A full post on my super fun day in NYC is going to appear tomorrow.  I promise.  But I am just trying to play catch up and am still exhausted.  So today, you get a teaser.

Waiting to get inside!

A shot of the full studio right before Anderson came out.

At the 911 Memorial.  And a RARE photo of me on the blog.

I'm about to head into my very first TV show taping and I am beyond excited!  I've always wanted to see how a show is produced.  And today is that day.  I about to see a taping of Anderson Live!

Of course this is exciting.  But it's an even bigger deal as I have been a complete Anderson fan since the early 90's.  Oh yes, we (as in me and Anderson) go back to his earliest days on Channel One (with Lisa Ling).  Gah...this is such a geeky moment for me and I am all sorts of squeaky thrilled!

Crossing my fingers I can snag the much coveted Tweet Seats.  But I know either way, it will be a completely fun experience to share with my sweet dad who is along for the adventure with me.

And obviously I will be back tomorrow with details of my day romping around NYC and what it was like to be in the audience of a talk show.

Have you ever seen any sort of TV show produced?  Which one and how was your experience? 

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This article is great.  Brief and to the point.  I can check off eight of the 10 signs.  And yet I don't test positive for celiac.  But living gluten free makes such a big difference in my life.

I've also had slips.

I can go months of being vigilant and then December rolls around and I just toss all logic out the window.  But this year, my goal is to be really really good.  I do make a conscience exception for a few things, number one being pie.  But as I only make a pie a few times a year, I am personally OK with that.  There just isn't an acceptable GF method to make pie crust.



This year, I really encourage you to try out a few weeks eating totally gluten free.  Just to test the waters.  And see if it make a difference in your mind and body.  It's not as hard as you might think!

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Well...I did NOT see last night on Downton coming!  At all!  Shock of all shocks for me.

But let me preface this by saying I have amazing willpower when it comes to television, books and movies.  During the Olympics, I literally watch and read no news for fear of ruining the experience of the end result.  Instead, I stay awake until 2AM to have that in the moment experience.  I don't want to know what you bought me for Christmas (though I do think clues are totally fun).  I LOVE surprise parties (I've been blessed with several).  I don't skip to the end of a book. 

Sadly, I do not have this same willpower when it comes to other aspects of my life. 

But I do not watch more than the previews on PBS.  I don't read ahead or check blogs of those I know have already watch the British version.  I like to be in the moment for whatever odd reason.

So I did not expect my very favorite, or er, I guess second favorite (Anna is my very favorite), character to be killed off.  And in such a flippin' dramatic way.  Holy me oh my...that was a big way for Lady Sybil to exit the show!

I was feeling actual, tangible anger towards the two doctors who just threw up their hands and were all like, oh yea, nothing we can do, good luck with that, and stood in the corner.  But the whole time, my cup runneth over and is never half empty except when I am woeful about being old self still believed she would live. 

Y'all...I cried.  Over a TV show.  But a really good TV show so it's OK, right?

Oh and did anyone catch the baby's name?  I don't think they mentioned it but perhaps my shock blocked me from hearing it. 

I can't wait for the battle over the baby's baptism.  That actually reminds me of present day America.  Some things have yet to change.

And yet again, Lady Mary proves herself to be a total brat.  She's so pretty but such a snot.  She is clearly not yet on board with a penny saved is a penny earned mentality.

Sybil's been dead for a minute and a half and I already miss her.

Someone please tell me if there are some joyful moments in this season.  So far, there's been a lot of doom and gloom.

Who am I kidding...I don't want to know.  So please don't give it away.  I'll just cross my fingers that Matthew saves the day, despite Mary's bratty demands, and the baby girl gets a name.

Coming home from Florida before Christmas, I had a long layover in Orlando.  If you have a long layover, that's a good airport to be in.  They have the most spectacular people watching of all the airports.

