Saturday, October 31, 2009

A Nice End To a Crazy Week

My internet is fixed.  I feel much better.  I bought some great movies last night.  And tonight, I'll have Trick or Treat-ers at my house.  Today is, in fact, a very good day. 

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Making Up For Lost Time

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I've had the flu and I am way behind.  SO, today you get a lazy post and I promise more this weekend, especially since I now have internet access at my house.

1. Who knows a secret or two about you? 
     Honestly, I don't have ton of secrets.  But if there were any to be had my girls would know them. 

2. Four words to explain why you last threw up? I was very sick

3. Have you ever burned yourself?  If you can, I have.  My straightener and the oven are two constants

4. Who is your hero? 
     I don't really have one person.  I admire different things about a lot of people.  However, I think Jen Lancaster may be my literary hero.

5. Would you ever want to be a supermodel? 
    Only if there was a way I could still eat and be one. So, probably not.

6. When is your next party?  I was just thinking that I need to throw a poker party or something soon

7. Do you know what you will wear tomorrow?  Whatever is clean and near the top of the pile.

8. Have you ever accidentally eaten an insect?  We'll just pretend that no is the only option here.

9. Do you talk baby talk?  To babies.  And to mock those who do it any other time.

10. Would you ever work in a retirement home?
      I think it might be more exhausting than teaching middle school.  But it would also be interesting.

11. Are you ever purposely irritating?  Only when it is well and truly deserved.

12. If you could fly, where would you go first?  Fiji or the Seychelles.  Or anywhere fabulously tropical.

13. Do you prefer boats or planes?  I'll go with planes because I have been on them more.

14. One best friend or 10 acquaintances?  One best friend.

15. Favorite food?  Potatoes

16. Do you believe that your first love never dies? 
      I believe that it's a part of you, but I don't think it has to be any more a part than we allow it to be

17. What upcoming event are you waiting and ready for?  Thanksgiving, Christmas, Matt and Mel's wedding

18. Do you get your nails done?  Nope.  I have good nails naturally so I don't mess with that.

19. What was the last thing you ordered at McDonald’s?  French fries and a Sweet Tea

20. Are you an emotional person?  I'm not a big crier, but I get worked up about things very easily

21. When did your last relationship end?  Not long after it began

22. Favorite place to be?  The beach

23. How do you feel about your hair?  That it's fantastic

24. Do you sleep with a fan on?  Nope.  It gives me a sore throat.

25. Did you sleep in past noon today? 
      I wish.  The alarm went off at 5:30, but I put it off til 6:00.  I'm not good at sleeping late though.  I'm more of a napper.

26. Are you sarcastic?
      I can be.  It depends on the company I keep.  When I am with my family or at the Mays, I have to be on my best game.

27. Did you have a good birthday this year?  Yes, I had a very good one!

28. What is your favorite kind of weather?
       I like nights when it's comfortable enough to sit outside and star gaze

29. Have you ever cried during a movie? 
      All the time.  I cry more at movies than I do about real life (I'm not sure that's something I should admit to).  Recently just the trailers for The Blind Side have been getting to me.

30. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? Tara. When you don't get to talk much, you tend to get right to the point about things.

31. Who was the last person you cried in front of?  It was people, not person. 

32. Do you like your name? 
      Yes.  I used to hate Katherine, but I have grown to love it.  Most people call me Katie, which is fine.  Some people call me Kate, which is okay too, but only if you know me pretty well.  DO NOT call me Kathy.  Ever.

Friday, October 23, 2009

On That Whole Losing Weight Thing...

So, I am again at the beginning of my weight loss journey.  Unfortunately, this is not my first trip.  I have never been a skinny girl.  I can't remember a time when my thighs didn't rub together or when I could just pick up any old thing off the rack and know it would fit.  And it's not because I have zero short-term memory.  My biggest issues are that I like to eat and I don't exercise.  It's not like the whole "Why aren't these pants fitting?" thing is a real mystery.

I'm just not motivated by the being a healthy weight is good for me thing.  I never have been.  What I need is some reason to be motivated beyond that.  The good news is that I have some events coming up that I can use as motivation, the biggest one being that my little brother, Matt is marrying my amazing, gorgeous, built-like-she-was-made-to-hang-with-my-family sister-in-love, Mel, on June 12, 2010.  And I want to wear a cute dress and have the best time, and I know I won't be able to do that if I feel and look then like I do now.  I also want to set a good example of setting a goal and achieving it for my students.  So, I think I am going to make this struggle a little more public than I might otherwise, harnessing the power of a classroom full of weght-loss coaches who are as ruthless as Jillian but as loving as Bob.  On top of that, I have 23 months and counting until I turn the big 30.  I've always said I am going to throw myself one heck of a party for this big night, and if I am going to do that, I want to look good.  REALLY good.  So, if I'm going to make that happen, there's never been a better time to start.

