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Note: Since Jarrod has taken a "hands off" approach to our website, and I am the more computer savvy half of this
union, please note that the "I" in the entries below is me, Carole.
November 1: Our Christmas shopping has begun in earnest. With everyone in our respective families gaining significant
others and having children, pets, and whatnot, our Christmas shopping list has ballooned to an astronomical 23 people (and
that's the immediate family!). We sure hope everyone likes "homemade gifts from the heart" (read, "cookies").
November 2: Today Jarrod's car broke down...again. The $1,500 fix was a bit of the blow to the ol' pocketbook. I guess
y'all won't be getting cookies after all. Luckily, Jarrod has been working as an athletic trainer a bit so that should even
things out. I tell you, sometimes it seems as though if it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all.
November 4: Jarrod's band Rex Sole made their big-city Seattle debut today. I did not attend, as it was a "school
night." Jarrod reports that the place was sort of a dive (quelle surprise) but that they all had a good time being
introduced to the Seattle club scene. He did not arrive home until about 5:30 am, and had to go do a PT evaluation at 7:30
am. Oy.
November 5: Today we drove home to the coast to visit the parental units. Jarrod was recovering from being up most of
the night, so I drove. Thank goodness Jarrod slept most of the way, because otherwise I would have probably dumped him out
of the car due to his back-seat driving. "You should put on your turn signal now"..."start braking now"..."don't
hit those people." I firmly believe that if this PT thing doesn't work out, Jarrod has a bright future as a driver's
ed instructor. When we arrived home, we commenced with the usual overeating that will take a week of dieting to undo.
November 6: The Chase/Forney/Patterson family reunion was today. Much of my extended and immediate family members got
together to do what they do best, eat and be loud. There has been something of a baby boom in my family, and there were about
five toddlers under the age of three who were busily not sharing their toys with one another while simultaneously enjoying
a state of consciousness that only chocolate brownies can induce.
November 6 continued: Jarrod's band, Rex Sole, performed at the U&I Bar and Grill. Jarrod said the gig was a little
under-attended, but it was made up for by the fact that the "Dancin' Bare" strip joint is next door. Thank God
for small favors.
November 6 continued: Today we became cat parents to Tux, a lovely black and white stray who has been looked after by
my parents for the last couple of years. After a long ride to Beaverton, Tux seemed to dig the new surroundings...heat, a
comfy bed, her own toys, and not having to brawl with the other neighborhood tomcats all the time.
November 9: We are sorry to report the loss of our beloved cat, Tux. Although her stay with us was shortlived, we had
really enjoyed having her in our home and as part of our lives. Sometime in the afternoon she began to pant and drool and
Jarrod took her to the vet. Turns out she was suffering from a congenital heart defect and her lungs were collapsing. We
had her put to sleep, which the vet assured us was the most humane thing to do. It was a very hard day for us, and particularly
for Jarrod, who was with her the entire time and then came home and put away her things so that I wouldn't have to see them
when she got home. Although we know she has gone to a better place, she will be sorely missed. Talk of adopting another
kitten may resume after the bustle of the holidays. And the bad luck continues.
November 11: Today I began wrapping the Christmas gifts we have purchased so far. As you will find by reading my "100
things," I am very good at wrapping gifts and actually enjoy doing this. I also have a habit of sniffing the scotch
tape, which Jarrod finds to be bizarre. It smells good and reminds me of Christmas, which makes me happy. Yes sir, Christmas
is underway at the Karnofski household! Although visitors to our home thought it a bit odd that we had wrapped gifts displayed
in the living room, they did have to admit that it was festive.
November 12: A date! A date! Jarrod and I went out on a "date" tonight. Lately, with our busy lives, it
seems that we see each other about one hour out of the day, let alone going on an entire date. Plus, as we had sort of been
having a run of bad luck, it seemed like a good thing to do to get out of the house and get our minds of the cat. Jarrod
bought me a lovely bouquet of lillies and irises, and took me to the brand new Macaroni Grill at Tanasbourne (if you haven't
tried out a Macaroni Grill yet, we highly recommend...it's my favorite). We also shopped around in the new plaza, where I
found approximately 40 thousand dollars worth of merchandise I would like for Christmas. Please e-mail us to find out what
gifts you are responsible for purchasing.
