Community

I sit in my bedroom tonight not knowing exactly what to do with myself. I did some thinking earlier and realized that there is a dull ache inside me that hungers for community. Since I left College Station I have not had any regular fellowship with other Christians. I wish that I was able to eat dinner with some fellow Believers and laugh and be vulnerable and transparent with them.

I feel dry.

We were created for community, and life without it feels empty. I am amazed that there are Christians who float from church to church, trying to find "the right fit". True, we are able to serve each other better with Christians that share similar beliefs, but there is never going to be a perfect church. I can't imagine not settling into a Body and serving consistently in a group of Christians.

It makes me sad that I will only be in the Dallas area for 7 months or so. I mean, that's what I'm assuming. I want so badly to be plugged into a church, but knowing that it would be for a short time makes me hesitant. I like long-term commitment. In the back of my mind, I ask myself, "What's the point?"

In Ross King's song Happy, he talks about the American megachurch. At one point, he asks the questions

Would you notice if I was gone?
How easy would it be to move on?

I know that the situation he talks about is a little different (he is picturing himself in a church of 14,000 people), but church should still be the same. 1 Corinthians 12 compares the church to a human body. Paul explains that every part of the body is equally important and the body cannot function as well if pieces are missing.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians 12:21-26

If I was a part of a church and I left, the church should suffer somewhat due to my absence.

If you chopped your finger off, you would notice, wouldn't you?

You would feel some pain.

You would find it difficult to continue living your normal life without that finger.

That's how it should be in the Body of Christ. Yet this doesn't happen much. I am going to a church right now that is so big that I feel unimportant. I could sit in my seat on Sunday and it would be no different than if I wasn't there. The service would continue in the exact same way regardless of whether I was there or not. No one would wonder, "Where's Katie?" because it really wouldn't matter. I'm not trying to sound cynical here, but it's the truth, and it doesn't feel right.

Everyone longs to be important to others, and it's no different with me. I will be excited for the day when I can get plugged into a church and know that I won't be leaving for a long time.

As for right now, I am still craving that community, but I don't know where to begin. Please pray for me this summer and next semester, because I want to be a part of a Body where I am needed and I can use my gifts to serve and to minister to others.

I think I've been writing in my blog so much lately because I am trying to connect with people on some level. I know that people read this, and I take comfort in that. It's nice to know that there are other people there, listening. Or reading, I should say! :)

* * * * *

In other news, I went to the mall today to buy some new makeup. It seems like I've run out of the essentials all at once. I approached the Clinique counter and waited for someone to help me. This woman with a thick foreign accent approached me with an unhealthy amount of energy. Why do makeup people have foreign accents? I have always wondered this. Anyways, I told her what kind of eyeliner I use and what color I like, and she told me they were out.

"But I have the mos BEAUUUUTIFUL color that would jus look great on you! Look at dis brown color."

"Yeah, that's nice. I guess that will be okay."

"What kine of mascara you use?"

"High impact. I use brown."

"No no no. I see your hair, it's light, but I think you need more defnition. You use black."

She handed me a tube of black mascara as she closed the makeup drawer. I was not going to buy brown mascara because she said so. And I am too much of a pansy to argue with sales people.

At least I got the free bonus gift. Gosh, I love those things. It makes the pain of dealing with pushy cosmetic sales people bearable.

I bet Austin is reading this and shaking his head. He is so much more assertive than I am. :)

I am getting tired of writing. I have a lot of thoughts now but I should cut it off.

Until next time,

Katie

A History of the Past Week

I have so much to write about! Expect a long post today.

I need to start by going back in time, a little bit, to the weekend. Two of my friends, Macie and Korey, got married on May 24 in Sudan, TX. Austin was a groomsman, so his mom, another B-Co mom, and three other B-Co girlfriends (well, actually they're fiancees) made a road trip out of it. We packed up all our stuff and drove out there in a big Suburban. I only had three hours of sleep the night before, so the day of the wedding I was absolutely exhausted! We had so much fun at the wedding! Korey burst into tears when he saw his bride. It was precious. It was the sort of wedding that you go to and you think to yourself, now there is a couple who belong together and who have their lives focused on the Lord. It made me so happy to watch them get married, knowing that their marriage would be blessed and would glorify God.

I had to say goodbye to Austin after the wedding, which was hard. I wasn't going to see him for at least a month, and it wasn't the idea "goodbye" situation. Our group had just eaten at Pizza Hut and we were parting ways to go back to our hotels. We had to say goodbye in the parking lot, which really wasn't fun. I have such a hard time saying goodbye. I can say goodbye and then the moment I don't visually see that person anymore, my heart wrenches with pain. It's hard to breathe and sadness overwhelms me. I normally have to go listen to some music or do something to get my mind off how sad I am.

We drove back to Fort Worth the next day, and then I drove home from there. My birthday was yesterday, and I was sad to be spending it without Austin. I didn't have anything fun planned and was a little down about it all. Also, my dad wanted me to be awake and dressed by 9 AM on my birthday because a workman was coming to fix something on the house. I got ready and then laid down on the couch for a little bit since I was so tired. A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulder so I turned around and there was AUSTIN! He had driven alllll the way up from Madisonville just to see me on my birthday. He surprised me with some beautiful white roses and other flowers (I don't know what they're called), and we were able to spend the afternoon together.

We went to this wonderful Thai food place for lunch at The Shops at Legacy and then had fun driving around this place, which is actually a short drive from my house, believe it or not. There were these cool-looking model homes set up, so we toured a few for fun and had a blast trying to escape the Realtors, who would try to ask us questions about what kind of house we were looking for and where we lived now, etc. We just had to listen intently, instead of just saying, "We're actually just here because we wanted to look inside your picture-perfect but almost creepy houses and can't actually afford any of this. We're not even married - we're really just college students." Our favorite house model was actually called the "Savannah" and was WAY bigger than it looked on the outside. It had three stories and all these random nooks and crannies. It was a fun afternoon.

Last night we grilled steaks and sat outside for my birthday dinner. Instead of a regular cake, I had a cheesecake (my favorite). Austin and I watched Star Wars afterwards because he insists on making me a fan.

I got a new iPod player thing since my old one broke, and new iPod headphones since mine were 2 years old and pretty much shot. Austin gave me this awesome candle that crackles like a fire, and the scent is actually called "Fireside".

I love it! As well as the candle, he gave me this beautiful bracelet from James Avery. It is so "me"!!! He was afraid that I wouldn't like it, but I do. I'm not the sort of person who screams and jumps up and down when I open presents I like. But inside, I am going crazy. I cherish presents like the bracelet Austin gave me, and you can bet that I will wear it every day for the rest of my life, or until my wrists get too big. ;)

Another wonderful things that happened yesterday: I got a letter from the College of Education saying that I was officially on the Dean's Honor Roll. I got a certificate and everything, in recognition of my "academic excellence". I basically just got a 4.0 this past semester and the certificate was to congratulate me. :)

Austin left this morning, after I left at 7:40 to go meet the mentor teacher I will have for student teaching. Saying goodbye on Saturday night was hard, but today was so much harder. I really don't like being apart from him! This next semester is going to be terribly difficult with us being about 310 miles apart. Did I tell you guys that he has a job now? I can't remember. Anyways, he is going to be a financial advisor for IMG in Houston. He is going to do GREAT. If you need someone to help you with your money, Austin is the person to go to. He is patient, a wonderful listener, great with people and doesn't shove his opinion down your throat. I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished! He is such a hard worker and yet is so far from being a workaholic. His priorities are straight and he knows what is important. If any of you guys are going to be living in Houston, you should seriously think about buying insurance from him. Wink wink!

Ok, so back to the meeting I had with my student teaching mentor teacher today. Let me just say that I seriously lucked out!!!! I got a GREAT school in a GREAT area. The school is pretty much brand new and has amazing facilities and is just beautiful. Everyone is incredibly friendly and nice. Not to mention, the teachers all seem young and energetic. It's a wonderful environment and I could tell that from just spending three hours there!

My teacher is AMAZING! She is 31 and I think she may be Superwoman in disguise. She is married with two 4-year-old boys and still wakes up at 4:00 in the morning to go work out. She loves to talk and is incredibly friendly. And she is SUPER ORGANIZED! I love it!!!! Her room is neat and tidy and so so clean. She has it decorated like a living room, complete with flowers, a table lamp, homey decorations, beautiful picture frames on the wall containing pictures of her family, candles, [fake] plants and a bookshelf. It's beautiful and so tastefully done. It's rare to see a science classroom like that! I guess it's easy to do when you don't do labs in the same room. There is a separate lab room with state-of-the-art lab tables and facilities. She showed me pictures of labs they had done and it looked like so much fun.

