Flashback: it's {all about him} and our first kiss...

I remember my very first kiss ever. It was in the second grade. [Hey, I had three older sisters. I had to keep up.]  

During reading hour, my beau and I would coincide the time we went to the bookshelf. That way we had a few minutes together where we could inconspicuously hold hands. I don’t think we even exchanged words. Just held hands. I am sure we thought we were being very discreet. Why our teacher never scolded us, I will never know.

One day at recess, my little lover told his friend to tell my friend to tell me [you know how it works] that he wanted to kiss me. So, I told my friend to tell his friend to tell him that we could schedule the kiss during our next “bookshelf” time.

The time came and I got the “go ahead” signal [if I remember correctly, it was a mini heart cut out of pink construction paper passed across the room from his table to mine. So fitting.] So I met the boy at the bookshelf and waited.

Waited...waited…

And what do you know, the poor little guy chickened out! But I was not going to let my “bookshelf time” be wasted.  So, I took matters into my own hands. I planted one right on his … cheek, of course. A kiss on the lips was just disgusting. Full of cooties.

If I remember right, we “broke up” about a week later. Must have been one heck of a kiss.

This boy now lives "happily ever after" with his boyfriend [yes, you read that right]. Again, it must have been one heck of a kiss. Obviously it had a big impact on his life. [I refuse to believe my perfectly planted kiss had anything to do with his present lifestyle. I refuse.]

***

Now you are probably wondering what this little story had to do with Jake.

Well, nothing really.

There really aren’t any similarities. Our first kissed was not planned out on a schoolyard. It was definitely not by a bookshelf “supposedly” hidden from our teacher. We actually included communication surrounding the big moment. And my kissing abilities did not lead Jake to make any drastic lifestyle changes. Phew.

But one thing is the same in both “first kiss” cases. My first kiss with Jake, like my very first kiss ever, was initiated by me.

Not that Jake was too chicken like Mr. Bookshelf. Oh no. If he had it his way, he would have planted a kiss on me that very first day at Ice Age 3D. Instead, being the sensitive [but masculine. Very, very masculine] guy he is, he waited until he was absolutely, positively, one-hundo percent sure I wouldn’t run screaming in the opposite direction. What a gentleman.

***

Jake had a big trip planned to visit some of his favorite families from his mission so he was leaving for California for 10 days. The night before he left, we sat in my living room laughing, talking, and joking until 5am.

You know how it goes. First, it started with a lull in conversation. Then we made the ever so famous “eye contact”. [Goodness. There is no way to tell about a first kiss without sounding completely and utterly cheesy.]

Jake hesitated [out of pure fear for my reaction]. And I took advantage of his hesitation.

And you pretty much can guess the rest. Really, I have given you enough details already. Besides, my future kiddos will probably be making disgusted faces and gagging sounds as they read this. No point in egging them on further. [Or is there?… Kids, it was perfect. Take that.]

And that was that. He left the next day. [Or at 8am, a mere 3 hours since he left my house. Poor guy was probably exhausted.]

                          

Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

Flashback: it's {all about him} and the hypothetical situation...

After the “standoff’, I think I finally got the picture. It took me long enough, that’s for sure. But the fact that Jake liked me . . . well, freaked me out. Not because I didn’t like him. It was quite the opposite. It freaked me out because I did like him. And that really rained on my “Kate Doesn’t Date” parade. So I hid my feelings. I refused to let him know that I may have had a huge crush on him.

Well, little did I know, I was doing a fabulous job at hiding my feelings. So good, in fact, that Jake assumed I was less than interested in him. So he decided to once again move on.

Brandy let it slip that this was Jake’s plan. I think that is exactly what I needed to wake up from my “Kate Doesn’t Date” stupor.

But, I was still shy about the whole thing. So I did what anyone would do in the situation. I text him. [it’s the answer to any conversation you need to have but are to shy to go about it]

But, I couldn’t text him as myself. Oh no, that would be way too forward. So, the text went something like this.

