Smell Good

My dependence on perfume started in high school when I discovered Cool Water.

I doused myself in it every morning. I'm 25 and I still own a bottle, and probably always will. It's the perfect summer scent, and takes me back to the year 2000!

Then I discovered Lucky - the jeans, the store, and clearly the perfume. Literally last week I threw away my last travel size bottle. I'm not really sure if I should buy another. Might be time to retire this one, but man... it smells so good! Reminds me of volleyball and my high school boyfriend. All the more reason why I probably shouldn't buy another bottle. Do women in their mid-20's still wear this perfume?

One of my more recent discoveries was Coach Poppy. Love at first sniff. I bought this over a year ago and still have more than half the bottle left. Whenever I wear Poppy, someone always smells it on me and compliments it. It's never the same person, but I do always get compliments. So, I'm not sure what the staying power of Poppy is, but I know I love it when I first put it on. So fresh and so inviting! And so not overwhelming, which is exactly what I look for in a perfume.

Just after finding Poppy, I was introduced to Daisy. I really think it will forever be in my perfume collection. It's delicious, light, flowery, and inviting. If I smelled it on someone else, I'd think based on smell alone they were a great person with a wam, inviting personality. I mean, not trying to toot my own horn, but....I think I fit the bill! 

I have a few other scents in the mix. Some Ralph Lauren ones and I've randomly gotten some samples that I never really loved the way I loved these. 

I'm such a sucker for the Ulta deals - they are always giving away free gifts with the purchase of a perfume. I was lured in over the weekend by that exact signage. 2 bottles of nailpolish and $100 later, I walked out with a new-to-me scent. Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani. Listen, I may not buy designer clothes or own very many designer handbags, but I'll be darned if I'm not ahead of the curve on perfumes. Does that count for anything? 

I haven't spent enough time wearing the Acqua di Gio to really be able to describe it to you, but I know when I told the sales associate about my other favories, it was one of her recommendations, and she hit the nail on the head! So, Acqua di Gio, I hope this is the beginning of a long and lasting relationship. Literally! 

By the way... I never thought I'd be the girl to write more than 2 words regarding my perfume. Oh well. At least you know I smell good!  

Oh, college

It's Sunday. I slept in until noon (and by slept I mean alternated between napping, reading, and Tweeting). I justify it though, because I was up at 3:30 in the morning to shuttle one of my darling friends home. His drunk happy smile made it all worth it, I think. I went to 2 parties this weekend. I took a nap yesterday. I drank Dr. Pepper after 2pm. (Caffeine really messes with me, but it was the weekend so what the hell?) And now I'm sitting on my couch where I came to start cleaning my apartment and just kind of... didn't. That was 30 minutes ago.

Guess what I'm not doing today, and didn't do all weekend? Study. For finals. Georgia Tech finals, to be more specific.

I miss college with relative frequency. I had 15 hours of commitment per week that I was required to do. 15! That's it! I could pick and choose when I was committed to those 15 hours, I could make sure I spent those 15 hours with friends, and really... if I didn't want to go, I didn't have to. What about that doesn't scream, "AWESOME!"???

However, for this week, and finals week in May, I am not jealous in any way shape or form. In fact, I will happily rub it in the face of my younger friendlings (friends/siblings) that they are studying and I am not. Because it's awesome. Really, really awesome.

Wanna know what's not awesome? I think I want to go back to school and get an MBA. Balls.

#reverb 2010

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

2010: Grown-up

2011: Constant

December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

Or maybe it contributes tremendously.

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? See here.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? Christmas gifts for the people who are most important to me using my trusty sewing machine. I want to make a 2010 scrapbook. I have printed the pictures, I am now just waiting for Christmas to pass so I can know if I need to purchase the scrapbook and materials or if I they are being gifted to me!

December 7 - Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? In God we trust.

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. My true passion for life, laughter, and making others happy.

December 9 – Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

December 10 – Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

December 11 – 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about
eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? Drama. Financial stress. Allergies. Bangs. Weird dating experiences. Running. Excessive commitments. Trips to the mall. Dinners out. Pimples.

