Life of a College Kid

Is a Gallon a Day Too Much?

2014-07-02T22:37:00.002-04:00

My goal every day is to drink a gallon of water. I'm 5 foot, about 150 pounds. I'm a 22 year old female living in south Georgia who is very active (gym at least 3 times a week, server (about 30 hours a week), and I do my observations hours for school at the hospital in town (I shoot for at least 2 hours a day M-F).)

Is a gallon of water too much in one day? People just don't seem to believe that I've made a healthy choice when they see me carrying my gallon jug around. I want to show everyone that there is research out there supporting my decision.

It is believed that in a healthy person, their kidneys can excrete a little under a liter of water per hour. Hyponatremia, which is commonly called water intoxication, means that there is less salt in your body than is needed in relevance to the amount of water. When the ratio of water to salt is not standard, certain bodily functions cannot be carried out (this can mean there is too little salt, or too much (dehydration)). For the body to be considered hyponatremic, there must be more water taken into the body than can be excreted in a certain amount of time.

I would have to drink an entire gallon in less than 4 hours to cause hyponatremia.

Mind you, I only want to drink 3.8 liters (one gallon) in 24 hours. Okay, we'll say in about 16 hours, I like to sleep (and not drink) for a few hours a day.

What factors increase your recommended water intake per day? Exercise (intensity, duration, frequency), health (pre-existing conditions, kidney failure) gender, environment (high altitude, high temp/humidity), pregnancy or breast-feeding http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256?pg=2

What is Hyponatremia? http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/basics/definition/con-20031445

What are the benefits of drinking a gallon a day? http://www.livestrong.com/article/424740-what-are-the-benefits-of-drinking-a-gallon-of-water-a-day/

No, I am not a doctor, and no, I don't think it is absolutely the safest thing for someone to drink a gallon of water every day if they are not used to it. But under my circumstances, in my state, I believe it is not unsafe to have a goal of drinking a gallon of water every day. I don't do it every day, I probably only actually get the whole thing finished off 2-3 times a week.

Like I said before, I live in south Georgia - it is HOT. I'm the type of person who will take the stairs up 3 floors instead of jumping in an elevator. I workout hard and for about 45-60 minutes at least 3 days a week. Weightlifting, cardio, tabata, plyometrics, etc. And, I don't avoid salty foods.

Katie

Dead to Me

2014-03-27T23:20:00.001-04:00

Of all 500,000 people I've met in my life I've told someone they were "dead to me" three times. Once, to an unnamed person who I believed deserved it at the time. WE have repaired that relationship, and I'm glad to say that they are one of the most important people in my life. Another, was an old roommate. I'm sure we all know who that was...and what makes this whole situation even better is that the third person I've said this about...is her best friend.

You'd think I would learn by now. Apparently though, behind my bitchy facade, I was too soft-hearted and believed this time would be different. After going through TWO other female roommates, I was convinced that I was 100% the problem. I was too controlling, too bitchy, too outspoken, too rude, too uncaring, too unkind, I could go on for days. These are the things I have been told about myself. I've been told that I am a terrible roommate and cannot live with girls. For the record, I probably can't live with girls...I am entirely too possessive.

As I've said before though, I have 101 reasons why I do the things I do. I lived with parents who were rarely happy - they were always fighting. When they finally decided to get a divorce, it was not a clean break. My father lost his business, my mom lost our house. We were homeless for a while - living with my grandparents and aunt. When we finally got a house, we had lost our car. It was one thing after another. I don't think I've ever just had a happy home. I am so possessive of my home because I'm trying to make a happy home for myself .Just because YOU grew up in a wonderful household, that doesn't mean that everyone else did. People should really not take that for granted, because quiet honestly, I've overcome and learned how to live with a lot of things that I had to grow up with. I've been through more hell than some people will ever think about going through, but did you know that? No, because I'm doing my best in life to overcome these obstacles and make the best of the time in life that I have left.

I've lived through this stage of life that this blog post's subject is going through now. You've been out of your parents' house for a total of what, 6 months? Honey, when I had been moved out for 6 months, I didn't know shit. I didn't know how to pay bills, budget my money, think about the future - but I thought I did. You've been out of high school for like, a year and a half. You don't know shit. Please, step aside and let the grown ups handle their business.

I moved in with Kaleb and another roommate exactly 2 years ago - and this was after living in a dorm on VSU's campus for a year, living with my grandparents for a short while, and moving to Washington and living there for a while with my dad. 5 months after moving back from Washington is when I moved in with Kaleb and his friend. At that point, we were the only ones living there - it was a balanced, respectful environment. As time went on, a girl started hanging out at the apartment and when looking for a new apartment for the next year's lease, we decided to have her move in. About 2 weeks before we actually moved in together, I realized it was the worst decision EVER. She was rude, controlling, disrespectful of me, my house, my property, my pet, everything. We tried to make amends, but after a huge feud, her moving out 6 months after moving in, and then a fake makeup, things never got better. We don't talk to this day.

After she left, another one of our roommate's friends moved in to her old room. He's great.

Back to mine and Kaleb's original roommate...
He ended up breaking up with his long term girlfriend and began dating other girls, a few actually moved in, but then quickly moved out. One of his ex girlfriends was someone I would never associate myself with, and when things went downhill with her, she left. Another girlfriend moved in. She is the third person I've determined to be "dead to me". So, after living with the same people for a year and a half, she comes into MY house, begins attempting to control things, move things, change rules, push me out of the way. Bitch, this is MY house. Don't think this is the part of the story where she left though, because things only got worse. Honestly, things with her were the easiest for the longest amount of time, but as soon as it got blown out of proportion, everything was over.

How would you react if someone came into your home, began moving your personal property all around the house because they didn't like where you had it? If anyone knows me, you know exactly how anal I am and how OCD I am. You would know how precise I am with my food and exercise. One day I open the fridge to get some of my food out - and everything had been rearranged.

My folded up blankets on the shelf in the living room were strewn across the couches when I woke up in the morning. Drinks all over the table. Trash on the floor. Shoes all over the foyer. (LITERALLY, EVERYWHERE, like 7 or 8 pairs of shoes in a 3x3 ft area. Nasty, restaurant non-slip, greasy shoes) My vacuum would be used and not emptied. My laundry and cleaning materials would be used and rarely replaced. My food would be eaten. And I was the only person who would get up in the morning and clean up after all 5 people living in the house.