So, I need some advice. Let’s say I have this friend. Speaking hypothetically, of course. [yep, I went there] And she has a crush on this boy. But she has been in a relationship for a long time. And she doesn’t know what to do.

Uh, creative right?  [Jake and I both agree we may have reached a new level of cheesiness with this]

And he replied,

Well, I bet the guy would understand. You should tell your hypothetical friend to go for it.

And go for it, I did.

***

After this, we spend almost every night together. But Jake was timid. He says he felt like he had to walk on eggshells so I wouldn’t become skittish and change my mind about the whole thing.

So he took it slow. One night, he gave me a hug. Huge monument for us!

A few nights later, he held my hand.

A few more nights and he got up the nerve. He finally kissed me … on the forehead. I had the poor guy so sure I would freak out if he went too fast [which is completely true].

But, his plan really worked in his favor. His acceptance of my need to take things slow was just the thing to show me what a good guy he was. 

So I finally took matters into my own hands...

Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

Our Mini-Vacay in a Series of Insta-Pix...

Miss Garmin helped us make it just in time / Jake and I patiently awaiting the big appearance / Mr. Scotty McCreery in the flesh [followed by The Band Perry and Brad Paisley] So fun!

Mr. Scotty / The Band Perry / Brad Paisley 

Our home each time we grace Boise with our presence / Jake and I did a little music reminiscing until 2am / Quiznos...a "must eat" every time we leave Pocatello 

Who can't past up an 80% off rack? This girl! [even if the only things we bought were for Jacob] / Lost Jake for a bit in the mall. Good thing I knew his favorite hiding spot / Cheesecake Factory, a perfect "end of shopping day" treat. 

Our final cheesecake selections. White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle for me, and The Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake for him / Johnny Carinos. This reminded me of the dreaded surgery / Our Italian Sodas. So yum! 

Flashback: it's {all about him} and the text...

Jake and Shawn, Brandy's fiancé, played intramural football together so they became good friends. One day, Shawn sent Jake a text…

…Wait. Maybe I should recount a few more…awkward details.

Now I am not proud of this. But it’s all part of the story. So it needs to be said. I have said it once and I will say it again… Don’t judge!

Like I mentioned, during the time Jake and I didn’t really see each other, I had this neighbor. No more details need to be supplied about him other than we were friends. And sometimes we kissed. Friends that kissed. That’s all.

Anyways, this neighbor was a good friend of all the girls in our apartment which meant he was at our house a lot. A lot, a lot.

Naturally, Shawn was at our apartment just as much. And these two didn’t quite see eye to eye [that is putting it lightly].

Now I didn’t know this at the time, but sometimes Jake would tell Brandy that he couldn’t quite get me out of his head even with us not seeing each other. So Brandy told Shawn.

Okay. So back to the text. After probably a long day of Shawn putting up with our neighbor, he sent Jake a text [of course, I only found out about this after we had been dating for a while].  

I don’t know the exactness of it, but it went something like this, “Dude, if you still like Kate, you need to start coming back here as fast as you can. She is hanging out with a [insert not the nicest term].

So that is exactly what he did. After their football games, Shawn would bring Jake over to our apartment [trying to use Jake as bait for me to kick the neighbor boy out, I’m sure].

***

One night, after one of their game, Jake came over. It got to be late and everyone went to bed. Except Jake and I. And the neighbor boy.

Doh.

The word ‘awkward’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. There we were. The three of us. Hanging out in my living room.

But keep in mind, at this point I was unaware that Jake liked me. So the awkwardness wasn’t even to the scale it could have been.

After we were dating, I found out Jake was texting my roommate who was listening in her bedroom to the entire awkward experience. Turns out, he almost gave up on the whole idea of me and left right then. But, thanks to my roommate and her “stay with it” and “don’t let him win” encouragements, Jake stayed until the neighbor boy finally decided to leave.

