A reason to blog

Since I'm trying to be better about blogging I figured I'd give in to Callie's latest blog posting and play the get--to-know-more-about-me game.

I was tagged as part of a "Get to Know You" series for bloggers. In order to participate, you're supposed to share 11 things about yourself, and then answer the 11 questions that the blogger wants to know about you.

1. I had the luxury and privilege of having a stay-at-home mom my whole school life.  So when I went to kindergarten (half day) I cried and was sad a lot cause I didn't want to leave my mom and brother.  I'm actually half crying in my kindergarten picture- I look terrified.  This was back in the day before they invented retake day.

2.I was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper and thought about becoming a journalist.  Until I remembered that they don't get summers off.  I'm kidding!!!  Kind of... ;)

3. I cried so hard when I was separated from Bentley for the first time about a month after we got him.  I would see a person walking their dog and would just burst into tears.

4. Speaking of crying... my tell tale sign if I'm crying is if I hide my face with my hair.  Like that's gonna help my ugly cry face.

5. The first time Trent asked me to come over and hang out I cancelled on him because my dog died.  He thought he was getting blown off with the second lamest excuse after "I have to wash my hair."  Except that I wasn't lying.  Our family dog of 15 years really had passed away and I was in no shape to flirt with some new boy ;)

6. I sound like a man in the mornings.  An ugly one at that.  Ask anybody who has seen/talked/ran away from me in the mornings.  It's not pretty.

7. When I have a messy house it gives me anxiety and I get lippy with Trent.  Trenton- I'm sorry about that and I love you.

8.  I think I've had two panic attacks in my entire life.  Both happened the same year in college.  One was over a verbal pop quiz in economics about the class the day before- which I had missed skipped.  I crawled out the back door to wait in the hallway for Jobeth.  We sometimes took turns going to that awful class and that was a day it really backfired on me.  The other panic attack was over Fritz completely emptying my closet onto my bed to see my reaction.  It was not good.

9. For as far back as I can remember my closet has been color coded according to ROYGBIV.

10. I was an embarrassment to my kindergarten T-ball team.  I wore frilly socks with lace on them and would forget to watch the ball because I was chasing butterflies and picking flowers in the outfield.  It's easy to tell who is the weakest link on the T-ball team... cause what 5 year old is gonna hit a ball into the outfield?  I only played a couple seasons for a reason.

11. My first concert was Wynonna in the second grade. How cool am I?  I also had a subscription to Country Weekly magazine for a couple years- it was a gift from my grandparents- I loved it.

And for Miss Callie's questions...
1. Favorite moment in College?
Easy peasy- Stampede.  All my BFF's, a week long party, the Octabong, and country music.  Does it get better than that?  I think not.

2. Have you ever bought anything from Etsy?
Oh yes!  I found a necklace we got Ashley when Jeryn was born from an Etsy site that linked me to her personal jewelry site.  And Trent bought me a ring off of Etsy that I found from Pinterest for one of my Christmas presents this year.  I can already tell Etsy will be a problem when we have a baby!

3. Favorite Pinterest project or recipe?
My most recent crate seats for my classroom.  LOVE them and my kids love them too.  I've never felt more appreciated in my life from my kiddos- and all over some clearance milk crates lol!

4. What is your favorite sound?
Music.  I love, love, love music.  I can never be in silence.  I have to have music playing whether I'm in the car, at work, scrapbooking, at home, doing homework, etc.  Silence is so still and nerve wracking to me.  I always connect certain songs to memories.  Whenever I hear a certain song I'll instantly flashback to a moment in high school, college, first dating Trent, etc.  Listening to music is my happy place.

5. If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?
I have to go with... any party?  It would be summertime at our house with lots of games planned- beer pong, flippy cup, card games, power hour, beer frisbee, etc.  I don't care how old I get- those games always take me back to college and all the fun we had :) 

6. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
I would keep Kala but spell it Kayla so I don't get called Kalee, Kaw-la, Calla, Karla, etc.  Come on people... it's Kala... not that hard.

7. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?
The only celebrity I've ever been told I seem like is Kendra from The Girls Next Door.  Now let me clarify this... I don't think I'm a Playboy bunny... I'm obviously not as "top heavy" as Kendra... and I've only been told this by 3 people so it's clearly not too much of a resemblance.  And those 3 people also said I act and laugh like her which horrified me because I think she's dumb and laughs like a horse.  But she is my favorite from the show.  So ya...

