I was sitting in my cubicle minding my own business yesterday and I overheard a co-worker on the phone with his sweetie and heard him call her babe...just kind of slipped it in there all non-chalant-like...and it was so cute! I love pet names unfortunately I can't pull them off. I have never been able to successfully call anyone in my life a pet name and feel normal about it. On occasion, I'll call hubby "honey" but then I always feel like my mother and (as much as I love her) I don't like that. Sweetie is just too sugary sweet for my taste, and babe is too hip. I'm not sugary sweet, hip, or my mother...so I'm stuck. On the rare occasions that I have tried saying them I usually end up laughing at myself and that just wrecks the mood completely. Actually, I usually do the same when people say them to me. I had someone call me "love" once (totally in a grandfather kind of way) and I began blushing furiously and giggling like a 2 year old. Just doesn't work...
The things is I wish I could use pet names. I envy those bubbly people who can call people sweetie and hun with a little arm touch and make everyone feel so happy and welcome. And I wish people would use them on me without me turning into a hot mess. But it just doesn't happen. Or maybe I haven't found my pet name yet.....
Do you have any pet names that you use or are called? Or are you like me and can't seem to get the hang of them?
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Haiti
I just read a very interesting post on a blog I frequent (go check it out...its fun....Scientific Housewife). The post was about the debate about helping Haiti vs. helping ourselves. Seems as though there's a lot of people that feel as though we shouldn't be sending the massive amounts of money that we have been sending to Haiti when we have people here in our own country who desperatly need our help. I'm quite conflicted on this. The humanitarian in me has my heart ripped from my chest everytime I see footage of those poor people in Haiti being pulled from rubble and struggling to find food and water for their families. That same heart also bleeds whenever I hear stories about the families that have lost their home and have to live on the streets...or the child who has every card stacked against them but manages to make something of themselves. The realist in me listens to our State of the Union address and the countless stories of unemployment, foreclosures, etc. and thinks, heck...why are we helping them out. We're in need too! I know that I personally donate time and money to both domestic charities and international ones, so I think I cover my bases. And I know that I usually just go with my gut about donations....usually whoever appeals to me at the time. What do you think about Haiti? Did you donate? Do you donate to domestic charities?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My hair is posessed.
The dullness of the day has been voided out by the fact that my hair is amusing me. Story.
I didn't shower this morning. No, I'm not dirty, I showever yesterday evening andwas entirely too lazy to shower this morning decided to be kind to the enviroinment so skipped my shower this morning. Usually on these mornings, I use a 2" curling iron to straighten my hair, but let it keep a little bit of poof. This helps me to overcome the oily flatness that my head could be and have a cute hairdo....normally it does not curl my hair.
This morning when I left my house my hair was straight. At lunch time I noticed that the very tips were starting to curl in a bit. By 2 entire chunks of the bottom of my hair were starting to spiral curl. It hasn't ventured past that, but I am left with these mini curls at the bottom of my head. Not bad, just strange. Is it possible for a curling iron to delay your hair's curliness....or is my hair posessed?
P.S. - I believe there may be a slightly amusing co-worker post tomorrow (about a new person...not one of the previously discussed)...we'll see.
I didn't shower this morning. No, I'm not dirty, I showever yesterday evening and
This morning when I left my house my hair was straight. At lunch time I noticed that the very tips were starting to curl in a bit. By 2 entire chunks of the bottom of my hair were starting to spiral curl. It hasn't ventured past that, but I am left with these mini curls at the bottom of my head. Not bad, just strange. Is it possible for a curling iron to delay your hair's curliness....or is my hair posessed?
P.S. - I believe there may be a slightly amusing co-worker post tomorrow (about a new person...not one of the previously discussed)...we'll see.
The dullness...
I apologize for the lack of posting, but life has been a bit dull. The most exciting thing to happen lately is that I dragged a safety cone under my car the whole way home last night and part of the way into work this morning....wondering the whole time what that awful noise was and debating how I was going to break the news to hubby that my car was broken, again. And contrary to what you may be thinking after reading that, I'm a good driver (usually).
