Pictures!

As promised, here are the pictures of our apartment. They aren't in order, so you won't get the "walk through" effect. Sorry.

This is the living room, complete with pretty Christmas decorations, and a blue blanket which I neglected to put away before I took the picture.

This is our dining room table. Josh promised to paint the chairs white for me to match the table, and as you can see, that hasn't happened yet.

This is where we sleep and get dressed. Josh also promised to make me a headboard for our bed. It's going to be very cute when it's made. He's also going to paint the dresser red. He's going to be very busy!

This is the bassinet, in the corner of our bedroom. I realize that the baby will not be here for several months, but it comes in handy for storage.

This is the bathroom. It's pretty self-explanatory. I actually took this picture before we moved in, but it hasn't changed much since then.

And this is my pretty kitchen!

So that's it! It's still early, so there aren't any pictures on the wall, and we don't have curtains. It will get homier over time though. I guess I'll just have to post more pictures later!

Oh yes...I realize that y'all really just want to see the "belly pictures," and you'll get some eventually, but it will have to wait until I feel cute enough to take a picture. Honestly, I'm still pretty small, so I only look pregnant in some of my clothes, and even then, that's just if you know what you're looking at.

Movin' on up...

Well, we haven't moved to the East side. And we have moved to an apartment, but it's ground level; it's not in the sky. But that makes such a clever little title, doesn't it?

Josh and I are in love with our new apartment. We just moved this weekend. You can be jealous of our commute: it only takes us 20 minutes to get to work! Yes! So instead of leaving the house at 7 am, I'm waking up at 7 am.
My other favorite part is the kitchen. It's newly remodeled with brand new, shiny black appliances. Josh said I can have the kitchen all to myself. I don't think that's a huge sacrifice on his part, but it's still all mine. :-)
Also, it has a really big laundry room, but until we find a permanent home for all of our boxes of books, the laundry room is functioning as interim bookshelf.

In the process of unpacking I discovered that the baby bassinet we were given (it is very cute) makes an excellent holder for all of my stuffed animals. I'm not sure where we'll put the baby though...maybe a drawer? Josh could give up one of his probably.

We also have our Christmas tree put up. We had an interesting time decorating it. Last year we had a nice 6' tree, but this year they were all out of the 6' trees. So, we got a great price on a 7' tree, but we really only have enough ornaments for a 6' tree. We can just enjoy lots of lovely tree branches in all their evergreen glory I guess.

Oh, and in baby news, Josh and I heard it's little heartbeat last week. That was very exciting, and it was also a nice little reminder that, yes, there is a little person in there. If I think about that for too long I start to feel like somebody out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I mean, of course it's the beautiful miracle of life and all of that, but let's face it, the whole concept is a little bizarre.
We will find out the sex of the baby on January 8.

I will post apartment pictures as soon as our internet is connected, which will be Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Josh and I are gearing up for our trip to Louisiana. One more day of work, and then we get to visit family! I hope you all have an enjoyable holiday too. I'll leave you with a comic from one of my favorite strips: Pearls Before Swine. I love it when comic strip writers (artists?) make a good literary reference! And I'm sorry it's small and hard to read. I don't understand my computer and therefore don't know how to make it bigger AND fit it on the page.

I feel like writing today. It's probably because it's a nice foggy day outside and I am drinking coffee with amaretto syrup in it. I ran into a slight problem though, because I don't really have anything worth writing about. Oh sure, I have a sinus infection this week, and it's really the whole nine yards--I missed a day of work, am taking antibiotics--just scintillating stuff. But, christmas colored snot isn't really polite blogging material--even if we are approaching the holiday season.

I decided to copy something from my mom's blog. It's a very long list, and I don't expect you to actually read the whole thing (heck, I didn't read the whole thing when my mom did it on her blog), but I really wanted to post it so I would have a good book list next time I'm looking for something good to read.

On a side note--if you don't read the whole list, you will miss out on my fabulously witty commentary. It's up to you. I'm sorry for the many parenthetical comments, but I don't know how to have witty commentary without using parentheses.

The Big Read

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
The Rules:
1) Look at the list and put one * by those you have read.
2) Put a % by those you intend to read.
3) Put two ** by the books you LOVE.
4) Put # by the books you HATE.
5) Post.

