Ok, so I couldn't wait...

This will be the new blog. Please update!

My new blog address will be:

http://jarednkatie.blogspot.com.

See you there!

Finally gonna do it...

I'm finally going to start a new blog. More to come. But I likely think I'll just transfer all the links & stuff I've had here & turn it over there. (I meant to do this when I got married, but I got a little side-tracked last year & then this year, with J's med school acceptance, our move & me having to find a new job, I've been a little preoccupied. Things are slowing down now.)

This will mean for those of you who actually follow me - that you need to switch loyalties to the new site, once I've got it set up, and for those of you who gave me permission to your private sites, I might need them again. We'll see.

Any ideas for an awesomely fabulous name? I'm trying to play off the last name "Harrison" since I want to make it more of a family blog, although it'll likely still just be written by me (& since Jared never checks his email, so I highly doubt he'll blog anything). I'm also up for other fun or wacky names or ideas. No direction to this blog, just my same randomness for now.

Stay tuned...

Yay - a new modest clothing site!

So obviously I've been entering giveaways lately. I never win anything, but I still think they're fun & I've found the cutest stuff - including the new shop Mikarose, which carries some beautiful, modest dresses. Yay!

Just For Me & You is hosting a $60 giveaway to Mikarose's shop...go check it out!

And let me borrow your dress if you win. ;)

Miscellaneous Friday afternoon thoughts

*Just got back from BW3's. And that made me miss Gretel. Boo.

*Being with 16 people makes for a looooong lunch. It took us two hours to get essentially all lunch specials & our checks. But our waitress rocked it.

*I've discovered that when I'm in a big crowd like that, I tend to sit back & let others talk. Especially when you're with, say, 15 guys + 1 girl (all coworkers) who are either chatting about football or engineering. Zzzzzz.

*I'm gloomy today. The rain & dreariness is really affecting my mood. I'm happy to get some mom & dad love this weekend. (And happy early b-day, Daddio!)

*I am an antibiotic/Mucinex/Excedrin-lovin' fool today.


*I guess it's good it's raining, because then there's an excuse for my pathetic hair.


*I'm so happy I found a passable nail file in my purse. Otherwise, I would have chewed all my nails off. (Two had ragged edges, & I bit them to smooth them out, and then that started an OCD frenzy of getting all my nails to match. I know I'm weird.)

*I wish I had some chocolate. Or some change for the vending machine. Bad Katie.

*I think the entire town has checked out. I know my office has. No one is working. How can we?! It's Friday, gloomy, sleepy-time. Got to rest to endure the frustration that will inevitably be the Miami/Tech game tomorrow. Sigh...

*I've never seen a college town so nuts about their football team. I don't think BYU or the U were this bad. I'm serious.

*Last night, J & I went to a lecture by Dr. Abercrombie (I think) from some university hospital in SC. Apparently they let some of their residents do international medical missions/residencies. The idealist part of me really wants Jared to do this, and then we can go live overseas for a year. The practical part thinks - if I'm a raising a kid by then, I'm not sure I want to live near poisonous snakes & stuff. I'm just sayin'.

*Out of about 30 people total in my company, 5 guys' wives are expecting between next Tuesday & next March. Sheesh - a baby boom wherever I go!

Everyday is some kind of holiday...

Apparently, yesterday was "National Punctuation Day."
(As a former English teacher, I can't believe I missed this.)
Go here to join in on the celebration.


(And here's an article debating the downfall of spelling, due to texting. I saw a lot of you in the 8th, 9th & 10th grade classes I taught.)

Ahahahahaha!

Today

My intelligent & funny coworker Mike is leaving my company after today.

I am sad.

Honesty Tag

I was tagged by Martha. Here are the rules. List ten Honest things about myself and tag 10 other bloggers who I think are honest in their blogging.

Here is a little insight on me:

1. I don't really enjoy my job. It's actually been a long time since I've enjoyed any of my jobs, come to think of it. I think the main reason for this is because I still don't know what I want to do, but I no longer have the funds for school nor the patience to stick out another 2-4 years. So I do what a lot of people do - I make do with what I've got, and try to be grateful to have a job in the first place. (But I don't really know very many girls who say, "When I grow up, I want to be a secretary/receptionist/office manager...")

2. Martha, I'm not a decorator either. I have my ideas, but things are either too expensive or just not worth it. I don't get worked up over everything matching. In fact, right now, I'm super grateful that most of the furniture we have was free to us. Score!

