Goodbye, Adiós, Ciao, Au revoir, Sayonara... ; (

So here it is guys, my last blog. It’s kind of a surreal moment for me because I’ve been writing on this thing since January. A couple of days ago, I went back and read some of my old entries, and I was overwhelmed with a strange sense of sadness!

So far, 2010 has been the most rewarding year of my life. Not many people have the opportunity to spend a semester traveling and studying abroad and then turn right around and spend a summer interning somewhere as amazing as Fox News. In just seven months, I’ve seen places I never knew existed and met people I never dreamed I’d meet. But don’t worry, I’m going to step off my soapbox before this gets too sappy.

However, I can’t sign off until I acknowledge the people who made all of this possible, my parents. They have always been supportive of all my endeavors, no matter how crazy or farfetched they may have seemed at the time. Whether I was wanting to pursue a career in country music (which failed, obviously) or asking to spend a semester in Spain, they have always encouraged me to “dream big.” Hopefully this is only the beginning…

I am also grateful to the people who took the time to keep up with my crazy adventures…aka, you guys, my blog readers, hometown supporters, folks who are bored at work, grandparents who love me too much not to read it. Whoever you may be, it’s been so much fun relaying my experiences to you.

So here, it goes…I’m signing off for the last time! Thanks so much for reading…maybe I’ll find something else to blog about in the future. But until then...

LOVE YOU GUYS,

Pretty Woman

What's the best way to wrap up a summer in New York City?





Julia Roberts. Need I say more?

Once again, Uncle W came to the rescue and got my friends and I tickets to the Letterman show (VIP tickets, no less). We really wanted to keep our ticket stubs so we could show them off a bit because honestly, when are we ever going to hold anything that says "VIP" again? But the "doorlady" took them away from us...good thing we were able to sneak a group picture inside the theatre before she caught us and kicked us out...



The show was amazing, and Julia was definitely everything I had imagined and more. She truly is America's Sweetheart.

I have nothing more to say...I'm so blessed : )

Until next time,

Picture Day

Here it is folks...the moment you've all been waiting for..

Are you ready??

I FINALLY got my picture with Megyn Kelly!



I was worried it was never going to happen because she's been pretty busy, and my time at Fox News is coming to an end, but thankfully I was able to drop by her office after the show and snap a quick pic!

Even more exciting, I also got a picture with the one, and only, Bill Hemmer...



Oh, how I love Bill Hemmer! Like really, LOVE HIM!! And I thought we had a connection since I've met him/seen him several times during my internship, but while trying to get a picture with him, I realized the connection was definitely one-sided.

Here's how it all went down.

So, I went with one of the bookers up to the set of America's Newsroom to get my picture. We walked out onto the set, and there he sat reading the prompter...glowing beneath the bright lights.

During the commercial break he looked up, smiled and said, "Hey, Eldad! Who you got there?"

Eldad: "It's Kate, our intern."

Bill: "Hi, Kaitlin! You mean you've been here all summer and I haven't met you? Where have they been hiding you?"

Insert thought here: "Um, it's Kate. Bill, we've met before and had SEVERAL encounters in elevators, hallways, etc. DON'T YOU REMEMBER??

Kate: "Hi, um, they've been keeping me downstairs?"

Bill: "Oh, well glad to finally meet you, Katilin."

Eldad: "Bill, Kate wants to get a picture with you and Martha if you have a minute?"

Bill: "Sure! Kaitlin, come on over."

Insert thought here: "Um, it's Kate. Maybe we're talking pet names?

Here's where Martha, God love her, comes in.

Martha: "HER NAME'S KATE, BILL! THEY'VE SAID IT THREE TIMES!!"

After Eldad snapped a couple of pictures of the three of us (please notice how terribly awkward I am leaning against Bill's chair), I we talked for a couple of minutes before I had to leave. I figured at this point, I had cleared things up with Bill, and he secretly remembered our previous encounters...wrong!!

