My Life As the Favorite

2008-11-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness look who's posting! Let me see if I can update all of you on everything. I promise little news has really taken place.

School: I'm finishing up my first semester of nursing school and here towards the end it has gotten increasingly stressful. Five of the original 25 students have already dropped and after next Monday a good many others will have dropped either because of grades (we have to have at least a 78) or because they've missed more than three days. Just people dropping alone freaks me out. We have a whole bunch of random tests at the very end too. I just try not to dwell on any of that. For those of you who don't know I did do my first injections around the start of November. That definitely made me a bit nervous. I don't like the idea of piercing someone's flesh with a needle let alone a 25 gauge needle (lower the number bigger the needle size)...smallest are ~27 gauge. It doesn't seem like that big of a difference number-wise...but youcan definitely see it. Here's essentially what it looked like (this is a 25).

So yep...we did that. I gave five flu shots with one of these. I would have done more, but we had to split up the residents among ourselves so that we each had an equal amount of patients.

Tomorrow is my last day of clinical which I'm neither really happy nor sad about. I'll be somewhat sad to see my resident for the last time, but I'm glad that the semester is coming to a close. We're each bringing in breakfast for the staff to say thank you. So I'll be up around 5:30 in the morning baking sausage balls and a cranberry-apple crisp.

In other news still seeing Bryce since I know you guys probably wonder. Things are good there. We typically see eachother a couple weekends a month. He's coming up this coming Tuesday to go to the Biltmore employee Christmas party. We'll get to finally tour the house. I'm excited for him to see it since he's very interested in architecture and building aesthetics and what not. I think he'll like it. I've been through the house before...but its probably been a good seven years...or at least since high school.

I'm currently working at the Stable Cafe at Biltmore which is exactly what it sounds like. They turned the horse stable into a restaurant..sounds nasty, but its pretty neat inside still. Oh and if any of guys are interested in coming up or wanting something to do I'm sure I could get you free tickets to the house. I don't know how much the kids would really be interested in it...but you never know.

This is a picture of the restaurant I'm currently working at (above).

I'll work here until about March if all goes well and then I will move over towards the winery to a restaurant called Arbor Grill. Its about four miles away from the house, but still on the estate. I tried to find a picture of it, but couldn't really.

Anywho that's all I have for now :)

2008-08-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Oh How Overdue This Post Is!

Hmm..I feel like I should difinitely have more prepared to discuss than I think I do for this particular post. Oh well..let's see what I got.

This has been my first week of school. I'm taking only two classes (the max they'll let me take at this point). Monday 8-11:50 I have Pharamacology. Tuesday I have Fundamentals of Nursing 8-2:50 and then I have the same class again on Wednesday from 8-1:50. This week has been a little up and down for me. Class has been fine. Its nice to only have the first three days of the week as school days, but I've had plenty else to worry over. I received all of my books...or at least I thought I had. They added a couple more things to my "need to purchase list" I discovered Monday. In addition to the books I'm still lacking scrubs, a lab coat, patch, lab kit, and CPR recertification. I can make do without those until October 1st, when clinicals start. I'm pretty peeved about the CPR situation. I'd confirmed with the DoN at the healthcare company I worked for in Knoxville that I'd be able to take their CPR certification course. For a good month I'd talked to her about taking it and everything was fine. Of course the day before I actually would be taking it she says that they're not going to have it anymore. THIS is why I was aggravated with that company for so long. That type of thing happened much too often.

So that's one anxiety inducer..the other is that I don't have a job in Asheville yet. Yes, I've only been here a week, but with things that need to be paid for looming over my head its definitely giving me a good dose of stress. I've applied for a couple jobs that i thought might work that were more in the healthcare arena, but I may just need to suck it up and get a serving job until I can find something better.

I suppose I should say something about nursing school since that's the entire reason for the move :oP. So far I really like it. We haven't done anything just crazy exciting yet. I know that we'll be working at a nursing home for clinicals starting in October and that after this first semester I'll qualify to be a CNA. Thus far we have only really discussed basic things like how drugs work, nursing history, and physical assessment of patients. We were monitored as we washed our hands to ensure that we had a good technique and then we practiced taking height and weight of each other. Hmm..I have a paper due in October on the various locations of taking temperature and what the best method will be and then me and another guy in the class were paired up to instruct the class on how to use nasal sprays lol. There's definitely a feeling in the class of needing to get to know each other since we'll be pretty much seeing each other weekly for the next couple years. I did talk to a guy that also lives in Asheville and we may end up carpooling M, T, W...which may end up being nice since it will conserve gas money. The class has a pot luck dinner planned for the 20th of September...random day.. Some girls and I are in charge of that.

Oh, lol, on Tuesday we had a lady come in towards the end of class that was going to explain our brain quizzes that we'd taken for orientation. They were designed to determine what learning style best suited each person. I apparently am 50/50 left and right brain which is good..meaning I use both hemispheres about equally. It also told me that I was a 75% visual vs 25% auditory learner..I knew that already. So she came and told us some techniques that might help us study, mostly things we'd heard before, but it was a nice refresher nonetheless. When she first came into class she laid a basket of chips/pretzels/cheese and crackers on the table and had each of us pick out what we felt most reminded us of ourselves. I picked up a bag of Cheetos...now I feel that I am much more of a Sun Chip person, but that was not an option so Cheetos was my second closest. She informed me that that meant that i had high morals and strong integrity...I feel that's about right even if i do sound pompous saying so lol.
If you're interested:

Pretzels= like diversity and flirty
Pork Rinds= loyal friend
Potato chip= high acheiver
Tortilla chips=perfectionists

My plans for the moment are to get caught up with reading and what not. I'm really not all that behind I just need to make some flash cards so that I don't get too bogged down with those later. I've felt entirely out of it this week. I'm getting better, but the first couple days (monday and tuesday) I just felt groggy and sick. I think it was just stress from total newness all of the sudden.

Annnywho next week hopefully I will be going over to Knoxville for Boom's Day (one of my favorite things) and Labor Day. Pam and Landon come down each year to go to visit and go to the fireworks show on the river. So far it will be Pam, Landon, Bryce, me, and possibly Lauren, Will, and my old roommate Kani. I like to make it a big deal. Bryce just bought a grill so maybe we can convince him to cookout for us too lol.

Welp, my apologies for the lack of organization in this post I know its riddled w/ run-ons, fragments, and such, but oh well.

Oh! P.S. There have been copperhead sightings at my apt complex! Ahhhh! i don't like snakes at all!!!! I was walking my roommates dog the other night and this guy was fiddling with something on the sidewalk I walked over to see what it was and it was a snake...I think a baby one. I don't know the difference between just really small and a baby. It was maybe 6" in length, but it still coiled up and tried to look mean. I wasn't going to mess with it either way. I personally feel that all snakes should just go die. Unfortunately my camera phone skills are lacking otherwise you'd have a nice visual here. Just imagine a worm with a backbone. :( No good!

2008-07-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Look Mom I'm Blogging!

Hmmm let's see what has happened in Katie world. Good Lord I don't know where to start. I guess I'll just start with about a two months ago and work towards today. You may be in for quite a journal. So the few things I've been juggling here in my world have been finding an apartment/house in Asheville, finding a roommate for said apt/house, getting nursing school squared away, funding nursing school, and figuring out the whole boy situation.

