My New Purse

I am very excited. My journey for the perfect purse has ended.

You see, I have never been a purse lover. I mean, I like them and all, but I'm more of a utilitarian kind of person, so my average life of a purse is probably about two years. Yes, I have carried the same purse for two years. And they haven't always been cute. It's not that I mind cute purses, but I'm super cheap, so I haven't been able to bring myself to shell out the cash.

When I started doing pageants, I actually didn't carry a purse. I had my wallet key chain thing that all college students have, my cell phone, and some lip gloss. My pageant people probably thought I was the biggest weirdo in the world.

But, recently, I decided I wanted a purse. One that wasn't a hand me down (which probably all but two of my past purses have been), and one that I really liked.

I started looking a couple months ago. I really liked the Fossil purses, but they were expensive, and I didn't want to pay up until I found one I loved. I looked at the Fossil store, multiple malls, etc., etc. And I was still empty handed.

But then, on this trip to Branson, I went into the Fossil store. My heart was brimming with hope. I did not want to get too excited for fear of a big let-down. But the outlet did not let me down. Are you ready to see this beauty?

Here's a side view:

Cute, huh? I LOVE it. Here's a close up:

And here's the back:

Well, what do you think?

I'm pretty ecstatic. I do realize I should have a dressier purse, too, but I just LOVE this one. Yay! (-:

Happy Weekend!

~Kathryn

Your Questions Answered and A Video

Hi, everyone! We are going to try to wrap up the question/answer segment. Also, we have arrived in Branson, MO, for some vacation time! Yay! At the bottom of this there is a video (that may as well just be audio because you can't see anything) of a little of our road trip. Enjoy!

I want to know some OSU stuff....like what you love about it, favorite OSU memory, etc!!! GO POKES!!!

Me: Well, neither of us went to OSU. Shocking? I will let Mark tell about his love for OSU, but I will say that he knows more about that school and loves it more than many people I know that graduated from there. Also, he is considering a master's degree from OSU. I started liking OSU because I was dating a boy who was really obsessed with the school, had season football tickets, and knew everything about it. So, I decided that if I was going to date that boy, I should like his school. He just happened to be Mark.

Mark: Our favorite OSU memory together was the 2007 OSU/Texas Tech football game. It was an offensive shoot-out that came down to the final possessions and the Cowboys prevailed 49-45. However, what more people remember from that day is not the game, but the post game press conference, which can be seen here.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

Me: Hmm... Well, I have maybe two places. Or three. I'd really like to go Hawaii, because it's so beautiful, and people speak English. So that's a plus. Other than that, I would like to go to Paris and London probably. Apparently Mark agrees. I just asked him. That's handy.

Fav activity to do with hubby?

Me: That's a really tough question. There are a lot of things I love to do. But, I think it I HAD to pick one, I would probably say just talking. Like in the car or at a coffee shop or at a camp out. We have a lot of fun talking to each other and Mark always makes me think of things from a different angle. We have a lot of fun talking, planning, and making each other laugh. Hopefully that doesn't sound too cheesey, but it's true.

Mark: Relax together while I read and Kathryn blogs. And getting Italian cream sodas from Rocket Brothers Coffee.

Favorite gift you ever received? :)

Me: Hmm.... one that really sticks out is a keyboard my dad got me when I was really little and had just started piano lessons. I remember going to the store to pick it out and they were "sold out" of the one I wanted, but on Christmas, it was mysteriously at my house. I remember feeling really special when I saw the keyboard. Even though I was really young, that is still a really strong memory for me. Other than that, anything Mark gets me. (-:

If you both had a month off of work, and all expenses paid, where would you take a vacation to and what would you do while you are there?

Me: Somewhere with a beach and the ocean. I LOVE the ocean. And I would probably lay on the beach five days of the seven and then the other two days we would dress up and go out to eat and do fun things. (-: And repeat that for a month. Mark concurs.
 
How does your hubby feel about your blogging and blog friends?

Me: He is very supportive. He reads all the posts, and lets me know if there is one he especially likes. I bounce a lot of ideas off of him. As far as my blog friends go, he is kind of friends with them through me. Occassionally I will be sitting on the couch reading a blog of someone going through a really hard time, and I feel especially burdened and I just start crying. And so then he reads the blog, too. I feel like I have a connection with a lot of bloggers, even if I haven't met them. I pray for them, and enjoy reading their blogs, getting their comments on mine, and even meeting some of them. So Mark has to hear about them as well.

