tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216336732024-03-05T00:10:52.133-08:00catwix.comCathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-14881680247503503882018-09-11T19:18:00.002-07:002018-09-11T19:18:58.950-07:00WealthSo much has happened since I last posted here. I'm a pretty private person so I don't like to air my junk, but some things I've been up to in the last 4 years:<br />
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I bought an old dual-cassette player and I've been listening to some old tapes that have allowed me to re-live and re-do some troublesome years of my life. I have been playing music alone and with friends, I've been raising my babies. I got a job, sold a house, bought another, played Dream Police on a Telecaster, painted a giant mandala on my dining room floor, took a sex-ed teacher-training course, bought marijuana stock, lost some ego, gained some weight, forgave myself, forgave the universe, gained knowledge, lost friends, gained friends, lost Bowie and subsequently found Bowie, started a business, struggled, laughed, and found a certain peace and liberating humility I've never had before. Life is rich. <br />
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Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-45990604502482208062014-08-23T15:29:00.003-07:002014-08-23T15:29:54.064-07:00I posted some songs on my Soundcloud account www.soundcloud.com/catwix<br />
It's all the same old stuff, a few live songs. Fun to listen to some of it. I miss playing music. A lot. It's just really nice to collaborate with other musicians and become a band that is something bigger than the sum of all parts. I miss it. I'll have it again someday.<br />
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My kids are growing up so fast. Abigail is 6.5 and in 1st grade, Chu is 4, and Edie is 2. They are all healthy and happy and beautiful. I am blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined. We moved to the suburbs last year and are still trying to unpack and figure out our new environment. Hubby & I haven't slept a full night's sleep in 7 years so we're kind of living in a weird zombie dream-like state. Taking lots of pictures so we can document it all in case my memory fails me.<br />
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<br />Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-12478345503303318422013-09-11T08:46:00.001-07:002013-09-11T08:46:20.085-07:00Universe TimingI was texting with a dear friend last night, for whom I had ordered flowers to be sent more than a week earlier, but due to circumstances beyond my control, she didn't receive them until yesterday. I was upset about the whole thing, because there was plenty of miscommunication with the flower shop owner and the credit card company, and I was irritated. We finally cleared it up, and the flowers were finally delivered yesterday.<br />
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Turns out the timing was perfect. She was having a rough day and the flowers (which had been intended for a different rough day) cheered her up. It was good.<br />
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It made me realize how the universe has its own agenda and all the fighting in the world to make things go on my schedule is not going to do me much good. Basically I need to chill.<br />
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Time has its own mind<br />
Mindfully<br />
mind the time.<br />
All will be<br />
as it should.<br />
It will happen<br />
when it's time.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-89508258299589049722012-11-04T09:01:00.000-08:002012-11-04T09:14:40.073-08:00Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had our 3rd child, Edie Elizabeth, at home in July. I have been a bit busy since then, so it's taken me a while to finally post here. She is beautiful, and the other kids love her. As far as I can tell, our family is complete. </div>
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Birth Day Photo by our Doula Bess Schaefer</div>
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Photo by <a href="http://sweetmeadowphotography.yolasite.com/">Sweet Meadow Photography</a></div>
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Edie at 3 months old!! </div>
Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-12415354876264327682012-10-09T18:47:00.001-07:002012-10-09T18:48:43.136-07:00Hello Grandad <i>*This is an old myspace (does anyone remember myspace?) blog post from February 28, 2008 that I wanted to re-post on this blog because I was just thinking about my dear old Grandad, who passed in February 2007*</i><br />
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I visited my Grandma today. My Grandad passed away a year ago the 18th. He was the love of my life until Ivan came along, and more recently, Abigail.<br />
I left my Grandma's house feeling overwhelmed. <br />