Including but not limited to...
* Entire families wearing matching Disney themed t-shirts.
* More Mickey ears than you could ever dream possible.
* Boy/girlfriend couples who are good and grown toting around stuffed animals.
* Children on leashes.
* Families wearing matching family reunion t-shirts.  (Don't get me going on how insane I think those are with your name and personal information displayed for all to see.)
* Airport employees avoiding working and the boss and taking up the good seats that allow paying passengers to charge cell phones.
* Lines and lines of old people in wheelchairs.
* Tights...not even leggings...worn as pants.  TIGHTS!
* People screaming at the airline employees after the gate closes, even though they were paged several times and are toting Starbucks cups meaning they chose to get java and hold up a plane full of 200 other passengers and then have the nerve to get mad that the flight left without them.

But I am never brave enough to film any of that.

I did however manage to snap a pic of this fashion treasure on a woman in her 50's.  Those shoes that promise to make you lose weight but were discovered to not make a dang bit of difference other than make you look like you are wearing orthopedic shoes paired with some Toddlers and Tiaras style lace ruffle socks.  And of course, my favorite, leggings (which are NOT pants).




You saw it here first folks...this is quite possibly the new black.  And is no doubt coming to a TLC show in the very near future!

This is a sort of silly post.  Because 1. this is all over Pinterest and 2. this hardly requires an entire post due to complexity.  But unless I read this elsewhere, I would not have been in the know.  So in case y'all are curious too, here is a great little project that takes exactly eight seconds and cuts your hand soap bill down to just 1/3.

I love foaming hand soap.  It's fun.  And well...I just prefer it.  Soap is not expensive.  However, I have found that foaming soap is more expensive than regular hand soap.  Which is really funny when you read how to make your own foaming hand soap.

Ready?  Can you handle this crazy recipe?  I think you can.




DIY Foaming Hand Soap

Ingredients:
* Empty foaming hand soap bottle
* Your favorite brand of regular hand soap
* Water




Directions:
* Fill an empty foaming hand soap bottle 2/3 full of water.  This is about the only tricky step.  Remembering to add the water FIRST.  Trust me on that one.  You will have foam everywhere otherwise.  Water first first first.
* Fill the bottle that now contains 2/3 water with 1/3 regular hand soap of choice.
* Put the lid back on and call it a day!




Seriously, that's it!

Did you pick up on the funny part that I noted above?  Foaming soap is more expensive than regular soap.  But it uses 2/3 less product!

OK so it's not a roll on the floor funny.  But it's a little funny, right?  No?  Moving on...

Go forth and make foamy soap.  All the cool kids are doing it!

Sending up prayers for a loved one today who is working on a BIG project.  And if you don't mind, could you send one up too?  God will understand.

In December I decided that it was a good idea to finally post a few items I've had in my "to sell" pile on Ebay.  I mean, I am just a feast or famine kind of girl.  I procrastinate until I decide to do every single thing on my to do list at the same time and drive myself insane. 

See...I need big lessons on how to better balance my life!

One of the items, my highest value item, sold for more than I ever anticipated.  Wow!  At the last minute, a bidder bid it way up and won by $10.  Merry Christmas to me.

And then an hour or two later, Bidder emailed me to say they had no intention of paying and sorry Charlie.

What the heck!  You can't do that, can you?  Why would you bid at all??

Bidder told me to offer it to the next person.

I was LIVID!

In the spirit of Christmas, I did offer it to the next person.  Who did not want it anymore. 

But Ebay no longer lets you leave negative feedback.  You can only file a case regarding an unpaid item.  And the directions regarding how to do this and when are very, very confusing.  It "highly suggests" you let Ebay do "automatic close" of the cases.  OK, I enabled that.

And the other night, I was told it was closed.  But nothing more. 

And on top of that, I was still being billed, with threats of a late fee for non-payment, for the item.  And it was not like a $2 bill. 

So confused and refusing to pay this super high bill, I finally just called Ebay today.  And I am so thankful that I did.

It seems that I didn't even open or close the case the right way.  Which is a negative towards Ebay because I did what they directed me to do and have checked it every few days for the past month.  They need to revamp their written directions.  But I will say they redeemed themselves in the customer service department.

The gal who took my call was awesome.  She tried to explain what I did wrong until we both felt I sort of understood.  And she fixed the fee because she could see that I did do something, even though the date was now a few days past when the fee should be waived.  But she could clearly tell that I thought I had taken the required steps.  She suggested (and I did) I stay on the line until she could see on her end that the fee was removed.  I mean, this was seriously the best customer service I have experienced in a very long time.

