You Might Be From Delaware If...

Hello All!

I hope the holidays brought lots of joy, stomachaches, and smiles to your faces. If you find that your jeans are fitting a bit more snug than when you walked into your relatives house on Christmas Eve, well, don't worry. You and the rest of America. That's what the new year is for, loves!

Today I am setted up north visiting with some family, watching the Penn State game and eating Hawaiian Haystacks. If you don't know what Hawaiian Haystacks are... well that's a whole other problem. But, as I was singing throwbacks in the kitchen with my family I thought of ways that you know you're from Delaware. So, as the title suggests, I've dedicated a whole post to explaining things that I've come up with to let you know you might be from Delaware... :)

You might be from Delaware if...

1. ACME is your grocery store of choice.
2. You know what Wawa is. (For the rest of the country, we find it an absolute tragedy you don't have Wawa, AND! that you've never heard of it.)
3. You ate Rita's in the Summer.
4. You remember the Corner Diner on Main as the Corner Diner not Cheeburger.
5. You explain how to get somewhere using at least 2 highway or interstate names
6. July 4th always involves fireworks
7. You've graduated from high school and are still running into people you knew in Elementary grades.
8. your family cheers for football teams all across the country because you don't have your own "home team".
9. you know at least 3 ways to avoid I95
10. you find sales tax completely outrageous (Tax free shopping!!!)
11. you understand the phrase, "Lower Slower" & why it's an insult
12. you hate Jersey.. except for the gas.
13. you know, & understand that you can get anywhere in a car... sincerely. You can drive.
14. You can find a bar within any 3 mile radius
15. you've had identity crisis because no one knows Delaware is a state. (No big deal, people, just the first state.)

We may be small, but we're mighty...? Eh, who I am kidding, everyone 0-17 here is just trying to be cool and get by. Everyone 18-26 is just trying to get out. And everyone 27+ has come back because it's where their family is. Of course, there are you brave stragglers that are here for a job or two. Kudos to you, and welcome to our little state.

Love,
Kate



http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448054062928/

The Art of Doing Nothing

Today is my first day off in what seems like forever. Go ahead adults, roll your eyes! Recently I've been initiated into the world of no sleep, energy drinks, and the great big balancing act that will be the rest of my life. Sometimes I assume that when life slows down I'll find the time to do a, b, & c. But of course, as those of you who are older and wiser than I am know, it never slows down. It never relaxes. Even when it's slower, there's still something to do.

SO! With all that being said, this whole week I've been making a great big list of things that I needed to accomplish today. At the top of that was to Christmas shop. Tis the season! December is upon us and I am among the many who ARE NOT READY! With my to-do list made up and finalized yesterday I was pretty prepared for today, or so I thought. When I woke up today it was far too tranquil to even consider doing anything rushed today.

I lazed around until 10:30 or so and then finally emerged from my bedroom. Then I dabbled in the kitchen, listened to some music, danced around working up new zumba choreography and ended up laying back down in my bed. Eventually I did get around to lunch. Which I ordered and it was delivered to my door, so once again I didn't have to venture out.

Because I had this perfect plan to do nothing today everyone wanted to see my face, naturally. At first I felt a little bad for saying no, but the guilt quickly went away when I took a power nap and revisited the gloriousness that is not being at work.

To those of you who invited me out today-- I am grateful for you and for the invitation. Please don't be offended or I'll have to have this conversation with you....


http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448053586616/

But to move forward, there is an art to doing nothing. It's almost like a requirement. I will definitely be putting, "do nothing" on my to-do list in the future. It brings me back to my center and I feel all ready to go this week at work. But first! a few movies & the rest of my evening... :)


http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448053619216/

Cozy,
Kate

Passenger Seats are not for Purses

Recently I've rediscovered the joy of having my own car. It's the best and I didn't realize how much I'd missed it until I experienced it again. It's the best.... Dallas, that's my new car, and I have already traveled a lot together, but something I decided was that passenger seats are not for purses. Placing items in the passenger seat, for one, is just a temptation to be distracted while you drive which is unsafe and there's plenty of guilt tripping commercials to tell you all about those so I won't waste your time. If you're really feeling an itch to watch some or just have too much free time on your hands here's a link to get your fix--> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=don%27t+text+and+drive+commercial

