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

Don't Talk to Strangers

My parents raised me to have a crazy fear of strangers. I'm sure most of you can relate. One of the main reasons that I was terrified of going to public school (I was homeschooled until 6th grade) was because I was scared that the stories my mom told me would become true.

I was afraid that one day, a man would walk up to me after school and tell me that my mom had arranged for him to pick me up that day. He would grab my arm and drag me out to his van, and I would never see daylight again.

My mom literally told me about children who had similar things happen to them.

When she was in first grade, she was playing at the park of a local school ground one day. She was walking through an outdoor hallway and suddenly noticed a man standing against a brick wall in front of her. The man had his pants unzipped and was exposing himself.

"Hey little girl, come here," he said, but my mom bolted in the other direction and got home as quickly as possible. She told my Nana what had happened (those of you who know Nana - can you imagine??) and Nana put her in the car and they drove around trying to find the man. I don't think they found him.

I had never met any "strangers", but I knew what to look for: a shady sort of guy, maybe missing a few teeth, with a window-less van parked close by. He might claim to know my parents and would offer candy or stuffed animals to me, but he wouldn't ever give me these promised goods. If I accepted his offer, I would be shoved into his beat up van and be escorted to his secret shack, where I would be locked up for forever.

I learned never to trust a stranger.

Once, when I was about four, I was hanging out on the driveway of my Nana's house in McAllen (near the Mexican border) after dinner with Carolyn, who was probably 2. Nana was there, and so were my parents. This Hispanic man walked up to us and started talking to the adults for a few minutes. When he noticed Carolyn, he made a few remarks about how cute she was, and then tried to coax her to walk towards him. At this point, I freaked out. I started screaming and crying, "Don't do it, Carolyn!!! He'll take you away!!!" and one of my parents had to take me inside and calm me down. They had to explain that he was Nana's gardener and that she knew him and trusted him, and that it was okay to talk to "strangers" if your parents are talking to them, too.

Another time, my mom left my sisters and me in the car after our homeschooling enrichment classes. These classes were held at a church building and were taught by other homeschooling parents. My mom had to go inside for a few minutes so we sat out in the minivan with the door open. A woman carrying a bunch of stuff approached the car and poked her head inside for a few minutes. She told us that she knew my mom (red warning light number one) and then offered us "leftover" candy from a basket she was holding (red warning light number two). Of course my sisters wanted some, but I politely declined for all of us, since it was probably poisonous. I'm sure I started praying for God to keep us safe from the stranger lady and for my mom to get back soon. My mom finally emerged from the church, and recognizing the stranger lady as a homeschooling friend, she talked for a few minutes. I began to wish she would offer us candy again.

In addition to our regular stranger education, my mom made my sisters and me read a book called My Body is Private. I had no idea what the concepts in the book had to do with anything, and thought it was a dumb and boring book. Apparently, if someone was touching me and I felt uncomfortable, I was supposed to say "Stop: my body is private!" and the person was supposed to obey me. It wasn't until years later that I understood what the book was actually talking about.

I am thankful that my parents made me afraid of strangers, even if it caused unnecessary panicking. I'm sure that my parents' teachings saved me from some pretty horrible situations.

Philippians 3:7-11

Carolyn got back this morning - her team actually missed a connecting flight and had to stay in Houston overnight. It is so great to have her home! She is still trying to recover from jet lag, so it may be a while until she is "normal" again. She is taking over Kellie's room and enjoying the space. It's been a long time since we've had our own rooms at home (even though these rooms really aren't ours)!

She shared many stories about her trip with the family. I got a kick out of the text messages that were sent to people on her team from some of the North Africans they met. They sounded like inspirational quotes or things from greeting cards, yet these people were completely serious! Here are some they got:

"Friendship is like a war: easy to start, difficult to end, impossible to forget. So I'm starting a war with you. I hope you don't want peace."

"I must have been born under a lucky star to find a friend as nice as you are. I will follow the rainbow to the end if you promise to remain my friend." (Sent to a guy from a guy...!)

"The day you came to the world it was raining. But actually it wasn't raining. It was the angels' tears because they had lost one of them...!" (Carolyn got send this one!)

