Honorable Mention - Katie

Katie, The Loyal One:

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." ~Harper Lee

26 Tidbits:

Celine Dion

Whitney Houston

Any Diva that can belt music as well as Katie can on karaoke

TLC Shows (Little People, Big World and Jon & Kate Plus 8)

Black & White

Ann Taylor

Polo Shirts

Mark Ballas

Dancing with the Stars

Dance Parties

Cooking

Museums (just kidding)

NATURAL blonde hair

Her laugh: "I love it when she gets all excited and does her super excited laugh!" -Ansley

Tennis

Anything from China

Eating healthy

Exercise videos with Ans

Loving people whole-heartedly

Riding in the car, windows down, singing

Michael Bolton

Professional Sunscreen Applicator
Medical Things

Nursing

INSISTS that she doesn't fall asleep watching movies (even though she does)
The fact that she LOVES to be first (therefore the reason why she is first on the blog)

ELABORATION:

Katie, and people who know her well, will understand the obvious reason I attached the Harper Lee quote to her name. But another reason I found it fitting is that Katie has an uncanny ability to see things from other people's point of view. She is not one to make a snap decision. Rather, she is one to see things from different sides, and like any great friend, finds a way to gently remind you when you are being stubborn and refusing to look at the big picture. She is a very compassionate person and she is so incredibly smart, mainly because she makes it a point to know as much as she possibly can about the things that she is passionate about. She is one of the most loyal people you will ever meet. She will take up for you in a heartbeat. Do not ask Katie for an opinion on something unless you want the honest heartfelt truth. I love that I can always count on her to give me an honest opinion about something, because I know without a doubt that she is doing it for my own good.

CLASSIC STORY:

One of my very favorite stories is from our Sophomore year of college. Katie was walking back to the dorms after class and she saw a "friend of a friend" that she had met a week earlier. Imagine that Katie was standing at one street corner, and the other person was standing across the road at another street corner. Katie proceeded to yell a friendly greeting to the new friend across the street. The girl obviously could hear Katie but for some reason (traffic noise or other) she could not tell that katie was the one that had yelled the greeting. Katie tried once more, trying to still seem casual. Still the girl on the other side could not see her. On the third try, Katie yelled the girl's name and emphatically waved her arms to catch her attention. (I should mention that obviously, several other parties are involved, seeing this take place, because in between classes several people are walking at the street crosswalks.) Finally the girl sees that Katie is the one yelling the greeting. Either because she couldn't see clearly to the other side of the crosswalk, or she had forgotten their brief meeting, the girl yelled back, "Do I know you?" And then proceeded to walk away.

Although Katie's good intentions were in vain, this story is a testament to what a truly fantastic, loving, caring, endlessly friendly person Katie is. She will always speak to you, always smile, and always genuinely ask how you are doing.

Honorable Mentions

Ok, so I was sitting at my desk and looking through some things on the Internet, when a thought occured to me. It has always been a special interest to me to somehow randomly honor people who do things in their every day life that deserve so much recognition and do not recieve any that they deserve! So, what I am deciding to do is highlight a different person in each post. It may be one of my close friends, maybe family, maybe someone I kind of know, but I thought it would be a good idea to honor those around us who truly deserve it. If you would like, feel free to add opinions and comments to the posts.

Wishful Thinking

I mentioned that I would be giving an update on the status of my weekend on Monday, so I am doing what every good working girl does and following through.. My roommates are so sneaky, but I fell for a well thought out lie...hook, line, sinker.

I arrived home on Friday to see roomie RT walking into our building. I waved enthusiastically and pulled into to park as well. She was already well on her way into the apartment, so I didn't question the fact that she didn't wait for me so that we could walk together. I got into the apartment and found KM, other roomie, who we were supposedly going to dinner to celebrate, milling around "getting ready to go." RT was doing the same. I was told earlier in the day that RT no longer had to baby sit and that the three of us should go to dinner to celebrate KM passing her nursing exam, but that it was a surprise for her as to wear we were going.

In true blue "I know where we're going, and you don't" fashion, I kept badgering KM, asking her where she thought it might be and if she was excited. She was kind enough to follow along. RT came into the living room and announces that she got our reservation pushed back to 7. Sounds good to me! I say. So we continue to chat and catch up on the day. RT has also changed into more casual clothes. Apparently she needed to run by her parents house before she came back to get ready. I thought nothing of this, and assumed she was being truthful. I also ask RT what I should wear to this place, considering I had never been.
"What is BS's (boyfriend) favorite dress on you?" she asked.

Instinctively I exclaim, "WHY? IS HE COMING?!?!"

