ABCs of ME!!

Because I totally hop on the bandwagon of whatever might be popular in the blog world, I've decided to post the ABCs of ME!!

I know, I know. I'm the most fascinating person and you're on the edge of your seat waiting to read all about me, right?. Well, in as non-conceited of a way as this can possibly sound... I love talking about myself (And seriously? Don't make that face. People have blogs because they like to talk about themselves... and then they have kids and talk about them, but until them, it's all about me/you, baby), so this was way easy for me to do.

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: Queen! We just made our first big joint purchase and splurged on a new mattress and boxspring for our bed and it is HEA-VEN. Our previous mattress was the dinky Ikea one that I bought when I first moved to Boston... almost four years ago. It was time. It is thick and firm and... tall. Very very tall. My feet dangle when I'm not posing on the bed! Whatevs-- it's fabulous.

C. Chore you hate: Scrubbing the shower. We have a stand-up shower with some weirdly textured, moody floor that gets gross if it's not scrubbed at least once a week (and sprayed with cleanser after it's used), in addition to three walls of tile (um, forget you, nasty grout) and a glass door that gets scummy after one shower. The only thing I've found that works is Kaboom shower cleaner, which requires both bathroom doors to be open, fans to be turned on, and usually ends in me speaking gibberish on the bathroom floor after inhaling the fumes. It's not pretty, y'all.

D. Dogs: I may say the biggest reason I can't wait to get our own place is so that we can really have our own space and such (which is true)... but it's really because I can't wait to get a dog. I miss my Lucy girl at home in Texas terribly:

Yes, that sweet thing has one brown eye, one blue eye, loves to be dried with a blow dryer after a good bath, is afraid of her own shadow, enjoys long walks through the neighborhood, and sleeps in bed with her head on the pillow next to anyone who'll let her. Love her to pieces.

E. Essential start to your day: Since I've gotten all healthy and such, breakfast is so important. Greek yogurt and fruit, an egg and turkey bacon on a sandwich thin or in a wrap if I have time... regardless, if I don't have breakfast, I'm FAMISHED by like 11. And coffee. It's bad. If I don't have a morning coffee, I'm out for the count... also by 11.

F. Favorite color: Green, from key lime to emerald.

G. Gold or silver: Silver.

H. Height: 5'7.

I. Instruments you play: I proudly rocked the cello and clarinet all throughout middle school. It was fun, and I thought was SO COOL, toting my cello to the bus, wearing my orchestra polo to school on performance days... sometimes ignorance is bliss. I'd still love to learn to play the piano, and I swear it's not too late.

J. Job title: Administrative associate, administrative assistant... cookie buyer, conference room booker. I rock it.

K. Kids: None, but I definitely want children in my life when the time is right!!

L. Live: Right outside of Boston, but my heart will always be in Texas :)

M. Mom's name: Janice Marie

N. Nicknames: My full name is Katherine, so Katie has always been my big nickname. Kate, Katya... nothing too exciting.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Zero, knock on wood.

P. Pet peeve: Having to listen to people eat, the sound of an eating utensil scraping against plastic, when people clear their throat or sniffle instead of coughing or blowing their nose-- just get it out, y'all!!, when people take up good treadmills so they can read a magazine while chatting on their iPhone and texting on their BB and watching the TV. Excuse me, but I have a fanny to continue to run off, if you'd kindly relocate to your couch, pleasekthanks.

Q. Quote from a movie:

The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize. -Steel Magnolias

A ho! A ho! My dad's been captured by a ho! -Sleepless in Seattle

Oh my God, I shot my eye out! - A Christmas Story

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: Clint, my younger brother:

T. Time you wake up: If I'm working out before work, I'm up at 5 and at the gym by 5:30; if it's a regular morning, I'm up by about 6:15. On the weekends, I'm at the gym by 7:30 on Saturday, and let myself sleep in on Sundays.

U. Underwear: Woo! TMI for this blog. I shall just say it all depends on the outfit.

V. Vegetables you dislike: I'm not a huge squash fan, unless there's lots of butter and brown sugar.

W. What makes you run late:
Bad hair days, "fat days" when NOTHING fits or looks right... I'm not a fan of running late, so I try not to unless it's beyond my control... like a fat day

X. X-rays you’ve had: A handful. I sprained my collar bone when I was three and actually vividly remember having X-rays done. I also sprained my ankle pretty good during a step class in high school and had them done for that little incident.

Y. Yummy food you make: I make a pretty mean pasta sauce and my Nana's lasagna and meatballs, as taught by my Daddy, always get rave reviews.

Z. Zoo animal favorite: Elephants and gorillas, although I'm not a fan of zoos in general.

Now what about you? Tell me a yummy food that you make and your least favorite chore!