Moving on, have you ever gotten into someone else's car and they have 50 million things in the front seat and you feel like the biggest inconvenience ever? That happens to me all the time. So, when I got my car I looked at my shotgun seat, which has often been empty, and decided that I would always do my best to make sure that seat was available. Always vacant for the friend that needs it, the person that needs picking up, the unexpected ice cream run, ready for adventuring! My purse, groceries, shopping bags find their place in the back seat, along with my buckled in stuffed trunk monkey. Because passenger seats are for people not for purses. They are for people who need pick-me-ups and for smiles and for having fun. Not for another reminder of the next item on my to-do list or of the fast paced life I live. It's for real life.

Passenger seats are not for purses.

Sincerely <3
Kate

Red Wheelbarrow

Cracking the spine on a new book is one of the most satisfying things in this world to me. I love words! I could exist in them all day and be entirely happy with their company; never feeling lonely. I have had this pleasure recently. I've begun another adventure! This time adventure is spelled b-o-o-k. I truly believe that books are the vacation that we can take when we can't go anywhere. It's a mental vacation and, if it's a really good read, it can be a spiritual and emotion vacation as well. Yesterday I started, "A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman" by Joan Anderson. I haven't gotten very far in, but I know I'm going to adore it. How? Aside from having the most beautiful dedication page I've ever read, after the acknowledgments it reads a beautiful excerpt from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (cited below)...

There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we no afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves, 
Or lose our ventures.

Chapter one begins with another thought evoking quote from Rainer Maria Rilke. You see... before we're even getting into the meat of the story (which is certainly closer to a memoir or narrative than a novel; nevertheless and not-withstanding...) I am thinking and reflective. Immediately the words on the next pages will penetrate deeper into my soul. ... Am I taking this too far? Am I dragging too deeply into this book? It is entirely possible and absolutely probable, but I love words. Truly. A simple change in phrasing can change the entire implication of a whole thought. A misplaced comma, or switching out just one word alters entirely the emotion that will be drawn from a moment.

Today my adventure was spelled b-o-o-k because yesterday it was written d-a-n-c-e! There was a small monsoon that happened here, no big deal. Dallas, that's my car, and I went to my favorite spot. The thinking spot. The place I go when I've got too much going on inside my brain, which happens a lot, and I need to decompress. During the beautiful drive over there the rain began to pelt onto the windshield. To anyone else this might seem like a negative thing impacting the drive. However... if you've read my previous posts, you know that's not true. I stood in the rain. On October 22 I stood in the rain and it was awesome. The cold drops ran over my face and down my arms. My fingers turned a bit more pale than usual and my jeans soaked completely through. I walked around a few blocks and wondered how crazy I must have looked to everyone else. I watched a few ladies run between shops. There was a white SUV of 4 ladies and 2 dogs that were all trying to get organized without getting too wet. Watching everyone else run around like chickens with their heads cut off was amusing and I wished for a moment I could have gotten in their heads to see what their perception of me was.

I finally took the time to watch a few more movies since I've been home. I watched Belle, Fast & Furious 6, & the Fault in Our Stars. One of them made me cry, another made me feel an increase of patriotism, and the last made me laugh and strap myself in. You can match the experiences to the movies. There's a few more movies on my list, but I think those 3 are worth watching, thus they are mentioned... :)

I'll be off to begin planning a lesson for a class of small children for Sunday. But, a few more words before I leave you...


(https://www.google.com/search?q=Red+Wheelbarrow&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS487US487&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=514&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=9chJVNzfHoaSyQTEm4CQDQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=S6FbbkL_WjAJAM%253A%3B5KQSBHY9rO0tcM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-sbWLZQxNXVg%252FUZWRnrn-PJI%252FAAAAAAAAAEs%252F0D2VDJKYslk%252Fs1600%252FScreen%252Bshot%252B2013-05-17%252Bat%252B2.04.43%252BPM.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F8bshs.blogspot.com%252F2013%252F05%252Fthe-red-wheelbarrow.html%3B548%3B391)

...wow that was a long embed...

