He put a ring on it :P

I know most, if not all, of my blog followers already know, but.....I'M ENGAGED!!!

 Here's how it happened.....

We had gone out to dinner and Mike said he wanted to go to the beach for sunset and fireworks over Navy Pier. We got to the beach, and it was kinda overcast and stormy, but still beautiful. I love any bodies of water during a storm, so breath taking. We laid down on a blanket, and then he says, "Get up I think I dropped something". So I get up and he says "turn around" and I turn around and he's down on one knee and says "Will you marry me, Katie?" and then a big gust of wind comes and there's hair in my face. It was all very dramatic lol. But so romantic and of course I said YESSSSS!!!!

Long time no see....

Phew....it's been a long and busy month and I apologize for not posting.

I had a FANTASTIC time in Washington D.C. visiting Rachel! I'm gonna post some pics in here for you guys to see :)

 International Spy Museum

 Out for Rachel's 21st!

 All dressed up for the Memorial Day Parade!

 HOOAH

 Purple Heart Recipients float in parade

 Georgetown Cupcakes from the TLC show "DC Cupcakes"

 Vietnam Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial

White House

The day I flew back from DC, Mike and I had a wedding to attend to which he bought Dress Blues for! He looks so great in them <3

School has been super insane. I really hate my school. They suck. They're hypocritical and the professors don't know how to teach or grade. So not worth the money I pay. But my online classes continue to kill me. Just 4 weeks left of this semester. Then I have about 2 weeks off and then I start my Clinical Practicum! I'll actually be counseling people. EEEEKKKK! I'm doing clinicals at a Substance Abuse clinic so it should be pretty interesting.

We've signed the Chuggs up for some training. He needs lots of help on leash walking and some other basics. I wish training could get rid of his gas. Man that dog farts like none other. Yucky. Haha.

I'll post some pics of my recent baking successes in the next post! I'm making Cookie Dough Cupcakes today!

Bloggerific

Didn't have a spiffy title for today's post so I came up with something lame :P

Haven't posted in a few days because I've been busy. School and work and practicum....UGH! These online classes are killing me. And my practicum JUST gave me a huge project to work on. They could've given it to the other interns, but they know I'll get it done the fastest and best. I hate being dependable sometimes. I really should get paid for this shit.

Tomorrow I'm going to an AA meeting! Haha. I need to go for my Addictive Disorders class. Should be interesting. I'm going with some friends and we're gonna go out and drink afterwards :P

I'm getting more and more excited about my DC trip! I wish it was now. I need a nice break.

I'm in the mood to bake....as usual!

I think I'm going to be a superhero in my next life :P

Monday Monday.....

Hellloooooo lovely ladies! After a long weekend I hope I'm ready to get moving. We'll see.

At least it's sunny out today in Chicago. Much better than the rain and wind of the weekend. It was nasty.

I'm sitting here drinking an Ocean Spray Diet Sparkling Cranberry Juice beverage in a can that I believe is new. It's only 10 cals for the whole can and it's got barely anything else in it so survey says...healthy?! It's pretty yummy.

I realized last night that I have everyday up until like June 10 already booked with something. I guess I'm glad I'm busy, but WOW.

M took puppy back and now I feel lost without having a dog around. The cats are boring. They won't play fetch :p.

Ahhhh guess who's going to see NKOTBSB next week?! THIS GIRL! They're nose bleed seats, but that's ok. I'm just going to sing my lungs out! Going with my cousin and my best friend. Exciting!

I'm gonna drag myself to the gym later today in an attempt to curb late night food cravings. Plus I'm just too lazy to do anything right now.

Busy as a Bee

Happy Thursday!

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. It's been super busy and hectic.

I've been trying to be healthy and workout. Been to the gym 3 times already this week. In lieu of how busy I've been I'm proud I was able to make it that much lol.

So much to do the next few weeks. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

I've been re-watching my "One Tree Hill" seasons when I have time. I have tons of TV series on DVD that I watch. Does anyone ever do that? I think my Buffy seasons have been watched so much that the DVDs are actually worn out and skip. Haha.

