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).

Perks of Pregnancy

Today at work I was sent on an errand to Target with the boss' credit card to purchase a high-end carseat for one of our cast members (who has a baby with a high profile NFL football player who is expecting Baby #2 any day now with a different Baby Mama). So, I stroll into the store with my cart and head to the Baby Section. After much browsing and perusing and going back and forth between which one I think is the right one, I lean over and hoist that gigantic box into/onto the buggy. (Those things are ridiculously heavy by the way... AND expensive. Like $350 for a Britax (which must be the Rolex of strollers, because why would she get a Graco one when someone else is footing the bill? This kind of pisses me off. Don't you have to have a carseat on the plane??? I'm sure she brought her own because of this. So this makes me believe that this actress has a sister who is having a baby and needs a free gift. What a twatty bitch!.))

As I can barely see what's front of my buggy because the thing is so big, I make my way to the register. I subconsciously wonder if people around me are thinking 'Oh look at that pregnant girl rolling her babyseat up to the register. How sweet!', then I actually get to the check-out. Two, I am not joking, TWO Target employees approach me to ask me if I need help getting my ridiculously large babyseat to the car, not to mention the one that was checking me out. (I think to self, I am glad that I decided to wear an empire waisted shirt today. At this point I stick out my belly.) So, what do I say? 'Thank you SO much! That is so nice of you to help me!'

So, they rolled it out to my car for me, loaded it in there and sent me on my way. I felt a little ashamed of what I did, but really not THAT ashamed. Then I laughed the whole way back to the office and planted the carseat down in the lobby:

Only to find out that it was the wrong one. Then I lied and said it was the only carseat left in the store. I mean seriously, if I had to take it back, who would help me put it in the car this time to return to Target? Here they know that I'm not pregnant... just fat. :)

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!!).

It's That Time of the Year Again!

Approximately three or four times a year, my lifelong friend Laura (or LJ for those of you who grew up with her) cleans out her closet. This is always exciting for me because we are exactly the same size. Once we were asked: "Are y'all sisters? Because y'all sho favor?" from a 300 lb black nurse at a hospital. So, it's a treat for me since she is nice enough to let me sift through it all before she donates it to Goodwill!

Laura has a semi-shopping problem in that I think she is a sucker for sales. Every time I open the bags full of clothes, there are two and sometimes three of the same item, but with a different pattern or color. This makes me believe that she always falls for the 'Buy one get one free' or 'Get two for $10' sales. Also, there are frequently items that still have the tags on them, or that have only been worn once. So yesterday she dropped off three gigantic bags:

My roommate Nancy and I squealed with delight! We get so excited about free clothes!!! So, we immediately dive into the bags and separate into three piles:

1. Kate

2. Nancy

3. Donate

After we are done separating, then we proclaim 'FASHION SHOW!!!!' and turn on some Ace of Base and strut throughout the living room. We try everything on and then whatever doesn't fit or looks wonky gets thrown into the #3 pile. Then we take all #3's to the Providence House green bins around town or Goodwill. Last night, Nancy scored a bunch of cute stuff, and I got a couple of different tops. Sometimes the stuff works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it is ALWAYS a treat when Laura comes by! I love any reason for brushing up on 'The Sign' lyrics.

Ways That You Should NOT Run Your Business

Yesterday afternoon, before I headed to wine night, I stopped my liquor store of choice to pick up my very favorite $8.99 Penfolds' Rawson's Retreat Chardonnay. I ALWAYS go to the Thrifty on Youree near LSUS because the people there know me. They never stop me for ID, and I know where everything is so I can always just go straight to the R.R. and be on my way.

So, like I was saying, I stopped in yesterday and the same guy is working that is always working. He has a large variety of tattoos all over himself. He has dyed black (sometimes aqua) hair that is sometimes shaped into a mohawk or sometimes just hanging all in his face. If you have ever been in there, you know the guy that I'm talking about. So, I'm waiting patiently in like with the R.R., waiting on the black lady in front of me to finally lose with her scratch off lotto tickets, after playing them one by one then purchasing more tickets with the winnings, WHILE IN LINE!!! Seriously, move along lady so I can leave already. I try to spend as little time as possible in liquor stores, just because they are pretty skeevy places. Yet, are very similar to town halls, what with the bills that can be paid there, and whatnot.