(http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448053619233/)

Love,
Kate <3

Of Gratitude & Perspective

Gray days are my favorites. It's been a popular color in the sky here lately. We haven't had too many crazy thunderstorms. It's not monsooning by any means, it's just always gray... and now the writer inside of me is going to create a metaphor with this whole thing. I love my loved ones (obviously). And when I have to witness them go through HUGE seemingly insurmountable obstacles in life it's hard and I want to help, but I know that ultimately it's up to them to figure out a way through it. My heart goes out even more to those that seem to always be dealing with something. Just the small everyday things that are so overwhelming that they can't seem to stay above the water level...

My great-grandfather lives with us. He is the most optimistic person I have ever met in my life. In every memory I have of him he's always laughing, joking, smiling, dancing, singing, whistling, yodeling (yup, my great-grandfather yodels! Isn't he adorable?), or sleeping... he does a lot of that too. Looking at him now, it's hard for me to imagine him when he was in a dark and difficult place with choices to make.

Today I went outside to throw some trash into the can. It smelled awful and needed to go. On our porch swing was my great-grandfather swinging away and sipping on a beer. We had a short exchange and then he started talking about the weather people. I love my great-grandfather but he spends a lot of time talking about nothing so sometimes (I know, I know I'm a terrible human being) I just nod and mostly ignore him. I was getting ready to head back inside when I heard him say looking towards the cloudy sky, "Those weather people don't know what they're talking about. Calling for rain. They were saying it's going to be a dreary day. It's a be-YOU-tiful day. I'm enjoying the sunshine!" And then he tilted his face up to the sky trying to soak up the few rays futilely trying to peak through. I smiled and looked up as well completely agreeing.

Walking inside I considered what he had said and how what we saw and what the rest of everyone else in the world saw were totally different. It's the same sky, but different perspectives. Everyone can look at a thunderstorm and agree on it. I mean, let's call a spade a spade, ya know? But when the grey is there, and it decided to have an extended stay our perspective and ability to rise though our situation is not what we would have chosen for ourselves is an amazing attribute that closely resembles resilience. Sometimes we have gray skies in our lives and there's nothing that can be done. Walking around without an umbrella in the rain doesn't change the fact that it's raining. But when it's gray we don't need to walk around with an umbrella waiting for the storm. And should it start to get a bit darker than we think we can handle, it's so worth making the effort to learn to love it. Gray is a great color. :)

The next thing I wanted to express in this entry is gratitude. Coming back from my mission, I've said this before, was hard. But, nevertheless and notwithstanding, I can now say that the heavens totally know what's up and what's going on. Today I was blessed with some new employment opportunities. I'm hoping and faith filled that it will all pan out exactly the way it's supposed to be (with a lotta bit of effort on my end, of course. :) ).

Hey, it's raining...
(http://www.pinterest.com/pin/186547609540056333/)

(http://www.pinterest.com/pin/404479610257017139/)

Affectionately Damp,
Kate :)

At the Corner of Comfort & "Coincidental"

For those of you that have had the chance to know me for a while, it is not surprising that I love assembling care packages for people. Having people I love far away from me is okay for that one reason-- I can spoil them and send them junk-nd-such. :) Well... and they grow and learn things and have life experiences; that's good too! But I digress! Upon talking to a dear friend of mine she expressed some concerns about knowing how to put together a box of love for someone who is soon departing for the Air Force. So, M, this is for you! :) Some tips and tricks I've discovered throughout my packing expertise. Haha. :)

1.) Packing tape will be the bane of your existence while you're making these. Don't get frustrated! You're going to lose the end of the tape 10,000x it's completely NORMAL! I promise! Haha. Fold a small corner of the tape over to save your spot or lay your scissors underneath the adhesive to keep it from sticking to itself. Or! hang it off the table while you get other things wrapped up.

