Lazy Monday

Well today was off to a great start! Then it was rough. But now it's back to great! Karl and I woke up at 5AM to go to the gym as per the usual and we were feeling great. After I got ready for work, I walked out the door to a blizzard! Don't get me wrong, I love snow, I just hate driving in it. I made my morning commute to the community college (where I work, just in case you didn't know), only to find out that apparently the college is closed today! I knew I didn't have classes, but more often than not, the college remains open on holidays. Blegh. So I came home, made myself some herbal tea in my favorite mug, admired the new nail polish color I donned last night, snuggled up with Kitten and watched my new guilty pleasure, "Once Upon a Time." See? Morning redeemed! Now for some random thoughts I've been having. Enjoy.

-I finally bought the new Coldplay album and it's just as good as I thought it would be.

-I wonder if Barenaked Ladies ever gets pissed that radio stations only ever play one of their songs. Ever. I think their thought process probably goes something like this:

Lead singer to bandmates: "Guys! I think this new song is going to do it! Radio stations will finally stop playing 'One Week!' We will make it back on Casey Kasem's American Top 40!"

Bandmates to lead singer: "Bahahaha. Dude. Bro. Brosef. Don't even try. 'One Week' is obviously timeless."

-I have lost about 15lbs in the last few weeks! Booya!

-I saw a vanity license plate the other day that said "Notary."  Again, I like to imagine the thought process behind that, like "Hmm...What should my license plate say? 2KOOL4 SCHOOL? MAMAS RIDE? PLEYA32? I got it!... NOTARY!"

-Karl and I are going to Massachusetts in a week and a half for my birthday. We're flying nonstop. SO excited about that.

-On the first day of my math class, I decided to sit in the back, really hoping that my seat choice wouldn't make my teacher think that I'm a back row slacker. The truth is, I'm just really tall and I was being courteous.

-Jack's Mannequin's "My Racing Thoughts" is the best song in the world to run to.

-Phase 1 of my plan to make pajamas seem like real clothes is almost complete. I bought moccasin slippers last night. Next step: wear them to work and if asked about them, say casually that I developed a sort of rare foot disease for which wearing slippers is the only comfort. No one can argue with that logic. Phase 2: Flannel pants. Still working on that one.

-Sometimes I dream about hosting my own Hunger Games. That probably says a lot about me.

-Karl and I have started baking our own wheat bread every Sunday. It's his grandma's recipe. It's amazing.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post! I know they're sporadic, but hey, I've got my priorities in order and I think that's all that matters. Now I'm off to procrastinate my homework on Pinterest.

Porch Cat

Left to Right: Butterscotch (a stray cat we adopted and nursed back to health), Jasmine, and Cashmere

All my life I've grown up with cats. For as long as I can remember there was always at least one vying for my attention or getting into trouble. My mom is a self-proclaimed "Cat Lady" and she loves them an inordinate amount. As a result of growing up with these adorable, sensitive little furballs, I've always had a love for them as well.

When we first started dating, Karl didn't like cats. He liked dogs and thought cats were kind of lame. One night after we were married, I was having a really bad night. As a joke, Karl said, "We can get you a cat!" I looked at him with nothing but the utmost seriousness in my eyes. "Yes. Good idea." I don't know that he knew what he was getting himself into. We waited a few months until we had the money to adopt a cat from the Humane Society and take it to the vet. That cat was Kitten. Now I think Karl likes cats as much, if not more than me.

That brings me to my story. A couple of weeks ago, the girls living in the basement of the house we rent put something plastic on top of the furnace. Smoke billowed into the house and I thought it was on fire. Karl figured out the problem, but often during the night, the smell of burning plastic comes through the vents and almost suffocates me. Last night was one of those nights. I went into the living room to get some fresh air (it's worst in the bedroom). After a few minutes, I heard a cat crying at the door. We have a stray cat that we feed sometimes that lives under our porch. She's too fast to catch, so we try to take care of her as much as possible. Last night I peered out the window and saw that it was snowing. My heart broke. "That poor frozen, hungry, lonely kitty!" I thought. I knew full well that it was 3 in the morning and Karl was going to work early, but I had to wake him up. He sat straight up, asked if we had an old blanket and went on a search for a box. As I was putting the blanket in the box he found, he got some cat food on a paper plate and handed it to me. I set the box and plate on the porch for the cat, hoping that she would trust us enough to come to the porch.

As I was falling asleep last night, all I could think of was how much I love Karl. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. His heart ached for that little porch cat and he woke up just to make sure she was taken care of. I think that is the tell tale sign of a good, true man. Karl has compassion and kindness flowing through him and that my friends, is reason number 8,221,132,139 why I love him.

Personal

I'm obsessed with this song:



My love for Stars is never ending.

Updates and Pictures

Jordan Ferney said it best:

"2010 was a rough year for us and was about survival. 2011 has been a time to recover and grow and 2012 (if I have it my way) I’d like to spend getting our lives in order especially financially and emotionally."

Add physically and spiritually to that, and we're looking at my goals for a bright year ahead. That being said, 2011 will be a tough year to follow.

And now for the pictures:

Forzese Family Christmas morning tradition: Cranberry Upside down muffins. Mmmm.

This year's Christmas theme was books! I especially love the leatherbound journal Karl got me.

Another Forzese tradition with a Bringhurst twist: Karl's veggie lasagna with 6 different cheeses. I die.

Karl looking dapper in his new sweater.

One of many outtakes from our Christmas card shoot.

Not shown: Karl and I went to St. George, UT to visit his grandparents for a couple of days, I read 5 books, we visited Price, UT on Christmas Eve, we read the Hunger Games together, we made new goals for 2012, and we had a very happy, very relaxing week.

That about sums it up! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's Eve/Day!