small town heart

happy new year

2011-01-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

Alright, let's get this party started, shall we?
Here's a bit of what's been going on around these here parts:

I have not been blogging regularly
I joined Weight Watchers
um.. and started a blog about it
I cut my honey's hair AND he doesn't look like a Jim Carrey a la Dumb and Dumber wannabe. sweet!
(it actually looks really good. I'm his official barber now.)
I got a new planner that's so beautiful, sometimes I just take it out of my bag to look at it. For really-reals.
I'm loving me just about anything kawaii. I blame it on the lack of Sanrio availability when I was a kid.
Hi, my name is Kate. I'm 26 years old and I love Hello Kitty.
My hair is getting really long
I wish it was Thursday so I could go to my WW meeting and weigh in. I'm kind of loving this.
My new lip balm smells so lemonly yummy. mmm.
I should be sleeping, I have to work overtime tonight. But it's Friday for me and I think I'm all 12 hours on my favorite radio, woo hoo!
I need to find my second verse for Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory. Over the course of the year the goal is to memorize 24 new scriptures.
My first verse: You crown the year with Your good blessing and you leave abundance in Your wake. Psalm 65:11
My new favorite word is lemonly.

Thank you and goodnight.

not all those who wander are lost...

2010-09-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Did you know that quote is from Lord of the Rings? I didn't until about a week ago. This is the whole quote, it's from The Fellowship of the Ring:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king.

I'm now a little over halfway through The Two Towers and that quote, in its entirety, is my favorite so far. It's just so, I don't know... powerful. I'm loving the series, even though it takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to read. There's so much packed onto one page. I'll be sad when I'm done reading them, it's been nice to be with the same story this long.

I haven't gotten to my schedule goal, but- MY HOUSE IS CLEAN. Due largely to the fact that I had a houseguest, so it needed to be presentable, but still. My sink is empty, and has been all day because I've done dishes TWICE. yeah baby. also my bed is made and laundry is going. This is a big deal guys.
I'm so pathetic.

I may even attempt- gasp- cooking this week. Yeah, I wasn't lying about the whole 'worst housewife' stuff. I'll get it someday. hopefully.

ps. got my hair did. LOVING IT.

by the way, little background on this picture. Greg was supposed to take a picture of my hair only, not my face, but did he listen? no. but, the picture actually had some potential, so here's the result after photoshopping out the dark circles under my eyes and photoshopping in some makeup. photoshop is a wonderful thing.
If only it could take off about 50 lbs. I'm over it.

Oh so random...

2010-09-07T04:08:00.001-07:00

I recently told a friend that I have the greatest intentions and the worst follow through. That statement applies to pretty much every area of my life right now. First and foremost, the blog. I was so excited to get into a regular schedule. I kind of love this little blog, even though it's pretty wimpy, and I'd like to turn it into something great, even if I never get above 3 subscribers. (hey, it's more than zero! You readers out there, I heart you. Bigtime.) I love seeing my words on the screen, does that sound bad? Really it's because it makes me feel so accomplished, not because I think it's super great. Goes along with what I said before I guess, when there's actually follow through it's pretty exciting. Part of my lack of follow through is due to being sickity-sick-sick for 2 weeks. Yikes, it sucked. The first few days all I could think is, 'I want my mommy.' seriously. My honey was a pretty good substitute though. Normally he's pretty good at waiting on me hand and foot and responding to my ridiculous requests, ('honey, the remote is 6 inches out of my reach, could you come out of the other room and get it for me?' I wish I was kidding.) but he really kicked it up a notch when I was sick. He's a good honey. He even made me mac and cheese (homemade, oh yum). I'm finally feeling like a normal person again, yay!
That little bump in the road also affected the granny square blanket I was working on, so not much more progress on that front. Maybe she'll get it in time for Christmas. I'm awesome. (-sarcasm.) Sadly, I wish I could say that the state of my house is because of the blip on the health radar, but it's not. It's because I'm the WORST HOUSEWIFE IN THE WORLD. My goal, starting today, is to work out a better housecleaning, etc... schedule. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with what I have to do, and end up doing nothing. Can anyone relate? (hello? Is this thing on? Just me? Awesome.)
I've been reading more and more 'minimalist' type blogs, and although I don't think I can be one of those people who only owns 50 or 100 things (a zebra can't change her stripes, you know?) I would love to get as close as possible. The bloggers talk about how much more peaceful their lives become as things disappear, and it absolutely makes sense. My new favorite blog, Small Notebook has a post entitled 'Holding on to Sentimental Things' that really hit home with me. The author, Rachel, talks about the scene in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding where Toula's grandmother brings out her box of 'most precious things'. What if her grandmother had taken Toula to her storage unit of 'most precious things'? As Rachel says, 'Not quite the same feeling is it? When it comes to keeping sentimental things:
the fewer things you keep, the more special they are.'
That's so powerful to me. That's what I keep going back to, and will keep going back to as I go through my stuff. Check out her blog, she has great stuff to say about organizing, simplifying and other home- ish stuff.
Why didn't anyone tell me being a grown-up was so hard? I want to go outside and blow bubbles and make a daisy crown, even if it's just as an in-your-face to adulthood.
Who's with me?!

i want a bunny. or two.

