Weekend Wrap Up

 

Well hello there! 

It's been a while. 

(and for some reason blogger is messed up this morning the font down at the bottom is weird. If you read it on a phone you're fine...the computer you might need to enlarge)

But I forewarned you - busy season is upon us. 

This past weekend we took a mini-break and came up for air. And man oh man was it needed. Not to mention it was absolutely beautiful outside thanks to our crazy Texas weather! 

Friday night after work I headed over to Arlington to meet Amy, Brooklyn, and my mom for a little girls night out dinner! Always entertaining with these three :)

 Then I went to bed early because, well, one I'm a grandma, and two, I had a pretty big Saturday morning planned...

Saturday Jeff and I finally went to the Fort Worth Zoo! And we decided to take our very favorite three year old with us :)

Jeff and I chuckled to ourselves as we were walking in. I was holding a child, he was pushing a stroller....not our normal wheelhouse :) And I'll be honest - I had a tad anxiety about this day. I'd taken B to the park before, but at the zoo you had to like ensure she didn't get eaten by a hippo. That's a lot of responsibility. 

But alas, we persevered. And had a great time! But we were exhausted. Cause let me tell you, ladies and gents, we did.it.all. Five whole hours at the zoo. 

 Here's B watching the white tiger. Most kids were screaming. Brooklyn was just watching like it was your average Disney Jr. show. 

Me and my little nugget with the mama elephant and her little nugget :)

Also, by this point in the day my arm was breaking. It's still sore. I don't know how you moms do it.

So in order to save my arm, I taught B that she could look under the railing on some stops. Which somehow was interpreted that she needed to lie down on the ground... #whateverworks 

Checking out some kangaroos....

And some lions...

And some creepy birds that I hate. I've seen the Hitchcock movie. Don't play.

She was a fan of this one. They became good friends. #nothankyou

 She was MOST excited about the penguins. Couldn't get enough of the dang penguins. Kept asking about the penguins. And then we saw the penguins.

Pure joy. So naturally we left the penguin exhibit and I went and bought her a stuffed penguin that she carried around with her the rest of the day. Amy said she knew she would come home with a stuffed animal.

 Nuh uh. She don't know me.
Okay fine she does.

Then we rode the carousel...

And the train....

And then saw the creepiest alligator. I tell you - this child has no fear. 

Oh and then she wanted to go to the amphibian/reptile exhibit. But we have no pictures. Because I had heart palpitations. The second I saw the komodo dragon I told Jeff and Brooklyn I'd meet them in the lobby. The lobby where I started fervently praying that I have all female children who dislike the outdoors because the second someone brings me a lizard in the kitchen I'm nailing all the doors and windows shut. Try me. 

Then on the way home, we heard soft...no wait, they weren't soft....we heard some pretty solid snores coming from the back seat. I think it's safe to say she had a good day :)

And then Sunday there was Grease Live. 

Kristie and I went to dinner the other other night (a 4-hour dinner, mind you, that's how we do things), and realized we were both extremely obsessed/excited with the new Grease! Live attraction coming out. And since Kelsey and I cancelled cable, I told Kristie we needed to come over and watch it. 

And by "cancelling cable" I mean we cancelled everything but basic cable and didn't have FOX in HD. #firstworldproblems

SO - Jeff and I invited ourselves over to Kristie and Jordan's and lo and behold - they had the ultimate Grease viewing party.

This is why I love Kristie. Kristie does parties (parties = any slight inkling of a gathering) up right. She told me what she was up to, I squealed for 10 minutes, and then joined in the party.

Here was the menu:

- Frenchy Onion Dip (French Onion Dip)

-Tell Me 'bout it, Spud (Potato Skins)

-T-Bird Tenders (Chicken Tenders)

-The Pink Lady (Pink Champagne Cake)

AND - Blue Moon for the boys and The One That I Want for the girls. 

Okay fine. I found a wine called "The One" - bought a silver sharpie, and added "that I want" to it. What do you want from me? I thought it was pretty clever. 

