eloquent graffiti

life in amish country

2012-02-10T11:27:00.001-07:00

i have gone 2 weeks sans a computer.
and then my nook broke.
and my phone was my only source of internet at that point.
and i was keeping a very watchful eye on it .
like voldemort and nagini.
my luck has not been at it's best lately.
so i was fearful and on edge and fairly certain i would be joining an amish culture in a mere matter of days.

but, i went to geek squad to further investigate the issues of my pink computer (which is actually mine and not the borrowed one i broke..woops.)
and they said i needed a recovery disc in order to bring that Lazarus back from the dead.
so after having that shipment expedited (only for it to arrive late, anyways) i took my pink computer and also the recovery disc back to best buy where they had me fill out a form with questions that i truly could not answer seriously.
example:

Q:what seems to be the problem with your item?
A: it seems geek squad made my computer even less useable than before.

Q:how did this problem start?
A:i assume it all started when you gutted my computer. but i'm no geek so i wouldn't actually know for sure, would i?

Q:how often does the problem occur?
A: always. in every way.

anyways.
they said my computer would be ready in 5 weeks.
well, 5 weeks-worst case scenario.
obviously, mr. geek squad is blissfully unaware of the horcrux hunt that is going on in my life and that everything technology with me is, in fact, worst case scenario.

so husband told me to cancel it, bring the computer and the disc back home so he could do it.
truthfully, this worries me.
i trust him.
i do not trust my luck lately.

also, adding to my frustration with technology, i went to barnes and noble to fix my nook and after three hours of waiting, reading the back of every book in the store and spending $6.00 on a crappy salad in the mall food court, i got sassed by the employee who "had bad enough luck to get stuck with" me.

seriously?

bleh.
whatever. i got my nook back and with all of this no-computer/internet/pinterest time, i have read 3 books.
any suggestions on a good book to read?
if not, i might just read the hunger games series again.
because--why not?

in other news:
i made a valentine's day wreath.

also i took pictures of gilly.

because it's imposible for me to hold my camera and not take pictures of her.

ohmyword.

anyways, i should go be useful and productive.

but i will probably waste a few more moments on pinterest since garrett is at work and i can actually be on his computer for some minutes without him hovering.

one day i'll get my computer back.

le sigh.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i am aware i've been misled. i disconnect my heart, my head.

bandaids.

2012-02-02T20:06:00.001-07:00

i realize it is not tuesday.

i really had no intentions of only blogging once last week.

but let's just get down to brass tacks and say that i have a serious issue with technological devices breaking on me.

i don't know how many cell phones i have had in my lifetime. several.

my pink computer crashed over the summer and left me with nothing but a blue screen of death.

i took it to geek squad and they removed the virus from my computer and gave it back to me whole and new.

and without anything on it.

i don't mean just without my pictures and music.

i mean everything.

i'm talking you turn that bad boy on and a blank, black screen comes up. and that's it.

it is a computer in it's most basic form.

with absolutely no programs on it.

at all.

they told me i needed to download the recovery program to get windows and everything that we associate with a computer back on there.

ironic, isn't it?

i have to download a program?

are you kidding? the only thing this computer can do is serve as a quasi mirror.

so my mom kindly let me borrow (on a semi permanent scale) her old computer.

and that is what i have been using ever since.

until it met a slight demise by way of power cord.

you see, the computer was old.

and it could only function while it was plugged into the wall.

which was fine with me.

except that the manufacturers neglected to reinforce the cord in the area that plugs into the computer.

last week that piece broke off.

and consequently, that computer is yet another reflective surface and nothing more.

so i can pretty much only be on a computer while garrett is at work.

le sigh.

now i'm at a loss. i don't think cords to that computer are just sold at best buy these days.

like i said, it was my mom's old computer.

and best buy is way too hip to the groove of mac products to be selling old things like that anymore.

so i'm left with my phone and my nook.

but it's a little difficult to blog on either.

so i pray you will forgive me.

hopefully i will figure out a solution and be back to ranting on about useless information in no time.

until then.

let's jam.

this past week (all technology aside) was...interesting.

on more than one occasion i was taken back to a time when i listened to some of the most meaningful music in my life.

it was the music that hurt when i hurt and expressed it in a way i have always been deficient.

a few weeks ago when i instated this tune in tuesday thing, i gave an example of how music speaks not just to me, but for me.
in my freshman year of college i was lucky enough to live less than 5 minutes away from my older sister.
of course i didn't see her nearly as much as i should have.
after all, i was a freshman in college.
and not just that, but a freshman in college who was taking 18 credits a semester and experiencing friends and "freedom" (not that my parents ever smothered me..but you get it) for the first time.
regardless, i regret not seeing her more often.
but i did love seeing her.
and she and i had some really spectacular times together.
and despite my poor friendship skills, she always felt comfortable confiding in me.
and sometimes the things she told me broke my heart.
she had been married a few years.
in fact, i think she was then, at the point in her marriage i am at now.
and she was experiencing life.
and sometimes life sucks.

and i wanted to take away all of that suck from her.
because she was always so capable of doing that for me.
but i didn't know how. i couldn't cure her. i couldn't change her situation.
if i had had money of my own i would have given it to her.
if i had a way to press my hand to her heart and give her joy i would have done it.

it was a sad reality for me. to see someone i loved so much so sad.
i just wanted to fix it.
i wanted to fix her.

i am sure i am not alone in feeling this way towards someone.
i believe it is a natural side effect of love.

one night i heard a song that summed it all up and said it all for me.
it inspired me to make her a cd.
and i'll tell you, maybe it's a gift. maybe it's coincidence, but when i feel there is no other way for me to speak but through music, the music flows to me like water downhill. it just comes to me. i remember songs, i remember lyrics. it just comes to me.
and so it did that night as i made my sister that cd.
(i love how old school that sounds. i feel like i should put a wikipedia reference link to what a cd is..)

and this week, my sister and i talked again.
and i was reminded of that cd i made her.
and i wished i could make it for her again.
little did i know that later only a few days later i would be needing to listen to that music myself.
because like i said,
sometimes life sucks.
and no one is exempt.
and this week proved that. to both of us.

so it is with much apprehension and some trepidation that i present to you this playlist.
it's something special to me.
i've had it for 6 years now and i have listened to it a lot.
mostly when i'm sad and missing my sister.
i have continued to add to the list songs that speak better than i know how.
it's kind of scary to throw it out like this.
i suppose it could easily be seen as something cheesy.
but here's to hoping that someone else can be healed, even just a little, by it.

it's not an instant cure, but it's a good bandaid.
a musical bandaid.

love,
kate.

lyrics: sail on silver girl...all your dreams are on their way.

young love.

2012-01-24T12:08:00.003-07:00

has it been a week already?
lovely.
because i have some good tunes for you this week.
but first let's just chat.
i had a dream that i was hanging out with the cast of jersey shore.
again.
this is especially weird considering i watched an embarrassing amount of LA Ink yesterday.
and embarrassing amount, i tell you.

and provided there are no radioactive gorillas or death eaters or rapists or rap artists (yes, i have had nightmares about all of those. i did not make them up.) among the jersey shore cast (well....i mean..you know when you think about it...)
i still consider these recurring dreams to be more like recurring nightmares than dreams. and i think i hate the jersey shore nightmares more than any of my other recurring nightmares.

i have one that involves me going on a really fantastic yellow roller coaster but finding out half way up the click, click, click incline that my over-the-chest-boob-smashing-seat-belt device is broken. and then i finish the rest of the nightmare desperately trying to hold on to the germy handles on said seat-belt device. i always wake up just as i'm about to be thrown upside and off of the roller-coaster.
i especially hate this dream because i love roller coasters.

still, i hate the jersey shore dream more than that one.

if anyone has any sound advice or insight about what these dreams mean or interpret into, i would love to hear it. also i would love to know how to make it stop. because i do not love Deena haunting my dreams.

anyways. let's get down to business.
(to defeat the huns)

i've been thinking a lot about these new posts and the music i want to share with you guys.
i have come up with quite a few different playlists or compilations or artists that i would like the share and the stories behind them.
but i would love to hear what you want, too.
so keep that in mind and leave your suggestions or ideas in a comment.

i spent the week listening to several of my pre-made playlists that i already have on my ipod.
i have made a good selection of playlists in my ipod owning days.
so where do i begin?
well, i guess i'll start at the very beginning.
that's a very good place to start, no?
well, not the very beginning.
but you'll get it.

i recently had a conversation with garrett and my sister and her husband, jared.
i asked them what their first favorite song was.
garrett and jared both deserved a big slap in the face because they said they didn't really listen to music much until they were a bit older.
absurd, right?
but jackie and i shared a room together for a few years and we used to listen to the radio a lot. and before i was in school i would listen to music with my mom as she cleaned her house.
so i have prepared for you a compilation of the music i think of when i go back to being little.
i have specific memories attached to each song.
even if they are just weird memories like driving past my old elementary school.
or feather dusting lamps in my living room with my mom.
this isn't just a pile of songs that came out when i was little.
they were my first favorites.
my first loves, if you will.

yes, that's right. air supply.
don't act like you don't get goose bumps at the crescendo of "making love out of nothing at all"
you love it.
i love it.
billy ray cyrus, well...there's a story behind that one.
but i'll spare my mom the embarrassment. :she already has a daughter who dreams about the jersey shore cast. :]
love,
kate.

lyrics: the beating of my heart is a drum and it's lost and it's looking for a rhythm like you.

ps. you can expect several of these to be repeated when i bust out my nineties playlist. just you way. it's petty fabulous.
pps. please do not judge me too harshly for the weird things that go on in my brain whilst i sleep.

acid, ghetto, peg.

2012-01-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

let's talk briefly about how my eyeballs are on fire.

just briefly, guys.

but seriously. they're on fire.

sometimes i feel like my contact solution is amazing and does wonderful things for my contacts.

other times i feel like it is nothing short of hydrofluoric acid.

today is more of the latter.

today i also attempted to wear skinny jeans.

i do that every so often.

and every single time it's a fail.

every. single. time.

le sigh.

i hate todays.

sorry, monday. it's nothing personal. except for the fact that you suck.

in other news: i'm thinking of writing a mini segment every so often.

it will be called, "This Week in the Ghetto"

and i think it will be, in a word, spectacular.

because 1) i truly live in the ghetto.

and 2) there are some seriously ghetto things that go on.

This Week In The Ghetto:

as i casually approached my kitchen sink (which faces an alleyway) to refill my brita pitcher, a man came meandering up the alley from the street. that same man stopped right in front of my kitchen window and peed in my yard.

truly.

that happened.

some days later gilly got out of the yard.

this completely terrifies me.

i hate when she gets out because i don't particularly trust my neighbors.

(also, she is the cutest pup in the world and i would steal her if she weren't mine already.)

but she got out nonetheless. because she is houdini.

and she wasn't hurting anybody. she was just barking.

because that's what she does. she's a dog.

she barked at our neighbor.

he yelled over the fence to me and told me to come get her before he killed her.

classic peg.

what? you don't know where the phrase classic peg comes from?

stop everything you're doing and fall in love with justin timberlake as a woman.

(for the record, i want to yell "A FIFTY!...AND IT'S LEGIT!" every time someone hands me a fifty dollar bill at work. every time.)

i just watched Peg and have lost complete track of what i was saying.

but that's fine. i'll leave you with that.

come back soon, friends.

love,

kate.

lyrics: oh monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be..

love and some verses

2012-01-17T15:08:00.001-07:00

when i started this blog i did so with the intentions of venting my life and the frustrations and happenings therein in a fashion that would not result in the severe cramping of my right hand.
i've never been the best journal keeper because the ratio of "what i have to say" and "number of sentences before my hand cramps" is less than even.
so i started typing.
i never really thought anyone would give a rat's crack about what i actually had to say. (or that i would end up sucking just as much at typing my emotions as i am at writing them--but we'll ignore that right now.)
but since i have 51 people semi-following this blog (sidenote: if you in any way even sort of read this on any kind of consistent basis, i'm going to need you to scroll on over to the right side of your screen and click on "join this site" under the "Followers" tab. franks a million. end of sidenote.)
i decided that maybe people really do want to read what i have to say.
but then i read other fantastic blogs and i feel so weird and awkward writing in my blog.
because i'm not a fashion blogger.and i'm not a mommy blogger.i'm just me.
and not a ton happens in my life.
my husband is a student and works part time.i work part time at a job i kind of really hate.
and i do hair and makeup part time.

that's sort of my life. it's nothing glamorous.
my clothes are nothing if not average.
my hair is an incredibly boring and awkward length of "just past the shoulders".
and i live in a cute little duplex right smack dab in the middle of the ghetto.

i clean my house just about every day.
(and every night it seems looks like it needs a good cleaning again..curious)
i snuggle with my puppy.
i make cards.
i fold laundry.
i make wreaths that end up getting stolen off of my front door.
and i listen to a butt-load of music during all of it.

so you can see how, despite the fact that i open up blogger with the intentions of blogging every single day, i don't have much to write about.
but i promised to change my poor blogging habits. and i'm going to make good on that promise.
because in all of this house cleaning, craft making and other extraordinarily mundane things i take part in every day, i have re-discovered something fantastic:
i listen to freaking awesome music.

and thanks to spotify and youtube, i can share that music with you.
entire playlists, even.
heyyo!

so it is with great pleasure and joy that i dub each Tuesday from here on out:
Tune in Tuesday.
Tune in Tuesday will be a thing of absolute greatness in that it will consist of both music and my memories and/or feelings behind them.
because if there's a good and decent song out there then i have more than likely either attached a memory to it or had some sort of deep and meaningful thought about it that has probably brought me to tears.

you see, i'm not like most people.
i have an incredible sense of feeling.
a sort of manic/depressive emotional gauge.
when i feel good, i feel really good.
when i am happy, i am really happy.
and when i am sad. i am really sad.
i just feel more.
and when i feel so much, my words always fall short.
but music never does.
ever.
so, a few years ago, when my sister was going through hard things and was struggling with trying to be happy..i was so honored that she would confide in me. and i wanted to fix it. i wanted to help her. i wanted her to know that i would do anything to take that away from her.
but what i felt was so much more than that.
so did i say that to her?
no.i kicked it old school and made her a cd.
music just speaks better than i do.
and it speaks to me better than anything else ever seems to be able to.
and i think you all should be privy to the incredible conversations that go on between me and music.

so strap on your seatbelts, people. strap them on.
because it's Tuesday. and it's time to tune in.to start it all off, i will pay homage to the man who provided such a perfect title for this blog.his name is sam beam and and he is the voice behind the artist title of iron and wine.
iron and wine is probably best known for the amazing song,Flightless bird, American mouth, that has featured in at least two of the twilight movies. (maybe more. i don't know..or really care for that matter.)
but my love affair with iron and wine began long before the love affair between tweenagers and edward cullen.
i spent a lot of my nights and weekends at home while i was in high school.
and by a lot, i mean almost all of them.
and i would spend most of that time either doing makeup, scrapbooking or searching/listening to the greatest music this world had to offer me.
enter Iron and Wine.the first song i heard was Naked As We Came.
it was different. it was soothing. it was real.
(not to mention far less angsty than most of my other high school jams.)
but it hit me, nonetheless.
as did the rest of the "Endless Summer Days" album.
it was such a new sound to me and, again, i couldn't think of a way to explain it.
until i went out to visit my oldest sister in college.
and she said of the music, "I'll know i'm in love when my life sounds like an Iron and Wine song."
amen, sister.
amen.
and then one day, as i was packing up my hair school belongings and heading out into the most beautiful Provo, Utah evening with the most beautiful sunset i have ever seen, i put in my headphones. i set my ipod to shuffle. and there it was. an iron and wine song that i had not heard yet.
the song hit me like a brick.
i stopped in the middle of the parking lot and just listened. it was beautiful.
and i knew it would be significant to my life in some way.it was The Trapeze Swinger.and from that song i gleaned the title of my blog.eloquent graffiti.oh, you haven't listened to iron and wine yet? well, you should.and you should do so on spotify.i made a mini playlist of some of my favorite songs.
take a listen by clicking the link below.
Iron and Wine=Love
go on, change your life a little bit.
love,
kate.

lyrics: love and some verses you hear say what you can't say.

5 minutes late.

2012-01-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

happy new year.
i realize this is a few days late.
but if you consider the fact that i was too enthralled with Red Bull's New Year No Limit 2012 jump that i didn't even realize it was midnight until it was 12:05..then it's kind of really fitting that this post is late, too.

but you know, in my defense i was really under the impression that he was going to jump at midnight. seriously.
what the hail? i feel cheated.
my new year's kiss was 5 minutes late.
starting of the new year nice and lame.
perfect.
but...
want to know what blows my mind?
2012.
two. thousand. and. twelveeeeee.
what is that?
was it really 12 years ago that i was at disney world ringing in, not just the new year, but the millennium and sporting my fluorescent orange, limited too windbreaker pants and matching "LIMITED TOO" t-shirt?
really?
12 years? good grief.
le sigh..
farewell, 2011.

anyways, in other news.
i threw my back out trying to open my freezer.
(i am only just now realizing how geriatric that sounds.)
but our freezer is a bottom drawer, sliding freezer.
and it froze shut.
way to be an over-achiever, freezer.

speaking of freezing, garrett and i spent the holidays at my parent's house and came back this week. instead of coming back to a warm home sweet home kind of environment, we came back to this.

and since our house is 4 million years old, it took 7 hours to warm up.
which means i spent the rest of that day on the couch, cuddling with gilly and watching What Not To Wear.
i didn't get much done, but i did come to the conclusion that
1) gilly is the cutest thing in the world

seriously.
and
2) stacy and clinton need to be my new therapists.

i need to go clean. without bending, moving, lifting or stretching.
should be interesting.

love,
kate.

lyrics: so this is the new year. and i don't feel any different.

girls and boys.