Everything in the classroom has a place. She showed me a binder for each six-weeks semester and inside had a separate plastic sleeve for each day. She also journals and loves to draw and doodle - she had made two full composition notebooks full of teaching ideas and activities. Each page was colored with crayons and pencils and had pictures on it. My teacher presented me with a binder she had made for me (it had my name on it and everything!) when I first got to the classroom. It had divider tabs for sections like "Observations" and "Lesson Plans". She had put a lot of pages in it already and told me she would work on it more over the summer. When I told her my major was science and math, she said, "Oh! Well I'll get you observing some in the math classes. I'll arrange it so that every day when the teachers print off their resources, they'll print an extra copy for you and you can start a math binder, too." REALLY!?!? I mean, I think I got the best teacher out there!!! She was so prepared, organized, friendly, and fun. She told me that her student teaching experience was awful and she cried every day. She is doing so much for me and really wants me to have a great experience. What an answer to prayer! She introduced me to everyone and was just so excited to have a student teacher. I am going to have a great semester in the fall, despite being so far from my Austin.

Anyways, that's pretty much it for the last few days. It's been jam-packed with busyness and activities. I've had so much fun and am looking forward to the rest of the summer. I just need to get a job, now!

Gotta go eat dinner. I'm starving!

-Katie

Mmmm, Close Shaves...

I got some new razors today and I am SO excited. I love getting new razors. They are so beautiful and clean and ready to make my legs remarkably smooth. I can't wait to use it tonight when I take a bath! I prefer the Schick Quattro for women, and I normally get the disposable ones. It has four blades which as you all know is the way to go if you want baby-smooth skin. And considering that each disposable razor is about $2.15, I'd say that's a pretty good deal.

My friends Erin and Summer are coming to stay at my house tonight so that we can go to Korey and Macie's wedding tomorrow, which is 6.5 hours away. I've never really driven through west Texas, so I'm kind of excited. I drove to El Paso on a bus when I went to Mexico, and I remember looking out of the window in the morning after a long night's drive. I saw brown mountains and no grass. At first I thought I might be on the moon, but I was wrong. It was just west Texas! I wonder if Sudan looks anything like El Paso. Probably not. Anyways, I am getting ready for Erin and Summer to get here. I cleaned my room, the kitchen, the bathroom, the kitchen again and have done 3 loads of laundry so far. I also baked two dozen muffins for the morning: 12 Cinnamon Streusel muffins and 12 Blueberry muffins. YUM!! My mom was kind enough to buy the muffin mix as well as juice and water for breakfast. We are leaving from south Ft. Worth at SEVEN in the morning tomorrow so I will have to leave here at 5:30 or so. Good grief.

I think I'm probably the cleanest person in my family. I love to clean, organize and make the house feel cozy. I love having company because it gives me an excuse to get the house looking really nice. I also light candles to give the room ambiance and make it smell good. I think that running a bed and breakfast would be fun, except that I wouldn't want to cook in the morning. I would hire a chef. ;)

One thing that I really really dislike is a dirty kitchen. I don't mind messy living rooms or bedrooms but when the kitchen gets neglected, I want to cry. I cannot bear to leave my house if the kitchen looks awful. This has happened a lot in college, and I hated it. Austin knows how much this bothers me, because I was often emptying/filling the dishwasher whenever he would come over to my duplex. I also hate dirty countertops. YUCK! I can't stand crumbs or spills. Paper towels are my best friends. (I know you eco-friendly people are cringing.)

My family is not very good at cleaning up after themselves. Our house is pretty clean, but the kitchen is the one room that often looks like a tornado hit it. When I wake up in the morning, after everyone has left for work or school, the kitchen looks disasterous. There are jelly jars left out, bread crumbs everywhere and bowls of old cereal sitting in the sink. I want to throw up. Sometimes I try to ignore it, but most of the time I end up cleaning the entire kitchen to make myself feel better.

I am going to have so much fun having my own house one day. It is going to be pretty darn clean, most of the time. There will probably be clothes all over my bedroom, though. I have a bad habit of trying on four or five different outfits in the morning and then failing to hang up or put away the clothes I don't end up wearing. Before I go to bed at night, I normally have to put away 10 or so articles or clothing.

While I'm on the subject of being weird, I will also add that I make my bed every morning. First thing. Before I'm ever really out of bed. I feel that a made bed makes the room look complete. I can't stand a messy bed. I often make the bed if I stay at a hotel, especially if I stay there for more than one night.

Well, it's probably time for me to go take my bath and shave. Yessss....!! I'm excited.

-Katie

Truffles and Tea

I just spent the last five or so minutes looking for the chocolate candies my mom bought today. She likes to hide sugar products in our house so that no one can find them. I am absolutely craving chocolate right now, and I cannot find it anywhere. I used to be pretty good at finding the treats in the house, but I guess my skills have left me.

There is an air conditioning vent that blows on the exact spot on the couch that I always sit at. I think my dad might have planned it that way. I have to grab a blanket and cover up my feet so I don't freeze to death.

Oh! Christina just yelled to me from the kitchen and said that she found the truffles. Sweet. (Literally!)

In case you didn't know, I'm going to be 22 in just five days. I feel kind of old.

I just made myself a hot cup of tea. One of the most fun things about Austin's visit here was that we had about three or four cups of tea every day. Austin used to hate tea, but now he loves it. We went to the store and he bought some different kinds of tea, including a sampler with four different kinds in it. We even started a list of new kinds of tea that we wanted to try. It was so much fun to eat breakfast in the morning and drink tea sitting out on the deck. The thing I love about tea is that you can make a cup of it very easily (it's just hot water and a tea bag) and it's so cheap. PLUS, it doesn't make your stomach hurt! I love coffee, but it's so hard for me to drink sometimes because it makes my stomach hurt a lot. Tea is very good for you and it makes me feel great.

Time to go enjoy my tea.

-Katie

Middle of a Great Week

Austin left my house earlier today after staying for almost an entire week. We had so much fun! I am very sad because that is the last real time we will get to hang out for about a month or so. I will see him on Saturday for Macie and Korey's wedding, but after that I probably won't see him until July or so.

We enjoyed spending time here in the Denton area. One of my favorite days was Monday, when we went over to a local nursing home to hang out with some of the residents there. Austin loves old people and we both enjoy talking to them and visiting with them. When we got there, we talked to the receptionist, who directed us to the activities director. Turns out that one of their volunteers called in sick that morning and so we were assigned to do the crossword puzzle with some of the residents. We had a big crossword board that we could write on with a dry erase marker, and a very used book of puzzles. We would call out the clue (very loudly, since most of the ladies could not hear very well) and then the ladies would shout out their guesses. I almost burst out laughing on more than one occasion since our conversations went a lot like this:

Austin: Ok, the clue is "steep, craggy hill".

Me: It's three letters.

Lady #1: A mountain?

Me: No, it's three letters.

:::Pause::::

Lady #2: A cliff?

Austin: No, not quite.

Lady #1: A mountain?

Me: ...no...

Austin: Why don't we leave this one and come back to it later.

(Later on)

Austin: So the answer is "Tor".

Me: I've never even heard of that word before!

Lady #1: I have! You've never heard that? Like, "I tore my dress?" or "I tore my shoe?"

Me: No, it's "Tor", spelled "T-O-R". It's like a mountain.

Lady #1: You're looking for the word "Climb"!!! You CLIMB a mountain, you don't tear it!

Austin and I just stood there, trying to keep from laughing...

After the crossword puzzle, Austin played the piano and sang after Lady #1 said, "Wouldn't it be great if we had a guitar or a fiddle...?" Haha. Austin serenaded the ladies with one of the only piano songs he knows (a song one of his friends wrote after breaking up with his girlfriend) and then we sat around and talked to a few of them in the lounge before we left. It was a great afternoon.

I also got the opportunity to show Austin the house that I was born in. It looks sad now and I'm pretty sure that some college kids live in it.

