NOT my child

... but boy, is he a cute one.

If you're having a blegh day like me, please take a second to watch this little tyke discover the wonders of lobsters.



A WaPo blogger wrote that he wants to make that kid's "Wow!" his ringtone. I second that motion.

This reminds me of the first time I encountered creamy, salty, sweet foie gras. I exuded all manner of "wows!" whoas!" and "nom nom noms."

Except I was 22, and in a nice bistro.

(Incidentally, this time of year reminds me of foie gras... For the past two years, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I have placed a special order with my favorite local market for a sizable mound of the pate goodness. It's a holiday treat for us.)

I really, truly hope that when Brad and I have kids, they are as fascinated by gourmet cuisine as this little boy.

Spiller

I have many nicknames.

Some are affectionate -- Sweetheart, for example.

Some have to do with my name -- Kate, KEG, KEGgerator, Thorney (maiden name was Thorne).

Some are downright random -- Boogs, Boofer, Moose, to name a few.

And a handful are sort of teasing -- Gypsy, Bag Lady, and... Spiller.

Today I want to write about why I am known as Spiller.

I've never claimed to be graceful. I can be poised and gracious at weddings or cocktail parties, but graceful, smooth, naturally athletic, possessing a sense of balance? Those qualities, I lack.

I run into walls and door frames in my own house, frequently have to remind myself "swing your arms," and shuffle my feet when I walk, which often leads to epics tumbles. And yes, I blame it on the pavement. "Wow, that sidewalk is uneven!" I say to no one in particular, laughing nervously as I pick myself up off the ground. I bump my head about 50 percent of the time when getting in and out of cars, and I perpetually have curling iron burns on my neck, scalp, or forehead.

Basically, I'm clumsy.

Brad dubbed me "Spiller" after about the 12th or 13th time I knocked over a glass, mug, or bottle full of liquid.

I hate the nickname Spiller.

Inevitably, kitchen table flooding commences, and as I'm running to the drawer where I keep the rags, I hear "Spillllllleeerrrrrrrrrr," the end of the word rising in the same tone and tenor that Ricky Ricardo used to cry, "Lucccccyyyyyyyy."

And I shoot back with a, "Well you filled my glass up too high!" or "You shouldn't put your tea so close to the edge!"

But every now and then, I have to face the reality that this particular nickname is well-earned.

Exhibit A:

You may recognize that as a SEVERELY shattered iPhone screen. Frankly, I have never seen anything quite like it.

It's the result of a "freak" (I contend) purse-falling incident in an airport parking lot one evening. My purse "fell" from a height of about 18 inches, the phone seemed to tumble out in slow motion, and when I picked it up, it looked like it had been swathed in spider webs.

I really cannot understand how such carnage came from so little clumsiness. But there it is.

I was by myself, so I determined to conceal the damage from he-who-loves-to-call-me-Spiller. I did my research and found I could replace the phone for $250 (Apple doesn't fix screens; they just replace the phone if it's under warranty). Whew, okay, done. I made plans to go to Northpark the next day for the switcheroo.

But as I was lying (no pun intended) in bed, I started thinking about other, less expensive options.

K, sweetly: "Brad?"

B, sleepily: "Hmm."

K: "Do you remember what credit card we bought my iPhone with?" (I lost my original iPhone in May and paid Brad back in installments for a new one.)

B: "Umm, not really."

K: "Well... Can you think of it?"

B: "Why?"

K: "No reason, really... Just curious."

(silence)

K: Hey Brad?

B (trying to sleep and growing frustrated): What.

K: Do you know if any of your credit cards insure purchases against loss or damage?

B: What did you do.

K: Nothing, I --

B: Katie, what did you do to your iPhone.

So I showed him. And he had the same reaction I did: "What's that on the screen?"

Yes, he called me Spiller. But he fixed my problem, too. After quite a bit of research the next morning, he found a place in Dallas that fixes iPhones in 15 minutes while you wait, for less than a third of what Apple would have charged. Their work is so good that they won't void the warranty; Apple will have no idea the parts aren't original or the phone was ever opened, supposedly.

