It is SUCH a small world!

I have always been completely amazed and intrigued with hearing "small world" stories....Maybe even more than the average bear. They are just so interesting and surprisingly I think they happen fairly often.

Oddly, these stories (for me at least) often hinge around one of my friends in particular. This friend has moved around a lot so I suppose that that would increase the likliehood of her running into more people that i might possibly know, but over and over again these instances keep occurring.....
For instance:
Way back in the day, when Pat was playing baseball he lived with this one very nice guy. His girlfriend came to visit him during the same weekend I was visiting Pat. I think this was my freshman year of college. Anyways, I got to talking with the girlfriend and she said that she lgrew up in Virginia. On a whim (becasue Virginia isn't a giant state with boat loads of people - not) I say, " Oh, thats cool one of my girlfirends from middle school lived in Virgina for 3 years"...oh really? where? " Vienna - she went to blah blah blah high school" welll guess what? They went to the same high school and knew each other! It was so weird. I had never met this person. I was living in Indiana at the time she lived in a different state too, but we were both visiting boyfriends in North Carolina and we happened to know the same person in Virginia.
It gets weirder.
Actually, it gets weirder with this same couple. The man half of the couple had a sister. And that sister happened to go to college at SMU in Dallas. That sister happened to be the freshman year roommate of one of my good friends that was going to SMU that was from Orange County. Seriously? Crazy! We are talking connections (very close connections) between people in like 7 different states.

Then there is another story. I was looking on facebook the other day and i noticed a picture of a girl who I lived near for years growing up -We went to all of the same schools: elementary, middle, and high school. Her dad was my little brother's basketball coach. Well anyways she moved to a different state on the opposite side of the country....we dont talk anymore but "naturally" I checked out her facebook pics and there is a picture of her and a girl that i have met since living in Ohio. I have nooooo idea how they know each other, the picture was taken in New York, but i kind of feel like a creeper having even realized this weird connection so I am just going to keep it to myself.

Annnnd (yes it keeps going on) just last night another weird instance: one of my best friends from California (who also happens to be the same friend that lived in Virginia that i talked about above) is having a baby in a few months. I haven't met the Dad yet, but just last night after tallkinf to my sister on the hone we realized that my sister and my brother-in-law both know him from college. He lived in the same dorm as Jim at Notre Dame (in Indiana)....Eron met this guy when she lived in San Francisco.

What the heck right?

Its like I am Kevin Bacon....no matter who you are there are a maximum of 6 people seperating us.

whoooooooaaaa.

T-rex in Akron?

Do you remember that one part in Jurassic Park where the kids are sitting in the jeep and all of a sudden a giant like sheep leg gets spit out onto the roof of their car?

That sort of happened to me yesterday.

I was driving to work, minding my own business when i suddenly had to swerve out of the way because there is a giant "deer".....noooo, scratch that, "deer leg and butt" in the road in front of my car. I simultaneously swerved out of the way, screamed and dry heaved (imagine AHHHHHUuuuLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP) barfffff.

Oddly the rest of the deer was no where to be found and only its poor little leg was there to seriously make me puke. I feel like the culprit was more likely a T-Rex than a car though. Where the heck was the rest of it? Ewww never mind. I don't want to know.

I HATE all of the roadkill here. I swear you have no idea. I played a game once while driving from my house to a meeting south of here - where i would see a dead deer, count to 30 - and see how far into the 30 second count I could get before seeing another. I rarely made it past 20 seconds. It is sooo gross.

Don't mistake this for me not caring about animals though. The road kill disgusts and saddens me every time i see it. I keep having flashbacks....even today. Yuck I wish I could put big fences up on either side of all of the roads. Maybe even electric ones that would keep T-Rex's off of Ghent road.

Poor Deer :(

Sometimes I surprise myself

I am going to let you in on a little secret.....

(this is the suspense building)

Sometimes, I decide that the best way to lose weight (for me) is to avoid having food in the house.

I literally do not grocery shop.

