Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Lappy

For my 18th birthday, my parents gave me my first laptop to take to college. It was a sleek and stylish HP, silver and thin---I loved it so much more than most of my friend's new computers! My Bubsie really did a good job at picking it out! (Later he told me that he bought the first one he saw in the store and didn't even look at any more.)

I named my computer Lappy, after a Homestar Runner cartoon. Lappy and I had some good times. He saw me through a lot—4 years of tests, papers, Facebook creeping, music downloading... we were really close! I even purchased a new $100 battery for him so he could last up to 5 hours on one charge!

Then last fall, Lappy and I began to have problems. He would randomly turn of his screen and then not come back on. This would prompt me to say hurtful things like "What a worthless piece of crap!" and "You're slower than molasses!" I think this is really what set him off. From that point on, our relationship was a strained one, and he would continue to find new things to interrupt my work. Most recently, he somehow loosened the connection between the computer and the power cord and would not charge at all! It's very difficult to work with a computer with no screen and no charging capabilities! Finally I bit the bullet and decided it was time for Lappy and I to move on… thus began what I refer to fondly as "The Great Computer Search of 2009 (In which Trace almost kills Katie for being so picky)".

I figured Spring Break would be a great time to start searching and because Trace was going to be home, I thought that he would be a valuable asset to my computer search (he knows lots of nerdy things about computers). We started at Best Buy, then finding nothing we moved on to about 45 different stores, all to no avail. Apparently, I was being a little to precise in what I wanted (an HP, not too big, not to small, black, not too heavy, large hard drive, lots of memory, built in webcam, etc.) but HEY if I'm going to be spending $700 (thank you student loans!) I want the computer to be what I want! While I didn't find a THE computer in the store, we did see some other interesting things:

  • 87 Best Buy employees who wanted to help me "browse" and were quick to point out that "we don't work on commission!"
  • 912 computers that were either too big, too small, too heavy, not black, no webcam, had a weird touch pad, etc.
  • 4 METALLIC BRONZE computers that otherwise were exactly what I wanted, but that I could not bring myself to buy cause I hated the bronze (even though I had already decided that If I purchased a bronze computer, I was going to name it C3PO).
  • 1 truck of Mexicans STEALING THE SOUND SYSTEM OUT OF THE BACK OF A JEEP IN THE ULTIMATE ELECTRONICS PARKING LOT AT 3PM!!!!!
  • 0 computers that were exactly what I wanted

Anyways, to make a painfully long story short, after much goading from Trace (along with a LOT of lectures about how picky I was) I built my own customized laptop on HP.com that fit exactly my specifications. It just came in the mail last week, and I am still working on setting it up just how I want it, along with getting used to how the new computer works. Overall, I LOVE IT!! It's sleek, shiny black, super fast and thin! It even has the built in webcam (so I can talk to Trace on Skype) and a light-up HP logo on the front!

Even though I am sad to say goodbye to my first Lappy, I am beyond thrilled to have this new computer that I have fittingly dubbed Lappy 2.0.




Me in 2005 with Lappy #1.


Sunday, March 29, 2009

4th Snowiest Day in History

I am at home visiting my parents this weekend, and was lucky enough to witness to the 4th snowiest day in our town's history (or since records started in 1873). On saturday (March 28) we recieved the most snow I've ever seen in one day--8 inches!

My little sister and I quickly reverted back to our childhood and pulled on our ski bibs and went outside...building a snowman and hiking to the neighborhood hill to go sledding! It was snowing so hard and it was so wet, we ended our 2 hours of playing outside dripping wet. We had a ball though--too bad tomorrow it's back to the real world of school!!




Starting to build Frosty!








My little sister, Molly, and I








With the finished Frosty!





Friday, March 27, 2009

Top 10 Worst Days Ever

Since waking up at 8:30 am this morning, I have decided to place today in my Top 10 of Worst Days Ever. EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong today. For simplicity, I'm just going to make a grocery list of it all! Hope you all had better days than I did!!

