Two Weeks and some....thoughts, opinions and satire.

Two weeks until we get married. WOW!! I can't believe how fast it is coming up. I can't believe I'm getting married at all. Matt and I have finished just about everything, just a few odds and ends and then some beauty details. I am very excited about actually being married. I think being married to Matt is going to be just wonderful!

I am REALLY excited to not have to think about fitting into my wedding dress again. I have decided that trying to do ANYTHING during the last few months of wedding planning is just crazy. So, I eat my caramel, walnut nut roll (in small increments, of course) and hope that the waist cincher I bought won't make me gassy during the event. But in the ever classic words of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, "Don't drink when you wear stilettos", oh wait that's not the one, "Buy small sizes and less food"! Actually, I think I'm thinking about the magnet on my fridge, "if you can't lose it, decorate it". Yes, that's it. And it will truly be decorated!! If I have to I'll sparkle my decolletage area if things are desperate. Thank god Matt loves me and can't see any flaws. See why I am marrying him??

Speaking of Karl Lagerfeld, there was an article in the last issue of BAZAAR magazine that I couldn't tell if he was being facetious or brutally truthful. He made some good points though. The stiletto's one was a goody. No one likes to see a woman hit the ground. Especially one with some beautiful stiletto's. There isn't always a pole to hang onto - ladies. He was wise when he said, "Dress for yourself and the man you love - don't dress for other women". Before anyone gets all worked up about dressing for a man - hey - the divorce rate is high, you've got to take care of what you love. I think a lot of marriages would do much better if (as a women I can only give the women point of view) we dressed up for a nice date or dressed down for a nice date (wink) once in a while. Matt and I try to go on a nice, get dressed up date, at least once or twice a month. There is just something about seeing him in a nice sweater or button down that keeps my motor revving! I have some other theories, but who am I to give marriage advice??

The other thing good ole' Karl is quoted as saying is:"This look is not back for people who wore it when it was new." He is referring to the 80's micro mini skirt, sheer hose and shoulder pads. THANK YOU KARL!!! I have now been given permission to ignore those god-awful outfits.

It's a struggle to dress well in your 40's. I want to dress fashionable and not look like an old lady that is trying to relive her "hotter" days. I think I should move to New York and wear black, all black, all the time - well, maybe I will throw in a colorful scarf on particularly giddy days. You know, Karl says, "Black, like white, is the best color!"

Now I have to get back to the details of the wedding. I need to buy wine bottles, get a marriage certificate, clothes for my boys and the never ending detail of primping. Facials, waxing, hair, makeup, new eyelashes.......more hair do's, manicure, pedicure....it's all essential for the bride. I am up to the challenge!!

Truly I have no idea what I would do without my family helping me. I have the most wonderful brother, Dave and his wife, Melissa that are going to make this event exactly as it should be. I don't even have to worry, I asked them and now it's off my worry list. OK, I called last night to make sure they didn't need me for anything...now I know I can mark it off my worry list. My sister Caroline is helping me with all the invitation, place seating and table number stuff. She is very creative and I am glad she was willing to help. Also, my other sis-in-law, Christy is going to work magic for my cake. What would I do without a family that is so talented??? How did that gene miss me? I am so excited and very grateful!!

WOOHOO!!! TWO WEEKS!!
Blog on........

The soon-to-be: Mrs. Kathee Taylor Rydman

Taylor Family Skiing

On February 5th (notice how I have to date them because I am so far behind on this week), I wanted to go skiing. Matt was working and I thought it would be fun to go with my sister, Caroline. We talked and decided to go, we were going to take her youngest Matthew, since he was off track (break in year round school). Then I texted my dad and asked him if he wanted to go and since my brother, Brad works up at the Brighton clinic every Thursday I figured we could meet up with him. It was very impromptu with about a day's notice. I was really pretty glad that Matthew was coming with us so that MAYBE everyone wouldn't notice was a "novice" I was.


My brother Brad. He's smiling. He assures me.


My beautiful sister, Caroline and her son Matthew.


My dad. He's 76 and still ski's better then I.




On the lift and ready to go!!




A beautiful day!!

I know what you are thinking. Damn! Those are some great genetics!! I am very lucky. Although I don't think, OK, I KNOW I'm not considered the "athlete" of the family, we have some great genetics to work with. Of course, the looks....well, I guess you can't tell so much from these pics but we come from a long line of hotties!

After about the third run, my dad and I went to find Brad at the clinic to go with us. On the way down the hill my dad fell. It was one of those....I'm not gonna fall..loosing my balance...oh crap here I go...Falls. While he fighting gravity I am chanting in my head..HIP! HIP! SHOULDER! SHOULDER!! Working in nursing, I have forbid my father to get on a ladder and ESPECIALLY roofs and here I am watching him. He, of course, falls and I help him up and he gets up. He's not a big faller and probably hasn't turfed it in 10 years - so I think he himself was a little shocked. He told me his shoulder hurt a little and he looked fine so we headed off to the clinic.

