Space Mistress

This post, and the few following, are long overdue, please forgive me. Mal and I, being the great sisters we are, drove to Cali and packed up the Ingram's home. One wife, one husband, two kids, and all their earthly belongings. The trip was definitely not all work, and no play, we goofed around plenty.

Jack cracks me up with his food choices. Does he turn up his nose to 12 grain wheat bread? Not a chance. He'll have two pieces, thank you.

We transformed Jack into a space mistress, ain't he a beauty?

Family Pixies

Just thought I'd show off my handsome husband and good looking BIL's and FIL. Is that weird that I just said that?

I really love this picture of Andrew. He's so dang cute.

And also my pretty SIL's and MIL! Pay no attention to the troll on the far right.

All the grandkids, in all their glory! L-R: Crew, Ava, Adrie, Mazie, Madi, Bree, Kyra, Andrew, Ellie, Griffin. Those poor boys are pretty outnumbered!

A firetruck sped by right then, and Aves was so excited!

Ava was trying to get my attention and say, "listen! listen!", and I couldn't understand what she meant for the life of me. Then I remember, AHA, we listened to my iPod the other night at her house! Here she is enjoying The Little Mermaid "Kiss the Girl".

The Many Faces of Van

If you even pretend you'll get sick of seeing this face, we'll be mortal enemies. I love this happy little boy.

Although Whitney says he can't be, I say he's my boyfriend. Don't be jealous Tadd.

Softball

A summer activity almost the whole Cox family enjoys is softball! My BIL Chris Demartini always forms a team for his business, American Bailbonds, and this year a lot of Tadd's family played on it!

Here are just a few pics from a couple games I attended. I really miss that warm weather.

Buddy Andrew. He's so stinkin' cute.

Andrew with Lacey!

Batter up!


Big Pun, a good friend of the family. He'll hit that ball out of the park everytime!

BIL Chris

Tadd's cousin's daughter, Riley. She's such a sweetheart.

Riley's mom, Amber, and Amber's mom, Debbie! Debbie and my mother in law are sisters.

Lots of family and lots of fun! Whoopie!

Actually...

Due to one deeply offended husband, I will not be changing my name to exclude him. I guess I never saw it that way. In my defense, and so you don't think I'm terribly insensitive, I figured Tadd thought my blog was stupid and cheesy. Alright, he's right on, but I generally thought he didn't care! Well, once again Caitlyn was wrong. Anyway, let us all come together and create a new name for US.

All I'm coming up with is:

taddycat

Yikes, that's a pretty pathetic selection. Help, please!

It's Time

My friends, it's time for a new domain name, and I need some input. I'm not one for creative words, so help me out here.

Seeing as how my current URL is a blatant lie, there is no Tadd involved in my blog, just Cat. Tadd doesn't contribute, nor is he rarely featured. Here is where my brainstorming has gotten me:

caitlynkittycat
kittycatcaitlyn
kitkatcox
kitcatcox
kitcat
kitkat
kitcox
kittencox
kittencatcox
heytherekittycat

Whit and I figured a smorgasbord of nicknames would be bitchin'. Thoughts? Additions?

Van Says, "Go Green"

Repulsive Regrowth

Do you ever feel like your life is only as boring as your blog? I absolutely do.

I'm just waiting for my next excitement peak in my life, and trust me, when that happens YOU'LL KNOW. You'll just feel it.

Good news, folks, Mal has yet to reveal ANOTHER artistic talent. She can do hair! If, of course, you've mixed up the color, pulled her gloves on for her, and started the pattern for her. If your hair color is ever haneous, and no one can be found, give Mal a call!

What's Sabi?

Ever eaten a tablespoon of Wasabi all at once? Well, don't.

I decided to test this out for you; only thinking of you. To end your curiosity, I'll just tell you that you WILL get sick, you'll have spicy burps for 24+ hours, and your stomach will feel like it's rotting.

Whitney Burgess' desk at work, the best b-day decoration I've ever seen! Far surpasses my desk, which I didn't think was possible!

