Following Up... I Think

I don't know if I mentioned before that one of my New Year's Resolutions was to re-do (meaning paint and rearrange) my bedroom, but that was the plan. So, back during my two week hiatus where I fell into a deep depression of boredom, I bought all the stuff to get started. I got paint, brushes, trays, drop cloths and all that horsecrap in order to prepare to paint. And then it ended up on my dining room table for two months...

Until Friday night.

John and I ripped down some God-awful border and began the task of 'Home Improving' as some call it. Saturday we primed and painted - well John did most of the hard part, while I did things like tape, refill the paint tray and trim. Here is a preview of the result:


Don't judge the bad photo - it was taken with Halle (no offense Halle).

Be honest with me, is it too dark? Also, I bet you can take a wild guess at who was so careless as to paint parts of the ceiling green unintentionally (Hint: It wasn't me). Oh well, that will just have to be touched up at a later date, or covered with some crown molding. During the process of moving the furniture back to their destinations from the center of the room, my foot board was shattered and thus, is now pieces of it are leaning all over my room, along with the new bed frame that I purchased last night. So, indeed, this is still a work in progress and will have to be reconstrued and put about this weekend after John leaves to go on his cruise with the Belushi's.

More updates on this coming soon... stay tuned.

LENT UPDATE!

Well, since I gave up everything that is considered Holy and Righteous (see post below) for Lent, I've pretty much eaten nothing but lettuce and salmon for the past two weeks. (Well, except that time that I went to Joey and Megan's Fiesta Wedding Shower and of course it was Build Your Own Burrito day and I ate one and a half. Oops.. I felt really bad about it and purged when I got home. Ok not really, but I did feel bad... convicted would be the proper term/feeling.) Anyway, since I've only eaten sprigs of grass, I feel like I've lost a pound or two. Feel free to compliment me on such the next time you see me.

Anyway. Life has been busy lately. I just found out that I will be coordinating two films coming up. One starting now and the other starting at the end of the month so if you wanted to get any face time in with me before September, now's the time to start booking my free time with fun activities.

Since I won't be doing anything other than being holed up in this office 'til fall, I've decided to arrange a goal if you will, to look forward to. I've decided to take this one...:


...on a trip to NYC! I asked her where in the world does she want to go on a trip. She answered NYC (even though we've already been there AND even though I STRONGLY URGED HER to choose Paris, she wanted New York. She says that Paris would be too expensive b/c that is where the original Louis Vuitton store is and she knows she'd spend a fortune in there. I say, you live once and you're going to be too old and senile by the time we can 'afford' to go to Paris, but whatever...off soapbox (also she wants John to take me there on our honeymoon. Ha! WE AREN'T EVEN ENGAGED!!!)), so off we go to NYC! (I know, I'm the best daughter ever...) So, I've contacted my travel agent and planning is in the works. I've always wanted to do something special for Sue and I feel like this will be a nice way of rewarding her for being a great mom (also, to get her out of the house before her Alzheimer's/dimensia settles in for good).

Not Safe For Work (No Really)

I saw this yesterday on my way to BFE to go visit my parents.

Yes. This is a naked guy. Pants around ankles. Waddling along Mansfield Road in Stonewall. John and I sat in this turn around for 5 minutes assessing the situation, laughing and taking pictures before we pulled into Sue's. I told them that they should consider relocating. Immediately.

Wordless Weekend Wrap Up

Isn't John a Doll? (WARNING! Romance Involved)

A few nights ago, I left Mark's house after watching Big Brother (I am SO GLAD that Jeff won the Coup d'Etat!!!) and found this on my car windshield:

Look at John being a phantom in the night! After I got on to him for not being romantic, he has been leaving roses and/or oil paintings on notebook paper of roses on my car with the reasons that he loves me. Feel free to gag now if you hate reading about romantic/perfect relationships, because when I read about other people bragging about how perfect they think their boyfriend/girlfriend is, I think to self 'How lame! Do these people have nothing better to say?' This is me eating my words (just a little).