Once it's finally my turn to check out, the mohawk guy makes me feel a little uneasy. Like he looks at me as if he is going to ask me a really embarrassing question in front of everyone there. I usually try to say as little as possible to avoid provoking him. So, right before he asks me "Will that be all?", he proceeds to pick up a Church's chicken leg, eat the entire contents of the leg in one swift swoop, sucking all remnants off of the bone before throwing it away. Then, he slurps up all remaining grease from his fingers, wipes his hand on his pants, picks up my bottle of wine, scans it, puts it in a bag, takes my debit card, hands me my receipt and sends me on my way. I WAS REPULSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My proof of this true story:

I have never been more grossed out in my life. Thinking about it even now makes me want to vomit. WHO EATS FRIED CHICKEN WHILE CHECKING OUT CUSTOMERS, HANDLING THEIR MERCHANDISE AND MONEY?? I realize that you work at Thrifty Liquor, but still. You are on Youree Drive, man! Have some self respect! After a few glasses last night, I finally got over it but I just wanted you all to know ways to NOT behave if you work in retail. That's what breakrooms are for!!! And chicken strips!!!!

New Poll of the Week!

Last week's poll closed with 9 of you saying that you keep cool in the summer by Never Leaving Pool.

Good choice, although I was disappointed to hear how few of you don't wear clothes. Next time, I suppose.

Well this week, the poll is going to discuss the current trends that are taking over our nation. Which one of these is the most annoying trend that you absolutely cannot stand?

A. The success of artists like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers (who, Thank the Lord are finally starting to dwindle with their fame):

B. Fashion trends such as Ed Hardy and Affliction:

C. Mommy Blogs (self explanatory. No one cares about your child's first poo):

D. Stick Portrait Window Clings (I feel as though I've already been over this one):

E. Mounting your television over your mantle (TACKY. Your living room says a lot about you and I feel that your focal point should never be a 52 inch flatscreen. Save it for your man room.):

F. Twitter (although I have one and was recently attacked for saying that I don't think breastfeeding in public is appropriate. That is why they make breast pumps and bottles. No one wants to see your areolas while they are eating a pepperoni pizza.):

Vote, will you, and have a wonderful Thursday!!!

Reasons That Z Gallerie is the Slutty Sister of Pottery Barn

Tuesday evening, Mark and I decided to have a get together to watch the best show on television (Big Brother 11). I got there pretty early so that we could order pizza and talk about people that we don't like with plenty of time to spare before the show came on. I am one who has to have absolutely NO interruptions so that I can catch every rude comment and fight with no background noise.

When I arrived, we immediately went to the kitchen to fix a beverage. I decide on what I want and Mark says 'WAIT!!!!!!! PUT IT DOWN!!!!!!' before I took a sip. I stopped because I was very nervous as to if there was a bug on my face or about to dive into my glass. But then he reaches in the freezer and fumbles with something before placing this atop my glass:

It is a miniature Titanic-shaped ice cube, with matching iceberg. HAHAHAHA. I laughed so hard!!! So, I took a better photo of the ship:

So finally after I was done gawking at the ship, I did something really tacky and sank it:

My sincerest apologies go out to Rose and Jack, that they had to relive that all over again, but I was thirsty. I asked Mark where he purchased the Titanic and Iceberg ice trays and he told me Z Gallerie. Then he said that they regard themselves the "Slutty Sister to Pottery Barn" and I completely agree. I prefer Z Gallerie's products because they are extremely interesting to me, whereas Pottery Barn is very cookie cutter and straight laced (FYI I am not hating on PB). I wonder what that says about me. (Go ahead and add your slutty comments. I won't be mad.)

I almost forgot to include another of Mark's awesome products!!! He has these coasters that when you set your glass atop them, they light up and then change colors until your glass is empty.
I think this is a GREAT idea for a gift, especially if you are having people over. You immediately know when their drink is empty because the coasters go back to basic white and no fun lights. I forgot to ask him where he got these, but if you really want to know, I can find out for you.

Target Understands

I don't know how many of you remember me writing THIS POST, but I remember it like it was yesterday, although it was actually over a month ago (June 11th) that I wrote it. Now, I don't know if I ever revealed what my resolution was in regards to this baby shower for a girl that I hadn't seen in 5 years. Well, let me just tell you what a nice person I am.

So, after I get the invitation for said girl and realize that I would be in Seattle during the shower (and jumped for joy), I decided that I should be nice about it and that it was probably the hormones telling her to send me an invite to said shower. So I go to her registry online at this store:

After perusing the registry and picking out a $12 onesie (that's being generous, I thought), adding to cart, refusing gift wrap because it cost extra, and clicking send, I thought, 'Okay Kate, you have finally put this little issue to rest.'

