Last Saturday I got to spend some time with one of my favorite little people, Natalie! Hopefully y'all remember her from previous posts, but I claim her as my "niece," and I like to think I'm one of her favorite big people! ;) We played with one of my old dolls, read books, and had fun!

Natalie was so sweet with the baby...

Changing her diaper...

Giving her her paci...

Rocking her...

She kept saying, "Shhh...baby, don't cry, it's okay!"

Isn't it funny how little girls are just born to nurture?

Natalie LOVES to read books!

This little girl fills my heart with so much joy!

I love you Nattie girl! :)

And in other news...fall has made its way to our front porch!

The shadows are terrible in this picture, but you get the idea!

Happy fall y'all!

100 Things...

Meredith posted her "100 things" and inspired me to do this same. This will be fun to look back at one day, so here it goes...100 random things about me...

1. First and foremost, the Lord is my Savior. I would be nothing without His love.

2. Rob truly is my best friend. He is the only person I tell absolutely everything to.

3. I will graduate in December with a B.A. in Biology.

4. I am slightly OCD about things like cleanliness and organization.

5. I have Celiac disease.

6. Rob was my first (and only) real date.

7. I became a homeowner at the age of 19.

8. I've wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. I love kids!

9. I try to stay away from most processed foods.

10. I'm obsessed with Dr. Oz.

11. I'm extremely close to both of my parents, I'd be lost without them.

12. P.F. Changs is probably my favorite restaurant...lots of GF options.

13. Waking up to little notes from Rob makes my day.

14. My brother can always make me laugh.

15. I want to eventually be a Nutritionist or Dietitian.

16. Christmas is my favorite holiday.

17. I'm a major bargain hunter, I don't (usually) buy clothes that are not on sale.

18. I hate grocery shopping.

19. I love the feeling of a clean house.

20. I always knew I would marry young, and I did...I was 20 when we got hitched.

21. Shots and needles freak me out.

22. I have been waiting tables at the same restaurant for nearly 5 years.

23. Monthly pedicures are a must for me.

24. The one thing I've been self conscious about forever is my skin.

25. I enjoy cooking more than baking.

26. Target and Old Navy are my weaknesses.

27. I am not a pet person.

28. I want to get a new car, but I do not want a car payment.

29. I love being the wife of a coach.

30. I try to avoid Sonic Happy Hour, but every now and then I cave for a Vanilla Coke with extra ice.

31. I wish I had more artistic ability.

32. I cannot go barefoot anywhere. Not even in my house.

33. I could eat salmon just about every day.

34. I day dream about the future all the time.

35. Yard work is not my favorite.

36. Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author.

