Hope is an Anchor

.

2012-02-14T00:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks Brade :)

2012-02-14T00:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day.

2012-02-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

I want a kick-drum, not a snare. A man that arrests your soul, not strikes your nerves.

These are the things I think about on long runs. Especially when TH&TH is playing in my ears and a battle's playing in my mind.

I want a kick-drum in the silence.

Yes, Kristin, I went running and you know what running does to my heart. ;)

2012-02-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

2012-02-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Valentines Day - I tell you this, because I know none of you realized it. Let the Tumblr-love-a-thon begin. I'm undecided how deep I'll get. So, sorry, no promises. I might drown you all in lovey-dovey, dark chocolate, a glass too many of red wine type photos. But, probably not. I've got a fun project to work on at work tomorrow.

And all I know is I've got a great date tomorrow night. ;)

2012-02-13T17:13:00.001-08:00

I saw a picture on Pinterest today of a woman with an incredible body in a bikini and the Helvetica words scrolled across the sand, "Still want that cookie?" And I thought to myself. "Yes. I wanted all three of them, and I enjoyed every bite." : )

I actually have been taming my sweet tooth that seems to arrive every year at the holidays. By Spring it naturally gets replaced with a craving for fruits and salads and salmons (and okay, burgers!)... but by then, there's a bit of damage done and it's not quite rectified in swimsuit time.

But to be fair, I'll always be the girl who says "Eat the cookie. Take a lap." Because life is too short to not eat cookies. Ya know?

2012-02-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

You know those nights where your mind wants to run a freaking marathon? It's going at 500 miles an hour and you don't understand how it's missed the whole 4am memo? Gotta love those, especially on Sunday nights. Here's to triple tall americanos, and the drip chasers one and two.

I think I slept about an hour last night.

A little trick I learned in MCs to stay awake: just keep drinking.
I've finished two full water bottles and those three cups of coffee and it's not even lunch yet.
: /

2012-02-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

'Yes,' he said in a voice indescribable, 'you are right. I am afraid of him. Therefore I swear by God that I will seek out this man whom I fear until I find him, and strike him on the mouth. If heaven were his throne and the earth his footstool, I swear that I would pull him down.'

'How?' asked the staring Professor. 'Why?'

'Because I am afraid of him,' said Syme; 'and man should not leave in the universe anything of which he is afraid.'

DeWorms blinked at him with a sort of blind wonder. He made an effort to speak, but Syme went on in a low voice, but with an undercurrent of inhuman exaltation: 'Who would condescend to strike down the mere things he does not fear? Who would debase himself to be merely brave, like any common prize-fighter? Who would stoop to be fearless - like a tree? Fight the thing that you fear...'

...

'Young man,' said the Professor pleasantly, 'I am amused to observe that you think I am a coward. As to that I will say only one word, and that shall be entirely in the manner of your own philosophical rhetoric. You think that it is impossible to pull down the President. I know that it is impossible, and I am going to try it,' and opening the tavern door, which let in a blast of bitter air, they went out together into the dark streets by the docks.

-G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday

2012-02-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

4/25

2012-02-11T12:38:00.001-08:00

2012-02-11T11:52:00.001-08:00

2012-02-11T11:48:00.001-08:00

2012-02-11T11:16:00.001-08:00

One of my 25 goals for this year is to visit the Olympic National Forest. Do you realize we really do live in one of the most beautiful places in the world? And we take weeks off to go travel other places, but how often do we give a day just to enjoy our own state? Hike a mountain and take in a spectacular view, drive for a few hours to sit in a forest amidst trees that are older than our great grandparents, older than our cars, our houses, our streets, phones, laptops, cell phones? Older than ANY cell phone. Older than the world that consumes our days. How often do we give one day to float down a river, sit beside a lake, or maybe just fish? I know I don't spend nearly enough time enjoying the beauty of this state. And I want to, in all its different facets of beauty - one of the greatest being the Olympic Forest.

2012-02-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

2012-02-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

He has them all copyrighted so I can't even grab them to show you... but this guy's flickr stream is pretty cool. Look at this one, and then look at the rest of them! (Braden, you especially.)

2012-02-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

"Here's the rub.." - just overheard one of the contractor's say that in a meeting with a couple of our team. :) I think Cheree is wondering why I suddenly snickered. Ah, there's the rub. (teehee. Shakespeare nerds among us, snicker.)

2012-02-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

One of my guy friends asked yesterday, "How do you fall in love with a character in a book?" I said, "Sometimes it's hard not to. It's dangerous!" And is it ever. Meg has said more than once in the past few months, "The problem is, we fall for characters." (note the double meaning.) It's hard not to fall for Peeta though, it really is.

Do guys really not fall for girls in books? I know they do for girls in movies - so maybe it has something to do with the difference of girls being more emotional and guys being more visual? We don't need to see his face, we can imagine it - we just need to know who he is - know he's loving and strong and kind and gentle - know he'd lay down his life for the one he loves, or fight. And that's more than enough for us. In fact, we'd almost rather not see his face then, we're too afraid it won't be as we pictured it... the experience of reading a book and meeting the characters becomes deeply personal and when it's suddenly turned into a film you have to expand your experience to allow others in - others who are coming in to "interpret" and negotiate the experience for you now. And I don't always like that. :/

2012-02-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

So the girls in my office informed me I have a two-year commitment to the office. Why? Because they have decided they want to take part in Product Runway next year. And they aren't too happy that their previous model left (ahem, Emily). I have not signed any agreement forms. And I informed them I have poor posture... Their response? "You don't need good posture, you just need to sell it." Apparently everyone involved has to be part of the firm - though I'm having a really hard time believing that all of these runway models are actually part of architecture firms. :/ Still, the competition does sound pretty cool - all of these dresses were created by architecture/ design firms that have been paired with a company that creates some kind of architectural product.... tiles, furniture, etc... which is what the dress is then created from.

Despite all of my "no's", one of the girls ended the conversation in the most optomistic tone, "So, you in?!" Ha. I told her seeing as I have two years to gain enough confidence, get in shape, and decide that I love them enough to actually humiliate myself on a runway.... there is hope. A very small hope."