Or so I thought.

Yesterday, yes, I said YESTERDAY (July the 19th), I get an email from Target.com Guest Services telling me that my order was cancelled. They let me know that the onesie's supplier has decided to stop supplying Target. Which is stupid, because that's where everyone registers, or so I thought, but apparently this company has found a better store. So, a month and 8 days after I thought that this issue of the shower is out of the way, I find out that now I really look like a cheapskate because I didn't RSVP or whatever nor, send explanation of why I didn't go (it was all included in the card of the order I was sending). Oh well, I guess.

I told this little story to my friend Kristen and her theory is that Target really knew what the deal was and that they were on my side as far as gift giving goes. They cancelled my order because it was tacky to send me an invite in the first place. It's nice knowing that Target is my alliance and that they decided to backdoor the onesie.

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.

Things Every Girl Should Have

Back around 2005 when I first discovered the joy that is Ebay, I had my mind set upon purchasing this:

Yes, a hot pink Swiss Army Knife! Included in the set up is a pair of scissors, tweezers, a toothpick (ew), a nail file and a little bitty knife. I was so excited when I found out that they actually made pink ones, so I snatched it right up by being an aggressive bidder. Actually, now that I think about it, there was a "Buy It Now" option. I also got one for my sister in law, Annie, that was green (Isn't that nice of me?), but I don't think she realizes the awesomeness that she has been blessed with, unlike myself.

Fast forward a few years please to 2007. So, I am at the Dillards at St. Vincent Mall, looking desperately for a black dress for a bachelorette evening (it may have been for something else, but I think that's what it was). So, I look around the dress section and find two or three that I decide that I want to try on and head to the dressing room.

I try on the first dress and I thought, eh? Next... eh? So the last dress that I tried on was adorable. It fit slightly snugly, but it was super cute. Sold! So, I go to get out of it and something similar to this happened:

The damned thing was stuck. I was freaking stuck in this dress!!!!!! OMG What am I going to do? I am not going to call the lady to come get me out of it. I start sweating. A LOT (I'm pretty sure they keep it hot in those dressing rooms on purpose). Panic sets in. I decide that I should sit down, dress halfway over head, one arm out, one arm in. And think.

"Okay Kate. How are you going to get out of this one? It was so easy to get in that it HAS to come off right? RIGHT?? Dang it, this was such a cute dress too. I'm not going to have this moment happen to me again so I guess I shouldn't get it. How did the designer expect people like me, who are extremely intelligent, to get out of this? (Light bulb goes on!)"

So, what do I do, you ask? I reach into my purse and pull out my hot pink Swiss Army knife that has been with me through thick and thin all of those years. And what do I do with it? That's right. I cut myself out of the dress. With the tiny little scissors. Snip snip snip, right up the side. Once the dress was safely off and I was breathing normally again, I discovered a hidden zipper. Idiot! So, I hung it up on the hanger and nonchalantly strolled out of there to the safety of my car. And had a good laugh.

Moral of the story? ALWAYS have reinforcements!

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!

The Emerald City.

John and I leave tomorrow for Seattle. We are so excited that we can hardly sleep. People keep asking us what we are going to do while we are there (as if there is absolutely nothing that would be remotely interesting for these people to see), so I will tell you. I have planned out an itinerary to ensure that we get to see everything that we want to see while we are there since it is possible that we will never go back there if we hate it.

Thursday - Travel day.

We leave Longview at 320PM tomorrow and won't arrive until around 830PM. No worries because it doesn't get dark in Seattle until 10. We will probably eat something and then pass out from exhaustion of flying. Flying makes me so tired to the point of lethargic. Or we will rock it out at the Nite Lite. We will just have to see.

Friday - Pike Place Market.

This is where they throw the fish at you. There is also a bronze pig named Rachel who is the mascot of the city (who also doubles as a giant piggy bank that supports the Market's charities).

We want to stop by the original Starbucks, and also get half priced tickets at their information booth to anything we may want to do. Such as an Argosy Cruise around Puget Sound (I like at least one SUPER-touristy thing to do on vacation)! Woot.

Saturday - Get this. We are going to take the 'Victoria Clipper' and head over to Victoria, British Columbia (Yes. We have our passports)! They have lots of pubs, shops, parks and little points of interest. Example:

There is a place called Miniature World with a working miniature circus, miniature aliens, and (hopefully) midgets who run the place. This had better be good. Also, Victoria has a totem pole park. I thought that may be interesting as well as a museum that was listed in my bathroom book "1000 Places to See Before You Die." So I figure we should probably hit that up so I can cross it off the list.