Since about two months I've been looking on craigslist for both an a place to live as well as a tolerable roommate. I began to search for a roommate initially on roommates.com, thinking it would be easier to find a place if I had someone to look with. I will go ahead and mark that off as a mistake I've learned from. I did meet one girl on the roommate sight and she seemed fairly sane as far as I could tell via e-mails and phone calls. I found a list of houses to make appointments to view from craigslist and met up with her in Asheville. I met her and her boyfriend (insert eyeroll) at their friend's house. She was going to be moving up from Louisiana to just start something new in a new place since she'd just graduated college. Well she seemed really nice... a little on the southern belle, preppy side, but nothing I couldn't deal with. Everything seemed fine for the most part, though I could have done with out her boyfriend being there. I don't really like dealing with 'those' girls...but of course I know I'm guilty of being one from time to time so whatever. Anywho he goes with us to look at the places (another eyeroll) and upon hitting the road the first question I'm asked is "So what denomination are you?". Just imagine a great mental sigh at hearing this question. I said "methodist" because what the heck...I guess that's the most accurate as far as upbringing. I could get into what I really think about people giving a crap what denomination I am, but I'll leave it be. Basically, I'd like to just tell these people to shove it, grow up, and get a mind of their own. Anywho. We went to a few different places, me thinking that it would be two bedrooms that we'd be seeking. This was not the case apparently. She'd decided that she was going to invite a friend of hers from Alabama to live with us..this meant we only looked at three bedroom places. At the point of being told this I was ok, I could deal with that, sure it was annoying to have that sprung on me, but oh well. So 3 bedroom after 3 bedroom.... one huge room, two baby rooms. Every single time, unless it was a 3 baby room deal. With as much furniture as I have bedroom-wise I wasn't going to be able to work with one of these bite-size rooms and I could tell there would be a battle for the master bedroom. By lunch time I'd been feeling a little squimish about this prospective roommate. It was just harder than it needed to be I thought. I didn't like how conservative she was..not that I'm just a raging liberal, but I'd like to think I have a somewhat open-mind. It was when we went to lunch and were talking about the new Sex and the City movie that I started to question just how out of touch she was. I told her how much I liked it and that I was really happy with the ending. She said that she didn't really care for it because she didn't realize that SEX and the City would be so provocative. I have little patience for this. I'll just be honest. I was just thinking to myself...seriously? It was a real surprise for you...all the sex....in the city? Anywho not because of that alone, but because I was growing fairly tired of our endless issues w/ finding a three bedroom suitable in our price range and her insistance on having her friend from Alabama movie up. I basically was frustrated with the sudden change in room number and the feeling that I would be living with someone who thought a bit two differently than myself. Again, there were other things that just didn't click, but I just got an overall feeling of having to censor most everything that came out of my mouth. Man...I sound like a real badass. Well I totally am (final eyeroll).

So I let her down via e-mail. I know completely a coward move.

Hmm let's see at this stage.

School Fund: Had applied to the Applebee's on Cedar Bluff since it was close to my full-time job.

Apt/House: nada, but still had two and a half months to look

Roommate: starting to get worried that it might be harder to find a good one than first thought.

Nursing school: in..but still getting medical records together and having tests done to prior to being completely accepted.

Boy: kinda talking to Bryce...kinda not. No other prospects. (Had not yet heard about Laura's find at the Red Robin lol)

So I kept looking online for both a place I could afford and a roommate. I had decided to junk my roommates.com account. There just weren't that many people looking on that site. Craigslist seemd to be where everything was happening Asheville-wise. At some point I received and e-mail from a girl that would be moving from Chicago and wanted to meet up to check some places out. I agreed to meet with her one weekend, but prior to doing that I decided to look into purchasing a Garmin to navigating a good deal easier. That was one of the nice things about having the previous girl's boyfriend along. He'd had one in her car so we could just type a house's address in and head that way w/o having to ask directions or try to locate it on a map. Soooo..I ordered this one from Wal-mart. They actually ended up having the cheapest price on the model I wanted.

Ok so I get to the hostel that the Chicago roommate is staying. First off, I had no idea there were hostels in the US, but I mean...I guess that makes sense although I had a disturbing image of what one would look like in my mind. Fortunately it was actually a cute little house in west Asheville sans any tourist-torturing crazies...as far as I could tell. So this girl seemed nice...certainly of the green, tree hugging variety, but bearable haha. Oh...this is out of context, but I thought it was funny that on my trips to Asheville I had seen both a person cruising around town on a segue as well as a man just casually wheeling down a residential road on a unicycle...just found that amusing. So we went to go eat lunch and plan out where we were going to look since I again had come equipped with a stack of about twelve potential places printed off of craigslist. She..didn't have anything. This was a flag...should have seen it. So I ordered a turkey swiss sandwich and she ate her gluten-free, vegan whatever and we called some places to make appointments. She began talking about how she was really stressing out about finding a place to look and finding a roommate...she was on some sort of time crunch since she could only stay at the hostel for so long. I told her it should be fine and that if it came down to it I could most likely help out paying for a place until I was able to move. I mean I could have moved earlier if I HAD to (I just didn't want to).

So we were able to book five viewings out of all the choices I'd printed out. The first was a five bedroom (one of which was a hallway shaped, apparently enclosed balcony...no thanks), had oil heat (the idea of that just scares me), and had decorative "murals" on the walls. These were more like abstract doodles. The house was reminiscent of something you'd see dirty college students living in in an early 90's movie. (that's just what comes to mind)

Second house 6, yes 6 bedrooms. Oh no these were not intended to be bedrooms, but apparently they wanted to charge more money. So one room became two and again balconies became bedrooms. This one was in a super nice part of town. Think old money meets old south...and its close to downtown which is big to me. Well apart from the fact that it was three floors (moving would have SUCKED) and poorly ventilated there were two full bathrooms for the 6 people to split. Hell to the no! PLUS, one of the full bathrooms was entered into via the living room...that's just weird to me. I don't want to shower and then walk out into the den where everyone is. No thanks.

Third house was one of those that had pictures of all the prettiest parts of the home and none of the realistic ones. Plus it had a super creepy basement with one of those entrances that you see families rushing into in movies during a tornado and a well in the backyard. I still have issues after having seen The Ring so that wasn't going to work. **Let me state that I am not at all a movie-buff despite the large number of references thus far. ** This house had a very nice kitchen except for two things: no dishwasher (I guess I could live) and the refrigerator had been stuck in a doorway..yes it was a nice new stainless fridge, but it was in a totally ridiculous place and hiding shelving for that matter. Dumb.

Fourth places was...just eh. It was a townhouse apartment, but nothing all that exciting. The rooms were a bit too small, but other than that it was perfectly fine.

Fifth place I went to see by myself because the girl I was looking with had to go to work. It was AWESOME. 3Bedroom 2.5 bath. It had been flipped, but done really well. Totally new kitchen. Fully furnished with really nice everything. There was a really pretty gardent on the right side of the house that had an arbor of sorts with grapes vines growing around it. The man who was flipping it was extremely nice and seemed pretty trustworthy. His daughter even lived in the house behind the one that had been flipped. The man was even going to purchase for the new renters to use if they'd like (there were a bunch of parks close by for this).

So that was the end of house hunting for that day. I sent the girl a text after seeing that house telling her to check it out since I knew she'd like it. It was by far the best we'd seen. So I was really interested in getting it. Well...a couple e-mails later sent, not received. I decide this chick is sending out the flakey vibe so I start looking for other possible living arrangments. Three weeks later she sends me an e-mail apologizing and saying that she freaked out about time constraints and what not. I don't really remember all it said I just kinda...deleted it without really caring. I just considered it to be a spastic roommate avoided.

Sooo let's see where we are at this point. I think it was probably nearing mid-June by this time:

School Fund: got the job at Applebee's w/ only one day of training before I could work as regular server. That was one of the main reasons I went there. I knew I'd be able to start making money pretty quickly w/o having to train for a week or two.

Apt/House: nada, but about a month and half to go. so...not too stressed

Roommate: annoyed and fairly stressed by the selection available so far. I just wanted someone quasi-normal.

Nursing school: all information sent..completely accepted now. Registration appt made. P.S. I only have to take two classes a semester since so much UT stuff transfered. I'm told this will help me out BIG time. I can't add anymore classes since its a set curriculum . Just have to be patient and go through with everone else.

Boy: Talking to Bryce a little more. We do lots of friend things...as in we go out with my friends a lot and at that point had a party planned involving hamburgers, Sangria, and Cranium lol. (I made the Sangria and it was delicious :)

Here are some pictures to spice this wordy blog up:

Let's see so a couple days after these photos I went for a third time to Asheville to check out a prospective roommate and apartment as well as to take care of some things for school.

This time was much more successful. I started by going to campus to register for classes and getting my student nurse ID card made. Which I had planned on photo-ing for this blog, but kept forgetting to. So I am no registered for Fundamentals of Nursing and Pharmacology. Which equals out to a little over 8 hours worth of stuff. Fundamentals on Tuesday is from 8 a.m. to 1:50p.m......should be fun. Luckily I only go to school MTW and am off the rest of the week. Also there are no big gaps between classes so I don' t have to just "hang out" at any point.

After that I called the roommate I was going to go meet (again off of craigslist). We decided to meet for lunch at a place called The Yacht Club downtown. Its kind of a caribbean style restaurant. Downtown is LOADED with neat and unique restaurants. I love that! Anywho...this roommate was normal..made normal people jokes..wore normal people clothing...and ate normal people things. lol So I think we hung out downtown a little longer and then she showed me the apartment she had. This was a person seeking other roommate deal. She already had a place. The apartment is nice...save that its on the 3rd floor. Bigger than what I have now 3 bedroom/3bath and walk-in closets. The actual bedroom is smaller than mine now obviously (the one I have now is meant to be for two people per room). A combination of being happy to have found someone normal, the security of the type of place I would be renting from, and the determination to finally have something set in Asheville led to me signing a lease. So yeah!!! I have a home in NC now!