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My brothers & I grew up there. After Grandad had retired from the DSCC, he did a bunch of impressive home projects. He built a gorgeous 2-tiered back patio, almost the full length of the house. He converted the basement to a sweet hang-out spot with billiards, ping-pong, darts, a bar, a tv room, and a bedroom with a 3/4 bath & kitchenette. My brothers & I had our friends over there all the time. Everyone would dip their hands into the cookie jar, and from time to time, Grandma would bitch about "feeding the whole damn neighborhood," although I think she secretly enjoyed it. As we grew up and went to college, the basement became more of a holiday place, where we would all go to play pool after eating turkey. I don't really remember the last time we actually played pool down there, but there was a last time.<br />
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Today my Grandma and I were talking about all the stuff in the basement and garage. Tools, building materials, all kinds of stuff. SHe wants us all to come over & take what we want. I am sure this is a common ritual in families, it's just weird now that it is actually happening to us. <br />
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Grandma & I decided to go to the basement together to have a look. It really struck me to find, that in my Grandad's twilight years, he had taken apart everything that he built. Seriously, everything was disassembled and rearranged- for no reason- except maybe to give him something to do. The game room was nothing but a storage room, the pool table was hoisted up on wheels and had become just a table, with all kinds of tools and hardware stored on it. The bathroom light switch had been removed, as well as the medicine cabinet- for no reason. The antique grandmother clock had been completely disassembled- the casing was hanging up, empty, but then I found its pendulum hanging on another wall, and the weights hanging on a nail a few feet away. He removed an entire wall that had stood between the game room and his work space, and he gathered like items and put them on shelves. I opened a drawer & found a box full of old batteries. Grandma said that at one point, she caught him taking up some of the floorboards of the back patio. She said "Oh, no you don't..." and made him stop.<br />
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Why did he feel compelled to disassemble what was once such a place full of happy memories? Grandma said that in the end he would spend all day down there & just come up for lunch and dinner. Then he would spend the evening watching tv with her and then they'd go to bed. We knew what he was doing in the basement, but I guess we never really thought anything of it. We just figured he was working on some other big handyman project & he would eventually clean it back up.<br />
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I thought that until today. Ivan said that it might have been a side effect of some of the medications- that the tendency to disassemble things is a strange side effect of crystal meth. Maybe his medicines were interacting with each other and this was a side effect.<br />
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He was definitely losing his mind. He was beginning to have hallucinations, like he would wake up in the middle of the night and look out the front window and see people dancing in the yard across the street. I witnessed him picking at his clothes and removing little tiny imaginary bugs and throwing them on the floor. Once he asked me if Ivan was sitting across from him, and Ivan wasn't even there that day. I could tell he was a little embarrassed when he realized it was his imagination. He wasn't always like this.<br />
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Grandad liked Ivan. I think he saw himself in him and approved of him. He walked me down the aisle at our wedding. As I said, he was the love of my life. He was a funny man. Jolly, happy, witty, smart, politically interested, a veteran of the 2nd World & Korean wars. He was a humble great man, proud of his family.<br />
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Grandad died after falling backwards when he reached the top of the basement stairs after a normal day of disassembling. He went quickly -within 12 hours- so we are thankful that he didn't suffer. Funny-I found out 2 weeks later that I was pregnant.<br />
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The last time I saw him was at my mom's a week earlier. She made a special dinner for my Grandparents and me and just wanted to get them out of the house for something different to do. He was in good spirits, lucid, and seemed to be feeling well. I am so thankful to have that memory.<br />