I laughed. The North Africans sound so sweet and amazing. They have the gift of hospitality to a degree that is completely foreign to us. Families would invite Carolyn and her team over to their houses, allowing them to stay all day and encouraging them to take naps (on their beds!) in the middle of the day. Some of the mothers would even make the girls try on their wedding dresses, and take pictures of them wearing them. Can you believe that?? They would feed the kids and care for them, even though these families had very little. It impresses me that there are people like this in the world, when in the United States, everything is so private and personal. We have so much and share so little. We don't trust our neighbors and normally would not even think of allowing strangers in our houses. Let them take a nap?? On our beds?? That's absurd!

I really want to learn hospitality more. I hope to become better at this as I get older. I want to extend hospitality in my own home in a way that is not normally seen in this country. I'm not very good at things like this, but the Bible instructs us to! And without grumbling! (Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9)

Carolyn and her team shared the good news about Jesus Christ with 115 people during the six weeks they were there. Persecution of Christians is insane there. One girl accepted Christ as her Savior and was slapped by her father when she told him. She knew what she would face by accepting Christ. This was no surprise to her. She still decided to be born again. By becoming a Christian, she completely forfeited everything - a life of comfort, acceptance, marriage etc. This girl will face hardship, ridicule and persecution for the rest of her life because she is no longer Muslim. Can you imagine? Yet she saw that everything - her whole life - was rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). Pray for this girl. Pray that a discipler would be provided for her. There are only 350 Christians in the country Carolyn went to. There are tens of millions of people. It is going to be a tough road for this faithful young woman.

Did you know that there are 99 names for Allah, but not one of them is "Love"?? These people fear Allah. They are distant from him. One girl was asked by a team member what her greatest fear was. Her answer was, "God". To me, this seems crazy. I can have a close, personal relationship with my God - the Creator of the Universe who loves me unconditionally and accepts me where I am. I am not scared of Him. I am loved by Him! But this is not something experienced by these North Africans. They live on a points system: the more points you get, the better chance you have of getting into Heaven. No wonder they are scared of their God! They have no way of knowing whether or not he is going to accept or reject them! Constantly striving to live a good life leaves you tired, upset, frustrated and let down. You will never reach the level of "goodness" you want to reach. It is so hard for me to imagine a lifetime of guilt and shame. I would beat myself up after ever evil act, trying so hard to make it up with "good" deeds. I would feel like a failure until the day I died.

Please pray for these North African people. I wish I knew more about the way they live and what they believe, but my knowledge is limited. I'm sure Carolyn could tell you much more.

I am going to bed now. I love you all.

-Katie

Are We Halfway Through the Summer Yet?

I walked through Nordstrom's shoe department the other day and secretly wished that I could buy some of those pairs of shoes. They are just so cute and fun! I admit that I felt a little self-conscious of my $10 Old Navy jellies, even though I think they are pretty adorable. I have never been a shoe person, simply because I don't have a lot of money. And if I had a lot of money, I wouldn't spend it on shoes unless they were ones that I would wear every day and were very comfortable (translation: teacher shoes!). I normally wear $5 flip flops and I love them. If they break, it's not a big deal.

My sister Carolyn gets back tomorrow from North Africa. I am so excited! I can't wait to hang out with her every day and go on random adventures with her. Last summer was so much fun. We got to live together and since we share a car, we did everything together. People called her my "other half" and would be shocked if either of us went somewhere without the other. We are so different and yet we get along so well. She knows how to encourage me and make me feel special, and will tell me straight up if I'm being selfish or stupid. I hope that the rest of this summer is a time of great growth for us.

Can I just say how much I miss HEB? I wish they had them in the Dallas area. That is the best supermarket in the world. Kroger and Wal-Mart don't even get close!

Well, I know this post is short but there's not a lot to write about. Hopefully I'll have more news soon!

-Katie

A Little Getaway

Sometimes days just go by too fast.

I spent the weekend in Leona/College Station visiting Austin and my Nana. It was fun, relaxing and like a mini-vacation. I got to eat at this wonderful steak place with Austin, where our waitress gave him advice on how to treat me on our "date". She must have thought it was our first date or something, because she kept giving him tips on what to do. It was hilarious.

We took a trip to a state park that was down the road and had a picnic there. The lake was beautiful and we listened to Tree63 on Austin's fun speakers as we ate. We had to murder a couple spiders and ants during lunch, but it was a wonderful afternoon.

