Chelsie Got Voted Off and I am so Sad

...It's true. My favorite contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance" got voted off tonight. I was devestated because I thought for sure she was a shoo-in. I wanted Courtnie to go. I liked Mark, too, but I thought Joshua and Twitch were better. (I want Joshua and Katee to win now.)

Anyways, I've been meaning to write all day but to be honest, I've just been lazy about it. Tomorrow I get to wake up and drive to College Station, which is pretty exciting. Tracey gets married on Saturday and then Austin's 23rd birthday is on Sunday. Big weekend! Thursday marks our 1 year anniversary (awwww) and Friday Austin graduates, followed by celebrations on Saturday.

It's going to be an eventful week.

Carolyn got her wisdom teeth out yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her act "totally normal". Basically, she was slurring her words a little when she got in the car and insisted that I buy her a "cheap toothbrush with hard bristles" so she could "brush the teeth". I literally laughed out loud in the grocery store because if you know Carolyn... well, that's just funny. She honestly wanted to scrub off the wisdom teeth that the dentist gave her to save. She was so proud that she showed them off to me twice during the journey home. "That black dot is a cavity!!!" Now she's back to normal (by my definition) and can eat applesauce without it spilling out of her mouth.

Christina has insisted that she sleeps in my room for the second night in a row because she "forgot" to wash her sheets. Basically, she wants a slumber party. Unfortunately for her, Carolyn and I are old now and go to bed at 11. Nevertheless, she has made a pallet on the floor near our bed. She's so funny. She gets nervous when meeting new people but does not want to sleep alone. Before Carolyn got back from Africa, Chrissie would sleep in my bed with me every night. Claire wanted to sleep in the same bed as me one night and so I tried it out, but it ended with her butt in my face, legs on my side of the bed and a very grumpy and sleepy Katie in the morning. I love her, but she is a difficult person to share a bed with!

I bought some bright yellow high heels to go with my little black dress. They were only $10 so if Austin hates them or if they break or something, it won't be the end of the world. I am just trying to be a little more crazy when it comes to my wardrobe. I am a very safe dresser most of the time.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow but she has to be at UNT for Kellie's orientation all day, so I won't get to celebrate with her. By the time she gets back, I will already be in College Station. I am very sad about this, but thankfully my family will be joining me in Aggieland for Austin's graduation festivities next weekend.

Well, my teeth need to be cleaned and I need to get some sleep now. I might not be writing on here for a little while, but be warned: I will still be stalking blogs every day! :)

Love to everyone.

-K

It's Weird Having Married Friends

Last night I came back from a whirlwind weekend in College Station. My friends Ryan and Erin got married, and I got to witness it! I was surprised at how well everything came together. It was beautiful, and the reception was so much fun! I got to dance a lot with the best man, who was really cute. ;-)

Here is a picture of me with the bride:

It's funny having married friends. It feels weird to me that I am entering the chapter of my life where I have married friends who are my age (or younger, for that matter). Soon, most of my friends will be married, and then we'll all have kids... and things will get even weirder... oh gosh, I am finally growing up!

Anyways...

After the wedding, I got to see The Dark Knight, which was really good. I am so bad at following fast-paced movies, though, so I should probably watch it again to understand it better.

I was uploading my photos to my computer and noticed that there were pictures of my little scorpion friend on it. I think I talked about him in one of my other posts. I think there are two scorpions because the first one was huge - about 3 inches long. He appeared in my mom's sink while my parents were gone, and then later that day disappeared. Right before my mom came back, another scorpion showed up. I wasn't going to let him get away, so I plugged the hole at the top of the sink with a cotton ball and then put cling film over the top of the sink to make sure that he couldn't get out.

Check it out:

Look at our lovely invention!

I'm sorry for the hair in the sink. I think he came out of the drain and brought some hair with him. I just thought it was cool that there was a scorpion in the sink.

Well, Kellie wants me to go watch a new TV show with her, so I think I'm gonna jet.

Peace out, friends.

