KT's blog

rescue me

2008-09-12T07:04:00.002-04:00

When I was in the second grade my brother Brian rescued me from a bully. This bully was picking on me because I was bald. I don't remember all the details of how he picked on me, I mostly remember my brother hitting him. Brian was only in the fourth grade. I wasn't picked on a lot, so don't feel sorry for me. I actually felt pretty protected growing up and I realize that has a lot to do with Brian and my family. I knew that whatever my insecurities or fears were, I had people who loved me and would fight for me.

Well, I am no longer in second grade, but I guess my insecurities haven't changed that much. I have come a long way in coming to a place where I feel comfortable in my bald skin. I have actually started to accept and appreciate myself. A year ago I stopped wearing wigs and I wear bandanas all the time these days. I used to be so aware of how everyone would stare at me. I used to walk in a room just looking for all the people who were looking at me. I used to express my insecurities to Josh about all the people staring and he seemed unaffected and he seemed not to notice. I realize he wasn't being insensitive, it's just that he was so comfortable with me the way I am, he never thought about it. I don't really notice people staring anymore. I realize that it's something that's going to happen. I look different. They are trying to figure out if I have cancer, or if I shaved my head. I realize this and I'm ok with it, most of the time. But the other night Josh and I went to dinner with some friends. I was standing at the counter waiting to be seated and then followed our friends to our table. Josh took a while to get to the table and when he finally came he looked a little strange. He told me that there were two ladies (buckhead looking) who had been staring at me before we were seated. He said that they went as far as to point and make it painfully obvious that they were staring. So Josh, in a rush of anger, went up to their table and informed them that that was his wife and she has alopecia, in case they were wondering. The ladies seemed confused and a little embarrassed and Josh just made his way to our table. When I heard this I was shocked. I didn't even notice them staring, and if I had I probably would have ignored it. But here was Josh, who I thought never noticed, defending me. Josh couldn't believe that he did something like that, because he NEVER does things like that. He never reacts out of emotion. He probably wishes that I won't write this post. But the thing is, he loves me. He does get it. He understands my insecurity. All that time that I thought he just didn't understand what it was like to be stared at, he did. It just affects him differently. And he came to my rescue. The beautiful thing is that I realize I don't need rescuing anymore. But it was a nice reminder that I am loved and accepted and defended for the bald girl that I am.

2008-06-18T10:05:00.000-04:00

I have had a couple people tell me that it's been too long since my last post. But I have to say that I have been really uninspired to write (type) anything. Although I do agree that I should post more often, so here I am, posting.

Nia got really sick this weekend. Her fever spiked to almost 104. Scary. My brother happened to be here when this happened and he commented on how calm I was. I think there are two reasons for the calm despite my fear.
1. I find myself reacting to things in a different way since becoming a mom. I tend to be able to put aside an emotion to solve a problem. A trait I NEVER used to have.
2. Josh. Pure and simple, being to married to Josh has calmed me. The man hardly ever gets ruffled or angry or stressed. He responds to stressful situations with practicality not emotion.

Anyway, as the weekend went on Nia's fever was up and down and she felt awful. We spent 4 days straight not even leaving the house. She was extra cuddly and we just laid on the futon together and watched baby einstein dvds. She was also EXTRA clingy to me. As Josh put it when I was apologizing to him for her behavior, "she's sick and she just wants her mom". And it hit me, I am her mom. I know, really enlightening, but I realized that I am to her what my mom was to me. I was sick very often as a child. I had asthma and my parents frequently had to rush me to the emergency room in the middle of the night because I couldn't breathe. I even spent a week in the hospital because I had pneumonia and was a high risk patient. I remember being scared as a child when I would get that sick, but I can't imagine what my parent's had to go through, watching their child struggling to get her breath. And the thing is, I never knew my mom was scared. All I knew is that somehow she made me feel better. Just being with me. Still, to this day, when I get sick I want my mom. I want to hear her voice reassuring me and feel her touch calming me. And that is what I am to Nia now. It really blows me away. I have enjoyed being the one to make it all better. I just hope I can do it as well as my mom did with me.