Mark: I think it is one of the most constructive habits Kathryn could have because it chronicles our lives. I encourage her because I enjoy reading books while she types.
 
What makes you really angry? And can you get over it easily and move on?

Me: I guess the thing that makes me really angry is rude people. I don't get angry very often, but when people are rude for no reason it really fires me up. Life is too short for people to be rude. And yes, I usually get over it pretty quickly. Rude people shouldn't be able to ruin my day. (-:
 
What's your fave meal? Fave food?
 
Me: I pretty much like anything. There are very few things I don't eat. That being said, I love... hmm... so many things are going through my head. I used to always say Chinese was my favorite, and I still really love it, but don't eat it nearly as often. I love Mexican food as well, Chipotle is a favorite. I love meatloaf, chicken pot pie, stir fry, soups of many kinds, wings, really good sandwiches, ice cream, lots of stuff.
Mark: Right now, it's probably pizza. If it's at home, it's the tomato basil pizza Kathryn makes. If I'm eating out, it's Sam and Ellas.

What was the "I'm in love" moment for each of you?
 
Me: This is really hard. I can't say that I have a definining moment, but I do remember us riding in the car together and driving home from somewhere and just talking. I remember the highway and I remember Mark being more open than usual and I remember being to really be able to see his heart. And I remember that being a really special moment.

Mark: For me, it was when I visited her in Washington, D.C. We were not dating at the time and it was then that I realized just how much I really had missed her. And the time that we had when I visited her was very memorable and special. Going home from that trip was definitely bittersweet. As soon as she came home from that semester, I put the full court press on, but that still took several months. And we've been together ever since.

Okay so this video is basically a dark blob, and then my nose. Because apparently my nose was the only thing big and bright enough to show up in the video. So, call me Rudolph. And PS, in case you can't tell, Mark is sick. Poor guy.

 
~Kathryn (and Mark)

Your Questions, Our Answers

A few posts ago, we asked for your questions. And then we asked again because, well, we didn't get many. Ha. So, now we have a lot, too many for one post, so I will answer some of them today. If you don't see yours, take heart, because you will see it in the future. (-:


Can you tell us more about how you guys are eliminating debt/saving for your first home?
 
  
This answer will be kinda long. Well, first of all, let me say it depends on the day you ask me. Some days I'm very optimistic about saving for a home and some days I feel like we will never get there. Many people have asked us if we are Dave Ramsey followers because of our blog title. Our blog title is not because of Dave Ramsey, but we are in fact, lovers of Dave's basic principles.


One of Dave's principles is the "debt snowball". You basically work from the smallest debt to the largest, paying them off in that order. Once you pay off a debt, you apply that money toward the next one, so your snowball gets bigger the more you pay off. 


So, we currently have zero credit cards, have one car payment we will pay off next month, and then have a couple of pretty hefty student loans. Once we pay off the car we will be putting our money toward saving for a house. We are hoping to save like crazy for three years or so and then have a large enough down payment that we can lower the monthly payments significantly. We live pretty cheaply, and we both work two jobs for the time being. This has allowed us to pay down debt pretty quickly.


We have had some requests for a post about our Dave Ramsey story, so we will be doing a post on that in the near future.


Do you want kids/if so how many/do you have names picked out?


We definitely want kids!  But not today! (-: In a few years we plan on starting that endeavor. We want 3-4 little ones, and have thought about names, but don't have any really set in stone yet. We like family names, so we have thought about using my grandfather's name, and my brother's name, which is Harrison. We also like Caroline. Those are a couple. Our minds will likely change though in the next few years. (-:


If you could live anywhere where would it be?


Well, we really love where we are living right now. It has a little of everything and is close to family. The Tulsa area is great, I only wish it would grow an ocean. 


What do you do for a living? It sounds like such a great job!!

 


Well, thanks. I do think my job is great. I work for a church in the Worship Ministry. I assist our minister of worship. So basically, I get music together for all the musicians, band, orchestra, choir, singers, etc. I also put together the bulletin each week and print 1500 of them, and I am the wedding scheduler at the church. Then I fill in the gap with whatever other office things need to be done.


Do you guys do devotions and/or pray together? Can you recommend some good readings for time with your spouse?