Now nothing happened between Jake and I that night, but I think the “standoff” really sent the picture to the neighbor boy.  Don’t get me wrong, he still came over all of the time. But he didn’t try any kissing business after this night.

Jake really knows how to stand his ground. Obviously.

Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

Flashback: it's {all about him} and "Kate Doesn't Date"...

The second time Jake and I had a chance to hang out, the dreaded question was asked. I always hated this "inquiry" back then. My answer was instantly followed with a plethora of opinions. Opinions I didn’t want to deal with.

“So Kate, are you dating anyone?”

My answer, “Kate Doesn’t Date”.

You see, that was my motto. I coined it for myself my second year of college after I sent a certain friend out on a mission. One year in and I had yet to break my motto.

Jake, like most people, laughed at my explanation. He swore I wouldn’t make it. I swore I would prove him wrong. [Glad we didn’t bet on it. Even more glad he was right!]

But we still had fun. That night we played a lively game of Cranium. I am sure I made a fool of myself somehow in my usual Cranium fashion. [One time, I had to spell Mississippi. Let’s just say it didn’t end well. Somehow, I added a few extra s’s. No big deal. Also, Jake still teases me about the time I had to act out Elmore Fudd. That didn’t end well either].

And that was that. I was adamant about not dating. Anyone. Besides, Jake was just a friend.

***

The next time I saw Jake was at my doorstep equipped with a Tupperware of soup and a Mountain Dew [how well he knew me]. Jake and his roommate heard through the grapevine [or the mouth of Brandy] that I was sick. So, they automatically assumed a bowl of soup would fix my problems.

A year later I finally got up the nerve to admit to him that the soup was the last thing that would fix my problems. You see, at this time I was dealing with the woes of Thyroid Disease. One of the lovely side effects I dealt with daily was … uhum … an issue that would not want me to eat anything, let alone a bowl of soup.

But it’s the thought that counts, right? Right.

***

Following this, we had one night full of laughter at Jake’s house. I returned their Tupperware filled to the brim with candy and the four of us spent the night laughing, joking, and eating chocolates in their hot tub. Miss Brandy supplied us all with some comic relief when she ran face first into the screen door she thought was open. Hilarious.

***

And that was that.

Jake says he sort of stopped trying because I insisted, “Kate Doesn’t Date”. And I got caught up with work and school among other things.

For about the next month or so, we didn’t see each other. Jake started to crush on a new girl and I picked up my own little...friend of sorts. [Not boyfriend. But friend. Uh, kissing friend maybe. Don’t judge.]

And it probably would have ended there if it weren’t for Brandy’s strongly opinionated [in a good way] fiancé.

Goodness, we owe those two our lives.

Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

Flashback: it's {all about him} and the first time we met...

Sometimes I lived vicariously through the life of my best friend Brandy. My job was fun, but I only worked with one or two people a night. Brandy, she worked with over 20. I was always jealous of the social factor involved with her job. So, every night after work, we’d climb into one of our beds and gossip. Gossip about our work, our coworkers, and anything else worth gossiping about.

After a while, I got to know her co-workers. Some personally, and some through the stories Brandy would tell. Jacob was a name I would hear often, although I had never met him.  

You see, apparently he was our home teacher. But he never came. Evidently he thought talking to Brandy at work would count. [Okay, so maybe he tried to come over but we were never available at the same time. He will be quite upset at me if I leave that little detail out. Future kids, your daddy was a great home teacher. Very persistent.]

But each night Jacob would ask Brandy how her roommate Kate was doing. The guy had never met me but still cared to ask about me. Maybe he felt it was his church “obligation” or maybe he was genuinely concerned for our welfare. Either way, what a guy.

Over time, Brandy and Jake got to be close friends. After several “we will catch you laters” she and I finally had a night where we could “hang out” with Jake and his roommate.  Ice Age 3D was our agenda. 

