"PROJECTS"

Here are a few of my fun projects....

dresser before.... and after.. new paint "Happy Camper" & handles

before New paint & hardware & door removal

side table jazzed up with Shiner labels... LOVE this piece!

Yard sale find- painted to be FUN!!

More pictures of porjects to come!

LOVE MY JOB!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I used to hate Valentine's Day.

Because people make you feel bad for being single.

I am VERY happy and comfortable in my "single" status.

I see way too many couples out there who are unhappy in their current situation but will not do anything about it because they dont want to upset the children or can't afford to live alone.

Trust me your kids will survive and in most cases be much happier.

If you want something bad enough you will figure out a way to finance it.

I might have a boyfriend y'all just don't know about. Or I might have several! Ohhh scandelous!

But I will save all that for another day another blog!

Until then enjoy the pic of my favorite fuzzy Valentine Coach!

He is working hard with me today at my current love LHO Design & Consign.

The furniture store I started helping out at the past summer.

It is one of the most wonderful places to work.

GREAT boss.

Fun customer minus the creepers we get on full moons.

AND I get to play with paint and furniture!

I will work on a post of my projects... with some before and after pictures.

I ALWAYS forget to take the before pics and it drives me crazy.

I get soooooo excited about the project that I just start then I get about 5 strokes in and think "CRAP! I forgot to take a before pic!"

Anywho... It is slow at the store today maybe I will get some pics up after I dust and sweep!

Happy Valentine's Day!

You should love EVERYDAY not just 2/14 !!

XOXOXOX

Kate & Coach Landry

The loyalty I was looking for in a football coach!

The 2 bold quotes down at the bottom of this article are things that MORE football coaches need to implement into their personal football philosophies.

I know its a business. I know there is lots and lots of cash to be made. BUT when is enough money enough?

If you are working 15-18 hour days 362 days a year (Saban's staff) when are you going to spend that money? When do you get to see the family that college head coaches insist you have to show "stability" and that you are a "family man"?

I realize I am late to the LSU band wagon. I have only been riding it for a few years. But, Coach Miles just won a forever spot in my heart with his loyalty. I wish more people had stronger loyalty in their character. 2010 I realized just how UN-loyal some people can be. I frankly don't have time for that missing character trait in my friends.

Enjoy the article! Geaux Tigers!!

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Les Miles made it clear, in his own particular way, that he is living in the present.

His nostalgia for Michigan, where he played, and his enduring pride in his alma mater could not outweigh the relationships he's built in the past six seasons at LSU, where he's won 62 games and five bowls, including the 2007 national title.

"I'm one of those guys that believe where you are at is where you live your life," Miles said Wednesday shortly after LSU announced that the Tigers' coach had agreed to a new contract that would keep him living down on the bayou for the next seven seasons.

The announcement of Miles' new deal came two days after Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon flew to Baton Rouge to meet with Miles about the Wolverines' coaching vacancy that has since been filled by Brady Hoke.

Miles' annual salary will remain the same at a little more than $3.75 million. However, his new deal gives him three additional years and more opportunities to win bonuses based on postseason success.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said the contract will lend stability to a program that has already piled up an average of more than 10 victories a year since Miles arrived.

Miles said that stability would only make him a better recruiter and allow him to weather intermittent down years caused by injuries or unexpected departures of key players on account of personal or academic factors.

It also should make it easier for Miles to ignore his vocal critics. Miles has been lambasted on sports call-in shows in Louisiana and even booed in Tiger Stadium when the Tigers have struggled, as they did in a memorable narrow victory over Tennessee this past season. The Tigers initially appeared to lose that game on a botched play in the final seconds, only to be rescued by a Tennessee penalty.

Yet, Miles downplayed fans' fair-weather treatment, chalking it up to a fringe element prone toward negativity.