She plays it incredibly cool and explains that no, he's not, she just thought it might narrow the choices a bit. I knew in my mind not to get my hopes up for the possibility of him coming because I knew he was leaving early in the morning to go on a trip. There was no possible way for him to be able to visit, and it was not going to be possible to see him until 4th of July weekend, if that. (I should mention at this point that I have not seen him in 2 weeks).

So RT leaves to go to her "parents" house. About 15 minutes after she left, some one bangs on the door. I was so startled. I walked over to the door, and upon realizing that I am not nearly tall enough to see out of the peep hole, I wimpily ask "Who's there?"

"Hello?"

I knew in a nanosecond who was on the other side. I threw open the door and literally attacked him! He was leaving until Sunday and had kept it a secret! He and my roommates completely kept me off of the trail. I had no clue that he would be coming.

In reality, RT did have to babysit. BS was the one taking me to dinner and we were going to Bottega's which I was SO excited about, and rightfully so I might add. Afterward we went to see Wall.E....it was ADORABLE! One of the cutest funniest movies I've seen. Please go see it, even if you are cynical about animated movies. On Saturday, we bummed around, went to Johnny Rockets, drove around, went to Target and then came back to the apt.

RT, BS and I decided to go to the driving range. SO much fun! and might I add, I am so SORE still today. But the weather was perfect and if you ever get started then you get hooked. The three of us met KM at Cracker Barrel (which has become a tradition for when BS visits). And then we sent BS on his way. He had to be back to a catch a plane early Sunday morning ::sigh::

But the two days were so wonderfully unexpected, and I was thankful for every minute!

The rest of the night, KM and RT and I rented "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." If you have not seen it, then you don't know what you are missing. (For those who have seen it, the part where she and Madea destroy her ex-husband's house may be one of my favorite movie moments ever. Madea's quotes when she encounters the mistress are priceless)

Sunday was perfect as well! I went to church with KM and RT. After which RT and I joined her parents for lunch. And then I went home and CLEANED! I love a clean place and I am quickly becoming a neat freak in very aspect of my life. I didn't used to be, but it's slowly but surely becoming that way. My apartment is SPOTLESS right now. I love it.

Then Mom and Dad came to visit! We hung out, drove around town, looked at potential cars (fingers crossed) and then they took me to one of my favorite restaurants ever...J.Alexander's. Absolutely delicious! So my weekend was fabulous, and now I have leftover steak kabobs for lunch today. Clearly my weekend revolved around people and food, my two passions (sad? maybe.)

So what I need now is car suggestions...anyone?

Oink

I have gotten into looking at different events going on around town, simply because Birmingham is such a cool city, and so high class. This is what I found...

Event: Wine-tasting

Date: June 27, 2008

Location: Piggly Wiggly

Somehow, they cancel each other out.

TGIF

It's Friday!! I'm so excited! I love Fridays! The atmosphere is just so happy on Fridays. Everyone can't wait to spend the weekend doing whatever it is they want to do. For me, this weekend = relaxation.

Tonight we are celebrating that one of my roomies, KM, passed the NCLEX!!!!!!!!! She is a for real nurse and we love her! I can't say where we are going because it is a surprise for her. I am so going to take advantage of her instead of going to the doctor. I have to say that this week has been filled with celebrating, and it all has been centered around this one test. Tuesday, we celebrated because she finished the test by going to Edgars and going to Jackson's. Yum! And now we are celebrating because she for real passed it!

Tomorrow, I plan on trying to get this pasty white skin of mine tan. I am tired of reflecting underneath the flourescent lights in my office. (Side note--the phones here ring just like the ones on The Office...10 points for realism NBC) I have no idea what I will be doing Saturday night...any ideas?

Sunday, maybe I will go to the lake with Mom and Dad, not entirely sure, but I do know that exerting energy will NOT be a part of my day. I might try to ski...I will let you know how that goes on Monday. Last time I tried, I lost both my skis and for some reason thought it a perfect idea to keep hanging onto the rope. Nose full of Lake Martin...ouch.

Sorry, this post is pretty boring. I will step it up next time.

Confection Confession (with a side of Nerd)

Confession...I'm a slighty sugar-obsessed patriotic nerd.

I had a very good day yesterday! Work rocked along very smoothly (always does), but I was mostly looking forward to 5:00pm. Not because I dislike work, but because I was going to EGDAR'S! If you have never been, then your poor tastebuds have missed out on the same thing mine have been. It was amazingly good!

You see, my office building is very close to Edgar's and every day when I head home I see the bakery. I've heard about it several times and I've even driven by slowly, peeping into the windows. Yesterday, I bit the bullet. I finally had a reason to go to Edgar's. One of my roomies took the NCLEX exam (an exam for nurses that they must pass in order to become an R.N.) that morning and didn't have to study anymore. I'm not entirely sure what all it entails, but NCLEX sounds like a villian from a MARVEL comic book. Not fun. But thank you roomie, for giving me a reason to go to Edgar's!