So even though Ebay was confusing to maneuver and I am bitter that I cannot leave negative feedback for this jerk bidder, I am very relieved that the fee was ultimately waived by an awesomesauce customer service rep today.

In the summer I consumer fresh fruits and veggies all day long.  Especially in July and August when everything is growing locally.  But the rest of the year, I go through cycles.  And lately, I have been really terrible about getting in a healthy amount of greens in my diet.

I also saw a photo of myself last night taken this past weekend.  And I gasped.  Out loud.

Why is it that I look in the mirror and see one thing but then a photo shows me an entirely different reality?

I have gained a lot of weight.  And I just in general did not look healthy.  Probably because I have been eating a lot more white than green lately.

So this week, I am back to making green smoothies.  Which for me, are really just regular smoothies that also include spinach and/or kale.




As I am trying to cut way back on dairy, I don't include any.  But you could certainly add in milk or yogurt if you prefer.  My typical "recipe" is a bit of juice (not a lot though- just a splash if I have some on hand), greens (fresh or frozen), 1 banana (usually a banana that has turned dark so I froze it), some other frozen fruit (whatever berries I have or sometimes mango or pineapple), and water.  Blend it up- add water if it's too thick.




It's an awesome way to start the day.  Yummy and filling and gives me a good serving of dark greens right from the get go!

Now if only I could force feed myself a giant salad every day for lunch.  I'm good about dinner.  But lunch is usually more of a quick grab and go situation.  Baby steps, right.  This week, I'm covering breakfast.  I'll worry about a greener lunch next week.

One month from today, doctors everywhere will call me officially old.  I will be the age I have dreaded for six years. 

I am not married. 

I have no children.

I don't even own a home.

And from where I am standing, down here on a sidewalk full of melting, dirty snow, it doesn't seem like any of it will ever happen.

I feel so lost.  More specifically, I feel like I have lost.  Lost in life.

I am not sure I really believe the whole "everything happens in God's perfect timing" business.  That sort of seems like it is just what people who have it all tell people like me who are all mopey and hopeless.  Though admittedly, I use that line all the time.  So there, I'm human and confusing.

If this isn't going to happen for me, I just pray that you please take away the desire for a family. 

It's downright cruel at this point.  I spend way too much time spinning my wheels trying to rationalize why I don't deserve to have a family like everyone else.  I didn't grow up with a lot of love so I won't be able to give enough love to a family.  I'm too fat.  I'm too old.  I didn't grow up wanting kids so I somehow forfeit my dreams to have them now.  I'm not good enough.  I don't like noisy kid toys.  I don't like playing sports.  My style doesn't fit in.  I'm not smart enough.  I'm not pretty.  I'm not a cheerful, morning person.  I'm not motivated enough.  I procrastinate.  I have a lot of bad hair days.  I don't like cartoons.  I watch too much TV and read too few books.  I'm too reserved.  I'm too opinionated.  I'm not kind enough.  And the list of irrational self-banter goes on. 

Midnight is the devil for a single girl inching up on youth's last call!

So God, do you think you could do me a favor?  Just add it to the never-ending list.  I need you to please take this desire out of my heart.  Because it is literally breaking me.  If you don't have a perfect match for me, I get it.  I guess.  Not everyone wins the lottery.  But the aching desire is tearing me apart.  It's the only song I own and it plays on a loop, every minute of the day.

Please show me a new way to focus my thoughts.  Offer up a new life goal or direction.  Please.  Please!

xoxo,
KK

I just popped on Gilt for a quick peek and am completely in love with the following shoes.  The pink with the black toe...swoon!  Those are just beyond adorable!  So of course I had to share. 








So yesterday I shared some big news that I have been holding close to my chest for several months.  I have a feeling I am going to go through some ups and downs during this transition.  Not being in the know, while freeing, will also feel strange.  I have been the first point of contact for just about everything over the last seven years.  I've also had the privilege to see some really amazing girls grow up into completely fabulous women and even a few into very dear friends. 

