"I'm not quite sure what I look like, cause when I see myself in pictures...I don't look like me. But I don't really know what I look like. Sometimes I'm like God I look hot. And other times I'm like...eh. A couple more sit-ups tomorrow, pink. It's so much easier to be hard on yourself. It takes work to be good to yourself...so I'm trying to put the work in. When I say 'Ugh, I wish I didn't have those dots all over my face' I say 'Mm, but they're really unique and special.' 'I wish I didn't feel fat today.' 'Mm, but you're really strong.' 'I wish my legs weren't so muscular.' 'Mm, but when you're older, they're gonna carry you around.' Things like that. Be thankful."

-Pink

I choose to grow.

"Every human being has gone through a tragedy of sorts. And the idea is that you have two paths you can take: You can find that alchemy that turns lead into gold, find that magic where you can see the loss as an entry point for learning and grow from it and become wiser and stronger. I think Ernest Hemingway said it best, life breaks us all but you're stronger in the places that were broken. Or you can essentially crumble, give up, and waste your life."

- Jillian Michaels

Tis the Season

Well, seeing as I have been terrible about updating this blog, I figure that I may as well try and improve.

Yesterday was "the day after thanksgiving" which in my mind means one thing: the official beginning of the Christmas season!! I listened to Christmas music all day long, sipped hot chocolate from Starbucks (which is a major addiction..I need an intervention. But we'll get to that next), and ended the day with watching Elf while laying under the Christmas tree. Yes, it was an excellent day.

Now. The Starbucks issue. The few times in the past that I've tried to hot chocolate from there, I wasn't incredibly impressed. About a week ago, I was cold, I was near Starbucks, and decided to give it one more shot. What a mistake!! ;) Since then, EVERY DAY I have gone in for my hot chocolate. It's like a drug. I swear that it's better this year. YUM. I need an intervention...that or a Starbucks buddy!! My order contradicts itself: I get a tall non-fat with whip and drizzle hot chocolate. Which means that I get non-fat milk...and then put whipped cream and chocolate sauce over the top. lol! Ehh, you win some you lose some.

Well my friends, I wish you a very happy Christmas & Starbucks season.

xo
K

Let there be cake!!

So, a few months ago, I saw this post on MckMama's blog. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I HAD to try making it. My mom's birthday (which is this Sunday, the 29th) was the perfect excuse. Since she'll be out of town on her birthday, I decided to make it a few days early. I've been waiting patiently, and was SO EXCITED when the time finally came to make it.

Now, let me preface by saying this: I've never made a cake before. Ever. So a few days ago, I practiced by making a Pillsbury "funfetti' cake, but still just used the canned frosting. This was my first EVER attempt at making a large cake on my own, and at making frosting. I'm so excited with how it came out!!

I took pictures throughout the day to document it. From start to finish, it took me about 5.5-6 hours to make. So worth it! :)




Mixing up the batter for the red (well...red, turned hot pink) and orange layers.

Ready to go in the oven!










Messy mixing spoons!

Making frosting in the midst of a GIANT mess

yumm

Starting to frost the cake

All finished but...

...the real fun is on the inside! :) :)

Not bad for a first cake, eh? ;)

Time flies

I can't believe how quickly this year is going. How on earth is it already April??

I had a really great morning. I headed into the Scottsdale Bible nursery (I used to volunteer there weekly but haven't been in about a year) to see if they needed any help. The supervisor, Jo, recognized me right away and placed me in my favorite room...the little babies! I love children so much and have a really special place in my heart for the little ones. I had a great time taking care of them during the service, and after it was over, Jo approached me and said that they really missed me, and asked me if I'd be interested in having my own infant room every Sunday at the 9:45 service! Needless to say, I accepted! I'm so excited to get back in there, and I can hardly wait until next Sunday!!

I'm so ready for school to be over. I'm feeling pretty burned out, and I'm so ready for summer break. My last day is going to be May 14...thank goodness!! Then, on May 15th, Krista, Jackie, Andrea, Heather and I are going to LA! We're going to go to the beach, Six Flags and Disneyland to celebrate Krista and Heathers birthday. I'm so excited :)

This summer is going to be big travel wise....I've also been accepted into a Study Abroad summer program!! I'll be flying to London in mid July, and boarding a cruise on the 19th. The cruise is from the 19th to 31st and we'll be visiting England (of course), Ireland, Scotland and France!! I'm so psyched. I was really lucky to get a scholarship which helped a lot with the cost. Plus, I'll get to visit Miss Maddie in England...yay!

I'll leave you with pictures from our recent trip to New York City. We were there March 15-20, and I'm now officially in love with the city. WOW. We had the greatest time.

I hope that you had a great Easter.

-Katie


30 Rock!


COLD night tour!



Top of the Rock

Regis and Kelly

Times Square

Central Park...my new favorite place in the entire world:





Beautiful!! I hope to be able to go back next year!

Finally an update!

Life has been pretty average lately. Classes started back up in mid-January. I was also lucky enough to get a job as a nanny! Mon-Thurs are very busy for me between school & work, but I love having the 3 -day weekend, which makes the craziness during the week worth it.

Tonight I went to a Suns game with Heather. We had a lot of fun, and the Suns won 115 to 105! :) Funny story...When the players came out, one of them looked really familiar to me, but I didn't focus too much on it. Heather leaned over about half way through the game and told me that the player was one of her favorites, and that he (like me) likes to go to Disneyland often. As soon as she said that, it all became clear. I was in line with him for like 30 minutes last month when I was there! I thought he was really cute, and was flirting with him the whole time (and was secretly marvelling at his height (7'0"!!) and thinking about how giant our children would be LOL).

I had no idea that he plays for the Suns! Obviously, when I told Heather, she was about ready to kill me. She is so jealous that I was with him, and insists that I should have (1) gotten his autograph {I had to keep reminding her that I didn't know who he was, to which she responded "if you see someone 7 feet tall, just automatically ask for their autograph in case they're a basket ball player!"} and (2) flirted more and given him my number so that I would become a romantic interest in his life and get her court side seats. Haha!! We laughed about it all night...what a funny coincidence. I had met Analeigh from America's Next Top Model (my favorite contestant out of all the seasons!) the night before -- what a lucky trip!

Anyways, here are some pictures from the game. I hope that you are all well. :) -Katie


Our view!


Heather spying on Nash & his family.


The Gorilla is a rock star!


Shaq doing what he does best!


The final score!