Fam-Tastic!

Welcome to my world- where friends and family are interchangeable terms!

Last Tuesday, two of my loves, Taylor and her mom, came to town for Taylor's college orientation.  That fact is still sinking in...   The first activity on our agenda was arguably the most important: where were we going to eat?  We ended up choosing Olive Garden.

I used to turn my nose up at this place when my parents would talk about it.  After all, what's there to like about Olives?  And gardens remind me of salad...bleh.  But then one day I found out that they serve pizza and was willing to give it a shot.  I now get the delicious mixed grill with the tuscan potatoes...every time.  My philosophy is to find something you like and stick to it!

  

Upon entering the restaurant we spotted this dear man with a sparkly accessory in tow.  This, my friends, is true love. Clearly, he is carrying the bag for his wife, but it was absolutely hilarious.  He was carrying that purse with such pride!

Taylor was brave enough to take this picture...

Most men would probably hold that purse like this:

As soon as we were seated we noticed that the kitchen was extra loud.  There were plates crashing and glasses falling...it was almost as if I was the chef.  At one point Mrs. Christie said, "It sounds like we're in Home Depot."  I almost spit out my drink.

Hang in there, buddy...just a few more orders left.

Our food was great, and we were so busy inhaling breadsticks chatting that we didn't realize we had waited almost 45 minutes for our food.  Our "consolation" prize?  A free ice cream dessert... but after a detailed inspection Taylor discovered that this gift came with some false advertising.

"Hey, where are the nuts and caramel, like the picture?"

Then we headed to Taylor's dorm for the night- Preston- the SAME dorm where I spent many a night with Jamie in college!  Just the smell of that place brought back great memories.  

Jamie actually helped paint that stairwell back in the day!

Besides suite bathrooms and a really cool fish tank in the lobby, the Chick-Fil-A and Marble Slab across the street make it an ideal place to live.

The next day a repair man came to fix our cabinets.  

His name is Jay.  You might know him.  Our cabinets were not installed properly when the house was built and had been driving me NUTS.    And bless Jay's little heart he was able to fix ALL of them!!!  He rocks!!!  There is a quite an intelligent brain under all that hair : )

We took him to a delicious dinner at Sumo that night.   It was so good that I wanted Su'mo!

The fire was neat, the rice was even better, and our cook had a lot of personality (He's not the person in this picture; I actually have no idea who this man is.)

The next day Jamie and I headed to Ale House for one of our traditional Wednesday lunches.  Ale House gives lunch cards, and on Wednesday they'll punch your card twice (after 7 you get a free meal).  Jamie has gotten at least three or four free meals by filling up her punch cards, while I on the other hand have gotten only ONE, because I keep losing mine.  No surprise there.

We usually get seated right away at Ale House and are in and out within 45 minutes.  Imagine our surprise when we walked into a CROWD of people.  My goodness, I didn't think we had that many fans!  And then it hit me...the Gamecocks were playing baseball that day.

Waiting an hour for our food was not what we had in mind, but at least it was time well spent with an awesome friend : D  She'll kill me if that ever happens again.

That afternoon I came home and did something out of the ordinary; made the bed.  I know that it makes the room look neat and all, but out of all the chores, I find this one to be the biggest waste of time.  I should have heeded my instincts.  I was walking briskly around the corner of the bed when I smashed my thigh on the corner of the foot board.

I cringed in pain for at least two minutes and thought for sure my femur had been cracked in half.   A knot about the size of my fist had already started to form, and it hurt so much that I actually saw stars.

This bruise- we'll call him "Sir Hurts a Lot"-has made quite the artistic showing on my leg, and I will be SO glad when it is gone.  Want a tip for the day?  Making your bed may end disastrously.  You can quote me on that.

Friday night my parents came in town, and we did some shopping.  After a debacle with her earrings, receipts, etc., Mama ended up going into Handpicked three times that night.  Haha!  Here she is on the grand finale trip.

Saturday was filled with family fun in Summerville, and I got to meet one of my newest cousins, Jayden.  I am nothing short of obsessed with him!

Ryan Carlson  spilled his plate after only a few bites.  This brings our weekly accident score to:

Katharine: 396  Ryan: 1

"Don't worry, love, it's a family affliction..."

What a DOLL!

Definitely one of the day's highlights...

I LOVE him!!!

Who knew lizards had babies?

Put that thing back where it came from, or so help me!

One of my cousins is featured in Better Homes & Gardens!!!

Jayden had the honor of wearing my prized sunglasses that have previously been a topic of conversation.

It was so great to see everyone and take a break from the real world!  I often think about how luxurious it was when I was ten or so and didn't have a care in the world.  I do love my iPhone, but sometimes I dread getting work related calls and emails.  Over half of them do not bring good tidings of great joy; they are news bearers of doom.  What I would give to have a day with no technology (said as I write this blog...).

"Make it stop!"

And to top off our technological trauma for the week- our cable box kicked the bucket yesterday.  It went schizophrenic on us for about 24 hours, with numbers and letters constantly running on the screen.  What was supposed to be a "system update" (thanks for the heads up, Time Warner) ended up completely ruining our box.  Who said I wanted a system update anyway??

