election day

For the first time ever, I voted in a Presidential election.

(insert your shocked faces here)

I know. I know.

It's my civic duty.

I can have a voice.

I can help make a change.

I'm just not that into politics.

But in the back on my mind I felt that if I voted, I would maybe, just maybe have something to do with the removal of political commercials on TV, signs on lawns*, and posts in my Facebook feed.

Girls, looks like you'll have control of your vaginas for another four years!

*in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, people somehow lost fences, trees, lawn furniture...but somehow those god-awful signs were never ripped out of their lawns!

perfect fall snack

Mr. KK and I enjoy spending time at this little craft beer and bistro place down the street from our house. Not only do they have an impressive beer list, they actually have really good food.

One of our favorite small plates are their fried cumin-spiced fried chick peas. They so crunchy and delicious that they're completely addictive.

In true KK fashion, I've recreated this small plate at home; baking the chick peas instead of frying them, making them a healthy snack.

Ingredients:
2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
salt

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Place rinsed chick peas on paper towels on a baking sheet to dry them. Once dry, throw away paper towels.

In a bowl combine olive oil, cumin and paprika. Pour in chick peas and stir until coated. Toss with salt.

Pour chick peas onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake 35-40 minutes until dried and crispy.

(keep and eye on them, sometimes they cook quickly. and you may hear them popping!)

Enjoy!

better late than never: nablopomo 2012

I'd like to thank Hurricane Sandy for me being late to the party for NaBloPoMo this year.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by Sandy. I can't believe the devastation and destruction I'm seeing on TV.

Our brush with Sandy resulted in losing power for a few days. They were the longest three days of my life. I'm not a roughing-it kind of girl, so put me in a house with no power or access to anything electronic and you'll have one bat-shit crazy girl by the end of the day.

Oh, and my office was closed as well with the servers and email down.

My days went something like this:

Ask divine beings for our power back.
Keep wood on the fire for warmth and light.
Eat.
Eat some more.
Cart every electronic we own to my parents' house to charge.
Boil water to wash dishes.
Drink and eat again.
Go to sleep at 8:30.
Wake up at 5:30am and start all over again.

Some super exciting days.

So without power, not only did I forget to start NaBlo, I didn't even realize that it was November.

But here I am. And you got me starting today until November 30!

Teaser! Things to look forward to in this month's posts: a wedding, a senior bus trip to the outlets, Thanksgiving and my high school reunion.

I'm scrubbing in!

Last week my 92-year old Grandfather has a small procedure done. 

The doctor, who thought it prudent to not let the 92-year old that the mass on his kidney was cancerous, told my Grandfather that he was having a polyp removed. 

This seemed to satisfy my Grandfather and so into surgery he went, and out he came...with a catheter.

Now, speaking from experience, a catheter isn't the most pleasant thing on the planet (nor in a bar, or at a restaurant), but it doesn't hurt. It can be slightly uncomfortable at times, but mostly it's just cumbersome. (And uncool.)

But when you're an old man who pretty much sits in front of the TV all day, it shouldn't really impede on your lifestyle.

Unless, of course, you're my Grandfather.

My mother, who was in charge of taking care of her father (my grandfather), was told by the doctor that the catheter could come out Friday or Saturday. But when she called, she was told the doctor was "unreachable". For days. (Also uncool.)

On Sunday, I went over to visit my Grandfather to see how he was doing. I brought him a pumpkin pie because, really, who doesn't love pumpkin pie? He's in the back room so I yell out, "How are you doing today?"

To which he responds, "LOUSY!"

Oh boy.

Turns out, his catheter started leaking. It wasn't draining in the bag, it was draining onto the couch where he was sitting. Or on the floor when he stood up. Apparently they had already called my mother, who was on her way.

And here's how the rest of the afternoon went:

KK calls the doctor's office to talk to the Emergency Answering Service and is told the doctor on call would be paged and would call us back.

This conversation took place:
MOM: "This is a mess. What are we going to do?"
KK: "We'll fix it. We may have to bring him to the ER to have them fix it."
MOM: "Great. Now we'll be spending the whole day in ER."
GRANDFATHER: (shouting from the other room, oblivious to our conversation) "Should we can an ambulance?"
MOM and KK (in unison): "NO!"

KK calls the doctor's office AGAIN because it has been 30 minutes and no call from the Doctor.

Doctor calls back finally. My mother must not like what he's saying to her because she makes a face and tells him to hold on.

MOM: "He said we should try to take the catheter out ourselves. I don't think I can do this, KK. YOU'RE going to have to do it."

KK: "No way. You can totally do it. It's not hard at all, I did mine when I had one. It's easy, the doctor will walk you through it."

(NOTE: It's not that I couldn't do it, but I didn't think the place for me was all up in my grandfather's kibbles and bits, you know? Plus, my mom had been caring for him for days and had already gone through that embarrassment. Why put both of us through it?)

And so, with me on the phone with the Doctor calling out directions, my Grandmother fetching a pair of scissors, and my mother kneeling down in front of my Grandfather's private parts asking "Is it this tube?? Is it this tube??", we removed my 92-year old grandfather's catheter.

"It's out!" I told the doctor. "I feel like I should hand out cigars."

the gym chronicles

I know I haven't written in a while about my escapades at the gym with naked women folk, but that doesn't mean I haven't been going and getting an eyeful.

While I'm still getting dressed with the regulars, there are some new, er, faces each morning.

And each one is just as crazy as the next lady.

Some of my favorites:

• The twenty-something girl who does a full-on 'sweat like it's your job' workout, then goes and gets dressed for work without showering. She uses more baby powder to soak up the sweat in rather interesting places that she should take stock out in Johnson & Johnson.

• The older woman (also of the 'workout without showering' mentality) puts on suntan-colored pantyhose (complete with the reinforced toe!), sensible pumps, and a two-fer suit/blouse number. Priceless.

• The lady who will come in from her workout, strip down to her birthday suit (a rather wrinkled birthday suit, if you catch my drift), and have a conversation with you. After showering, however, modesty takes over and she takes her clothes into one of the dressings rooms to get dressed.

My favorite three runners are still there every morning. Newsflash there: one of them switched from Granny panties to a thong!

Never a dull moment in the locker room!

kk's fall favorites - 2012 edition

I feel like I went to bed and it was warm and summery, and I work up and it was cool and crisp.

Fall is here!

And here are some of my favorite Fall finds.

 The smooth, creamy caramel of these booties make them hard to resist.

Vince Camuto, exclusively at Nordstrom

This Fall it's all about COLOR. I'm loving these deep violet jeans from Loft

 Essie's fall collection of polishes are gorge. Loving this burgundy shade.

 Accessorize like it's your job. Try a snakeskin cuff that's part sexy part biker girl.

 Shopping hands-free is the only way to. This pewter messenger bag from Ralph Lauren lets you shop with ease.

 Every year Target comes out with one piece that's totally fabulous. For me, it's this orange blazer. Perfect with jeans and boots.

 I wish I had a million of these pullovers. It's made by Danskin and perfect for everything from running to riding a plane. The epitome of comfort.

These t-shirts from Loft are so cute. I love this one with the little dog on it. They're perfect to layer under cardigans, or the little orange blazer above.

Happy season of cider, oven-cooked meals and great hair!

get.these.now.

the perfect combination of sweet and salty.

and on the list of "okay to eat" foods.