Plans

Plan for April
1. Quit my job

Plan for May
1. Visit Europe

Plan for June
1. Move to St. Louis

Plan for the rest of my life
1. Learn to like St. Louis

Highlights of 2010

You were probably thinking (hoping?) that I had forgotten about this blog. But great news, I'm back and only 3 months late for my annual year-in-review post.

I have decided to model this year's entry after People Magazine's esteemed 'Best and Worst of 2010' issue.

Why only hit the high notes when there was so much more to 2010- as evidenced by my groundbreaking four posts in the one short month of February.

And, I don't like to brag, but I had some pretty big celebrity encounters this year, and a People Magazine-esque feature seems fitting.

Here we go.

People magazine starts off with some Top 10 lists:

Top 10- Movies

I'm not a big movie person and I may have gone to the theaters once the whole year. There is no way i can list 10 movies. In fact I'm having a hard time remembering what movies I saw this year.

Okay I googled "movies released in 2010" and looked through the list which took entirely too long to find out I only saw "The Grown Ups" and "Despicable Me".

Sorry.

Top 10- TV Shows

This is more my lifestyle. My favorites this year in alphabetical order:

1. Better With You (I'm slightly ashamed)

2. Castle

3. Cougar Town (I'm not ashamed at all)
4. How I Met Your Mother
5. NCIS
6. Outsourced (Should I be ashamed?)

7. Parenthood

8. Raising Hope
9. The Good Wife
10. The Mentalist

Top 10- Music

My favorite music experience this year was the Something Corporate concert. It was amazing. It should count for at least my top 5 favorite music likes of 2010.

6. Miike Snow,  Miike Snow (whole album)

7. The Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (whole album) 

8. Jay-Z, Empire State of Mind (single) *without this song, on repeat, i might not have completed that 5k

9. Far East Movement, Like a G6 (single) 

10. Passion Pit, Chunk of Change (whole EP)

Top 10 books

I'm not going to lie even though I kinda want to, I only read one book this year. But it was outstanding. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I know it's being made into a movie which is great but read the book if you like good books.

And now the traditional top 10 list. 

Tops of 2010

1. Richie went to Africa on a dental mission
1. Richie came home from Africa alive and without malaria

2. I had fun...

...and i love my friends.

3. Someone left a box of Star Crunch out on the break room table

4. I got a promotion so I could pay for Richie's new computer.

5. - 7.
omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

So I met Matt Cassel and Andy Studebaker and Brodie Croyle and each time I acted calm and collected and was totally cool and said everything I wanted to say.

Or not.

But it was still fun to meet them, they were all super nice to me (what? they have to be?) and I don't want to keep rubbing it in your face about how cool I am BUT... I was ALSO within 10 feet of quite a few others including but not limited to Eric Berry, Dwayne Bowe, Ryan Succop, Barry Richardson, Rudy Niswanger, Dustin Colquitt and Jon McGraw. I KNOW.

I had some reservations about putting these pictures on the internet, what if Matt, Andy or Brodie happen to see them? Would they be angry? Ultimately I decided their thought process would be more like: "I immediately forgot that girl after I met her, but now I see she loves me. I am so famous and awesome. I will now immediately forget her again."

I assume at a certain point in our lives, we're all going to have to accept that there are strange photos of us floating around out there on the internet.

8. Speaking of the Chiefs, they had a winning record (10-6) and won the AFC West.

9. Speaking of the Chiefs, I went to training camp and was hot but happy. I went to a few games and was cold but happy.

10. Antoine Dodson. 

Weddings of the Year

There were many great weddings this year- but only one where I was in the bridal party. 

Being the matron of honor sounds fun, until you find out it involves things like this:

Just kidding, I loved Erica's wedding and being her MOH. Fine, one of her three MOH's.

Babies!

I have two new boyfriends this year. 

Emerson 

and Max

mmmmm...babies.


Splits (Breakups) of 2010

I "decorated" a co-workers office with magazine cutouts while he was on vacation. He didn't like it. In fact I'd say our relationship hasn't been the same since.

Tributes
I am really thankful I don't have to tribute anyone for 2010.

HOWEVER

Someone at Aloha Chopsticks tried to murder me by putting this shard of glass in my sweet and sour chicken.  

