At breakfast, put coffee in your milk instead of milk in your coffee: Fill your mug to the rim with skim milk first thing in the morning. Drink it down until all that's left is the amount you'd normally add to your coffee; then pour your java on top. You just took in 25 percent of the vitamin D you need every day, and 30 percent of the calcium.

Take your vitamins every morning: Study by study, evidence is mounting that a standard multivitamin fills enough of the gaps in your diet to make a real difference. For example, a recent study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle showed that people who took a multivitamin supplement and 200 I.U. of vitamin E for 10 years were half as likely to get colon cancer.

Drink two glasses of water before every meal: This will do two things: keep you hydrated and make you eat a little less. A Dutch study showed that drinking two glasses of water can make you feel less hungry, possibly reducing your food intake and aiding weight loss.

Always order your pizza with double tomato sauce and light cheese: Men who eat a lot of tomato products tend to have less prostate cancer—probably because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a type of carotenoid that's believed to cut your risk of cancer. If you double the sauce on your pizza, you get double the lycopene. Reducing the mozzarella by just one-third (you won't miss it) will save you 20 grams of fat. That's as much as in a McDonald's Quarter-Pounder.

Always order your sandwiches with double tomato slices: Another chance for a healthy dose of lycopene.

Pile onions on everything: Research has revealed that onions are so healthful—they're a top source of heart savers called flavonoids—that it's practically your duty to eat them lavishly on hot dogs, pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. And speaking of junk food...

Whenever you eat fast food, drink two glasses of water afterward: Big Macs, subs, fries, and pepperoni pizza are all loaded with fat and sodium, which can be hellish for your heart. You can't do much about the fat once you've eaten it, but you can flush away some of the excess sodium by drinking plenty of fluid afterward, says Tina Ruggiero, R.D., a New York City dietitian.

When the waitress asks what you want to drink, always say iced tea: The more we learn about tea, the more healthful it looks. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that a serving of black tea had more antioxidants—crucial to your body's defense against heart disease, cancer, and even wrinkles—than a serving of broccoli or carrots.

Have an afternoon snack every day at 3 o'clock: A nutritional boost between lunch and dinner wards off fatigue and keeps you from overindulging later, says Keith Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., director of the nutrition clinic at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Rose F. Kennedy Center. Just don't scarf down a candy bar. Try yogurt and fruit, crackers and cheese, or eat an egg (hard-boiled), an apple, and a thirst-quencher like bottled water. All of these foods will give you long-lasting energy.

Always leave the skin on your fruit: If you peel apples or pears, you're throwing away heavy-duty nutrients and fiber. Same goes for potatoes. Go ahead and peel oranges, but leave as much of the fibrous white skin under the rind as you care to eat—it's loaded with flavonoids. Ditto for the white stem that runs up the middle.

Put a bottle of water in the office freezer every night before you leave work: You already know that you should drink eight glasses of water a day, but how are you supposed to do it? Fill a half-gallon bottle in the morning, and make sure you've downed it all by the time you go home. If you like your water cold and you have access to a refrigerator, fill the bottle partially the night before and stick it in the freezer. Next morning, fill it the rest of the way. You'll have ice-cold water all day.

Whenever you buy grapefruit, go for red instead of white: Remember lycopene, that stuff in tomatoes that may fight prostate cancer? It's what makes tomatoes red. And it's responsible for the color in ruby red grapefruit. (Watermelon and guava also have some.)

Eat salmon every Wednesday: Actually, the day doesn't matter; the important thing is to have it once a week. Salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat most experts say we don't get enough of. Omega-3s seem to keep the heart from going into failure from arrhythmia—men who eat fish once a week have fewer heart attacks—and they may even ward off depression. A weekly serving of salmon should supply the amount of omega-3 fats you need.

Always wash your meat: Here's an easy way to cut the fat content of your secret chili recipe: As soon as you finish browning the ground beef, pour it into a dish covered with a double thickness of paper towels. Then put another paper towel on top and blot the grease. If you want to remove even more fat, dump the beef into a colander and rinse it with hot (but not boiling) water. The water will wash away fat and cholesterol. Using these methods together can cut 50 percent of the meat's fat content.

Whenever you have salad, keep the dressing on the side: Here's the drill: Dip your fork in the dressing first, then spear a piece of lettuce, then eat it. Sound dumb? In fact, it's one of the smartest habits you can have. Four tablespoons of, say, honey-mustard dressing can have 60 grams of fat—nearly an entire day's worth for an average guy.