I think I'm somewhat relieved that my life is dull. We've been on super speed since I got laid off last year and I think we're just starting to slow down. I've actually made dinner every night so far this week (ok....its only been two nights....but tonight's dinner is cooking so that makes 3, which is pretty good by my standards). Unfortunately, my dullness has led to a serious blogging drought. So I went seeking inspiration via google and found a photo a day to spark a prompt. Here was today's...
Besides being absolutely precious, it made me think about those unlikely people who give you a boost when you need a hand. They may not even be friends, but they're willing to step forward and lend a hand. Just look to Haiti as an example....a bunch of people just helping....out of the goodness of their hearts. In my own personal little world, I've had this experience a few times, but one sticks out in my head. I tore my ACL my senior year in hs and needed surgery. We wanted to find a good doctor because I planned on continuing with my athletics and I wanted a new knee that was going to stand the test of time. Unfortunately all of the good knee docs had waiting lists that were like 6 months long....and I didn't have that kind of time. The photographer for our school paper happened to be at the meet where I hurt myself and apparently had a few connections with THE best knee doc in CT. And he got me in. I was so touched! I mean, I wasn't even nice to this boy. He was in a totally different social circle, kind of awkward, not very good looking, and seriously annoying. But he took the time to help me....for no other reason than to be nice. And I remember it clear as day almost 10 years later. Who have you helped out?
I think I'm somewhat relieved that my life is dull. We've been on super speed since I got laid off last year and I think we're just starting to slow down. I've actually made dinner every night so far this week (ok....its only been two nights....but tonight's dinner is cooking so that makes 3, which is pretty good by my standards). Unfortunately, my dullness has led to a serious blogging drought. So I went seeking inspiration via google and found a photo a day to spark a prompt. Here was today's...
Besides being absolutely precious, it made me think about those unlikely people who give you a boost when you need a hand. They may not even be friends, but they're willing to step forward and lend a hand. Just look to Haiti as an example....a bunch of people just helping....out of the goodness of their hearts. In my own personal little world, I've had this experience a few times, but one sticks out in my head. I tore my ACL my senior year in hs and needed surgery. We wanted to find a good doctor because I planned on continuing with my athletics and I wanted a new knee that was going to stand the test of time. Unfortunately all of the good knee docs had waiting lists that were like 6 months long....and I didn't have that kind of time. The photographer for our school paper happened to be at the meet where I hurt myself and apparently had a few connections with THE best knee doc in CT. And he got me in. I was so touched! I mean, I wasn't even nice to this boy. He was in a totally different social circle, kind of awkward, not very good looking, and seriously annoying. But he took the time to help me....for no other reason than to be nice. And I remember it clear as day almost 10 years later. Who have you helped out?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
My homes....
Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop today asked you to describe everywhere you have called “home”. I’m actually a bit excited to write this as I have had several homes through the years, some good, some bad, and some just plain old ugly. Enjoy.
1. The family homestead. I grew up in the same house for all 18 years of my life before college came around. Actually, I may have lived somewhere before that, but I don’t remember it, so for all intents and purposes this is it. It was an adorable little split level on a nice half acre complete with pool and giant backyard in a neighborhood that was teeming with kids in a nice, quiet residential town. It was the perfect place to grow up and neighborhood games of Capture the flag and movie watching/fort building were frequent. Loved this place…couldn’t have asked for a better place to grow up.
2. Springfield College. I consider this place a home, despite the fact that it was a school. I met some fantastic, lifelong friends at SC and learned a lot about who I was as a person. Plus, college was a lot of fun…
3. The little white Cape. I lived here for the summer after college. My family was in the process of building a new house and had already sold the old homestead so this was an interim rental. It was very tiny and having to house a grownup family of 5 was challenge. I went back to sharing a room with my sister and sharing one bathroom with my whole family (yikes!). As trying as this was sometimes, it made me realize that it doesn’t really matter what your living situation is, all that matters is that your family is there…home is where the heart is.