The List:
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen**
2. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien* (they were excellent books, but I have met people who LOVE these books, and, since I am not fluent in Elvish, I cannot be one of them.)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë** (I have nothing humorous to say here. The Bronte sisters are to melancholy to make fun of.)
4. Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling** (Is anyone else upset that the next movie is not coming out until July? Anyone? Anyone?)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee** (Ooh! Book trivia! Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? Mom, you are not allowed to answer. You have read this book one hundred times.)
6. The Bible** (If I was allowed to give a book three stars, I would give the Bible three stars. I would also give Harry Potter three stars. I hope that's not sacrilegious.)
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë (I bought this book for a dollar once. I decided not to read it though. I think I gave it to Goodwill.)
8. 1984 - George Orwell (Aahh! Big Brother is reading my blog and he will know I haven't read his book! I actually started it, but I didn't like it so I quit reading it. I don't think you're allowed to hate a book if you didn't finish it.)
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens# (I'm sorry, but I don't like Charles Dickens. Don't stone me; I have read several of his books, and I am allowed to not like him. He was paid by the word, folks, and I have no interest in page long descriptions of plum pudding.)
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott* (She has her merits, so I don't hate her, but she really is a little too sugary sweet for my taste.)
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (This book is about a prostitute! I said "prostitute" on my blog! Heeheehee!)
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (Seriously? Who has read the COMPLETE works of Shakespeare? That would include all the poems that are NOT sonnets and that play that may or may not have been written by Shakespeare--just in case.)
15. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (Wait a second...is THIS the book about the prostitute? Now I'm confused! I obviously have not read Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Rebecca)
16. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien*
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks (This is actually the prequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.)
18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger* (This is a really interesting book, and an excellent example of an unreliable, first-person narrator.)
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (Never heard of this one. You tell me--should it be one of my "intend to read" selections?)
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot (Alas, no, I read Mill on the Floss instead, and I didn't like it, so I never read Middlemarch.)
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell# (I haven't read it, but I saw the movie, folks. No thank you!)
22. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (I have read plenty of his short stories. Why aren't they on the list? Eh, well, I saw the movie at least.)
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens (This sounds like a light, fun read.)
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (Even the movie version was too long!)
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (I haven't read this one, on account of the fact that I'm not a geek.)
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh (The title makes this book sound gory. I'm not sure if I want to read it or not. I should find out what it's about.)
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (The first two chapters were EXCELLENT.)
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (I haven't read it, but I AM familiar with the Veggie Tales version, so I should be covered.)
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll* (I'm pretty sure I read this when I was little, but Alice in Wonderland is such a psychedelic experience, I'm not sure if I read it or if I just dreamt the whole thing whilst smoking marijuana.)
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (The cartoons on PBS were my favorite!)
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (The movie Music from Another Room gave away the ending, so no, I haven't read it.)
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (Mr. Dickens, please stop hogging the "best books of all time" list.)
33. Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis** (Okay, I lied. I haven't read all of them. But I loved the two that I did read.)
34. Emma - Jane Austen%
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen**
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis** (This one's a freebie because technically it's here twice.)
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (This might be an "intend to read" but it also might be a little too "modern intellectual" for my taste. I don't know if I can trust a book that they sell at Starbucks.)
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières% (I probably would have watched the movie if it wasn't for Nicolas Cage, so you know what? Why not! Let's read the book.)
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden% (Again, the movie is excellent. You know, I'm beginning to think I watch to much tv.)
40. Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne** (Oh wait, I have not read these books. I will love them anyways though. I hold my mother solely responsible for never reading me Winnie the Pooh. I have seen the cartoons though...)
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell*
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown# (I really only hate it on principle for all of the hoopla it caused. I don't like hoopla.)
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (I have heard that awful song Lady in Red before--are they similar?)
46. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery*
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (Margaret Atwood's books are a little too feminist and weird for my taste.
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (Zero desire to read this one.)
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan# (I gave it a fair chance, but wow did I hate it.)
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel (This is another one of those "I am intellectual because I am reading this book" books, and I don't like to read those--just to spite everybody.)
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen** (I know people think you're weird if you have read and loved everything by Jane Austen, but I am not weird, it's just nice to know that if I feel like reading a book with a happy ending, Jane Austen will be there for me.)
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth (This is the prequel to "A Good Man is Hard to Find".)
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Where did they dig these books up?)
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens# (Ok, ok, it had a good ending. But that was the ONLY thing I liked about it!)
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley#
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (Somebody needs to learn to write shorter titles...)
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I am told that the whole thing is very depressing, and that doesn't exactly send me rushing off to the bookstore.)
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (I haven't read it, but I do know that it was turned into an opera! Does that count for anything?)
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (Somebody called this the "creepiest book they had ever read." I'll read it right after The Secret Diary of a Call Girl.)
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (Books about death and Heaven are usually really weird, and often sappy too. I don't trust them.)
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (Books about swordfights are for boys.)
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac (Isn't this the same guy that tried to build that fire? That was a boring short story!)
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (Poor Jude...he is so obscure probably nobody even wants to read his book!)
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (I...you'll never guess...yes, that's right...I have only watched the movie.)
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville (Ahh...the book that launched the sentence that launched a thousand cliches.)
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (Ok, Dickens is on here umpteen times, but Shakespeare only gets one listing? Who wrote this stupid list, anyways?)
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath* (That was in my, "Ooh, look at me! I'm reading literature I don't understand!" phase.)
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Émile Zola (This sounds appropriate for flu season, doesn't it?)
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (I read the first page and then lost interest.)
79. Possession - A.S. Byatt (This book is about 9/10ths of the law.)
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (Cloud atlas? I wouldn't even want to read a real atlas!)
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert*
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White** (And for christmas I want the annotated version of Charlotte's Web with all of E.B. White's notes in it! Seriously...I the last lines of this book are some of the best ever.)
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (Whoever wrote this list is relying too heavily on the New York Times Bestseller list.)
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks (That title is giving me nightmares!)
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Hamlet - William Shakespeare** (Seriously? I am almost to the bottom of the list and I FINALLY see one measly little play on here? Who wrote this list?)
98. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*
99. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo* (That was my "Look how smart I can be" phase.)