December 12 – Body Integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? When I was trying to convince myself that the airplane I was on was not, in fact, going down in flames at any moment. Possibly because we were still on the ground.

December 13 – Action. When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? To be the best and nothing less.

December 14 – Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

December 15 – 5 Minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. I want to remember friendships, courage, quitting, starting over, moving on, success, frustration, family, faith, turning 24, tolerance, making the most of things, making my parents proud, and going the longest time since my first kiss without being kissed again.

December 16 – Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay, leaving footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same."

December 17 – Lesson Learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? This, too, shall pass, and I'll be stronger because of it.

December 18 – Try. What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? I want to work towards completing my 101 in 1001 list. I'll be updating in on Jan 1, 2011 - 365 days in!

December 19 – Healing. What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011? An impromptu phone call in the parking deck of my condo building that lasted over an hour.

December 20 – Beyond Avoidance. What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) I did it. I quit one job and found another one - the job of my dreams.

December 21 – Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?) Try it, say it, do it, believe it. You don't get another chance.

December 22 – Travel. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year? Planes, trains and automobiles. Maybe 2011 will mark the next stop on my lifelong dream.

December 23 – New Name. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?  Kate - it's short, sweet, and to the point. Plus, it's so close to my real name, and I'm not really ready to part ways with it yet!

December 24 - Everything’s OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead? My big girl job dreams came true.

December 25 - Photo – a present to yourself Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words.

From November

December 26 - Soul Food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul? My favorite chef has made some memorable meals with even better stories to follow. One night also ended in Quelf.

December 27 – Ordinary Joy Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

December 28 – Achieve. What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today. When this list is all said and done I'll wash my hands clean of it and start over.

December 29 – Defining Moment. Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year. Football games. New friends, old friends, memories, non-memories, drinking, laughing, loving, sunshine, spirit, comraderie.

REVERB '10

My friend sent me a link to this movement, and it's seriously right up my alley. To me, life is all about reflecting on past decisions and choices and learning from them. Sometimes it takes months, years, to really be able to look upon the past fondly. Other times, you can almost immediately draw the lesson that you were supposed to be learned. That's why I like reflective activities like this. I'll be posting some of the less personal prompts on the blog and posting the more personal ones (such as who/what did I let go this year and why) in my own journal. Just because I don't share it with you doesn't mean I don't think it's important to reflect on the things that have happened in my life! But don't worry, I'll be sure to share the one word that describes 2010!

Anyone else participating in Reverb '10? They've got a pretty great social networking support system, too! Check out the #reverb10 hashtag on Twitter to see how others are documenting their experience.

I Give Up On Nostalgia

When my parents moved in 2008, for the entire year before that, my mom had slowly but surely meticulously packed boxes upon boxes upon BOXES of our stuff and moved it to a storage unit near our house. She had a list with the boxes number, written on the outside, and the list told her what was in each box. When the house sold, all the sudden things were a lot less meticulous and the things that we used on a daily basis got shoved in with my old baby dolls and Lauren's old Barbies.

Lauren's old Barbies also warrant a post in and of themselves, because when we attempted to clean out the storage unit, we uncovered ELEVEN BOXES OF BARBIES. That doesn't include her Barbie house, cars, boats, etc. But I digress.

So back at Thanksgiving last year, I decided that I wanted, er, HAD TO HAVE, all my stuff out of the storage unit. I didn't trust that storage unit with all those nasty bugs, I thought someone was going to come in and steal all of my Berenstein Bears books and my report cards from Kindergarten-12th grade, and I was POSITIVE that the rest of my family just could not be responsible for my personal items that I just had to have for the rest of my life or I would die, such as my Bee, my spoon cabinets, and a mirror my best friend etched for me for my 17th birthday.

My mom & I dug through all 493 boxes and I found all the things I wanted. My spoon collection, my Berenstein Bears books, my report cards from Kindergarten-12th grade, the newspaper I was quoted in after 9/11, holiday decorations, the whole nine yards.