So I guess I was inspired to write (type) after all.

run kt run

2008-05-13T21:20:00.000-04:00

It's 4:00 and I start looking at my watch. I pick up the phone...ring...ring. Josh answers, "hey squirty what's up?"
"Oh, hey shua, not much", I say. "Just wondering how things were going. Reminding you that today is my running day. When do you think you'll be able to leave?"
"I am not sure, things are crazy. But I won't forget your run."
I have been preparing all day for my run. I have been hydrating and eating appropriately. All with my future run in mind. As 5:00 nears I wait by the phone for Josh's call saying he's on the highway. Today he's running late. Not surprising. Nothing is predictable in his line of work.
It's 6:00 and I finally get the call that he's on the highway. Nia and I go outside to waste the 40 minutes we will have to wait while he is sitting in Atlanta traffic. My shoes are laced up, my playlist is ready to go on my ipod, and Lucy's leash is nearby.
Josh comes careening down the hill and throws the truck into park. He knows how important my runs are. He knows how cranky I am if I don't get to run. He comes in the door, gives me a peck on the cheek and I am gone. I am like a caged bird that has been set free. I head up the hill and before I know it my legs are doing what they do best, running. I feel like I am doing what I was made to do. My legs move to the rhythm of the music blasting through my headphones. I LOVE it. Lucy, my faithful dog is running by my side. It is my time and I am going to kick some ass. I love pushing myself a little farther. I love going up just one more hill. I love running just a couple more miles. I love the pain because I know it makes me stronger. I love the feeling afterwards. I love the pride.
Today, about a mile into my run I passed a couple sitting on a bench. This couple stuck in my mind because the guy had a mowhawk. As I ran past them, I gave them a friendly head nod. I continued to run and run and run. I ran a lot farther than I was planning today and about an hour and 7 miles later, I saw this same couple walking through the park. They heard something coming behind them and I saw the mowhawk guy grinning. As I came up beside them he stuck out his hand for me to give him 5. I proudly gave his hand a slap and continued on my way. I felt so proud and continued to haul it the remaining mile I had left.
I run because I love being strong, I run because I am good at it, and I run because I love it.

10 things...

2008-04-30T13:27:00.000-04:00

So I am totally copying Lesley here, but I was inspired and had to do my own lists.

10 things I liked when I was a teenager but kinda hate now...
1. wigs
2. capt'n crunch cereal
3. dr. pepper
4. legalism
5. drama (in life)
6. devotionals
7. christian music
8. christmas presents
9. lip smackers lip gloss
10. talking on the phone

10 things I didn't like when I was a teenager but like now...
1. baldness
2. liquor, beer, wine
3. running
4. tattoos
5. sushi
6. homosexuals
7. computers
8. individuality
9. movies with sad endings
10. coffee

10 things I liked as a teenager and still like...
1. children
2. riding a bike
3. being outside
4. stick shift cars
5. reading
6. sneakers
7. slumber parties
8. fall
9. CANDY
10. inhalers

a proud day

2008-04-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

Today, April 27, 2008 is a proud day! Today I offered Nia twizzlers for the first time. Today she ate multiple twizzlers and begged for more. Today I see she has Murphy in her blood. I can't get this child to eat vegetables or rice or bread or fruit or meat or beans or ice cream, but she ate twizzlers willingly and with much enthusiasm. This is truly a proud day!

solo cups at the park

2008-04-21T10:54:00.001-04:00

Lucy at the park
Originally uploaded by ktmthompson

One of a few of my favorite things is to take Nia, Charlie, and Lucy to the park in the afternoons. We live a block from freedom park, which is one of the main reasons we bought our house in the first place. Location, location, location.=) Sometimes Josh is able to join us and yesterday was one of those days. When Josh accompanies us to the park there is usually alcohol involved. Bartender Josh made me a margarita and who knows what was in his cup. I know we look so classy trooping up the hill to the park with Nia in the stroller, dogs on leashes, and solo cups in hand trying to make sure not one drop spills. At the park the dogs and child all get to run free while Josh and I drink our bliss in a solo cup. We usually end up chatting it up with fellow neighbors while our dogs run and play. These park goers have known us since before Nia was born and it is really fun to see them and hear them talk about how much she has grown! On days like this I realize anew how much I love living in Atlanta!
Posted by Katie at 6:38 AM

everyone is doing it...

2008-04-18T13:36:00.000-04:00

It feels like lately all I hear people talking about are their blogs. I started to feel very sad about neglecting my poor blog for so long. I guess I just felt uninspired. Now since "everyone is doing it", I guess I will.
Right now I want to vent a little... My beautiful little girl is 16 months old now and she is a good sleeper. This is a good thing most every day, but today I am frustrated. She is such a good sleeper that you can set your watch to when she will start to fall apart every day. This time is around 12:30ish before her nap. It makes it very hard to run errands or meet someone for lunch. There is potential for things to be VERY not fun. Another thing that makes this very inconvenient is that if I am driving in the car around 12:30ish there is a very high likelihood of her falling asleep in her car seat. What this means is that she will not go back to sleep when we get home, thus creating more crankiness for all parties involved. =) Today is one of those days. We went up to Marietta to have brunch. We even set the time for eating at 10:30 so that I could be back home before the nap. But I had one little errand to run after eating which put us behind on heading home. I spent the 40 minute trip back to Atlanta from Marietta blaring music, putting the windows up and down, and tickling the poor child. She was helpless against the weight of her eyelids and I failed in keeping her awake. Now we are home and she is playing in her crib, wide awake. Wait, let me go check...
OMG she fell asleep! That never happens, I swear! My venting still applies. Is it sad when a triumph of my whole day is the fact that my child fell asleep? No, it's not sad, because we are all happier people when she sleeps.
I am now wondering if this blog will be all about motherhood. Hmmm, maybe. I have to say, it does feel nice to know that blogger will listen to me and let me vent. So I am glad that everyone is doing it. And by "do it", I mean blogging.

the north carolina murphy boys

2006-07-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

So here are some pictures from my trip to New Bern.
As you can see, Danny thinks he is a superhero, and Parker likes to have his mouth open as often as possible.

Baby Thompson

2006-05-09T09:18:00.000-04:00

So here is the first official picture of our baby. He or she is upside down ...it's ok if you cannot tell what end is what. The baby is about the size of a coffee bean right now. Seeing the baby on the ultrasound made this whole thing seem more real. We could actually see the little heart beating! It was beating really fast. It is still a little too early (8 weeks) to hear the heart beat, but it was still really cool. The doctor said that everything looked great, and that everything was going according to schedule. I was very relieved.
This week the baby's eyelids are forming, the nerve cells in the retinas are developing, the ears are forming, the brain is forming neural pathways, the trunk is getting longer, the arms and legs are getting longer, and the hands and feet are still a little webbed. The whole process is so amazing. I just can't believe that there is a little person forming inside me right now. Well, I can believe it when I feel nauseous and tired. I get overwhelmed sometimes when I think about how my life is never going to be the same, but I feel ready for life to not be all about me.

invisible children

2006-04-27T00:58:00.000-04:00

So tonight I saw this documentary called "Invisible Children". Basically these 3 guys from San Diego went to Uganda and filmed their experience there. The story of the children in Uganda has me awake at 1am. There is civil war going on in Northern Uganda. The rebel army is abducting children and forcing them to be in the army. These children are taught to kill, and if they don't kill, they are killed. So thousands of children walk every night to a shelter in the city where they are safer from the rebels. Every day is just another day that they are happy to be alive, happy to not be abducted. These are children!! 75% of the money has come from private donations, and today they are on a countrywide tour to share the story of these children. MTV is now one of the sponsers of "Invisible Children". Please visit their website www.invisiblechildren.com and check out the trailer of their documentary. It is really intense.
The documentary moved me to tears. I immediately thought about wanting to go to Uganda, about wanting to do something to make a difference for these people, these children. But, to be honest, I also wanted to forget. It is such an ugly thing, but when the documentary was over, I wanted to chat with my friends and figure out where we were going for dinner. It was so much easier to forget. I have no idea what I could do to make a difference in children's lives in Uganda, and the sad thing is I probably won't do anything. Maybe I'll give some money now, but this situation needs more than just a little money and in a day or two I will forget. My life is so comfortable and right now in Uganda there are children who are just stuggling to stay alive. Food and clothing are luxuries, they are more concerned about survival.
I hope to remember the story of these children. I hope to appreciate the things I have. Most of all I hope to see the hurting that is happening all around me, not just in Uganda. It has opened my eyes to the pain and suffering in our world. I realize that right here in Atlanta there is plenty pain and suffering, and maybe I can do something to help.

six flags rocks

2006-04-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

Well, today we went to six flags over GA with some friends of ours. It was a perfect spring day...cool in the shade, warm in the sun. I love spring, even though spring in Ga lasts about 2 days, and then it's on to summer. But today was perfect. We had a blast at six flags yet again. It is just one of those places that has adults acting like crazy people, screaming and laughing and drooling. We talked our friends into doing the big swing. You slowly are raised into the sky by a cable, and suddenly you come to a stop at about 200 feet where you have to pull your own rip cord that sends you careening towards the ground. It has to be one of the biggest rushes ever. It is one of the scariest things I have ever done, but so worth it. After the initial drop, you just soar back and forth, it feels like your flying. Here are a couple of pictures of Josh, my brother Brian, and me doing the big swing when we were at six flags together last october.

We also rode the new ride, Goliath. This ride is now my favorite. It was so smooth and had the biggest drops. Anyway, I got to thinking today at six flags that I am getting older. It makes me sad. I actually think about the human error aspect of these rides, and how easy it would be for me to plummet to my death. I never used to think this way. It is so great though, to give in to that part of you that is all kid. To scream until your voice is gone, to laugh until tears are streaming down your face, and scare yourself so bad you think you might seriously pee pee in your pants. Today was such a day, today was great!

it's been a while

2006-03-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

So it's been 2 months since my last blog, kinda sad huh. My computer is finally safe and sound with me again... and only $100 later. Things have been kinda crazy in the past month or so. I finally finished my real estate class and took all the tests and actually passed. I still can't believe that I passed. The state exam was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and if I had missed 4 more questions, I would have failed. Now I am working with Keller Williams Realty. There is a lot of stuff to do getting my business up and going. I have a lot of training to do, etc. My first house to sell will be my husband's house, so that shouldn't be so bad. Check out my website... http://katie.yourkwagent.com/home.

I really don't know what else to write. It's hard to be completely honest about things on the world wide web log. Things have been kind of hard for me lately. I really can't get into it, but I guess it ultimately comes down to what I am doing with my life and who I am. That's pretty broad, but I feel like I am learning a lot lately. God feels closer to me than he has in a while. That's weird to even say because I don't fully understand what that means. But I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I just feel kinda lost.

Well, enough of the boring stuff. This past saturday, Josh, dogs, and I went to the Talulah Gorge in North GA and did some hiking. We lived in Oregon for a year, and this trail was another disappointment. We are used to having more hiking trails than we know what to do with, and this trail was very far from natural. Part of it was made out of recycled tires. But nonetheless it was a glorious day in the great outdoors. And of course the best dog in the world was there with us. As we drove back to the asphalt jungle, we wound our way through the north GA mountains, and it was truly breathtaking.

a blog

2006-01-24T13:09:00.000-05:00

so my brother tells me that I should blog more. It would be nice to blog more if #1 we had internet at our house, and #2 I hadn't dropped my laptop onto our hard wood flloors and smashed it to pieces. Well, maybe not to pieces, but it's definitely not the same. I suck. I have realized something about myself through this whole breaking my computer experience. I don't really think before I do anything. I already know that I don't think before I speak, but now I realize that I just never think. Josh,on the other hand, thinks before speaking or acting. Sometimes he thinks for so long that he falls asleep. He is deliberate, and I love it. If I had been deliberate before I grabbed my computer case, I might have seen that it was unzipped and avioded sending my computer crashing to the floor. But now I am in arkansas and I am using my mother-in-law's computer.
I am in Arkansas with my mother-in-law. She hates Arkansas. Arkansas=hell for her. She has been coming here to Arkansas for the past 8 months or so to have everything in her body killed. Chemotherapy is awful. Right now she is resting after getting poked and prodded yet again at the hospital. When I am sitting in the chemo room with her and looking at all of the other chemo patients I am faced with the frailty of life. A lot of these people are really sick, some of them might not make it much longer. My mother in law is almost in remission, but she still has to go through all of this for a long time. We sat up together last night with our bald heads. We share bandannas, and it takes us both about 2.3 minutes to get ready in the morning. I hope I can show her how much I love her. I hope she knows that, because I think she feels really alone a lot of times.
In 3 days I am going back to Bend Oregon! I cannot tell you how thrilled I will be to be there again. I feel like Bend belongs to Josh and me. I can't wait to see our old friends, eat at our old restaurants, see our little house, and ski! Maybe I will update my blog and tell you about the trip. Ok, this blog is random and long.

packing made fun with beer

2005-12-17T19:43:00.000-05:00

On the suggestion of my dear friend Megan, Josh and I did our packing today and are ending it with pizza and beer. Beer really makes things a little more fun. We are just having a blast packing all our junk. We also like to feed our dogs beer. Our dogs really like beer. Charlie has been a beer drinker for a couple of years and we are getting Lucy started. They get so excited when we let them have our empty, or almost empty beer bottles. It's fun to see Charlie walk around after too much beer. He only weighs 4.5lbs, so it only takes .9 ounces of a beer for him to get drunk. Lucy is so excited about this beer thing she is walking around with the beer bottle in her mouth. Ok, here are some photos.

moving!

2005-12-15T20:48:00.000-05:00

We are moving!! We closed on our house today, and everything was so smooth. We haven't started packing at all though! We were procrastinating and now we are paying for it. We get to spend the next three days packing...YAYY. Our apartments is an absolute mess. You would think that an actual hurricane went through our apartment. We'll get it done though. It's the most stressful when you are just starting.
Our new house is going to be so awesome. It was built in 1921 and it is on a really cute street in little 5 points in Atlanta. We are a block from a Freedom Park where I will get to take Lucy for a walk or jog every day. We are walking distance to really cool bars and restaurants. We are also walking distance from the post office, Starbucks, a book store, a shoe store, a record store, and other cool artsy places. I can't believe we are finally moving. It hasn't seemed real until today. Here is a picture of our new little place.

a day with my neighbor

2005-12-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

I have a neighbor and her name is Jessica. Jessica is from New York. Jessica is cool. Whenever I see Jessica around the apartment building, we always talk. One day we even sat in the stairway talking for half an hour or more. Recently we have started to hang out together. We take the dogs for a walk, and today we went to Borders and had coffee. I really enjoy talking with her. She is 15 years older than me and yet we still seem to find so much in common. She has recently moved from New York where she broke up with her boyfriend of 11 years, and now she is in Georgia trying to figure out what to do with her life. She is going through a lot and seems to want to confide in me, although I have no idea why. The sad thing is that I am moving in a week. I am moving really far away, just when we have begun to start a relationship. We say we will still try and get together, but I kinda know it won't happen.
I had a friend in oregon, a really good friend actually, and we were both really sad that I was moving back to the southeast. She said to me something really profound. She said that sometimes relationships are meant to be cut short just so that they mean that much more to us. We appreciate our time, as short as it might be, we had with that person.
I know all of this sounds really cheesy, but I really am bummed that I am not going to be living right next door to Jessica.

KT, JT, and Lucy's excellent adventure

2005-12-04T17:40:00.001-05:00

This lovely sunday afternoon, Josh, Lucy, and I went for a walk. Acutally it wasn't very lovely at all. It was a very cloudy afternoon when we set out for our walk. We wound our way through the neighborhood that is located behind our apartments. At the back of the neighborhood is a trail that leads you down the power lines. We walked along with our dog bounding by our side. Lucy was having so much fun playing in the mud and the puddles. Oh, the life of a dog. As we crested a hill, we heard this buzzing noise and what an amazing sight we beheld. There, lying below us, was a power grid. This huge expanse of metal power things sending electricity to the masses. We stood in amazement for some time before continuing on our journey. We walked along the trail trying to figure out which way to go, when in the distance we heard the rumble of thunder. We finally chose a direction that we thought was toward home, and proceeded. We came directly under a set of power lines when we heard this crackling sound. I could see Josh's hair standing on end, and the storm was getting closer. We scrambled up a hill and fought our way through briars and thorns. As the blood was dripping from our limbs we got to the top of the hill finding the trail we needed. At this point the thunder storm was almost upon us. When we got back to the road the sky opened up and every cat and dog that pour down on us when it rains, fell onto our little heads. (I have never understood the saying, "it's raining cats and dogs"). Josh wanted to take refuge under a tree limb, but I would have none of it and enjoyed every minute of getting doused with cold rain. Josh finally surrendered to the rain, and we continued toward home splashing in mud puddles and feeling the water squish in our socks. Just as we got to our apartment, lightning struck mere feet away from us, and the thunder was so loud it made Lucy cry. We ran to the safety of our apartment where we reminisced about a day a couple of years ago when it thundered as we took our vows to love and cherish each other till death do us part. Man, I love thunder storms!

my dog Lucy

2005-11-30T17:50:00.000-05:00

I have this new puppy, and, as all puppies are, she is high maintenance. I am having so much fun with her though. I have been walking with her on a leash and training her to walk right next to me and to respond to "heal", and "come" commands. She has been doing so well that I took her leash off today to see what she would do. She just kept right on walking right beside me and not even running off when another dog was barking. I was so excited. I feel like all my hard work is starting to pay off. Also, we put this bell by the front door and every time we go outside to the bathroom we ring the bell. The point is that eventually she will be able to tell us by ringing the bell that she needs to go outside to do her business. Well, she has started ringing the bell, and it is so exciting. She rang it about 5 times today and went to the bathroom outside every time. Somteimes she rings the bell right after we get back from being outside and this is not fun. We live on the 3rd floor and I am starting to get sick of making 15 trips up and down the stairs.
I am a big dork about my dogs, but I love them and they love me.

2005-11-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

Hi! Welcome to Katie's new blog. I am excited about this because I can post pictures. Here are some pictures of Thanksgiving and my dogs. This was probably the best Thansgiving ever. We had a blast.