Eww

I'm not a huge coffee drinker. When I do make a cup, it's 1/3 cofee, 1/3 milk, 1/3 water (and let's not talk about how much Splenda). I always swore I'd never acquire a taste for it (but then again, I swore I'd never develop a taste for beer, and unfortunately for my thighs that's no longer the case).

Actually, my taste for beer parallels my taste in coffee pretty well. I don't know beer. I like swilly beer. Cheap beer. Pale yellow beer. "Lite" beer. Nothing complex or cultured. I am unapologetic in my love of unsophisticated beer. The same goes for coffee. Folgers, Maxwell House, Barnie's, Fourbucks Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts....it's all the same. I don't know 7-11 from Blue Mountain. I can't tell if it's burned or old or decaf. That said....

WHY DID NO ONE EVER TELL ME HOW BAD INSTANT IS??!!

Hubby doesn't drink coffee at all. So much for saving money by not buying a coffeemaker for that 1/3 cup I want in the morning. We're going to Target this weekend. Oh well, I tried.

Is it 5 o'clock yet?

This week, I have walked into two of my co-worker's offices and found them trimming their toenails. And right now, I hear the sound of nail clippers. It is happening again. So much for eating my lunch.

I am so sorry to have to share that information with y'all. Blog World is supposed to be a happy place, and you deserve better. But if I didn't cry to someone, I knew I wouldn't make it the rest of the day.

EWWWW.

Yes, tonight definitely calls for happy hour.

someecards

Back before Facebook changed up their layout, my friends and I (along with the rest of North America) loved that "bumper sticker" application. I especially loved the ones with the old-timey drawings and the modern-day captions that were formal sounding. Everyone knows them, I'm sure. They're often irreverent, sarcastic, matter of fact, and very "me".

My sister, bless her similarly-twisted heart, recently sent me a link to the motherload of these beauties. I'm sure she regrets it. My poor friends and family...they get blasted with a new 'love-note' from me far too often.


Considering my 10 year reunion is approaching (holy $#&@!, where'd the time go?), I thought this one was especially fitting.


It's funny because it's true.

These things capture my sense of humor perfectly. I laugh at these things like a little boy (same as I do for LOL-cats, but I can't divulge my dippy sense of humor all at once now, can I?). If you catch yourself laughing while browsing these pictures, then we could totally go out for margaritas. We would get along just fine.

someecards....when you care enough to hit send.

Another Day, Another Rant...

Dear Black Monte Carlo Driver:

Hello. I see you daily on my way to work. I know it's you that I see every day, because your car is very distinctive. I hope I'm not imposing, but I thought I might offer you some friendly advice.

Since you drive this route daily as I do, you should know the route to your destination pretty well. So maybe instead of cutting people off and nearly causing an accident every morning, you could remember a mile or so back that you need to get into the left lane every day to get on the interstate? Or if you do insist on repeating that last-second lane change, maybe at least use your turn signal? I don't mean to be presumptive, but I feel like I speak for our fellow commuters when I say I do not want to start my day with a wreck.

And, not to pry, but does your mother know how often you use your middle finger and horn? If I knew where she lived, I'd write her a letter. She would not be pleased. I'm sure she thinks she raised a gentleman.

Also, how about keeping an ash tray in your car? I completely agree, smoking is a disgusting habit and I wouldn't want that mess in my car (or lungs, but that's another rant for another day...), but tossing your butt out into the road is not cool. Not cool at all.

One more thing: I mentioned your car is distinctive, and that is because you have a huuuuge Bible verse plastered on your back window, and a second on your bumper. Not to judge, but what does the Lord think about your inconsiderate driving and littering? That is not the way to treat your fellow man or the earth. I see you want us all to believe you're a good Christian (you're going to great lengths to broadcast it) but I'm not seeing the evidence to back it up. Just some food for thought.

Thanks for listening! Have a smooth drive home!

xoxo,
Kate

Bag Lady

The only thing worse than a Monday is a Monday after a long weekend. Ugh. All 3-day-weekends should be Sat-Sun-Mon, so you can "recover" from your mini vacay with a shortened workweek. But nobody asked me. And I guess since the holiday was "Good Friday", not "Good Monday", it's probably a little bit beyond my power anyhow.

I hope everyone had a great Easter! Mine was wonderful. Maybe it was because I was super busy all day long, but it was the first holiday since losing Mom that I didn't spend in a total funk. Church and brunch with Hubby's family was very nice, as was dinner with my father and sister. I'm lucky to have such fantastic people in my life (even if Hubby's grandmother seemed disapproving that I put relish in my deviled eggs).

