Family Values

Day: Three Hundred and Ten

Photo taken on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 in our parking lot at 641pm.

This is Steve's car. I think his car would look ten times better with this on the back of it:

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Don't you agree? (This is what our Stick Family would look like should we get one.)

We're not a fan of the Stick Family on the back of mini vans and quasi SUVs. I don't care about your bazillion pets and that your son skateboards and your daughter is a cheerleader. I'm not interested that there's a shopping bag in the mom's hand and her husband is carrying a briefcase. Oh how adorable! No, not really because more often than not, this car is drifting back and forth in the lane and I can clearly see the culprit on the cell phone. The Stick Family is right up there with the Honor Student bumper sticker and the ever annoying white sticker ovals with the abbreviated black letters that spell something like N-D-O and now I'm spending my whole car ride trying to figure out what the hell that means. I like bumper stickers that are funny like: IF YOU CAN READ THIS I'm not impressed. Most people can read. But I have to admit, I'm one of those self important douches with the 26.2 on the back of my vehicle so I'm just as bad as you Stick Family people.

Dad doesn't like these family stickers either and would only like them if they portrayed the family members dying in StickDeath.com fashion. So when I see this video on Tosh.0, I feel it is perfect for my father:

EPIC FAIL

Day: Three Hundred

Photo taken on Saturday, May 28, 2011 in the living room at 904pm. (Pictured: On the love seat: Mike and Jenn. Stadium seating: Me and Jess. Beanbag chairs: Paul, Michelle and her tongue, and Heather. The manly men: Justin and Steve. On the floor: Chris Reed.)

I had planned it for weeks. Day 300 was nearing and I wanted to do something better than Day 200. I came up with a fantastic idea knowing that my friends and family would totally go along with it but when Day 300 came, it left without me realizing it because we were having too much fun.

Heather discovers the Indo board so we all have a go on it outside. She then concocts her "secret special drinks" for us with a variety of liquors displayed on our kitchen counter. We then all pitch in for food and start Netflixing and talking and laughing and I snap this picture. When everyone finally calls it a night and the last person trudges out the door it dawns on me...

I forgot about my epic picture.

I am so pissed at myself.

Imagine all those fine folks pictured above with war faces on, battling it out in our backyard with hockey sticks and brooms, some wearing capes made of towels, others donning silly hats. You can imagine it, right? It would have been epic, right? All those people above would have definitely participated but I feel I have failed them.

But they didn't fail me at all. They came to celebrate the big day with me and you know what? It was EPIC fun.

^_\

Simply Meant To Be

Day: Two Hundred and Seventy Six

Photo taken on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 in the Time Out Room at 928pm.

This happens by accident and when I go to "undo" it, I stop.

I actually like it.

Despite the rough cut, the border getting into the picture, and not being what I had intended...it fits. It feels right. It's definitely us. All I want to do is shrink our outlines, smooth the edges, and plaster us over the last scene in Nightmare Before Christmas but I make a wrong turn and end up with this and that's okay. It is easily fixable and I have the time to play around more but I like the way the image lays inside of us. My eye is drawn to the curve of the hill and I think it's funny that we try to copy the silhouettes but do opposite handholding without even thinking about it.

Steve reintroduced me to Nightmare when we started hanging out back in our Genesis days and "Sally's Song" defined what I had been going through as his friend (that and Gavin Degraw's "Nice to Meet You Anyway" but Steve finds that song sadder than this one and also he doesn't like the fact that Degraw rhymes "special" with "special"). Obviously we worked through all the obstacles because we're together but back then, I really didn't know how long I would have to wait.

And honestly, I would have waited forever.

That is, unless he married someone else, then I would have taken a hint.

Goodbye My Lover

Day: Two hundred and Sixty Two

Photo taken on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 right outside of the entrance to Avalon Commons at 945pm.

This is the last time we will ever be here. We have officially moved out of Apartment 311, scrubbing it top to bottom tonight, making sure the carpets are pristine and the countertops gleaming (very unlike how we received it when we moved in). Despite my sneer, I am going to miss this place; it's just that how Avalon went about kicking us out that's the problem here. We would have stayed even though our neighbors are crazy and the commute is reGoddamndiculous but $2587 for a two bedroom? That rent is just too damn high.

So as Sai makes his way out of the complex, we're sad. We had a lot of fun entertaining everyone in the spacious living room and we are definitely going to miss the Nerf gun wars from the loft Maeve always started when she came over. We are, however, looking forward to hosting in our new home...if we ever get a spare moment to unpack.