It's been hot and humid here the last 2 days. Nasty. Thank god for all of the Flavor-Ice I have in my freezer. Like 20 cals for one. Haha I usually eat a few.

I might have the dog at my place for the next two weeks. Mike's going on a fishing trip with his dad and his friend isn't really interested in watching the dog. I'm excited, but my mom didn't sound too happy when I asked her last night. We have 3 cats, and it's really not bad with them and the dog, but the cats hide most of the time and we have to keep their food closed off alot because the dog will eat it. I love having Chuggs around though. It's so different from having cats. More interactive.

Does anyone have any goals for this summer?

Time to Spruce it Up!

Hmmm I really wanna make this blog more nifty....so I'm gonna try and navigate that later tonight.

I hit the gym today after my boring practicum. All I did all day was sit on a computer. Ugh. At the gym there was a smelly girl next to me that almost made me puke.

On a fantastic note, D just alerted me to the fact that my favorite Romance Novel series has a bunch of books in the series out that I was not aware of! I'm so excited! Haha. The series is called "Lords of the Underworld". The book covers are yummy....

Now I'm perusing for flight tickets cuz I've waited a long time and tickets to DC are expensive....poop.

Chicken for dinner. Lame, but still yummy.

I'm feeling tired so I'm gonna cut this post short and perhaps take a nap. Haha! Happy Monday everyone!

Happy Mommy's Day!

Happy Mother's Day ladies! I know I have my "son" Chuggs with me today to celebrate =). Going out to Outback Steakhouse with my mom in a bit for lunch.

How is everyone's weekend? I think I finally figured out how to follow people's blogs....not sure. Ha.

I'm soooo excited! I finally ordered an ACU purse from a lady on Facebook! I've been shopping around and she had the best prices for what I was looking for! I wanted something that was bigger that had velcro nametape and patch spots and I get to choose other inside fabric and basically design it myself. Yay!

Tons of online homework and stuff to do this week. Not looking forward to it.

So Mike and I have decided to hold off on the apartment. And surprisingly I'm ok with it. As much as I want to move out, I think I've finally realized it's just not financially a good option right now. There are lots of other things I need to save for. Ha. Probably in the next year or so we'll get a place, after he's done with school and what not. =)

On the brink of another summer, I find myself thinking of all the fun things I want to do! Mostly looking forward to my DC trip at the end of his month to visit MIG Rachel for her 21st bday! Other than that I don't really have any trips planned. Where would be your guys' ideal vacay spot this summer? Is anyone going anywhere fun?

What to doooo??

Last night I went out with friends for Italian. Got me some yummyyyyy Farfalle with Vodka sauce. Afterwards we went to my friends place. So here's the news.....Mike and I have been on and off looking for an apartment together. Something affordable, 1 bedroom, takes pets. Well my friend lives in one of those houses that's been retrofitted to be apartments and their upstairs is available. Their place is big, and even though the upstairs is a bit smaller, I still expected it to be more expensive with no utilities paid. However! The place is $750 with ALL utilities paid including electricity AND there's free laundry! I mean that's kind of insane. And it's a really nice place actually. The bedroom is the size of mine now so no problem there. Eat-in Kitchen with lots of good counter space, living room/dining room, bathroom with what is definitely a SEX shower.....big enough for two and has a steamer function thing (IDK how that works LOL). The biggest downfall of the place is no dishwasher and there's some closet space, but not a ton. But I only have one closet that's mine at home now and there's a big closet there that would be for clothes, there's a huge closet type thing before you walk in, and the linen closet is huge. Now I was totally giving up on apartment hunting last week because I didn't want to be bothered anymore. But I don't know if we can pass this place up. Location wise it's perfect. I really don't have a problem having a friend live below me either, as long as we're not in each other's face constantly, which I doubt we will be because she starts grad school in the fall and her boyfriend works. Ahhhh decisions! What do you think?!?!?