Whenever you eat broccoli, put a little margarine, olive oil, or cheese sauce on it: This is our kind of nutrition advice. Broccoli is a rich source of beta-carotene—one of the major antioxidants your body needs. But beta-carotene is fat-soluble, which means it has to hitch a ride on fat molecules to make the trip through your intestinal wall. Without a little fat in the mix, your body won't absorb nearly as much beta-carotene.

Always have seconds on vegetables: If we had to pick one food that represents the best insurance for long-term good health, vegetables would be it. Your daily goal: Three servings minimum. A serving, by the way, is ½ cup. Think of a tennis ball—it's about half a cup in volume.

Do a fat analysis before every meal: It's tempting to go fat-free at breakfast and lunch so you can indulge in a high-fat dinner. Wrong. Studies show that, for several hours after you eat a meal with 50 to 80 grams of fat, your blood vessels are less elastic and your blood-clotting factors rise dramatically. William Castelli, M.D., director of the Framingham Cardiovascular Institute, says, "The immediate cause of most heart attacks is the last fatty meal." Spread your fat intake over the whole day.

Always eat (a little) dessert: Here's why: Sweets such as cookies and low-fat ice-cream bars signal your brain that the meal is over. Without them, you might not feel satiated - which might leave you prowling the kitchen all night for something to satisfy your sugar jones.

Eat a bowl of dry cereal every night before you go to bed: A low-fat, low-calorie carbohydrate snack eaten 30 minutes before bed will help make you sleepy, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The nutrition bonus? Cereal is one of the easiest ways to reduce your fiber deficit. (Most men eat only half the 25 to 35 grams of fiber they need daily.) So pick a cereal that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving.

Taken from here.

Also check out "Getting Skinny at Work"

Labels: Health, unsolicited advice

The other day, my boss asked me to go and look at a couple of the houses that we have for sale and to pick out an accent wall or two and a color for those walls. No pressure right? Just potentially fuck up three houses, I pointed out to my boss that, in case he may have forgotten, I am the girl who just painted her office purple...

He just smiled and said, "I'm sure you will pick out colors that everyone would like."
Are you? Because I can't swear that I am.
So, I grabbed the keys for these three houses and then went to them, one by one and sat in them. I walked through the entire house and sat in the main rooms from every possible angle. Then I picked the wall(s) and color(s) and moved to the next house.
It was actually kind of fun and I hope that they end up looking as awesome as they did in my mind :)
*fingers crossed*
Anyway, on the third house I went up to unlock the door and found it standing open. I stepped back but looked through the glass door and found that the house was still being put together. There was a roll of carpet on the floor and other supplies that I could clearly see from where I stood so I thought maybe the door was open on account of how there were people inside doing work on the house. But this time, as I went to open the glass door, it swung open at me and I was standing face to face with a reasonably attractive man who was several inches taller than me and wearing glasses.
I asked him the first question that came to mind, "Oh, are ya'll still working on this one?" He gave me a sort of puzzled look and answered, "I don't work here." I stammered out an "Oh." on account of how I was surprised. We don't let people just cruise around inside of houses unaccompanied by anyone and especially in incomplete houses. As I walked in, he walked out and as he closed the door, he asked me to make sure I locked it on my way out. I was further confused but went about my task of choosing a paint color for this last house.
A few minutes later, back in my office, I was making notes and a couple of sketches of the colors and areas of color I liked the most when I saw the tall cute dude walk by my office. He hadn't seen me, but I put aside what I was working on in case he should walk by again so I could say hello. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he walked back by and stopped, smiled and said, "So you work here." I said that I did and then asked him what it was that he was doing. He explained to me that he was from an insurance company that we apparently insure our homes with and he was just "verifying stock". So I asked him where he was from and he said San Antonio and then I was going to ask him something else and my next-door-office-neighbor (whom we can refer to as Jokeman) poked his head in to ask me something, putting a solid halt to my quasi-flirting.
Now a little history on Jokeman: we like him. He is funny and a ball of energy. He flirts some but has a girlfriend (and given my last experience at work, with a dude with a girlfriend, we aren't EVEN going there!). Mostly he is just fun to hang out with. He is a good next-door-office-neighbor.
So as he comes in and the insurance guy heads to my boss' office, I look up to see what he wants. Jokeman sets a paper down on my desk, glances over his shoulder to insure that insurance guy is gone and then says in his girliest sound-like-Kate tone, "So, why don't you just come into my office and close the door huh?"
I was caught off guard and looked up at him and said, "What?" He says, "Oh, come off it! You were totally flirting with him! So, what do you do? And you live in San Antonio?"
Now, I was. Don't get me wrong, but I didn't expect anyone to be listening - let alone call me out on it.
I told him to shut it as I felt my face flush about three different shades of red which was surely a combination of the surprise and embarrassment of having someone I work with totally pay attention to me trying to get a number.
Something I probably wouldn't have done if I had known I was being listened to.
Jokeman laughs and takes off down the hallway as Boss takes Insurance Guy outside to show him something. I grab my empty glass and take it down the same hallway to the water machine. Jokeman is standing in the copy room with cute boy I have a crush on (who still doesn't have a name) and they are talking about something work-related but as soon as Jokeman sees me walking up, he changes what he's saying and says. "So then Kate is all like So, where do you live? Do you want to just climb up on my desk?" Now I'm torn between being mortified that he just called me out in front of the boy I like and being a little grateful that now the boy I like knows I am flirting which is to imply that I am single and available should he ever actually decide to talk to me.
I go back to my office and have no sooner sat down when Jokeman and another guy I work with (the names, the names, I so need to think of names!) walk in right behind me. As they walk in, Jokeman says, "So Kate was just totally throwing herself at him." And the other guy is happily playing along seeing as how they have me razzed. I say, "fine, so I was flirting a little. If either of you had went the last year without having sex, you might be flirting a little too."
And as I say the very last part, as it leaves my mouth, Insurance Guy walks by my office door tactfully not looking in.

