Day 9

*Day 9 - A picture of your friends:

My 2 best friends from college - Molly, Me, Lauren -  (Molly dates back to middle school but we "reconnected" in college!) (Lauren was my roommate for 4 years and we lived with Molly for 2!)

My best friends from high school - Melissa and Jessica

Stef and I date back to Elementary School when we played softball together. Then we cheered together for just about forever. :)

Old friends make my heart smile. :) This is Whitney, myself, and Wrenn. I grew up with them in church. I love these 2 girls - no matter how long we go without seeing each other, we always seem to pick up right where we left off!!! 

Emily is technically my 3rd cousin but we became best friends in college. :)  

Known her practically my whole life. This was us on her sweet wedding day! :) Love you Lauren!

Tyler and I met through my cousin Emily. She graduated with me in Elementary Education and I am honored to be in her wedding next summer!

I don't know what I would do without my friends. I may not get to see them all the time, but they are always in my heart. They have gotten me through good and bad times. Times of sorrow, and times of celebrations. I cannot thank God enough for bringing such precious friends into my life. He has blessed me so much with these ladies!!!!!!

Day 8

*Day 8 - A Place You've Traveled To:

My most recent extravaganza was to Boston over the summer. Emily and I went to visit Molly. I hadn't seen her in over a year so it was so good to spend time with her. I went to Boston with my mom, dad, and Ty then year before for my graduation trip so I had gone before, but it is so different being with someone who LIVES there. It was so fun! I just love Boston, but I really don't think I could live there. I think I will settle for visiting. :) Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Day 3 - 7

Sorry I am so behind on my postings!!! Here is what I will share today:

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your siblings

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

*Day 3 - Your first love:

This is going to sound cheesy and not what you wanna hear but its true - Ty is my first love. In high school, I had my first "infatuation" that lasted til about the end of freshman year. I thought I was in love but I wasn't. I had no clue what love was. I have dated around since then but I can honestly say that my whole heart is in love with Ty and I had no idea what it was until I fell in love with him. I can only imagine how in the world I can love him more than I do right now but I know I will fall more in love with him everyday that passes. Before him, my heart thought it was in love and so did I. But when you want the other person to be happy more than you want yourself to be happy, and when you would do ANYTHING for that person and when you put that person's needs and wants before yours, you know you are in love. It is something noone can describe, not even me. I literally cannot type the words that describe how I feel about that boy. I cannot wait to see what God holds in store for our future.

This was the night of our first kiss. He kissed me at 12:00 midnight -  New Years 2008- 2009. We had been "talking" for over a year and dating for 5 months before he kissed me. 

*Day 4: - Your Parents:

I don't even know where to start in describing my parents. They are the most amazing people I know. They have been married for 30 years and are a wonderful example of a Godly marriage. They taught my sisters and I to put God first and everything else will fall into place. When cheerleading was my LIFE in high school, they were at every game and every competition cheering me on. They have always been my biggest fan in life. They allowed me to go to my dream school for college and got through it (somehow). They celebrated with me when I got my first teaching job and cried with me when I lost it. They helped me through the grueling process of finding another job and have stood by me every step of this year. This school year has been rough and they have been there to encourage me, lift me up, and pray with me. They are the best parents I could ever ask for. They have given up so much to provide for us and I am so thankful for that. I could not ask for better role models. I am so thankful for them and only wish I can be half the parents they are. 

the day i graduated from the University of Alabama

*Day 5-Your siblings

ohh my sissys! I have 3 sisters and I'd like to think we are pretty close. :) My oldest sister is Christen:

This is Christen and her daughter Aubrey!

Christen has always been my 2nd mother. She is so very caring and loving and she used to do my hair on the school bus when she was in 5th grade and I was in Kindergarten. :) She has a big heart and was meant to be a momma. She is a great mom to Luke and Aubrey and new baby Sparks. God is the center of her world and I have always admired her. Sometimes I go to her before I go to my mom when I have a problem. She always calms me down and listens to me. She always has great advice too! :) She has a family now and sometimes I get jealous cuz I can't have all her attention anymore! She's got 2 kids wanting and needing her attention and a husband who is more important than silly ole me! :) It is hard to let go of a sister and let her have her own family and life. She is never too busy to talk to me though and I love that about her. Luke and Aubrey will both be crying and needing her and she will still sit on the phone with me a listen to my silly problems. You are the best and thank you for being my 2nd mommy!!! I love you sister!

Anna is next....ohhhh Anna....