I was sitting at home on my ONLY DAY OFF this week (because I go to school and work). I had all the lights turned off and was watching American Horror Story. As soon as [blog post's subject] walks in, she turns on two lights, and then took the dog outside. I got up, turned both lights off. She walks back in, turns on another light (this one being the lamp right next to me). I let her do what she had to do, and when she was done I got up and turned the light back off. She said "Um, can you turn the light back on?" I said, "No, I want the light off". She said, "Well, I'm going to turn it back on for a minute" (in a very rude manner). I paused my show and waited on her to turn it back off. She sat there completely in silence for about 2 minutes before she got up and walked out of the room (walking directly by the light without turning it back off). I said, "You could at least turn the light off". She ignored me.

Now, if I had done this, she would have told her boyfriend, who would have then in turn, told my boyfriend to tell me to stop being such a bitch. DRAMATIC, right? All she had to do was respect the fact that I wanted to watch tv in MY living room on my ONLY night off. (Yes, I keep emphasizing this. It's because she went from working like 4-5 days a week when she first started staying here, to working NEVER. Seriously, she paid someone $20 to work her only shift last week. LOL Like I said, you don't know shit. You seriously depend on your boyfriend to pay all your bills and for all your clothes and food. Good luck with that, because I can tell you exactly how that worked out with his last girlfriend...) So, my point is - this was probably one of the dumbest things I could have ever gotten mad about, but I just want some respect. This is my house, and I will do what I please (when it doesn't affect anyone else) without a word from you, you snotty, rude, disrespectful, unladylike bitch. You are dead to me.

Valentine's Day at the Horn

2014-02-14T14:14:00.003-05:00

What's going on in the life of this college kid today? It's Valentine's Day 2014 and I am working tonight. Kaleb is also working tonight, so we celebrated yesterday.

While trying to get back into a routine, I skipped the gym this morning, but still managed to wake myself up early so I can continue to wake up early I guess. I did some laundry, watched some 90210, and eventually Kaleb got up and we went and got some lunch. As we're out getting lunch I realized how amazing the weather felt outside. While sitting in the car, all I could think was "If I was in school this semester, I'd be sitting outside of the student union on campus, soaking up the sunlight, sipping on some Starbucks, and studying Chemistry. Too bad I'm going to be even further behind now that I'm out of school this semester."

Then I realized all the good that is coming from me taking a semester off. The stress has been reduced after going to school for 3 straight semesters. Crazily enough, that is the longest I've gone to college without a break. This semester killed my streak I guess, but I'll be back in May! When I go back this time, I'm FINISHING. I will not be quitting until I have a degree in my hands.

As I lay here in my bed blogging, drinking a huge, no-no sweet tea, and watching 90210, I just have to think about how lucky I am. I don't thank God enough for the blessings and strength He has provided for me.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,

because when he has stood the test he will receive the

crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 3:12)

This verse has gotten me through many many trials. It has also made me feel grateful in my happiest times.

On another topic, I have to be at work about an hour. 3:30 until I don't know...probably at least 10:30. Wish me luck! I'm going for calm tonight. LOL

Much love,

Katie

How Many Are In Your Party?

2013-11-11T00:11:00.000-05:00

Today I'm pondering the fact that I may or may not have health insurance through my company as of January 2014. A friend at work posted something about how she was going to be paying $200 a month for health insurance on JUST herself come January. (She has 2 kids as well!) So, as I'm sitting here listening to everyone complain about Obamacare, I'm just like "whatever, I have insurance...I'm good". Guess not!

The semester is coming to a close; we have 3-4 weeks left, depending on when finals are. I almost wish we weren't going on break. Its like whenever I want to have a break, there's not one anytime soon, and when I don't want one, we have a month long break.

I didn't realize before how much things can change in a split second. You think everything is going well, and you're building on everything that started at the absolute worst, then all of a sudden everything you've worked for means absolutely nothing.

Weight loss in progress. Progress will be posted as soon as some progress has been made.

My contacts are working very well. I finally figured out how to put them in AND take them out efficiently. I can see, and I don't have to wear my glasses to the gym - I can now SEE things. Oh lord, running made easy.

Work is great. I was talking to some girls from work, and they said exactly what everyone from work says when they first get a chance to talk to me, "I hated you at first, but now you're cool". Is it just me, or does anyone think their job is super important?

Imagine: You and your friend walk into a restaurant. No one is there to greet you, so you stand awkwardly for a minute or two until the host finally realizes you're there. She is rude, doesn't made eye contact and then walks you to the table and then leaves without a word. Your server greets you and gets your drink order. When the server comes back with the drinks, they ask if you're ready. You say no, so they say they'll check back in a few minutes. They walk away, and 5 minutes later you see them chatting it up by the back computer while being rude/loud/unprofessional. They then walk to the back, stay for another 5 minutes, and then come back to get your order. When your food is finally put in and you are waiting on your salads, you hear some employees cleaning up the table next to you gossiping/cussing/being unprofessional. Your food finally comes out and the food runner asks if you need anything else; you tell them you need ketchup and mustard and they say they'll grab it. 5 minutes later when your server gets back to you, they still haven't brought the ketchup or mustard, your food is cooked incorrectly, and someone walking by somehow managed to spill something on you without apologizing or offering to clean it up. Eventually, everything is situated and you're cashing out, just ready to leave because your experience has not been the best. A manager has not been over to talk to you, and your server did not do anything to help. Before leaving, you get up to wash your hands and use the restroom, but can't find it. Politely, you stop an employee to ask where it is; they rudely point to the back and walk away.

How would you feel? How would you react? Would you have asked for a manager? Would you have left the restaurant? Would you have noticed some of the problems in this situation? Personally, I would have probably just left. I wouldn't have wanted to raise a scene, but sometimes things like that can be very frustrating. Some of my coworkers, whether its accidental or not (including myself) do some of the things in this scenario thinking its not big deal. My problem with this is that if this happened to YOUR table, they might tell everyone they know not to come back because they had an awful experience. In turn, they will tell everyone they know, and then they will tell everyone THEY know. It gets to be a mess, and you can lose so much business because of one party's bad experience. Now imagine that not only one, but ALL the parties in the restaurant had a bad experience, do you know how many people that is? These guests that visit our restaurant keep us in business. This keeps me employed, and keeps food on MY table. Some of my coworkers get SO mad at me because I'm crazy OCD, but honestly...I wouldn't have it any other way.

I like rules. I like things to be the way they should. There are REASONS that these rules and regulations have been set the way they are, and there is a reason everyone has been told to follow them. I'm so tired of people thinking they are above the rules.

<3

A WHOLE DAY OFF?!

2013-11-06T21:44:00.001-05:00

Life of a college kid. What do you think that means?