I have no idea how I only ended up with 99 books instead of 100.

Well, on second thought, maybe I won't use this list for ideas next time I'm in Borders. I'm questioning some of the choices, but I haven't read them all, so I won't judge. Anyways, everyone knows these lists are so arbitrary.

But really? Some of the greatest works of literature of all time, like Dante's Divine Comedy or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales weren't on the list. If I were Chaucer or Dante, I'd be protesting in my grave right now!

Another News Update

Some exciting things have happened here on the KrebsFront. I had sausage biscuits for breakfast, and we were out of juice so I made some tea instead, and then I brushed my teeth and then after that...

Ok, I'll be serious now. Josh got an official job offer! I am very proud of him for looking so hard and persevering even when it was months before he found something. He's going to be working for Metro Nashville Public Schools starting November 17. He will be an educational assistant assigned to one of the special ed teachers at West End Middle School. This means that we should be able to move into our own apartment in the beginning of December--just in time for Christmas.

And also...Josh and I have finally put a weekend getaway on the calendar. We're going to Louisville in January. And this time, we won't be changing our plans because we have already bought our tickets to go see (dum da dum!) Wicked. We're looking forward to our little mini-vacation. We're going to do something special and relaxing just the two of us before the baby comes and our life is, well, less relaxing, and less "just the two of us."

On a side note, I ordered our tickets to Wicked at 6:00 am the day they went on sale, and almost all of the performances were already sold out. Is that crazy or what?

We're also counting the days until Thanksgiving when we get to go to Louisiana to see all of my family.

Ok, so anyways, after I brushed my teeth I decided not to floss because I can do that tonight and I went downstairs and took my brown coat with me...

Oh yeah--the news is over now.

I have a dream...

I had a dream actually.

I think having strange dreams about the birth of your child must come with the territory of being pregnant, because I still remember a dream my mom told me about when she was pregnant with Kevin. She dreamed she gave birth to a baby that was fully dressed and talking to her. Now I guess it's my turn to have weird dreams.

I dreamed Josh and I were at the hospital, and we had just had our baby, and they brought it to us, but the baby they brought us wasn't our baby. We knew it was the wrong one because it had teeth--but not just any teeth. It had a full set of adult teeth. We tried to explain to the doctors that it wasn't our baby because it had teeth, but all they said was, "well, even if it isn't yours, it would take months to switch the babies back." So, we were stuck with it.

I'm pretty sure that the image of an infant with a mouth full of ferocious chompers will haunt me for a while.

That's My Baby!