37. I still watch Full House.

38. I don't really like watching movies.

39. I want to go to Australia some day.

40. I have a pink and green kitchen that I love.

41. I love gerber daisies.

42. I never watched Friends when it was actually airing, but I LOVE it now.

43. I feel like I would be "real-life friends" with most of my "blog-friends."

44. Snow and rain make me so giddy...as long as I'm not out in it.

45. I'm not perfect and don't pretend to be.

46. I'm the only member of my family that isn't a golfer.

47. I love lunch dates with friends.

48. I would rather have a handful of quality friends than tons of fair weathered friends.

49. I usually pay bills as soon as I get them because I get worried I'll forget about them.

50. I think Starbursts are delicious.

51. I have to keep my planner near me at all times.

52. Fall clothes make me happy.

53. I get up earlier than I have to just so I can hang out with some coffee and the Today show to start my day.

54. I wish I could have my hair fixed for me everyday because I don't like doing it.

55. I do not like wine.

56. Chapstick is a must for me.

57. Our King-sized Tempur-Pedic Cloud bed is a little piece of heaven in our home.

58. I played the violin in middle school.

59. I always feel a little creepy when I first follow someone I don't know.

60. I didn't know how much I would enjoy blogging, but I'm glad I've done it now.

61. I'm married to a twin.

62. I wish everyone would eat organic so it wouldn't be as expensive.

63. I get extremely nervous before going to the doctor.

64. I also get really nervous about public speaking.

65. I probably seem quiet when you first meet me, but trust me, I'm not. Ask Rob ;)

66. I always have the best intentions when it comes to working out, but it doesn't always happen.

67. I think my wedding ring is gorgeous. I love that Rob customized it for me.

68. Shopping with my mom is one of my favorite ways to spend a day.

69. I'm a very loyal person.

70. I have extremely vivid and real dreams.

71. I think my dad is extremely intelligent.

72. I want to write a cookbook.

73. I can't stand bad tippers. Servers make $2 an hour yanno ;)

74. I love roasted marshmallows.

75. Rob and I have been together for over 7 years...time flies.

76. Home is my favorite place to be.

77. Tropical vacations are my favorite, but I haven't been anywhere tropical since our honeymoon.

78. My real name is Katharine.

79. I love names with meaning. Rob and I are both named after grandparents.

80. Watching E! News and House Hunters is a nightly routine for me.

81. I get so excited when I have new comments and followers of the blog!

82. I have been told by everyone that has ever slept in the same room as me that I am a sleep talker.

83. I'm a rule follower.

84. I eat grilled cheese sandwiches with ketchup and never knew it was weird until recently.

85. I wish I had a reason to wear my wedding dress again.

86. Rob and I first said "I love you" on November 26, 2003...I'll never forget it!

87. I love singing...when I'm ALONE in my car.

88. I hate staying in hotels and the recent bed bug epidemic is not helping that.

89. I've never been snow skiing.

90. I enjoyed going to NYC but could never live there.

91. I like having a reason to dress up.

92. Getting a "real" job scares me.

93. I love eating apples with peanut butter.

94. I sometimes miss eating fast food.

95. I was a really fat baby, and I can't wait to have little fat babies of my own.

96. I want to build my own home some day when we're settled.

97. I almost always spend Sundays at my parents' house.

98. Rob and I took a 2-week road trip 2 summers ago. We covered 8 states.

99. I'm so thankful to have a close-knit family.

100. I feel blessed beyond measure every single day.

Lazy Saturday...

The Coogs are 5-0!! We won our homecoming game last night 56-21! It rained all night long, so we were nice and soggy by the time the game was over, but it was well worth it for another Cougar victory! 5-0 is a great way to head into district, and everyone is excited!

Today I'm enjoying a lazy, rainy morning with my husband...wait, what?! Yes, that's right...my hubby is HOME today! Next week is our open week, so he has the day off today. It's so weird/nice/fun to have him home on a Saturday during football season :) I'm loving it. It's looking a little something like this...

via.

Adorable! Of course, we've got football on TV and I've got a lot of homework to do, but it's okay because we're together :)

This weather always makes me think of some of my favorite lyrics...

Can't you see that it's just raining?
Ain't no need to go outside.
Ain't no need ain't no need, Mmmm MMmmm
Can't you see, can't you see?
Rain all day,
And I don't mind.

The telephone is singing,
Ringing it's too early,
Don't pick it up.
We don't need to we got everything
We need right here,
And everything we need is enough.
Just so easy
When the whole world fits inside of your arms.
Don't really need to pay attention to the alarm,
Wake up slow, yeah wake up slow.
You hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep ya
From doing what you're supposed to
Like waking up too early,
Maybe we can sleep in,
I'll make you banana pancakes,
Pretend like it's the weekend now...

And we could pretend it all the time.
Can't you see that it's just raining?
Ain't no need to go outside.
Ain't no need, ain't no need...
Rain all day and I really really really don't mind.
Can't you see can't you see,
You gotta wake up slow.

--Jack Johnson, Banana Pancakes

Twos...

Everything seems to be coming to me in twos tonight, so I'm just gonna go with it...this post is going to be all over the place, but that's just life sometimes, right?! Right. Thanks for agreeing.

In honor of "premier week" on TV I'll start with two shows I can't miss...

First of all, Dr. Oz...I love this man! He's a genius. I learn so much just from watching his show! Remember when I saw him in New York? Ahh...

via.

I'm almost embarrassed to even admit I watch this show, but I (shamelessly) watch it every.single.Tuesday. It's kind of addicting. The worst part is this isn't my only MTV "reality" addiction. Let's just say I also tune into a show that involves lots of fist pumping, guido/ettes and GTL. Pathetic right? Rob watches it too...don't tell him I told you though ;)

via.

Now how about two pictures from last weekend? We had a little football watching shindig with good friends...it was so much fun!

Did I tell y'all Julie asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding next summer? And Rob is going to be one of Jerrod's groomsmen! We are so excited for them!!

Two trends I'm loving right now...

First up, jeggings! I know most people either love them or hate them, but I happen to love them. I'm a big fan of the "skinny" jean, but unlike Zoe Saldana I choose to cover up the hiney with a long top. How cute is she?! Adorable. Love that scarf too.

via.

