4/21/11 4/21/11

no room for cream please.

it's my belief that some of the most interesting people in my life are those that serve me my coffee.

of late, my tea.

jefferey a born-again, post-pubescent, recently out of the closet starbucks manager, who fiercely insists my skirts are too too long and my make-up too too natural, has wrapped my heart around his spray-tanned, blonde highlighted, keith urban crushin soul.

allison, his co-worker, snuggled her way into my affection with her behind-the-counter bambi, shy sweetness, rainbow colored fingernails, and off-the-clock salty tongue.

down the street at peet's, i have tony. his piercings rival the mursi for inspiration and content.

i shudder with anticipation at what new plate, hoop or stud i'm going to meet at the front of the line.

tony mates his scary holes with a charming, genuine, southern gentility.

always a wordsmith, tony's answers to my "how are you?" tickle my roget bone daily.

yesterday tony was "unparalleled."

{big smile}

at my afternoon peet's {location #2} a completely different cast of characters lurks: younger, angst-ridden, pseudo depraved, totally loveable.

benjamen: an actor, a writer, an anarchist, a teddy bear.

somehow we actually became facebook friends.

his latest status updates were:

"shut up juice newton" and "i'm barefaced and look absolutely disgusting! i don't recognize myself."

rumor was he got fired. i like to believe he's off scribing his masterpiece, minus the madness, drink and drugs.

a girl can only hope.

boy made fine tasting lattés though.

yesterday i ambled into peet's #1 for an afternoon jasmine fancy green tea.

{4 days and counting coffee free}

as my fragrant, spring buds steeped, i struck up cashier conversation with the new, "barista in training", as she learned the ins and outs of register and customer care.

furthering my belief in the richness of coffee bar patron/server relationships i showed her my 5-year-old peet's 40th anniversary debit card; my intention was to point out my loyalty....seeing as how peet's is now having its 45th anniversary, and also my inane ability to waste plastic gift cards. merely a breezy, light chat as we waited for my tea to brew {one of the MANY downfalls of tea}.

apparently my words were too S.A.T. or my math too algebraic for baby trainee. rather than going along with her allegiant, coffee-deprived customer's story, or at least saying she didn't understand.....dumbass newbie said to me....

"oh...well you don't look like you're in your 40's."

??????????????????????????

nothing against the 40's. in fact, i'm more excited to get there than i am 35. but all in good time.

and i don't need to look younger than my age, but i definitely don't want to look a decade older!!!!

especially from some twit telling me the simpsons began before she was born.

i hereby recount all barista love.

they can suck it. they're always crapping up my order and sneaking in non-fat milk. are you trying to tell me i NEED non-fat?

and i mean, really? you KNOW large means venti!!!

i also kind of blame all this on tea.

4/20/11 4/20/11

boo

hunkiest and i are convinced are house houses a ghost.

a friendly ghost albeit. non prone to spooking, hi-jinks, nor treachery.

but said ghost has bewitched our dear truman.

lately we've been finding truman in the most curious rooms of our abode, fixedly staring at nothing? .

we've learned to respectfully wait these private moments out. previous attempts to cull truman free from these trances only sends him right back in hours later, facing another blank wall with an earnest interest and puppy-like joy we haven't seen in the last 10 of his 12 years.

we've checked the house for pests...{just priscilla}, and we've checked truman out with the vet.

all is good.

we can only conclude 'tis a ghost.

evenings are its most active hours.

all night long ghost friendly and pal truman gambol and escapade in the deepest, most unused corners of our, now, creaky home.

spilling down stairs and tag-teaming 'round the den;

truman and his friend's rousing romper room inhibit even the household's heaviest sleeper {again priscilla} from shut eye.

we've even tried to lock our oldest, best behaved of all beasts ever owned, in at night;

but all that's left us with is a scratched up bedroom door, and a new impression of our so-called golden boy.

for now we endure the new night time capers.

yes, it's disruptive and gives to an occasional scare or startle.

but that bump in the night seems to have brought new life into my old fella t-man.

bring on the séances!

4/19/11 4/19/11

headwind

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTF3QWStmeI]

feeling sort of better, more like this.

how rad is this installation?

i bogarted it from nowness.com. it's matt pyke.

he's currently showing at la gaîté yrique en paris.

tuesday happy to you m'loves.

here's to health.