8. What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received?
This was the hardest question cause I couldn't think of anything?  I probably have to go with the Barbie underwear that my grandma got me in like 4th or 5th grade.  We got little surprise treat boxes in the mail for every holiday and we loved them so much- it's something very special to look back on now that my grandma is gone.  But underneath all the candy and other trinkets that my grandma sent me that year was a package of Barbie panties.  And they were too big. All we could do was laugh... and write a thank you to grandma.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
Thanks so much for the Barbie panties.  I can't wait to wear them to school.
Love,
Kala

9. What story does your family always tell about you?
I'm always getting made fun of, not nice people.  Now that Trenton is my family I have to go with a certain story he always brings up that involves J-Mo's, tequila, karaoke, and deodorant.  And that's all I have to say about that.

10. If you won a shopping spree of your choice, what store would you choose?
Oh holy moly the possibilities are endless.  Honestly... it would probably be Home Depot!  How odd/old is that of me?  I chose it because with a shopping spree to Home Depot Trenton and I could do all sorts of projects on the never ending to do list!  But if the shopping spree is meant only for me then I'm hitting up my favorite boutique, Inspire!

11. Channing Tatum or Bradley Cooper?
Knew this one in a millisecond... CHANNING!!! Channing has been on my list of 5 (everyone has one of those, right?!) since 2006 when he was in Step Up.  Watched that movie countless times for the dancing, storyline, Channing :)  He's been the longest running male on my five and I don't see him exiting anytime soon.

And you know I gotta tag my SIL... Ashley! Your turn to answer...
1. If you weren't in your current profession, what would you do?
2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
3. Name one celebrity you can't stand and why.
4. What reality show would you be on?
5. If you had a snow day all to yourself tomorrow, what would you do?
6. Where is somewhere new you'd like to travel?
7. What 5 material (non-survival and not people) things would you pack if you were stranded on an island?
8. What is your best quality?
9. What is your worst quality?
10. What is your biggest fashion regret?
11. Is the glass half full or half empty?

Not feeling it...

 Bentley is here to apologize for me and my lack of blogging.  As my title says... I just haven't been feeling it lately.  Sorting through pics, uploading pics, trying to be funny, clever, dorky in my captions, etc has just seemed like a pain when I sit down to my computer.  So I took a blog vacay and I really did enjoy it.  Doesn't mean I wasn't doing plenty of blog-stalking though!

 Harlee girl wanted to apologize as well with those puppy dog eyes.

 I've had good reasons for my lack of blogging- I've been busy sticking to my one little word for the year- creating!  These are my super cute crate seats I made for my guided reading table in my classroom and my kids are obsessed with them!!  Totally glad I bought 14 crates when they were on clearance in September for $1.  Score!

Besides projects for my classroom I've been holed up in my scrapbook room and it's been awesome.  I finished my 2006 album, started on 2007, and have made a gazillion cards.  A new scrapbook store opened in Gardner a couple weeks ago and I'm pretty sure I've been there 5 times already... which isn't that bad, Trenton ;).  Jobeth and I have been going to their $1 card classes every Saturday morning after having brunch together.  It's a fun new tradition we are really enjoying... plus we've made some awesome stuff.  And I've also started crocheting.  My mom helped me get started on a blanket and so far after a week it pretty much only covers my feet.  Check back on that progress in July lol.

 Lots of quality time with my favorite girl always helps after having conferences until 8 two nights in a row.  I was soooo jealous Tio got to watch her two nights in a row.  But I'm glad I got to soak up some baby doll time once I got home.

 

Date night at home with my hubs for V-day.  

 Thanks to no more grad school I've even been attempting to cook here and there.  For V-day I got so fancy that I decorated the fruit on the fruit pizza into the shape of a heart.  Awww ;)

 We've been doing lots of babysitting for our friends too which has been so much fun.  Follow the eyes of Henry and the annoying barking dog to see what entertained the boys all afternoon.

 

And to honor the Border War Showdown I had to dig out my old Muck Fizzou shirt from my freshman year at KU.  Love this shirt!  It was so sad that this was officially the last Border War game I could ever wear it for :( Thanks KU for a helluva way to end the series... you almost gave me a heart attack... and sweaty armpits.

Oh ya I also found a new drink I had to share.  Order yourself a baby beer shot next time you're out and you won't be disappointed.  How have I never heard of this drink until a couple weekends ago?!  My life is more complete now thanks to Jason and Sara!

NYE Party #4

I know it's been over a month but if I don't blog about New Year's my friends will disown me.  I just had a really hard time choosing pictures from the 224 that we took. This was the 4th NYE that we have hosted and it's easily one of my favorite nights of the entire year.  There's just something special about being with your nearest and dearest to toast another year of friendship and fun.

