Hi. I'm Katie.

Currently listening to "A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz

Today [24 JULY] is my older sister's birthday. And what better way to start it off than by seeing a midnight showing of a brand new movie?! Tonight's options were somewhat limited, though: G-Unit (I might wait for the DVD), Orphan (I don't do scary movies unless I am constipated), and The Ugly Truth (we chose this one). I'm not going to lie, I wasn't overly excited for the movie. I mean, after last week's kickass Harry Potter midnight showing, how could this one even compare?

Well, whatever preconceived notions I had about the movie are now smashed into a million pieces. I loved The Ugly Truth. I gobbled it up. Soaked in the story. Became one with the characters and their emotiones. I L-O-V-E-that-spells-LOVED IT! Omaigosh. Although my older sister was pretty amped to see it, I must say that I laughed louder and smiled larger than anyone there. 

According to the Internet Movie Database (a.k.a. imdb.com), The Ugly Truth is about Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl). [She] is a romantically challenged morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She's in for a rude awakening when her bosses team her with Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), a hardcore TV personality who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick. And then some. 

I just, really enjoyed it. Very funny, charming, clever, and D.) all the above. Plus, I was able to relate to both sides of the story! I have been Abby: the girl who is constantly on the lookout for Mr. Right. But I've also been Mike: thinking there's more to life than just love, but then I start falling for the one person it seems things will never work out with. I don't want to give away the whole movie (although you might be able to guess how it ends), but sometimes a situation like this will start me thinking...

I am a serial crusher, as I may or may not have mentioned before in a previous post somewhere. More than half of the guys I meet I'll day-dream about and think of how we'll fall in love and live happily ever after. [for the record] I don't think it's creepy. That's just how my brain functions in the absence of a more serious relationship. Trust me when I say that it is a very entertaining way of passing the time until some strong man comes to whisk me off my own two feet.

And seeing this movie and being the romantic that I am just makes me realize:
I want a love that keeps me guessing.
I want a love that's so hard, it's easy.
I want a love that makes me learn how to play the guitar so all of my new songs aren't a capella ;)
I want a love that people will make movies about.
I want a love that doesn't fit any stereotypes or preconceived ideas.
I want a love that cannot be contained.
I want a love that will fill my heart because goodness knows there's room for more. 

And you know what?! I'm going to find it. But I do hope that I don't find it again and again and again. I don't want to fall in love, then fall in love again and again, each time with a new fella as though I tripped down some very poorly constructed stairs where you just seem to keep on falling. Like in so many movies and books, I would love to find that love you never saw coming. And because it's such an amazing surprise, it lasts forever because that sensation is instilled in both hearts.

Sigh. Anywho, if you've already seen Harry Potter twice and can't decide between seeing The Hangover a fifth time or The Proposal a first time, pick The Ugly Truth. (Well, if you're 18 or older since it's rated R.) It'll make you laugh and your heart just might swell a few size's like the Grinch's. 

:D

For this year's Independence Day, my family took a lovely 5-6 day vacation to Chicago, IL. It was really fun and I got some pretty decent pictures (which can be seen in my buzznet photo album). Here's a quick recap of my adventures:

• Walked up and down Michigan Avenue for some wonderful window shopping.
• Stared at the Bean for 30 minutes... who knew a gigantic mirror-y bean could be SO amusing?
• Ate my way through the Taste of Chicago.
• MET TARA ASHLEE AND PANSY! It was so fun.
• Walked up, down, and all around Navy Pier.
• Watched the spectacular fireworks display on the edge of Chicago.
• Visited one of my Dad's old best friends. (as an aside, he owns a pretty neato company: http://www.wrapz.biz/)
• Went to the aquarium, the Field Museum (where I saw and touched the only Pirate treasure ever discovered!!), and the Museum of Science and Industry (where I saw the Harry Potter Exhibit!! zomg. aWesoMe :D)
• Enjoyed the company of my three best friends (aka sisters) and mommy 

Well, that's about as quickly recappish as I can get it. Feel free to look through my pictures and ask what's going on if they're not very well captioned! Here are my favorites:

So I'm not going to lie... this week was pretty f!@#ing rad. As I reminisce, nothing pops out and says, "damn. that sucked." I can only think of things that say, "damn. that was even better than I had anticipated!" It was a really good week. Let's take a look, shall we?!