Apt stats:

individual leases in a 3br/3bath

w/d in apt

fully furnished, yet only leaving what I need in the bedroom since I have so much furniture already

$500/month

includes all utilities (internet, heat/air, cable, water, trash)

maybe 2 minutes from downtown

nice area

private bathroom

pet friendly

gym on site

So, yep I'm very happy to have that taken care of. Suni (pronounced Sunny, but not a hippy) and hung out the rest of the day and went to go eat a place called...Modesto I think. It was latin american food..pretty good. After that we went on a hunt for a cupcake shop. The literal cupcake shop was closed so we found a restaurant guide and walked around town until we found something that looked good. Its so nice to have a downtown you can just walk around and go from shop to shop or to the different restaurants w/o having to get in your car and drive there. We ended up going to a french chocolate shop called the Chocolate Lounge. We split some sort of buttercream cake that had sea salt sprinkled on it....I was hesitant, but it was ok. We both got a liquid truffle too which apparently is pretty much a melted piece of chocolate mixed with spices and maaayyybe a couple drops of milk/cream. Those were very good. I'd tell you what was in mine, but aside from the pistachio I couldn't identify any of the rest...something Indian. Sunny and I have decided to go to a new restaurant each week just to check them all out...and because that's just fun to do.

And that brings us pretty much to now. So let's check it out :)

School Fund: looking pretty healthy. All the money I make from Applebee's goes to savings for tuition and what not. I should be ok (knock on wood) by August when everything is due.

Apt/House: taken care of officially. Lease signed now I just need to move in...which will have to be sometime between August 1st and the 11th.

Roommate: check....and normal!!!

Nursing school: registered; just waiting on orientation which I believe is the 14th of August.(oh by the way. As far as scrubs go Mommy, I have to buy the ones they order there so that everyone matches. I asked)

Boy: Still chatting it up with Bryce lol. He's in Alberta visiting family until next Tuesday. I think I have him tentatively signed up to help me move. He moves from his place to his old boss's house in a couple weeks too. His ex-boss from ORNL and family have gone to some Asian country to live for whatever reason and had asked if he'd like to live there rent free for ...what I want to say was 3 years. I think that's right either 1 or 3 years...I know thats a big difference. lol Oh well.

Ok here's a final pic for analysis. Laura will he do? You're too far away to question ;) So the pic will have to do.

P.S. I currently have to work Saturday, but am trying to get out of that shift so that I can go see Anna. Cross your fingers!

2007-12-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, This is the Second Post in Two Days

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from each of the following departments. What is it:
1.Produce: apples (reddish yellow)
2.Meat: salmon
3.Bakery: croissants
4.Frozen: I never really buy anything frozen...spinach I guess
5.Dry goods: crackers

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So what's in your bag?
1. jeans
2. either my black long sleeved shirt or my blue sleeveless shirt dependent upon the weather
3. clean underwear

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. I just don't know
2. do you know any good guys?
3. I always date idiots
4. me, me, me, me ,me
5. wahh wahh wahh, (the sound of a pity party)

What 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
1. sleeping through at least two snoozes
2. going outside. sounds dumb, but I need to be in open air
3. interacting w/ humans. Christmas break in a college town sucks.

You're driving down the road and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?
1. unnecessary breaking
2. a semi trying to squish me by coming over into my lane
3. being cut off

You just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with no one around. What 5 activities might we find you doing.
1. napping
2. playing a game online
3. watching Food Network (for me this and napping coincide
4. going out to shop
5. phoning one of the sisters (3 hrs is a long time right now)

We're going to the zoo, but it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. gorillas and chimps (they're right next to each other here)
2. elephants
3. giraffes

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what a you deciding between?
1. ELLEN!!! would love that
2. SNL
3. a new Jim Gaffigan special on Comedy Central
4. umm...no idea

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors do you choose?
1. pumpkin spice
2. peanut butter/chocolate
3. daiquiri ice

Somebody stole your purse/wallet, in order to get it back you have to name 5 things that you know are inside to claim it. So what's in there?
1. driver's license
2. debit card
3. credit card
4. student I.D.
5. ins. card

You are at a job fair, and are asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you can have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you.
1. neonatal nurse
2. pediatric nurse
3. the person that checks to see how nice hotels are and rates their stay there
4. chef

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
1. chill out
2. go out for a team sport
3. stop dating losers
4. sooo many more people like you than you think so stop being so self-conscious

2007-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

Well since no one else is blogging I guess I'll just see what I can do.

I wanted to thank all of you guys for coming to my graduation. I feel bad that after having driven so far I was not the best of company. It was nice to have you guys around for that day though. I'm really glad I went home that night. It was fun hanging out w/ Stephanie at Opry Mills. I never really have one on one time w/ any of you guys and I kinda miss it from time to time. It's funny how much we have in common and seem to not even realize it. I'm really looking forward to the weekend after Christmas and all of you being around. Dare I say it, but I'd like to have some new pictures of all of us. It seems like we always take a lot of photos, but i never end up seeing any of them.

Anyhow this week has been very very up and down for me. I guess that's to be expected. I'm feeling a little defiant towards the entire "getting over it" phase. I just don't feel like I should have to feel bad even though for the moment I can't help it. The Christmas music is rather nagging too, for such happy music it can be incredibly depressing. I tend to just go home and keep the t.v. on for distraction. I haven't gotten out all that much, but that will have to change seeing as how I have little Christmas shopping done. I have been thinking about moving to a new area..nothing has really struck my fancy yet, but I'm still looking. I am excited about having a new roommate in January. She seems very nice from e-mails I've received from her. It will be nice just to have someone that's actually home for a change. I don't know that I'm that big a fan of living alone. I think a little noise and maybe a little clutter can be a good thing :).

In completely random news..there's a lady in my office that breeds dachshunds and she has a litter on the way. She always brings them by the office to tempt us. I may cave. I just don't know. I'm not sure that dachshunds are my first choice, but we'll see.

I hope all of you are doing well. Thank you again for being so supportive. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you guys behind me. Love you! See you either Christmas or the weekend after!

2007-11-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

Your Name: Katie
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate. Nog is just ewww
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Mostly wrapped unless we're dealing w/ stocking stuffers
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like both I think
4 . Do you hang mistletoe? nope
6. What is your favorite holiday dish ((excluding dessert)? sausage balls lol
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: waking up really really early and see the mounds of presents in the den. just the excitement of trying to wake everyone up was fun too.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember why, but Granddaddy let that cat out of the bag when i was visiting up there. I think I was 9 or so
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? not usually
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I don't really have a Christmas tree. There is a little one that I bought last year. It maybe stands three feet high. It has a few clear ornaments that I put on it, but that is it
11. Do you love snow or hate it. I love snow. it is very calming
12. Can you ice skate? I can, but I'm not very skilled at it
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't think I've had a single favorite. I remember the year I got my guitar was awesome and the year I got that huge teddy bear. I couldn't believe it was mine.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? family
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? hmm, I don't think I really associate too many desserts w/ Christmas alone, so I don't know
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? breakfast @ Mammaw's
17. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? I think I really do prefer giving if it is something I know they'll like. I don't mind getting presents either though.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Ave Maria
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck most of the time. I'm not big into hard candy

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple weeks.

I do have some news I guess. My roommate is moving out....no NOT because of me lol. Her brother just bought a house and has two extra bedrooms so she's really wanting to move in w/ him. So it appears that I will be getting a new roommate soon..possibly. It will be lonely in the apartment w/o her, but hopefully she'll find a replacement soon.

Anyhow send me some sunshine and lollipops. I needs the pick me ups. :) Love you guys

2007-11-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Oh what a week. There's nothing really of highlight to say. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, though, that's for sure. No, nothing had really changed since the beginning of the week. I have just been up and down in dealing with it all. Sometimes being such a girl kinda sucks. What's all this emotion stuff about? I sometimes think I'd be better off without it.

I'll be in Hendersonville this weekend. I think I'll most likely head back Saturday morning. Its not my favorite trip to make, just because the winding roads seem to make things take longer, but it will be good to be home for a little bit.

I did manage to add some things to my Kaboodle last night for those of you that might be interested...Santa. All clothing is pretty much medium. I think I tagged all of the items as medium, but just in case you didn't see it. It's all good quality and at good prices too. I don't know if I should really say that, but it's true. I shop there now mainly (forever21.com). I mean...a turtleneck sweater (no it won't fall apart after a couple washings) for $11. I think so!

Well anyways I command that all of you update your blogs now so that I will have something to read and distract myself with :).