4. Our first apartment. After the little white cape, I picked up all my belonging and moved to another state…followed a boy. It’s okay though because the boy became hubby. Our first apartment was just under 800 sq.ft. in an apartment complex with no private outdoor area. Let me tell you…if you want to know if you can live with someone and apartment that size will tell you! We learned a lot about each other that year, including the fact that we have very different taste in TV shows. After a lovely little debacle there with the complex staff accusing us of littering their parking lot with cigarette butts (we don’t smoke) and then starting to clean out our apartment before we had moved out we went to the winner of all of our homes….
5. Granite St. ugh. This was an old multifamily home with tons of character. Decorative wood trim, SUPER high ceilings and 3 bedrooms. It was about twice the size of our old apartment and we were in heaven. Or so we thought. It was in the ghetto and we didn’t really realize it. We had a housemate who didn’t work and I think sold drugs and/or her body (which is a disturbing though), frequent fights in the street, lots of police activity, etc. We lasted about a year and fled….we learned that a cool apartment wasn’t worth our sanity.
6. Apartment #3….nice two family home with our landlords, a young couple about our age, living upstairs. We loved this place! We actually still talk to our landlords to this day. This place made us realize that the people make all the difference in the world about your residence choices.
7. Apartment #4….the big move back to CT. I’m getting tired of describing our apartments.
8. Finally….the house! We bought our first house back in October and things have really come full circle. We’re back in the town that we both grew up in, in a cute little neighborhood with some friendly people. It is so nice to finally have a place to call our own and we have spent lots of time getting it setup to our liking. I can’t wait until spring rolls around and we can spruce up the exterior.
I realize that that’s a laundry list of homes and the majority of them took place over a span of 5 years. We moved a lot. The important part was that hubby was with me and made each place really feel like home. In addition, we met so many wonderful people along the way that all of those places still feel like home. Guess home really is where the heart is….and sometimes that is more than one place.
1. The family homestead. I grew up in the same house for all 18 years of my life before college came around. Actually, I may have lived somewhere before that, but I don’t remember it, so for all intents and purposes this is it. It was an adorable little split level on a nice half acre complete with pool and giant backyard in a neighborhood that was teeming with kids in a nice, quiet residential town. It was the perfect place to grow up and neighborhood games of Capture the flag and movie watching/fort building were frequent. Loved this place…couldn’t have asked for a better place to grow up.
2. Springfield College. I consider this place a home, despite the fact that it was a school. I met some fantastic, lifelong friends at SC and learned a lot about who I was as a person. Plus, college was a lot of fun…
3. The little white Cape. I lived here for the summer after college. My family was in the process of building a new house and had already sold the old homestead so this was an interim rental. It was very tiny and having to house a grownup family of 5 was challenge. I went back to sharing a room with my sister and sharing one bathroom with my whole family (yikes!). As trying as this was sometimes, it made me realize that it doesn’t really matter what your living situation is, all that matters is that your family is there…home is where the heart is.
4. Our first apartment. After the little white cape, I picked up all my belonging and moved to another state…followed a boy. It’s okay though because the boy became hubby. Our first apartment was just under 800 sq.ft. in an apartment complex with no private outdoor area. Let me tell you…if you want to know if you can live with someone and apartment that size will tell you! We learned a lot about each other that year, including the fact that we have very different taste in TV shows. After a lovely little debacle there with the complex staff accusing us of littering their parking lot with cigarette butts (we don’t smoke) and then starting to clean out our apartment before we had moved out we went to the winner of all of our homes….
5. Granite St. ugh. This was an old multifamily home with tons of character. Decorative wood trim, SUPER high ceilings and 3 bedrooms. It was about twice the size of our old apartment and we were in heaven. Or so we thought. It was in the ghetto and we didn’t really realize it. We had a housemate who didn’t work and I think sold drugs and/or her body (which is a disturbing though), frequent fights in the street, lots of police activity, etc. We lasted about a year and fled….we learned that a cool apartment wasn’t worth our sanity.
6. Apartment #3….nice two family home with our landlords, a young couple about our age, living upstairs. We loved this place! We actually still talk to our landlords to this day. This place made us realize that the people make all the difference in the world about your residence choices.
