Sunday Surprises

Apparently over the weekend, nephew Miller went to a birthday party where there was a pony ride involved. My parents neglected to tell me about it, yet at least they sent me some photos. I think he gets cuter by the day:

Seriously... no one's baby is cuter than that one. I'm gearing up for Big Brother tonight. It is going to be MAJOR!

No One Looks Good In Yellow

This evening, I had the pleasure of having dinner with (seriously) one of my favorite people in the whole wide world... Frances Colvin-Money. Frances and I met when I worked for the Architects back in 2005 because her mom, Barb, was one of their interior designers. So back in 2006 (maybe 07) Frances had a whirlwind romance with her landlord who she ended up marrying and moving off to London with. She comes in town probably twice a year and one of those times was tonight!!! Mark, John, Frances and I all ate at Newk's and of course, picked up right where we left off. I absolutely love catching up with old friends. It's so refreshing... good for the soul, perhaps. So this trip for Frances was especially a treat because she is with child! So, we had an impromptu baby shower in the parking lot of Newk's (since I skipped out on going to it two weekends ago. Oops! Oh, hey Gladpys!):

To be honest I don't have any idea what I got her. It may be a burp set, but the girl handed me the registry at Ladies In Waiting and I'm pretty sure it was in German. So I pointed to two items in my price range, without inspecting them first, or even knowing what they were and she wrapped them up and Frances loved them. I mean, why wouldn't she? She picked them out, after all. So here is a group shot of us:

ALERT: Please take note that this is one of the tops that I took from Laura's pile of donated clothes. I was trying it out to see if I could even attempt yellow, however, this is confirmation that I CANNOT wear it. EPIC FAIL! This should be a lesson to everyone: No one looks good in yellow, unless you are latino or black. Seriously. It makes everyone look awful. Not to mention that the shirt makes me look more pregnant than Frances. That could also be because I just inhaled a Newk's Black and Bleu Salad. Seriously, back on the diet soon.

Anyway, I love getting together with Frances. She's great and so easy to talk to. And she is going to have the cutest baby girl in November! Hopefully she will come early and we can share a birthday (November 3!!).

Flashback Tuesday

Happy Flashback Tuesday everyone! Since it is so beautiful outside in the Shreve with all the clouds and downpours and threats of tornadoes and everything, I figured that lots of people would be inside today on the Internet wishing they could go outside and play. Since I strive to make the readers of this little ditty happy on a daily basis, I figured that I would give you lots to look at. Y'all can thank me later.

Since "Yearbook Yourself" is back in action, my darling friend Rachel Schillage has decided to include me in her album. This is what she came up with:

I'm so glad she gave me one with little glasses.

My makeup looks hot!

Alright, then. That was fun. On to the real flashback of Flashback Tuesday. 10 years ago (next summer) the youth group that I grew up with decided to take it's Senior class on a 'Senior Trip'. The fair way to decide where we went was to have everyone vote, right? Okay, so this is what happened. Everyone who had EVER been to church with us showed up on voting day. No really EVERYONE. There were three options of where we could go:

1. Somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly Jamaica, or maybe Cancun.

2. New York City

3. Walt Disney World

Okay, so the members of Sunday School who actually came all the time and I formed an alliance. I was ADAMANT about not going to Disney World. I mean, come on. It is our Senior Trip. Let's go somewhere awesome. So, I talked all of the regulars into voting for New York. Once the votes were in, all of the idiots who NEVER EVEN CAME TO SUNDAY SCHOOL, all outvoted us by like 2 to go to freaking Disney World. And then who were the people who actually went on the trip? None of those jerks who voted for it. NOT ONE OF THEM!!!!! So of course, I had a bad attitude about it the whole time, and still do, but I'm not bitter or anything. Anyway, here is a photo of Mark and myself at WDW wearing some leis or something like we wished we were on a beach. Or in Little Hawaii in New York:

Man, I was a dish! Also, this is before Mark had his under bite fixed. He looks much different now.