"I bet you those people don't sing the alma mater at the end of the game, and I bet you those people don't have tears in their eyes when the Tigers take the field," Miles said. "I began to understand that, as a part of love and appreciation for a team, just occasionally 2,500 knuckleheads might boo. I think I might want to be at a place where they care greatly for the work that you do and that it's important that you do it well. If that means that, very rarely, one or two guys might boo, I kind of understand."

On ESPN Radio's "The Scott Van Pelt Show," Miles didn't go into whether Michigan offered him a position, but said he was very happy to be at LSU.

"I enjoy who I represent. And my family being happy and enjoying the opportunities the state of Louisiana provides for them just allowed me to remain consistent to a commitment to these people," Miles told Van Pelt.

Although Miles still has strong feelings for Michigan, where he played and worked as an assistant coach, he said that bond does not determine his future.

"My fondness, the lessons that I learned, the people I enjoyed back there, does not equate to a necessity that I coach there," Miles said. "Just because I'm loyal and care and recognize that the credential of Michigan really has marked my life, I can't go by the sincerity and the authenticity of the people that I represent here in the state of Louisiana. It's just too important."

Miles said he discussed his options with his wife and his children on Monday night, largely ignoring the telecast of the BCS Championship Game in which Auburn edged Oregon to run the Southeastern Conference's string of national titles to five.

Miles' wife, Kathy, had a central role in the decision, and "tears were shed," the coach said. Miles also let his four children weigh in.

"Every one of my children are so happy here, enjoy being here, their friends, their things," Miles said. "That's not something that could not necessarily be maneuvered and replaced, but it did tell me they're happy here and that was an important factor."

All the while, Miles reflected on his commitments to current players and incoming recruits, as well as assistant coaches and officials in the LSU athletic department. He described struggling to sleep through the night and lying awake around 4 a.m., talking again with Kathy.

While he was leaning toward remaining at LSU, Miles said he had to consider the possibility that he could be persuaded to go to a place he's loved since he played under the late Bo Schembechler, who later gave Miles his first assistant coaching job.

"I could not have met with Michigan without the potential of a different outcome," Miles said. "I always allowed for that, but it kept comfortably returning to the people and the commitment. I enjoy this community."

Miles also had the memory of LSU's 41-24 Cotton Bowl triumph over Texas A&M fresh in his mind -- the postgame celebration with his players and the howls of approval from rabid Tigers fans who'd traveled to Arlington, Texas.

As the team bus left Cowboys Stadium, Miles sat near redshirt freshman defensive end Sam Montgomery and freshman defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu had made big plays all season and had an interception against the Aggies. Montgomery was having early success as a pass-rusher when his season was cut short by a knee injury. Miles considered their promising futures at LSU and all that went into bringing them to Baton Rouge.

"I told them I was going to be here when I recruited them, and for me not to respect those people that I committed to is just very difficult," Miles said.

Then Miles, the so-called "Mad Hatter," whose litany of quirky quotes inspired the creation of the website thequotablelesmiles.com, summed up his outlook in a way befitting his reputation.

"My strength and my weakness is loyalty," Miles began, "and I'll always see it as a strength."

Loyalty and Gentlemen

So, this blog started in my head as the media started to hound Harbaugh and Luck just seconds after Stanford's victory in the Orange Bowl. The media pisses me off so much. I was screaming at my tv. "LET THEM ENJOY THE WIN... BACK OFF!!"

Do you really think either one of them was going to be like "hell yeah bitches I am moving on to bigger and better things I just won the Orange bowl what else do I need to accomplish here??" Seriously!!

Luck has 2 years of eligibility and an architecture degree ahead of him.

Yes, he was #2 in voting for the Heisman. Yes, I have read the stories how he will miss out on $40-$60 Million if he doesn't leave for the NFL on January 15th. The rookie pay caps should have been in place years ago but those are opinions are for another blog at another time.

But why can't the kid stay in school because he wants to enjoy college life a little longer. There are "kids" in college who are on the 7 year program because they are having so much fun and they don't even play sports so, they don't get the extra benefits of free drinks at the college bars, or free meals or tattoos depending on the school and they certainly aren't getting the unlimited supply of pussy like the athletes are!!