....but even then, I manage to make myself snacks from the random (random) leftovers that lurk in my pantry and refrigerator. Such delicacies include: "feta cheese melted in a tortilla dipped in balsamic vinegar. Orrrrr, croutons in a bowl....no salad. Orrrrrrr I have been know to also just take a spoon of sour cream add some salt annnnnd that's it. I eat it.

I eat everything!!

That is my problem.

So anyways, last night I realized that I had a pretty empty fridge. Vacation -in Florida- in bathing suits- in front of friends-is only 7 weeks away after all! But, instead of combining all of the bad stuff and telling Pat to fend for himself, I decided to challenge myself.

What could I make that would taste good and be good for me that already existed in my kitchen without having to make any additional trips?

Well let me tell you - I kind of kicked butt.

I made spicy chicken with red beans and rice. It was soooo good. and Sooooo easy. Granted I am not really at total emptiness - like i will be at the end of the week, but as you can see from the picture above, my resources were limited to say the least.

If you would like to enjoy the same quick, hearty, little meal here is the tutorial:

Using a medium sized skillet, saute diced red onion and garlic in a small pad of butter.

Add a tiny bit of olive oil (presumably because you have run out of the butter necessary to continue the sauteing process)

then add a slightly drained can of red beans.

Sprinkle on cayenne pepper, sea salt, thyme, oregano, and black pepper

cover with lid after stirring and continue to simmer for like 2 minutes.

Cut up a tomato and add it to the mixture.

Boil water for the bag of Minute Rice that you were lucky enough to have rationed from the week before.

Dice up boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 for the 2 of us - they were small).

Fire up your grill pan (note: if you don't have one of these, you are missing out. $40 at William Sonoma and sooooooooo worth it)

Repeat the same spices using Lawry's instead of sea salt (no reason for the switch, thats just how i roll)

Cook all the way through and then add to the red bean mixture.

Wait until the rice is cooked then place the rice in the bowl and spoon your red bean chicken combo on top of it in a bowl. Sprinkle with fresh (uncooked) diced tomato.

It is spicy (which is good for your metabolism) and it is good. I didn't serve a heaping portion of rice so that helped but if i had had other ingredients available i might have added some cilantro too. This picture was taken after a couple of bites. It was a more impressive presentation before I mixed it all together..... and realized that i had nothing to blog about from the day except for this little creation.

Try it if you like spicy and/or you live in the cold.

This was great on both fronts.

oh my mood.

Yep, this is me. I am pisssed.

This is what lucky little Pat gets to come home to every once in a while.

This actual picture was taken weeks ago - and obviously Pat wasn't taking it too seriously if he was snapping pictures, but it is a very accurate representation of my current mood so I'm posting it.

I have seriously just been a miserable B for days now and it is for so many different reasons.

They are all too trivial to even post so I will spare you the details

I am just so glad it is Friday, and I sooo hope that everyone else has had a better week.

Next week I am going to make a point of being a better me.

I am going to finish some constructive projects in my house.

I am going to decorate my guest room.

I am going to cook good food. I am going to go to the gym.

I am going to write thank you notes for Christmas presents.

I am going to remind myself what is actually important.

I am going to go to church.

I am going to do my nails and fake tan.

Annnnd then..... when ALL of that is done.....I am going to be me again.

Because the Katie everybody had to hang out with this week suckssss and I know it.

if my blog was private....

If my blog was "private" I could tell you all of my really funny stories.

I could tell you about the interesting things that happen between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday (maybe i mean "at work" maybe that is just a random time slot I am mentioning where really funny things happen)...but then i might get fired.

I could tell you all the juicy details of my relationship with Pat....but then he would kill me.

I could tell you about all of the drama going on with my friends....but then i would be friendless.

I could tell you about the certain people on facebook that i sort of hate from a distance - but can't bring myself to delete them as friends because they fill up my newsfeed with glorious nonsense and make me feel better about myself because i don't suck as much as they do....but then i would sound like an elitist.

Soooo instead you get good old neutral, meaningless, minutia.
I don't need to hurt any feelings....and i do like getting a paycheck so I will keep all of that internal for now.