Labels: At work, Being a Chic, Being Retarded, Dating, I'm a loser, my crazy life, My pathetic excuse for a love life, self loathing

parte uno

parte due

parte tre


Exasperated, she blew her bangs out of her eyes.
She couldn't understand the young man's directions and he wouldn't let her pay for her espresso.
She saw him signal to a dangerously attractive man sitting on the other end of the bar.
As he walked over, sauntered really, she thought great, just what I need.

Labels: 55 Friday

At my new kick ass job, there are only three chics. There is an older saleswoman who is in here fifties and married and actually pretty kick ass. Then there is a chic who is about ten years older than me and who is also a single mother (of two daughters, 12 + 13) who is all right. She does some things that I personally wouldn't do and has slept with four guys at my job which I am just blown away by... but she knows her job and even if I think her work ethic is slightly lacking... well who am I to talk? I'm writing this very blog entry at my desk :)
The point is, there are like ten guys in the same building with three chics so we are certainly out numbered.
This couldn't be more fine with me as I truly believe that it is easier to get along with guys, especially married guys, then it is to get along with chics. Chics are conniving and vindictive and I can say that because I am one. We can't help it, we're genetically inclined to be evil. But it seems like when you are around a bunch of guys who much less genetically inclined to be evil, your own evilness hardly ever shows its nasty head.
Now you do have to get past the bathroom habits of these men and their tendency to make some pretty gross jokes, but otherwise they are good fun.
Now since I am new and since I am chic and since I didn't decorate my office in some kind of sport paraphernalia, I do get razzed when it comes to sports. And truth be told, I probably deserve it on account of I'm not all that big a sports nut.
During the meeting yesterday, there was some talk about basketball and when it was over, my boss looks at me and says, "Kate, NBA stands for National Basketball Association and it's this league of [however many] teams... blah blah blah where the whole point is to throw the ball through this hoop for points..."
Yeah.
I did start watching football a few years ago when Snakeman and I first became friends because he would call me on Monday nights and tell me to. This morphed into us watching the game together and him explaining things to my Girl Brain that weren't preset at birth. And honestly? I enjoy the games now. But do I know who the quarter back is for the 49ers? Probably not and I definitely don't know who the tight end is for... well ANY TEAM IN THE ENTIRE NFL. So yeah, not so much the big sports junkie that some dudes are. I would never in a million years know who hurt their hamstring in the big game of '93, you know?
But here's the thing, these guys? They are mad into sports.
Several sports.
Basketball of course because San Antonio houses the Spurs and they have been kicking ass as of late and San Antonio-ians fucking love them. Hell, I love them and I've maybe seen three games. I love them because they are my home team and I have to. I don't have a choice.
Then there is golf which my boss effing L-O-V-E-S and I couldn't care less about and don't even pretend to care about because it's, well it's GOLF. But whatever.
And here the last few weeks, the count down to the football season has started being brought up during our morning meetings. And I'm a little psyched about football because I know that Snakeman and I have quite a few Mondays of football together and he's fun to watch football with and I actually kind of like it now. The Superbowl last year? Yeah, it was awesome.
But yesterday someone brought up that there needed to be a date set for Fantasy Football. Here. At work.
As if the bowling league wasn't enough :)
Apparently every year, anyone who wants to signs up to play fantasy football at work.
I've never played fantasy football but I sure as fuck want to because it will obviously be (A) fun and (B) a big enough deal around here that I don't want to be left out.
So when I left work yesterday, I called Snow and told her about my day (because there was way more than just this and because she is my Chic I Tell Everything To) when I mentioned the Fantasy Football thing, she said I totally had to call MCFJ (whom I have spoken to on occasion) because he is the MAN when it comes to Fantasy anything. And then she proceeded to explain the basics to me. That you were allowed to pick so many players and then your "team" scored whatever those players scored.
Doesn't seem too hard.
So today, when I was chatting with my boss, I said something to him about how I didn't want to be left out of the whole Fantasy Football thing because I am a chic. And he asked, looking thoroughly surprised that I had just used the words "foot" and "ball" as a compound word, "Do you want to play?" I told him that I did and then he asked if I knew what it was and I told him I had a pretty basic idea. He said they'd love to have me play and then proceeded to explain to me a little better how the whole thing would go down.
Basically everyone agrees on a night and time and then we all meet on Yahoo. Yahoo randomly picks the draft order and then we pick our players for offense. Then we pick a team's defense. I think every week, we pick who want to start based on who is going to be actually starting in the real NFL (since you don't want "your team's" quarter back starting a week where he is actually benched) and then you get the points that your players score in real life.
I'm sure that there is more, but that is the jest of it.
So I think I have a few weeks to basically figure out who I want to pick for my team and then I'm sure before this whole thing goes down, there will be more rules explained to me. I bet Yahoo has their rules posted so I will have to check that out too. And then everyone here at work throws like twenty bucks into a pot and whoever wins for the season gets the pot!
God I love my new job :)

