… to my Girls’ Night In event Saturday evening.
It will begin promptly at six. Forget about being fashionably late. That’s fun for no one except you.
It will be an evening to mix and mingle, get to know my other awesome friends, delight in some precious cupcakes, and maybe have the time of your life.
xoxo,
Gossip Gi… I mean, Katie Lee
Remember when Michael Scott “declared” bankruptcy when he was having credit card problems? Loved it.
Remember how I checked my credit card statement today and noticed a fraudulent charge from an unknown, awful, scamming, online company? Hated it.
I looked up the phone number associated with the charge online to see who they were with, and it turns out they have been scamming people for years by just charging small amounts each month to credit cards until they notice. I decided to call them and get some more information, but they asked for my personal info and since I know these people are awful, I laughed wickedly in their faces, hung up and called my credit card company.
They were able to help me out and said they would contact the company, figure everything out, throw them in jail for robbing a poor student, make sure they spend their life in misery, etc. I’ve never had any experience with this, but I’m guessing I did the right thing. Any more suggestions?
P.S. the company is called [RUDE] Shopping Essentials. They usually charge $19.95, so make sure you check your credit card each statement!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&fs=1&hl=en_US]
I’m going to do this in the mornings from now on!
It’s time for a moment of truth. A post about my feeeeeelings. A few words about self-esteem. My self-esteem.
Sometimes, okay… more often than not I have cruddy self-esteem. I have no idea why this is a problem now. I never have had self image problems. I mean what woman doesn’t always wish she was 15 pounds lighter, but other than that, I’ve been very content my whole life. But this year, I’ve noticed I get down on myself a lot. Half of it is because I gained back all the weight I loss for the wedding. Part of it is because… uhh…. I don’t know actually. I just have a hard time seeing the best in myself when I look in the mirror or think about who I am.
It sounds crazy now when I write it down. I know I am extremely blessed and live a wonderful life. It’s not that. But I literally have to say out loud when I look in the mirror, “You look alright,” or, “You can do this today!” just to boost myself up.
Is this getting too personal? Probs. Will my mom call me today and ask me if I’m depressed and I’m eating healthy? No doubt about it.
Anyway, this morning when our alarm went off, T.J. rolled over and told me he loved me. Then while driving to work and when seeing that I was kind of down on myself again, T.J. started singing a song (he loves making up songs, which shows me I really was supposed to marry him because my family sings all the time too). It went a little like this:
“I love meeeee, I’m happy as can be!”
He looked at me with his eyes wide open and eyebrows high, expecting me to sing along in a little round.
T really encourages me and helps me get out my ruts. When I look in the mirror and say, “This is as good as it’s going to get” (Thanks, Princess Diaries), he interrupts and tells me I look great. He helps me realize I am a good person. He reminds me that we all feel this way at one time or another and that we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. T.J. is a true optimist. That is one of the reasons I fell for him. He always is positive and looking for the best.
Well, that’s really all I’ve got to say. But actually writing this post has helped me, it was almost therapeutic.
The point is, sometimes I get down on myself. T.J. really helps to lift me up.
What would I do without him?
{I love buttercup ranunculuses. I wish I could have fresh flowers on my kitchen table everyday. T.J. probably gets sick of me hinting daily by saying, “Oh aren’t those flowers soooo pretty?” “Oh wow, I would love to have those at home!” “Wow, that girl is so lucky!” “T.J. I just want you to get me flowers!”}
{I kind of am getting nervous (okay, I’m really anxious) about what I’m going to do after graduation. I am going to apply to the New York Internship for the spring. So I’ll walk in April, but graduate once the internship is over. That will be an amazing experience and really be a jumpstart to my career as a media planner. But I guess because I am unsure if I will find a job in the area after the internship scares me to death. And then there’s the whole grad school thing. I have always thought I would go to grad school. I know if I wait, I won’t want to go or I’ll have kids and won’t have time to go. So, if I want to go to grad school, I really should go next year. I have been investigating a little bit and asking around, and I have been getting sooooo many answers and opinions. I know it ultimately needs to be my choice and what is best for both T.J. and me. But that is going to require a lot of faith. Pray for me?}
{I have been on a cooking frenzy, but I’ve barely eaten any of it. Fortunately we have had a lot of people over and T has been eating a lot (usually I have to remind him to eat). But it has been really fun to try new recipes and learn new skills. For example, I made two sets of cupcakes. One of them required me to make a marshmallow topping (which I didn’t know until after I tried the icing and I thought, wow, I just made a marshmallow). I had to stir the topping in a bowl over a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes. I eventually gave up because we don’t have an electric mixer and by the end of the 15 minutes, I was sweating like crazy and my hands were about to fall off. I also made chicken salad for the week. It took me like 5 minutes and now we have a great lunch all week! And yesterday I made caramel sticky buns for the ward missionaries and T.J.’s graphic design club that was coming over. I burned my tongue trying to taste the boiling caramel that looked so delicious, it still feels raw. }
{We have had a fly in our house for over a week now. I thought flies were supposed to only live a few days!}
{I bought two baskets of mums for our front porch last Wednesday. They are about 95% dead right now. What am I doing wrong? I water them everyday. They get enough sun. It’s horribly sad. Turns out I can’t even keep a plant alive…}
{Can I just say I was extremely satisfied with the premiers of The Office and Glee last week? I am so excited for both of those seasons and am so happy the premiers did not disappoint.}
{I am ready for fall. When a season begins, I put away most of the clothes from the past season and pull out the new season’s clothes. It is my favorite thing about changing seasons (except the leaves during the fall). This way, it feels like you get brand new clothes every few months, your closet holds all your clothes nicely, and you don’t find white summer blouses in your closet when it is snowing outside. Anyway, I put away the majority of my summer clothes on Labor Day. I know that was way to0 early of me, I just was excited for my fall/winter clothes. They’re. My. Favorite. I love my boots. (oops, I mean like-“We don’t love clothes” right, mom?) I like my sweaters. I like my fall purses. BUT it was 90 degrees today. I had to force myself to wear a t-shirt because wearing my cardigans simply could not pass. When will the fall begin? The leaves know it’s fall. When will the weather cooperate?}
Mom, I have been thinking about you all day (and the gift that I sent you that I have been so excited about)! I hope it was a great day!