Today we had a picnic at the park down the street with my mom. It was fun drinking our hot tea outside and eating our sandwiches in the beautiful outdoors. Austin left this afternoon and so I've been hanging out at home since then, doing a little laundry and watching American Idol with my mom. David Cook just won. I'm happy for him, although I haven't been an avid AI watcher this season.

This evening my mom pulled out a bunch of old photographs she had found and we looked at them on the couch. I found a few that I particularly liked and scanned them.

Here's my parents before they were married. Just look at those snazzy dressers!

This is me in our backyard when I was pretty darn young. I am holding a home-grown tomato. My head is incredibly large.

This is me and Anna at my very first ballet recital. I was 5. We danced to "Do Re Mi" and that yodelling song about goats from The Sound of Music

Here's a picture of some corps guys with Reveille. I think it's funny because this picture was taken in 1974. They still look EXACTLY the same! And the guy in front (the senior) is an RV. I thought that was cool.

This is my mom when she was 21. Doesn't she look like us girls?

Here's Nana! Just as glamorous as ever! I'm not sure when this was taken, but I'm assuming it was in the 70s.

There were so many more pictures, but those were just a couple that I scanned. I hope you enjoyed them! I think I'm gonna go finish my laundry and clean my room. I'll write again soon, hopefully.

-Katie

Hand Modeling

Earlier today, my mom showed a YouTube video to me and my sister Carolyn. My whole family had been making references to the "hand model" this past weekend, and I was curious to know what they were talking about. Here's the video that we watched (I guarantee it's worth the whole 10 minutes):


Ellen Sirot is the country's most famous hand model. She also models her feet and legs. The video will tell you more about her lifestyle and habits and explain what she does. I looked her up on Google and found her personal website. I was just reading her "Hand Care Expert" section in which she explains the importance of hand care. These words stuck out to me:

What do your hands say about you? Do they convey what you would like them to? Or do they reveal more than you would like?

What do my hands say about me? Those words are stuck in my head right now. In the video, Ellen explains that she does not do any work. She doesn't do the dishes, take out the trash, cook or clean. On her website, she states that she hasn't touched a piece of paper in the past ten years. She wears elbow-length gloves 24/7 and avoids any activity that will build muscle in her hands. She also doesn't allow her hands to get wet.

What do my hands say about me? I look down at my hands and notice that they are pretty ugly right now. I tend to have very predominant veins (is that the right word?) that stick out and are quite lumpy. I don't moisturize, really. My hands get washed about 20 times every day. I have scars on my knuckles from the time I knocked my hand against a door. I also have two scars on my wrist (same size, shape and in the EXACT same place) from the times I burnt myself while taking cookies out of the oven. I have a callus from writing. My nails aren't manicured. My cuticles are not the best. And I have very strong hands. They give a lot of back massages.

What do my hands say about me? I want to use my hands to serve others. I want to use them to give hugs, to comfort the hurting, to love others and help others. I want to use them to flip the pages of books, pick up animals or hold young children. I want to use them to cook for friends, clean up the house, wrap a present, decorate a Christmas tree, give massages and type on this laptop. I want to be able to drive, take a bath or shower, carry my own suitcase and not be so afraid of getting burned that it prevents me from baking cookies.

Think about your hands: they are used for so many things! I can't imagine a life where I can't use them in the way that I would like. Ellen is certainly missing out on so much. Apparently she is married - how does that work? I use my hands so much to show people that I care about them. And what about children? I doubt that she has children. I don't know that this is what she is doing, but can you imagine caring so much about your hands that you sacrifice having children and raising a family? If you hear of a friend who has had major surgery and can't take care of their family would you care so much about your hands that you don't cook them a meal and offer to look after their kids? Imagine not being able to go to the beach or go swimming. How do you read? Do you have a personal reader? I'm trying to figure this out. Do you think that Ellen is happy? Do you think she ever wants to take off those gloves and go to the park or jump in a pool? Well, I guess that your hands would get hurt VERY easily after being protected for so long. Reading a book would probably make them bleed.

I am just trying to imagine a life like that. It seems so pointless and empty. I prefer a life that leaves scars on my hands, builds up my hand muscles, tears up my cuticles, breaks my nails and dries out my skin. It's way more fun.

-Katie

My Brain is a Disaster

Sometimes I'm worried that I'll be one of those moms who forgets she has children and accidentally leaves them at home while she goes shopping. I am aware that there are moms who leave their children at home on purpose, and I sincerely hope I won't be like that, but that's not what I'm talking about in this post. I'm talking about the moms who sincerely forget about their kids and accidentally drive off without them.

About an hour ago, I stuck a leftover brownie in the microwave while I was on the phone with my mom, and walked in the other room to do something so incredibly important that I forgot what it even was. That phone call lasted about 10 minutes, I proceeded to hang out in my room and pack various items into boxes so I can move out of my duplex soon. It wasn't until five minutes ago or so that I remembered my brownie, and literally ran back to the kitchen to make sure it was okay. Turns out it wasn't that bad, and I was able to add some ice cream on top of it and make a tasty treat.

Forgetting things like this is not uncommon for me. I removed towels from my dryer this afternoon that had been there for at least two days. I also consistently place important items in completely random places, which leads me to forget where they are very easily. I will even sit there and talk myself through the placing process: "I'm putting these buttons that fell off my winter coat in this Ziploc of random CDs, and then I am placing it in this Old Navy bag filled with the contents of my desk, which are mostly pens and pencils. And then I'm going to write about it in my blog, so just in case I forget where I put them, I can look back and check."

No joke, that is an actual thing I did today.

I am cooking dinner for Austin tonight. I decided to make rosemary chicken and vegetables. It has cous cous with it and I'm making corn bread. Corn bread probably doesn't really go, but I saw it on the spice aisle at HEB and it looked good. (This is a picture from the actual recipe.)




Right now, however, I have to go look for cardboard boxes with my sister.

-Katie

The Pace of My Life Has Slowed Wayyy Down

Sometimes I walk into my kitchen and it smells like dirt. I keep wondering why this is and what is causing it. It's not a bad smell, but it's not like I walk into the kitchen and think, "Gosh, I just love the smell of top soil at this time of day!" I'm sure all you horticulture and agriculture majors out there think otherwise. I just would rather smell cookies than dirt.

I have switched to writing this post on Microsoft Word since my internet is having issues. I’m at Coffee Station and my internet NEVER works here. I end up trying for about an hour to get it to connect to the internet, but for some reason my computer hates the internet here. Writing a blog on Microsoft Word is nowhere near as fun as writing it on Blogger.com. I feel more like I writing a paper, and I’m paranoid because I don’t have a heading or a title right now.

As the title of my post indicates, the pace of my life has completely changed. I now no longer study for ridiculous hours at a time and worry about how much sleep I’ll get at night. Instead, I can wake up when I want and do whatever I want during the day. All I have left is one final that I can’t even study for. I love being able to relax, but right now I would actually prefer to be busy. Everyone around me has their nose stuck in a textbook or laptop of some sort, and here I am, typing away on my computer and eating Wild Berry and Watermelon & Punch Nerds. I love Nerds. Austin and I went to the movies with some friends last night, and he bought me some candy but I didn’t finish it. So I’m sneaking it right now because “outside food and drink” is not allowed at Coffee Station. Hopefully they’ll be okay with it because I plan on getting a slice of old-fashioned pound cake later on.

Pound cake reminds me of my dad. My mom used to make it for his birthday every year since it was his favorite dessert. She would follow my dad’s grandma’s recipe, but it never turned out quite like hers. Maybe one day I can try to make it and see how the results are. Perhaps I have the magic touch, although most likely I don’t. My dad doesn’t eat sugar really. I think that’s why he likes pound cake – it is not sugary sweet and normally doesn’t have icing. I definitely did not inherit my sweet tooth from him.

Wow, my lap is burning up. I wish my laptop didn’t get so warm. Sometimes I am paranoid that this machine is zapping me with radioactivity and that I am slowly losing my ability to have children. Occasionally I will pick it up so that I don’t feel so conscious about it. I just put my purse underneath my laptop, but I am starting to feel the heat penetrating through. Almost every time I type “underneath” I end up typing “undernearth”. I have no idea why, but it happens about 80% of the time.

