tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83201262024-03-21T15:22:34.349-07:00My own little corner, my own little chair.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-80942456684276711582010-01-20T14:43:00.000-08:002010-01-20T15:46:33.383-08:00An update of sortsJust updating again, since the last few notes have been real downers.<br /><br />Still single, but I've gone from being depressed as hell to wanting to punch The Jerk in the face...to now being annoyed at him but knowing I can do better. :)<br /><br />I've been on Lexapro to help with this situation depression, and am on my last refill. Gonna talk to my doctor about the best way to wean off of it, but it's REALLY helped me over this slump.<br /><br />Last semester was KILLER, due to the stress and depression I was having...but I still got all As. :)<br /><br />Just about to start my final semester in the student teaching program, which includes full time student teaching (in a first grade room!), two college classes, and doing the <a href="http://www.pacttpa.org/_main/hub.php?pageName=Home">PACT</a>. So, this'll be another killer semester, especially since I'll be choreographing another show in Menlo Park and hopefully doing some subbing on the side...yay moneys. But hopefully I'll survive.<br /><br />All in all...I gotta say thanks to my IRL friends, especially my theater buds AW and MT (the latter of which actually went to high school with The Jerk...but is now more my buddy than his, ha). They really helped me out by inviting me out to things and just letting me be around them.<br /><br />Oh, and this summer's show has been announced.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-42410019039356490212009-10-06T09:44:00.000-07:002009-10-06T09:45:18.148-07:00perfect example of my mental/emotional state right now...scene: leaving the meeting for my theater company<br /><br />mom: i need to go get some gas, you can ride home with dad if you want.<br />me: ...okay. ::starts to wander that way::<br />mom: ::playful sarcastic:: oh, sure, ride with him just because i need to get gas!<br />me: uhm, okay...::turns to go ride with mom::<br />dad: ::playful sarcastic:: oh, what, you don't want to ride with me?<br />me: ......::starts sobbing::<br />dad: ...OMG I'M SORRY! ::hug attack::<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />....yeah. mildly amusing, but seriously pathetic too.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-39365549418951784282009-10-04T00:46:00.001-07:002009-10-04T00:53:31.195-07:00more stuffi called him last tuesday. we talked.<br /><br />boiled down to how he can't see himself with me long run because i don't do all of the same things as him (i don't debate, go running, like sweaty hairy hippie dancing).<br /><br />said if we got married he could see it as him always feeling loved but always feeling like he missed out or lost something because of not doing the same things. i told him maybe that was more of a him problem than me. he agreed that maybe it was<br /><br />i know i lack communicating skills...but i made the jump to call him and try to talk about things.<br /><br />while i always felt the relationship was nigh on perfect, he never did. he never outright said he loved me because he was never certain 100% on his feelings.<br /><br />3 fuckin' years.<br /><br />i hate this. he says he hates it too. he wants to move forward and still be friends...i want to go back and fix things.<br /><br />he said he doesn't want to fix it.<br /><br />fuck, that was like a knife....it reads as "you're not worth it" to me...i started sobbing and quickly told him i had to go.<br /><br />i just don't know<br /><br />it's probably a little early to throw in the towel for 2009, but seriously.....this year has been sucktastic.<br /><br />let's take a look at this...<br /><br />1. 15 year old girl that i knew (since she was 8 or 9 years old) killed herself in the spring<br />2. our older dog got really sick and was put to sleep in late june<br />3. family friend who has been in my life since as long as i can remember - basically like family - died the day after my birthday<br />4. the boy broke my heart....<br />4 a. ...which basically makes any happiness i did have between the other previously mentioned events feel like they were a lie<br />4 b. ...and killed my ability to concentrate, focus, eat, get up in the morning, joy in choreographing kids....etc.<br /><br />....so yeah. kinda want to sleep away the rest of 2009...at least until i stop feeling like shit in all possible areas of feeling like shit. the only happy thing i can think of is getting our puppy, zeppo, in july...The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-81081932085231724042009-09-24T21:54:00.001-07:002009-09-24T21:57:03.741-07:00fuck...the boy broke up with me...<br /><br />i'm not the person he sees himself married to, apparently...<br /><br />i'm so upset by this that my body rebelled and had some breakthrough bleeding in the middle of my cycle....my doctor has given me some xanax for the stress...hopefully i can sleep tonight without the ritual sobfest...<br /><br />dammit i feel so lost right now. i saw us having a future together...<br /><br />he still wants to be friends...and i can't possibly hate him...but it hurts so damn much right now that i don't know what to do with myself.<br /><br />is there anyone out there still reading this?<br /><br />does anybody care?<br /><br />*sigh*<br /><br />goodnight.