We have had so many memories together. When I was a little girl, you would take me to the pond so we could feed the ducks. When I grew up, I still took the walks, but not as many as I should have. We went shopping together on the week nights and I thought it was the coolest thing ever since it was a “school night.” We laughed together watching the Cosby show, Monk, and the Office. You drove up our hill one morning when you were really tired after seminary, it was the funniest thing you’ve ever done. You sent me to all of those summer camps at the armory I didn’t want to go to, but now I get that you just needed me out of the house. You took me dress shopping for all of my dances and bore with me when it would always come to tears seeing that none of the stores had any modest dresses. You took care of me in the nights when I was sick, gave me popsicles and let me have some 7-up (I always asked for Sprite, but for some reason, you always would get 7-up). You would make me practice piano and let me practice to get out of washing the dishes. You told me and my friends that you would bottle up our laughter and treasure it forever. It was weird, but makes me cry thinking about it now. You took me to Disneyland and to many other vacations every year. You let me believe that Santa was real until fifth grade, and although you ran out screaming, “We could have had her another year!” when Mary Beth told me the truth, I know you just wanted me to always have the Spirit of Christmas. You hid our Easter baskets, stuffed adorable stockings, made the best peanut butter balls. You taught me the gospel, knelt me down to pray every night as a little kid, and taught me what it means to be a Christian. You taught me manners, told me how to set a table, and showed me that we don’t wear white after labor day. You taught me how to clean, how to love, how to be a friend, and how to be a wife. You were there for me when no one else was. You helped me get through high school and Young Women’s. We prayed together nightly for a new young woman to join the church so I wouldn’t be alone. We prayed together when the snow was falling to hard to drive to Penny’s after church. We prayed together for all of our siblings when they left the house.
Mom, you’re truly the best.
You asked all of us to share our memories with you, and clearly I got a little sentimental. But I wanted to let you know how much I care for you!
Happy Birthday, from the baby!
“So the first time you hear the concept of Halloween when you’re a kid, your brain can’t even understand it. ‘What is this? What did you say? Someone’s giving out candy? Who’s giving out candy? EVERYONE WE KNOW is giving out candy? I gotta be a part of this!'” -Jerry Seinfeld
I love Halloween, and most of all I love candy. I love Halloween because you can eat candy and justify because you’re celebrating the holiday! At work, we have a candy jar and usually I try to shy away from it, but this week it is filled with candy corn. And not just ANY candy corn, Brach’s specialty candy corn, with flavors including Caramel Apple, Caramel Corn, and Chocolate. Holy cow. I love candy corn (even though it’s waxy and doesn’t taste that great, it’s my fall favorite and very addictive) but this takes it to a whole new step. Next time you are at the store or on campus, pick up a bag of Caramel Apple-Candy Corn. Best decision you’ll ever make!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbLcgUSCp94&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Last night T.J. and I watched the season premiere of Glee on Hulu. And wow, could it have been any better?! I loved it and can’t wait to watch the rest of the season.
Oh, and at the end of the episode, did I watch the Empire State of Mind song over and over and over again? Duh. Did T.J. and I get up and have a dance party? Doy.a.Duh (as my little cousin says).
While I am writing this post, my homemade Skyline (or Cincinnati) chili is simmering on the stove. For you all who aren’t familiar with Skyline, first of all, you have lived a sad, sad life. But it’s okay, because it’s a dish that’s only in Cincinnati area (although I think it has spread through Kentucky and Ohio).
Anyway, the recipe was originally from a Greek family many years ago, but now it has turned into a chain of restaurants and copy-cats back home. The chili is very unique because it is so sweet. Some say they add chocolate to it, but no one really knows. They feature the original chili spread across a bed of spaghetti noodles and topped with shredded cheddar cheese, garnished with oyster crackers. It comes as a 3-way (which is the noodles, chili, cheese), 4-way (noodles, chili, cheese, beans), 5-way (I don’t know what that is because I never get that). Anyway, it’s delcious, addictive, and a great comfort food on a rainy day.
Back in foods class in high school, our teacher gave us her recipe for Cincinnati chili, it clearly is not the same as Skyline, but it’s pretty darn close! So, I invite you (even if you aren’t from Cincinnati) to give this recipe a shot!
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 t vinegar
1/2 small can tomato paste
1-2 T chili powder (depending on how much heat you can handle)
2 t cinnamon
1/2 ground red pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 t all spice
1-2 dashes worcestershire sauce
2 t salt
2-3 C water
- In large sauce pan, brown ground beef and minced onion.
- Add water and remaining ingredients
- Cook uncovered for 1-2 hours, until thick
- Serve over spaghetti, sprinkle shredded cheese and oyster crackers on top
- Enjoy!
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