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My Grandma has had a rough year. She still cries a little almost every day, and she talks to him. She's lonely and that makes me sad. But she is strong and sharp as a tack, and still goes to the gym 3 days a week to walk around the track & do the machines without the weights. She has a laugh with the few friends she has there and then goes home to an empty house. She can still drive, thankfully, but she's afraid they'll take her license away when she turns 89 this April & goes in to get it renewed. She has her 1 mile radius that she drives- Kohl's, the library, the Post office, Kroger, Carfagna's, the "spa" (gym), and her doctors. I hope they don't take her license.<br />
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Funny- the thing that keeps her going is a doorbell that Grandad installed a few years ago. It seems to have a short in it or something and goes off several times a day. She is convinced that it is Grandad, saying hello. It didn't start doing it until we got back from Washington DC after taking Grandad's ashes to Arlington National Cemetery for a beautiful 21-gun salute ceremony in June. My cousin thought the doorbell might be picking up a signal from someone's garage door opener in the vicinity, but I think for Grandma's sake, nobody wants to know if that's true. She even took it down & took it to Home Depot to have someone look at it & they said there was nothing wrong with it. It's funny, though, it seems to go off at the darnedest times. It always goes off when someone visits, as if he's saying hi. Today, it didn't go off right away & Grandma took note of it. "Your Grandad hasn't called yet to say hello to you. I wonder why?" After a while, Abigail woke up from her car-induced slumber, and after I took her out of her car seat & gave her to Grandma to hold her, the dorbell rang. Grandad didn't want to wake the baby, so he waited to say hello.<br />
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Hello Grandad.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-72100884128237185022012-07-10T15:18:00.001-07:002012-11-04T09:14:06.639-08:0039 weeksI am sitting on my birth ball, watching my 2-year-old son play with his chicken nuggets while I eat my chocolate chip pancakes. I've given up on timing contractions for the time being- I couldn't concentrate on starts & finishes, and all in all, they aren't really proving to be regular anyway. Planning a home birth, my biggest concern is that I will be in labor and my kids, particularly Chu, will wake up in the middle of the night & want to sleep in my armpit. With him, no other armpit will do. Abs is pretty good about finding her way to the toddler bed in our room & not waking anyone. But Chu needs skin-to-skin contact when he comes into mommy & daddy's room. It's sweet, really, but if I'm not in there because I'm birthing a baby, he's gonna flip a lid.<br />
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Anyhoo, I'm very close to having this baby, and I've been having periods of interesting contractions and then nothing. So I am trying to be careful not to cry wolf with any of it. But I also want to be careful not to have a 2.5 hour labor like I had with Chu, I'd like to give my attendants enough time to get to me. It's a beautifully frustrating balance of being in tune with my baby, my body, the time of day & the schedules of my husband & my children, and the universe. Tall order!<br />
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Here are a couple shots from a photoshoot I did with the lovely & talented Kim Sailor with <a href="http://sweetmeadowphotography.yolasite.com/">Sweet Meadow Photography</a> last week.<br />
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<br />Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-76985476161045474762012-05-20T14:46:00.004-07:002012-05-20T14:46:39.121-07:0031 weeksIt's going to get hot from here... Abs is out of school and I am scrambling to come up with ideas to keep the kids occupied during the day. I have a feeling there will be lots of playdates in the shade. I have a lot of really groovy mom friends around town so I have plenty of options. It's just a matter of getting us out the door.<br />
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I just attended the Eco Chic Craftacular this afternoon and went to visit my friends Karen Buoncristiano & Nick Singer from <a href="http://www.craftybynaturestudio.com/">Crafty by Nature</a> and picked me up some soap. Then I went to see my friend Tera play her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theGingerLees">Ginger Lees</a> gig and got pulled up on stage to sing with her. Since I had the kids with me, they got on stage with me. It was fun since I don't really get much of a chance to play many shows these days!<br />
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Anyhoo, just checking in. Hope you have a great summer.<br />
Love,<br />
