Dear Santa: A Wish List

My birthday is November 24th, one month before Christmas. So, for all of you lovelies (ahem: mom, dad, Jonathan... do I have your attention?) that want to get me something, here is my wish list!

This year we are going to Vegas as a triple celebration - Jonathan's 21st, my 24th, Dad's 32nd birthday (ha!), and Mom just loves Vegas. So I don't expect any birthday gifts (aside from delicious buffet meals in Vegas and having a roof over my head), but these are all things that I need (ok, I don't need another bottle of perfume) and would LOVE to open up on Christmas Morning.

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Dear Santa,

I need a rice cooker and vegetable steamer. My epic adventures (read: failures) with cooking greens could be completely resolved with this kitchen appliance. Also, this will save me from having to buy rice from the Chinese restraurant down the street. Rice just never turns out as good when cooked on the stove top. And my kitchen has a red theme. This will match perfectly.



I also need a salad spinner (ref. above epic adventures with greens). I think this will be far easier than me shaking off Kale in the sink. Once we start getting a lot of lettuce in the farm share, a salad spinner will certainly come in handy.



I have an obsession with perfume. I love this Fendi perfume - it's a little dark, a little musky, and really good for a night out on the town.



Gift cards are always a safe bet to get me.. here are some ones that I wouldn't mind seeing stuffed in my stocking!

Now that I have my new Ipod Shuffle, I want to be able to buy music to put on it. But, I am too cheap to pay 99 cents per item for said music. So, an Itunes gift card would be great!!!



I love getting a good and healthy fast food breakfast on the way to work. My two favorite options: Subway and Dunkin' Donuts



And I sort of also want a Tofu press. I want to start incorporating Tofu more in to my diet - but it is hard to cook unless prepared properly. Since I am grossed out by the thought of pressing my tofu with a kitchen towel or paper towels (fibers, gross!), this will come in handy. I can also use it to get water out of spinach and other veggies!!



There you have it, Santa (ahem: mom, dad). This is what I want for Christmas. And if I get impatient and buy these before Christmas a little elf borrows my credit card and buys any of these things before Christmas, I will be sure to let you know :)

Love,
Katie

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10.27.2011 - an update. I have been looking for one of these GPS watches at a reasonable price point. I want one!

Heart rate. Distance. Time. That's all I need!

Looking Forward

One thing I am very good at is having a pity party for myself... Currently in one now - I feel like I have been good diet and exercise-wise this week and I am getting no results. As I discussed in my weight loss journey, I need to redirect my thoughts and remember that I am healthy - and sometimes the scale does not always reflect 'health.' I jogged two miles today!

So in a public attempt to redirect my thoughts, I am going to list out a few (non-scale) things that I am looking forward to during the rest of 2011! A central theme: lots of good family time!

Disclaimer: this pic is from November 2007 - holy cow I am getting old!
This weekend/part of next week in Raleigh. Two words: State Fair. Ok, I am excited about more than that! I get to see almost all of my friends, my family, and my little brother (see above: not so little) turns 21! Hopefully he will let me celebrate with him.

I am going to Raleigh for work (a recruiting trip at NCSU), which is one of my favorite things to do (work-wise). I really should be a recruiter... I am good at it! My family happens to live in the Raleigh area - very convenient!

Also, this Friday I am taking a vacation day! Sometimes I think I forget what 'vacation' is, and while I will be doing some schoolwork... I am looking forward to a three day weekend.

I miss you, NC State!
Las Vegas. Somehow, I convinced my parents to take us to Vegas for Thanksgiving this year. I gently suggested it (read: started brainwashing) around Christmas last year, so there was plenty of time to plan and process. I am BEYOND excited. This will be my first trip to Las Vegas, and my brother will finally be 21, and something tells me my parents will be having just as much fun as he and I will be ;-)

My 24th birthday happens to be on Thanksgiving this year (24 on the 24th! This is gonna be an awesome birthday), and my goal is to not spend a single dollar on drinks (and hopefully get free dessert everywhere we go). For the cherry on top of this alcohol infused sundae, by the time I get there, I will have taken my last final (ever) and completed my last presentation (ever).

Which brings me to...

Graduation. On December 16th (65 days), I will officially have my MBA and this long journey will finally be over! I am very grateful though that my final semester I only have to take one class, and it has not been excruciatingly painful (like other classes *ahem* management science). I chose my professor wisely; the other sections have a 140 page paper to write. No thank you. Mom, Dad, start planning my baller graduation party!!! Yes, I am having one because Dad did, and mine had better be epic!

While my life is completely different than when I started this blog, I am glad things turned out the way that they did. And in 65 days I will be able to say I survived grad school while working a full time job. Never thought I would say that! It is hard for me to believe that it is mid-October. Where has the time gone?!

Thanks for letting me share some things that I am looking forward to this year. How about my readers? What plans are you looking forward to the most for the rest of this year?