I'm super excited for the UPS man to come today. He's going to bring me my new Lands' End tote! I "needed" one with my married monogram on it. I got it in medium, which I think will be perfect for work (and in pink, naturally).



I also ordered a large tote from L.L. Bean last week. My madras addiction is rivaling my polka dot obsession (almost). I need to step away.



It's light enough to be girly, but dark enough to be practical (I am a dirt magnet). I know I could have ordered basically the same monogramed tote from LL Bean and gotten everything in 1 order, but Lands' End has better monogram choices (I wanted "script initials"). And I had free shipping with them, so I only paid shipping on 1 order. See, it makes sense now, haha.

Speaking of making sense, I found this beauty from The Monogram Shop that defies personal logic (scroll down and check out that Utility Tote). Now, I know I am the Queen of Cheap and I know it's not polite to imply how people should spend their own money, but wowza. Maybe I need to see it in person to understand, but that $215 tote looks nearly identical to the $25 one I have coming from Lands' End!

If I buy another tote, slap me!

Pre-Easter

Ahh, 3 day weekends. I keep thinking today is Sunday, then I remember and smile.

The game was amazing. Even though we lost, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I got to meet Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson, 2 of my Top 4 All-Time Favorite Magic Players. I also got to meet the team owner, Rich DeVos (our seats were better than even his!), as well as current UF players Chandler Parsons and Nick Calethes. (The complementary food and beer were great too, I can't lie). We won't be catching Boston for the 2nd seed, but even so I am incredibly proud and happy for my team!

The view from our seats.


Time Out



Retreating to the locker room after our loss



A very tiny, distant Kate on the court after the game


Today is just a lazy day, the best kind. I made deviled eggs (maybe they need a different name for this weekend; combining 'devil' and 'easter' is a bit awkward...) and yellow buttercake cupcakes for tomorrow's dinner with my family. Tomorrow we'll go to early mass and brunch with Hubby's family. I am not much of a church-goer, but I figure if it'll make the in-laws happy, fine. Plus, the promise of an omelette or waffles afterward sustains me, haha.

A very happy Easter to everyone! Appreciate the time with your families!

It must be Magic!

For a brief moment earlier today, this mouthy broad was speechless.

My father called me up and told me he had some tickets to Friday Night's Orlando Magic/NY Knicks game for us. I thought, "aww, that's sweet". He regularly ends up with tickets from his buddies and passes them along to us, so I figured this was like any other time.

No. Oh, no. Not even.

I wish I'd had a camera watching me when I took them out of the envelope earlier. We are seriously going to be right by the home bench. Not even behind it, next to it. Apparently these are the only seats in the entire Amway Arena that are better than the team owner's seats. Hooray for dad's awesome friend! (Said buddy is at Augusta this week--poor guy--so that's why the seats are available).

As a sports nut and fan of the Magic since they were "born" (they played their first game on my 9th birthday. I got a basketball franchise for my b-day, what'd you get? Eh?) I am giddy! It's a nationally televised game on ESPN, should you have nothing better to do than watch. We're going to DVR the game and watch to see if we catch ourselves later on (we're dorks, what can I say?) I pray I don't pick my nose or do something else equally klassy.

I'm in a tizzy over what to wear. Hubby and I are going to get there when the doors open and watch the warm ups. I need to charge my camera battery, because that puppy is going to get a work-out tomorrow night!





P.S.--I love how I made "we got awesome tickets!" go on for about 8 paragraphs...

Orly Prepster

I must admit, I got a flutter of excitement in me when I read that Orly was going to release a collection named "Prepster". Can you blame me? It didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it didn't totally disappoint either. Here's a photo of the display:



Prim and Proper: Lavendar Shimmer
Tennis Anyone?: Nude Creme
OMG: Fuschia Pink Creme
Polo Princess: Pale Pink Creme
Country Club Khaki: Taupe Creme
Cashmere Cardigan: Iris Blue Creme

The only one I've purchased is Polo Princess (I have *unintelligible murmer of total* polishes, but no Eastery pink creme!) Prim & Proper, Cashmere Cardigan and OMG are also nice colors. Very fun, very spring-y. Tennis Anyone? looks like a Band Aid color (not very appealing, in my opinion...there are a skidzillion better nudes out there). And Country Club Khaki? I think the phrase I'm searching for to describe it is "butt ugly". I've noticed concrete colors are trendy this year, but do you know any preppy ladies that would actually paint their nails the color of mud? Me neither. I'm a little sad there's not a green to complement the pink, but realistically I'm probably the only preppy-gal out there who'd paint her nails green (come on, it'd be a fun pedicure! lol)

These are available at Sally Beauty and Ulta right now. They're also up on my favorite places to order polish online: TransDesign, Head2ToeBeauty, and 8ty8Beauty. Orly is sold for $3 and change online. Shipping is a bit steep, so unless you're going to order more than 6 polishes, I'd just pick them individually at a store. (If you are going to order online, I suggest that ladies in the South order from TransDesign--they're based in Georgia and we get our packages in just a couple days!)