OH - and the boys wore their letterman jackets. This is why we love them. The females are so overly excited to have a grease themed party, and not only do our boys participate, but they dress up. #theygetus 

Then there were three hours of Grease! Live. 

We had many many thoughts, and while I wanted to make an entire blog post about it, I also wanted to enjoy it. Grease is one of my absolute favorite movies, and I really just wanted to watch it. SO, I watched, laughed, and jotted down the highlights. Here you go:

-- I appreciated the beginning. They didn't try to hide it was live. They didn't try to hide it was a "re-make." It was a tongue in cheek beginning that said 'hey - we're going out on a limb here, go with us, be nice, be forgiving, just enjoy it" and honestly - it worked. My musical judgmental bar went down a little. Simply from pure appreciation. 

--Biggest let down: the voice inflection for the realization of Sandy. And if you can't hear "SAN-dee" when I write this then don't even worry about it. But it was a let down on our part.

-- WHY on earth did Quilted Northern sponsor this scene? Literally all we could talk about was why on earth Sandy was wearing both a quilted top and a quilted skirt down to the floor. She was 1) not Alice in Wonderland and 2) not a nun. So that a was a concern. 

 -- Those Magic Changes. Why YES, I'll take your magic changes and the fact you can sing like a dreamy heartthrob angel. And even though I looked you up and you were found by Disney and your character name is "Doody" (a whole new other issue), I will love you for the fact that you.can.sing. And you're yummy. But you look like the old Grease's Sonny (not a "Doody") and someone should have caught that. 

-- Beauty School Drop Out. OH hello Boyz II Men. Replacing Frankie Avalon?! Are we serious right now? I can't even. It's not that I'm opposed to B2M but in Grease? Really? I just can't even. Bless.

-- T. Rex Blanch. We love T. Rex Blanch. She never moved her arms below her waist and we laughed hysterically. Not sure entirely who you are but you were a beloved on Grease live and we love you.

--  Half of the movie was in the gym. Which we thought was a live show movie budget thing which we supported, UNTIL we saw the ending that had the carnival. If you have the carnival.....use the carnival. We are over the gymatorium. Or the audinasium.

--Dance scenes: You air on FOX (aka - you have the entire SYTYCD team at your disposal), and you have a DWTS pro as your star. Those acronyms being said - totally underwhelmed by the dance scenes. Not poorly executed, but could have been so much bigger, and so much better. #hireme #iworkforfree

-- Speaking of star.. Is it just me? Or did anyone else feel like Sandy was NOT the star of this show? Which is fine - because Blanch was hysterical and Vanessa (Rizzo) killed it - but I just expected to see more Sandy. 

All in all, I missed John and Olivia. I know "the movie will never be as good as the book," or in this case, the remake will never be as good as the movie....but still. I honest to goodness wondered what the original cast was thinking tonight. And oh-so-wished they would have been on our couch. They would have been a huge fan of the T-Bird tenders. And - in my small minded little brain, I imagine their current day selves  doing this in Kristie's living room. 

And THAT I can get on board with. 

SO, that was my weekend. And now we're back to busy season. Not really sure how we got here again so quickly, but alas - time to go! Good luck everyone! It's a Monday out there. 

Until next time,
Katy

Friday Favorites

Praise be. It's Friday. 

And while right now in my life that means I get to work this weekend, I don't care. Because Friday nights are the saving grace of busy season. Know why, folks? Cause 1) you get off at a normal time, 2) you don't make social plans because you've pretty much written off your friends until spring, and 3) you can get a pint gallon of ice cream and crawl in bed at 6 pm. 

I. Love. Fridays. 

And since it's Friday - let's Favorite!

1 - Hart of Dixie on DVD

Okay guys. My first favorite has me on cloud stinking nine this week. On Monday I told you how I was in busy season, which means I'm working crazy hours and have very little "life." In preparation for that (this ain't my first rodeo), I ordered this little nugget on DVD and it has been the best.decision.ever. 

