January 12, 2010, Fairbanks, Alaska, 3:28 a.m., Alaska Time~

Dear Journal~

Katrina here.  Sorry if I haven't written in a few weeks:  Junior keeps me on my toes, as does the overgrown "kid":  my husband, Frank!  LOL  Add one rambunctious Ragdoll cat ("Opie"), and you have chaos to the extreme!  LOL

I'm also pregnant.  Second time.  Some mornings I am lucky if I get out of bed before noon; the morning sickness has hit me with a vengeance.  I spend some nights just hurkin' me guts (I picked that up from a friend in Oz; I guess you can figure out what it means!).  It's awful!  I've also had indigestion; I guess that means the new baby is going to be born with a lot of hair, probably down to his/her kneecaps!  LOL

Suddenly Oz sounds wonderful!  Better than being cooped up in the house; I have been here for nearly two years now (or thereabouts), and my thin Cajun blood hasn't thickened up yet!!  You would think I would be used to the extreme wintertime cold here in Alaska:  you couldn't have been more wrong!

I am now officially a month pregnant (and six days, give or take a few).  Boy, do I know it!  My emotions are out of control:  one minute, I'm laughing; the next, I'm crying my eyes out at any little thing!  Poor Frank has taken the brunt of my Cajun-sized temper, and poor little Junior doesn't know what to make of this mean mamma!  I'm trying to be patient, but it doesn't take much before I explode!  I'm worse than the original Katrina that decimated the American South over four years ago!

Boy, talk about storm-surge!!  LOL

Speaking of, I still miss my home back in N'Awlins.  I miss walking along the French Quarter, listening to Cajun music at Tipitina's or Mulate's, attending the wild party known as Mardi Gras every February or March ... *Sighhhh!*  I wish I could move back there, but I don't think I could handle another hurricane, especially one as bad as Katrina was!  One Katrina was more than enough!!  I couldn't go through it again!!

This is one reason why I now live in Alaska -- but now I have to cope with brutal, bone-chilling cold and wondering if the car will start (it will if Frank plugs 'er in at night; you have to in this environment, especially if it dips below -10 (for the high temperature)!!

Never satisfied, Katrina, never satisfied ...  :/

Frank and Frank, Jr. are both doing well:  Frank still has his Hummer/Jeep business, and Junior is getting into everything.  He's looking less like a baby and more like a small boy.  He's cuter than cute:  he looks just like daddy Frank!  He's also starting to talk and walk.  It's exciting to watch him grow!

We still have our kitty, "Opie"; he's no longer so little:  he's gotten awfully long, not to mention, furrier than ever.  He looks like a thin, furry sausage with legs and a tail!  LOL  He's wonderful to have on these extremely cold winter days/nights; he's also a champion purrer.  He purrs just about all the time; he's very kittenish in his personality.  Anything and everything becomes a virtual toy to him, and he's always in "play mode"!  He's just like another baby!  So I have three babies to take care of:  my husband (who's the biggest baby of all!), Frank, Jr., and "Opie"!  LOL

Frank has gotten the nursery for the new little one partially finished; he still has a while to go before it's complete.  He's planning on painting the room a pretty lemon yellow, and he is still looking for a crib that will suit both our tastes.  He's also looking for a dresser to match the crib; and we're always looking for baby clothes or toys!

When he's not at work, he's busy taking care of me and Junior and working on the nursery for the new baby, so it can be ready by the time he/she comes.

I bruised the sh** out of my shoulder the other day:  I fell over one of Junior's toys.  I wasn't too badly hurt (other than my shoulder, that is), but I landed on one of my crutches.  OW!!  It's sorer than a boil; it's awful!  Every movement of my right arm is a constant reminder of my dinged-up shoulder.  I am such a klutz at times!!  I'm worse than Junior when he gets into one of his runnin' fits; then Frank has two bawlin' babies to tend to and make the tears go away!  LOL

That did NOT help my fibro AT all.  Now I'm moving like a wooden puppet:  stiffer'n stiff!  I'm just glad I didn't bust something; then I'd really be in a pickle!!

Well, I am going to watch the auroras dancing in the night sky; they're really beautiful!  I'm then going to go back to bed after I pop a pain pill for my shoulder; it's really singin' to me this morning.  I'm then going to check on the "kids" and go back to bed.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Katrina Hammer singing off!  Take care and God bless!

~Love, your frozen friend in Alaska, Katrina Ann.  :)