That other girl I never saw again after that trip (so I halfway cropped her face out, JUST IN CASE some of you might recognize her), except on John's birthday this year when she was seated at the hibachi table one over from us and was loudly proclaiming how she planned on forcing her boyfriend to marry her after 5 years. Yeah, let us know how that works out for you, Rachel.

Since I promised you a lot to look at, I will deliver on that one. There is another blog which I adore. www.cakewrecks.com The web address should pretty much be self-explanatory for you, so go look at it and enjoy your Flashback Tuesday!

Weekend Recap (Plus A Recipe!)

This weekend was relatively low-key that involved two birthday parties and a baby shower (which I ended up skipping out on. Sorry Frances!). Friday evening after I left work, John and I traveled to B-City for a surprise Birthday party for my dear friend and former/possibly future boss Ryan Glorioso.

No, he is not related to the Glorioso's of Shreveport with the produce stand or whatever. So, the surprise party was at my favorite restaurant (and only reason to go to Bossier) Don Juanz. The Weisner's were kind enough to bring this delicious cake:

So fun! Saturday morning I was supposed to go to a baby shower for Frances, but I wussed out of going. We are going to have dinner next week so I don't feel SO guilty about it. Plus, baby showers are the worst (as you all know) unless you are the mother, and even then, I don't think they really even like them that much.

Saturday evening, I went to another birthday party. For my longtime friend Jen Herron:

Sass came along as well so it was a reunion of sorts. We played games and had cupcakes and visited with Chuck, Candy and Courtney. It is always so great to catch up with old friends. We played a super fun game called Scene It Squabble, which I think that I may need to invest in in the future for my own Game Nights.

On Sunday, I decided to finally use all of the fresh vegetables that my parents have given me. They decided to 'Live off the land" and start their own garden. Well I think it was more successful than they thought it was going to be because they have an abundance of veggies. They gifted me with about seven gigantic, like probably 2 pounds each, cucumbers, bell peppers and squash. After they had overtaken my kitchen counter for a week, I decided to cut them up and make a fresh and easy summer salad (Also, say hi to my new Seattle spoon rest!):

I had some leftover spinach from the "Creamy Turkey Pinwheels" so I threw that in a bowl, followed by some chopped up cucumbers, tomatoes, baby carrots, red bell peppers, Italian seasoning, Paul Newman's Italian Dressing, and some fresh grated Parmesan (yes, I grated it myself!). And that is what I like to call "Done and Done." A 10 minute healthy snack, or lunch for a few days.

Seven Albums That Changed My Life (This Might Get Long)

Since yesterday at approximately 11AM, Pandora has decided that I have reached my 40 hour a month free listening capacity, which is SO LAME!!! I could listen to that in one week at work. How do they expect me to get by without them for three working weeks a month? I had to come up with some sort of strategy. I am not an Ituneser because I don't really know how to work my IPOD that well and also, I think that I would spend a ton of money on really bad music that I would regret later. So if I want to listen to something really specific, I either go to http://www.songza.com/ or I save up my dollars and go purchase the album. And that leads me to the more important part of this post.

Since Pandora is now an ass, I now choose a CD from my car, burn it to my work computer and listen to it on repeat all day. I have no other choice, I suppose. I'm cheap like that. Therefore, I've decided to discuss the albums that have meant the most to me throughout my life. These albums have helped me through either a breakup, college, a trip to France, or a road trip to Little Rock by myself. These albums are not necessarily from my favorite artists or bands, but they have a special place in my heart (and CD case) for one reason or another. So here we go in no particular order... actually, I think I'll do chronological order, just for my own organizational sake...

#1: Alanis Morrisette and "Jagged Little Pill"

I'm not sure of any person within 3 +/- years of my age that hasn't listened to this album. So, really it speaks for itself. Also, there is a 'hidden track' at the very end that I got super excited about the first time I heard it. I would borrow this album from Jennifer Herron VERY frequently in the 8th grade. I would keep it longer than she liked by saying 'Oh, I forgot it at home, I'll bring it to you tomorrow.' I'm sorry Jennifer, but I was lying. I eventually gave it back, though. This album made me realize that there is more to music than country. For that, I will be forever indebted to you, Alanis.