7. Apartment #4….the big move back to CT. I’m getting tired of describing our apartments.
8. Finally….the house! We bought our first house back in October and things have really come full circle. We’re back in the town that we both grew up in, in a cute little neighborhood with some friendly people. It is so nice to finally have a place to call our own and we have spent lots of time getting it setup to our liking. I can’t wait until spring rolls around and we can spruce up the exterior.
I realize that that’s a laundry list of homes and the majority of them took place over a span of 5 years. We moved a lot. The important part was that hubby was with me and made each place really feel like home. In addition, we met so many wonderful people along the way that all of those places still feel like home. Guess home really is where the heart is….and sometimes that is more than one place.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What's in a name?
Here’s my response to MamaKat’s Writer’s Workshop. This week didn’t require too much creative though so I figured I’d participated. The prompt was to explain the meaning behind your name. I get asked this a TON (the curse of having a unique name) so this is a piece of cake….
My name is Keagan….not Kegan or Keegan or any other derivative, but Keagan with an A. I can honestly say I’ve never met another me with and a, and usually the Keagan’s that I meet are boys. So I’m unique.
Depending on where you look my name means different things, but the most common meaning I can find is that it’s a Gaelic name meaning “little, fiery one”. I guess this kind of suits me. I don’t have a fiery temper or anything, but I like to think that I can be a bit fiery. I have a passionate streak that comes out from time to time and can be pretty intense. Not to mention, that I must not be too mild if I can command the attention of 25 high school students 2 minutes before the bell rings As for little, welll….I used to be
As for how I got my name, that’s a less exciting story. Apparently I was almost a Stephanie, but my mom saw Keagan as a last name and thought it would make a cute girl’s name and changed her mind after I was already born. And thank goodness she did! I LOVE having a unique name. People remember it. I’m convinced that it has helped me get jobs or awards simply because it jumps out at you.
On a cute sidenote, I am one of 3 siblings and we all have K names (Keagan, Kiersten, and Kyle) and my husband is Keith and his brothers are Kevin and Kenny. I also have a cousin Kim whose kids are Kallie and Kaeden…hmmm….
How about you? Any interesting name stories?
My name is Keagan….not Kegan or Keegan or any other derivative, but Keagan with an A. I can honestly say I’ve never met another me with and a, and usually the Keagan’s that I meet are boys. So I’m unique.
Depending on where you look my name means different things, but the most common meaning I can find is that it’s a Gaelic name meaning “little, fiery one”. I guess this kind of suits me. I don’t have a fiery temper or anything, but I like to think that I can be a bit fiery. I have a passionate streak that comes out from time to time and can be pretty intense. Not to mention, that I must not be too mild if I can command the attention of 25 high school students 2 minutes before the bell rings As for little, welll….I used to be
As for how I got my name, that’s a less exciting story. Apparently I was almost a Stephanie, but my mom saw Keagan as a last name and thought it would make a cute girl’s name and changed her mind after I was already born. And thank goodness she did! I LOVE having a unique name. People remember it. I’m convinced that it has helped me get jobs or awards simply because it jumps out at you.
On a cute sidenote, I am one of 3 siblings and we all have K names (Keagan, Kiersten, and Kyle) and my husband is Keith and his brothers are Kevin and Kenny. I also have a cousin Kim whose kids are Kallie and Kaeden…hmmm….
How about you? Any interesting name stories?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Creating my bubble...
So I walked into work today and was instantly bombarded by negativity. I really, REALLY hate that. No good morning, no how are you doing….just blah. So considering that I have to be here until 9pm (super yucky) I figured that I mind as well make an attempt to create my own little bubble of positivity. I have my earbuds in with some kick-butt, feel good music going on and have buckled down to work, but I’m still feeling a bit negative. I figured maybe if I make a list of things that are making me happy on my blog I can refer to it throughout the day….so here goes.
- My new bracelet is really fun and I keep catching glances of it as I type…fun!
- I have an amazing cup of French roast coffee thanks to the office Keurig that I didn’t pay for (oops…)
- My dad just finished the new Agassi book the other day and passed it along to me so I have that to read when I get home this evening.