2010-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Via Cute Overload

some pretties...

2010-08-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

La Mer Watch

I want one in every color.

Anthropologie Hidden Framework Bracelet
So far out of my budget it's not even funny. A girl can dream.

Urban Outfitters Corner Bloom Ruffle Duvet Cover
Found via Lovely Clusters Pinterest
so pretty...

pretty girly lights by kootoyoo

I want to make a million.

This Bedroom
Found via Lottie Loves (originally from NY Times)

I love everything about it.

purple washcloth

2010-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

last I checked, it was 89 degrees outside. EIGHTY. NINE. I'm melting. I told my honey that I'm a delicate flower and I can't take this kind of heat. He didn't have much sympathy.

darn texans and their heat tolerance...

I brought out the trusty purple washcloth for my migraine yesterday (it was a doozy) and tonight I think I'm going to slap it on my forehead and leave it there while I sleep.

which reminds me, I really should be sleeping right now.

ugh, I don't want to go to work... (insert whiny voice and stomping feet.) ah, the joys of being a grownup.

i miss small town life...

2010-08-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

quote found via Booklover
picture and little quote do-hinky are mine. (I designed the quote thing myself after finding the quote on booklover, what do we think?)

grannies, grannies and kites.

2010-08-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

whew. what a week. took a mini vacay to forks for about a week, with a small excursion to ocean shores for a few days for anniversary #2. While we were at my parents, my grandmother (from the corn husker state) and my great-grandma (portland) were also there. add in daycare kids, my parents, brother, husband and I, it made for a pretty full house. really full.
Mom, I may never have children after last week.
My mom and I set up a treasure hunt for the daycare kids, which was a huge success. I think mom and I had just as much fun planning as they did finding!
Luckily I didn't have to do any twilight-y stuff with grandma, (there's only so much I can take. and it's not much.) but we did get to the beach and the rain forest (aka, my favorite place in the world). No pictures, bad me. forgot the camera at the beach and it was (shocker) way too bright for good photos at the rain forest.

as for the other 'grannies', I'm working on my first granny square blanket. it's pretty fun, and a lot easier than I expected. Although, like every thing else I've ever tried, I was totally gung-ho in the beginning, but now my interest is waning. I'm such a loser. I'm taking it to work tonight hoping to get a few more kicked out. I'm sitting at a pretty slow radio, so hopefully I can get back into the groove. The pattern I used is called Circle of Friends, which I decided on after seeing this picture on flicker. Gorgeous.
I wanted to try to do similar colors as well, but I'm pretty horrible at picking out colors. I like what I ended up with though. I'm sure when it all comes together it will look alright. the yarn I found is so soft... I love it. the pink is Caron Simply Soft, the purple is Vanna's Choice, and the off-white is Red Heart Soft yarn.

Last, but not least, my new kite we bought in ocean shores. So cute, right?

I'll try and get some more of Greg's kite (an airplane, of course) and other Ocean shores pictures in the next few days, when i get the photos sorted out.

call me Ishmael

2010-05-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

-Moby Dick

2010-05-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

The other day my honey and I went to Trader Joe's (we're trying to eat a little better, you know.) and they had these cute little herb gardens out front. We couldn't resist.
Now I just hope I'll actually be able to keep them alive.

did a little writing today.

2010-05-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

It was nice.

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

old school.

2010-04-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a sweet blog the other day, Once Upon a Win. It's a collection of 'epic wins' from when we were kids. I was pretty much hooked when I saw they had featured Jem, my favorite cartoon.

Some other posts that match up with my childhood memories: (all pictures from Once Upon a Win)
playing 'Heads up, 7up' and passing notes in school,

hypercolor t-shirts and t-shirt slides,

and every Christmas circling what I wanted in the Sears Wish Book.

the list always included Power Wheels, because sadly I never got one...

Brandi, our children will have Big Wheels!

oh stop, I'm blushing

2010-04-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

You know what makes me happy? a blog post dedicated to me (yes, me!) on one of the cutest blogs around: The Woman in Training. Nicole (a friend of a friend) is super funny and a such great writer, I was smiling so big when I read my name! It made my day. or my week. Okay, it pretty much made my year, I'll say it.
Ahem... I must point out that, yes, I'm aware the post was written 3 weeks ago. I'm, um, a little slow.
okay, a lot slow.
Sorry Nicole, you rock!

dreaming of farms...

2010-04-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just doing a little daydreaming of the day I have a little farm of my own.

Amish farm with windmill by yooperann

Farm Building015 by Scooter Flix

Old farm house by WindsurfGirl

There'd be a few chickens...

Blue Chicken Bath by cproppe

A sheep or two...

Sheep by svenwerk

and maybe even a goat.

baby goat by James Nord

And no farm would be complete without Tanner and Lucy.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of quizzes...

