Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday

1. They've found me. Everything minus the living with your person and going on double dates, everything. #momsknoweverything

 

 2. I got Virginia, which is close to Georgia, and much closer to home than most of my friends got. What are you?

 

3. I'm so excited - I've joined up and become a guest blogger at bSMART-- this week I'm sharing advice on keeping your resume up to date, among other things. If you liked my series on busines school, I'd highly recommend joining bSMART. I've been seriously impressed!

 

4. Obsessed. I've listened to it approximately 100 times on repeat.

 

 

5. I re-joined Tinder after my traumatic experience. Snowstorms make people crazy, don't judge. So far I've reconnected with a guy I used to date, scheduled a date for next Tuesday, and had penis pictures sent to me. Internet, I love you.

 

6. Running. I'm running again. Thursday, I only ran 3 miles, but I ran them faster than I've ever done. Friday I ran 3 more at the same pace, and I'm hoping to do 4 miles before tennis practice on Saturday morning. My shin pain has miraculously gone away (knock on all the wood)

 

7. It's b-school admittance season and I've adopted the #proudmom hashtag for all my kiddos who are accepted or applying, because I'm basically the proudest mama HR person there ever was. All my kids deserve trophies! The worst part is waiting for 2nd rounds in March, I think my anxiety might be worse than theirs. PS - those are the 2 best kids I've ever known <3 p="">

 

 

 

8. I haven't had a haircut since September, which I promised my new haircut girl I wouldn't do. But I loved, loved, loved my long hair and I wish it would grow this long again.

 

 

  

 9. I graduate from business school in May 2016 and I turn 30 in April 2016. You'll be able to find me in Iceland, Russia, China, and SE Asia in May/June/July 2016. Bye, work! See you in the fall.

10. I'm still happy. So so so so so so so so so happy. I smile just because. I don't even have a reason not to anymore. Let's all just be this happy together!

Tears of a Stranger

I flew back to Atlanta from Dallas last week, and the girl across the aisle from me barely held back tears the entire way home.

It took everything in me not to lean over to her, give her a hug, and hold her hand the rest of our way home. I couldn't help but wonder why her heart was hurting so badly. Did the love of her life leave her in Dallas? Is she petrified of flying? Is she moving cross-country and terrified of what's coming next? Was she fired this morning and sent home instantly? Did her grandmother pass away? I found myself actually tearing up just thinking about the pain she must be going through, and then I smiled when the flight attendedant brought her a stack of tissues and a free refill on her wine. A woman after my own heart.

 

I've been there. I've cried my way through a 5 hour flight home for several of the reasons above. For the loss that I had just experienced and what I was leaving behind, for the huge life change I knew I'd be facing on arrival and for the new me that would walk off that plane. Life was about to take me for a crazy roller coaster ride, and I cried and cried and cried because I wasn't ready, but I had no choice. I was at the front of the line and there was no turning back.

Once we were on the ground in Atlanta, I caught up to her as we were walking towards the plane train, tapped her on the shoulder and said "I'm so sorry for what you are going through. Whatever it is, I hope you find the peace you deserve." The tears that had been welled up in her eyes for the 90 minute flight spilled over as she pulled me into a hug and I am not sure I have ever been squeezed so tightly.

 

I don't know if I will ever see that beautiful young woman again, but I will forever be changed by her silent tears, her gratitude to a stranger, and her fragile emotional state.

 

And I mean this in the most genuine way I can: Bless her sweet, sweet heart.

 

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True Love: You mermaid for me!

 

I am dying over these cards. I have searched the internet high and low to find full-size cards, and am on the brink of creating them myself and mailing them to friends and family.

Are you giving or sending Valentine's cards?

Just Feelin' Happy

My worlds collided about a year ago when I found out my GMAT-study-group-turned-business-school-BFF and work BFF knew each other. Fast forward, and now the three of us run in the same circles and see each other relatively frequently.

My work BFF has abandoned me for an amazing project abroad, and came back for a visit this weekend. Unfortunately due to Atlanta's ridiculous inability to deal with any sort of weather situations, his flight was delayed and I had a Saturday class and a huge assignment to work on, so we didn't end up seeing each other.

 

However, he & my business school BFF were at the same Super Bowl party and I guess my name came up. Work BFF called me from the airport to talk about life and catch up since we didn't see each other, and he said that when he asked how I was doing, our mutual friend told him that I was really happy - happier than I've been in a long time, and always in such a good mood.

 

I'm not sure why this resonated so strongly with me or touched me as much as it did, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I guess I am surprised. Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon happy with my life, so that's not the surprise. I simply had no idea how vividly noticeable my happiness was in my personal and professional lives. I am beyond pleased that without even trying, without even thinking about it, my natural state of being right now is happy, warm, energetic and fun.

 

That feels pretty darn good to me.

 

 

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Be Kind

 

Be kind.

 

I don't think I was ever intentionally mean, but I know I have said and done things that were purely self-serving and perhaps veiled in kindness. I wish, now, that I was the person who was spoken of as overly kind, thoughtful, caring. I think I am all of those things, and I try every day to be more and more kind, but there are those people who are just so nice, supportive, generous. I want to be like them, and I want younger Katie to spend more time focusing on kindness rather than selfishness disguised as kindness.

Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas: A Bahamas Bachelorette!