  • 8:30 am- Upon awakening, I realized that I was suffering from "the pain that makes me want to rip my own uterus out" AKA- cramps. You all probably know that this is the worst start to a day possible and it just sets the tone for the rest of the day.
  • 9:50 am- I'm attending the sister campus of my PT school today, so I'm trying to find my classroom. Realizing that this campus is waaaaay nicer and that I go to school in an asbestos and mold filled dump. These students have no reason to complain about ANYTHING!
  • 10:20 am- Why are my classmates still trickling into class? It started 20 minutes ago! They have my teacher turned down very low and aren't paying very much attention--they are all talking amongst themselves. No wonder they stay on "Mute" all the time!
  • 11:00 am- Not a single person in this classroom has spoken to me on break. I miss my friends!
  • 11:50 am- Finally done with that class! My classmates are distracting and annoying. At least I'm going to lunch with my bubsie (Dad) and it's not raining.
  • 1:00 pm- Found my next new classroom--it really is crowded!
  • 1:15 pm- Nobody is paying attention in this class either!! I can't hear my professor and people are STILL coming into class!! Latey McApple Chomper is to my right crunching her apple. This is my BIGGEST pet peeve and I am having a hard time resisting the urge to stop her chomping by ripping the apple out of her hand and throwing it across the room. Finally, Mr. Talky McCocky Pants is sitting behind me and talking ACROSS THE ROOM to people about random crap NOT INVOLVING NEUROANATOMY. I'm incredulous at this point that people aren't listening at all!!
  • 2:30 pm- Still fighting the urge not to stand up and yell "Shut the hell up, I can't hear Dr. G!!!!" Struggle through two hours of the class.
  • 2:45 pm- We have to go outside across campus to get to the next (and extra) mandatory lecture. It is pouring down ice rain. The walk is probably 400+ yards. I pull out my smiley face umbrella that my mom shoved at me this morning and start walking. I immediately realize that the rain is angular and there is no way I'll stay dry. I start jogging, trying to keep my BRAND NEW laptop that's in my backpack dry. My umbrella flips inside out and I end up dragging it along.
  • 3:00 pm- End up sitting in a row in a huge auditorium by myself, cause no one here wants to sit next to me. I'm soaking wet and freezing, and oh-so-excited to sit for another 2 hours in a pointless lecture. At least my classmates won't talk, cause there are teachers present in the flesh now.
  • 3:15 pm- Can't focus because of my wet jeans. I hate wet jeans. It's one of my biggest pet peeves (right up there with people eating apples next to me in class).
  • 5:00 pm- Finally get to go home, change out of my soggy and freezing clothes, put on my sweats and watch OU basketball!
  • 8:20 pm- The day is finally looking up, OU is dominating Syracuse and it looks like they'll advance to the Elite 8, I'm having pizza and margaritas with my mom, and just praying I don't get walking pneumonia from having wet shoes on in 30* weather for 3 hours!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Granny Pants

Have you ever bought a pair of jeans that you absolutely love? They fit just perfectly and you want to wear them with everything? Jeans you love so much that you wish you had purchased 45 additional pairs of them when you bought the first ones? But when you finally break down and go to the store to purchase another pair (or seven) of the jeans you love from last season, you find out that 1) they don't carry them anymore or 2) they changed the sizing and the new ones just aren't the same?

Well my friends, that happened to me just recently! Last year, I found the perfect fit of jeans for myself at Old Navy. It just so happened that their "Sweetheart" fit (low rise, relaxed through the thighs, flare leg) in a particular size/ regular length fit me just perfectly! I actually bought 2 pairs then and I honestly wear them anytime I want to wear jeans, which, let's face it, is pretty much everyday.

So recently, Old Navy had a big denim sale. $19.95 for jeans? Fabulous! I just couldn't resist going to the store and finding an adorable dark wash pair and another pair just like one I already have. I picked up the EXACT SAME SIZE that I already had. No need to try them on, right? WRONG!!!

A couple of days later, I pull out my dark wash jeans to pair with a cute cardigan for a night out with the girls. When I pulled the pants on, I realized that the waist of the jeans seemed to be sitting considerably higher than they usually do. Upon further inspection, I found that the waist of the jeans was now sitting uncomfortably close to my belly button. Am I shrinking? Or did Old Navy con me into purchasing Granny Pants disguised as trendy jeans?

I decided, after much contemplation to keep the jeans cause not only did I need a few more pairs, but I decided that only I would know that the jeans were riding that high. But that's where my story takes a turn for the worst. Or hilarious.

Yesterday, I was wearing the aforementioned dark wash high jeans and decided to tell my jean woes to my friends in class. I went through the whole story, even explaining about how as I currently sat, the waist of my jeans was well above my belly button (an unfortunate consequence of sitting in jeans). By the end of my story, about 10 of my closest friends were staring at me and laughing, and trying to convince me to stand up and show them!