2011-12-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

i think we've all seen this video incessantly popping up on facebook for the past week or so.

(or maybe you haven't...and that would probably be, in large part, due to the fact that 2/3 of your facebook friends are not LDS and do not go to BYU, UVU, UofU or USU...however, that is essentially how my facebook works out. so every other update has been this video.)

and honestly when i first saw the title "why men and women can't be friends" i thought it would be dumb and i had no interest in watching it. because i, like so many others, believed that men and women could just be friends.
(just ignore the fact that i married my best friend. just ... whatever. ignore it.)

a few minutes ago it popped up once more and i decided to watch it.
and i won't lie. i laughed.
(mostly because of that guy eating a sandwich while being interviewed.)

but then i felt sort of weird. like maybe i was wrong.
but i honestly did think that i had guy friends who were just friends.

anyhow. this is all neither here nor there. because then i found this video.

and really what it comes down to is..it doesn't matter. and i don't care.
because he was using a swiffer duster as a microphone.

(on a separate note: i miss byu.)

love,
kate.

Flu 101

2011-11-28T16:23:00.005-07:00

sometimes i make really big plans for my life.
and then i get really excited.
and then life slaps me across the face with something horrific to bring me down again and make me feel like poop.

maybe it's not as frequent as i make it sound, but it sure did happen this week.
there i was, making huge plans for my life and future, being a big girl and taking on big girl decisions and WHAP.

you think you've got "big things" in store for you?
you don't.
unless of course you consider "big things" to be fevers and body aches and coughs and more snot than any one human being should concoct--in which case you are incredibly correct.
but if you were planning on anything else...

well, you get the picture.
i am ill.
granted i am not quite as ill as i was when i had the swine flu..but i would venture to say i am close.
(also, if you were not one of the unfortunate few to suffer through the swine flu, let me take you there with this--put yourself in the sickest place you've ever been. the kind of sick that makes you question whether or not your actually have control over any part of your body. now cough. cough hard. the kind of cough that pops blood vessels in your eyes and gives you the kind of smashing abs you always see on "Fitness" pinboards on Pinterest. are you there? now heat it up with the worst fever your body has ever know. make your blood boil, your eyes burn and your skin cringe at the thought of anyone touching it. if you've gotten your mind wrapped around that then you'll easily be able to imagine the body aches. not just joints and crap. the kind of body aches you might experience had you been hit by a train or had you sumo wrestled a fat man. now sprinkle in some vomiting here and there, garnish it with a complete lack of desire to live and you have the general gist of the swine flu.)

well that was a tangent i hadn't quite planned on going on. (that sentence ended in a preposition. deal.) but whatev.
the point is i'm ill.
and i'm sort of bummed out about it.
and not just because my family is in town and i can't snuggle and smooch my nieces/nephews nearly as much as i would like to.
but because i feel like it really took the wind out of my sail and that has caused me to feel very blah and very worthless.
mostly because i am yet to brush my teeth today.
yuck, kate!! yuck.

anyways, i'm trying to think of some good ideas to spice up this blog. my overly-witty banter just isn't reeling them in like it used to.
so i'm trying to think of a different weekly post topic.
preferably one that has to do with hair and makeup.

in addition to that i think i'm going to instate Flash Back Fridays.
i know, i know.
it's overused and cliche' but whatever.
so are "that's what she said" jokes but that doesn't keep me from laughing at them.

so...let me know your thoughts.

and i will do my best to not be a sick-fish.

love,
kate.

lyrics: so sick so sick of being tired and oh so tired of being sick.

i feel good.

2011-11-22T09:36:00.002-07:00

oh hey guess what.
i'm still alive.
i know. i had you questioning there for a while.
but i am here.

i stopped blogging for a while because ..well, if i'm being honest..i didn't have a single thing to blog about. not one thing.
i started my job in august and since then life has been a big pile of blah and nothingness, about which i had no interest in blogging.

but things are beginning to take a turn for the better and slightly more interesting.
so come back, little friends. i'm here to blog to you.
and i hope you're still there to read.

i'm excited about my life right now.
and i don't quite know when the last time i said that was.
so this is sort of epic.

more on that later.
remember how thanksgiving is this week?
what the..?
where did 2011 go?!

anyways, i have to go get busy with my life.

love,
kate.

lyrics: and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.

s.o.s

2011-10-06T20:16:00.002-06:00

guys, i need inspiration.
someone help me out.
i need blogging ideas.
stat.

love,
kate.

lost, lost, lost.

2011-09-19T19:36:00.002-06:00

alright.
i'm going to try real hard not to let my blog entries get depressing.
if it begins to happen, tell me and i will crush up one of my prozac, sprinkle it over my keyboard like the ashes of a loved one and then wait 4-6 weeks for it to get better.

or i'll just post a picture of my gilly dog. because she brightens any day.
the fact of the matter is i'm going through some tough stuff right now.
and i don't really know why.
just another one of those times, i suppose.

i just feel so absent from everything.
ever since starting my job, i haven't felt normal.
every day seems to be a bad one. (except for my days off, of course.)
i can't seem to get myself out of a sad mood.
and every day i find myself missing.
why am i always missing?

i just miss utah.
and friends.
i really miss friends.

i love being married so much. i really, really do.

but sometimes i go back to the days of living at campus view south #5 and i miss it so much.
i miss having my best friend, brittany live in the basement of our apartment.
i miss kendyl being my neighbor and sitting on her stoop.
i miss sitting at the kitchen table with ashley.
i miss doing hair in my bedroom with bree.
(and having daniel wash my hair in the bathtub)
i miss walks around all of provo for hours each night.
i miss bon fires in the canyon.
i miss the dollar theater.
i miss byu.

le sigh.

i'll shut up now.
because i'm getting sappy and lame.
and stupid.
i'm just being stupid.
and overly-reminiscent.

forgive me.
please forgive me.
and stay with me while i get my life back together.

love,
kate.

lyrics: and now all i can see are white stars, they span forever.

giveaway winner announced. also i am lame.

2011-08-29T16:08:00.003-06:00

i am officially the worst blogger in the universe.
(that's assuming there are other life forms throughout the universe and they have access to the interweb and they choose to blog.)
pretty much the minute after we moved i had the busiest schedule i've had in months.
i have been going non-stop for so long it seems AND (adding to my busy schedule) i just got a job and will now be working full time.
gahhh!

i really do apologize so so so much for being such a freaking slacker.
i really had no intentions of life getting so crazy so fast.

for the record, by random selection, Brenna Bee won the giveaway (from forever ago!)
sorry, brenna.
just let me know which prints you are partial to and i'll send them your way.

i am so sorry about that.
the next giveaway will not be nearly as chaotic or weird because i do not plan on moving again any time soon.

i really am going to get back into blogging. i just need august to end. it has been quite a month.
le sigh...
forgive me, my dears.

love,
kate.

lyrics: it's like you're always stuck in second gear...

home sweet home.

2011-08-19T20:21:00.002-06:00

okay. i realize that my time off from blogging occurred at a most unfortunate time. i mean--who starts a giveaway and then totally doesn't follow through with it? lame people. that's who.

but the thing is. i moved.
well, we moved.
husband and i, that is.
on a whim.

and i suppose this is about the only time in our life that we will ever be able to do such a thing.
but you know...as much fun as packing up and moving out of our old place and into a new place over a weekend (keep in mind we previously lived on the third floor of an apartment complex) was..i'm kind of grateful that we won't be able to do such a thing for forever. because wow. it was a lot.

but yes, we moved.
we're now living in downtown savannah where homes are old and antique-y. and trees are covered in moss and hang down over the streets and houses. and people walk and ride bikes and they mostly look like fashion bloggers and magazine models.
our house is 75 years old.
garrett now longboards to class. (that means we're saving about 2-300 dollhairs in gas each month)
and we are loving our new home.
however, i have been without the interweb for quite some time now. we only just now got it set up and thus i have not been able to blog for quite some time.
but i'm back...ish now.
it seems my august is turning out to be fairly busy.
and by fairly i mean extremely.
one of my best friends just got married last week and i was in south carolina for a good portion of the week. and now this week my siblings and grandma are all in town.
and i have to work at See Jane this week.
gah! things are good. but things are crazy.
please be patient with me while i organize my life a bit.
thank you, kindly.

love,
kate.

lyrics: but all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity.

extension.

2011-08-02T11:24:00.002-06:00

i am so pleased that so many of you are entering the giveaway! i want to be sure that everyone gets to enter and has a chance to check out the giveaway so i decided to extend the giveaway for another week! hooray! tell your friends to enter! thanks so much for all your support thus far!

love,
kate.

forgive me.

2011-07-27T21:57:00.002-06:00

oh i am so happy that people are actually starting to comment and enter the giveaway.
apparently not everyone is as blogger savvy as i assume they are.
forgive my tomfoolery. let me explain.
on the right hand side of this blog there is a box that looks something like this

(i have not a single clue as to who those people are. i just google imaged it. but bless their hearts for helping me with my visuals)

click on the top left button that says "follow". then follow the rest of the instructions.
easy peasy.

next, at the end of each blog post there is, in a different color (maybe it's too hard to read?), a link that says "spray painted". click on that if you have any desire to comment.

sidenote: i love comments. love them. hope for them often. get them rarely. please leave your thoughts or opinions in the comment box.

i hope that helps you some.
i do apologize for just assuming you dears knew what you were doing.

so go ahead and enter yourself if you haven't already.

love,
kate.

giveaway, giveaway, giveaway

2011-07-21T21:58:00.005-06:00

just so we're clear: i've had a headache 2 days now.
i realize my previous post took us all knee deep in sarcastic whining, but i am confident a 2 (pushing 3!) day headache is worthy of some whining.

despite my headache-i saw harry potter again tonight.
what's up empty bank account?!
i welcome you so long as your previous monies were spent on something important and worthwhile (and completely necessary) like a second viewing of the greatest freaking movie ever made.

and for the record-i did cry again.

today i cleaned my house again.
there are only two of us .
unless you count gilly.
but she rarely uses the bathroom sink or shower (so gross, right?!) and she almost never cooks dinner.
so how does our house get so messy so fast?
(i do suspect she is a crafter by night, though. and i'm fairly confident she's selling her things on etsy. which makes the mess she leaves on my craft table even more frustrating. no more allowance money for her. )
le sigh. the frustrations of a housewife.

but it's not all sad poems and violin music.
i sold 3 prints today.
hey-oh!

upon that great happening i confirmed my previous thinks about having a giveaway.
that's right people. I SAID GIVEAWAY!

doesn't that just make you want to sing and dance to some lyrical piece of gold like:

I THROW MY HANDS UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES
SAYING AYO GOTTA LET GO
I WANNA CELEBRATE AND LIVE MY LIFE
SAYING AYO. BABY LET'S GO.

(you are welcome for that brain worm)
(also, am i the only person that consistently thinks he's saying GALILEO? the only thing that helps me to remember is that the man singing does not likely have the foggiest as to who Galileo is. Don't worry, Gal, i got your back and i support your efforts in improving our scientific understanding.)

where the heck was i?

oh. right. GIVEAWAY!

so since i don't have a bajillion followers, i am going to leave this open for a little while. that way people who only read every so often can have a chance to enter. but let it be known.
THIS IS A GIVEAWAY FOR 2 PRINTS!!!

(those are just a few of the prints you can choose from)
click HERE to see all of them.
remember, everything is completely customizable.
(ie: names, letters, colors)

so here is what you have to do.

1) you must be a follower of the blog (look to the right side of the blog and click follow. easy peasy.)
2) leave a comment telling me which print is your favorite.
3) follow me on twitter if you have an account. (misskatieclaire)
4) tweet about the giveaway
5) post this entry on your facebook and let other people know about it.
6) if you have posted this on your facebook then leave another comment and let me know.

so there you go. you don't have to do them all (though it would be suhweeeet) so don't feel like you have to.
the more you do the better chance you have of winning.

so starting NOW you can enter yourself.
go!
this giveaway will close on August 1st.

good luck and thanks for everything!

love,
kate.

lyrics: no one told me the right way to go about this so i'll figure it out for myself.

headache.

2011-07-20T09:34:00.002-06:00

yesterday i had the headache that just wouldn't quit.
the kind of headache that is all too similar to those people* who invite themselves over, eat your food, poo in your toilet and then don't take the hint that it's time to leave.
and by hint i mean i'm in bed asleep.
in fact, those people are very much a headache in and of themselves, are they not?

one eternal round.

in all my agony i tried to determine the source of my headache.

was it the 5 hours of sleep i got the night before? (curse you, 24** for being so dang addicting.)
was it the fact that my hair was exceptionally big yesterday?
was it the unbearable heat that makes me wish for death and ironically answers that wish by simply existing?
was it because i was forced to sit on the floor for 2 hours while garrett was in class and i waited for him?
was it the position i slept in after realizing that sitting for 2 hours on the floor wasn't going to happen? (especially after the aforementioned 5 hours of sleep..)

the actual reason, you ask?
i don't know.
i never came to a conclusion. so quit hounding be about it, geez. i had a headache.

regardless. it sucked.

and garrett's sudden urge to move furniture and re-do everything in our house (which obviously included a trip to target and a 2nd trip to walmart to just peruse the merchandise we cannot afford) (two trips to walmart in one day should never happen. unless you have a hankering for a really bad head ache.) obviously eased the pain a great deal.
he's just so thoughtful that way.

(i'll take this time to reiterate all of the lovey-dovey things i've said before concerning my husband. i love him. he is the best. so don't go judging me. i had a headache. my word, how many times do i have to tell you?)

i don't even know where i was going with this post. i lost myself in a slew of parenthetical statements and sass.

i should probably go bathe now.
forgive my rambling.
it was the headache talking.

love,
kate.

lyrics: better luck is on my wishlist.

*i have absolutely no experience with people like this.
**yes, i just this week started watch 24. judge me.

motivation, please.

2011-07-18T11:40:00.003-06:00

i have an extremely messy house right now.
garrett and i have been practically living at my parents for 2 months because for the past 2 month we've had so many things going on that required us to be at their house. and it was just easier to stay there than drive back and forth every day.
but that resulted in us bringing a whole bunch of crap over to their house.
last night we moved back into our house.
and i'm not joking. it looks like we did move.
i told garrett i would clean and organize and grocery shop while he was at school.
but all i want to do is pin my life away on pinterest and read harry potter and sleep.
i cannot seem to do enough of that lately.

someone motivate me.

in other news, i'm thinking of doing a giveaway from my etsy shop.
are you willing to participate.
let me know.
it could be great.

this housework on the other hand....not so great.

love,
kate.

lyrics: motivate me. i wanna get myself out of this bed.

thanks for not stepping on my sandwich.

2011-07-14T09:55:00.006-06:00

i don't do this often.

but sometimes there just isn't a better way to say happy birthday than to bust out the cheese and list the many reasons why you love someone.

today is grace's birthday.

and she deserves a countdown from 21 to let her know how badge-tastic she is.

21. she doesn't care that i'm at like 78* years her senior.

20. she opened up a whole new world of humor to me. the diabeetus humor.

19. she's died before. i think that makes her pretty legit.

18. she didn't run away when i drafted her to make my wedding invites with me for 3 days/nights solid.

17. not everyone will watch 10 minute intervals of full episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark on youtube with me. but grace will.

16. she has footed the bill on more than one occasion when we dine out at sonic.

15. she got me and garrett jersey shore season 1 as a wedding gift.

14. b. scott. baalaance.

13. music is her gift.

12. she is a trendy girl with a simple smile.

11. she loves garrett and approves of my marrying him.

10. she believes in mustaches. and santa claus.

09. she has never gone benedict on me. i joke about it, but i'm pretty freaking grateful for it.

08. she often texts me in franglish. example: "why are you not at ze beach wiz me?"

07. speaking of franglish...ice wah-tare.

06. she's cool with 2 days straight of youtube watching and face stalking.

05. she's a life ruiner. she ruins people's lives.

04. on halloween, while dressed as batgirl, she leaped towards the grocery store automatic doors and shouted "TO THE BAT-MOBILE!"...only to realize that leaping kept the door sensors from recognizing she was there. consequently she blasted into the door. not through the door.

03. she helped me through my hard times of being declined by Rag the vag at Smith's.

02. her birthday is also the celebratory day of the last harry potter movie. awwwwesome.

01. she's one of my most constant friends i've ever had. despite our constant distance. she really is just a fantastic person and i feel pretty blessed to have her as my friend.

so that's that.

happy birthday, grace.

i'm sending my love to you on the wings of love. (or hedwig.)

love,

kate.

or trang.

* give or take about 75 1/2 years

mischief managed.