On the mornings I don't work out, ...pause. Did you actually just believe what I said? You're too cute. 

So every morning I wake up around 5:30 (which is highly unheard of in busy season), just to drink coffee in bed and watch an episode or two. I know that's weird. I've done it for years and my friends absolutely judge me and think I'm insane. But it just gives me something else to think about other than work. Like Wade Kinsella. Because who doesn't want to think about him all day!?

Lisa and Megan - I know you fully understand this favorite. Come over whenever to watch. If you're not really feeling 5:30 a.m., it'll likely be my Friday night for the next couple months :)

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2 - The Magic Bullet

Okay, so I fully understand that I am way, and I mean waaaay behind the times here, but I also ordered one of these puppies from amazon this week, and this thing is AMAZING. I make smoothies/shakeology for breakfast and this is the easiest blender ever. Simple to handle, simple to clean, and like $35. Best investment ever. If you need a baby blender, I highly recommend.

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3 - Favorite Quote

Speaking of smoothies for breakfast, I shared this on instagram this week and it found a lot of support. Because pretty much everyone and their well-intentioned mama can relate to it. 

It doesn't get much more clean cut than this, people. Also - who could seriously go for some bagel bites right now?! Man that takes me back.

4 - Wrapped in Rubies

(no judging of the nail polish - I was on day three when I took the picture)

Okay, so I usually don't do red nail polish. It scares me. As do red lips. But red clothing is like my staple color. I don't really make sense. 

ANYWAYS, so I normally don't do red nails, but I saw this color in CVS the other day and fell in love. It's such a pretty shade of red with a little shimmer. And the best part is? It's thick enough to get away with one coat. So you know when you're painting your right hand and holding your breath and your mouth just right in order to NOT look like you just dipped your hand in berry juice? Just get it right one time. That's all you need!

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5 - Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you missed out on Wednesday, I introduced you to my new boyfriend. The oreo chocolate chip cookie. I really can't say anything bad about him. All of my coworkers loved him too. You just honestly can't get enough of him. You must try him. You can find out alllll about him here.

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6 - Friends Reunion

I choose to believe this. I know it has been rumored approximately 872634 times since Friends went off the air, but this one I choose to believe. People magazine talked about it - so it has to be true, right?! I seriously can't wait. I'm going to lose my mind.
Please be good. Please be good. Please be good. 

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And those are today's favorites! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Until next time,
Katy

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well. It happened. 

I fell in love with a cookie. 

I fell in love with this cookie so much that I actually felt the need to tell Jeff. I felt a little disloyal :)

If you like oreos, you must make these cookies. 

If you know someone who likes oreos, you should make them these cookies and earn yourself some serious brownie cookie points.

It's made with a cake mix AND  little cream cheese, so the cookie consistency is just downright perfect. Then throw in oreos, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips and there's just really not much that can go wrong. 

I took these to work on Monday (because it's busy season and I have to feed my people!), and no one walked away with just one in their hands. Those cookies were leaving that container Noah's ark style. 

Two by two by two.....

So without further ado, here is the Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookie

What You'll Need

1 box vanilla cake mix

8 tbsp butter, melted

1 egg

4 oz cream cheese, softened

 tsp vanilla extract

2 c crushed up Oreos (about 10-12)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

What You'll Do

Throw the cake mix, melted butter, egg, and vanilla into a bowl and mix (I used an electric mixer)

Add in softened cream cheese

Using a spatula, fold in crushed up Oreos, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips  

Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes

Line a pan with parchment paper, roll dough into balls and place on the pan

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (do not over bake them! they will not look completely done, but will continue to cook at "set" on the pan)

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 And then if you bring your yummy cookies anywhere you can kiss them goodbye....because they won't be coming back home with you :)

I'm telling you as a friend....you need to make these cookies. 

Happy hump day!

Until next time,
Katy

recipe found here

Brace yourself: It's busy season.

Happy Monday folks. 

Sadly, this isn't going to be an overly exciting blog today. This is more of a heads up, don't write me off, but don't expect a lot from me for the next two months, please still love me, I'll try I promise, forewarning of a blog. 