Catwix XOXOCathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-2393892786903036512012-04-30T18:59:00.002-07:002012-04-30T18:59:28.671-07:0028 WeeksI've entered my 3rd trimester. I have all my appointments set up from here on out. It's funny how my kids all have their own season. Abs is Fall, Chü is spring, and #3 is smack dab in the middle of summer. Thankfully, this is our last. I'm not interested in having a winter baby just to even it all out. This is our home-birth baby. I'm excited and relieved to be able to have this one at home. I've always wanted to have a home birth, but I guess I just wasn't completely comfy with the idea before. But I had 2 lovely, uncomplicated, unmedicated births in the hospital, the second of which I might as well have had at home because he came precisely 2.5 hours after I woke up wondering if the labor pains I was experiencing were real contractions or more teaser contractions like I'd had nightly during the previous 2 weeks. I felt like the ride to the hospital was kind of a waste of time and I wasn't happy about being treated like I didn't know what I was doing (I guess they have to assume their patients know nothing to be sure that they get all the information conveyed, but for folks who have done their homework on childbirth and the early newborn phase, it's just kind of irritating). So I felt this time that I was very much ready to plan a home birth, and I feel very confident <div>
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I'm ready to raise my 3 kids and get the family into a proper groove. Pregnancy is really hard for me. I feel so helpless, especially in my 3rd trimester because if I barely move the wrong way, I suffer for a week or so. I have been described in the past as "fiercely independent." I now feel like that couldn't be further from the truth. I have to depend on others for just about everything. It's maddening. I look forward to a time when I can dig my own dirt, move my own furniture, carry my own load again. On my own time. This is definitely a lesson in patience and slowing down. </div>
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Anyway, spring has sprung and I'm ready to get the garden going. I won't do much, but I'd like to have a few veggies. It's fun for the kids, and it gives me a little sense of pride knowing that I can grow my own food. We have a million strawberry plants scattered around the yard. We planted them 2 years ago so they should be pretty fruitful this year. </div>
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We are still dreaming of moving out of this house and into our dream home with a big kitchen and a garage. Living without a garage is a drag. When I was here by myself it wasn't that big a deal, but I'm married to a gadget guy who needs a garage. I need him to have a garage. Life would be so grand with a garage.</div>
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Ok well I'm rambling at this point so I'll sign off for now. I'd love to be an actual "blogger" but I'm more of a stream-of-consciousness kind of person so my posts don't have much of a point to them, but I like to write anyway, just in case anyone wonders what I might be up to. </div>
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Hugs & kisses,</div>
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<br /></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-49933184905519858232012-01-28T18:05:00.000-08:002012-01-28T18:05:46.197-08:00Sleep.I've entered the 2nd trimester and am starting to feel a little better. I spent some time swapping clothes out & populating my drawers with maternity clothes. I acquired a whole bunch of hand-me-down maternity clothes from lovely friends so I will be dressing well this time around.<div><br />
</div><div>My next hurdle is to get the kids out of my bed and into their own room. This may be the hardest thing I will ever have to do to date. Attachment parenting really does create attached children. Heavens to Murgatroyd. Lately these kids have had me so exhausted by the end of the day, that I end up just going to bed with them. Chü flops around the bed for about 20 minutes, gets down & leaves the room, runs around the house looking for his dad, comes back into the bedroom and finally gets on the bed & submits to sleep. Meanwhile, Abigail requires me to hold her hand while she drifts sweetly off to sleep. I occasionally find it irritating because I often have to contort myself to provide her with a hand, but I have to remind myself that some day, she will no longer want to hold my hand. *enter pregnancy hormonal deep sigh & lip quiver*</div><div><br />
<div>We purchased a twin-over-full bunk through Target.com. It arrived on Wednesday and we are planning to assemble it tomorrow, though the mattress isn't scheduled to arrive until Tuesday (gotta love drop-shipping). Then we will begin the arduous task of transferring the kids to their own room at night. I don't have the heart to force them into any sleeping situation if they are lonely or scared. We will start them both in the bottom bunk and hope that they eventually feel secure in that arrangement. </div><div><div><br />
</div><div>Speaking of sleep, Abigail's latest favorite movie is Disney's Sleeping Beauty. We've been watching that daily, sometimes twice a day. (This pregnancy has caused me to abandon many ideals, one of which was to limit TV time. Sometimes, TV is all you've got). </div><div><br />