But just FYI - facebook peeps, Pat, work foos, and friends.....You have been spared. I value our relationships (a lot) and you are lucky, because if i didn't, this blog would be wayyyy JUIIIICCCCierrrrr

With that bit of knowledge in mind, Here is a recipe:

Antipasto Squares

2 (8 oz.) cans reduced-fat crescent rolls, divided
¼ lb. sliced reduced-fat salami
1 (3 oz.) package reduced-fat pepperoni
¼ lb. thinly sliced deli ham
1 (6.67 oz.) package reduced-fat Swiss cheese slices
1 (6 oz.) package Provolone cheese slices
2 large eggs
1 large egg, separated
1 (12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into thin strips
1 (12 oz.) jar banana pepper rings
½ small jar stuffed green olives (or black olives if you prefer)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground red pepper—I like red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Unroll 1 can crescent rolls, and press into bottom of a lightly greased 9” X13” pan, sealing the seams.

3. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly and layer with sliced meats and cheeses.

4. Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 egg white. Pour over meats and cheeses.

5. Stir together banana pepper rings and next six ingredients. Sprinkle over meat and cheese mixture.

6. Unroll remaining can crescent rolls. Seal seams on a cutting board, and then place over mixture in pan. Brush dough with lightly beaten egg yolk, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

7. Bake for 25 minutes; cover and bake 10 more minutes. Cool completely, and cut into 2 inch squares.

it is soooo good.....think awesome"man food" for a great super bowl party

Judging people on Facebook....

Would Katie O'Brien make a good spouse? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever lied in an interview? Yes
Do you think Katie O'Brien has ever pulled an all-nighter? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever fooled around at work? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien has soft hands? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien has good credit? No
Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever skinny dipped? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien would look good in a bikini? Yes
Do you think that Katie O'Brien really needs a stylist? No

This is what i was faced with this morning when I signed on to facebook. All of these judgements and assumptions about me - and because i didn't want to add the app and I also did not care about getting "50 gold coins" - i did not even find out who thinks all of these things about me. So anywho, just for "fun" i am going to give my commentary on the commentary about me. Get comfortable (this could take a while):

Would Katie O'Brien make a good spouse? Yes
I agree.
Actually my answer would be "Heck Yes" I am a fabulous wife. Sure I have the worst temper in the world, I am ultra sensitive, and I am bossy, BUT I also give nightly back scratches, make delicious dinners, I break into spontaneous dance routines when you have had a bad day, and perhaps most importantly (to some boys) I have the necessary ultra-tall semi-athletic genes to create a Goliath ridiculous sports phenom (also known as a son) that will eventually probably help us retire quite comfortably when he is owning the NBA, NFL, and MLB simultaneously. (For the possibility of goliath girls...I am already crafting an apology to them - who wants to be a 6'10" girl?) but you get the picture anyways. I am a catch :)

Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever lied in an interview? Yes
Dude. Obvi.
Although, I think lying about being awesome is actually a huge part of being successful at my job anyways. So truth or not - My ability to pretend was just as necessary as really being awesome. Or so I keep telling myself. I do throw some good things in that are reality though - so no worries.