This is the official announcement: Josh and I are going to be parents! This is little Baby Krebs's first picture. If you have a well-trained eye, you can not only see the head, but also little arms and legs too. Baby Krebs gave a very good performance for the camera by waving its arms and legs alot. Our first child (it's weird to put that in writing) is due into the world on (or around) May 25.

And to answer the questions that you and I both know you're going to ask...
1) I'm feeling alright. Thankfully, I have not thrown up at all, but I'm still nauseous, and I don't just love eating, which is kind of a bummer.
2) We haven't met our doctor yet, but everyone we've come into contact with at Vanderbilt (which is where we're having the baby) has been extremely nice and very professional. If that keeps up we will be in very good hands for the next several months!

Book Recommendation

I remember when I used to enjoy reading sad books and watching sad movies. Now I think, "If I am going to take some of my precious free time and spend it reading or watching a movie, why would I want to watch something that is going to depress me?" That's why I refuse to watch the movie Atonement, because the thought of watching a train wreck--good drama or not--doesn't sound that appealing. The problem is, for those of us who like happy endings, it gets very difficult to find good books to read these days. Apparently, sad endings are the only things that get published anymore. If you want a book that will make you smile you're reduced to ChickLit (although some of it is good, it gets tiring after a while) or kids books (and kids books are great, but it is nice to have something to read that's longer than 20 pages).

However, in a literary world full of death and despair, I recently managed to find a book that is both well-written and uplifting. The book is called Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg. I'm sure I'm probably one of the last people to read this book, as Flagg is not a new author, and this book was published 10 years ago. But, if you are like me and you've passed over this book in the bookstore over and over again thinking "I should read that book, it looks good" well, you should read it. It comes in a handy thrift edition for less than ten dollars, and it's worth it. Flagg is a great writer, and the story has plenty of conflict and suspense, but this book also has a nice, sweet ending that will make you feel good about life.

Now, doesn't that sound better than watching a train wreck?

Lessons Learned at the Flea Market

I am a baby flea market shopper...we went last Saturday, and I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. Yes, it was a very educational experience.
Lesson one: make sure you're dressed for the weather. Wearing jeans when it's 90 degrees out does not make a happy shopper.
Lesson two: Eat lunch before you go, or arrive early in the morning, and eat early. Josh stood in line for twenty minutes just to buy me one hotdog (it was an excellent hot dog though...hmm, now I want another one).
Lesson three: know what you're looking for. I mean, really know what you're looking for. I had a pretty vague idea, but next time I go, I'm going to walk in there looking for one thing, and that's it.
Lesson four: If you aren't dressed for the weather, didn't eat before you left, and don't know what you're looking for, then make sure you're shopping buddy is very patient and prepared to listen to lots of complaining.
We did have a succesful trip though. Aside from the excellent hotdog (which makes me want to visit James Coney Island) we found a dresser. We found the dresser on our way out to the car, after we had given everything up as junk. It's just like my Mom used to say, "You always find something in the last place you look." So true, Mom.
Was this post boring to you? Go buy me a polish hot dog and cheese fries (with hot sauce on top!) and I'll try to be more interesting next time.
Here's a picture of our dresser (it's blue right now, but it's getting repainted. We're not blue people.)

Nashville Farmers Market

Josh and I went to the farmers market this weekend. Here are some pictures from our trip:

I hope you enjoyed my pictures! We had a good time. And yes, those are real, handcarved tree trunks. We didn't believe it at first!

Happy birthday to me!

I don't know why, but twenty-three feels like an old number. It's such a serious sounding number. When I say "I'm twenty-three" I feel like what I'm really saying is "I have a college degree, a career, and a professional wardrobe, I go to bed early, and I can no longer related to those crazy kids. Would you be interested in hearing my five year plan?"

Ehh, that's ok...at least twenty-three is more interesting than twenty-two. All twenty-two said was, "I'm divisible by eleven!"

I apologize, folks. I had several topics in mind I wanted to write about, and any one of them would probably have been more interesting than "Katie's psychology of numbers."

I was going to tell you that I have started scrapbooking our wedding pictures. It's the easiest scrapbook I've ever made, because the pictures are so gorgeous, they don't need any embellishment! I can't wait to finish it so that finally, more than a year after my wedding, I will be able to show off my pictures. Except now people probably don't care about my pictures anymore. Darnit!

