My Bucket List...Or 40 Under 40

The new year is upon us and the time to make resolutions on how to improve ourselves. I'm not sure that I am going to go that route...instead, I'm going to start with publishing my 40 Under 40 list of things I want to accomplish before I'm 40. The best part - I created this a while back and have already completed some of them!

40 Under 40

Sewing Class

Etsy Store

Photography Course - Kelly Ryden

Travel - Ireland (w/ my Irish tour guide Patricia), Europe/Italy, Hawaii, Fiji

Color Run (July 2012)

10k

1/2 Marathon (September 2012)

Full Marathon

Create a new blog (December 2012 - holla!)

Go to the roller coaster park in Sandusky, Ohio

LA Celeb Watching trip w/ celeb-crazy girlfriends

Houston - visit BFF (October 2012)

Napa/Sonoma Wine Trip

Create baby book from preggo blog

Have another child (wow - this is a big one)

Take Cruz on 1st vacation (September 2012 - Lake Panorama)

Take Cruz on first plane ride before 1 year old (October 2012 - Houston)

New house

New Car (October 2011)

Buy a new camera lens & use it

See my brother get married (coming up - January 2013)

See my sisters get married

Trip w/ just my nieces

Roller blade - at least once

Learn another language

Be known for one dish

Take cooking classes

Tailgate at a Husker game

Run Warrior Dash

Learn to snow ski

Learn to water ski

Create/invent something

Extreme Coupon- if even just one shopping trip

Zip line

Sky dive

Make my own jewelry

Be debt free (except for my house)

Go on a cruise (upcoming - April 2013)

Go on a "honeymoon"

Pay for a stranger's order at a drive through (December 2012 at Starbucks)

Give time up for a good cause - Angels Among Us (2008-2012)

Buy Christmas gifts for at least one "in need" family at Christmas every year (December 2012 - two local families)

Keep up to date with putting photos into photo albums - yes, I still like looking at albums

Plan monthly Girls Night with my friends - and stick to it each month!

Get a Brazilian wax - hmm, TMI?

Buy a kayak and use it

Merry Christmas To Me!

So...I have been dying to pick out my new May Book ever since seeing them in my second fave magazine, People Stylewatch earlier this year. For a while, I tried to convince myself I didn't need one, but after pining over them for months, I took the plunge and picked out my new planner. Yes, I am down with the times and I use an electronic calendar for work, etc, but I always need a place to store birthdays, anniversaries, personal dates so I can see everything at a quick glance.

So....of course knowing my love for yellow....and chevron print....here is what I came up with.

My 2013 planner...LOVE

But, of course, knowing me I couldn't stop at just one. I need space to write down my stuff...my to-dos, my notes, the things going through my head...about work, life, baby, etc. So introducing...book #2. My notebook. 

Of course, I needed a notebook...because I'm probably the last person in the world who likes to
write my notes down and not rely on electronics for my thoughts.

I am so excited for these cute books to arrive in the mail...14-17 days cannot come fast enough!

A Little Bit About Me

While I'm not new to the blogging scene {you can catch me over at my more family-oriented Yellow Mango}, I wanted to tell you a bit about me in case you're new here. So, grab a drink and read along!

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Name: Katie or Kate {by my family and close friends}. Do I love my name...eh. Do I like my name...sure, it'll do and has served me well for the past 31 years. I suppose its better than some.

Height: 5'7" - {though my old high school volleyball program read differently}

Relationship Status: Happily married to the most wonderful guy for me. He is sweet, smart as hell, HOT, loving, an amazing dad, funny {though often found laughing at his own jokes}, and just about the most frustrating person I have ever met...all rolled up into one big ball of love.

Kiddos: I'm mom to the most amazing little boy, C. He has changed almost everything about my life, but for the better (and sometimes the very challenging). I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but never thought I would be lucky enough to have such a great little guy - he is so intelligent, stubborn, handsome, funny and absolutely adorable.

Location: Nebraska - and before you ask, I did grow up on a farm and loved every minute of it...well, most of the time. Those other times included when my dad felt I needed to walk beans or clean out the pig shed. Yuck.

Occupation: I work in casino marketing for the world's largest gaming company...and they have been great to me for the past 9 years.

College: Major: Travel/Tourism {no I didn't want to be a travel agent!}. Minor: Marketing/Management from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. {You can't spell drunk without U-N-K!} That little phrase there coupled with the fact that at the time they had Chick-Fil-A in the Student Union made my college choice.

Family: my parents {still married}, three older sisters {sorry, ladies, had to throw that in there} and a younger, much taller/balder brother.

