Kim Through the Years Part 2

Part 2

Spring, 1995:We now enter what I like to call "The Jim Years". This is Jim and his niece, Andrea (who is in kindergarten now). Wasn't she like the cutest baby ever? Look at that! Jim and I think this is when we took a trip out to Boston his senior year of college, but we're not entirely sure. It's around there anyway. So, he was still living with his parents and I was living with Ter and working at Borders. I remember we thought it was a big deal because his sister Mary let us share a bed. Scandale! Plus, every little kid in Jim's family has worn those pajamas at some point, I think. Look how big Jim's glasses are!

Fall, 1995: So Jim and I moved in together after he graduated (in an apartment upstairs from Ter and Stimp), and we got a kitten. Jim named her Grendel. She likes to eat plants. Jim had a couple of large plants (including the one shown) and Grendel liked to eat them. So, we put the big plant on top of the refrigerator, because tiny kitten Grendel couldn't get to the top of the refrigerator. Or so we thought. Until one night at about 2 AM, when we were sleeping peacefully, and we heard a giant crash and Grendel running away. That little kitten had knocked a huge plant from the top of the fridge to the floor. Dirt everywhere. We haven't owned a plant since.

Fall, 1995: I really don't have a story to go with this picture. I just think it's cute. Look at tiny little Grendel! Look at the spots on her belly! I'm sorry. All of the cat-haters out there are like, "Good God. Is she insane? It's a CAT!" I don't care. When Grendel was a kitten, she used to run back and forth in our apartment from about 11 PM until 1 AM every night. So we used to shut our bedroom door. But then she would cry. So we'd open the door. And then she would come in and attack our feet through the blankets. I'm glad she's not a kitten anymore.

Fall, 1995: Okay, I swear this is the last Grendel kitten picture. This was after Jim let me cut his hair and I practically gave him a bob. Grendel also loved hair. I remember sitting in that apartment, at our computer, and Grendel would run by and jump up, sinking her claws into my shoulders, to try to attack my hair. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised we didn't kill her in the first few months. I guess that's why kittens are made so cute -- otherwise, you would kill them for the way they act. Kind of like babies. Anyway, one way in which we resolved Grendel's craziness was that we adopted another cat, so she had a playmate.

Christmas, 1995: And here is the other cat we adopted -- little, baby Mia. It's hard to see her in this picture, but long-time readers of my journal know that it's hard to get pictures of Mia anyway because she doesn't sit still, and she's mostly black. But you can see her in comparison to Jim's head, and see how tiny she was. I guess she was about 4 months in this picture. She didn't climb the tree that year. Oh no, that came later. She and Grendel contented themselves with destroying all the presents under the tree instead.

Christmas, 1995: This is my brother, my mom, and me on Christmas Eve. I have no idea where my dad is. I have a vague recollection that one of my elderly relatives got sick and had to go to the hospital that night, but I might be making that up. Anyway, this was the first Christmas where Jim and I were living together, and he stayed in Syracuse to see his own family. I wanted to go back to Syracuse that night because it was our first Christmas waking up together and stuff, but unfortunately, I think I got food poisoning. So, you can't really tell, but I was deathly ill in this picture, and throwing up in my aunt's bathroom, but trying to hide it because I knew my mom wouldn't let me drive back to Syracuse if I was sick. I did end up driving back, and I had a bag in the car, and I had to pull over and throw up once. But I made it back in one piece. Looking back, driving back was a mistake. As was that dress. It certainly didn't do me any favors. Note: I have started gaining back all the weight I lost in college.

May, 1996: This happened right before we moved to Michigan. I booked Ter and Stimp to play at Borders, and I got up and sang with them. It was weird, because I hadn't really performed in front of my co-workers ever. Afterwards, a bunch of them came up to me and were like, "Was that you singing the other night? You're good!" It was like the collision of two worlds. You can really see the evolution of my weight gain in these pictures. This was what I call the "denial" phase. I had gained a lot of weight, but I was pretending I hadn't, and still wearing my old clothes. The saddest stage of any weight gain is denial. Could my hips look any wider?

July, 1996: This was Molly's wedding (duh, since she's the one in the wedding gown). From left to right, it's me, Molly, Gretchen, and Brenda. I was surprised by how young Gretchen looks to me! This was my second time being a bridesmaid -- in the month of July. Pam got married two weeks earlier, and we had just moved to Michigan. So I had to come back to NY twice in July. It was crazy, but fun. I really don't remember much about Molly's wedding. Oh, except that when she was goign to toss the bouquet, I hid under the head table (pretended to be looking in my purse) and didn't have to participate. Score!

September, 1996: This is me and my sister-in-law (to be, at the time, since she had not yet married my brother). The funniest part of this picture is that I look like her MOM! I'm leaning forward, and she's leaning back, and I look about four times the size of her. What is up with that? This was taken at Chris Davison's wedding reception (brother to Gretchen). I think I had come to terms with the weight gain at this point, as I dressed all in black for a slimming effect. No more denial for me!

Spring, 1997: Our first apartment in Ann Arbor. I don't know why, but I really like this picture. Those were the best pajama pants, ever. EVER! I wore those out. Anyway, this apartment was in a complex, but we had those nice sliding glass doors right outside. They were really helpful when it came to getting furniture into the apartment! And it made me feel better about having one other window in the entire apartment, and it was in the bedroom. I don't know if you can tell, but I hate apartment complexe, and I hated that apartment. Thank God we only lived there for a year.