2012-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

Truly giddy. It could be that I'm about to finish my book (such a good feeling!). Could be that I had a nice little walk on my lunch, that included a couple quick stops for girly little treats (new brushes and some Lush treats). Could be that I finally got a look at the part of the job that I took the job for. Could be that I work with really nice people. Could be that it's Friday. Could be that nothing has gone how I've wanted - and today, I am completely okay with that. Could be that the air is still cold enough to make my hands hurt just a little, and I love that feeling. It makes me remember that life is not comfortable and great things at great cost really ought to be done. That trips should be taken, words should be said, pain should be felt, and love should be given. Yes, somehow the cold that bites my fingertips reminds me of these things.

And I'm giddy, sipping a cup of afternoon coffee, complete with my favorite creamer.

2012-02-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

LBL, I got. The new boss, I'm having a tougher time figuring out. He's funny. But in a totally different way than I usually get.

Today, as we walked into the parking garage he usually stows his car at he pointed to a box of donuts just sitting on a random space, "Want a donut?" Me: [laugh] "Sick." Him: [looks at me.] "They have them every Friday." Me: "Oh. I thought you were kidding." : / "Well, I actually did want a donut this morning - I bought one." Him: "I saw that." [awkward long pause] "I can spot a donut from a mile away." Unlocks the car.

A few days ago I added my thoughts on some office decorating. He just looked at me and said, "Katrina, Ryan and I were having a private conversation." They were standing at my desk.... in our big open shared-space office. I'm still not sure he was entirely kidding... but after a moment, he smiled and said, "I'm kidding." But then to add to the wonderfulness of interacting with this man he genuinely couldn't understand what I was saying, and suggested, "We'll need you to draw it." To which I replied, "I am not letting all of you see my sketching." Ryan just added, "Oh yeah, just go ahead and hop on AutoCat" - the program they all use which of course I have no clue how to even....open.

This is going to be fun... I'm going to have to think of an abbreviation for the new boss. Though, I feel a bit more hesitant about writing about him - he seems more, real-life and has definitely shown himself already to be a great (normal) boss.

2012-02-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Drip coffee with the tiniest bit of cream, and an old fashioned donut, Good Morning, Friday!!

Also today, I get to finally start doing the part of my job that I've been excited about!! In an hour or so I get to go to a pre-submission meeting for a job we are going to bid for. I know, sounds thrilling, right? But after three weeks of accounting and invoicing, and then archiving and more accounting - I'm silly happpy to be getting to use words in full sentences again! Yesterday I helped reformat a Specs doc for some Construction Documents and I was more than happy to be back in my safe homeland, Microsoft Word. Excel and me, we've kind of been on a common friends type basis - he's part of the family of one of my best buds, so we've sat at the dinner table together a few times and maybe even discussed a film or two, but we don't really spend a lot of quality time one on one. He's helped me with some to-do lists, and we've even got in a fight once. But these past three weeks we've spent a LOT of time together, and while I'm finally beginning to learn he's really smart and is way more complicated and deep than most people see, I don't really see this thing between us turning into anything like love. Maybe respect, and a healthy working relationship where we both get each other and try to help one another maximize our potentials. But it's Word that I'll always feel comfortable with and at the end of the day want to cuddle up on the couch beside. We get each other. We make each other laugh and smile and when we run into issues, we always figure out how to resolve them.

So yes, today, is going to have more Word in it, and some new (and old, old) friends, like Photoshop. And that is a good day. I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the marketing aspects of my job.

2012-02-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

My address book is about to get a full on make-over. It seems most everyone in my life is either getting married (new address and new last name) or moving! Seriously. Pretty much everyone. And then there are all the "maybe" movers too! I'm holding myself in the posture of 'excited' and fighting the panic, because when I stop to reflect on each of them individually, I am so excited to see the people I love stepping in to the callings on their lives. They're coming alive. I think this is why so many of us have had this steady flow in to our minds and hearts that we need courage.... that we need to take risks. It was so that we'd make these moves, we'd say yes, take chances and fight for the dreams that have been dormant in our hearts. We're a generation of travelers - of movers - of reconcilers - of bridge-builders. I can count off people who are deeply grafted in my heart and life all across the country - and some in other countries. And I'm not unique in that... I think it's part of what our generation is to be about. We can build deep and still build far. And we can stay connected and grounded and still spread out.

That said, when I take a step back and survey this mass movement, I smile. You know, there's a rumor going 'round. ;)

“This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there’s a rumor going around the shop that some of us are someday going to come to life.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

2012-02-09T20:31:00.001-08:00

2012-02-09T20:30:00.001-08:00

2012-02-09T20:28:00.001-08:00

2012-02-09T15:14:00.001-08:00

It's February - just let me. ;)

[from here.]

2012-02-09T15:13:00.001-08:00

[from here.]

2012-02-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely, never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
Cause I love you, just the way you look tonight.

Writer: JEROME KERN, DOROTHY FIELDS

2012-02-08T21:10:00.001-08:00

2012-02-08T21:08:00.001-08:00

2012-02-08T21:00:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we are closer to our goals than we realize.

Love it when that happens.

2012-02-08T20:59:00.001-08:00

2012-02-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

Because some men can.

And probably should.

2012-02-08T16:50:00.001-08:00

Because, though we may have forgotten for a week, it is still winter in Seattle. And it will be for quite some time, friends. Sorry. We've just got to choose to re-engage ourselves.

Photo credit for once.

2012-02-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Mom, don't look.

2012-02-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

We are over 1/12th of the way into 2012. Did you realize that? Yes. Well, we are. I haven't flossed enough times for it to be February already. Nor have I practiced my violin enough. Or written enough short stories. So, that's how I'm doing on my goals, the written and unwritten. How about you?

