Katiaesque

  • My Addiction

    I have a serious addiction. E-mail. Checking it. Every minute. Every hour. Even two months ago, when my son was sick with possible swine flu. Check. Even when that time-consuming puppy is taking that precious nap. Check. Right in the middle of writing that amazing sentence that will make all the difference – check. What?…

    Katia Raina

  • Happy New Year!

    Been too busy to post. Too busy revising, New Year partying 🙂 teaching Lucky good doggie manners. Busy letting my novel take me new places yet again. Busy living my New Year’s resolution – the only one this year, which encompasses everything: DO IT ALL, AND WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE! 🙂

    Katia Raina

  • So much to do . . .

    As 2010 approaches, I am feeling it more than ever. It’s a tidal wave of a feeling, this pressure building inside my chest, there is so much to do. I want to touch every possibility, reach into every corner, I want many arms, like one of those Buddhist deities. I want to whip “Castle of Concrete”…

    Katia Raina

  • The strangeness of my Christmas

    I grew up in a land that refused to believe. And even if I do believe now, it isn’t in Jesus as the son of God. Still, Christmas is my holiday, too. I am not saying that to be in the face of the “Keep Christ in Christmas” movement. That’s just the way it is for me. To…

    Katia Raina

  • Snow day

    Who doesn’t love the feeling of waking up in the morning, looking outside the window and finding the world swaddled in white? It’s always a surprise, even with all the Extreme Weather warnings the night before. Having grown up in Russia – and having spent my early childhood in Siberia – I am at home in this weather.…

    Katia Raina

  • The Miracles of Winter

    A word of warning about this post: the below musings are not religiously correct!!! I am thinking now, a whole another post on my very muddled religious views is in order . . . Coming soon . . . We celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah in our family. This year I am thinking how similar the two holidays…

    Katia Raina

  • We have a puppy!

    Yep, it was an early Hanukkah surprise for the kids. They just came home from school on an ordinary Tuesday – or so they thought – to discover an adorable 9-week-old Brittany nutcase waiting for them. At first, they kind of didn’t know how to react. They aren’t used to surprises – even good ones; they like…

    Katia Raina

  • Holiday Shopping: Who Is It Really For?

    I don’t shop for myself. And yet, I do. Roaming the isles of Toys R Us with hungry eyes, my kids’ wish list almost falling out of my excited hands.  The Mulan Barbie for my daughter? Well, it isn’t on her list, but wow, how cool – and look at that dolly! A Hanukkah memory…

    Katia Raina

  • Hello world!

    What a terrifying and exciting journey, to be starting this blog. But then again, anything worthy is like that: a little scary. I hope this blog will be part journal, part sounding board, part magic mirror, through which I look back and sometimes glance forward. But most of all I hope this will be a conversation. Once upon…

    Katia Raina