Advising has brought me to tears a lot.  But there have been some truly beautiful moments, too.  I have grown up so much during my tenure.  I had no idea what I was doing that first year.  But I worked hard.  I gave everything I had and then I gave more.  I can truly say that I did my best.  And while not often good enough, I know I did try.  The lessons will last me a lifetime.

Letting go will not be as easy as those not involved seem to think.  It has played such a major role in my daily life for a very long time.

But that's part of the process.  It will teach me.  I will grow.  And friends are forever.  Facebook ensures that, right?!

Lest you think I will have great big gobs of free time to finally sit back and relax, fear not.  I am not nearly as practical as you are thinking.  Those who know me in real life or have become dear bloggy friends know full well that I have a wicked case of Can't-Say-No-Itis. 

The next few years, I am giving more time to my beloved Junior League.  I think this is my ninth active year.  So that's a full decade as a Leaguer.  And I plan to go out with a bang.  I've quietly accepted a big position for the next two years. 

I'm nervous.  But excited for the challenge.  And the experience to continue working with some of the most spectacular women, who inspire me daily. 

My personal growth goals for the next season of volunteering are...

* Judge less.  Everyone has a story.
* Don't be snarky.  While amusing, it doesn't really accomplish anything.
* Listen more than I speak.  Everyone really just wants to be heard.
* Say thank you.  I feel gratitude all the time, but I often overlook the importance of sharing it.

Have y'all ever stepped down from a position that was a major aspect of your daily life, be it paid employment or volunteer?  Do you have any tips as I make this transition?  Because as happy as I am about this break from advising and new role in the League, I'm absolutely certain my heart will hurt a little as I let go of my old role. 

I'm obviously rather delighted today.  Though truth be told, I always watch Inaugurations.  Constitutionally they are the same, they get the big names to sing, and they are just plain fun!

They also make me believe there are mistakes in the Constitution.  Because who in their right mind thinks its a good idea to stand outside all day in DC in January.  If you've ever been to any Inaugural events (I have...I was blessed to have a friend with a much cooler job that came with much cooler perks when I lived in DC eight years ago...thanks Jules), you know it is damn cold!

As much as I love all things aristocratic, royal and just in general, British, I think it's completely amazing to be an American!

God Bless America!

Today is my last day as a sorority Chapter Advisor.

After exactly seven years of hard work, tears, laughter and life lessons, I have decided it is time to move on to another season of life.  It took me a long time to get to this point.  I struggled with the decision for about two years.  But now that I am here, I have absolute peace about the decision.

More than I can express though, I will miss my fellow advisors.  They are some of the most spectacular women I have ever met.  I love them so dearly and will make certain they remain life-long friends.

Today is very bittersweet.  But for me and my well-being, I am very clear that it is the greatest decision.  To everything, there is a season. 

When God helps you close one door, look around, because there is a window open in that house somewhere, y'all! 

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Who watched the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah this week?

I sure as heck did!

Because I am a believer until the bitter end.  I believe in goodness until the proof is on my doorstep.  Like a fool.

I could care less about riding bikes.  And even about Lance, himself.  But I had the hardest time wrapping my mind around Lance getting away with doping for that many years, in that many high profile races, and with that many people around him.  I just didn't believe it.

So the interview was in two parts.  Want to know why?

Because Lance is a boooooring interview!

Good golly, he is not that exciting of a person.  He talks in circles.  Does a lot of the self ask questions.  You know, "Why did I do that?  Good questions.  ...."  Where he asks himself questions.  And just sort of talks forever to say absolutely nothing. 

Oprah must have been bored out of her gourd.  And annoyed.  She had to re-ask questions a good bit.  I'm sure she was thinking, "just answer the damn question so we can all go home, Lance!" 

And pu-leeze...you can't run in a 10K or the Chicago Marathon?  Who the heck cares?!  #richmaddiddrugsproblems  Grow up.  That's not a real problem.  Holy dumb complaint!

What annoyed me the most was how smug he was.  He had such a false humility about him.  Gag!

I don't believe he is sorry.  Not one skinny bit.

But that's just me.  I'm curious to know what others thought.  News media seemed rather praise-worthy of the interview but I am not sure if the praise was for Oprah, the topic or Lance. 