When I left work, I headed straight there. (I feel like I should give a shout out to my friend that called from Switzerland...sorry I was distracted by all the cakes! I was SO happy to chat with you!) I entered the heavenly doors, and immediately smelled the freshness and purity of bread and cakes just out of the oven. I browsed for probably 30 minutes. They had cupcakes, cookies, pettafores, brownies, and beautifully mastered confections that I almost do an injustice by simply calling them a cake. I searched and I searched for the perfect dessert. I could have gone a number of ways, but instead I settled for 4 mini desserts. They were ADORABLE! I chose a mini chocolate bundt cake, a chocolate iced cake with chocolate bars stuck in it, a chocolate dessert shaped like a little ball that had pecans and chocolate shavings on it, and my personal favorite....COCONUT CAKE. The little coconut cake was so beautiful!

Before the 4 of us that were celebrating dove into the desserts, we decided it best to go and eat dinner. The minute we stepped back into the apartment we took the sweets by storm. They never had a chance poor things. We polished those little suckers off while watching National Treasure 2. Now, thanks to the movie, I have this incredibly nerdy desire to learn as much as I can about American History. All those myths and legends, is there even the slightest chance that some of them are true? It was when I was tempted to comment on a "The Book of Secrets: DOES it Exist?" discussion board that I realized that maybe I should take a step back, re-evaluate and decide whether or not I wanted to commit to this much nerdiness.

Answer: Been there, Done that....And apparently I'm continuing it.

It's so interesting though! No, there is no proof that such things are true necessarily, but there is no proof that they are entirely false either. I choose to think there are secrets locked in the past that only our ancestry know and ever will know. That is what a secret is correct? Things no one is supposed to know? For that purpose, I choose to speculate...it makes it all so much more interesting. Am I alone in my nerdiness?

grumpy, dopey, doc, SNEEZY, bashful,sleepy and happy

This is so funny.

Maybe It's Just Me But...

Maybe she didn't have a mirror....

white, sweater knit, tight, tight, tight short, spaghetti strap dress, with black pointy-toe pumps that, don't worry, matched her black undies that I could see straight through the dress...wow.

Jeepers CREEPERS

Pick-up lines...I'm so glad this is not a lost art. I have such fun examples of these. If you have any to add, please do!

Example #1 (The Awkward Reference)

"You remind me of my daughter." Not the best opening line. How am I supposed to respond to that?

"Awesome. You remind me of the creepiest guy ever."

(In true Jeff Foxworthy form...) IF you can honestly say that the 20-something girl that you are hitting on reminds you of your daughter.... YOU MIGHT BE A CREEPER!

Group of men at LuLu's---take note that you are no longer in college and there is no excuse for leaving your wedding band in your golf bag...not cool.

Example #2 (Pulling the God Card)

I had the privilege to spend this weekend at a bachelorette party. I love bachelorette parties. I am telling you what, stick a veil on one of your friends, and see what happens. People go crazy. They treat the bride like a celebrity (which she should be) and they treat her lucky little followers like prey, assuming that each girl who is clearly a bridesmaid or friend of the bride is so depressed and bitter that she is not the one getting married, that her inhibitions and standards have been considerably lowered.

I am so glad that people think that this is the case, because how else would I be able to blog about all the fantastic interventions I was privy to this past weekend. The first night we went to dinner and then went to a place called Live Bait (if you have been to Gulf Shores, you might have been here). Upon entering, a guy approached us, rather he pounced on the group almost in an "I saw them first" kind of way. Immediately, he bought us a round of drinks. Okay, this is not all that out of the ordinary for a bachelorette party. We tell him we went to Auburn University. "Oh!! I go to LSU!"~like that was suppose to be impressive. He said it in a way that sounded like he expected us to know all the same people, I guess because we go to SEC schools? So we played the name game (one-sided). He asked if I knew some girl he knew in high school who had decided to come to Auburn (only 24,000 people go to Auburn and NO, I do not know your needle that could be found in the proverbial haystack of Auburn University).

But, just for fun, I said "Oh yeah! I know her!" Haha awesome. He described her as "one of those good Christian girls," which actually we happen to have quite a few of at Auburn.

"We tend to hang out with those kind of girls," which was not only true, but was the only thing I could think to say. Apparently he found that to be his way into our group, because not only did he talk repeatedly to me about his personal spirituality (while he was very drunk) but also to everyone in our group. First he told us that he had just graduated from college and now he was exploring whether or not he wanted to go into the ministry. He told me and the rest of our group that he was "pure" (too much info., pretty sure I didn't ask) and that dancing was his outlet.