When do babies start smiling...?

... because this little guy looks like he just ate a lemon!


Seriously, y'all. He is having some serious issues with the whole
"Hi Colin, meet the real world" adjustment.

He does tend to look a bit more content/non-agitated in his swing though.
His mama swears that this makes their day SO much easier.

Out of pure love and complete bias for this little person whom I have not yet met and am not even (officially) related to...
...he might be one of the cutest babies. Like, ever.

We fly down to Baltimore to meet baby boy next weekend! I can't wait, and Brian is more and more excited every day. His sister has been great with sending daily picture texts to everyone, and every time a new batch comes through, he gets all giddy and says things like "He is a pretty cute kid" (from the guy who thinks all newborns resemble aliens), and "He hasn't smiled yet... but it's because I'm not there" (he'd kill me for writing this, but oh well! You only have your first nephew once, after all). He has also made it very clear that he'll be going nowhere near diaper changes, and after realizing his unawareness of the whole "support their head" thing, he's decided to only hold Colin while sitting down. Oh, I will be baby-razzi galore, though!

To curb my excitement for the trip, I've been shopping a bit:

I die, a thousand times over.


Brian's last name is King... and Meghan's maiden name is King (obviously), so baby boy has a hyphenated last name... which Brian likes to point out still includes "King".
And so we have a onesie.

These babies make my day in all kinds of ways...


This little man is going to be the best dressed baby around, as long as I have any say in it. My future babies have no idea what they're in for... :)

Colin James!!

Blog-world friends, meet Colin James!!


Baby boy was born today at 3:42pm, weighing and measuring in at 7 lbs, 3oz, and 21 inches long. To say that the family is excited would be the understatement of. the. year. Colin is the first grandchild on both sides of the family, the first great grandson (obviously)... he's kiiind of a big deal.

Today started out pretty typical. I woke up, fit in a 2 mile run, did Spin at 8, scooted off to Weight Watchers, then stopped in to get a Valentine's pedicure. We had heard on Friday that if Brian's sister, Meg, didn't go into labor over the weekend, they'd be inducing her on Wednesday, 2/16. Figuring we had plenty of time, Brian and I headed to a 1:30 movie to see The Fighter.

Y'all. Despite the fact that it was a truly fabulous movie (and I'm thinking Christian Bale will win that Best Supporting Actor Oscar), Marky Mark has it goin' on:

For real. I've read that he basically trained for two entire years for this role because production was on and off so many times. Whatev, MM-- it SO paid off. Sigh.

Also, Amy Adams KILLED her character. I've yet to see a movie that she didn't just blow me away in, and she certainly did not let me down in The Fighter. What I really admire is that she's said in interviews that when she found out she'd be playing a bartender and wearing short shorts and belly shirts, she wanted to sign up for a trainer, pronto. The producers said no, and so she didn't. All in the name of the love of the art, people!

Anyways, girlfriend needs to be my BFF pronto:

SO, back to baby.

when we got out of the movie, Brian had SEVEN missed calls, which we immediately assumed meant Meghan was in labor. Indeed! We called his parents around 2pm and she'd just checked into the hospital after laboring at home since 8am. By 3:42, Colin had made his debut! She said it went so fast that she didn't have time for an epidural, which is just terrifying to even think about. We can't wait to get down to Baltimore and meet him!!

We decided to celebrate our Valentine's Day tonight and had reservations at Burton's, a classy steak spot near our condo. We went, we had shrimp and steak and amazing bread, I had wine... and wine... and then our waiter knocked my glass over and I had more wine. I shall not complain. Dinner was delish and we headed back to the condo to relax where I might be indulging in another glass or two. Hey, it was for Valentine's Day!

I think that about brings us up to speed. New baby, early VDay celebrations, decent wine drinking... all in a day's work, my friends :)

'Til later, my lovelies!

If the boot fits, BUY IT!!

As much as I love living with my boy, MAN do I love a good girls night All byy MYYyyseEelf (yes, by all means, go with your guy and sing those three little words).

I am typing this while lying in my bed, all wrapped up in my five year old, all worn in and comfy psychedelic throw from my mom, watching Julie & Julia for the 975th time. Since dinner was up to me, I threw together a little cilantro lime rice, added a bit of rotisserie chicken left over from the weekend, and wrapped it up in a FlatOut. TaDA! A supper that definitely does not count as "man food".

However, in thinking of him, I did manage to use my remaining POUND of Velveeta leftover from my Superbowl queso and make him homemade mac and cheese. My Texan blood demanded that I include Velveeta + Rotel in my diet on Sunday, but all that was left when I finally made it to the store on Sunday morning was a 2 pound package of the stuff. After pausing for half a second, I chunked the block of processed heaven into my basket and went on my merry way. Since jumping on the whole healthier eating bandwagon, I very very rarely indulge in things like queso. However, I'm a southern gal, not a saint.