2011-07-13T11:08:00.003-06:00

i'll start this out by stating that i'm kind of a loser and i mostly have been my entire life.

i think on more than one occasion i have begun a post with the line
"i have an obsessive personality."
but if i'm not mistaken, i haven't posted any of those posts.
for fear of being judged.
obsession is not often a word used in a positive light.
it's not a bad word, of course. but it's not always used in the best way.
like the word flesh.
by no means is flesh a nasty or bad word, but it's often only used in a nasty or bad way.
(you don't often hear"she has beautiful flesh!" so much as you do hear "it smells like burnt flesh.")
get it?

that being said, i'm not always proud of this condition of mine.
my obsessive personality, that is. (not burnt flesh.)
but there are times when i simply cannot deny the facts.
i have an obsessive personality.
now is one of those times.

but before i go embarrassing myself more than i already have, i will do my best to clarify.
when i was a freshman in high school i watched the movie Newsies every day for the entire school year.
weird, right?
when i was a senior in high school i spent hours and hours (that i should have spent studying and homeworking) in the search for the perfect prom dress.
so vein, right?
and when i got into this blogging jank i stayed up until the wee hours of the morning trying to perfect it and make it very much my own.
useless, right?

well, maybe.
it could very well be weird and vein and useless.
but there's a part of me that finds something i love, something that makes me very happy and my entire being just holds on to it.

my freshman year of high school was a fairly lonely one.
i was in a very awkward stage-knowing what i wanted from life but not entirely sure of how to go about getting there. i rarely saw my best friends. my sister had moved away for college and i just felt like there wasn't much to look forward to in life. it was pretty mundane.
i loved the movie newsies and when i watched it, i found it made me happy. it was something that took my mind of everything blah. and so i held on to it. and for an entire school year i would watch it. and listen to the soundtrack. and replay it in my mind. it was a coping thing for me.
albeit weird, it helped me.

my senior year i knew i wasn't going to be asked to prom. i hadn't been the year before and (as dumb as i realize prom is now) it made me sad. and so i developed in my mind this idea. what if i was the girl that walked into prom and was absolutely breathtaking? what if i was the girl that made everyone wonder why i hadn't been asked to prom? and so i began to hunt. for the dress that would make it all possible. i spent months on end trying to find it and practicing new makeup techniques to use. and i was determined to lose weight for the occasion, too. and so i found a lovely dress. it was dark turquoise and silky and it made me look tallish. and i mastered my makeup and impressed even myself with how great it turned out. and i did lose weight. 25 pounds, thank you very much. and so i walked into prom. and not a single head turned. and no one gasped in awe. and not a single guy asked me to dance. but i mostly didn't care. because i was happy with how it had turned out. and really (if i'm being honest) i didn't/don't care what any of those guys thought/think. and that was a very good conclusion for me to come to. (because maybe you haven't noticed, but i'm married to the greatest guy in the whole wide world. and had i lived in california and had i gone to high school with him, i know for sure he would have found me breathtaking-even if i had walked into prom in jeans and a t shirt.)

and while it's been a slow and steady process, i think every minute i put into my blog is a minute well spent. because this feels very much like me. and it is very therapeutic. and i'm developing all sorts of talents i didn't even know i had. (geeky talents like graphic design and coding but...whatevs.) and i still like to think that people enjoy reading what i have to say. and looking and what i make. and it makes me happy.

so now i will divulge maybe my most closeted (until recently) obsession. it's been years. and the obsession has only increased. yikes, right?
well, i've already spilled all of my other geeky beans so i might as well go big.
i love harry potter.
love.
i have made a point to see every movie at a midnight showing (with the exception of order of the phoenix-since i was an efy counselor at the time and regrettably, could not leave efy to go see the movie.)
i own every book and they are on display in my house.
i follow half of the cast on twitter.
it is high on my bucket list to go to the wizarding world of harry potter in florida.
i have an HP movie marathon before every movie that comes out.
several of my dreams consist of me living in a magical world in which i have a wand and i'm awesome at magic.
and i may or may not resent myself for being a muggle.

and lately (as in this whole summer) the obsession has only increased.
what with the anticipation of the last movie.
and this past week i have spent all day reading, every evening watching one of the movies with garrett, my sister and her husband and then going to bed, with a book light and reading until my eyes don't stay open.
i realize this is very nerdy of me.
but i also realize that this is something that has made me happy for ten years.
and so i thought i would share.
because there aren't many things that make you happy for ten years straight.
and while the end of it all will bring many, many tears...
i will focus my obsession on just how fantastic it's all going to be.

so go ahead and judge me.
that's fine.
because i'm happy.
and at midnight on thursday night/friday morning (and every time i see one of the movies or read the books) i will be loving life.
and if you're going to judge that...

so i'll end this by saying that i'm kind of a loser and i mostly have been my entire life.
but honestly. it's pretty fun.

love,
kate.

lyrics: so raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways.

good enough.

2011-07-07T22:17:00.004-06:00

oh hey. remember me?
i took a break. because life got weird and a little bit out of control.
also, my computer crashed.
(still not fixed.)
but lately i have really been missing the blogging world.
for a long time i was really determined that i was going to make it big with my blog.
i really thought i could be like so many of the other bloggers that i follow.
but then (as i often do) i fell short and i wanted to give up.
and then (as i also often do) i decided that was dumb.

why do i have to have 1000 followers?
i don't.
i have family and friends that live very far away and they are reason enough for me to write.
husband and i are going through a lot of interesting changes right now.
garrett started school at SCAD last week and he's already doing so well.
so much is happening and i need to be writing about it.
and maybe a few people want to be reading about it.

and so i am back.
forgive my absence.

and to my 37 faithful followers, thank you.
i do appreciate you a great deal.
i'll keep writing.
and you keep reading.
and that's all we will worry about.

love,
kate.

lyrics: i can't back down. i've been losing so much time..

why is naked such a bad thing?

2011-06-26T20:47:00.002-06:00

i leave for girls camp in like 12 hours.
this may be my last entry ever.
because there is a really good chance i will suffer a heat stroke and die.

pray for rain.
rain that doesn't get my feet wet and cause blisters.

pray that the girls don't prank me nearly as bad as i used to prank my leaders.

love,
kate.

lyrics: here it comes, that heavy love.

should.

2011-06-23T18:51:00.002-06:00

i have no less than one million things to do.
i leave for girls camp in t-minus 3 days.
one a scale from 1-ready
i am somewhere between 5 and freaking out.

my body is still on california time.
did i mention that i went to california?
i did.
my sister in law got married and is now a happily married wife.
so husband and i got to fly west for a long weekend and see family.
it was a whirlwind of a trip and we wished we could have stayed longer.
but we're glad we got to go.

buuuut now my body wants to sleep at all the wrong times and considering all of the things i need to get done...that's bad.

anyways, back to camp.
i am ill prepared.
and adding to my scrambled mind and chaotic life, i was asked to give a talk in church this weekend.
i could never turn down someone's request for me to speak in church, but i am slightly/completely overwhelmed.
i can't think clearly enough to plan a 20 minute talk.
i can't even think clearly enough to get my morning routine straight.
(i did it all sorts of wrong today..)

i should be working on my pointless, garbage-bound girls camp gifts for my girls.
i should be planning my nightly devotionals.
i should be writing a talk.

instead i am resisting the INSANE urge to go read my book.
and i am blogging.
i am a fool.
a fool with a long list of shoulds.

love,
kate.

lyrics: i can't think straight.

let's do business.

2011-06-01T09:45:00.004-06:00

a mini update.

garrett got accepted to SCAD (that's Savannah College of Art and Design) and we are stoked about it. the only thing we're not stoked about is the tuition.
it is pricey to say the least.
the very least.
and since garre will be playing baseball for them and doing his studious work he won't be able to work as much as he has been.
so i feel very motivated to do something and pull some of my own weight.
lately i've been trying my hand at photoshop/illustrator and i've found that i really, really love making things.
especially prints.
so i decided to open an etsy store.
so i did.

click here to check it out and feel free to fancy up your home with some pretty prints!

here are a few of my creations.

that's it for now. i need to go clean up the torn up cardboard box miss Gilly just chewed up.

love,
kate.

lyrics: we can build this dream together.

poor pink computer.

2011-05-30T10:00:00.001-06:00

i miss the blogging world.
i feel so detached.
i also feel like since very, very few people have made any comment about my lack of blogging that perhaps i wasn't reaching as many people as i thought i was.
waaamp waaamp.

anyways...my poor pink computer is STILL in the icu and in the care of the geekiest geek squaders, i'm sure. but i miss the freedom of having my computer all the time.
garrett is so kind and patient and of course he lets me borrow his computer whenever i want.
but i just feel so bad asking for it all the time.
and so my blogging has taken the back burner.

but i hope it won't be long before i get my poor pink computer back.
because i actually have things i would like the blog about and pictures i would like to display.
but they are all on my poor pink computer.
(but they were saved!)

le sigh.
until next time...which hopefully won't be too long.

love,
kate.

lyrics: give a little bit of your love to me.

geek squad.

2011-05-13T20:53:00.002-06:00

le sigh.
my computer crashed.

i haven't forgotten about you, little blog.

stay with me.

love,
kate.

lyrics: if you need to crash then crash and burn you're not alone.

spectacular, spectacular.

2011-04-20T12:56:00.011-06:00

dude, where does time fly away to all the time?
i don't even know.
but before we dive into the world of free slice wednesday: here is the update.

gilly remains the cutest dog in the whole world.
she started school yesterday. melt my heart.
here is her first day of school picture in front of our door.

i considered putting a book bag on her. but it would have consumed her.
she was the cutest one in school.
and the best behaved. she's such a fast learner.
and she'll do any darn thing for a treat.

monday i got to do something completely new and completely crazy.
i was asked to represent See Jane in the Savannah Fashion Week 2011 by doing makeup for a ton of models in the kick off fashion show. it was a lot of fun doing that much makeup, but it was crazy hectic for a while.
and hot.
so very, very hot.
and my back was a mess after it was all over.
bending over for hours and hours and hours was just miserable.
youch.
but it was great experience and the other makeup artist i was able to spend the day with was a lot of fun. always something to be grateful for.

now, on to the real stuff.
free slice wednesday.

even though it's wednesday we're going to celebrate sunday.
sunday was a special day.
a very special day, indeed.
sunday marked one year.
one whole year of marriage.
we celebrated by eating authentic (homemade) indian food and spending time with my parents.
they got us a vacuum.
aaaaaahmazing.

i could ramble on about a bunch of yadda yadda yadda on how i feel about being married for one year and how spectacular my wedding day was.
but i'll just say a few words and then i'll let my wedding pictures do the talking.

i have learned a lot this year. i have learned a lot about myself and a whole lot about my husband. but mostly, i have learned a lot about love. i have learned of its healing power, its durability and its patience.
i learned that my husband is a lot weirder, a lot goofier and a whole lot more loving than i ever knew before.
i have learned that no one is ever kidding when they say marriage is hard. but for the life of me i cannot think of why someone wouldn't want to ever be married. it is an incredible thing. i have loved it.
and i cannot believe it has been a year since it all began.

and here's a look at the greatest day in the history of my life.

(that's coldstone.)

having a day like this to look back on is just marvelous. having a freaking awesome party to celebrate our marriage was a blast. knowing that i'm sealed to that boy and that we can party like that for the rest of forever..well, that's just the tastiest slice of life ever.

to many, many more years of corndogs and coldstone.

love,
kate.

lyrics: and i'm thinking two is better than one.

anti-cancer crafts.

2011-04-09T13:10:00.004-06:00

the weather lately has been beautiful.
i got to lay out at my parent's house a few days ago. that was marvelous.
our apartment complex still hasn't opened our pool. that is irritating.
because i would like to be laying out every day. but i cannot. because gas is too expensive to drive to my parent's just to sleep in the sunlight.
so in lieu of tanning in beautiful weather i have been crafting.
i was asked to teach a class at my church's super saturday shindig that is coming up soon.
i'm teaching a scrapbooking-esque class on how to make paper bag albums and exploding boxes.
i've made paper bag albums before.
but i had never even heard of an exploding box.

thank the heavens above for google.
after reading through a few tutorials i made a prototype out of ugly scrap paper.
and then i made another one to perfect it.
and then another one.
and then finally a real one.
and this is what i came up with.

(i used my engagement photos and a lot of stuff that Jen Gallacher sent me. she is fabulous. check her out.)

so that is an exploding box.
once you take the top off the whole thing drops open and "explodes" into a mini scrapbook album.
it's pretty fun and it's a great way to use up some left over scrap paper.

now i just have to make another paper bag album.
luckily, i will have plenty of time for that since gas is still pricey and my apartment pool won't be open for another 3 freaking weeks.
grr..
oh well. c'est la vie.

i have to go kiss the face off of my gilly girl.

love,
kate.

lyrics: everything works in your arms.

it was happy.

2011-04-06T14:05:00.006-06:00

le sigh.
i feel very old.
and i mean it.
where did time go?

blah.
anyways, i won't be debbie downer anymore.
because despite how old i am feeling and how sad it makes me that i am 23, i did have a fantastic birthday.
i woke up to these cute faces:

one of them woke me up with a slap in the face and a "get me breakfast" sort of whine.
i'll let you guess which one it was.

(sidenote: seriously-cutest husband and cutest puppy in the entire freaking world. i can't even handle it. end sidenote.)

actually, i woke up at midnight (my time, not utah time) to two text messages from brittany and jenn (who both live in utah) wishing me a happy birthday. i love them for that. they're so thoughtful. best friends.

garrett took gilly out and gave her breakfast while i got ready.
my mom came over.
and the three of us drove to hilton head and spent the whole day shopping at the outlets.
and we ate lunch at panera. delicious.
i finally got new clothes...they were much needed.
and much appreciated.
(thanks mom. you're the very best.)

when i came home i got on facebook and read over 40 comments of happy birthday wishings.
it was very happy.
what could have possibly made my birthday better? i'll tell you.
two blog posts in my birthday honor.

one from grace:
(title included, you will not likely understand any of this.)

I don’t hate you cause you’re fat…you’re fat because I hate you

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Kate aka Levardis aka Trang Peck aka the greatest person you will ever meet. It just so happens that today is her birthday, and while Kate thinks her 23rd birthday would be appropriately spent checking out senior centers and investing in a pair of orthopedic shoes, I love her anyway, so let me be that blogger and give you “23 reasons why I love Kate because its her 23rd birthday and thats just the way we do things”

Disclaimer: The majority of these things will make zero sense to anybody else, but its not like anyone reads this tumblr anyway, so whatevs, here we go.

1. She is literally one of the ONLY people I can do nothing with and still have a great time, some of the best times we’ve had involve sitting on couches/love sacs watching mean girls, and food, always food.

2. She named her puppy Gilly. No, she’s not shorry.

3. Sonic

4. She took her card getting declined by Rag the Vag like a champ

5. With great mustache comes great responsibility

6. She actually DIDN’T totally freak out that one time

7. I know I can do completely stupid things and she’ll still love me. This theory has been tested, proven, and even joked about.

8. She loves my diabeetus

9. She would’ve let me get scabies on her blanket

10. She sends me the most random/hilarious picture messages.

11. I’m rocking hardcore learning disabilities and I’ve got one leg. Jealous?

12. I’ll have a glass of ze meh-low and ice wah-tare

13. Whats up its Jenelle?

14. Teen Mom 2

15. Socially awkward encounters in Smiths, we’re not from the ATL, shorry.

16. She doesn’t let it get her down when her subs get trampled

17. Best. Pancakes. Ever.

18. She always cleans up when I have friends coming over.

19. Seriously one of the most genuine, kind, and compassionate people I know. No battle.

20. Come in may I?

21. She has had Bailey’s from a shoe.

22. She shares my love for facebook stalking/creeping/blog stalking, and lives in mutual fear with me for the day when facebook tracks who visits who’s profile and how frequently.

23. Such a good friend. I’ve never lived closer than 2 hours from her and have always felt that our friendship is just as strong as it would be if we lived 2 blocks from one another.

I could go on, but I’ll spare everyone, and by everyone, I mean the maybe 10 2 people that will visit this tumblr, and only because I’m putting a link on facebook.

Happy Birthday Kate, maybe Badge will come visit you for your birthday?

and one from miss Ashley:
happy birthday to my twin.

Today is a special day for this lovely lady, it is her birfday.

you can say that i love her lots. [and obviously she loves me too]

we got lucky to be roommates the year before she got married, so we had some fun times together. like during the month of October, she sat and watched Hocus Pocus with me 13 + times. who else would do that? we were obsessed. and i love that she was as obsessed as I was.

Sadly, Kate and I only met once as EFY participants, but we made up for those lost times and got to be counselors together for a few years. We got to experience something we both love and enjoy so much- it was such a blast with this girl!

This girl is SO creative. You should see all the scrapbooking things she has, I drool over them. She is so creative. She made her own wedding announcements and her bouquets. Seriously, this girl is amazing. [oh, and a fun road trip partner]

Kate is one of the sweetest and most caring people I know. She loves her family more than anything and always wants her friends to be happy. I could feel that a lot from her when we were roommates last year.

And she got married to her best friend. I can't remember a time when I saw her more happier than when I saw her walk out of that temple. She was GLOWING. And her wedding was fabulous.

We also share the same love for youtube videos. There were nights we would just sit at our computers and watch some pretty hilarious videos for HOURS. and then we proceeded to quote them daily.

I also got to experience my first time at the Festival of Colors with this woman. Oh my word, such a blast and I was so happy we got to share that moment together.

One of my most favorite things about Kate is how much she loves this gospel. You can see it in her eyes. She knows so much about it, and she loves it with all her being. She has been such a great example to me and has helped strengthen my testimony.

I could go on and on and on about how much I love this girl.

She is one fabulous friend and I am SO glad we met many years ago exchanging some tears at EFY. I knew we'd be good friends at that moment. She is sadly now back in Georgia and I miss her dearly. But I know she is happy and I couldn't be happier for her!

I love you so much Miss Katie Claire! I hope it's been a spectacular birthday :)

i. am. blessed.
that's all i could think yesterday.

aside from getting fantastic clothes from my mom, i got the spend the day with her and my husband. i got to hear my niece and nephew (meg and isaac) wish me a happy birthday and tell me they love me. i got numerous texts and phone calls from dear friends and family. i got tons of facebook happy birthdays. and i got this super cute picture from my niece, abby.

(aaaannnd i got to watch the teen mom 2 reunion. thanks mtv for that marvelous present.)

i really do feel so blessed.

so thank you.
for all of the texts, facebook comments, gifts, and blog posts.

definitely the best birthday i have ever had.
it will definitely go down in the recipe book of life. because it was definitely a slice of life.

love,
kate.

lyrics: and how lucky am i to be so alive in this world. oh, how precious are we just to simply be in this world.

never want to grow up.