Bill: "Bye, Katilin. Best of luck to ya! Don't be a stranger!"

Insert thought here: Um, it's ka... Oh, what the heck? Call me ANYTHING you want Billy boy!!

Kate: Bye, Bill. See ya Martha.

So despite all of the awkwardness, I finally got my picture with Bill and Martha...two of my favorite people at Fox News.

And, I'm just going assume that all the years Bill has spent using an earpiece and listening to talking heads scream at eachother has resulted in a little bit of forgetfulness/loss of hearing...right? : /

Never-the-less, here's my pic with Bill and Martha.



Until next time...

Roadtrip!!!!

I LOVE JOHN MAYER.



I mean, how could you not??

And last weekend Jaryn, Molly, Megan, and I road tripped to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in this awesome car to see his concert …



We made our 2.5 hour drive in record time...it only took us 5 hours to get there. (Not sure what happened there)

Can I just say that Scranton Pennsylvania has to be the most random place I've visited? I still can't figure out why a musician as big as John Mayer would choose Scranton as his Pennsylvania concert spot. This place is literally in the middle of nowhere...



Here's a pic of Megan and I as we made our trek down to the venue where the concert was held...like I said, this place was RUGGED!! It reminded me of the summer camp I used to go to in the mountains...let's just say I would have been better off wearing cargos and hiking boots.



I've seen John (yeah, we're there...definitely progressed to first-name basis) in concert before, and I hope to see him again. He's so, um, talented (among other things). Okay, I'll stop before this gets too crazy...bottom line, I had a great time! There's nothing better than roadtripping in a mommy-mobile with great friends! : )



Until next time,

My day with MK

Hello Everyone! I have so much to update you on after my little one-week hiatus from the blogosphere!! Since the last time I blogged, my parents paid a visit to yours truly, ANDDD I FINALLY (after literally MONTHS/YEARS of waiting), had the opportunity to meet Megyn Kelly!

So, since I know all of you are about to wet your britches with excitement, I’ll go ahead and explain the moment you’ve all been waiting for. It all began when I asked my supervisor if it would be okay if I shadowed Megyn’s assistant for a day. The other intern I work with had shadowed her and said it was pretty interesting, so I wanted a shot at something different, too.

My supervisor agreed, and MK’s assistant and I planned to meet at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. So, since this was my big moment to impress my mentor, you can imagine the chaos in my dorm room Thursday night as I tried to find the perfect outfit. After 30minutes of trying unsuccessfully to find something to wear, my southern suitemate, Miss Molly Kate, stepped in and saved the day. She offered to let me borrow the most AMAZING DVF wrap dress I’ve ever seen, and as soon as I tried it on, I fell in love.

So the next morning, I set out, wrapped (no pun intended) in my borrowed DVF dress for what I expected to be the best day I’d had at Fox News.

When I finally got to work, I called Abby and she set me to work on my first project. I did some research on one of MK’s stories for the day. She instructed me to be done highlighting articles and finding related stories by 9:30, so MK could begin reading over everything when she arrived to work! So, at this point, I had t-minus 30 minutes until I got to meet her.

(Okay, so you might be feeling a little skeptical at this point. I’m not crazy, I promise. And I’m not a stalker. So before I continue, do me a favor. Imagine your #1 idol, hero, or person you have always loved/would die if you had the opportunity to meet….

Do you have the image in your head?

Now picture what you would do if you discovered you had the opportunity to meet that person…

Ya, that’s what I thought. Now you know how I felt.

After I completed my task of highlighting numbers and statistics for the upcoming midterm elections, I placed my finished work on the desk where MK gathers all of her stuff. Then, in a very anti-climactic moment, MK walked down the hall, introduced herself, and began talking to her assistant about assembling a shoe tree for her office.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t disappointed by the encounter. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was so glad to see how down-to-earth MK was. I then spent the rest of the day happily shadowing her assistant and trying to help out as much as possible (I’ll admit, I did go fetch one cup of coffee) : ).