2010-02-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Olive Juice Photography (Formerly Dandelion Daydream Photography) blogged this Fun Friday Fact Fiesta today, and it looked like fun. So here's mine:

If I were a month, I’d be February.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Thursday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be a late summer evening.
If I were a planet, I’d be Pluto, because I'm old school. (and short. and a little out there.)
If I were a sea animal, I’d be an otter.

If I were a direction, I’d be west.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a lawn chair in front of a campfire.
If I were a liquid, I’d be rain.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a peridot.
If I were a tree, I’d be a douglas fir.

If I were a tool, I’d be a sandpaper.
If I were a flower, I’d be a garden rose.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be rainy.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a fiddle.

If I were a color, I’d be pink.
If I were an emotion, I’d be gratitude.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a raspberry.
If I were a sound, I’d be a river.
If I were an element, I’d be carbon.

If I were a car, I’d be a Dodge Ram 2500.
If I were a food, I’d be chicken.
If I were a place, I’d be Olympic National Park.
If I were a material, I’d be linen.
If I were a taste, I’d be savory.
If I were a scent, I’d be vanilla.
If I were an object, I’d be a book.

If I were a body part, I’d be a ear.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be eyes rolling.
If I were a song, I’d be 'American Honey' by Lady Antebellum
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be flip-flops. Always.

I've found my theme song at long last.

2010-02-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

American Honey - Lady Antebell...

Click the link above to have a little listen.

She grew up on a side of the road
Where the church bells ring and strong love grows
She grew up good
She grew up slow
Like American honey

Steady as a preacher
Free as a weed
Couldn't wait to get goin'
But wasn't quite ready to leave
So innocent, pure and sweet
American honey

There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime
And American honey

Get caught in the race
Of this crazy life
Tryin' to be everything can make you lose your mind
I just wanna go back in time
To American honey, yea

There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime
And American honey

Gone for so long now
I gotta get back to her somehow
To American honey

Ooh There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name like a long lost friend
Oh I miss those days as the years go by
Oh nothin's sweeter than summertime
And American honey
And American honey

dead flowers (not the song)

2010-02-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Daily Photo 2010 update, finally!

2010-02-24T06:55:00.001-08:00

I was really behind on uploading my pictures. Like, probably over 2 weeks. I've been snapping away everyday, but was getting ultra-lazy about editing and uploading. I was excited to find that for a lot of the photos, the only changes I made in photoshop was to save it as a smaller file size. Ah, the wonders of knowing how to actually work the camera in my hands. I haven't used the automatic setting in weeks, my dial is mainly on manual or av. (aperture priority, my fave) I can't believe it, I didn't think I'd ever get a clue about the manual settings on my camera.
This picture (of the most adorable dogs in the world, right?)

051/365
Originally uploaded by small town <3

was taken with my new 50mm lens. I heart this lens big-time. Big. Time. I actually entered this shot in The Pioneer Women's latest photography assignment. If they were judging on the dog's looks alone, I'd definitely win- my doggies are epic cute. (but maybe I'm biased...) I missed the first day, but I'm going to try to get pics in on Thursday and Friday as well. No doubt I have a million pictures to choose from, they're my favorite subject. Heaven help me when I have children, they'll probably never recognize me without a camera in front of my face!

getting fresh.

2010-02-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'm over at Inky Fresh Press today, blogging about the Arts & Letters writing contest. Go have a look-see.

Oh, Twilight

2010-02-10T02:34:00.001-08:00

The other day, I was looking for an old friend on facebook, (I swear
she is the only one in our class without a facebook. ) so I clicked on
the link that said Forks High School Class of 2002. Instead of finding
her, I found that half of the people listed as classmates of mine
contained names such as Bella, so-and-so Cullen, and Sally
OMGilovejacobheisthehottestwerewolfevergoteamjacobpleasetakeoffyourshirt.
Okay, so the last one is an exaggeration. Or maybe not, I didn't go
through all of the pages.
Sometimes I just miss my unknown, middle-of-nowhere, logging capitol
of the world, Home of the Spartans, one stoplight, blink and you'll
miss it, 3 hours from the mall, no we don't have a mcdonalds,
carharts, romeos and riggins, small town.

Just a little bit of spring

2010-02-07T03:34:00.001-08:00

037/365
Originally uploaded by small town <3

I love it when flowers show up on my yard, especially when I had nothing to do with it. A few days ago I noticed a mini field of crocus growing under my hydrangea bush. I think I few may have been there last year, but it seems like there's a lot more this go 'round. This little guy was the only yellow one of the bunch, the rest were purple/lavender. I've recently become a little enamored with yellow. It's a little weird considering it's always been one of my least favorite colors. I'm thinking it partly stems from my new-found obsession with anything mustard colored (well, except for mustard) and partly because it's been a pretty dark winter, in every sense of the word. Even bright, primary yellow is catching my eye. So, all that to say, this happy little blond crocus is my fave.

the eight irresistible principles of fun

2010-01-23T07:17:00.001-08:00

this video is totally cute and inspiring!

via make and meaning

what a fantastic weekend.

2010-01-22T16:25:00.000-08:00

via Jo's Flickr Photostream

Hmm, so that last post was a little depressing, eh? what an off day that was. Luckily, my outlook is much better today.