(A semi-related rant/tangent, I hate the word "Prepster". It just makes me cringe! I think too many years spent at a Prep School will do that to ya...I never heard the word from outsiders in a complimentary sense. Whatever, I loved high school, I got to wear plaid, khaki and polo shirts every day, haha...actually, things haven't changed much!)

Say cheese!

Time for some pictures....

By the time I could find a minute to take photos after work, I had already pretty much lost the sun! (That bowl was a wedding gift to my great-grandmother, it's one of my most special possessions)


"Mom? Did you put that bowl down for me?" Miss Stella Belle, my little gray tabby, just has to investigate.


Remember that herb garden I droned on about last month? Here it is. When I planted it they were 5 distinct little plants (basil, mint and cilantro in 1 pot, dill and chives in another). I call it my pots of "future mojito, future pesto, future salsa", etc....)


The kitties have found something more interesting out in the yard. That squirrel looks delish! (Stella and her big brother, Simon--my sweet little black cat.)

Monday Monday, can't trust that day...

Poor Monday. Everyone hates it. It's not Monday's fault it is what it is.

Our weekend ended nicely. We visited our farmer's market for the first time since moving to the area. We got a great deal on some red bell peppers and an onion (seriously, the bulb was as big as my head, its greens were 2 feet long, it was as sweet as can be, and only a buck!)

I finished up my glitter eggs as we were watching the CMA's, and they are adorable! A bit messier than I anticipated, but no full fledged disasters. I don't have any pictures of my own yet; it was dark outside when I finished and dark when I left home this morning (I'm at work, shhh!) The ended up lookin exactly like my inspiration photo, which I'll share (from the blog http://www.mom2momdfw.com--I'm having trouble making the hyperlink, but at least here's the address-- they actually used glitter instead of Martha's fancy 'glitter dust')



See? So cute! And really, so easy. I might "seal" them with some clear spray stuff, just so they don't shed too much glitter. I didn't do white, but I should have! Maybe I'll do some white ones for a "regular/in between holidays" table centerpiece. I definitely see myself doing the glitter pumpkins Martha does at harvest time. I might like glitter just a little too much, what can I say?

Moving on from one love of my life (glitter) to another (basketball). Tonight's the NCAA Championship! Hubby is rooting for Michigan State; he says they are a technically superior team. Technical, schmechnical. ;) I'm rooting for Carolina. (1) With a few exceptions, I will always root for the Southern team. (2) I love that color blue and the argyle. (3) Tyler Hansbrough is from a town very close to where my mama's family is from. Makes good logic to me! (And although I don't think Louisville has much of a chance against UConn, tomorrow I'm rooting for the Cardinals nonetheless!)

Sunday Babble

(I just have to say, I've received my first comment and follower this week, and I am positively tickled pink! Thanks ladies!)

You know what one of the best feelings in world is? Feeling normal after you've felt bad! I had a headache from Friday night til a bit after waking up this morning. I slept most of Saturday away. It's so nice to no longer feel I have a big ole' rubber band strapped around my head!

I need to go through my closet this afternoon and put together a box of stuff for the Viet Vets. They're coming tomorrow. I'm a bit of a pack-rat when it comes to clothes, so getting honest with myself is going to be tough. But I sure could use some extra room in my closet! And Viet-Vets/Am-Vets are such good charities. I'd rather donate to them than do a garage sale.

I'm going to attempt an Easter craft or two today, as well. It occurred to me, 'why not make some cute projects now, while I have time (aka, no kids)? Then when I have kiddos (aka, the ones who'll appreciate the decorations) there'll be something fun for them to jazz up the house.'

Project No. 1 shall be Martha-inspired glitter eggs. My original intent was to go all-out with the real eggs (cleared of their innards, of course). Well honestly, that's too much work! I found styrofoam eggs at Michael's, which realistically will hold up better through the years. I picked out pink, green, and blue glitter. We'll see how this goes: glitter, glue, and curious cats are dangerous things to have around at one time. Hopefully I can do this project without combining the 3!