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-52963959588160142892009-06-18T07:35:00.001-07:002009-06-18T07:35:59.068-07:00Wow, been a while...I wonder if anyone still checks in around here. Norm, you out there?<br /><br />I've been kinda neglecting this journal....oops. Most of my activity has been going on at Facebook, so if you're so inclined you can find me there at www.facebook.com/caitykitola<br /><br />Let's see...<br /><br />1. I've finished my first semester of the teaching credential program. It was hard and kinda stressful, but I got out of it with 4 As and an A-. Go me!<br />2. If I get an add code from the people in charge, I'll be starting up my first semester of student teaching in the fall.<br />3. Cookie, my lahsa apso, has been sick...again. She's not seeming to get better, and will probably have to be put down. I had to clean up three puddles of doggie diarrhea in my room, one of which at least seemed a bit bloody. :( Dad says that she may have doomed herself with that, and it may even happen tomorrow. I'm, understandably, fairly bummed about that. Cookie's been in my family since I was in the 5th or 6th grade, so...geeze, what. About 15 years or 16 years. This is definitely the sucky part about having pets. ::sigh::The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-54109167042584016012008-05-19T10:58:00.000-07:002008-05-19T10:59:47.868-07:00Graduation!I've graduated! Go me!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/MyGraduation2008">Photographic Proof is here!</a><br /><br />The bizarre thing is that now I have to do my finals....but I have noooo ambition to do so, because of having already done the graduation stuff. Roar. Oh well, I'll finish typing up a roleplay entry and then buckle down on my online class's final. <br /><br />(Oh, and I have a new laptop. YES!!!!)The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-23635333893512258302008-04-29T08:56:00.000-07:002008-04-29T08:59:11.523-07:00Make the stresses go awaaaay.Cookie update:<br /><br />She's off and on with whether she's going to eat or not. She didn't eat last night, but I got her to eat some turkey this morning.<br /><br />According to my dad, when he made an appointment for her to go back and see the vet today, the vet wasn't sounding too hopeful for her since she hasn't improved dramatically by now.<br /><br />Wah...The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-63093769772959613302008-04-23T08:03:00.000-07:002008-04-23T08:04:53.278-07:00Doggy UpdateCookie's not eating and refusing to take her pills.<br /><br />Hopefully, she's just being stubborn right now, as opposed to having decided she's going to curl up and die.<br /><br />We did finally trick her into taking her anti-inflamitory by crushing it up into peanut butter and smearing it on her tongue.<br /><br />Long story short about how her blood work came back, it's like an episode of "House." You know, where some count in her blood is high so it might be this one thing.....except it can't possibly be that, because something else is low and that discounts the first theory. Essentially, anything that could go wonky in her blood has done so.<br /><br />Fuck, I'm worried and sad and really need a hug. I don't want my puppy to be dying.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-41289605262838347982008-04-22T09:09:00.000-07:002008-04-22T09:13:24.169-07:00I'm such a slacker!Okay, so I haven't been updating here....it's been BUSY. I'm currently doing my final semester at SJSU as an undergraduate. Yes, The Kitola is graduating in May! As scary as that may seem.<br /><br />I am also choreographing a musical at a middle school, while simultaneously prepping for the summer musical this summer. Yikes!<br /><br />Outside of those two things, you can see what I've been up to on my <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews">Picasa Photo Albums</a>.<br /><br />In sadder news, my old gal dog Cookie is feeling her age. She's about 14 now, and has been off her feed a bit. I'm worrying about her.<br /><br />For now, though, off to class. Missed my classes yesterday due to a blown tire!The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-63065912357098305052008-02-15T14:50:00.000-08:002008-02-15T14:54:42.212-08:00Valentine's Day!So, for Valentine's day, I got a bottle of Technu. It was the most romantic thing ever! As everyone should know, Technu is by far the most extravagant and romantic gift anyone could ever give.<br /><br />Okay, I'm sure that doesn't make sense to anyone other than My Man, where it's been a running gag ever since he bought me some packets of it to keep in my backpack when we go on hikes back in summer.<br /><br />And yes, I really did get a bottle of Technu in my Valentine's Day bag, burried under all of that tissue paper. It didn't even have any Technu in it, anymore, though. What was inside it, you ask?<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.google.com/caity.andrews/R7XuTS6mOSI/AAAAAAAABSQ/06N9NAvV1I0/VDay2008Necklace.jpg?imgmax=512"><br /><br />And My Man loved the engraved silver pocket watch I got for him. :)<br /><br />This weekend consists of:<br />-Friday Night Waltz<br />-Hiking in Muir Woods (primarily because I need to go for an individual field trip for my California History class)<br />-Dinner and Dancing at a restaurant in Palo Alto that has ballroom dancing and live music! I'm going to treat this as my romantic Valentine's Day outing, since My Man was so exhausted yesterday that we ended up going to bed at 10:30 pm.