That being said, I'm thinking today about how well I let things go. Or rather, how unwell I do. I like to take risks, I like to love and forgive and be daring. I'm pushing myself to be a brave person in action, not just in thought. I'm okay with being uncomfortable - or I make myself be. But, I'm not so good with the fallout of those things yet. I still hate making mistakes. I still don't forgive myself very well. I still don't know how you just don't let those things be you... but keep moving forward uninhibited. It feels like that's more the battle and requires more courage than any of the original choices or decisions ever did. Letting yourself make mistakes seems to be more about after you realize you've made a mistake - it's not nearly as hard before, because you're still thinking it's not a mistake when you're making it. Right?

I love the picture going around that says "Breathe out yesterday, breathe in today." Being the silly girl I am sometimes, I was physically making myself do this the other day. I started thinking, "It's really hard to exhale, before you inhale." (seriously, just breathe out right now.) So, I've begun telling myself "Breathe in courage." I think after that, it's a lot easier to exhale. Let out the past. Get over your mistakes. Evaluate and move forward.

That's where I'm at. 1/12 of the way through the year. I'm right on track for some goals, I'm behind in a few others, and some I haven't even begun. But my biggest goal for this year is to become freer, and to move forward, to live bravely - so I'm not letting the little things (or the big ones) stop me. And while I seem to be more aware than ever that I can't just make myself feel or be certain ways... I can keep moving, and keep breathing in courage from a source beyond myself. And maybe if I breathe in enough, I'll stop breathing out fear and frustration and start breathing out pure bravery. And I can't help but wonder what that would do - breathing bravery on this world?

2012-02-08T11:05:00.001-08:00

Why must today be so...............slow?

2012-02-08T10:13:00.001-08:00

2012-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The Easton Corbin concert last night was a blast.

I left a bigger fan then I came. My highlight of the show was definitely when he sang "Run." He's adorable, and he sounds just like George. Of course I was thrilled. I also got to enjoy the show with 5 wonderful friends.

We asked him if he'd do a human pyramid with us for our photo. Well, I asked him, because we figured it gave us better odds than if Erik or Allan did it. As you can see, he was a bit confused and thrown off guard by it... : / So were Meg & T.

It's a nice picture and all... but he missed the opportunity to be part of this.

Awesome is a shape.

So many fun moments to the night, I woke up laughing (inside).

So.... what I'm trying to say is, thank you guys for helping us all get there.

Signed, "Katrina Hope" ;)

2012-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

Tonight - it's Easton Corbin.

Next weekend, Steady Skies release party.

Two days later, Julia Fisher.

March 31, The Lumineers.

April 25th, Coldplay.

That's about as diverse a concert series as you can get. Especially when you consider the last concerts I went to were Death Cab & TH&TH, The Civil Wars and Future for Forestry. Oh yes, and somewhere before that, U2. :)

2012-02-06T22:12:00.001-08:00

Undecided.

2012-02-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Ten minutes in to a discussion in our weekly office meeting, I realized I hadn't exactly been listening. I had been writing a poem in my head, that took the ideal concept of a heart floating "up up and away" - turned it into a ship (like Captain Hook's) sailing through the sky - and then turned it into my felled heart. Yep, chopped down piece of wood. That's what my head was doing while the group was discussing complex architectural plans that require 5 different sets of grids in order to maximize a complicated space (for the record of those who care - when I returned to the conversation, I recognized the description as the building that houses 50 North in the U District). Yep. Happy Monday. :)

2012-02-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

Just realized I have 5 weddings before mid-August.

Dang.

'tis the season to wed.

2012-02-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

The older I get, the more I find my jewelry style becoming like my mom's - and the more I find myself sneaking into her jewelry box to look, and perhaps to borrow. ;) I am not much of a jewelry girl. Never have been. I like earrings, and some necklaces. I rarely ever wear rings. But this past summer I realized I want special jewelry to pass to my girls one day - rings not just from my 30's and 40's and on, but something special from my 20's, maybe something I bought myself because it was beautiful and bold.

Of course, my dad has now given me a special ring for my teen's and one for my 20's. :)

2012-02-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

Favorite Old photo. We took this at Jeff & Elise's first apartment, a month or so after they were married. Love these two men deeply, so grateful for them, and so incredibly grateful for their other halves they've found since. ;)

2012-02-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Craving violin strings on my finger tips. That sharp straight pain that just melts into music. Usually in the quiet of the morning I think of it most.... it's also when I definitely can't pull it out unless just to hold it, slide my fingers from position to position in my unsteady and unsure way.

Someday, at 7am, I will pull it out and play away.... though that day is probably a VERY long way away. ;)

Is that a viola? Might be.

2012-02-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

3/25

2012-02-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

Days like today are trouble. They get us all thinking spring is right around the corner, pulling out our shorts, craving ice cream (I'll be getting Molly Moons within the next hour). But don't forget, we just had a snow storm two weeks ago people. It is February and we live in Seattle. Yet every year it seems we get fooled - we get a few pretty days and our hearts start to pitter patter for the summer - and then we have an eternity of chills and rain.... I keep reminding myself "It's not real. It's not real." But even now I can hear the sax player down on the street blowing his crazy tunes and the breeze I swear sounds just like a "summer breeze". The sky scrapers are all reflecting a perfect bright blue. I swear it should be spring today and summer by tomorrow. Oh geez.

No matter, I'm getting ice cream.

2012-02-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you learn lessons the easy way, sometimes the hard. And sometimes you learn them by droppnig the whole huge water jug on your finger. : / I'll be keeping my fingers clear next time I help refill the water. Ouch.

2012-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

"....Don’t date a girl who reads because girls who read are the storytellers. You with the Joyce, you with the Nabokov, you with the Woolf. You there in the library, on the platform of the metro, you in the corner of the café, you in the window of your room. You, who make my life so god damned difficult. The girl who reads has spun out the account of her life and it is bursting with meaning. She insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold. You, the girl who reads, make me want to be everything that I am not. But I am weak and I will fail you, because you have dreamed, properly, of someone who is better than I am. You will not accept the life that I told of at the beginning of this piece. You will accept nothing less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being storied. So out with you, girl who reads. Take the next southbound train and take your Hemingway with you. I hate you. I really, really, really hate you."