J-Fe made a quick appearance before guests started to arrive to check out our photobooth props.  I think she rocks the mustache  look quite well.  But then again I think she rocks anything ;)

Thanks to the world of pinterest, Dani made cake batter vodka shots with sprinkles and everything.  Only thing is take them ASAP when you pull them out of the freezer or the bottom of the ice shot glasses will start to melt... or you could always bust out some neon straws to suck up the good stuff from the trays.

The ladies pre-power hour.  Gorgeous ladies all around :)

Mid power hour gals

Dani also made ice shot glasses full of So-Co and lime for the boys. 

My BFF, Jobeth, and our 'staches.

Dana and Wendy bringing out some of the props.  Can you believe that Wendy had to leave our house by 5:30 a.m. to leave for work?!  That girl is a champ.

I always get one really good picture of my hot husband.  Sorry ladies, he's taken ;)

How did me and Dana get so lucky to marry these guys?

One of the only semi-normal pics we took all evening.

Our new friends we met this year through softball, Jason and Sara.  We love them!!

4 of my favorite boys :)

This was the night we realized that Searle looked alot like Tebow.  Lots of Tebow poses occurred after this realization.

3 gorgeous girls and wonderful mamas who had a well deserved kid-free night :)

Our newlyweds of the group, Tyler and Dani.

At some point in the night Jess busted out the red lipstick and put it on everybody.  And that stuff will not come off!

I start laughing every time I see this picture of Dave.  It's just so him.

Gless did a whole series of modeling shots.  His new name might be GQ Glessner.

So so so so glad Dave and Dana were here this year.  2 years ago they missed the party for their honeymoon.  Last year they missed the party because they were caring for their little fighter, Henry.  This year they went all out :)

The girls love some Tebow action.  Where a football came from I have no idea.

Whole group shot of our 38 guests, but minus a few who had left before the picture was taken.  I know I'm a broken record but we really are blessed with the best group of friends- from both my side and Trent's side.  "Friends are the family you choose" is the perfect fit for our circle of friends.  Thanks to everyone who came and rang in 2012 with us!  But next year... we're not staying up till 6:30 a.m.... I'm getting wayyy too old for that business.

Is it too late?

Sorry folks... this is the only picture you're gonna see from our Christmas.  We took 654 pictures of our Christmas break.  The thought of picking out 10-20 for the blog is too daunting to face.  So I picked the funniest from the bunch.  The new Olivier family tradition that was started this year was an ugly Christmas sweater competition.  Micheal won hands down but GGG and Joshua made the top three as well.  Funniest part is that Joshua's was a crushed velvet woman's sweater I got a few years back for another ugly sweater party we had.  He definitely pulled it off better than myself though ;)

Once upon a time... 5 years ago...

...there was this boy and this girl.  They kinda knew each other in the sense that they were facebook friends and one of the girl's best friends was one of the boy's four roommates.  Greetings in passing at his house, smiles on campus, and that was that.

But one cold, January day the boy and the girl met at the same bar.  The boy was shy.  The girl was not.  Even though the girl had a fat, bruised upper lip (thanks to a Ranch bottle that a friend had thrown at her) she still flirted with the boy.  The boy bought her a drink. 

The next day the boy asked her to come over and hang with him and his roommates.  The girl said no because her dog had died.  The boy thought he'd been dissed with the worst excuse in the book.  The girl really wasn't lying.

By the end of the week the boy asked the girl out on a date.  Even though she was going to be missing a very important Grey's episode ;) the girl said yes.  The girl went through 20 outfits before settling on one her roommate/BFF agreed on.  The roommate reminded the girl to not overeat because of nerves and told her to get a to-go-box halfway through.

The girl picked a new Mexican restaurant to try. The boy picked her up, helped her on the ice, and opened her door.  They didn't stop talking and chowed down two bowls of chips and salsa.  They accidentally ordered the exact same meal.  The girl got nervous and ate her entire plate of food.  The boy got embarrassed that the girl ate more than he did.

The boy drove the girl home but chickened out on the awkward walk to her door.  The girl thankfully didn't slip on the ice.  The girl miserably laid in bed because she was so full.  She automatically put on her fat pants and the roommate/BFF read her a story to make her feel better.  She told the girl "I told you so."

The next weeks were full of 24 hour texting, facebook messages, dates, and fun. The boy stole the girl's heart with a delivery of flowers... and a Snickers bar in the bouquet.  By February the boy and the girl were "facebook official". By Thanksgiving they were engaged.  The boy and the girl knew it was fast but they didn't care.  The following July they became husband and wife.