Things that are making me happy today:

new haircut, LOVE IT.
got my nails done, my hands feel so pretty.
dutch apple pie in the oven (marie callender's, not homemade. I'm over it.)
fabulous date day with my honey yesterday (ending with a little super nintendo playing)
taking pictures of the trains below my house. there's something so romantic about trains, I love everything about them
trip to Seattle Library on monday with (work friend) Amber, woo-hoo! (for those of you who don't know, I have to differentiate because I have about 2,317 friends named amber. Alright, not that many, but I have considered only making new friends if their name is Amber.)
I don't have to go to work tonight
Just ordered the latest issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly. I've been wanting one for awhile, and February's was too tempting to resist.
did I mention I got my haircut? and that I LOVE IT?
there are no dishes in the sink right now.
I have so many good books from the library right now I don't know which one to start next.
that apple pie smells de-lish.

Tomorrow will probably be a cleaning day, bleh. then work tomorrow night, double bleh. here's hoping the rest of my weekend goes v e r y s l o w l y...

Hope your weekend turns out just as lovely!!

meh...

2010-01-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know what to say. I feel a little lost, adrift in a sea of past regrets that seem to want to swallow me whole today. I'm going to try to sleep it off, the only problem being if the thoughts are waiting for me when I wake up.

Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18-19

2010-01-16T03:38:00.000-08:00

I really want to blog today, but I just don't know about what. I haven't done a whole lot lately, well, at least not as much as I'd like. Went for a drive with my honey on Thursday, got some pics from that. We went and sat at the airport, a couple of small planes and then a 737 came in. We were hoping to see one of the new 787's or the dreamlifter, but no dice. It was fun sitting there though, Greg was taking pictures of the 737 we saw. We used to sit at the airport a lot when we were dating, and although I'm not quite the airplane buff that Greg is, I do love watching them come in and take off. Having to travel on them is a completely different matter... bleh.
After the airport we went to the Mukilteo waterfront. It was cold and grey, but really beautiful. There were so many birds. At one point I sort of felt like I was in Bodega Bay. Check out the photos here.

I've had sort of a crafty dry spell lately. My craft room is pretty much in chaos, overflowing with half or not even started projects. Before I can even think of starting anything new I need to simplify, go through and get rid of the things I'm never going to use. I'm hoping to make that my project this week. There are a few projects that I've been itching to try:

1. 200 Crochet Blocks, 2. Recycled Garland, 3. remains of the day journal backgrounds, 4. cathedral window quilt - 4th set

I love to crochet and have tried my hand at granny squares once or twice, but I'd really like to make a granny square blanket. Some granny squares can be kind of hokey, but they can turn out really gorgeous, too, like the ones above. I love the monochromatic look, but I'd also like to try one with jewel tones.

I am in love with garlands, can you tell? I love this one because it's all recycled paper. I have stacks of magazines and random paper that I saved just cause they're pretty, and this would be a great project for them. Maybe to decorate my soon to be clean and organized craft room?

Another great project for old scraps is this remains of the day journal. I haven't looked into this too much, but I think the point is to use the journal to display all of the interesting scraps that are collected day to day. I would love to do something like this and then use it as a journal to write in.

I've heard the cathedral window quilt blocks are very time-consuming, which usually would turn me off, but they're so pretty I have to try. I'm thinking I'll start out easy, maybe just do four blocks and the rest on a solid color, instead of a whole quilt top full of them.

Well, for not knowing what to say I sure said a lot. Now I have to go get ready, off to see Lovely Bones with Ashley, yay!

some happy things.

2010-01-12T08:37:00.001-08:00

I'll just say it- I want these.
Real bad.

MIA Outlaw at Zappos.com

Steve Madden Texic at Zappos.com

In part because I hope that by putting them on I will magically transform into her:

cmt.com

Miranda Lambert pretty much rawks.

Which reminds me, I've been thinking of going back to blonde. What do we think?

PS. this picture from cuteoverload.com is the cutest thing in the world. I can't stop looking at it because it makes me smile. so addicting... you've been warned.

today's daily photo

2010-01-08T22:50:00.001-08:00

008/365
Originally uploaded by small town <3

A writer needs loneliness, and he gets his share of it. He needs love, and he gets shared and also unshared love. He needs friendship. In fact, he needs the universe. To be a writer is, in a sense, to be a day-dreamer - to be living a kind of double life.
-Jorge Luis Borges

To me the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make.
-Truman Capote

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
-Cyril Connolly

What's so exciting and terrifying about the writing process is that it really is an act of exploration and discovery. With all of us, not just writers, there is a sort of knowledge of the other. We have a lot more in common than we realize, and I think writing is really a sustained act of empathy.
-Andre Dubus, III

paper garland loveliness

2010-01-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

I love me some paper garlands. I just want to make a million. Wouldn't these make the greatest party decorations?