Love you all,
Katie

2007-10-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Yea Birthday Eve!
I received a gift today! I'm assuming its from my sisters since Daddy reportedly is holding my gift hostage. As soon as I had gotten settled in from work I got a knock at the door and found this sitting there on my doormat:

Its BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm really excited about it. The only reason I'm not watching the instructional dvd is because I decided that it was important to get some sort of 'thank you' out there first. :) Thank you so much! This will lend nicely to my growing necessity to make meals at home. I'm really really excited about it. This is the second gift I've gotten. I think this is my graduation gift right? Anywho the other gift I got was from my friend Lauren. She baked me a whole bunch of cupcakes and brought them to me last night. (she'll be out of town tomorrow for UT's fall break).

In other news my job is going well. These past couple weeks have been a little on the stressful side, however. The lady that trained me and was working as my boss moved to North Carolina so she was training someone to take her place. The new lady had no real experience outside of nursing so has been very inquisitive lately. This week it has just been she and I and while I know my end of the deal pretty well, she's still struggling a good bit to gain confidence in what she's supposed to be doing. We share an office so anytime she's freaking out about something or asking me what she's supposed to be doing...well...it doesn't make me all that comfortable. I'd rather be working with someone who knew what it was that they were supposed to be taking care of. She has gotten a little better and I imagine she'll chill out a bit once she's been doing it for a while. I can only hope so. I have been doing some extra work via Excel for the other people in the office. It was just something that they'd been interested in seeing. I was really proud of how easily I was able to make charts and diagrams of all the information. They look impressive at least :).

Oh, I can also proudly announce that I no longer work for Applebee's. Soo so so pleased to have no reason to go there again.
Well that's all for now. Hope I'll get to see some of you guys next weekend!

2007-09-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Well here is the much anticipated blog that I told Daddy I'd write. As you all know by now I got a job last Thursday. I now work at Summit View Health Management and I am a "care coordinator." Basically I help determine whether or not patients can be admitted into various nursing and care facilities based upon their insurance and their health requirements. I wanted to wait until I'd had my first day so I'd at least know a little bit more about what I was talking about with regards to the job. I get paid weekly so I'm fairly happy about that. At least it means steadily incoming funds :). As for the moment I'm still working at Applebee's until I can see what kind of budget I really need to set and how this new job's pay will effect it. Unfortunately, however, my store is a training store and therefore managers are often shuffled through the various aspects of their job while training...one of those tasks being scheduling. The new manager managed to schedule me M-F 5-9, meaning I go directly from my new 8-4 job to the 5-9 at Applebee's. UGH! So I'm going to be fairly exhausted by the end of this week.

In other news I did the kaboodle thing that I THOUGHT other sisters of mine were doing, but apparently after a quick "people" search I discovered that I am alone in that venture. Mommy I think I was talking to you about it. Its an online gift registry where you can basically set up a "wish list" by adding items from various websites that you're interested in, um, obtaining. My information if you're curious is searchable under "jgarrity" and the site is www.kaboodle.com. So with that out there where are your kaboodles? I think this would make Christmas SOOOO much easier.

Ok well that's all i can think of at the moment. I'm pretty tired after my first 13 hour day. :/

2007-08-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well...I did it. I graduated, I think. Today was the last day of classes and since there is no ceremony for summer graduates its been incredibly anticlimactic. It was a little depressing today knowing that I was done with everything, but I had nothing to show for it. No buzzers went off, no parades, nothing....just got in my car and drove home. Blah. They do allow you to walk in the winter if you graduated in the summer. I'm thinking about doing that. As far as the job hunt and I KNOW Mommy is interested in this. I've got my resume on Monster.com, I have my resume at the career center at UT for critiquing, I've talked to numerous people for advice, and I've been habitually searching the job section of the classifieds. Some good things...some possibilities. We'll just see. I'm hoping to hear back from career services Monday. I want to make sure my resume is looking pretty good first. A friend of mine told me about a Ranstadt-esque company downtown that specializes in finding jobs within the healthcare field so I will most likely hunt them down. I did get one response so far from Monster....something about selling health insurance...I'm not sure about that..

Well on top of the ho hum morning my washing machine decided to begin smoking. Oh lovely. So I've called maintenance and who knows if they'll be able to fix that today or not. I'm kinda thinking if its smoking then its probably beyond a quick fix, but ya never know. I also managed to bust my flipflops at school so badly that I had to go barefoot around campus. Luckily I'm short enough and my jeans are long enough that maybe not too many people noticed.

Andy did try to cheer me up today by buying me a graduation present. We had talked about how much I liked to listen to NPR or just anything talk on the radio alot of times instead of music. I mentioned being interested in trying out some books on tape (cd) so he bought me the new and final Harry Potter on cd.... its 17 cd's long! Maybe by my birthday I'll have finished it. lol

Well I'll type again as soon as something happens!

2007-08-06T11:49:00.001-07:00

After man threats I am posting my final entry of "about me" things. I know I know you have all been eagerly awaiting this. Until I can gather an interesting life in order to have something to entertain with I'll leave you with this. I'll try to post again within the week :). Here you go! The end of the series:

75. it has taken me over a month to complete this.
76. I have found that when compare myself to others I am much more family oriented. More so, than I had realized.
77. I think I'm probably one of the most sensible college students I know...believe it or not.
78. I want my future home to decorated much in the way of a Pottery Barn catalog.
79. I think I have big arms.
80. According to Woman's Day I have an ideal proportions chest/waist/butt-wise.
81. college has only fed my tendency to be overanalytical.
82. I'm really glad I was able to spend a lot of my summers with my grandparents.
83. When I think of some of my most relaxed and carefree moments it was with them.
84. Mama's backyard in the spring makes me happy.
85. I've always gotten along with guys better than with girls. I think it is because guys don't hold back as much as girls tend to do. You find out the not so great things about girls later...whereas guys tend to pretty much show their true colors up front.
86. I envy my sisters' ability to grow long fingernails.
87. I discovered this past summer that my skin did indeed have the capacity to tan.
88. I feel guilty when people tip me really well (ex. 15.00 tip on a 12.00 tab).
89. I don't mind walking in the rain.
90. when i was younger Q-tips sent me into coughing fits. Now they don't effect my throat at all. I'm not sure what happened.(yes I use them in my ears only)
91. I can't stand the smell of baby powder scented deodorant.
92. I once made popscicles out of pickle juice. i loved them. Mommy made me throw them away 93. I get sick of explaining my name to people and why I don't go by Jessica.
94. i want to one day have a Japanese Maple in my yard.
95. I love flavored oatmeal. It has gotten me through many a night.
96. I have really crappy handwriting, in my opinion.
97. Green tea is one of my favorite drinks.
98. the french onion soup at Panera is one of my favorite lunches.
99. I am extremely shy (did I say that already)
100. I don't understand people who are nuts about disney characters.

2007-05-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Wayne, I don't know if you even see my page. I realize not too many people check it all that often since I rarely post. I just wanted to make a post for you because I haven't talked to you or seen you in so long. Once or twice I may have sent you an IM, but outside of that its been nearly a year since I've spoken to you. I just wanted you to know that I think about you every day. You are a very special person to me. In my mind you're essentially my older brother since you've been around for the majority of my life. I'm so proud of you. I'm sorry that I haven't taken the time until now to tell you how important you are. Looking forward to seeing you and everybody in a couple weeks! Love you!

2007-05-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here is another installment of Katie-facts. I know I know there are no pictures, but that's really just a pain in the butt to do haha.

51. I am a spaz

52. I have a big birthmark on my side that occasionally freaks others out, but I have grown to not even remember that it's there.

53. The birthmark is in the shape of Great Britain.

54. I don't drink often, but when i do I love margaritas. I think i got that from Mommy.

55. Friends think it's funny that I call my parents Mommy and Daddy, but I would feel strange calling them Mom and Dad.

56. I have traveled quite a bit, but never west of the Mississippi River.

57. I love getting catalogs in the mail. I especially love William Sonoma and Potter Barn catalogs.

58. I don't like watching movies during the late afternoon. It depresses me to go into the theatre during they day and come out at night.

59. I don't like scary movies because I bring the 'scary' home with me.

60. I don't like too many action movies because I get a too anxious while watching them.

61. I love to watch stand-up comedy.

62. I'm addicted to goofy computer games.

63. I believe that the idea of a quarter life crisis is very real.

64. I love going to museums,mainly science museums.

65. I love rollercoasters to the nth degree.

66. I think free fall rides are dull.

67. I would like to be considered a very cultured person..I realize I'm not even close to there yet.

68. I tried to expand my "culture" by going to an Indian restaurant. No thank you.

69. I like to give up something for Lent, even though I am not Catholic. I think its the challenge I'm drawn to.

70. I consider myself to be Christian, but I do not agree that any denomination knows EXACTLY what they're talking about.

