Can I Hear a GoogleWoot?

Hey, everyone! Where the hell have you been? You know, it’s really not polite to simply drop off the face of the earth like that. A little warning would have been nice…and I believe an explanation is warranted.

Sniff.

What was that? You feel that I’ve been the errant one? You’re saying that you have been here all along…blogging and crying inconsolably, thinking I could’ve been lying in a ditch somewhere and now that I’ve surfaced, you don’t know whether to smack me or hug me??

(Hangs head) I’ll take that hug now.

A brief overview of the happenings at Kathrynville:

We moved at work. It was only one floor…but it’s a huge improvement in the office environment. Bright colors, open spaces and lots of light results in even more creative thinking…at least, that’s what I assume Dragon, Ric Dragon is thinking. I’ll admit, I had a lot of crap personal belongings to move. I’m a gal who likes her stuff…and it needs to reflect me. Suffice to say that we’re settling in…albeit slowly…and we’re trying to get used to the new layout. This involves a lot of walking and stopping and looking left and right with a perplexed look on one’s face…at least, if you’re me. More later.

Taylor (18) finally took off for college yesterday and I got my office back. Can I hear a “WOOT?!” That was a very long 427 225 42 days. We fit a lot in…and I do believe he got to see everyone on his list. He ate everything in the kitchen that was even remotely edible (okay, so that covers anything I cooked) and left facial hair all over his bathroom sink after he shaved, even after I’d yelled at him several times to cut it out. He claimed the look of disgusted horror on my face (and subsequent bark of, “TAY-LOR!!”) made it totally worth it.

As for Connor…he turned 14 last week. Fourteen! When he woke up on his birthday, he suddenly had peach-fuzz facial hair, became at least half a foot taller than I…and I can no longer identify his voice from Taylor's when he answers the phone. When did this happen? I was here the whole time and I’ve no idea how this happened. Connor’s birthday came complete with an ice storm that dumped two inches of snow, two inches of ice and another two inches of snow…making the ultimate-treacherous-northeastern-winter-sandwich…and making both driving and walking nearly impossible. Good times.

Thursday night, I had another event in Manhattan…also on Madison Avenue. Again…more later. It snowed more Thursday night, making our total accumulation so far: 14 feet, 8 ¾”. Okay, so I’m making this up…but it’s a lot…and we still have February and three-quarters of March to go. Oh, joy.

And now…the news you’ve all been waiting for: (Shame on anyone who scrolled past my life just to get to this part. Shame, shame, shame! Go stand over there and face the wall. I can’t even look at you right now)…the Googlicious Giveaway!

Remember my Google keychain? Remember how you all salivated over it…with one reader offering me a million dollars to part with it…only upon closer inspection, they rescinded their offer, ‘cause by then it was all covered in spit?? Well, I’m now ready to share the Google-loooove…and although my bootie does not include a keychain, there are some pretty terrific items up for grabs:

We’ve got a Google mouse pad, a Google pen and a Google mug. Wait. That was not very descriptive of me…was it? Let’s try that again:

• The “must-have mouse pad of the year!”, (as described by Connor (14), after much cajoling and the promise of some brownies by his mother) the rainbow-lettering depicting the beloved icon Google is imprinted on a shadowy, durable material measuring approximately…uh…8” from like, one end to the other…but like, straight across…not…ya know, around it or anything. My ruler’s not that bend-y.
• This exemplary writing instrument features black ink, the Google logo and a really nifty rubber-gripper-thingie making it easy to grip and write stuff. It was only used once…’cause I had to see what color ink it was. I’m not a mind-reader, ya know.
• This high-quality white coffee mug is emblazoned with the Google logo and will make all your friends so envious, you may need to increase your life insurance. (Remember, under beneficiary, it’s "K-a-t-h-r-y-n".) You can use this mug to hold pencils, an afternoon shot of tequila for the next uber-boring business meeting, or hell…I suppose you could even drink coffee out of it. Honestly, it’s your call…I don’t need to know what you do with it.

ANYWAY.

Rules, Rules….There’s Always Rules

1. Leave a comment here. (Duh.)
2. It would be nice if you were a follower on Blogger (I think that would be a nice Google-touch, don’t you think?) Those would be the bobble-heads I love on my sidebar.
3. I would also love it if you could “like” Inside…Out on Facebook. I’ve linked here…but you can also hit that “like” button in my sidebar. C’mon…all the cool readers are doing it…and then maybe we’ll hit the “25” mark, which according to Facebook will mean we’ve “arrived”, whatever the hell that means.
4. That’s it for the official rules…but it’s unofficially-optional to follow me on twitter, vow to love me forever and promise if I ever write a book, you’ll buy a copy for everyone you know. Oh and bonus points for anyone who cleans the spit off of my Google key chain. And one more thing: I’ll even add your name again to the hat for each new follower you send my way. Just make sure they tell me in the comments that they've arrived via you.
5. Contest ends at midnight on January 31, 2011. I shall have Connor (14) pull the winner’s names from a hat. First pick gets the mouse pad, second the pen, third the mug. You get what you get…’cause something’s better than nothing, right?? Remember that you’ll need to send me your mailing address if you win.

One more thing, just for the hell of it: To anyone who may be annoyed by the above rules, I’ll apologize ahead of time. Yes, I love you guys…that’s why I want to share these awesome trinkets with you…but remember that I’m picking up the tab for the shipping, so why not send a little love back my way? I should mention, too, that I also have each of these items for myself, so we’ll be like, twins. It’s a win/win.

Good luck all-