My man delivered. I don't know why I was so hesitant to admit what happened. In fact, Brad bought me a gift.

A "Spiller-proof" iPhone case.

The Greening of the Gaultney Homestead

I’ve blogged before about my desire to be an eco-friendly, vegan goddess. I really do aspire to live simply, without clutter and the distractions of excess. But I know myself well, and a vegan (or even vegetarian) I will never be; and with everything that is going on in my life –

• Busy job
• Three demanding classes in grad school this semester
• Church commitments
• Maintaining a happy marriage during a season when time together is a rare commodity

– I know it will be a challenge to go balls-to-the-wall “green.”

(If you’re like me, you just kind of cringed at my use of the phrase “balls-to-the-wall.” I can’t help but get a mental image.)

(You probably just did too. Ha!)

I never made an official New Year’s resolution out of my desire to greenify, but I guess it really was early January when we began to implement easy changes to help the environment and our bodies.

Eat.
For one thing, Brad and I started a sort-of diet. I call it a sort-of diet because it’s not necessarily that we’re eating only certain foods or restricting ourselves, but we have taken steps to eat healthier, less processed stuff, and I’m cooking a whole lot more. We now shop pretty exclusively at Central Market (my Mecca), and buy a lot of fresh fish, tons of produce, raw nuts and seeds, organic dairy, whole and sprouted grains, and the like. It’s definitely ‘spensive, but when we’re not fighting colds, allergies, and flu (?!), we feel tons better than we used to. And I try to buy the most local products that I can. I wouldn’t call myself a locavore, but I’m moving in that direction.

Drink.
Brad probably wasn’t thinking about the impact on the environment when he took up his latest hobby, but he has begun homebrewing. This is really great for the environment – so much better than buying beer and wine at the store – because of the carbon impact of the manufacturing facilities and shipping heavy glass bottles. So far he has made a wonderful batch of Amarone wine, using my art as the label for his bottles, and two batches of beer which are also QUITE good!

Home.
We’ve given up our dependence on paper towels. ::: cue applause ::: I have been a huge Viva paper towels fan since college. If you’re going to buy a paper towel, I have to say that is the most durable, absorbent brand around, and I love how they don’t have stupid doodles of strawberries or puppies on the towel. Just pure white. But we ran out of paper towels a few weeks ago, and I decided not to replenish! This is one change Brad is still struggling with, but I honestly haven’t missed them. I have tons of cute and functional dish towels and rags that do the job. I’d like to think the money we are saving on paper towels offsets our Central Market grocery bills, but… that's probably a stretch.

(In other paper-related news, I've decided to get behind Sheryl Crow's "one square" campaign and use only one square of toilet tissue per restroom visit. That may be TMI, to use a passe phrase, but it really is very do-able, and a good cost-saving and eco-friendly strategy! I thought it was silly when I first heard of it, but now I'm a believer.)

We’ve been recycling for a while now, but I have ramped up my diligence in that area. It’s pretty eye-opening to see how much waste there would be if we weren’t recycling. We fill up our bin at least once a week. (Dallasites, you can sign up here for the city's free recycling program.)

I could write a little more about some of the changes we’re making, but I think I’ve covered the biggies. For the hardcore greenies, this list probably doesn’t look like much, but it’s a start! We’re just trying to be better stewards of God’s earth and our bodies, His temple.

Psalm 24:1 – 5
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas and
established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication
from God his Savior.

The Love Editor

The verdict is in: virus, but not flu (my fever isn't high enough for it to be flu); bronchitis; middle ear infection.

But my doctor hooked me up with a prescription for a Z Pak, and as wary as I am of antibiotics, I'm feeling loads better already! So praise God! And thanks truly for all your well wishes. :-)

On to other, non-sickness tidbits...

My brothers are awesome. I love them both as brothers and friends, and my younger brother Brett brings so much fun to our family. He's the trends editor of his college newspaper, and apparently he's moonlighting as a broadcast reporter too. My dad just sent me a video to Brett's first installment as The University Star's "Love Editor -- first name Love, last name Editor." It's fantastic! I'm so proud.