What on Earth is THAT supposed to mean? What the heck? Needless to say the avoiding process started with dancer dude. As if this couldn't get any better, he made an appearance the second night, and told us he couldn't remember what he said the night before (bad start bud, on round 2 no less), but that he was actually a senior at LSU and that he became a youth minister at 19, and took a group of 20-30 high schoolers on a mission trip...righhhhht, those parents were trusting with a 19-year-old supposed youth minister.

You were funny dancer dude. You made several of us very uncomfortable with your dancing near us because we wouldn't let you dance with us. Notice the difference.

Example #3 (The Surprise Attack)

On this same trip, I was standing at the Florabama, a place which needs no other explaining except that it is a melting pot of mullet haircuts, crop tops, tight pants, rebel flags, and the occasional college-y group that has come for the experience alone. We were one such group. I was standing talking to one of the other members of the bachelorette party, when out of no where I hear, "I'm Brian." Whoa...little close. Not to mention he didn't approach from the front but instead snuck up beside me where I was not prepared for this interaction...definition: creeper. I was so caught off guard I could not think of what to say. This awkward little interaction lasted for about 3 minutes and included him asking me questions in rapid succession before I could possibly answer him, "Where are you from? Where do you go to school? Do you like the football team? What are you majoring in? What are you going to do with it? Why are you here?" I wanted to say "No. Why are you here?" When I was rescued by a friend who saw me struggling. Thank you again!

Example #4 (Please Pity Me Approach)

This may be my favorite of the Florabama experience. Sometimes you can receive a pick-up line out of the clear blue just by walking by. A couple of my friends were walking by this one guy and for no particular reason he blurted out "My boat sank today."

I was so happy I walked up on this conversation. This poor fellow and his friend seemed so sad, but I very highly doubt that his story was true. The more he talked the worse it got. Apparently this is the story...

He and his friend sank a deep sea fishing boat in the bay that afternoon. For some unknown reason, the boat began to take on water. He looked back from the tower and the motors were thoroughly under water. As the boat was going down, the hero in the boat, in true 007 fashion would hold his breath and dive underneath the water's surface and go through the water filled cabin and collect their belongings. According to him, he was breathing only gasoline-filled air while doing this. Riddle me this wonder boy... How do you breathe under water?

As tempting as it was to ask him this, I let him continue which was much more entertaining. He told us that they did manage to save the cooler of beer which was floating in the water after the boat sank. Thank goodness, I was almost worried. I asked if they got the boat out of the water already or if they just left it there. He says that as soon as he saw the motors underwater, he gunned it (doesn't seem like motors underwater would "gun" very easily, does it?) and rammed the boat up on land next to a dock. When the boat continued to sink, he simply stepped off of the tower onto the dock.

"So when was all of this swimming, and underwater breathing going on?" I ask. "I'm divorced," was his response.

"Okay....." Not the best approach but he does however get 10 points for creativity.


If you have fun pick-up lines or stories about them, please post them in comments!

Just Because

My big tiger (we go way back), Lindsay, passed this along to me. Read her blog...it is SO much funnier than mine.

1. What was I doing ten years ago? I remember loving 1998. I'm not sure why but I just thought that it was the coolest year ever and I especially loved that summer. I remember there was an Old Navy t-shirt that simply had an American flag on it the year below it. I LOVED that t-shirt and of course I wore it on the 4th of July. I was about to start 7th grade, so I guess that means I was about graduate into make-up. I had also just finished up playing in the band...yes, I was in the band, and I played the flute (not well, but I played it at least). I had tried out for cheerleading in the spring and made the squad. We were starting summer practices and I think we had cheer camp for a week. Wow, I can't believe that I remember that much.



2. Five items on your to-do list:

1. Write sorority recommendations (ugh...can't believe I'm old enough to do that)

2. Take my clothes to the cleaners to be dry-cleaned.

3. Call the apartment people to come install my fan.

4. Go by Urban Outfitters.

5. Call a couple of friends to catch up.



3. Snacks I enjoy: My newest favorite snack is pita chips and feta cheese. Try it some time! I would rather eat cookie dough than actual cookies, except for mint milanos....I love those. other than that, I don't snack all that much I guess. When I eat, I EAT. I don't just snack, sadly for me.



4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? I was asked this question when I was in Pre-school, except they asked if you had a million dollars what would you buy? I said a wallet. Seemed like the most logical choice. I'll stick with that. (except I would totally go on lots of trips, and I would love to just be able to find people who deserve a gift in some way and buy something for them, especially for the people that I love.)



5. Places I have lived: Montgomery, Auburn, Birmingham.



6. Bloggers I am passing this challenge onto: I am going to pass along this challenge to Katie Martin for her new blog.