Labels: At work, Being a Chic, Fantasy Football, Snakeman

I had this peculiar little dream where I went on this airplane ride with this man. It wasn't just me in the airplane, there were several people and I knew that the ride was intended to be some kind of lesson. The man picked us all up on the beach in the midst of some kind of disagreement. I believe the people with me were my family, but not my family as I know them now, just some incarnation of my family. We all get into this bi-plane and we are flying low over the ocean and we see all of these dolphins swimming below. Seeing how enthralled I am with them (I'm practically hanging out of the side of the plane), the man lands the plane in the water and I get out and I am swimming with two of them. They are swimming to me and then from me and they are telling me a story... or more that they are showing me a story in my mind while I swim with them. The dolphins have turned into people and are walking with me on this island (in my mind), showing me their past. The one dolphin is telling me how much he loves the other dolphin and showing me how he wooed her by coming to her cottage on the beach and bringing her these purple flowers and the other dolphin is showing me how he left her alone and how she was so sad. So sad that she planted the purple flowers (that grew from watermelons for whatever reason) all over the island that her cottage is on. She had hundreds of them, they were on her porch, in her cottage, lined up in pretty gardens and as I was leaving her, I looked over a fence and saw a field of these flowers and she was sitting there, planting more. And once again, the other dolphin was gone. And I was so sad for her as I left.

Labels: dolphins, dreams

With a title like that, don't you just know that the spell checker is going to freak out on this post?
Well, that was just one of MANY things I overheard this weekend that I hadn't ever heard before.
There was also "festival feet" (which were the reason I threw the flip-flops I was wearing away when I got home) or "single and double hoppin'"...
I probably could have remembered more had I not drank quite so many $5 beers.
Now where can you get quality slang like that? Let me tell you: I spent Saturday and Sunday with Snakeman at the Heatwave car show in Austin.

I have to say that it's pretty interesting to get out for an entire weekend sans kiddos and be a grown up. It gives me a little glimpse at the life I skipped entirely by becoming a parent at such a young age. I occasionally wonder what life would be like if I just had me to contend with and could pretty much do anything I wanted and short of a few phone calls home to check on my girlies, I had a pretty good view of that kind of life this weekend.
Now, I've never been to a car show before and besides getting to see some pretty awesome cars, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Just like I had no idea how effing rad monster trucks are. More so when you are standing twenty feet away from them and they are flinging mud all over the place. (I'm going to have to call Fairy and apologize to her for the whole razzing about the monster truck show she took her kid too a few months ago.)



But the monster truck show and the really awesome stunt bike show (that was too far away for my shitty little camera to have any truly awesome pics of, sorry) were just the icing on the cake that was

Camaros


Caddy's - I've decided that I want one of these, convertible of course :P


The fucking Dodge Dart Convertible with the brand new Hemi in it!


Mustangs


I'm not sure what this one was but can't you just picture some 1940's gangsters or the bad guys from Batman piling out of it?