It's completely possible that you all will now know and judge me for the fact that I struggle with packing tape so much. ... Whatever. I'm telling you, the struggle is real!!!

2.) Put packing tape over the addresses-- it makes them waterproof. The last thing you want is your beautiful box of effort arriving damaged or getting lost in translation. .....Trust me....

3.) Care Packages are sent for a variety of reasons, but whatever the occasion may be, keep it upbeat and normal. Whether you're sending much needed love across the continents to a soldier serving overseas, a parents in a distant state, or something to your best friend just because, keep it upbeat and fun. :)

4.) Don't go crazy! It's doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be this extravagant box. You're taking the time to put thought into things you think they'll enjoy and ship it to them. Let's stop and process this for a moment. Wouldn't that make you feel special regardless of what's inside? If they're bratty enough to complain you should probably invest in new friends. ... Just my humble opinion.

5.) Wrap it up! If you're going to do it, wrap something up. Having something to open is the best. :) I'm talking about taking the time to put it in wrapping paper. Yep. Do it. It just takes it to the next level. If you need something to cover the box with to mail it consider using a paper bag.

Okay, I think those are some of my best tips for those looking for some helpful ideas. I like putting in something they're expecting and then something completely unanticipated as well. Have a blast with it! It's like.... wrapping part of your heart and mailing it away. How cool is that? I'm all about the modern technology, but sometimes we just gotta throwback to the traditional way of doing things.

Ever Sincerely,
Kate!

Gypsy

(Belated entry from 1 week ago made Sunday appropriate <3) 
I love the way that my life has this amazing way of turning into exactly what I need in each given moment. Learning and growing continually is such a beautiful part of our mortal existences. I absolutely adore the process by which I have come to be where and who I am now and in twenty more years I hope I still find my refinement a beautiful journey I embarked on with myself, the Lord, and a few select others. 

For those of you that may not know, serendipity means a happy coincidence, finding something good without looking for it, etc. I love recognizing serendipitous moments in my life. The more I can see them the more, well, straight up, I'm just happier. Now, it's ironic that my favorite word is serendipity since I don't believe in coincidences.

Yesterday was absolutely the best day, but today is even better, because it's a new day full of possibilities and that makes today more wonderful than yesterday because yesterdays possibilities have been solidified into fact and there's nothing that can change those facts (unless one of you have magically found the way to turn back time and find a way! Cher anyone? No..? Okay..) but today, oh today, so much adventure is possible and so little time to complete it all. But! to throw back a little bit to the previous 24 hours, it was awesome! As I'm preparing for my impending doom of being bed ridden for surgery recovery on Monday, I'm trying to soak up as much of the social scene now as I can. But, not the point! so, people, please tell me if I'm the only one that experiences this, but! I often find myself saying things I don't mean to people who do mean a lot. Chronic foot-in-mouth syndrome. This happened yesterday. I can own it: I totally say and do stupid things... a lot. 

To make a long story short and to connect my above thoughts together, I'm grateful for the opportunity to have so many wonderful people in my life that forgive and believe in second chances. Another person that constantly gives me second chances and accepts my shortcomings is Jesus Christ. There is a super short video that talks about everything that's possible because of Him. It's very well put together. I was pleasantly surprised. Here's the link!
--> http://easter.mormon.org/<-- Because of Him guilt becomes relief, and we can start again, and again and again. And because of Him you, and you, and you, and me, will live again. Because of Him. 

Happy Sunday!

-Kate

Candid-illy-icious

I realize that my blog aka my outlet for my own comic relief and sanity, is relatively new, under-read compared to great works of literature, and I love it. It's like my own little project that I get the fulfillment of working on and seeing progress each time I add to it. Today, it's in a, "confessions" style that I wish to address you, dear readers. As I mentioned in my first entry, I have recently returned from a most amazing adventure of serving a mission for the LDS church. Yes, I'm a Mormon. It was hands down the best decision I've ever made. No matter which way you stretch it, it taught me so much about myself, people, spirituality, life, and exactly how pivotal each of our existences on this earth are. But as I returned on cloud 9, I found myself trying to fit....not fit... squeeze myself back into life. I live in the mid-atlantic which is a relatively fast paced area of this blessed land and I felt daily as though I was experiencing whiplash at the rate of speed peoples lives moved here. Many people tried to help me settle in but nothing really prepared me or assisted in my adjustment like coming to the realization that hit me last night!