Here's Martha's finished result. She used "glitter dust", which I could not find at Michael's and probably would not want to pay the price tag for if I could. I'll just be using regular glitter. I'll post pictures, I promise.

She came home!

I woke up to some fantastic news this morning, and I just have to share! I found a text on my phone sent by my dad in the middle of the night. Our lost kitty had come home!

Her given name is "Kitt", but due to her positively crazy energy when she was a kitten she earned the unfortunate nickname of our little "crack baby". She also goes by "Little Girl". Kitt is an adorable 8 year old tortoiseshell cat.

Anyhow, she got out when some workers came to install the dryer at the rental house dad is staying in while his house is being renovated. He's not one to show much emotion, but we could tell Dad was pretty broken down about losing her. Being a Tortie, she is naturally a very clingy cat. If she cannot be on your lap, then she is at your feet. She waits outside the shower for you. If she could crawl in your mouth to get closer to you, she would. Plus, she was mom's little sweetie. Kitt would perch on mom's shoulder like a parrot(she's a tiny cat; she only weighs a couple pounds).

So dad heard a cat making a ruccus outside last night and went to look...and there was our girl! Our Little Girl, who hadn't spent more than 1 minute outside since we rescued her as a kitten, had survived nearly 2 weeks on the streets!

I knew she'd come home to us, I knew our prayers would be answered. I knew God wouldn't take her away from us. I'm not a religious person in the sense that I talk about the Lord nonstop or preach, religion is much more personal to me, but it is little gifts like this that make me realize there is a higher power.

JLGO

For a while now, I've been kicking around the idea of joining Junior League of Greater Orlando. Or at least having a look-see.

I am not a social butterfly. I am not a Type A Personality. I don't even know if I'd fit in at JL, but I'm curious nonetheless. I'm looking for an organization where I can 'get out there' and participate in volunteer opportunties (without feeling like a slave), and hopefully meet some great women while I'm at it.

I will be 100% honest: we all know the stereotypes. If it's an entitled clique of "ladies who lunch" who do feel-good work to feel better about their high station in life....then that is not for me. I'm not rich, I'm not a sorority alumna, and I do not 'do' cattiness. I get that it's not the 4-H club, but you know what I mean.

I wish I knew more ladies my own age who were a part of it. I know every chapter is different, but I'd love to hear from them and find out their experiences. On the off chance any Orlando-area JL members have stumbled upon SSS, can ya give me the dirt? ;)

A bit of this, a bit of that...

A few random thoughts, because that's all I can manage today!

* I made a really great dinner! Shrimp and (cheese) grits. OMG. Y'all. Sooo good. I haven't had shrimp and grits in a long time, and I'd forgotten what a sublime combination it is. It was a Paula Deen recipe, so how could I go wrong? I love Paula. She reminds me of my mama! I cannot find the recipe I used online, but it is in her book, Paula Deen and Friends: Living it up, Southern Style. (I have all her cookbooks, I told you I have a serious Paula fixation!)

* Speaking of Paula, I think I'm going to try to get Hubby to do long weekend in Savannah soon. I need to visit The Lady & Sons. Maybe if we can do a 4 day weekend (perhaps in early June after school's over?) we could visit Charleston too. Once I get an idea in my head, I obsess over it. So knowing me, I'll have our weekend planned before we even pick a time to go!

* I want an iced tea maker. I have an electric kettle (which could be my very favorite kitchen appliance...after my KitchenAid mixer and waffle iron...) so I am set for making hot tea. And yes, I use it to make iced tea, so it is a multi-tasker. But still, I say we need a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker.

* To detox after a long and stressful day at work, I sat down after dinner and read some new (to me) blogs. It seems everyone but me stocked up on the adorable pink and green springy things Target was selling recently. Beyond cute. I want a green damask beverage tub! And those adorable placemats! And ohmygoodness, that apron. This is the only "bad" part about being married: Hubby, despite his tolerance for my love of all things super-girly, doesn't not want to live in a home that appears to be decorated by Elle Woods (silly man). I did buy that pink peony arrangement--I love peonies, and it was cheaper than attempting to make it myself.

I think it's time for me to head off to dreamland. Tomorrow promises to be another "fun" day at work (and yes, when I say "fun", I mean "never-ending", haha) I am grateful to have a job, don't get me wrong. I know plenty of people who'd love to have a job to complain about. I thank my lucky stars! But if a girl can't have a bit of an outlet on her own blog, where can she?