- We just got a wedding invitation in the mail yesterday for a few good friends. Can’t wait for that! Plus, going to weddings after you’re already married is phenomenal because I don’t keep looking at everything and making mental notes )
- My kitties are perfect. I fell asleep last night with one purring away on my chest and the other snuggled up between my feet. Why do I keep the hubby around??
- Oh right, because he’s great, too! He not only finished all of our trim work in the house, but also hung the blinds and went grocery shopping with me last weekend (to 2 places none the less….good boy)
- I’m a homeowner. This really just hit me as I was walking in the other day that I own all of the wood, and nails, and appliances, and land that I was around. Pretty cool feeling!
- The Olympics are almost here! I absolutely love the whole Olympic spirit (most likely because when I was younger I was convinced that I would be in them….not so much). I love watching the faces of all the athletes at the Opening Ceremony, especially the ones from little countries that no one’s really ever heard of. They always look so happy and proud.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The other two co-workers...
Alright….this post has been a while coming and I’m not feeling super creative, but I owe you all this post. A forewarning that it may be a bit lengthy.
A few posts ago I began to introduce you to a few of my co-workers, in particular The Boss and The Gopher. As strange as these two are, my other two co-workers are just as bad. Let me preface this by saying that I realize that I am not the only person who works with some odd ducks, nor am I whining. I tell you this for the simple purpose of humoring you…and for the potential stories that are to come from these four intriguing persons. So here goes nothing…
We’ll start with the Loud Talker. He is the middle aged man who works in the cube that is attached to the other side of me (so I’m sandwiched between him and the Gopher…oh yeah). Anyhoo, he is ex-military, though I’m not really sure what kind of function he served there. After the military, he began teaching….and that’s where the loud talking comes in (I think anyways). Normally he’s relatively soft spoken, but if you get him talking about something related to his fields of expertise he begins talking louder, and louder and LOUDER until you feel like every other person in the office is cursing you under their breath for making him talk! He talks so loud that I find myself responding to him in increasingly quieter volumes until I’m practically whispering…not that it helps. In addition, he’s a bit smug (a classic, “Oh, you didn’t know that? Well…” kind of guy) and he drives a sky blue Volkswagen Bug Convertible. ‘Nuff said.
And last, but of course not least, is the Annoyance. That’s really the best way to describe her. She is fresh out of college and if you ask her about it she’s sure to stress that it was Ivy League (well, lah-dee-dah). She’s a mechanical engineering major with no education experience who is attempting to teach things to students….and she thinks they all should be as smart as she is and as motivated as she is, and as perfect as she is….whoops, got a bit carried away there. If that weren’t enough she is possibly the most socially awkward person I know. Remember those girls in high school that told all the boys about how they liked to kiss people? Yeah, that’s her..at 23 years old. And those awful forced laughs….again, that’s her…I’ll stop there.
To cap off this lovely posting, I’ll share with you their two stories from today.
First Loud Talker came in to work today hacking up a lung..ew. He finally went home, but only after he informed that he coughed up something green so he figured he probably should not be in the office. Really?!? Why do I want to know this.
Then the Annoyance decided to argue that the only way she would go to a very expensive dinner next week (that we were all asked to volunteer our time for) was if she was paid. Right. Because your ivy league education miraculously made your time more valuable than mine…..nice….
A few posts ago I began to introduce you to a few of my co-workers, in particular The Boss and The Gopher. As strange as these two are, my other two co-workers are just as bad. Let me preface this by saying that I realize that I am not the only person who works with some odd ducks, nor am I whining. I tell you this for the simple purpose of humoring you…and for the potential stories that are to come from these four intriguing persons. So here goes nothing…
We’ll start with the Loud Talker. He is the middle aged man who works in the cube that is attached to the other side of me (so I’m sandwiched between him and the Gopher…oh yeah). Anyhoo, he is ex-military, though I’m not really sure what kind of function he served there. After the military, he began teaching….and that’s where the loud talking comes in (I think anyways). Normally he’s relatively soft spoken, but if you get him talking about something related to his fields of expertise he begins talking louder, and louder and LOUDER until you feel like every other person in the office is cursing you under their breath for making him talk! He talks so loud that I find myself responding to him in increasingly quieter volumes until I’m practically whispering…not that it helps. In addition, he’s a bit smug (a classic, “Oh, you didn’t know that? Well…” kind of guy) and he drives a sky blue Volkswagen Bug Convertible. ‘Nuff said.