I want to make clear that I am not one of those people who sits around and talks about how unattractive I am.  I am not saying that bigger can't be beautiful.  I have a decent self-image and I don't bash myself or support those who do.  What I am saying is that right now, I don't fit into my pants.  And I like my pants, so this is a little upsetting.  I have to do this, not because it is the socially conscious thing to do, but because it's the only way I am going to have clothes to wear to work because I have already made a promise to myself that I am not going to buy bigger pants. 

It's time.  Waistline, you are officially on notice. 

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Peas, Sweet Peas

I know what the web address says, but lately my life hasn't felt particularly funny.  Nothing's really wrong, I've just been in a season of really thinking about my life.  For the first time ever I am really comfortable with where I am in my life.  Sure, there are always some things I would like to change (I wouldn't cry if I were four inches taller, many pounds thinner and completely out of debt), but I'm not unhappy.  This is a definite change over last year.  I look back on that time in my life, and while it wasn't all bad, it also wasn't all good.  Things now are so very different.

This last year has been a year of pruning in my life.  God has called me to look at what really matters and forget about the rest.  I believe that God doesn't forget even the most trivial details of our lives, but that He sometimes needs us to acknowledge that some things are just that.  I am just over the drama.  And from a drama queen of the highest ranking, that's kind of a big deal. 

In an quest to give me a drama-free (or at least drama-reduced) life, God has asked me to make a couple of really difficult choices in the last year.  He wants me to think about the kind of daughter, sister, friend, teacher I really want to be, then buckle down and be that person.  No excuses.  I want to be honest, kind, loving, real.  I want to be present in the lives of the people that I love.  I want to be a teacher that students will remember for how much I cared about them as individuals, even if they don't remember a single lesson I taught in my classroom.  I don't want to be bogged down in negative, bitter or filled with anger.  I see people like that now and think "How do they stand it?"  But I was one of them not that long ago.  It's an easy pit to fall into, one that takes a conscious decision to get out of. 

This kind of leads me to the other thing that God has asked me to do.  God has asked me to consider the company I keep.  God didn't point any fingers or anything of the sort.  What He did was just show me, in a way only God can, that not all people have good intentions and that even those who do aren't always good for me.  In truth, I am kind of a Pollyanna-type when it comes to people.  I like people to like me (even if I say otherwise), and I believe that most people are what they say they are.  But countless times over the last year, God has revealed that appearances are just that, and that sometimes the face we want people to see is so very different from our real motives or intentions.  I have been hurt by people I thought I could trust and had people who claimed to care about me turn their backs in the last year.  But ALL things work together for good.  I've never really believed that the way I do these days.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that I am happy.  I know that sounds crazy, but I have just never been satisfied with where I was.  I always wanted something more.  And there's nothing wrong with that if that longing is positive, if it leads you to strive for the things you want.  But it wasn't like that for me.  I always felt like I wasn't enough, that I was defective or less than everyone else.  For the first time in my life, I am at peace, no matter what storms surround me.  And after 28 years, that feels pretty good.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

When God Wants Your Attention

Not too long ago, I wrote about being a single, Christian girl.  The thing is, contrary to what you might think, I don't spend all that much time pondering my situation.  It's just one of those things that is.  I am a teacher.  I am a photographer.  I am single.  It's so much a part of my life that there's not really a lot of point to dissecting it.  When I was in my early 20s, I thought about it a lot.  I was kind of consumed by the quest to not be single, and was angry when I was so unsuccessful.  Maybe it's just that I'm busy or maybe it's a little something that I like to think of as maturity, but I just don't feel like that anymore.  I'm not angry or angsty or anything of the sort.  I just am.

Which leads me to my point, and I promise you I have one.  I have been asked to give what is commonly refered to as "The Singles Talk" at a teen retreat this winter.  Normally, women shy away from this particular talk, but I felt God asking me to do it.  My mom is the director this time, and so I went to her and said "I really want to do this talk."  She answered "Good, because I felt lead to ask you to give this talk, but I didn't know if you would want to."  Honestly, there is a part of me that wishes I wasn't a candidate for this particular talk.  I figured, like most Midwestern girls I know, that by the time I was pushing 30 I would be married and maybe have a kid or two.  But, I'm not.  And I believe there's a God constructed reason for that, even if I don't know what it is.  What God is asking of me right now is to consider what He is.  And that seems to be where the focus of my talk will be.  It's not about about what I am, it's about the Great I AM.  He's showing me that I'm not the same girl who gave this talk before (that's right, this is my second time), but He's still the same God.  And there's a certain amount of comfort in that.  It doesn't mean I don't wish the phone would ring, but it also means that I no longer sit around waiting for my real life to begin. 

