circa 1994

Me, my two sisters, and my cousin in the early/mid 90s.
How awesome are these dresses?
I remember loving this dress.

go see avatar

Tonight Jared and I had a date to go see Avatar. (Thanks for watching Asher, Amy!) I definitely recommend seeing this movie. It is an experience. And definitely go to theater and see it in 3D if you can. Very cool! I had never seen a 3D movie before. Avatar's 3D was very subtle and immersive. It really helped you feel like you were in the movie but it wasn't a constant thing either. It didn't get annoying.

But back to the actual movie. We loved it. It is epic and big and filled with beautiful images. There is action but there is also a love story and quieter moments. And for such a long movie, it is paced really well and keeps you interested.

I have a few critiques. I wish a few of the characters had more depth. I wish that they showed more of the native children. But overall, I think it is a great film. It is very moving. As Jared said, part of what makes it so good is that it draws on so many aspects of science and culture--biology, anthropology, linguistics, physics, religion, etc.

If you haven't seen Avatar, go see it before it leaves the theater. I really don't think you'll regret it.

the belly makes it's blog debut

I'm now almost 17 weeks pregnant and loving life in the second trimester. I'm not nauseous anymore. I have more of an appetite. I'm finally beginning to look slightly more pregnant and less like I just got fat. I figured it was time to start documenting the growing belly, so I had Jared snap a pic real quick in front of my new Ikea curtains. (I need to find somewhere with better lighting to take my belly pics though.)

My belly seems different to me this time around. For one I got a pooch much quicker this time. Also, I feel like my organs high tailed it north at the first sign of uterine growth. So although I'm pretty sure my baby is still pretty low, the belly seems biggest up higher where my innards are now residing. I can still wear and zip up my normal jeans which is convenient. Gotta love the low rise pants these days. I feel like by this time with Asher I was already using the elastic trick on my pants. Probably because I was working and wearing dress pants all the time.

Speaking of Asher, he hasn't been getting as much face time around here as usual. Here's a cute one of him from this morning. This plastic dome is from a toy of Isaac's that Asher has pretty much adopted. He plays with it a lot and then loves to put this on his head and run around. We think he's pretty funny.

bullet train of thought

• It's Wednesday already and I haven't posted this week yet. Darn it.
  
• I finally sent out the rest (which means most) of our Christmas cards on Monday. I'm the worst about mailing things in the actual mail. I ordered and received the cards way back in October or November and just never sent them. I'm lame. I'm choosing to blame it on the extreme blah-ness that was pregnancy-induced nauseous Katrina for the two months before Christmas.
  
• I still haven't gone through all the pics from Christmas. New goal: get them posted by the end of January.
  
• For my birthday (January 29th in case you wanted to get me something) my mom said I could pick out some clothes from Boden. I got a skirt, a shirt, and a sweater. My first Boden clothes. I feel so special and British. The sweater arrived today and it is perfect. Dark gray. Warm. Soft. Stylish. Classic. It's a long cardigan so it will allow for the belly to grow.

• Speaking of my parents, they are coming to Utah tonight. My dad is checking out a job in Logan. I'm not expecting this job to actually tempt them away from New Mexico, but they are checking it out nonetheless. Asher and I are headed up to Logan with them for a few days because we can. I've only driven through Logan once so it should be fun to see a new place. Too bad it's winter. I hear winters there are quite cold.
  
• Jared is teaching two classes at Westminster College this semester, which means he actually leaves the house for work 3 mornings a week. Other than that we continue to be spoiled by how much time we spend together.
  
• One of the Christmas presents Jared and I bought ourselves is a super duper soft blanket for our bed. It is seriously the softest blanket I've ever felt. We are currently using it instead of the sheet under our down comforter to that we can feel its lushness against our skin. Go to Target and get one. You will not regret. They come in all bed sizes. Just feel the blankets until you find the softest one and you'll know that's it. It makes leaving the bed extra hard though.
  
• Has anyone else been following the craziness that is going on with NBC late night? I don't even watch late night TV but I am totally intrigued by this whole debacle. I think it was a super stupid move to put Jay Leno on at 10/9. I never get to watch Law & Order now because it comes on too early. Now that they realize that mistake they are messing with poor Conan. Again, I don't watch any of the shows but from a television scheduling management angle, I find it all fascinating.
• Have I mentioned that I've been rereading the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder? I have one more to read. They are just so good. I hadn't read them since I was a kid. I loved them then and I love them now. If you've somehow managed to never read them, you should. And if you haven't read them in years, you should read them again too!
• Asher has gone to nursery at church by himself the past two weeks. He's not technically 18 months old until the 21st but Jared and I both had to teach one Sunday so they let Asher stay. The teachers say he is really good so they don't mind that he's started going a few weeks early. He looks so little in there. I love how he runs to me when I go pick him up.
• I was asked to sing a solo in Sacrament Meeting in a few weeks. It's been awhile since I've done that. I'm singing an arrangement of Be Still, My Soul. The arrangement is beautiful. I hope I can deliver. There are some serious high notes. If you want to listen here is a link of Christina England Hale singing the same arrangement, it is track 5. I won't be sounding as good as her however.
• We watched 500 Days of Summer over the weekend. Very good movie. Not at all the typical romantic comedy. You should watch it. I love Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Everytime I see Zooey in something it makes me want to cut bangs again. I just love her bangs.
  
• I have lots of laundry to fold and I need to pack so I better be going. Oh yeah, I need to eat lunch too. Later!
  

must reads: the hunger games series

I still have some serious catching up to do in the photo department. Hopefully I'll get our Christmas pics up sometime next week. I've been far too busy burying my nose in my book to get any photo editing/blogging done. The past two days I've been reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire my Suzanne Collins and I think you should too!