Where do I start with Anna?? Anna is our rebel. She has a free spirit and will tell ya like it is. She doesn't care what people think about her and is a redneck at heart. She comes off as mean and acts like she doesn't care, but deep down she does. She has a HUGE heart. She has ALWAYS had my back. If someone messes with me, she will get them. And get them GOOD. She was in a very serious car accident her Senior year (my junior year) and was in the hospital for 3 weeks. After this accident, I never took any of my siblings for granted. God very easily could have taken her from us but He decided not to. He kept her here with us for a reason. She definitely has a purpose on this earth! We are so close in age, so we tend to fight alot, but I have ALWAYS looked up to her. I love you sister!

And las but not least, Jeri is my baby sister...

At Jeri's high school graduation

Jeri is a freshman at UGA but is an Auburn fan (typical of my sisters....). She has a HUGE heart and is so sweet. She has always been the quiet one because she never had the chance to talk with 3 older sisters. She keeps to herself and is always watching everyone. She pledged AXO at Georgia which makes me one happy sister. :) I cannot  believe she is a college girl and wish I could be with her all the time to make boys stop checking her out. She is one pretty girl and when I think about a boy checking her out, it makes me sick! She is a BABY!!! I vividly remember walking her to Kindergarten every single day. She MADE me. I thought I was too cool at the time but now look back on it and smile. She is so sweet, SO SMART, and loves the Lord with all her heart. She is the runner in our family and noone knows where she got that from. I am so glad I can call her my friend and not just my sister. I love you baby sister!

This is all 4 of us at Jeri's Graduation this May

*Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy:

I LOVE sunsets. Ty's lakehouse always has the BEST sunsets. Everytime I see a sunset, I like to think my Uncle Stu painted it with God just for me. God is so amazing...words can't even describe how beautiful this picture is. Everytime I see a sunset, I always get a peace about everything in my life. How can you NOT believe in God?????????

*Day 7-Favorite movies

I'm a chick flick kinda girl and here are SOME of my favs:

I have tons more but considering this post has been super long, I'll stop there!!!

Day 2 of my challenge!

Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name

There is not much meaning behind my blog name...It used to just be my monogram kAe but I changed it a couple of months ago to Kathleen's Korner. I just thought it was cute and I like it because this is kinda my little "korner" of the world - my little nook if you will. I am not that original or creative! Maybe one day I will come up with something more fun!

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My 10k update: I am up to 36 minutes running. It is about 3 1/2 miles. I still have a ways to go but I am getting there. I have not been motivated lately. Mainly because I get so bored on my runs and my legs start to hurt at the end. I am actually about to go-however am procrastinating by typing on here. Anyways, I am going to stick with it. I am NOT going to give up. I am not running the one in November, like anticipated. I would have been pushing it and I want to be comfortable running the 10k and not dying at the end. So, Ty and I are going to run one later (maybe December or January).

Tomorrow is FRIDAY and I am SO excited!!!!!!! We are going to Trussville to spend the weekend with Ty's family (and I think my parents are coming too!) AND I get to see my sister and her family! :) YAYYYYY weekends are the best....

blog challenge

Found this on a college friend's blog and I decided it would be fun to do so here we go!

My blog challenge:

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your siblings

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

Day 12-What you believe

Day 13-Goals

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 15-Bible verse

Day 16-Dream house

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Day 18-Something you regret

Day 19-Something you miss

Day 20-Nicknames

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 22-Favorite city

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Day 24-Something you've learned

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Day 26-Picture of your family

Day 27-Pets

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Day 29-3 Wishes

Day 30-a picture

Day 1 - Picture and 15 interesting facts:

me & my niece!

15 interesting facts (these might not be interesting...lol)

1. i can fit the bottom of a coke can in my mouth

2. i'm a 6th grade math teacher in tuscaloosa (taught 1st last year)

3. im a diehard alabama fan

4. i do the same thing every morning and if i do something out of order, i feel off the whole day

5. i wear the same exact jewelry every single day - my watch, a ring, and my pearl earings

6. i love to work out and run but hate the thought of it before i go

7. i watch tv every night before i go to bed and wake up MANY mornings with it still on

8. i hate when people touch my knees, elbows, and toes

9. roaches scare the bejeezies out of me

10. i love living in alabama but miss my friends and parents daily and wish there was a way i could live in both places at once

11. i always have to have a HUGE purse so i can fit my life in it - however, everything has its place and if you put something in my purse out of place, it makes me come unglued.

12. i listen to the same songs on my ipod everytime i run

13. i cannot wait to get married and have babies

14. i cannot swallow pills

15. at least once a week, i forget if i turned my straightener off or not so i have to text my roommate to go check for me - and every single time, i have turned it off...lol

so, there ya go! Day 1 of my challenge. :) 

*Please pray for me, I've been down lately and keep wishing and hoping and longing for the future. I know I am in this place in my life for a reason but I can't help but think about the future. I'm really struggling with being content in my life right now. 