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-25946850233646172662008-02-11T17:57:00.000-08:002008-02-11T18:00:04.798-08:00Sigh.Feeling unimportant/useless/not moving forward/not a catch.<br /><br />What a winner I am. :(The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-11138311191744493452008-02-06T21:59:00.000-08:002008-02-06T22:36:24.281-08:00Why the Kitola is a good girlfriendMy Man called me, too weak from a flu that he's caught to go pick up OJ and some motrin at the Seven-Eleven that he lives next to. So I went around and got the OJ, Motrin, Sudafed (because I took most of his last weekend while I was sick), a thermometer (because he asked for one), Zicam (in case it really is just a cold), and some flowers. Poor guy, he was confining himself to bed....and although he felt better than when he called me, his fever was still 100.3. He wouldn't let me get too close, just in case I hadn't given him the crud that I had and it was something completely different.<br /><br />But yeah, last week we were both sick...him with a cold, and me with something ickier. Either an ubercold, or a mild flu (But I got my flu shot when they were being offered!...but I was sweaty one night and achey, so maybe it was something ickier). Anyway, we for some reason thought we had the same thing...since they hit around the same time...so there was no acting like either of us had the plague. Lots of flop-cuddling, movie watching, etc. So maybe I did give it to him. :( I hope not. And mostly I hope he gets well soon!<br /><br />Let's see, haven't updated for awhile. Well, long story short, two weekends ago we went to Tahoe so that I could learn how to cross-country ski. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/TahoeJan2008">Photos!</a><br /><br />Just started my final undergrad semester at SJSU. Graduating in May. Eek.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-44119675503373488602008-01-14T10:30:00.000-08:002008-01-14T10:32:12.371-08:00My Weekend!<span style="font-weight:bold;">Friday:</span> Okay, I was feeling really crappy during the day on Friday, but thankfully my mood managed to get lifted eventually. I grabbed some lunch at a local chinese place, but it apparently was too spicy or something, because my digestive system decided to make me incredibly burpy and uncomfortable. I couldn't even enjoy all of the yummy turkey burger sandwiches that My Man made for dinner. We went for a walk after sitting for a bit, which helped with my stomach a bit, and picked up some DVDs to watch. We got back and popped in Spiderman 3, which neither of us had seen yet.....and I gotta say: I'm SO glad we saw it at home rather than in a theater. I kept wanting to punch the characters in the noses for doing dumb things. Hehe.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Saturday:</span> After a good night's sleep, I felt 100 times better on Saturday morning. After (eventually) getting out of bed, we grabbed some food and set off to the Berkley Wassail. We ended up getting there at about 2 pm, which was in time to say hi at the stop and head off to the next one. I have no complaints with singins and snacking pretty much all day long, and we met some new people that were quite fun to torment. I mean torment in a nice way, of course. :) After we hung out at the last stop for awhile, we went to Saturday(Friday) Night Waltz for the first time. It was fun, though I think I prefer the Friday Night Waltz in Palo Alto. Maybe it just feels more like home. :) <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunday:</span> Get up at about 9, have some breakfast, throw ourselves together, and out into the world we go to hike at <a href="http://www.nps.gov/pinn/">Pinnacles!</a> I had never been, so it was quite an adventure to me. The weather was GREAT...about 60-something throughout the day while we were doing most of the hike. We hiked about 8-9 miles, I guess, but we also climbed around on the really cool rocks. Well, My Man climbed around more than I did...since I'm still pretty cowardly about it...but he did manage to get me to climb up on a big rock! Hand hold and foot hold climbing, and even though I kinda froze and had a bit of a panic attack when I had a few slips, he kept talking me through it and helped me to the top. Which was GREAT for me, honestly...that'll definitely help me over come the irrational fear I have of climbing things like that. Maybe I'll be able to climb with ropes and stuff someday, like the folk we saw.<br /><br />There were parts of the hike where there were "stairs" carved into the rocks...basically, it was kinda like someone dug foot-holds into the big mountain, put a railing next to it, and you basically climbed up it like it was a ladder (definitely not enough foot space to be thought of as stairs). These were fine, though a little daunting to look at, for going up....but going down, they were kinda terrifying! There's a great photo that My Man took of me heading up these stairs from behind, and you can check that out in the pictures I've uploaded.<br /><br />We also came across some caves that were mostly closed off due to the season, but they were fun to climb around in, even if they were freezy cold. I could actually see my breath!<br /><br />Animals that we saw: Lots of ground squirrels, quail, a California Condor, and a coyote!! The condor was really cool, but I was SO jazzed about the coyote. I wanted to CUDDLE it.