Well, yes we do. It's something I really love about our relationship. We pray together very often (not like 24/7 or anything, but relatively frequently). Anytime one of us has something that is a burden, we talk about it and we pray. It really brings peace in so many situations. We pray in the car, before we go to sleep, and sometimes even on the phone. Mark praying for me has been a huge blessing.


As far as devotions, this is something we have recently tried to incorporate. We haven't been great at it in the past, but we did start a couple weeks ago, and used a book called Devotional Classics. We didn't really know what the best way to do a devotional together would be, so we gave the that book a shot, and we both really liked it. It had a scripture reference and then a very thought provoking devotional. Mark read it aloud and then we discussed it. Although, some of the questions we didn't love, so we just talked about it how we wanted to. I definitely want to continue doing it. I was very personally convicted, and it's really neat to share and discuss those feelings with your best friend and be encouraged. But, it's hard to do - you have to really make it a priority - you know, turn off the TV and what not. So hopefully, we can keep doing it. (-:


Any time one of us reads something and really learns something, we discuss it, too, but that isn't as frequent or as organized, but perhaps just by reading a book together that is not a "devotional book" could be another way to do a devotion.


Last question for today is...


What are some of your fav places to shop? 


Hmm... well, I enjoy shopping, and Mark doesn't. At all. So his favorite place to shop would probably be Amazon.com if I had to guess. (-: My favorite places are many. For clothes, I really love White House/Black Market, The Limited, and Eddie Bauer. Unfortunately, I am really cheap, and so I don't often get to buy things from those places. I shop at Plato's closet a lot, which is a resale shop that has great bargains. I love J. Crew, but don't love their prices, so I just go on there, look around, and leave. I love boutiques and finding unique things. I really love Amazon.com, because they are the best price around and super fast shipping. 


Whew! I guess that's all the questions I can handle for one day. More to come. (-:


Happy Monday!


~Kathryn

A Fetish

The time has finally come. It's the day you have all been waiting for. The day when I will reveal my secrets. The day when the mystery will be removed and my fashionista status will be attainable by all. It's the Day of the Headbands.

Are you excited? I thought you might be. I have had questions about my headbands, lots of very sweet compliments, and have even been recognized in public because of my headbands. I figured it was time for the big reveal. It's time to remove the curtain and show you all where I got them, and how easy they are to pull off.

First of all, let's discuss the whole "I can't pull that off" excuse. I have heard it my whole life. You see, there's nothing about me that allows me to "pull it off" that each of you don't have, except the nerve and the ability to take criticism.

If you wear something even remotely edgy, some people are just going to tell you what they think, and it's not always nice. I've had my feelings hurt over the years over things I've worn, but in the long run I've just decided that if I like it, then I'm going to wear it. So you can too.

"Pulling it off" = putting it on and wearing it with pride.

That's it. So, now that that is settled, let's check out the headbands.

This is where I keep them all:

Cool, huh? This sits on my dresser. It's hard to tell, but I think I have a total of eleven headbands on there. I'm kind of obsessed.

So, first, the feather headbands. My love really started with the feathers.

The one in the middle is my favorite feather one. I got it from Urbanoutfitters.com. It is definitely the nicest of the three, but it was also twice as expensive. After I got it and wore it one day someone complimented me on it and asked me where I got it. I was proud to say Urban Outfitters, since there aren't any in Oklahoma, so I felt very fashionable, until the girl said that she had seen some just like it at The Icing. Ha. Then, I felt really lame and went to The Icing to see what they had. And there, I purchased the other two that you see. The white one I bought specificially to wear with my wedding dress, you can see photos here.

Next I have my unique ones:

I got the ones on the outsides at Forever 21. I love the black bow because it's dressy and fun. The one on the right I got recently and haven't worn it that much, but I think I haven't worn it that much because the one in the middle is similar in color and I just love it a lot more. The one in the middle was a gift (jealous?) but it is from Francesca's Collection.

Next we have the ones that you tie. I like these, because they are casual. I have another one, but I'm too lazy to dig for it. Multi-colored polka dots = you can wear it with any color. I got this one from my sweet friend Leah, who just didn't think she could wear it. So, she gave it to me. I wore it today, actually. (-:

Then I have this other one. One that I really liked when I got it and had to remind myself of the whole "it doesn't matter what people say thing". Because the same weekend I got this next one, my lovely younger sister told me it looked like I had a dead rodent on my head. To which I ever so politely and maturely responded that she looked like a dead rodent. What are sisters for? (-: Well, what goes around comes around apparently, because shortly therafter, my beloved headband snapped inside the outer lining, so I can't wear it without it being super loose. But I can't bring myself to throw it away yet. This gem was also found at Forever 21:

I mean, I know it's kinda big, but so what?