#2: Dido and "No Angel"

I guess we will skip directly past high school because I don't remember a single album that I owned and listened religiously to, so teleport yourselves mentally to my college days. In my very first drawing class that I took, we would listen to music while we drew (not nudes, this time). This album was one of my teacher's favorites. I never listened to music like Dido's (with the exception of Enya on the radio, which was horrible) and found that I really liked it. I liked this album so much that I raved about it to a boy who I really, really liked at the time. He went off and surprised me by giving it to me for my birthday (what a sweetheart) and I got to listen to it while driving home in the rain for the weekend. So there is the secret reason why there is a special place for Dido in my heart....

#3: Nelly Furtado and "Folklore"

These next two albums are a tie. When I lived in Paris for that glorious month in 2004, I had two roommates that were super interesting. They had brilliant senses of humor and I NEVER would have placed myself rooming with them, but obviously the room assignment person did. I remember being a little upset about it at first, but after I got adjusted to the situation (and was introduced to wine and started loosening up) it turned out that I got to know them and really liked them a lot. Rebecca, the really artsy one, would wake Catherine and I up every morning with one of three albums. "Folklore", "I Am Sam", or "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones. Now, I am not one to want to wake up, but when Nelly's "One Trick Pony" would start up, I would jump out of bed and look forward to the day like I hadn't even been asleep.

I didn't really care for Nelly before (the 'I'm Like a Bird' song), however, this album was less pop and more of a rock sound with an acoustic approach. This album wasn't considered commercially successful, but I like it better than her other two. It seems to me as though she put a lot more of herself into it, instead of being a music industry puppet.

#4: "I Am Sam" Soundtrack

This is the other of Rebecca's morning wake up albums that I love. I'll be perfectly honest with you here. I did not grow up listening to the Beatles. My parents didn't listen to them (at least while I was around) and I only knew that they were a huge successful 60's band. So, when I listened to 'I Am Sam' and I heard all of the artists (The Wallflowers, Sarah Machlachlan, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, The Black Crowes, Eddie Vedder, Rufus Wainwright, etc.) singing these songs, I had no idea that they were ALL Beatles songs. I just thought that these artists were doing a great covers album. Well, after examining the CD case, I realized what was really going on here. Anyway, I love the album. It is comforting. Like going home. Or eating a doughnut. (This album has gone missing from my collection, so if you have it, could you please give it back. Thanks.)

#5: Better Than Ezra and "Closer"

I don't know when this album was originally released, but in 2006, I attended my very first Better Than Ezra concert. Sure, I knew a couple of their songs ("Desperately Wanting", "Good", etc.) but wasn't sure what to expect from a full-blown show. My friend Jamie (who is an intense BTE fan) said, "Don't worry about it, it will be fun and you will know some of the songs." So, I went. I LOVED THEM. Absolutely LOVED them. I might have known like 5 songs total, but after the concert I went out and purchased this album via Ebay because I couldn't find it in stores anywhere. After it arrived in my mailbox, I drove around and listened to the album. My absolute favorite song is "Get You In." I like the first line in the song the best: "I sit and watch your flowers wilting in the kitchen. I felt like I was one of them gasping for air." How many times have we felt like that because of other people? Love this album!!!

#5: Ryan Adams and "Demolition"

During that same year when I found BTE, I also found Ryan Adams. (Side rant: If you don't know who Ryan Adams is (NOT BRYAN ADAMS), I urge you to purchase one of his albums. It doesn't matter which one, they are all amazing. This is your chance to learn what good music is and should be.) When my dear friend Eric Covington introduced me to Ryan, my music taste (and life) changed drastically. Thank you Eric, I will always be indebted to you as far as my hearing goes.

So, anyway, the summer of 2006 was really great, and yet at the same time really hard for me for many undisclosed reasons. I decided to take some vacation days and drove to Arkansas solo to visit some friends. While there, my favorite college friend Libby and I visited the local Best Buy. When I got there, I decided to go and see which Ryan Adams albums they had. They had 'Demolition' and 'Gold.' If I had the money, I would have bought both but decided on a coin flip to purchase 'Demolition.' On the drive back, I decided to listen. Wow. Amazing. I'm not sure what all Ryan has gone through in his life to make his music so powerful, but I applaud him and at the same time sympathize with him (even though he decided to marry that tramp, Mandy Moore) because he must have gone through some bad, bad times. My favorite track on this album is "Dear Chicago." If you are an Ituneser, spend 99 cents wisely and purchase it. I guarantee that you will relate.