Car: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee...yeah, me and about a million other people. {Which, by the way, my hubs still refers to as my "push present" although I know better and didn't actually get one.}

Lucky number: I don't really believe in these, although I'm not a fan of odd numbers and would choose even every time.

Music preferences: growing up I hated country music and only listen to Top 40s, pop, R&B and rap {yeah, this small town farm girl was pretty street - I can rap all of Snoop Dogg's "Lodi Dodi" - true story}. Through the hubs I picked up a love for country music - specifically Kenny Chesney - and these days choose that over any other type.

Best movie(s) ever: if you know me, you know I {heart} movies, mostly going to them in the theater with a big vat of buttery popcorn in my right hand and a large diet Mt. Dew in my left. My all-time favorite movie is Now & Then - back in the day my 3 best girlfriends and I assigned each character based on who they fit most. I was "Teeny" {not sure, though, what that says about me if you know the movie}. Rolling right along in the tween genre, I'm also a Twilight lover. Big time. And I'm Team Edward, in case you wondered. And I'm beyond devastated that it's over. I'm also a big fan of Beaches, Breakfast at Tiffany's and I could watch The Devil Wears Prada over and over and over. You know, the classics.

Exercise style: a great work to describe my exercise style is sporadic. I have great intentions, but these days with a toddler getting up early enough or having the energy later in the day to exercise doesn't usually happen. I workout 3 to 5 times per week, usually closer to 3, this week closer to once + a handful of ab exercises.

What time do I wake up in the morning?:  now that the kiddo is back to sleeping through the night, my normal routine is to wake-up any time between 5am and 7am, depending on what I have going on at work that day. Very rarely do I sleep past 8am these days.

A few fun facts about me:
{Have you ever seen Us Weekly's '25 Things You Don't Know About Me'? Whelp, it's my absolute most fave magazine AND I've always wondered what mine would be...so I snagged this opp!}

1. I don't know what I would do without my iPhone.
2. Being pregnant with my son and his birth are my greatest accomplishments.
3. I'm also pretty proud of my success at work.
4. Though sometimes I wish I could stay at home with my son so as not to miss so many of his milestones. {Shoot, I'm sure that would last about a month!}
5. I love to travel. I also love flying. The anticipation of going somewhere is overwhelming.
6. However, I do not like unpacking.
7. My favorite food forever had been Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets. That is until I had a terrible case of morning sickness while eating said nuggets and that love is no more.
8. I {heart} caffeine -specifically Diet Mtn. Dew and Green Mountain Coffee English Toffee k-cups with two dollops of Coffee-Mate Carmel Macchiato creamer. 
9. Getting a handwritten card is waaaay better than an email or a text.
10. I lived in Manhattan for four months doing my internship for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
11. I refuse to litter. 
12. I cannot sing at all. I used to think I could, and evidently so did my mom, because she used to make me sing in a group with my sisters at church on Sundays in front of the whole congregation.
13. I love to shop. Shoes and clothes primarily, but I also love browsing Target, the grocery store, online...anything at all that has to do with shopping.
14. Someday I will own a clothing boutique.
15. I love photography and wish it could be my profession.
16. I bite my fingernails and despise myself for doing it.
17. I absolutely love running outside. I completed my first half marathon in September and hope to do quite a few more this year.
18. I love to read - I just wish I had more time to do it.
19. I wish I were more creative than I actually am. Pinterest has been a bit of a lifesaver for me.
20. I love a great pair of heels and everyone who knows me will attest to this and the fact that you rarely see me wear anything else.
21. I don't cook, or clean for that matter. {Yeah, my hubs picked out a broken model}.
22. I think I have a slight case of ADD. Even when I'm laying on the couch, I have to be doing something {on the internet, playing sudoku or solitaire, flipping through a magazine}. It frustrates the hubs...bad.
23. I keep Blistex with me at all times and apply it approximately 1,200 times a day. I have one located in my make-up bag, my purse, my car, my gym bag, at both offices, on my nightstand, in the crease of "my couch" at home. 
24. I pray frequently for the health and well-being of those close to me.
25. I have the best family and friends ever. Period.
26. I love wine. And generally the cheap stuff. {Keepin' it classy.}

Hopefully now you know a little something about me...and it didn't scare you away!

New Year, New Blog

I figure...why not ring in 2013 with a new blog?  And if I'm going to create a blog, why not give it a fun title and bake in a little something that describes me. And if heels don't describe me, then I don't know what does.

So...Life In My Heels was created. :)

I wanted a place to jot down random thoughts, talk about things that interest me, give my opinion on things {even if I wasn't asked}, talk about my family, my husband, my baby boy.

Enjoy.

This is exactly how I feel about life....and the right pair of heels.