Apparently, I am quite honest in my blog. Maybe it just brings out the truth in me. Ali was surprised that I admitted not like Jack Johnson. Well, I recently discovered that I don’t really like Norah Jones, either. I bought her CD and everything, too. However, I have noticed that I always fast forward JJ and NJ’s songs on my iPod or on Pandora every time they come on. It’s relaxing, sure. But I think it goes beyond relaxing to just plain boring in my opinion. And while I’m on the topic of music that I don’t like right now, I should add that The Fray are not my favorites either. I think it’s his voice. I definitely don’t mind listening to them as much as Norah or Jack, but it isn’t really a thumbs up sorta thing for me.

Am I the sort of person who could wear Toms shoes? I think they’re cute and different. Definitely the sort of thing that trendy Christians wear. But could I do it? There is a girl sitting near me with white Toms on that have been splattered with different colors of paint. They look fun. They’re for a good cause, too.

I think that my boyfriend is the most handsome guy I’ve ever met. I tell him this, and he just laughs. But it really is true. He’s sitting near me and is just so handsome. He’s definitely the best looking guy in Coffee Station right now. I just looked at every other guy in here (not in a weird way, I promise), and he is certainly way better looking. He could be a model.

Haha, that last sentence reminds me of a quote from The Office.
Dwight: I like Karen. She’s pretty and appears intelligent.
Jim: Well, I like pretty women who have the appearance of intelligence.
Dwight: My girlfriend is also beautiful and smart. She could be a model. Or a college professor.

Well whaddya know?? I restarted my laptop and plugged it in and now the internet is working. Fantastic. I’m gonna go post this now before something happens.

Peace out, friends!

-Katherine

Box of Memories

There's a huge plastic box that sits on a shelf up in my closet, and it is full of old memories. On Thursday, Ali encouraged me to go through it, and throw out things I didn't need anymore, as well as remember the things that were in there.

So tonight, I did.

There are so many things in that box that I had forgotten about. Looking through it brought back a flood of memories and made my chest hurt so much that it was hard to breathe. I would describe myself as fairly sentimental, and it was hard for me to realize that the memories represented by the items in the box were gone.

I found a Ziploc bag filled with almost every single airplane ticket I've ever used. There are so many stubs in there! Flipping through the tickets made my eyes well up because I realized that it's almost been two years since I've been to England. Before I know it, more time will have passed by since I've been back than the time I spent there. It will be a distant memory, the kind of thing you tell your kids about but vaguely remember. When living in England once used to be my entire life, eventually it will be "something I did when I was younger". I know I'll return one day, hopefully. But when will that be? After I'm married? And with the way gas prices are going now, when on earth will we ever be rich enough to afford a trip there? It makes me numb thinking about it.

I found many cards from the day that I got baptized. That was a special day: August 1st, 2004. About a week before I officially moved back to Texas for college. The letters were encouraging and refreshing to read. I miss that church.

I found a large number of ticket stubs from football and basketball games, movies, OPUS productions and other performances I've been to during college.

I found notes and letters that my old roommates wrote to me. They are so sweet and I miss living with them. I know I followed the Lord in moving into a different duplex, but I really do miss living with them. We had so much fun - playing "interview", yelling "drink, mommy farter" to the neighbors during their many keg parties, hanging out on the porch during the great College Station Blackout of 2006, complaining about our neighbor constantly calling to Serenity, her puppy, and dancing and singing during our annual "White Trash Christmas Party".

I found bingo stampers and a filled-in bingo page from the ONE time in college I went to play bingo. That was a fun night - the football game was postponed due to insane weather, so we went to Bryan and played bingo, then returned to watch the second half of the game.

I found my FLiC decal that I had been looking for for years. Maybe I'll put it on my car, but since my days of FLiC are over, maybe I won't. I miss FLiC. We had wonderful times.

I found a clear plastic container with one single chip inside from the summer of 2006 when Carolyn and I worked for Pepsico. I stole a chip from a batch that we made, stuffed it inside the container and saved it. I miss those days in a strange way. I still remember Hooman telling us to google his name, and then laughing hysterically. I miss psychoanalyzing the employees.

I found a giant button that we bought for Carolyn on her 18th birthday. It is actually a "Spin the Bottle" pin, and has things like "Kiss for 30 seconds", "Tickle your partner anywhere", "Sing a love song" and other scandalous things on it. We also bought Carolyn a strawberry flavored cigar, since she could legally smoke. We had no idea what to do with that thing.

I found a few notes and letters from my ex-boyfriend. This is what actually made Ali encourage me to go through my box. I had told her that I found some letters while looking for something in the box a few days ago, and she said I should probably throw them away. At first I felt mean or something, but then I realized that it was definitely the right thing to do. Would I want my future husband seeing those notes? No way. Would I want my kids finding those notes and asking me about him? The thought makes me want to gag! Holding on to stuff like that is just wrong!! Of course, I didn't realize that I had it, and I am definitely over that relationship in every way, but having those in my posession is not right. I even threw away cards that his parents have given me. It felt right because I know that my life from now on does not involve him in an intimate way at all. In my opinion, when you break up with someone for good, you should get rid of anything that still ties you to them in any sort of more-intimate-than-friendship way.

On a different note, last night I went to RV Ball with Austin. It was so much fun! The guys all wore their whites, and all the girls looked gorgeous in their ball gowns. Aggieland Orchestra played, and of course Austin sang during some songs. I felt like I lived back in the 1940s. I had always seen pictures of dances when the soldiers would come back and wear their uniforms, and all the girls looked pretty. They would dance to big band music and have a really fun time. I have always wanted to go to a dance like that, and last night I felt like my dreams came true! Even though the guys aren't actually soldiers (although many of them will be), it felt similar. Here are a few pictures.

Austin and I at dinner

Everyone dancing

Courtney and I having a great time

Austin and his partner Carolyn singing with the band

I had a wonderful night and it was so much fun. I'm sad because it was my last dance to go to in college. Who knows when my next formal function will be? I hope they happen after college, but I doubt that teachers have fun things like that to go to. I will find a way, though. Formals can't just be for high school and college kids!

Oh! I got my placement for student teaching yesterday! I will be at the middle school that I wanted, which is great! It's the closest one in Frisco to my house. It's like 12 miles away, which I guess isn't too bad. I will be teaching 7th grade science and I'm sooo excited. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching 7th grade science this semester, so that's perfect for me. I have been praying for a good student teaching experience. I can't wait to meet my mentor teacher!

Well, it's getting later here and I need to get ready for bed. I hope that everyone is doing well. I love you.

-Katie

Things That Go On In My Head On A Monday

• I really like oatmeal bread.
• I want to take a nap.
• I don't really like Jack Johnson.
• Why does the bus always go so slow whenever you need to go to the bathroom really bad?
• I think I like the dark chocolate Dove chocolate better than the milk chocolate ones.
• These Cream Cheese & Chives Wheat Thins are a nice change from the Sundried Tomato & Basil ones.
• I'm so proud of Austin for getting his first job offer!
• The flowers Austin brought me yesterday are so beautiful. He is so good about bringing me flowers!!!
• Muster is tonight.
• I have never seen Austin in Whites (his RV uniform).
• My roommate got engaged last weekend!
• I can't wait to organize my room when I move home.
• I'm going to need a desk or something. Everything is going to be super organized.
• I get a King-sized bed. Which isn't necessary.
• I also get my own bathroom. Heck yeah.
• This is my last week of field observation. I will miss my 7th and 8th graders a lot!
• I wonder where I'll be student teaching... I find out on Friday.
• RV Ball is on Friday, too. I can't wait. Austin will be singing there. I hope I don't step on his boot again.
• Whoever invented Pandora Radio is a genius.
• Even though school finishes (pretty much) on Thursday, I have a lot to do before then.
• I hope it works out for me to go to Macie's wedding.
• It's going to be a fun wedding.
• Time to take a nap.

Heaven in my Mouth

I have a feeling that all food in Heaven will taste like Dove chocolate. I don't think there's anything better tasting on Earth. I just bought a bag at HEB and I have it sitting beside me. I bet I could eat that entire bag right now. Well, maybe not, but if I don't stop soon it will be half gone. One of the best parts of the Dove chocolate experience is the fact that there are messages written on the insides of the wrappers. The one I just ate said "Be mischievous. It feels good." Well, I don't think I have an opportunity to do that right now. Maybe later.

I think I found the answer to being sweaty and stinky when you don't have time to take a shower. I was on the deodorant aisle at the grocery store and I found out that Dove (haha, two products with the brand name of Dove that are completely different) now makes this new body spray stuff. I decided to try it, and I believe that it works quite well. I normally just spritz some perfume, but it doesn't get rid of the smell that well and disappears after a little while. I think this spray is the answer. I am about to try it on my feet for fun.

