Game On!

I received this from a friend (shout out to Chris!) the other day and almost fell out of my chair onto the floor laughing. It's priceless. I immediately declared game night at house to my coworkers, and just as fast, took it back after realizing that I just invited an unruly mix of LSU, Alabama and Auburn fans to relentlessly make fun of me. Oh well...I thought it would be fun to share it with the blog world.

So here it is...for those who haven't seen it already...The MSU Game of LIFE. (Click to enlarge. It makes it all the more better.)

(And yes, this is my second post of the day. I will possibly be working on a third in a bit. I promise I do work. It just doesn't seem like it today. This week is somewhat an off week as all of my sports are either not competing or on the road. So basically my duties for the week are to make sure the SIDs at the opposing school have what they need from me and then pack my bags and get ready for a seven-hour bus trip, to and fro. Sometimes I wonder if I have a lighter work load than others -- which is quite possible and I try to even that out by offering my help to others -- or if I just sit in my office during "work hours" and do my work instead of roaming around to other office and bothering people. I like to think that I'm just a busy bee who does her work quickly without complaint. Someday it's true...)

Newsflash...Katie-Style

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: I am not, never have, nor will ever be prejudiced, a bigot or a homophobe. These are my opinions and are in no way meant to hurt or belittle anyone. We are all God's children and everyone has their imperfections. I'd list all of mine but there is no amount of memory sizable to contain them all. This is how I waste my time when I'm bored at work. If you don't like what you read, don't read it. This blog is not meant to entertain the masses, just those who know me, want to know about my life and think I'm a funny girl. All inappropriate comments will be deleted. So, if you don't have anything nice so say, stay away from the comment button.

Now onto my newsflash...

NEWSFLASH!!!!

This must be the month deemed for "coming out." First it was the shock of former comtemporary Christian artist Ray Boltz letting the world know who he truly was (read all about it here), now Season 2 American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken has come out of the closet. (I'll pause and let the shock sink in. Because I know this is utterly shocking news. Really? No? Ok. Read more here.)

Clay was my favorite on Season Two, next to Rueben, whom I just liked because he looked like a big Teddy Bear and his smile just lights up a room. Anyway, Aiken has a tremendous voice and I always thought that if there was a show called, "America's Next Top Broadway Star," the Clayster would be a sure-fire champion. I'm serious. I'm an avid Broadway fan and I know these things. I predicted Jennifer Hudson would be the next Effie White in Dream Girls. It may have been to myself, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, the guy had his lady-friend birth a baby for him and he didn't even bother proposing first. Come on. Really? If that didn't give it away, I don't know what will.

Congratulations Clay Aiken. Such a load has been lifted, I'm sure.

On to the next topic...

Today, Sept. 24, is National Punctuation Day. Yes, folks. Really. (And yes, there is a website about it. Is there anything these days that doesn't warrant it's own website?) And I, for one, am ecstatic that there is such a day. I'm a writer. I proofread everything. Not only my work but emails, blogs and wait for it...text messages. However, there have been countless times when I hit the send/publish button and cringe because I've forgotten to proof my work. I hate misspellings, improper uses of words and no punctuation. (One day, when I was in a foul mood, no less, I commented on a complete stranger's blog and let them know that they had not used correct grammar, misused puntuation, left out some words. Horrid, I know.) I may not use capital letters all the time, but puntuaction is my friend. The characters are just fun to use. So, on this day, in honor of the great folks who thought is was a good idea to put a dot to declare the end of a sentence, let's strive to use correct punctuation. Or just use punctuation period. (No pun intended.)

Happy Punctuation Day! Grab a comma by the tail!

Welcome To The Blog World Daddy!

Everyone check out my daddy's blog, Walden World. He said he was inspired by his wonderful daughter...ahem...me...but I like to say that I'm continually inspired by him. He's my hero, in every way. Check him out. He's funny, wise, and inspiring.

Mix Tape Tour

Before I get into this post, I just have to say, Heroes is the most inticing show ever.

Ok, now on to the post. Ask I mentioned in the post below, I've found a new blog to stalk. Clever Girl is hilarious and a little while ago she had a post displaying her ultimate mix tape. Go here to check out her mix tape and the explanation of why she took on this task. She, like I, has a huge connection to music. My life has been surrounded by music since, well in utero and before. So many songs have different meaning for me and there are many songs I hear that take me to a certain event or time in my life or remind me of certain people.