Here's hoping that you are spared from any crises this week.  I am constantly reminding myself to be thankful for the good and bad.  After all, many blessings come in disguise, and sometimes we are learning a lesson, or being shielded from worse things.  I came across this verse, and while it was almost humorous as it relates to my life lately, it leads to the explanation that Christ's glory will be revealed through the things we experience.

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."  1 Peter 4:12

There is joy in tribulation.  Christ is making us perfect and chiseling at us.  It's going to hurt, but the finished product will be well worth it.  Our true character is shown most easily when things are tough. If you remember one thing from this post, make sure it's this: being a consistent Christian is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.  It is also something that you must strive for daily.

• If someone at a department store charged you twice, resolve the situation while being kind about it.
• If someone cuts you off in traffic the only gesture you should make is to thank the Lord that you didn't end up in a wreck.
• If you're speaking with a representative for a company who has done you wrong, you must remain Christ-like.  Not only do you get more sugar by being sweet, but it's also the right thing to do.
• If someone is mean to you, take the high road.  I promise you'll never regret it.  After all, if Christians don't show Christ, who will?

"Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did."  1 John 2:6

As June comes to a close, I am looking very forward to the remainder of the summer- looks like it's going to be loads of fun!

Take care, my dear friends,   : D

SIRI-ous Business

I begin this post with some very bad news. I have had my MacBook since 2009. It contains/contained everything I have worked on for the past three years, including home videos, everything involved in my wedding planning, albums, thousands upon thousands of pictures, very important word documents, and in short summary, my life. Ryan was using it two Saturdays ago when the screen went blue.



"It's a Mac," I thought. "It'll restart." After several failed attempts and a panic stricken phone call I took my beloved lap top to Best Buy. The verdict? A crashed hard drive.  Nick from the Geek Squad presented several steps/plans of action but quickly discovered that due to the type of failure that had occurred, I'd have to send the hard drive off to their data recovery center. This made me incredibly nervous, but was, as I saw it, my only hope.

I have been so down in the dumps about this. Three years of my life are on a 4 by 5 inch hard drive that is currently at a recovery center several states away. I may lose everything I have worked so hard to create. I absolutely realize that this is not a life or death situation, but I am crushed at the thought of losing so many documents and files that mean so much to me.  Sometimes I absolutely hate technology.  Let my misfortune be your lesson: back up your data!!!

A ray of hope: last Friday afternoon I talked with a technician, who (after an initial test of my hard drive) said that my chances of getting almost everything back are very high. I will one of the happiest people on the face of this earth if they can recover my stuff, although I will have accumulated a hefty bill... : /  I guess you can't put a price on memories, so I'm hoping for a happy ending.





In other news, my sweet family came to Columbia recently for a couple days of fun. First on the agenda: assembling a bed. When the old one in our guest room finally kicked the bucket, did I go to the nearest furniture store? Oh, no, my friends. I knew immediately who to call: my mother. You see, she has kept what seems like every piece of furniture my family has had through the generations. If I need something that so much as resembles a piece of furniture I have about a 99% chance of getting it for free out of our attic. I keep threatening to put one of these in their yard...





How many Carlsons/Moodys does it take to assemble a bed frame?  Clearly only four, as I was in picture taking mode as usual. Besides, I figure I'm more in the way than anything, and I'm probably right.








I actually cooked the night they came (after notifying all the nearby hospitals for a potential food poisoning situation). On nights when I don't want to eat a lot I make macaroni and cheese, which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.  I find this method to be very effective.




 If I were making chocolate chip cookies, however, half of the dough wouldn't even make it into the oven...






A visit from Mama usually involves some sort of impromptu organization. Case in point:





I can 100% guarantee that on any given occasion or holiday my mother will ask us to clean out a drawer, cabinet, or closet in lieu of a gift. Since she seemingly enjoys it so much, I have no problem with her whizzing around like a fairy on a cleaning spree when she comes to my house for a visit.  Take that, dust bunnies.





The next day we had lunch with Nanny, Papa, & Uncle David to celebrate their 60th anniversary! Nanny shows everyone the place mats from Ryan and me.

 





Later that evening the whirlwinds of fun aka Daniel McLaurin and Dean Shuttleworth came to town and spent the weekend with us. After a movie and delicious meal...



we had some extra energy that needed to be used. Daniel and I spent the next half hour like this...




If a picture says a thousand words, a video must say a million.  Watch at your own risk...








Our dancing selections included Rhianna and Britney, along with many more classics.  The goal is to put together a half time show for the upcoming football season.  Our tour dates are TBA.

The next day was JK & Erin's engagement party! It was great to see everyone, and we are so happy for such a great couple... : )









What's the best way to end your weekend? Going to church on Sunday!




Last week I stopped in a business to give them my card. A typical "cold call," right? Well, to my delight, this was actually a STORE!!! And it had some incredible items. Look at all of those things!  I could hear Ryan's voice in the back of my head as I blissfully pranced around the store,"You don't need that.  It's a dust collector.  A glass parrot; really, Katharine??"