<br /><br />Here are the pictures from the hike: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/PinnaclesHike2008">Lookit all of the big rocks!</a><br /><br />After the hike, we stopped in Gilroy for dinner and headed home. First thing I did was take a shower to wash up, then turned it into a hot bath so I could just sit and soak in the warmth. A hot tub would've felt a lot better, but the tub was good enough. :) I stayed in there for about 30-45 minutes before I got out, threw on my robe and curled up by the fire with some decaf Vanilla Chai tea to read as My Man did some work on his laptop. <br /><br />I got so warm and cosy that I accidentally dozed off at about 10 pm or so....and woke up at almost 10:30 to find My Man trying to put a false mustache on my face. The twit! ;-) Good thing I woke up before he managed it and was able to take a picture of it. That'll teach me to fall asleep before he does. :) I'll have to start bringing props now to threaten to do the same thing to him, now. Hehe.<br /><br />VERY good weekend, over all. Tomorrow, though, I have to go to the dentist. Blargh!The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-80941722721283672982008-01-01T23:46:00.000-08:002008-01-01T23:49:37.434-08:00End of the Year UpdatesOn the 28th, I went to a surprise party for my brother. I had to drive to Sacramento for the first time ever, and EYUCH the 2.5 hour drive was killer for me to do alone. <br /><br />My Man returned from Hawaii on the 29th, after having a great time snorkling/scuba diving, and brought me a necklace of freshwater pearls. I missed him an awful lot, and there was much happiness and hugs around. :) I missed him an awful lot.<br /><br />The 30th was when I went to my friend's wedding. That was probably the most surreal part of the weekend, primarily due to the fact that it was one of the friends in my core high school group who's married now -- and she's the first one to do so. Ha, my friend J.A. is next, and that'll be half of the group. Kinda weird that the events are happening within a year of each other. Anyway, the wedding was very pretty and it was nice spending a day with My Man, B-Bear, as well as J.A. and her fiance. After the wedding and (rather long) reception, we all went and saw Sweeney Todd at the movie theater. The Man posted the photos and video I took from the wedding <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/jeremy.friedenthal/CaitysFriendJillsWeddingDec2007/">here</a><br /><br />For New Year's Eve, My Man and I went out to Palo Alto where there was a ball put on by the <a href="http://www.paulpriceorchestra.com/">Paul Price Orchestra</a>. The mother of my friend who got married plays the violin for them, so my friend invited us to go along and hang out with them for the new year. The dancing was a lot of fun, even though I eventually danced myself into acquiring paaainful legs. The countdown sorta sucked, though. I barely heard him say "okay, 10 seconds..............2, 1..." and then the band played Auld Lang Syne. We all had a bit of the "WTF where was the countdown?" moment, but whatever. It was still a lot of fun. :)<br /><br />Looking forward to seeing what 2008 holds for me. Goodness knows 2007 was pretty eventful!The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-66361712202490880412007-12-10T17:28:00.000-08:002007-12-10T17:30:34.192-08:00Knishmas Party!My Man and I threw a party this past Saturday. A very fun party. It took DAYS to throw together, and we were taking it apart well into the night and today.<br /><br />I am sooooo tired from the weekend. It was incredibly busy and high energy, save for today, and it's draining on a person.<br /><br />So, instead of recapping...here's my pictures from the event! I only just got them resized and uploaded.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/Knishmas2007">Nightmare Before Knishmas, 2007!</a><br /><br />Note: Those photos don't include the ones a friend of ours took of the destruction of the gingerbread houses....we basically put them up to a load bearing test. :D<br /><br />Note 2: I gave My Man his holiday gift after everyone left. It was a photo book of all of our events from the past year, and when I say "photo book"...I mean I found a program for putting together a book, and then you order it and it comes to you as an actual bound book with the photos all printed in it. He really liked it. :)The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-50397769047167007792007-12-02T16:39:00.000-08:002007-12-02T16:41:13.704-08:00Thoughts on a friendWent to the opera last night with My Man....and aside from yesterday being one of <i>those</i> days (meaning our cart disappeared at Target, horrible crowded at dinner, terrible parking in San Jose), it was a fairly nice time. The singers were good, and my opera friend was extremely animated and a joy to watch on stage.<br /><br />However, after the show we went to Il Fornaio with her and some other performers from the opera, which is where she said she needed to call a friend, that I wasn't to tell any embarassing/gossipy stories from high school....and then proceeded to disappear. For about 20 to 30 minutes. Naturally, I felt completely ditched by her. Even her friends from the show leaned over at one point and said something along the lines of "apparently the dirt you have on her is that she ignores her friends" and they felt bad for us.