So there you have it. Those are my headbands. I have some more plain ones, but those aren't as interesting. Are you inspired? Go find one you like, and just wear it! That's 75% of the battle! The putting it on your head part. Then wear it proudly and just wait for people to tell you how great it is. And you will feel great. You will feel empowered. You will feel... okay... maybe I'm going overboard.

Bottom line: Don't let people steal your headband joy! (-:

~Kathryn

My Human Dog

Our dog, Brinkley, LOVES car rides. I'm sure you know that this is a very common characteristic in most canines. He loves to stick his head out the window and let the wind blow in his face. He would be in heaven if we ever got a convertible.

My brother and sister-in-law were in town this weekend, and my mom came over and we all loaded up in my Accord and headed to the local PetSmart. We had four people and three dogs in the car (talk about crowded), with Brinkley taking up as much room as a person.

Brinkley sat by the window in the backseat, and, of course, stared longingly outside. I looked back at him and could not believe what he was doing. He was using the arm rest. Like a person. Don't believe me? Check this out:

Yes. That is his paw on the arm rest. I think he was maybe trying to press the button to roll down the window. Poodles are highly intelligent, you know. And just to show he's not bashful, here's another shot:

Are you impressed with my dog? I was. I hope that brightens your day a little. Maybe next time I'll roll the window down for him. (-:

~Kathryn

Well, That's Embarrassing

When I'm alone, I like to sing to myself with whatever music happens to be on my compulsive play-over and-over-again list. When I was a kid, it was Point of Grace and the Beach Boys. In middle school, Alison Krauss. When I was in high school, it was the Dixie Chicks, N Sync "Celebrity",  Caedmon's Call, and Norah Jones. In college, it was still the Dixie Chicks, but it was also Shane and Shane. There was Kelly Clarkson, who's "Breakaway" album knew all the pain of my recent break-up. There was also my man James Taylor and his "New Moon Shine" album. There was Joni Mitchell "Blue". There were others, but I just can't talk about them all.

Usually, my instances of singing along with my music take place in my car - it's a judgement free zone. They take place in my apartment, where I turn up my subwoofer and work on chores and just sing (that is, until my still unknown neighbor complained about the noise.) As if. At work, since our office is very isolated, if no one is around, sometimes I will do the same. It's a little creepy when no one is at work, so the music helps.

Yesterday was one of those such days. The people in our office had left to go somewhere in the building and had been gone for a while, so I decided to turn up my music. There are two songs that are both Alison Krauss/James Taylor duets that I really like, so I decided to play those two songs over and over.

So there I was in my office, repeating those songs, singing along without a care in the world, except being aware my peeps could return at any moment, so I tried to restrain myself at least a little. Working and singing. la la la. Are you with me? Then after about ten repeats, I decided to switch it up. New music, new task. I decided to put on some Joni Mitchell and file some music. That is the most thrilling part of my job. Not. Anyway, I went over to the filing cabinet with Joni and started filing.

Then I heard it.

A noise. From my boss's office.

Why would there be noise from there? He's not there. He's in the other part of the building.

But I knew. It was his chair. The only way the chair would move would be if someone was in it.

I mustered up my courage, "Jeff? Are you in there?"

Pause.

"Yep."

Cringe.

Party over.

Me: "Uhh.... I didn't think you were in there."

Jeff: "Oh you know, I've just been enjoying the concert."

My brain: Idiot. How is he in there? I know he wasn't in there. How long has he been in there? What have I been singing?  Oh yeah, the same two obnoxious songs for like an hour. Man, I'm cool.


Me: "Umm... usually I only do that when no one's here".

As if saying that made it better. Even more lame.

(Insert Debbie Downer music) I nonchalantly walked to my desk and turned down my girl Joni, who I was not happy with. She definitely had betrayed me. She should have told me we weren't alone.

So how did this happen? I later realized that some time in the middle of my personal concert I walked into the copy room for about 30 seconds to print something, and in that time, my boss returned, walked right past my desk and into his office, completely unbeknownst to me.

So what am I listening to this morning?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

~Kathryn

Has It Really Been A Year?