-Charles Warnke, "Don't Date a Girl Who Reads"

*there's swearing. I apologize. You can tell by it's style and the way you hear it all out loud in your head, tripping over itself, it's a bit of Slam... and the Slam poetry usually includes some language. It also tends to be brilliant, full of incredible language that toys with words and images and leaves you laughing, and then speeachless. (And I find a lot of Slam Poetry uses the word 'ellipsis' - I think they like the sounds of the word. And the ideal of being one. )

2012-02-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Lately, when I get out of bed at 6, I make coffee and eat a little breakfast. Then I get in to work and by about 10:30, I eat another breakfast (because by then I'm starving). At 12:30 it's lunch. Then I snack the rest of the work day.... until I get home and immediately eat dinner or another snack to hold me over until dinner. WHY AM I HUNGRY ALL THE TIME???

2012-02-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

New Hunger Games Trailer

2012-02-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

*mostly because Meg's not on Facebook right now and I needed her to see this and laugh with me. :)

2012-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Has anyone been to Melrose Market? Because I'm sitting here wondering why I haven't. Look at this gallery of all thier shops. The place looks great!

2012-02-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Obssessing much? Yes, yes I am.

Just spent a little time on the official Hunger Games Movie website.

The world will be watching. Will you? Read them. Now.

On second thought, perhaps take a nap first, because you may not be sleeping for a while.

2012-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

So I decided to go "double or nothing" thinking it would be waaay better to be able to bring four friends to the show with us next week. I wasn't really thinking the stations would take me up on it. They did. That was 200 friends to "like" the post on kmps's Facebook page. We still need 58 more. I'm actually already going, but the principal of the matter is still killing us. Especially knowing I could have at least one the two and Erik and I could each bring another friend. I just HATE decisions and it lead me to a pretty foolish action. Not only do I hate losing, but I've also discovered I get really embarrassed by all my friends posting to ALL of THEIR friends a photo of me, and a please to "PLEASE HELP KATI GO TO THIS CONCERT SHE SO DESPERATELY WANTS TO SEE" - awww, yes. Apparently he is my musical crush, I'm in love, I'm desperate. Awesome. I wanted to go to the show. And I am going to the show (thank you, Erik!). But I also decided since I had the opportunity to win tickets for friends, I should. Now, I'm just wanting to hide from Facebook (and ALL of my Facebook friends) for the next few months.

Oh how the Lord has funny ways of humbling us. :/ Oh well, either way, I'm going to the show. AND friends, I tried bringing some of you along... guess we'll see. I half think KMPS will just give us the tickets - at least two. We'll see. Either way, I just made my last post about it and I'm just going to wait and see.

2012-02-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning, was brushing my teeth and suddenly realized I was humming The Galway Girl. : /

Interesting.

On that note, I'm already excited for St. Patricks Day! A little over a month away. As soon as Valentines Day passes, I'm breaking out The Pogues playlist on my itunes. : ) (Deal with it, Unger.) A friend just gave me some good information on some great beer bread recipes. I just learned a few great bourbon spirit-forward recipes. ; ) And let the search for a more tasty traditional Irish meal begin... hopefully this time it doesn't require me up to my elbows in 7 pounds of raw lamb for a meal most people agreed was bland. It had more aroma than taste. :(

Please feel free to pass along dinner, bread, hors d'oeuvres, and drink recipes. :)

.

2012-02-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

"Don’t feel inferior to the beatniks if you still like driving your car…don’t ever let hipsters give you guilt trips."
-The writer of The Art of Manliness on Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. Made me giggle.

2012-02-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

I am calling it at 51 days.
I have already requested the next day off... for Rose & Jeff's wedding of course.
And also because I plan to be out until the early morning the night before.
That is right - The Hunger Games are nearly here. If you haven't read them yet, you'll want to. I can't wait to be sipping ridiculous amounts of coffee in line with Morgan, Esther and so many others.

I've been looking forward to it for months, but I had no idea the dangers that were in store for us all. After reading this article on Busy Bee Lauren (thank you Kimmers for sending it my way), I'm realizing we are going to need these 51 days to create a strategy. Obstacles we are going to need to overcome:

1. Select the ideal theatre - we need to consider screen size and competitors (mass size). We are going to want a good theatre, but also one where we have a good chance of getting GREAT seats and hopefully one that has less of the teen audience. We also need to consider getting home after I suppose. My vote so far though is downtown. I know at least Esther and I could get there super early to begin saving seats, and parents are far less likely to be dropping off their children at the front door of the downtown theatre than all the Bellevue/ Woodinville/ Redmond/ Alderwood theatres we'd usually pick first.

2. We need to actually BUY tickets to the midnight showing. Anyone know when these go on sale?

3. Prepare our silver parachutes (I like what I read on Busy Bee Lauren's page... I will in fact be preparing something clever and delicious to hide in all our purses or simply entertain us for the copious hours in line.)

4. Read the book. I'll make it clear: if you haven't read the book, you're not invited. You can see it with whoever or whenever, but we've made a pact. We are only seeing it with people who have read it. But don't worry, you still have time. 51 days to be exact.

P.S. Please don't screw this up, Hollywood. : /

2012-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you I've mentioned it to, and for those of you I haven't, check out the incredible decorating and baking my big sister Kimberly did for her friend's baby shower last weekend! She blows me away with her creativity - and with what she can do with sugar and flour. ;)

So grateful for FaceTime, so I could get a nice little tutorial of it all the night before.

2012-01-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

I spent all day yesterday (and most of the weekend) looking forward to last night, when I got to enjoy so many wonderful things at once. Kaylee is my Strait-loving, whiskey-drinking, cupcake-baking, risotto-savoring friend. We've talked about enjoying all these things together for years - and now that her and her amazing family will be moving to North Dakota on a grand adventure... it was now, or not for a very long time. I spent the evening sipping Knob Creek (favorite) and Mischief (a local distiller in Fremont), chatting with two lovely women (and laughing at two very silly little ones) and enjoying a delicious dinner. It was fantastic and made me all the more sad to be soon saying goodbye to this incredible woman. But, I couldn't be more excited about what is next for them and seeing them follow the calling on their lives.