Little Black Dress

I am completely exhausted after taking TWO trips to the SAME mall at DIFFERENT times today. My feet and calves are aching and I wish I had someone to give them some relief! It was a very successful shopping day, though. I got a pair of brown heels to use with the dress I'm going to wear to the wedding this weekend. Carolyn is a speed shopper, and so focused. She doesn't mess around looking at other things along the way. She hunts: she knows what she's looking for and go from store to store until she finds it. She's in and out in less than 5 minutes. So I have my heels and they are great!

The other thing I got is something that apparently all women need.

The "little black dress" is supposedly a wardrobe staple, and I got one for the first time today! I definitely wasn't looking for one, but after I got back from the mall the first time, my mom decided that I don't have enough dresses (true story). After going through the whole mall looking for dresses, we found the perfect dress. It's the right cut for me. It fits me like a glove. It is timeless. It can be worn for years to hundreds of different functions. It's now my favorite dress. I think it's all the things that a little black dress should be.

I have to admit that I feel very shallow and materialistic writing about this, but I am honestly pretty excited. I'm going to wear it to Tracey's wedding next weekend.

I'm very tired now and since I'm going to College Station tomorrow, I should get some sleep. Goodnight, world!

They're Back

I picked up my mom and Kellie from the airport this evening. It is great to have them back from England. Both came bearing gifts and I am now the proud owner of a new floral skirt, which apparently is very "in" right now. It's so pretty and feminine and I will be able to wear it at school!

The next two weekends will be wedding-filled, and I am so excited! I get to hang out with all the B-Co people this weekend, and see all of my "original" college friends the next. I can't wait to see everyone at Tracey's wedding. It's been far too long!

I don't really have a lot to say right now. Hopefully I can update soon, but right now I need to go to bed.

Goodnight!

A Random Smattering of Thoughts

I am constantly amazed at how my British high school friends have been able to remain friends with each other over the past four years. Most of my friends in college haven't kept in contact with a lot of their high school friends, and even if they end up going to the same school, they don't hang out all the time.

But with my British friends, this is different. If two of my high school friends ended up at the same university, they are still good friends. I can look through any of their Facebook photo albums and see more than one of my high school friends in it.

Even if my high school friends don't end up going to the same college, they are still best friends again when they go home. I can stalk Facebook walls and see things written like,

"what date are you back?? do you reckon you might want to come out to ibiza or nat? lots of special kisses xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

or

"We need to arrange a weekend to get everyone together for some fun and frolicks xxx xxx"

or

"Miss you loads, looking forward to seeing you in three weeks!! lots of love xx"

Those were actually copy and pasted from different friends' walls. I hope they don't mind.

Which brings me to another thought: What the heck is up with the little x's??? This is a very British thing to do. At the end of any message, letter or email, British people put tiny x's. It's so weird to me and looks strange in my opinion. In the United States, the "x" stands for a kiss, but in England I think they are past that point. It's really just "something they do", and it doesn't seem to stand for much anymore. It's just so bizzare.

Anyways.

I just took some cupcakes out of the oven. It's the second time in less than 24 hours that I've made a batch of cupcakes. Last night I made some from scratch, and they were pretty good, but today I went for the boxed ones. It'll be a taste test.

As most of you probably know, I am playing "mommy" around here right now. My parents are in England and so Carolyn and I have been holding down the fort. It's been a pretty interesting week, to say the least.

We cook and clean every day, but most of it has been playing taxi. Claire was involved in Vacation Bible School every day last week, so we had to take her and then pick her up afterwards. And then she would hang out with friends in the afternoon. Or friends would come over here. We've had sleepovers galore, and I am feeling the stress of becoming a "mom" prematurely.

I actually have to leave to pick Claire up in 10 minutes.

We've had some funny things happen this week, though. Like the time that we found a 3-inch long scorpion in my mom's sink and then it disappeared 10 minutes later. Or the time that we had to have a back-to-basics talk with my not-so-young sister to explain that ovulation does not occur during menstruation. That was a fun evening.

Fun week.

Oh gosh, I have to leave. :-/

More later!
-K

It's Like Austin, Only Smaller (I'm Talking About the City)

Moving from College Station to Denton didn't seem like as big of a change as it actually has been. I'm not really talking about how my schedule, friend group, church and living accommodations have changed. I predicted those changes and expected them. I'm talking about the actual towns and their cultures. Those are big changes.