I love my friends. I love to travel. I love LOVE. Of course bachelorette parties are pretty much my favorite things in the world. I've done some pretty awesome ones - Asheville, NC; Destin, FL; Las Vegas, NV! And now, the Bahamas!

 

One of my besties from college is getting married at the end of March, and after tossing around a whole slew of ideas, we landed on a Royal Caribbean 4 day, 3 night Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral.

 

 

 

We left ATL really early on Friday morning and drove down to Florida. It was a long ride, but we worked the majority of the way with a few episodes of Scandal mixed in. We got on the boat, and immediately sought food. As with all cruises, this would be the first of many, many meals...

 

While everyone else got settled in and started on the cocktails, Mandy & I hopped up to the gym to get our FitBit steps in. #addicted

 

The boat departed and all the sudden the treadmill became much, much trickier. Only Olivia Pope could keep me quasi-balanced for the last 10 minutes of my run. It was hard! With that out of the way, we let the official festivities begin! We met a couple of the girls at the arboreum bar, and they had made post-cocktail plans to meet everyone else for the free liquor tasting. Let me just pause and say I love cruises, always have and always will, and one of the biggest reasons I love cruising is for the number of free activities of all types, available to everyone on board! Sure, you can spend plenty of money, but there's so much to see and do that doesn't cost a dime!

 

Anyway - after that, it was a typical night on a cruise. Shower, drinks, dinner, show! Another huge perk of cruising, there is a routine, and it's pretty much the same no matter the line, the duration, anything.

 

 

Friday night's show was a 70's montage, and so much fun! We stood around watching for about an hour, and at that point some of the girls called it a night.

 

The bride, her sister, Mandy & I decided to venture to the "Silent Party" at the lounge on the top level of the ship. We were so skeptical, but it turned out to be my favorite thing we did all weekend! As soon as you walked in you had to grab a set of headphones and put them on because it was the only way to hear the music. I cannot reiterate enough how much we loved the Silent Party.

 

 

Please note our friend, lovingly referred to as Stranger Danger, but more importantly the awesome headphones we are all wearing. The party raged until nearly 3am. We danced, we sang, we made new friends, but most importantly we celebrated the bride-to-be!

 

 

The next morning, Mandy & I slept in before making our way to the restaurant for breakfast. For some reason this meal took forever, but we got out of there quickly and Amanda & I beelined for the Crown & Anchor Society reception. It's a reception for frequent cruisers that the captain hosts with complimentary cocktails and appetizers and light snacks. To be honest, I think the timing was pretty poor for the reception, as they usually take place before dinner, but I won't complain about 4 mimosas at 11am :)

 

Our first stop was Nassau, where we had all been before. We docked around noon, but we waited until about 1:30 to debark and explore. We pretty much hopped off the boat, stopped at a liqor store, and wandered to the nearest beach to soak up some sun. A couple of us were brave enough to test out the massage hut... best decision ever!

 

 

 

We moseyed back towards the boat pretty early - we had a lingerie shower to throw! A couple of the bridesmaids brought a bunch of really fun accessories to make it special, plus the Bride wanted to do a white elephant gift exchange as well. Laughter and tears and everything in between ensued. I am so, so happy for my sweet friend, and wish her a lifetime of happiness and love <3 nbsp="" p="">

 



 

More of the same on Saturday night, but the evening culminated in a gorgeous Chilean man telling Amanda that he loved me and he would marry me tomorrow. Well, you don't say? I'm in! I came home as single as I left, but it was fun while it lasted. Sadly, I got no pictures with my Latin lover, but he called me "mami" and "mi amor" and danced like a maniac.

Sunday was a beautiful day in Cococay, Bahamas (Royal Caribbean's privately owned island) but the group decided to hang out on the boat. We had to tender to get to the island (take another small boat from the ship) and it just seemed like more work than it was worth.

 

We said goodbye to the Bahamas and headed back to Port Canaveral, and then onwards to ATL. It was such a fun weekend, and I can only hope that the bride had as much fun as I did. Cheers to her and her husband-to-be.

 

Only 2 more months 'til I do! #mrsdub

#kanda2014 in Croatia

I'm prettttttty sure my mom gave up all hope for me inheriting her love of travel the spring break of my freshman year of high school. We spent 10 days in Italy and I pouted through the Sistine Chapel because I wasn't with my friends in Panama City (in hindsight, what friends?) and she cried over me being an ungrateful brat. Understandably so, and she really ought to have just slapped me.

 

The good news is that 10+ years later we alternate jealousy of the other's wanderlust and upcoming trips. Last year after I up and went to Iceland, I created a travel bucket list. Thus far I'd call it a raving success. I spent 9 days in London and then into Scotland, checking off #7 on a list of 7.

 

 

 

And now, just a few days into 2014, I'm already planning for another check off the old bucket list. My bestie & I have booked a 11 day trip to Croatia, flying from Atlanta to Zagreb, picking up a rental car and spending 2 days making our way to Split, where we will hop on a boat for 7 days to explore a few islands on the Dalmation Coast. The sailing ends in Dubrovnik where we stay overnight and then spend 18 hours traveling back to Atlanta. Maybe this is cheating but it's my bucket list so who cares: I am counting the week on the boat as equivalent to my bucket list goal of spending a week on the beach and giving myself a pat on the back.

 

Even more exciting, Croatia has made several lists for being a top place to visit in 2014. For once, I might be ahead of the curve. Let's not get used to it.

 

Have you already made big travel plans for 2014?