I've excerpted Brett's segment here:



All I can say is, Stephanie Kusy-Wilson and Summer Ratliff better keep their hands off my baby bro's "luscious locks!"

You can watch the full broadcast here, if you're really interested in SG's rejection of an on-campus concealed carry bill:

This. is. JEOPARDY!

Confession: I'm a nerd. But then you probably already knew that.

Ever since I was old enough to read, I have LOVED the show Jeopardy. I also happen to be quite good at it, if I do say so myself. :-)

I actually went on vacation to Los Angeles to watch the taping of three Jeopardy episodes in 2004. My timing was perfect... I saw Ken Jennings become the first Jeopardy contestant to amass winnings of over $1 million! I saw him win the million! They film three episodes per day, so I saw him on his 29, 30 and 31st days on the show. I wanted to take the qualifying test, but sadly, the process of waiting, taking the test, interviewing, etc. would take hours, and we had tickets to Universal City.

But for the past two years the producers decided to make the contestant test available online for a very limited time. I knew about it, but for some reason didn't take the test.

Today was an "ice day" here in Dallas, and after watching news coverage of dozens of cars slipping, sliding, and stopping on iced-over roadways, I opted to stay home. Jeopardy came on at 11 on CBS, and I seized this rare opportunity to watch one of my favorite shows! After answering 90 percent of the questions correctly, Brad sent me the link to the registration for THIS year's online test and told me I "didn't have a choice." He would make me take the test. (What would I do without him?! He's my cheerleader -- err, yell leader?)

Guess what: The test was today!

What timing! Of all the days to be home, to watch Jeopardy, to show off my trivia skills for my husband... and the one day that they're testing is TODAY! They offer this test for only 10 minutes in the entire year, and today was the day! So I registered and received an email saying I needed to log in within 30 minutes before the test at 8 p.m., or I would be disqualified. I remembered RIGHT before the test was about to begin... I was preparing to watch LOST and then realized it was test time.

So I logged in, and the questions started firing! Each question was on the screen for 15 seconds, and I had to TYPE my response in (not multiple choice, people!). Then the screen would change to the next question. There were 50 total questions, and the entire test took about 10 minutes. I knew the answers to 31 questions without a doubt, and there were 19 questions I either passed on or guessed. Not my best performance, but those questions were tough!

I'll never find out my score, and I doubt I'll get invited for an audition interview. There are probably thousands and thousands of people who take this test, and only a few are selected through a random selection process to audition. But I am still somehow excited to have finally taken the qualifying test for this show that I've loved for so long!

Geriatric Joust

I have to preface this post by saying I LOVE the elderly. I really believe I have a special place in my heart for the more senior generation, and always have. I want to befriend every older person I meet and learn from them... even the sweet little old man in Central Market who wore a bowler hat and spent an hour following me around the store a couple of weeks ago and talking to me about every item in my cart, repeatedly asking me to show him how to use the electric produce weights, etc. He was so sweet and friendly, and I just wanted to put him in my cart and take him home with me! (I do think he had dementia or something though, which makes me very sad for him and his family.)

Anyway, I have a HUGE respect for the elderly, and I love spending time with them.

But apparently I could beat up a dozen 90-year-olds.



This is the WEIRDEST quiz I have every stumbled upon (Brad sent it to me), and I had to share it! It's meaningless and possibly even a little offensive, but it asks you a series of questions to determine -- if you should get into a Jets vs. Sharks-like throwdown with a gang of nursing home escapees -- how you would fare.

For the record, Brad, who is trained in mixed martial arts, could beat up 18.

(Don't forget to comment and tell me how many you could handle!)

Crazy Eights

In March 2007, Brad and I boarded a flight to Seattle, where he planned to propose to me. We sat on row 8 of our plane. At the time, Brad – a math and science guy – was very interested in the biblical significance of numbers, and I asked him if the number 8 meant anything. He told me that in God’s word, the number 8 is often used to signify a new beginning… which ended up being exactly what that trip was for our relationship. :-)

How very appropriate that as we begin a new year, I was tagged by Martha to talk about a series of eight things. Here we go!

