Jingle All The Way

Two years ago I was living on the Plaza in a little one bedroom apartment. When I say little, I mean little. I didn't have enough room for a full sized Christmas tree. My husband, then boyfriend of the time, sent me this adorable little pre-lit tree to put in my window. I loved it.

And today we cleaned our home and unpacked all of our Christmas decorations - half from him, half from me - to decorate our house for the first time as husband and wife. I pulled this beautiful little tree out of its box today and thought about all of the wonderful memories we've already made together and how excited I am to spend every Christmas from now on with him.

This little tree will always mean so much to me.

Old Navy Coats

I'm at work today so I'm not out Black Friday shopping. I do have some great finds to brag about though.

Last weekend Old Navy had a sale: 75% off of their outerwear. That's right. 75% off. Crazy right?

Another crazy thing is my obsession with the show Friends. Yep, the show that ended seven and a half years ago. I'm still obsessed. And I still love some of the outfits the girls on that show wear. For a long time I have wanted a short, hooded red coat like Moncia wears on and off in season 7, episode 6.  Well, can you believe that I found one at Old Navy on sale for 25 big ones? (Sorry about the bad dressing room pictures)

And I also grabbed this plain black, long peacot to wear to work. I love them both!



Did you get out at the crack of dawn to shop (or, I guess some even opened Thanksgiving night....that's just crazy to me!)?

Gobble On!

I just love the blog world. One of my favorite bloggers shared a free template on her blog, compliments of yet another blogger. So fun!

Check out Shasta Anne at shastaanne.com for other great Thanksgiving decorating ideas. And click the link at the bottom for this cute, free printable. Thanks everyone for sharing!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhml6TmKUw59XBwqyNX5lwhpT73RvANux9cdA1K3dWeaV_xQvc69WMHa_BPAuc7HtI0swwiMkvfNuKnFiQCAWRSEgwFThdEWYu3rQQlvn7Gd0OKWlmVpp_muRWI7pPuq29DOCOtlx6atkpE/s1600/Keep+Calm+and+GOBBLE+On.jpg

Have to Pass on the Kindle



I promise that I tried it, and I just can’t do it. My boss at work just bought the new Kindle Fire, and it is so cool. Now he is selling his Kindle for an unbelievably great price. He let me take it home and try it last night. It’s so very cool. Don’t worry, I think it’s cool and I get it – it’s fun to be able to order books and have them right there, instantly for you to read. I get all the pluses. I just can’t do it.

I love books. And not just because I love to read. I love how the pages feel. I love holding something that someone else has held and written in and highlighted and folded. I love bending back the paperback covers and how it feels to write notes with a gel pen on old paper.

I also think the price is supposed to be a plus for Kindle books. I don’t usually pay more than 5 bucks for used books on Amazon, and from everything I have seen, the Kindle books average about 10 bucks. So you aren’t going to be able to cater to my frugal (cheap) side with that one.

And yes, I love the way they smell!

In case you can’t read that unbelievably small print, it says “lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.” Perfume: The Guide

So I tried it. Really, I did. And I just don’t want to do it at this time. Maybe someday they will invent a Kindle that feels like paper and lets you write with a stylus that feels like a gel pen. And maybe you will be able to see the two pages at a time and it will flip open like a book. And maybe they will even sell them in “old used bookstore” scent. Until then, I think I have to pass.

Drumroll Please...

It's time to announce the next series I am going to read to hopefully get me through my burning desire to re-read Potter from the first one....actually, I don't think I will ever get over this desire, but I have to at least read something else for a while. That's right, I'm still obsessed with Harry and friends. In fact, I can pretty much assure you that I haven't seen a movie in the past few months that doesn't feel like a huge waste of time because it wasn't one of the Harry Potters. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen Breaking Dawn yet and don't get to until Sunday...oh my, I seriously don't know when I became this person. Poor John Steinbeck, Little Women, and Charles Dickens...I'm so ashamed).

Anyway, back to my new (to me) series. I am going to start reading the four books in the Wicked series. Okay, don't yell at me, I know this is a very old idea. But just like I was late jumping into the Harry Potter and Twilight phenomenons (oh yes they are phenomenons!), I am late on this one. I actually read Wicked the summer after my freshmen year in college and LOVED it, but I need to go back and read it again. And one of my friends has agreed to read it with me. And that makes it oh so much more fun.

I know I owe you a discussion about The River Why. I know, I know. But right now all of my theoretical, deep, anything worth your time discussions have been spent on school. I have been reading and writing and reading and writing about technical communication theoretical foundations, practical foundations, and program assessment, and the different levels of edit. That's right. Just smile and thank me for not posting all of that information.