When I write a post in IE, Blogger won't allow me to add photos.  But if I switch to Chrome (which I like less than IE), it does allow me to add photos to posts.

Is anyone else having this issue?

And if so, do you know of a solution?

It's super annoying.  I mean, I'm trying to get back in the groove of blogging.  But not being able to upload photos is frustrating.  It's not like my world is ending.  I'll live, of course.  But this seems like there should be an easy solution that I am just overlooking.

The year 2012 ended and the year 2013 began on a really down note. 

I came home from FL on the 23rd feeling a little run down.  I only sat down to eat lunch on the 24th and by the afternoon of the 25th, I had a full on head cold.  But I had zero time to do anything about it until about 9PM.  So basically I ran my body into the ground.  Also on the 23rd, bestie Florida sent a text to say that Godson had pink eye.  As in, an hour after Florida and Godson dropped me off at the airport.

You see where this is going, right?

So the 26th I have zero plans.  And I give myself the entire day to just be still and quiet in bed. 

But instead of feeling better, I was feeling worse.  I think I let my cold go too long without doing anything (I mean, no sitting, no hot tea, no Advil, nothing).  A little something was becoming a bigger something.

And then my right eye hurt.  Really really badly. 

And then it turned magenta.

And then I was just in pain all over.

Dad had to drive me to the doctor.  Where the nurse wanted to give me an eye test.  So I have no glasses on.  I am pretty blind out of my right eye as it is wretched with magenta pink eye.  I can't see more than a few feet out of either eye without my dang glasses.  And nurse I-insist-you-attempt-to-do-this-eye-test-for-like-10-minutes-and-act-rude-when-you-fail-it-because-hello-you-are-flippin-blind-at-the-moment just cannot get over the fact that I am unable to see. 

Anyway, I acquired drugs.  I never go get drugs so you know this was BAD.

I was told I was going to be better shortly and no longer contagious in 24 hours.

In 24 hours I was worse.

In 48 hours, I was having a full on panic attack (on the floor in a ball crying because I was in so much pain and blind and coughing and dying...I knew I had the plague and death was around the corner) because the right eye was still miserable and the left eye was also now magenta and in so much pain. 

I went back for more meds.  New drugs because the first batch did nothing.  The doctor was pretty in awe of how bad it was.  How special to wow your doctor with the depth of your misery!

It took about two weeks to completely get rid of the cold and pink eyes. 

So that's how I ended and started my years.  Boo!

But the great news is that 2013 can really only get better!  Even though I had a rough start and feel a little behind the curve, I am getting back on track.  And I am going to do some fun things this year.  None of which include colored eyeballs!

And that is the recap on why I have been rather scarce around Blogville.

I spied this recipe on one of my favorite gluten free recipe blogs this morning and decided they were an absolute NEED to make it through the snow day. Who can argue with a legit need, right?

It was my first time making biscotti because I always imagined they took ages to make. Or rather bake, as I knew you had to bake them twice. But it really took very little effort. These will be a regular in my kitchen for sure!

You should be able to make them just fine with normal, non gluten free flour, though I have not personally tried it. I am writing down the recipe as I did make two small changes to the original.

They taste amazing! Very lightly sweet. Perfection with a cup of Kona coffee, compliments of my sweetest friend Kara who just spent two weeks in paradise and thought that was the same as bringing me on her family trip. And it kind of was as I was totally not expecting it. But geeze Kara, I'm bendy and totally could have fit in your suitcase. But I digress. These little nibbles are awesome with a cup-o-joe on a cold, snowy day.




Starbucks-like Vanilla Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups flour (I used Better Batter gluten free flour blend)
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp kosher salt
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup raw almonds, finely chopped (mine were salted because that's what I had on hand. I whizzed them in the food processor to get them chopped up.)
* 2 large eggs
* 2 tbls melted butter
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsp almond extract

Directions:

* Pre-heat oven to 350.
* Mix together all ingredients in large bowl. Dough will be thick and a bit tacky. You might need to use your hands to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
* Line baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.
* Dump dough onto lined baking sheet and mold into a large, flat log. Mine was about 1" thick and 3" wide. And then however long you can get it- mine was maybe 9" long.




* Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
* Remove from oven and let cool on cooking sheet for about 10 minutes or until it is cool enough to touch.
* Lower oven to 300.
* Cut on a slight bias (or however you feel like cutting it) to create about a dozen cookies. Lay each slice on a cut side down. Don't worry about them being close together as they are not going to puff up or expand at this point.
* Bake at 300 for 10 minutes. Then flip each piece over to the other side. Bake 10 or so minutes more, depending on desired crunchiness.
* Enjoy warm or cooled and dunked into a cup of coffee.





** My addition was the butter and an extra tsp of almond extract. The butter makes the cookies a little less crunchy (though still rather crunchy and easy to dunk) but I like the texture and flavor it offers. Use the original recipe (what you see above minus the butter) if you are looking for a harder cookie.

I made this up as I went along last night but need to write it down for future use.  Ooooh doggy as it good!  An absolute winner and perfect for the cold front that is moving through town.  It's hearty and filling and yummy.  Oh and it is SOOO fast to make.  Unlike lasagna which takes quite a while to both assemble and cook.  This was done in under an hour.  And probably less, but I had to walk the dog so I just let this simmer while we took our evening stroll.

It can be made very low fat if you use ground turkey instead of sausage.  One thing I don't use is fat free ricotta cheese.  I used to but then I tasted part skim and I am a convert.  It has a much better flavor and texture.  The fat free has a strange plastic-like feel to it.  But you go ahead and use whatever makes you happy. 





Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:
* 1 small package sausage or ground meat
* 2 tsp minced garlic
* 1 jar of pasta sauce
* 1 small can tomato paste
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 2 tbls Italian seasoning
* 1 tbls dried onion
* water (fill pasta sauce jar x3)
* 1 box of your favorite pasta
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2-1 cup ricotta cheese, plus more for topping
* mozzarella cheese for topping








Directions:
* In large, heavy bottom pot, brown meat in a little EVOO until cooked through.  As it cooks, break meat into smaller chunks with a spoon.
* Add minced garlic and cook for a few minutes.  Careful not to burn garlic.
* Add pasta sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes.  Add seasoning.
* Fill sauce jar with water about three times and add water to pot.  It will seem very watery- don't worry.
* Mix well and adjust seasoning as needed.
* Turn temp down to med-low if you plan to leave to walk your dog.  Otherwise keep an eye on it.
* Add box of pasta.
* Once pasta has cooked and soup has thickened up as a result, add ricotta cheese.  Mix well and again taste for seasoning.
* Serve topped with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and a big green salad. 

** To make in the crockpot, brown meat first and then put everything, including pasta, into your crockpot on low all day.

Every Christmas, I give sort of a themed gift to the five kids in my family.  Though one of them is 17 now so I think he might be aging out of the kid gifts.  Here are links to the last few years. 




And here is what I did this year.  Which I decided to do well over six months ago.  When I found marshmallow/hot dog roasting sticks in the $1 section at Target this past summer.  They are awesome because they extend to about double their length.

Kits include:
* 1 marshmallow roasting stick
* 1 bag of homemade marshmallows
* 2 little bags of graham crackers
* lots of chocolate and candy bars

Directions:
* Make marshmallows.  This year I made strawberry, vanilla bean and orange creamsicle flavors.  Or you could buy them too.  But homemade really puts this otherwise simple gift over the top.

* Wrap marshmallows up in cello bag and tie with grosgrain ribbon.







* In a large cello bag, add colorful paper shred at the bottom.  Place one package of graham crackers on either side, chocolate in the center, marshmallows on top and roasting stick in back (sharp side INSIDE the bag).  Tie closed with a colorful grosgrain ribbon.




This gift is so simple to put together.  I used a variety of chocolate candy bars, thinking that they would make for more unique s'mores.  In reality, I think the kids just ate the candy.  But whatever- it's theirs to use as they wish and it was Christmas after all.  They seemed to be a hit with kids big and small in the family (the college kid got one too but his included a few extras like lotto scratch off tickets).

So the next time you are in need of a gift and have no idea what to get, don't overlook a s'more kit.  It's ageless and whimsical!