quote of the day

Intern Simone: "I'm about to have a soulful Christmas over here in the corner. The Jackson 5? Katie, you're gonna be a whole different color by the time I'm done."

True Life: a speeding ticket.

There were lots of things to be thankful for this weekend. Several good meals, good naps, no alarm clock, my Dad who takes care of my dog, Gaffney High football, Krispy Kreme, etc. I needed this 5 day break so bad. I needed a break from my small apartment and my crazy neighbor and my job. Being away from work at any given time does make me that much more thankful for it, though. A job is hard to come by these days. A job you love is pretty much unheard of. And a job that pays you enough...well I don't know what that feels like yet. I've watched a lot of Parks and Recreation this weekend as I've been all sinus-ish and laying in bed and I got season 2 for half price at Target. There was a whole episode about Leslie wanting to be the first female director of the parks department one day and she just went on about how much she loved her co-workers and the parks and her town. It was scarily similar to the way I feel on any given day. Working in City Government where nothing can get done and progress moves like a snail, really isn't so bad. It beats the crap out of being in a pointless lockout for 149 days where lots of people lose their jobs and selfish people don't care. Example: I now owe the city of Cowpens a few pennies for speeding home Friday night. I felt like I let my country down or something. I thought to myself, "I'm a public servant, I shouldn't be breaking the law." I can't imagine how awful I would feel if officer Stinson, my fave police officer in Rock Hill were to pull me over. I would probably bake him an "I'm sorry" cookie cake or something. Anyways, that's how much I love my job. So THANKS City of Rock Hill, for paying me what you can, so I can in turn, pay the City of Cowpens all of my money. I wouldn't say I've missed you over the past 5 days, but it'll be good to be back in the K-cube.

quote of the day from Amanda:
"This is why we're friends. I have zero tolerance for stupidity."

quote of the day

Laura: "It's really windy, rainy, acorny..."

quote of the day

Brandi: "Hamsters are like decorations."

Christmas Cheer?

There are lots of issues that divide us as Americans. Republicans and Democrats. Clemson and Carolina. Evolution. The worth of Twilight movies. There are mostly two sides to these issues and you're on one side or the other. But there's one that I haven't figured out yet, and the outspoken hatred for the other side has grown more and more over the years. Yes, it is the issue of when to start celebrating Christmas. Do I wait until after Thanksgiving? Do I just listen to music but not put up decorations? Do I listen to music whenever I want because it makes me happy? Is Halloween the only thing keeping Christmas away from July? As if you needed one more of my opinions, here we go: I love Christmas and everything that comes with it. I love presents and trees and colors and shopping and food just as much as the next guy, but I just can't get in the spirit until it feels right for me. If I were in charge, stores would not be allowed to put up Christmas things until after Thanksgiving. But then there's the argument of why is it Thanksgiving that holds everything back? If stores can make money off holiday things at any time, why not start as soon as they can? As much as I love it, I just can't listen to Christmas music for very long and if we start playing it in July, we'll all be sick of it. There's a reason for that song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Key word: time. Christmas wouldn't be so wonderful if everyone just celebrated it as soon as they felt like it. Do you people agree with me? However, I do realize that those who beleive in post-thanksgiving celebration are doomed. As the human need to put worth into presents and commercialized events grows stronger, this holiday will come earlier and earlier. That being said, stop getting upset, people. Don't act surprised when you walk into Target next March and find that St. Patrick has been replaced by a waving Santa. It takes more energy and bad emotions to tweet about it than to just let it go and high-five Santa on your way to the groceries. I've decided this Christmas to just go with the flow. To crank up Justin Bieber's Christmas album in the car on the way to work and smile at the blow-up Santa in the Wal-Mart garden section. Not because I agree with it, but because that's just how it is. I will never win the fight to hold Christmas back by myself, and I have better things to do. Haters out.