For now, can I please get away with saying that The River Why is important and good? I think it was a wonderful book. I gasped out loud, I cried, and I yelled for my character to buck up and snap out of it and then I was relieved and laughed when he did. It was good. I think you should read it. And I owe Sister #2 a thank you for suggesting it. And I will discuss it further with her, and maybe she will guest post for us on here about her thoughts on it (In case I can't persuade her to do that, check her out at http://loveitall-ajs.blogspot.com/ for some great ideas about health and happiness).

What are you all reading? I'm in the market for suggestions!

Boots, boots, boots

I am on the hunt for a good, casual boot. I love all the riding boots right now, but I am looking for something chunkier, maybe almost western like to wear with jeans. And not skinny jeans, but like to wear under flared jeans, khakis, and other casual looks. I want to wear them to work when originally I would have worn tennis shoes.

Well I found ones that I love, but when did Steve Madden become more expensive? I always thought of Steve Madden from when I was a little girl, and there's no way we would have spent $150 (at the super-low end of this brand) for boots!

Go Griffs!

This weekend I will be out of town and miss my Griffons taking on the Bearcats in the first ever playoff game at our stadium! I am completely bummed that I won't be in town for this, but you can bet your Bearcat-hatin' butt that I will be listening with my ears glued to the radio!

My whole family loves Missouri Western. It's in our blood. David grew up at the basketball games, my mom is an alumni member, David's grandpa was a teacher back when it was a junior college, Sister #1 and her husband are alumni, and Sister #4 is still a student there (and a retired dancer). We love it. And it is so fun to have this school right in our hometown. There is the cutest old couple in town and these two lovebirds make it to all sporting events - even out of town. This will be David and me someday.

Oh, and if you ever run into my friend Tim, tell him he still owes me cookies shaped like Griffons for our two weeks ago. Silly Bearcat.

Sister #4 and me two weeks ago when our Griffons beat Northwest! A preview for this Saturday? I think so!  M-W-S-U, Go Griffs! Go Griffs!

One Year Ago...

I was looking back at my posts from a year ago at this time. Check out the post from Nov 19, 2010 - "My list of Happy"

It is weirdly familiar to a post I can do this weekend. Look at this excerpt...

"I have been known to say that "I am just so excited I could burst" probably too often so that it's now lost some of it's emphasis. But, anyway, I am. So at the risk of sounding annoyingly happy, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Three Months Until Our Wedding, One Week Until Thanksgiving, First Month of Work, First Go Live as a PowerWorks Implementor, First Thanksgiving in Our House, Weekend Getaway With Abby, Weekend After My Two Shower/M.O.H. Visit Extravaganza, and so many Happys I know I am forgetting a million."

Okay so I guess it's not three months until our wedding, but it's three months until our 1 year anniversary! And it will also be one week until Thanksgiving (again), my first month of work in my new position (again), first Thanksgiving as a married couple, AND I am doing a weekend getaway at Abby's.

Isn't that weird? 

And yes, in case you were wondering, I am just so excited I could burst.

So Behind. So Sorry.

You would expect a great update with a title like that. Sorry. I have been so busy with homework reading that I don't have much to update about books you might care about. Unless of course you are interested in hearing about Foundations for Teaching Technical Communication: Theory, Practice, and Program Design. I present my book review on this collection by Katherine Staples and Cezar Ornatowski this Wednesday. Then I move on to completing my literature review, creating and finalizing my style guide, and then and only then I promise to talk about something else.

Like maybe fun things like slumber parties with my nephew....we made homemade pizza, played Candy Land, popped popcorn, and colored his bath water with these homemade, magic ice cubes.

Or maybe things like David's hunting adventures...
Or things like my new job at Heartland! The list really goes on and on. But patience please. Because right now I have to finish my homework. Right now I have to stay focused, not on Thanksgiving and baking and Christmas crafting, but on completing my two classes. Only a few weeks to go! Stick with me, please.

Hi My Name is Katy, and I Am a Pinterestaholic

I admit it, I am completely stuck on checking Pinterest. There, I said it. That’s all that I have to admit for the day. Actually, that’s a lie. I also have to admit that I don’t belong to Pinterest. I am afraid that someday there will be a knock on my door and I will open it to find some sort of Pinterest police.  She will arrest me for being a lurker. In my mind this Pinterest police is, of course, completely well dressed in the cutest Fall fashion and has a cloud over her head filled with all her boards of recipes, house projects, crafts, and adorable outfits.