Stress
Broke
Busy

Yeh, well I can attest to all of the above. I haven't written on my blog in almost a year. For a while I just didn't write because I had time. Then I started to write, but never finished because I just didn't have the time. Then I finally had some time and I felt like it didn't matter if I wrote or not. Well, its time. Sometimes you just have things you NEED to say, but no one to vent to. I mean sure, I could vent to a lot of people, but it gets really annoying sometimes. So now, I'll just vent on my blog again to give them the choice whether or not they want to hear it.

Let's just start off with school. After this semester, I will have 69 hours. I will be done with my 5th semester, and I will OFFICIALLY be a junior. This doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but no one in my family has graduated college as a traditional college student. Now, I did take a year off during what was supposed to be my sophomore year. So I guess I'm not technically a traditional college student, but I still consider myself one on the '5 year plan'. I should be graduating in Spring 2015, which would be exactly 5 years since I graduated high school. If I can pull this off, I will be SO proud of myself, because I will technically have graduated in 4 years (of coursework) even after changing my major TWICE.

Right now I am taking Anatomy & Physiology II with lab, Speech Communication, and Introduction to Rehabilitation Sciences. I took Pilates and Weightlifting during the first part of the semester as well. So, at 10 hours, this has been my slowest semester yet. I am signed up for 16 hours next semester, and then 6 over the summer. (Last summer I dropped all my courses to work full time and save up money. That didn't work out very well, so I am 100% taking summer courses this year.) After this summer, I will have 91 credits, and be a SENIOR.

In my Intro to Rehab class, my teacher basically explains to us what our major is...what we can do with our degree once we graduate, and tells us about the different professions and grad school. Now that I am in my junior year and graduation is creeping up on me, my adviser has begun to talk about it. Knowing that I completely screwed up my freshmen year, I am terrified that I won't be accepted to ANY PT schools. If I do, I am well aware that it probably won't be in or around Savannah. I will probably have to move to another state, so its very stressful to think about.

Next, I'm going to talk about work. (This subject shouldn't be as long ;))

Although I'm only taking 10 hours at school, which technically is not full-time, I still spend at least 30-40 hours a week on school with out of class studying and class times. I love my major, so I REALLY love most of my course work. What's stressful is knowing that not only do I have to spend that much time on school, but I also work full-time. My hours have been cut recently due to other restaurants opening in the area (all the servers' hours have been cut at my store), but I usually dedicate my entire weekend to work, and my entire week to school. Work is stressful. Since I live with my boyfriend, we are in charge of putting all the food on the table, keeping the lights on, and making sure we have clothes to wear. I hear people forever talking about how they still live with their parents at the age of 25. That's cool and all, like they don't really have to pay for much...but I'll take the extra responsibility for all of my own freedom.

I have some really awesome friends. Seriously. I KNOW I am always running, and I literally forget to talk to people sometimes because I have so much on my plate. Even when I haven't talked to certain people in week or even months, they still come back into my life like there was no gap in between.

Keely, you went and got married and we still managed to workout together and go on Savannah shopping trips ALL the time. When I got into my major though, I know I started to suck at QT with you. Thanks for still being there for me.

Hannah, we probably haven't talked in like 5 months due to our work schedules being completely opposite. We've been through so much since 1st grade. Hating each other, loving each other, not talking to each other, working together. You will always be my best friend. I love you!

Taylor, you moved 11,000 miles away, and you wake up at 7 am to talk to me sometimes. I mean, I do the same, but hey. :) Even though we've been friends since 9th grade, I feel like we got so much closer SO quickly over the past couple months. I love you and I canNOT wait for you to get back from Australia!

Morgan, you're my freaking sister. You know that I am here for you 24/7 whether we talk daily or weekly. You 4 are so important in my life. Each one of you is in my life for a different reason, and I don't know what I would do if I was without any of you.

I have other friends who are just as important, but I don't have time to sit here and name you all. One day, maybe I'll just write a blog on every single one of my friends. Oh man, that'd be great.

So, I haven't curled my hair in like 9 months, and I'm in the process of it now. I will go finish that, and then probably study. Then I'm waking up at 6:30 to go to the gym with Princess Pratt. Then I have class tomorrow. I HAVE FRIDAY OFFFFFFFF. Like, no school, no work. I don't know what to do with myself. I may freak the f*ck out. I might go stir crazy sitting at my house. Maybe I'll just take a nap. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH A DAY OFF.

Good night.

Scratch On My Cornea

2012-12-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning with my eye feeling really funky. After about 3 minutes of walking around doing my thing, I realize it actually just hurts. I went to the bathroom, examined it, and concluded that I had pink eye.

I decided to go to the gym with Keely anyways.

While driving to the gym, it really started bothering me, and once I got there it interfered with my workout, so I decided to go to the eye doctor. Come to find out, I have a 'scratch' on my eye that he described as having a "chunk" taken out of my cornea. Uh, ew. So he put lots of eye drops in...one that numbed my eye - that was really cool, and then he put in this 'bandage' contact. It was basically so that every time I blink, my eyelid doesn't scrape the open nerve endings in my eyeball.

And, I have to put in an eye drop every 15 minutes. And then a stinging antibiotic one 4 times a day. Needless to say, I can only half see out of my left eye and things are getting really frustrating.

First thing I thought: "How the heck did this even happen?"

Yeh, I have no clue. I was at work yesterday when it really started bothering me for the first time, so I'm clueless.

Now, tonight is my 4 year anniversary with Kaleb and I have to sit at home all alone. I was scheduled to work all day, but they had too many people scheduled for dinner shift, so they sent me home. Kaleb has to work. This sucks.

I guess I'll just watch some Vampire Diaries with Ziggy. <3

- Katie

One Year

2012-12-11T11:09:00.001-05:00

Well, I have a completely sane reason for not posting anything in like a month. There is this girl at work who just dislikes me for absolutely no reason at all. Like, literally...we were friends one day and the next she refused to talk to me. It was so weird. Might I add, she's like 25. You might think she would be a little more mature than that. Guess not. Anyways, point being - I haven't posted anything in a while because I found out she went on my Facebook and found the link to my blog. She went through it and was making so much fun of me, so I didn't really want to put myself back out there for her to keep making fun of it. Whatever, eff it.

A couple months ago I was driving down the road and thought of an awesome blog post: "Where do you think you will be in a year?"

A year ago, I definitely did not think I would be here. [At the time I thought about the topic] I was still living in Washington a year ago. I worked at H&M in Tacoma. It was hard, we only had one car to share between 3 adults (plus Kaleb when he got there), a 3 bedroom house to share between 6 people, and a cat to take care of. I thought it was such a great decision moving out there and didn't want to come back for a couple years. Thank goodness I did. Thinks have turned out SO much differently than I thought they would. Now, I'm living back in Georgia, working at Longhorn, still living with my sweet boy, and we have another little furchild. :) Marley was amazing. I miss her, but Ziggy is just as cool in a different way. Haha.

