this poem**:

    The Lady of Shalott

    Painting depicting the famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson "The Lady of Shalott" - click the image to go to the poem

    Which was used in this book/movie***:

    *,**,& *** So, I realize the music video uses the Lady of Shalott – BUT, I didn’t see the video until after I’d already made that association in my mind. So apparently I am not the only person whose brain goes there. Not sure if I’m happy or sad about that. Carry on.


  4. Giant Rat Protest in Kansas City

    October 21, 2010 by Blondette

    There is a giant, angry rat. He taunts me. He waits for me. But he does not tarry while I work. He is gone when I am free.

    Sadly, when I Google “giant rat protest in kansas city” the results are inconclusive. Is no one writing about this? HAS NO ONE SEEN THE GIANT FUCKING RABID RAT?! and the dudes with picket signs?

    When I Googled “rat protest” I garnered more interesting results. Apparently, giant inflatable rats are not uncommon when protesting. In fact, it’s a been a union protest symbol for years. Just so you know, it’s never good to be startled by a giant rat while driving.  A spider once dropped down from the ceiling of my car while I was driving to work and it’s some sort of miracle that I didn’t crash because I immediately forgot I was driving and panicked so the icky spider wouldn’t creepy crawl all over me.

    I’m not entirely sure who or what the protesters are beefing against, but I’ll try to focus on the signs tomorrow – it’s just kind of hard to read their signs when there’s a crazy rodent on the side of the road – well, one that’s at least 10 ft tall and not dead or eating garbage.

    Anyhow, I got tired of not being able to share the rat with anyone, so I risked life and limb to capture it with my iPhone while driving. Don’t worry, I swerved back into my own lane before colliding head on with a motorcycle. We coo.


  5. Letters to the Tremendous, from Blondette

    October 19, 2010 by Blondette

    Dear Tremendous,

    Yes, that’s you. I know I usually write to the unwashed masses or Jen Lancaster (I seriously have to stop associating Jen Lancaster to the unwashed masses and people with bad toilet etiquette – I’d be getting a complex.) What else? Oh yes. Well, Jen Lancaster wrote about creepy and awful letters and emails on her blog yesterday. This was after a series of tweets in the same vein. Apparently, she’s received more than one crazed letter/email of late and had had enough! Good for her, but it caused an OH SHIT moment for me. Despite what some boys men boys males may think, my main goal in life is not to be a creepy stalker type.

    First, I’ve never emailed JL. I simply write letters to the “great Jen Lancaster in the sky.” She probably hasn’t read them. (though for a sad 5 minutes last night I thought she was following the KC_JenLancaster Twitter account – and then I looked more closely and realized I was on “Following” not “Followers.”)

    I don’t show up in the first 5 pages on Google searches for Jen Lancaster. (and really? no one is getting that far.) However, I am first for Letters to Jen Lancaster. Because I’m sure a TON of people search that. I want to come off as quipppy and quirky, but genuine and respectful. Do I want her to come to KC for her next book tour? yes. But Kansas City is a great city with an amazing community of readers, writers, and well, just about everything else that makes a city vibrant and warm. This is home.

    I write my letters because I want to express something. Do something. The follower base is very small, which just means I must kind of suck at PR or online marketing implementation (shit.) I don’t want to be Jen Lancaster’s best friend. But there’s something about seeing an actual flesh and blood person versus black ink on printed paper. Words are not voice. Humanity. I live in books. They keep me from truly doing the hard stuff. Hurting people, hurting myself. It’s about writing. Trying. Finding some pathway to feeling and understanding.

    I write to Jen Lancaster for me. Because I am a writer.

    And I hope that if she ever does read my letters or my blog that she sees the heart of the matter.

    I’m just an almost-thirty, not quite blonde, not quite brunette, wanted to be Felicity Porter or Donna Moss…gal.

    Maybe I just wrote my un-letter to Jen Lancaster.

    Truestly yours,

    Blondette aka Katie

    (also, the title makes me think of Sonnets from the Portuguese which you should totally read.)


  6. Fa fa la la

    October 17, 2010 by Blondette

    I like holiday episodes. Themes. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. They are unavoidable and certain. They usually involve interaction by all the cast in some sort of gathering that stirs something crazy or heartfelt. A lot of times they make me cry.

    What else would you expect from an idealist?


  7. Holes

    October 13, 2010 by Blondette

    Just a quick update because you care…

    I have another sinus infection and breathing is hard. I earned myself a referral to an ENT due to the number of sinus infections I’ve had in the past year. I’m back on Cipro to clear the infection. I’ve taken to eating comfort foods so I was slightly horrified at the numbers on the scale at the doctor’s office.

    But, speaking of holes – how bout those miners in Chile? I don’t have pretty words for it, but I’m so happy for the miners, their families, and Chile to see that those men have been reunited with their families ABOVE GROUND. I wonder what was harder, the first 24 hours they were down there, or the last 24?


  8. Dear Jen Lancaster – A Bigger, Better Letter #3

    October 4, 2010 by Blondette

    Dearest Jen,

    It’s been less than a month since I last wrote you. Okay, it’s been 3 days.

    In your book, Such a Pretty Fat (by the way? I LOVE that title – well done), you encountered several physical obstacles in your quest to lose 50 pounds. As I started my most recent journey (why do we always talk about weight loss and life changes as journeys? Is it because we don’t stop believin?) to lose weight and get healthy, I thought about your book. I re-read the book.