Do you think Katie O'Brien has ever pulled an all-nighter? Yes
Yeah I have...never for work, but i had a few in college. All of which were my own fault because of ridiculous procrastination.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever fooled around at work? Yes
Okay wait....like fooled around on facebook? or like fooled around/made out in the conference room?
I have never been on facebook while at work in my life ;) , but i have grabbed Pats butt a few times when we briefly worked at the same company in Florida? It was fun. SO i guess, Yes is the correct answer to this question too.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien has soft hands? Yes
Thanks to Jessica Nanci and the wonderful little Christmas gift she gave me, I do indeed have very soft hands. Or at least, my hands are as soft as they could be when it is freezing outside and i live in heater hell.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien has good credit? No
Listen Bitches - I am like the credit monster. I own credit. You could probably borrow a hundred points or so and I could still get a loan to buy the Eiffel tower. YOU anonymous facebook judger are WRONG.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien has ever skinny dipped? Yes
Wellllll now that we have tackled credit and my hand softness lets move on to the really big guns and address the much more important things....like have i ever skinny dipped??
Well yes i have.
BUT oddly enough when i think of skinny dipping i do not think of myself running around all nakey having fun in the pool. I think of my friend eron's mom. She skinny dips more than anyone I know. ha ha. Weird.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien would look good in a bikini? Yes
Well thank you!
Truth be told, I used to look better. Boo.
I am not a total bikini mess but i do think some additional boobage and a tan could really help matters these days....the problem is - i prefer smaller boobs for when i am wearing clothes and now that i live in such a cold climate bikinis are a rarity. So it doesn't really make sense to go out and buy some boobs and fix this whole bikini issue when i would then have to answer "does Katie look good in clothes" with a No. right? Never mind, i should work this out on my own.

Do you think that Katie O'Brien really needs a stylist? No
I disagree. I do need a stylist. Shoes perplex me and I never look totally put together. I am so darn tall clothes aren't very easy. But really if i was ever to invest in a stylist that would only come on the heels of me investing in a personal trainer so that wont be happening any time soon.

SO there you have it...just in case these little "opinions" regarding me popped up on your news feed, you now know the truth.
Slow day in blog land buddies.
This is what you get :)

I am an insecure designer

Obviously there are more important things in the world than the way my dining room looks, but let me tell you - Last night, if you had hung out with me - You would have thought otherwise.

My dining room is a giant FAIL. and I hate myself for it.

I haven't totally written it off yet (only 99% over it)...but I have to have some hope that there is still a chance for it to turn out as beautiful as i wanted it to be.

The problem is, I am lost. I picked out Fabric I loved, a rug that i thought was perfect, I re-covered my chairs, bought artwork from Ethan Allen that seemed to be the perfect mixture of colors, had draperies made in that gorgeous fabric i picked....and still even with a bunch of elements that i love, It is not coming together. The samples lied - and their life size deliveries aren't meshing.

This is the room as a shell - before any of the accents were added. I did sort of make the mistake of picking my paint color first but I was in love with the idea of a navy dining room. With all of the bright white moldings I thought it would be perfect, so i picked everything to compliment and contrast this fancy wall color.

Then we found this gorgeous chandelier that I already blogged about, but it seemed to good to be true. It was in an antique shop that Pat's parents had gotten their ridiculously gorgeous chandelier in almost 25 years prior and we were lucky enough to find something similar. It was traditional and blingy - perfect for the room.

We hung it and I loved it.

Then i went shopping for art and this is where I think i started to go all wrong.

I had an identity crisis.....The fancy shmancy oil paintings that probably would have meshed better with the traditional room just didn't seem to be "my style." They seemed more fit for old people. So i opted to go with these kind of cool modern prints of a stormy sky. I loved the burst of yellowy gold and thought it would be so cool with the navy walls and the gold-ish sheen that my drapes had.

I brought them home, and even though i still love them - i am really not sure they fit the style of the room. I do have another place in my house where these could be used - but seriously, how did I get so far off track.....

The other source of huge frustration in this room is the rug. I was promised that this rug would arrive by the end of September "before my company arrived".....well it didn't. It came like 5 days before Christmas....and when it did it didn't really look like the 12"x 12" sample i was given months prior. It is missing some of the darker accents that i liked in the sample and it is more blue blue than the dusty grey blue that was in the smaller piece.

I am going to see if i can return it. There is probably no chance though.

The saddest part is....the one thing that i really really think is throwing off the whole room - is actually the paint color. THE paint color is what I LOVED the most. It was the springboard for everything else and now it is the biggest problem. How the hell does that happen?

I really thought i had an eye for decorating....but the more I do in this room the more inept I feel. To get this room pulled together in a way that makes you say "WOW" instead of "It doesn't look that bad" would be such a relief I can't even tell you.

I need to figure it out, I need to do it in a way that will not cost me any more money or make any of my past purchases a waste, and I need to do it fast - because it ruins my chi every time I walk past it.