I can't believe I'm living with 2 other roommates. I thought after college that would be all. I figured Jordan would be my only roommate ever. Seriously, what was I thinking? Rent is expensive. Yes, Kaleb and I are having out 4 year anniversary in 17 days, but I am okay with us not being married right now. We just have so much on our plate with me in school and both of us working to keep food on the table. I thought you were supposed to have it all figured out by our age, but that is definitely not the case. :P

Where will I be in one year? Who knows...I hope to be about 1 class shy of a college senior, have a better paying job, and a house of my own. (or apartment...) I wonder what I can get done in 12 months.

One thought I had the other day while at work, was that I miss the freedom of expression at H&M so badly. Not just because I could wear whatever I wanted, but because it was actually encouraged. No one made fun of your off-the-wall outfits, and I could flaunt whatever piercings or tattoos I wanted. That was one of the principles there though. When I came back to Georgia and started working at Cato again, I realized how much I missed it, but working at Longhorn makes me miss it SO much more. At H&M I could show up in basically leggings and a tunic or even jeans and a nice tee, but a dress was always acceptable. :) You didn't have to really wear any special shoes, whereas at Cato we had to wear business casual with nice shoes. Longhorn just makes us wear all black and restaurant shoes. Oh so much different.

1. Our Christmas tree. :D

2. Ziggy under the Christmas tree, haha.

3. Ziggy on my bed.

4. Kirsten and I at El Real. We were gonna take a really great picture until our server just ignored us...and then as soon as we were about to take the picture, he walked up and decided to actually help us, so this is all I got and we forgot to take another. <3

- Katie

P.E. & Houses!

2012-11-08T10:53:00.003-05:00

The best part about going to the gym when there are a bunch of guys there is that they all give you a dirty ass look wondering why the hell you're walking into the weight room, and then realize you lift almost as much as them.

BAM. No more dirty looks.

The gym wasn't all that great today, I was kind of bummed with my calorie burn, but I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow because I did some work. I did chest (DB bench press, DB flyes, incline press, and the machine flyes). I was going to also do abs, but there were literally about 4 times as many people there today as normal and I didn't really feel comfortable doing my cable crunches with my ass sticking out in front of all those guys...so abs are another day. HAHA

On another note, school is going well. I'm almost positive I'm making an A in every class. I hope so anyway...
I finally signed up for all my classes for next semester and the summer semester. I am taking 16 hours right now, working probably between 20-30 hours a week now, and I'm slammed all the time. Noooo extra time. Next semester I am taking 17 hours and the summer semester I am taking 10. I think I am going to have to work less. Ugh. No more Starbucks.

Tuesday as I was waiting in line to vote, I overheard a conversation between a mother and her high school (? maybe middle school) daughter. The mother was telling her she needed to take a P.E. class so she could get rid of all her energy. The girl said "I have P.E. next semester. I don't like it anyways, it's just exercise. It's supposed to be fun games, like warball or spiderball."

I just stood there like, are you kidding me? I'm assuming she meant all they did was run and do pushups and situps and stuff like that...but either way, P.E. is P.E. its physical education. Yeh, you run and do exercises. I swear, America needs a reality check man.
Also, it was my first time voting and I was asked if I was even old enough to vote. I was standing in between two older men and they thought it was hilarious.

We have to be moved out of our apartment in like a month. So today we're going to look a house. I'm TOO excited to have a girl roommate. HAHA Halie is moving in with us, yayyyyyyyy :D

I'm going to go wake Kaleb up because that boy doesn't get up unless someone drags him out of bed. I swear, in 75 years when he dies...it's gonna be in his sleep and no one will know for days.

- Katie

KISS & LOCK :)

2012-09-17T07:55:00.001-04:00

So, I have an oral presentation due in uh, I don't know like...an hour.

So far, I've got about 30 seconds worth of stuff to say on it so I sure hope I can make crap up when I get up there. Poem interpreting was like the worst thing that English teachers ever came up with to do. EVER!

Workout this morning was fantastic. I hate my preworkout because it makes me feel sick, but this morning I took almost a serving and a half and felt great. So great that I got through my entire workout without really ever wanting to quit halfway. I feel greatttttt. :D Shoulders are like jello though. 7 more pounds to go until I get my shoes....hopefully. I am too excited. Morgan and I went to the mall yesterday and she was looking at tennis shoes. I WANT MINE SO BAD. But I gotta wait. :(

I want my new tattoo soon too, but they're so freakin expensive. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll have it though! Also, I canNOT wait to go see Morgan at school. :) I miss her sooooooo much. Its awful. I love college, but I hate when the people you love move away to go to school.

Also, a BIGGGGGGG shout out to my best friend Taylor! She just started a new blog, and I figured I'd give her a couple posts before I introduced it on here. She's got a couple now and its about her hair growth! She is doing all kinds of things to get it to grow, so you should definitely check it out! -----> KISS <3

Love,

- Katie

Mind Blown

2012-09-14T15:58:00.002-04:00

Please, someone answer this. I don't know if I'm going insane or if I'm completely missing something...but I've lost this extra dollar.

- Katie

Be Jealous of my Fitbit

2012-09-13T21:22:00.000-04:00

This week hasn't been so bad, but if you combine it with the past couple weeks...phew.

I had an English paper (1,200 words) and a psychology paper (just 1 page) due the week before last, and then I had a music test and a psychology test on Monday last week, about a trillion bills due at one time, a Biology test today over 4 chapters...3 graphs due on Tuesday that I couldn't even figure out. And now I've got an oral presentation due on Monday and another test on Thursday.

On top of working 5/7 days of the week. So you know, the two days I have off I should use to study for these things, but usually I sit down to study and end up just falling asleep because I never ever ever get any sleep.