<br /><br />Found out afterwards that she ran into one of the donors for the opera....which is apparently a huge thing, because if you get the donors to favor you they'll fund you in more shows. The opera folk then understood the networking she had to do and brushed off the disappearance.<br /><br />I guess I can understand it too. It's just.....I've already played second fiddle, or lower, to someone's career before with my ex (and I'm so glad I'm out of that relationship, let me tell you...feeling like an afterthought or a burden sucks ass). I just never thought I'd have to go through that with one of my friends. And as much as I've commented about her diva personality, her occasional self-centered-ness, with another friend of our's....it just really hurt, moreso than with my ex actually. Even when I commented that I've come to expect that sort of treatment from her, it doesn't make it easier on me. It's so frustrating, and I don't know if I'm over reacting or not, but it just....really upsets me when someone who has dubbed me one of her best friends (even with the clarifier of "from high school") seems to write off my company like that.<br /><br />::sighs, wipes eyes::<br /><br />Anyway. At least there was My Man to help me regain some of the feeling of being loved after that.<br /><br />In other news....My Man gave me a key to his condo. :)The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-72041083961992105932007-11-12T08:52:00.000-08:002007-11-12T08:53:35.051-08:00Dinner last night with My ManMenu: <br />Rosemary + Garlic lamb chops<br />Green beans and red potatoes sautee'd in the same flavors<br />Spinach salad<br />Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes for dessert<br /><br />Ambiance: <br />Instead of eating at the table, I set up a velour blanket in front of the fireplace, with a fire going and some tea candles lit, which is where we had dinner while soft jazz was playing on the CD player -- UTTERLY romantic when My Man started improvising love songs to the music. <br /><br />The dogs were, obviously, outside...but the cat was welcome due to being quiet and affectionate without pushing her way into our plates.<br /><br />Successful? Very much so! It was a very nice evening, and nothing burned or was undercooked. Overall, I'm thrilled with how the evening went (aside from the dogs having gotten pushy and loud on trying to get my attention to come back in).The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-6200801260099399972007-11-09T15:23:00.000-08:002007-11-09T15:41:39.163-08:00What's Cooking?I am! Well, I will be. My parents are going out of town this weekend (for my aunt's funeral...I'm taking care of the pets), and while they're away I'm going to make dinner for My Man (formally known as "The Boy"). It's taken me the better part of a day to come up with a menu, but I'm fairly proud of it!<br /><br />Rosemary & Garlic lamb chops (think I might try to find boneless)<br />Red potatoes and green beans cooked in the same flavors<br />Salad (thinking Spinach salad)<br /><br />And for dessert, I'm going to make Chocolate Molten Cakes.<br /><br />At least, that's the plan. Hopefully, it won't turn into giving up and ordering in. It's my first grown up dinner I'll plan and make all on my own. I don't know how people plan meals weeks in advance.<br /><br />I also just ordered the very special super secret gift for My Man. I'd tell you all what it is, but in case he's poking around here as well, I don't want to give away the surprise. But I'll make sure to go into detail after it's given, and post pictures.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-16442521004714053842007-11-05T17:46:00.000-08:002007-11-05T17:58:34.938-08:00Halloween and Things!Sorry for delays -- I've been busy with various things, including preparing for Halloween (my next project is preparing for a party The Boy and I will be throwing in December).<br /><br />First off, a few weeks ago I went and worked the final Renaissance Faire in the season up in Folsom (near Sacramento) with The Boy. Had a lot of fun there, and located a few photos that others have taken and put them all <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/FolsomFaire2007">here</a>. <br /><br />For Halloween, we went to the DNA Lounge in San Francisco in our costumes. To see what we were, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/Halloween2007">check out my album of Halloween photos!</a><br /><br />And finally, this past weekend we went to a Ranch in Napa Valley that my family is members of for the weekend! We spent Saturday at the ranch relaxing, riding horses, and taking a hike. On Sunday, we left and went for a much more strenuous hike in a places called "Cold Creek Canyon," I believe. Today, my thighs are kiiiiiilling me. So much pain to go up and down stairs, but the hike was gorgeous. Once again, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/RRanch2007">I have pictures!</a> After the hike, we grabbed dinner with some friends and headed home for the 2 hour drive.<br /><br />Tonight, there's a meeting with the Shoestring Theater Company's board of directors to pick next summer's show. Hopefully it'll be the one I really want!<br /><br />Hope everyone reading this is well and good. Sorry I've been so sporadic with updating.