We definitely don't have a perfect relationship. Not trying to trash him or anything, but it's true. Sometimes we go days without speaking to each other. We frequently fight with each other like brother and sister, but at the end of the day, we have a deep respect for each other. I just thought I'd give him a pat on the back for being such a dove.

Easy $5 Redecorating Projects

John's mother is redoing her new townhouse. In doing so, she is basically gutting the entire thing and putting in new fixtures, carpet, tile, cabinets, appliances and so on and so on. A few months ago, she told me and John to come over and see if there was anything that we wanted before she destroyed it or donated it all to Goodwill. Being the cheapo that I am, I was there in 5. So, I scouted the place and found a couple of items that I figured could easily be updated with less than a $10 effort. I found an outdated mirror in one of her bathrooms:

I didn't get a good before photo, mostly because I wasn't in blog mode at the time. I was in art project mode which trumps blog mode any day of the week. So, I took the mirror, covered the actual mirror part with newspaper (very carefully) and then purchased a can of black spray paint and covered the outer frame with it. Behold the final product:

I got Keithy to come over with his tool belt and he hung it for me last week. Done and done! The other item that I snagged whilst rummaging about was John's great grandmother's marble topped 'catch all' table. The bottom was previously (awfully) painted a nasty white color that completely washed out the beautiful marble table top. This time I took a can of brown spray paint and turned it upside down and covered the entire stand with it.

I think it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. I forgot the before photo due to said art project mode, but here is the final piece:

Seriously. Easiest makeover ever. And these things were FREE! So, a couple of cans of spray paint and a little TLC gave my bathroom and 'catch all' a brand new look! I should start an HGTV style blog, next!

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!!).

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.

Guess What Question My Team Got? (Plus Bonus Recipe) (TEAM PHOTO UPDATE)

Well, Mrs. Schillage finally uploaded her Game Night photos to Facebook so I decided to show you all who the real winners are. This is what I would like to call the A Team, with special guest, Ryan "Ron" Roberts:

John looks thrilled, as usual. Rachel, I know you are reading this, and I request that we make this a monthly affair. Thanks. Also, thanks to Chatty Cathy, I have a new dessert to bring. So, let's get on that, ok?

Guess What Question My Team Got? (Plus Bonus Recipe)

John and I had a blast at game night on Saturday. The A Team dominated (as predicted) over the B Team (although the B Team was twice as large), and took the game of Trivial Pursuit with a blaze of glory. You guys will NEVER guess which question came up during the game... I will give you a hint, it involved this little beauty:

That's right. My team got a question about the Guggenheim Bilbao and everyone was shocked that I knew the answer. Oh well, they should have read the blog, then they would have been prepared. Also, I provided the snacks for the event. I made a lemon pie, the Turkey Pinwheel things and this:
I apologize for the crappy photo quality, but I forgot to take a photo of mine and Campbell's likes to have super tiny photos with their recipes. So let me just tell you how good this Double Cheese Crab Dip turned out to be. Sass ate more than half of it. So it really was good. Here is how to make it:

You'll Need:
1 Cup Pace Salsa (Campbell's has to push Pace since I think they're the same company)
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened, i.e. heat in microwave for 15 seconds)
1 Can (8 oz) refrigerated crab meat (although I used the crab sticks from the Upscale Brookshire's and it was just as good and fresh)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (although I left this out because, let's face it, some people are picky and won't eat them)
Pita triangles/tortilla chips/fresh vegetables for dipping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and stir salsa and chili pepper in a small bowl. Spread cream cheese on bottom of 9 inch pie pan. Top with salsa mixture, crab meat (if you get the sticks, you should shred them with a fork and knife first), cheddar cheese and olives. Bake for 15 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Top with additional salsa (whatever's left in the jar after your take out your cup full). Serve with pita triangles, tortilla chips or fresh vegetables for dipping. I used tortilla chips.

After we played Trivial Pursuit, we whipped out Loaded Questions and all had some good laughs. The best question of the night would definitely have to be: "What are three words that you would use to describe the word black?" I feel like after that question that the group really loosened up. I also learned some new vocabulary words. Happy Monday!

