Wordless Wednesday: Hot Cocoa, Christmas Tunes, and a Newly Decorated Tree...

it's {just me} and the vegans...

Hi guys. It’s {just me} again. So my break from school was great, right? I think it was so great so I could be prepared for the AWFULNESS that followed it. Ugh, I don’t know if I can make it through the next three weeks of the semester. Really. It’s that bad.

…

Yesterday in my Gender in Lit class we discussed animals. Oh, excuse me, I mean “non-humans”. Apparently I am way beyond being politically correct when I call a dog an “animal”. So wrong, in fact, that my professor will correct me. Right in the middle of her lecture. My bad.

So we are reading J.M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals right now {do not even ask me why we are reading this in a gender class}.

Anyways, Professor Narcissism began the lecture with a very touching story on how she believes animals “non-humans” are on the same consciousness as humans are; meaning she believes a fly has as much cognitive development as the human species.  And if she was faced with a decision of swerving her vehicle to avoid hitting a deer or a human, she would have a tough decision to make. {Please remind me to stay very clear of her while she is driving.}

This was followed by several of my classmates agreeing with her. One student enlightened us with her current choices to make herself more spiritually "in tune" with nature. This involves humanely catching spiders or flies that enter into her home and releasing them back into nature.

Really, I am not trying to make light of their beliefs. Promise. {Okay, it is a little hysterical. But that’s not my point.}  And I thought some of their claims were actually quite reasonable. But I am just trying to give you a little background information for the following situation. {wait for it…}

So these types of discussions go on for quite some time. And after a really thrilling conversation on my Professor’s choice to become a strict Vegan, she turned to me and said, “Katie, you have been awfully quiet today. What is your take on the spiritual relationship between humans and non-humans?”

Doh. Talk about a deer stuck in the headlights of her oncoming vehicle.

I answered, “Uh, I really don’t want to offend anyone. So I have been keeping my mouth shut.”

She looked at me quizzically so I continued.

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” I said. “So basically, I have a great relationship with animals “non-humans”. You know, a relationship made through our dinner every night.”

Ha. Wrong move.

She should just be thankful I didn’t tell her about the turkey we had for Thanksgiving last year. 32 pounds of homegrown goodness from the in-laws, lovingly butchered for our own taste buds. Or about all the pigs my daddy would buy at the auction every year for bacon. Or the chickens my mother-in-law raises for their eggs, the venison my best friend’s husband collects every year, the cows we would show at the fair and then sell for our profit, and the list goes on and on.

…

Later, after regaining her composure following the shock of my blatant disregard for the “non-human” race, she informed me I should really consider becoming a Vegan. She says {and I don’t know why} that it is a great way to get over a coffee addiction. So yep, I am becoming a Vegan. Just so I can kick my dang coffee habit. Never mind the fact that I will have to give up meat. It doesn’t even begin to matter because, c’mon, I will be able to give up coffee!

I hope I haven’t offended anyone {besides my professor, that is}. Because really, if you have chosen a life of "veganism" I will stand and applaud you. I think it is great that you have such self control. But, I love me some chicken. So, get over it.

{Jake and I at Date Night tonight. Eating some chicken. My bad. Btw, completely off topic, you can see Jake's broken nose quite distinctively in this picture. Hopefully it will be fixed soon! ☺}

♥kate

of turkey day and such...

Oh my goodness, what a great 10-day holiday from books, papers, and tests I have had! How about you? Was your holiday everything you wished it to be? Oh, mine was. Let me give you the “deets” {that is, “details” in cool girl talk. Or something like that. I am not absolutely sure.}

Holidays are my favorite. Well, actually, holidays are all of the sudden my favorite. For the last 5 years holidays have been just another workday for me. You know, just one of those days when the person checking out of the hotel says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Give me a refund”. {Really, it’s the little things you have to be thankful for.}

I can’t even tell you the last time I had a Christmas or Thanksgiving {or even an Easter for goodness sake} off of work. But thanks to Jake and I both being promoted to “kind of big deals” {ha} at our workplaces, this Thanksgiving we got 4 days off. IN. A. ROW. {I know, it’s like a miracle happened or something.}

So what did we do? We celebrated! And what a fun celebration it was!

This marks the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from my family. But, man, I didn’t even miss them. {just kidding… please don’t ban us from Christmas} But really. It is super fun to have in-laws that are so much like my own family.