Leopard...I'm loving all things leopard! Of course, this isn't really a trend because it seems to always be in style, but it seems like it's EVERYWHERE right now. This bag is to die for, but at $1,950, I won't be getting it anytime soon! Drooling...

via.

I told y'all this would be random, here are two things I cooked this week...

Herb roasted chicken.

This is the first whole chicken I've ever made, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself! I'm not sure why I've never made it before, I guess I was just intimidated by it, but it turned out SO good! I even made gravy. I kinda felt like my grandma :) In a good way, of course!

And "Better-for-You Chicken Parmesan." This was also DE-LISH! My mom & I made it together. If you want the recipe, let me know and I'll post it sometime soon!

There are two things I'm absolutely dreading about this weekend. The first is these stupid fruit flies. For my Genetics lab, we have to breed and cross-breed fruit flies in order to study different genetic mutations...jealous yet? Well, these things reproduce pretty quickly, so we have to monitor them every 10 hours to sort out the "babies" from the adults and the males from the females in order to control which flies mate and which do not. It gets worse...BOTH of my lab partners will be out of town this weekend, so that leaves ME to go up to school every 10 hours to do all of this. Seriously?! I hope these things all breed by Saturday night, so I can skip the Sunday shift all together.

via.

And secondly, I have to put together my power point presentation for my Senior Seminar (Biology capstone) class. I have to give a 30-40 minute presentation on Tuesday by.my.self. I'm so nervous already. I hate public speaking :( Especially in front of people who have their doctorate degrees in various fields of science. Any advice on how to calm my nerves? Picture them in their underwear? Lots of rehearsal? Xanax? I kid, I kid.

But the good news is that there are a couple things I AM looking forward to about the weekend!

Tomorrow night is Cooper's homecoming! It's also the school's 50th anniversary, so the game should be a lot of fun tomorrow night! I put this picture up to go with this because my mother-in-law dared me to wear my door decor as a mum. Haha, can you imagine the looks I would get? Rob would be so proud to call me his wife :)

And speaking of Rob, I'll be getting to spend some extra time with him this weekend! Next week is our open week, so the coaches are supposed to have ALL DAY Saturday off, their first since the beginning of August! I'm definitely looking forward to it :)

That's all I've got for ya. Happy Friday!!!

Scarf Swap Fun!

I remember reading about Meredith's first scarf swap last fall before I was an "official" blogger, so when she hosted her 2nd annual swap this year, I knew I just HAD to join!

I was paired with the adorable Mateya over at "Our Journey From Iraq to the Altar", and I'm so glad I was because look at the cutie I received...

I love it! Thanks Mateya :) Check out her blog to see what I sent!

Also, I'd appreciate if you didn't judge me by this picture! Haha, I was up late studying last night, so minimal effort was put into my appearance today....obviously. I promise when I wear the scarf for real I'll match....and maybe wear some make-up ;)

4-0

I'm baaack! I didn't mean to take over a week long hiatus from the bloggity, but life happens I suppose! We've been busy, busy as usual, so I'll just start with football :) The Cooper Coogs are 4-0 for the first time since 2002 which happens to have been Rob's senior year at Cooper! We are all pretty excited about it! We beat San Angelo Central 2 weeks ago 55-21.

This past week we had a Thursday game, so that kinda threw the week off a bit...but in a good way it turned out. Our game was in Lubbock, so my mom and I decided to make a little day trip out of it and take advantage of some better shopping and Pei Wei! YUM! My friend Julie joined us for the fun, and we had a blast! I love girls trips!

The game ended up being CRAZY! First, we were late because dinner took longer than expected. Then, the game was delayed 45 minutes due to lightening. But it didn't phase the Coogs, they were on a rampage from the start and nothing was slowing them down! We were up 43-0 at the HALF! The guys came out to start the second half, and there was another lightening delay, so the coaches made the decision to call the game since it was pretty obvious who was going to take the win.

Rob had a JV game Friday night and was home by 8...it was so nice for a change! Then Saturday he just had to finish up some film work, so he was only at work a couple hours! They were back on the grind today, but it was fun to spend some time together :)

We also got to spend time with this sweet family of FOUR...

Baby Kipton was born on Monday, and I'm in love already! Sterling coaches at Cooper as well, so we've extended our "coaching family" by one :) Love this fam!

I've got a busy week ahead at school and lots of studying to do, but I'll try to share more from the last week soon :)

It's DONE!

Our furniture, that is! I mentioned yesterday that I had taken the pillows and our accent chair to be recovered, and it's already done! I can't believe how quickly she got it all finished...amazing!