This is how my week usually looks:

Monday: Get up at 5, go to the gym, come home & get ready, classes from 9-12, and then the rest of the day I have off. (This is usually the beginning of my work weekend though because I am off on Mondays and Tuesdays for the most part) So I usually just relax, do a little studying, and maybe clean up a bit.
Tuesday: Get up at 6:30, classes from 8:30-4:45 [my longest school day everrrrrr. like, longer than high school. I've only got 3 classes that day though. Haha], get home anywhere between 5:15 & 6:30, and then I clean or do homework and then go to sleep earlyyyy.
Wednesday: Exactly the same as Monday, but I have to work from 5:30-10:30 (or so...)
Thursday: Get up at 7:30, go to the gym, come home & get ready, classes from 12:30-4:45, come home and study [HA...this is what I'd like to do on Thursdays. Instead, my job schedules me at 5:30 when I clearly will not be there on time, and then have to close. People don't realize that I have a life, so they sit in the restaurant for an hour after close, and then I come home (don't get to study) and go to bed at like 11:30-12:00 after whatever I've got to do at the end of my day.]
Friday: Get up at 5 (after working too late the night before...because you know, other employees are more important than me when I wake up at the same time as them...but that's apparently beside the point.), go to the gym, classes from 9-12, and then be at work again at 5:30. I close on Friday nights [I probably don't leave until around 12 sometimes], and then...
Saturday: Open at work at 10:45, work until about 9pm, come home & go to bed, and then close Sunday night, where the next morning I get up at 5.

I KNOW YOU WANTED TO KNOW THE BREAKDOWN OF MY DAY. So you're very welcome. :) In case you read it all and didn't give a shit...maybe you should have just skipped it. ;)

I'm not saying all this to complain, because I really need to quit complaining so much...but this is my place to vent, so I'm gonna do my thing. :D

Most people that see my blog are from my Facebook, and I'm pretty sure that most people on there know who Keely is. If not...you don't creep enough. LOL ....anyways though, I posted on her wall yesterday telling her what my Fitbit said (if you don't know what a Fitbit is, shame on you. ----> www.fitbit.com)

Daily Stats for 9/12/12:
Calories Burned: 3,146
Steps Taken: 18,341
Miles Traveled: 7.29
Floors Climbed: 27

I went to the gym, walked a good little bit at school, and then ran around at work last night for a long time, so my calorie burn and steps and miles were pretty high up there. They weren't so high today because I didn't stay at the gym long (I completely forgot to take my preworkout before the gym, so when I got there I did about 2 supersets before I was dying. I ended up doing 3 and that was it. [That's 3 sets of 6 exercises if you aren't aware] I didn't realize til I got home though, so then it didn't even matter), sat a lot at school today, and I took off tonight so I could work on some school stuff. So I sat at home.

I will post today's stats tomorrow, because they are finished yet!

Here are some screen shots from my fitbit account online:

Sleep patterns. The top one is from my sleep last night, and the bottom one is from my nap this morning after the gym.

Food. Don't judge my macros, I know they were awful today...LOL And I forgot to update my water before I took the screenshot, so don't yell at me for that either!

"Fitbit Dashboard". Daily Stats and calorie burn breakdown for the day. It's pretty cool. If you hover any give line on that chart, it will say "28 calories burned from 9:05 to 9:10". Each line is in 5 minute increments.

Sooooo, you can get one for $99 and free shipping, make an account, and we can be Fitbit friends! :D

Kaleb is yelling at me saying he needs to computer. Peace out homedogs. <3

- Katie

Music Birdie and High Tops

2012-09-06T12:09:00.000-04:00

I wish I had time to post a blog every day again. This time two years ago, about when I started this blog, I was so...not busy. I was taking like 16 hours in school, lived on campus, and was pledging TBS. That was my life.

Now, I'm taking 16 hours, living OFF campus (you wouldn't imagine how much of a difference that makes...they weren't lying when they said you'd do better living on campus), going to the gym, and working pretty much full time. It's really hard to be going to school full time and working full time. I wish I could just work like one day a week, but the little bit extra that I make working 5 or 6 days a week is really needed to pay the bills.

Yes, the gym only takes about an hour a day, but on top of going to the gym I have to eat healthy. (Which has NOT been happening lately...I mean, it has, I guess. I just haven't been doing as well as I usually do) I have to plan my meals ahead of time since I am always running. It's so easy to just stop by McDonald's or Zaxby's on the way to school or work, but I have realized this past week that I can't do that. It just makes me sick because I haven't eaten that stuff in so long. So then I go without eating because I can't get to anything healthy and that doesn't really help either. ANYWAYS, my point is...gym time & healthy eating takes up more time than you'd think because you have to plan and prepare the meals and food ahead of time so it is ready to go. That's why I usually cook up a lot of food on my day off and then put it in a container and take it with me when I go to school or work.

School is going well, like I said I'm taking 16 hours. Biology, Anthropology, English, Music Appreciation, and Psychology. Its a pretty good semester, but I'd love it even more if I wasn't taking that English class. :) It's too time consuming with a job. Ugh.

I'm ALMOST done with core though. I think just one more semester! I'll be TOO glad to be done with that. Now, I just have to make sure Rehab Science/Physical Therapy is what I want to do, because like I've said before, this is my third major, and I want to make sure I don't want to switch once I start my actual major classes. That would suuuuuuck!

Now that we've gotten past all that, I've decided to actually put some effort into my blog again, because it really does relieve stress. AND Google sent me a card for $100 worth of free advertising for my blog! Cool, hunh? :) Thanks Google! Now I just need to have something to advertise. ;)

Weight loss bit:

I have to have little goals to push myself a little harder, because as I'm sure you can see...I fall of the wagon a LOT. My long term goal is clearly to be about 16-18% body fat, and when I reach that (my original deadline was December 17, 2012, but who knows what it will be now?), I plan on getting my bird tattoo made of music symbols.

It will look something like this! :) I am getting it on my rib though, not on my wrist. I'm waiting until my goal because first of all, its an incentive, and second of all, I want something on my torso once I'm skinny...and when I can show it off. ;)

My short term goal for now is that when I reach the 120s I will buy myself my new tennis shoes. They're pretty expensive. I still can't decide if I want some Coach or Michael Kors high tops, or if I want some new Nikes...good thing I have some time to think about it. :D Haha I'm only 8 pounds away! So once I lose these 8 pounds...its goin' down. BAM!

Alright, I have class soon. I should go.

- Katie

Eleven to Ten

2012-08-04T23:21:00.000-04:00

I am pretty positive that I forgot I have a blog.

My weeks have been all blending together. And if my weeks are doing that, I'm sure you know that my days seem like one long, never ending day. I wake up, go to the gym, come home & clean/shower, go to work, come home & go to bed, repeat. I do that for 5 days straight, and then I have two days off. Every week. Its. So. Boring.