But the coolest part? Cooler even than the t-shirt that said "That thing that your boyfriend does that your really like? Yeah, I taught him that."
I know, hard to be cooler than that huh?
But seriously, my favorite part of this entire event was when Snakeman and I were walking out to the van and we see this absolutely gorgeous red Chevy sitting in a parking spot with some 19 year old dude with braces sitting in the driver's seat. We wander over to oohhh and awwww (ok, so that's more what I do... Snakeman walks over to see if they have left the original stuff intact or if they chopped it up to accommodate bigger rims or some other nonsense - which just pisses him off) because they dig it when they have awesome rides and people notice.
So we walk over and are circling around the truck and the lucky little teenager who gets to cruise the ride is sitting there smiling because he knows his truck is amazing. Snakeman, being Snakeman, walks up and starts asking him technical questions that I am no where skilled enough to ask. Yet. And while they are talking shop, I'm half listening and half just taking in the beauty that the truck had to offer. And then I hear the dude ask for jumper cables. Which I of course have. How could I not? That would make me unprepared and honestly, that doesn't happen too often. So we go get my van and saddle up next to the awesome Chevy and this picture should pretty much sum up my favorite part of the car show:


All in all, it was awesome and I am so jazzed that Snakeman invited me.
You can see the whole album on my flickr page.

Labels: Austin, Heatwave, Snakeman

parte uno

parte due

He watched her cross the street over the steam of his cappuccino and thought have I ever seen anyone so beautiful before?
As she approached the door, he turned to Marcello, who was admiring her from behind the counter and said, “anything she orders is on me cugino.”
“Si Lucca, certamente,” he said, looking resigned.

Labels: 55 Friday

Man oh man oh man.
This movie really wasn't good.
The thing is, I rented it based on Owen and Kate being in it. I like both of them. I realized that the movie probably wasn't going to have a very good plot. I had seen a few commercials and was fairly certain that it wasn't going to be awesome but still I thought it would at least be funny! And let me tell you, it wasn't. I struggle to figure out how the movie even made it to theaters. I honestly believe that they just let the cast carry it.
It was just ridiculous. It was about as ridiculous as The Break Up was.
Don't bother people. Just don't bother.

(The only reason it even gets one head is because I like Matthew McConaughey :) And because Owen Wilson kicked ass in the Shanghai movies he did with Jackie Chan and those will pretty much redeem him for movies like this... and Zoolander.)

Labels: Movie Review

Scores from Saturday's bowling:

Game one:
Amanda: 96
Katehopeeden: 90
Noah: 88
Emilee: 54
Triniti: 46


Game Two:
Noah: 129
Katehopeeden: 92
Emilee: 75
Amanda: 74
Triniti: 58

Labels: Amanda, Being Mommy, Emilee, my crazy life, Triniti

Labels: At work, my crazy life

Parte Uno


Once free of the airport’s stuffy confines, Lily inhaled deeply, taking in foreign air and sighed at the beauty around her. She had wanted to visit Italy for years and now, standing here in the presence of her dreams, she felt ready for anything.

And “anything” was watching her from the bistro across the street.