#7 and Finally: Ray Lamontagne "Till The Sun Turns Black"

I would again, like to thank Eric Covington (who has amazing music taste) for gifting me with Ray Lamontagne's first full-length release "Trouble." I loved that album so much that I was given his sophomore release, "Till The Sun Turns Black" as a birthday gift the following year. This is actually the album of the day that I happened to grab from my car. So, it's currently playing on repeat. Ray's music is probably the most soothing music that I have ever listened to (with the exception of Damien Rice). He has a soft-spoken voice that can lull me into any sort of calm state. I love to play this album when getting ready in the mornings. Ray's music makes me want to behave. And to also be a better person. I can't say that about many things these days.

There you have it readers, I apologize for the length, but hope that the 5 minutes that you took to read my faves, has inspired you to share yours as well!

El Chico and More

So this weekend we had John's Birthday Extravaganza Part Deux beginning with a dinner at his favorite Mexican restaurant in Shreveport: El Chico. There was an amazing turnout of friends that showed up... about twenty... and it ended up being a good time.

When we left The Boy, (after John decided to take his sombrero with him) we headed over to sing some karaoke. On the way over, these two got engaged!!!! Congratulations Joey and Megan Hynes!!! So exciting!

After John and Rex finished singing "The American Trilogy" Mrs. Scoggin showed up.

Shortly after we visited with Jamie, we headed home, but not before snapping a photo with the Sensational Six (Carie and Trav were missing from the Elite 8, so we had to do with the six).


Saturday, John took me to the amazing Don Juanz, famous for their Fresh Mex menu. The fish tacos sound disgusting but are anything but that. If you live in the Shreveport/Bossier Metroplex and haven't tried Don Juanz, I suggest you do. You will never look at Mexican food the same. http://www.donjuanz.com/

Saturday evening, John wanted to watch the UFC fight. So he and his coaching buddies got together to watch it, while their pregnant wives and myself (neither preg or a wife) sat downstairs and visited. Well, let me just say that I heard enough in a few hours about pushing a baby out of a V, episiotomies, enemas, lamaze class, baby bedding, breast pumping, nipple cream, pediatricians, gas, cravings, morning sickness, strollers, cribs, due dates, NICU's, hospitals, changing rooms, baby monitors, registering, and rice cereal to do me for my entire life. No thank you, babies.

So that's the weekend recap. (Oh! And we saw Bruno. Not as funny as Borat. So, don't waste your time or money.) Big Brother last night was eh. I'm ready for it to get ugly!

You Girlfriend Forgot Cake

Last night, John and I, Jim and his wife Katie, John's other brother Chance (sorry, John Belushi only had one other brother so Chance will have to just go by Chance), his girlfriend Amanda and Nancy, Jim, John and Chance's mother all gathered for a birthday dinner at Shogun of Japan.

After our chef 'Ryan' begun cooking our dinner, it was discovered by him that we were there for John's birthday. Then he asked how old. John replied "27". 'Ryan' then made this:

Apparently 'Ryan' thought that John said 'Twenty-something' so that would be a 2 followed by a ? there on the smiley faced heart shaped pile of rice. Then 'Ryan' looks at me and asks John 'Your wife?' John replies 'No, she is my girlfriend.' Then 'Ryan' asked me where the cake was. I looked around and shrugged. Then Nancy decided to throw me under the bus by saying 'I guess I should have gotten the cake. Way to drop the ball, Kate.' So, 'Ryan' says 'Bad girlfriend. You girlfriend forgot cake.' Great, thanks 'Ryan.' He quickly followed up by saying 'No worries, I hook you up.' So after we had finished eating, out comes this fun little pineapple boat:

Followed by a man with a camera to take our photo. Along with the bill, he brings this:

Apparently they were out of the Happy Birthday photo holders, because John got a Happy Anniversary card with the words 'of your birth' added at the end. Classy, Shogun.

