Cup of Coffee with Katie

...I was an accountant. Yes, as many of you know, though I am a teacher, I didn't follow the most traditional path to get here. See, I started out as an accounting major at Villanova University. I was a student at a business school which is consistently ranked in the top 20 by BusinessWeek magazine. I followed the typical path of a Villanova accounting student...I worked hard, I earned an internship with one of the "Big 4" for the summer after my junior year, and before I even sat down in my first class as a senior, I already had a contract in hand for a lucrative, full-time position in the audit department at that same firm. However, after a long, drawn-out year of life chats, debate, discussions, deliberations, prayers, and discernment, I made a decision that to this day still makes some people shake their heads: for the first time, I ignored the outcome of my weighted-average pro/con Excel spreadsheet (yes I had a template for that...you can laugh) and decided to fol...

In line with my theme for the year, I've decided to reserve some posts in the upcoming year for shoutouts of love to some people, places, and things that make the food-allergy-ridden world just a little bit brighter. So here we go with shout-out #1...today I'm sending a little love to P.F. Chang's. Now as with most things on the internet, if you google PF Chang's and gluten, you will get an array of responses. Some people will praise the restaurant chain as if they're somehow responsible for the salvation of the universe...others tear it apart and swear death upon the place that made them sicker than a dog. Of course you'll find a variety of middle-ground responses too but those are the two ends of the spectrum. And honestly I can understand. Once I get sickened by a restaurant, I tend to swear it off too; though my brain knows that it's unreasonable to allow the actions or mistakes of one person to impact all future visits, my beaten and abused digestive ...

If you're reading this from, well pretty much anywhere in the United States, chances are you are bundled up in layers, curled up near the fire, hugging the space heater, etc. There's no other way to say it: IT. IS. COLD. Though I must say between the term "polar vortex" and watching the giddy news reporters bundle up in layers to report on location, I have found this whole phenomenon to be rather entertaining. It also makes me exponentially aware of how lucky I am to have heat and a warm shower. Of course, there is one realization I had this week that was accompanied by a twinge of sadness...no more Swiss Miss hot chocolate. To me, those little packets are synonymous with snowstorms and cold weather. I remember many a childhood snow day spent sledding, then removing snow pants, boots, plastic bags, gloves, hats, etc., dumping them into the dryer and running to the kitchen for some delicious hot cocoa. Well this week has proven to be a bit different than those beaut...

Happy New Year!! I know, I know I'm a few days late. I had the best of intentions but unfortunately my transmission decided it just didn't want to accompany Little Blue (as I affectionately refer to my car) and me on the journey into 2014. So needless to say it's been an interesting start to the year already. Between that, my New Year's Day Dinner Date with the precious octogenarian couple who have taken up semi-permanent residence in our hospital guest house, and now a snow day, all I can say is that if the first 48 hours are any indication, I'm in for quite an adventurous year. We shall see… As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't typically make resolutions in January because mine are reserved for the start of the new school year each August. However I am known for assigning each new calendar year with a theme or quote that I hope will dictate the year ahead. It’s not something I search for…just something that seems to be timely or a thought that happens t...