Well now that I've rifled through it all and gotten nostalgic and cried over pictures of my 135 lb 18 year old body, all that SHIT is sitting in my our entryway closet taking up a lot of space, and really not getting used. Now that I know it's there, I don't really want it. I'd like direct and immediate access to it, but I really don't need it to be sitting in our closet taking up copious amounts of space (and I'd imagine my roommate will be delighted with the removal of these things from our house). So tonight, I will be removing it from my immediate vicinity and putting it BACK in the storage unit, trusting that at least if it goes up in flames tomorrow, I won't be the only one missing 20 years of my life.

Things I Know Now That I Wish I Knew Then

i don't know why i was thinking about this, but i was. these are some general things i wish i had known at some point, recently or long ago, that i have come to terms with now. that doesn't mean i take my own advice, but i'm at least aware of it!

• when you break up with your boyfriend, the best way to get over it is to sever all contact. there is no such thing as being friends, no such thing as being nice, and no such thing as keeping in touch, at least not in the forseeable future.
• designer rainboots are really not worth it. designer jeans, on the other hand... yes please.
• moms are the smartest, wisest, most knowledgable humans on the earth. i'm pretty sure they get smarter as we get older, too.
• you are fully capable of killing the bugs, changing your windshield wipers, and moving big heavy boxes, but having boys around to do those things is just better.
• if you want something, go after it. nobody can make your dreams come true faster than you can. you just gotta "put your number in the tip jar and hope that eventually he'll propose!"
• alcohol makes small problems bigger but at least its fun in the meantime. and, once the problem is monstrous, it's probably better to figure it out without robert mondavi's help.
• friends are there to pick you up when you fall. thats why they are your friends. and if they are good ones, they'll love you no matter how hard you fall or how many times. and they might tell you how tired they are of picking you up and that damnit katie have you learned your lesson this time?, but they'll keep doing it, because they're your friends and because they love you.
• sometimes you just have to close your eyes and do what feels good.

what do you know now that you wish you had known then?

Adventures In Odyssey

When I was little, I listened to books on tape or music while I went to sleep. My mom used to check tapes (like cassette tapes) out of the library and record them onto another tape for us. Now that I think about this, she did that a lot. A lot a lot. Kind of similar to burning cds, except far more complicated and probably before copyright laws. We even had a 2-cassette boombox for the sole purpose of copying tapes. Imagine mine & my sister's delight when, one, we actually got drive-through Chick-Fil-A for dinner, and two, the toy inside the kids meal WAS A CASSETTE TAPE WITH STORIES ON IT!!! It was an Adventures in Odyssey tape, and I have never forgotten this tape. There were others - one full of songs about Katie, several Frog & Toad tapes, and who knows what else, but the Adventures in Odyssey was always mine & my sister's favorite. Or at least my favorite, I'm not so sure about my sister. Plus, this had to be circa 1991 or 1992, so the fact that it has stuck with me this long must mean something, right?

Fast forward to last night, I'm babysitting overnight while the mom is on-call at the hospital, but my bedroom has no tv in it. I prefer to fall asleep with noise, especially when not in my own bed. After realizing I can't download any TV epsidoes on my iPhone without wireless connection, I go to the bottom of my barrel and start searching podcasts. They are free, and don't have to be downloaded, but I'm not really a podcast kinda girl. I've always thought of them as well, kinda boring. But, I knew I would fall asleep quickly, so I wasn't really concerned what I was listening to. So I'm clicking around and... can you even begin to imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across Adventures in Odyssey PODCASTS?! I ended up listening to like 4 and being so engrossed in nostalgia. It was awesome. This did nothing for my sleep schedule, but I'm okay with that.

In fact, it was so awesome that I might do it again tonight. Nevermind that these stories are intended for 7 year olds to teach them good Christian lessons... ok I probably won't, but next week when I'm babysitting again I'll surely be pulling those bad boys out!

What have you recently stumbled across that just tickled you pink?