Did you get all that?

So for those of you who don't know, I'm a CPA who landed a career in public accounting - particularly the audit field. This is not where I elaborate, don't worry. But, what that does mean is I will be working a hefty amount of hours over the next seven weeks. We call it busy season. And while there are many many perks to our job, this isn't one of them.

I blogged a total of seven (7) times during busy season last year. I do indeed intend to blog more than that, but no promises. Quite frankly it's because my life will not be exciting. Not that it is overly thrilling or anything the other 10 months of the year, but at least I do stuff. I'm doing good just to keep up with my hygiene during busy season. And sadly I'm not exaggerating. 

What I likely will be blogging about? 

Well you'll probably see a lot of baking recipes because 1) baking is therapeutic to me and 2) my team likes me more when I feed them sweets. I'll also have some solid book reviews the next two months because when I'm not working, I just want to be in bed, and since the shows haven't started back yet, I'll be getting lost in a book. I'm hoping to do favorites on Friday because planning a list of favorites during the week really does make you appreciate the small things. OH - and I'll also share my online shopping purchases. Because that, too, is a form of therapy. Retail therapy.

 #allformsoftherapyneededandappreciated

So yeah. I told you it wasn't an overly exciting post. But I do have some more exciting ones planned for later this week. I basically just wanted to let all seven of my readers know what's up. I'm not abandoning this little blog of mine, but my focus has to be elsewhere for a bit. 

And for my fellow busy season buddies...

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OH - and for my fellow FEMALE busy season buddies who are about to have an extreme amount of emotions all day every day for no real reason....

 

Have a great Monday everyone! 

Until next time,
Katy

I resolute to.... be better

Ah, a new year. A clean slate, a fresh start, and a billion resolutions all jumping eagerly at your fingertips and waiting to be chosen. 

I've thought a lot about resolutions this year (I was in a car for over 24 hours to Colorado and back...I was basically forced to think about resolutions!). And while I love a good list of resolutions - because I love a good list of anything - I kept finding a common theme among my thoughts. 

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To just be better. 

Better at what? Well, all of it. I want to be a better Christian, be a better girlfriend, be a better daughter, sister, dog mom, friend, aunt, coworker, blogger - all of it. The bottom line is I just want to be better than I was yesterday. 

I think a lot of us, and I'll admit to being your fearless ring leader, set some extremely lofty goals around the new year. And why wouldn't we? We have a 12-month timeline to accomplish those goals. In the early days of January that seems like a for.e.ver long time to accomplish pretty much anything and everything. 

But then life sets in. 

Yeah. Life. That thing. 

And then you get to June and you haven't even started, or have started and failed and restarted 6 times (I'm looking at you "healthy diet"). But that's okay! Cause you still have six more months! And then life finds us again, and the next thing you know you're sitting around the Christmas tree and thinking about what resolutions you're going to ring in the following week. It's a vicious cycle people.

So that's when I decided to limit my scope. I don't want to look at a 12-month timeline. And a few months out of last year I did monthly goals, and even that was taxing (and I found myself cramming my goals in the last few days of every month). So now I'm looking at it day by day, and with no set list. I don't need blueprints for this one. Just be better. 

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Whenever you have five minutes to yourself to "reflect" each day - which is likely first thing in the morning or right before your head hits the pillow - just think about one thing you could do better tomorrow. And we're not talking about moving mountains, saving endangered species, or re-inventing the wheel. Refer back up to the discussion of "lofty goals." I'm just talking about being incrementally better. Baby steps. 

It could be eating eggs and fruit instead of chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. 

It could be not getting road rage when someone cuts you off on your commute. 

It could be actually communicating when your significant other asks what's wrong and you would normally say "nothing." (Which we all know in girl terms means "you best start guessing"). 

It could be letting your dog stop, sniff, and winkie on every tree instead of yanking the leash to get a move'on.