It was just over a year ago that I started a new job. I remember being really nervous when I started. I really wanted to like my new job, and I really wanted to be good at it. But I was nervous! I was leaving a good, comfortable job, and going into the unknown. Isn't that sometimes terrifying?

Even in my fear, I felt peace about my decision. So, I took the plunge.
I said goodbye to my old job, packed up my ridiculous amount of photos, put away my insurance certificates, and headed out into the unknown. Oh, and most importantly, I got a few new outfits. I mean, if you start a new job, you pretty much HAVE to get some new clothes. (-:

And now, here I am, a year later, and I love my job. I really can't believe it's been a year. Time has just flown by. We have a lot of fun at work, and I already have some great memories. I was trying to think of some highlights of my year that I could share. Here are ten of the most memorable moments:

1. There was the time my boss got some bug lodged in his eye and he asked me to pour water into his eyeball to try to flush it out. Picture my 6' 2" boss slouching in a chair, head back, and me, pouring a bottle of water into his bloodshot eye to try to wash out the bug. It was pretty comical... not for him necessarily, but definitely for me. Plus, his eye got better, so it's all good.

2. There was the time I put a couple of co-workers staplers in Jell-O for April Fool's Day, and they blamed lots of other people in the office until late in the afternoon when they finally realized it was me. Victory. That was awesome.

3. There was Boss's Day, which you can read about here. Let's just say it involved lots of balloons, streamers, and a lot of fun.

4. There was also the day that the choir threw Mark and I a wedding shower. That was so sweet, and they were all so generous. I felt very loved that day.

5. There were about three weeks when the people in my office were out of the country, so a friend and I took it upon ourselves to remove the wall-paper that was a little too groovy, and painted the office and redecorated it. Now we could win the hottest office award.

6. Then, one of my personal favorites, was the time when the three of us in my office all loaded up in my boss's car to go to Office Depot to get me a new calendar. Not to get everyone a new calendar, but to get me a new calendar. It was really funny because one of my co-workers really didn't care anything about calendars. He was just there for moral support. And then my boss was trying to help me pick one out. I mean, a calendar is a big deal. We definitely got the best calendar there by the time it was all said and done, AND it's super cute. Then, to make that day even more perfect, it happened to be between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00, so we got to go to Sonic for Happy Hour! YAY!!!!! Strawberry Limeade, anyone?

7. A recurring memory is snack time. Some afternoons, around 3:00pm, we have snack time where we mix fruit, yogurt, granola, and a nut mix together and we get healthy. (-: It's actually a pretty big deal. Recently, people from other offices have tried to join in. Everyone's jealous of snack time.

8. Oh the Snuggie. I love my Snuggie and wear it a lot at work. Other people think it's a little weird (it's their cover for their jealousy), but who cares? If it wasn't -20 degrees in the building I wouldn't have to wear it.

9. There was a day that my boss got last minute tickets to an OSU football game. With about an hour's notice, me, Mark, my boss, and his daughter all got to go to the game, and got to watch a Cowboy victory. It was so fun, and so exciting.

10. Then are all the little things. The encouraging people in the choir, the moments that are too funny and ridiculous to post, hanging out with the kids during youth choir, the times where you can tell you've made a difference for someone, and the times where I just sit there and feel blessed.

To keep it real, sure, there are days where I get frustrated, overwhelmed, and feel like a big fat failure. Who doesn't have days like that? But, they are thankfully small in number, and who wants to talk about those days?

Since this post is pretty short (HA!), I am posting pictures of my one year celebration lunch. The food was wonderful, so I had to take some pictures. Here is what Mark and I had (it was DELISH - a mediterranean style pizza and some soup.... mmmmmm):

And here is what Eric over at this blog had:

 

Doesn't that look awesome?

And here's my boss-diggity, Jeff. Don't let that smile fool you - he tried to hold up his plate for the photo and proceeded to burn the thumbprints off of his fingers. He is holding his hand up because he was in a lot of pain. But, his food was really good, too, so it made up for it.

So. There you have it. A year in review, and pictures. Does it get any better than this? I don't think so.

Whew! I think my caffeine burst is wearing off now. So I think it's time to sign out. Happy Monday!

~Kathryn

Best Valentine Ever

According to my local check out guy at Whole Foods, I have earned that title.