So here are a couple "befores" just to remind you how ugly the pillows were...

And the accent chair...I liked it before, but I didn't want clashing patterns.

And here are the "AFTERS"...

A close-up of the new patterns...

Here's the new accent chair!

And one last picture...this is coming in from the front door...

I absolutely love it! I think everything blends a lot better now which is what I was aiming for.

One more hour and it's T.G.I.F.!!! :)

Things

Hi friends! I hope everyone is having a great week so far! Mine has been relatively uneventful...I'm definitely enjoying the cooler (80's) weather we've had. According to my trusty weather channel app, it will be back in the mid 90's for the rest of this week and next....BOOOO!

Anyway, I've been wanting a centerpiece that was a little more "fallish" for our dining room table which can be a little tricky to find for a pink and apple green kitchen. Well, I should have known my mom would be up for the challenge! Check out what she came up with...

I LOVE, LOVE it! The bowl is to die for.

And the little balls are SO cute!

You've done it again, Mom...thank you!!!

Also, remember our new furniture from a couple months ago? The new furniture that came with heinous pillows?? Well, I (with the help of my mom...OF COURSE!) finally found the perfect fabric to recover those ugly things with! And our accent chair is being slip-covered as well! I took it to be done on Monday, so it should be finished next week sometime I'm hoping! I can't wait to get it back, and I'll be sure to post pictures too! :)

Yesterday was a dreary day, so I was in the mood for something yummy and warm to fill my tummy. Nothing screams comfort (to me) like a big bowl of soup...or "stoup" as my girl Rachael Ray likes to say ;) For those of you who don't know, stoup is thinner than a stew and thicker than a soup...haha! So, here's the Taco Stoup that I made...

EASY Taco Stoup

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

1 packet Ranch Dressing Seasoning

2 Tbs taco seasoning (I use THIS recipe...you could also just use a seasoning packet!)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)

2 cans of whatever beans you like...I use pinto & dark red kidney

1 can corn

1-2 cups whatever stock/broth you have on hand

Start by browning the turkey with the onions in a deep pot. If you substitute beef, be sure to drain the excess fat. Drain & rinse the beans. Drain the corn. Dump everything except the stock/broth into the pot...so easy! Once everything is in the pot, you'll be able to tell how much more liquid you need to add. You want the stoup to be thick but not as thick as a chili, so just add however much you need until you like the consistency...there's no exact science to it! Let the stoup cook together for about 20 minutes, covered, over medium heat.

I serve mine with grated cheese, avocado, sour cream, corn chips (in this instance, left over taco shells! haha) and a few squeezes of lime on top to "wake" things up! Can you tell I love toppings??

This recipe serves 4 adults.

Hints:

-If you need to feed more people, just throw in another can of beans! I like to add black beans too...just be sure to drain and rinse them so the stoup doesn't get muddy looking.

-I prefer to buy "no salt added" canned foods...it's a lot easier to control the seasonings that way, and it's better for ya anyway!

35-31...UPSET!

That's right, the Cooper Cougars UPSET the Austin Westlake Chaps! I think it was seriously one of the most exciting/nerve-racking/energizing games I've ever been apart of. It was AWESOME! You can read more about it here. There were a lot of people doubting Cooper last week, so I was even more excited that they pulled it out in a BIG way!

Football toes...the laces were supposed to be white, but I didn't have the heart to ask the lady to change it...oh well!

Getting ready to run out...

Lexi & I after the game...

Some of my favorite ladies (Cassi & Mandi)...love my Cougar c-wives!

After the game...we were both SO happy! Such a great night.

We have after-game parties with all the coaches and their families, and we had just happened to plan one for that Friday night...we had a lot to celebrate that night! I'm looking forward to seeing what else is in store for the Cougs this season :)

Football fanatics?

One goal I've always had for our home is for it to represent US, and since football is such a part of our livelihood around here, I like to have a little football decor around the house. And especially in the fall, of course! So here's a look at a few little football "touches" I've added for this season of our lives...

My mom & I made this cute little "mum" for our front door...I love it!

I'm embarrassed to show you this because of how few Starbursts are left in here...shame on me. Oh well.

Always gotta have football party supplies around!

Found on the Target dollar aisle, of course!

Address labels I made :)

And the chalkboard door in our kitchen. Rob drew up a play & a coverage for me to put on it :) Looove it!

Tomorrow's GAME DAY!! We've got Austin Westlake which should be a really exciting (read: nerve-wracking!!) game! I can't wait!

GO COUGS!!!