1. a curtain of hearts..., 2. Paint chip package, 3. Recycled Garland, 4. ....a new " LoVe " garland..., 5. Fresh Green Paper Garland, 6. paper hearts 1, 7. Untitled, 8. garlands are the best accessories..., 9. leaf garland 2, 10. lovebirds garland 5, 11. paper garlands, 12. 2009 Ornament Swap - garland in window, 13. Butterfly Garlands

PS. Flickr is addicting.

2 posts in one day?!

2010-01-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm awesome. haha. Even more awesome? my photo a day project, I'm pretty much rocking it. And by rocking it I mean I'm actually keeping up with it, which is a surprise, even though it's only been a few days. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new camera, it's so fun to play with! I'm pretty sure I took about 50 pictures of my honey today when he was outside installing his new satellite radio. I don't know that he was as excited as I was... :)

So handsome, sigh.

Since tonight is my Friday I think tomorrow we will be doing a mini roadtrip with the camera, although I haven't decided where yet. Yay!

Okay, so, go check out the rest, tell me what you think.

PS. what about my new header? see the little white heart on the right side? total fluke. I didn't see it until I got the picture into photoshop. I love it when that happens.

40 questions

2010-01-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Alright, I filled this out yesterday while I was at work but am just now getting around to posting it. I took it from Notebook Doodles, she tagged all of her readers. Yay!

1.what is your current obsession?
my new camera! I heart it. and tea.

2. what are you wearing today?
My favorite sweatshirt, (FHS fastpitch one I kidnapped from brandi years ago.) Barbie tshirt, jeans and pink Romeos.

3. what’s for dinner?
Mmm, hopefully turkey tacos.

4. what’s the last thing you bought?
$5 shoes and a sweet green and white scarf.

5. what are you listening to right now?
Calltakers across the room, fire radio and the hum of the computers.

6. what do you think about the person who tagged you?
She has adorable handwriting and an awesome blog.

7. if you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Forks. maybe even within walking distance of my mom's house.

8. one thing you wanna change about yourself?
More gumption

9. if you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
The Hoh Rain Forest

10. which language do you want to learn?
Swedish

11. what’s your favourite quote?
Oh, how to choose? I love quotes. Right now probably
I'm not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.
-marilyn Monroe
Or
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swaps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours.
— Ayn Rand

12 . would you cook for me?
I don't know that anyone would want that.

13. what is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21-22

14. what are you afraid of the most?
Opening an officer.com 'Officer Down Alert' email and having it be someone I know.

15. who do you want to meet right now?
The Australian accent on the radio.

16. what is your favourite color?
oh pink, always pink.

17. give us 3 styling tips that work for you.
ugh, I have not been very stylish lately. what always works for me is sweatshirts, flip flops and scarves.

18. what is your dream job?
Co-owner and barista of a coffee shop/pottery panting/yarn shop/allaroundloveliness with amber. And photographer. And Park ranger. All at the same time.

19. what’s your favorite magazine?
Martha Stewart Weddings

20. if you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Fancy tea (I am on such a tea kick right now) and getting my upper ear pierced, again. And a new pair of jeans, I really need another pair. Maybe even a new sweatshirt, depending on where I'm shopping.

21. what do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Not wearing the correct size, not dressing (somewhere near) your age.

22. who according to you is the most over-rated writer?
I have to agree with Miss notebookdoodles on this, stephenie meyer. But I’m still mourning the loss of innocence of my hometown, so I may be a little biased. Especially considering I haven't read the books yet.

23. what brings a smile on your face instantly?
5 words: Josiah, Edie, Lincoln, Riley, Alex.

24. a word that you say a lot?
Received

25. what kind of haircut do you prefer?
Inexpensive.

26. what are you going to do after this?
Go home and go to bed, I'm tired!

27. what do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Sleep, grump, avoid.

28. what makes you go wild?
Road rage.

29. what are your favourite movies?
Sense and Sensibility, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Maverick, North by Northwest

30. what inspires you?
Trees, river and rain. Light. beautiful dresses and amazing interior design.

31. what do your friends call you most commonly?
Kate, except for my jeffcom peeps, they call me Katie.

32. would you prefer coffee or tea?
Tea

33. which other blogs do you love visiting?
I have over a hundred on my google reader, from quilting, photography, fashion, business and funny. I'm addicted to blogs. Here's just a few:
Notebookdoodles, of course.
The Sometimes Crafter
Rachel Cox Designs
Oh, hello friend
Gabrielle Kai Photography
Kate's Irrelevant
Lamebook

Oh, cute overload always makes my day.

34. favorite dessert/sweet?
Apple pie/ crisp, my mom's cheesecake.

35. how many tabs are turned on in your browser right now?
I'm on my phone, so only one, but usually on my laptop I can have anywhere between 2-20.

36. when you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
That's as good as it's going to get.

37. favorite season?
I don't think I could choose.

38. one wish that you really want to see it come true?
There are a lot of wishes I've made lately that I'm working to make come true.

39. what breaks your heart?
Children not being taken care of/ loved like they deserve.
Any time my mom cries.

40. what's one thing you really want to do in life?
To stop sitting on the sidelines and watching life pass me by.