I stopped at WF after church today to pick up some things for our Valentine's dinner. I am making an awesome pizza, Pioneer Woman style - it's a tomato basil pizza, and one of Mark's favorites. I was trying to think of something that would go well with the pizza. I thought some wine would go nicely, and then I realized that in our state, you can't buy wine on Sundays. So, after deciding that the sparkling cidars were just too sweet for pizza, I decided to go with some Blue Moon.

As I loaded up all my groceries to check out, I could see the uber friendly cashier eyeing the Blue Moon. He picked one up and said, "Did you get some oranges to go with that?" to which I responded with a laugh, "No, but I probably should..." and he said "You've got plenty of time, go grab some. It will be worth it." So, I ran back off to the produce area and grabbed a couple of oranges. He's clearly a good salesman.

Once I was back at the register, he inquired about the Blue Moon and asked if I would be having some with my Valentine. I said, that yes, in fact, I was, and that I was making pizza to go with it. He looked awestruck. He then inquired, "Have you been reading those magazines about how to make men happy?" LOL. I just to had to laugh, because I then realized that my meal plan was like the ultimate "guy meal" (although this pizza is way better than typical guy pizza). I told the cashier I that my Valentine and I were married, so I didn't need the pizza to win him over. The cashier thought I should get the wife of the year award. He was very impressed with my efforts. Ha.

He continued to check out the groceries. I arrange mine very meticulously when I check out. Boxes together, produce together, cans together, bread, eggs, light things at the end. So, at the end of my groceries, there were a couple of individual cheesecakes and a couple little chocolate raspberry tarts. He got to that and was like, "Man, finishing off the evening right!" and continued to shower my skills with praise.

Well, after all that affirmation, I was obviously very proud of my purchases and figured if Joe Cashier thinks it's that incredible, then surely I can win some brownie points with my sweet husband. I'll let you know if he likes it.

Speaking of pizza, I should go work on that. (-:

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

~Kathryn

Valentine's Day Crafts

Valentine's Day is coming, everyone! I have always loved Valentine's Day, single or not. There was one year where I remember trying to be one of those people that thinks it's commercialized and lame, but it didn't really last. I just love it too much. Basically, I like pretty much any holiday. And I love giving cards to people. Plus I love chocolate. If flowers are involved, it's even better. So, what's not to like? It's either a great opportunity to go out with single friends, or a great excuse for having a night out on the town with your significant other.

Part of Valentine's Day is the giving of the valentine. I made a few homemade cards this year and thought I would share. They are easy to make, fun to personalize, and you get to be creative. Although, you won't think I'm very creative after you see mine, because they all kind of look the same. But hey, I can't win at everything, right?

Basically, the important things are red/pink/purple construction paper, glue, markers, scissors, and doilies. I know, you're probably thinking, who the heck uses doilies. BUT, I argue that doilies are so fun and really make a valentine look wonderful.

Here's our collection of things:

 

Who doesn't want that box of crayons, huh? 120! wow.

Okay, so there you have it. It's especially more fun if you get together with friends to make them.

Here is my friend Dayna working hard on her cards:

She's clearly very into that card. And here I am, working with some fancy paper:

Okay, so do you want to see the finished product? Here's the problem I did realize after I made them. They are too big to put in a regular envelope, so it's kind of making a problem. How am I going to mail them to people? And also, it's officially Friday, so there's not really time to mail them. Dang it. I should have planned better. I blame it on my kidneys. If they had been working correctly I would have been able to go to the post office.

So, here are my cards:

 

Pretty cool, huh? See, and you thought the doilies would be lame, didn't you?

Okay, it's not too late. Go get your construction paper, scissors, markers, and glue and make some valentines! You have two days!

Also, I must say I'm slightly disappointed we only got five questions. Really? No one has a question for us? I'm throwing it out there one more time. Any question you want to ask us we will answer. So think of something if you can.

Happy Valentine's Day!

~Kathryn

100 Followers!

You guys! I am so excited! I just hit one hundred followers. I was trying to think of something cool to do as a giveaway, but haven't come up with anything really awesome yet.

So, in the meantime, I've noticed other blogs are doing the question thing. This is your chance to ask a question that I will answer on the blog. Something you've wondered about, something you would like to know about me or Mark, or just anything!

Go Ahead. Ask.

~Kathryn

I Almost Died

Catchy title, eh? I haven’t been really sick since 2004, so since I have been in pretty bad shape the past few days, I have to milk it for all it’s worth. I didn’t really almost die, but I sure felt like it.