2011-04-04T19:10:00.004-06:00

my birthday is in t-minus 2 hours and 50 minutes.
eastern standard time.
just saying.

also, i am old.
someone stop the madness of getting old.
t.w.e.n.t.y.t.h.r.e.e.

what is that?
i suffer from peter pan complex.

love,
kate.

lyrics: being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up.

orange crush.

2011-04-02T13:26:00.003-06:00

right now i am sitting on my craft/hair room floor. i have multiple foils of bleach in my hair.

i did them myself.

this is possibly the ballsiest thing i have ever done.

yesterday a serious personality flaw struck hard.

and i paid an ever so slightly disappointing price for it.

i love instant results.

vacuuming and ironing are spectacular to me.

why?

because what you want-you get instantly.

awesome, right?

right.

well, yesterday i was bored. i was hating my poopy, boring hair.

and i wanted change.

instant change.

so i decided i would teach my mom how to highlight my hair.

the disappointment factor does not come from this, though.

in fact, my mom did an amazing job!

her foils were tight, well placed and (if i'm being honest) definitely better than my first set of foils.

however, in my effort to procure a hasty hair change--i neglected to take into account the level 7 filler Bree placed on my hair before coloring it to the reddish brown i desired.

i know this makes little to no sense if you don't do hair.

but suffice it to say that i had a good deal of warm tones (red and orange) in my brown hair.

consequently, bleach (which i didn't leave on long enough...because i was tired of waiting) turned this reddish brown color into a lovely shade of tangerine orange.

pretend you're coloring with crayons.

first, you color a with a white crayon. (this was my previous blonde hair)

then, you color over that with a coppery-red color. (that was my fill color)

lastly, you color it with a pretty red-brown crayon. (that was my final color)

then one day you decide you don't want that pretty red-brown color anymore.

so you take the white crayon and you color over the red-brown color.

needless to say, it's not going to get you back to that previous white color you had.

rather, it will give you an orangey-blah sort of color.

that's what color my highlight turned out to be.

well, most of them.

some of them turned out fine.

those were the foils i left on long enough.

the color looks a lot like hayley from paramore.

(which is probably why garrett tells me he likes it. he might not admit it, but i know he has a crush on her.)

in some places it looks cool.

like i melted it and planned on this look.

in some places it looks trashy.

soo now..as i wait for the second session of conference to start again, i have gone through the extra orange places and have re-foiled them...allowing the bleach to penetrate more than i did last night.

then i will be toning the mess out of it and crossing fingers, toes and eyeballs that it doesn't look too horrible.

excuse my ugly.

it's been one of those days.

wish me luck!

if all goes well i will have awesome hair.

if all does not go well, i will shave my head like brittany spears.

love,

kate.

lyrics: you live. you learn.

brick by boring brick

2011-03-31T19:12:00.004-06:00

argh...

why are wednesdays now my busiest days?

it's not like i have a life or anything of the sort.

but for whatever reason, the few things that do go on in my life all seem to congregate on the same day.

wednesday.

why couldn't village inn have a free slice monday or thursday?

oh well.

pardon my absence.

excuse my lack of posting.

and please, forgive my complete lack of life.

i am a boring individual.

the highlights of my past week are as follows:

i bought a skirt.

i did makeup. for work.

i washed my hair.

we bought a printer.

and groceries.

i made crafts.

and now i'm watching Tangled.

(okay. i admit it, that last one is pretty awesome.)

but still.

that's it.

that's all i have to show for the week.

am i not the lamest person you know?

i challenge you to be as lame as me.

love,

kate.

lyrics: if it's not real you can't hold it in your hand. you can't feel it in your heart. and i won't believe it.

this is special. (part 2)

2011-03-23T10:33:00.021-06:00

was the suspense too much?

are you just itching to know what the sequel to my previous post will be?

i thought so.

good thing we have things like gold bond and free slice wednesday to cure that insatiable itch.

as previously blogged, i loved efy. some of you may be wondering what about it was just so gosh darn lovable. (you may also be wondering why i was so chubby..but i won't be addressing that issue in this post.) so i'll break it down for you. as you may or may not know, i am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. EFY is based in this faith and is designed to strengthen the youth who attend in spiritual and emotional ways. Each day is scheduled and filled with opportunities for growth and learning like scripture study, classes and devotionals. but since we try not to be a peculiar and boring people, there are fun things to do also. like free time each day, two dances (complete with sappy, generic lyriced songs that seem to have been around since the dawn of time...or the dawn of dances, at least. also, in case you were wondering...i was not about the spend the best week of my life sitting on the side lines. i danced. danced like it was my day job. danced like my mother's life depended on it. let it be known.), a games night (complete with cheer off and banner making) and a service project.

i would have loved efy if it was nothing but what i just explained. but i got so much more.

you see, i was somewhat of a loser in high school. i had friends, yes. but i was different. peculiar.

i lived the standards of my faith and it set me apart. i was not like everyone else. i did different things. i thought different things. i wanted different things. and consequently i had a different life. and so my weekends were nothing special. a movie night with my parents. babysitting. more often than not i would sit in front of my mirror and try different makeup techniques. (that paid off, huh?) but i didn't often hang out with friends. i didn't ever go to a party. it was boring. sometimes, it made me sad.

sometimes, it made me cry.

a lot of times, i felt incredibly alone.

it was a sacrifice.

but it was a sacrifice i wouldn't change even if i could.

sooo you can understand the absolute joy that swelled within me at the thought of one week spent with kids who were just like me. kids who had the same standards and wanted the same things as me.

because while i was there i was me. the real me.

and i was the happiest i had ever been.

ever.

and you can understand the absolute devastation i felt when those weeks came to an end and i knew i would have to wait another year to be that happy again.

those weeks were the best ones of my adolescent life.

i wouldn't have traded anything for those weeks.

because there was no party i could have gone to or date i could have gone on that could have ever held a candle to the things i felt, the people i met or the strength i gained while i was at efy.

have you ever realized that you know who you are?

i have.

and that is one incredible feeling.

i would venture to say that it's a slice of life. (because, boy i tell you what-it is) but that's not what this free slice wednesday is about.

you might be asking yourself what could possibly be better than all of the afore-rambled blogging.

there's not much. except being able to witness others experience everything i did.

the summer after my last year (as a participant) i was granted the opportunity to work as an efy counselor. (that means i got to be a "leader" over incredible youth who felt the same way about efy as i did when i was their age.)

i was barely 19. i was overwhelmed with responsibility.

i was scared out of my mind that i wouldn't have the same kind of impact on them as my counselors had had on me.

but i took everything i knew and everything i had and i put it into making those weeks as amazing for my youth as it was for me.

i can't fully say if i has as much impact on their lives as i hoped to have.

but i can say that they had more of an impact on me than i ever imagined possible.

and i will never forget the things i learned from some of the most incredible youth this world has ever known.

summer of 2007: Power in Purity

day one of counselorhood: me and kaycie.

my first group of girls. love them so dearly.

our whole group. they made me so proud.

counselors. in orange.

a few of us together. we won the spunity award.

spunity=spirit and unity.

second week group. loved them too.

remembering the dancing declaration i made? well, i did it as a counselor too. sweeaaty.

shelley and me.

my third week group. so much love.

same group. just looking fancier.

week four boys. they loved me. obviously.

end of the four weeks counselor group shot.

we were tired.

Summer 2008: Steady and Sure

remember sexy bod man? we. are. cool.

kaycie, brittany and me.

friendships like this don't come around every day.

my first group that summer. my 14-15 year old group.

sugary sweet, those ones.

games night and cheer off. so much fun.

shelley and i had matching shoes that year.

they matched our efy polos. sweet, right?

my second week girls. goofy.

kaycie. me. brittany. sweat.

proof of ridiculous dancing.

or maybe this is just proof of ridiculous creeping.

check me out. (ashley and kaycie dance, too.)

third week group. it rained on us at games night.

shelley. the best field coordinator eeeeverr.

i took so many pictures. it's hard to weed through them.

if i'm being honest, it's harder to look at them.

i miss those days.

i love where i am now.

but i miss those days.

i miss staying up late with my girls.

i miss hearing my girls share their comments and thoughts every night during our devotionals.

i miss watching how respectful the boys were to the girls.

i miss the constant feeling of the spirit.

it really was like a fire burning in all of us.

it's not a feeling you ever want to let go of.

i miss my groups. my girls especially.

even harder than leaving as a participant was leaving as a counselor.

i wished i could shrink them all and put them in my back pocket so they wouldn't ever have to go back to their hardships and trials. i just wanted to be with all of them all the time. i wanted to protect them.

but i couldn't do that.

i had one week to give them everything i had and the rest of my life to hope it meant something to them.

i've never felt so much love for so many different people so instantaneously.

and i feel now like my words do them no justice.

so i will let them speak to you.

(notes taken from thursday night testimony meetings.)

"when we love others like the Savior did we find a greater respect for ourselves."

"i cannot wait to go on a mission. we're so lucky to be members of this church."

"we are born kings and queens. we cannot let good enough be good enough"

"when we decide to make a change the Savior will succor us. He will run to us."

"even if you are alone, you can always know that Heavenly Father loves you."

"...that thought is with me with every decision i make. is this hurting the Savior who atoned for me?"

"i can't wait to take this home and have the spirit with me the whole year."

"we can go back into the world and show them how strong we can be."

"nothing can make me not believe. i'll never stop trusting in the gospel of Jesus Christ."

"we can take our testimonies back into the world and change the world."

"this is a gospel of hope; a gospel of repentance."

"it's really hard. really hard. but it's worth it. really worth it."

"i'm going to make a change and be a testament to the truthfulness of this gospel"

"it took just one person to offer a prayer to make this gospel possible.."

"there's no greater thing than being in a place where the spirit can say it's true."

"can you feel it? can you feel the love the Savior has for us?? i can't wait to serve a mission. i want to teach my brothers and sisters. i want to shout it . i want to give the world the same spirit i have felt here."

"i can not deny it. i know it is true."

i am in awe of them.

they are stronger than we know.

stronger than we give them credit for.

i love them.

they changed my life.

i hope they know how much they mean to me and how much impact their words had on me.

i hope they know how proud i am and how blessed i feel to have had them in my life.

for just one week.

those weeks were a slice of the best life i've ever lived.

all of my love,

katie claire.

lyrics: shine on, shine on for the whole world to see. hold on to the gift of believing.

this is special.

2011-03-21T11:26:00.022-06:00

[warning: this is a two part post. a to be continued post, if you will. it is mostly pictures and trips down memory lane. enjoy.]

sometimes your life changes.
sometimes huge things happen.
sometimes you become a different you because of one single thing.
and then that thing is over.
that huge thing happens.
and your life, though changed, goes on...

and years later it feels like it never even happened.
but it did happen..right?

that's how i've been feeling for the past few weeks.

from 14 to 18 i attended a type of camp (for lack of a better term) every summer.
(by camp, i mean we stayed in dorms, ate in a cafeteria and did absolutely no camping whatsoever)

it was called especially for youth.

more commonly known as efy.

i looked forward to efy from the moment my mother and i dropped my siblings off for their first time. i longed to be old enough to attend and experience what they did. 14 could not come fast enough.

looking back i can't believe how fast time actually did go. it seems like only minutes between my yearning for 14 and the devastation of being 18 and knowing it was the end.

sometimes time really does fly. having fun or not, it flies. and from time to time i need reminders that it did all happen..even if it seems so long ago.

so..buckle up, friends. we're about to blast through few horrendously awkward pictures of my life at efy. (forgivethe low quality pictures. most of these were taken on disposable cameras.)

2002 [We Believe]:

with my besties.

with one of the teachers.(with a picture of his wife so he doesn't look like a creeper)

with my counselors.

2003 [Look and Live]:

we called this the mammoth goat.

kaycie, brittany and i took a picture here every year.

another teacher picture. i am awkward.

this was sexy bod man. photography skills: A+

this is coralie. we loved efy together.

this was a boy crush.

coralie and me again.

this was amy, my counselor. she changed my life.

kalee and me...with china eyes.

this is sara. i think we had just met.

2004 [Stand in the Light]:

this is adam. he shoved 6 chicken nuggets in my mouth. i gagged.

this was my group. our name was Rejoice.

adam's twin, aaron. and me.

some sweet girls (i don't remember the one in the middle, but the one on the right is esther. and she is darn cute.)in my group. and boy,am i not the coolest person ever?

game night with lindsay (on my left) and YES, to my right that is Rachel from Tunes and Spoons!

and there we are again!

another boy crush. and brush ups.

gazeebo picture. again.

that's my best friend. her name is brittany.

babies. we were absolute babies.

baxter. another boy crush. i was a skeez of sorts.

2005 [A More Excellent Way]:

harriet and i go way back.

miss catherine and me.

i initially read this sign wrong. woops.

catherine and courtney. i love them.

britt and i were placed in the same group. complete coincidence.

teacher picture.

i was very matchy..

short.

service project.

this was planned.

kaycie and me.

i guess i thought i was cool. with my counselors.

catherine was hot. i was just single.

2006 [Stand in the Light]:

love me some courtney.

so strong.

sketchy.

love of my life.

it was raining.

i try to be their sister sometimes.

i said no. :]

counselor boy crush.

glory be. this is the year i met grace. my life will never be the same.

teacher.

love.

skeezing. typical.

there it is.

five summers.

five incredible summers.

five summers that changed me.

no, made me.

i am who i am because of these five summers.

and even though they were eons ago..

and even though i've only kept in contact with a few of these people

they all contributed.

their comments, their friendship, their jokes, their notes, their testimonies, their spirit.

and i'm sure most of them don't remember me...but i find myself here...years later..grateful for them.

and so very grateful for the time i got to spend with them.

and for the experiences i got to share with them.

there is a special, special place in my heart for these five summers spent at efy.

there is a special feeling in my heart knowing that all this did happen.

to be continued...

love,

kate.

lyrics: shine the light. don't hide the light. if they find the light then the world will change.

a boring life.

2011-03-18T12:15:00.002-06:00

whoa.
i am a slacker.

i have no clue where the past week went.
all i know is that i'm tired alllllll the time and my puppy is the gosh darn cutest thing in the world.

i don't have much to report.
but:
-we had a surprise birthday party for my dad and i got to see all of my siblings (and nieces/nephews) last weekend.
-the weather here is gorgeous.
-i gave gilly a bath and probably she couldn't have hated it more.
-i ordered $100 worth of sephora makeup. (using christmas gift cards)
annnnd
-garrett slapped the crap out of his eye ball with an exercise band yesterday (only 43 lbs of pressure. no big deal.) and we spent our entire st. patrick's day in doctor's offices. poor husband has a swollen eye (literally, his eye is swollen), a bruised retina and bleeding behind his eye.
sad, right? but kind of funny...i mean..it's not everyday that you witness the kinds of things that makeup youtube and tosh.o what they are. unfortunately i did not get the eye slap on video.

so that's my life lately. i've been doing lots of new makeup things. just trying new things and blah blah blah.
i got hired at See Jane a while ago. and just this week i got my first appointments. i'm pretty excited. i love doing makeup. i just hope the people i do it for love the result as much as i do.
here's to hoping..

sorry i've been so lame lately.
i'll do better. promise.

one last thing: i took a nap today and had a dream i was pregnant with puppies.
there's something wrong with me.

love,
kate.

lyrics: tell me where our time went and was it time well spent? just don't let me fall asleep feeling empty again.

gilly girl

2011-03-12T08:52:00.003-07:00

my life has changed.

tuesday afternoon a young man placed a dirty, stinky puppy in my arms. she had been left (by her previous owners) in a parking lot at 6 weeks old. she had poop on her forehead and tail and in her paws. her ribs, shoulder blades and pelvic bones were poking out. her belly was full of worms.
and i loved her completely.

i have spent the past 4 days trying to figure out my new life with her.
doing things takes longer now. i get less sleep. and i worry all the time that she's going to pee in the house.

in a lot of ways, i feel like i just had a baby.
i worry she'll do something wrong. i worry she won't be a good dog. i worry about her health.

i wonder if she knows how much garrett and i love her. i wonder if she worries that she'll go back to a scary parking lot one day.

i sound ridiculous.
but this is just me being honest.
i really didn't know as i walked into that animal shelter how much i would love and give and want for the tiny puppy i would find in there.

so yes, my life has changed. for the better.
she makes me happy in a whole different kind of way.
be expecting several future posts to be about nothing more than just how cute she is.

this is Gilly.
named after an SNL character who is a mischievous elementary school girl.
and even though her namesake is always up to no good, our Gilly is usually a very good girl.
she has learned to sit on command.
she hovers around the door when she needs to go potty.
(we've had no accidents today)
she's learning her name and how to romp around.
she's getting very used to her kennel at night and almost never cries to come out.

she makes her mama very happy.
she is impossible to not love.

my life has changed.
and i couldn't be happier about it.

love,
kate.

lyrics: you just call out my name and you know wherever i am-i'll come running to see you again.

button up.