So, why wouldn't a kid who was #2 in Heisman voting and just had the best season of his schools history NOT want to stay and play for 2 more years?!?!

I don't want Jim Harbaugh to leave Stanford. I don't know why but I want him to stay with a program that he turned around in 4 years. I want to see more coaches show some loyalty. I know AD's don't show loyalty. Look what Luck's dad did to his head coach Bill Stewart... He hired Dana Holgorsen with a head coach in waiting tag after the 2011 season. Now the entire offensive staff has been let go except one coach. It is a crazy business. I feel sorry for the players. Everyone wants instant success. No time to develop players or programs.

I'm not saying you need to be at a school a JoePa length of time. But there is something to be said for coaches who stay that long and for schools who allow them to.

I think the players are learning first hand how NOT to be loyal. The coaches are supposed to be building up their football fundamentals while the school is giving them a degree and something to fall back on when the NFL doesn't work out.

They are also to some extent teaching these 18 year old boys and how to grow up and be "men".

But I am starting to believe that they are really teaching them how to always chase the greener grass.

Does it ever occur to anyone that all this "gotta have that it is better than what I have now" is what is causing men to cheat because some one "better" has come along??

YES, I know there are various reasons that men & women cheat again this is another blog in waiting.

There is no loyalty in football unless you are a rabid fan.

Even then the million dollar boosters have too much say in the head coach firing/hiring process.

I want the gentleman football coach back.

I want a coach like Jim Wacker who while he was TCU turned his football team into the NCAA for violating NCAA rules.

I want a coach like Tom Landry who stays with a team for 30 years or Jeff Fischer with the Titans.

I want some fucking loyalty!

I would not let my little brother play for the slime of the earth coaches like Saban, Leach or Spurrier.

Those men make my skin crawl. They may be proven winners but I don't think they have their players in mind when they run on a football field. The players are just pawns in their chess game to become #1.

There was a story I was told once about Saban. When he left Michigan State for LSU he sent a plane to East Lansing and told the coaches who ever got on the plane had a job at LSU.

Not one single coach got on that plane. That to me speaks volumes about the kind of man Saban is or perhaps the lack of man that he is.

The "I'm not going to the NFL" stunt was just the cherry on top of all that is shitty about Saban.

I could go on for days with all is wrong with football. But that will not accomplish anything!!

So, enjoy the rest of the bowl games!

Enjoy the NFL playoffs!

Talk to you soon!

-Kate

No matter if you love him or hate him you have to respect his streak!

Favre’s streak deserves nothing but respect

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

Brett Favre will not start for the Minnesota Vikings on Monday when they play the New York Giants, an injured right shoulder sidelining him for the first time in 19 seasons.

So, for a moment, forget the text messages and voicemails. Forget the tearful retirements that lasted only a few months after endless speculation. Forget the drama that seems to hang on every move Brett Favre makes.

Even forget all the debate about why he’ll end his streak of 297 consecutive starts.

For a minute, let’s just focus on the 297.

In a sport defined by toughness, Brett Favre’s NFL-record ironman streak is one of the most amazing things we’ll ever see.

Favre took the field on Sept. 27, 1992, as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers (he had subbed in for Don Majkowski the week before). He went 14-of-19 for 210 yards and two touchdowns in his first start. The Packers beat Pittsburgh 17-3.

And Favre never came out.

A vicious hit last week by Buffalo linebacker Arthur Moats will end this run, leaving Tarvaris Jackson to start, and Favre to watch. Not even an extra day of rest courtesy of a weekend snow storm that collapsed the roof of the Vikings home stadium – the Metrodome – was enough to get Favre back on the field. The game was delayed 30 hours and moved to Detroit, but it wasn’t enough to get the shoulder in shape. Monday night, Favre will hold a clipboard.

The entire streak is so big, so absurd, it’s almost impossible to appreciate. The average NFL career is less than four years. Favre is 41; only nine position players have ever played at an older age.