And last, but of course not least, is the Annoyance. That’s really the best way to describe her. She is fresh out of college and if you ask her about it she’s sure to stress that it was Ivy League (well, lah-dee-dah). She’s a mechanical engineering major with no education experience who is attempting to teach things to students….and she thinks they all should be as smart as she is and as motivated as she is, and as perfect as she is….whoops, got a bit carried away there. If that weren’t enough she is possibly the most socially awkward person I know. Remember those girls in high school that told all the boys about how they liked to kiss people? Yeah, that’s her..at 23 years old. And those awful forced laughs….again, that’s her…I’ll stop there.
To cap off this lovely posting, I’ll share with you their two stories from today.
First Loud Talker came in to work today hacking up a lung..ew. He finally went home, but only after he informed that he coughed up something green so he figured he probably should not be in the office. Really?!? Why do I want to know this.
Then the Annoyance decided to argue that the only way she would go to a very expensive dinner next week (that we were all asked to volunteer our time for) was if she was paid. Right. Because your ivy league education miraculously made your time more valuable than mine…..nice….
Monday, January 4, 2010
A Holiday Recap
Goodness gracious…I disappeared for a little bit there. Sorry bout that.
The holidays have a way of getting the best of me and I simply found myself too busy to keep up with my blog. So here’s a catch up…
I know that I still need to update you on my other two co-workers, but that’s for another day as I am not feeling very creative today.
Hubby and I had a fantastic New Years and hosted our first actual party at the new house. No, this wasn’t the elegant dinner party with a few close friends…this was the “I’m almost 30, but I can still drink like I’m in college” kind of a party…and it was fabulous. The hubby grew up at a campground during the summer and ended up with a fantastic group of guy friends that are more or less like brothers to him. They have all found equally fantastic women to shack up with and we have formed quite the close group over the years. New Years is traditionally a campground event, but as we have all settled into actual houses the idea of heat, kitchens, and working bathrooms has taken over the rustic campground charm. The campground traditions have still followed, however, which mainly consist of beer die, a drinking game brought to our little corner of CT from Maine, perfected, and distributed around the country Needless to say our New Year’s consisted of massive amounts of drinking games and food, followed by 13 people passing out in my house, and then followed by me cooking 13 people breakfast. It was fun.
The next night turned into another night of playing hostess and the following day turned into a day of cleaning and lounging on the couch. Sunday I was mentally prepping for coming back to work…and now here I am.
Other than that, not too much exciting happened. Hopefully you all had a restful holiday season…
The holidays have a way of getting the best of me and I simply found myself too busy to keep up with my blog. So here’s a catch up…
I know that I still need to update you on my other two co-workers, but that’s for another day as I am not feeling very creative today.
Hubby and I had a fantastic New Years and hosted our first actual party at the new house. No, this wasn’t the elegant dinner party with a few close friends…this was the “I’m almost 30, but I can still drink like I’m in college” kind of a party…and it was fabulous. The hubby grew up at a campground during the summer and ended up with a fantastic group of guy friends that are more or less like brothers to him. They have all found equally fantastic women to shack up with and we have formed quite the close group over the years. New Years is traditionally a campground event, but as we have all settled into actual houses the idea of heat, kitchens, and working bathrooms has taken over the rustic campground charm. The campground traditions have still followed, however, which mainly consist of beer die, a drinking game brought to our little corner of CT from Maine, perfected, and distributed around the country Needless to say our New Year’s consisted of massive amounts of drinking games and food, followed by 13 people passing out in my house, and then followed by me cooking 13 people breakfast. It was fun.
The next night turned into another night of playing hostess and the following day turned into a day of cleaning and lounging on the couch. Sunday I was mentally prepping for coming back to work…and now here I am.
Other than that, not too much exciting happened. Hopefully you all had a restful holiday season…
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