We had a great time. We laughed. We joked. We even stole. [Okay. So I stole. We needed an extra pair of 3D glasses for Jake’s friend who we may or may not have snuck into the theatre. Hey, it was their fault they left the box of recycled glasses unattended. Anyone could have reached in and taken a pair. I just happened to be that “anyone”. Don’t judge. Future kids, your dad made me do it. End of story.]

After the movie, we invited the guys over to our new apartment for games. Jake charmed me with a deck of cards. I was amazed. I think I made him show me the tricks about 20 times, begging him to reveal his secrets. [Ask him to show you his magic tricks sometime. They will charm you too.]

And then we ended the night. As friends.

If you would have asked me then, I would have said it would all end like that. Just friends.

Who would have thought that just shy of two years after this night we would be married? 

Turns out, Jake.

He claims this is the night he decided I was "the one".

When did I decide, you ask? Uhm, later. Much much later.

Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

it's {all about him} time...

Guys, I have been in a “blogger rut” lately. My creativity [and my spare time] has been spent on homework assignments, quizzes, and papers. But to tell you the truth, I have missed my poor little blog.

And to honor the fact that I have nothing worth mentioning going on in my life right now between school and work, I have decided to cater my time to sketch out a few “flashbacks”.

I have the cutest journals from when I was little. [My favorite entry? I hate Kim. She is mean. Followed the next day by Kim is so cool!  Remember that, Kimmy?] And the cheesiest journals from Junior High. And college, oh how fun they are to read.

But then I started to date Jake. And I just stopped my journaling. Don’t know why. [Maybe I was too busy loving on Jake to write down memories.]

But what a bummer, right?

My future kids will know everything about my “weekly boyfriends” in Jr. High but they will know nothing of their own daddy? Again, what a bummer!

So, today I debut the [all about him] flashbacks. I know you are screaming with excitement. And suspense. Admit it. So to begin,

Jacob Eugene, son of Terry and Cindy Schwartz, was born on September 27, 1987…

… just kidding. The flashbacks wont flash quite that far back. Promise.

But they are going to be long. And hopefully detailed. Mainly because I don’t want to forget. 

So here is the disclaimer. Ready?

I am writing this series for me. And my future kiddos [very future, mind you]. If you think I am being cheesy, quit reading. It's my blog. If you think I am putting my husband up on a pedestal, quit reading. It's my blog. If you get bored over the dating techniques of Jacob Eugene, quit reading. It wont hurt my feelings. Besides, it's my blog. Okay? Okay.

Stay tuned for the fun…

Wordless Wednesday: Darn you, Campus Parking.

Bummer...

You know it is a bummer of a day when you wake up to your nightstand looking like this. It is an even bigger bummer of a day when you have to turn down a five minute drive to see your favorite little sister. Bummer.

12 on the 12th: January

Kim invited, so I said yes. Bear in mind she is a much better photographer than me. Plus, what with my camera being temporarily out of commission, my phone had to fill in the blanks. 

Blog, let me introduce you to 12 on the 12th. 12 on the 12th, meet blog. You guys are going to be great friends. 

{01} An early morning reminder text from the sis. How did I do Kimmy? 

{02} LA 273 was the first classroom I had as a freshman. It is now one of the last I have as a senior. Added bonus? Same professor. Ah, the memories. 

{03} My Business Communications class quiz of the day. What is a noun? Seriously? 

{04} Children and Young Adult Literature. Favorite class by far!

{05} Campus. Oh how I loathe thee. 

{06} Driving to work, putting on my make up, and taking a picture. Talent.

{07} My name is Katie and I am a recovering Mountain Dew addict. Crystal Light is my nicotine patch.

{08} Newest purchase from Goodwill. $4.75 for my purse turned backpack? I think so!

{09} It was a “pen in the hair” kind of day at work.

{10} My little corner of the world at Clarion Inn.

{11} My new phone covers finally arrived. Yay me!

{12} Four days into school and my house is really feeling the neglect.

Want to join in on the fun?  My sister invited me, and I will invite you.  Let's have a 12 on the 12th party!
P.S. It's contagious. Proof here and here. 