71. I am politically pretty moderate, but I am pretty anti-abortion. (outside of extraordinary circumstances).

72. I love to do crossword puzzles

73. I like taking walks.

74. I would prefer to walk to a store or restaurant rather than drive. (weather permitting)

75. it has taken me over a month to complete this.

2007-05-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

So I know that many of you may be curious as to what is going on with me after the drama a week or so ago. I feel like a real drama queen after all of that. Although part of me is glad because it was really nice talking to all of you even if I was an emotional wreck at the time. As may have beens suspected things went back to normal not long after I spoke to you guys. Andy decided that he wasn't happy with his decision and a little while after all the drama we got back together. I am definitely not fond of the ups and downs of relationships by any means. I'd prefer to live in an ideal world where things are constantly sunshine and lollipops. Anyhow I take things in stride. On a lighter note you guys were the best friends I could have asked for when I was down and that really meant a lot to me.
Well I'm done with the seriousness. I finished my last exam yesterday afternoon. Two classes this summer and then I'm done! Thank goodness! I am sooooo looking forward to the beach and some gelato. I would like to request a game night in advance...at least one game night. Let's see I'll try to put up my next 25 items soonish. (by the end of the week) Have a good day!

2007-03-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

26. I still don't like and don't think I ever will like cooked carrots or squash.

27. I love to watch cooking shows.

28. cooking shows along with home repair shows remind me of my mother.

29. When I think about the people I have dated in the past I become uncomfortable and wonder what I was thinking. That's ok though because as I think of mine I also remember people my sister's dated. They were pretty "interesting" too.

30. Sometimes I consider my family to be more normal than others. I don't know how I got there.

31. My favorite Beatle was George Harrison.

32. I'm terrified of extremely deep water. I don't know why though. I randomly picked that phobia up. I would be fine on a boat so long as I didnt' think about it.

33. Whales scare me, but I am very interested in them too.

34. I was really into dinosaurs when I was younger.

35. I like cream of chicken soup by itself.

36. Salmon is my favorite meat.

37. People ask me to analize them when they find out I'm a psychology major. I don't want to. I only analize those that I'm either concerned about or don't like ( in order to try to feel some compassion for them).

38. I think I'm judgemental alot of times.

39. when I am driving and another driver does something I consider to be stupid. I don't look at their face when I drive by them. To me this helps keep me from judging them too much. :)

40. I can't stand it when people break frequently on the interstate.

41. I love really windy days.

42. I love really stormy days.

43. I love when all of my sisters are together.

44. I think it would be depressing to be an only child.

45. My favorite weather is warm to cool with a breeze and big puffy clouds in the sky.

46. I don't like restaurant chicken typically. I tends to have odd places in it.

47. I love makeover shows of any variety.

48. i have slowly gotten into American Idol

49. I sometimes wonder how Rachel Ray's husband tolerates her.

50. I prefer cafes and mom/pop restaurants to chains.

2007-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ok so here we go one blog every quarter of a year. I know you are all just dying to know what's going on in my world :). Well it is nearing the middle of the semester and I am swamped with work. I have had at least two exams a week for the last two weeks and two more this coming week. Also on the agenda I have three big papers to write, something I HATE doing. I am just not a fan of being forced to write about something.

Let's see there was a big holiday that my blog missed, so I'll fill you guys in on that. I had planned on setting up a kind of quest for Andy in order for him to get his gift. He was going to have to follow photo clues and along the way he would find little gifts. Well the finale was going to be him being sent to Cancun (a favorite restaurant of ours) and I would give him his big gift there. Unfortunately it had been a busy week and I hadn't gotten around to taking all of the necessary photos. I had decided that I would go early in the day and take a picture of the restaurant andthen have the photos developed at Walgreens the 1-hour way. So he and I had decided we'd meet at about noon at his apartment to exchange gifts. I still had about an hour or so to go so I thought I was doing fine on time. I pulled into the parking lot of Cancun to take the picture and there was Andy waiting in his car....apparently for me. Unbeknownst (sp?) to me he had set up a similar quest which I was intended to discover when i had shown up at his apartment. His quest for me (and no we hadn't discussed any of this previously) was to result in my meeting him at Cancun. Anyhow we both yelled at each other for spoiling the surprise. He insisted that I go his apartment anyways and follow the clues the proper way. So in the end it was a pretty good Valentine's if not ironic :oP We think too much alike. I bought him (and I) tickets to go see Jim Gaffigan at the Bijou Theatre here and he gave me chocolates and a bracelet.

Other than all of that nothing really has happened in the way of news. I'm excited about my spring break plans. We leave this coming Thursday out of Nashville. Maybe..just maybe Daddy will let me borrow his digital camera for the trip.

P.S. I have really really gotten into watching Ellen on my breaks between classes. I absolutely love that show. She is so funny and positive.

Oh and long overdue here is my Top 100...well at least 1/4 of it. I've written the rest, but I figured I needed to make sure I had fuel for a future blog.

1. I am a college student.

2. I will NOT always be a college student.

3. I love to travel.

4. I love the beach and often feel an extreme desire to visit it when I have been away for more than a year.

5. #4 most likely is my father's influence.

6. Jimmy Buffett will always make me happy and a little misty. It always reminds me of riding in the car with Daddy. I'm getting misty now...at school. I hate being a girl.

7. I am very competitive.

8. I consider myself to have good taste in music.

9. I love the Beatles.

10. I play lots of goofy computer games when I get bored at home.

11. Children make me very happy.

12. Stupid people do not.

13. I love nature.

14. When I am stressed. I always feel better just to be outside.

15. I try to workout regularly. That doesn't work out.

16. I saw Paul McCartney live in Atlanta and teared up a little bit.

17. I'm a dork.

18. Fall is my favorite season, though I'm becoming pretty partial to spring too.

19. I am the youngest of four, though in psychological terms I'm considered and only child. This is because of the difference in years between my next sister and I.

20. I have a quick temper sometimes.

21. I don't like to talk on the phone.

22. I love airline food. Not the quality, the surprise of what it will be.

23. I love having sauces for my food.

24. I don't like as many juices as I did when i was younger because they taste too sweet to me.

25. i have noticed myself liking more vegetables. most recently zuchinni (cooked).

2007-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging! I'm really blogging........again!
It seems the blogger gods are angry with me for not having blogged in so long that they decided to overlook my initial blog today. Lucky me I get to type it up again. Oh well.

So today was my first day of school since winter break. So far its been pretty good. I may even get to drop a class that there's a possibility I won't need, but I'll have to talk to my advisor about that. I'm strongly considering taking some time off after I graduate. Lately I've been a little jaded and burned out as far as school is concerned. I'm sure none of you can guess as to why.
So would you guys like to know my schedule for the semester? Sounds terribly interesting doesn't it. I know you're excited. :)

MWF French 212 8:00 until 8:50
Research Analysis 9:05 until 9:55
Class structure (as in social) 12:20 until 1:10
W (only) American Prehistory 5:45 until 8:35
TR Health Psychology 2:10 until 3:25

And that's the whole shabang or whatever. As you can see I have some pretty big gaps in there which will be filled with various activities such as napping, lunching, surfing the internet, possible studying, and doing laundry at home.
So this past weekend I went down to Madeline and Caleb's birthday extravaganza. We had a lot of fun. I woke up early Saturday morning and drove down, passing through Chattanooga to pick up Andy. We did get there about an hour late seeing as how I was a little less than eager to wake up that day. I think we must have gotten there at peak time because there were kids and presents everywhere! I expected to see maybe 5 or so kids there, but I would say there were at least 10 along with their respective parents in attendance. There were groups of little girls huddled around Madeline as she opened up all of here Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony, Webkins, and 12 Dancing Princesses gifts. In contrast the little boys were all pretty much doing their own things, some playing with Caleb's new Geotrax, or sitting on Andy's leg munching on a toy train. Overall I think Madeline and Caleb were very satisfied with their new toys. Here's what I gave if you're interested:

Here is what i got Madeline. The one on the right is a case for here Polly Pockets it has little straps on the inside so the you have a spot for each doll and then of course MORE clothes and accessories. I looked for a picture of what I gave Caleb, but no one seems to have one. It was a Bob the Builder garage playset. In addition to all of the presents Jennifer had laid out a table full of juice boxes, pretzels, PB&J's shaped like little houses, traffic lights I believe made from graham crackers, peanut butter, and m&m's, candy, fruit, sodas, and a cake that was decorated like a racetrack. I'm pretty sure that's what it was designed to look like, but it was hard to say since most of it was cut away by the time we'd arrived. I did recognize a few people at the party Dan's step-mom and dad were there. I also talked briefly with Andy and Misty. **awkward** We did get to see Madeline and Caleb ride their first Big Wheel and bike. Caleb's a Harley and Madeline's of the 12 Dancing Princesses variety. Both of us had a really good time even if we did end up needing a naptime towards the end. Andy apparently thinks Madeline and Caleb are hiiiiilarious since he keeps quoting Madeline's "Well that's a cute idea" and "Yeah right!" (something she repeatedly got in trouble for saying) . By the end of the day we'd both gotten to play a little "Ponyville" and gotten our hair beaded.