2009-11-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

So, I'm watching 'The View'. How is this show still on TV? All they do is talk over each other and compete to be the loudest voice. It gives me a headache, I'll say it. I'm no longer watching it.
I'm thinking about trying a photo a day project next year. My inspiration comes from one of my favorite blogs, Gabrielle Kai Photography. Her pictures are sooo beautiful. the post for today that really got me thinking about it is 15 tips for a daily photo project. Tip #8 is: Don't set yourself up to fail. She says "Why not consider a photo a week project?" I just may have to, a photo a day kind of seems like a lot, and let's face it, I'm not the most motivated person I know. This would be great though, because I really want to work at getting better at photography. I was getting pretty frustrated the other day when some film I got back didn't wow me. Greg kept reminding me that these things take time and practice. I know that's true, but I was hoping I could pick up camera and beauty would just flow from it. Uh, not quite. I'm afraid that if I'm not any good now, I'll never be and it can't be learned. Not only do I need to learn more about the cameras I'm using, but my pictures were just uninspired. I was literally taking pictures and hoping they would magically be great. After I got over some of my frustration I started playing with my digital camera and the white balance settings. Basic, I know, but I had never thought to even use it before. I decided I would try to get some shots of Lucy inside. She's hard to get because, number one, she never sits still, but also, her coloring is weird and is not easily photographed, I'm not sure why. She was lounging on the ottoman so I decided to give it a shot. Although the pictures aren't award winning, it's amazing the difference that some patience and playing with the settings made! That gave me a little hope that this is something I may be able to learn.

I'm afraid to fail. Can I just say that? I feel a little lost lately. All I do is work, sleep, work, sleep. I'm such a boring person, I hate when people ask me what I've been up to, because I'm at a loss for an interesting answer. There are things I want to do, that I've made steps to delve into deeper, but I always get nervous and things grind to a halt. Photography is one example. The other? I'm trying to write a book. I feel so stupid saying that, to be quite honest. Probably the reason I've only told a few people. Like, 2 I think. It's scary to say out loud because then people expect things out of you. What if I never finish? What if I finish and I think it's great but really it just sucks? I get so excited some days, then others it's all I can do not to delete what I've started. I keep wondering why all of this hobby stuff is so scary to me, then I realized, I've never really had one before. Sounds weird, but it's true! I was always so busy with jobs, school, church stuff, and when I wasn't at those places I was with friends. When I lived near friends, I didn't need or want a hobby. The reason it's becoming so urgent now that I be good at something is in part, I'm thinking, because I don't know that many people around here, and with only one job, I am home a lot. Watching NCIS re-runs I've seen 4 times already. Eating junk food. So many reasons why a hobby may be healthier, right?

One of the pictures I talked about earlier. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

It sort of feels good to get that all out there, I'm not gonna lie.

monkey monkey underpants

2009-10-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Because my brain is a wild jungle full of scary gibberish. 'I'm writing a letter. I can't write a letter. Why can't I write a letter? I'm wearing a green dress. I wish I was wearing my blue dress. My blue dress is at the cleaners. The Germans wore grey, you wore blue. Casablanca. Casablanca is such a good movie. Casablanca. the White House. Bush. Why don't I drive a hybrid car? I should really drive a hybrid car. I should really take my bicycle to work. Bicycle, unicycle, unitard, hockey puck, rattle snake, monkey monkey underpants.'

-Gilmore Girls

Yeah, that's how I feel lately. I want to write, be creative, DO stuff, but then my mind races, overheats, explodes. You know? You know. hmm, maybe I'll start off with some 'what has been happening' randomness.

-It's pretty windy right now, and the tall plant in my front yard has gotten so big that it's scraping against the window. Good thing I don't sleep here at night, I'd probably get freaked out. hopefully my honey will cut it down soon. (Let me clarify, I don't sleep here at night because I work at night. That's how rumors get started, you know? Believe me, I'm from Forks, so I know ALL about how rumors get started. ha. I still love small towns though.)

-It's pretty windy right now, which means work is probably gonna suck. It's nights like these that I'm kind of glad I work graveyard, and especially not swing shift. It just means it's that many less calls I have to take from people telling me their power is out. 911 is not the number for PUD, thanks though. You not being able to watch Grey's Anatomy does not constitute and emergency in my book, but thanks for tying up the lines. Hopefully that person waiting in the queue for me to get done with this ridiculous call isn't dead, because they were probably having what we around here like to call 'a REAL emergency.' Okay, I've put the soap box away, let's continue.

-Some people at work have decided to get together a 'Biggest Loser' contest, It starts tomorrow. I found about it yesterday which is perfect timing because yesterday was the first day I've been back to the gym in about 1,000 years. Everyone Puts $10 in the pot and whoever loses the biggest percentage of body weight by February 14 wins. I don't care about the money really, but I'm thinking being in competition with people (even though it's a totally friendly competition) might help me stick to this longer than a week.*

-My dogs are being so good right now, they are both sleeping near me in the living room. I should go to sleep while they're not being crazy and running around the house. Oh, wait, just kidding. Lucy is now deciding whether or not to bark at the bush in the front yard. Oh, Lucy, thank you for protecting me from the bush in the front yard. You're the best guard dog ever. Ever. Or not really.

