Cattywampus

Cattywampus is a great word. The first time I heard it was in the description of a young horse that was trying to figure out how to carry itself. If you've ever ridden a two-year-old that's trying to figure out how to balance itself and your weight while loping, you get why it's such an apt description. The horse is trying to figure out where it's feet are and appears to be having some issues staying upright, so you just try to stay out of its way and keep one leg on either side of the horse.

Cattywampus is the best way to describe our lives right now. We have completely lost our groove. Our previous lifestyle involved waking up somewhere between 8 and 9, me doing most of the house and animal chores while fitting in my freelance work, and more spare time than we could shake a stick at. We had lunch together everyday, and generally spent our weekends in blissful nothingness. It was really not a bad gig.

Things are a little crazy around the Beck house these days... we knew it was going to be a change for me to start working full time again, but I don't think we had any idea how to prepare for it. Now, we have to get up much earlier to do animal chores, we pay someone to walk Marty for us and weekends are spent either running errands or blankly staring at the TV. My new job already involves some working from home after hours as well as business travel. It's definitely a shift from being a freelancer/stay at home pet owner.

For extra stress, we're in the midst of house buying! We fell in love with a house last week, and now we're working on an offer. We keep telling ourselves that life will slow down soon, but I'm wonder if maybe that's just a cosmic joke? More updates soon, but for now, we're pretty slammed being cattywampus.

In Which I Attempt to Sum Up the Last Few Weeks, Inverted Pyramid Style

December was a busy time for the Becks, as they celebrated graduation and the holidays in their trademark Mach 3 style.

Graduation day was much anticipated by some (Ak) and merely tolerated by others (Court, who, in true Grinch style, spent the preceding week trying to figure out how to stop graduation from coming. Despite her attempts, graduation came anyway). Flanked by her supportive husband, parents and in-laws, Court arrived at the ceremony in her cap, gown and tallest stiletto heels. When the time came, she haughtily teetered up to the podium, shook hands with the department head, accepted her diploma cover and said her piece with nary a trace of sarcasm or foul language. The Becks and Hathaways then retired to the house for an afternoon of champagne and Scattergories, followed by an amazing dinner at Hayes Barton Cafe where they feasted on Boston Creme cake, Bailey's tieramsu and eggnog cheesecake. When asked for a comment, Court said, "All in all, I'd have to say this day was not bad." (Off the record, this reporter later learned that the sometimes aloof Courtney is in fact very grateful for the support of her friends and family and felt honored to have so many people present at the ceremony.) Days after the ceremony, Court was spotted sporting a stylish short hair cut. Despite rumors, a link between graduation and her hair cut have not been confirmed.

Never ones for downtime, the Becks moved straight from graduation into the holiday season. Christmas began with a quiet celebration at home, complete with holiday nachos, Humbug wine, A Christmas Story and early Santa-ing. Christmas Day was spent in Salisbury where the Becks enjoyed oyster stew, a Christmas Eve service, a visit from Santa Claus and lots of family time. The Becks concluded Christmas in High Point with more family time and a screening of Cat Ballou, a Hathaway family favorite.

The Becks celebrated New Year's at home with their second annual throwdown. They continued in their traditions of making entirely too much food, serving signature martinis and playing board games before ringing in the New Year with a champagne toast. A good time was had by all attendees, and the Becks are already making plans for the third annual throwdown. But it was not a good night for everyone in the Beck household. This reporter has uncovered proof that two housemates were not allowed to attend the party. "My brother and I were locked in a room all night," said a blue tabby who declined to give us his name. "We cried and cried, but no one would let us out." When asked for comment, the Becks retorted that it was the cats' affinity for party food and not their own cruelty that resulted in the cats' eviction from the party. At press time, no charges had been filed.

The New Year holds many challenges and anticipated events for the Becks. Today, FIRST Robotics kicks off for the 2009 season, marking the beginning a busy build season that will culminate with a competition in late February. With graduate school behind her, Court plans to spend the first quarter of 2009 expanding Purple Pony Communications. It is rumored that the Becks plan to leave Cary soon and will begin searching for a new home next weekend. Whatever the future may hold, one thing is certain: the Becks will approach 2009 with their own special idiom.

The Sick Girl Speaks

After a very long couple of days, I have finally made my way back to the land of the living! Despite the unpleasantness of being sick, it did make me realize several things.
1. My cats are really nice to me when I'm sick.
2. My husband will make soup for me if I cough a couple of times, make the "it's hard to talk because my throat hurts" gesture and give him sad eyes.
3. Lindsay Lohan was really cute before she went skanky.

As of Wednesday, I'm off the couch and back in business. Good timing too, as this is a busy time of year for Purple Pony Communications. Last week I made a few investments in the business. I registered a domain name (www.purpleponycommunications.com). It's not a very informative web site yet, but this does allow me to have an official business email, which I'm pretty stoked about. And having committed to an email address, I also committed to new business cards. I have had several opportunities to network in the last few weeks, which is also very exciting. There seems to be quite a demand for what I do. For those of you who don't know what it is I do, I'm a freelance writer, focusing on marketing and public relations writing. Some of the conversations I've had recently involve work in the education field, which I'd be all for, seeing as though I have a Master's in that field and all!

Speaking of my Master's, it just occurred to me a few days ago that I needed special attire to make the trip across the stage! Apparently the whole point of being hooded is having a hood with which to be hooded. Oops. Fortunately, I called the bookstore yesterday and after a very confusing conversation (I asked the sales girl if gowns were on sale -- she thought I was trying to get one cheap, but I really just wanted the option of bringing one home), I learned that my slacker ways had not in fact managed to get me out of graduation. This morning I headed over to campus, paid to park, then paid $70 for my graduation finery. Yowza. Now, I think I need new shoes to go with my fancy new gown, and probably a new dress to match the new shoes.

You're probably wondering what it is that I'm going to do with my new shiny Master's degree. Well, in addition to hanging it on the wall and throwing darts at and adding it to my resume to make me look cooler, I am now a professional pet sitter with Fetch! (The exclamation point is part of their title. The grammar nazi in me wants you to know that I know the proper use of exclamation points.) I got my first client this week -- a little pug that I'll be taking on walks three times a week starting in January. The transition has been a bit rocky, but I think I'm settling in to my new role as an entrepreneur and housewife. There are days when I think I would feel more significant if I left the house to go to work and could give a more concise answer when people ask what I do. But I know me, and I know I'd be bored to tears with the same old routine everyday. Plus this way I get to take off on Monday mornings to do yoga. All in all, I'd have to say my current lot in life is not bad.

Fun things on tap for the next few days: two Christmas parties, church in the new Durham facility, and after many failed attempts, a screening of High School Musical 3! Stay tuned!