As for the rest of this week after today (nothing much occured Monday or Tuesday) Andy's band has a gig Friday night at a place out in West Knoxville so I'll most likely try to make that. He'd probably appreciate it at least.

Saturday I may go skiing for the first time. My roommate and some of her other friends are going to head to NC. So who knows. I'll take it easy though. I'm not the most graceful of creatures. I imagine I'll stick to the bunnyslopes...or whatever they're called. If I go I'll try and get some picture to post.

Oh and for those of you who weren't sure where I was talking about when I mentioned going to Moab for spring break here are some pictures:

Ok well that was a pretty thick blog for one day's work. Here's hoping it actually takes this time!

2006-11-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

So....I suck at blogging. :o/

Well here is your bi-monthly blog from me. Hmmmm... school. I don't want to talk about it because it is a thorn in my side at the moment. I'm sooo ready to be done. We'll talk about the apartment situation, another thing I'd like to be finished with, but tolerable at least. I have finished all of my payments to my old comlex. A definite cause for celebration. it is no fun to pay for a two bedroom and go to school at the same time. Not complaining,....well yeah I am, but mainly just pointing out the obvious. I'm going to begin moving things (the essentials) into the new house this week, I think. At least that is my goal at the moment. I'll probably wait until after Thanksgiving to try to get some of my guy friends to help move the furniture. I mainly would just like to get most of my clothing and toiletries into the new place so i can stay there instead of commuting back and forth so much. The new house is quite a bit closer to campus. I have not begun to shop for Christmas as of yet. I know that's a terrible thing to admit, but it's true. Once I've moved in completely it will be a lot easier. I'm just trying to do one big thing at a time :oP.

Tuesday we are having a mini-Thanksgiving at the new house. Basically Zabrina (my friend) is going to make a turkey, stuffing, and a ham...(she volunteered it...I dunno) everyone else is just going to bring side dishes and desserts and such. So should definitely be well fed this week.

Backtracking quite a bit now because I feel I really have little to blog about haha. I did make the journey up to Hendersonville a couple weeks ago. While there visiting I went to Pam's engagement party. Pam was a good friend of mine from high school. I don't know if all of you know who I'm talking about or not. Well anyhow it was nice. I really didn't know too many people which made it a little blah. Most of the guests were either relatives or friends of her parents. It was a bit depressing I will admit. A boy I went to high school with, David, goes to all kinds of events around town and keeps up with what everyone is doing. He has a slight mental retardation which has kept him from going to college. Because he's not been at school he bascially just keeps up with all of us, ergo he knows everything about everyone from our graduating class. Well he was at Pam's engagement party. Unfortunately for me this meant that he was able to fill me in on EVERYONE who was getting married. I'd say for a good hour that's all I got to hear about. lol Certainly not what I was looking for that night. I just love love love to hear about the exciting lives of others. I just don't think I'm quite ready for the big M-word at the moment, but it's still no fun to hear of all of your peers getting hitched. I dunno I guess i feel behind. I think that's also one of the strange things about being the youngest...and by so much. I've always had an underlying feeling of playing catch up to all of you. It doesn't really make a lot of sense for me to try to, but a subconcious drive is there nonetheless.

Oh and lastly..I think we have decided on Seattle as a destination for Spring Break. I definitely don't want to go to some beach where a bunch of wacked out teenagers and college students are going to be. I'm around enough idiots in Knoxville as it is. My I am so very high and mighty lol. Back to Seattle..I've heard nothing but really really good things about the city. Plus, I really want to go whale watching. I'm fascinated by whales for some unknown reason and its just always been something I've wanted to do. So Andy said that we'd probably see a bunch of orcas (sp?) if we went out. (He's been once before with his family and really liked the city) I really have no idea what is there, but I'm still interested in going. Just going to new cities is exciting to me. Plus, I'll be happy to be able to claim that I've actually travelled across the Mississippi finally. :oP

Well that's it for me for now. I'll see all of you on Thursday! Can't wait to see you! I really do miss you guys! *cough* girl's weekend *cough*

2006-11-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

So I received my gift from Mommy and Daddy Monday. They bought me an Ipod which I had been wanting for a while now so I am very happy. I only have 58 songs on it at the moment, but that will surely grow. I haven't been up to too much lately just schooling and working. lol this is going to be a rather short blog I'm thinking. I was wondering if I could get a list of ideas for the kids in the family for Christmas. I think I'm going to try and get something here and there rather than waiting till December which I had been doing...I'm crazy I know. Well that's really all I have to say. Oh and I do need ideas from Mommy and Daddy too. Please. See all of you for Thanksgiving!! I'm looking forward to it! Maybe we can get some good family pictures because I am in dire need of a good picture. I, at least, have yet to develop into a photogenic person. I'm not really sure how that works , but its something that I definately am not. haha

2006-10-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you that don't know I'm pregnant....ahahahahahahaha. KIDDING! No no no, what I was going to say was that have been looking for a new place since my lease at the ol' townhouse will be up in December and I don't particularly feel like paying $600 in rent monthly. My friend Zabrina (yes a friend not a random aquaintance that has no since of priority or notion of what its like to be a responsible roommate) has a three bedroom house close to campus that she shares with another friend of hers. There is one spare bedroom up for grabs and I went last night to look at the house and it should work VERY well. The bedroom is massive about the size of my living room now. There is a ton of storage space via the basement...so even though they have a washer/dryer I won't have to get rid of mine. It has hardwood flooring throughout the house so I may end up needing to get a rug for my room, but I'm pretty happy with it. Mainly just the fact that these people know what it means to regularly pay rent.....ON TIME! Zabrina, (I know Mommy and Daddy are wondering) plans to be there another year, at least until next December. Not completely sure about the other girl. I have been thinking about finding a new home for Zeke though. He's really run me ragged and I think it'd be best if he had a home where maybe he could get a little more attention. that and he tends to destroy most everything he comes into contact with :o/. I just am getting aggravated with keeping up with his destruction. Oh and Laura, I know you like stuff like this... I listened to "The First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes the other day. I love that song, kinda makes me all misty, but its still a really really good song. Anyhow you guys should listen to it. It makes me think of relationships/ parent-new baby stuff...Yeah i dunno. I'm racing because I have to get to class so my thoughts may seem a bit scattered. So check out the song. I gotta get to class. Ciao bellas and possible bellos

2006-10-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Laura!!!!

Things I think about when I think of Laura:

Sarcastic!
singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to me whether I liked it or not (circa nineteen eighty someting
laughing at the way I said "puniSH the bluSH" (the most random phrase yet)
calling me her "mon petit chou" (my little cabbage, term of endearment in french)
calling me "boosie" (always had a nickname)
pretty much running the family vacations lol (in a good way)
how weird it is when people tell me my sister's hot lol (yes its happened a few times)

Hope you have a happy birthday! Je t'aime ma soeur! haha I'm so glad that you're my sister, seriously. :oP See you......Thanksgiving?

P.S. Stephanie have you tried Nutella YET?

