The Kari AnnAlysis

Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category

It’s Valentine’s Day! A holiday that women look forward to and men dread because there is so much pressure! I’ve been trying to decide just what I wanted to write about on this Valentine’s Day. I thought about the first gift I ever remember getting from a Valentine, a 14 karat gold necklace in Kindygarten. I thought about the commercialism of the holiday and how it has blown completely out of proportion. I thought about how I am lucky to have a husband who doesn’t need to splurge on Valentine’s Day, although he always does, because I am treated like a queen the other 364 days of the year.

But then, Whitney Houston died. Yes, I know that is not a very happy Valentine’s Day post… or so it seems on the surface. But when you look just beneath the surface you find this

This my friends, in my opinion, is one of the greatest love songs of all time. This song was actually released by Dolly Parton in 1974, but that was a bit before my time. So I am quite fond of the Whitney Houston song, that I have been listening to since it’s release in 1994, when I was 8 years old. I remember the movie fondly, it’s always been one of my mom’s favorites. And I remember sitting in the car, doing my best to hit the high note in this song, never having any luck. I am a horrible singer. I even remember one road trip where I was so proud of how close I was to the note, just for my cousin Craig to tell me I wasn’t really close at all. Yes, I guess I am holding a grudge against him nearly 20 years later for this.

I was at my cousin Lisa’s house on Saturday when it was announced that Whitney had died. We had just finished up a marathon Just Dance competition when I got the AP Alert on my phone. I think it was kind of fitting that I was with Lisa. She has been a Whitney fan since I can remember, thought the good years and bad, and would have been the first person I thought of when I heard the news. We spent the night listening to the Top 10 Whitney Songs that I found online and watching CNN and Twitter for the latest news.

During out little Whitney-a-thon, I really listened and thought about all the great love songs she sang, from I Will Always Love You to The Greatest Love of All.

In Whitney’s honor, I have had her Pandora station running non-stop for a couple of days now. And let me tell you what, that station is so fitting for Valentine’s Day. From Whitney, to Toni Braxton, to Mariah Carey, to Michael Jackson, the love songs on the Whitney Pandora station are endless and unfortunately it took her death for me to realize how much love her music spread. Much like when the Christmas holiday rolls around, I really get into the holiday spirit with music, I am the same way with Valentine’s Day. I can listen to love songs all the time… well most of the time. Some days I need something a little more upbeat. But this year, I just can’t turn it off.

So what is your favorite love song? Whether it be one that reminds you of your loved one, helps you get through a break up, or is just one that whenever you hear it, you crank it and sing it at the top of your lungs and always feel better when it’s over.

If you are looking for some good love songs, let me suggest cranking the Whitey Houston station on your Pandora Radio, or even checking out the Love Songs station, which also is fabulous for a day like today.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite love songs:
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
Making Memories of Us” by Keith Urban (our wedding song)
At Last” by Etta James (this was performed at our wedding by my maid of honor)

Also check out this list of the Top Love Songs. There are some classics on here, but others that fit the bill that I never thought of.

So I am going to round out this post with a Happy Valentine’s Day wish to my Valentine, my very loving husband, who should receive an award for just putting up with me on a daily basis. And Happy Valentine’s Day to you my readers!! xoxo

I tried to look for a picture to go along with this post, a little cartoon with germies that signified the stomach bug. But I only got a few pictures in and they started making me nauseous. So, no pictures. It’s better for us all.

I honestly can’t tell you the last time I have had the stomach bug. I tend to be more of the sinus type of girl, and have gotten pretty good (if I say so myself) at detecting them and nipping them in the bud before they are fully involved (thanks to Extra Strength Mucinex).

This past weekend, my husband and I, and all of my dad’s side of the family went to a birthday party for my cousin’s little boy. He turned one, his brother helped him open presents, we played with lots of babies, it was great birth control.

Sunday went by just fine…until 4:45 Monday morning. That’s when I woke up with an upset stomach. A few minutes later, my husband tells me he also was not feeling so hot. We both took the day off. I spent the day in bed, he spent the day on the couch. I can’t watch TV when I’m sick, it makes it worse.

Monday afternoon, I found out we weren’t the only ones who got the bug. 10 others got sick from the time we left the party until Monday.

Tuesday, I woke up, feeling a little better, got a shower, tried to eat some toast and just couldn’t kick it. I had to stay home another day, so did my husband. But we weren’t the only ones. The sick total was then up to 16, including my poor little brother, who is a diabetic and immediately taken to the emergency room when sick, to keep his blood sugar in order.

Tuesday was better. I only stayed in bed half the day, was able to eat a couple of pieces of toast and a couple of bowls of soup and get down some Gatorade, a major improvement from the day before.

Today, I got up, after a night of restless sleep. My bed is normally a place of rest and comfort. I don’t have a TV in my room. When I go to bed, it’s to go to bed. I will read or knit, but it’s my sanctuary, my wind down time. But after two days in bed, it was the last place I wanted to be. But I got a few short hours and was feeling better, so I am back at work today.

But the sick toll keeps on climbing. I called my dad this morning, my morning commute ritual, and he is the latest one to catch the bug, upping the number to 20, I believe. Oy vey!

My mom says that when she took my brother to the hospital, a worker there was saying that they had to shut down an entire wing because this thing kept spreading like wildfire.

What a mess! Good news though, I have my appetite back and am munching on crackers to keep my energy up, my pal at work is getting me a Gatorade before she comes in, and the awesome winter boots I ordered were at work waiting for me when I got in. Now the question remains, are we going to have winter this year so I can wear them?