Faithfulness

It was quite an emotional weekend. I stood next to my best friend as she got married and lots of speeches from her family and friends happened and people cried a lot. I cried A LOT more than I thought I would, I never cry at weddings. I was full of all kinds of emotions because they are starting a new life from 2 states away and I know our friendship won’t ever be the same, but also because I was so thankful and proud to be standing next to her and my other 2 best friends all weekend. The friend who has loved me and prayed for me through many years was taking this huge step in life and I was so proud of her and so excited to be a part of that. At church yesterday, we took communion. As I sat waiting my turn to take the bread and juice, I got to thinking about what it would’ve been like to be there that night. To be at the last supper, sitting at the table with Jesus as he explains that He is about to go and die the worst death in history and fulfill something that no other human could do. And to top it all off, I’m the reason He had to. To hear Him talk about how He would go to the cross for MY soul…that would be overwhelming. One thing I’m sure of is that things come and go in life. Some days are way better than others, and there are certain things that happen that I’ll never understand. That’s just how life works. But the really cool thing is that God is trustworthy. We can trust Him with anything our life brings (or doesn't bring) because He went obediently and perfectly to the cross. I cried as Erin came down the aisle to “Great is Thy Faithfulness” because that is the truth, and especially in Erin’s 25 years. That was the song we sang at Mom’s funeral and even on my worst day, it was true then. So it was a beautiful weekend....the scenery, the company, the event. All of it was good.

quote of the day

Erica: "So I got them that $11 towel or whatever is in that box they wrapped up. But I think I need something else"

Bellyard

As Barney from How I Met Your Mother would say, "Everyone I know is getting married or pregnant. I'm just getting more awesome." Most of that is true of me, but marriage can be cool too. I say this because it is marriage week for my best friend Erin and Jonathan, a super rad dude who I approve of. It's not easy for a guy to be approved by me, not even on the texting friendship level, much less on the marriage rest of your life level. Not just any guy on the street is even close to good enough for my best friends. But Jonathan impressed me from day 1 as he asked several questions about my job and my life, we shared stories about our matching labs and had very in-depth conversations about Carolina football. Most importantly of course, we both think Erin is wonderful. Even though I've checked off on the husband, they both have good jobs and are stable, and I fit into my bridesmaid dress, this doesn't mean it won't suck a little bit come Saturday afternoon. His new stable job has moved them to Charlottesville Virginia, far far away from Rock Hill. And as much as people fight the idea, marriage changes every other relationship in a major way. Me and Erin have been friends since 7th grade. We started off in Debutante together and I didn't like her very much. But as time has passed, I realize that I would've never made it through these past 10ish or whatever years without her. Homegirl has seen me on my worst days and best days. I swear I never laugh as hard at any other time as I do when I'm with Erin. Since college we've all gone several weeks without seeing each other, but as soon as we're reunited, Erin is all up in your space asking about life and wanting to spend time with you like nothing has ever changed. She is SO much fun to be around and it's been such a blessing to watch her grow up and mature into the Jesus-lovin' woman that she is. Jonathan is a lucky dude. But he knows that. Go Team Hillyard!

How to be my MVP

This is Dylan, my favorite kid on my team this season. From day 1, he would run to the field for practices and games, mostly because he was always late, but also because he was just excited. The first day of practice, he said "Hey coach Katie." and shook my hand. He's 8 years old! He had the BEST attitude on the team, always excited to play wherever I put him on the field. We found out over halfway through the season that he is a star goalie, he saved us a lot of goals. My coaching theories may or may not be different from other coaches, but I'm always watching my players off the field compared to how well they actually play soccer. With Dylan, he's not the best player, and honestly he probably never will be. But his attitude every Tuesday and Thursday and his hardcore desire to yell "Shark Attack!" as loud as he could in the team huddle impressed me every time. That's why Dylan played all 4 quarters of every game. He was always my team captain, and he always got to play the position he asked for. And he's really cute, just look at him. Yes his shirt is on backwards.

Fun quotes from last night's game and team party:
Yainer: "I know why it's so cold."
Me: "Because it's November?"
Yainer: "No, because it's going to snow."
Me: "When?"
Yainer: "I don't know, sometime."

Me: "Are you playing for me next year?"
Dylan: "Yep, and I'll be a professional by then."