Anyways, things have been going well at the gym. I've eaten REALLY badly today. Mostly because I worked alllllll day and only had a 30 minute break. Usually I would wake up on a day that I work a volume and eat about 600 or 700 calories before I even leave for work. Today I forgot to eat before work, so I starved until 4 pm. (9:30 am - 4 pm...I should have eaten 3 times in that time period. THREE.) I ended up eating a nice, yummy, non-healthy-living meal. A 6 oz Sirloin with a LARGE sweet potato with cinnamon sugar (extra) AND butter. Plus fries. Holy shiz. I didn't care. I ate every. Single. Bite. And I had ketchup. :D

Then I came home and had a healthy taco salad minus avocado, because for some freaking odd reason the avocados I bought just will not ripen and they are super hard. I like soft avocados.

I am ready for the gym tomorrow, FOR SURE. I feel icky. Even though I've probably had about a quarter of the calories I was supposed to have today. And I was on my feet from 10:45-4 and then from 4:30-9:45. Nonstop. Other than my 30 minute break, so I burned probably about as much as I ate today. LOL

My computer has 8% left and I still have to post this on FB (where I will end up spending about 6% of my battery on afterwards while creeping) so I should wrap this up.

Peace Out Homiesssss :)

- Katie

Longest Post Ever

2012-07-15T16:17:00.000-04:00

I was sitting at the house today after I went to the gym, trying to figure out what I was going to do for like 5 hours.

First thing I did? Search Pinterest for cute outfits. As I'm looking, I came across a really cute crochet pattern. Eventually I found a pattern for a really cute spiral potholder. So I grabbed my yarn and went at it. It turned out so cute! I'm going to make more, but next time I'm going to make it bigger, because it barely holds my small skillet! Don't judge my picture, because I'm aware that there are a couple loose stitches and some crooked ones, buttttttt...it's still cute. :) Here is the tutorial I followed: clickkkkkk

After I finished that, I wanted to try another project I've kind of been putting off. I don't know if you've seen the pin that's on Pinterest for making a plastic bag 'dispenser' out of a lysol container...but this is the link to the tutorial: click here!

Well, I was going to make that but I ended up using a different container and basically already made that. So I kept my Lysol disinfectant wipe container that I was saving for it in the laundry room. I have seen it every time I walked into the laundry room for the past couple weeks and I just wanted to put it to use!

I mod podged some fabric on it today (and then spilled half my bottle of mod podge on the carpet...oops :P) and filled it with the cat food. YAY cute container. :) [P.s. The BF had to cut the plastic off with a razor blade so that it was an empty circle and not the little wipes dispenser...if you get what I'm saying. I'm really not sure how he did it because I didn't watch, but I know he used a razor blade and broke random pieces off.]

And for the last part of this post: Yesterday's menu! (I know, I know...we're all so excited. :))

Before I start, I just want everyone to know that I had a very long visit to the ER yesterday. (3 hours...not really that long, but too long for me. I get cranky.) I ate breakfast before I went, and then I ate after I left...and then I had a I'm-Still-A-Child-And-I-Want-A-Treat-After-The-Doctor treat. ;)

Breakfast: Oats with a Banana
Lunch: Subway - Turkey & Avocado (no bacon) with tomato, cucumber, olives, and provolone.
Treat: Small Reese's Blizzard from DQ

I'm pretty sure at the end of the day I also had 2 chocolate chip cookies and a shrimp quesadilla around midnight....LOL

Yesterday was rough. I'm not sure if I put it on here, but I also had 1/3 of a molten lava cake at work with my mom and brother on Friday night too! (Between that and the blizzard...that was my cheat meal this week...so I didn't officially have one)

Today I've had:

Breakfast #1: Oats & a Banana
Breakfast #2: Skinny Cow Ice Cream & Ezekial Cinnamon Raisin english muffin with Walden Farms apple butter!! <--- THE shit. The whole thing, not the just the apple butter.
Lunch #1: Shrimp Quesadilla
Lunch #2: Special K - Cinnamon Pecan
Snack: 2 Chocolate Chip Cookies....

Yeh, they were just sitting there all yummy-looking and stuff. I need to get rid of them because I baked them for Jay & Kaleb and they are not eating them. I am. lasdfa;dsf So yeh, today is going to end well. I'm going to stay on my meal plan for the rest of the day and tomorrow is starting a new week :)

- Katie

7.12.12

2012-07-12T14:58:00.000-04:00

I got my car back yesterday. But JUST in case it didn't give me enough problems, it made sure not to start when I tried to go to Keely's last night or the gym this morning. I had to have it jumped last night and drove it around a little to charge up the battery, but now its dead again. Just my luck. Also, I have to invest another $200-$300 dollars in that damn thing. FANTASTIC.

On a happier note, here is my menu from yesterday:

Breakfast (pre-workout) - Oats
Breakfast (post-workout) - Protein Brownie & Turtle Sundae (Smart Ones brand)
Lunch #1 - Shrimp Quesadilla & Carrots
Dinner #1 - 2 pieces of pizza. (Oops. :P) It was the Walmart brand, and they were both about the size of one regular piece when put together!
Dinner #1 - Tilapia & Carrots

I ate 1180 calories, and was DEFINITELY under my 1730 goal. We also did legs yesterday, so I was supposed to eat a little more. Oops.

I've been trying to eat most of my calories before I go to work so I won't eat there, and so that when I get home I can eat a tiny last meal and get ready for bed. This is what I've had today though:

Breakfast #1 - Egg & Cheese Sandwich
Lunch #1 - Shrimp Quesadilla
Lunch #1 - Granola & Almond milk with a banana
Snacks - Banana and Almonds

I'm taking 2 homemade protein bars to work to snack on, and I will probably just make a protein shake when I get home for my last meal. I'm trying to figure out exactly how I am supposed to eat/spread out my meals on work days since I am not allowed to take food to work. :( On days when I am a double, I usually just order something at work. I usually just get plain grilled chicken with plain steamed broccoli and a sweet potato, dry (I put splenda on it, or stevia if I remember to bring some). When I get tired of that I get plain grilled shrimp with rice pilaf and a sweet potato (same way) or some broccoli (the same way). It gets boring, but there's only so many things I can eat there that don't cost a fortune....Haha. Its a little hard working at a steakhouse and having to watch everyone else eat $20 steaks. I tryyyyyyy to stay away from red meat though. Its good to have about once a week, but I usually get carried away if I eat it.

Actually, like 2 nights ago Kaleb and I went to his parent's house and we had an AMAZING meal that his mom cooked. I'm not gonna lie, I had like 2 pieces of bread (WITH butter. ;)) and some dessert, but other than that it was good! I had a t-bone steak, a sweet potato, and some corn. I think that's all...I don't remember. I know we haven't had ANY groceries lately though, so I gained a couple pounds a week or two ago.