Labels: 55 Friday

Ok, believe it or not, I am actually pretty decent at thinking up ways to make life a little easier if you are a Super Busy Mom, like I am. (This post may be a little less interesting if you are a single bachelor... but hey, if you are ;) email me.) I believe that the trick in keeping your sanity is plan, plan, plan & then pre-plan some more. If you ask any one who knows me, they will tell you that I am the crazy lady with the schedules and lists. Just two weeks ago, Jiffinner called me to ask me to go grocery shopping with her that night and I told her I couldn't because I didn't have a list yet. We ended up going the next day to give me time to make one. You see what awesome patience it takes to be my friend?
I believe that if you spend the time to schedule everything that it will save you a ton of time later. It's just simple organization. And I dig organization. Organization rocks.
So, my latest foray into Making Life Easier ala Katehopeeden began when I received my ezine from Family Fun. I usually glance through these and then delete them, but this time the words "Monthly Meal Planner" caught my eye. My brain immediately thinks, ooooohhhhh, it's already organized... I can just copy it...
That is the first thing you should be looking out for if you are wanting to become a Super Organized Super Busy Mom. Always grab or copy or save anything that could possibly be useful and save you from having to dig random recipes out of your already super cluttered mind. Think of it like online banking: would you rather have to go through and keep track of everything individually or just copy it from the online banking page and compare it to your receipts?
So ANY time I see a menu or an easy recipe, I save it. (Another GREAT place for GREAT recipes is The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I am making that peach crisp thing this weekend because either it is as good as the pictures make it look OR I need to get that camera.)
Anyway, as it happened, Family Fun had a months worth of recipes and there is also some list function on there that I couldn't get to work which I can only hope would throw together a grocery list for you as you added recipes to your "shopping list".
I did something slightly different though.
I went through the recipes and printed up some that I thought the girls might like. I printed probably about 40 recipes and took them home and sat down with the girls and explained to them that I wanted them to go through the recipes and pick out what we would be eating next week and make me a menu. On the menu (which runs Mon-Fri), I wanted a main dish, a side and a dessert (because my kids are just ALL into desert these days). And they did. And more importantly, they are excited about this. Really excited. Because they essentially get to choose what we are eating. And because they are choosing, they can't get all pissed off when it's dinner time and it's spaghetti... again.
I then took the menu and the recipes that went with it and made a shopping list. Then I made an excel sheet with the menu on it and put notes in the box next to the food explaining any prep work that might need to be done as well as which daughter would be making which part of the dinners. Then I attached a sheet to it where the girls can say whether they liked something or not (more or less determining whether we will use that recipe again).
Now there will be a funneling down process as we try out some of these foods over the next few weeks and then get rid of the things we didn't like and keep the things that we do. Once we've done that, I can change the excel sheets to run Mon-Fri with things that all the girls like and save about ten weeks worth that we can alternate through.
The last step is I am going to get two three ring binders and in one, put all the printed copies of the recipes (with little separator tabs for like "entrees" "chicken" "desserts" "sides" etc) and then in the other binder put the weekly menus and the grocery lists needed for the whole week (encased in those little plastic slip cover things so they don't get all messed up) attached to it so that they can just pick one of the weekly menus and then I can just grab the week menu, put it on the fridge and grab the list to take to the store.

So there you go. You now have one of my World Domination via Planning & Organization secrets (otherwise known as: things people do when they don't have sex). I've linked you I tried to link you to the excel sheets but couldn't because I am apparently retarded and can't figure it out. Anyone know how to upload and share excel or word docs? If you need a copy of the very basic template, shoot me an email. And, as always, I am totally interested in ANY World Domination via Planning & Organization ideas that you may have.

Labels: Being Mommy, menu planning, my crazy life, organization

My little sister turns 21 today! I absolutely cannot believe it. It seems only yesterday that she was this annoying little six-year-old that begged to go with me every time I left the house :P
Actually, Ruthie and I were always kinda close growing up. It wasn't until I got pregnant with Amanda and left that she and I sort of drifted apart.
I'd like to think that we've finally gotten back to that cool sister place.
She is a wonderful sister and I am so glad that she and I got to hang out so much over the last few years. I know I am going to miss her terribly now that she is moving to Austin.
Watch out world, she's 21 now!

Labels: birthday, Ruthie, sisters

Labels: Apocalypto, Movie Review, what you should be watching

I expected more. But it's hard to live up to some of the theatrical awesomeness I've seen the last few weeks. I guess that really isn't fair.. I expected something different. I expected The Holiday again with different actors and a slightly different story line and Music & Lyrics was a very different movie.
Here's what Music & Lyrics had that the other movies either had in short supply or not at all: laugh out loud comedy. Like when you have to rewind something because you were laughing so hard at the joke that you missed what they said afterwards. And I have to say that it was utterly refreshing after the love stories aimed at the lonely girl. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for lonely girl movies (I blame it on not having any of The Sex for a really friggen long time) this was just a change of pace from the seemingly similar films I've watched lately.
And an added bonus to this movie was the fact that Hugh Grant plays a "has been 80's pop star" complete with full music video shown at the beginning of the film. The music video alone is worth the rental fee.
In short? I really liked it. It was a good comedy with a twist of a love story. Enough so that you could actually watch this on a first or second date without the date becoming awkward. It has some very funny one liners thrown in excessively so it will keep you laughing enough that you won't realize until the next day when you are blogging about it that the story line was basically nonexistant. And that, my friends, is hard to do :)
It's a renter, not a buyer. And be ready for "POP goes my heart" to be stuck in your head :)
Look! The three Matthew McConaughey heads like it!

Labels: Movie Review, Music and Lyrics, My pathetic excuse for a love life, what you should be watching

"Hey Mom? You want to know what my four favorite things are?"

"Sure sweety, what are they?"

"My family, gum, math and rocks."

Labels: Being Mommy, Emilee, Who do we love?