2006-10-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

So I've slacked a tad on my blogging. I haven't fallen off of the face of the Earth just yet. Let's see if I can catch you up on everything that has and hasn't been happening. I suppose the earliest news was my having my keys/wallet stolen. I keep my keys on a little I.D. wallet so if you lose one you lose both. Well I was working a night shift at work doing to go orders at Applebees, my keys were on "carside" (an area close to a side door for setting up to-go orders). Two of us work that area at a time, one waiting on customers in cars and one of us in the kitchen getting everything together. I was working in the kitchen so was unable to monitor my keys. Well I didn't think to look for them until I needed them at the end of my shift and found that they had gone missing. After asking everyone in the restaurant (employee-wise) if they had seen them I decided to resort to Plan B. Plan B meaning I do what I really didn't want to do and try to call up my apartment emergency guy and have him let me in (its 9 o'clock at night...I know they're there for this, but it just seems rude). So I had to borrow a friends car (I was sans keys remember) meet up with the key guy, grab my spare set and drive back to Applebee's to retrieve my own wheels. i absolutely hate having to ask anyone for help like that (aka borrowing someone's car). I don't carry any cash in this little I.D. wallet, but I do keep my cards in there. Contents of the wallet: license, UT I.D., insurance card, various first aid cards, bank card (w/ I.D. on it, American Express, Kroger card...and i believe that's about it. I cancelled my bank card, but hesitated to cancel my Amex. My thinking was that this most likely was a practical joke, since it has happened before with my phone and various other things of mine at work. Haha... not so much. Sunday night I get a call from Mommy and Daddy thinking I've been abducted. It seems a police officer had called them saying that'd he'd found all of my things thrown out beside a gas station near where I work. Long story a little shorter, he returned those items....minus the keys. I'm still somewhat weirded out about everything, but I have everything I need once again.
Next I guess, would be my birthday. It was somewhat low-key. My friends bought me some cupcakes, a balloon, and a giftcard. Andy and I went out to eat at what ended up being P.F. Chang's (couldn't make up my mind). He actually bought me flowers...its definately been a while since I got those so I was very pleased :oP. Thank you for all of your cards and gifts. I really appreciate them. Gifts are like Godsends when you're as broke as I am haha.
Next week I believe the only interesting event, scheduled at least, is a trip with some friends to a corn maze. They don't really do haunted houses here for some reason...its pretty much just random fields of corn...kinda dumb, but still fun.
Anyhow I think I'll leave this rather long blog with a to-do list for the day.....and its a DOOZY!

send transcripts to various schools applied to for nursing
go see about ticket

there's something else. I got a ticket from a camera cop I guess for lack of a better term. I was taking a right at a red light which as far as I know is completely allowed, since I've seen many a person do it at the same intersection w/o snapshot. There are no posted signs saying not to either. But apperently when I took the right it looked a little too much like i was going straight so I get a ticket for running a red light. Mind you I'm in the "right turn only" lane. Who knows.. So I have to see about that today.

find 5 sources (books only) for a history paper
figure out what it is I'll be writing said paper about
workout (been slacking hardcore)
buy: detergent, milk, juice, healthy stuff
go to mall to use my gift cards on some winter clothes
target for halloween stuff
grab some food at Panera's since I have a free coupon
call Zabrina about looking at her house (a possible new residence of mine)
finish French homework.

I'm going to sleep well tonight! Have a good day!

One more thing been thinking about ideas for spring break. STA has some really low rates for traveling for students. I've never really taken a spring break trip so I thought maybe I'd try to get one in while I'm still at UT. Thought so far are possibly Europe or the west coast. Input, ideas, positive feedback please :o).

2006-09-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Ok I found this on the web and I thought it was pretty amusing. This I pretty self-explanatory, but the people to the top left are the most similar in features.

Haha Anne Frank....that's just funny

Hehe Stephanie (in this pictures at least) looks the most like Sylvia Plath. lol

2006-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Oh and before I forget.. Daddy had made a comment about the concert picture I posted on my very fist post. I don't know if anyone else caught it, but that was kind of a joke picture I had photoshopped for Andy and his friends. The crowd in posted picture was one from a Grateful Dead concert some time in the 60's or 70's. The guys actually were only practicing in an empty auditorium on campus. Here are the two pictures real and edited for you to see. lol I'm glad it was so convincing for some of you :o)

Practicing at AMB

Playing for a bunch of hippies

2006-09-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I've slacked quite a bit this last week. Since I last posted I've spent the weekend in Atlanta with Mommy, Daddy, Jennifer, and gang. Its so nice to get out of Knoxville from time to time and it was great seeing everyone. I only wish I hadn't had to work that Sunday. The drive back at 8a.m. wasn't the best, but I made it. I hate that I don't get to see all fo the kids (Laura's too :o) ) very frequently. I feel like they grow up so much in between the holidays. I swear every time I see Brent he's at least two or three inches taller.

So relationship-wise things have been better than before. I have no idea what happened with him, but he's completely changed since last week (for the better). I don't know that I want to be too happy about it. We'll see how things go.

Let's see school has been oh so wonderful this week. Exam after exam after exam. I'm very happy that its finally the weekend.

Ok I need to thicken this post up so I'm going to include the long overdue grocery list I had intended to post some time ago.

carton of eggs
gallon of milk
orange juice (Immunity Defense) there seems to be a 1000 diff. O.J. options nowadays
cream of chicken soup
microwavable Pillsbury biscuits
3 Gala apples
2 packages of flavored applesauces (strawberry and then cinnamon)
apple cinnamon oatmeal
granola cereal
peanut butter
apricot jam (I don't do jelly....I just don't. Its all about the textures w/ me)
tortillas
cheddar cheese
pesto ranch salad dressing
mixed greens salad mix
mustard
lunch meat turkey
french bread
bagels
wholewheat chocolate chip cookies (they're actually really good)
bottled water
boneless chicken breast
fried chicken fingers ( I cut them up for wraps )

Well that's it nothing tooooo exciting I guess. Well I've got to be getting ready for work. I'm coming down with some sort of head cold so I'm pretty much in slow motion at the moment. Sudafed don't fail me now!!

2006-09-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sooo....seriously I need no more help in the emotional rollercoaster department, thank you. I'm posting this on Friday, but the post is going to be all about Thursday. Just to let you in on that. So Andy and I were supposed to talk today. He had said that he had some things he "needed to say." It turns out he felt that we should have "talked more" before deciding to break up. Aka he wasn't happy with the decision. This is great news to me because I was perfectly happy in the relationship. It would have been nice if perhaps he'd have given it a little more thought beforehand. So that drama is resolved. I kinda wish I'd waited a couple days before posting that last post. I didn't realize this would turn around so quickly.

Aside from all of that business I went to the Ben Harper concert that was here at World's Fair Park last night. That was pretty fun. I'd gone on an invite. I think I may have heard three or so of his songs prior to the concert, but it turned out to be a pretty fun time. His stuff is really similiar to Jack Johnson's style of music.

I'm looking forward to seeing the O'Connells this weekend. I may actually get to see a little of Madeline's routine..which would be awesome :o). I know Laura and Stephanie envy me for that. Hopefully Dan will be ok with us visiting on Saturday being that UT's biggest game is tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be at least fairly interested in it too.

Ooops I just remembered I needed to get that grocery receipt to you guys. I'll do that as soon as I get home. (I'm at school now)

2006-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I'm miserable as many of you probably think I always am. I talked to Andy last night and is unhappy because he feels like he's left his friends behind since he's been with me. I know that that may be true in some cases. I also know that many people tend to do those things without realizing it. Its really bothering him that this has happened and to add to that he doesn't feel that we're any closer than when we first began dating. Honestly I don't know that I think all of that is really what's happening. I think he's a point in his life where he's gotten a little freaked out that so much around him has changed. It doesn't matter what I think unfortunately. This is going to be an awful blog. I really was extremely happy with him and it kills me that its over. I never had someone that made me not worry or could make me smile so much. I'm just so exhausted by dating. I don't want to start over at all. The thought of finding someone else and even trying to care seems so extreme to me. I hate that I can't be angry at him for anything since that would make it easier to deal with. He's such a great guy and I'm afraid I'll never see him again. I've never really been one to be friends after a breakup. I don't let go very easily of the status we once had. I'm so unhappy right now I can't handle it. I don't like that this is so out of my hands. I can't stand that I'm SO emotional. We weren't together for more than six months, but I'm completely stuck. I've been doing the whole memory flashbacks in my mind and its driving me nuts. I keep feeling like if I just explain to him how much I care about him it would fix things. I'm sorry for bringing down the day. That relationship was just something that I was really excited and happy about. I in no way saw this coming.

2006-09-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Awwww...crap. This is me just realizing that I have yet another class today. I had just gotten home and was happy thinking that I was done for the day, but alas I have a class at 3:40. :o/ Oh well. I don't know if I've let you guys in on this, but I am refusing to buy a parking pass this semester. I know I know its just terrible, but seriously I'm not paying 150 dollars to attempt to find a parking spot half a mile away from my actual destination. I have found that by keeping my old tag in my window, I've managed to avoid any tickets. Fortunately the staff tags are the same color as last year's communter tags (they change color annually). I submitted my graduation application today woooooooooooo! haha I also had an appointment with an advisor just to be sure that everything was in check. So hopefully I'll have a degree by my 50th birthday.

So Tyler Florence sucks. He has collaborated with Applebee's (the enemy in my mind) to create a new menu. Sure the food looks decent, but I really love Food Network and the fact that those two worlds should work together in any manner discourages me greatly. Anyhow if any of you are eating at Applebees in about a month you'll get to see a great big Tyler Florence right on the cover of your menu. I thought he was a little full of himself on Food 911 anyway! hmph!