I, myself, have been known to create CD of songs that represent the fun had on trips, during certain year, etc., etc. Yes...lame-o. I know. Anyway, I thought I'd take my cue from Clever Girl and list what would be on my own "ultimate mix tape" if I were to ever make one.

(Note: I just spent an hour going through my iTunes looking for songs. This post is probably going to take longer than it should because I'm currently distracted by Heroes and The Hills.)

Clever Girl had 13 tracks are her mix tape. I'll have 13 plus two bonus tracks, if you will. Here they are in somewhat random order, along with a description of why they made it onto the list.

1. "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", by Judy Garland, also covered by Katherine McFee - This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's tied for number one with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". As a kid, The Wizard of Oz was always in the VCR. I watched it at least once a week and it's considered a national holiday to me when it comes on cable ever year. I wanted to Dorothy Gail from the time that I first watched that movie and my dreams came true in high school. My senior year, I gave up my soccer dreams (it was the first year of girls' soccer) and went for the role of Dorothy. I landed the role (not because my mom was the director) but because I was just that good. Ha. Only kidding. One of my lifelong dreams came true that year when I was able to stand on stage and sing this song like I'd always dreamed of. It was one moment in time. Really.

2. "Thank You", by Ray Boltz - This song was dramatized at my church the day I became a Christian, so it will always hold a special place in my heart, or on my mix tape, if you will. Although I was seven, the words and the meaning of this song came through as clear as crystal to me. Or so I say. Basically, what was going through my head on this day, was that I knew who God was, I knew what Jesus had done for me, and I knew I wanted to go to Heaven one day because that's where Jesus was. Jesus was my goal that day, and he still is today. Although, it saddened me to hear about the controversy surrounding Mr. Boltz last week, I know that this song didn't come from him, just through him, straight from the mouth of God.

3. "It's Gonna Be Me", by Nsync - Yes, I knew every dance move to this song and I'm not ashamed. However, whenever this song comes on, I don't think, "Hey, I knew every move to this song." I think about a certain group of high school guy friends (who shall remain nameless) that learned every move to this song to perform at a lock-in. It was actually pretty good. You should've seen the practices. I still think I'm a good dance coach.

4. (This is a three in one deal, a medley, perhaps.) This is what I call the Beffie-Kate medley..."Beautiful Disaster/Bless The Broken Road/I'll Be Missing You" by Kelly Clarkson/Rascall Flatts/Puffy and the Gang - These three songs take me back to road trips with my bestie Bethany, or as I lovingly call her, Beffie. Whether it was home to Pensacola or to the sticks to visit her grandparents and other family, these songs (and others) always take me back to rides in the "So-not-a Sports Car" aka the Sonota. Song long, Sonota. You'll never be forgotten. I'll miss our stops at the rest area between Pensacola and wherever we were to change clothes.

5. "Love Song For A Savior", by Jars of Clay - Stephanie Powell and I had a fun little text message convo about this the other night when I heard it for the first time in about 13 years at the Music Builds concert. This takes me back to youth group days at DMBC and our little band called Dead Yesterday, or as Melissa Wharton fondly named them "Pots of Mud" (a little play on the fact that they covered Jars of Clay). Anyway, this song brings back major memories that I will only recall with Stuff (Stephanie).

6. "Inspiration", by Chicago (or basically anything by Chicago, REO Speedwagon or Billy Joel) - These songs always remind me of family vacation. I'm not sure why, probably because I demanded that Billy Joel and Chicago by played over and over and over again until the tape (yes, I said tape) broke. Why "Inspiration"? I don't know. It's just my favorite. This is the music I fondly refer to as "beach music".

7. "Rainbow Connection", by Kermit the Frog - Yes, folks. You read that right. This is linked to my last memory of singing with my girls in high school. I miss those girls. We could harmonize with the best of them, and I pride myself on being the "light-skinned" one in the group. This, along with the National Anthem, should have been recorded and sold. We were a great group. Shout out to Robbie, Jessica, Kaleshia, Latoria and Ashley P.!