So, there you have it. I finally met my hero. It’s cheesy, I know. It’s cliché, I know. But even the most incredible people have someone to look up to! Hopefully I’ll be able to get a picture with her before I leave NYC!

One more thing...here's a picture of me at FOX wearing the above mentioned DVF dress : )



Until next time!

Friends in High Places

Hello from rainy New York! As was the case in Sevilla, rain in any city where you do a lot of walking is NOT ROMANTIC!! I’ve come to learn that the combination of straight hair, flip flops, and work attire do not function well in rainy weather. The flip flops are especially difficult, but I’m definitely not going to wear my heels to work. I guess I’ll just continue wearing them and having instances where I fall UP the stairs in the subway, like this morning, for example.

But I’m sick of talking or thinking about the rain. How about I just go ahead tell you about my amazing weekend with two of my Texas friends who so kindly came to the Big Apple to visit me! : )

Here’s a little pictorial recap beginning with our bus tour…

Love St. Patrick's cathedral...reminds me of my time in Europe..


One of the neatest areas in NYC...hopefully I'll have time to go back and do a little boutique shopping before I leave : /


The "Flatiron Building..." not going to lie, I'm not a huge fan of the architecture...


You didn't think I would forget to add the Empire State Building did you?


And of course, my FAVORITE tourist attraction in NYC. A tribute to John Lennon...one of the best songwriters of all time in my opinion...


After our tour, we sat and down in Bryant Park (which has a spectacular view, I might add)



and ate a cupcake (or two).

Before...



After...



And of course, we couldn’t resist toasting our cupcakes to a wonderful weekend in the city…



For those of you who are visiting the city, you MUST TRY this amazing Italian restaurant called Maria Pia. I can’t remember where it is, but you can find it on Google, (that’s how we found it). Dinner was great! I can’t wait to go back (hint hint mom and dad who will be visiting this weekend)

Here's a pic of the girlies and I at dinner...



Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at the Boat House in Central Park and then sat by a little pond to watch the sailboats..







Ps. Did I mention that I probably gained 10 pounds last weekend? Guess that's what happens when you eat a pastry for breakfast, two cupcakes for "lunch", pasta for dinner, and wait for it....CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CHEESECAKE for a, um, midnight snack??


(If you're in the Times Square area anytime soon, you MUST, I mean, MUST try the cheesecake at Junior's. It's cheap and it's AMAZING!!)

I was so sad to see my Texas friends go on Sunday, but very grateful for a wonderful time!! Can’t wait for my road trip next weekend to Scranton, Pennsylvania, for the Train/John Mayer concert! eek! : )

Until next time...

It's okay to smile...even on the subway

Despite its many flaws, the New York subway system never fails to provide me with material for my blogs. Whether it be the crazies in the car, the screaming conductors, or the lack of air conditioning, I ALWAYS have something to say about the subway.

But today's subject isn't about the crazies or conductors...

Let me just begin by saying, I pretty much categorize any/every instance I've had in the subway as negative, so you should be glad to know you're getting your first, and quite possibly the only, POSITIVE tale from the underground!

This morning, I boarded the subway at 116th and Broadway. As usual, all the men were sitting down, and all the women were standing (a fact that still amazes me, being a woman from the south...chivalry died a long time ago in NYC). Anyway, much to the dismay of a 300 pound man whose rear-end was taking up one-and-a-half seats, I decided to squeeze into the half of the seat he left empty.

Two words...BAD IDEA. Big man was mad, really mad. And my 1/2 seat DEFINITELY wasn't big enough for my large behind. Needless-to-say, this was not a good way to start the subway ride. Thankfully, big man got off at the next stop (but not before heaving a few heavy sighs and turning around to glare at me one last time).

This is when a little Mexican man with a guitar and a tiny rattle-like instrument tied to his fingers boarded the train. He was wearing khakis, sandals, and a Hawaiian shirt, and he was exceptionally tan. Just the very site of him took me to a beach in Puerto Vallarta, accompanied by the smell of coconut suntan oil, and a corona.