4/18/11 4/18/11

mayday! mayday!

man down.

stomach flu.

me. last 36 hours.

in the process of developing a newly found, unnatural relationship with my bathroom floor; i also carved out, new bikini abs, perfect for summer.

silver lining kind of girl.

4/15/11 4/15/11

it's not me, it's you.

here we are, face to face, couple of silver spoons.

me and coffee cup.

it's that time again.

my annual break-up.

as with every tenuous, co-dependent, abusive relationship, one party eventually reaches their threshold with the highs and lows, ups and downs, happy-happys and tired-tireds.

coffee supplies me with morning warmth and wakeup, aromatic steam for a worn out tired engine, ritualistic comfort to my o.c.d. fantasy land, calorie free, delicious, toe-tingling energy, and is my ever-soothing, security blanket, thumb sucker i never carried or sucked as i child.

according to google...and friends, coffee also could be giving me a waxing thyroid, irritable sleep {although have zero sleep issues so far}, a cracked up metabolism, and hormonal imbalances.

as with everything, in excess, toll will be taken.

but my body seems to have cried uncle. actually my eye.

while my twitch isn't directly related to my coffee consumption {a silly, stressful conversation involving big words and numbers actually brought it on} i know my continued main-lining of caffeine isn't helping it go away.

thank you m'loves for all the words of support and suggestions.

i do already take a toxic dosage of magnesium.

and as far as the B-supplements.....i do them all biotin, b-6, b-12, b3, i'd bee-hive my hair if i thought it would help.

so teapot here i come. again. i hope you'll take me back.

coffee and i will never completely cease and desist. i will merely see other people. sort of like taking a sister-wife. preferably something perky and sweet.

yes, i'd like a venti ginnifer goodwin-ish tea please, extra hot, double cupped.

updates to follow.

4/14/11 4/14/11

mop chop

taming the bonsai plant that has become my head of hair.

color blocking so popular this spring.

thinking of translating that fun into my tresses.

4/12/11 4/12/11

bitch twitch

so give or take two weeks ago i became the proud owner of a twitch.

lower, right eyelid, 1 second intervals. 24 hours a day.

i felt the moment she {again like my cat i sense my twitch is a lass} commandeered my orbital socket.

a stressful telephone conversation; one better served me had i ranted and kicked rather than sweetly smiled and acquiesced.

a common coulda-woulda-shoulda jingle in my life.

*twitch*twitch*twitch*twitch*twitch*twitch*

my peeper beeper isn't overtly obvious, but a casting director did send me skidaddle after picking it up on camera.

what's going on with your eye?

ummmmmmmmmmm.....

my enigmatic sparkle? my fetching twinkle? my star quality?

couldn't i fill a niche like little people do? like heavily tattooed guy? super tan, wrinkled, old lady? i could be girl with fucked up, quivering eye.

the good wife should be calling any minute, right?

google {or as my mother calls it 'goggle'} says i need to relax and exercise.

yeah let me get right on that exercise.

for yesterday i was only able to get six hours of pilates and spin class in.

for now i'll make do with my quasi-quiet computer time; meditate into fields of dandelion peace and stillness.

om........

{lotus position, padma mudrā fingers, ujjayi breath, brain quiet, jaw soft}

dance party in my right eyelid.

4/12/11 4/12/11

threading inspiration

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/21144497 w =720 &h=1600]

companies like apolis juice the inspiration genie within me.

a beautiful film, a glorious company celebrating the global citizen within every human who works for them.

bravo.