MONDAY

On Monday I drove 3.5 hours (208 miles, to be precise) to visit that guy. Logan. He's one of my best friends. I've tried to pinpoint why/how we became such good friends, but I am at a complete loss. He's just one of those people you find and are thankful for. Anywho, we went to the beach (I made PB&J sandwiches and packed some snacks for a picnic because I'm awesome like that) and I kept calling Lake Michigan the ocean. I also got to meet some of Logan's neato friends, Brett and Chelsea, and had some fun with them as well. We walked along a pier, went putt-putt golfing (I got a hole-in-one, which I can safely count as a miracle), and then rocked out in the back yard with two kickass acoustic guitars and four stellar voice boxes. All in all, the day gets a high five for being supacool.

TUESDAY

During the day on Tuesday, we went to this place called "the beach." You see, where I live, we don't really have beaches. So the fact that there were so many beaches along the other side of the state fascinated me. I just sat in the sand and played for a few hours. Then we went back to the house, got changed, and went to see a fanfreakingtastic concert and a kickin' movie.

So first, the concert (whose main pictures can be seen in the album on my page). 

It.
was.
awesome.
And I'm not even exaggerating a little. I know that I use the phrase "awesome" like it's going out of style, but that's because there are so many funtasticular things in my life that can really only be described by the word to describe SOMEthing AWE-inspiring. And trust me, I was in awe. First, we experienced THE READY SET. I will go on the record and say that Jordan Witzigreuter is tremendous. He put on such a good show! And the whole crowd was involved! I mean, even the lumpiest dudes in the venue couldn't help but jump around when Joe-dannn played his set. It was so good. And then Christofer Drew and his band for Never Shout Never came onto the stage and entertained the masses. Now this dude is eccentric and very different from the usual band-dudes I see on stage, but that just made his set that much more unique! I loved when he stopped mid-chorus, grabbed a water, took a drink and said, "Water tastes good in my mouth." Then he threw the water in the crowd and picked up right where he left off. HA! What a ham. He's one cool dude. Yada yada yada. Then. The moment I'd been waiting for. The sixth time I'd get to see Boys Like Girls!!1! And they started off with LOVE DRUNK! AH! It was awesome. Their whole set was awesome. Five Minutes to Midnight. On Top of the World. UP AGAINST THE WALL! Eep! That one is by far my favorite song live. The lights, the sounds, the inescapable, overwhelming feeling of omaigawd-my-fav-band-still-rocks!! Sigh. It was such a great show. More than worth the wait. 

Aaaand Boys Like Girls announced their fall tour with Cobra Starship, The Maine, and A Rocket To The Moon. AWESOME!

Lalala. After the show, I quickly got to meet Jordan of The Ready Set. Haha, but I stupidly took a "picture" of me with him while my camera was still in video mode. OH WELL! Next we high-tailed it over to the theatre where we waited to watch HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. Damn. I soaked in every bit of that movie.

WEDNESDAY

Oh hey, somewhere in there it became tomorrow... which was actually a few days ago... anywho, on Wednesday I watched the new HP6. I thought it was pretty rad. Verrry different from the books, but still good. And after the movie, we went back to the house and hung around for a little bit. I finally ate dinner, too. Actually, I think I just swallowed my sandwich whole because I was so hungry I didn't even need to taste the food. It just needed to get in my belly.

Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. OH! Finally time to wake up... I have come to find that I prefer being awake and daydreaming that asleep and for-realsie dreaming... much more fun for me. Now, where was I? Oh yes! I woke up and showered because I was filthy. And I just hung out with Logan a little more until I left to come home. On the drive back, all I listened to were the 3 songs on The Ready Set's EP. If you don't own it, GO BUY IT! Because it's awesome. Trust me.

Let's see... I got home around 6:30 pm, where I was greeted by the two doggies in my house. Goodness gracious, tho... I can't even remember what I did the rest of that day. So, moving on to...

THURSDAY/FRIDAY/SATURDAY

Hmmm. What did I do yesterday? I know that I went grocery shopping at some point in time. And I may or may not have listened to "Stays Four The Same" by The Ready Set 100 times.