Whit and me at Happy Sumo.

YOU Think You Can Dance?

My dance show buddy and I headed to SLC last week for the SYTYCD tour! Surprisingly, I never saw a single episode this season...come to think of it, I've never seen an episode of any season! I'm a loser, I know.

I'd seen enough dances on YouTube.com to catch on to who was who, and I quickly chose my favorites.

" Fa Real" Season Four. Probably the cheesiest thing I've ever seen.

I apologize for the plethera of pictures, maybe you don't care to see them, but I do!

Also, cheap tickets + sitting FAR away = blurry pictures.

My favorite girl: Katee. Why the freak didn't she win?

I LOOOOOVED this dance; so creative! Kherington is slightly spastic, but I feel it communicates in a way of immense feeling and emotion, which I loved.

The boys, Gev was my fave for his personality, and Twitch for his body. Hey, just calling a spade a spade.

I love this picture. Lighting on the left, the dance step, outfit, all of it. Maybe Mallory could make it cool for me?

I didn't expect to like this one when it began, but it was very moving.

Speaking of moving...WOW. Could Katee be any more awesome? I really love how they use props in a lot of the dances. That has to be so tough!

The crew! I'm diggin' the dude's jeans, I want a pair!

I'm definitely tuning in next season, hair appointments or not!

*Taddy and I are watching a show called "I Was Bitten", and I think I just decided I have a new nightmare. Snake bites! You should've seen this unfortunate, but foolish, dude's hand. Oh gag!

Fruicide

Ever feel like this?

Five Years!

Well folks, today marks my five year anniversary with Nu Skin Enterprises! Never did I suspect when I first entered the call center, that I'd still be here half a decade later. Although unplanned, it just seems to work.


Nu Skin and I, we fit. Nu Skin's been good to me, and I've been good to Nu Skin. Basically my friends, The Skinny is lucky to have me. Is your job lucky to have you?


How about I give you a synopsis of my life at Nu Skin. Five years ago, at the age of 18, I began working a six hour shift five times a week as a Sales Support agent. I spent three weeks in training learning basic wholesale orders. Over the next few months I was trained in automatic orders, and shipping/returns. I totally thought I was rad, learning all these skill sets in a matter of months.


I endured two long years of the phones, some days pleasant, others haneous. I made a lot of friends, and a lot of enemies. "Enemies", you ask? Apparently I'm a bit sarcastic for my own good.

Two years into my employment I earned myself a supervisor position in the call center, which I thorougly enjoyed for the first 8 months or so. The last two months I realized my job was just a glorified baby sitter. Truly. The kids were happier with candy, and liked games. Baby sitter. Definitely beat taking orders, however!

For the past two years, I've enjoyed my new position of Regional Account Manager. It has required me to push myself further than the other positions I've held with Nu Skin, which has helped me grow as a person, and realize I tend to sell myself short. Yes, I'm back on the phones, but this time, I control my own time. POWER, and it rocks.

I enjoy that over 480 Executive accounts in Southern California and Hawaii depend on ME for help. I'm needed to give them advice on strategy, train them on our compensation plan, and generally update them on their account status. Additionally, I love the edge I have from working in the call center for three years. Knowing our orders system backwards and forwards certainly boosts my confidence. Am I sounding ridiculous yet?

The skills I've honed I will consider to be invaluable, no matter what. It's a 9 to 5 job, and is often monotony, but if I've got to work 9 to 5 somewhere, Dolly Parton, and I'm pleased as punch it's at Nu Skin. Nu Skin is not all work, it's plenty of play.