I was supposed to read The Hunger Games for my book club in November and didn't get around to it. I finally got it this week and devoured it and the sequel! Devoured I say. I haven't been so engrossed in a book in awhile. There is one more book in the series but it doesn't come out until August! I already pre-ordered on Amazon though. :-)

These books are written for 7th grade and up so they are fast easy reading and oh so good. They are set in North America in the future. The United States is no more. Instead there is a country called Panem. It is divided up into 12 Districts and a Capitol. The Districts each specialize in an industry to support the Capitol. People in the Districts live pretty miserable lives while the people in the Capitol are the definition of frivolity. There was once a rebellion and to show the Capitols dominance and keep the Districts meek, they must now participate in the Hunger Games each year. A boy and girl (12-18) are chosen by drawing from each district and then forced to fight to the death against the other "Tributes". This is all televised and mandatory viewing for all citizens.

I don't want to give any more details than that. The stories are told in first person through the eyes of Katniss. She is a great heroine and you will come to love her.

Now I have to say that when I heard the premise of this story I wasn't super excited. I read it because everyone I know who's read it loves it. Now I know why. Although the subject matter is dark, the books are not depressing somehow. I mean there are definitely very sad parts, but maybe because it does feel quite removed from our way of life, it didn't get me down. They do definitely make you think. It is quite the ride. And there is even a love story which I am a major sucker for.

Don't be surprised if the wait to get these books at your library is very long. Amazon has the hardcovers on sale for only $10.50. I ended up buying them after I read the books because I know I'll read them again and these are gonna be classics. Now if only I didn't have to wait until August to read the last book.

december sledding

A few weeks back we took the kiddos sledding at Sugar House park. It was Asher's first time. He seemed to enjoy it but showed absolutely NO reaction when going down the hill. It was quite comical in a way. I think it was because we went sledding during his nap time. The only reaction he made the whole time was getting mad when the sled stopped. And he only wanted to be carried up the hill in the sled... there is a picture below of Jared doing just that.

The kids all had a good time except that they wanted to go the really big hill. But that hill was way too crowded. I thought the little worked out just right. Much easier to walk up.

cars and flowers

On our way back from New Mexico, our car suddenly stopped changing gears when it got above about 50 mph. After calling my dad, Jared's step-dad, checking the transmission fluid, and calling a car shop, we determined our transmission had a lost a gear. We were forced to drive the rest of our trip home at 50 mph. Not fun. Especially once it got dark and started snowing and we were going through Price Canyon. And I got a migraine. I blame all the sugar I was eating, plus the stress of worrying that our car wouldn't make it home. Those last two hours of driving were pretty much what I expect hell would feel like.

Anyway, we were very lucky to make it home safely without killing our transmission completely. And extremely grateful! Unfortunately, trasmissions are the most complicated part of cars and hence the most expensive to fix (thousands not hundreds of dollars). Fortunately, my dad is very generous. (We actually switched cars with him a few months ago so he felt really bad.) Yesterday we got it fixed and after picking up the car, Jared went to Costco since we hadn't been grocery shopping and were in dire need of fresh food. And the sweet man that he is, brought me home these:

It had been a long time since he had given me flowers and this bouquet is gorgeous--all green and white, just like the flowers at my wedding. And thinking about my wedding makes me happy. So many thanks to my husband for being so thoughtful. I love you, hon!

This pic was taken by Asher kinda. He really wanted the camera so I let him press the button while I pointed in the general direction of the flowers. I love how this one turned out!

back in the saddle

Today for the first time in about 2 months, I actually loaded the photos from my camera to my computer and played around in photoshop. It had been so long, I felt rusty. It feels really good to be motivated to be creative again. I haven't taken many pictures in the past couple months as I've fought off the pregnancy nausea, but I am ready to get back in the saddle again.

This photo of Grace is from a day a couple weeks ago when we took the kids sledding at Sugar House park. I haven't finished going through the rest of the photos from that day, but this one is my favorite. I had fun trying out some of my new Eye Candy Actions (one of my christmas gifts). I also used a few of PW's actions.

I need to just give another shout out to being done with the first trimester! I am so happy to be feeling like myself again instead of the blah Katrina I was for a couple months. More photos and regular posting to come!

hallelujah

The second trimester has begun!

And we saw our little baby moving around at our appointment yesterday. He or she has little arms and legs that were just wiggling all over. Such a sweet sight. I've even felt the baby move a bit already.

I have lots to catch up on around these parts. Hopefully next week I'll be back to regular posting. Hope you all are enjoying the holidays!

another rambling post

Man, I've been in such a blog funk lately. Actually, I've been in quite the general funk until recently and now I'm just too busy trying to catch up on everything that got ignored for the past month or so. I'm definitely beginning to come out of the fog of nausea which is such a relief as I'm starting to feel more like myself again.

Right now I'm attempting to get into the Christmas spirit by watching Love Actually, an annual tradition for me. I have not done anything Christmasy this year. No decorations. No tree. No baking. No concerts. No light gazing. It was all just too much when all my energy has gone toward making a baby from scratch and keeping a toddler alive and happy.

The good news is I am almost entirely done with Christmas shopping. I have just a couple little things to pick up this week. I must take a moment here to say that online shopping is a gift from the Christmas gods. I love it. Makes my life 100 times easier.

The other good news is that we are going to New Mexico for Christmas this year. We are leaving on Sunday and I can't wait! I haven't had a Christmas with all my family since before I got married. We are taking all the kids down there for a week. The only thing I'm nervous about is the 10 hour drive with 4 kids. Wish us luck!

I hope all your holiday preparations are going well! Sorry that its been so long since I've posted photos. Taking and editing photos has been another one of those things I've ignored lately.