And it doesn’t hurt that Jake and I have the most adorable niece, Jane, who all of the sudden has the cutest little personality ever. Jake even admitted to a little hunger. You know, baby hunger. Don’t worry. I quickly changed his mind. {phew} Or it might have been the other way around. Whatever.

After Thanksgiving we made a quick trip to Boise for the night with some good friends {Jake’s best friend from high school and his wife}. Working for a hotel really does have its perks {uhhum, like free rooms and such}. We spent the night giggling over the silly stories of our husbands’ adventures in high school and secretly letting out a sigh of relief that we weren’t around for their so called “glory days” {Man, some of their stories…}

We woke up bright and early {you know, around 9 … so super early} and headed to the Bronco Stadium for a little football. Jake and his friends from high school have started a tradition of going to a Boise State game every year. This time around they allowed the old, married ones to bring their wives…which equated to two tag along wives and eight high school buddies {I am really hoping more of them get married. Soon.}

Our Boise State get-up.

The main members of the Butte County Gang.

Uhh. This is the picture I took of Jake and I waiting for the game to start. Real good. 

The only other picture I took of us at the game. Really, I need to work on my photography skills. 

Don’t ask me how the game went. I really don’t know the details. I was too busy asking Jake really important questions like “Did you just see that bird?” or “What am I suppose to be looking at? ”. Of course, these questions were supplemented with very important comments like “Look at his hair!” and “Ooh, I really like his shoes!”.  So, you know, it was a really good game for both of us. {Just kidding. I am pretty sure I am uninvited next year.}

On our way back from Boise we decided we just could not drive for one. more. MINUTE. So, we took a detour to Twin Falls, ate at Quiznos {if you know us, you know we can’t take a trip without stopping here at least twice} went Christmas window shopping {which is the best kind of Christmas shopping} and grabbed ourselves another hotel room for the night.

So there you have it. That is what I would call a complete, successful week away from school. And now we are counting down the minutes until our Christmas break. Because really, once you have a break, you cannot convince yourself to go back.

Hope your holiday was everything you wanted it to be,

♥kate

The one where we make faces...

So I love a good date night as much as the next person. I especially love a date night that involves Cafe Rio and snuggling in the back of a dark movie theater with my honey. Don't worry...we kept it "G" rated. Unlike the movie. It was about as far from "G" rated as it was from being a quality film.

Guys, have you seen the new Twilight? Goodness me, it's a little risque. And when I say a little, I really mean a lot. Half of the movie is spent watching Eddy and Bell play tonsil hockey. {Tonsil hockey? That is just about the weirdest phrase to describe kissing I have ever heard. I am a little ashamed that I just used it. Don't judge.} The other half is spent watching bad acting, bad effects, and bad blood. I had to throw in the blood. My gosh, I about threw up all over the giggling "oh my gosh, Jacob {the werewolf, not my husband ... just to clarify} just took off his shirt" girls behind us.

We really enjoyed the movie. Obviously.

And in honor of my new blog, I asked Jake to give me the best "I can't believe I just spent $19.00 for 2 hours of this crap" face for a little Instagram.

We obviously need to work on it.

Then I decided I just had to have a normal, smiling, "we are a happy family" picture of us for once. The following is our attempt at such.

Fail. Big, fat fail. Just be grateful I only shared the first six with you.

I made Jake promise we will try again tomorrow.

Moral of the story? Don't watch Twilight. And don't try to get my husband to smile like a normal person. Both are epic failures.

♥kate

it's {just me} and to whom it may concern...

To the “To Whom it May Concern” of Winco Foods,

I would like to file a complaint against the newest employee of your establishment. Not only did they refuse to move out of the way so I could get the produce I needed, but they also scared the living wits out of me. 

I would like to submit the idea of reestablishing criteria for the employees you hire.  Please take my advice into consideration. Thank you for your time.

A “close to a heart attack” customer,

Kate

Let me zoom in for dramatic effects.

♥kate

Wordless Wednesday: Apparently I am blind...

really random list of ramblings...

Do you ever have one of those days where you just cant make yourself finish a full thought? Me too. And so, today I debut my really random list of ramblings. Stay tuned, I am sure it will make an appearance again soon. 

• Yesterday I had to get my blood tested. Don't worry...this happens like once every two months, I swear. {Downside of being a sick-prone person.} Now I have this lovely little friend. I hate needles. I especially hate needles that find joy in bruising me. 