Then he began singing. He sang some song in Spanish about love, a friend, and a smile. (Sorry, I'm losing my Spanish skills...I'm only able to pick up on certain words.) While he was singing, he furiously strummed his guitar and shook his shaker things.

I was astounded! He was amazing! And the combination of the upbeat song and his happy-go-lucky demeanor produced the sort of light-hearted feeling usually associated with the first day of summer.

And...WAIT FOR IT....I looked around the car, and a few people (ok, maybe a small few) were ACTUALLY SMILING!! Yes, you read correctly, I caught some New Yorkers with smiles on their faces!

Inspired by the cheery feeling swirling around the car, I, too, began to smile. I probably even took it a little too far. My smile turned into a grin, and I began grinning at any/everyone who would look at me.

I looked across the car and caught a girl about my age staring at me, a blank look on her face. She continued staring, confused, for a couple of seconds, before she shrugged her shoulders and smiled back! I felt like I was witnessing the enemy raise the white flag in defeat. Her expression read, "Okay, if this dumb idiot's going to keep grinning, I guess I'll join."

I was so busy smiling at my new friend, I forgot to hand the man some money when he walked past me. Instead, I just greeted him with with a fertive, "Hola!!"

I hope he knows how much I appreciate his little serenade!

So, lesson for the day--it's okay to smile...even on the subway.

Until next time...

Life inside an oven

I feel like I've become really lax lately about blogging, but to be honest, my whole life has become rather drab since the recent "global warming-esque" heat wave struck NYC. I have no energy to do anything but sleep. I can't write. I can't eat. I can't shop. I can't run... (okay, I take it back...the heat hasn't prevented me from accomplishing at least two of the above mentioned activities..I'm sure you can guess…)

But seriously, I'm no wimp when it comes to heat. I'm from Texas for Pete's sake!!! But these 102 degree days in NYC are getting a little ridiculous!

I wasn't sure what it was about the heat here in NYC that made it so much worse than the Texas heat until one of the guests I greeted summed it up perfectly. He described Manhattan as an oven, and I'm going to go ahead and add that we are all like a bunch of turkeys baking down beneath a skyscraper-dotted sky.

So since I was beginning to feel a little helpless, I decided to pay a visit to my good friend GOOGLE to get some tips for surviving the summer heat...I found a pretty long list of suggestions but decided to highlight only a few and give my opinion on each.

1)Do your best to stay out of the sun and avoid strenuous activity during the sun's peak hours of 11AM and 4PM. Plan your workout or other physically demanding activities for the day's coolest hours between 4AM and 7AM.

No, you haven't lost your mind. Whoever wrote this definitely said to workout between 4 AND 7 AM!!!!! IS THIS PERSON CRAZY? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WORKOUT THAT EARLY?

Moving on...

2)Drink plenty of water even if you don't feel thirsty. Your body needs water to keep cool.

Sounds like a great idea. I would absolutely LOVE to drink a lot of water...IFFF NYC would KINDLY PROVIDE A BATHROOM!!!!!!!

3)Eat small, frequent meals. Avoid high-protein foods. Put that Atkins diet on hold until the temperature drops.

Okay, this one doesn't sound too bad. And since we're avoiding protein...a Magnolia cupcake should suffice. I'll take two please? : ))

4)Head to a local swimming pool or beach to cool off. During heat emergencies, New York City pools and beaches are open late and often offer free or reduced admission.

Once again touching on the bathroom complaint, if you don't have it, don't suggest it. A pool in NYC?? I haven't seen one.

5)Cool off at a fire hydrant, using only City-approved fire hydrant spray caps available free of charge at local firehouses. Illegally opening a fire hydrant is wasteful and dangerous - one illegally opened hydrant wastes up to 1,000 gallons of water per minute.


A FIRE HYDRANT?? You've got to be kidding. I'm gettting a scary mental picture...Not gonna happen.