Favre holds the record for starts among any position player in NFL history. His 297 number doesn’t even include 24 playoff starts, two of those coming last year at the age of 40.

Minnesota’s great defensive end, Jim Marshall, is second with 270 consecutive starts. Among quarterbacks, it isn’t even close. Favre is like Secretariat at the Belmont. Peyton Manning (205) is his closest competitor and, conceivably, could catch him – in 2016. Through last weekend, only three other quarterbacks had started 100 or more games in a row and none of those streaks are active. However, Eli Manning, who opposes the Vikings on Monday night, joins the 100 club.

Favre has played through countless broken bones, torn muscles, concussions, battered ankles, banged-up knees and every other calamity that would fell most mortals. For years on end, the best (or easiest) job in football was Brett Favre’s backup. You collected an NFL check, you got your own uniform and you never got hit while you held the clipboard.

Favre has been so consistent that throughout this season as various injuries and ailments caused speculation to mount that Favre might sit, a lot of people thought it was just build up for a another triumphant return.

Even as Favre missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, few were convinced. Favre has been injured before only to miraculously recover on Sunday. So it’s partially understandable.

He’s been so tough that even a massive body-slam onto his shoulder didn’t earn him the benefit of the doubt.

This time there was more, though.

QBs with 100 or more consecutive starts
Player Span Starts
Brett Favre 9/27/1992–12/5/2010 297
Peyton Manning 9/6/1998–present 205
Ron Jaworski 9/18/1977–9/25/1984 116
Tom Brady 9/30/2001–9/7/2008 111
Joe Ferguson 9/18/1977–9/23/1984 107
Eli Manning 11/21/2004–present 100

Favre is a walking soap opera, and that played into it. The talk this week hasn’t simply been about whether his shoulder would heal but the “real” reason he finally succumbed.

Some speculated that he’d sit due to injury to save the embarrassment of an NFL suspension for inappropriate behavior in 2008 with a then-fellow Jets employer. Jenn Sterger’s representation has been pushing for action, and many will see this as a convenient injury. Others thought he’s just frustrated with the Vikings’ poor season, which won’t end with a postseason berth and has included the firing of coach Brad Childress. The decision to return this year has been a disaster, and this was the dignified way to end it.

And that’s kind of the problem with Favre.

Here’s a thought: Maybe he’s just hurt. Favre seemed so close to the nice, round number of 300 – if he could’ve finished the season he’d have started 301 times – that ducking out now didn’t make sense.

Besides, all season he’s been complaining that he doesn’t heal as fast, which makes sense considering his age. Would he have even played this season had three teammates not showed up at his Mississippi doorstep in August pleading with him to return?

It’s understandable that he wanted to keep playing, but this season hasn’t gone as planned. He hasn’t looked as strong – and hasn’t played as well – as he did last year when he led the Vikings to overtime of the NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints. He retired then only to return. The Vikings kept losing though. The headlines have been ugly (some self-inflicted). His own family has told Sports Illustrated that this last year was a mistake.


The streak should cause a pause in the turmoil, however. If you love football, you should appreciate what Brett Favre has done. He got up every time. He came to play every week. He, without question, gave everything he had in every game.

Fans should appreciate that for 19 years, if you bought a ticket to see Brett Favre play football you got to see Brett Favre play football.

Manning may one day pass Favre, although it won’t be easy. He’s 34 and will have to play straight through to 40. What’s most amazing though is how Favre did it. Manning is smart; he rarely takes a big hit. He averages just 1.1 sack and 1.7 rushing attempt a game.

Favre has been sacked 560 times including the playoffs, an average 1.75 per start. For his career he’s averaged two rushes a game, and during the early part of his career he averaged more than three rushing attempts. There’s endless film of him barreling into linebackers and colliding with safeties.

He earned this record. There were no shortcuts. He never just played the first series and then hobbled off. He competed with reckless abandon, exactly the way someone protecting his streak wouldn’t do it.