I realized on Friday that I had a urinary tract infection. I decided to try and treat it naturally if I could, so I got some cranberry juice, some other supplements, some pain killers, and tried my hardest to fight the infection. I talked with a local pharmacist who told me I was doing all the right things, and I knew what to look for as far as the worsening of the condition. I felt better on Saturday, so I got rid of the pain meds, and then Sunday I felt the same as I did Saturday.

Monday I still felt the same when I woke up so it was getting discouraging. I mean, I’m pretty sure I had drunk like 5 million gallons of cranberry juice, and it was like the legit juice that I had to dilute and sweeten. Not the best. Then, around 10:00am I started getting some pretty strong pain in my lower back, which is a sign of the onset of a kidney infection, so I called my doctor and scheduled an appt for that afternoon. As the day progressed I started feeling really badly. The pain was getting pretty strong, and I was just really not feeling well at all.

When I’m in pain, which isn’t really that often, thankfully, it’s kind of hard for me to think clearly. When talking about how I was feeling at work, I actually told my boss that I thought my uterus was going to fall out. First of all, who talks about their uterus? And second of all, who talks about it to their boss?! And thirdly, what does my uterus have to do with my kidney? What is wrong with me? And it hit me later Monday evening as I was laying on the couch. I pathetically looked at Mark and said, “I think I told my boss that my uterus was going to fall out.” He was like, “You said that?” Yes. I did.

So. I went to the doctor and told him about my ailment. They did a urinalysis, and my doctor said it was “a sheet of white blood cells”. Which is apparently not good at all. He thought that my infection was maybe working into only one of my kidneys, since my pain was mainly in one side. He prescribed me an antibiotic for ten days, gave me some tips, and told me to go take one immediately, and take another that night.

On my way to the drug store, I called Mark, then my boss, and then my mom to give them the update. Then, after hanging up with my mom, I thought I hadn’t called Mark, and I felt really awful about it. So, I called him and I told him I had just left the doctor’s office, and he was like “yeah….” And then I realized I had talked to him about 5 minutes previously. Wow. So, I high-tailed it to the drug store, took a pill, and high tailed it home and chilled on the couch, waiting to feel better and regain my sanity.

Around 7:00pm I started feeling terrible. It came on really quickly. Like, we’re talking excruciating pain, in BOTH sides of my back and lower abdomen. No position I got in was comfortable, and believe me, I was rolling around enough to try to get comfortable. But I couldn’t. So I just got in the fetal position, rocked back and forth, and cried. It was a very sad moment. I can’t imagine how bad it would have been if I didn’t get the antibiotics when I did. And so my sweet husband went and got me some painkillers with a sleep aid. I took a hot bath, and my medicine, and told Mark who should get each of my belongings in case I was to die. I mean, I have some pretty cool stuff – have you seen my headbands? So, I wanted to make sure everything would go into the right hands. (There is clearly never any dramatizing of a situation at my house).

Shortly after the painkillers and the sleep aid, my pain was lessened enough that I could drift off to sleep. I woke up Tuesday about 12 hours after going to sleep, feeling incredibly exhausted, but only slightly in pain, so I headed to work, where I managed to have a somewhat productive day but don’t know that I will remember much of it after another night’s sleep.

So, thankfully, I am on the mend. Here is a picture of me, where I have been hanging out most of my time at home the last few days. I’m hopeful that I will be back to my self tomorrow!

~Kathryn

PS  Mark got me that cute heart pillow for Valentine's Day. It also came with a matching blanket. He's a keeper. (-:

Cooking With Kat: The World's Best Sugar Cookie

I have been wanting to share this recipe for a really long time. I wanted to put it up at Christmas. But, when I made them at Christmas, a friend was over and I got too busy talking and only took like two or three pictures and it was really lame-o. So, with renewed focus and another friend, we made Valentine's Day (YAY!) sugar cookies. (Same cookie, different shapes).

These cookies are so easy to eat. It's like Pringles - once you pop, you can't stop. They are gone very quickly from our house. I always make light blue snowflakes with edible glitter for Christmas, for bridal showers I do engagement rings with glitter on the diamond part, I made some dog bone and poodle shaped ones for my vet, and for this particular batch, we made hearts. (awww).

So, here's whatcha need:

2.5 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

So, first we combined the two dry ingredients (no need for a pic, right)? And then we put all the other ingredients in the food processor, like so:

And then turned it on for a few seconds until it was all combined, like this:

Are you impressed? Well, watch this this next one. We put the dry ingredients in and put the food processor on for 30 seconds. Check out my friend Dayna (in a platonic way) as all she has to do is press the button.