2011-03-05T18:13:00.005-07:00

since i mostly have no life i have had ample opportunity to work on this blog of mine.
(i know what you're thinking. and to answer the question you just asked yourself, yes this is the best i've got. so don't sass me in your brain anymore.)

if you glide your eyes over to the right a bit you will see new fun sidebar items. i like them. you should too.
i also made a few more buttons that you should post on your blog if you have one.

don't know how to post it on your blog?
i'll teach you.
first, go to the Buttons link up at the top.
under each button is a little rectangle with a code in it.
copy that code, go to your blog, paste the code in your sidebar and bam.
lucky duck that you are, you've got my button!

if you would like, you can go ahead and do it now.
i'll wait.
i'll even hum some kenny g to myself in lieu of hold music.
go on.
.
.
.
.
welcome back.
...i actually don't have anything else to say.
except that falling over while putting on my pants is happening way more often than it isn't.
and i am always very grateful that husband isn't there to laugh at me when it happens.

also, i did green glitter toes on myself today (for st. patrick's day, of course) and i colored my hair on my own.
i amaze myself.
it wasn't always a blast (and i probably could never bring myself to go back) but hair school sure did pay off.

and aren't we grateful?
happy saturday evening.

love,
kate.

lyrics: now's the time that we need to share. so lend a smile we're on our way back home.

ps. if you haven't suggested anything for future free slice wednesdays, you should do it. go.

total request live.

2011-03-02T11:43:00.003-07:00

so this week i'm going to mix things up a bit.
wednesday tends to sneak up on me sometimes and i realize i don't have a topic for free slice.
so instead of just bs-ing my way through one this week (because i don't want to do that to you, dears) i am going to leave these topics up to YOU.
that's right.
i mean after all, it's free slice wednesday, right??
aren't you supposed to get something from it?
i think so.

so here's the deal.
down at the bottom of this post is a little link that says spray painted. that's the comment link.
so click on it. write your suggestions/requests for what you want me to write about in the future.
anything to do with the theme of free slice wednesday.
so whether it's people or music or experiences or husband or memories...or whatever. i'll write it. just for you.
exciting, right?
i'm counting on you.
even if you're not a follower (though you should be) feel free to comment.
i'm looking forward to hearing your suggestions.

make it happen.

love,
kate.

lyrics: there's nothing better than waking up to a new day. so wake me when you see life's worth living out.

hurty.

2011-03-01T18:52:00.004-07:00

creepiest picture ever?
yes.
don't worry. it will make sense in a bit.

foolishly, i slept in my contacts for the past 4 nights.
painfully, i awoke this morning to a nasty case of conjunctivitis or something like it.

the best description i have for the way it feels is the combination of:
a pulled eye muscle
a black eye
an embedded stick

it's hurty. to say the least.
also, i had to take out my contact (obvi)...but since i was at my parent's house and without my glasses, i decided to keep my other contact in. this has resulted in me being completely unable to focus on anything all day. that has resulted in me walking around winking--in an attempt to close the hurty eye and focus with the contacted eye. and that has resulted in me looking like the aforeposted horrendous picture of popeye the sailor man.

needless to say, i am super cute today.

it's days like today that i wish i were as talented as snooki at wah-ing.

wahhhh!

love,
kate.

lyrics: the sun will rise and put your mind at ease so please close your eyes

tuna and cheerios.

2011-02-28T21:38:00.005-07:00

i am pleased.
and lucky enough to have played with these two for the past 4 days.

gavin.

winnie.

it is doubtful that i could love them any more than i already do.

[also, i am in love with the idea of spring.
today was high 70's and breezy.
tell me that's not spectacular.
i dare you.]

love,
kate.

lyrics: it could stay this simple.

hot mess.

2011-02-25T09:15:00.004-07:00

confession:

i watch teen mom 2.

religiously.

confession two:

yesterday, after "watching" (more so it was on and i was just cleaning and facebooking and like such as) 4 episodes of teen mom 2 i decided to do a little google stalking on the life of jenelle.

she's my favorite train wreck.

her little boy is a doll, but she is a disaster.

most of the jank i found was the usual stuff.

smoking pot while she was pregnant.

grinding on meth heads.

her baby daddy isn't actually her baby daddy after all.

nothing too special.

but then i found this.

glory be to you, jenelle for having a flash of energy, creativity and sex appeal.

i've watched it thrice and laughed every time.

i don't consider myself a mean person. but when people post things like this i can't help the way i respond. it just so happens that i respond in laughter. and more pity on your child.

le sigh.

sadly, she is a better lip singer than she is mother.

youch.

enjoy.

love,

kate.

lyrics: she will never let your spirit down once you get her off the street.

pillows and place mats.

2011-02-23T20:35:00.009-07:00

i'm not usually that simple.
i can't summarize a story, movie or book.
i'm not easy to understand all of time.
and more often than not my thoughts are much deeper than i know how to deal with.

i suffer from chronic anxiety.
at times i feel like everything is my job; like i need to fix myself and the world.

i recently made a fat move across the country based on nothing more than a feeling.

this month i had a break down of sorts.
i felt like all of my efforts to get to the "it'll get better" part of my life were only moving me backwards into the "wow, those days were rough" part of my life.

it was frustrating.

yesterday my mom taught me how to sew.
i was thrilled.

today i made place mats for our table.
and pillows for our couch.

this evening, when i came home with my newest creations, and after the pillows were fluffed and placed in their most aesthetic spots on the couch and the place mats were set out with our fine china (otherwise known as target dishes)-garrett and i were very pleased with our tiny home.

as we stood in our kitchen and looked at our table all gussied up with dishes and mats i couldn't help but smile.
and then garrett turned to me and said "i feel like our life is finally starting to..."
and then i finished his sentence/ cut him off with "come together.."

and it does.

it's very simple. and i'm not very familiar with it.
and i most definitely do not understand how it works.
but it does.

today a place mat and a pillow gave me a feeling i haven't had in a while.
that sigh of relief.
that silent moment of thanks.
that optimistic feeling that people who suffer from chronic anxiety do not often experience
that reminder of the feeling you once had that fear had done away with.

months of stress and worry were completely remedied by a pillow and a place mat.

it may not last forever, but for right now i am basking in my new discovery of how sensational a little slice of simple life can be.

love,
kate.

lyrics: all we ever wanted was love and love and happy afternoons.

death. taxes. and puppy love.

2011-02-18T13:54:00.003-07:00

do you ever open up blogger, click to write a new post, begin writing and then give up half way through?

i've done that 6 times.

blah.
my motivation level is low.

my car is still broken and the repairs are pricey.
i clean my house twice a day and somehow it still remains messy.
i have a nasty, ripped open blister on my heel.
and i'm starving.

these aren't intended to be complaints.
they're more of an explanation of my lack of motivation.

also, i skipped free slice wednesday.
i could give an excuse, but i'll just say i'm lame and that's why.
i intended to write about dogs.
because i love them.
and they make me happy.

and right now i would do just about anything to be snuggling with a little pup.
that would make any bad day better.
and i sure could go for a better day right now.
...and the unconditional, unbiased, unfeigned love of a dog.

sounds good right now.
what would make your day a bit better?

love,
kate.

lyrics: 'cause everybody needs someone that they can trust.

the f bomb never sounded so good.

2011-02-10T19:11:00.002-07:00

what?
you can't stop listening to the song that inspired this blog either?
that is coincidental, isn't it?

it was a blessed day and many moons ago that i stumbled upon this song.
thanks for changing my life, iron and wine.
i am forever indebted to you and your lyrical magic.

love,
kate.

lyrics: please remember me...and all my uphill clawing.

lovey dovey.

2011-02-09T13:10:00.005-07:00

love is in the air.

and apparently so are allergens, because this nose of mine is going places with all its running.

today is wednesday (free slice wednesday, that is) and considering the annual celebration of love is upon us i have chosen to make it the theme of this free slice wednesday. a free slice of (a look into my) love life.

i've never really been one for valentine's day.

when i was younger it was just another candy-bearing holiday. i couldn't complain, but it didn't really do anything for me. the most i ever got from valentine's day then was a handful of m&m's and a slight anxiety attack as i debated over what the best valentine for my crush would be.

in middle school i wore an ugly pink ribbon in my slicked back pony tail on valentine's day.

cool.

in high school my parents would send me flowers. i loved it.

but i won't lie-i always thought it would be fantastic to get called to the front office to pick up a gift from a secret admirer, too.

judge me. i don't care.

at SVU Jon Bryant asked me to be his valentine. mostly as a joke.

but he did give me a cup of hand made flowers spritzed with cologne and one of the most incredible mix tape cds i have ever encountered.

i'm sure there were others who had more thrilling valentines day experiences while they were in college. but they're missing out on 14 awesome jams and and a Jon Bryant autographed valentine's day card. and since Jon will someday be famous-i still have it.

and until husband came home from his mission, Jon was my only real valentine in 18 years.

pathetic, no?

last year was the first time i got to smooch someone on valentine's day.

but since we were engaged, (very) poor and my mom was visiting-we didn't do anything.

correction. the three of us (and also brittany) watched the blindside.

romantic.

you may be wondering what happened on the valentine's days between Jon Bryant and the Blindside.

well, my first v-day in Provo i went to school. to the gym. and then to my room-where i felt listless and lonely and wrote garrett letters telling him just that. it could be worse though...brittany got hit by a car. :]

the next valentine's day in Provo is one i don't care to highlight.

at that time i was dwelling in a different world called rock bottom. i try not to remember a lot of that time because it was mostly very painful and sad. but i do remember getting a Transformers valentine from the boys in my FHE group. and i remember smiling. which was a big thing for me at that time.

so there you have it. a big, messy and lamentable slice of (a look into my) love life.

in a few days i will experience my first valentine's day as a married lady. i don't think it will be very different from last year. probably just pizza and a movie. and that is a-okay with me.

and while this isn't the only time i have publicly expressed how much i love my husband, recent events have made me realize that maybe i don't do it enough. not just on here. but to his face.

since the move from utah to georgia i haven't quite been myself. i've been unbearably stressed and overwhelmed. more often than not i've been short and snappy with garrett and the lovey-dovey things i used to do have just taken the back burner to finding a job, paying bills and the like.

remember that funk i mentioned i was in?

well, it was my breaking point. and half of my crying was because of my usual stress. but the other half was the overwhelming feeling that i was such a bad wife. for over a month all i did was snap and cry and roll my eyes. poor husband. what did he ever do to deserve that?

after eating an entire humble pie, saying some prayers and one of those mom conversations (that makes you cry) i made some changes. i shifted priorities. i made a few personal decisions.

and the next day i woke up feeling completely new.

all i could think about was how much i loved garrett.

and every time i would think about jobs, money, bills, the future and blah blah blah i was overcome with a very definite feeling of love and gratitude for my garre bear.

i don't know how he put up with me so well, but i am grateful he did.

and all of this happening right now is very fitting considering the upcoming holiday.

i'm glad i was able to step out of my chaos and remember how much i love that boy.

because that's all that really matters.

and i would much rather be overwhelmed with love for him than be overwhelmed with stress over things i can't control.

last night garrett went to bed early. because he had work in the morning. (yes, the day after all of this new-me awakening, garrett got a job.) i stayed up to watch the season premiere of My Life as Liz (because it is just too horrible for me to not watch). As i headed to bed i passed our table where garrett had been crunching numbers and working out our budget. i picked up his pen and very quickly scribbled an i love you message to him.

i woke up this morning and saw he had added to the message.

that's a slice of lovey-dovey life.

love,

kate.

ps. garrett's handwriting looks like a girls. cool.

lyrics: you have my attention. like a shout through an empty sanctuary.

i'm back.

2011-02-07T16:57:00.003-07:00

despite popular beliefs (and possible hopes) i have not fallen off the face of the earth.

but i did fall into quite a funk last week.

(i apologize for failing to update on free slice wednesday. i am so lame.)

i will spare the details of said funk, but suffice it say that you didn't miss anything except a whole lot of Debbie Downer comments, a poop smear attitude and an embarrassing amount of crying.

such a funk.

my husband is a patient, patient man. he is the best. (that was said in a nacho libre accent in my head.)

but i'm prozac-ed up and doing much better this week, thank you.

i apologize for the inconvenience. i know several of you were nearly crawling into your death bed of despair due to my lack of blogging. truly sorry about that, friends.

in other news,

i'm writing for examiner.com now. i'm writing in the beauty and cosmetics area and would be much obliged if you could check out my articles. the more page views i get-the higher my pay. so do me a solid and get to clicking.'cause mamma needs a new pair of shoes*.

in other (other) news, the packers won the super bowl.

i have little to no interest in football (the super bowl, specifically) but i do believe the fact that i was, in fact, born in Wisconsin had a lot to do with their win.

also, as embarrassing as this is to say, i have an ingrown toenail. i am in a lot of pain.

and i am absolutely disgusted by this ingrown toenail of mine for 2 reasons:

1. i feel like "ingrown toenail" is the equivalent to "head lice", "hook worm" , "beer belly" and any other trashy misfortune.

2. i despise nail diseases. my textbook in cosmetology school had several pages of unslightly nail deformities and sicknesses that nearly made me toss my cookies every time i saw them. i'm gagging as i type.

i'll leave you with that mental image.

love,

kate.

lyrics: here comes the sun and i say-it's all right.

* shoes is loosely translated, but not limited to, other items such as: makeup, new clothing, groceries, a new transmission, a puppy, and/or rent.

tight jeans and mullets.

2011-01-31T18:24:00.002-07:00

what is it about Journey that makes me want to dance like i'm having some sort of musical seizure and sing louder than anyone with my lack of vocal talent should ever sing?

today i began what i'm sure will be the beginning of a fairly lengthy Journey kick.

[i have a somewhat addictive personality]

feel free to jam with me.

if you want to get teary eyed and goosebumped--listen to faithfully first. you'll be disgusted with yourself forever thinking miley cyrus was a musician.

and while we're on that topic, i would like to let it be known that i will be teaching dances at girls camp this summer (since i was called into the yw program and as the camp director). and my only reason for having even the slightest iota of desire to learn the hoedown throwdown is because of this calling.

i know good music. trust me. just click play.

what music are you loving right now?

love,

kate.

lyrics: hold on to that feeling.

for the record, i hate miley.

2011-01-28T07:00:00.003-07:00

i just want to let it be known that i did not sleep a single minute of last night.

for absolutely no reason.

i could not get tired.

THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN.

i am not this person.

i am a good sleeper.

always.

i have my fingers and toes crossed that this is a fluke experience and nothing more.

also, since i had nothing better to do, i got out of bed..leaving garrett in his perfect slumber..

and taught myself the hoedown throwdown.

(thank you, youtube.)

my life has hit a new low.

someone slap me out of this horror.

love,

kate.

lyrics: (more of a note) riddle me this, miley. what the hail does it mean to put your hawk in the sky?

no. seriously.

2011-01-26T19:15:00.004-07:00

free slice wednesday is here! let the good times roll.

there's not much i can say i've held on to since i was 8 years old.

[i do still sleep with my baby blanket. judge me. i don't care.]

but in general, i would say most of the things i had at 8 have been replaced, recycled or removed.

i don't have toys anymore, i no longer have a picket fence bed and zeus and allah both know i couldn't fit into any of my pants from then (not that i would want to. what's up limited too overalls?)

anyways, what i'm saying is the eight year old me and the current day me don't share much outside of body, family and religion.

oh. right. and catherine cawley.

(disclaimer: i'm not big on dedicating blog entries for 2 reasons: 1) it's not ~~very~~ at all entertaining for anyone else to read. 2) i don't want to offend people by not dedicating one to them and bleh bleh bleh. too much work. i'm not up for it.)

(disclaimer to the disclaimer: i will occasionally do it anyways.)

that being said,

i don't think it's very common to have the kind of friendship i have with catherine. unique doesn't really even begin to describe it. but in terms of the things that i think are worth living for-the things that are capable of turning life into life- the kind of friendship that can stand the tests of time, boys, middle school, distance and differences is high on the list.

of all my friends i'm fairly certain she and i are the most opposite. despite our attempts to match our outfits when we were little (overall reference #2) we've never been quite the same. at 8, when we met, we both had a certain little girl likeness. and then, in stead of an on coming train, i must have thrown myself in front of puberty to protect catherine because i started getting awkward, greasy and tubby and catherine remained scrawny and unblemished. sure, she had a boys haircut. but i had training bra boobs and crisco in my hair. very cute.

it doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but years and years past and catherine and i only continued to get more opposite. i stopped growing in 5th grade, catherine did not. i fell on my face once trying to kick a ball once. catherine was an amazing soccer player who often challenged me to races across the church gym. not cool, catherine. not cool. i didn't go on a date until i was 17. catherine had had been in about 24 relationships by then. i was a loser. catherine had parties to go to, friends to see and boys to kiss all through high school. the differences are just innumerable. i will spare you the rest.

what i'm getting at is that we're different. in a lot of ways. and since i moved away to live my big girl, college-esque life i probably could count on one hand the number of times i've seen her. not just seen her, there were times we didn't even really communicate for months at a time. but then i'd come home to visit (or she would come visit me) and we would spend hours and hours talking and laughing. and eating...almost always eating.. and nothing would be different. our friendship never really needed that TLC crap. we've been friends for a long time and i think somewhere around eighth grade she realized i wasn't going anywhere.

and why would i?

if i had let our differences affect our friendship back when our differences first came about i would have deprived myself of a whole lot of life that is very much worth living for; a whole lot of wendy's and cold stone; a whole lot of laughing; one of the most meaningful conversations of my life (where i sat half naked, wrapped in a towel and crying as i retold every hard moment of the hardest time of my life to her. and she just listened.); and one of the very best hugs in the world as i came out of the temple on my wedding day and felt her throw her arms around me and cry tears of joy. and i knew that she loved me. and i knew that she was genuinely happy for me. and i knew that despite all our differences in the past-we wanted our futures to be very much the same.

that hug, that moment combined with knowing that someone who has no genetic obligation to love you-does--that's a slice of life. that is something worth living for.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i'm only up when you're not down. don't want to fly if you're still on the ground.

i'll never buy luvs.

2011-01-25T20:18:00.006-07:00

i have been having a lot of thinks go through my brain lately.

like:

-when will my hair stop punishing me and just grow?

-why did Luvs decide to make a commercial about a pooping competition?