So I cozied up with my Fritos and queso and vowed that as soon as I was done I would get right on the mission of achieving bodily perfection, otherwise known as "Brooklyn Decker is a goddess and I shall run forever with her as my motivation":

Seriously.

Despite the fact that girlfriend gets paid to be in such amazing shape, I cannot help but envy being able to pull off a bikini like that! Fritos or not, I just do not have the body type that I could ever reasonably fathom to look like that (nor am I 5'9 with legs up to HERE), and I am so okay with and accepting of that. I have the hips and curves and I'm so happy with myself and the changes that I've made in my life regarding healthy eating and fitness. However... girlfriend rocks it all day long.

I also have a very exciting (yet somewhat sad... and kind of pathetic in a way) update. A little over a year ago, I had lost about 10 pounds and was PUMPED to try on a pair of Hunter rain boots. Brian was going to buy me a pair for Valentine's Day and I was SO EXCITED. We went to a local shoe store, I grabbed my size, pulled them on... and they wouldn't budge. Like, I could not pull the gosh darn things up. Near tears, my godsend of a boyfriend yanked and pulled until they came off. My fantasies of wearing my Hunters amongst the Royal Family (they are, after all, the official boot of the Royals) were squashed and I left the store in tears.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I had to exchange a pair of work pants at the Gap (to a size smaller... which I would be excited about... except I wore them today and counted down the minutes until I was home and in my yoga pants) and right next door stood the dreaded shoe store. After losing a bunch more weight since I had last tried the boots on, I decided to stop in quick and just see. Y'all... THEY FIT. They stinkin' slid right on, even with the adorable thick welly sock (which I will also be purchasing). I am SOOO excited and happy and proud.


These babies are about to take up residence in my closet and I cannot wait. I thought that I wanted a subtle color, but since I've worked so hard to get here, I'm thinking I just might go for the red or the yellow or the green. Who knows? Love 'em though!! I will surely report back once I make the big purchase.

To wrap things up, I shall bullet:

  • Brian's sister is due any day now with her and her husband's first baby! I can't wait to be Aunt Katie and spoil this little boy rotten. I am currently obsessed with the following purchases:
I die a thousand times over. Etsy has become my favorite procrastinating tool as of late, and that is a dangerous thing, my friends. I'm all about the baby crab hat because they live in Baltimore and I've already put together an entire crab outfit for baby boy. I can't wait to meet him!!
  • Our schedules have changed around again so I finally get to go back to fitting in my workouts in the mornings. You know things have changed when you lay out your gym clothes and think "I can't wait to get my run in tomorrow morning!" Yes, I will set my alarm for 5. Yes, I will stumble to the car and drive the tiniest bit bleary-eyed to the gym. Yes, I will jump back on the treadmill and run until my little legs cannot run anymore and it will feel A-MA-ZING.
  • I've become an avid The Biggest Loser fan, and for some reason I just can't connect to the contestants this season. I usually love/hate certain people, and I just feel kinda "Eh" about these guys.
'Til later, my lovelies!

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

After spending the first 21 years of my life in sunny, unseasonably warm Texas, I now TOTALLY get the whole "Wanna get away?" vacation deals to go to beachy places in the winter.

A beach with a blanket with a picnic basket with an umbrella because it's sunny enough that you need to be shaded?!

Yes, please.


Fruity tropical drinks that only taste fabulous and as colorful as they look if you're consuming them while toasting in a bathing suit in the sun?

Sign me up!!


I wish that this was leading you somewhere exciting, like to share the news that Brian and I are jetting off to some exotic locale this weekend to eat, drink, and tan our pasty white bodies into oblivion. Well first off, who am I kidding? If I exposed this skin to the sun not only would I blind my fellow beach-goers, but I would toast to a lobstery-red crisp in a matter of minutes. Secondly, I already have mighty important things on my agenda, such as grocery shopping, apartment hunting, and throwing a Superbowl shindig.

If that's not life on the wildside, I don't know what is.

To bring you up to speed, as well as to my reason for this Where, oh where, has my sunshine gone? post, this is all that I have seen when I'm walking/driving/sitting/sleeping for the past month:

I snapped this on my walk to the train yesterday morning. If you notice the police car, please note the snow bank next to it. No, your eyes are NOT playing tricks on you. That snow is indeed as tall as the car. It is so bad... and cold... and slippery. I'm all about loving the fluffy white stuff, but when you have to commute in it, it just stinks.

Hence why I desperately need to see the sun again sometime soon and why I spend portions of my days browsing tropical resorts and dreaming of my (dream) beach vacation.

'Til later my lovelies.