Have you been hit by the stomach bug this year?? Other than sleeping it off, what’s your remedy??

I know Wordless Wednesdays are supposed to be wordless, so I am going to keep this one short and sweet on words with my new favorite picture.

This is a picture of my Grandpa Bear (front left) walking with my Uncle Rick (front right) that was taken more than 50 years ago. We found this picture at my Grandma Bear’s house on Saturday, January 7. I immediately fell in love with it. I am always looking for pictures of my grandpa, who passed away more than a decade ago.

My Uncle Rick, AKA Ricky Dicky Ding Dong, has been battling cancer for a year now and started losing the battle last week. We all got together to be with him in his final days. Sunday, January 8, he passed away around 7:30. Now, he and my Grandpa Bear will walk together again for eternity.

RIP Uncle Rick! Your positive attitude is something I will always remember and try to mimic. You were an amazing man who will never be forgotten

I went in to 2011 with high hopes and now that it’s over, I could not be any happier! Although there were some bright spots in the form of babies that made the year special, it wasn’t the greatest for me and I’m ready to ring in a new year with even higher hopes.

Last year, I made a big list of things I wanted to do. It included finishing the books I was writing, taking lots of pictures, baking, saving money… the list went on and on. I accomplished some of them, but there were some that fell wayside. This year, I am keeping it easy. My only goal this year is to put some money into savings.

About every other year, I get on this big kick and want to do a whole lot that will make myself a better person….or at least think will make me a better person. But it ends up that I just make a whole bunch of To-Do lists that change weekly with my moods and projects.

Yes, this year, I will hopefully continue to keep up with my blog regularly and up the number of books I read and learn more knitting patterns and not give up on my writing. It’s about time to start sending out my letter to agents again. But, those are all things that are givens in my life. I don’t need reminders to do things I like.

That’s why I am changing it up and making one little list SAVE MONEY!!! And I may write really small underneath it that I need to work out through the winter months too….not only walking in the summer.

What do your New Year’s Resolutions include this year??? Are you going big? Or are you going small like me…well a small list with hopefully a big outcome….

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! In my 25 years, I believe this was my favorite Christmas ever! At one time, Christmas was one of my least favorite holidays, but thanks to my amazing husband, I am back in the Christmas spirit.

We had six Christmases in two days and all of them went off without a hitch!

Here are some highlights of my holidays:

This is my Christmas sweater! For several days, I wore Goodwill sweaters with pearls and snowmen and all the bells and whistles, but this sweater is serious. My husband is an avid deer hunter and when I found it, I fell in love. I needed it! It was a very awesome present from my dad that I wore the rest of Christmas Eve!

This is little man Logan shooting his gun! He is my cousin’s son and three years old. Last year, we told his parents that we were going to get him a Red Ryder BB Gun. Logan looks just like Ralphie, he NEEDED one! So this year, we got it for him (along with the awesome camo rain boots he is wearing). And let me tell ya, this boy rocked it! He had to have a little help because it took both hands to pull the trigger, but he hit the target his first shot. I shot twice and missed both times lol. I’m a lousy shot compared to a three year old. The best part, we recorded a video on my phone so we could send it to my mom and tell her what he got. I asked him who got the BB Gun for him and he said, “Michael and Kari because my yuv them.” It brought tears to my eyes. He is such a loving little guy.

Yes, I am wearing antlers in this picture…and a mustache. The antlers were another gift we got for Logan, but they made their way around to most of the family. The mustache was one of several I won in the gift exchange. We do a $5 gag gift white elephant exchange. Then you put a $25 gift card in the bottom of the bag. Whatever gag gift you end up with is the gift card you end up with…although we do a lot of trading when it’s all said and done. We started this a few years back and I took a coffee mug that said “Coffee Makes Me Poop”. Everyone else brought nice gifts, but now everyone has jumped on the silly wagon with me. Someone got a bright orange chicken that sits in your kitchen, someone (my dad) got a bright lime green piece of plastic that is three feet tall and shaped like a kid to warn people that kids are in the area. Oh it was such a fun event, until it was time to take family pictures and my mustache had to come off. I was fully prepared for my husband to pull it off, until he did and it brought tears to my eyes. My upper lip burned for 5-10 minutes. Remember that before you sport the stache.

These little babies are two of my amazing gifts I got this year. Hubs and I got a mini Keurig coffee pot and my amazing awesome terrific fabulous husband got me a KitchenAid mixer. I was so excited I cried a little when I opened it. Notice the red! We also have red dishes. Yippee!

I will be the first one to say that I am very spoiled. My husband goes out of his way to surprise me and give me the most amazing presents every year at Christmas. Once we got married, he stepped right in where my parents left off, but at Christmas they step back into that role too. But, the part about being spoiled is that I appreciate their generosity more than they will ever know. They have all received several hugs and texts and verbal thank yous that will continue every time I use the new toys (except my dad….he would probably get tired of the thanks every time I turn on our tv).

 This year is a little different than the other years when it comes to presents. I made several presents this year for my family. I will do another post on that soon. I made my dad a wreath from wine corks and a button lamp that looks like Santa’s suit. I made my mom a picture book from our wedding and a picture thing with her last name on it. I was so excited to see the looks on the faces of my family as they opened their handmade gifts. Maybe if I start knitting now, I can give them all a nice, warm, knitted something next year! I also hope I can come up with good enough ideas to top this year! Let the planning begin!

How was your Christmas? Any big surprises? Did you make anything extra special?????