• Pinterest wins again. Tonight we had yet another success with a Pinterest recipe. All that is left to show the evidence of this success is 3 little Ikea Tupperwares and a sink FULL of dishes {I made dinner, Jake gets the dishes!} Oh by the way. I made mashed potatoes tonight...for the first time ever. Don't make fun, but I seriously had to Google how to make them. Yep, that is bad. But like I said, I am growing up. Google and Pinterest are just assisting in the "growing up" process. 

• Sometimes I wonder how Jake and I ended up together. Or more like, sometimes I wonder how Jake puts up with me. This question ALWAYS pops into my head when I pass by the bathroom {yep, the bathroom}. Before your mind goes to far, let me show you what I mean. 

       This is Jake's bathroom {he did a great job decorating, wouldn't you say?}. 

All clean. Pretty, even.                

      No water spots on the mirror. No toothpaste in the sink. He is SUCH a clean freak. 

      This is my bathroom.  Need I say more?

• A few weeks ago the bishopric came for a little visit. They informed me that we were the sole family in the ward without children. Really. The ONLY ones! Then they proceeded to tell me they were going to make it their duty to change this statistic as soon as possible. This week they gave us a calling. Care to guess? I think they are a little confused though. Putting us in the nursery is probably going to have the opposite effect on us. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE kids. But taking care of someone else's kids {other than those related to me of course. Really, Kim. Keep those kids coming over!!} has always made me realize just how much I am not ready to be a Momma. 

• I think Jacob is getting a little sick of my new blogging habit. Or maybe just the fact that I insist on Instagraming everything now.

• Jake and I just gained new hobbies. I blog. Jake plays basketball at the church. Last week after Jake's new hobby, he came home with a cute little Kleenex stuck up his nose. After much deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that it's broken...for the 7th time. {He has the Schwartz Family Nose. It is an easy target after all☺} He now makes a very cute {ha} little noise when he breathes. Not too loud or anything though {um, slight exaggeration}. Imagine a train. Or a jet. Or a jackhammer. Only louder. It makes for a fun time trying to fall asleep at night. The bad thing is that he is not even snoring. JUST BREATHING! Needless to say, he will be visiting the doctor very soon to correct the problem. I am going to go ahead and say my new hobby is safer. And quieter. 

And that, my friends, is what I like to call a really random list of ramblings. 

♥kate

it's {just me} and my foot meeting my mouth...

Oh hi. It’s {just me} again. Ever had one of those “oh my gahhh” moments when you just want to reach into the air,  grab handfuls of words you just let escape from your mouth, and shove them back where they belong? When you wish you had a delete button available to meet your every need? When you want to put your foot right in your mouth {metaphorically speaking, of course}? Today I had one of those moments. Well, sort of.

Remember this post? The one about my professor? Miss Professor Narcissism? Two weeks ago she gave us a midterm. I came home to Jake on the verge of rambling tears because I was sure she created the test just to fail me. Good crap, it was hard!  “I’m doomed” I said. Over and over again. “I’m doomed, I’m doomed, I AM DOOMED!”

Today she gave us back our midterm. Good news = I wasn’t doomed. Bad news = foot, meet mouth.

Attached to my midterm was quite a significant paragraph discussing my test.

Here’s what the lovely little paragraph said. {Prepare yourselves}

Katie,

You lost a point here and there for vague, imprecise, or “note quite correct” answers, in addition to one question on psychic colonization that you didn’t answer {Can you blame me? Psychic colonization. What the?}.  However, I would like to say that, overall, I’m quite impressed with your performance on this exam. I reread your exam several times because the quality of most of your answers was very high. I want you to do better on the final, so please reflect on your answers and review the material for those questions you did not answer precisely.

{Get ready for the kicker}

It’s great having you in my class. I look forward to seeing you every week. Your contributions to the success of this course through your participation in class discussion are noted and appreciated.

Regards,

LW

She looks forward to seeing me every week??? Are. You. KIDDING. This coming from the woman I asked the blogging world {or the five of you who actually read my ramblings} for advice on how to deal with. The woman I said I could hardly stand spending 2.5 hours with. She looks forward to seeing me? Once again… apologetic foot, say hello to guilty mouth. 


Do you think she knows I have a hard time making myself go to her class every week? Do you think she knows what I secretly think about her? Do you think she reads my blog? My mom would say yes. Mother called me the day after I posted and told me I needed to delete what I said about my professor because, you know, it was not nice. 