</div><div>It's now 9:05pm and it's way past our bedtime. So goodnight.</div><div> </div></div></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-42300556164899559942012-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:002012-01-02T08:53:28.191-08:00hipster DIYI used to be super-organized. Hyper-organized, even. That was when I had to take care of my own stuff only. Now I have to keep 4 of us organized and I'm failing miserably. I am so sleep-deprived that any down-time I have I sit and stare at the computer, looking to all the crafty hipster DIY simplification & organization sites for answers and I just come to the conclusions that 1. I am not a hipster, 2. I am wasting time looking for answers from hipster sources and 3. I still have a lot of reaching within my own self to do to find my own answers to the things that perplex me.<br />
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It's January 1, 2012. I am pregnant with our 3rd child, and I am super duper tired. I am relieved that the holidays are over. I'm not sure what's in store for this year except that I will be having a baby in July. We talk about moving, almost daily. We're so unsettled in this place it's just kind of a hovering gray cloud over us that won't budge. I'm too tired to try to tackle the disorganization. I look to my friends with older kids to remind me that this is a short phase in life. I am not the most patient, nor gracious, mother of small children. When this baby is born I'll have a 4.5 year-old, a 2.25 year old, and a newborn. Lawd help us. <br />
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Love, light, and peace to you this 2012.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-64469155780229943432011-10-21T19:05:00.000-07:002011-10-21T19:05:04.917-07:00UnpredictableI know, as a Sagittarius, that just when someone gets used to us, we change, and it kind of messes with their expectations of how we will react to something. We are unpredictable. Ivan & I were born on the same day so imagine how confusing we are to each other. <br />
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I guess what I mean is that sometimes I can take a joke, but sometimes I can't. Sometimes I'm serious as a freaking heart-attack, but someone might be used to me being happy-go-lucky with a fabulous sense of humor, so they approach me with something they think I will enjoy, but instead I am appalled. The night of my wedding, which was actually Ivan's & my birthday too, I looked across the room & locked eyes with Junebug, my old bass player from the Catbirds- he & Catfish were my ceremony musicians. I flashed him a big smile. He later mentioned that until that moment, he didn't know which Cathy he was going to get. It all made sense to me at that point. Since then I have remembered numerous situations in which I must have confused the hell out of my friends by my reactions to something they said or did. Sorry guys. Love you.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-9708095762999383262011-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:002011-08-22T20:49:13.454-07:00Summer's almost overI've been pretty introspective lately. I left Facebook (again) and am really trying to limit my time online. Seems I am constantly on here looking for answers to all the questions that exist in my mind. Then I see ads that are tailored just for me. Creeps me out. <br />
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Anyhoo, so far, getting offline is helping me clear my mind a bit. The kids need quite a bit of attention and I need to give it to them. Abs is starting preschool in a couple weeks! This will be her 2nd year. She loves it and I love how happy it makes her. She is so sweet. I can't believe she is almost 4. Chü is 16 months and is super cute and hilarious. He stomps around like a 800 lb gorilla and points at stuff and says "Yee-yee-ghee-ghee." Every night before bed, the 4 of us get in bed & the kids jump around and dive-bomb Ivan & me. It's the best party in the world. <br />
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My worm composter got fruit flies. They are fantastically gnarly and I finally had to put the thing outside. The worms are fine though. My friend Lydia is going to give me some nematodes to viciously murder the fruit fly larvae. I am so excited.<br />
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My kitchen is my main source of anxiety so I am trying to streamline it a bit. Feeding a family of 4 is not my strong suit. I am failing miserably and am lucky to get them fed at all, let alone nutritiously. These people are the pickiest eaters in the universe. My tiny little kitchen is uninspiring and inadequate. My next kitchen will be fit for a queen/chef. <br />
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Here are some recent photos of my family:<br />
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</div>:Peace:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Love, Cat</div><br />
Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-13638913451303272182011-08-15T06:34:00.000-07:002011-08-15T06:34:08.287-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: monospace; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.bringawesomeback.org/"><img alt="" height="145" src="http://standupforohio.org/bringbackawesome/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bbabanner.png" title="bbabanner" width="492" /></a></span>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-51289886010132113472011-07-03T09:44:00.000-07:002011-07-03T09:44:15.511-07:00The Ginger Lees CD Release Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxvLmMEEXipHLyRpoTesXia295tj0Y1SBk9oIhEp4tEXAarqhx0xyd5y4MrljQoHlvD1lWf4Yk07vGGlIUt2Y7GFOhn_MxPfzOaEmhdL16t1JbGNdB2tCg5HQ7iyfbj2ovpEc/s1600/264052_211918508853153_195010753877262_674869_3238472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxvLmMEEXipHLyRpoTesXia295tj0Y1SBk9oIhEp4tEXAarqhx0xyd5y4MrljQoHlvD1lWf4Yk07vGGlIUt2Y7GFOhn_MxPfzOaEmhdL16t1JbGNdB2tCg5HQ7iyfbj2ovpEc/s320/264052_211918508853153_195010753877262_674869_3238472_n.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ginger Lees are celebrating their CD release party Wednesday, July 13 at Cafe Bella. My band, The Sweet Nothings is the opening act at 7pm. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=216201565077529">Here </a>is the Facebook invitation. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$20 reserved ticket ($25 day of show) gets you: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">dinner of three courses</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">complimentary beverages & debut CD</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">entertainment:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">7:00 the Sweet Nothings</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">7:45 the Ginger Lees</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">8:15 No. 1 Cat</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">9:00 the Ginger Lees</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">tix avail at Cafe Bella </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(614)267-1998</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cafebellacolumbus.com/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.cafebellacolumbus.com</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">Cafe Bella is an evolving concept, restaurant and catalyst for neighborhood and community development. Untraditional in style and service, there are no set menus as food is purchased that day and dishes are created to showcase the bounty's quality and freshness. Our menu usually consists of a vegetarian dish and a chicken or fish offerring; salads, subs and pastas are also served.</span></span>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-60602105271968062722011-07-03T09:10:00.000-07:002011-07-03T09:10:33.689-07:00Each day is a new chance to get it rightParenting is hard, especially if you have control issues. I yell a lot. Then I beat myself up about it. It's a vicious cycle. But I have decided to forgive myself and try to reset every day. I am going to try to embrace this concept in all aspects of my life, because I finally understand the beauty of it.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-28477968214805066162011-06-16T06:09:00.000-07:002011-06-16T06:09:10.004-07:00All the Pretty Trees Art Exhibit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am participating in this cool art show going on tomorrow... I have compiled a map of the art pieces' locations of origin and created an art piece of my own! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJS2LysgS_XbLilyFOp0QFMSCdIG54jV9uBbhoYsUnxwQJmbcONtkU7x5zE-DUapJjm7l9R5WhOiZfETQ9bwmtxML6CixRqXLhnYwQyA6QDJ7xDn-y6prd9EvuZsxVtrEeGpda/s1600/All+the+Pretty+Trees+flyer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJS2LysgS_XbLilyFOp0QFMSCdIG54jV9uBbhoYsUnxwQJmbcONtkU7x5zE-DUapJjm7l9R5WhOiZfETQ9bwmtxML6CixRqXLhnYwQyA6QDJ7xDn-y6prd9EvuZsxVtrEeGpda/s320/All+the+Pretty+Trees+flyer2.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-32980078102878867742011-06-07T20:11:00.000-07:002011-06-07T20:11:26.804-07:00Music, Worms, and TreesHello Friends<br />
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I've been busy. Between playing new music with some fabulous musicians and scrambling to get my veggie garden together after tons of rain and working on a map to tie together a show of art, I'm a busy mother! I'm really excited, though, to be tapping back into my artistic side. It feels really good. <br />
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My new band is comprised of No. 1 Cat's Nikki Wonder & Scott Gorsuch, and Honk, Wail & Moan's Steve Perakis & Geoff Sullivan... we are <a href="http://www.facebook.com/the.sweet.nothings.cbus">The Sweet Nothings</a>. I love the name, but apparently so do like 10 other bands in the world, but that's cool, we can hold it down here in Cbus. We've been writing songs! Dude, I haven't written a song in over a decade! So it feels good to dust out some cobwebs.<br />