It could be taking the $5 you would spend on a fancy latte at Starbucks and putting it in a piggy bank (which is by no means a recommendation - I fully support lattes)

But it's just the little things. 

And there will be some days where we will wake up in the morning, strive to be better, and end up being way worse than we were the day before. We're human. Failure is expected. But you know what the beauty of this is? It's only a 24-hour window before you can strive to be better again. 

So no bullet points. No lists. No goals, to-dos, or lofty resolutions. 

I just want to be better than I was yesterday. 

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And before I leave you today (to go be better, of course), I have to give a shout out to my absolute favorite person on the planet. Because JEFF TURNS THIRTY TODAY!!! 

I'm dating an old man folks. Is there a 'girlfriends of geriatrics' support group out there? 

And because your birthday isn't your birthday until someone makes you a collage on social media - I shall also incorporate this little gem into my shout out :)

Y'all. I can't say enough wonderful things about this man. (Is he officially a man now? Thirty = man, right?) I just can't get enough of him. He, and his dimples, are the absolute best part of each and every one of my days. 

And now I'm getting all mushy and sappy and stuff so that's just going to have to be enough of that :)

Until next time,
Katy

Colorado (& NYE!) 2016

Ouch. Monday morning. 

But not any Monday morning - the Monday morning after two weeks of vacation. 

But not only THAT - it's the first Monday of "busy season." What's that you hear? CPAs crying. That's what that is. 

So this Monday is the Monday of all Mondays.

But enough of that. We'll focus on the Monday when the sun comes up. For now, we'll just recap my past week in the beautiful Pagosa Springs, Colorado. 

No really. This was my view each and every morning....

And this morning I woke up to an alarm and honking horns. Helloooo reality. 

So how'd this all come about? Well, Jeff and his roommate (we shall call him Toby) turn 30 about two weeks apart from each other. Toby's uncle has a mansion cabin out in Pagosa Springs, CO, so they rounded up the crew (crew being 14 of us) and we headed out for a week of skiing and to ring in the new year. 

(folds hands together) Now for a moment of honesty. 

I was not overly excited about this trip. You see....I don't ski. I tried once my freshman year of college and it was not a great experience. And until that ski trip I had never even seen snow. So snow bunny I am not. The only way I told Jeff I'd go on this trip is if I could just sit in the (warm) cabin and read all day while they went skiing. That sounded like an okay plan to me. Then the week we left, I decided to buck up and sign up for ski lessons with the rest of the girls. So after a 15-hour car ride to Colorado - that was day one. Ski lessons. 

Me waiting for the instructor to start. Only after I saw the "bunny slope" and started crying. I wish I was kidding. I may have beaten cancer but I am NO tough cookie and was scared senseless. 

Actually let's just talk about this "skiing" thing (I ended up loving the actual act of skiing so I feel like I can go ahead and speak freely about the acts that lead up to skiing). 

Like WHY do people do this on vacation? There is no leisure in this sport. First of all, your feet are trapped in giant boots that look like something straight off Iron Man's suit. I looked for the "rocket power" button on mine but couldn't ever find it. And not only are they clunky, but you can't stand up straight in them. I understand that the fact that they throw you forward helps you when you ski, but what about the other 75% of the time when you're just trying to be a human? 

And if that's not enough, you have to carry two skis and two poles that are almost as tall as you while you walk in the Iron Man boots. Now Jeffrey and his 6'6 frame could pick up my skis as if it were a small stick, but Lord. A bit much for the females to handle. 

And if that's not enough, you're walking uphill in high altitudes to even get to the ski lodge. Breathing requires great effort and concentration.

And if that's not enough - you're dressed in 37 layers and can't move. I now thoroughly understand how the Michelin man feels. 

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So you get my drift? The ski lesson hadn't even started and I was 100% certain I would not be returning to the mountain the next day. And and hour and a half into the lesson I was 100% certain I would not be returning after lunch. 

But alas - I persevered, and by the end of the day - I was having fun! 

Skiing is fun. Learning to ski? Not so much. 