<br /><br />P.S. Working on a super secret, but hopefully super special gift for The Boy as a combined holiday/anniversary gift. You know, it's about 1 year exactly since our first date...time has flown!The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-5766351985422174052007-09-21T10:22:00.000-07:002007-09-21T10:24:21.574-07:00Tomales Bay PicturesHere's an album full of pictures taken from the kayaking trip. Look away!<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/KayakingTripTomalesBay">http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/KayakingTripTomalesBay</a>The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-71398847508319936572007-09-18T22:19:00.001-07:002007-09-18T22:19:32.217-07:00Think I'll go for a walk outside, now...The Boy left work early today, since it was his last day at HP (Yay for starting a new job! He's excited)....so he gave me a call at around 2:30 to see if I wanted to go for a hike. Of COURSE I did! I was feeling so restless yesterday that it was about to drive me crazy, so it was wonderful to get out and get my restless legs moving. We went up to Almaden Quicksilver and tromped around there for awhile, all the way to where the mining was. We even went through this little deer path thing between some bushes into this "fairy land" area....it was all clear and there were trees all around it. You could see single strands of spider webs glistening in the sunlight that came through the trees, and you could tell no one had really walked around in there. It was so peaceful! I wish there hadn't been so much poison oak around there so we could've stuck around. <br /><br />Well, we got to the top-area (as far as we were going to go, in order to beat the sun back) and had our sandwiches for a little picnic hanging out on the ground. It was very nice, and we turned around once we were done to head back.<br /><br />So, speaking of poison oak, we brushed against some of it while climbing around on rocks and scurrying down areas that weren't quite a trail....so when we got back, we had to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/POISON-CLEANER-TECNU-oak-n-ivy-bottle/dp/B000KA3ROQ/ref=sr_1_12/104-7890918-1355108?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1190178475&sr=1-12">Tecnu</a> ourselves up before showering. I love all of the Then there was much flop-cuddling and tea sipping. <br /><br />All in all, an extremely calming afternoon/evening. My legs are definitely feeling it -- but also REALLY needed it. I feel great. LOVE all of the outdoorsy stuff.<br /><br /><u>Animals we saw:</u><br />Pheasants! They took off from the brush next to us.<br />A cute little lizard that was thin and long -- I think more tail than body<br />Lots of tenny yellow birds<br />A few dear near the end -- I saw a buck while we were driving out of the areaThe Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-37840310732505587312007-09-10T18:43:00.000-07:002007-09-10T18:44:34.152-07:00Into The BlueSo, on Friday The Boy and I left for a weekend long kayaking trip in Tamales Bay. We left and met up with four other folk Friday evening at a really cute little hostel (<a href="http://www.norcalhostels.org/reyes/">Pt. Reyes Hostel</a>) -- which, although it was cute, the beds were too hard for me and I couldn't sleep too well. Anyway, the hostel is out in the middle of nowhere and is right where there's some great hiking. On our way up, we passed really close by some <a href="http://sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/aug/elkinfo.html">tule elk</a> (which were also all around our campsite later on), and after we got there we learned how to play the game "Citadels."<br /><br />Saturday, we pick up our permits, 4 dozen oysters, then got our kayaks and went off to paddle around in the bay to our campsite -- and went through a huge grouping of jelly fish! So cool. Anyway, first we stopped off at an abandoned artist colony where there was a rope swing to play around and explore. It was really cool to look around in the abandoned houses and to see what all was still there -- I actually found a letter in one of the houses from 1995, so they've been abandoned for at least 12 years -- and it was interesting to see how much the plantlife took over the houses in just that amount of time. One of the houses had these gorgeous vines hanging through the roof into an upstairs room (later found out to be poison oak, to the dismay of others). <br /><br />Eventually, we got to our beach at low tide and hauled the kayaks up to the high tide point. With the space the fire circle already made there took up, there was just enough space for our four tents when the tide came up to the highest point. We sat around for a bit enjoying the wine that was brought before going on a hike, which was a little challenging at first due to the wine, but it got easier. We found a big group of tule elk and sat on a hill to watch them wander around and call out to each other. They sounded amazingly cool.<br /><br />Dinner on Saturday was shrimp salad, olive bread, and raw oysters. Yes, I tried an oyster....but it was hard getting past the idea that it is (A) alive when you crack it open, and (B) possibly still alive when you swallow it. It was extremely salty, but that probably was partly due to the point that I tipped most of the liquids out -- which included the lemon juice. After dinner, we sat around and sang songs until around 10:30 or 11:00 at night, when we all decided to crash. Before going to bed, though, I pointed out the bioluminescence in the bay at the water's edge to a few folk. I was apparently the one person who had seen it before (thank you Catalina trip in 8th grade) and when I heard that the bay was bioluminescent, I made a point to remember to poke around at the water with a stick. It caused the plankton to light up and trail the stick like magic sparks. It's soooo purty.