Wordless Wednesday: Lady at Goodwill said I would look adorable in this vest & skirt combo...

it's {just me} and my first impressions...

First impressions always get the best of me. I have tried to train myself against this instinct, but I fail miserably. Instead, I judge. I know, I know. It’s not very kind of me. But at least I admit it happens. First step is admitting you have a problem, right?

My first impressions of today, you ask?

Oh, crap!

---

I can always tell a lot about a new semester by the first day of classes.

For my first class of the day {Varieties of the English Language, just in case you were wondering}, I arrived 10 minutes early. You know, just in case. After 30 minutes of waiting, my professor finally arrived. She then spent the next 20 minutes trying to pull up her dang PowerPoint. {During this time, we did have a special bonding experience over the pros of having a Macbook versus a PC...what a fun moment}

All the while, I had to hold back my shout of "Hey lady, I came prepared to your class. How come you didn't?"

Oh, and the stench. It is so mean of me to judge, I know. But this woman brought with her, albeit 20 minutes late, a strong scent of cat urine into the classroom. At first I doubted my nose. That is, until introduction time {and the excessive amount of feline hair adorning her clothes}. Then she not only introduced herself, but also her four cats by proxy. Guys, I can't make this stuff up! Seriously.

First impression? Oh, crap!

After two long hours with the Cat Lady and her Mac, I headed over to Spanish.

Along the way, I met a jolly ol' fellow who flaunted his cut-off tee and carried a pint of Ben and Jerry Ice Cream {seriously}. And when I say cut-off tee, I really mean cut-off. It even included a very hairy plunging neckline.

He stared at me for quite some time while I eyed his Mint Chocolate Chip. He then said to me, "Dang, you look good in purple." I sort of let out one of those nervous please-don't-creep-me laughs and replied a quick "Thanks". He then held the building door open for me {what a gentleman} and proceeded to look me up and down with one of those "Mmm yah" escaping his lips.

I ran as fast as my purple heels would let me.

So back to Spanish. I sit down, make myself comfortable, and guess who walks in? Ben and Jerry. 

Oh, crap!

So I try to hide my face. And my purple.

But then, in the middle of her lecture, my professor stops talking, looks in my direction and says "Do I know you?"

I did one of those over the shoulder side glaces to see who she was talking to. So, she repeats herself. "Do I know you?"

After the third time she asked this, I finally realized she was taking to me. I let out a nervous, and super awkward giggle {I mean, c'mon, it was weird} and said "No".

She answered with "Oh, well you were smiling at me like I should know who you are".

Gosh, so rude of me to smile at my new professor. But that is besides the point.

Now that my professor drew the entire classes attention directly towards me, I could no longer hide. Ben and Jerry spotted me. And gave me a "full face involved" {super creepy} wink. 

Oh, crap!

---

Guys, it's only the first day of classes. I can't {and don't want to} even imagine the fun first impressions that are in store for me tomorrow.

Uh, wish me luck.
♥Kate

The Night Before...

Backpack is stocked with an overflow of pencils.

Laptop is set to charge. 

Schedule is written down.

Textbooks ordered.

And the nausea refuses to subside. 

----

Oh School, how I loathe thee.

oh and one more thing...

Happy Birthday to the cutest, most talented, most loving, most silly 10-year-old in the entire world.

 

Love you Little Sis, 

Kate

it's {just me} and my best friend...

I remember the day I was told the news. I rolled my eyes and let out what only can be described as a “Valley Girl scoff” at the thought. I told my sister that I could, like, not even understand the nerve of them. How dare they.

How could my new apartment complex even begin to think that randomly placing two girls from Malta, Idaho with two girls from Declo, Idaho {uh, yuck} would even begin to work out?

They were mistaken. Confused. Looking for conflict. Out of their freakin’ minds.

When they gave me the names of my soon-to-be roommates I fought back the sudden urge to throw up all over my newly signed contract.

