Longhorn in Paradise

I know that you all have been waiting with bated breath (buy a tooth brush for pete's sake!) for an Anniversary Post, but I have been busy, ok? Sheesh. I do have a day job. I don't write a blog for a living. Cut me some slack, eh!

OK. sorry for that. I get wound up sometimes after coming back from my weekly business trip. Yes, another week in Memphis and it was rough. But, you didn't come here to listen to me bitch about my work. You came here for a window into my life. To gain a little more knowledge of me and, therefore, become a little more whole yourself. I know. That is what keeps me going.

Anywho, Kat and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary this past weekend. March 15. The Ides of March. Et tu brute. Etc Etc Etcetera.

So, we started out the day by waking up (as we do on most days.) We got the kids up and ready and headed out to Philbrook Museum of Art...the scene of the crime. The place where we had our wedding ceremony, our cocktail hour and our reception. Good times, good times.. We had lunch in the restaurant (it was fab) and then toured around the museum with the kiddos reliving that wonderful event.

We then took the kids over to Kat's parent's house, dropped them off with their overnight bags and said adios! It was on like Donkey Kong!

Our first order of business was massages. We went to a day spa near our house and each got hour long massages. Mine from a muscle-handed pregnant chick, Kat from a dopey looking dude. We both had exceptional experiences though Kat got a bottle of Nestle water and I just got a freakin' glass of water. "Make sure to drink lots of fluids!" Thanks for the advice lady...hows about helping me out here? Geesh!

We then headed to Target to look at mini-refrigerators...Kat had this idea to build end tables around mini-fridges so her hubby wouldn't have to go ALL THE WAY downstairs to get his beers. So thoughtful. We didn't find anything that floated our boat, so we headed off to dinner.

Dinner was at a place called Luckys. Great little bistro in Mid-town Tulsa (the hip area). Great food, great wine, great atmosphere and service. If I was as cool as Denise, I would have turned the name "Luckys" into a hyperlink so you could check out the website, but that is not to be. So, just trust me, it was fan-diddly-astic.

After that, well, we went home and fell asleep. Very romantic. But, I gotta tell ya. There is nothing quite like a perfectly quiet house for sleeping and sleeping in. Best anniversary gift ever!

Speaking of anniversary gifts, both Kat and I got artistic with this year's gifts. Kat painted me a lovely picture and I wrote her a poem. Here is the painting:

Well, the painting is actually not of our bedroom, but it is the painting over the bed in this picture of our new bedroom set which was kind of an anniversary gift to ourselves too. Notice all the Pottery Barn accessories...nice to have a Williams Sonoma employee in the family. ;-)

And here is the text of my poem:

The Ides of March

On the Ides of March,
Two thousand and two
I met friends for drinks
And good music too

I walked in their house
And was surprised to find out
We would be joined by a girl named Kat;
Whom I knew nothing about

She soon made her entrance
And flashed her beautiful smile
Dressed in leather pants
That showed she had style

And for the first time,
On that very night
I finally believed
In love at first sight

We shared an evening
Of song and dance
I offered her a Red Bull
That I had kept in my pants

Toward the end of a night
Full of wine and food that was yummy
I lifted my shirt
And showed her my tummy

Her lack of disgust
At my belly full of hair
Let me know straight away
That she really did care

The next day we lunched
Over wings and March Madness
She got up to leave early
And I was filled with great sadness

My friends they all laughed
And made a big fuss
They couldn’t believe
The sparks between us

That night we played pool
And I ruined her jacket
I wanted to kiss her,
But she would not have it

We enjoyed Better than Ezra
And all their great tunes
It was the first of many times
I would see her swoon

And by swoon I mean fall,
Right down in the dirt
Then be a real trooper
And say it didn’t hurt

Though grace she was lacking,
She had beauty in spades
I knew if I could have her,
My life would be made

Four months later
At the Posh San Jose
We met for some wine
To cap a long day

I bent down on my knee
And asked for her hand
She (finally) said yes
And I was one lucky man

We were married the next year,
On the Ides once again
In front of Adam,
Our family and friends

Five years later
Our lives full of joy
With a beautiful girl
And a handsome young boy

I cannot imagine
My life without Kitty
It certainly would be
A lot more…bad

So, here’s to our first five
They’ve been so much fun!
But like the Carpenters said,

We’ve only just begun.

Quite chock full of inside jokes, but I think you get the idea. It has been a good five years.

2003 - Got married
2004 - Had Liska
2005 - Moved to Cali
2006 - Had Hagen
2007 - Moved to Tulsa
2008 - bought a grill

We are hoping that 2008 is just that level of exciting. We need a break from the drama. I say this just as Kat is speaking in the background "Hey, there is a house in La Crescenta for under $500K!" Geez Louise. We are keeping a close eye on the housing market in SoCal.

Well, I know this was along post, but if you got here, I am sure you enjoyed yourself. I hope each and every one of you is enjoying a life with someone you love dearly and you let them know at least once a year. :-)

Much love to all!

jak

So, my brother has admonished me for not posting in a very long time...actually, he has been more specific in saying I have not written a substantive blog in a long long time. I guess the little blurbs about the fam and Mr. Obama don't count. I KNOW that peeps get tired reading my long-winded posts and that is why I have been trying to keep them short and sweet.

The fact of the matter is that I am both busy and uninspired. This freakin' presidential race is wearing me out...work is non-stop as I am completely tap dancing my way through shit that I have never done before. I mean, have any of you tried tap dancing for 3 months? It is tough. I'm often reminded of the story of Greg's mom's first day at work....but, I will leave that story for him. Same general idea, but I don't have anyone to call in for help!

So, enough bitching. My weekends have been great though. I got my walking boot off this past weekend and played some H.O.R.S.E. with my neighbor on Sunday in the beautiful 70 degree weather we had. Kat and I went to a wine tasting on Saturday that she had won...a group of about 10 of us went about an hour outside of town and tasted some exceedingly mediocre wine, but had fun doing it...we then had dinner with friends at a posh, mid-town establishment and went back to their place for our monthly "Game Night" and played Guitar Hero and cricket (high tech and low tech at its finest). Good times, good times.

This weekend is our FIFTH wedding anniversary and SIXTH anniversary of the day we met!!! Hard to believe everything we have done in six years...let me try to list it:

1. Got married
2. Had Liska
3. Switched Jobs
4. Sold the house in Austin
5. Moved to California (me) and Tulsa (Kat)
6. Bought a house in Cali
7. Had Hagen
8. Rocked the house at Seis de Mayo
9. Changed jobs again
10. Sold the house in Cali
11. Moved to Tulsa
12. Bought a house in Tulsa
13. Survived the California Fires of 2007
14. Broke my foot

I'm sure there is more that I am missing. I didn't talk about the formation of the Natty Five 9s. Or the formation of this blog for pete's sake! I guess those things have had a more profound effect on my fan's lives. They can put it on their lists. :-)

So, there you have it...substantial enough? I know it was boring, but I am f'ing tired. Did I mention that I cuss more when I am tired? I have been dropping f bombs like crazy lately. It is quite fun though. You should try it.

Much love to all!

jak