I have also been so stressed lately about school and making sure everything gets done. I got this quote from my teachers devotional and i just love it...

"Don't be overwhelmed...take it one day at a time and one prayer at a time"

Monday's Meals

Its Monday again, which means, Monday's Meals from A Love Worth Waiting For! I have a meal and dessert for you today.  I am very excited about this dessert! It is SOOOO yummy and SOOO easy!

Mozzarella Chicken:
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 - 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup of bread crumbs
melted butter


Directions:
Mix the cheese and bread crumbs into a bowl. Dip each chicken breast in the melted butter and then into the bread crumbs/cheese mixture. Coat thoroughly. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet or in a baking pan. Sprinkle leftover butter and crumbs/cheese mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Turn oven off and leave in oven for another 10 minutes.

I don't have a picture but this is yummy! I made corn on the cob with it when I made it a couple of weeks ago for Ty and I!


Oreo Balls Dessert:
Ingredients:
1 package of Oreos (yes, the whole package)
1 8oz tub of cream cheese
1 package of Vanilla Almond Bark

Directions: (this is a messy dessert to make so get the kids in on the fun!)
Place all Oreos into a double bagged ziploc and start crushing until the oreos are finely crushed. Ty's mom has this handy dandy food crusher so when we make them at her house, we use that (I don't know what the real name of it is...ha).

Anyways, after your oreos are finely crushes, pour them into a big bowl and dump the cream cheese on top. Mix the oreos and cream cheese together with your hands until all the cream cheese and oreos are all mixed together (this is almost impossible to do with a spoon so don't even try!).

Roll oreo mixture into balls (as big as you want) and place them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes. Heat Vanilla Almond Bark in a microwavable bowl until melted (you can burn this so make sure you don't put it in the microwave too long...it should only take a few minutes). Place each oreo ball into the Vanilla Almond Bark that is melted and cover each ball and place it back on the cookie sheet. After all balls are covered in the Vanilla Almond Bark, place back in the fridge for a few minutes. Enjoy!!!!

weekend!

Well, the weekend is over - sigh. But I am ready for another week! 5 more weeks til Thanksgiving Break! :) I'm a countdown kinda girl, so I always have to have a countdown to something! I am also constantly counting down to graduation for Ty. Poor thing has had such a rough semester. I think they're trying to make him drop out during his last semester...haha. He only has 7 more weeks before he is done! He has worked so hard, I am so proud of him!!!

Back to the weekend....It was great! Friday night Ty and I went to dinner and had a nice little date night! :)  Saturday BAMA had a late (8:10) game so I slept in and Casey and I headed to the quad around 2:30. It was homecoming so we walked around and looked at all the lawn decorations at the sorority houses. I always like picking my favorite and wondering why that house didn't win! ha! We also walked around the vendors and got some Christmas presents (yes, I know, its only October). I am obsessed with the gift I got my dad, I cannot wait to give it to him! He is going to flip out!!!! We watched the game at the tailgate with my aunt. We had 3 chairs for our footrests, were cuddled up in blankets, had a huge candy bowl in the middle of us, and were drinking hot chocolate and apple cider! It was perfect!! The game was a little boring but We won - YAY! I don't know what I would have done if I went to the game because when we sang rammer jammer, who would we have sang it to??? the rebels? the black bears??? Anyone else heard of this insane change of mascots with Ole Miss?? Are they the rebels or black bears? So confusing. They are just as confused as our across the state rivals, Auburn. Eagles? Tigers? Who knows! On ESPN - they were still the Rebels so I guess the black bears thing hasn't kicked in yet? Very Interesting.


Today I had a VERY productive day!!! I slept in, went to buy Ty some groceries (yes, I just said that), graded papers, cleaned my bathroom, did laundry, and went to get dinner for Ty and I! I accomplished alot today! Only thing I missed was running...OOPS! I'll save that for tomorrow. :) (by the way, I am up to 34 minutes, just a little over 3 miles!!!!!!!!)


I hope everyone has a great week! Tomorrow I am posting a YUMMY dessert to link up for Monday's Meals with A Love Worth Waiting For so STAY TUNED!!! Its a yummy one that I promise you'll want to try! :)


"God's never taken His eye off of you. Not for a millisecond. He's always near. He lives to hear your heartbeat. He loves to hear your prayers." - Max Lucado

This Made My Day....

Look at that precious face. She is so sweet! Christen sent me this picture this morning while I was teaching and it totally made my day!!!! Love my sweet sassy pants, Aubrey!