8. "This Is How We Do It", Montel Jordan - Sixth grade, Lauren Brown's grandmother's house, we stayed up "late" to watch this guy do this song on Leno, I think. It's the only thing I think about when I hear this song.

9. "Hand Jive", Grease - Lana Nettles and me and our crazy dance to this song, skipping around the Gulf Coast Community College gym doing the lasso move at cheerleading camp. Everytime.

10. "Hero", by Mariah Carey - The first song I declared I would sing on stage. I don't think that I've ever actually done this one on stage, unless my favorite stool counts as a stage and my MySony microphone counts as a real microphone. I believe this was fifth grade and I received this "single" tape from a friend for Christmas. I don't think it lasted until February. It was played at least 10 times a day.

11. "Bunny Hop", by Da Entourage - I always go back to Casey and I trying to do the fasts steps like the other girls out of the dance floor. I always failed miserably, eventually running over people.

12. "Love Shack", by The B-52s - I don't think that I know the real words to this song anymore. It's so engrained in my head as a Kappa Delta rush song that I just spit out the KD words whenever I hear it and don't even know it.

13. "Get Ready", by The Temptations - This song, and just about any Motown song takes me back to Colonel's Classics days. (If you don't know what this is, just ask.) Our sponsors were always putting Motown songs into our scripts and it seemed to fit our class really well. I just have flashbacks of our guys attempting the choreography. Bert, Austin and Drew can do a mean "Poison Ivy" and "Jailhouse Rock". (Yes, I know those aren't Motown.)

Bonus Track #1: "Ironic", by Alanis Morsette - Takes me back to the seventh grade lunch table. Bert was obsessed with Alanis and when the rumor went around about Alanis committing suicide, we almost has to commit him.

Bonus Track #2: "Macarena" - This takes me back to two places. Eighth grade and Spring Break Cruise 2005. Amanda, Katelyn and I ran some good crowd control.

Clever Girl Is Funny...

Please check out this girl's blog that I ran across today in my boredom at work. She is freakin' hilarious.

http://clevergirlgoesblog.blogspot.com/

Sports and Growing Up

With my job being in sports, you'd think I'd get sick of it. Actually, I sometimes think I should be sick of it, but nevertheless, I end up watching sports ALL WEEKEND LONG. This is nuts.

This is how my weekend went. The watching of sports started at around 2 p.m. on Friday when I had to stat my first volleyball match of the season. Although it's mandatory for me to be there, I actually enjoy watching volleyball now. (We are a hefty 11-2 this season. I'm so proud of my girls.) Anyway, I watched volleyball all day long. I got home at 11 p.m. and completely zonked in my bed. It resumed at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning as I immediately started watching Alabama/Arkansas on the TV and Miss. State/Georgia Tech on my computer as I was getting ready to go do another volleyball match. Yes, I multi-task. The day went on as I watch Alabama pummel Arkansas, Mississippi State lose again (we played well, but got out-coached. Somebody's gotta go), East Carolina lose in overtime, Samford volleyball completely annihilate Alabama A&M, and then I returned home to watch the end of Florida/Tennessee and a little golf (really? I never watch golf unless Ryan Moore or Adam Scott are involved.). An hour later, I was watching LSU/Auburn, Georgia/Arizona State, and Texas/Rice. Am I done yet? No...well for the night I was.

I woke up this morning (Sunday) and took a little break. I watched 13 Going On 30 while I was getting ready for church. However, when I got back home, I immediately started watching the Red Sox/Blue Jays and Braves/Mets (Both were successes. Go Sox! Paps got his 40th save! Go Braves! You won a game!). At the same time, I was watching the Colts come from behind and blow it (The Panthers are legit this year. Payton's got to get it together!) and the Broncos win (Yeah!). Is that it, you ask? Not hardly, I answer. I started watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh play a little beach volleyball, a little bit of the Yankees game for the history of the matter (last game in Yankee stadium, Babe Ruth's daughter threw out the first pitch, too cute) and Dallas/Green Bay.

Sidenote: Tony Romo is great to look at but I think I get almost as much joy watching him get sacked as I do when John Parker Wilson and Eli Manning get sacked. But make no mistake about it, Eli getting sacked always brings the ultimate joy. It's just funny to watch them just fall and curl up in the fetal position.