The guy was a gamer. Week in, week out, nothing stopped him from playing. No matter how Favre’s image has changed over the last few years, no matter whether you love or loathe him, no matter the punch lines or annoying storylines, it’s one accomplishment that deserves respect.

MY Golden Gophers BEAT Iowa!

As a Golden Gopher alum it has been a rough season!!

Such a bad season that they fired our coach half way thru the season!

I was religious about going to Gopher games in college. So, wish the stadium would have been on campus like it is now!!

Anywho- here is a video of the end of the game and of MY Gophers reclaiming Floyd of Rosedale the fabulous little piggy that we get when we beat Iowa!!

I borrowed it from @gophers Twitter page!!

ENJOY! It actually made me tear up!

@gophers Gophers

My view (4th row behind the Gophers bench) of last nights taking of the field http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddNSAVRX3IU

Football Coaches!

January 1996 I attended my very first AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Convention in Orlando, FL. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was scared out of my mind.

I knew NO ONE at the convention. Had no idea what I was doing.

Just knew I needed to be there. I was a football coach. I needed to be there!

Well, that was 14 years ago. I have only missed a convention or 2 since then.

I have met so many amazing coaches over the years at these conventions.

I have also met a slime ball or 3.

Since my move back to Texas I have been going through old folders of notes and letters from the past conventions.

It is amazing to see how long I have known some of these coaches.

It is pretty cool to see how many I still talk to and how many I have lost touch with.

There is a core group I keep in touch with who have always been supportive of me coaching football.

Always encouraging.

Always willing to answer any random football question I can throw their way.

Making sure I don't have to sit alone at convention sessions or eat lunch by myself.

Some of them have even bought my football purses for their wives and daughters.

Sometimes they even get me tickets to a game. I don't ask very often but they have always come through for me.

I thank God that I have met more of the good guys than slime balls over the last 14 years.

This small handful I still communicate with on a regular basis is a good group of men. They are obviously NOT in the slime ball group.

They are always respectful and maybe even a little overly protective of me at the convention.

Like I am their little sister. It is good to know that someone has your back.

These men are talented coaches at some of the best schools and pro teams out there.

I feel blessed to call them friends.

I respect them as coaches.

I respect them as family men.

I would let my little brother play for them.

I would work for them.

I hope their wives know what wonderful men they are married to.

I hope their players know how much these coaches care about them.

Friendships are hard to maintain. Some last a lifetime. Some don't survive beyond the convention.

I know I have had boyfriends who hated when I went to the convention.
They couldn't stand that I was friends with these coaches or any man for that matter.

I have tried to explain until I am blue in the face the uniqueness of these friendships.

It is a coaching friendship it is not a man/woman thing it is just 2 people who love football.

We talk about football. I am no longer coaching so I want to hear everything that is going on with their team. I want to talk to them about a play I saw their team run on TV. I am a true football nerd!! They want to know what I am up to now that I am out of football. Some are the ultimate big brother and worried about my life. Am I going to church? Have I found a nice guy yet? How is your little brother playing this season? Even how is Coach doing? (Coach is my mini long-haired dachshund).

So, I cheer passionately for their teams because I know how much they are sacrificing in their lives to coach those teams.

They miss their wife's and kid's birthdays as well as their anniversaries because of recruiting, practices and games.

They have to move at the drop of a hat and their wives are left behind to pack up the house, find a new house in another city, and move.

All while juggling their kid's lives, schools as well as their lives and jobs.

Moving is stressful enough I can't imagine having to do it as often as some of my friends have had to do it. I respect their wives for being married to the crazy game of football.

I don't know if I could do it.

Since it is still Thanksgiving weekend I would like to say I am thankful for the opportunities I have had to coach football. I am thankful for that group of coaches who happen to be some of my best friends. I am thankful that they are some of the good guys in the game of football as well as the game of life. I am thankful that they have loving families who support them even through all the personal sacrifices.

I am thankful for football. It is a crazy and tough game but so much fun!

Happy Thanksgiving All Y'all!!