Also, I made fresh salsa the other night, and it was so good I made it again. Then I realized that both times I had made it I left out an ingredient (same ingredient both times). So, I like the way it tastes, which should lead me to conclude that it's good, it doesn't need improving, and I should just enjoy it the way it is. Instead, every time I eat the salsa I start to wonder, "What if what I think is great really is great, but it's not as great as something greater?" (I copped that quote from a movie...anyone know which one?).
I've decided I'll have to make it correctly at least one time, just to set my wandering taste buds to rest once and for all.

Josh and I discovered that there is a 10,000 Villages store here in Nashville. We went in to explore because Josh didn't know what it was. It turned out that they were having an "Earth Friendly Entertaining Event", and there was a drawing accompanying said event, which I (actually Josh) won, and I got a free cookbook out of the deal! I was excited because it was a $22 cookbook, and so regardless of whether it's any good or not--but I'm sure at least some of it will be--I still won $22.

Josh and I have started exploring Nashville on the weekends. We aren't completely consistent, but we're trying to find something new to see or do every weekend. This weekend we're going to the Farmer's Market. I've been asking him to take me for a while. Maybe the next time I write I'll have stories about our ecologically friendly adventure!

This and that...shouldn't I be in bed right now?

No answers to the above question; it's almost 10 pm, Josh thinks I might be getting sick, I have to get up early for work in the morning...fabulous! It's the perfect time to start writing!

By now you probably all know this, but our Labor Day weekend wasn't what we'd expected. We ended up spending the weekend in Houston for my grandfather's funeral. He will be missed, but this isn't "goodbye", just "see you later". I expect when we do meet again he'll have a smile and a joke, just like always.

In the meantime, it was good to see family last weekend, even under the circumstances. I'm thankful for the extra time in Houston, but I've learned that one weekend is just enough time to remind you how much you miss your family but not enough time to really get to see them much. When will they learn that they need to move to Nashville?! I tossed around the whole "move to Houston" idea that everyone keeps suggesting, but really, if you've been to both cities and you are able to compare, Nashville is just a nicer town. Even considering how great Texas is, it's nice to live in a city that has more than one city park. And the people are nicer. Living in TN has shown me just how un-southern Houston truly is (and I can't speak for the rest of TX, but I have my suspicions).

Of course, the great thing about Houston is the people who are in it, so I'm working on a plan to transplant all of my favorite people to one spot, sort of like a mini-rapture. You'll know if I ever get it to work, but you might want to have some bags packed just in case.

Considering that I just compared myself to God, I don't think this particular post can go anywhere good, and if I continued with the above line of thought I would probably end up writing things like, "take, read, the words of my blog!" and "those who read my words and ignore her who wrote them will not be my friend and will not be included in the coming rapture."

Yes, it's probably good that I ended the post before I wrote anything sacreligious like that.

P.S. If you're scared of lightning, you may not want to sleep to close to me tonight.

Domestic Goddess/Fabulous Prize Winner

Pride may be a sin, but I cooked a great dinner this weekend and I feel like bragging about it. Josh and I had the house to ourselves and we spent all weekend doing exactly what we wanted (for Josh this was watching 24, for me it was cooking). I made Sopa Tlalpena--even the name impresses you, doesn't it? It's basically tortilla soup, but I made it from scratch--stock and everything! I know my dear husband would eat anything I set in front of him, even if it was spaghetti noodles covered in pancake syrup, but this was good. But wait, there's more! For dessert I made a lemon cheesecake with a cherry fruit topping, and you couldn't even tell it was low-fat. You can trust me on that; my mother raised me right--no cool whip!

Ok, now I'm starting to feel bad--this is getting to be way to much of a self-love-fest. Ok, one more thing...I won a radio prize today. Can you unscramble this celebrity anagram?

"Here Silly Maniac"

I can! I won a gift card to Captain D's (enjoy, Josh, my seafood loving husband) and one to the Libscomb Univ. bookstore. I checked out their website, and no, I will not be forced to spend it on textbooks and "Go Lipscomb" clothing. They have other books as well.