Then today... Friday?... nope, we are now into Saturday, so.... yesterday, Friday, I for sure did nothing. It is 1:07 am on Saturday and I am still in the pajamas I went to sleep in on Thursday. Once I turned on my laptop Friday morning, it was hello buzznet/facebook/email, goodbye society. I'm sure you all know how that goes.

FUTURE

As of right now, Logan, Brett, and Chelsea are coming to stay at my house at the end of July for the Warped Tour. It's going to be off the f!@#ing chain. But before they get here, I really want to start playing my guitar. My fantabulous twin sister Jill bought it for me for Christmas a couple years back and I have always wanted to do more with it. So that's going to be what I do during the day over the next 12 days. I figure if I practice enough, I'm bound to be able to learn something. So wish me luck!

That's all for nao! Okaebai.

I used to watch a lot of television... but then I went to college and started finding other ways to spend my nighttime time. You know, like watching my iPod charge, looking for geckos, hosting staring contests, and waiting for the Great Pumpkin to turn up. But there are five shows that I still watch (whether on television or on one of the many DVDs I have) or tape on the DVR if I’m going to miss a new episode.

-------------------

1. Spongebob Squarepants (Nickelodeon)
For those of you who have never met Spongebob Squarepants, he is a simple sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea... next door to his best friend Patrick Star and his “best friend” Squidward Tentacles. Mr. Squarepants works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, which is owned and operated by money-hungry restaurateur Eugene Krabs. In his free time, Spongebob enjoys jellyfishing and practicing his karate moves with squirrel-friend Sandy Cheeks. These characters, along with the other sea critters of Bikini Bottom (the town where they live), manage to have enough entertaining adventures in one episode to always keep me coming back for more!

--> This is one of my favorite shows of all time. I have the first four seasons on DVD that I haul around with me wherever I end up living (i.e. dorm versus home). I absofruitly LOVE Spongebob Squarepants. That’s really all there is to it. It makes me smile and LOL-out-loud and that’s why it’s my favorite.

2. Psych (USA Network)
Sean has a well-trained eye for detail, but has managed to play it off as psychic abilities in order to turn a profit from his talent. Along with his best friend Gus, Sean opened up a small psychic office called PSYCH to offer his “abilities” to the public at large. In addition to various civilians, the pair has managed to hoodwink the San Diego Police Department, where they frequently assist with cases ranging from theft to murrrder... always, of course, with a high level of comedy and amusement.

--> Oh boi, this show is high-lay-ree-us. It is SO funny and very creative. Every episode has me howling and I highly recommend renting the DVDs from Blockbuster if you’ve never seen Psych. Sean and Gus are a great team and the officers at the SDPD just add to the hilarity.

3. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Five friends, Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily, and Barney live in New York City. Ted is an architect. Robin is a news reporter. Marshall is a lawyer. Lily is a preschool teacher (as an aside, Marshall and Lily are married). Aaaand Barney (played by Neil Patrick Harris! HUZZAH!) is the biggest player in the whole city. In each episode, the audience follows this quintet as Ted tells his kids how he met their mother by means of 30-minute flash backs.

--> No matter what’s going on in the episode, I can count on sitting in front of the television every Monday night laughing obnoxiously at their wit and humor. Between the ridiculous marital issues of Lily and Marshall, the secret past of teen-pop sensation Robin Sparkles, and the endless attempts Ted makes to find a wife, I am always glued to the tube. But however funny those four are, Barney Stinson makes this show. He is the funniest character and best bro ever... he even has a book entitled “The Bro Code”, which I have read a dozen times.

4. Phineas and Ferb (Disney Channel)
Brothers Phineas and Ferb find ways to make the most of their summer vacation because “the annual problem of our generation is finding a good way to spend it,” as the theme-song sings. As they come up with crazy activities to do each day, their older sister Candace tries to bust ‘em and get them in trouble with their mom. Meanwhile, lazy-ass platypus Perry turns out to be a super-cool-super-secret animal agent trying to thwart the evil attempts of Dr. Doofenshmirtz. WOOHOO!

--> Buzznet recently interviewed the creators of this show, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, http://www.buzznet.com/musicnews/creators-phineas-ferb-answer-questions-j4302161/, and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of it! This is my favorite show on the Disney Channel nowadays; it’s just my cup of tea... an equal blend of haha’s, teehee’s, and a dash of snorting (not crack-cocaine... I actually snort when I laugh).