3. I'd like to live anywhere and everywhere right now (okay, I guess there are a few exceptions). I think because I've pretty much always lived in Virginia, I've had some serious wanderlust for awhile. Whereas Jared, because he's lived all over, is content to stay put. We are, shall we say, at an impasse currently. (I say we do a residency in Hawaii - Jared is content to do one in, say, Roanoke. Bleccch.)

4. I'm cleaner than I thought. I guess it was a product of living at home, but there I let mom or dad or someone else clean. But I seem to enjoy the sink being free of dishes and pretty much all counter tops must be clean at all times. Otherwise I get grossed out. Huh.

5. Sometimes I want to pick fights so Jared will actually argue with me. Is that weird? Probably. I am most likely married to the most laid-back man in all of history. I try to be good & patient & kind so he doesn't have a lot to put up with, but I know he's had to adjust to me & my occasional moods. (I'm female, okay???) Sometimes I want to flush things out, but Jared's method is avoidance. And sometimes, albeit rarely, that annoys me to the point of picking fights with him. (It's actually harder than it sounds - he simply refuses to argue.)

6. I get bored easily. Not just at work, but pretty much in all facets of life. For example, I get bored while watching movies. Jared's family makes fun of me, because if the movie (pretty much no matter what the movie is) is longer than a TV episode, I'll get up & wander around. Or fall asleep. Also, in church, if I don't take notes, I get bored & start picking at Jared. And then, if I have a workout routine that becomes stale, I'll look for something else to do or else give up working out for awhile altogether. See the pattern? Am I ADD? ADHD? Unsure. Can that happen as an adult?

7. I have a speeding problem. And I love cars with power & speed. I come by it naturally. Both of my parents are car people. And all of my siblings too. Jared doesn't understand my lead foot. But then, after he met my dad & especially Scott, he understood where the love of cars came from.

8. If I could, I would have a little piece of chocolate everyday. I don't know why I love it so much. In high school, I was totally into salt. Maybe now I'm making up for years of saltiness. I don't know.

9. I think I will always miss Ginnie, which is funny, because we SO did not get along growing up. I always felt competitive with her. But, it turns out, all we sisters needed was moving away from each other & then we are the very best of friends. We are different enough that we get on each other's nerves if we live in the same space for too long. But we're alike enough that we call each other at least several times a week. And I miss her, likely because I'm a little lonely these days & her life seems so much more full than mine.

10. I really don't like talking on the phone. (I'd much rather think out my thoughts & then email.) As a teenager, I did like chatting on the phone, but then when I was all big & grown up, I got a receptionist job where people yelled at me because I couldn't give them the answers they were looking for (this was a job of several years ago). I started to dread talking on the phone. Nowadays, the only people I will talk to - and enjoy talking to - are those I know love me, no matter what. And those I can be honest with, as in, "I really don't have much to say/feel like talking right now." (Jared, Mom, Ginnie, Melody, & maybe one or two close friends - although even with them, I am initially apprehensive.) Otherwise, when I'm on the phone, I feel like I have to be polite & chatter on until people get tired of me or get to the point. And guess what? I'm totally in a receptionist position again. :P

I hereby tag: Ginnie S, Kelly M, Melody H, Ana E, Lenore S, Becca B, Nora H, Michelle T, Amber S, Leslie L & anyone else who wants to do this!

Thanks for reading. :)

My little loves

Inspired by Marta (whose blog I adore, by the way. Simplicity, beauty & just pure joy.). I probably shouldn't copy her idea, but I feel the need to write & am all fuzzy right now. (Turns out I have more than a cold - a sinus infection. At least the meds should kick in soon, hopefully.)

I don't have any pictures, so these Web images will have to do, for now.

 So here's to the little things in life that make me happy. What are your little loves?

Shoes Giveaway

So normally I don't post about other Giveaways (I just enter), but this one is too good not to be shared, because we all love shoes. Or could use another pair. (It seems like September is the month of doom for me. My wallet got stolen, I got a sinus infection, my pants were destroyed by the white-out fiasco, & I've had 3 pairs of shoes break. Granted, they were old & from discount stores, so I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. But I could still use a new pair of shoes.)

Musthaveshoes is having a giveaway, hosted through Just For Me & You. Make sure you check them both out!

And if you win, I get to wear your shoes one of these days! ;)