Happy Birthday To John!!!!

Today is John's 27th Birthday and since he is such a precious angel, I decided to dedicate a blog entry to him. Below are pictured some of my favorite times that I've had with him:

John (Caesar) and Rex Rupert (John the Baptist) sing "You Might Think" by The Cars at my '07 Toga Birthday Party

England is his favorite country.

John loves a good miniature golf game.

Classic Photo from San Diego trip last summer at the SD Art Museum

He meets the Gateway Arch in St. Louis for the first time.

He dresses as a childhood icon (Ric Flair) for my 26th Halloween Birthday. RIP Michael Jackson and his "Thriller" dance.

He enjoys Mardi Gras parties (and king cake) at the Martin's home.

Speaking of Martin's, John and Eric sing a duet at Eric's wedding shower.

John meets Rachel The Pig in Seattle.

John gets attacked by an octupus at the aquarium.

He meets another childhood icon: The Million Dollar Man at the DFW airport.

As you can see, John is a very complex character who is very special and dear to my heart. I love him very much! Happy Birthday honey!

Weekend Recap

My weekend consisted of very little. Saturday afternoon, I fell asleep watching my favorite movie in the world (Amelie), while John cleaned the house.

Saturday evening, I attended a birthday extravaganza for this fellow:

Happy 28th Birthday Joey! It was a great gathering with great people. Sunday, was a lazy Sunday. And by lazy, I mean there was a Mr. Gatti's buffet involved. In the parking lot I spied this:

I'm pretty sure that the owners were asleep inside. Or at Mr. Gatti's. On the back of their travel trailer was this. Rand McNally would be proud:

I thought it was a little peculiar that they managed to completely bypass Utah... Anyway, the rest of Sunday consisted of me doing a few craft projects (painting a mirror and an accent table) and then I Kate-napped it until this morning. 13 hours of sleep to cap off a weekend. There's nothing like it.

Things That Still Baffle Me

Approximately seven years ago I was enrolled at little place called Louisiana Tech University in the thriving metropolis of Ruston, Louisiana. College life was pretty great. It wasn't your typical college experience that you would think a young girl away from home would have. No sorority parties or all night keggers for me. Instead, I was involved with bible studies, outreach programs, staying up late playing Uno.. pretty innocent activities and I am very thankful for them since they kept me out of trouble.

Toward the end of my sophomore year at Tech, I started dating a guy that was great and that I really liked a lot. Right after we started dating, his birthday rolled around and I was a little uncertain as to what I should get him after only dating him for a few weeks. So, after much thinking and polling of friends, I decided on a Cool Water (it takes you back, doesn't it) gift set that ended up costing me (or my mom) around $60. Man, I thought, what a great girlfriend I am! I can't wait for my birthday (that would come six months later in November)!

All throughout the fall I looked forward to what my boyfriend would get me. I was hoping for something creative and thoughtful and one of a kind. That is exactly what I got. Behold, the infamous keychain: (The Front)

And, ladies and gentlemen, The Back:

Yes, that reads "Yeah Baby." I know what you're thinking. "Ya'll dated for six months and he gave you this keychain?" Yes. That was my birthday gift. How thoughtful and creative. I guess that is what I wanted, right? I am still in disbelief that this keychain has still remained findable after so long, but that is one gift that always seems to pop up at the most random times.

Stories of the keychain have been around the block for a while now. Back when John and I started dating, I told him the story of the keychain and since then he has been VERY timid when purchasing gifts for me. He thinks that I will absolutely trash anything he gives me, so he shuts down when trying to be creative (someone help him, please!). So now I just have to tell him what to get me to avoid getting nothing. For instance, I have to say "Get me a pair of cheap earrings if you can't think of anything to get me." Or, "Since you broke my camera, get me a new one for my birthday." He's so scared that I will ridicule anything that he gets me which is absolutely not true. I loved my camera (until it broke, then of course it was all his fault for picking a crappy one, but never fear, I fixed it via the Telephone Book Trick, remember?).