2012-01-31T09:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I keep posting about Marian Built (and that Michael Marian in return keeps posting about my posts - FYI, he is one of the nicest guys!), but he has a blog too and I especially love this post about one of my favorite pieces: The Mason Jar Chandelier! I kind of don't want to share this because I don't want any of you to steal it before I can snag it. These pieces are all custom made and if I am correct, there are typically only one or two of each. But having written my post before having the opportunity to read his blogs, I was pretty excited to discover what I read in his work is exactly what he was intending to say through it - or perhaps it is more that those pieces were saying the same thing to him as the owner and creator as they communicate to the customer. I love that integrity in the art itself - that it carries a single voice. And I fully agree as to the power and draw of vintage right now - we don't want commodities and the mass-produced. We want depth and solidness - we want to feel something that has survived. We want to know the owner of the our favorite restaurant, have our waitress remember our name, buy from the same butcher each week and shake the hand that crafted our table. We want to return to our community.

2012-01-31T08:41:00.000-08:00

So, KMPS decided to play again. They posted this a couple minutes ago, ‎"Katrina Hope still want to play? Your goal is 50 people! We're doing a post right now... you get 50 people to fan our page and comment/like THAT SPECIFIC post and you're in :)" This time I win two (more) tickets if I can get 50 people to like their page and like the specific post they are referring to.

Here is the post you need to like:

KMPS 94.1 FM

Hey Facebook Friends... want to help a fellow KMPS Listener out? Katrina Hope REALLY wants to attend the KMPS Vibe Room with Easton Corbin and Jon Pardi! Her goal is to get 100 people to vote for her!

Katrina Hope

So, if you're up for being part of the fun game, go for it! I'm not sure if they are counting those who already joined and "liked" Erik's comment yesterday. But I need 50 - by noon. ACTUALLY, they just changed to post to say 100. :/ 100 by noon.

Have I mentioned I - LOVE - GAMES? : )

Kimberly Dawn, if you wouldn't mind using this as an opportunity to publicly humiliate me while also technically helping me out, that would be greeaaaat. ;) The same goes for your Hubby.

2012-01-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

I shared this company with you back in December. But thanks to my sis, I just discovered their Facebook page today. Here it is for those of you who liked them and would like to keep an eye out for new pieces. Marian Built is a local company with incredible industrial modern (my description, not theirs) custom-made pieces.

You know me and my love for original, and vintage. Knowing that it is a unique piece is important to many of us, and getting to shake hands with the man who crafted it adds a lot of value when you're making it a part of your own home. I'm a firm believer in telling a story in your living space... and I like these as fixtures in any story.

P.S. I noticed some new end tables on their website today.

2012-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

"...Those who will fulfill on a rainy day a promise which they have made on a sunny one, are few and far between.

And so we go on casting our hearts to the four winds, giving it and taking it back again, breaking with our past, separating ourselves from ourselves, so to speak. And when we look behind, we no longer recognize ourselves. We see ourselves in the days that are past as a stranger, or rather as several strangers.

There is nothing like a steadfast man, one in whom you can have confidence, one who is found at his post, who arrives punctually, and who can be trusted when you rely on him....

A profound duplicity, a discrepancy between words and deeds, between appearance and reality, a sort of moral dilettantism which makes us according to the hour sincere or hypocritical, brave or cowardly, honest or unscrupulous–this is the disease which consumes us. What moral force can germinate and grow under these conditions? We must again become men who have only one principle, one word, one work, one love; in a word, men with a sense of duty. This is the source of power. And without this there is only the phantom of a man, the unstable sand, and hollow reed which bends beneath every breath. Be faithful; this is the changeless northern star which will guide you through the vicissitudes of life, through doubts and discouragements, and even mistakes."

-Charles Wagner, via Braden

Dang. (His whole post in amazing!)

2012-01-30T12:12:00.001-08:00

Smiling like an idiot... pretty sure it's obvious I'm not just staring at Excel spreadsheets right now.

Why, you ask? Because I'm going to see Easton Corbin in concert! Thank you guys!! That was actually a really fun way to win tickets - or to help Erik win tickets.... who officially just invited me to go with him. Woot! Woot!

2012-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a country fan - this is no surprise to any of you (I don't think). I've posted about George Strait enough times to convince you all. Well, there's another artist I really enjoy, largely because he sounds a lot like a young Strait and has the old-country class and sound that I love. Easton Corbin is in town and I found out (well, Erik found out and told me) that you can't buy tickets to the show - you can only win them through KMPS. So begins our challenge to win tickets - apparently we need 20 people to "like" our comments (this morning!) on the KMPS Facebook page to even qualify for the drawing.... go ahead, follow the link and be a pal. ;) I think you have to like the KMPS page before it will even allow you to like our comments.... : / You could always unlike tomorrow. ;)

STRIKE ALL THAT - I misunderstood. Erik cut a deal - if he gets 20 people to "like" his comment- KMPS will give him tickets. :) Not just put him in the drawing. So here's what you do. Go to their page - like it - and then click on the "Everyone" in the upper right so you can see his comment/ deal... and like it... or you can just post on their wall that you're voting for Erik. :)

Since Erik and I already cut a deal... I'm already invested in him winning... sooooo.... I too would greatly appreciate you voting for him. So

VOTE FOR ERIK.

2012-01-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

I cook so little. Yet, I'm finding I love it more and more - and this weekend I discovered I really, really enjoy reading through a good cook book. I've been checking in regularly with my favorite food blogger What Katie Ate, hoping beyond hope to see a post telling me her book is out. It hasn't happened yet. But, I do have another especially beautiful treat. For my recent birthday, my good friend, Braden bought me one of the coolest cookbooks I have ever seen. I spent over an hour (maybe two) sitting at the kitchen bench sipping coffee and eyeing through page after page of incredible recipes and mouth-watering photography. I kid you not - I FaceTimed my sister Kim to make her look through it with me! Then I brought it down to my mom a half dozen times to show her discoveries. She laughed at me when I exclaimed "Oh my gosh! There's a glossary!" And boy is there ever. How thoughtful. Truly, glossaries are written expressions of kindness and thoughtfulness from an author. That's how I see them. I think my love for them started back in Junior High when I discovered how useful of a study tool they are. But as an adult, with less tests, I'm no less grateful.

