A Vow for Now!

Happy February! I have always loved Valentine's Day. It's a time to tell everyone you love how much they mean to you, an excuse to eat out, and a reason for stores to have insane amounts of candy- that's three stamps of approval in my book.

I remember mine and Ryan's first Valentine's Day together in 2001. My memorable gifts that year were a stuffed puppy and some beautiful roses (that I saved of course... remember my post about the attic? Those flowers from over a decade ago are still in there..). I enjoy looking back on past Valentine's Day memories. In 2002 Ryan took me to Florence to eat at Ruby Tuesday's, and then we went to see one of my favorite movies, A Walk to Remember.

I LOVE this movie. We saw it in the old Magnolia Mall theater, and on our way there I spotted a photo booth. I pointed to it and grinned mischievously at Ryan. He laughed but said, "Oh, no, no way..." Five minutes later, however, we emerged with this lovely keepsake... : D

Don't you love our high school nick names for each other? And can't you see Ryan's sweet smile despite his misery?


Valentine's Day is always special for me. Even when I was little my parents would give us some sort of candy or a special treat. Here are two gifts from my childhood that I love dearly and would never, ever give away!

This year my parents bought Ryan and me a beautiful flower pot. Now I just have to find a plant to go in it that won't die! (Don't worry, Jay, you'll be getting a present, too.)

Valentine's Day of 2012 was really special. I got up at 5:30 (a first and a last) and made breakfast for Ryan before he left for work.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my love. Your breakfast awaits."

With my track record Ryan was probably expecting a bowl of cereal or pop tart, but I rose the bar with a homemade meal:

Only one pancake was harmed during the making. Whoops.

I also had the pleasure of seeing my grandparents later in the day, which was awesome!!! I brought them gourmet cupcakes and thoroughly enjoyed our visit, as always : )


When I got home from work, you can imagine my shock as I opened the door to find these beauties sitting on the counter for me:

I was SO surprised!!!

The last few times I have gotten flowers were during a piano or dance recital. Ryan really did a great job!! Upon further inspection of this thoughtful gift I noticed something funny about the container. Apparently Ryan came home and looked around quickly for the most logical vase-like item and used a hurricane glass from our family room that is intended for candles. We got a good laugh out of that.


Next up, Ryan got to open some of his gifts, including a new basting brush which we desperately needed.

Yesterday evening we had dinner at Mint Julep.

The last time I had eaten there was during my Bachelorette weekend with all of my friends!

On the way to Mint Julep last night Ryan proclaimed that we were going to have a cell phone free dinner. He wanted us to talk and enjoy our time together instead of having the phone go off the whole time.

It was actually a really good suggestion, because as soon as we sat down we noticed that many of the other couples in the restaurant weren't even looking at each other but were tapping and clicking away on their phones. The waiter soon came to our table, took our drink orders, and left us a mysterious plate full of crackers and pimento cheese. I poked at the cheese and asked of the brown item underneath, "Is that a piece of baking paper or a brownie?" "Neither," said Ryan..."it's a leaf." A leaf??? Wake up honey, this isn't Golden Corral. A few minutes later while deciding upon our entrees I noticed that the fried chicken came with braised greens. I instinctively reached for my iphone so that I could google and figure out what braised greens were when I realized...Ryan made me leave my phone in the car! How did I ever live without being able to electronically research my side items before ordering? I envisioned green beans, but the waiter broke the news to me about braised greens...they are COLLARDS! Yeeeee-uuckkkkkk! Glad we clarified that beforehand.

We ended up having some spare time between dinner and our movie, so we stopped back by the house to enjoy another Valentine's treat, Cupcakes from the one and only...Cupcake shop!!! That place is INCREDIBLE, and Ryan particularly loves the red velvet ones.

After just a little bit of pleading Ryan and I went to see the Vow. It was a WONDERFUL movie!!! I loved it and am totally buying it when it comes out.

We had an awesome Valentine's Day and hope you did, too!

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And back to life as we know it. I always love when January is over, because there are more exciting holidays and fun things to look forward to. Some other recent events of which to take note are:

Watching the Super Bowl with Ryan & Matt, with no wardrobe malfunctions by the performers this year

Visiting with Joy & Dorothy, topped off by dinner at the always delicious Yesterday's Restaurant and Tavern

Having Jamie & Chris over for dinner and games. I love random grocery store finds, like the butter cookies that I used to eat when I was two!

Smile for me, Ryan. Let me see your grill!

And now for some exciting and adventurous news. My vow for now...drum roll, please. Guess what Ryan and I are doing at the end of March? The Cooper River Bridge Run!!! It's 10K, and I'm not talking dollars. I normally only run because there is one remaining pocketbook in my color of choice at Belk or if someone is grabbing for the last roll at dinner. This will definitely be a challenge.

Do you know how huge the Bridge Run event is?? Here are some pictures from previous years...

Look at all those people! Don't you think somebody would be willing to give me a piggy back ride?

I'll be dead last carrying a box of Krispy Kremes.

