Inspired by Katherine...Why I do the things I do.

1. Read! Being named after a princess in a sci-fi novel was my first taste of "literature." I can remember being a kid and making my mom read me the same books over and over again. I started reading stop signs and street names when I was 3 years old. The "Baby-Sitter's Little Sister" books or the "Karen" books as I called them were my favorites. There were something along the line of 150 Karen books and I owned nearly every one of them. My dad is a reader and so I guess I got a lot of that from him. He always had sci-fi books lying around the house but my top favorite types of books are 1) classic lit and 2) chick lit. Reading a funny chick lit book about an overweight British girl trying to find a good man makes me realize that everyone has problems, and reading about Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter makes me realize my problems aren't as bad as they seem.


2. Shop! A lot of this came from my Nonnie, my dad's mom. She always had millions of clothes in her closet, way more than she could ever wear, and every July we would go school-clothes shopping. My best friend Lauren and I used to get matching outfits from the Limited Too. I remember in particular one horrid pink and orange sweater with pink shorts to match....ick! When Lauren and I got old enough to make our own money we started having competitions about who could get the best bargains and we still text message each other bragging about how much our latest shopping spree cost. Shopping is like reading...it makes me feel like I'm in a different world. Even if I can't afford to buy the clothes, I can still be the princess in a ball gown, the stylish city girl in designer clothes, or the tall girl in a pair of stilettos for a few minutes.

3. Nanny! My mom was a Mother's day out teacher for a long time and she used to take care of Lauren and her brothers at our house. But maybe I just have a big maternal instinct. I loved taking care of Henley while we lived in Memphis and I love watching the girls I watch now. It's amazing to me how smart kids are and how fast they learn... and how FUNNY they are! I told one of the girls I watch the other day that the wig she was wearing made her look like Cher and she said "Who?" I about died. Kids are so much fun because they teach you so much.


4. Last but not least... cook! Cooking is something I've just started in the past year. Mostly I am perfecting my cakes, cinnamon bread, cookies, and other sweet stuff, but I've started cooking meals too. I can make a mean Sloppy Joe! I love spending time in the kitchen watching my little TV using my mixer, food processor, and oven. It's so relaxing. Where that came from I have no idea. My mom's mom never served anything that didn't come out of a can and my mom thought an eggplant was a squash. So the cooking knowledge isn't built-in, but it's getting there. :)