-will my poor husband ever have a best friend live near him again?

-what is it about running that makes me want to punch people in the face?

-why can jenelle from teen mom get a job but i can't?

but more relevant to you:

-who actually reads this blog?

-what can i do to make it more entertaining for my few, faithful readers?

i really like the idea of having a weekly schedule.

must have monday. flashback friday. things like that.

after some serious mulling i came to my conclusion. but before i can divulge that information, i must first share a story.

while living in utah, garrett and i would often drive by a diner called village inn. we never ate there (to be honest, i don't know of anyone who has ever eaten there) but on wednesdays they would put out a huge banner advertising their mid-week deal. To each customer who purchased a meal at village in on wednesdays would go a free slice of any pie.

i pointed this banner out to garrett one time and in the weeks and months that followed it seemed like we always drove past village inn on wednesdays. and each time i would shout to him "free slice wednesday!!". some wednesdays i would get very (inwardly, not outwardly-because garrett would make fun of me) excited as we made our way down university parkway from the i-15 and neared village inn. free slice wednesday became my mile marker for the week. and in all truthfulness and seriousness, i would say "free slice wednesday" to myself at some point throughout the day if that day happened to be one where i didn't get to drive by that blessed banner.

for those of you who have not x'ed out of this screen after reading how truly doused in loser i am, please stay with me a bit longer. (light refreshments will be served at the conclusion of this)

so obviously, free slice wednesday was the first thing that came to my mind when i thought about dedicating one post per week to one themed posting schedule of sorts. but what hail would that slice be?

for some time i considered making it a pie recipe entry.

fail.

i don't have the money to be making trial and error pies every week.

then i tried to work out a way it could be some sort of fashion-y blog...with slices of pie?

fail.

i have no fashion sense. half the girls at a justin bieber concert would have better fashion advice.

also, as if that previous statement wasn't enough to convince me, fashion doesn't work well with pie. at least not in my experience.

so then i thought maybe it could be like a "slice" of my mind sort of punny blog entry.

fail.

"slice" of my mind is something i would make fun of someone else for doing so.. and please refer to the aforementioned thinks that go through my head if you are under the impression that it would be a good idea for me to make a habit of spilling the deep contents of my brain every week.

i am weird.

enough said.

after all of this failing i felt like karen from mean girls and seriously considered giving up. i was never going to incorporate free slice wednesday into my blog.

but then i remembered that most of my issues are solved by google.

so yes, i went to google and typed in: slice of

and waited for the most popular searches that followed that phrase.

the heavens parted. the angels sang. and i had my connection.

free slice wednesday: a slice of life.

i'm going to tell you a little secret: there have been times in my life when i wasn't really sure what there was that was worth living for. (i'll ask you to not judge) and in that time my life was nothing more than basic necessity. i ate sometimes. i slept all the time. i talked to no one. i did nothing. my life was a slice of poop.

and so my loves, i am dedicating a wednesday post to a slice of life-the things in life that make life worth living; that make life more than just being alive.

so there you have it.

cathartic and cute.

(that could be a blog in and of itself and i guarantee you wouldn't find those luvs babies on it seeing as how they are both emotionally distressing and fugly.)

get excited. it's going to be good.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i'm dying to be alive. not trying to just survive.

sniff.

2011-01-24T14:08:00.004-07:00

today is laundry day.

today i get my shears back. (and can finally cut my poor mother's hair)

today i began the arduous process of getting my cosmetology license switched to georgia.

today my nose is a faucet.

today i want to craft everything in sight.

today i miss my friends in utah.

today i am wondering if anybody reads this blog...

today my husband is especially cute.

today is a good day.

as far as laundry days go, that is. :]

love,

kate.

lyrics: and it don't seem right living for speed limit signs. ignore and cross every line gotta let emotion take you over twenty miles at a time...

it's in the bag.

2011-01-19T17:53:00.015-07:00

alright, alright. i confess: i wasn't actually invited to be a part of this blog crawl, but since i'm mostly lame and incredibly creepy, i decided to invite myself to be a part of it.
classic creep. that's what i am.

i will give ashley from a hasty life credit for the cute idea though. this blog crawl is called "it's in the bag". ashley decided to take the blog world on a fun and interesting adventure deep into the depths of the ever mysterious purse.

the first part of all of this is to showcase what the purse itself looks like. and here's another confession.
while i do own nicer purses, i'm just not really a fancy person. and in my opinion donning jeans and a t shirt and mr. vuitton at the same time just looks too paradoxical.

so my purse of choice ends up being something more laid back and casual. i would show a picture of it, but it looks kind of trashy while it's just laying there. but essentially it looks something like this.

okay. on to the innards.

1-my wallet. a christmas gift from garrett's mom last year since my previous wallet was stolen out of garrett's car.

2- secret wonderland lotion. it's not my favorite scent from bath and body, but i got it for free while i was there. and i have dry hands. so i'll take it.

3- advil. or vitamin A as my mother refers to it. it's a must. i never want to be unprepared when a nasty headache comes squirming my way.

4- lip gloss. i'm a lip gloss girl and i always will be. because i am a cursed individual, color on my lips makes my teeth look like a marvelous shade of custard or cheesecake yellow. and so i gloss. always.

5- black nail polish. judge me. i don't care.

6- my phone...and my 7th grade style phone cover. jealous?

7- my ipod. i'm truly unsure of how people ever did anything like wait in line at the dmv without this puppy.

8- bobby pins. the bottom of my purse is littered with these bad boys. one day my hair will grow and i won't need 15 of them to keep my hair up. but until that day i never go anywhere without a few (or a ton) extra.

(not indivudually photographed)

9- a tampon. because you never know when you're going to have the "i'm not pregnant" confirmation.

10- a weave comb. this aint your usual comb, sista. this comb allows me to tame, tease and do a few highlights while i'm out if i feel like it.

11- a felt tip pen. it does great things for my handwriting.

bam. did i just blow your mind or what?

whatever.

so there you have it. the entrails of my purse.

no need to mug me. you know what's in there now.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i want to be free to feel the way i feel.

i hate you. :]

2011-01-16T13:15:00.005-07:00

in all of the hustle and bustle of another moving day-yes, garrett and i are in our own place now- i neglected to update my blog with a very important post.
i don't usually do this sort of thing, but i think i'll make an exception.

my older sister had a birthday on the 13th. her name is jackie. and i think everyone should know how wonderful i think she is.

here are a few reasons why i (and you should, too) love her.

- she is hilarious. truly. i know funny. and she's the one who taught me.
- she was my best friend when i was a complete loser.
- she continually makes me want to be a better person.
- she is so very fashionable. i envy her ability to dress.
- she is capable of making a face similar to this one.
- she will have quote conversations with me.
- she gave me a nickname. Norman Jehoshaphat Longbottom. (i'm serious.) and it stuck.
- she has always believed in me.
- she let me move in with her for a few weeks when she was still newly married.
- she makes me want to be a better person. always.

i could keep going. and perhaps it is all very cliche. it may seem cheap, but it's all very genuine. i can assure you of that. i think she's great and i wish could have seen her on her birthday to tell her all these things to her lovely face.

happy birfday, yackie.
i love you much.

love,
normy.

lyrics: you see everything. you see every part. you see all my light. and you love my dark.

on the fritz.

2011-01-11T13:02:00.003-07:00

meet fritz.

his full name is Fritzgerald Alouicious Von Volkswagen III.
but i've always just called him fritz.

fritz and i met my senior year of high school.
i loved him the moment i saw him and we've been together ever since.
fritz was just like me in so many ways.
pretty average and fairly low to the ground.
he has a red stripe on him and he's the only jetta i've ever seen that had that stripe. he was a little unique in a weird sort of way.
indeed, we were peas in a pod.
through thick and thin, fritz and i were in it together.

he was with me on my first day of college and later drove across the country with me.
we braved horrible snow storms and scary ice every day during our utah winters.
he drove me around provo during my awful break up and listened to me talk and cry and sob and pray and scream and sing and often let me just put him in park and fall asleep after all of it.
he was the only one with me when i was in my first [and only] car accident.
he broke his jaw just to save my life.
such a sweetheart.
so many of my memories took place while i was in fritzy.

when garrett and i decided to move to georgia, i wasn't sure how we would do it with 2 cars. neither of us really wanted to drive alone, but i sure as heck was not going to just leave my fritz behind.
then our dear friends offered to drive him out for us a few weeks after we moved.
a perfect plan for me and my fritz.

until they reached arkansas.
and fritz could take no more.
maybe he missed me?
maybe i didn't take care of him well enough.
but he said no.
and our friends were stranded in arkansas with a car that would not make it out of second gear.

not only did i feel HORRIBLE for our friends who were stranded, but i was so sad at the thought of fritz and i possibly having to say our goodbyes. don't get me wrong, i do think he will be the only car i have for the rest of my life, but
1) garre and i can't afford another car
2) i wasn't ready to say goodbye

after a lengthy conversation and much debate, my parents and garrett and i decided the best thing to do was to have our friends leave fritz in arkansas and head on their way to virginia. and we would drive (with a trailer) out to get him.
and so we did.
and that, my dears, is how i spent my weekend.
in the back of my mom's sequoia.
curled up in blankets, in my pjs and messy hair, no makeup and my nook.
for hours.
and hours.

we picked my poor fritz up and drove him home.

and now he sits in the driveway.
desperately in need of a transmission transplant.
i think?
needless to say: he is a sick boy.
and i hope he gets well soon.
because i need him back in my life.

feel better fritzy.
we have lots to do together.

love,
kate.

lyrics: it's like you're always stuck in second gear. and it hasn't been your day, your week, your month or even your year but i'll be there for you.

promises, promises.

2011-01-06T09:27:00.011-07:00

i had every intention of blogging lastnight.
i started to.
i was all tucked into bed with my blankies up to my chin.
but then i heard garrett breathing in that way he only breathes when he is in a deep sleep. and it was just so tempting.
even more tempting was the desire to wake him from that deep sleep just to tell him i love him and give him one last good night kiss.

i'm sure he hates it when i do that, but it happens fairly often. so he deals.

i promised pictures from chrissamissa and i do my best not to break them.
enjoy.

there we are, in all of our woodbury family glory. oh, and grandma modey.

the williams family.

the woodbury family. check out their blog here!

the andersen family.

yours truly with my handsome husband.

and the ones who made it all happen, my lovely mom and dad.

christmas carnage.

17 people in one house. merry christmas-you have septic issues!

post baby gavin's blessing.

the ladies after church.

so there is the summary of pictures. there were a lot to pick from. and i mostly looked like a troll in a lot of them.
typical.

in other news,
WE HAVE A HOME!!!
garre and i did a ton of home shopping and i was really starting to feel like there was just no hope. one day we drove by some cute apartments and i told garrett i wanted to live there. so we googled them and went in the next day. and what do you know? they had one left and it was just perfect for us.
and there was much rejoicing.

now we just need jobs.
maybe we can get a little tender mercy thrown our way.
in the mean time, i will be doing hair and makeup and my latest and greatest-glitter toes for anyone who is interested.

[do you want glitter toes? email me at: kcwblog@gmail.com or just comment!]

it kind of feels like life is starting to come together a little bit.
and i am grateful for that.
life can be pretty darn good sometimes.

love,
kate.

lyrics: maybe this time I can follow through, i can feel complete, stop paying dues.
stop the rain from falling keep my oceans calm this time i know nothing's wrong

hellogoodbye.

2011-01-01T08:28:00.003-07:00

new years is always a little bittersweet for me.
as we went into 2007 i remember thinking "wait, it's not the year i graduated anymore..."
and when we went into 2010 i remember thinking how fast the 0 years went by.
wasn't it just a few days ago that i was at disney world with my family ringing in the new year and wondering if Y2K was a real thing?
and now it's 2011.
wow.
well, goodbye 2010. you will not be forgotten.
you provided me with the best day of my life.

i'm pretty excited about 2011.
[minus the fact that i'm turning 23.]
i think good things will come.

and who knows?
maybe this is the year my blog makes it big. :]

here's to hoping.
and to 365 more days of eloquent graffiti.

love,
kate.

lyrics: so this is the new year. and i don't feel any different. the clanking of crystal. explosions off in the distance.

ps. no refined sugars this year? lets cross our fingers.

fireplace.

2010-12-30T20:09:00.003-07:00

where to begin?
life has been such a blur for the past week and a half.
husband and i embarked on our journey across america on december 18th and arrived at my parent's house on the 20th...
i think.
again, such a blur.
and such a long drive.
lots of rockstar. lots of slim jims.
but we made it.
and it was so good to see my family.
[especially the little ones]

christmas, as always, was fantastic.
i am the proud and very happy owner of the Nook Color.
and i love it.
i'm currently reading the girl with the dragon tattoo.
i'll let you know my thoughts on it.
so far so good.

garre and i have been doing a lot of house hunting but we haven't settled on anything yet. savannah houses/apartments has a tendency to be cheap and scary or pricey and safe. and it's a rough toss up. but we'll figure something out soon. we're keeping our fingers crossed.

in other news,
i'm a loser and neglected to post the christmas card i made.

sorry it's late!
i assure you that the holiday wishes are genuine.

anyways,
i should wrap this up.
i'll post pictures on a later date.
i hope you all had a marvelous christmas!

love,
kate.

lyrics: from now on our troubles will be out of sight.

did you grab my butt??

2010-12-16T17:29:00.005-07:00

it's been much too long.
it's time for an update.
i'm home alone right now.
boo hiss.
garrett went snowboarding with some friends and i went to lunch with an old friend.
but now i am home and he is not.
this won't do.
i go crazy without him.

we move to GEORGIA in a matter of hours, really.
and i am stoked out of my mind (name that movie) about going home.
i am so ready to see my family.
and the boo boo kitten.

sidenote: boo boo kitten is, in fact, not a kitten. rather, she is an old, overweight black lab dog and i love her.

update:
garrett's best friend from his mission came to America and we got to see him.
it was very fun seeing garrett that happy. he's missed trent a lot since he left australia and it warmed my heart to see him with trent. it was also very exciting to meet trent.
we went to Jump On It with him and his brothers.
it was fun.
i mean..in an i'm-slightly-terrified-of-trampolines sort of way.

i quit my job at bath and body.
it was sort of sad. but it obviously needed to happen.
that would be quite a commute.
i really did like working there.

i've done a lot of packing.
surprise.
i won't write more about that.
it bores me.

garrett and i were privileged enough to attend our very first Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.
it was actually really fun.
maybe because everyone had hideous knit clothing on?
maybe because there was white cheddar popcorn?
maybe because there was loud christmas music and ridiculous dancing?
it's hard to say what made it so awesome, but if a picture is worth a thousand words this should be enough:

i also got my hair did by Bree.
i am going to miss her so much.
i don't know who i will ever trust with my hair once i move.
oh, Bree. come with us!!
anyways, she colored my hair and it is now a lovely shade of reddish brown.
i love it.
garrett loves it a lot, too.
it's not as dark as it was last time i went dark and i feel it looks much better this time around.
this is the last picture i get to take with bree for a long, long time.
i'm sad i look so gross in it.

in other news:
i bought garre his christmas present today.
he better like it.
while in the mall, i walked past a tie store 3 times and then finally just went in because i was certain i saw Neville Longbottom.
it wasn't him.
disappointment.

i also saw justin bieber advertising proactive.
i've just about had it with proactive using singers to promote their stuff.
justin bieber is too young to even have hormones or puberty or body oils.
he doesn't use proactive.
i'm not fooled, proactive.

okay. i've hit my wall.
i'm rambling.
it's time for me to go do something productive.
like set my house on fire.
i'm so sick of this packing business.

love,
kate.

lyrics: my life. you electrify my life. let's conspire to ignite all the souls that would die just to feel alive.

see here, sugar boy.

2010-12-09T14:42:00.002-07:00

today is one of those days.
one of those days where my hair dried weird.
and my thighs look ginormous.
and the salad i ate for lunch made me gag three bites in.

the quality of my day is in large part determined by how much i do [or don't] get packed. day after day i find myself attempting this method of packing.

and each time it is a let down.
i reckon it's because i don't have a long, white beard.

regardless, i'm finding that the only method of packing that is actually working for me is the "throw it away and pretend you won't miss it" one.

to all of you dumpster divers out there, there will be some sweet finds in next coming days. i give you permission to dive into my trash cans.

that's my update for now.
also, husband and i move in 9 days.
and i am in a lot of love with the new MCR album.

love,
kate.

lyrics: and if we can't find where we belong we'll have to make it on our own

make change, cracka.