Yesterday I had one of those wonderful, golden-nugget moments. The ah-ha moment, light bulbs went on, and maybe you can identify with that radiant feeling of pure knowledge being explained to your soul. As I laid in bed pondering life as I do sometimes, I tossed a few goldfish into my mouth and crunched down feeling so glad that nobody could see me... I paused. Wait a second, why did I care if someone saw me munching goldfish at 2:30am? I pondered a moment longer and realized that I didn't really care. I started laughing and smiling and felt all tingly inside realizing that I didn't care and that I didn't need to be trying to squeeze into a mold of who people wanted me to be-- or probably more accurately, who I was perceiving people wanted me to be.

I continued on this thought process considering all of the things that helped thread me together that might not be "the norm" or what people expected of me and I realized that these were some of the things that made me happy and decided to frankly forgive myself for trying to hide for so long and began typing on my trusty iPhone, Serendipity, a list of quirky items that make up the candid-illy-icious version of me.

To start, yep, I named my iPhone. It's a she and her name is Serendipity. Serendipity is my favorite word and I just love words in general. Not weird words, the uncommon, underused and valued words in the english language that 99.9% of people have never heard of or understand. Secretly sipping out of Starbucks cups make me feel super cool. I'm not a city girl. I don't even drink coffee... but having that starbucks container in my hand adds a pretend drop of confidence into my sass vial. On my adorable iPhone I keep a list of baby names that I love. Yep. I've already spent time thinking about what I want to name my children. Nope. Not dating anyone.

I go through phases where I change my nail polish color 50,000x and then when I don't wear any for months. I LOVE perfume and smelling good. Don't worry, I haven't choked anyone with my scents yet. I'm not a girly girl, I'm not a tomboy I'm just me! There's not a stereotype I fit under. I don't situate myself within parameters society tries to set for me. I love getting down and dirty with the best of 'em on an ATV or rockwall, but putting on a pair of heels for a night out is one of my favorite things too. Dress up. Dress down. Dress me!

Yes, boys, I am one of those girls that has a Pinterest and will find around 10,000 things I may never get around to doing, but I promise I make good use of the recipes that I pin. I put in a solid effort to apply when I spend time pinning and I have this crazy love-hate relationship with D.I.Y. things. Let's be honest, girls, every Pinterest project looks doable until you really sit down to do it and then it hits you... And you all know what I'm talking about! The, "Oh shoot, this is going to take a heck of a lot longer than I thought... how far away is Christmas...?"

I have the weirdest issue with dairy and lunchmeat. When you look at it you see the expiration date on milk, I see the date that I won't touch within a 2 day radius of. I'm even less forgiving with the poor sliced meats. After 6 days it doesn't matter where it came from, how good it was, or what the "sell by" date is. I'm done.

I hate getting my teeth cleaned at the dentist. Getting sand in my ears is the worst as much as I love the beach. Board games are, secretly, my favorite. I love being domestic in the kitchen, but would prefer to leave the laundry undone. If I take a good picture of myself, heck yes you better believe I'm going to post it. I LOVE snapchat. I think it's sad some of the ways it's used... but generally, I love that it adds to the general smiles that come to my face on a daily basis. If I'm reading a book you should probably leave me alone because I'm not retaining anything you're saying and I'm only talking to you so you'll stop bothering me and I can get back to my book. I have music on almost all the time. I'm on the phone, oh excuse me person I'm speaking to, I'm probably humming something. Small bathroom problems are no match for my desire to have jams playing while I shower. Studying, journaling, blogging; it's in the background speaking to my soul.

We are all so different. I can't pretend that I begin to understand anything. But I do think I'm beginning to get a grasp on how much I love being Kate. It's pretty bomb being me.
 I have this... :)

Ever Sincerely!
Kate

(don't own the photo. Obtained from: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448053619229/)

What Women Want! (be the best date ever!)

