Ridiculousness

I just spend a ridiculous amount of time fitting my new header picture to the frame. ENJOY IT Internets. Also, try not to stare at the ONE strand of hair that decides to go the opposite way it should in all of my photos. I never noticed it until I started editing pictures, and now it is always there. Taunting me.

Also ridiculous? Is how delicious my peanut butter cookies are (made with honey not brown sugar, rolled in granulated sugar, and then drizzled with semisweet chocolate). I lured a friend over here the other day by telling him how amazing my homemade brownies were. Mwahaha.

Happy Two Years

Nick and I!

This pic is actually from our New Years 2009 party, but I just got around to uploading them. I like this one.

And the pair of living hearts (that Aimee guessed right off) that he got me for our two year anniversary . . . are bamboo hearts in a beautiful vase with red rocks. I'll post a picture soon! For our anniversary he took me out to McCormick and Schmick's, a expensive seafood restaurant. I got dressed up all fancy in my awesome Urban Outfitters dress and hiiiiigh heels and he looked so sexy in his black button down and jeans. We had fried calamari for an appetizer, delicious salads in a flaky pastry bowl, and then for entrees I had seared ahi tuna and Nick had a shellfish stew in a bread bowl. Yummy!

A Living Pair of Hearts

Two years ago today, I kissed Nick for the first time. The actual story of how we got together is complicated and makes me look bad, so I won't tell it today. What I will tell is how amazingly happy I am that I did kiss him, even though we didn't officially start going out until the April after that, because I am so ridiculously in love with this boy that I can't imagine being without him.

For our anniversary he gave me a gift. Before he gave it to me he told me a clue: It is living, and it is a pair of hearts. I tried for a whole day to figure it out and absolutely could not. Everything from "Black market hearts?" to "Bleeding heart flowers?". Then I walked into his room and saw them and the clues made absolute sense and I loved them. But it drove me nuts for a day so now I am returning the favor.

Go on. Guess.

My 21st Birthday

We went clubbing. It was extremely fun. I had a cranberry vodka (and got drunk, go Lexapro) and we danced until 2, and then went to Denny's and had breakfast. Nick is the furthest on the right and I'm right next to him wearing the black and gray dress that is my most awesome dress ever from Urban Outfitters (except I just bought another awesomest dress ever that I wore out to the club on Saturday. So. We will have a judging contest soon).

Way, way fun birthday!!!

Time to Bust Out Those Erasers and Alarm Clocks

It's that time again! Pencils are being sharpened, filled with .5 lead, schoolbags are being organized, books are being bought ($250 so far oh god), work hours are being cut back (we hired a girl from South Africa today to work my Monday and Wednesdays), and I'm treasuring every moment of laziness I can get, because school starts tomorrow.

This will be my sixth semester of college. (Yikes!)

Every time I start a semester I get excited because it's a new chance to do AWESOME. Of course, a few weeks in I lose my enthusiasm and classes get boring, and they aren't as awesome. But right now, the potential to do awesome? is awesome.

Here's to a semester that I don't get stressed in. Instead, I want to do well, feel well, and get great grades.

Cheers!

Something to Remember

Sometimes I really do love my boss. He has been really understanding about my anxiety issues and stomach problems. (Also it is nice to have a doctor, albeit for animals, because if I have any questions about my meds then I just ask him!)

He has also given me some great advice. When I start to panic about choosing a career and work and my stomach he just reminds me that my health and school are the most important things right now, and that what I do right now will not ruin my life.

He said that there are a million things that I can do and still have a happy life. There are lots of careers that I can choose and be happy in. He said that there are a million ways to make money so don't worry about that, and that the important thing is that I am happy and healthy.

Bikini Body Challenge Update

GUESS WHO FITS A SIZE FOUR*, BITCHES!!!

*Applies to the only place I buy jeans: American Eagle Outfitters. Notice that I did not say that I actually bought the jeans because 1) I do not like the sausage-leg look and 2) I plan on not losing any more weight so therefore I am content with my size six jeans, which I just bought another pair of yesterday. But still, the fact that I fit the size four and could have bought them and not gotten grossed out looks? SCORE!

(I worked out today. Nick would only let me buy the size six if I started working out because otherwise he says I'll start gaining weight and the money would be wasted. Hurrah for 45 sweaty minutes!)

Guilt

A few days ago, our baby dog Sage came back from an escape run with a lovely two inch deep cut in her front leg and a few other scratches. I wasn't home, so Troy went to my boss's house and then both went in to the clinic on a Sunday to knock her out and sew her up. She was sent home with an e-collar to prevent her tearing off the bandage.

Well, she never actually bothered the bandage. We had her under 24 hour surveillance and Dad even took her to work with him but she didn't care about it. Until today, when it was actually supposed to come off. So I took it off and she promptly tried to gnaw off the sutures.

So I put the e-collar on her, and oh, man, the guilt. She is just standing in one spot and trying to press against my legs. She has hang-dog eyes. If it weren't for the fact that if I took it off I would have to explain to my boss why she ripped out her sutures . . .