8 TV SHOWS I WATCH
1. LOST
2. Top Chef
3. Project Runway
4. Mad Men
5. Barefoot Contessa
6. Passport to Europe/ Rick Steves’ Europe
7. The Office
8. 30 Rock
9. House

I watch too much TV! I know I added two extra, and I could probably think of 10 more shows to add to this list.

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
There are SO many, but these were the first that came to mind:
1. Texas de Brazil (Dallas – special occasion place for carnivores)
2. Los Barrios (San Antonio – cheese enchiladas and margaritas!)
3. Longhorn Café (San Antonio – best greasy cheeseburgers on the planet)
4. Black Friar Pub (Dallas - cheese fries and beer!)
5. Toulouse (Dallas – so French, with delicious foie gras)
6. Trudy’s (Austin – great memories)
7. Café Madrid (Dallas – tapas)
8. Deep Sushi (Dallas – Deep Ellum)

Honorable mention goes to Grimaldi’s in Dallas for the coal oven-fired meatball pizza I had a couple of weeks ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about!

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY
1. Woke up too early on a day off (Happy birthday, Dr. King!) when one of Brad’s colleagues telephoned him at the crack of dawn.
2. Ate mom’s sugar cookies for breakfast, then felt compelled to go on a speedwalk/ run with Brad and my hand weights.
3. Scoured the house for garage sale items and amassed them in the formal living room (it never gets used anyway!)
4. Enjoyed vegetarian platter at Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill with Brad.
5. Bought a tea table and a new console table at World Market.
6. Re-wired entertainment center (around our house, Brad builds things and keeps up the outside, but I do the electronics), then tidied up.
7. Shopped for rugs online and determined I had already spent too much money on home stuff for the day.
8. Practiced shooting the Walther PPS.

Veggie Platter from Fadi's

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1. Toning up my arms before Matt and Brittney’s wedding on May 2!
2. Starting grad school this week… and finishing it in two or three years. :-)
3. Going on a Mediterranean cruise in October 2009.
4. Being a mom someday.
5. Finding a new home and getting new furniture.
6. The rest of my life with Brad (too corny?).
7. Meeting up with my Kindred and her hubs on their year-long sojourn.
8. Retirement. Is that a bad sign?

8 THINGS I WISH FOR
I think I answered this in the last question, no? Maybe the question here refers to material things? If that’s the case, I feel a little materialistic answering… but this is Dallas, so here goes:
1. Mortar and pestle
2. Slicing tools – a rasp for zesting citrus and a mandoline
3. Meat thermometer
4. A really nice camera, and the skills to use it
5. Hermès Kelly Bag
6. Apple laptop (mine got stolen, and Brad uses the Mac we replaced it with for his work)
7. New house or apartment (long story)
8. Chanel perfume (I love her, and the scents are quintessential France)

I also wish Brad and I could move to Paris.

8 SONGS I JUST LISTENED TO
That would be the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. Amazing movie, if you haven’t seen it, and equally good soundtrack! It awakens the Indian belly dancer in me and makes me “shimmy,” a la Fit TV.

8 MOVIES I LOVE
Well, aside from the aforementioned Slumdog:

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphondre et Le Papillon, en français)
2. There Will Be Blood
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Sabrina
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. Any movies by Wes Anderson or Christopher Guest
7. Amadeus
8. When Harry Met Sally

I’m desperate to see Revolutionary Road! Have any of you seen it?

8 PEOPLE I TAG
No pressure. These taggings are good for me, because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have blogged for another week and this is good motivation... but I realize not everyone wants to let me tell them what to write. Don’t feel obligated, but I tag my friendly bloggers to write on these same topics whenever they're lacking motivation for original content:

1. Abby
2. Alison
3. Erin
4. Janette
5. Jashley
6. Jennifer
7. Meagan
8. Stephanie

Blog Makeover

Blog-readers (even the sneaky ones who post anonymous comments :-) -- I need your opinion.