2010-12-06T19:05:00.006-07:00

my whole life i have hated Monopoly.
i was a firm believer that it was, in fact, the whore of all the earth with one purpose:to drive families apart.
and after one particularly long round of Monopoly i played with catherine (when we were about 11) i vowed to never play it again.
it took too long.
there was too much tension.
and overall, it was very boring.
catherine and i not only played the longest game of monopoly that night, but we also ate more doritos than any pair of 11 year old children ever have.
consequently, i also vowed to never again eat that very specific type of dorito.

well, 10 years later, i'm proud to say i have never eaten those doritos again.
but a few months ago i cracked--and i played monopoly.
garrett and i were at jenn and garrison's and everyone else wanted to play.
so i decided not to be a grinch.
and i played.
and actually enjoyed it.

so why am i writing about this now?
i'll tell you why.
last night garrett and i went over to jenn and garrison's again and we played monopoly again.
and it wasn't just enjoyable.
it was absolutely fantastic.
i had zero chance of winning and i accepted that from the beginning.
but oh the tension.
oh the bickering.
simply hilarious.

i laughed myself into a drunken stupor and slowly the others began to sink to my lowly level.
we played for four hours (yes, four) and after garrison and i were completely out of the game (despite my cheating to stay in) he and i provided commentary (musical commentary) on the rigorous lightening round that garrett and jenn went into.
it got intense.
and jenn was our victor.
but garrett did give it all he had.
i got too punch drunk to focus after a while but he was really in it to win it.
such a persevering fella, that husband of mine.

anyways, the moral of the story-
monopoly is fun 10 years later.
500 dollar bills shall hereby be referred to as "goldenrods".
garrett will never land in the right spot at the right time.
jail ain't so bad when you're broke and you have no properties.
the song "don't touch my willy" is just as disturbing 4 years after hearing it for the first time.
and jenn and garrison will be greatly missed.

love,
kate.

lyrics: it's times like this you learn to live again.

ps. T minus twelve days!

anxiety update

2010-12-03T11:06:00.004-07:00

packing has begun.
my house is atrocious.
i move in 15 days.
i have a uti.
i am eating a bowl of cereal for the first time in probably a year.
i think my friends all hate me.
it's the third of december and my intentions to do a 25 days of christmas activity list is shot.
maybe next year?
we may have found a place in savannah to live.
but the kitchen is kind of small.
boo hiss.
my feet are freezing.
i had a horrible dream last night but all i can really remember is a scene similar to this one in mean girls.

anxiety, much?

grace, you should be proud. i'm not just quoting it in every day life, i'm dreaming in mean girls.

love,

kate.

lyrics:what a disaster it would be if you discovered that i care.

run home, jack.

2010-11-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

what a whirlwind.
i haven't posted in a while.
mostly because i have been too gosh darn exhausted.
husband and i have had a lot of success with our craigslist and ksl ads for our house.
and i'm starting to wish everything else could be just as easy.
i am dreading packing.
and sitting for three days in a car.
though i a little bit excited about driving for three days with garrett.
i like spending time with him.
and we've driven across the country before.
so it could be fun to reminisce.
maybe?

in other news,
garrett's family came into town for thanksgiving.
and we did a lot while they were here.
cassie was on the hunt for a wedding dress and i got to go along with her and help her try on her dresses.
my poor little finger felt like it was going to fall off.
those darn zippers are so tiny.
but cassie looked beautiful in all of the dresses she tried on.
seriously.
it was like they were all made just for her.
and she picked a gorgeous dress.

i worked a lot on black friday.
i left for the southtowne mall at 10:30 pm.
yes, post meridiem.
i worked until 3:30 am and then had to drive 40 minutes back home.
naturally, it was freezing outside and our dead bolt on the door was on the fritz.
i couldn't find my phone.
my hammies were numb.
and garrett was sleeping like death.
i had to beat on our door and windows to wake him up.
i felt like such a creeper.
i kept waiting for someone to call the cops on me.
however, despite how hard i was beating on our home, husband just would not wake.
twenty minutes later i was frozen, garrett had nearly had a heart attack and our front door finally opened.
i was looking so forward to sleeping but my shaking, shivering body just wouldn't let me.
it was tragic.
a few hours later i woke up to go to work at the university mall.
it was only a four hour shift, but i was so sleepy.
it seemed to take forever.

saturday morning we took wessman family pictures.
it was sort of a long process
and a little awkward..
but they turned out pretty cute.

okay, that last one is pretty dang awkward..
i admit.
moving on.
we went to temple square saturday night to see all of the lights they put up.
as always, it was beautiful.

and i wasn't nearly as freezing this year as i was last year.
i owe it to my new uggs.
i love them.
they were my early christmas present from garre's parents.
and they are fabulous.
i'm going to go watch Hook now with husband.
i love this movie.

love,
kate.

lyrics: isn't that a wonder? when you're alone you're not alone. not really alone.

ps. i am married to the cutest boy in the world.

this just in

2010-11-18T16:21:00.002-07:00

i just posted our house on craigslist and ksl.com

if you want it or know someone who might want it be sure to let them know!
check out our little house.

love,

kate.

homeward bound.

2010-11-18T12:15:00.002-07:00

confession:
i wouldn't say i'm a scaredy-cat.
but i do have some fears.
i am very much afraid of the dark.
i am terrified of spiders/roaches.
i am scared of change.
even good change scares me.
the night before my wedding i was an absolute mess.
i knew marrying garrett was good and right.
i knew he would make me happy.
i knew it was what i wanted and what the Lord wanted.
it was a huge decision.
and i was scared.
scared of marriage.
scared of being a wife.
scared of being hurt.
scared of actually taking the steps i knew were right for me because i didn't know what was ahead of me.
change is scary for me.
there's usually a sense of excitement accompanying the fear, but more often than not, the fear wins out.

as of lately, garre and i have found ourselves making another huge decision.
and it's turning out to be pretty scary, too.
we've taken quite a bit of time to pray and fast about it.
we've gone to the temple and we've had very serious discussions with each other.
and we have come to a conclusion.
we are moving.
to georgia.
effective december 18th, 2010.
yikes. it's scary just typing it.
but it needs to be done.
and scary aside, it feels right.
and in some ways i'm very excited to be going.
in some ways i'm freaking out.
mostly because i suddenly have a ginormous to do list.

above all, i think i'm scared no one here in utah will care.
or miss me.

deep breath.
focus.
there are things that need to be done.
no time to fear.

love,
kate.

lyrics: but all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity like emptiness in harmony i need someone to comfort me.

artsy fartsy.

2010-11-14T19:59:00.007-07:00

i have had a lot of spare time lately.
and in that spare time i have been able to get my craft on.
[why am i so lame??]
tonight, in my illness, i was able to finish up a project i started a little while ago.

i think it's pretty darn cute.
and it's perfect for our house.
the lighting was bad and the flash puts a little glare on it.
but in real life it sure is cute.

i've also made just a few christmas cards since i have a ton of paper left over from last christmas.

in an ideal world, i would craft things and do hair all day [and not get fat].
mmm...that would be nice.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i keep wishing it could be that way because my world would be a wonderland...

snot face mcgee

2010-11-14T12:06:00.004-07:00

let it be known:
the jamba juice coldbuster, while tasty, does nothing for preventing illness.
i am ill.
so very ill.
i was up all night coughing [on garrett's face]
and hating my throat for hurting
and wishing i could stop producing so much snot.
also,
my abs hurt from coughing so much.

am i really that out of shape?
pathetic.

love,

kate.

lyrics: i got nothing...sorry.

righty tighty

2010-11-12T15:50:00.003-07:00

it was brought to my attention by miss murphy that my right click was disabled. but i have fixed the issue and now you actually CAN grab my button for your blogs!
hip
hip
hooray!
thank you, lady for letting me know.

love,

kate.

stay strong, little immune system

2010-11-12T10:26:00.004-07:00

i woke up this morning with that yucky sore throat feeling.
like i had a landslide of snot running down my throat all night long.
garre bear brought me some medicine before he left for class and i fell back asleep hoping the yuck would be gone by the time i decided to actually wake up.
but that didn't happen.
actually, garre's phone call woke me up.
he had forgotten all of his things he was supposed to take to class.
so i was up.
and the landslide was still very present.

when i got in my car i was reminded that i had no gas.
like none.
so i crossed my fingers and put fritz [my car] in neutral.
with luck and prayers, i got to garrett and gave him his stuff.
with more luck and prayers i got to the nearest gas station.
$15.11 later, i was on my way to jamba juice.
i had a craving.
and an excuse.
the landslide, remember?
i got the coldbuster.

and now i'm crossing my fingers that it will work.
in the meantime, i'm watching someone like you on netflix.
and penciling in nap into my not so busy schedule.
what are you doing today? do tell.

love,

kate.
lyrics: just lately i have realized-baby, the best is yet to come.

four eyes.

2010-11-10T22:03:00.007-07:00

i know i've already stated this, but i am so thrilled about my blog right now.

i know it needs some tweaking still, but for right now i sure am digging it.

you know what else i'm digging?

the fact that i'm watching season two of lie to me right now.

husband and i got hooked on season one a while back and it's been torture waiting for season two.

we were both incredibly pleased with netflix when we saw season two just waiting for us tonight.

we've been on an Office marathon lately and as much as i am loving it the third time around, it's nice to have a break and to hear Cal Lightman's fantastic accent.

in other news,

i hit a breaking point today.

after weeks of watery, irritated, burning eyes i finally snapped.

my eyes had had enough.

once upon a time i owned two lovely pairs of glasses but over the course of time they have disappeared.

i assume they are in a very specific heaven which consists of nothing but lost possessions and out-dated appliances.

i do hope my d&g glasses have become friends with an old cell-phone or nano baby of mine.

anyways, what i'm trying to say here is that it's been a long time since i've had glasses to wear and that has lead to an unfortunate contact-dictatorship lead life.

wake up in the morning [feeling like p-diddy] and the contacts went in and didn't come out until i was about to crawl into bed.

it was a rough life for my eyeballs.

but today i gave them a gift of freedom.

well, my mother gave them a gift of freedom.

after a little vacation to lens crafters, i walked away with two very happy eyes and one stylish pair of [40% off] dkny glasses.

thanks mom!

my eyes and i [that's weird] are very grateful!

however, did i mention that i have signs of "ocular rosacea"?

typical.

apparently it's caused by all the spicy food i've been eating. i suppose the 3 giant "tablespoons" of chili powder i added to my delicious jambalaya the other day may have not been my best decision.

but it was delicious.

so..i'm over it.

and i'll just bask in my new glasses excitement for now.

love,

kate.

lyrics: shield your eyes. conceal your lies. don't blink. everyone's watching.

sigh of relief

2010-11-10T01:48:00.003-07:00

I DID IT!

i mean...it's still a semi-work in progress, but at least this blog doesn't look like poop on a stick still.

oh, glory.

there's a smile on this sleepy face right now.

i. am. pleased.

and. tired.

i'm going to go shnuggle my husband now.

and wake him up from his slumber to tell him I DID IT!

love,

kate.

lyrics:can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? i could really use a wish right now...

beep beep beep

2010-10-29T23:42:00.004-06:00

slowly but surely, i will have the blog of my dreams.
it's just taking a little longer than anticipated.
please be patient.
love,
kate.

skip.

2010-10-23T14:51:00.003-06:00

i got a text from miss allmond today.
she told me she liked my blog.
it made my dreary, 47 degree, rainy day.
and it inspired me to write some more.
i'm almost done with my shfifty day blog entry challenge.
cwazy.
so enough of this nonsense.
on with the blog!

47: birthday wish list.
hmm..
i'm not completely sure what i want for my birthday...
and i'm kind of focusing on chrissamissa right now...
but let me think..
truly, i would just like to skip my birthday because i loathe the idea of being older and the peter pan in me is freaking out at the mention of being 23.
gag.
but anyways..
i would say i want a longboard so tat husband and i could longboard more together..<
but husband just got a new one..so..i can just have his old one..
so.
ah ha!
world peace.

juuuuust kidding.
i mean..it would be great and all, but i'm not going to waste a blog entry and a candle blow out wish on something that isn't likely going to happen.
i'm just being real here, people.
even if wars end, there will never be peace between middle school girls.
ever.
they will continue to eat their young until this world is no more.
true, my birthday wish isn't world peace, but i do think it to be something just as noble.
a new wardrobe.
everything.
well, i'll keep my underoos but other than those--everything new.
more often than not i feel especially dumpy in my clothes for some reason.
i feel like my fashion is stuck in a different time and i hope every day for clinton and stacy to come beat down my door to criticize my clothing and hand me thousands of dollars to shop with.
i definitely know what looks better.
i'm just seriously deficient in that whole money in the bank [shorty what you drank...i had to..forgive me..] area.
but if i could have one awesome birthday wish--it would be a new fantastic wardrobe.
or a dyson vacuum with the sweet swivel ball mechanism.
either or.

so now you know...
love,
kate.

lyrics: why do we race when everyday we're running in circles? such a funny way to fall.

key key buckets.

2010-10-22T22:09:00.010-06:00

day 46: photos of personal things in your life (pets, family, house, ect).

so i have a few loves in my life.

there's the obvious husband.

and my parents.

and siblings.

but there are 6 other little loves of my life.

first: is a little boy by the name of .

he is the reason i'm a big sister.

and i love, love, love him more than a big sister knows how to say.

and then there's

abby was the first one to make me an aunt.

and the minute i found out she was born i sat on my dorm room bed and began to cry.

my joy was full.

and every time i see her i feel that way again.

and every time i see her i'm in awe of how much of a pretty little girl she's becoming.

then there's my

my meggie.

this little girl just warms my heart.

she has these huge, crooked teeth and every smile is so contagious.

oh my word.

she is just sugary.

i got to watch her for a weekend and it was just lovely.

i got to snuggle with her every morning and she would my hand everywhere she went.

she also called me "ma".

love her and the way she calls chicken nuggets "key key buckets"

then came

my first nephew.

and a cute one he is.

the same summer i got to watch meggie i got to spend a few days with sir isaac.

he and i just snuggled on the couch while brenna slept in.

he was still so tinsy, tiny that he would curl his legs up and stick his bum out while i held him.

and since he was so dang cute while he did it i pretty much did everything while still holding him.

but then he got bigger.

and his little, gummy smile just won my heart.

he's such a little man cub.

you can't not love him.

and a few weeks after isaac was

but we call her ellie bean.

or just bean.

from what i can tell and from what i've been told,

the bean looks like i did as a baby.

and maybe that's why i just get get thrilled, absolutely thrilled, when i see her.

i'll have it be known that she is hands down the happiest baby i have ever encountered.

and she does "ellie fingers".

but after close observation of a home video of yours truly, it turns out that they're not actually ellie fingers.

they're katie fingers.

how fantastic is that?

ellie and i must be twins.

and the latest and greatest addition is

oh

little

gavin.

he's only a little over a month old

and even though i haven't met him yet,

i just love him a ton.

i especially love him in burrito form.

i look forward to christmas when i can kiss his cheeks and hold him all day long.

okay. so that's it.

those are my loves.

cutest little faces in the world.

i love when i get to see them.

i'm the luckiest aunt katie in the whole world.

thank you siblings and parents for providing me with my little loves.

love,

kate.

lyrics: but whatever road you choose, i'm right behind you..

stripper

2010-10-21T13:18:00.003-06:00

still catching up.
Day 40: A letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to.

please refer to a previous post of a letter to grandma jill.

Day 41: Whatever tickles your fancy.

i am super excited about halloweeeeen.

Day 42: Bad habit(s) you have.

i asked garrett what my bad habits were.

the conversation went not as well as i had hoped.

according to him, i undress myself wherever i am and don't pick up my stuff after.

for the life of me i cannot think of a circumstance in which this statement would be true.

maybe i take my shoes off in the living room?

but clothes? really? when did i become that person?

but he didn't even have to think for a second before answering so...ouch.

next.

Day 43: A picture of your favorite place in the world.
here's where i get a little cheesy and lame.

but truthfully, anywhere with these people would be my favorite place in the world.

Day 44: Something that fascinates you and why.

the natural instinct that man has to worship.

i love learning about religions and beliefs that people had hundreds of years ago.

i really am so intrigued by the need that human beings naturally have to thank, ask and praise a higher being.

Day 45: A letter to yourself a year ago.

dear a year ago kate,

your life is about to make some drastic changes.

you and garrett are going to get married.

life will be rough sometimes and certain people will be difficult to deal with.

you will find out who your true friends are and who wants the very best for you.

focus on them, not the ones who fall short.

the next year will have its ups and it will definitely have its downs.

there's nothing you can do to change that.

all you can really do is hold on tight, pray hard and love that boy as much as you can.

you'll make it through. i promise.

see ya soon.

love,

kate.

lyrics: all we ever wanted was love and love and happy afternoons.

missing edgar.

2010-10-20T11:27:00.005-06:00

so much to catch up on.

to my dear faithful readers: i am sorry for abandoning you for so long.

so...

remember that post i put up about how great it was to work at jenny craig and blah blah blah?

well, i quit.

i won't be gossipy or rude but i will say it was a hostile environment and it was better for my mental and physical health for me to get out.

so i quit.

no warning.

just quit.

and it feels amazing.

i don't know who i'm becoming but i definitely like it.

money is tight again.

sometimes i panic when i wake up and realize i have no job.

but then i realize i'm happy.

and i just wasn't while i was working at jenny.

again, i won't specify anything or name names, but if you go to jobvent.com you can read other people's opinion on the job and i stand by all of them.

in other news

JENN AND GARRISON GOT MARRIED!!!

hooray!

garrett and i went to arizona for their wedding.

[sidenote: mesa temple is gorgeous!]

and so was their wedding.

i got to do jenn's makeup and i won't even lie--she looked magnificent.

i'm going to have to make a post of all the beautiful brides i've worked with.

while we were in arizona we got to see the grands and some aunts and uncles.

i love my family.

garre and i talked a lot about possibly moving there...

no decisions have been made so that comment is to be continued..

also in other news, my parents moved!!

they're still in savannah but they're just in a new house.

and it is gorgeous.

i'm so excited to go home and see it. and to have a place that's big enough for our expanding family.

okay. now on to the real reason are reading this blog.

Day 29 Provide the HEX code of your favorite color.

i feel a bit foolish doing this:swimming pool #67E6EC
so...yeah.

Day 30: A letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day.

i'm going to have to dwell on this for a while...so..skip.

Day 31: Whatever tickles your fancy.

another skip.

Day 32: A photo you took.

that's garrett's shoe. i thought it was cool.
the end.
Day 33: What you’re craving right now.

coldstone. due to a very strange dream i had last night.

Day 34: Your favorite quote.

this is difficult. but i have always loved president hinckley's quotes. especially these two:
"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

"In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

i love that man.

Day 35: A letter to an ex.
i wrote too many of those during a miserable part of my life.i
will
pass.