College Station is such a conservative town and I can relate to most people there. I share the same values and am on the same page politically with most people in the town. Not to mention I'm the same age as about 90% of the residents (well, that could be an exaggeration...) and everything is just great.

Denton, on the other hand, is a different story. Although there are two universities in the town, both of them are more geared towards liberal arts majors. Therefore, the town reflects the interests of these types of people. There is art and music everywhere (and I love both, so this isn't a bad thing), but there are also interesting people everywhere. It's perfectly normal to smoke in all areas of this city, and I think it's so gross. I was used to Coffee Station, where you might see the odd person with a cigarette. Jupiter House on the square here is just nasty. The whole place smells like an ash tray. I miss the nice workers at Coffee Station. I shared the same values as most of them, and they were all so friendly and helpful. They knew my name, too. Until recently, the workers at Jupiter House were rude and loud. The last time I went in, the girl that helped us only had half of a shirt on. I'm serious - the entire back of her shirt was missing except for a couple ties to keep the material in the front on. There was just skin. And their coffee isn't nearly as good. The atmosphere is cold and impersonal. Did I mention that I miss Coffee Station?

Denton has this sort of run-down-yet-we-like-it-this-way atmosphere. Maybe it's just old, but I'm pretty sure that College Station is old, too. I think that Dentonites embrace the dilapidated buildings and ghettoish areas. I bet most of them would say that it adds to the character of the town.

And I have to agree - the town does have some character.

One thing that I love about Denton is the fact that is has a square. I think all towns should have one. I absolutely love the courthouse and all the surrounding stores.

I love that emos (or is it emoes?) sit on the steps of the courthouse at night and film themselves playing their guitars and making up songs.

I love the Christmas lights that they leave up year-round in the trees around the courthouse.

I love that there is an old-fashioned ice cream shop on the square with the best ice cream ever. It makes me think that I live in a different era.

I love the hardware store and the pawn shop. I love the mini mall, old theater and of course--the recycled book store. It used to be the opera house. How cool is that??

Denton is filled with hippie-type people, health food stores galore and unique individuals. I will be driving down a street in town and Carolyn and I will see people and say, "Where do people like that come from?" We do this on a regular basis.

It's strange to me that the church I go to here is known as the "mega church" in the area. I admit, it's big, and a HUGE change from ComChurch, but it's a good church. It's been hard to find people my own age, but I bet that will change once school starts up. I will either get involved in the college ministry or the singles ministry. What do you think?? I don't feel old enough to be in the singles group but I feel like I'm done with college since I'm about to graduate and I'm no longer taking classes at A&M. Hmm...

It's just been a big adjustment this summer. I'm glad I have the summer to get used to the area, though, before school starts. That will be a big enough adjustment in itself.

So to sum up, I guess I just miss people who wear maroon t-shirts and jeans all the time. I miss the friendliness and approachability of the citizens of College Station. I miss knowing everyone and being about to call someone up and hang out 10 minutes later. It's hard to come to the realization that those days are over - OVER! Completely over. A new chapter of my life is starting. I just need to embrace it.

-Katie

P.S. I just tried to upload some pictures but they didn't work. Oh well.

Too Scary?

Is my picture too close-up and weird? It's just my head and I'm a little self conscious about it.

What do you think?

Fun Houses

I watched No Reservations last night with my family and fell in love with New York City again. I've never been to New York City, but I've always wanted to go. My dad told me that I might be able to go in the fall because he has to take a business trip there... I really hope I can go!

I have a several dreams in my life, most of which will probably never come true.

One of my dreams is to live in a New York apartment for a little while. Not too long, just long enough to get a feel for the city and not feel like a tourist. I love watching movies and TV shows where the characters live in these beautiful old apartments on streets lined with gorgeous trees. I think it would be so fun! However, this dream will most probably never become a reality. I'm okay with that. There's really no reason I would ever move to New York. (I love Texas way too much!) I'm really just in love with the old apartments.

Another one of my dreams is to live in an old house built somewhere between 1900-1930s. I have a picture of the kind of house in my head, but I don't know how to describe it. There's probably a name for it, but I don't know what it's called. I'm trying to find a picture on Google but I can't. It's a small type of house, with a porch... nothing fancy. I just love old houses because they have so much character. I love the old wooden floors and cool doors and fireplaces. They're just so much cooler than brand new cookie cutter houses.