As I aim to de-clutter my life by the casting off of knick-knacks, unused sleeping bags, and furniture that screams "FUNCTION!" -- like the media console I bought four years ago that I now find hideous -- I find myself also wanting to simplify the look of my blog.

My design inspirations are this one and this one, although now I'm mad that I've seen both of those because I'm really tempted to copy their ideas. (I invented dandelions!)

I also love Anthropologie's clean, feminine look.

But then I love my blog's eclectic, patterned aesthetic.

What do you think? Any suggestions, or other sites I should look at for inspiration?

Anonymous comments are welcome here. ;-)

UPDATE -- (one hour later) Obviously, I went ahead and played with the coding and came up with something completely different than I had before. Still, please do share your comments and suggestions on the look, if you have any ideas! :-)

UPDATE 2 -- Anonymous brings up a good point. Since I was hot to trot and already changed the background without letting you weight in, you may not remember what the old one looked like! It was this header image:

With this background:

The funny thing is, the coding to get the main wrapper semi-transparent and to get the background the way I wanted it on the old look was so much more complicated than my new look -- and required the use of an FTP -- and this one is pretty easy-peasy, but looks more designy, I think.

To the Lady in NorthPark Whose Whimsical Outfit Made Me Happy

Based on a True Story

Like a jellyfish billowing near the top of the blue water, with light finding its way through diaphanous folds, your skirt flounced in slow motion, a beat behind each purposeful step. You walked like a Parisienne parading a Standard Poodle through Les Tuileries – or even like the poodle herself – each footstep abrupt but delicate; intentional.

From the buttery leather of your brown booties to the grandmotherly chignon that betrayed your Carrie Bradshaw-like aesthetic, you were on a mission.

Perhaps you had just come from a consultation at Barney’s where you were commissioned to create some new artwork, a thankless backdrop for unreasonably expensive designer garments. The clipboard tucked tightly under your left arm may have itself clung to your sketches, lines on paper destined to become your next forgotten oeuvre.

You didn’t even carry a purse.

A man with tattooed fingers held a heavy glass door open, and you were off. You likely slid into a stuffy Mercedes or Lexus SUV and set off to pick up your stepchildren from private school, but I’d like to believe you sped away on a Capri Blue Vespa, skirt be damned, bound for your studio where yards of empty canvas await fat tubes of unctuous gesso and pigment.

O Christmas Tree

I finally have a working cord for Brad's camera, so I thought it was time for a picture post. :-)


I love our dinky little Christmas tree. We got it shortly after our wedding last year. It's a four-foot, pre-lit guy, and we decorated it with these really beautiful ornaments we got for the wedding.


I like the way I wrapped presents this year: black, white, silver and red. That big tube in the back is not wrapping paper... It's an oddly shaped gift in a tube.

I think my favorite ornament is the funny pink bird at the top with the teal feathered tail. Many of you know my affinity for birds (not real birds -- just in decor, fashion, art, etc.). This was part of a really exquisite set of "ornaments for newlyweds." The bird is supposed to symbolize "happiness and joy." (Interestingly enough, a goldfish that came with the set is supposed to symbolize "Christ's blessing." ...?)

Brad and I started a tradition during our first Christmas together that we would make our tree topper each year. Last year was a lot of fun: a red paper plate cut into a star shape, lots of doodles, and some gold paint. This year was wood scraps glued together and bound with wire, with a message written on the back.

And here are a couple of pictures from our anniversary two months ago. Since I had never been in a limo, Brad surprised me and rented one. In the limo he also had our wedding cake, champagne flutes, wedding video, and a CD he bought me. We drove to a restaurant in Terrell, about 40 minutes outside of Dallas, where he and I first talked about marriage. What a romantic stud I married!

Having too much fun...

Killer Pumpkin

I've never really liked Halloween. It's just not a holiday I get excited about... fear and candy are two things I want to stay away from. And I only went trick-or-treating once as a kid. But Brad LOVES Halloween, and he just told me he wants to put this in our front yard:





Yikes.

I am excited about Halloween this year though, because my beloved Kindred Spirit is coming with her husband to visit!

Random post... I'm on a conference call now and shouldn't be blogging anyway. :-)