Let me tell you, there is no way I'm going to stand up in front of a class of 60 of my friends and pull up my sweater and show them how high my pants were riding! At this point, Chelsea and Amanda were explaining that they could forcably stand me up and pull my shirt up and shouting that "Katie is wearing GRANNY PANTS!!!". I think Chelsea even shouted at one point "Don't make me raise your shirt up myself!" and proceed to move closer to me!

At this point, Rigo, our resident metro/crazy guy, is joining in on the goading, asking me to "show him a little sumthin-sumthin". Geez! Then he comes down to where we're sitting and not-so-chalantly tries to look at my pants under the table.

Needless to say, everytime I wear these jeans now, all I'll be able to think about is the fact that I'm 21 years old and wearing granny pants. Thank you, Old Navy.
















Tuesday, March 24, 2009

God laid them heavy on my heart...

Well, apparently I was a little too hasty in posting my Not Me Monday post. Poor MckMama has had to take her sweet baby Stellan to the hospital, where he's been since Sunday night with an alarmingly high heart rate. It appears the same heart problems he was diagnosed with in the womb have manifested again in this chubby, dimpled little boy. To read more updates go to http://mycharmingkids.net/. Please join me in praying for the whole McKinney family!

On a similar note, I stumbled across the most powerful blog yesterday, Angie Smith at Bring The Rain (http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/). For some reason I felt drawn to read the older posts, and started in January of 2008 when Angie and her husband, Todd found out that their 4th daughter, Audrey Caroline, was diagnosed with fatal medical complications in the womb. Her blog is about her journey through the rest of the pregnancy, about Audrey's birth in April 2008, the 2 hours she spent on earth with her family, and subsequently, her death/burial.

I felt so emotionally connected to this stranger, and although I have reletively nothing in common with her, I sat and sobbed as I read her story. I was witnessing her heartache and was unbelievably sad that I had not met sweet Audrey myself. Over the course of the rest of her blog to the current day, I read about Angie's struggles and her successes, about her adorable twin daughters, Ellie and Abby and her spunky (and hilarious) daughter Kate.

What I found the most amazing though, was the incredible witness that Angie is to her faith and her Lord. She is the type of Christian that I hope to be, one so completely in love and dependent on the Lord. She is an incredible woman of God. I highly suggest going to her blog and catching up with her story. Angie's a gifted writer and very funny too!!

Anyways, enough gushing about my bloggy obsessions, but I felt like God laid these two mothers and their sweet children on my heart last night. Join me in praying for MckMama and her family as Stellan fights for his life, as well as for Angie and her family's continued healing!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Not Me Monday!

I'm gonna kick off the week after Spring Break with my very first Not Me Monday post! If you want to read what other people did not do over the last week, head over to MckMama's blog at http://mycharmingkids.net/!

I most certainly DID NOT sleep until 11am every day over my Spring Break, only to get up, shower, and immediately spend time with Trace.

During my "Hell Week" of tests before Spring Break, I DID NOT eat an entire bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and justify it by thinking that I needed the brain stimulation! Nope, not me!

I also DID NOT try to convince Trace to accompany me to the midnight release of the "Twilight" dvd. That would be REALLY lame since I didn't even like the movie very much! Trace did actually say no!

Then as soon as I got back to Norman, I most certainly DID NOT go straight to Wal-Mart to purchase said dvd. Nope! Lame!

Finally, I DID NOT waste an entire Sunday afternoon setting up my new blog and writing posts for the future when I have plenty of housework and schoolwork to catch up on! Never! I'm on the ball all the time and NEVER EVER procrastinate!

Wow that was therapeutic!! Join in on the Not Me fun!! :)

Hello!

Welcome to my bloggy world! After creeping around on other peoples blogs for the last couple of months, I finally decided to start my own! So what better way to start a blog than to tell you a little about me?

I am a 21 year old college student, finishing up my master's degree in Physical Therapy. I am SO ready to be done with school!! I attend the University of Oklahoma for PT school, and I also did my undergraduate work here. I am in my 2nd year of PT school and I have the most amazing group of girlfriends there. God truly blessed me by putting all of these women in my life. They break up the monotony and stress of being a graduate student--we sure know how to have fun!

My life is pretty much devoted to school right now, but in my time off I love spending time with my family (Mom, Dad--aka "Bubsie" and little sis, Molly) and my amazing boyfriend. Trace is the love of my life, we've been together almost a year now. He attends Texas A&M University, so he's far away most of the time, but I can't imagine where my life would be without him.


Here's a picture of my sweet boy and I at Christmas!










I can't really think of anything else to say in this starter post, so I guess I'll end now!