🔆 Back at it like... well... just back at it. 🔆🔆

Last week was our annual FL trip to see the family. We didn't get to go last year because D had two surgeries, our pups had some veterinary things, and well... shit be expensive. Needless to say, we were well do for some Sunshine State family time.

And once again... the fam did not disappoint. 

We got to my MIL/FIL's house Saturday morning and by Saturday evening, we were at Mitch's bonfire, surrounded by live music (shout out to Silver Springs, FL band- Propaganjah!) and all kinds of people we love.

By Sunday, we were out at River Ranch riding quads and drinking booze. Ok... I only had one beer and a shot of Jack Fire but you get the idea. We were there for hours getting sunburned (peeling, party of one right over here), laughing until our sides hurt, and memorializing our dude... Dennis.

And let's not forget the family dinners (which by the way... you kids need to help your damn mama cook and clean more!), the family injuries (my Gatorbaby fractured his foot and my BIL, Brad, broke a rib), and the family talks (nothing beats early morning coffee with the in-laws!).

We stayed at his mom's Saturday through Tuesday and headed out to my other FIL's house on Wednesday morning. 

On the way over (it's about a three hour drive North), we even got to stop by and see my Uncle Wayne and visit with him for a couple hours! It was so good to see him and get to hang out for a bit. I (technically) have other members of my family that live in FL, but honestly, the only one I cared for seeing was Uncle Wayne. Most people don't see my Uncle the same way I see him. And I get it, he's very opinionated and set in his ways. However, he's never been anything but accepting of me and he truly makes me feel loved just for being myself. I'm 100% me and comfy around him and we both just go with the flow. We're different, and the same, and are just happy to be in each other's lives any which way we can. I love that dude and wish I lived closer so I could see him more often.

By Wednesday afternoon we were at my FIL's house and having a grand ole time. It's much more lowkey at Dev's dads house (he's a han solo liver like us), but we still love going and getting to hang out and spend time with him. More lowkey is not a bad thing for us and honestly, I feel like this trip was really good for all of us. We definitely needed it.

As always, the family teased and asked when we were moving back to FL. We hear it every time and they love to joke and mess with me about it. Ever since I moved out of FL when I was seventeen, I've always said I'll never move back. F*ck FL, right? I ain't going back! I've been talking mad shit for like going on twenty years now. And we all know how much I love to talk shit. 

But... I mean... I talked mad shit about never getting married for almost thirty years and now look at my ass. I f*cking love being married. My husband must think my favorite f*cking meal is crow or something, because I be eating it left right and center when it comes to him. The truth is, we have no plans for moving back. Ok... not "no plans" but no plans in the near future. I know we will, because honestly, if I said let's move today, my hubby would have been packed three days ago. He misses his family... hell, I miss his family. And this trip around, really cemented the fact that yes, one day, we will be going back. 

We always say we're not staying here the rest of our lives. City life is just simply not for me... I do it because I have to but do I like it? No... I never have. I moved here for Momma, and while I don't regret it, it's also not what I would have chosen if it was just me. Truthfully, I want to live in f*ck all nowhere again and very few people have access to me. I want peace and happiness. That's what I want. Nothing fancy or expensive or extravagant. 

The only thing keeping us in Indy right now is my job. I simply can't justify walking away from the stability and amazing job that I have... I also can't leave my girl out to dry. I've been part of this team for going on twelve years and while that might not mean anything for some, it means something to me.

So no... we're not planning on moving back anytime soon. But yes... we are planning to move back someday. When that will be, I have no idea. Maybe retirement... maybe before then. Honestly, life has a way of throwing curve balls my way and one of these days I might say f*ck it and pull an Elizabeth Ann. TBD.

Afterall, with five acres waiting for us... it's something to look forward to. #ForeverHome

You know what we didn't anticipate this time around though? The fact that this past weekend was the Kentucky Derby. F*cking Louisville, amirite? We got beyond lucky when we came through because the highway was a clear and straight shot... but every single exit to get off the highway and into Louisville? F*ck that. Glad we were headed straight through. Although, I will say we watched the Derby with my FIL this year and we actually really enjoyed it. It's not really my thing... even being raised in damn near Kentucky, I'm just not that kind of Derby gal. I mean, I'm f*cking terrified of horses so why would I be about it? But, we had fun and it's added to my list of memories with dad.

So yeah... we had an amazing vacation and my ass 100% almost didn't come back. And this is the first time I said that and I truly mean it. We'll be (hopefully) heading back down in September for a couple days because my MIL is the f*cking best and got me JELLY ROLL tickets. Three days before Momma's 60th birthday and one month before mine and Dev's four year anniversary. Can I get a whoop whoop?!!

And now that we're back home, we have decided (well... Dev decided) that when I'm not at work, we are on vacation time. All about Katie all the time. And I have to say... I don't hate it!

It's already December 22nd and I left my mind somewhere in 2017.

Y'all, if my head wasn't attached, I'm pretty sure I would have misplaced or lost it by now (I got all the way to work this morning and realized I forgot my phone so I had to drive all the way back home just to pick it up and turn right around and come back). Between moving our company, the holidays rapidly approaching and everything in between, it's been a tiny bit.... stressful. Yeah, that's the word we'll go with. Stressful. Demanding. Trying. Nerve-racking. The list is eternal.

We accomplished moving our entire company this past Saturday and while we have the majority of it set up and can function like a legitimate business, there are still a million things to do and unpack. However, I now have more space in my office than I'll ever know what to do with and I LOVE it. I have issues with people being in my personal space, so the fact that I'm completely alone and people have to stand on one side with a counter in between us is my absolute dream. I don't much care for feeling like my back is open, but once we switched my desk around and I'm facing the other way with my back to the wall, it's much better. And I can roll my chair effortlessly across the floor. Score.