Hahaha. Even though the world won't end and I won't cry if these dreams don't come true, I think it would still be fun!

Underdogs and Looking Old

I've been listening to old school Audio Adrenaline today. When I was fourteen, Underdog was my favorite CD. I loved it! As I was listening this morning, I remembered a conversation I had with Christina years ago.

She was probably six or seven, and we were sharing an iPod on our way to school one morning, listening to "Underdog" (the song). After a minute or so of listening to the song, she quietly asked me what an "underdog" was.

"It's like a weakling, someone who isn't strong and always comes in last place... kind of like a failure. No one really likes underdogs."

She nodded and kept quiet for the rest of the journey.

After school, we got back in the car and started listening to the music again. After a few minutes or so, she turned to me and simply asked me,

"Am I am underdog?"

Bless her. She had been thinking about it all day!

Haha, Chrissie just came in here and read the last paragraph or so and was wondering what I was talking about. I told the story to her and she laughed and said, "I don't remember that! I don't remember asking if I was an underdog!"

Speaking of Christina, yesterday I took her to American Eagle. While we were standing in the check out line, an elderly lady sitting on a stool near us looked at us and said to me, "You and your daughter are very beautiful."

Hold up.

My daughter???

Do I really look that old?

Either I look

a) 37 (if I had her at 24)

b) 29 (if I got pregnant in high school at age 16)

c) my age (22 - which means I would have gotten pregnant when I was seven).

Or maybe Chrissie just looks young, which is unlikely, since she is only 2 inches shorter than me and looks like an average 13-year-old.

Good freakin grief.

I politely told the lady that Chrissie was actually my sister.

It reminded me of the time an elderly lady told me I looked eight years old when in fact I was at least 10. It really offended me back then, and I haven't forgotten it.

But seriously - do I really look that old? Austin has always told me I could pass as a high school student or even junior high.

"You're just as tall as the kids you'll be teaching."

Haha.

What do I need to do to look my age?

My Element

I have so much pent up energy that I don't know what to do with it. And it's so dang hot outside. I wish I had something to do instead of relaxing all day. I know that sounds completely crazy but I'm driving myself crazy with nothing to do.

Last weekend was amazing - I wish I could hang out with friends and family all summer! It's unfortunate that Texas is so big! I got to hang out in College Station with Nana and then Christina and I went to Houston with Austin for the 4th of July. We had a blast (no pun intended) and then spent the day on the beach on Saturday.

I decided that I have found my element again.

When I was little I would go to the beach whenever I would visit my grandparents. Nana and Papa lived in McAllen, so we would go to some beach (Port something or other) and then Pop and Nonnie lived near Destin, Florida. I loved hanging out in the sand, building castles and chasing the waves.

There are pictures of me as a young child dancing on the beach with my arms outstretched and a huge smile on my face. I loved the beach.

When we moved to England, there weren't that many opportunities to stick my toes in the sand and sit by the water. Let's face it: England isn't known for its beaches.

To be honest, I became disconnected with the beach and didn't care whether or not I got to go. I was excited about going to Galveston this past weekend, but I wouldn't have been all that disappointed if it didn't work out.

For the first time in years, I was able to play in the ocean water again. We had a picnic in the sand and I got chased by seaweed and I rode the waves on a boogie board. Austin surfed and I got a "sand spa treatment" and the girls waited 30 minutes to share a cold shower to get clean. I reapplied sunscreen three times and got slightly burnt and swallowed salty water and dried off in the sun.

It was magnificent.

I was in my element again. I couldn't have predicted that. I never thought I was a beach person.

I want to go back tomorrow! (Except now I'm hundreds of miles away.)

I have decided that I want to live by the beach when I am older. Not too close, because I am scared of hurricanes, but close enough to visit now an then. I want my kids to love the water since I didn't. And if I can't live near the beach, I want to visit one often.

There was one thing I wanted to do, however, that I didn't get to do this past weekend - build a sandcastle. Maybe next time. I guess we didn't have the right tools. Well, that's my next goal: to build a sandcastle on the beach.

-Katie