Well, since I seem to be watching so many movies these days, it only seems fair that I should tell ya'll about them.
I've just watched Miss Potter which is, by far, the cutest movie I've seen in a tremendously long time. I hadn't even heard of the movie until I saw it's preview on something I rented last week and people if you haven't heard of it either, take my word for it and go rent it.
The movie is about the author Beatrix Potter and just the sweetest little thing you will see this month, if not this year. It is the very definition of heartwarming and I am not ashamed to tell you that I pretty much kept the tissues next to me the entire time and not because it was sad but because it was so refreshingly happy that I found myself laughing and crying at the same time.
The friendship that develops between Beatrix and Millie reminded me so much of the friendships shown in my favorite movie of all time: Anne of Green Gables. And that, I assure you, is a complement as to how well the relationships developed in a short time.

So, I've devised a system for rating movies... a system that you will most likely only see here on LOC.
I am going to give Miss Potter four out of five Matthew McConaughey heads :P I highly recommend this movie. It was just so sweet that I would feel bad for you if you didn't get to see it. And it's totally safe to watch with the kiddos.

Labels: Miss Potter, Movie Review, what you should be watching

Her name was Lily but no one here knew that.
No one here knows anything about me… she thought, as the plane landed.
She felt relief wash over her.
She smiled and said arrivederci to the old Italian woman sitting next to her, picked up her bag and joined the other people leaving the plane.

Labels: 55 Friday

So, the boy I mentioned in my last post (who shall remain nameless until such a time that he warrants a name)? Let me give you a little bit-o-background. He is one of the guys at my job (yes, yes, YES – I friggen know already about dating guys I work with ok? I remember Mr.I quite clearly, but let’s just ignore that one little detail for now ok? Because it’s that ONE little MINOR effing detail that could stand between me and the possibility of The Sex. And people? You don’t want to be one of the factors of that little detail standing between me and The Sex because I HAVEN’T HAD SEX IN A VERY, VERY LONG TIME. Ok?)
Moving on.
Aside from sharing the same name as Amanda and Emilee’s dad, I have yet to find anything wrong with this boy. (Give me time, it’s only been a few weeks.) The first week I was working at Kick Ass New Job (KANJ? Maybe…), I was in my office listening to Damien Rice on the ipod and nameless boy walked by my office and then came back and popped his head and asked, “Are you listening to Damien Rice?” To which I responded, “Yes.” He said, “Wow“ so I asked him, “Why? Is that bad?” And he said “No… it’s just, I don’t think anyone in this office even knows who Damien Rice is”
(Which, btw, if you are one of those people, those sad, sad people who don’t know who Damien Rice is? My heart goes out to you and you seriously need to get your hands on Crimes and Blowers Daughter and Delicate and the coconut song on his new album. Seriously.)
So, he walked off and came back a minute later and handed me Damien Rice’s new album and then walked out. I waited a few minutes and then went to his office and asked him if I could borrow it and he said sure… actually he kind of said sure, it was more of a yeah you can borrow it and I have a ton of other music here that you can borrow too because everyone kind of just bums his cds… And then he recommended a couple of other artists that I wrote down and CAN’T FIND now. One was Montagne I think…
Anyway, color me intrigued right? Here’s a guy that listens to Damien Rice.
There is one other thing I noticed too. Ok, when I am walking somewhere I snap my fingers. Like snap left and then right, quickly. *snap* *snap* *snappity* *snap* It’s just a nervous habit I guess or my inability to be still. Anyway, the other day, I noticed that he does it when he’s walking down the hallway too! (Check it out guys: THIS IS HOW LOONEY WE FEMALES ARE! WE NOTICE SHIT LIKE THAT!)
Ok, now fast forward to Monday. Monday, another guy that I work with popped his head in and asked me if I wanted him to grab me something to eat at whatever fat saturated place he was going to and I said yeah and gave him some cash. When he got back, he poked his head into my office (Did I mention I now have an OFFICE?? Yeah Baby!) and said food was here and to come eat in his office. I said I’d be there in a few minutes as I was in the middle of something. A few minutes later, I went in to eat and behind the desk is the dude who grabbed lunch and sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk? You guessed it – nameless boy. I am all like GREAT, because I really want to scarf down a burger in front of a guy I might like... especially when he is eating a SALAD!
Anyway, I plopped down with my 45,000-calorie lunch and tried to think of something to say. I made some casual conversation with guy who bought lunch about a picture he had on the wall that one of his kids had made and then I was apparently tapped because dude who grabbed lunch had to leave for like 6.5 minutes and I couldn’t think of anything to say to nameless guy.
Nothing. Not the weather. Or insects. Shoes. ANYTHING.
Did I think of anything? Nope.
Just sat there for every second of the 6.5 minutes nibbling French fries and counting the varying strands of awkward that were floating around the room.
It was awful.
Dude who bought lunch finally came back and we all finished eating and then nameless guy went back to his office and I went and slammed my head in the door repeatedly.
When I got home, I was talking to Fairy and telling her that CLEARLY this man had NO INTEREST IN ME WHATSOEVER and she said that I was wrong. She said that he was probably just as shy as I was about the whole thing, to which my darling Snow followed up that he was probably sitting there trying to think of something to say as well. Although I seriously doubt that.
But then, today, I saw a beam of light. Ok, more like a teeny tiny glimpse of a flicker… but light nonetheless.
But before I can tell you that part, I gotta give you a little more background about new job. On my resume, it says I can type like 70wpm, which is true. During my interview with my Boss, he asked me about my computer skills and my typing skills and I responded that both are stellar. On my first day actually working, I was sitting in my boss’s office and we were talking about something and he suddenly stood up and asked me to come sit in his chair. He had been working on an email and I thought he was going to like transcribe to me or something. So he says, “type something” and I asked him what he wanted me to type and he was all like, “I don’t know. Just type…” and then he gave me like two lines of the email he was working on, which I began typing. I wasn’t even half way through when he stopped me and said, “dude, I can type WAY faster than you!” Like I had any idea I was being tested :P
Well now there is a running joke in the office about how I not only can’t type but I also lied about all of the things on my resume. So now, at any given opportunity, one of the guys will mention something about checking into those typing lessons for me or ask me if I know how to do something like… speak German and when I say no, they’ll make the comment that there’s one more thing I lied about on my resume.
Did I mention that I effing love it here?
Today, in our morning meeting, it was brought up by my boss that I was beginning my third week here and after asking me how I was liking everything, he asked everyone how I was doing. At which point everyone said that they loved me and I rocked. Which I do. And then, out of the blue, nameless boy says, “yeah, I hear she is up to nineteen words per minute.”
Holy crap. He just teased me.
I am back in the fourth grade and he’s just pulled one of my pigtails right?
It’s been too long people. I don’t know how to play this game any more. I’m all out of practice. What do you guys think?