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I am making a map for a really cool art show called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/alltheprettytrees">"All the Pretty Trees"</a> at <a href="http://itlookslikeitsopen.blogspot.com/">It Looks Like It's Open Gallery</a> on June 17. I'm plotting the locations of all the art pieces and creating an art piece from that map. <br />
<div><br />
I got 1000 red worms yesterday from <a href="http://www.one20farm.com/">One20 Farm</a> in Columbus for my worm composter and we put them in their new home today. Now the trick is to make sure we keep the lights on so they stay in their new home... apparently when introduced to a new home, they often try to run away. <br />
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Baby Chü is walking all over the place, grabbing everything, Abigail is 3.5 and has developed quite a strong personality. Lawd, gimme strength. I am fragmented!!<br />
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</div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-79424320614771951962011-04-11T21:03:00.000-07:002011-04-11T21:03:50.894-07:00MamapaloozaI am excited to have found a friend in a groovy lady named Nikki Wonder. She is also a mom and she fronts a fantastic band called <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/No1-Cat/163833520330663">No. 1 Cat</a>. We are working out a set for this year's Mamapalooza May 14. I love singing with her and I'm so excited to see what we come up with for this show. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma-Bold; font-size: 18.0pt;">Mamapalooza Columbus 2011<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma-Bold;">Saturday May 14th 12 noon to 5 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma-Bold;">Whole Kids Pediatrics & Yoga<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma-Bold;">1335 Dublin Rd Grandview, 43215<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma-Bold;">Performance schedule TBA.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-47079040263907625802011-03-11T09:50:00.000-08:002011-03-11T09:50:29.535-08:00Rest in peace, dear friendMy college advisor, Hubertus (Hugh) L Bloemer, passed away yesterday after battling cancer of the lung & liver. I am beyond sad. He was a very special person in my life. He helped me see my potential- something that nobody else but my mother has been able to do. When I went to speak with him about changing my major from civil engineering to cartography in 1994, he immediately took me under his wing and mapped out my remaining years of college. Little did I know he would become one of the most important people in my life. He became almost a father figure to me- a male influence that filled a void my father left years before. He mentored me through my college and graduate school years, and into my mapping career. If he'd had his way, I would have moved on to work in the DC area or New York, but I decided I was a home girl and wanted to live closer to family. But just the fact that he saw my potential to take on such a high-brow career path made me feel special. He saw the potential in a lot of people. He cheered us on, even when we were troubled. He did not judge anyone. He understood the human condition.<br />
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When I spoke to him last weekend, I was trying to keep it light and airy... I think he knew it would be the last time we'd speak. He was more solemn than usual. We made plans for me to come visit him in the spring. It snowed today.Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-79285092451135773022011-02-08T19:34:00.000-08:002011-02-08T19:38:46.817-08:00CoolMy song, "Gone", is featured in a really groovy nationwide diary project called <a href="http://leaflessdiaries.com/about/">Leafless Diaries</a>. Check out the <a href="http://leaflessdiaries.com/leafless-tour-midtour-break/#section=episodes">episode</a>. My song plays during Vanilla's counseling session. LOLCathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-91367213698342180932010-12-12T17:36:00.001-08:002010-12-13T06:34:37.040-08:00<div style="text-align: left;">Happy holidays! I want to share some awesome holiday photos of my babies, taken by Dianna Nartoski at <a href="http://www.dgnphoto.net/main.html">DGN Photography</a>, as a charity fundraiser event for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hhOgQH5eaXeLrxVMFuFNTqtCthyphenhyphenYEVsIlGpw03OlST6U1jSfX_Kj7V_SLWBGBIyF2e6byF393_iMrsKuxZxF6ywA0W64k7MMaLQTfsoJT3ToolJXTvuFgxZbRc-tvyGkUCCB/s400/ours-007.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549978681956529538" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipi88OA3ODUtTBIZU3HSnGDrSTCZcfTTGA1grhi9g7L_ud9uA_Ki3gfJw_TGMwcch5t_LPjNYmZCmRqLslbuRG5k7tcnKHn7EgjmohyQqu5xA3TUnuJVvcuIgKvGxV_mbzzceU/s400/ours-035.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549992425203357986" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYptUspwcLSVirLwIfGmDyKytSPAFtKy2ZiDjZ7RwINbPjMx__n6Yn3bZqrfZXc8ObeqRA3-SPCOcRuJD13yftH3lL2QCcoYOUTfGPIGnIA-8P8AeDv9Pd0_6kxTynw_G8rLA/s400/ours-048.