Okay are you ready for this? After 30 seconds, this is what the dough looks like:

OMG, right? Yeah, SUPER easy. You should be amazed. If you aren't, scroll back up and look at the pics again.

So then you take out the dough and you put powdered sugar down on your surface to roll out the dough. You make sure both sides of the dough are covered well in powdered sugar and flip it over and keep covering and flattening it so you make sure the dough doesn't stick to the surface. Then you take the rolling pin and work from the middle to the outsides around the dough to roll it out.

They key is to get the dough really thin and even, so the cookies cook evenly. Then you use cookie cutters, like so:

You want the cookies to be loose so you can lift them of easily, so I usually try to move the cookie in the cutter to make sure it's good and loose.

Okay so the next picture on my camera is of Mark. While Dayna and I were partying in the kitchen, Mark was running at the free workout place at our apartment. Not that I need to, but I would like to point out his socks. Really? These apparently used to be red - he wore them in a wedding or something when he was a groomsman. Then he washed them and they turned pink. So why didn't he through them away? Apparently, "there's no reason to throw away a good pair of socks". Sigh.

Okay, back to what we were doing. Next, you put them on a buttered and powder sugared cookie sheet, and cook for 7-9 minutes at 375 degrees F.

There's Dayna, loading up the cookie sheets. Workin' hard. Once the cookies are done, we put them on a cooling rack. When they cooled, we started icing them.

For the icing, you use lots of powdered sugar and a TINY bit of milk, and then mix it together until it is the consistency you want. Add a little food coloring, and voila!

Aren't they so beautiful? Oh yeah, we put sprinkles on there. Here's another pic:

And they were easy to make and so beautiful! Yay! We took these to a fun bloggy party and I took them to work and the people ate a lot of them at work. My boss almost punked me and pretended to have eaten all but one cookie before I could take them to the party. I work with a bunch of comedians. (-:

And look how happy we are with our cookies:

Of course we had to put them by our taste tester. Here's what he thought:

So there you have it. An easy, WONDERFUL, and beautiful sugar cookie that is so versatile. Now go make some and enjoy!

~Kathryn

Price Buster Pizzas!!!!!

Hey everyone! Remember how I got to record a song a few months ago? Well, I got to record background vocals for a TV commercial last week.

I thought you might be interested in hearing it, so I'm putting the audio link here:

Price Buster Pizzas!!!

It's a commercial for Mazzio's Pizza, and it's for their Price Buster pizzas.

I am all the girl voices, saying stuff like $5.99!!! Woo!!!! It was a lot of fun. A couple times I had to try not to laugh, because I was singing so enthusiastically about pizza! But, Mazzios does have some great pizza. (-:

I guess the commercial is out, because I had a couple people tell me yesterday that they saw it.

I hope you enjoy - now, go get some pizza!

~Kathryn

Held Hostage By a Mouse

In this part of the country, we have been snowed in for a few days. My brother and sister-in-law came and spent a couple nights here, and we really had a fabulous time. We ate some yummy comfort food, watched some great movies (You've Got Mail, anyone?), enjoyed the snow, and relaxed.

That is, until an unwanted guest showed up.

There is now, officially, residing with us, a MOUSE. A live mouse. And not really a tiny mouse. He's pretty big. And really creepy. And his tail has got to be like a foot long. I think it's like one of those mice that are in NYC. My brother saw him first when he was in the shower (my brother, not the mouse). So, of course we all ran to the bathroom to see the mouse.

Somehow, in the hysteria of that moment, I had my wits about me enough to grab my camera and record the event. Harrison (my brother) and Mark got the brilliant idea to spray the mouse with carpet cleaner. Because, I mean, who would want to get sprayed with carpet cleaner, right? Surely the mouse would retreat. So there we are, all crowded in the bathroom, carpet cleaner flying, me screaming, Harrison in the shower, and the dogs wondering what in the world was going on.

So what happened? The mouse retreated (I'm sure only temporarily) back into THE CEILING. So that when it's my turn for a shower, he can make another appearance and trap me and try to get me back for him getting sprayed with carpet cleaner. I know that's what is going to happen.

So, you wanna see the video? Yeah, I thought you might. Please excuse the extreme loudness of my voice. Here it is:



Happy Monday!

~Kathryn