We also walked around at the farm and discovered a garden spider who had made his home on a deer blind. Austin caught a couple grasshoppers and threw them into the web, and we watched Ziggy (I named him) run over to his lunch, wrap it up, and return to his original resting place in just a few seconds. On the same walk, we saw a snake by the creek, which we could not identify. He was greyish-yellow on the top and light yellow on the bottom, and he wasn't a particularly long snake. Any ideas??

For the first time in months, we took advantage of $4.00 tickets and went to see a movie - Get Smart. Has anyone else seen this? It was funny, but not one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I really wish movies weren't so expensive. The $9.50 you'll pay in some towns is just ridiculous.

One of the highlights was seeing Austin play the drums at a church in Madisonville on Sunday. Good grief! I really can't believe that boy taught himself how to play the drums, starting a mere six months ago. Well, actually, I can believe it, because Austin can pretty much do anything (especially if it relates to music)!

I had really great Italian food with Nana and Austin on Sunday. I wish I could eat food like that more often! I'm so excited that I get to go back to College Station next week before 4th of July in Houston. Hopefully I'll get to catch up with Nana some more.

All in all, the weekend was great. It made me realize how much I miss College Station! I think the new Super Target is open, and although I have about 3 different Super Targets near me (that I can think of), I am still a little sad that I no longer live there.

Oh I gotta go - time to eat!
-Katie

See America By Accident

Kellie is probably on a plane right now, about to fly to England. My mom took her to the airport and Christina (my youngest sister) and I had to stay home. We couldn't fit in the car with all of Kellie's luggage.

Since we had the day to ourselves, Christina and I decided to take a trip to the closest "It's a Grind" coffee shop. We wanted something different than Starbucks yet still familiar. We drove all the way to Frisco and ordered some cookies and frozen coffee. The shopping area didn't have anything interesting to offer so we headed home. On the way home, we decided to take some detours.

I live in this tiny town called Oak Point. It's on the lake and yet I really know nothing about the area. Chrissie and I were in a driving sort-of mood (which I guess is bad considering gas prices), so we decided we would play a little game that my friend (and babysitter when I was little) Sarah made up:

See America By Accident.

It's where you drive around and discover new parts of the country you live in. You turn on any road that you want and just admire the scenery. If you stumble upon anything interesting, you get out and look around.

So that's what we did.

First of all, we drove through an old neighborhood next to our subdivision. It's at least 40 years old and has a smattering of all sorts of old houses. None of them are particularly attractive, since most of the houses were built as lakehouses or getaway homes back then. Christina knew where the Oak Point Lake Club (or something like that) was, so she led me there. I was actually blown away by how beautiful it was.

I sat down on a rock and was able to look at a huge portion of Lake Lewisville. The lake was smooth and clear and I was amazed at how big it was.

We saw a cool-looking house across a small part of the lake and decided to go find out where it was. The lake surrounding it look so gorgeous and we wanted to know how to get there.

So we drove some more.

We discovered the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club and wished that we were members so that we could walk around inside the property.

We noticed "Wooded Lots" advertised on a side street and drove around inside. The area was relatively creepy but nicely wooded. I guess the sign wasn't lying.

Chrissie and I also drove around inside a subdivision that we almost lived in when I was younger. There is a house just inside with a ZEBRA in the front yard. A real zebra!!!! We freaked out a little bit and decided to Google "zebras for sale" when we got home to find out how much they cost.

We're going to buy a zebra and name him "Stripey". (Chrissie's idea, not mine.)

We found a cool park that we're going to return to. There were some crazy awesome nature trails that looked fun. The park was right on the lake and a sign there said "residents or invited guests only", but who will know? We won't disturb anyone.

Christina and I discovered that Oak Point was much bigger than we originally thought. I know now why it is called Oak Point and will be making trips down to the lake more often, I hope.

Am I the only one who plays this game? Does anyone else drive around and discover new places? I used to drive around College Station, too. I once drove to the end of Anderson and found out that CS has a so-called arboretum. Who knew??

It's kind of amazing how much you can discover by driving somewhere new. Just for fun. And it's nice to have someone with you, too.

Maybe when gas prices go down a little I'll do this more often!

