Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Flowers from Nate

And fancy chocolates from Nate
The banner I made to surprise him in the morning
Heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's for dinner

Hope everyone had a love-filled day.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I just started preparing my 2nd ever Thanksgiving feast; Nate has to work Thanksgiving again. The turkey is brining, and I'm making a cooking schedule for tomorrow. Because we all know how much I like "To Do" lists and schedules :). For the first time, I'm making an entire turkey. Last year, I just made a turkey breast. See here. I had to have Nate remove the giblets from inside the bird for me. I can't make myself eat the neck or heart, so my giblets have been reduced to the liver. And the only reasons I'm even doing that is because I'm hell bent on recreating my grandma's stuffing. With a little help from my cousin and great aunt, I have the recipe! Apparently it's my Great Grandma Rapp's recipe--I had no idea! I also had no idea that I was eating giblets for almost 20 years.

And a little Thanksgiving humor:

Differences from last year at this time:
1) I didn't just find out 2 weeks prior that I have a brain tumor.
2) I'm not having brain surgery next Tuesday.
3) I won't be getting any needles shoved in me for at least another 2 months.
4) I'm not on steroids and don't look like I'm wearing a fat suit.
5) Since I'm not on steroids, I'm having some wine with dinner!
6) And most importantly, said tumor is almost gone!

Speaking of wine, my new favorite store is World Market. And coincidentally it's right across the street from work in Greenway Station... along with Archiver's and Michael's :D. <= Happy girl! Apparently this wine called Beaujolais Nouveau is "fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November." It's a French wine, and it's promoted as a Thanksgiving wine in the U.S. Obviously it's released before Thanksgiving day because I bought it last week. I thought it'd be a nice wine to try for turkey dinner.

This year, I'm thankful for:

1) Nate

2) Family

3) Friends

4) Doctors and Modern Medicine

5) My Job

6) People's Generosity

Well, that is all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. Jinx is already taking his post-Thanksgiving dinner nap.

Quick Update

Some quick highlights from the last week.

-Nate and I had a blast at the Fosse wedding last weekend. It was at St. Croix National Golf Course in Somerset, and it was beautiful!

-I went to Duluth last Saturday for Amy's bachelorette party. It was so great to see the girls again and go out in Canal Park.

-I've been working at the Oakbrook Companies as a temp property accountant. I found out today that unless someone quits, I'm just a temp for a couple months.

-I had a really good interview today for a Financial Reporting Accountant at an insurance company. I'm really interested in this job! It's permanent full-time, and they have amazing benefits.

-I really like living with Nate. It's so nice to be able to see him every day.

Nate and I at the wedding

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. I am determined to finish unpacking and organizing this weekend.

Another Vacation

Nate and I got to go on vacation again, July 24th-29th. We went to the Florida Keys with Nate's family.

Highlights:

• Limo ride to dinner in South Beach and delicious food Friday night
• Beautiful house in Marathon (Side note: the guy who owned the house was the Northwest pilot who invented wheeled luggage)
• Key West is a fun place! We explored Duvall Street and all the shops. Nate and I said we'd like to go back there.
• Nate's parents rented a boat for a day, so we went snorkeling, saw a bunch of dolphins, and went fishing off Key West. A bunch of firsts for me, I'd never seen dolphins or fished in the ocean before.
• It was roasting hot in Key West, but Nate, Nick, and I went parasailing. It was a blast! I stopped being a chicken and just did it.
• Despite being stuck in Memphis, we went to Corky's and had some delicious barbeque ribs.

Lowlights:

• Wicked thunder storms a lot of the time, but we still had fun!
• Nate and I had to spend Wednesday night in Memphis, after missing our flight because of storms in Miami. I will be packing a toothbrush, deodorant, and change of clothes in my carry-on from now on. There's only one flight from Memphis to Madison every day, and it's at 7:00 pm. Nate had to work at 10:00 pm that night. Everything would've been okay except our flight was delayed, and we didn't take off until 9:00 pm. Poor guy was so tired the next morning!

View pictures here:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1918752013/a=123328029_123328029/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

I Made It!

I got to Madison on Saturday afternoon with Mom and Dad. We got everything moved in, and now I just have to finish unpacking and organizing. It's a little cluttered right now.

I spent a couple days at home. It was so nice to see my cousin and her little guy! I can't believe how much he is talking.

I had two interviews yesterday and today, and I think they both went really well. I got very good feedback from the first interview via the recruiter at the staffing company. I should hear back more info on Monday for both of them. *Fingers crossed*!

Nate and I are heading to Miami tomorrow morning. We're meeting his family there, and then we'll head to Marathon, Florida Keys on Saturday. Yay! :)

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. I have no idea why it posted twice.

I Made It!

I got to Madison on Saturday afternoon with Mom and Dad. We got everything moved in, and now I just have to finish unpacking and organizing. It's a little cluttered right now.

I spent a couple days at home. It was so nice to see my cousin and her little guy! I can't believe how much he is talking.

I had two interviews yesterday and today, and I think they both went really well. I got very good feedback from the first interview via the recruiter at the staffing company. I should hear back more info on Monday for both of them. *Fingers crossed*!

Nate and I are heading to Miami tomorrow morning. We're meeting his family there, and then we'll head to Marathon, Florida Keys on Saturday. Yay! :)

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin