About Me

Here's the basics if you want to know who I am and there's more below if you want to read in detail.

My name is Kathie, I'm a follower of Christ, mom to two fantastical young ladies, happily married for more than 20 years to the same guy I loved in 12th grade, co-owner of a couple four legged-runts and I'm in my very early 40's (*sigh*).

What I'm not...
humourous
judgemental
quick witted
sparkling
crafting abled
serious
thin
brainy
a good writer
a lot of things.

What I am...
friendly and loyal
homeschooling a high schooler
missing my daughter who's in college
pixel artist
corny
trying to budget
unperfect perfectionist
grouchy somedays
mostly nice on the others
a lot of things.

This blog is about...
my family
living on one income
growing closer to Christ
the ups and downs in life
finding awesome things to make
sharing food I like
a lot of things.

~My Family~
We live in mid-Missouri in the same town we've lived in most of our life and have two daughters who are ages 20 & 16. My husband drives a truck or works in a factory (if there are no runs that day) from 7-3 while I'm homeschooling our youngest daughter.

My oldest daughter, Sarah, is in 12th grade and plans to attend college in the fall of 2009 with a major of Pre-Vet now beginning her sophomore year in college.  She's working toward a major in Biology (and still planning to become a vet).  She works at Subway when she's home on break and but loved working in a veterinary office for 2 years.

My youngest daughter, Kelly, is a burst of energy and is now in the 9th 11th grade (certified Facebook addict).  A few years ago, she wanted to be a hairstylist and travel Europe. Now she has decided that she'd rather be a Police Officer/Highway Patrolman is a little undecided on what to do in college.  She wants to help people instead of listening to them (....from the hairstylist chair).  She gets got her permit and now she needs to get her license, Lord help us all (no truer words have ever been spoken).
~The Wild Bunch~
We have an assortment of animals around this house. We have two one dogs. There's also a huge black cat that loves to plop his big behind right in the middle of my bed. He owns us....we know this and we've come to accept it. Then there's the smaller bunch... we have a parakeet and a Degu. A Degu is a cross between a Chinchilla and Gerbil.

~Background~
I was born in St. Louis and lived there until I was 13. When I was 8 my dad died, so it was just me and mom for the longest time. I have two sisters, but they're 10 & 11 years older than I am, so it was like being an only child for the time I can remember. So when I was 13, my mom married one of my dad's best friends and he was a terrific man. Not only did I get to have him as a father, he was able to talk with me about my own dad so that I got the chance to know him too. He died of renal failure when I was 21, five years after he'd had a kidney transplant. So all through this time, it's been me and my mom, who has become one of my best friends. 

~Personally Speaking~
I'm a Christian without a religion.  I do go to church, but our church places significance on getting to know Christ personally and being in Covenant with Him vs the legalism of church rules and doctrine.  I'm not saying that those who are denominational are wrong, I'm just saying it wasn't right for me.  I would never put someone down or act as if their religion (or lack thereof) is less than mine. I believe we're all created equally and it's personal beliefs that make the world go round.

I have an offbeat sense of humor and will usually laugh at things others don't. Life is short, make fun of it.. lol. I don't do drama. Been there, done that in Jr High, never again. Like me or don't... that's how life is. I will not repeat gossip, so you better listen close the first time I say it. LOL... KIDDING. Actually, I don't like gossip. If I have something to say to you, I will come to you. If I'm asked my opinion, I'll give it exactly as it is...but never in a hurtful way.

I am loyal to a fault. If you're my friend, you never have to worry about not being one, until you choose to end the friendship. Ohh, well, wait... I take that back. Let me put it this way... fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me. Then sometimes friendships have to be reevaluated. It's happened twice in my life.

~Outlets~
First and foremost, I love spending time with my family. Anything from board games to badminton...we're there. In my personal time, I enjoy reading, scrapbooking, watching movies and just about anything else that comes around. I'm fidgety though, so it has to be something that I can get done fast.. lol

~Puters & Pixels~
Somewhere around 1996, a friend's dad bought her a computer. We'd go over to visit and spend some time watching her use it. Honestly, I used a computer in school, but that's when we were being taught to program in DOS. LOL. So to have a world of information at the fingertips was amazing...and out of our price range. In 98 though, we got a large tax return and were able to buy our first. A HP from Walmart... *love*. LOL, can you believe it, that computer worked until the summer of 2006. The only thing we lost on it was the monitor. Then in 2003, we upgraded to a Compaq (oohhh) and that's what I use now I had to get a new computer in 2009.. lol.

In 2002, I created my first geocities page.. lol. It was for my family. In 2003, I bought the domain chatterbugs for my family pages only as a birthday present to myself. Not long after, I bought a membership to Simply Graphics in 2004 and that was that... I was hooked and I wanted to make my own things. Chatterbug Graphics opened in 2004 and has been going strong since. I still like to draw as much as I did then, and I love to shade lineart.

~Favorites~
Some of my favorite things would be...
TV Shows: NCIS, Reba, CSI, LOST, Survivor, Big Brother
Movies: 50 First Dates, Shrek, Where The Heart Is
Food: Chinese, Bacon Cheeseburgers, Chicken Fajitas
Music: Old Country (Conway Twitty, George Straight, George Jones) all the way through to current rock/pop (Fergie, Beyonce, Nickelback) and then on into Christian music also... lol, wide assortment.

~I Fully Support~
MADD
AdoptAPlatoon
Organ Donation
Blood Donation
Diabetes Awareness

~Other Things~
I'm a supporter through AdoptAPlatoon.org. This is a service which pairs up a military member with someone who'll send cards/letters or a box each month. I really enjoy being a part of this. If it's just one little thing I can do to help those who protect my freedom, I'm there.

I also teach a class for our homeschool group. I have the teenagers (grades 6-12 all 15 of them) and we do different projects throughout the year. It's a bunch of fun.  And recently, because I felt brave from leading the homeschoolers, I offered to help out with Sunday School.  I never knew it could be such a blessing but it is.  I have the teens there also.  I truly love that age group.  They're so smart and just want someone to listen to them.

 I'm learning to crochet, but I don't care much for it. I gave up on crocheting. I didn't like it.. lol.

I don't know if you read through this or not, but that's pretty much who I am.. Yes, I am boring. The truth is out.. lol.