Welp, I'm hungry.

Time for protein (ie. chicken)!
-Katie

Confessions of a Senior Education Major

I'll get right to the point.

I enjoy watching the students pair up or form groups when the teacher tells them they can pick their own partners. I always want to know who goes with who. Watching the pair/group interact for the rest of the class is the second part of the fun.

Ever since my mentor teacher told me that RL and KB (names abbreviated to protect the 7th graders) went to the Valentine's Dance together, I have been watching them. They sit on opposite sides of the room from each other, and never make eye contact or speak to one another. They are both shy and studious, hard-working and quiet. Today my mentor teacher told them they could choose their partners, and so RL walked straight over to KB. No questions or glances. He just walked straight over to her. And he walked pretty quickly, too. I think he was scared that someone else was going to snatch her up.

I think they're "going out".

I have another confession, but it doesn't have to do with being an education major.

I make up stories about strangers.

There is a man who is Coffee Station almost every single time I am there, and he always sits in the same chair and works on his Mac. Sometimes I wonder if he lives there. I pretend that he is writing a book. I imagine him to be a Donald Miller-sort, and in a year or so he will have published this amazing Blue-Like-Jazz-eque book that is finding its way into the hands of young adult Christian readers. Maybe the book will come out and I'll read it, without knowing who wrote it (I don't know this guy's name). At the front or back or somewhere, he will have written his book dedications/thanks and buried in the paragraph will be, "to Coffee Station, who let me sit in the same chair every day and write this book, and for their out-of-this-world espresso-based drinks". Maybe it won't say that; he doesn't seem like the sort of person to use a phrase like "out of this world". Still, I will read the book and think to myself, "So THAT'S what that guy was working on the entire time!" And I will probably get his autograph, now that he is famous. But maybe he won't hang out at Coffee Station anymore since he's a celebrity. I bet I won't see him again after he publishes his book.

Do you see what I mean? I make up stories. This is the first time I've ever published one, though.

Yesterday was mine and Austin's 8 month anniversary. Yay for us. Not that we celebrate our month anniversaries, but since we haven't hit the one year mark yet, it's all we have. Most of the time we just laugh and send a text or something saying, "Happy ___ month anniversary!" It's not a big deal. Let me tell you something, though... I am very blessed! He is so good to me, all the time. He has shown me what it really looks like to be a leader. He is also the most humble person I know. Which is funny, because he is also the most talented. But of course he think's I'm crazy when I say this. :)

So. In exactly seven weeks I'll be 22.

Good grief.

I really only know of one thing I want for my birthday. It's something I already have, but is broken: the little iPod player thing that folds up that I love. One of the speakers has blown and the other one sounds funny. Plus, I've had it for almost 2 years, and I bought it with my own money. It was a good use of $100.

Other than that, I don't need anything. Maybe a vacuum. But since I'll be moving home after that, I won't need one anymore. So that idea can go out the window.

I guess I could use some new running shoes. That's about it.

Welp, my throat now hurts for some unknown reason. I realllllllly hope I'm not getting another sinus infection. Because it sure feels like it. :-/

Oh my word. I'm listening to Pandora Radio right now and the most emo song ever is playing. It's such a break-up song. The singer guy keeps whining "It's not over, it's not over, it's not over..." over and over again. All emo songs sound the same to me. I swear, the lead singer is always the same. He's whiny, wears eyeliner and sounds helpless. Where did all the joy go? I have decided that you can't be an emo and be a Christian at the same time. God tells us to be joyful always, and to be emo you have to wallow in self-pity. It's completely focused on your emotions and yourself. God tells us to be selfless. The two are in opposition.

Well, I need to do homework. I'm gonna peace out.

-Katie

Real Quick

I've been wanting to write all week, but I haven't had any time. I've had so many things on my mind but now that I sit down, they seem to be gone.

The weeks are flying by, and it seems strange to me that in three weeks I will be completely finished with school and classes. After that, it's student teaching and graduation in December. What am I going to do after graduation? I really have no idea. Am I supposed to move somewhere else? The future just seems so fuzzy and unknown. I would really like to know what's going on. Right now I am focusing on trusting God with where I am at this moment, and knowing that He knows where I will be in the future.

I have been really emotional lately, which isn't like me. Maybe I'm fiiiiiinaly becoming a girl. It's not like I cry all the time or for no reason, but things are affecting me more all of the sudden and I'll start tearing up. Nothing crazy, but crazier than normal. It's really weird. I don't know what to make of it.

At church we are going through a series on marriage, sex and dating. It's been really interesting and I find myself thinking about what our pastor says for the entire week. I mull it over in my head and wrestle with it. It's been so wonderful because God has been changing my heart in a lot of areas. I am always fascinated by how He does that. I can be so set in my opinion and mindset, and slowly, lovingly, God will soften my heart and open my eyes to the truth.

Well, I have to go have lunch with a friend now. I'm pumped.

-K

I'm So Immature

...But this is so funny. Sarah posted this on Deborah's wall, and it showed up on my facebook feed. I watched it and laughed... wow... You have to watch it to the end! Yes, it's all in Japanese, but I think that makes it funnier.

Thursdays

Today I decided that my favorite week days were Thursdays.

Why? Because I get to spend the entire day with college students. This used to be a normal occurrence, and now it's a luxury. I spend way more time with 7th and 8th graders than people my own age. (Lauren and I have noticed that we have begun to act more like middle school students than college kids...!)

This afternoon, Ali and I had meetings with our advisers, and then we got lunch at Pita Pit. We didn't eat it there, however. Instead, we walked to Academic Plaza and had a picnic. It was gorgeous today! The weather felt great, although the wind was kinda strong. Wind + no shower = intense frizz for me. Oh well. I am so glad that I will be near Ali next semester! I would probably go crazy if I was alone in Frisco. We are already planning to watch movies as we grade papers. :)

I have been finding myself worrying a lot recently. This is not normal for me. I don't stress out about things and I handle busy schedules fairly well. The other night I didn't sleep well at all because I was worried about teaching the next day. That is so not normal for me! My mind was restless and I continued to think about things I needed to do, instead of resting in the Lord and finding comfort in His will, timing and provision. I prayed and prayed as I fell asleep, but I still had strange dreams about teaching and could not switch my brain off. I think Satan is really attacking me right now. I find myself worrying about scheduling and projects that I have to do. Please pray for me, that I would find peace and hand my worries over to God.

Last week, I gave a questionnaire to my 7th and 8th grade students. The purpose of the survey was to get background information on students so I could evaluate their reading habits etc., but the answers they gave me contained a wealth of information. I learned so much about my students and their lives, personalities, home life, interests etc. Part of the survey asks the students to list the members of their families. At least 40% of my students indicated that their homes were broken. Most of those students did not have a dad. It shocked me to look at those students individually and mentally evaluate them academically, emotionally and behaviorally. These kids suffered in almost all of those areas. It was amazing for me to see the effect that a broken home has on a child. Divorce does so much damage and it saddens me that so many people see it as a "way out" of a relationship they don't want to be in. Now, adultery is one thing, but that is only thing God gives us permission to divorce for. Marriage is supposed to mirror God's relationship with the church. God never gets up and leaves when we fail, refuse to listen to Him, run from Him or are angry at Him. He loves continually. But we don't see this kind of relationship much anymore in terms of marriage. I've just been thinking a lot about these poor children in my classes. They might fall into the same situations their parents did, and history could repeat itself. It makes me so sad.

I hate to end the post on this note... but I really have to go. I'm so excited that I can actually go to Comgroup tonight! Yippee!! :)

Peace out. I love you guys.

A Quick Update

I haven't written in a very long time. This I know.

Life is so busy! Every Thursday, I have classes at A&M all day. And every Thursday, I am reminded of how much work I actually have to do before the semester ends. And every Thursday, that list of work grows.

But sometimes I get to cross things off the list.

I have to remember to take it a day at a time.

Spring Break was pretty neat. Not as neat as last year (I built houses in Juarez), but it was still neat. I spent the majority of the time at home. Carolyn and I listened to my parents explain every single day why our family is now officially vegan.

Yes - my parents decided to start only cooking vegan meals.