So I'm still watching Green Bay trail Dallas; poor, poor Aaron Rogers. But I've mixed it up a little but by flipping back and forth between this game and the Emmys. So long story made short, you would think that I get sick of sports, and I would have to say that sometimes I do, BUT the point is, there is no escape. That's all there is to watch this time of the year, and I love it. No doubt, my TV in my office will be on Sportscenter when I get to work tomorrow. And I'll watch the same episode over and over again as they play it until I can quote every story. Gotta love ESPN during the day.

Ok, so changing the subject...I think I just realized in the past week that I'm actually growing up. I'm an adult. I've been one legally for four years now. And I've been thinking all day today that adulthood has it's pros and cons. Shall I list them? Ok.

Pros:
- I get to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. (Not always a good thing.)
- I get to watch whatever I want on TV. (Don't jump to any conclusions people. From the above information, you already know the majority of what I watch. The rest is reality TV and FRIENDS and That 70's Show reruns. Oh, and Chuck, 24, and LOST.)
- I make my own money.
- I get to stay up as late as I want. (Not all it's cracked up to be when you have to get up early for work the next day.)
- I don't have to ask permission to go to the movies or concerts or out of town.
- I can drive wherever I want in my own car. (Ok, mine and my Dad's own car.)
- I don't have to clean my room or make my bed everyday. (However, I've started getting a little annoyed if it's not. Am I becoming my mother? I love you, Mom!)
- I can buy what I want whenever I want.
- Ultimately, I make my own decisions.

Cons: (May reflect the pros on occassion)
- I HAVE to make my own decisions? Help!
- Whenever I say something that I probably shouldn't have said, I can't just smile and make everyone forget about it. (This rarely works these days.)
- Paying bills. Where did all my money go?!?!
- Eating whatever I want acutally comes back to haunt me these days, unlike in my high school years.
- Dating gets harder and harder. You turn around one day and everyone around you is married or having a baby.
- Mom and Dad are three hours away.
- I don't get to see my sister everyday. Surprisely, that saddens me.
- I miss being as active as I was in high school. I HAVE NO TIME!
- Speaking of time, I have zero time for hobbies. I remember this thing I used to do pretty well. I think it involved a piano. I probably suck at it now. I haven't painted a picture, or at least finished one, since last September.
- All my friends live in different towns.
- Life is never as easy as it looks from the other side.
- Where have all my holidays gone?!?!

I'm sure there are some that I've missed but I say all that to say this: I wouldn't trade any of it. I truly believe, more than I ever have, that God has placed me in the position that I am in for a reason. He's brought people into my life and taken others out over the past two years for a reason, and I am a better person for it. I'm slowly but surely figuring out where I'm going and what He wants me to do and that's all that really matters. I will never know the whole plan but that's the good thing, I'm not supposed to. I think that would be a little scary. Major life information overload. And talk about spoiling all the fun.

Anyway, I'm pretty much just typing now and I'm not really sure what I've just written but I'm too tired to go back and read now.

I hope everyone has a fantabulous week! All four of you. Whoever you are.

I Love Concerts!

I realized this last month when I went to see Dave Matthews in Memphis, but my love has been reaffirmed tonight after seeing four great bands in concert. LIVE is always the way to go if you want to take in some music. And outside is even better. It's not so loud and tonight's weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Lower 60's. Great football weather. Even better concert weather.

Anyway, we went to the Music Builds tour with Jars of Clay, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Switchfoot and...dun dah...THIRD DAY! It's was great. Really. And..I have pictures to prove it.

Jars of Clay started off and I forgot how great Dan Haseltine's voice was. Very unique. Robert Randolph was great and I really forgot how much I love that band. They are so fun, jazzy/bluesy, and soulful. Definitely my kind of music. They even played "When The Saints Go Marching In" and I felt like I was in NOLA (New Orleans). Switchfoot then came out and worked their magic. Their lights were really cool.

Third Day gets their own paragraph because...well...they just deserve it. These guys are awesome and Mac Powell could sing me to sleep anyday. I bet being his kid is great. They are such awesome people and truly give God the glory for everything. The preached the Word a little, not as much as they usually do, but I think that had a little to do with how the whole tour was set up. That's another blog for another day. Anyway, I don't think I sat down until Mac told us to, and then always stood back up once a good beat started going again. Anyway, it was great.