<br /><br />Sunday, everyone stayed in the tents for awhile before getting out to have breakfast at the fire circle. We put off the inevitable of putting back on our wet suits (I would just like to say "ICK!" at this point), but eventually had to as we had to get going. We got our stuff together and into the kayaks -- which was thankfully when the tide was coming back in, so we didn't have to drag them so far -- and cast off into the bay again. We diddled around in the water for a long time, stopping for lunch at one point, and eventually got back to the kayak rental place at 2 or so in the afternoon. It felt reeeeally good to get out of the wetsuit and into the car.<br /><br />We stopped in Pt. Reyes Station at a bakery -- chai and a peanut butter blondie tasted heavenly at that time -- and hung out as a group one last time before parting ways. The Boy and I hung around the town a bit -- including taking a nap in a grassy area -- before heading home. First thing we did when we got back was slather ourselves in Technu to (hopefully) prevent any poison oak reactions, and took a shower. Oh my GOD that shower was freakin' awesome. I felt soooo good afterwards, even if my shoulders were killing me at the time. Dinner was at Fresh Choice, then we rented the movie <b>Neverwas</b> to watch back at home. VERY nice movie, and I reccomend it.<br /><br />My shoulders still hurt and want a massage like woah, but I'm VERY happy with the outing. I had a lot of fun and look forward to more adventures.The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-65209550372137811092007-09-05T16:37:00.000-07:002007-09-05T17:02:42.648-07:00Wow. Long time no update.Sorry! I got so busy with the show and everything else that I sorta...blanked on this site. Um, I'll update with bullet points here, I guess.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Lark Camp -</span><br /><a href="http://www.larkcamp.com">Lark Camp website</a><br />Over all, had a very good time, though parts were overwhelming and hard, but I'm all the better for it I bet. And definitely had the absolute BEST birthday ever while there. The hard/overwhelming stuff were mostly my own emotional issues with feeling like I'd been "ditched" whenever The Boy went off to play really late at night and I had to go to bed due to working the coffee shop the next morning and having to get up. It all got talked out, though, so we're good. :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Camping -</span><br />I went camping with The Boy and his parents for a few days a while ago, a week or so before school started. It was a lot of fun, and fairly relaxing. We stayed at a little camp area called "Little Basin" -- right next to Big Basin -- that is currently owned by HP (where The Boy works for now -- he's changing jobs), so only employees and guests of them are the only ones who stay there. The best part? We were there during the meteor shower! The Boy and I stayed out late on a dock and watched the meteors. It was great. There were a few that went across the whole sky and left long trails of star dust. Beautiful.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- School and Jobs -</span><br />I'm graduating next spring. Lots of papers to write this semester. Yeep. And The Boy is leaving his job at HP to go work at <a href="http://www.zvents.com">Zvents</a>. It's a great site for looking up events. Try it out! Tell your friends! Pimp the start-up that my man's going to be working for.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Summer Musical: Children of Eden -</span><br />The show's over, and I'm still sad about it. I'll post a link to a photo album once I have one made up. I just really miss all of the people, from the six year olds throwing themselves at me for hugs to the 62 year olds doing the same thing, and it hasn't even been a full week since the show ended. Le sigh.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Upcoming Events -</span><br />- Weekend long Kayak trip this weekend<br />- Cast party for Children of Eden (date not set yet)<br />- Possible rock climbing outing with The Boy, practicing on a wall of course, since I'm a n00b.<br />- White Water Rafting is possible sometime, but hopefully it won't be too cold when it's decided.<br />- Renaissance Faire opens this weekend, will have to check that out at least once.<br /><br /><br />Um, I guess that's all for now. Is anyone still checking this site? :PThe Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-16325374906062178172007-07-08T21:27:00.000-07:002007-07-08T21:35:14.629-07:00Who would do that?What type of boyfriend runs you a hot steamy bath when you've been cold and shivery all evening, leaves you yummy smelling shampoo and soap, lights the room only with candles, and plays Enya music while you soak and warm up? And then makes you tea and lets you have the soft velour robe when you get out?<br /><br />...Only the best kind, of course.<br /><br />So head over heels, here...♥ ♥ ♥The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320126.post-64567985565925926072007-06-11T16:54:00.000-07:002007-06-11T17:23:18.745-07:00Valhalla Renaissance Faire -- 2 weekends, 1 update!