If, in fact, she somehow magically knows I became a blogger and curiously started reading my posts, then maybe I should respond to her note. Just to ease my mother's conscious of raising a "not nice" daughter. 

LW,

Sorry I said you make me want to pull my hair out.

Apologies,

Katie

***

On a completely different note, tonight I made dinner for my hubby! Yup, equipped with dessert {rolo cookies} and all! I think I am growing up. You see, I have become addicted to this little thing called Pinterest. Ever heard of it? Well I tried two recipes and I must say, we had a complete Pinterest success!

P.S Don't let the ugly she-man picture of me bother you. I just chopped onions for our Pinterest dinner which wiped my once make-up'ed face clean. And no, I did not chop all of my hair off. It is held tight in a "keep hair out of Pinterest dinner" bun. Admit it, I'm adorable {really, this is dripping with sarcasm}.

P.S.S Isn't my husband adorable? {No sarcasm intended.}

♥kate

Wordless Wednesday: Quarter to 8 and going to BED.

it's {just me} and my favorite...

Guys, it’s been a rough week. Really, really rough.  There’s been two 14 hour work days in a row, an unexpected and devastating death of a family member, two terribly difficult midterms, the big dilemma from yesterday, and many other rough situations. How do I get through it? Jake. He’s my favorite.  Look what he brought home to me.

Flowers make me happy. Flowers remind me of when Jake and I were dating. Did I ever tell you that Jake bought me flowers every month that we were dating? Really! It never failed. November 2009 to December 2010. 13 months of dating. 13 dozen flowers. Now Jake randomly comes home with flowers because he knows they make me smile. Like I said, he’s my favorite.

Want to know what else makes me happy? This…

No, no.  I wasn’t talking about McSteamy in the background {okay, he makes me a little happy}. I am talking about the fact that Jake has the night off for once. And we are snuggling on the couch watching our new addiction, Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s makes me happy. Snuggling makes me happy. Jake makes me happy.

He makes my rough week a little more bearable. 

♥kate

it's {just me} and my big dilemma...

Today was the day. The first day of the rest of my life...er, something like that. Today I registered for my last semester at Idaho State University {woot, woot}.

Or, so I thought. Let me explain. I am majoring in Literary English. Basically, there are eight categories of credits I have to complete plus a handful of useless other credits to graduate. I have one category left plus ten of the above stated “useless credits”.  13 credits left! That’s it! But guess what? My ONE CATEGORY isn’t being offered next semester! What the?! I know it doesn’t sound that bad so let me give a few more details. This certain category has six {yes, six} classes I can choose from.

Choose one of the following language studies:

ENGL 4481   Studies in Grammar                   3cr
ENGL 4484   Special Topics in Linguistics        3cr
ENGL 4485   Linguistic Analysis                  3cr
ENGL 4486   Old English                          3cr
ENGL 4487   History of the English Language      3cr
ENGL 4488   Introduction to Sociolinguistics     3cr

NOT ONE is being offered! Now do you understand my frustration? Six stinkin’ classes. Six. And not one is available next semester. Thank you, Idaho State University. Thank you very much!

To make matters worse, I have this deep suspicion that I am being punished for bad decisions. See that class ENGL 4485 Linguistic Analysis? I took it last semester. I did awesome in it too {Seriously, like A+ material}. Well, awesome until finals week. Then Jake and I got slightly addicted to the TV show Lost. And when I say slightly addicted, I mean we stayed up every night until 7am watching just. one. more. episode! Why, oh why, did we start watching the most addictive show ever right before finals week?  I just don’t know. But, in between episodes 23 and 57 I weighed the options. I could either stop watching to write my 20 page research paper {of which I had yet to do one ounce of research on} which was due at 9am the next day. OR I could find out why exactly Kate was in Australia and what the heck 4 8 15 16 23 42 meant! Obviously, I chose Kate. Whoops.

So now I am stuck. Stuck with 3 credits to graduate and no class to fill them. And a major decision to make. Care to help?

Option 1: Put off school until Fall 2012 and take all 13 credits together. {We will call this the LESS $$$ option}

Option 2: Take 10 credits (not full time) next semester and wait until Fall 2012 to take three more stinkin’ credits {again, not full time}. {This we will call the MOST $$$ option}

Option 3: Give up the last 5 years of my life and QUIT now. {This one is the BEST $$$ option}

Okay. Your turn. You make the decision for me. Go. Now.

Your help is greatly appreciated {and much needed},

♥kate

Wordless Wednesday: Time for a change...