Imagine my surprise, when he came back from his cross-country journey bearing gifts. Yes, I got a foam finger to complete my Foam Fingers of San Diego collection, as well as some earrings and an actual Joshua Tree from Arizona. I got a little something else from Arizona as well:

And the back view:

I couldn't help but laugh when he handed me this Arizona Kate keychain. But bless his heart, at least there was a cute pair of earrings included in my prize baggie!

Weekend Recap

Well, this weekend was slightly more eventful than I planned on it being. I got out of the house for approximately 3 hours on Saturday. Evidence of said outing is a photo of my dear friend Sarah (Sass) and I at her father's 50th birthday party extravaganza on Saturday.

This was the highlight of my official weekend, since my air conditioner decided to be ridiculous and not cool the house down correctly (a technician is coming out this afternoon). My father was nice enough to purchase a window unit for me for my bedroom. This is what it looks like:

For the record, mine only has one hose, yet it has about a pound of duct tape keeping it connected to the window. I try to keep it as Keithville as possible behind closed doors. So, besides laying on my couch and sweating and reapplying the duct tape that was coming loose from the window, I watched some TV and kept it a low-key weekend. I'm hoping that this week perks up from the blah that would classify the former week. Happy Monday!

Good Food, Good Friends

This weekend we celebrated the births of two dear friends Laura and Stephanie. We started the evening not getting the memo about a revised reservation time, so John and I show up a little early (I'm ALWAYS punctual) at 645 for dinner at the Cub and wait. And wait. And wait. Then we were told that the time had changed so we waited some more. At 752 we were finally seated.

John and I had the pleasure of sitting at a cozy booth with Amy and David Netherton, parents of birthday girl #2. Let me just say that I had the best time chatting them up about God only knows what (now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that David told us a story about "Shaking Baby Syndrome" and how he used to deal with his children). The food was excellent. I had my first taste of a new favorite: Soft-shelled crab. Delish! Once dinner was devoured, we moved on to Tiki Tavern, Hangout Extraordinaire, for some karaoke:

I'm pretty sure that was a rendition of "Fancy" by THE one and only Reba McIntyre. When we got to Tiki, another group of my friends was there as well, celebrating the birth of Travis Hart (pictured below). Birthdays all around! So we got to see these friends as well as the ones mentioned above:

Travis and I discussed the changes in the oil and gas business, Carie and I discussed possible new job options, Melissa and I discussed people with missing fingers, and Casey and I discussed John and how precious he is in photos.

The evening was an interesting one, that's for sure. I got to hear John and his roommate Rex sing "The American Trilogy" by Elvis (John is apparently, in prayer):

Then I got to hear John petition everyone to make it the new National Anthem. What a doll! Let's just say that we had a great time. Once again, Tiki Tavern teaches us a valuable lesson about life as well as song lyrics.

Out With The Flush, In With The Navy

When I first was introduced to the truth serum that is, alcohol, there was always a tell-tale sign of when I had or was about to consume too much. Please note, The Sexy Flush:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I guess that's one of the drawbacks of being a fair-skinned redhead. Anytime that I get flustered or drunk, or embarrassed, it shows up right there on my face in the form of two red streaks on my cheeks. I mean, you can't have it all, right?

NOW, when I have had or am about to have too much, instead of just having a 'Sexy Flush', I start to ask questions that are so dumb. Lately, my question is: "How do you feel about navy?" I ask this question to close female friends of mine that I would consider being in my imaginary wedding party. Why? Why, does this happen? The latest victim was Sass, bless her heart.

Sass:

She's so precious! How appropriate for her to actually be wearing navy in this photo. She's a girl after my heart I tell you. Anyway, last night we gathered for a toddy and the longer we visited, like clockwork, the question came out. She says she likes navy. So that's good. Because she's gonna have to wear it one day in the form of a bridesmaid dress that she won't be able to wear again. I'm not going to lie to people. No you can't shorten it and wear it as a cocktail dress. That is the biggest bunch of bullcrap I've ever heard.

Whoa, what just happened? I think I just went off on brides when I was supposed to be talking about how great vodka tonics are.... Sorry brides, I'm a little crabby today. Happy Friday!