Here's a recent post from WKA, on a few of her favorite cookbooks:

Out of the 300 or so + cookbooks piling my shelves, there are about 20 I return to over and over when pondering what to cook for a dinner party or such. Obviously there are ones which stand out from the crowd for me: 'Cooking for Friends' by Gordon Ramsay springs first to mind, whilst the recipes are great and I've cooked often from this book, it's the unsurpassed Ditte Isager's photography that causes the stir in this book for me personally, she's one of my most admired photographers. Others are anything really from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall; Heston Blumenthal; Jamie Oliver; Stephanie Alexander; Ferran Adriá, Neil Perry and the author who brings me to the purpose of this post; Stéphane Reynaud.

I think I might enjoy pictures of food almost more than eating food. Perhaps because pictures can't make me sick. And a close second is probably the process of making the food. I love cooking... by myself or with close friends. I love sipping wine in an apron. I love the smell of sauteing garlic, bread in the oven, any and all of it! I love shuffling the pan over the heat. (See my very technical, experienced term there? I'm practically professional.) In fact, I love it all so much, I've already given myself a very bad reputation of making a simple meal take about 3 hours to prepare and cook. How I do it, I don't even know... but if I'm every going to have a life (or a family!) I guess I better figure out how to speed up the process. Maybe I'd even do it more often if I didn't feel like it took half of my day each time!

2012-01-30T06:42:00.001-08:00

2012-01-30T06:39:00.001-08:00

2012-01-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

So, I should be completely ashamed of this. But I'm kind of not. THIS is why my sweet Toni and I will be friends forEVER. We get each other. And when a late Friday night rolls around, we know how to entertain ourselves... Aw Toni - I love you dearly, and I love every single one of our memories. What an amazing friend you have been to me over the years. You are tender and strong in a way I've seen in so few people in my life. You're resilient in storms and heartaches. You've tasted more pain than most people our age - broken dreams and deep hurts, and you've walked away a beautiful person inside and out, kinder, sweeter, and even more caring. That is a remarkable feat. Come over soon and let me read my silly stories to you until you fall asleep.... or roll over on your good ear. ;) Love you! <3 Shane

2012-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

Alright folks - I still don't know who that coffee cup was from. Please tell me - I know whoever you are, you read my blog, because you knew to have that inscribed on it. I love it and constantly wonder who it was from... you are so thoughtful, and wonderfully mysterious, but please now tell me so I can give you a HUGE hug (hopefully - assuming you're in this state) and tell you personally how much your gift means.

Tonight, the words are hitting me all new again - thank you for keeping them constantly before me - God, let my love for you cast out my every fear!! Give me a love that tastes of courage.

2012-01-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

How many times have you heard: "There's no such thing as a stupid question"?

We've all heard it countless times from teachers and coaches and generally kind people. Well, as I've been training for my new job I've had a lot of time to think on this and ponder what questions to ask and which not to ask. Having just trained someone myself at my last job (rather, feeling I was constantly training someone for the month or two before I left) I am very aware of how distracting and frustrating it can be for the one responsible to train you. It makes me wary not to ask too many questions. You see, there are definitely stupid questions - and what defines them is not so much the questions themselves as the process that lead you to them. In short, was there a process? At all? Did you try to find the answer? Did you use the bit you already know to try to solve it yourself? What resources have you already been given? How about prior experience of how similar things work? If you haven't asked any of those questions to yourself before - then the one coming out of your mouth is a stupid question.

Sound harsh? Perhaps. You can say a prayer for my children now, because I will not be telling them that there is no such thing as a stupid question. There is nothing more embarrassing to me than asking a question, and then finding the answer myself a minute later. I feel I need to apologize to the people who's life I have just wasted a piece of. I will hopefully not ever tell my children "That is a stupid question" - but I will interrogate them as to the process that lead to that question and somehow hopefully train them to be problem-solvers and initiators - the kind of people who can find answers to problems rather than always expect that someone else will solve that problem for them and hand-deliver the answer. Asking questions is a strength - knowing how to ask the right questions is a bigger strength - and knowing which questions to voice and which to ask yourself is an even bigger strength.

That said, it is better to ask questions than to just do things wrong. But that doesn't change the fact that stupid questions do exist. And they waste people's lives.

Jon Pinkston taught me more about the power of asking questions than anyone I've known before or since. It was part of our SLT curriculum, but it was his personal skill in it that was most powerful. We were taught that it is far better to help another discover a solution or answer themself, by guiding them with accurate and intelligent questions than to just hand them the answer. And I witnessed and experienced that in my own life as every week he would ask each of us questions that sparked new revelations and convictions - that we earned and fought for and weren't just told. I own those beliefs in a much stronger way. I think I grew more through those two years of weekly one-hour meetings than I did through the year before in Masters Commission... and that's saying something. Questions, intelligent, well-thought-out and aptly spoken questions are truly powerful things that can open ourselves and others up to new thoughts, ideas, solutions, answers and convictions. They can change our perspectives - and that's a much harder thing to do than most of us realize.

So here's to us all growing more in our skills regarding asking questions... wherever we are at today.
And please, don't ask stupid questions.

2012-01-28T11:08:00.001-08:00

2012-01-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

"I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.
It is my belief - and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.
Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.""
-Albus Dumbledore

And that is why I will read these books to my kids. Courage and bravery. What is right versus what is easy. Being run by fear versus fighting with courage - at great cost. I've been avoiding commenting on here about the fact that I'm reading the Harry Potter series. I never read them as a kid and I know that many are concerned that they are written about magic. I don't want to get into a debate about them or encourage young kids to read them whose parents might rightfully wish they wouldn't.