Oh yes, Josh and I are going camping on labor day weekend. This is exciting for several reasons, which I will now list out for you:
1) We have never been camping with each other.
2) This is the first time we've gone on vacation since our honeymoon.
3) We get to use one of our wedding presents for the first time (a fabulous picnic grill from Aunt Lorri and Uncle Jody--but our apartment complex wouldn't let us use it)
4) We are going to Kentucky, and I have never been to Kentucky.
5) Josh is going to teach me how to kayak.
6) We are going to use the new tent Josh got for his birthday.
I'm making Josh exercise with me every night so I can get in shape for all the rugged outdoor activities I will be partaking in. I'm just trying to figure out how to go camping and wear cute outfits at the same time. I mean, I am going to be taking pictures--I can't just wear any old t-shirt and shorts, now can I?

Ok, I think I've talked about myself enough for now! So, if you will excuse me, I have to go powder my nose.

My blog is fabulous now!

See?

Sometimes when I sit down in my office chair I want to reach for my seatbelt.

It's true. And then I remember that I'm not in my car. And lately I'm starting to worry my hiney is going to become attached to my seat. I need to get some exercise! The worst part of working is sitting in one place all day. Of course, today is worse than usual because I had an abnormally large lunch of fried chicken and all the good southern sides that go with (office birthdays=free food). Can somebody just roll me out the door to my car please? I don't even think I ate that much, but with all the butter and carbs in a good southern meal--you don't have to to start reeling from all the good food. One of these days I should get Josh to take me down to Savannah, so we can check out Ms. Deen's restaurant (there's a reason that woman looks so happy all the time, and it's not prozac, and I want some of it!).

But there's more to life than food...Josh and I have been working through the study "Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti" and it's so good. The study has already helped us with some of our biggest communication issues.

And speaking of spaghetti, Josh and I got an Olive Garden gift card from a couple we dogsat for. Yea! Can you say date night? So, my loyal reader, are there any good movies out we should go see?

Funny story about that dogsitting experience. We were watching two dogs. One was named Leo. And the other was named...well, we forgot to ask. So after about a day we got sick of saying "hey dog" so we just started calling him Blackie (it was a black dog--we were very creative). After a couple of hours he warmed up to his new name quite nicely and answered to it all week long. When "Blackie's" owners came back from vacation we told them the story. Guess what his real name was? Max. Only the most popular dog name around. But did Josh and I guess that? No. In true Katie and Josh fashion, we had to come up with our own creative solution. Oh well...life's more interesting that way!

Well reader, thanks for visiting. I needed to get a little stream of consciousness out of my...um...conscious.

I'm not naming my posts for you people.

Oops...too late I guess. Let's face it. My blog is pretty low on your reading priority list. You are probably more interested in the quints or the fabulous vacation pictures. However, I will valiantly write on, knowing that as long as I don't have pictures of cute babies, I will be writing for myself. I suppose I could come up with a clever idea for a funny blog and then I would have widespread blogging fame and fortune. Who am I kidding, though? Being funny is like trying to invent something. Whatever joke you make or idea you come up with--somebody else has made the joke first. You have Robin Williams to thank for that, most likely.

I'm not much of a philosopher, but in today's thoughts: I was reading an article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and I started thinking--what do you think it's like for the children they adopt? I wonder if it feels surreal to go straight from complete obscurity into the world's most famous (and probably richest) family. Most kids get adopted into a "normal" family but these kids get dropped straight into the lap of luxury. And they didn't really get a say in it--Brad and Angelina did, but the kids didn't. I wonder how that feels. Ehh--the world will never know.

Any news on the Krebs front? Not really. An issue with the post office, a fridge that has no food in it, and lunch with an old friend today (Hi, Alaina!). Josh had a birthday, and we bought him pants and a tent. Yes, I am earning major wife points for volunteering to go camping. I have also recently earned wife points for making several classic rock references in one conversation, and also for saying "Let's watch all of the old Indiana Jones movies before the new one comes out!" I'm pretty sure when the phrase "Indiana Jones marathon" came out of my mouth Josh fell in love with me all over again.

That's enough for today. The national attention span is very short now, and you have probably already moved on to today's lunch menu.

Why haven't I posted in awhile?

Among other reasons, I forgot the email address that was on the account. I'm at work currently, but I'll be back. Unless I forget my email address again.