November 13: Today I began lighting/technical rehearsals for my upcoming dance performance. Since I may pursue dance
instruction as a career one day, I am beginning to learn more about the technical side of performance. As is the typical
fashion for these "tech" rehearsals, it was a long, arduous day working under hot lights. Everything was going
along swimmingly until the lighting guy declared at day's end that the lighting program crashed and many lighting cues were
lost. On the upside, they managed to salvage most of the program. On the downside, they lost the cues for every piece I
was in...so I had to redo them all. Bad luck again, you say?
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November 18, 19, and 20: Uuuuughhhh. It has been an absolutely grueling week, busy at work and having dance rehearsal until
late in the night. For the next three days in a row I will be performing. I'm too damned old for this.
November 25: Thanksgiving...woo hoo! I would just like to note that all day today AND tomorrow I will be getting paid
to SIT ON MY BUTT WHILE EATING. We are doing our annual "tour of Thanksgivings," kicking off at Jarrod's Uncle
Andy's place in Longview. We'll then head to dinner number two in Camas at Matt and Debbie's, following by the annual playing
of Trivial Pursuit (read, "the airing of grievances and the placing of blame." This is a Festivus joke. If you
are not a Seinfeld watcher then you have no idea what I'm talking about right now, and I'm not sure I want to talk to you,
either).
November 25 Cont.: Holy fat, batman. Eating two Thanksgiving meals can take a lot out of you. As can getting your ass
kicked at Trivial Pursuit. For those who do not know, the Trivial Pursuit Cup of Excellence has resided on my shelf for the
last year after my crushing victory on Thanksgiving 2003. But my brain has apparently flown south for the winter, as I only
got TWO PIES in my little round gamepiece-thingy. And you know who won? JARROD!!! OH CRUEL GOD. I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS
MAN FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR OF GLOATING!
November 26: Jarrod and I managed to squeeze into some sweatpants and somehow go without eating for a whole hour and
a half down to my parent's house for Thanksgiving smorgasboard number three. My mom cooks a mean bird. Also, Jarrod and
I decorated my parent's house for Christmas, as is the annual tradition since I am such a Christmas nut. Carrying on with
the festivities, I lost some other board game and we watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." If you aren't
familiar with that movie then again, I don't want to speak to you.
November 27: Today we went to see my alma mater team, the ferocious Warrenton Warriors, get their butts handed to them
at the state quarter finals. Actually, we ducked out after the third quarter after Jarrod became frustrated when I referred
to the second half as an "inning."
November 30: The Karnofski family Christmas tree is now standing in our living room in stupendous, five-foot glory.
Naturally, I chose the most expensive tree on the lot without even looking at the price. And thank you, God, for a man who
puts up with me.
December 6: Ah, the annual physical therapy school Christmas party. An excuse to dress up and drink a lot of free (albeit
cheap) wine. This is Jarrod's third and final PT school Christmas party, and I tell you what, we tore the roof off that sucker.
This was the first year I have not had to go in to work the day after the Christmas party, and I partied like it was 1999.
We buddied up with pals Erin, Jason, Makindra, and Brad, and showed those first and second-year students a thing or two about
gettin' down on the dance floor. Makindra, Erin and I had a great buzz going and danced until they were literally shutting
the place down and had to tell us to go home. At one point in the evening, I took my shoes off because they hurt so bad and
continued to hold them while dancing so everyone could still see how cute they were. Each class also performs a skit at the
party and Jarrod did a great job impersonating one of their teachers, Dr. Madeiros. All in all, a great time was had.
That's all for this month, y'all. Have a very merry Christmas!
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