P.S. Can someone please tell me how to follow other blogs? I'm having an issue doing that....

Humpty Dumpty Day

Happy Wednesday ya'll! And what a Wednesday it is. Beautiful weather here in Chicago today. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. I'm broke and can't afford to breathe. LOL.

Anywho. Work this morning. Boring as ever. I sat on Facebook and was bidding on all these Army related items on auction. Ha. I lost out on the "Deployment Survival Kit" to some boob at the last minute. But I did get a super cute ACU headband! Oh yea...that's why I'm broke. Because I spend money even when I don't have it. Is there a shopper's anonymous somewhere I can attend?

Gym time today was great! I met up with my best friend, Katie, there and we did the elliptical and treadmill for an hour. Overall burned about 800 cals. Yay! That's good too because I'm going out to eat tonight with some girlfriends to an Italian restaurant and I'd really like some pasta in Vodka sauce. I won't eat it all though!  PORTION CONTROLLLLL!!!!! I made this really yummy snack mix out of my "Hungry Girl" book. It's got Golden Grahams, Cocoa Puffs, Mini marshmallows, and Kettle Corn in it! Great snack at only 80 cals for about a cup. Plus it hits the sweet tooth just right when I'm craving candy and all that other junk.

Reading the People Magazine Royal Wedding special edition got me thinking. Kate was/is obviously a commoner. It made me think about couples today. Also, my friend just got engaged so there's been quite a bit of wedding and life talk with everyone recently. But anyways, here's my psychological cupcake of the day.......Do you think people that marry/date others that have less money, don't have a degree, don't really have ambition to do anything, are going to wind up having more problems? I know love is supposed to be unconditional, but Anthropology studies show that the number one concern for women in choosing a mate is "can they provide a financially stable life for me?". Sadly for men studies show sex and reproduction are number one concerns, but that's not my discussion topic (another time!). What do you guys think???

~Katie

Into the deep.....

So I've decided to give this a try (thanks to my good pal D!).

I'll start with some random facts:
1. I have 4 tattoos
2. I have 3 cats
3. Red is my favorite color
4. I've been to Italy and France
5. I hate all seafood
6. I love musicals
7. I collect shot glasses
8. I'm obsessed with anything related to Tudor England
9. I read romance novels
10. Cheese is my comfort food
11. I love spicy food
12. I like editing pictures and making picture collages
13. Ginger Ale is my favorite pop
14. I prefer Backstreet Boys over N*Sync
15. I played Humpty Dumpty in the play "Alice in Wonderland" in high school

I'm currently trying, for what seems like the bazillionth time, to diet. It works and then it doesn't and then I get distracted and it goes out the window. But I bought a new book called "Hungry Girl: 200 recipes under 200 calories". It's hard to diet and find time to workout when I'm so busy. I'm in school, I have a job, and I have a practicum I go to. Oiy. Lots of stress and very little time. But, I do my best.

On a fun note, my boyfriend surprised me a few weeks ago and bought us a dog!

His name is Chuggs and he's a Puggle about a year and a half old. He already knows sit, stay, and paw. He's super energetic, but loves to cuddle. He's kind of ripped for a dog which makes me wonder what happened to him before he was at the shelter and we found him. I haven't had a dog in years so it's all kind of new to me again. The cats are easier to take care of. Haha.

I finally got to try some cupcakes from "Flirty Cupcakes" which is a cupcake mobile that drives around Chicago selling out of a van/truck. I like to try lots of other bakers' cupcakes and compare them to mine. I don't want to toot my horn, but my cupcakes are FABULOUS. =). My mom and I both agreed that mine are better than the ones I got today. I'm gonna try and post pics of anything I make in here because it's always fun to share the sweetness of a good cupcake.

I just made this cake for Easter.....

It's a vanilla cake with a raspberry whip cream filling and a white chocolate buttercream with fresh raspberry garnish. So moist and delicious.

But that's all for today. Got lotsssss of online homework and reading to get to. Ciao! <3