That's just where my head is today.  Thought it was worth sharing.

Friday, October 16, 2009

GLEE!!

I know that I talked about it before, but Glee is my new can't miss show.  It's hilarious and brilliant and they sing!  What more could you possibly want?  If you aren't watching it, catch an episode or two here.  I promise you will be hooked!  I recommend "The Rhodes Not Taken", "Acafella" or  "Throwdown," which was this week's episode, but I love them all.  In my family, Lib and I have been known to watch it at our respective houses and text about it during the commercials.  My mom actually told me Wednesday night that my father said she had to get off the phone because Glee was getting ready to start. (I would have said it first but I was racing home from Wednesday night dinner at the Mays'.)  We are serious about our shows, people! 

I assume that part of my addiction is rooted in the fact that I am a choir nerd.  I was in Regional Choir in high school and later, SCC Choir.  There is nothing like the bond that comes with creating something that you know is good.  Some kids find their place in high school.  I found mine in my College Choir.  We did musicals, madrigals, cantatas and a million other special performances. The music was fun, but the people were better. There are a million and one crazy stories from those days. Some of those people I lost touch with, but hold a spot in my heart.  Others, like those crazy girls I sing with every Sunday, are still part of my life. Glee just reminds me of those days.  We were all misfits in our own right, but together we were something special.  And if you don't believe it, I can totally show you some videos...

P.S.  And if you are ever the slightest bit addicted like me, you will want to know that there is a soundtrack coming soon.  You can find out all about here or check iTunes, which has most of the singles now that will be included on the final CD.  Entertainment Weekly said not that long ago that there will be a Volume Two released before the first season is over.  And all I can say is thank you, Ryan Murphy, you mad genius, you!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Anything But List-less

Three Reasons I Am Feeling a Little Bit Overwhelmed:
  • Too many things - I feel like I have done nothing but run since my birthday.  Sure, some of it was really fun and all of it was of my own choosing, but I just feel like I'm everywhere and nowhere all at once.  I haven't even had time to go meet Kamryn now that I am healthy enough because I have meetings or something going every night.
  • School stuff - It's the end of the first grading period, so I have grades to post (which I should probably be doing now instead of blogging).  I also have Think Pink Week (cancer awareness), basketball games starting, and Parent/Teacher Conferences.  It will all get done.  It will all be fine.  (I'm repeating this as often as necessary)
  • Trunk or Treat - Halloween is just two weeks away and I don't have any idea what I'm going to be for our church's big community outreach.  I always end up being something lame, even though I would love to have a more creative costume.  But at this point, I don't even have candy for my trunk, so I may have to just deal.

 And Three Things I'm Looking Forward To:
  •  La Croix Friday Nights - Before she moved to the STL, Amber and I used to go to this great church in Cape for their Friday night service.  We'd meet, worship with their rockin' praise band, listen to a great sermon and then go eat.  And now that she's back, so is this once-a-month tradition!  And I'm pumped!
  • Visiting Family - Some of my extended family is going to be in this weekend.  We only see them once every four or five years because they live out west, but all three of the "C" cousins will be here Saturday.  I love to listen to everyone tell stories and just hang out, so despite the continued crappy weather, we should have a good time.
  • Basketball Season - Yes, it means working the admission gate and the concession stand.  But it also means hollering for the home team until you're hoarse, taking a million action shots, and watching my "kids" have a blast from October to February.  I'm totally okay with the trade-off.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ok, so this is kind of a lazy post...

Things have been a little crazy recently so I haven't had a lot of time to post.  But, the good news is I will have internet access at home in less than a week!  So, here's something fun for now, and I promise a little more substance later, ok?


1. What is your occupation right now?  Middle School Teacher

2. What color are your socks right now?   Tan

3. What are you listening to right now?  The air vent blowing air, which is nice compared to the chaos that awaits in 10 minutes when the kids get down here

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Quaker Oat Squares in 1% milk

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope, I can barely drive an automatic.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Um...I think it was Sheena.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yep!  I got this in an email from my Aunt Jane, who is fabulous and sends me pumpkins!

8. How old are you today? 28

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?  I am a sports junkie.  I don't like football or baseball that much on TV, but I will watch pretty much anything else, from X-Games type things to swimming to NASCAR.  I especially love Track and Field!

10. What is your favorite drink? Sweet Tea!

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?  Whew!  That's funny!  My goal is to never actually know if I have gray hair so, I've dyed and/or highlighted it since I was in high school.  Recently, I just went back to my favorite home color, Feria 45.

12. Favorite food? Grandma's Chicken and Dumplings rank at the top.  But I have a lot of favorite things.  It's very mood dependent.  (Like most things with girls!  C'mon, you know it's true!)