Brandy Durfee was one of those pretty girls, you know? One of those girls from the rival school that had a reputation. A reputation of being the Head Cheerleader who stole the hearts of the most popular guys with her perfectly natural blonde hair and glitzed-out pink cowgirl boots {which I later borrowed on several occasions}.

Which only meant one thing to my newly enrolled college self.

Competition. Big fat competition.

I made up my mind to lay low. Stay out of her way, you know? And maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. She would have her crowd. I would have mine.

Two weeks in, and my plan was ruined.

Turns out, she wasn’t so bad. She was even, you know, cool {gasp}. She made it so dang hard to hate her.

So, instead of love at first sight, it was best friends at first sight. Or something that doesn’t sound so  entirely cheesy. Either way,

Happy Birthday BD!

Thanks for being my friend. Thanks for helping me come out of my shell. Thanks for sharing your clothes. And shoes. And jewelry. And perfume. And toothbrush {Just kidding. Scared you though, didn't I?}. Thanks for forcing me to go to class. Thanks for dragging me out of bed to go to church. Thanks for adopting me into your family.  Thanks for sticking up for me when no one else would. Thanks for doing my dishes. Thanks for going to the Goodwill with me. Thanks for moving with me when things got rough.  Thanks for introducing me to Jacob Eugene. Thanks for staying up until 4am talking boys. Thanks for letting me be the 3^rd wheel with you and Shawny Boy. Thanks for forcing me to go to the gym even after I would tell you to go to...you know.  Thanks for taking me to the doctor when I was sick. Thanks for going on midnight Taco Bell runs with me. Thanks for convincing me just how much I loved Jake. Thanks for sticking with me when everyone else started to hate us. Thanks for not forgetting about me when you met the love of your life. Thanks for randomly texting me just to say Hi. Thanks for the memories and the possibilities. Thanks for being you. 

Thanks for being my best friend. 

 

Love you dude,

Kate

Wordless Wednesday {On a Thursday}: Clearing out the bookshelf for a new semester...

{Makes me sick to think of how much money is sitting on our office floor right now}

2011: A Year in Review

In 2011, I…

Buried my toes in California sand / Saw the ocean for the first time / Ate my first Gyro / Visited Sea World / Went through the San Diego Temple / Stayed in a suite in Las Vegas / Moved into our “first home” / Began to hate our first home / Changed my name / Successfully used the excuse of being a newlywed to talk my way out of a bad grade / Passed my first semester of school while being married…barely / Enhanced my love of thrifting / Found a new love of repurposing furniture / Went through all the necessary steps to buy our first home / Backed out at the last minute from buying our first home / Got a promotion at work / Turned 22 / Realized just how much we love our best friends when they moved away / Went on my first “real” shopping spree / Realized my deep down love of Malta, Idaho / Moved into a new apartment / Suffered through the hottest month of summer with no air conditioning / Signed up for my first 8am class / Dropped my first 8am class / Officially got my 5^th speeding ticket / Found my long lost love, IKEA / Got stranded at a gas station in Utah / Went to Chicago {the play, that is} / Missed the annual Branch Girls Weekend / Celebrated Jake’s 24^th birthday / Broke my tailbone in a “Swinging Tree” accident / Tried to regularly cook dinner / Failed at regularly cooking dinner / Became addicted to Grey’s Anatomy / Started my very own blog /  Gained my first “Married 10” / Bought a treadmill to lose my first “Married Ten” / Went to my first Boise State football game / Lost old friends / Gained new friends / Became an Aunt for the 8^th time / Suffered through another long semester / Passed a class I was sure I failed with an A / Broke my camera / Signed up for my last full semester of college / Realized my hatred for ISU / “Reused” one of my old papers for the SAME professor and passed / Watched Jake suffer through the woes of nose surgery / Celebrated our first Christmas together / Was spoiled on several occasions / Reached 1 year of marriage / and finally Greeted 2012

Happy New Year. May 2012 be everything you want it to be. 
♥kate