5. 24 (FOX)
Jack Bauer.

--> Enough said.

6. The Office (NBC)
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. has many branches across the Midwest. One branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania is where the show is set; viewers follow the goings-on of the office and its warehouse in a documentary-esque fashion. Captain Awkward and head-honcho of the office, Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell), is ridiculous. Jim and Pam are the perfect couple. The Angela-Dwight-Andy love triangle is so strange, but each individual is even more strange…ly funny! And employees Kevin (fat and simple-minded), Phyllis (motherly and married to Bob Vance... of Vance Refrigeration), Ryan (a.k.a. EGO), Oscar (gay), Toby (outcast), Creed (not entirely there), Stanley (doesn’t take anyone’s shit), Kelly (typical cheerleader-type girl), and Meredith (alcoholic) complete the cast.

--> I have never worked in an office-like setting, but my Mom says that this show hits the nail on the head. And I believe her. Some episodes are hard to watch because the awkward moments are torturous. Other episodes are so funny I have to watch them three or four times in order to catch all the best lines. If you have only seen one episode and wrote this show off as a FAIL, I urge you to watch more because you just might grow to love it.

7. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Two nerds, Leonard and Sheldon, live in an apartment across the hall from total-babe-struggling-actress Penny. Nerd-friends Rajeesh, who can’t talk to girls unless intoxicated, and Howard, who most fails when he tries to get girls, frequently hang out with Leonard and Sheldon. The quartet REALLY makes the nerdy-audience laugh-out-f!@#ing-loud with their sometimes intelligent, sometimes idiotic remarks.

--> One episode in particular made me cry from laughing so hard. Penny and Sheldon were going to exchange presents for the holidays. Sheldon wanted to be sure to give Penny a gift of equal value, so he bought a variety of gift baskets that he would be able to choose from once he received his gift. Penny got Sheldon a napkin used and signed by Leonard Nimoy (original Spock of Star Trek) and Sheldon just didn’t know what to do. I LAUGHED SOSOSO HARD! Watch this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlhHTdDqoBc. SO FUNNY!

8. The Amazing Race (CBS)
Teams of two set off for a scavenger hunt around the world! They partake in various challenges throughout the race and whichever team checks into the pit-stop last during each leg of the race is sent home. Whoever makes it to the final pit-stop first wins one millllllllion dollars.

--> There are three reasons why I love this show so much. (1) Phil Keoghan. He is the host of the show, has a tremendous New Zealand accent, and is just so cool I can hardly stand it. (2) The Roaming Gnome. Travelocity is one of the sponsors of this show and damn do I love that roaming gnome. My sister actually has a roaming gnome statue that she bought off the Travelocity website. (3) Out of all the reality shows ever made, I would want to go on this one the most. Talk about a great experience!

9. Entourage (HBO)
Vinny Chase and his Entourage make movies, party hard, and have lots of sex.

--> Don’t watch this show with your younger siblings. It is not appropriate. But that shouldn’t stop you (if you’re over the age of 18?) from watching it! It’s produced by and based on actor Mark Wahlberg, who is the shizzzzz, if you didn’t know. My older sister has all the DVDs made thus far and we are all eagerly awaiting the start of the next season on 12 JULY 2009 in my house. It’s a good HBO show.

10. Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
The Disney Channel is all about celebrities being normal people just like you and me. And they really bring that message home with teen-pop-sensation Hannah Montana. By day she goes by Miley Stewart, who is “just your ordinary girl,” but at night she is on stage singing as Hannah Montana and living the “best of both worlds.”

--> http://buzzvideoblognet.buzznet.com/user/video/4154251/hate-love-love-hate-hannah/?p=1 ......... Need I say more?

-------------------

And since I couldn’t really decide which of his shows I like best, I would also like to point out how much I love Gordon Ramsay’s cooking shows. Hell’s Kitchen (FOX) and Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares (BBC) are awesome cooking shows. Let’s face it: Gordon Ramsay is the Jack Bauer of culinary television.

-------------------

If you’ve got a television at your house that’s collecting dust, I recommend watching any of the above-listed shows. I love a good show every now and again and can always count on them to provide. Yaya teeveeee :D