Sunday - John's Day. We are going to do whatever he wants to do this day (isn't that nice of me), including going to the Seattle Sounders' soccer game after hanging out in historic Pioneer Square. We are bringing our Drew Carey glasses and scarves. Can't wait!

Monday - The Seattle Center. This is where the Space Needle is. I plan on venturing to the top and riding any roller coasters that may be secretly hidden up there (like at the Stratosphere in Vegas)! Also in the Seattle Center is the Pacific Science Center, the Experience Music Project (Jimi Hendrix exhibit), Aquarium, a carnival!, and fountains and whatnot. I'm pretty sure it was all built for the World's Fair in 1962.

Tuesday - Unplanned. I figure it would be best to leave this day open in case we see stuff that we want to go back to later. Or shopping, or doing nothing.

Wednesday - We come home :( or possibly :)

I am going to take my laptop with me on the trip in hopes that I may have an internet connection at the Moore (rolling eyes) so that I may upload a photo or two for you precious readers. I know that you will be extremely bored at work with nothing to read because I'll be gone, and I don't want to have that kind of pressure ruining my vacation.

Flashback Tuesday

Anyone remember this:

I sure do. Takes me back to middle/high school. Everyone smelled the same. And Kate Moss was made a superstar in America. God Bless.

Being A Bridesmaid

To me, there isn't a greater honor than a friend inviting you to be in her wedding, especially as a bridesmaid. I know that a lot of people groan and complain about it, but really, they feel good inside because they beat out so many other people that they thought would be picked and eventually weren't. Suckas! Anyway, my dear friend Laura has asked me to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming nuptials to her fiance, Marcus. The happy couple:

Nothing says true love like people in drag! So anyway, the last couple of weeks she has been on the bridesmaid's dress search which, that itself is enough to make any bridesmaid concerned. A bridesmaid's dress makes it or breaks it for the wedding experience of said bridesmaid. If they are uncomfortable or hate their dress, then they are pissed the whole time and sit around complaining about it to anyone with ears.

So, imagine my delight when an absolutely amazing dress was chosen for the bridesmaids!!! I mean, seriously, gorgeous. I may, actually, wear it again. No really. I know you don't believe me, but I really will. And it was a decent price! Whew.

Now that I don't worry about wearing something God-awful, my next worry consists of the same feeling that Bridesmaid #5 feels in her friend's wedding photos:

Bless her heart! I know what she is feeling, because this is about to be me in this wedding. Laura's other bridesmaids are all practically runway models who prefer 'blah' over savory OR sweet. I lost my personal runway model status after high school when I forgot where the gym was located and discovered Better Cheddars.

So, I have decided to enroll myself in Bridesmaid Boot Camp stat! I refuse to be the fat bridesmaid. My new diet consists of juice, water, cottage cheese, fish (not fried) and celery. If you catch me consuming anything that isn't on that list, punch me in the face. Please.

Room for Improvement

I occasionally have those mornings where I wake up late and don't have the energy or time to wash, dry, straighten this mane of hair on my head without being late for work. Actually, usually I have plenty of time but I'm just too lazy to do it. It takes me FOREVER to dry my hair and I get so overheated due to hair dryer that I've gotten to the point of just drying it halfway and saying "Screw You" to the rest of it. On top of the heat-issue, my hair has gotten to a length where it isn't easy to lean my head over the bathtub and wash it effectively anymore. (For the record, I take baths at night and don't wash my hair at the same time because if I sleep on it after washing it, it gets all lumpy and wavy and not right. Just letting yall know that I bathe every day.) Enter Psssssst (pronounced like it's spelled):

Side story: Once upon a time, my good friend Melissa and I took a trip to Drug Emporium in search of Psssssst, because that is where Barber Sass informed me that it can be purchased inexpensively. We walk in D.E. and peruse the never ending shampoo aisles. There are seriously like 3 shampoo aisles, which is a little ridiculous, but it's good to know that they have such a nice selection. Anyway, so I look and look and look and I can't find the Psssssst ANYWHERE. Great. So Melissa and I go to the cashier area and ask for assistance. We tell the girl what we're looking for and she points us to condoms. No! We tell her. Psssssst isn't a type of contraceptive, it is spray shampoo. Finally we find it with no help from her. We laughed for a long time about that story at the time... Ah memories.

