happy new year

VIA SANRIO

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.

 

i want a bunny. or two.

Via Cute Overload

some pretties...

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.

i miss small town life...

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?)

old school.

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

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!

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

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.

the eight irresistible principles of fun

this video is totally cute and inspiring!



via make and meaning

some happy things.

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.

40 questions

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.

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.