    First, I let work get in the way. Then, I broke my toe and was told I could do nothing other than swim. Unlike you, I really suck at swimming. And I have blonde highlights and have a fear of my hair turning green. Then, I got sick. Choking on your own phlegm is really unappealing. Then, I had no excuses left so I decided to procrastinate by writing another letter to you.

    Your experience with Barbie made me think very seriously about working with a personal trainer. On this very blog I wrote about my fear.

    I find workouts exotic and tempting and powerful. 99% of the times I go to the gym, I bust it. 0.5% I KILL IT. 0.5% I phone it in.

    So, maybe because of you, I’ll face my fear and find some success and fulfillment working with a trainer.

    You bring people laughter and hope – 2 of the greatest things in life. Now bring yourself to Kansas City and let us buy you the 3rd greatest thing in life – a cocktail!

    Sincerely,

    Katie Leas

    P.S. To the members of the epic rock band, Journey:  Please don’t sue me. See my Second Letter to Jen Lancaster for reasons why suing me is a sad idea. So now I come to you/with open arms/Nothing to hide/Believe what I say/So here I am/With open arms/Hoping you’ll see/What your love means to me/Open arms.


  9. We Will be Dog Sitting

    October 3, 2010 by Blondette

    We know I’m a cat lady. I am woman enough to admit it. The evidence is incontrovertible.

    Oliver and Tebe

    This is only one example.

    The two boys above have never met a dog. I spent half the day walking around asking them if they were excited about meeting a “goggy.” (shut up. I LOL.)

    I’m very excited to see how my boys do with a dog in the house. Next weekend we will be hosting Tammi and Steve’s latest stray, Bullett. (not sure about the 2 t’s.)

    Bullett the Pup

    This is Bullett...I suspect this is a similar view to how the cats will see him at times...if they aren't swatting. Remember, my cats are NOT de-clawed. (click on the picture for more pictures)

    You might be wondering about my oldest cat, Gracie. Well, I know for sure that she’s met one dog – my brother and sister-in-law’s dog Amber. Gracie did manage to exist in the same room as Amber, so I have hope that she won’t pull a Gracie and bolt for the bedroom. She probably will at first, but might come scope him out.

    Common View of Gracie

    This is what most people/animals see when they "meet" Gracie. Yep, you usually just see her running away. My cat has a fluffy tail! teehee!

    Oh well. She sure is cute.

    Gracie Facie

    This is Gracie Facie. (aka Gracie Baby Smith)


  10. Dear Jen Lancaster – Another Letter, this time with more accessories #2

    September 30, 2010 by Blondette

    Dear Jen Lancaster!

    This is officially my second letter to you, though I dedicated a very important discourse to you earlier this week. I sincerely hope you approve and were not entirely grossed out or offended. (I know you are very “polite” about the human body and its functions – unless it involves getting “strongs” or making like a fish.)

    In your book, Bitter is New Black, you taught everyone a very important lesson about proper purse etiquette. I’ve always been a fan of purses. In high school, I had a burgundy purse that closely resembled a camera bag. Then there was the brown suede just a tiny bit bigger than a clutch purse – with fringe. It was fun to pet. Several years ago, I learned the importance of “rotating” purses. Every time my best friend Tammi gets a new purse, she “moves in,” immediately transferring the contents of the newly-old purse to the new purse and relegating the newly-old purse to the backseat of the car.

    I feel that the people we choose to love and envelop in every aspect of our lives – soul mates, best friends, children -  the people who “like us just as we are” – also make us want to be better people (maybe because they don’t expect it.) I’ve been known to like people who don’t cut me slack. (Okay, they cut me slack sometimes, but for the most part, they push me to excel whether it be in housekeeping, acts of kindness, or handbag etiquette.) And that last point, that is what brings me to the point of my second letter to you. I figured if my BFF and I are going to convince you to come to Kansas City for your next book reading/tour, then you need to know a little bit about us and our purse habits – and you need to like us, just as we are.

    *Okay, I’m going to admit that my attention span wandered right about here (well, actually I started another letter and wrote some terrible poetry on my FatLadyKatie blog) and I Googled for a bit, then I landed on http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/. Oh my. The images.*

    Anyhow, from Tammi and April (Tammi’s older sister and my pseudo-sister, also a connoisseur of purses and knitting bags) I learned about proper compartmentalization. I also learned the rule of rotating. You must rotate your purse every month (or 3 months.) This keeps the purse fresh and seasonal. I find that much like moving my furniture, it clears my chi and I suddenly feel more energetic.

    Without Tammi and April, I would still be carrying around a free Victoria’s Secret purse full of Diet Dr. Peppers and pizza (THAT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE!) People can still play “What’s in Katie’s Purse” but the results are less interesting (and less perishable) these days. Just know that my brother is an Eagle scout and I lived around the “be prepared” motto for 18 years. This will work well if I ever find someone to knock  me up and make it legal.

    Gosh, I have carried on as though we are old buddies! If blog stalking letter writing  is like dating I can’t expect to get anywhere until after the third letter and I should probably be walking you to your door.

    Now, I really must thank you for the lovely evening. I’ll call you tomorrow.**

    Goodnight and may the Ambien be with you!

    Katie Leas

    P.S.  Please do not sue me. I have 3 cats who scratch me when they are hungry. They’re generally very nice to me, but I’m pretty sure they’d eat me if they had to.

    ** I will not really call you because that’s creepy.