Brad showed me around the clinic....FYI - never get a foley there. I think it expired 6 years ago. Other then that they have the skills to patch up a few bones, suture a few ouchies and send off the bad injuries to something better. They even have a sparky. Although, I wouldn't recommend coding outside of a full service hospital. My dad asked my brother to check his shoulder and when he took off his shirt, this is what we saw.


Now, I'm not even an E.R. nurse or an orthopedic surgeon, so I was stumped. It felt very hard, but when he kept his arm down it relaxed. Brad wasn't sure either. We were looking at the anatomy posters. What good are two R.N.'s in the family??? WELL, I can take a pic without getting too grossed out! Muscles and tendons are so not my thing and so my dad put on his coat, skied 2 more runs with us and then ate lunch. After that we headed back down the mountain. By the time we got to his van, he was ready to go to the instacare.

Ends up to be a torn AC.

The moral to this story. My dad is so much tougher then Chuck Norris's dad! Torn ac? Paashaw!!! I'll keep skiing!!

Later, he told me "If you ski faster you won't have to work so hard". GASP!! Now I know where I get my "openness" and ability to give my opinion even without being asked.

Matthew did wonderful and in the end I was the slowest. I want to get better and on my last ski trip ended up doing a lot more fries then pizza. I loved being with my family and especially my dad. I hate that he and my mom have to get older. I don't think anyone is ready for it, but to be able to spend quality time with my family really is a blast!!

Jake's has a(nother) trip to the E.R.

On Wednesday, February 4th, Jake called me from the skate park. He had rolled his ankle and was REALLY feeling it. Since this is our 6th or 7th trip to the E.R. in a year long period, you can imagine my excitement. I grabbed the crutches that he used when he was younger and picked him up. We headed over to the U and even though I work there, I will probably never ever ever visit their E.R. again, unless I am a trauma. (god forbid!!)

Our start in the waiting room. Can you see his excitement. He was in a LOT of pain and we waited over an hour.

I took a picture of security watching us. HELLO! Lurch! hehe. Once they took us back and took off his sock then he started to really feel it! We went through "fast track" and the doctor asked Jake what his pain was, then proceeded to send us back to our very un-private room without an order for any pain medicine....????

Pictures of the clock. They put us in a room with three "lazy boys" and we waited there for x-rays and he finally received some pain medicine. Soon after we were joined by "kidney stones" and "mva/neck pain". The nurse was quite adamant about making sure I knew that the lazy boys were for patients and not me and I'd have to move when a patient came. "Kidney stones" got outta there pretty quick and then they decided they wanted more x-rays, not just his ankle but Jake's foot - ya know, where the swelling was! So we waited almost 2 hours for them to do that and get the x-ray back. Jake's dad joined us in the end and we finally got out of there around 9pm. We arrived around 430.


The hurt foot that everyone who came into the room almost hit. Jake must have been feeling good (thank you lortab) when I took that pic. I was taking pictures with my cell phone. I would sit in there and watch friends of mine walk past over and over. I realized that I know a lot of people and what they do there. "That guy is an ortho guy, there goes an anesthesiologist, hey I know that pharmacist".

Fortunately, it wasn't broken, but a bad sprain. We scored some new crutches that actually fit him (thank you insurance) and had our usual E.R. argument. I am forever thankful that I have Jake and that he only hurts himself a little, which is much better then being escorted back to the trauma bay.

Love you Jake!!

Sami's SWEET 16th Birthday

February 3, 2009 - Samantha turns sweet sixteen!! Never been kissed!!! Besides a huge chocolate cake and a gaggle of wonderful presents, the family went bowling. We love to bowl and this is the third time we have gone as a whole family. Matt and I and all our kids, sweeties and grandson head to the bowling alley for some good ole' fashion ball, pin and cheese fry fun!! Pud was really getting into his nickname-sake by monitoring the moves of other players. No cheaters on his watch!! It was great fun and I love being with all our kids! Sami had a great time too. I almost broke 100. I know....I could go pro!! hehe


Happy Birthday to Sami!!

Thumbs up for some great bowling!

Austin between frames and Matt enjoying Pud.

Corinne was REALLY happy!! Celebratory dances are a must!!

Me with the birthday girl and Sami's dance.

Pud, da bookie....makin sure "jimmy" isn't cheatin him out!! hehehe

Jake sure loves his nephew. Pud, alone at the alley, drinkin.

The girls entertaining Pud. Chris and Rachelle. Logan, praising the bowling gods!!