13. What is the last movie you watched?  This last weekend, I watched Singin' In The Rain with my sister and An American In Paris on my own.  I bought a whole set of TCM movies Friday night.

14. Favorite day of the year?  I like Thanksgiving and Christmas equally.  I'm really big on any holiday that has a lot of traditions and family (biological and otherwise)

15 How do you vent anger?  It depends on what I'm angry about

16 What was your favorite toy as a child? I loved Barbie dolls.  I also had a bunny blankey that I loved on until it was no more

17. What is your favorite season?   Fall.  I love it when the leaves change and the weather gets crisp.  I also love that it gets me closer to high school basketball season!

18. Cherries or Blueberries?   Cherries, if I have to choose.  I don't really like either that much.

19. Living arrangements? Just me and Delilah in our messy little house

20. When was the last time you cried? Got a little teary yesterday when my middle school boys lost the state championship.  I am a sympathetic crier.

21. What is on the floor of your closet? I have two bedroom closets.  One has luggage on the floor.  The other has a shelf for clothes and a bag of goodies for when my "niece" comes over to play

22. What did you do last night?  Went to Coulterville to watch baseball, ate Mexican with my sister, and editted a bunch of photos

23. What are you most afraid of? Mice are pretty gross.  I also don't like anything that could jump on me unexpectedly (frogs, grasshoppers)

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheeseburgers!!

25. What is your favorite kind of dog? I've always been a fan of big dogs.  But I do know a pretty cool shih tzu or two

26. Favorite day of the week? Any day that I get to sleep in and do whatever I want to instead of all the things I have to

27. How many states have you lived in?  Just this one...IL

28. Diamonds or pearls?   Diamonds!  They don't call 'em a girls best friend for nothing!

29. What is your favorite flower?  I think they are all pretty fantastic...but irises and daisies are my favorites

Monday, October 5, 2009

Weekend Recap

So this weekend was absolutely full and a little bit crazy.  My weekend technically started on Thursday evening, because I'd taken Friday off.  We went to dinner at Flamingo Row, one of my favorite places to eat.  Then, I went home to the 'rents to borrow some free Internet.  I was able to thank all the people who had left sweet "Happy Birthday" messages on my Facebook and just generally hang out a bit.  Between the posts, text messages, calls and special deliveries, I felt pretty special and very loved on my big day!

Friday, I ended up staying home.  I colored my hair, cleaned my bathroom, and did some uninteresting, albeit necessary things like that.  Friday night was spent at the Hoe Down, the big PTO fundraiser.  I was taking photo booth pictures to raise money for the junior high track team.  I've coached track for several years, despite the fact that I didn't actually run track in school, and we have had moderate success. I'm hoping to use some of our money for new jerseys and some equipment.  I really like running the photo booth because it is relatively easy to do and kids make good subject matter.  (They make the best faces and have some of the funniest observations!) After I was finished, I went back to Mom and Dad's and hung out because my brother was staying the night so he could to go bow hunting Saturday morning.

Saturday, the girls and I sang at a memorial service for a friend's grandson.  I've sang at a lot of funerals, but singing at a baby's is a whole 'nother level of difficult.  I can't imagine what that family is going through during this time and if you think about it, lift up a prayer for that family.  (and for all families who have lost a child, like fellow blogger, Katie, and too many others.)

After the memorial, my girls and I went out on the wine trail. It was a beautiful day, if a little chilly.  We spent a while here where we observed some young women who thought it was okay to leave the house in hot pants and winter coats.  Ladies, this is always a fashion don't.  ALWAYS.  Just trust me.  Later, we went here and were part of a wedding reception with the most interesting music. There was a rap song about a cicada and no, I'm not making this up.  When we were worn out from the trail, we went to Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jason's and had stir-fry, which rocked!!  And if I wasn't blissed out enough, I got home and found out that my junior high boys won their state quarterfinals game and would be playing the semis on Wednesday!  Way to go, boys!

Sunday, I went to church and then out to have Mexican with Sheena and Ronnie.  After a trip to WalMart, some NASCAR and a nap, I went to my darling friend, DM's, church Sunday night.  He's not just an awesome photographer, he's also a pastor.  He preached a great sermon out of Isaiah 6, then we all went out for pizza.  DM, the girls, and I have been friends since college (almost 10 years), and I always forget how much I miss having meals together.  I laugh off more calories than I consume and that's pretty impressive!

I don't know that I would want every weekend to be this busy, but I'd be okay with every weekend being full of such good memories.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY TO ME!

It's officially my birthday!  And I am having a great day! My sister is bringing me a sandwich from my favorite sandwich place for lunch and my parents are taking me to dinner at Flamingo Row tonight (I'm sensing a strong food theme)!  Can't wait!