I lost a dear friend of mine this past Friday. In fact, he's the friend that I share the inside joke about the title of my blog with. I won't say much more about the subject, but I want everyone to know that I love this guy and he will forever be my little buddy and partner in crime. He may have only been two years younger than me, but he was the greatest little brother that I never had. I'll miss him terribly and can't even begin to imagine a world where he's not out there somewhere making inappropriate comments and sharing his hilariously honest opinions. I love you, JB.

As most people know (because I keep repeating it like it'll remind me and make treats magically appear), D and I decided to make our family/friends jerky and sweet treats for Christmas this year. His family always requests jerky and Momma and I used to have the tradition of making cookies/candies (aka "treats") every year, so we thought it might be nice. I haven't done anything like that since I lost Momma, but it really is one of my very favorite memories with her, so I have decided to keep it alive even if it is only for me. I'm all done with my portion of the presents (even though my BS balls didn't turn out right at all.... I'm going to try again another day!) and D is making his final batch of jerky tonight. When I go home today I'll get the people I work with (ie: Dani) together and then tomorrow I have to overnight D's family's packages out. Wish us luck.

What else happened this week? Oh, my brother almost cut his thumb off and between his two hands had to get twelve stitches. I told him to quit playing with those knives.... he didn't listen. My pups are still the most adorable thing on the planet and my entire world still revolves around my boys (husband + pups).

Oh! D and I figured out how much weight we've lost in the last year. While we weren't trying to lose weight, the fact that I most definitely needed to was ever prevalent. But, like the amazing husband he is, D doesn't care what size I am as long as I'm happy. He loves me regardless. I hadn't really put much thought into my weight loss, but people have been mentioning it to me a lot more and I found myself curious. When we got married I was 198 pounds (and yeah, at five foot that's ridiculous and I looked like a little pregnant mini-fridge. I attribute our wedding pictures to me looking like a walrus.) and now I am 152 pounds. For those of you that don't want to do the math, that's a 46 pound weight loss in a year. I don't know if that's good or not, but I feel better and I'm impressed with myself, so I'm taking it as a win.

Other than that, life has been regular and good, but also stressful and hectic. It's a balance that gets off tilter at times, but we manage and at the end of the day I get to curl up in my giant bed surrounded by my boys. So, life might be stressful, and at times incredibly sad, but it's also amazing and I'm so glad I get to do it with my soulmate.

Not to be dramatic or anything, but I'm going to ramble until it's break time.

I only work Monday through Wednesday this week and then I'm off Thursday through Sunday for Thanksgiving (I'm also solo in the office this week). To say that I'm excited for that prospect would be an understatement. I'm beyond excited. The thought of hanging out at my house with my hubby (when he's not working) and my pups makes me feel happy.

I mostly want to hibernate. You know, snuggle in with your loved ones and doing whatever it is you want to do. In my case, watching movies, cooking, baking, catching a buzz, doing some house chores at my own leisurely pace, drinking coffee and not wearing pants.

That's right. When D and I are home alone we like to Pooh Bear it. Well ok, mostly me, but you catch my drift.

I also think I'm going to be getting off early on Wednesday, so hopefully my hibernating can start early! If that's the case, D is either going to come home to find me bingeing horror movies, bingeing Yellowstone, or so engrossed into TikTok that I don't know what's happening in the world around me. Definitely one of those. 

It's all good though, because I usually find him so engrossed with COD that he doesn't have a clue what's happening around him either. So, it works out well for the both of us. Did I mention how much I adore my hubby? And also how much I like saying husband or hubby instead of boyfriend? Never thought I'd say that.

I realized the other day that I have officially upgraded from "borrowing my boyfriends hoodie" to "swiping my husbands Carhartt" and honestly, I feel like that's a real good flex for me. Kind of like my sweet spot.

We've also decided to do a nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner this year. Since it's just the two of us (and our furbabies), we've decided to forego the turkey and big dinner and instead have a slightly smaller dinner (but still large for us) of pot roast, taters, rolls, and sweet taters. It's still a larger meal than what we usually have and it's kind of special. We have talked about this kind of thing alot and we've decided that since it's just us and our babies that we will make our own traditions. We'll probably still do some of the things that we've done with our families over the years, but now, we'll do them together and in our own way.

Hence, the nontraditional meals and spending our days however we want to. We don't let other people tell us how to spend our time together and we do whatever makes us happy. He's my best friend and honestly, that's what I'm thankful for this year and all the years to come. So, if we could hurry up and get break time here so I can go home and take off my pants, that'd be great.

Happy Holidays!!

I made a card and I want to do absolutely nothing else for Christmas.

I finally sent out the Christmas cards and I didn't even want to?!?

Every year I send out Christmas cards to a few friends and family members. This year, I sent out more than ever, because I included more of my family and of course, D's family. Don't ask me why I thought to do this, because I am most definitely not in the holiday spirit, but cards are one of those things I've done forever and I guess I felt obligated to continue to do?

This year though, I actually made our own. Mostly, I found a free sight on the internet, uploaded a picture that D's stepdad took, and went from there, but I thought they were pretty cute. You know, besides the picture where I clearly look like a chunky little iguana hobo that needs to get her shit together.

I ended up sending out about twenty-five cards this year (I mailed them out on my lunch break today!), and while they're later than they usually are (I usually have them sent out by the end of November), at least they're out there and people know I'm not a total waste of space and think about them. Or, something like that.