 

That's it. Here's to more blogging in 2011. What's left of it. 

the office burns down

I'm so glad Melissa commented so I could see just how bad things really are. at this point, i wish i never even tried to tell the stupid poinsettia story, but now i'm too far into this pit of bad joke despair that i feel i have to try and explain it all.

So every year around Christmas, my company buys poinsettias for most everyone. They look like this:

Well Don was leaving for vacation and decided to play a joke on Cathy and ask her to water his plant. The joke was going to be when she walked in to this office with a watering can, she would see this:

so really it was Don's joke on Cathy. He did that to his own plant and was not seriously wanting her to water it.

this is what happens when i try to blog twice in one month. it's just too much pressure.

the office follow up

i have something very important to discuss. did my last post make sense? did you get Don's joke? I knew my retelling of the story wouldn't be nearly as funny as when it happened in real life. But I feel like my retelling maybe wasn't funny at all.

that's ok. i really just wanted to make a new post so I could show this adorable picture of richie in college i found tonight in my iPhoto library:

mmmmmmmm

the office

Don: "Catharine I need you to come into my office for a minute"
Me: "Okay"

(Don and I walk into his office)

Don: "I've asked Cathy to take care of my poinsettia while I'm on vacation."
Me: "Okay"
Don: "Will you make sure she is watering it regularly?"
Me: "Okay"

(awkward silence while i wonder about Don's obviously troubled past that has lead to this lack of trust in people to complete simple tasks like plant sitting)

(I see Don's eyes shift over to the corner of his office)

(I look over)
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(I laugh for the next 2 hours)

Highlights of 2009 - with pictures!

Late, but a recap of some favorite moments from 2009:


1.Melissa got married (It was my first time being a bridesmaid so I thought I was a pretty big deal)

2. Vacation to Hawaii

3. My best friend took me to see Demetri Martin for my birthday

Disappointed Demetri Martin isn't in this picture? Me too.


4. Richie passed NBDE Part 1
(there are no pictures of this and Richie wouldn't let me photograph his test results because he would be so embarrassed if anyone found out he scored in the top 15% of the nation) 


5. The night I wore a windbreaker and neon Umbro shorts to Power & Light  Marissa's 1984 themed 25th Birthday Party

6. I got a raise

Pioneer Woman

some blogs are lame. for example this one, which you are probably reading because you are my friend and feel obligated.

however-

some blogs are not.

one such non-lame blog that i read is The Pioneer Woman's . I'm pretty sure many of my obligated friends read her blog too, just without the obligation aspect.

I would now like to take you on a photographic journey through the night during which I met the Pioneer Woman....

She walks out of the stage door. Everyone stands up and blocks my flash.

She's getting closer. I see she is wearing a purple velvet blazer thing yet looks awesome.

Then she sits down to answer questions and be funny and smart and more awesome. I come to the realization that even without flash blockers, my camera is worthless.

Then she does Napoleon Dynamite and Ethel Merman impressions- only one of which i have to google when i get home to fully appreciate.

Then I got Marlboro Man's autograph. I talked to MM! It was a magical moment which Beth Ann tired to capture on my camera from the other side of the room. The picture didn't turn out quite like I had hoped.

Then Beth Ann got autographs from PW's two sons who were hilarious and adorable x2. I cry silently to myself after seeing my face in the picture of me and MM.

Then it's time for the real deal. People line up for PW. My friend Ashleigh and her mom were there and had really good ticket numbers. To spite my camera, i take some shots with my iPhone.

Then my turn arrives. I sit down and immediately begin blabbering a story about this burn mark on my nose from a tragic grease splatter incident that occurred while trying to make her chicken fried steak the night before in celebration of THIS VERY MOMENT.

After realizing I got some blah on her jacket, I show her my sweaty palms and explain I'm nervous.

Then I confess that the grease splatter burn only occurred because I don't own the proper kitchen utensils.

Then a miracle- she laughs with/at me. It's possible that this picture only captured a coincidental moment where we are both laughing at the same time, but if you squint, it looks like she thinks I'm funny.

And finally, here we are. Just two bloggers, faces overexposed by my remorseless camera flash.