Speaking of Food Network I'm watching it now as I type this. I've gone beyond being interested in the food they're preparing and have decided that I would like to be a chef on one of these shows if only so that someone would dress me. I have long been aware that I have no real personal style outside of jeans/shorts and various t-shirts. It seems like it would just be the best thing in the world to have someone play dress up with you. You know to implement at least a pseudo-style.

Ok, well I've got to make some coffee because I'm already kinda sleepy and I have another class to attend. Here's what I'll be up to tonight. Can you stand it? It will be wayy to exciting.
To do:

Attend 3:40 psychology class
pay Cable/Internet bill
do a little grocery shopping (I'll let you know about the receipt)
Read about a million pages in "Invisible Man" for English
cut out/or draw pictures of clothing for French ( a good excuse to buy a gossip mag)
complete online French homework
finish book homework for French
Do at least two loads of laundry (the underwear situation is getting dire)
Take out trash
Work out if any energy leftover
Chat online w/ doofus and friends until get ready to go to sleep

2006-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

I suppose this blog is a bit premature. I know its not the norm to post during the weekend, but what the heck. Stephanie nutella is a chocolate-hazelnut spread its really really good. Here's a pic:

So I've been considering this for a while not, but I'm starting to think I have A. an anxiety issue or B. some sort of depression-eque thing going on. Here are the symptoms that bother me most: I'm extremely shy and when I'm having a good day, stupid little things will really bring me down. For instance, if I'm hanging out with Andy and he leaves to go to work and just says "see ya later" that will really bum me out. I know how dumb that is, but its so hard for me to shake it. The shyness thing just kills me. I tend to feel like I have to have the perfect things to say at all times, but I end up just feeling really really awkward. Ugh! Ok one other issue I'm having. This age thing between me and Andy. He's 20, I'm 23. Why does this bother me so much?! I feel soooo old, but I know I'm not. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that his roommates tease me about. They're not being mean at all, but its something that already bothers me. I know we don't look that much different in age. Good lord I'm having quite the day.

Well unfortunately I think this blog was just a great big whine fest. I have to be getting to work now. I'm bartending, but I really don't think there will be much business considering the UT games is at 7p.m. and we don't do payper view ( that doesn't look right, not sure why). Hope you guys are enjoying your weekends. Maybe I can pull myself out of this rut before too long.

2006-09-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hello hello its my second blog! So I finished my poster for my French class. I was a little irked when all she had us do was point at the pictures and say what they were. I don't like putting effort into things that aren't, in my mind, necessary. I have a French test Monday which shouldn't be too bad. Wish me luck! I had my first paper due today for my African American studies class. The literature for that class isn't so bad, but something about constantly discussing racism gets under my skin. I realize that its a definate problem, but I guess I feel that all the white generalizations about how "we" feel about other races kinda gets on my nerves. I figured clumping people into groups was the problem to begin with.

I'm not really sure what to do with this blog. I don't have a husband or a family to talk about and most of my time is taken up with school and work...neither of which are all that fascinating. Therefore if any of you guys have some ideas they would be greatly appreciated.

Its Friday finally!! I guess I shouldn't say finally seeing as how it was an abbreviated week for me w/ Labor Day on Monday. I have the night off from work, so thankfully I'll get to relax for a night..unfortunately that doesn't mean sans homework. I think Andy and I are going to go eat out at Bravo! (the exclamation is in the title...though I am excited lol) Looks like we'll be celebrating Out to Eat Friday too haha. Really I am looking forward to it though. Its soooo good. Its Italian food, which you'd think I'd be sick of, but its not your typical bowties w/ spaghetti sauce that I've had the honor of eating WAY too much of lately. They have things like crab bisque (a huge favorite of mine), sangria, tiramisu, you know the classy stuff :o) . On Friday nights we generally hang out with his friend Will and his girlfriend. I suspect we'll probably end up doing that again. I won't be going to the game tomorrow (shock and awe). I figured I should take the time to make a little cash while I'm a bit behind. Its only Air Force that we're playing anyhow, so I'm not too interested. Next week however will be ridiculous. The tickets that the students get were sold out by 9a.m. this morning. They started giving them out 9a.m. yesterday morning. There were literally lines wrapped around the outside of the UC (university center) building. As many drunk college students as are going to surely be there at that game....I'm not so sorry to not get a ticket. The student section at those games can be either really really fun or really really aggravating. If the game goes well everyone cheers and is happy, no problem. Should the game take a turn for the worse you get an entire section of drunken cussing and solo cups thrown at you from higher up in the stands. Quite the experience. As for Sunday I work that morning and then at night I usually go out with some friends to listen to a guy named Tall Paul play at a local restaurant. He's actually from Nashville and just commutes back and forth playing in different bars and such. It must be a really tough life :oP.

Well I'm going to go check the mailbox for some school book I'd ordered. Please do send ideas for the blog if you have any. I'm worried that its going to be a fairly dull blog. Sorry guys haha. Oh I'll leave you with this: If you have not tried Nutella before do so!! I think Stephanie especially will like it. Its on the peanut butter aisle at the grocery store. Giada talks about it on Everyday Italian alot. I bought some on a whim a few months ago and a wow! lol

2006-09-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Alright guys here goes. Many of you may be disappointed with just how uninteresting my life is, but I'll try to jazz it up if possible. Well I'm busy as conceivably possible. I decided to take a break from homework and entertain you with my newfound blogness. Let's see well hmmm, maybe you'd like to know what's on my to do list study-wise. I know I'm always interested. For tonight I am constructing a poster displaying all of the wonders of Normandie, France. Apparently the leading producers of Camembert cheese (as though I'd ever tried it) and home of Giverny. haha I actually tried to track down Laura's past blogs for pictures. Man, this post is going to be completely unorganized. I have no idea what to type about. Hm, I'm taking a voice class this semester which I am thrilled about! I love singing I don't know if you guys really knew that about me or not considering I'm incredibly shy about it. There are only ten of us in the class which makes it nice to actually get to know classmates for once. I'm used to the 100 or so other peers in most of my lectures. The only thing a little frustrating about the voice class is that she has been really babying us with the music. For instance, we have spent three classes on learning how to sing in a round learning what a quarter note is all about. If this class goes well I may end up taking choir next term since I'll have some space hour-wise. Word on the street is they're going to Carnegie Hall to perform...I could get into that.

Ok I've decided to compensate lack of interesting information w/ pictures from this summer. This one is from my trip to Orlando w/ Andy's Dad and little sister. We're standing in line for some ride at some park...I don't even know. I think its the Aerosmith ride, if you're really concerned. I'm looking a lil sweaty. Love that I got those genes. Mind you, he just shaved his head in this picture...he doesn't always look so bald :oPSo Andy (the guy I'm seeing..come on now) got back from Italy a couple weeks before school started. I think he fell in love with it. Its one of those things that I find myself needing to be patient with though. I'm happy he had a good time, but it can be a little frustrating hearing about it all of the time. I think I'm just jealous. I will say that he came back with a new love adoration for pasta of all types. At first I didn't mind so much, but after the sixth or seventh dinner of penne I began to get a little....oh...over it. As a college student this is a critical blow seeing as how pasta is one of the most affordable things out there. He insists on serving bread and a piece of fruit with each meal too. I suppose its better than microwave pizza. Here's a pic of him and his band that I took and "modified" slightly:

Speaking of Andy, we both have a huge fascination with Jim Gaffigan. If any of you have not heard of him you should really check him out. He's a hilarious stand-up comedian. He's the guy with really blonde hair in the Sierra Mist commercials.

Gosh, how to be entertaining..... Ok I'll ask questions of you guys. Were all of you this dirt poor during college. I'm really getting sick of it. I know, I know..."graduate then"...blah blah blah. I mean I know college life isn't supposed to be the lap of luxory, but I ate a can of corn for lunch... wth? Are we actually going to have this "girl's weekend?" If so I need some notice for work and to build travel money. I really would like to see if there is something similar the dinner program that Jennifer was talking about. I know they have one in Chattanooga because I saw it when I was visiting Andy and his family last time. I would think that Nashville would have something similar.

Here's another from a dance party we had this summer. It was only like seven us, but we're dorks so whatever. I'm making an angry face because I was instructed to do so. as for Andy there in the background...I don't know. By the way this is where I spend much of my spare time..what little that is..just thought you'd be interested. Notice the Beatles on the wall in the background. You know I'm a supporter of that.
Ok well that's it for me today. I need to finish up my poster assignment and read a little for my African Americn Lit. class. I'll try to keep this updated as much as I can..now that I've succumb to the Garrity disease.