So, like I was saying before, Psssssst can be a real lifesaver when you are too lazy to wash your hair. You simply point and shoot where your hair looks greasy (i.e. territory where an egg could be fried), and it sprays white talc or something that I'm sure is really harmful to the environment as well as yourself and off you go with perfect 'clean' hair. Barber Sass also told me that Ken Paves uses Psssssst on Jessica Simpson's hair (which I'm sure is true since it is rumored that she is an unbathing, disgusting person. I know this because she craps in her wardrobe from film sets... another story, another day.) instead of washing it. Barber Sass' mother D.D. also told me that Psssssst, as she pronounced P.S.S.S.S.S.S.T., was a hot commodity in the 70's, back when people flat ironed their hair with actual irons.

I am not upset at all about not being born in that decade if you were wondering. So, I used Psssssst a few times. It just doesn't work right for me. I find that unless you have dirty to light blond colored hair, it leaves gray/white streaks where there should be beautiful strawberry locks. So, instead of looking clean, I just look old. I think that I should write the headquarters of Psssssst and tell them that they could better their product if it came in different shades. White could be for blonds, brown for red/brunettes, and black for black-headed people. I should be a marketing strategist.

I Got New Knobs!

Last weekend when John and I went to Dallas, we did quite a bit of shopping, which is unusual for us since we don't have extra money to spend on such frivolous activity. So we went to this amazing mall in Plano that has a store of which I like to call the 'Mothership'. Others may refer to it as Anthropologie.

After I dropped John off at a gigantic Dick's (no pun intended) Sporting Goods, I wander over to the Mothership. I head immediately to the Clearance Room to see if there's anything good being offered. Of course there are 8-10 people crammed in there so I couldn't get a good look at anything other than what was near the entrance/exit. And that's where I spotted a superb find! Drawer pulls!!!

Now anyone that knows me or has been to my house, knows that I have some less-than-classy drawer pulls in my 1/2 bath. Otherwise known as these:

Please excuse the red paint on Pull #3. Sometimes I get a little carried away with home improvement projects such as painting. Anyway, so I found some really cute new ones but there weren't four that matched. I decided to whip out my Artistic License and get ones that had similar elements in them (the color red) instead. This is what they look like now:

I was so proud of my find! Not only because I feel that they are a vast improvement over the random blue flowers, but because I got them for $2 when they were regular $14 each!!!! I love being a Frugal Frannie!!

A Pleasant Surprise!

Saturday John and I left for Dallas to go to the Seattle Sounders/FC Dallas soccer game. He got me pumped up about going because of the really good incentives that were offered (Free Drew Carey glasses AND a possible chance to play Plinko at halftime). I asked him if the Actual Drew Carey was going to be there and he told me "Um no. Why would he go to a game in Dallas? Dallas is the worst team in the league." Okay, no biggie, it will still be fun.

So we got there and got our free glasses and decided to take some fun pictures:

It was really funny b/c everyone in the stadium was wearing these glasses. Everyone looked ridiculous, but it was cool because despite looking stupid, everyone wore them anyway. So as we are laughing at how much dumber the little kids looked in them (b/c they were way too big) John spots one of the VIPs from the Sounders' Club. (This is how the conversation went:)

John: "See that guy over there?"

Kate: "No." (I am barely even paying attention because I'm reviewing our pictures we just took.)

John: "That's one of the team owners or Big Wigs. You can tell because he is wearing one of the official warm-up jackets. See how that one has two stripes under the arms? I think that guy's name is..... OMG THERE'S DREW CAREY!!!!!!!"

Kate: "Where?"

John: "Right there."

Kate: "I still don't see him."

John (Shouting): "RIGHT THERE IN THE SOUNDERS JACKET WITH THE SCARF."

Kate: "Oh. Neat. Go ask him for a picture for my blog.":

As you can see, Drew was not wearing Drew Carey glasses. We, who looked like idiots, were. I hope he wasn't offended and didn't think we were weird. He goes on to ask us why we were Seattle fans (via his Flip Mino video camera, just like the video camera I have) and we had a 2-3 minute conversation with him. John doesn't let me speak during this time for fear of embarrassing him. Drew asked us our names and John said "Adam Hester and Kate Warren." I can only get out "Hi I'm Kate" during the meeting because John is talking so quickly. He claims that he was excited/nervous but whatever. I've met SO MANY famous people that I'm okay with not talking to him (typed with a hoity-toity voice in my head). Joking.

The game was a little disappointing since it was a draw but I did get to showcase my scarf:

It was a fun little trip and I can't wait to go to the home game in Seattle. I'm bringing my glasses with me.