To that boy... I'm glad the Dugout, of all places, brought us together.  But let's tell our kids we met studying at the library, ok?  Sounds much better than the dirty Dugout.

To that girl five years ago some words of advice...
1. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT eat that entire plate of food.  No girl should have a burrito, 2 enchiladas, and a soft taco after two bowls of chips and salsa.
2. When coming out of the Dugout after an ice storm the sidewalks will be slick, you should walk very slowly.  The boy will have his headlights shining right at you to see you biff it if you're not careful.
3. Enjoy the boy bringing you late night Big Macs and root beers during Block 1 insanity.  You can't eat that crap forever :(
4. The boy has ears like a hawk.  He will hear everything you whisper to your roommate.
5. Soak all this up because five years from now you can't believe how fast it will fly by!

Favorite Things Party

Due to my creepy blog stalking, I stumbled upon this blog and this link.  I had literally a week to pull it off before Christmas.  Trent told me I had lost my mind.  But thanks to my BFF and my sis-in-law we were able to throw this thing together with success.

But really we all have Oprah to thank for the idea.  That Oprah and her favorite things.  Sadly we didn't give our guests one of everything.  No cars here.  No vacations. No pajama jeans.  Instead here were our rules:
1. Pick your favorite thing from 2011.  Anything.  House related, bath and body, fitness, baby, food, fashion, etc.  Whatever you loved from the year.
2. Needed to be $10-15.
3. Bring three of the same item for guests to take home.
That's it :) I brought three $15 gift cards to my favorite boutique, Inspire.  Freakin' love that place.  I was even modeling their clothing head to almost toe- I wore their earrings, necklace, cardigan, belt, and jeans.  If you haven't been there before and live in the KC area you are missing out!!

 Bags for the guests to use for "shopping."  Lesson #1 learned- get bigger bags.

The food spread from myself (yes I baked) and Jobeth.  Lesson #2 learned- everyone was too busy drinking wine to eat.  Next year just do 1 sweet and 1 salty treat.

View #1 of the goodies

 View #2 of the goodies

 We went around the circle and shared what our favorite thing was.  Then we drew names for the "shopping" order.  We went in order first, then reversed the order so those people got a chance to pick first on the second round.  And on the last round we started in the middle and worked our way out.  As long as people heard their names (**cough cough Jenna**) it was pretty fair ;)

Had to include the picture of Little Bo Peep haha. 

Wish I would have remembered to take a picture of my goodies like Ashley did.  Someone was thinking clearly ;)

 

The whole group, minus three cause they left before I remembered to use the self timer.  Sorry Jen, Amanda, and Katie!

 

Glad Ashley and Jobeth agreed to throw this thing together with me!  What would I have done without them?! 

And for my own memory so I don't forget... the three things I got were...

1. scarf from Cara

2. the annual Nov. 20 wine from Jen

3. the always amazing Relax wine from Jenna

All in all I'd say it was a success after just a week of planning.  We're hoping it becomes an annual thing... everyone welcome!

One Little Word for 2012

Last year I found the idea of picking one word to live by for the year.  Here's last year's post to explain it better.  Last year Trent picked inventive and he went above and beyond applying this word to his life.  It seemed like every time I turned around he was scheming up something else and being inventive with his projects and ideas.  Overachiever ;)  My 2011 word was active... and that's just laughable.  Did I actually work out last year??  NO.  I did buy one pair of work out pants though if that counts for anything ;)  I was just way too active in school and work that it didn't leave me much time for anything else.  That's gonna change this year since I'm done with school!!!

 We really enjoyed applying our one words throughout our lives for the last year so we decided to do it again in 2012.  And the one little words are....

Trent's 2012 word: Motivation

 Trent wants motivation for:
-eating better
-working out
-finishing projects around the house and with his truck "No Buck"

 My 2012 word: Create

I chose create for a million reasons... here's just a few:
-create more memories with friends and family
-create more scrapbook layouts than ever since I'm still scrapbooking 2006.  I've GOT to get caught up.
-create more crafts and projects for the house
-create better photographs by learning how to use my DSLR camera
-create lots of house projects with Trent- we have ideas for the yard, deck, patio, basement, etc... it just never ends.
-create more annual traditions with our friends and families
-create healthy habits for eating right and working out
-and the list goes on and on.

Some of our friends and families have chosen their one little words too so here's to everyone living by their word for the next 364 days!  Happy New Year!!!