The huge mirror I ordered from Restoration Hardware is coming tomorrow. It is my last hope. If for some reason It doesn't do its job like I hired it to do - You just might hear me scream. And at that point....if any of you want to come and rob my dining room of all of its mismatched pieces, I would seriously totally appreciate it - It seems that a large insurance collection is really my only chance for fixing this tragedy.

so if you were wondering what i was thinking today - I was thinking :

A.) i am a loser decorator

B.) I hate not having tangible things in front of me to choose from.

C.)Ordering a rug from a huge design catalogue sucks.

and

D.) would it be weird if i hung a "work in progress" tarp over the dining room entrances so that people don't judge me before I get this figured out?

whate a J-O-K-E.

oh my gaw......what on earth did Kate Gosselin do to her head now? I truly didn't think it could get worse than it already was! I think she borrowed Britney's extensions from 2008.
Oh hell.

Holy Hiatus!

I am back!!! 12 days in Florida kept me away from blogging, but it did finally give me a chance to upload some lonnnnnng overdue pictures to a computer. My home computer isn't working and I didn't think it was a good idea to load 758 (yes seriously) pictures onto my work comp, so it has taken me a while to come up with some new material.
This is the backyard that has been keeping me away from the good old blog...I was faced many times with the choice of do i "go out on the boat?or write online?....BOAT!" "go kayaking? or blog?....KAYAK" "have a drink? or type......DRINK" sooooo yeah, this little diary has def been neglected.

BUT - I am home now and I want to keep track of all of the "going ons" as of late....so here is the update

the whole fam bamily (pat, Katie, Dad, Jim, Amory, Kristen, Mom, Lauren, and Marty)

So obviously - update #1 -We took some new family pictures since we were all together for once, and as you may have noticed....I (like a few other people in blog land and in real life) have decided that bangs would be a nice update to my look. I wasn't ready to go short, but i have felt like i am sans-style these days so I took a cue from Kate Hudson and went all fringey.

Update #2 -I finally got to spend some time with my long lost sister lauren.... and marty and kristen and jim and amory and Jessie and my grandmas,a and my aunt, and my uncle, and my cousin, and my mom and dad too...but Lauren was missing for the longest so that was cool.

My mom made her pose for this picture because she claims that she doesn't have another picture of Lauren (alone) since her high school senior pictures.

Marty and Jessie still win the award for freaking hottest couple ever

i still love my siblings...

and Update #3 - the boys actually caved and decided to be willing participants in our family photo shoot.

Update #4 - i have really cute, nice, wonderful, generous, parents. Christmas was so fun - they are great hosts!

Update #5 - I have fallen even more in love with my fancy pants niece Amory! She is just the sweetest little thing. She is all smiles and no one looks cuter in a little headband than she does. We got a little bonding time in and hopefully i will get to catch up with her again at her baptism soon. I am the Godmom :)

Update #6- Kristen is a really great Mom. It is so fun to see your sister with a baby that she doesn't have to give back to the real mom at the end of the day. Obviously Amory love love loves her (as you can see by her attempt to eat her face) and I am thankful that Kristen lets me steal Amory all the time for some "practice"

Update #7 - Pat and I are still in love and I actually like this picture of us, which is rare....but it is especially cute because it reminds me of our first date. Pat wore pretty much the exact same thing the first time we went out, i liked it then and I still like it now :)

Ummm what else?.....Everything is good. I am really looking forward to 2010.

I plan to get back on the 15 different wagons i have fallen off of as of late (blogging more, eating less, working out more, becoming more patient, working harder at work, getting rid of my potty mouth)...Just the same goals as always with a renewed desire to pursue them.

There is much more to add but i am getting annoyed having to rearrange all the text every time I ad a picture ( i did this one backwards since i am out of practice-oops)....and I said i would be working harder at work and spending an hour on my blog (while working does not coincide with that goal)

sooooooooo - i'm done for now, but I hope you all had a very merry Christmas....and a Happy New year!