Cup of Coffee with Katie

...of waiting. Waiting in lines that stretch longer than usual; waiting in traffic that doesn't seem to budge; waiting for those gifts purchased online to arrive on our doorstep...there's no doubt that the holiday season is full of waiting. You don't have to spend much time in stores or traffic to realize that most people are not good at waiting...or at least that it incites quite a few negative emotions. Now I'm not going to sit here and say I love traffic and crowds, but I can say that the increase in both during the Christmas season has never really bothered me. I distinctly remember the moment when I began seeing holiday traffic as less bothersome and more of a blessing. It was a Sunday morning in December of 2002 and I was sitting in an unbelievably long line of traffic between early morning mass and my shift at the chocolate shop in the local mall where I worked throughout high school. I still remember Britney Spears' attempt at a Christmas song was playin

You may remember back in January I deemed this to be "The Year of Fiscal Responsibility". You may also have noted that in the 9 months which have now passed since that post, I have yet to add a single money-saving tip to this blog. I don't want you to think I've abandoned the theme...I can assure you I didn't...I just somehow ran out of time to share the wealth! And by that I mean the money-saving tips. I may have lived frugally but I'm not that good :-) I just looked back at that post from January and chuckled to myself. Literally. (I startled myself actually when my laughter broke the silence of my apartment.) I laughed when I read the now seemingly-prophetic final line of my original post:  What if 2015 is the year that changes everything ?.  I'd say 2015 has been that kind of year for me. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that I'd be getting engaged in less than 8 weeks...and I certainly didn't know how fitting the Year of Fiscal Respons

Letting go. It is a concept which seems innately tied to this time of year. Parents are learning to let go of tiny hands at pre-K and kindergarten classroom doors; slightly more seasoned parents are learning to let go of teenagers who have swapped their place at the family dinner table for a dorm room they now call home. We teachers are letting go too; we're learning to let go of the students, routines, and sometimes even the classrooms, which we held near and dear just a few months ago. Even Mother Nature joins in solidarity as the trees start letting go of their leaves. There's a sadness in letting go, and often a degree of pain, but there's profound beauty in it too; I mean, just look around at the trees in the coming weeks. I still remember the moment when the harsh reality of fall hit me. I was six years old and dutifully completing my homework assignment for the evening: to walk around the backyard and gather a few beautiful leaves for a leaf-shading exercise at s

It's back: I have a case of the Sundays. Teachers of the world, you know what I'm talking about. It's the sickening feeling that sets in around 4:30 on Sunday afternoon when you realize that the pile of grading from Friday has remained in your bag untouched, the beautiful/informative/engaging presentation of the newest complex material is still floating around in your mind rather than displayed on a multimedia platform (which of course must then be uploaded to the class websites that are now required in most schools), the laundry is still piled away and the floor is unswept. Yes, as quickly as it came, summer is now over. I looked at a calendar today thinking it couldn't possibly be true. Where did those 9 weeks of freedom disappear to?? Then I looked at my planner and it became pretty clear: 1.5 weeks were spent recuperating from shingles while the remainder of the 2nd were spent at follow-up doctor visits; 3 weeks were then spent working summer school in an effort to

I think one of the hardest aspects of a diagnosis like celiac or a food allergy is the finality of it all. At first you're just so grateful to have an answer and relieved that it wasn't one of the other seemingly-more-frightening options tossed around as a diagnosis. However, in time, that relief gives way to an overwhelming sense of "Wait, this is forever? Like forever forever??" Again, the feeling passes, you gain confidence in yourself and in your new lifestyle...and yet some time down the road, that " Wait, forever?" feeling comes out of nowhere and hits you like a ton of bricks. Now, at this point I'm sure there's a good chance you're thinking, Gee, Katie, thanks for the pick-me-up post today. I promise isn't one of those rare downer posts...rather, it's a reminder and an assurance that you're not alone in having thoughts like these. And I don't think it's restricted to just food issues either. Somehow July has alrea

If you've encountered me in real life, you know that smiling is one of my favorite things to do. I'll admit I didn't even realize how often I smile, or how much I enjoy it until this past spring when I had stitches in my mouth for a few days and couldn't smile. Even my students commented on how sad it was when an entire class passed without a smile on my face. When that class turned into 3 days, they were nearly at their wits' end. I'm pretty sure I smiled more than double the next 2 days, partially because of my own excitement, but also to reassure them that my smile hadn't vanished forever. Now, those of you who are dealing with food/health issues and haven't been feeling the greatest, your smiles may be weaker and fewer in number these days...but, take it from me, when you reach that turning point on your road to health, the smile will return with a vengeance! However, inevitably such smiles bring us to our favorite place: the dentist's office.

Now this title is admittedly misleading, because I have never actually lived in the south.  And I’ve never tried the liquor by the same name either. It’s just a song that was popular on CMT during my senior year in high school (when I discovered country music) and for some reason, it kept playing in my head yesterday while I thought about this post. ( Click here if you'd like it as the soundtrack while you read.) Alas, here we are. Though I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visits to Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas over the past 8 years, the northeast has remained my home…but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming about delicious sweet tea, charming accents, and drive-through daiquiri stands (as a passenger of course) on a hot day like this one! The refrain kept playing through my head yesterday as I whipped up a batch of what could be called the quintessential comfort food: homemade macaroni and cheese. Now before you think there’s been some kind of miraculous cure: no, I sti

Gosh, it feels good to say that! The crazy vortex which is the end of an academic year (especially when the grade/subject and school are all new to you) just sucked me in and swallowed me whole. Then, just when the light was appearing at the end of the tunnel (AKA summer vacation), shingles took hold. Yes, you read that correctly: just 3 days shy of that glorious last day of school, I ended up at Urgent Care and then my own doctor for confirmation. That patch of bumps rapidly appearing on my shoulder were in fact shingles. The couch became my closest friend. And to top it all off, the anti-virals prescribed to combat the virus which my poor weakened, end-of-school-year immune system just couldn't muster the energy to fight ended up making me sicker. That's right, despite my best efforts with the pharmacist and then nearly an hour on the phone with the manufacturer, the prescription still contained something that wasn't Katie-safe. Such is the life for those of us with food