But I'm so impressed by them that I feel it's sort of unfair not to admit on here the gold that is in these books. One of my goals for this blog is to point out beauty and give value, in places it may or may not be seen. And that is why I am going to comment.

Not only are they truly amazingly written in style, craft, plot, character development, suspense and story development... but I think they can install courage. (I know, I know... same old thing I'm always saying.) And I'm actually really grateful that my generation grew up on them. I used to be afraid that somehow my generation was more inclined to the occult because of being fed these stories.... and that is probably also true... but I truly believe our generation is going to need a backbone and I'm not sure we have one. We have been afforded every comfort by our parent's credit cards. As a whole, we don't know what it means to feel hungry - literally. We haven't had to fight for much. And we haven't really had to be brave.

Giving us a story that tells us we have a soul, and that dangers are real, and that bravery is needed - that unity is powerful, discord is easy, and character must be earned? That I am grateful for. Yes, I will read these stories to my kids, because like Lewis and MacDonald and Tolkien, Rowland recognizes that more can be infused in a person's character and mind and soul when they enter a world of magic, and fantasy often imparts more truth than any replication of the world as we see it today can manage. I can see why these are the stories she told her children at night. I hope to come up with such stories for mine - stories that encourage them that dark and difficult times may come, and if they do, what is right and good and kind is better than what is easy. That many will judge people from where they come from - but that doesn't have to determine who they become. I want my children to be brave. I want to be brave.

The focus is not on what spells and enchantments Potter pulls off - it is on the kind of man he becomes.

"You are blinded... by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what the man chose to make of his life! I will tell you now - take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

2/25

2012-01-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

Thank you to my sweet friend, Allie de Craen for sharing... :)

What a lovely song and video.

2012-01-27T12:19:00.001-08:00

Paul Newman.

Proof that some men really do just get better and better looking.

Dang.

Happy Birthday, Sir!

*More from Ash on the wonderfulness of Paul Newman.

2012-01-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

If I had a pinterst.... and I had even a clue what I actually did... I'd post this morning's adventure. :)

That's right big sisters... I did that. And I like it. :P

And yes Kimmers, that IS in fact your favorite sweatshirt. :P

"Do you own another sweatshirt?" "Did you get it at Value Village? Because I'm pretty sure it's from when I was in high school." :)

Paint-splattered and proud, Kimmers. Paint-splattered and proud. Teehe.

Love you. Mean it.

2012-01-27T06:49:00.000-08:00

I snapped this last Summer....

I wouldn't mind an opportunity to grab a shot like this one....ay Esther?

2012-01-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not allowed to get a cat until I get a man.

I support this rule - It started as my rule, but somewhere along the way a couple of my friends became stronger supporters of it than I am. I appreciate them upholding it. But boy do I love sweet little kittens. Oh well, I suppose I would't mind getting both at once. Except, that means sharing. And the youngest child in me doesn't find that part appealing.

2012-01-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

It is Friday morning! We have made it. Weeks have slowed down considerably all the sudden - so have days and hours. But I'm not necessarily complaining. Every time I look at my desktop computer's right bottom corner in utter astonishment that only 3 minutes have passed, I remind myself there are only so many minutes left in this year of 25 and it's really preferable that they crawl as slowly as they like. I don't want to offend them, lest they decide to rush in spite. It would be wonderful if we could convince those stubborn things to run and crawl as we so choose. But who has ever tamed a minute?

So excited for this weekend. Hoping it will be a good mix of rest and fun, starting today with lunch with my sis. :) But this week has come at quite the cost and I think my bedroom footed the bill - so chiming out for the morning in hopes of reclaiming a lost friend in the next 30 minutes.

Have a lovely Friday! Live in the minutes!!

2012-01-27T06:34:00.003-08:00

2012-01-27T06:34:00.001-08:00

2012-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

“The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

via Nothing in Haste

2012-01-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Picking this lady up tonight - and meeting her little son Samuel for the first time!! :)

2012-01-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

I don't have a daughter - but many of my close friends do and they sure make me believe in this quote and wait expectantly for my own. Little Miss Finleigh, Aurelia, Cadence, Ashlyn & Selah and the whole lot of sweet little girls around here add so much beauty and tenderness and fun to this world and I sure love getting to watch them grow.

It doesn't hurt that I'm a daughter myself of course. ;) What do you say, Dad? Agreed - most beautiful gifts? Teehehe. Love you, Mean it!

2012-01-24T15:14:00.000-08:00

Head. Ache.

And I'm not sure if it's from my terrible habit of creasing my brows... from this stupid head cold....from dust in this room... or from staring at tiny numbers on a computer screen for far too many hours. : /

All probable.

2012-01-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

My cousin Bridger posted this on Facebook this morning, (and it could just be that I'm still too uncaffeinated but,) I found it very funny. : )

Just read an article about Patrick Swayze's funeral that said Kanye West ran up to the front, took the microphone and said "Imma let you finish, but I just wanted to say Michael Jackson had one of the best funerals of all time!"

2012-01-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

Morning Tuesday.

Apparently today, getting dressed is just not a priority. Instead it's coffee, laundry, breakfast, back in the warm bed. This is nice. But I see my time to get ready has already sprung to a minimum and yet... I just keep sipping coffee.

My current first-world problem is this: when to go to the gym? If I go when I first get home, I'm starving and don't get nearly as good of a workout. If I eat dinner, wait a bit and go, I end up wired and not falling asleep until some unHoly hour. Last night it was somewhere in the middle (kind of a weak work out, plus apparently got my blood going enough to keep me awake for hours). And still too late.... I'm realizing as I sit in bed... still....sipping my coffee. Under 30 minutes until I really should leave.

Mmmm. Coffee.

2012-01-24T06:45:00.001-08:00

Exposed beams, crazy cool window, wood floors? Yes, I wouldn't mind that room. :)

2012-01-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

"knows" and "don't knows"
and "Who'd have known?"

