Sad.

I miss my bestie...

Bellaziza's Favorite Things

Check out this awesome new site:



Now, I know what you are thinking...Katie, you don't have kids! Yeah, well, I have plenty of friends who DO have kids and it's never too early to read up on all the new kiddy stuff!! Who knows how soon I will have some of my own!?!?!

Anyways, it's an awesome site called "Bellaziza's Favorite Things," so check it out!

Random. Purposeless. But Interesting.

It has taken me a while to respond to my big sister's tag on the below questions. But hear goes....


Step 1: Respond and Rework. Answer the questions on your own blog. Replace one question that you don't like with a question of your own invention. Then add one more question of your own invention.


Step 2: Tag six other un-tagged people!


1. Make a list of things you can see without getting up.
Desk, lamp, bed, table, picture, everything on my desk, dreaded stupid damned work cell.


2. Favorite Football Team.
Haha, don't have one....I'll choose the Colts because of a cutie pie Manning.


3. What are you wearing now?
PJ's...yes, I know it's only 6:30 but I'm tired.


4. What's the last thing you read/are currently reading?
The Five Love Languages for Singles and the GRE for Dummies


5. Who was the last person you hugged?
Ms. Kelli bear at work during my current work-related crisis.


6. What's your current obsession/addiction?
Planning a v-cay! I am obsessed with getting a break from work! I am also obsessed with Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, but I'm rationing myself to make them last longer!

7. What was the last thing you said aloud?
Sophie, get back here!


8. What was the last thing you bought?
Wow, boring--food. The last thing I bought was Zaxbys for lunch about 3:30 today. I can't even remember the last time I bought something for pleasure...that makes me sad. Kinda makes me wanna go buy something for fun. Nope, I'm in PJ's and sleepiness wins over shopping!


9. What are you listening to right now?
The fan in Bullfrog's room and someone mowing the lawn next door.


10. What is your favorite weather and why?
A cool crisp fall day. Cold enough for a sweater and a fire, but warm enough to feel your toes!


11. What is your most challenging goal right now?
Not quitting my job.


12. Say something to the person who tagged you.
I am looking at plane tickets to your house!!! (Okay, well, I was until I started do this blog--but that's your fault--you tagged me!!)
13. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be? Hmm....lots of places...if I had to choose one, I think I would pick a big Southern home with a wrap around porch in North Georgia.


14. Favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere with someone I love--I love to travel and see all kinds of places!


15. Favorite children's book ?
Anything by Robert Munsch or written by my own hand...


16. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you.
Brownies. But only certain kinds...I LOVE a nice warm brownie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

17. What would you do if you won the Lottery?
I'd probably cry first. Then I would tithe, give an offering to the church, and open a counseling center in America and an orphanage in Africa. Oh, and set my fam for life (that is, assuming I've won a very BIG lottery!)


18. Do you sleep with the covers on or off?
Always on. Doesn't matter how hot I am or anything, I always have covers. I feel too exposed with nothing covering me. I usually sleep with a blanket over my head too--keeps the light out.


19. Describe your perfect day.
Spending time with those close to me. In a tropical place. With no cell phones. And NO work (haha, I really do love my job--just not this month!)


20. What is your favorite accessory and why?
Hmm...I am not really an accessory girl (stop gasping, Slim [formerly known as Shopaholic] and Sassy [my almost-20-year-old sister], it is OKAY not to like accessories), so I will replace that question with this one:


20. If you were stranded on a deserted island and had the basic necessities of food, water, and shelter, what three things would you take with you?
A friend, a boat, and a navigation system.


21. What is the accomplishment you are most proud of and why?
I am most proud of finalizing the adoptions of more than 75 children in three years. Whenever I have a tough time at school, I try to remember that each one of those children is now safe and loved because of my help. It never fails to get me though the tough times.


22. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a missionary or an adoptions counselor. Huh, what was I thinking?!?


And my added question:

23. What is your favorite summer pasttime?

And since I am the only one in my fam that responded (and considering I don't have any other people to tag), I AGAIN tag this people:

Joy in the Journey
Honesty is the Best Policy
Consider the Lilies

And I also tag:
Tiffany

Did it taste like chicken?

Wow, has it really been a month since I posted?!? I feel like I haven't even had time to breathe, let alone shower, eat, wash my hair, or blog (all of the important stuff in life). I won't bore you with the details but work has taken over my life.



Literally. Taken. Over.



Like aliens or space dogs or a room full of two-year-old children. Unsupervised. And hyped up on sugar. With glue. And sand.



That was the picture of my Sunday morning yesterday. My glorious friend, the "other" Katie, ahem...forgot...to arrive at church on time to teach the two-year-old Sunday school. Leaving it all to me. So, it was me and two other adults against eight monsters little children. Plenty of supervision, right?

Wrong.

The activities included taking a "trip" to a lagoon, in which we had to pack a suitcase for survival. Anyone ever tried to explain survival to a 24-month-old? Yeah, not to mention the items we had included clothing, a frying pan, and a hairdryer. A hairdryer in a lagoon? A frying pan around small children? What are we teaching here?!? Things only got worse from there.

The art project included making a "lagoon" for each child to keep. Complete with stickered fish, glittery flowers and sand. Yes, real sand, as in the kind that small children can get EVERYWHERE. Oh, and did I mention there was glue involved? The children were more interested in the sand/glue mixture than the actual lagoon building. I wonder what sand paste does to your intestines...