I am seriously considering using one of these items for assistance during the race:


Now this would definitely be helpful. The Cooper River Bridge Scoot!

This form of transportation might be a tad over the top and would slightly obstruct/injure the other runners, but it is a competition after all!

Hey, now here's an idea...surely I could find one of these at a rental place.

However, I will probably have to resort to using my own legs. As a matter of fact, the city of Charleston will probably have to call for help to scrape me off the payment upon completion of the race. Alas, I thought the bridge run would be a great idea, give us something to look forward to, and also be a reason to get healthier. My sharing this information with friends and family has generated mixed reviews. My Dad said, "Katharine, you do know that you have to actually practice running, right? You can't just wake up on March 31st and speed off." Yeah, yeah. The fact that we are running means that we're being more conscious of what we eat. I had a friend once tell me to shop "around" the parameter of the grocery store and not the isles, where all the processed foods are. Yes, the Little Debbies and Cheetos scream at me, but this is actually a really good strategy. As of a few weeks ago, the only organic item in our house was probably our sheets, and let's be honest...that was probably a tactic by Bed Bath & Beyond to get me to purchase them. But it worked nonetheless...

I have definitely been more conscious of what I buy at the grocery store. For such a picky eater, I definitely LOVE broccoli. And you can actually buy it in the form of a "bouquet" in the produce section. Who knew?

I also love Chocolate soy milk

and grilled fish

and grapes!!!

One of my favorite snacks is: Edamame!!! Think of it as the healthy boiled peanuts. They really are almost just as good, but there are very few calories and fat! I buy the kind you can microwave and then sprinkle some sea salt on them afterwards. Delicious!!

Aside from getting our bodies in order, Ryan and I have also been reading devotions in this book every night:

Staying in the Word daily is so critical. It is so easy to to neglect reading the Bible, but think of it this way... You know when you hear a brand new vocabulary word, learn the definition, and without question will hear it spoken within the next couple of days? That's what I think of reading the Bible. You may have heard a particular story or verse all of your life but never paid attention to how it could apply to you. Once you read a passage you will undoubtedly see an application of some form to your life. Example: while fixing himself a snack last week Ryan managed to spill/explode pomegranate juice all over the stairs. The area surrounding the incident smelled like a fruit stand for three days. One night that week our scripture was out of Song of Solomon 4:13..."Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates." Hahahaha!!! But in all seriousness, I guarantee that if you stay in the Word you will find a way to apply it to your daily life.


And now for something totally different...one of my newest obsessions...

NETFLIX!!!

This is seriously one of the greatest inventions EVER. Through the Playstation Ryan was able to subscribe to this (totally legal) internet streaming channel. They have THOUSANDS of movies to choose from. You can browse genres, search for specific titles, and they even suggest movies based on ones that you've already watched. One Saturday recently I watched FOUR movies. You can watch an unlimited amount for $8.00 per month!!! That's both ridiculous and addictive. One of my most favorite movies that I've seen recently was this one:

This movie will make you laugh hysterically, cry, and motivate you to be a better person just by watching it. If you haven't seen it, put it on your list to see next!

Oh, and will you take a look at one of my newest friends? One of the perks of my job is that I get to see multiple office environments each day, so it's never boring. One day last week I had the privilege of keeping this little darling company until the meeting started. Goodness, that was hard work- not! Look at that sweet face.

This past weekend my Mom and I took a trip to Florence to do a little shopping and look at some granite samples at this place:

While browsing the store we somehow got on the subject of house plans. At one time my parents had planned to build a new house when Jay and I were little, and Mama told me that she almost decided not to have a formal dining room. A few minutes later after I digested this information I said, "But Mama, what would you have put in its place?" She doubled over laughing as she confessed..."A computer lab."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Are you kidding me??? My mother never ceases to amaze me. I mean, she is a librarian, but come on! Can you imagine gathering around a Thanksgiving table that looked like this??

I have laughed and laughed about this. Never again will I be able to eat another meal in that dining room without thinking of keyboards and gigabytes. Oh, mother...

Saturday evening Ryan's family took us to Starfire- SO delicious!!! I remember eating there for my senior prom. Starfire is one of my favorite restaurants in Florence!

On Sunday I had lunch with Karen, her parents, and James at- where else- King's! LOVE King's, and loved getting to see Karen and her family!

And I can hardly BELIEVE that Whitney Houston has passed away. She, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Carey Underwood are my all-time favorite female singers. I'll never forget buying her greatest hits album right after I first learned to drive.

The cashier told me that I was probably the 25th person to come in that and buy that CD. "What a star she is!"

If you pay attention you'll notice that things are constantly happening around us that put life into perspective. We are not guaranteed the next day. Some of the best advice I ever received was not going to bed angry. Think about it. If you go to sleep at night with unresolved conflict you risk never getting the chance to make things right. I know that people from all walks of life will read this, so take a minute this evening and think about picking up the phone or writing a message to someone you love- after all, February is the month of love, and what better a way to use this time than to reach out to the people in your life that mean the most.

God bless you!!!

Until the next Moody update,