Weekly Happenings

I'm a little behind on updating, and even if my audience is small, they are still important, and I hate to let them down. I spent a fun week in Houston visiting my family. We ate, shopped, held babies, watched movies, but we never did get in that game of Scrabble (sorry, Mom.) I'll just have to keep practicing for the next visit. For more details on the trip visit Mom's blog. She has already written a nice detailed post about the visit. My visit also coordinated with my best friend's visit which was wonderful! It was nice to converse in person for a change instead of over the phone (as wonderfully convenient as phones might be). Oh yeah--I cut all my hair off too. I finally have a low-maintenance hairdo that is long overdue, if you ask me. It takes me about thirty seconds to dry my hair and that is a dream come true. As much as I love having thick, luscious locks, they are hot and difficult to blow dry. While I was gone Josh stayed behind in Nashville and helped his dad catch up on the yardwork. I definitely got the better end of that bargain.

When I got back I was greeted with a nice phone call from Lifeway informing me they have a job for me. That is an answer to prayer. Starting June 16th, which is also my wedding anniversary, I'll be a real career woman working in Lifeway's customer service department. Now if Josh can get a good job we'll be two for two. We'll just have to keep on praying I suppose.

Before I go check to see if the washing machine is free I'll leave you with a movie tip. One of my favorite things about our netflix account is all the old movies we have access too. I love to watch the old Disney family films from the 60's and 70's. They are all so funny--Josh and I just watched The Happiest Millionare, which is really cute. We fast forwarded through the songs though, because they were corny. Every now and then it's just nice to relax with a wholesome and happy film. You can't go wrong with good ol' Fred McMurray.

Congrats Grad!

This is a couple of weeks overdue, but I wanted to post some pictures of Josh on his graduation day. He looks so handsome! After four years of blood, sweat, and tears, he finally has a college diploma to show for it. I'm so proud of him.

Breakfast and Blogs

--this comic was just a bonus.

Josh made me pancakes this morning. What a sweet husband! I learned that if I asked him to make me breakfast I could catch another 15 minutes of sleep untroubled. The pancakes were pretty good too. It's been so long since I've actually eaten breakfast (sorry, Mom), that it inspired me to get writing at the early hour of just, um, 11:00 am. Note to self: start getting up earlier.

Right now we're getting ready to move out of first apartment and head to Nashville. We've taken all of our pictures down off the wall, boxed up our books, and we said goodbye to church friends. I had a job interview Monday, so if all goes well I should be set to climb the corporate ladder starting June 16. and speaking of June 16, our first anniversary is coming up! Josh and I have been married almost a year. Also speaking of June 16, I got our wedding pictures finally. I won't post them all online, because that would take away my fun of getting to show them to you in an album, but I'll give you a little taste to whet your apetite, and on that note, I'll leave you.

What's Happening?

I wanted to start a blog again so I could get back into writing, but I didn't think it through completely, because I now need to come up with something to write about. Josh told me to "just be my normal, funny self." No pressure there. But anyhoo, here's a look into the fabulous life of...me.

On TV:
I have two new guilty pleasures.

1. Dancing with the Stars. Everytime I watch it it makes me want to put on a skimpy costume (I think some of my lingerie would probably suffice) and leap and twirl around our apartment. The only drawback to the show is the part where people get kicked off. Why can't they just all be winners?
2. The Bachelor. I turned on the season premiere out of curiosity, and then I got hooked. My favorite moment so far? On last Monday's episode, Matt sent Amanda packing, and right before she left he tried to feed her some crap about how he really meant everything he told her, and she said "well you couldn't have meant it or I wouldn't be sitting here." Then, she told Matt (who was already bright red with embarassment) that he was a d*%$#! b@^. It was priceless!

(His response? He said "well, I didn't feel it as much with you as I did with the other girls." Yeah, that's right, 'fess up, Liar.)

In the DVD player:

Life's been pretty stressful, what with the job hunt still in full swing, and the upcoming move to Nashville, so if I sit down to watch a movie, it had better make me laugh or feel good. High on my list of favorites right now are 27 Dresses and Enchanted. 27 Dresses makes me want to get married all over again (but preferably on the beach...to James Marsden), and Enchanted makes me want to have little girls (or, as Josh puts it, "living dolls that you can dress up and buy stuff for").

In my purse:

Most people put books on their nightstand, but I like to have a nice juicy mass market paperback in my purse. For eight dollars I can guarantee I will never get bored on the go. I just finished My Best Friend's Girl which was pretty cute (for a $6 book), but it took me 150 pages before I realized the main character was African-American. It mentioned her corn rows early on, but did I get the clue? No, the picture in my mind looked something like this:

Well, that's all folks! I'll catch you on the flip side the next time I have nothing better to say.
-Katie

Mom, this one's for you.

get excited.