Would you look at this dog bed?!? If/when I ever have a dog, it must sleep in this little piece of fabulousness.



And you can't forget the matching food bowls that are equally as classy...





I did end up finding a Christmas ornament in there that I couldn't resist. I am probably the only salesperson in history who entered a business to sell something and walked out with a purchase. Oh well, I'm always breaking the mold, anyway. Why stop now.

Now I would like to introduce you to the newest member of my family: Siri. I had my old iPhone for a little over a year, and it was getting so slow to operate and was almost completely out of space. Well, a trip to Verizon will fix that.



In the words of Beyonce, "Let me let me upgrade ya."




An hour later I emerged from Verizon with a brand new companion. Siri is amazing, and that's no understatement.  She may just get her own stocking on our fireplace this Christmas.  It is almost scary how much she knows... By just speaking I can send texts, make phone calls, find stores, get directions, and the possibilities are endless.  I say with no shame that I did nothing but ask her questions for a straight hour after leaving Verizon.

Note: do not try this at home if you are not equipped with the right electronics.







"Siri who??? I think you have the wrong number."


Out of all the amazing "apps" out there, the best one has yet to be invented. I am waiting for a "find me" application to be released. I am not exaggerating when I say that I lose my phone at least ten times a day. Because I use it for almost everything: talking, texting, internet research, emailing, pictures, etc., I am carrying it around 24/7 and leave it in every imaginable and even unimaginable place. I need to be able to yell across the house, "Where are you, Siri?!?" followed by, "I'm in the pantry beside the Cheetos where you left me, Princess."  Now THAT I would pay dearly for.  No more runaway iPhone.



This past weekend was awesome!!! On Friday evening Jay made a corn chowder concoction:






This kid even makes his own croutons!  He could survive in the middle of a desert with an old sheet, water bottle, and a single match.




My baking project of choice were these cookies, and they did not disappoint!!




Later I challenged Jay to a dance off. He won- point wise, anyway!





  Truth be told, we both had our fair share of wins and losses...




 

Annnd, here we are playing catch phrase over the weekend. Whoever was on my team would always request to change people the next round, usually because I have a problem paying attention. Who knew??



Squirrel!



Okay, back to reality. Saturday night was action packed.  Out of nowhere I decided that we were going to have tacos for dinner and that I was going to make them.   I should have quit while I was ahead.  Within five minutes of beginning the task I smelled something burning and looked in horror at the frying pan sizzling and crackling with BURNED PAM. That's right, folks, only I could burn cooking spray.



My first orders were to turn on the exhaust fan.  The next damage control step: Mama furiously scrubbed the pan in hopes of salvaging it. I found it quite ironic that for a "non-stick" spray, it wasn't budging.



The Carlson home has a secret ingredient that we add to each meal to ensure maximum flavor and spice: it's arguing.  Taco night ended up being a success, but Mama is going to hide the Pam from me next time...

Saturday evening I watched some baseball with Ryan's family, visited with Lauren, and topped off my evening with a fun trip to the Lewis's! Bennett suggested that we make Sundaes! That took no persuasion whatsoever. They were delicious!!



My bowl. Do you want some ice cream with those sprinkles? I went back and got more later.



Sunday was Father's Day!!! I love Daddy so very much and was thrilled to spend time with him and the family this weekend.

After church on Sunday at the wonderful First Baptist of Dillon we headed to a Father's Day cookout with Ryan's family. My father-in-law modeling one of his new shirts:



Well, hello, Jamie!




Beautiful Lexie and Carrie, fresh out of high school!  Goodness, time flies...



This must be one of Ryan's new favorite faces...



After the cookout we had gift time for Daddy.  He really racked up this year!



I usually create some sort of art work on the card's envelope. This year's included: books, eating utensils, a hammer, malted milk balls, a game piece, a sausage, and a computer mouse. Congratulations if you guessed all of those items at first glance. You win an imaginary prize.




Reading his long and humorous card.




One of the first gifts he opened was this hat. He put it on and said that it was "too shallow" and wouldn't sit all the way down on his head. A few minutes later we realized why...



He left the paper inside of it. Oh, Daddy.

 

Then he opened a pair of new shoes.  Did you know that footwear comes with rules? His did. Mama said that these were "not for yard work or running; these were for nicer occasions."  I'm not exactly sure what would fall into the nicer occasion category- a trip to Food Lion perhaps?

  

Next up in our world of confusion: he opens this gift, and I yell, "Mama, you wrapped mine!!! That's my shirt; not Daddy's!" He would have definitely gotten a few stares if he had worn that around town...



All in all he had a wonderful Father's Day!



Daddy and his "kids."

I will be forever grateful to have grown up in a home with two parents who raised me in church, taught me about Jesus, and loved Jay and me more than they love themselves.


"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

This house is going to be grand central station this week. We've got a lot going on, and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Have a splendidly wonderful week, my friends : D

Siri's Master,