Poor Sage.

Introducing . . .

. . . Pirate Kirk.

Katie: So tell me, Pirate Kirk, where did you come from?

PK: My trillion fellow 2009 siblings and I lived in a cardboard box behind the sales counter at Anchor Blue. We used to be sold for $12.95, but at the turn of the year became too old to be sold. Everyone wanted 2010 gorillas!

Katie: So what happened? The INTERNET WANTS TO KNOW, Pirate Kirk.

PK: They gave us away free to good homes after the customers spent over 35 dollars! By the way, my original name was not Pirate Kirk. It was Blue Gorilla.

Katie: Indeed? How did your odd name come to be?

PK: This silly girl in the picture above insisted to someone called "Nick" (obviously a superior species of gorilla as he has more hair than the female, though still not nearly as much as me) that they come up with a suitable name for me.

Katie: She sounds very sensible with impeccable taste! Blue Gorilla is a horribly generic name.

PK: So, she wanted Pirate because I am from Anchor Blue and anchors make her think of ships which equals pirate somehow in her twisted mind. The sensible boy held out for a "K" sounding name because "K" names are superior.

Katie: He is sounding smarter and smarter. I like this fellow!

PK: They tried out endless "K" name varieties but none suited a Blue Gorilla of my intelligence and beauty. Finally, at the end of the car ride, just as the silly female was becoming hysterical and insisting that they decide on a name that was not "Garbage Bag" or the French word for "blue" which sounds like somebody sneezing, she was struck by inspiration. Kirk, for Captain Kirk of Star Trek (obviously) would be the perfect name for me! The ladies love me.

Katie: Thank you, Pirate Kirk, that concludes our interview for tonight. Enjoy your stay at Casa Katie.

Paranoia vs. Intellect

I went out Saturday night to a club with fifteen friends (including Nick! I actually got my boyfriend to go out to a club and he didn't hate it! He drank a rum and coke! I drank a vodka cranberry!) and had a fabulous time and didn't get home until like 4 am but I can't write about it yet because I am in that stage of paranoid anxiety of waiting to see if I get sick because my friend who I danced with all night and shared waters with threw up in the car on the way home and has a stomach bug and now I am freaking out that I might get it. 

The last time I had a stomach bug was right before my stomach got BAD, and  OW, and DAMN, GO TO A DOCTOR WOMAN. I think my freaking out now is because I am worrying that if I get it again; will my stomach be able to cope and get back to how it is now, or will I be faced with months and months again of slowly recuperating? THAT IS THE QUESTION THAT IS SLOWLY DRIVING ME BATSHIT INSANE. 

I used to know my body and feel comfortable that I could fight things off, and even if I was sick, pshaw! it would be just for a day. I will get better! I am Supergirl! RAWR. Now, dealing with my body up and misbehaving and making me question my stomach and my brain and anxiety and jeeebus gawd, I need a chill-pill. 

So. I am sorry, everybody that has to deal with me and listen to me whining and complaining and freaking out. I'm so sorry, Nick, that you are stuck with a pain in the butt girlfriend that isn't much fun because I am always feeling bad. I'm trying. Honest. 

Happy New Year! Welcome 2010!

New Year's found Nick and I at our friend's house with a bajillion of our friends, drinking champagne*, listening to music, and occasionally playing Rock Band Beatles. (I don't know. Really.)
We had one of our famous Italian Night's where we made pasta, sauces, breads, etc. all from scratch. Nick made the red sauce, I made meatballs (with raisins! mmmm!) and we made brownies too.

*When I say "drinking champagne" I actually mean Nick drank champagne and I flitted around, pressing glasses on everybody who was interested, because due to my Lexapro and stomach issues alcohol and I are a bad mix. I did have three sips of Nick's champagne and ended up wobbling around on my wedges and making everybody think I was way drunk--I think it was a combination of being ridiculously tired and possibly lexapro interacting with the alcohol.

My resolutions are pretty standard:
*Exercise more (taking yoga next semester)
*Continue to eat healthy
*Freaking get over this stomach crap already
*Knock off the anxiety issues
*Take better care of my belongings (ie my car)
*Be nicer and more patient
*Attempt to recollect some of my Spanish
*Be happy!

Adios 2009, Bienvenido 2010!!!

Happy Birthday Nick!!!

My fantabulous boyfriend turned 21 six days after I did, and I kept meaning to find some amazing photos of him and put them in this post so I kept putting off writing it. Well, he's been twenty-one for a while now so I figured I might as well write this and hope that I remember to put a gorgeous picture in later.

For his birthday we went out to celebrate with his family, grandparents, and aunt. We went to Mikuni's (amaaazing sushi--I LOVE the bbq tuna appetizer). Nick received some great presents, including two bottles of champagne, and four Rattlesnake tequila shots (he hasn't tried them yet). What he did have to drink was some chilled sake called Haiku, that I tried a sip of and we all found it to be veeery mild sake, with hints of fruit. Yum!

Happy Birthday Nick!!! I love you!