-K

Not Much Up There Right Now

Writing without any sort of inspiration or motivation is like trying to scrape the last bit of peanut butter from the jar. It doesn't amount to much and it doesn't satisfy.

I have a lot of thoughts, but nothing that seems good enough to put into a post. Maybe I'll feel more like writing after dinner.

Part 2 - Don't Read if You Don't Like Romance Stories!

Today, Austin posted on his blog and wrote his version of how we met. He actually continued the story beyond where I left off a few days ago.I thought that maybe I should write more about what happened after I didn't think he was creepy anymore. Parts of the story have begun to get fuzzy to me, but I'll try my best. Here I go.

The night that Austin invited my sister and I to the barbeque party was the night that I realized he wasn't actually a weird stalker who was just interested in dating one of us. Carolyn and I began to hang out more with his buddies and we would meet up almost very single day at Coffee Station to study.

Austin met my family long before we ever started dating. My family would come down to College Station for the weekend and my mom would cook dinner at Nana's house. One weekend, we invited him to have dinner with us and he agreed to come. I think that time Carolyn and I tried to cook for everyone and it ended up not being as good as I wanted it to be. I'm thankful that it didn't scare Austin away!

Although I began to warm up a lot to Austin, things really changed the weekend that he invited us to the "farm". His family owns some land in Leona (where he is right now) and there is a little house on it. He invited us to go hang out, shoot guns, fish, build a campfire etc. with some of his friends. Carolyn and I went, and we had a blast. I became a real Texan that weekend! Carolyn and I decided to stay for two nights, and Austin's friends left for the second night. It freaked us out a little bit, but I reassured Carolyn that it would be okay.

That second night ended up being so much fun! Carolyn, Austin and I talked in the living room for hours before going to sleep. Carolyn actually got too tired and ended up going to bed, but Austin and I talked for a little while longer. I remember talking about past relationships, the job I had the previous summer, what we were passionate about and probably some more things. It was at that point that I began having feelings for Austin. I could tell that he genuinely loved people and cared deeply for everyone that he met. He was thoughtful and friendly and loved Christ with everything he was.

I denied that I liked him for a while, but every time I would hang out with him, he just got cooler. I prayed about our friendship a lot and realized that if God wanted our relationship to progress, then I would have to surrender. I left everything up to God and Austin, pretty much. I decided to let him pursue me if he wanted to. For me, this meant not telling Austin when I would be at Coffee Station and not initiating meetings with him (unless we were having a party or something at Nana's house).

I started going to Coffee Station on Sunday nights after church, where I would see Austin. It became a little tradition, and we would meet and talk about all sorts of things - from jobs to spiritual warfare, predesination, the Baptist church and Tongues. Austin had so much wisdom and knowledge and it blew me away. Even now I can still listen to Austin talk for hours and never get tired.

I got to meet Austin's sister Kristin when he invited me to go to the Hall with them one night. I had never been before, and I didn't know how to two-step, but they taught me beforehand at his house. I had so much fun! I even learned how to play pool. Kristin was so much fun and I had a blast hanging out with them. I loved that they were so close and had such a strong relationship. It reminded me of my relationship with Carolyn.

I remember the night that Austin asked me to lunch the next day. I wanted to scream and jump up and down - I was so excited! He ended up taking me on a surprise picnic in Academic Plaza. He did everything. He made the sandwiches (EXACTLY my favorite) and put special care into the drink he chose for me. It was by far the sweetest date I've ever been on. We ate underneath my favorite tree in Academic Plaza. I had actually written a little bit about it in my blog, but I didn't specify which tree it was or show a picture. He found it on his own by going to Academic Plaza and simply guessing. I was extremely impressed. Anyways, that was our first date. I wanted to climb the tree, but since I didn't know that we were going there, I hadn't dressed appropriately.We ended up just talking for about four hours instead, and it was great.

Every time I would hang out with Austin, Carolyn would ask me if he had said anything about dating yet. We never shared our feelings with each other and he had never openly stated his intentions. It drove Carolyn crazy, but I had an extreme peace about everything. I wasn't anxious to get into a relationship and was sincerely enjoying our friendship.