<span style="font-weight:bold;">Weekend the first:</span><br />I got to roll around in the dirt!!<br /><br />Okay, so there was more to Valhalla than that, but it was still a highlight. Best moments include:<br /><br />- Getting to meet new people who I totally clicked with. <br />- Peeking out of my shy-shell in a few of the bits that I was involved in.<br />- The beggar in the streets of the faire just made me smile. Adorable like a filthy little puppy, he was!<br />- Spitting contests with cherry pits. I'm not very good, but I participated!<br />- Balancing a cabbage on my head while walking through the faire.<br />- Kick the cabbage! Thankfully, it wasn't on my head. ;)<br />- Singing in the streets<br />- Getting to be pulled through and learn some dances with the Merrie Pryanksters....SO much fun. I want to learn all of them!<br />- Taking a moment to see Lake Tahoe -- which I'd never ever seen before -- and I could see Nevada from the shore!<br />- The stars at night were GORGEOUS.<br />- Sitting at the campfire and singing<br />- And, of course, getting to spend the whole weekend in the wonderfully fun setting with my favorite fella.<br /><br />Granted, I did have a moment where I felt a little overwhelmed and had to hide at camp for a minute. And I was still only peeking out of my shy shell, spent a lot of time observing. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weekend the second:</span><br />So, aside from the expected rolling in the dirt, here's a sum-up of what happened this weekend.<br /><br />1) BEARS. There were apparently like, 6 bears (including a mama and two cubs) that decided to start wandering through the faire and campsites at night. I never saw one, but I had seen the security folk walking around through the camps with tranquilizer guns and flashlights whenever they heard reports of one near by. I also heard other camps make lots and lots of noise whenever there was one that came near by. And apparently, one of them got into the food booths and knocked over the fry vat because the oil smelled yummy. Who knew bears liked fried onion!<br /><br />2) The Boy and I were pretty much it for the St. Helenas peasant guild, so mostly it was chilling out and enjoying the faire, rather than gigging.<br /><br />3) Boba Fett showed up at a campfire during the after hours party and sang "I wanna be a cowboy" before waltzing along with "Waltzing with Bears." Know who was under that costume? The beggar! I believe I mentioned him last time as one of my favorite bits of faire atmosphere.<br /><br />4) I learned how to use a drop spindle to spin yarn out of wool! Hopefully I can get one soon and can do that while sitting around at faire either on my own or with The Boy while singing.<br /><br />5) I got attacked by a sign. ::rubs head:: I was sitting with The Boy while he was singing, with my eyes closed to enjoy the music without distraction, when a huge gust of wind came and knocked over a large sign that was next to us. The Boy stuck up his arm to block it, but the corner still managed to smack into my head and startled the hell out of me -- it could've been a LOT worse, so many thanks to my hero for playing defense! Anyway, because I yelled and started to tear up -- because damn, it did hurt and startle me -- people kept coming over going "OMGOMGOMG ARE YOU OAKY??" and alerting the EMT people on site.....ugh. It just embarassed me, since it was just a little lump and red mark. It took what felt like 5 minutes (an eternity if you're incredibly embarassed and just getting more upset by the embarassment) to get people to let it be and go away. Anyway, I'm fine. Still a bit red and tender on my noggin, but fine.<br /><br />All in all, a very good weekend still! I really have enjoyed this experience and hope soooo much to continue doing this sort of thing. Oh, and those new boots I got last week worked SO much better for my poor feetsies.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Photos!</span><br />Here ya go, take a look at my weekend! No, the color coordinating between The Boy and I was not planned. More of my favorite pictures (ganked from a site with over 1300 from the first weekend) can be found in this photo gallery of mine: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/caity.andrews/ValhallaFaire2007">Valhalla Faire 2007</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh3.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQCIm5WtI/AAAAAAAAAWY/CfcPCbcah6A/PeasantPileNap.jpg?imgmax=512"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://lh3.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQCIm5WtI/AAAAAAAAAWY/CfcPCbcah6A/PeasantPileNap.jpg?imgmax=512" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh5.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQGom5WyI/AAAAAAAAAXA/lwWWVGfZWgw/Singing3.jpg?imgmax=512"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://lh5.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQGom5WyI/AAAAAAAAAXA/lwWWVGfZWgw/Singing3.jpg?imgmax=512" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh5.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQHom5WzI/AAAAAAAAAXI/RzlP0sdkndM/SleepyBoy.jpg?imgmax=512"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://lh5.google.com/image/caity.andrews/RmmQHom5WzI/AAAAAAAAAXI/RzlP0sdkndM/SleepyBoy.jpg?imgmax=512" border="0" alt="" /></a>The Kitolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819051163404211470noreply@blogger.com0