I guess I'll stop ranting now. I have pool hair and I'm still wearing my swim suit from earlier, and I have to be at work in an hour. :P

- Katie

Work Hard, Play Hard

2012-07-10T20:09:00.001-04:00

Today's menu:

Breakfast (pre-workout) - Oatmeal
Breakfast (post-workout) - Protein brownie & Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich
Lunch # 1 - Shrimp Quesadilla
Lunch # 2 - Tilapia, Brown Rice, and Carrots
Dinner # 1 - Chicken, Green Beans, and Sweet Potato Fries
Dinner # 1 - Ezekial Bread with Almond Butter
Snacks - Plum, White Cheddar Rice Cakes, and a Banana

I will post the ingredients/recipes for the unexplainable items at the bottom of this post!

I've never been the girl to take pictures at the beach or to post bikini pictures on line, but I guess another way to keep myself motivated is to show others so they can just keep on-a-judgin' me. ;) HAHAHA, kidding. But seriously, I mean...I don't do it so people will just judge me, but I do expect them to keep me accountable.

Anyway, I've never taken a picture in a bikini before, so the best I've got is a fully clothed picture of me standing about the same way. :)

Today's workout was shoulders, arms, and abs, and it was FANTABULOUS!

I am making pumpkin protein bars tonight, and I'm thinking about making up another flavor one. Something to do with bananas. YUM. :))

Oatmeal: 1/2 cup Quick Oats, 3g Stevia, & 5g sugar free, fat free cheesecake Jello flavoring. Add almond milk, skim milk, or water until desired consistency and cook in microwave 45-60 seconds.

Protein Brownie: 1 scoop protein powder, add enough water to make a thick paste, and then add a couple drops more. Stir and cook in microwave for 20-30 seconds. (Just until its almost cooked. If you cooked it all the way, it will be super dry). Put Skinny Cow ice cream (or any other type of low calorie/fat/sugar dessert on top).

Shrimp Quesadilla: Same as my Chicken Quesadilla, but substitute shrimp. :)

Carrots: I just have to put this one on here because I thought it was different. I put one cup of sliced, frozen carrots into a pot with 1 cup of water. Let boil for a couple minutes, and then add a dash of salt (I used kosher) and two packets of Truvia. Cover and let simmer.

Sweet Potato Fries: I cut a sweet potato so that it weighed 84g. Cut into small, fry-size pieces. Get a plastic baggie and fill a small (very small...I put too much!) amount of pepper, some salt (I used kosher) and a bit of olive oil. Toss the fries in the baggie and shake up to coat each one with the mixture. Place on covered cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees. 5 minutes on each side.

I have many many many yummy recipes, and I think I am about to start posting them on here, so check back soon! :)

- Katie

MLIB

2012-07-10T07:55:00.004-04:00

Macy comes home TODAY. Yayyyyyyy :) It is awful not having a car. I feel like a bum asking for rides or having to walk anywhere. Blegh. Today's agenda:

1. Go to gym with Keely and be ecstatic because we haven't gone in a WEEK. I'm literally dying. I feel like I've gained 10 pounds. (I haven't though, don't worry ;) )
2. Lay around the house and look at how dirty it is, but refuse to clean.
3. Wake Kaleb up too early for his taste and make him drive me to Guyton to go get my carrrrrrrr! <3
4. Go to the pool and/or repeat number 2.

Best sounding day of my life.

Now, seeing as how Keely will be here to pick me up in about 3 minutes (HA, not...she will be 5 minutes late just like usual. ;) ) I should probably not be sitting on the computer...so I guess I will go take my pre-workout and leave. There will be a part two to this I think. Because I have a lot going on in my life, and I'm pretty sure you all want to know every bit of it, so I'll have to come back later and tell you. :)

- Katie

Customers

2012-07-01T00:31:00.001-04:00

I literally have one of the worst senses of humor in the entire world. Things that should be funny - I don't understand. Things that are inappropriate are frieken hilarious to me. Things that most people don't find funny at all, I will laugh about for 20 minutes.

If I ever say something to you and walk away laughing, just go with it.

Also, why do people have to be such bitchbags. I mean seriously? When you go out to eat, WAIT UNTIL THEY CALL YOU. Don't stand right beside the host and ask how much longer. I LITERALLY had a party tonight stand right behind me, and watched every move I made. I had 3 tables cleared off that I was about to seat with smaller parties, and before I got the chance, these douchebags made sure to ask me about 20 times why I couldn't seat them there. ITS NOT YOUR FRIEKING TURN. Go away. I had a mini meltdown because they wouldn't get off my dick. I accidentally sat them at a table I was saving for a 20 person party. We got them to move though.

Seriously, just leave people the hell alone. We don't forget about you, its just not your frieking turn.

There was another party tonight: a family of four. I gave them the choice between a high top in the bar and a booth. They said they didn't want the high top because there would be too much traffic, so I took them to the booth. About a minute and a half later, they walk out because there was too much traffic walking by their table. Well HELLO...you just waited FORTY-FIVE minutes for a table because it was so busy. Did you just think that when you sat down all of a sudden we were going to lose all of our business and the world would revolve around you? Geez. I really don't hate all of our customers...but they do NOT make our lives easy. Don't go out to eat on a Saturday night if you don't want to deal with the wait or the busyness. (I don't know if that's a word, but it is now.)

Please just stay home if you can't go out in public without being a complete asshole.

- Katie

Chicken Quesadilla!

2012-06-29T10:24:00.001-04:00

I have discovered an amAZING recipe. Seriously, its just a chicken quesadilla, but I don't care. :)

Recipe:

1. Grab a small skillet and turn stove on medium heat (maybe one notch higher).
2. Warm a CORN tortilla (not flour). Allow to bubble on each side before flipping. Put it aside with a piece of reduced fat provolone cheese on top to start melting.
3. Chop up some precooked boneless, skinless, grilled chicken (1 serving = 4 oz raw, or about 2.5 oz cooked) and put it on top of the cheese. (I popped mine in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds first since it was in the fridge.
4. Warm another tortilla. Once done, place on top of chicken.
5. Put the quesadilla back on the skillet to warm up a little more and to melt the cheese.
6. Eat it fast, that shit is tasty.

Here is the nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 260
Fat: 5.5
Carbs: 16
Protein: 33

I have some more amazing recipes I REALLY want to share, but I have 8% battery life right now on my laptop and I have to be at work in like, 20 minutes. Peace outttt :)

- Katie

500

2012-06-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

So Macy broke down last week. I think it was like Thursday or something. Apparently my fuel pump went out. FML, right? RIGHT.

So I'm at work yesterday, having the worst day ever...and I get a call from the lady at the car shop.