I feel like I should take a minute to praise God a little bit and thank him for the great things that I have in my life. Eyes to see and ears to hear such a great show. A brain to understand what is going on. Feet to stand on, dance on, and jump and down with. Hands to clap with. A job that allows me to afford to do things like this. Friends who are so much fun to be with. And the freedom to do all of the above.

Anyway, all was good and Lydia, I hope this report did it enough justice for you. You ask, I deliver. :)

Below are some pictures of the fun! I must go to sleep now. I've got a long weekend ahead of me. I love my job...I promise...

Christa and me after Jars and before Robert Randolph

Raymond, Dan and Kel

All of the bands after the last number; they covered U2's When Love Comes To Town. It was great!

Wednesday Fun...Yearbook Yourself!

I've heard about this site from several people but never really played around with it until this morning. I was procrastinating. I can't work when I'm hungry. Anyway, it's called Yearbookyourself.com, and it comes up with some pretty funny stuff. Check out Katie..."through the years."

1952...That's kind of believable.

1966...Judging by the poof, my sister did my hair this day.

1972...This one too.

1976...I think this girl is on the 1976 composite at the KD house in Starkville.

1978...Rockin' the 'fro!

1984...Yikes!

1994...I think they just super-imposed my head on my cousin Jessica's body because there is definitely a picture of her just like this somewhere.

1996...Does anyone else think I look like Stephanie Tanner from Full House in this one? Loving the jean vest.

1998...Sorority girl smile! I seriously think this is a hybrid of my best friend Lauren and me. This is definitely believable.

My Weekend In Numbers

What a weekend! I was in four cities in three days and I'm officially tired of being in my car. The good outweighed the bad though since I got to go to the State game (yuck) and see great friends (Chris, Casey, and The Kirks) and I got to see my parents and my sister, bro-in-law and nephew even though they were sick all weekend. I won't say much about the State game, mainly because I have nothing nice to say so I won't say anything at all. However, I thought it would be fun to give you my weekend in numbers. So, here goes...

1 - The number of volleyballs it took to obliterate my work laptop's screen.

300 - The number of volleyballs that I managed to dodge before number 301 came flying towards my computer like a scud missle.

87 (close estimate) - The number of power company trucks I passed on the way back to Birmingham Sunday.

200 - The number of kisses I stole from my nephew.

0 - The number of points Mississippi State scored on Saturday.

5 - The number of points Auburn scored Saturday. Yes, Auburn scored our safety people, not us. When you have a holding penalty in the endzone, it's an automatic safety. The penalty was on Auburn, so they, in my book, are credited with the two points. We have no offense. Wesley Carroll needs to grow a few inches, and to the guy who was sitting infront of me, no, it's not as easy as you think it is. Quit trying to coach from the stands.

10 - The number of hours I was in my car this weekend.

7 - The number of points Samford scored against Ole Miss. Hey, I'm just glad we scored.

This is the time in the blog that I would post pictures of my weekend fun, but considering I have a track record of taking my camera with me and then forgetting that I have it, you can guess how many pictures I got of my fun this weekend. Yep, zero.

Oh, well maybe next time.

Speaking of odds...

What are the odds that your laptop computer screen will be smashed by a volleyball flying at about 80 mph? I'm thinking 1,000,000 to 1 but last night I was the "1". Yep, that's right folks. My computer screen is done. This is two-fold. Fortunately it was my work laptop so I don't have to pay to get it fix, but unfortunately is it my work computer, that has everything on it. EVERYTHING that I need to do work this weekend.

I was pretty upset last night until I realized the Lord was taking care of me when I turned it on later last night to see if the cracks in the screen had gotten worse. Fortunately, it was the same and I can still use it. I'm able to see what I'm doing/typing and the shattered pieces are outside the the typical working area. Also I was pretty much done with all of my work that I had to do last night when I happened so I finished up and shut down immediately.

Note to University of Alabama athletic staff: Don't put media row on the endline at a volleyball game where during serve/receive there are not enough people on the other end to catch balls that could potentially break computer screens.

I'm so glad that after this match is over I'm off to Starkville to enjoy a little football...MISSISSIPPI STATE STYLE! Go DAWGS!

Oh, and go Samford! They are about to take on Ole Miss. I'm going for the upset.