little baby Katie

Hi friends! I hope you have had a great week. It has been absolutely nuts for me, but as promised, I am keeping up with my new tradition of...
Meet-Someone-New Monday

For this week's edition, I have decided to introduce you to my roommate. She was among my first friends I made in college and pretty quickly I knew we would be friends - whether it was from the late night adventures or the constant smell of vanilla coffee coming from her room, I cannot be sure. But early on, her heart and love for people was evident and I was blessed enough to be on the receiving end of it. Now over the years, she has shown some more flare and sometimes her sassy tone is so thick it cannot be measured, but beneath all of that is a loving and caring and faithful friend who will stand up and fight for you regardless of the obstacles you face. She has a gift to see another person's needs and readily experiences heartache along with those she loves. She cried with me when my last roommate got engaged and she celebrated with me when my nephew was born. Though we disagree and have definitely gone to battle on opposing teams, we can most always move on and up and continue to walk closely through life together. Throughout college we double-dated to several date functions and formals and there is no one else I would want on my side through those events. We introduced ourselves as "Hi we're Katie" We dressed up like mariachi people. We have chased the sun.

She likes outdoor music and small town festivals. She loves coffee. She could play cliff, kiss or marry until the cows come home. She bakes a mean cinnamon scone and taught me how to cook homemade pancakes. She enjoys reading and can quote most movies from beginning to end. She keeps up with celebrity drama. She is great at painting her nails. She is frugal. She would post a selfie every day if I let her (but knowingly she asks my permission). She plans ahead to eat dessert by eating less at a meal. She takes care of herself. She challenges me. She wouldn't be mad if Adam Levine showed up on her doorstep with a bouquet and ring. She lets me borrow her jewelry, her dresses, her books, her coffee mugs, her advice. She is straight laced, but she takes risks. She knows she's beautiful.
She is definitely someone worth celebrating.
So today, I want to wish my sweet roommate a very, very...
Happy Birthday, Katie Lee!

I am oh so happy and thankful to know you!

poor Monday...

Happy Monday, Friends!
Dontcha just hate it when people say that - happy Monday? Is it even possible for Mondays to be happy? Well typically I don't think so but a few weeks ago, the inanimate Monday took on a whole personality that turned rather Eeyore-like when she heard that I didn't think she could be happy... I have a problem with inanimate objects suddenly having feelings and personality. Most days it's a curse (like when poor Dorie (my car) has a bad day, or when my straightener just doesn't feel like heating up, or when I apologize to the table I just ran into), but I will tell you that it does make life a little more fun and a little less frustrating :) So awhile back, I decided that I needed Monday to have more of an identity and since I enjoy writing, I thought it should also connect to my blog. So I have decided to do a weekly post.....

And that brings me to my point that today is (drum roll, please)...

Meet-Someone-New Monday!

Each week (or whenever I decide to blog on a Monday - let's not get crazy over-promising here...) I will be spotlighting someone in my life that I think you should meet or I will be introducing you to someone (or something) I just met myself.
Today I would like for you to meet Mr. and Ms. Starbucks Barista.
Very rarely have I ever had a bad experience at Starbucks. I mean sometimes all I need is to walk into a coffee shop and suddenly whatever mess I have found myself in seems a little smaller. This morning when I woke up it was strangely dark outside and it was absolutely pouring. Obviously I was going to need something more riveting than work to get me out of bed - I know you know what I'm talking about. Some days I just need a little extra encouragement to get the day rolling - and did I mention that it's Monday??? So I told myself that if I just got up, got ready and got in the car, I could go to Starbucks on my way to work. And today, that was enough motivation. So I got up, got dressed, got in the car (with my homemade coffee in hand) and drove to Starbucks. Since I had to run an errand for work this morning, my usual Starbucks was not on my way so I resorted to visiting a new one - luckily there is caffeine waiting in a white recyclable cup on just about every corner. This Starbucks (really it's more of a kiosk) is located inside of the Tom Thumb on 3040 and Valley in Flower Mound, TX. When I walked up to the counter, I was greeted by a huge smile and two people who seemed to be morning people. Both olderish (fifties I would say?), both seemingly happy to be there, both acknowledging and completely understanding that today is Monday, both hoping to wake up their few customers with light conversation. I wonder if "Are you a morning person?" is in the list of interview questions for coffee shop staff. Just by a person's facial expression, you could tell if you're talking to the bluebird of happiness or mr. grumpy gills. Now I know there are some of you out there who think that if you met the bluebird of happiness at 8 AM on a Monday morning, you might have to cause bodily harm to the poor guy, but that was the great thing about these baristas. They were calmly content, happily chatting with each other and those of us waiting, graciously brewing and decorating with foam, and purposefully connecting with each face. As I was left, I paused to consider that maybe for them it really was a happy Monday. And perhaps the rain wasn't so bad. And maybe I should just stop and recognize that five minutes can just be five minutes or it can be a chance to bring a little light, a little laughter and a little optimism. Funny enough, I decided Monday needed a little bit of a new perspective weeks ago, long before I had met Mr. and Ms. Starbucks Barista, but as I was leaving today, I thought it the perfect way to begin Meet-Someone-New Mondays :)

So, thank you Mr. and Ms. Starbucks Barista. I appreciate all that you do.