-The blond girl on the pink team on this season's Biggest Loser look like Leann Rimes. But prettier because she probably didn't cheat on her husband and wreck another woman's home. How did that soapbox get back out here?

-I went to the store yesterday and bought some pink tulips, they are so pretty!! I thought is was a perfect opportunity to use my film camera. Well, Greg's camera, but what's his is mine and what's mine is ours, right? It's a Konica, and it used to be his dad's, but he gave it to Greg when he moved into the digital age. I think he bought it in Vietnam when he was in the service. When Greg's parents moved from Texas to Florida they seriously downsized and some of the things they sent Greg were some other really old cameras. One is and Agfa Shur-Shot and the other is a Brownie Special Six-20. I'm going to order some film for the Agfa, I'm really excited about it because it takes medium format (120) film, which I've never used. I think the Brownie might take a film that is no longer made, so I'd have to re-spool the 120 onto 620 spools. I'll see if I'm any good at this whole photography thing before I get that involved. :) Here's a picture I took of the Konica yesterday. See my cute pink Romeos in the reflection? LOVE IT. I can't wait to get the pictures off of that developed. I think a lot of the roll is the tulips, but also some of the doggies and a few miscellaneous pictures.

Anyway, here's some of the pictures I took with my digital camera. I feel like I'm starting to learn how to set-up and/or frame pictures better, which is exciting. Especially if I'm going to start using film more often, because it can get expensive!

These pictures were taken from outside, through the kitchen window. I think they're my favorite, especially the last one. I just love them.

Look at these little heart shaped leaves from my front yard, so cute!!

I really need to get some rest so I'm alive for my (hopefully not) crazy night at work tonight.

*Disclaimer: I'm not as amazing as that may sound, considering I didn't go to the gym today. But I have good reasons. I forgot socks and I wore flip flops to work today, (I have to hold onto flip-flop season for as long as possible.) who wants blisters? On the second day back to the gym? I do not need that kind of distraction. Also, when I went yesterday I went right after work and then couldn't fall asleep until after noon. It totally screwed up my sleep schedule. Others have excuses, I have my reasons why. (that's actually a line from my most favorite Nickel Creek song, Reasons Why.)(Actually probably one of my top ten favorite songs ever. Ever.)(I would also have to say that song is the story of my life.)

hurt is inevitable, bitterness is optional.

2009-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

that was the first point of the pastor's sermon in church today. I'd be lying if I said that isn't something I need to remember. :)

Vacation is exhausting! All I've wanted to do since we got home is sit around, which is why I haven't posted anything. Well, that and the fact that I was a little sick over the fact that I dumped my camera in the river on our fishing trip and I thought it was a goner. Knowing my camera was kaput made me not want to do anything crafty for fear that it would remind me, once again, my poor little camera was soggy. weird? yeah. But good news- I turned it on the other day and it works just like new!! No water spots or anything. I'm so happy, I've had that camera less than a year (a Christmas present from my honey) and was just starting to play around with it. Thanks goes to my mom, she suggested putting it in a bag of rice. Apparently the rice draws out the moisture. That will definitely be my go-to remedy for swimming electronics.

I have about 15 minutes before I go to work so I thought I would post a few pictures from out fishing trip. Luckily (well, relatively) the camera dropped in the water near the end, so I got almost 300 pictures on the river. My favorites were the Macro shots I did, so they're the ones I edited first. Later I want to go through all of the people ones. I'm not great at shooting people, it's something I need to work on. I think it's because I'm not super confidant, I hate it when people know I'm taking their picture. again, weird? anyhoo-

I can't tell which of these net pictures I like better...

My honey's borrowed boots-

And my honey, the fisherman. I think he's found yet another hick-town hobby to love. My city boy is getting pretty countryfied.

And lastly, some roses from my mom's garden. (she's an amazing gardener!) Yet another set of photos where I can't decide which one I like better. I love both filters on this one!

Friday Fill-Ins

2009-09-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Friday Fill-Ins, Again...

I'm still on vacay, so this is the most effort I can put out today! I'm still a little tired from my fishing trip yesterday. (woo-hoo, so fun!) I hope to have pictures of that up soon.

1. My car is a Brown 2007 Kia Sportage.
2. Monk, the final season is coming up next. I won't be watching, I'm only here for NCIS. Surprised?
3. Lately, things seem more hopeful and terrifying at the same time.
4. Sleeping is one of my favorite 'hiding' places.
5. What happened to treat others as you want to be treated? Common decency?
6. Happiness is not impossible!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed, tomorrow my plans include lunch with Brandi at the In Place and Sunday, I want to go to church with the fam and take it easy!

Another check mark on my list!

2009-09-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I finished Alex's birthday present. (so, so late. I'm terrible) They're finger puppets, and I think they turned out pretty cute. I used a pattern from 'Baby Stuff' by Aranzi Aronzo. I love this book! My favorite is all of the handwriting and hand drawn pictures.