4/11/11 4/11/11

scat

for the last week i've been the proud owner of a cat.

mint grey in color, pillow fluffy in make.

she won't tell me her name, but without invading her person i sense she's a she.

you know that sense?

you feel it when you choose your first summer peach, discerning the sweetest, juiciest of the crop.

or when you just KNOW your barista is going to mess up your order.

my brother and i made this assumption years before with a cat, bridgette.

found at the stables we raised that baby kitten into a grown lady, nuturing her to her first adult vet appointment.

whereupon dr. watson showed me first, and i pray last, cat testical.

alas, bridgette became "hans".

but back to my minty grey feline. our escapades are harrowing and white-knuckled;

mostly involving me saving her from calamity and harm.

last night my cat dangled herself between two spindles of a staircase, whose height kept getting higher off the ground the longer it took for me to save her.

her sweet little head would just about wedge free, until she'd kick up her leg, start to fall again, and the staircase would grow steeper away from the cold, tiled, kitten-splatting floor.

where is the mad hatter when i need him.

the night before my crazy cat leashed herself to me and we went for a stroll on the highway.

the 80's atari game FROGGER is still embedded in my brain.

as always with our adventures i am able to save my furry friend.

and thank god, i wake up.

i rarely have repetitive dreams, and frankly i'm not a fan.

especially with a cat. no offense to my kitten-caring friends;

i'm just an all dog kind of girl.

so scat cat!

go chase someone else's mice.

i much prefer my ohshitmyeconfinalistodayineverwenttoclassandiamnotgoingtograduatefromcollegenow nightmare instead.

4/8/11 4/8/11

weekend happy

wishing you a weekend filled with spring's finest pomp.

eggs sunnyside.

a back country road.

the breath of a puppy.

a bath of sweat pea-scented bubble.

and sandy toes.

capping the night off with laughs in the belly, impromptu jitterbugs in the kitchen, and a restful, replenishing slumber.

weekend happy to you m'loves.

4/6/11 4/6/11

april showers

fierce, pounding drops of rain!

weep down on us.

purge the snark, distrust, and icky gossip lurking in those dark, unhappy, cobwebbed corners.

cleanse our palates so that we speak in crystalline, melodic, kind tongues.

words so jolly our eyes, mouths and feet all dance in time.

pool me speakers of still.

silencing those knowing best for me.

fool me twice, ten, twenty...i'm still a sucker for the soft smile of sorry.

4/6/11 4/6/11

sandy toes

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/18667898 w =720 &h=1476]

this short, for pret-a-surf's resort line, has even this sun-fearing hermit crab scouring her cabinets, searching for beach towels and sand pails.

lather the SPF kittens! load your kindle, and leave your phone in the car.

old man sea needs to see your smile.

wednesday happy to you m'loves.

4/5/11 4/5/11

and so on

yesterday was a definite case of the mondays.

more like a baker's dozen.

i tucked, i squeezed.

i rpm'd my quads afire; only to find myself in the same spot at the start of my playlist.

at the market, i stood behind a real life orange county t.v. housewife.

actually i stood behind her giant breasts.

i thought maybe she was the fancy, new dairy case; dispensing milk in her free time for extra cash.

i'm all for a great set of jugs, but 3 o'clock in one's afternoon is a teeny, tiny early for nippleage, no?

4:30 and you can pop that areola right out honey!

i'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt. maybe when she left the house she didn't see her blouse was missing.

it's hard to see when you're false eyelashes rival jet planes.

this is a trend that is getting more severe and common 'round here.

the lashes are getting longer and thicker and heavier.

how much more can those lids take? it's not sustainable is it?

my pilates business is going to have to include post-rehab exercises for lash use.

soon, the poor little OC eyelids are going to need their own support groups and reach-out hotlines.

shopping carried on {me sweets, her chardonnay}.

then i had another round of tuck & squeeze and spin class.

not my typical classes. i brought my nervous, knotted stomach with me into sub.

i know it's evening and our gym does have a bar....

but the amount of makeup and done up hair had me longing for my own face-robe.

designer bags to match dictated personalities.

once again i feel apart, cast out, {flat chested}, not belonging, in this town i call home.