Ernie Douglas

Day: Two Hundred and Fifty

Photo taken on Friday, April 8, 2011 in the bedroom at 1159pm.

You can't tell because my big ass head is in the way but we are pointing at the cable box. We have only one more minute before the cable switches to our new pad and leaves us with nothing to watch here tonight. We are supposed to be looking sad but Steve is choosing not to.

When I turn the camera around to check out how it came out, Steve busts out laughing at his expression, kind of like what Preston did when I tried to take a nice one with him too. I think everyone has reached their "partaking in Katie's self portrait project" limit and is rebelling.

^_\

Normalsauce

Day: One Hundred and Ninety Five

Photo taken on Saturday, February 12, 2011 in Great Neck, NY at 1124pm.

When Steve comes across this 30 Rock TGS "Liz" hoodie two Christmases ago, he has to purchase it for me. I have been a Tina Fey fan since her early writing days on SNL and have always admired her skillz. In college I think it would be cool to do my internship as an apprentice to Ms. Fey but I never even work up the courage to write her a fan letter let alone ask her if I can follow her around for a summer and totally not in a stalkerish way at all.

So when I start watching 30 Rock, Steve finds himself enjoying the program right along side me (the Dr. Space Man episode has him hooked!). Naturally he loves Jack Donaghy and I adore Jack's relationship with Liz Lemon. Though sometimes, I find it eerie how the things that come out of her mouth (or what goes into it) is very much something I would say (or eat) and Jack's reaction to it is very much how Steve would react to me:

Liz Lemon: I believe that all anyone really wants in this life is to sit in peace and eat a sandwich.
Jack Donaghy: How surprising that your world view is food-based.

Seems like we have the key to world peace right there.

Vanished in the Haze

Day: One Hundred and Seventy Three

Photo taken on Friday, January 21, 2011 in the living room at 1032pm.

For the past three days I have been out of sorts with my body and haven't felt well at all. After being curled over my desk in pain for most of the work day, I decide that I can't go to the second job and instead head back home after five.

It is amazing how good I feel at this point, having finally relaxed for once and ate dinner at a normal hour (not on the train and at an actual table no less!). Though as I am slowly getting sleepy I realize that I have been too busy feeling awful today and have not put any thought into my selfer. I look at Hubs and tell him this and he waits for it, he waits for what I say to him at least twice day:

"Steve," I pause as I wait for him to acknowledge me with a head turn. "I need help."

In response to my dilemma of having no selfer ideas today, Steve puts the blanket over his head in hopes I'll forget he is there.

In response to him blatantly ignoring me, I jump on him and snap a picture as my weight snaps his femur.

Holy Schnikes!

Day: One Hundred and Fifty One

 Photo taken on Thursday, December 30, 2010 in the kitchen (obviously, where else would my stove be?) at 1159.

The first time I look up from the puzzle it's 1107. I shrug and think to myself, 'eh, I got some time to take the selfer.' The next time I look up it's 1159! I start scrambling around, trying to find my camera before the minute is up, and luckily I make it!

Phew! That was a close one!

Dream Weaver

Day: One Hundred and Forty Two

Photo taken on Wednesday, December 21, 2010 in my comfy bed at 1131pm.

I am just drifting off to sleep when I realize I forgot to take my selfer today. In the darkness I fumble around for my camera on my nightstand and go to take the picture. I have to close my eyes the flash is so bright. And yes those are penguins and polar bears on my flannel sheets. Yes, that totally reminds me of Millencolin. And yes, they are so cuddly and warm I feel like I'm sleeping on a Care Bear cloud.

You totally wish you had a set of them tonight don't you?

Bender

Day: Thirty Three

Photo taken on Friday, September 3, 2010 at 945pm looking out onto our balcony.

Steve wants to retake the picture (so he could be in it) but after seeing that I look like I have glowing robot eyes we decide it's a keeper.

During one of our phone conversations today, Steve keeps making My Name is Earl jokes and it takes me awhile to figure out exactly why...they named the current hurricane that. So this is me looking out at the horrible rain storm that is sweeping through Smithtown at the moment. I don't know how we will survive this one.

And I thought he was "just trying to be a better person"...

Buns...and I'm not talking about hot dog buns!

Day: Four

Photo taken on Thursday, August 5, 2010 by my closet around 725pm.

This is what tall people see. Tall people like Yao Ming.