Tomorrow we're off to Forks to spend a week at my parents, I can't wait!

fbito: lace and layers

2009-09-13T21:20:00.001-07:00

fbito: finding beauty in the ordinary...
my photo series featured here on the blog and my flickr.

I totally won't blame you if the last picture is your favorite....

2009-09-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

-it's certainly my favorite.

I feel like I'm getting the crafty groove back! Well, kind of. I probably could have gotten more done today, but church ran long (sooo worth it though.) and then I got sucked into both a Lord of the Rings marathon and then an NCIS marathon. I've watched the whole trilogy of LotR multiple times and have seen every episode of NCIS, and yet they still suck me in every time. :)

anyhoo, back to the crafty. I have a few late birthday presents to get done before I head to Forks next week. (yay for vacation!!) The first completed gift is for little Edie-girl, so Brandi, if you are reading this between snuggling with your latest most adorable baby in the world, and it's before I get to Forks, you're gonna need to stop here. Thanks.

For Christmas I got Eden a baby doll, so for her birthday I thought I would make her something to go along with it. I just sewed together a simple little baby blanket and pillow. I LOVE the way they turned out. I didn't do any piecing or binding on the blanket, just sewed two fabrics right side together and then turned them inside out.

Then I just stitched around the edges with my favorite stitch, the leaf stitch. I will admit, it was about 50% of the reason I picked the sewing machine I did.

I then free-motion quilted around some of the flowers. My first foray into free motion quilting and it was so scary! I was afraid of ruining the blanket, but I think it turned out pretty good.

The only piecing I did was on the back of the pillow, not complicated at all. I also added lace to the edge. Ahh! It turned out so cute with the lace! I hope Eden likes it.

I now have one day to finish 2 more (late) birthday presents and a little something for new baby Lincoln. I hope I can get them done!

Here's a picture of tonight's sky. Something about the clouds caught my eye. The picture doesn't do them justice at all.

As I finish this I'm still watching the NCIS marathon. Here's one of the main reasons why I'm addicted...

image from here...

Oh, who am I kidding? He is the main reason I watch.

Such a stone cold silver fox. Yum.

ps...

2009-09-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

As a part of 'finding beauty in the ordinary' campaign I took pictures of my cheese and crackers snack. Displayed on a paper plate. Yeah, that's how I roll: OR-DIN-ARY. We'll see how they turn out in the light of day tomorrow. (must. have. sleep... running on 6 hours for the past 2 days, yikes!) If they turn out any good you may see them here soon.

I hear the gasp of the masses holding their breath in anticipation.

Also- Goal for thrifting on Monday? and old camera. I want to start shooting film again, and possibly start a camera collection. Anyone who has a camera collection is cool in my book. (my husband has a mini collection=mega cool.)

Friday Fill-Ins and a Do-Over

2009-09-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

I decided that I wanted a do-over for my blog. We don't get many do-overs in life so I figured I would take advantage of the fact that I had that kind of control in this situation. The posts before were just... blah? So they're gone. I had some other reasons as well, but mostly I thought, if I'm going to do this I want it to be something I'm proud of, something I want to get to everyday and write on, something I will want to show off. Mostly I want it to be memorable, if not to anyone else then for myself. I think that's why it was so easy to trash the earlier posts- they weren't memorable. So, here's the beginning of my do-over. I wish those were more readily available in other aspects of my life!

::Friday Fill-Ins::

1. I'm experiencing a lot of new things lately. That's a scary place to be.
2. My husband's asleep with the dogs; I'm over here!
3. The possibilities include: failing or succeeding. The question is, which one is scarier?
4. Macaroni and Cheese is one of my favorite cool day recipes. Who am I kidding? It's my favorite everyday recipe....
5. How will you know if you don't at least try? That's been my motto for the week.
6. My favorite place to be is the Hoh Rain Forest under big raindrops and a stormy sky.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping when it's actually dark, tomorrow my plans include finishing up some crafty projects and Sunday, I want to go to church and then maybe do some more crafting! Oh, and then on monday I get to go thrifting in Seattle with a friend from work and Tuesday it's off to Forks for a week, woo-hoo!!

finding beauty in the ordinary...

2009-09-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Still life at the living room window

Spiders sort of give me the heebie-jeebies, but I am in love with how these pictures turned out. My new goal is to find beauty in my ordinary life. I've subscribed to a lot of photography blogs lately and love when people are able to make the most simple and mundane things beautiful. I love pictures that give me an emotional reaction; pictures that I form a connection with. I was always so jealous because I thought, 'oh, I don't have a beautiful house/amazing craft room/sweet vintage finds/(insert item here) to photograph.' Then I realized, it wasn't the subjects themselves that were so beautiful, it was more that the photographer saw beauty in that mundane object which they communicated through their photograph. It finally dawned on me, I could do that too if I would only step out of the box and start looking at everything differently, with a photographer's eye. So that's what I'm trying. I'm going to be creative, have an artist's eye, see everything for it's potential. I have a boring house/craft room/etc... , a point and shoot digital and free photo editing software, but I am going to find beauty in the ordinary.