Whoever THINKS....

that teaching is a 7-3 job is beyond wrong.....I would love to hear the meaning behind that lie while I'm sitting here at 7:41 writing lesson plans....oh and that is after I stayed at school til 5, then went to the store to get stuff for my classroom. Only to come home at 5:30 to start writing my lesson plans and grade papers at 6.....

sigh.


Can ya tell I'm ready for the weekend? :)

On the bright side, I get to wear jeans with a pink shirt tomorrow (only after paying $5) to support breast cancer. My school only does casual (jeans) Friday on the last Friday of every month and you HAVE to wear a shirt with our school name on it. Well, the shirts we ordered back in August just came in, so therefore I have not worn jeans to school yet. Last year we had casual Friday every Friday, and it was something I looked forward to every week! So, this is a big deal to me. Oh, and I'm supporting an AMAZING cause. What a horrible disease. :(

Happy Friday Eve everyone!

I'll leave you with a cute picture from last weekend when we went to the Corn Maize with Melissa and Matt....

I love him! And I love Fall!!!

Oh yes, and of course....Roll Tide Roll~! I still love my tide even though we were defeated last weekend! This weekend is homecoming so it should be fun!! :) RTR

Giveaway/Mondays Meals/Ben

Thank you SOO much Lyndsie from LyndsieGivesAway for hosting this giveaway for me!!!!! Head over to her blog to enter to win a personalized canvas from me! Get all the details over at her blog! Thank you again to Lyndsie!!!!
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On Lyndsie's personal blog, she has started a "Monday's Meals" where we can link up meals every Monday. I think this is a great idea! I don't have a family to cook for yet but I cook alot for Ty and I! And I always am looking for new meals! So, join her link up and post a recipe every Monday!

Here is my recipe for today:

My mom's Chili

Ingredients

1 small onion, grated

2 cloves minced garlic (1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic)

1 lb ground beef

1 lb sausage (mild)

2 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 Tablespoons Chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

2 teaspoons salt

dash of pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 16-oz can diced tomatoes

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

2 cups hot water

1 16-oz can pork n beans

Directions:

- Brown ground beef and sausage with onion & garlic

- Drain meat

- Pour meat back into pan and add all other ingredients except beans

- Cover & Simmer for at least 2 hours

- Add beans the last 30 minutes

I'm sorry I don't have a picture (boring I know) - but you should try it!!!!! It is sooooo good!!! :)

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Update on Ben - If you prayed for Ben, THANK YOU!!! He is out of the ICU and in a Rehab room now. He is talking a little (from what I hear) but not much. He is responding well and all of this is such an answer to prayers! Please keep praying for a quick recovery and NO brain damage!!!!!!

people watching!

So Rachel  challenged her readers to a photo scavenger hunt for the football game on Saturday. If you're like me, you love tailgating. The food, the friends, the family, the LOVE of football and everything that comes along with football season. But there's just something about people watching while you're tailgating that is quite amusing. I just LOVE seeing the stuff people are wearing. I always wonder to myself if some people own a mirror, much less look in the mirror before they walk out the door. And if for some UNKNOWN reason, they DON'T own a mirror (which I find that hard to believe), don't they have friends, family, a husband (or wife), or anyone who cares what they look like? I mean if my best friend walked out the door like some of the people I see every week, I wouldn't care if I hurt her feelings. I'd spare her the harassment and the giggles from people and tell her to go change.

Back to the scavenger hunt, we were challenged to find the following:

• A Houndstooth bow bigger than your head. These can usually be found on dresses, but you get an extra point if you spot one engulfing some poor child’s head. 

• A kid in a cheerleading outfit that is WAY too old to be in a cheerleading outfit.
  
• A girl trying to walk the whole campus in stiletto heels taller than Bear Bryant himself. One extra point if it’s a rainy or muddy day.
  
• At least 5 sorority girls all together and ALL wearing UGG boots – not dependent on the weather.
• Someone ELSE taking photos of all of the crazy fashion. Ten extra points if it’s me. :)
  
• Houndstooth Rainboots. On a non-rainy day.
  
• An Alabama Tattoo. Bonus points for each consecutive Alabama tattoo on the same person
• A man wearing a Kilt (see above – 100 bonus points if you actually find THAT guy – he’s not hard to spot).
  
• A girl wearing a skirt shorter than her purse.
• A fan wearing a random non-related-to-the-game-school shirt – extra points for the complete randomness of the school, such as the Maryland Terrapins.
  
• Two different houndstooth prints on the same person. 
• An Auburn fan.
  
• A shirt that is about Alabama Football AND drinking.
  