Labels: At work, Being a Chic, Being Retarded, Dating, I'm a loser, music, my crazy life, My pathetic excuse for a love life, self loathing, Who do we love?

So last night I watched Because I Said So. And since this blog has apparently turned into a website where I review the latest movie that made me cry, I'll tell you about it.
Before I tell you about the movie though, let me tell you about the new boy I am in love with: Gabriel Macht

Isn't he adorable? Even more adorable if you see him when he first comes onto the screen and he is wearing his cute little hat and dressed like Blake Lewis from American Idol 6. And just too un-fucking-believably gorgeous.
*sigh*
It makes you want to scream "WHERE IS MY CUTE BOY? HEY UNIVERSE??? I THINK YOU FORGOT TO GIVE ME MY CUTE BOY!!"
And as if his being a cute boy weren't enough! Oh no, on top of THAT he is also a SINGLE DAD!
Just impale me now.
Note to self: These perfect guys only exist in the movies. They are not real, only in the movies Kate. Deep Breath.

Anyway, good points from the movie:
The mom was a single mom of three daughters (*ahem* - sound like anyone we know?) and she loves it. At one point another character (I think the dad from Seventh Heaven) is saying to her that it must have been hard having three girls and she just smiles and tells him that there are worse things.
And there are people. Much worse things.
And the mother and the daughters had a FANTASTIC relationship. They called each other on conference calls to gossip and they shopped together and went to spas together. I think of all the parts of the entire movie, my favorite was the relationship that the mom had with her daughters.
Anyway, I don't want to spoil the whole thing because I want you guys to watch this one.
Go rent The Holiday, Catch and Release & Because I Said So and have yourselves a nice little sobfest.
I'll be here when you get back :)

Labels: American Idol 6, Because I Said So, Being a Chic, Being Mommy, I'm a loser, My pathetic excuse for a love life, The Universe, what you should be watching

So that guy at work I was telling you about? I think he's single...

Oh yeah? How did you find out?

He was talking to someone outside of my office and she said that her neighbor was a lesbian and had a super hot body and that she should introduce the two of them, to which he replied that he wasn't interested in that kind of challenge. And he always talks about his dog, never mentioned a wife. So he's single right?

Yeah Kate, if he only talks about his dog and never his wife, he is single. We should start a list of ways you can tell that someone is single. And we'll put 'talks about dog and not wife' on there.


*See the longer you go without dating, the more out of touch you become.

Labels: I'm a loser, My pathetic excuse for a love life