About a month after going to the farm, Austin sent me an email asking if I would go to Houston with him to celebrate his birthday with his family. He told me that if I wanted to bring Carolyn, then she could come, but he would prefer it if it was just me. I was so naive and I had no idea that he really liked me. I guess I thought, "Well, it means that he has more of an interest in me..." I really didn't have a clue.

Surrendering the relationship to God was so wonderful because I was no longer concerned about what was going to happen. I think that sometimes, being a girl is difficult because you are waiting a lot. Waiting for the guy to act or initiate or pursue you. It takes a lot of patience! God gave me so much patience, though, that I was never anxious about the relationship.

We had an absolute BLAST in Houston. I met his family and basically fell in love. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable! We ate at this great seafood restaurant at Kemah and walked along the boardwalk and ate Dippin Dots. Thinking back to that night, it's funny to think that I wasn't actually dating Austin at the time. Austin took me on a date the next day and we went to Rice Village for the afternoon. It ended up raining like crazy, so we spent most of the afternoon in Half Price Books looking at all sorts of things. Still, nothing was said about dating.

A few days after getting back to College Station, Austin asked me if I wanted to have another picnic and actually climb the tree this time. We went on a second picnic and again, Austin prepared everything. We talked for about five hours and Austin expressed his feelings. We climbed the tree and he grabbed my hand - I was seriously freaked out. Not only was I holding this guy's hand for the first time, but we were way up high on this tree branch! We talked for a little while longer about dating and then Austin prayed for our relationship before we went back to the car. That evening, we watched Singin' in the Rain and ate Totino's pizza. The whole day was simply grand.

...And that's how it started. I am trying to remember all the details, and that's the best that I can do.

I know this story might be kind of boring to most of you, but to be honest I primarily wrote it for myself. I needed a written out account of the story somewhere!

Alright. My fingers need a little rest! :)
-Katie

Yeah, Something's Wrong Here...

I'm sure that many of my female readers (and perhaps some of my male readers) have seen the show on TLC called Jon and Kate Plus 8. It's pretty entertaining and can make you exhausted just by watching that family for half an hour. For those of you who have never seen the show, it is about a family with two sets of multiples: two 6-year-olds and six 2-year-olds. (Actually, I think the twins are 7 now and the sextuplets are 3.) They have five girls and three boys. Good grief.

I don't watch the show very much, but I catch it every now and then. The kids are adorable! Most people I know make fun of me, but I like to watch parenting shows such as Supernanny and watch the different techniques used to train the children. I just watched a 1-hour special tonight where the entire family went on a vacation to Disneyland. It was entertaining but I have trouble watching the show without getting frustrated.

When I watch shows where whole families are shown, I pay special attention to the parents. Have you ever seen Wife Swap? I cringe when I see the way that some of these women treat their "new husbands" and vice versa. It makes me sick to see the lack of respect shown and the women given complete control over the household.

On shows such as Wife Swap or Supernanny, the marriages are often the root of the problem. Of course, Supernanny wouldn't say that, but there is a strong correlation between the strength and quality of the marriage and the way the kids behave. You can look at almost any family and see that. I'm getting a little off-track here, but it is so clear to me that the marriage must be strong in order for the children to be disciplined the right way. A lot of times these children are being disciplined one way by their dad and a completely different way by their mom. Definitely not the way it should be!

Anyways, I was talking about Jon and Kate Plus 8. I often get frustrated when watching the show because I don't like the way that Kate treats her husband, Jon. She will boss him around, tell him what to do and I see her treating him like a child in some of the interviews. There is much disagreement between them and I see different parenting styles displayed. I see hurtful words thrown at each other and it makes me so sad. It is very clear that Kate runs the show in the house (it has even been said in interviews) and Jon is there to get yelled at and obey any requests that Kate has.

I'll tell you what, I don't see submission from Kate and I don't see Jon being the leader of the family. Watching a lot of these TV shows, you definitely see the woman being the leader a lot. Can you imagine what a wonderful witness it would be to be on TV and model a marriage that glorifies God and is aligned with the roles a husband and wife that Scripture gives? Well guess what?! You don't have to be on TV to do that! I know most of the people who read this aren't married, but some of us will be soon.