My shots from the ski lift and the mountain. I thought I had a pretty good view....until Jeff showed me his pictures from his triple black X factor runs (see below). Whatever - I'm proud of my greens :)

The girls after we conquered a mile and a half green! And these smiles are actually genuine, in some other pictures earlier in the day they were not :)

We high-fived at lunch and then went our separate ways again. In fact I didn't see this kid much at all the first few days of the trip :)

Here are the views from the top of the mountain - the place that will always be imaginative to me because I shall never ever visit it. #greensforlife

The boys went skiing the next day too, but the girls took a break. In fact the next couple of days for me looked a lot like this...

Book. View. Coffee. Aaaaaand....

Fire. Not too shabby for Katy!

We also played a lot of board games - including Battle of the Sexes. Ever played that game? Where girls answer guy questions and vice versa? Yeah - it's hard. And I still can't process that the dimensions of a 2x4 are 1 3/4 by 3 3/4...like what IS that?! 

Whatever. On Wednesday we woke up early (you can add that to the lack of leisure - I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. on this vacation!) and the majority of us went skiing again ...but in quite the different elements. Remember that view from above? Yeah not so much on Wednesday. 

High of twelve degrees and snowing allllllll day. Bring it. 

This day was definitely my favorite because the boys went skiing with us on the greens! How sweet of them. So I got to ski while Jeff was bored out of his mind snowboarded right next to me! He also got some go pro footage of me skiing so I have proof of my athleticism. He also has proof of the time I accidentally followed him down a blue and completely wiped out. Good times. 

But nevertheless, I loved scootin' down a mountain with this one. And I don't do athletic things - so this was a milestone for me! He was pretty great about challenging me, but not pressuring me. He would cheer me on and pick me up when I fell - but when I was done, he let me be done :)

Please note the Iron Man boots. Tell me they don't look like they'd have superman powers....

On Thursday we all took a break and headed to the Hot Springs. I took this picture from their website, but this is what it looks like. These are 23 natural springs - or hot tubs - at all varying temps. Yes, please, and thank you. Thursday was a good day. 

I'm telling you - we had 14 smiles from this crew. Twas a very good Thursday. 

...then it wasn't so good. We all headed to a sports bar/restaurant in town to watch the OU bowl game. And if you also watched, or saw the results, you know that some of the smiles quickly faded. 

Boys at halfime - tryin to act like models or something, who knows.

Thursday night was NYE! And what else do you do for New Years when you're in a cabin? You have a pajama party. More specifically....a onesie party.

Yeah. We sure did. 

Also - Jeff picked these out. So for those of you who are wondering how this girlfriend got her boyfriend to wear a matching striped onesie that said "Special Delivery" on the tushy - think again!

And then we busted out the selfie stick. Do you know how hard it is to get 14 people to look/smile at the same time? Too bad Austin ruined the one good picture we had. Sigh. 

Then we went out on the deck, froze, and partied with some sparklers!

And no, mine aren't lit. I don't do fire. I'm a wuss. I can light a candle and that's about all I got. 

On Friday a group went home, and the rest of us just played in the snow, watched movies, and did a little shopping in town. More importantly, I got to experience an igloo! One day the boys worked really hard building an igloo (snow cave) that was big enough for 14 people. I'll have to say, it was pretty impressive!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - at certain points in our lives we completely turn into 5-year olds. And I love it. 

Speaking of - we then went down the snow slide the boys made. And it scared the everloving bejezzus out of me. I had NO idea it was going to be that fast. Which is why I sound like I'm being tortured in the video. I shared this on Instagram, but if you missed it you can watch (and judge) here.

That night we played the most competitive game of Monopoly I have ever witnessed for about 4 hours. Things got real folks. #andnoonelikedjeff

And that was a wrap! Such a great trip with amazing views, amazing activity (once actually going down the mountain), and amazing people. 

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Sigh. And now we are back to reality. No snow. No igloos. No hot springs. 

If you'll excuse me, my cubicle is calling. 

Until next time,

Katy