• Houndstooth pants. Full length. On a man.
• An Outfit that makes you dizzy. Extra points if you’re still able to photograph it despite your dizzy state.
• A Wardrobe Malfunction.
• Someone that looks totally unaware that they’re even at a football game of any sort.
• An opposing team’s fan that makes all Alabama fans look sane. (These are most easily found when Alabama plays LSU.)
• A man’s khaki pants with some sort of embroidering on them. Elephants, Alabama A’s, etc. (Men + Pants + Embroidering = Only happens at football games. An ironic combination of the femininity of embroidering and the masculinity of football…one I’ll never understand.)
• Someone in a unrelated-to-football bizarre costume of some sort.
• A Houndstooth Print that is so large it looks like somebody put their dress in a copy machine and punched in “Enlarge 8000%”
  
• Someone so bizarre that no one would believe you if you DIDN’T photograph it

Sorry About the bullets, I don't know how to fix that. Anyways, there were many things that I saw, but did not get the chance to photograph so I'll share what I got a picture of, and then share what I saw....

A fan wearing a random non-related-to-the-game-school shirt - This is an Ohio State Buckeye Shirt

Had to put this one in here - how awesome is this?????? :) And yes, that is a GATOR! RTR

Two different houndstooth prints on the same person. 

This wasn't in the scavenger hunt but I had to put it in here because I personally can't stand this new "trend" - You are not 5 years old so stop putting 5 yr old bows in your hair!!!!!!!!

An opposing team’s fan that makes all Alabama fans look sane. (These are most easily found when Alabama plays LSU.)

A man’s khaki pants with some sort of embroidering on them. Elephants, Alabama A’s, etc. (Men + Pants + Embroidering = Only happens at football games. An ironic combination of the femininity of embroidering and the masculinity of football…one I’ll never understand.)

A Houndstooth bow bigger than your head. These can usually be found on dresses, but you get an extra point if you spot one engulfing some poor child’s head. 

A man’s khaki pants with some sort of embroidering on them. Elephants, Alabama A’s, etc. (Men + Pants + Embroidering = Only happens at football games. An ironic combination of the femininity of embroidering and the masculinity of football…one I’ll never understand.)

A man’s khaki pants with some sort of embroidering on them. Elephants, Alabama A’s, etc. (Men + Pants + Embroidering = Only happens at football games. An ironic combination of the femininity of embroidering and the masculinity of football…one I’ll never understand.)

A Houndstooth bow bigger than your head. These can usually be found on dresses, but you get an extra point if you spot one engulfing some poor child’s head.

Can this also count as ---A Houndstooth Print that is so large it looks like somebody put their dress in a copy machine and punched in “Enlarge 8000%”  --Check out the shirt behind the girl with the giant bow.....

Someone so bizarre that no one would believe you if you DIDN’T photograph it

 

Someone so bizarre that no one would believe you if you DIDN’T photograph it - We had to get in on the picture!!!

Okay, now I am thoroughly disappointed in myself that I did not get a picture of the following items because I did see them ALL on Saturday:

• A kid in a cheerleading outfit that is WAY too old to be in a cheerleading outfit. 
  
  
• A girl trying to walk the whole campus in stiletto heels taller than Bear Bryant himself. One extra point if it’s a rainy or muddy day. 
• A girl wearing a skirt shorter than her purse (numerous times)
• An Auburn Fan - I had 5 at my tailgate (roommate, boyfriend, cousin, sister, mom) And my roommate and sister were even wearing Auburn Shirts and I didn't get pictures....
• Houndstooth pants. Full length. On a man. (there was one sitting in our section at the game! everytime he would walk down to get food or a drink I kept thinking, "i need to get a picture! then i kept forgetting!)
• Someone that looks totally unaware that they’re even at a football game of any sort. (a florida fan in front of us that kept giving us dirty looks....and a VERY confused "fan" sitting next to us who had a bama shirt on, then put on a florida sweatshirt....seriously? and she was asking her Bama fan boyfriend what all those numbers meant on the scoreboard....UGHHHH)

Alright Rachel, how'd I do? I think I did pretty swell. I would have done WAYYY better if I would have capture those other items. Now every other game I go to, I'm going to be searching for these other items. I have seen the guy in the kilt with all the tattoos and the BAMA Superman guy who wears all the football pads! Anyone seen some guys walking around with spandex covering their faces? Don't know what thats about. Also, has anyone seen the "Alabama Pimp" who hangs out in front of McClure Library??? He's pretty sweet. I'll have to capture his picture next home game.

Anyone who attends any other college football games, What is the craziest thing you have seen? You should try this at your next tailgate! Very amusing.