If you proclaim to be a Christian (and Jon and Kate do), you have the wonderfully difficult job of being a witness to the world. Marriage is supposed to be a beautiful symbol and picture of Christ's relationship with the Church, and we get to be a part of this picture when we are married! I'm so excited! It's a tough and humbling thing to do, but we are all called to show Christ's love in that way.

I really hate to see women wanting (and having) complete control over the family. I don't like seeing these women making all the rules and decisions and then ordering her husband around. Ladies, if any of you see me doing this when I am married, please hit me with a baseball bat! This was never God's intent for marriage. God calls men to be the leaders of the family, and the wife gets to stand beside him and love him and support him in his decisions (most of which are made with her help!). How fun!! Personally, I am very excited to have someone be decisive and make decisions. I am horrible when it comes to that. I know that a lot of girls think of submission as something negative, but it is supposed to be a beautiful thing when the husband and wife are both looking to the Lord for direction.

Girls: if you can't respect your boyfriend or fiance now, what makes you think that you'll be able to do that in marriage? You don't just change overnight. And your boyfriend/fiance doesn't just become an automatic leader after you say "I do". People don't change when you marry them! Problems and issues become magnified after marriage, not reduced! I believe it is so important to be thinking about these things before you date someone and especially before you marry someone.

Are they relying completely on Christ as the ultimate leader of the relationship?

Are they encouraging you to draw closer to God and rely on Him instead of your boyfriend? Most importantly - do they love God more than they love you?

I had so many problems in my last relationship because of these things. And things would have only gotten worse if we had continued in our relationship.

It's late and I sincerely hope that everything I wrote down agrees with what the Bible says about relationships. Please correct me if something is not quite right. My writing tends to be messy at night and I am a little scatterbrained right now. I didn't even mean to write all of that -it just started flowing. Anyways, it's time for me to sleep.

-Katie

Male Readers Beware

I wish there was a cure for PMS. I really do. And I can say that on here because most of my readers are girls and I know they sympathize with me. I wish that I could read a sweet story without getting choked up or watch Monsters, Inc. without tearing at the very end. It gets pretty ridiculous at times. I tell myself, "It's really not that sad or touching," but then end up fighting back eye mist.

I also wish I could stop the dull headache and back pain. Oh, and the knee pain, too. I generally ache all over with PMS. I didn't take any ibuprofen today and I'm feeling the effects of it. Hopefully some sleep will ease my pain a little bit.

I could definitely do without the monthly zit erruptions. I mean, seriously? Why does my face hate me every four weeks? I didn't fight it today. I didn't take a shower this morning and went for over 12 hours without washing my face. I let the acne win.

I typed "PMS" into Wikipedia and the results were pretty hysterical. I personally loved the list of possible symptoms. It explained that "extreme tearfulness" was one of the symptoms, and I guess that explains the inability to watch children's movies during that-time-of-the-month. I never thought that my PMS was that bad until I realized that I experience most of the symptoms listed. And there are 19. I guess my symptoms are much milder than most womens'.

The fact that Wikipedia explains that it's not normal to diagnose PMS with lab tests or physical findings. makes me laugh. Haha. I think normal diagnosis should be a simple yes or no question: Are you a woman? Obviously, an answer of "yes" would immediately diagnose the person as capable of suffering from this wonderful disease.

Wikipedia lists a few treatments for PMS but honest, I think it's best to take ibuprofen if you really need it and just tough it out. I tried taking a little walk this morning to help with the cramping, but it didn't do much.

If this whole post is too much information, then you're really just going to have to deal with it. If you're a girl, you know what I'm talking about. If you're a boy, well, you'll probably be married to a girl one day who will of course suffer from PMS and you'll have to get used to the mood swings, tears, complaining about bloating and [seemily] unexplained depression.

Sorry, but since I have PMS, I don't have a lot of sympathy right now. :)

-Katie

*Little side note: I really don't have bad PMS. I know girls who have it way worse, and I can't complain.

A Little Mad

I just changed my background and it deleted ALL of the blogs that I read. I was a little upset because I don't think I can remember them all. If you read my blog and you don't see your blog on the right hand side, could you let me know so that I can add you again? Thanks.

Also, what do you think of the facelift? Ali changed the look of hers and I just LOVED it, especially that fresh green color. So I gave mine some grass! :)

Also #2, what do you guys think of the music? You can tell me if it's annoying and I'll take it off.