You have to understand that this is a big step for a family who loves to grill steak, cook chicken, and puts cheese on almost everything. Now, it's nothing but soy milk, "Veggie Shreds" (which is fake cheese - I think it's soy), tofu in place of any kind of meat, and my personal favorite, quinoa. I just like saying that word: KEEN-wa. It's fun. It's the super grain, apparently. All I know is that it looks and tastes very similar to cous cous.

My first meal at home was tofu tomato soup. It was actually pretty dang good. I also enjoyed the tofu and spinach manacotti.

The second part of Spring Break was better than the first, because of course I did not do any homework. I got to see Austin, which always makes me happy. He drove all the way up to Dallas to pick me up, and then the next day we drove all the way back to Houston. I still can't believe he did that for me! We spent the day hanging out with his family - first at his cousin's birthday party (I think she turned 12), and then at the rodeo. I saw lots of crazy pigs and cows, and we looked at tons of "cowboy" apparel, accessories, and trucks/trailers/tractors. Then we went outside to the carnival. I rode a ride that made me want to die, and then things got better when we went on the ferris wheel. I could see a lot of Houston, and it made me happy! Before we left the carnival, Austin and I played this racing game with about 6 other people. The prize was a huge stuffed animal. Of course Austin won, and so I now have a 3 foot pug sitting in my room. I named him Pugly the Ugly Pug. Pugly for short. He is filled with styrofoam and actually looks crazy.

Welp, it's time for me to go with Ali and get lunch. I'll write later.

A Few Things

Still sick. I woke up determined to go to observation today. I got up at 6, took a shower, got dressed, did my make up, and felt awful. I knew I would need to go to the doctor, but if I went to observation, I wouldn't have an opportunity to do so. I have class at 6 tonight.

So I called in sick.

Made a doctor's appointment.

Got into pajamas.

And fell asleep again for a few hours with wet hair.

(Not advised.)

Now it's almost time for my appointment. I tried to eat some lunch, but my appetite is really messed up. My stomach knows it's hungry, but my mouth doesn't want to eat anything. I wish I had an IV.

I also wish that doctors still came to your house, with a pocket watch and a black bag. You could just lay in bed, and the doctor would come and see you. Except that in the days when doctors did that, they would also do things such as drain your blood, stick leeches on you, stick cold rags on you and turn to your family members and tell them, "I'm afraid I've done all I can do. Now we must wait."

So yeah... maybe I'm glad doctors know more now. I got a leech on my foot once (from playing in a creek) and it was a scarring experience. No more leeches for me.

I am thankful to have so many friends call me or send me messages saying "get well"!! Carolyn brought me some soup yesterday which was really sweet. I have been eating it all since she brough it. Thank you, Carolyn! And last night, Austin surprised me by showing up at my door. He actually scared my roommate who was on her way out. I didn't think Austin had time to see me, but he came over anyways, and brough me a bunch of flowers. They look like purple daisies, but they probably have a different name. He got a little card thing too to put with it. He said they had "Get Well Soon" cards but he found one that said "For My Teacher" and thought it was way funnier. So I have a teacher card attached to my flowers. :)

Another thing that is making me feel much better is my Rooibos tea that I bought the other day. It reminds me of England. I first had it when I was babysitting for some little British children down the street - their house was freezing, so naturally I made myself some tea to keep warm. The only kind they had was called "African Redbush Tea", which I later found out is the same as "Rooibos". I made myself a cup, and loved it - it's great for you, similar to green tea and full of antioxidants. It's also naturally caffeine free. It became my babysitting ritual whenever I would look after those kids. I would put them to sleep, go downstairs and make myself a cup of redbush tea. The cup I'm drinking now is the first cup I've had in a long time. It brings back memories. My mom is in love with the stuff, too. I highly recommend it for all you tea lovers out there.

Well, Carolyn is coming to pick me up in five minutes so I should put some shoes on and get a bag ready.

More later,
Katie

Sick Day

I am convinced that I was meant to live in Jane Austen's time. I absolutely adore period films like Pride and Prejudice (the 6 hour BBC one is way more accurate), Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Wives and Daughters (not Jane Austen), etc. I have been watching Sense and Sensibility today since I am sick. It is terribly romantic and beautiful. In my freshman and sophomore years of high school, my class studied Pride & Prejudice. I fell in love with the book, and I got to visit many of the places where the movie was filmed. Actually, the new Pride & Prejudice was filmed at my favorite house in England: Chatsworth. We used to go there almost every year when we lived there.







Gorgeous, no?

The one good thing about period films is that there is generally no cussing and no raunchy parts. I also love the language they use - it is so proper and elegant! I love their clothes and hair. I think I could definitely live back then. Although, I would probably be really poor. And since I have no brothers, some random cousin or someone would inherit my house. Yeah, I'd be poor. I always relate my family to the Bennett family - they had five girls, too. But this means that I would be Jane. I don't really like Jane that much. She was supposed to be the prettiest, which is good I guess, but I don't like her personality.

As I said earlier, I am sick. I'm pretty sure that I have a sinus infection, since I have had about five million in my life, and am pretty used to them. However, the doctor didn't give me anything that is actually helping. He gave me some decongestant, which also happens to be a stimulant. This isn't so great since it is keeping me from sleeping well. Yesterday was no good - I felt absolutely awful all day long. Austin came by last night and brought me some chicken soup. He is so sweet! Poor guy, it's his busy week this week. He has a bunch of interviews and informationals, as well as two tests. I know he must be worn out. Anyways, I am feeling a little better today. I can actually sit up and my fever is going away. I had about 100-101 for the whole of yesterday. Now it's down to 99.2. It's been hovering about 99-99.5 for the past few hours. The medicine the doctor gave me isn't working that well. I need antibiotics. Oh well... hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough to go to observation. I am missing a day today, but it's better than getting the children sick and feeling miserable all day. It just sucks because I'll have to make up a day of observation on a Friday or Monday. :-/

Enough about being sick!

So... Spring Break is coming up. Carolyn and I will be home for the week, and Austin is going on "Man Trip", where he will drive around Texas with his buddies and camp, hike etc. Austin wants to take me to the rodeo later in the week, but I'm not sure how that'll work out since I don't have my own car. It would be so much fun, though! I hope it works out. Spring Break will be awesome. I can't wait to have a week to relax and recover from this busy semester. It is wearing me out!

Well, I need to go lay down now. I am tired and achey.

I hope you guys are having a great week!

-Katie

Spending Some Time With The Old Me

Wow.

I mean really, wow.

I have been trying to find something to do with my time tonight, and after exhausting all of my usual websites (facebook, email, other people's blogs), I typed in the address to the blog I had from November 11, 2003 - March 8, 2007.

Yep, I decided to dig the xanga blog out of the grave for a little while.

The most recent entries on that website were boring, so I decided to look up what I wrote on February 17 in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Then I just started reading random stuff.

I really can't believe not only what I wrote, but how much I wrote. I would write a phenomenal amount of stuff at a time, sometimes multiple times each day. I was probably a better writer, too, to be honest. I was still taking English classes.

Here are some things that I found:

A post about my No Shave November experience (picture included)

Quite a few posts mentioning 80's dance parties... apparently I liked them a lot

Found out the exact day my old roommates and I made up KXAN (September 13, 2005)

Posts about the frustration of having curly hair (I had not yet found the magical solution that I use now)

I realized that I am/was really weird

A post about my last day with my high school friends before coming to college

A post written the day I got baptized

A post about my last day in high school

A post about how our "Leavers Ball" (like a formal for seniors in high school) cost $54,000. Good freakin grief!!!!!! Wow high school was another world.

Posts about people I don't even remember... I have been sitting here thinking, "Who's Amy?" after reading about a party I went to at her house, and how we danced for hours in her living room. But seriously, who on earth is Amy?

OH WAIT!!!!!!! Oh I got it. She was in my class. It was her birthday party.

I was reminded of how incredibly difficult high school was for me

A post about the trip my sister, my dad and I took to Barcelona when we were like 18 and 16. Remember that, Carolyn? We walked around the city on our own the entire day? That feels like a lifetime ago.

Lots of those quiz things that were really popular when we were younger

I realized how immature I was

I also realized how I haven't changed much about some things

A post about the time I bought the pair of jeans that I was wearing today (if that makes any sense)

A post that simply said, "Today, I saw the pheasant." Carolyn, do you know what that means?

Apparently I was obsessed with chocolate cake for a while. I still love it, but it isn't my #1 passion like it used to me, I guess.