Day 36: Some hobbies of yours.

lately i've been feeling scrappy again.

i love scrapbooking and making things.

i'm also very into makeup and i've been trying new things with that lately.
that's kind of about it...

Day 37: A song that you like to dance to.

i dance to ke$ha when i'm home alone.
embarrassment.

Day 38: A photo of your parents.

oh i love them a lot.
they're the best.

Day 39: Zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality.

well, i'm an aries.

i'm not sure how i feel about being represented by a ram..but whatevs.

http://www.iloveindia.com/astrology/sun-signs/aries/index.html

i skimmed over that website.

some of it was fairly true.

some of it was a little off.

but i'm going to say sure, an aries fits me great.

that's all for now.

i have to clean this messy bedroom.

i'll update again soon!

love,

kate.

lyrics:i won't explain or say i'm sorry. i'm unashamed i'm gonna show my scar. give a cheer for all the broken. listen here because it's who we are.

Nook

2010-09-20T17:39:00.003-06:00

i'm going to do a few days at once just because.

Day 26: Favorite books.

i hate that when i think about my favorite book i feel like i will be judged by several people for not saying that my favorite book is the book of mormon.

DO NOT GET ME WRONG!

in fact, let me enter a sidenote here:
i love, love, love the book of mormon.

but when i read questions like this, i think of actual author written books.

the book of mormon is an incredible and amazing book and i do know it to be right and true.

i have read it.

it has changed me.

and i base my life off its [and the bible's] teachings.

i love the book of mormon.

okay. sidenote entered. let's move on.

Tuesdays with Morrie.

absolutely my favorite assigned book i ever read in my middle school, high school and college career.

i don't even know how many times i've read it and i still cry every time.

it is just sensational and if anyone hasn't read it, i demand they make a quick trip to barnes and noble. STAT.

also, i will not lie, i did enjoy the twilight saga.

and yes, i have seen the movies.

but i think the books are way better and if the movies hadn't turned the books into the new black, i would still list them as really good books.

currently, i am reading the hunger games series and i have to say--blowing twilight out of the water.

i am halfway done with the last book and i'm dreading when it comes to an end and i have to be done with the series.

it's another book i highly suggest.

in addition to those, i liked the great gatsby, of mice and men, paradise lost, to kill a mockingbird and a train to potevka.

that is all.

oh wait...for anyone who reads this and is interested in dropping a few hundred on me, i would REALLY love to have a Nook.

okay. next.

Day 27: A talent of yours.

that's easy. i don't have talents.sorry guys.

Day 28: Favorite Places to shop.

this completely depends.

are we talking clothing, shoes, food, hobby things?

clothing: eh...i'm not too picky. i'll look at everything.

shoes: welp, probably vans would be good for the rest of my life.

food: whole foods, good earth, sunflower...the organic places. i like not having to search so hard for organic stuff.

hobbies: oh, sephora. the damage i could do in that store is unreal.

also any scrapbooking store.

it's absurd how much money i am willing to spend on paper and brads.

alright, well, i'm bored with this so i'm sure anyone who may read it is also bored.

for that, i apologize.

but maybe now you know a little bit more about me and perhaps i will come home one day to a lovely, new Nook sitting on my doorstep with a note from an anonymous reader of my blog telling me how i am their idol and how they would go to the ends of the earth just to read another entry from my blog and they jumped at the opportunity to give me the gift of adventure via the Nook.

dream big.

love,

kate.

lyrics: but times makes you bolder. even children get older. and i'm getting older, too.

addendum.

2010-09-17T12:22:00.002-06:00

day 25: a letter to someone you judged by their first impression.

haha.

these sort of situations are always pretty comical, aren't they?

and if my life is in any way an indicator of how frequently this happens, then i think it's safe to say it happens on a daily basis.

but before i go on writing about my horrible first impression based judgments of people, i would like to note that my harsh judgments are almost always reciprocated.

in fact, i would venture to say that most judgments of me are even worse than the ones i make.

trust me.

everyone finds it hilarious to tell me 6 months after we met, "oh kate. i thought you were just a mean, stuck up brat. i also thought you were a big slut. hahahaha. isn't that funny??"

oh, yeah. hysterical. really..

there is nothing in this world i love more than being told i come off as the exact opposite of what i strive to be.

A for effort, Kate.

anyways, that being said, i will continue on with this blog as intended.

dear laurel and bret,
you and your little ray of sunshine daughter are our neighbors.

you are our closest friends here in springville.

we love, love, love your little girl.

and we appreciate everything you have done for us since we've moved in.

however, i will confess.

father forgive me, for i have sinned.

it has been..whatever..

what i'm trying to say is that my first sunday at church--i was alone because garrett was at work--i attended the same sunday school class as you.

i am a people watcher and as such i naturally scanned the room for kind faces, the spiritual giants, the zone-outters and of course, the weirdos and crazies.

to be honest, i do not remember ever seeing your faces upon first scan.

or second scan for that matter.

but then one of you commented.

and half way through the comment-the other chirped in to finish the sentence.

and then the first continued on only to be stopped by the second again.

the pattern repeated until the comment had been made.

all i could think was that i would slap garrett if he interrupted me that frequently.

i thought one of you was a kook for not being bothered by this as much as i would be.

and then i recalled what it was that had been said.

it was a good comment.

but laurel--and i did not know you as laurel. only as voice one or voice two-i replayed what you had said and..could it be?

yes...i believe.

no, i KNOW you used the phrase, "and as an addendum to that..."

hold on.

pause.

rewind.

play back.

"addendum."

who uses that word?

i couldn't help but make a mental note to steer clear of Mr. and Mrs. Addendum because surely i would lower their IQ by being within 2 yards of them.

addendum.

to give you an idea of how often i don't use that word, i'll have you know i misspelled it thrice before i gave into spell check.

but i have humbled myself and come to see the error of my ways.

despite our vocabulary differences, it turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Addendum are absolutely fantastic.

i think it's safe to say that we have become good friends with them and i even let mrs. addendum take on a very personal and humiliating mission of repairing my baby blanket.

needless to say, we really enjoy them and the time we get to spend with them.

i'm glad we have been able to form a friendship despite our differences.

and i am grateful to have an ever growing vocabulary, thanks to laurel.

also, i've found that garrett and i are much the same and most stories are told together.

i guess i just hadn't been married long enough to know that it's really not so bad.

and that's good.

because garrett would get slapped a lot if it really did bother me as much as i had anticipated.

and i don't want to be that wife.

so..that is that.

we really are so grateful for their friendship and i do think it's funny to think back to that initial judgment knowing what i know now.

addendum.

love,

kate.

lyrics: now's the time we need to share. so send a smile, we're on our way back home.

that is cute. that is cute.

2010-09-16T22:34:00.007-06:00

day 24: time to face morph. / http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk//Transformer/

i'll admit it.

i had a lot of fun with this.

it was hard to pick a favorite...

really hard, actually.

so i narrowed it down to three.

because i am 100% incapable of choosing just one of anything.

except for a husband...

anyways. drumroll, please.

3.east-asia:

2.baby:

1.ape:

i think if reincarnation were real

and if i believed in it

and if i had been something in a past life

i would be almost certain that i was an ape.

and a really good looking ape, at that.

i also think i make for a sweet asian.

watch out, grace bennett.

a new mulan is on the rise.

love,

kate.

lyrics:hush my darling, don't fear my darling. the lion sleeps tonight.

pizza and hot chocolate.

2010-09-15T17:52:00.017-06:00

my bunny, hank, chewed through two power cord to my computer.

keep in mind that's two in a row.

he chewed through the original.

i bought another.

and he chewed through that the day i got it.

this last paycheck i got had a bonus on it and i decided i would splurge and spend ten doll-hairs on a cheap ebay power cord.

and glory, glory. it is so nice to have my computer back.

i always felt so bad borrowing garrett's computer all the time.

but now we can both waste time on a computer!

yahoo!

i was looking through my pictures and i realized that i never got around to putting up my honeymoon pictures.

i'm so lame.

so here.

for your viewing pleasure is a little trip to the florida keys and mexico via the carnival imagination.

enjoy.

waiting in the airport...looking pretty blah.

first day on the cruise. boy, those eyeballs...love them.

fat kids. sometimes i just want to be back on the cruise so i can eat the food.

on a trolley-taking us to the touristy parts of the keys.

with our spy sunglasses. we purchased them for way cheap using the money we got during the money dance. thanks everyone!

a closer look at our sunglasses.

back on the boat. in the middle of the ocean.

uh..that's us kissing..

garrett getting his henna tattoo. there wasn't much else to do in mexico except drink and sweat.

and then it was my turn.

we thought we would get a lovely picture of mexico before we got back on the boat.

you should never be too mature to put chocolate pudding on your teeth.

sidenote:garrett just looks like a life-long smoker. i look 12.

creepin' til the day i die...
but let's be honest--he was asking for a picture to be taken.

just be for we got off the cruise.

it was a sad day to be sure.

so there's a photo summary of our honeymoon.

it was mostly pretty hot and there were several people to watch which kept us pretty entertained the whole time.

i highly suggest a cruise for honeymooning.

mostly because of the 24 hour pizza.

that is all.

love,

kate.

lyrics:come on let me hold you, touch you, feel you, always. kiss you. taste you. all night. always.

moving on.

2010-09-10T12:22:00.002-06:00

alright. sorry for not updating for a while. whatever.

holy cow.

i'm eating a piece of bubblicious sour citrus gum right now and i am making some hideous sour faces.

this is not enjoyable.

i think i just pulled a muscle in my neck.

okay.

so i'm making up for lost time so these next few ones are going to be short and sweet.

day 17-a photo that makes you sad:
i'm not on my computer. so this one is going to get postponed.
day 18-set or share a goal:

goal: lose 10 lbs before christmas.

day 19- whatever tickles my fancy:

fall is upon us and i love it.
the end.

day 20:letter to someone who changed my life:

i've actually already written that person a letter...soo..

day 21-favorite television show.
well, i can't pick just one.

shocking, i know.

so, in no particular order:

glee.modern family.prison break.lie to me.

day 22- a photo that makes you happy:

please refer to day 17.

day 23-share a current favorite tune.

[i'm sort of in love with this song because it reminds me so much of what garrett would have said to me while he was on his mission. it makes me cry when i think of how much i hurt him...]

I could feel her breath as she's sleeping next to me
Sharing pillows and cold feet
She can feel my heart; fell asleep to its beat
Under blankets and warm sheets
If only I could be in that bed again
If only it were me instead of him

Does he watch your favorite movies?
Does he hold you when you cry?
Does he let you tell him all your favorite parts?
When you've seen it a million times
Does he sing to all your music?
While you dance to purple rain
Does he do all these things?
Like I used to?

14 months and 7 days ago,
Oh I know you know how we felt about that night
Just your skin against the window
Oh we took it slow and we both know
It shoulda been me inside that car
It should have been me instead of him in the dark

Does he watch your favorite movies?
Does he hold you when you cry?
Does he let you tell him all your favorite parts?
When you've seen it a million times
Does he sing to all your music?
While you dance to purple rain
Does he do all these things?
Like I used to?

I know that love happens all the time, love
(I'm a sucker for that feeling)
You're on my mind, love
(I always end up feeling cheated)
And that happens all the time, love
(Oh darling, I know I'm not needed)

Will he love you like I loved you?
Will he tell you everyday?
Will he make you feel like your invincible
With every word he'll say
Can you promise me that this was right?
Don't throw it all away
Can you do all these things?
Will you do all these things?
Like we used to

Oh like we used to

like we used to-a rocket to the moon.

that's all.

i love my husband.

love,

kate.

lyrics: with every word he'll say.

careful what you wish for

2010-08-28T09:53:00.003-06:00

day 16: 5 celebrity crushes.

gay.

i don't have celebrity crushes.

i mean sometimes i wish i could be taylor swift.

and sometimes i think kate hudson is hilarious.

but those are girls.

and i don't have crushes on girls.

so...

whatever.
i'm over this.
i love my husband.
he's enough for me.
he might not be on the big screen.

but he makes me laugh.

i think he's cute.

i have his pictures around my house.

that's enough of a crush for me.

and one day he'll be famous.

love,

kate.

lyrics:nothing compares to a quiet evening alone.

jill.

2010-08-27T09:45:00.003-06:00

day 15:a letter to someone i wish i could meet.

dear gramma jill,

you don't know me. but i'm your grand-daughter-wayne's 3rd girl.

i know you died when my dad was a little boy and i know you look an awful lot like my sister, jackie. but i don't really know a ton about you.

grandpa tells me some things sometimes.
but i don't see him very often.

but everytime i go to his house i stare at your wedding picture.
and i usually wonder what you would look like now and what your voice would sound like.
i guess i just wish i could meet you so i could hear your stories and laugh at how much times have changed since you were my age.
i guess because i've never met you i don't really have a ton to say.
except that you made some fantastic kids and they're all doing well.
and you don't have to worry about us not having a gramma.
gramma judy is incredible and she's taken great care of your kids and your grands.
she's a wonderful gramma.
and i'm sure you are too.

i'm happy to know i get to meet you one day.
but..no offense or anything, i don't really want it to be too soon.
i've got to have kids of my own, you know.
but i'm excited for the time when i do finally meet you.

i hope you're as excited for it as i am.

i'll tell dad you said hi.

take care.

love,
kate.

lyrics:whats left to lose? you've done enough and if you fail well then you fail, but not to us.

silly whim

2010-08-24T09:29:00.000-06:00

making up for lost time.

day 14: a song from my childhood.

to be honest, i have a lot of songs from my childhood.

maybe everyone does..

but when i think back to when i was little and try to associate songs to those memories, i come up with so many different songs.

like singing the lion sleeps tonight with my mom when her radio was broken.

and listening to the tape of songs that i got for my 4th birthday where they insert my name into all the songs.

or cleaning our house in tennessee with my mom and listening to air supply.

or every song from wee sing in sillyville.

or the miss mary mack-esque songs i would sing with my friends before school started.

or the "muppin man" song.

how do i pick just one?

perhaps i won't.

perhaps i will just leave it at that and let it be known that my love for music was laid on thick at a young age.

proof.

love,

kate.

lyrics:let us sing together. let us sing together. one and all a joyous song.

beetus bound.

2010-08-22T21:35:00.002-06:00

day 13:

whatever tickles my fancy.

so...what tickles my fancy?

well, i've become addicted to ham and cheese snamiches lately.

just organic wheat bread, thinly sliced ham and old school cheese.

i'm usually way into the gourmet snamich but lately ham and cheese has been doing it for me.

i had one for lunch.

and i will probably have another one for dinner.

well balanced, eh?

also, on the fat kid food topic, garrett and i were craving a sweet treat the other night between our Prison Break marathon.

we don't usually stock sweet food in our house for a few reasons:

1. i really try to only eat organic sweets.

2. garrett usually eats it all within the day we buy it.. :]

so all we had were the yummy organic version of teddy grahams.

but that wasn't really doing it for us.

until i reminded garrett of dunkaroos.

so we walked over to Allen's [our neighborhood grocer] and spent 1.19 on vanilla frosting.

delicious.

home made dunkaroos.

maybe i'm on my way to diabetes...but whatever.

i still got to eat some tasty dunkaroos.

and really,could life get better?

probably.

but it was still good.

especially when combined with husband and prison break.

waht a fantastic saturday night.

love,

kate.

lyrics:lets melt the sugar under the meteor shower on the hottest night in july.

chompers.

2010-08-20T18:43:00.003-06:00

oh...hello again..

since i'm still doing some catching up and since my last post [the recipe post] was fairly lame.

i admit it.

i thought i'd post another one.

contain your excitement.

i'm not sure what the exact meaning of day 12 was, but it said:
day 12: we want to see your teeth today / post a self-portrait.

well what else am i supposed to do other than just that?

cheeeeese.

while we're on this topic,

i would like to point out that my teeth are tombstone shaped.

give it a looksy and imagine r.i.p engraved on them.

tombstones.

but hey, they got me best smile in high school.

what's up senior superlatives 2006?

show 'em ya grill.

i am so white.

the end.

love,

kate.

lyrics: light up your face with gladness, hide every trace of sadness. you'll find that life is still worthwhile-
if you just smile.

num num num

2010-08-20T09:19:00.002-06:00

day...i have no clue...

today i'm supposed to provide a yummy recipe of mine.

mmm..

i sort of love to bake and cook.

i don't love how expensive it can be..

or how hot it gets in my kitchen..

but i do love to bake and cook.

husband and i were talking about my yummy pancakes the other day so i decided i would share that one.

i don't usually just bust out my own recipe

don't get me wrong, i've done it..and i've actually been quite successful at it.

but usually i just take someone else's recipe and make it my own.

i'm pretty good at figuring out what flavor needs to be added.

so this recipe was one that was given to me but that i tweaked to my own liking.

buttermilk pancakes.

2 eggs
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons melty [yes, melty] butter
1-1/4 cups buttermilk [and maybe just a little splash more]
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla [usually i just dump some in..i love vanilla]
1-1/4 cups all-purpose [organic] flour [very loosely measured]
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch salt [optional--but i wouldn't not do it]
1 tablespoon and 3/4 teaspoon [organic] sugar

whisk together the eggs, milk, butter and buttermilk.combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar; stir into the wet ingredients just until blended. feel free to adjust the thickness of the batter to your liking by adding more flour or buttermilk if necessary.

heat a skillet/griddle up to medium heat.

use a 1/4 cup to scoop out batter.

keep it on the heat until the top of the pancake gets bubbly.

flip.

devour.

they're very tasty.

and they're best with buttermilk syrup.

perhaps this will be dinner tonight.

with eggs and bakey.

yup.

love,

kate.

lyrics: and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.