4/4/11 4/4/11

weekend house

sunday afternoon, when my work week is finally done, i identify my target {bed}, lock in, aim body, and fire in for my long-awaited {well-deserved} nap.

the sounds of our house stir me into sweet compose.

at first blush a baby might even find the silence too still and lull.

but sit a moment.

eyes closed.

the house breathes, beats and reverberates a peaceful lullaby:

from our bedroom i can hear harbor boats blast their booming, deep hulled tenor as they signal around the bay; soulful hellos boasting their years here on the water.

downstairs the percussion pants of de-conditioned beasts unaccustomed to neighborhood walks in the springtime sun, beat time to creaking, cracking ankles of the beast walker; no longer the tennis star he was in his youth.

snip, snip, snap sound the garden sheers of my neighbor miles. retired, he tends to his japanese boxwood with the love and care of an old-fashioned courtship. next he attempts to tame his wild, unruly, hot-pink, tea roses who crisscross his white pickets with the sass and rebellion of a teenager. sadie, his portuguese water puppy, plays bunny-rabbit throughout the yard, greeting all who walk by with a lick and a hop.

a sleepy smile escapes my slumber when i hear my beloved sock slippering the hard wood halls, office to den, to check an occasional basketball score, and scour the pantry for something chocolatey and sweet.

squeaky wheels peep from the kids on their cruisers pedaling home from the beach. cheeks burned, sand in their suits.

weekend coming to a close. just like my nap.

i've always thought i looked my best after a nap. even with my eyes a little puffy, hair a bit here and there. i'm my most katie after my naps. especially on sunday afternoons.

especially in the quiet of my house.

4/1/11 4/1/11

no mention

so yesterday's infomercial turned out to be a bucket of silly. i'm not supposed to name the company specifically...but if you were following my tweets....beans were spilled.

not really my kind of workout, there were only two of us hired talent {and i'm using that word 'talent' generously...with myself......of course}

the rest were 'franchisee' owners..wink-hint-wink-hint.

lovely ladies.

and along with an auto tuned, 156 bpm version of shakira's 'whenever, whenever' on heavy repeat, i also will have the following mantra sending me into the weekend:

no makeup!!!

no mirrors!!!

no men!!!

what's your stirring mantra m'loves?

weekend happy to you!

3/31/11 3/31/11

the next shake weight?

so i'm shooting an infomercial today. the details are vague to say the least.

i was told it's "fitness" related.

the audition consisted of a mere photograph taken of my person and face.

let's speculate what's in store.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwocdImA6Z8&feature=player_embedded]

cowboy is very hip these days, no? everyone's trying to get their true grit on. maybe my pilates pelvic tilting skills will come in handy on dem der' saddle.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOAO4SX8N3o&feature=related]

perhaps i'll luck out and get a mini maui vacation with the hawaii chair .

if you can sit, you can get fit!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pij33oHFyT0&feature=player_embedded#at=12]

slim suit! message to woman at 0:25 trust me you don't that dress to fit honey.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aUFZL9R04Y&feature=player_embedded#at=12]

um...i think this 'three-minute miracle' can also get you pregnant.

i'll need a giant clause in my contract if this is today's product.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eLU5wYWKd4&feature=player_embedded#at=47]

and i know this really isn't fitness, but go-girl can be used in conjunction with fitness endeavors.

at least with 'go-girl' i'll stop taking life.....sitting down.

3/29/11 3/29/11

styling

i'm just now coming down from my sugar high...

have y'all caught the fabulous new ezine styled?

created by victoria hudgens of a subtle revelry, styled is plush with jewelry hued photographs and hand-clapping ideas, bringing fresh inspiration to your entertaining and party planning this spring.

styled includes such bits like step by step guides to making your own confetti, cabochon, and party hats...and not in the cheesy party city type of way...nor in the martha stewart...first you must start your own paper press kind of way either.

styled's bohemian easter will have you canceling that fancy, jacket required buffet brunch in exchange for bare feet and potato chips with smashed spring peas.

each spread had me reeling in fantasy.

i must say it was a tough decision....picking my favorite story...butterfly picnic? complete with a hair-braided child in white, wind blown dress? killin me. or grown-up lemonade stand? lulling me in with lavender lemonade martinis and girl talk.

but i can't get my brain unwrapped around the paint by number ice cream bar.

my friends know, make-your-own sundae bars are one of ~~laziest~~ favorite ways to serve dessert. {thank you girls bunko....although we haven't actually played in 5 years...}

this is an even prettier, creamier {whipped cream that is} version with candies and sprinkles colored in spring.

in all honesty though...this doesn't seem so much like make-your-own-sundae. it appears to be more like 'hostess does ALOT of work for her guests who then can make their own sundaes'. FYI.....