Anyway, that’s not the point. I have found a few little sayings on Pinterest that have stuck in my head. As you know, I am not the best at making decisions and I overthink every, and I mean every, thing. Well two of the sayings go a little something like this (I can’t quote them exactly since I can’t re-pin them for future reference or give proper credit…you know, being a lurker and all.):

·         Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?

·         What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

I have been thinking about both of these a lot. I tend to ramble on and on about any dilemma I am in (thank you to my adorable husband and wonderful family and friends for always letting me do this). Sometimes I talk about it so much that I change my mind about the answer not just once or twice, but a few times a day. For instance, I will be completely honest here and tell you that I am having trouble working the offered classes into my schedule for next semester. So of course, over and over all day long I think about what to do about this. I talk to my friends and family, and I talk to David and Bo until I’m sure they are ready to scream. But really, in all honesty, I haven’t discussed it with God in any way more than a quick “help me to make good decisions about school and work” mention at the end of a prayer.

And the next one. I mean, come on. What do you think this quote does to a borderline OCD list maker? I was falling asleep last night when this popped into my mind. Two hours later I was thanking God for everything from the hardwood floors that make me happy in my room to the warm clothes I have to wear to work to the fact that I wasn’t a millionaire. I mean, it was a little bit ridiculous. But, still, I think it’s a good reminder. I don’t think it’s supposed to make you sit and worry if you covered all your bases or not, but I do think it helps remind you that you probably should be filling your prayers with gratitude a little bit more than “do this, this, and this for me…please.” I like it.

And since I’ve done such a lousy job of giving credit to my references, I wanted to leave you with one I can point you to directly. I even know who said it. Here’s one to sum up these Pinterest sayings:

Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;

He has become my salvation.  (Isaiah 12:2)

Christmas Music

Usually, once it hits November I can find some great radio station to play Christmas music for me. Apparently they have promised all those crazy people out there that claim you can't start Christmas until after Thanksgiving that they won't start the 24 hours of Christmas music so early.

Well, if you are like me and want to shake your fist in the air, call them all scrooges, and move on with your listening anyway, here is a link to one of my favorite artist's blog and he has posted his Christmas CD for free for all of us. Thank you Andrew Peterson!

http://andrew-peterson.com/players/btlog/

Merry Christmas-season!

Duck Hunting, Wallpaper Removing, Tub Re-caulking

I know I have been slacking lately so I thought I would give you a quick update.

On reading...
I am still working through The River Why. This could be the longest amount of time it has taken me to read a book, but it's not the book's fault. The book is actually quite readable and wonderful. And I really am almost through it. It's all school's fault. I have six hours of class during the week, and then at least six hours of homework sometime throughout that same week. So I go to bed or curl up in my chair with great intentions of reading only to get a few pages in and wake up with a start and a "what's going on." I really am almost through the book though and I have a few comments to make on it when I am finished. And when I am finished, just in time for the end of the semester and a month of no homework, I think I will read the Lord of the Rings series. What are your thoughts on that?

On house projects...
Guess who finally got their tub re-caulked! Yay. Our dingy old tub is much prettier now. I am sparing you the pictures because removing old caulk and adding in the new was not a pretty experience. It involved lots of scraping, lots of pulling, lots of bleach, and lots of patience. But we have a like-new, beautiful tub now!

And we finally removed the wallpaper border from our bedroom and taped off all the wood work and windows so that we can paint! Here is the old wallpaper..

We removed all of this from the entire room. It was pretty tough. To all of you out there that says this stuff just comes right off, no big deal, you are liars! We had to use this goo stuff and remove it in two different layers. So now we plan to paint a very light khaki color on three of the walls with a darker brown on the wall behind our headboard that is mostly windows. I will add the after pictures as soon as it's all completed.

On David and Bo...

Did I mention that we completed these two major house projects all between two different hunting trips? Yep, we didn't get much sleep in this weekend, but we did have a lot of fun and get a lot done. Here's what David did when he wasn't being my house project hero..

Yes friends, it was duck hunting opening weekend! David and Bo's favorite time of year! So I might be pretty lonely, but don't worry, duck hunting is only lonely from about 3:30 in the morning until 11 in the morning. And I love it because David is like a little kid on Christmas morning every morning that the alarm goes off for duck hunting. It's so fun to watch him get that excited. And then I can fill up my coffee cup, crawl into my favorite chair and read my books or make a to do list of house projects.

So Happy November friends! What are you all up to for the most wonderful time of the year?