6)Monitor signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Contact 911 immediately if medical help is required.

Hmm...Does inability to breathe, a hot temper (no pun intended), and the desire to curl up in a ball in DIE sound like symptoms of heat exhaustion? If so, I'm going to have to take advantage of 911's services.

I'm going to stop there. All of these sound like crazy ideas. So for now, I'll just continue spending my afternoons immobile on my bed next to the air conditioner.

Until next time!

Red, White, and Fabulous!!

Hello everyone! I’m back from the BEST Fourth of July weekend ever (No offense small town Texas, but NYC has you beat when it comes to Independence Day activities.) I know it’s been forever since I’ve written, but at least I have something interesting to write about today. Here’s the scoop on the food, fun, and other details of my FANTASTIC holiday.

My 4th of July weekend began with a trip to the Hamptons on Saturday. Travis and I took a really nice bus out to East Hampton to visit his great uncle (I’ll just refer to him as Uncle W from now on). Upon our arrival, Uncle W met us at the bus stop and drove us to his beautiful house just down the block from some lady named MARTHA STEWART!!

As we rounded the first corner on the way to his house, Uncle W pointed to a GINGANTIC Hampton’s style mansion and said, “Some guy named Bon Jovi lives there. He and Paul McCartney had a concert here a couple of years ago.”

You know, some guy named Bon Jovi, no big deal, right!??

Here are some pictures at my "dream beach house"

The front...



A view of the back of the house...



The "guest house"



The interior of the "guest house"...loved the beachy interior



The hydrangeas were beautiful!!



After Uncle W gave me a quick tour of his precious house (built in 1912), and after I picked my jaw up off the floor, Travis and I quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the beach to soak up some sun! It was sooo nice! It felt like the first time the sun had touched my skin in ages. The NYC skyscrapers surprisingly aren’t conducive to my sun tan.

After we baked in the sun for a few hours, we headed back to the house to get cleaned up for dinner at an old country club in East Hampton (I think Uncle W told me it has been around since 1892). Thankfully I had spent the previous three days stressing about my outfit, so getting dressed for the dinner was relatively painless.

The dinner was a lot more laid back than I expected, so my new Anthropologie skirt and blouse didn’t clash with the shiny Versace gowns like I had expected. (Honestly, can you blame me… dinner at the East Hampton country club?? What was I supposed to think?)

Travis and I after dinner...



Anyway, dinner was great. Travis freaked out because the main character from the show “Modern Family” was there with her real family. But I, being the experienced celebrity stalker that I am, didn’t get too worked up about it. I mean, who’s she compared to Taylor Lautner? : )

After dinner, we took a nice stroll on the beach. But no worries, we didn't go anywhere near the water. It's kind of hard to get your feet wet when you are accompanied by someone who is afraid of sea monsters. : )

Here are some pics of Travis and I on the beach...







Our bus the next morning left at 10:00, but Uncle W offered to take us up for a quick ride in his plane, so obviously we chose to postpone our trip back to the big city in favor of a nice little airplane ride over the Hamptons. And that wasn’t all…Uncle W had even more surprises up his sleeve. Not only did he give us a tour of the Hamptons, but he also flew us over to Nantucket for a nice lunch in the harbor.

A view from where we ate lunch in Nantucket...



A view of the beaches in the Hamptons...



Travis and Uncle W talking about guy stuff...



I seriously felt like I was living in a dream world this entire trip. I'm so grateful for Uncle W's generosity. He's definitely maintained his southern hospitality despite the many years he's lived in NYC.

As you might have noticed, the Hamptons part of my holiday kind of trumped the rest of my weekend activities, but I can't wrap up this blog without mentioning that I also ate some AMAZING food, finally saw Phantom of the Opera, and also did a little shopping (duh). I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!!

Here are some more pics…

Outside the Phantom of the Opera...



Waiting for the fireworks...next to the Hudson



Couldn't possibly capture how beautiful the fireworks were in a photograph...



Until next time,