I think God is laughing at me. My internal clock has come to a screeching halt after yesterday's Sunday school fiasco. Thankfully, no one died and all the little kids survived as well. But I think I will stick to helping teach Children's Church instead--where my biggest worry is making sure kids don't sniff glue, not eat it.

Adventures at the Dog Park...

Being the good mommy that I am, I decided to take Sophie to the dog park yesterday. Other than Ella (Bullfrog's big yellow Lab), Sophie doesn't have the opportunity for much interaction with other dogs--especially dogs her size. So, off we went. Bullfrog also went along to take Ella to the big dog pen.

We get to the dog park and Sophie immediately heads for the big dog area. She is so used to being around a bigger dog, I think she believes she is a LOT bigger than she really is. However, she quickly retreated when she was surrounded by four or five VERY large dogs. The dogs were harmless--just checking out the small fry in town--but Sophie wasn't impressed. So we left Ella and Bullfrog and headed to the small pup section. There were seven or eight little dogs running around, fetching balls, playing with one another. I was like, fantastic, Sophie can finally socialize with dogs her size. When I put her down, she eyed the other dogs suspiciously. Then she took off running! I was so proud that she was jumping right in.

That is, until she arrived at her destination. Sophie barrelled straight for the closest person's feet, flipped over on her back, and wiggled adorably until the man reached down to pet her tummy. He laughed nicely and gave her a few scratches. And then Sophie was off again. Much to my dismay, she simply ran to the next person and did the exact same thing. There were five other individuals in the park and she ran to each one methodically--even the old guy in the back minding his own business. She would literally push the other dogs out of the way to get the attention. No matter how much I called and fussed, she relished in the attention. Once she went to each person, she went back to the ones who seemed most interested in fawning over her.

To make matters worse, Sophie scrambled into the lap of one nice old lady and made herself right at home. Thankfully, she simply told me to keep a close eye on her because someone would steal her cuddly self and take her home. I calmly informed the lady that they would bring her back once they continued to see how spoiled she is!!!

Needless to say, our adventure at the dog park didn't go as planned. In the end, the only exercise Sophie did was running to get more love from the next unsuspecting stranger. I don't think she quite got the concept of socializing with her own kind. Maybe next time...

Ella, on the other hand, had a blast. She jumped right in and played with the other dogs full force for about 20 minutes. Then she lie down next to Bullfrog as if to say, "I'm exhausted." She's definitely out of shape.

25 Random Things...

1. I broke my arm jumping on a bed when I was three. THe babysitter fed me a whole packet of baloney before my parents finally came home (baloney was my favorite!)
2) My best friend swears I have a birthmark, but I think she's seeing things.
3) I can't have chipped nail polish--I feel like a street hooker no matter what I'm wearing.
4) I can marry people.
5) I wrote term papers for other people in high school--sometimes multiple ones on the same subject and always made them sound completely different.
6) I won't eat unless everyone at the table is eating--even if I'm starving. When they're done, I'm done. That's why I eat so fast.
7) My best friend saved my life--she is my David friend (2 Sam 18:1)
8) I am very cautious with my heart and don't date casually.
9) All my friends think my dad is hot. That's cuz he is.
10) I love anything mint.
11) I have to sleep with covers on, no matter how hot I am.
12) My favorite book of the Bible is the book of James.
13) I come from a big family of all girls and love them dearly.
14) My mind works like a book--I always add the extra parts in my mind, such as "she said mischiviously" or "he snickered quietly" to everything someone says.
15) I can't wait to go skydiving one day but have developed a fear of heights.
16) I took five semesters of Spanish in high school and can only speak about 10 sentences.
17) One of my favorite memories of living on Guam was jumping off an 80 foot cliff into the ocean.
18) I have never seen all of the Wizard of Oz because it scared me. I am terrified of scary movies.
19) I have been to Africa twice and would move there if it wasn't for #13.
20) My dream job would be to write children's books. I have written several but never had the guts to try to publish.
21) I strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman and pray for my husband daily.
22) I have an orange ring around my pupil that glows when I am angry.
23) I cannot write while someone is talking to me because I will begin to write what they are saying.
24) I don't like uncovered windows after dark.
25) I couldn't have asked God for a better family. They are always behind me and I am forever grateful to God for them.

Haha, it took me almost a week to come up with my 25 Random Things list...now I keep thinking of a ton more!
--I have had Mono three times
--although they say it is like chicken pox, most people only get it once.
--I correct people's grammer in my head and secretly laugh when they say something wrong.
--I squeeze the toothpaste from the middle, even though I hate it if someone else does that.
--I don't like cold cheese but one of my favorite comfort foods is Mac N Cheese.
--I think spiral Mac N Cheese tastes totally different from all other kinds.
--I am a Christmas fanatic.
--I love to give gifts. I like watching people open their gifts more than I like to open my own gifts.
--I will remind people religiously how long until my birthday but I hate all the attention to be on me.
--I am my own worst critic.
--I don't like to be barefoot. I have to wear socks.
--I had shoulder surgery in 2008. It was the worst pain of my life.
--If I drop a Skittle, I have to drop another one so the first one won't be lonely.
--I don't eat blue food. It's unnatural.
--I have more quirks than I would have ever thought.

No place like...er...Mom's and Dad's...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE spending time with my family! As much as I love living in Florida and love the life I have made there, I still get warm fuzzies whenever I come back to my parents' house in South Carolina. Even when we all don't get along or people are in and out of the house all day, I love the chaos of everything about it...