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549993873789622242" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-63053774585421156042010-12-12T17:26:00.000-08:002010-12-12T17:36:06.503-08:00I deactivated my Facebook account. For now, this is temporary. I need to ground myself a bit and get out of mindless cyberspace, so I can focus more on my life and kids and husband and home. I also need to focus a little more on my own website and blog. Social networking is fun and useful if you are able to follow through and be social and network in real life. Otherwise it just turns into a mind suck and makes you focus on what everyone else is doing, and what you're not.<div><br /></div><div>So I blogged about it.</div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-9823608008746268662010-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:002010-09-14T13:11:22.765-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7hD-CuLuiLeXdVA6kvxg8THtj1astlHSMn0iD10Wu8ptKi_qmGvSG3hmimRwep_KcgWCpHJp-yCNvjejAnGjV0fNc-VdomngxU4qLKLFxys4j9Bnpd_BsOj9ViMEvLKiv_z7/s1600/Mamaflyer-4+(1).jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7hD-CuLuiLeXdVA6kvxg8THtj1astlHSMn0iD10Wu8ptKi_qmGvSG3hmimRwep_KcgWCpHJp-yCNvjejAnGjV0fNc-VdomngxU4qLKLFxys4j9Bnpd_BsOj9ViMEvLKiv_z7/s400/Mamaflyer-4+(1).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516863696126693314" /></a><br /><div>I go on around 4!</div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-65652246914245903852010-06-29T17:29:00.000-07:002010-12-24T05:44:29.548-08:00It's a boy!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqiEBNPnNGSDNq6epGYxIBu-G-HSiD03kt40_A_8Pmr6YJyDA_5u0cRQaRCgHdAB3swaNFzr7vkO6W3VvDif_AB2UmovQ4jjr2zxxx-5Fjo4CUZJHMY7PqMFg5LP7FMPMrQGm/s1600/IMG_7759.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488357962584412930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqiEBNPnNGSDNq6epGYxIBu-G-HSiD03kt40_A_8Pmr6YJyDA_5u0cRQaRCgHdAB3swaNFzr7vkO6W3VvDif_AB2UmovQ4jjr2zxxx-5Fjo4CUZJHMY7PqMFg5LP7FMPMrQGm/s400/IMG_7759.JPG" style="height: 225px; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ivan Nicholas Harrison Ours </div><div style="text-align: center;">born April 17, 2010</div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21633673.post-38658523058581402952010-02-20T08:47:00.000-08:002010-02-20T10:05:03.790-08:00Hello<div><br /></div><div>February has brought much illness into the household. I think we're all finally getting better though. We've been hit with one snowstorm after another here in Columbus, and with that snow has come the homeowner's nightmare of ice dams in the gutters. My husband is an ice dam warrior though, and despite his horrible sinus infection, he's been out there on the ladder, chipping away at the dams and shoveling the snow away to allow the snow to melt and properly drain out the gutters. He's a hero.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, I am nesting like crazy, with 8 weeks left in this pregnancy, I am trying to get my domestic ducks in a row now, in order to allow for that much needed rest during the last month. I've been tackling the curtains. Trying to brighten up the place. My mom gave me some beautiful curtains for our bedroom but I ruined them through a laundry faux pas and shrank the flannel lining by putting them in the dryer on low heat. Dammit. I'm still using them though. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our recent renovation to the back room and the removal of the swimming pool has brought much joy to our family, and this place really feels like home more than ever. I can't wait til spring so we can get working on the back yard and landscaping and such. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhoo, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this babe, currently called "Chewy," because she was seen chewing during our ultrasound. We are trying to get Abigail ready for her arrival, but we don't really know if we're making any headway on that. All I know is that I am beginning to feel emotional about the transition of our little family of 3 to a bigger, more chaotic family of 4. I know we will adjust and we will be just fine, and I will love Chewy as much as I love Abigail. I am not worried about any of that. I guess I am not really worried about anything... I feel at peace at the whole prospect of our growing family. I am just hyper-aware that it is growing, and there is a limited time left at its current size. I'm sure this feeling is not unique to me. My mom even told me she went through a similar feeling when she went from 1 to 2. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well it's a lovely sunny day outside so I suppose I should switch my attention to that and stop looking at the computer screen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hugs & kisses</div><div>Cat.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Cathy Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599885233842352503noreply@blogger.com0