Weekend Forecast

So, I got this new map on my blog that tells me the locale of my readers. I had no idea that the Cob was such a popular place in Hungary, Canada and the UK (although I'm 99% sure that the UK is pin-pointed due to my friends Frances and Baby Money checking in on me). I'm pretty sure that I don't know any Canadians or Hungarians so this is a special shout out to them. In honor of Britney coming to see me in Shreveport this fall, I would like to present to you, one of my favorite Britney videos. She represents Louisiana well.



The events scheduled for this weekend include lounging around doing nothing as well as Game Night on Saturday at the Schillage residence. Dear Sass (whose Birthday Dinner Part Deux was held last night and I was unable to attend due to home plumbing issues), Dobber, Rex and Flavor of the Week, John, myself and the Skills are going to play some games. I'm hoping that Sass, Rex, John and I are on the same team. I am confident that we would be UNSTOPPABLE. (Did you know that the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is made of Titanium? Because I do.)

Also, I am going to prepare a crab dip that I found on Campbell's Recipes or something.com and if it turns out to my liking, I will share the recipe with you. I am a modern day Betty Crocker, I'll tell you. Last night I made THIS and even edited the recipe by adding some black beans. I like to call that 'using my artistic license'. Sunday, John and I are going to look at a house with our realtor friend, Chris David (pronounced Dahveeed). Let's hope that John likes it, because I sure do.

The Epitome of Class (Part 2)

Back whenever I posted the photo of the black lady with her ultrasound on her t-shirt, I figured, hey, pregnancy can't get less classy than that. Well, I have officially decided to retract that statement.

Last weekend, John and I went over the bridge to Bossier (which I recommend NEVER doing unless you have some sort of extremely specific reason to go such as, fish tacos or visiting a friend). So after we ate fish tacos (I'm getting hungry just thinking about them), John decided that he wanted to go to Hat World or Lids or whatever that place is called in Pierre Bossier Mall.

Side Note: I've decided that malls are places where one should never have to go unless it contains at best ALL or at least one of these three stores:

1. Pottery Barn
2. Anthropologie

3. Williams Sonoma

Honorable Mention: Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Malls have become a collection of what I like to call 'undesirable' stores. They are full of places like Champs, Pacific Sunwear, Gadzooks or The Arabian Gold Herringbone Factory. I can't deal with all of that. I don't want to be bombarded by the guy with the Dead Sea Minerals when I'm trying to get some new underwear from Victoria's Secret, ok?!?

So anyway, off we went to Lids and then John decides that he wants to walk around. Bad decision. There was absolutely NO store in this mall that was even semi-appealing. I take that back. I do like Borders. They have books, which are safe and not trashy. As we were walking past and 'fake-phone calling' to avoid the Proactiv salesman, I spot something out of the corner of my eye: Spencer's.

Okay, I admit. This was secretly one of my favorite places to look during the South Park Mall phase in high school. I always felt guilty going in Spencer's because of all of the trashy stuff they have that I shouldn't be seeing as an upstanding citizen. Like really TRASHY. I'm pretty sure that I learned about sex at Spencer's and hadn't been back since. So, I said, 'Why Not?' I'm here, so I might as well go in. I spotted this immediately after I perused the Sarah Palin: VPILF magnets:

I thought: "Oh, cool! T-shirts." Then I inch slightly closer to reveal Spencer's own line of Maternity T-shirts. Yes, that's right. MATERNITY T-shirts:

Yes, honey. Maybe now he WILL marry you. I immediately did an about face and walked out. This is why I don't go to malls.

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!

Things That Should Be Surprising, But Aren't

Last night John and I decided to eat at a semi-local establishment for dinner because I got a $5 coupon in the mail. We love finding opportunities to be cheap. So we pull into the parking lot directly next to this:

I feel as though The Diddle Martins have already touched on this topic, but I figured, it is semi-rare that you get an opportunity to get up close and personal with one of these train wrecks, so why not talk about it? Behold, the "Spaghetti O's" car. Please take note at how detailed these people are with their Mazda 626. The rims:

It is as though the wheels are covered in tiny Spaghetti O's that have escaped from the can. On the trunk is the bar code. You know, in case you want to scan it:

Also if you really look hard there is the phone number to the company that painted this car in this fashion... you know, if you are interested in transforming your Sister Civ from a natural Taffeta White into the Suave Strawberry Shampoo car. One last photo, the Nutritional Information Sunroof:

That should wrap up all of the classiness from the pre-dinner parking lot experience. After we ate our fill of chips and queso, we decided that we should make it an official date night and go see The Hangover (warning, rant coming):

I was pretty disappointed with it, to be perfectly honest. I don't know if I didn't like it because it was super predictable, or because people had spoiled parts of it that were 'so hilarious' so I knew what was coming, or if I was trying to figure out the whole time why everyone in the world seemed to think it was the funniest movie of all time. I thought that Heather Graham did a good job and that's about it. I laughed at the credit photos, but I left the theater thinking, Really? That's it? It might not have helped that I saw it with John who was cynical about it based on all of the hype.

Well, I got a surprise when I got home, that's for sure. Evel Dick commented on my blog about Big Brother! I couldn't believe it. It may very well be an impostor, but since it says that he is in the agriculture business on his blog profile, that makes me think it's for real. So, Flashback Tuesday turned out to be an abnormally banner day!

Things That Happen When Kate-Naps Are Interrupted

Lately I have had NO energy. Seriously, none. This may stem back to Friday (unexpected day off when Nancy and I went to meet a friend for a margarita at 430PM at the Oyster Bar and didn't return home until 3AM.

All in one night I managed to run into a girl I taught at Disciple Now 3 years ago, a guy that I had a cyber screaming match with 4 years ago, and a girl that I roomed with in France 5 years ago. Not to mention, I had greasy hair, was wearing a tshirt and had no makeup on. AND it was 102 degrees outside so I was all sweaty and shiny. Ugh. Somehow we managed to go from Oyster Bar to Fat Boys to Fat Cats to El Dorado (where I ran into Losing Anna and the entire city of Shreveport) to Fatty Arbuckles to Stray Cat to home. By the way, there are way too many Cats and Fats in this town. Yeah, so it was an intense pub crawl.)

Anyway, I've been sleeping a lot lately. Like I was saying, it may stem back to bad decisions, or possibly a thyroid issue. I'm still paying off a dermatology visit so I have to pay that off before I have other things checked out (paying for my own insurance is costly). So, Sunday night I went to bed at 7 and last night I decided upon a Kate-Nap around 6. People kept texting me, so I ended up having a break from sleeping at 930ish where I got up and went downstairs to watch The Bachelorette (Jillian is a moron) and Chelsea.

I was all nestled on the couch when around midnight my doorbell rang. I froze and my heart started pounding very intensely. Seriously, there was no way in hell that I was going to answer that doorbell. I thought, if this was someone that I know, they would have sent me a text or called to tell me they are coming over. So it was most likely a child pranking me, or a rapist/murderer. (John warns me to never answer the door, even during the daytime. Goes along with the whole don't talk to strangers deal.)

So what do I do? I mute the TV, slide off the couch and army crawl to the bathroom where I hoped to go unnoticed. I stayed there until I decided that it was safe to come out, turn off the TV and lamp (very slowly and quietly) and tip-toe upstairs back to bed under the covers. I texted John and he was all like "Don't answer the door. If it happens again, I'll send a car out (which really made me giggle on the inside. FYI his father is retired Shreveport Police.)" So, I laid there until I fell asleep again.

Well, this morning, I woke up and tip-toed downstairs (I guess in case the doorbell-ringer was still there waiting on me) and made my coffee and got ready to go to work. I opened the front door slowly and peek outside. Nothing on stoop. No extinguished flaming bag of crap, no DVD (someone left one once), and no dead people or blood. So I glance over at my car and there is this on my windshield:

I was thinking "What the crap?!? I never get this stuff. Someone scared the hell out of me last night to leave a rose on my windshield? Was it John? A secret admirer (I have many)?" So I texted John and asked him if he happened to leave anything on my car and he said 'Maybe'.

OK. Mystery solved. Whew! Moral of the story is that I decided that I should toughen up slightly and that John is a sneaky (and sweet) guy.