Please indulge me for a moment as I list a few memories Nu Skin has provided me with that I'll never forget (for sentiments sake):

• The way my name is pronounced by an Asian (bless their hearts)
• Orlando cab ride '08
• The endless teasing I receive for daring to tell a distributor, "I'm sorry Sir, I don't see how that's my problem".
• Cake Eating Contest '07
• Troy Dunn (bless the hearts of those who are related to him)
• Soulja Boy Halloween '07
• Scattergories "team meetings"
• Christmas parties
• World Cup golden boot trophy
• Pyscho Debbie Fox (exec) who is convinced hackers are after her, and refuses to fax, email or reside in one location for longer than three months
• Other psycho execs who baffle me day to day with the strangest things
• Drink runs

Five years, folks. Makes me feel like one of "them", you know, the veterans of Nu Skin. Heaven forbid I'm here for another five.

Must Share

I just ran across the coolest house website. Oddly enough I was googling "Reese Witherspoon" to find a pic of her latest hair cut, and clicked on a stunning picture of her, only to be directed to hookedonhouses.wordpress.com and I've been lovin' it up for the past few hours now.

One of my favorite posts so far is "The Spite House" in Alexandria, Virginia. You must take a gander, it's crazy!

Our first apartment we lived in was an old home just renovated. We LOVED it. All of it. The teeny kitchen, oddly placed shelves, white and green stucco exterior, radiators in each room but ours, and interior french doors. It was charming, and had character.

Our current apartment also scores high in the charming department. More so on the outside since we live in the add on, but either way, I'll take it. I love the character, and have insisted to Tadd on multiple occasions that we must own a home built in the early 1900's, if not earlier. Sure the plumbing and such will be a concern, but I have a handy husband with resources. I just want an old home to love and care for to pieces, more than I can even explain.

This gem of a site has plenty of these old homes I'm referring to, and it's making me homesick. Odd, eh? I don't live in one of them, but want to SO badly.

I feel much better now that I've admitted to this obsession of mine, and I suppose I must keep loving photos of old homes until I can inhabit one of my own. *Sigh*

Smooth Move

I just made the most kick-a smoothie with our freakin' sweet Magic Bullet, thanks to Kris, Kecia and Christmas. You all probably know the kitchen intimidates me, but after reading through the bullet's recipe book, I feel armed and ready!

*

Back to my smoothie, seriously the best. Jamba Juice ain't got nothin' on my bullet. You'll love this:

*

-Two handfuls of frozen berries (I favor blueberries, so a little extra of those)

-Half a banana

-Half a little thingie of Blueberries & Cream Yoplait yogurt

-Four-ish ice cubes

-Splash of orange juice

*

Who wouldn't love those measurements?

Shut Out

Went to my first MLB game in California, ate a Dodger dog like I was supposed to, and watched the Dodgers shut out the D-Backs. Good times.

My hair and Cali don't mix

We had to follow through with tradition and cram as much of whatever Lauren would approve of in her mouth. Whole bag of cotton candy? CHECK!


Love them ballers!

Can't forget about this dude. He was so stoked that the Dodger's "closed" the Diamond Backs.

La-Lympics

With the Olympics still fresh on our minds, I thought now would be a great time to reflect upon the day I had the honor of grasping the Olympic Torch...

Too bad it wasn't any cooler than going up to the Olympic Park in Park City for a Nu Skin Ruby Trip. Eh, good time either way.

Whit and I on the lift heading up to the Alpine slide, whoopee!!!

Justin and Whitney SUPER excited for the slide. P.S. It was really freakin cold. IN JUNE!

Our first Nu Skin bobsled team!

Sometimes, do you not know how to finalize a post, so you just end it, all lame-like? That's what I'm doing now...

My Buddy n' Me

Me and my thrift shop hoppin' buddy.

I heart our new hobby. (more to come on our finds)

Scuzzy Saturday

Saturday's are ugly days.

So, what's a girl to do on a Saturday when she's supposed to attend her friend's baby shower and go out in public? Well, she yanks her hair back for a frickin' early flight home from California*, skips the teeth brushing** and swishes Diet Coke around her mouth.

Ah, the joys of Saturdays.

Granola, Powla (housing the moppet) and Funny-Pants

*Flew to California for a work thing at noon on Friday, and flew home at 7 a.m. the next day, ugh
**I forgot my toothbrush ok!?