"...So, I've got the bad news - its your fuel pump."
I was like yeh, that's what we figured. How much is it gonna be?
"Well the labor alone is $264.15."

Then my day went from bad to insanely awful. LUCKILY (Thank God...literally) I know someone who knows someone and I'm getting a fuel pump for SUPER cheap. ($200) They are normally between $300 and $700. I DIED when I heard that...you know, before I was told that I had connections. THEN, after I found out that I was already up to $464.15, I was informed that I must also buy a fuel filter to go with it or it couldn't be warrantied out. Those, can be anywhere between $15 and $70. I learned today, that to buy it with my pump...its an extra $100. I'm buying a $20 one from AutoZone.

Long story short: its gonna be about $500 to fix my car, and I can't even get it back for like a week or longer.

The house is getting clean though.

- Katie

Gym Bitches

2012-06-20T10:21:00.002-04:00

So, like I've said before, there are blocks of time when you can go to the gym and ACTUALLY get the chance to work out. Any time before about 8 am, around lunch time is okay until about 4 pm, and then from like 8:30 pm until like 8 the next morning.

I. Absolutely. Despise. going during those blocks of time when there's just a shit ton of people there. Its usually sluts with their other little girlfriends prancing on the treadmill or attempting to do some abs. Ugh. You're taking up my space. You can do that crap at home. Like, for REAL. And then the guys that are there...are absolute douche bags. They are there to show off their muscles and try to impress/pick up chicks. ;asdfkajsd

I'm not like one of those girls who is super competitive or anything about working out, but just don't waste my time or the space in the gym that I need to get MY stuff done. I think over the 7 months I've been working out on the regular, I've seen about TWO females who actually knew what they were doing.

I had to get that out of my system. Blegh.

I'm chowin' down on some leftover grilled chicken and steamed green beans from dinner last night. :) YUM. (Thanks Sonia)

Other than that, I'm just chillin' at the apartment. Ziggy is sleeping, so for the next like 30 minutes, I don't have to deal with a kitten trying to tear everything up. I'm waiting on Keely to let me know when we are going back to the gym, and I am waiting on Courtney to call me so I can help her move in.

Keely's wedding is in THREE days!! I went to Savannah and got my shoes the other day. They're heels. I don't walk in heels well. I'm scared this is going to turn out badly...haha

- Katie

DIY Workout Top

2012-06-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

Turn an old t-shirt into a cute new workout top!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here is the link: http://blogilates.com/fashion-2/diy-racerback-workout-shirt-tutorial

- Katie

Bridesmaids and Basketball

2012-05-29T22:52:00.002-04:00

The other day, I was asked to post. I guess I've been slackin' a little. :) Mahhh B. ;)

So Misty and I ordered our bridesmaids' dresses for Keely & Scott's wedding! We are SO excited. I won't post a picture yet. We'll keep everything a secret until the wedding. Hehe

I also have another secret for you, but you'll have to wait for it. Just keep checking back. ;)

Our kitten is getting so big! We got him a little house/condo/scratch post thing. Its so cool. I love those things. We got him a $4 playcubething at Dollar General last week. He plays with it SO much. They thought he'd hate it.

Work is going well.

My grandpa is in the hospital. He has Pancreatitis. I've never had to see someone go through anything like this before, and it is so awful to go to the hospital and see him in so much pain. He's on so many meds that I can barely understand what he says when he's talking to me, and he always wants to be asleep. I understand why he always wants to sleep, I mean the medicine makes him drowsy and all, its just not like him. I hate it.

Today was the last of 2 days off I had this week. Wednesday-Sunday I work every day. <-- YAY for money. :)

I'm off to 'watch' this playoff game with the boys. Ugh.

- Katie

Ziggalicious

2012-05-20T23:32:00.001-04:00

I've been working hard this weekend! Double on Friday and Saturday, and then I worked tonight. I was supposed to be a double today also, but to be completely honest, I'm glad I didn't. I needed that extra sleep time. I also got the chance to make a trip to the store finally! I still need to go again, because we are definitely needing a couple things, but I just really didn't feel like getting everything today.

I am such a bargain shopper. I will spend 50 cents on a toothpaste once just to make sure its not as good as the expensive kind. I mean hey, if it is then you know from then on that you can spend 50 cents on a tube of toothpaste from the dollar store instead of 3.50 on one from Walmart. (That was just an example, I'm not gonna lie...I'm a freaking toothpaste snob. That's okay though, because I do use dollar store brand other things. :))

So, I haven't used Facebook much lately so I haven't had the chance to tell everyone, but we got a kitten! He showed up at Hannah's door one night after a storm and wouldn't leave so she posted him on Facebook asking someone to take him. We've been wanting a cat anyways, so I got him! We took him to the vet the next day and got his shots and tests done. He's nine weeks old (about ten now) and we named him Ziggy. :) :) He is absolutely the cutest thing in the world! I really miss Marley, but I can't get her back now.

I guess I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll probably post in another 3 weeks. :)

- Katie

Oh So Productive

2012-05-16T19:21:00.001-04:00

Today has been SO productive. I have had a million things I've been planning on doing and I finally got the chance to do them all. :) I finally had time to melt down all the old candles I have. I poured them into clean glass containers I had and made some new layered candles. Also, I was able to clean out those candle jars so that I could use them for different candles whenever I have enough wax to fill those.

The first picture is an old candle jar that I had and was boiling it to melt the rest of the wax to use as a layer in another candle. The second picture is the same jar after I cleaned it out with olive oil. I tried olive oil and vinegar, since that's what I found that people online said would work. The olive oil worked WAY better though. It was amazing, it rubbed out the soot and the wax! I just put it on a paper towel and went to it. Afterwards I just scrubbed the jar with a dish brush with soap in it and got rid of the extra oil. The next picture is a different jar I was also making into a candle. I got my wick, fit it to touch the bottom, and then wrapped the excess around a pen and laid it across the top of the jar. The fourth picture is the finished product. And then the last picture is just another candle I made. :)

Also, I made these zucchini turkey burgers that Jamie Eason has online a while back. They were so freaking good. I bought the stuff to make them again, and began that today, but then I realized that I still don't have half the seasonings I need, so I will get that and do it another day :)

Last, I actually started making my healthy recipes again. I am ECSTATIC about. Because believe it or not, the recipes are super tasty. MMMMM. At the moment, I am waiting on my protein bars to harden up in the fridge, and I'm waiting on a weeks worth of steel cut oats to finish slow cooking in my crock pot! I'm making apple pie oatmeal. It's a mix between like three different recipes that I found, so I hope it turns out okay!

- Katie