Today, I listened to a 30 minute presentation on Sound Transmission Loss. All the systems and ratings used for measuring how to block sound in architectural design. Which products, which designs, which materials and varied thicknesses. It was wild. And while I caught about 1/2 of it, I loved every moment of it. I was praying, Lord help me to learn all I can. Because I want to know. I so enjoy this all. I worked at a technology company for four years, and while I loved the people there and learned a lot of great things, I wasn't passionate about middleware technology and platforms. I wasn't trying with all my might to gain knowledge - I was trying with all my might to understand since I knew I was responsible for communicating it in print to potential clients. And I knew it was important information and exciting. But here, I just feel blessed to be around something I find beautiful and innovative. I've been asked by a number of people, "Dream come true, ay?" And honestly - it's not. I'd never really even thought to combine writing and marketing with architecture. I'd thought of writing for an architectural magazine briefly, but assumed I'd need to be an architect first. And I knew that I could enjoy marketing if I could attach it to something I believed in, but I wasn't sure what it would be. And I knew I loved architecture, but I also knew I wasn't called to become an architect. This isn't my dream, but had I thought of it, it might have been. :) I don't know exactly where this new experience and the skills I'm learning will lead me, but I know it is exactly where I am supposed to be today. And I know it is leading me somewhere.

I don't even love work yet. I kind of dread it (a lot). But I think that's because I'm training and meeting new people. It's never wonderful to sit amongst a group of strangers and be the only one who doesn't know what you're doing - and have them all know it - no matter how nice they are. I've done it. Plenty. I've joined new companies - and before that, I joined new teams. I'm used to this feeling. I'm well practiced in finding I know no one around me and making new friends. I just don't like the feeling.

I know it's a necessary part of life, at least for the lucky because it forces us to grow. It cements pieces of who we are, and causes us to re-evaluate what we've become. It takes away boxes and paddings and ceilings and floors. It gives opportunity for confidence.

As well as other opportunities to learn about new things, like STL and Excel formulas and QuickBooks (dear Lord, help me). I love that my first thought tonight upon seeing this photo was in regards to how well that glass would block sound from that office. That is an entirely new thought. How often do we truly begin to see things in new ways?

2012-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

My boss sent me next door to a client today. He failed to prepare me for the "boutique" I'd be walking in to. After I returned and filled him in on the business end, I suggested "Don't send a single young girl into a bridal boutique without warning her." When the second head architect chimed in about the details of the shop and I began to ask him how he was so acquainted with the bridesmaid section and special displays in the store my boss leaned over and said in a hushed tone, "We don't talk about it." To which the other architect added, "What I do on my own time is my business." I'm beginning to really like these guys. :) An hour later we were in a meeting and when the supposed cross-dressing architect placed his daughter's girl scout cookie order form on the table and the rest of the team began to ask if she would be coming in, in her little uniform our boss added dryly, "I'd buy more if you come in, in the sash and cute little hat." At the end they requested time off for next week - apparently they were making plans to go door to door with the order form. You need to have at least one conversation with these men to realize just how great this interaction was.

Here's to new characters.

And as for old. I know you've all been missing the LLF shenanigans as much as I have, so I thought I'd share two treasures I received via text today:

"LBL told me to tell you we miss you and we hope you return quickly. He said it like you were just on vacation"

...a couple hours later another one rolled in...

"PS. CJL came in with a mustache and a remote control plane." (yes that is the board shorts/ tiger shorts guy.)

I'd say I miss this crazy, but I still have a moose in my living room. : ) By the way, he really loved the snow days!

2012-01-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

You can't keep a good dog down.

Since saying goodbye to my dog, I've been wanting to watch All Dogs Go to Heaven (yes, I own it). But I'm not really sure that's a healthy response - and I'm really not sure I want anyone to walk in on me watching that with a box of Kleenex and a bag of Dove dark chocolates. Me at twenty-five. It's a fearsome sight ain't it? ;)

Today, my bottom-line thought in response to everything seems to be, "Well, You can't keep a good dog down." Huh? Dear God, please don't let that slip out of my mouth at my new job! But, somehow, I get it. This girl has seen All Dogs Go to Heaven, Milo & Otis and Turner & Hooch more times than you could count with a bag of skittles. I guess all that had to be lodged someplace deep in my subconscious. Apparently Charlie and Itchy are my go-to guys of optimism, courage, stubbornness and a bit of kindness.

What am I talking about? I don't really know. I'm bored out of my mind at work.

I guess my only advice here is this: watch what you show your kids, it may become the basis of their value system. ;)

2012-01-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Braden says I'm not allowed to wear socks with my oxfords like the girl in the photo below. He sent me a text as an FYI. I hadn't even noticed her socks. And I laughed that he felt this was a threat. But now I'm looking at the photo again, and I have to admit, I think it's kind of cute.

I know, this is why I get these sort of texts from friends (and sisters) who care about me. :)

2012-01-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Loved this on Esther's.

Not loving what I do yet, but believing that I can.

2012-01-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful today is going by faster than my first couple days here (at my new job). Now, the question is: Where do I go for lunch?

Also, I did write a short story yesterday... though by the time I finally made myself start, I'd forgotten 90% of that weird half-sleep dream I had. I remembered the people in the room at least and one of them became a very important character - and I created a main character from my viewpoint of it all. It was incredibly different than anything I've written, and I find that encouraging. And no, I don't think I am going to share it. We will see if I ever decide these weekly works should be read by others or not.

2012-01-23T06:47:00.001-08:00

2012-01-23T06:46:00.001-08:00

2012-01-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

Getting a cold, and this cannot happen. After a week off between jobs, and then being snowed in most of last week, I truly cannot afford to get sick right now. I've only had two days at my new job so far - that's not even enough time to acquire any sick leave. When it donned on me last night that I wasn't just sneezing over and over because of something in my room I downed more Vitamin C than might be healthy and stirred up a little Airborne brew. The only disadvantage is that for two days I allowed myself a serious sugar coping mechanism. I drowned my sadness in Dove dark chocolate and strawberry twizzlers and watched chick flicks and read books. I'm not sure I even have anything left to fight this cold off with. Here's to health and wellness folks! Don't let these crazy temperature changes get to you!

2012-01-22T19:30:00.001-08:00