I have read about things that I was praying about in my life back then, and just think about how God has answered those prayers in completely amazing ways



I have spent about 2 or more hours just reading some of my old posts. Memories are just flooding back as I remember what my life used to be like, and how much it has changed. My stomach now has a knot in it, because I long to go back and relive those memories. I haven't been to England in about a year and a half, which is so strange to me. I have already forgotten so many things about living there.

I decided that I am going to try to get my old blog printed off and bound into a book, just in case xanga ever deletes all their accounts. I want my children to be able to read it. It wasn't a diary because nothing I wrote was secretive, but it certainly helps anyone reading it to see what I was like back then.

If you care to read my old blog, you can go here. It might make for an enjoyable read, but maybe not.

Spending some time with the old me has made me realize how blessed I am and how much I love life. God is good. He has proved Himself over and over again as faithful, loving and true. Even though things have changed over the years, and that is evident in my blog, the one thing that has always been constant is my King. And for that I am truly thankful.

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful weekend. I certainly have, but now it's time to get some sleep.

Goodnight.

Where You Should Put Your Trash

I don't appreciate the fact that I have seen some large cockroaches scurrying across the ground. AT NIGHT. That just freaks me out! I don't really care too much if I see one in broad daylight, since I can see it from a distance and avoid it at all costs. However, in the dark, it's hard to spot those little guys. Sometimes the moon shines just enough to see one run right in front of you, really fast. I saw one tonight as I was walking to my car after church, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to get both of my feet OFF the ground, pronto. I made it to my car and shuddered. This is probably the only bad thing about the Spring time.

Speaking of Spring time - I think it could be here! Or here for a little bit, at least. It has been absolutely gorgeous outside recently. I wore a SKIRT yesterday for the first time in a while, and flip-flops have been my shoe of choice over the past few days. Soon, I will be having picnics in Academic plaza for lunch. I should suggest this to my methods section. They have been frequenting the Chicken for lunches recently, probably because of the beer (they like to fill up before our second set of classes), so maybe they won't be so keen on the idea. However, I bet Lauren and Ali would have a picnic with me! :)

Whoop, I just put some links in my post! I am so technological haha!

I tend to think of Glad ForceFlex garbage bags as completely indestructible. Does anyone else have this mindset? My roommate and I actually buy them, partly because they seem fun and cool - the yuppie thing to do with your trash - and partly because they are actually pretty strong. Maybe it's the commercials, but I have this notion that if you put a knife pointy-side down in the bag, it will simply bounce back into the bulk of the bag. Nothing's gonna break that sucker. I know it's going to break eventually, because it's made of thin plastic, but I still can't shake the surface belief that nothing can harm the physical being of a Glad ForceFlex garbage bag. It's the Superman of garbage bags. I really do believe that.

Well, I'm tired and I need to relax. See you guys on the flip side.

-Katie

Things Like Wet Arms Do Not Make My Day

Every time I check my blog I am faced with a clock in a trash can, and it's beginning to freak me out. The interesting thing is that the clock has an electrical cord with a plug attached to it. I don't think I've ever seen a clock that you plug into the wall. And it's weird that it never occured to me how weird that was until now.

So, yesterday in class we were taught how to determine the readability of a piece of writing, ie. what grade level it is. There is actually a funtion on Microsoft Word that will do this automatically. I had a little fun this afternoon playing with some different things, and figuring out the grade of children that would be able to read them. I checked a portion of my blog, and it determined that it had a readability level of 4.7. Does that shock anyone? I write like a 4th grader! Well, I guess when I really think about it, it makes sense. I am more mathematically inclined. I use short words. I frequently have to ask people "what does that mean?" if they use a particularly long word. I am not that smart when it comes to English.

Tonight I figured out how to make a chocolate sauce from scratch. It worked, and the sauce looked so rich and amazing that I decided to pour it on top of some Homemade Vanilla Blue Bell. The hot sauce drizzled nicely over the cold ice cream and then decided to harden. I expected the sauce to act very much like Hershey's syrup, but no. I had globs of chocolate frozen to my spoon, and my dreams of mixing the sauce into my ice cream to make it chocolatey were crashed. It'll be a long time before I make that sauce again.

There are a few things in life that are really annoying. Like paper towel dispensers that you have to reach UP to use. You've just washed your hands and they are dripping with water and in need of some nice brown paper towels to absorb it all. You look around the bathroom for the paper towel dispenser and -oh- there it is! Above your head. So you reeeeeeaaaach up very slowly to press the lever down, but it's too late - there's water running all the way down your arms towards your armpits. Your sleeves get so wet that you might as well forget the towels and wipe your hands on your shirt. It's crazy that the paper towel dispenser installing people didn't figure gravity into the picture.

I'm sure this lady is really starting to feel the water soaking her sleeve right about now.

Tomorrow night I am going to the Corps of Cadets Association Banquet. Austin is singing at the banquet with Aggieland Orchestra, so I get to be his date. I have to dress up real fancy, so that's exciting. I don't get to put on a dress very often! I am excited to be able to go. I can't wait to hear him sing. He has a wonderful voice but is so humble about it. He just refuses to admit to being awesome! :)

Well, I'm getting bored of sitting in front of my computer. I have done a lot of my homework so I'm going to watch a movie or something.

I hope you all enjoy your Friday nights!

-Katie

P.S. I know it looks like I might be making fun of people who use wheelchairs, but I promise I'm not. These pictures were just the only ones I could find of people reaching to get a paper towel.

Wasting Time

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to amuse myself for hours on end... without leaving my house. I am without a car today because Carolyn already left to go to Dallas. I have been stuck at home pretty much all day. Yet I haven't become bored quite yet. Where does all my time go?

Let's see....

I took a nap for 2 hours (and got interrupted by a phone call).

I ate lunch (I love salsa turkey).

I took a shower (and shaved for the first time in a while).

I got dressed (it took me a while to decide what to wear).

I put on a little makeup and did my hair (yay curly hair).

I folded my laundry (I wash my towels a lot).

I talked on the phone with Austin for about 3 mintues (Juarez applications are out!).

I had fun trying on a bunch of outfits I made up out of items from my closet (I came up with some cute stuff).

I packed a little (socks, underwear, a pair of jeans).

I danced to the music on my iPod (I don't care what you say, I don't care what you heard, the word "love" - ha - luv is a verb!).

I tried on my rainboots (they are always adorable).

I played with a flashing ice cube that Austin gave me (oooh! Pretty green light!).

I checked my email and facebook (no new wall posts or messages).

I put some more clothes in the wash (I might want to pack some for this weekend).

I danced some more (I'm not ashamed to let you know... I want this light in me to show...).

Now I'm blogging (to pass the time).

...And that's pretty much it.

I am a genius at wasting time. I bet I could win an award, because I can spend hours on end doing absolutely nothing. It's not that I waste time all the time, but when I really don't have any pressing engagements, I will do one of my many time wasting activities. Most of the activities I start don't get finished. Like the packing.

Hot chocolate sounds really good right about now. And some ice cream. Maybe some hot chocolate with ice cream on top! What a wonderful idea. I'm going to do it.

I went to a meeting this morning for student teaching. I had thought about student teaching in Denton, and that way I can live at home and not pay rent for a semester. Not only that, but I can come home at the end of the day and have my meals cooked for me. That sounds GREAT right about now. At the meeting, they told us a list of districts that we could student teach in if we didn't want to teach in Bryan or College Station. Sadly, Denton wasn't listed as one of them. I called my mom to tell her, and she asked about Frisco, which was actually one of the districts listed. I had thought that Frisco was too far to drive every day, but my dad drives to Plano every day without a problem. I am starting to get a little excited about this student teaching stuff. I think Frisco has nice schools. I am going to do some research and figure out which school I would like to go to.

But thinking about student teaching also makes me sad, because I haven't got a clue where Austin is going to be. He graduates in August and has been applying for jobs recently. He is applying to pretty much anywhere - including Canada. How exciting would it be to work there!?! However, I don't know what I do would do with myself if he moved to Canada. Oh, gosh. It makes me sad just thinking about it!

Well, I have been looking at the Frisco ISD website for the past few minutes, researching different middles schools. I might go do that for a little while. Plus, that hot chocolate sounds amazing right now.

-Katie

No More Parenting Magazines!

Apparently, my fans are getting upset because I "don't blog anymore". Let me clear this up: I do blog. Just not as often. And it's not because I don't want to, it's simply because I haven't had much time. And sometimes I just don't feel like writing. I am aware, however, that it has been about two weeks since my last blog, which is horrifying. I will strive to achieve higher standards with this blog.

Haha.

Today I had my last day babysitting for my pastor. I have been babysitting his three precious children on a regular basis, but our schedules clash this semester, so I won't be able to continue babysitting for them. I am sad, but I can't do anything to help it. They are at the cutest ages, too: 5, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 months. Adorable! The youngest started laughing today because I discovered that she is very ticklish on her tummy. She has the cutest toothless smile! I bet that even someone who is repulsed by children would fall in love with her.

The children were very good today, and I ended up staying until 3:00. This is significant because it means that I had to put them down for a nap. Now I have put Ella down before - she loves her sleep and goes to bed willingly. Aiden, on the other hand, normally waits for his dad to put him to sleep. Since neither of his parents were home today, I had to make sure he went down for his nap. Well, that part went okay, but it was the staying down that was the problem. He got up four times in an hour and a half to go to the potty, and to let me know that he was hungry and couldn't fall asleep. It was funny being on the "adult" end of the situation this time. I vividly remember being the child who couldn't go to sleep. I didn't know exactly what to say to Aiden, and I tried to rack my brain for the words my parents told me. I couldn't remember what they would say when I couldn't sleep. I came up with this response: "Sometimes you just have to lay there for a while."

Lame, I know.

He never went to sleep, because his mom came home.

So yes, my days of reading parenting magazines are over. It's an inside joke Austin and I have... it's true, though - I do read them when I babysit. I am learning how to translate different baby cries. I kid you not. When a baby cries and sticks their fingers in their mouth, it means they are hungry. When they cry with loud shrieks and sound almost like they are coughing or gasping for air, they probably need to be put down for a nap.

Not only will I no longer read parenting magazines, but I will not be asking kids what they want for lunch.

"I'll give you three choices: you can have chicken nuggets, pasta or a hot dog."

Instead of spending my time with young, well-behaved children, I will be spending 16 hours each week in a 7th-grade science classroom with hormonal, pubescent teenagers.

Fun times.

I am also slightly worried because my mentor teacher does not know who I am. I emailed her and she didn't know that I was coming. I was under the impression that all the mentor teachers were expecting the methods students. Well, I am going to show up before 8:00 am tomorrow whether they want me there or not.

I am excited about my methods placement. I was reluctant at first to pref 7th or 8th grade, since I have been observing 5th grade students and liked it a lot. But I need the experience. I got 7th grade, which makes me excited because my sister Christina is in 7th grade. I bet she will be learning the same stuff at the same time. I will call home and we can discuss decomposition or acid-base reactions... whatever it is they learn these days.

Oh yeah, and it's interesting that I got science because I don't remember putting that down on my pref sheet. I distinctly remember writing "math" because that's what I want to do. Or, rather, wanted to do. It's funny because God has been changing my heart. Slowly, He is opening doors and causing me to consider teaching science. When I think about it, it makes sense: I love science. I had the best chemistry teacher in England (it's true, she won an award). I have a picture of myself when I was younger trying to perform some sort of science experiment. Maybe I will be a science teacher. You never know.

And that's what excites me: I don't have a darn clue what I am doing in the future. I don't know where I will student teach. I don't know where I'll be over the summer. I don't know what will happen after I graduate. But I don't mind, really. My hands are open to the Lord and I surrender myself and my life to Him. I want Him to use me in any ways that He wants!

This weekend will be fun. Me, Carolyn, Nana and Austin are going to Denton to watch Kellie perform in "High School Musical". She is going to play Sharpay, and annoying, bossy brat from the musical. Kellie is very talented, and I'm really excited about seeing her in it!

I just saw pictures of Ashley's new haircut. I wish my hair did stuff like that! It's adorable. I miss that girl so much. :-(

I must leave you all now because Carolyn needs to be picked up from class. What day of babysitting would be complete without a soccer-mom-esque-pick-the-kids-up-from-school run???

Enjoy this week. It's warming up!

-Katie

A Night to Myself

I think I may be the only person in College Station who can’t wait to start classes this semester. I think most of that is due to the fact that I haven’t really started classes yet. I guess I technically started tonight, but what was supposed to be a three hour long class only lasted for 30 minutes. And I didn’t even get to experience that much of the actual class, due to the fact that Austin had left his backpack at my house and needed to meet with a group for a project. Therefore, I had to run to give him my house key so he could get it, and I got back to the classroom 10 minutes after the class had started. I didn’t mind, and since I found $13 on the ground on my way back, it made the whole situation even better.

Tomorrow I get to wake up at 6, and have four 1 ¼ hour long classes with the exact same people until 5:10. I’m so excited! I love the people I have class with. We goof off and probably act more immature than the middle-school children we will be teaching in a year or so. We especially like to color and giggle at stupid stuff. Occasionally, we have experiments involving colored candies, and we will sort them into piles according to their color and then eat them depending on which ones are our favorite. Being an education major is a lot of fun. I won’t lie.

On Friday, our three-day weekend starts. Technically, it’ll be a four-day weekend (maybe even five) for me. I don’t have classes on Monday or Friday, and since I haven’t been placed in a school yet, I shouldn’t have anything on Tuesday either. A bunch of people are going to go out to Austin’s farm again. I’m really excited. It’s supposed to get really cold on Saturday night – down to 26! – and so that means we can make a big bonfire and roast yummy vanilla marshmallows from Williams-Sonoma. Sorry, but Austin’s mom sent me some yesterday, and I can’t wait to eat them!

Hugh Grant is so funny. I am watching Notting Hill, and he makes me laugh! It would be a lot better, however, if I had someone here to watch the movie with me. I’ve been rather bored the past few days. And poor Austin has a horrible schedule, so it’s hard to see him during the day.

Even though I already ate dinner, I feel like making pancakes. I’m very alone tonight. I don’t mind so much, but it would be nice to have someone to hang out with. Sadly, though, it’s already 8 o’ clock and I have to wake up early, so I wouldn’t even be able to hang out for very long.

I think that now I’m going to put my laptop down and watch the movie. Maybe make some hot apple cider or peppermint hot chocolate.

Wish you were here!

-k

I Need to Get Better at This...

It's been quite a while since I last wrote. Oops.

I've been soooo incredibly busy this break! It's been really fun and exciting. We moved into our new house 5 days before Christmas, and then spent the days leading up to Christmas day unpacking, sorting and decorating. Christmas was fast, but really fun. Sarah got to come over and spend the day with us, and she cooked an incredible Christmas brunch for everyone, complete with Ebelskivers (?? - they're Swedish pancakes), crepes and hashbrowns. Delish.

The day after Christmas, my family plus Ed and minus my dad headed to College Station to visit Nana for a few days. We got to see my cousin Evan, who is 3 1/2, and my aunt and uncle who live in California. It was a great time to visit, play games and relax. My family headed back to Dallas after a few days, but I got to go to San Antonio to watch the Alamo Bowl. Austin's parents had extra tickets, and so they offered them to me. We had a wonderful time shopping around the city, exploring and watching the game. Apparently, Austin and I were on TV during the game about 6 or 7 times! And once they showed us after a touchdown... ;-) haha! Anyways, it was awesome. After going to San Antonio, I stayed with Austin and his family in Houston for about 4 or 5 days. It was so much fun! I loved spending time with them. We went to Galvaston, hung around Houston, and got to spend time with his aunt, uncle, cousin, and also his sister and brother-in-law. Now I'm back in Dallas, and will be until Thursday.

And that's what I've been up to! I'm sure you were all sooo thrilled to read that lovely summary.

Today I went shopping for clothes for methods. I didn't have a lot of "professional" clothes. Banana Republic was having a huge sale, so I picked up a few things there. I also found a pair of "professional pants" at another store. They fit pretty darn perfectly! And guess what size they were??? 00P. DOUBLE ZERO PETITE! Can you believe that? I pretty much don't exist! Good grief. I am so freakin tiny!!!! I bet I could wear kids' clothes if I wanted.

For Christmas, Kellie took pictures of me and my sisters for my dad. Here are a few that I like:

Me, my sisters and my mom. So beautiful!

Me and Christina - my youngest sister.

Me and Carolyn - the Aggies!

Well, I am pretty much just updating to update. I have nothing really exciting to say. Emma is on TV, and I want to go watch it with my family.

Peace out.

-K