So, I thought of this in the shower today. I know, I know, in all the movies that's where the protagonist does the best thinking, but for some reason it totally works. This is where the magic is about to happen. My gentleman friends, I have talked to several of you and you seem to be so confused by the female gender and how we think and why on this beautiful earth we do what we do! Let me preface this entry with, sometimes, okay a lot of the time, we don't understand why we're doing what we're doing. However, I want to help the males in the world! Give 'em a leg up, ya know? Some of you guys have got it DOWN! You've got the suave, the smooth, the consideration, and you know what makes us go weak in the knees. But! on the occasion that even you are a little lost, this is what I came up with to help. Besides, what girl doesn't wish her man could get inside her head a little bit better...?

1.) Chivalry-- I would hope that this would be an obvious thing, but it has been shown to me that it's not. Gentlemen, regardless of whether your date is acting ladylike or not, that should not compromise your efforts to treat her like one. It will build character (and not in the way your mom promised making your bed every day would ;) )! Open their doors, let them go first, be polite. Don't get in their way or take away their independence, but show them that it's not about "swag" (what the heck is this "swag" that everyone talks about anyway?) but about manners.

2.) Turn your phone off!-- a lot of us understand what it's like to be attached to our phones and so anyone that can take the time to turn off or silence their phone to spend time with us is a big deal. Make eye contact with her. If you want to signal no second date, please, look at your phone while I'm talking. I'll get your message loud and clear.

3.) Take a memento-- don't be afraid to take a picture with her, keep that movie ticket stub, or playbill! Keeping something to remember the night will definitely help make her feel like a priority. Personally, any date that takes a picture with me makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. But hey, what do I know?

4.) Plan-- okay, before you even go on the date, please think about it. Don't be that guy that asks a girl out on a date and then goes, "idk what do you want to do?" When someone does that to me let me just tell you I feel so special. not... If you like her enough to want to spend more time with her, at least take the extra 15 minutes (or more!! More thought is not discouraged!) to think of something to do. You asked her on the date, don't make her plan it.

5.) Bonus Points for Creativity-- the last piece of advice comes from a man himself. My source says to put some thought into it. The extra time taken for planning will be considered and remembered. "Dinner and a movie's been done. The coffeeshop's been done." We know it. And we convince ourselves to love it; but when in need of some feet-sweeping ideas it might take a little more effort than stealing the romantic dinner for 2 idea from your favorite macho movie man.

All right, let's wrap this up, shall we? To all the husbands out there who still believe in weekly date night please feel my applause through the computer screen!!! To the rest of us human beings who are trying to figure out this thing called life, keep hanging on because it's great! It's beautiful! And it's so worth it.



(not my picture.. nobody sue me please. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/174303448053619211/)

Sincerely,
Kate! ;)

Food 4 Thought 1

Dissonance

When I sat with you across that counter,

I knew better than to think that it’d be the same.

Now that you’re back to being gone,

something like 1500 miles and change away,

I think it’s safe for me to finally open up and say

exactly what seeing you did to me.

I had no hopes of Romance or splendor.

But it turned into some kind of wonderful s e r e n d i p i t y . . .

The long walk wasn’t even the best part

The words weren’t even enough for me,

But the way your fingers felt brushing my face

 Right … Before

 your lips touched mine sent me into bliss filled security.

Standing on that creek-bed bank, wrapped up in your arms

Spotlighted by the moon and using neon lights as our white noise

I felt like I could have breathed you inside of me and fused our souls…

Where are you? When you left the state could you hear my voice,

Crying, missing, applauding, relinquishing, enveloping

I didn't let myself feel the sadness of your going

Because whenever my heart begins to break for us I flood my thoughts with

The Last Moment.

Knowing, that we will be encompassed again in the ambience we create together.

I see your smile as your turn me and tell me not to… Not to cry,

“Don’t you dare cry” echoes through my senses

Followed by the waves of joy as you, for the last time,

Pulled me close to you and kissed ME.

So much you said to me while our lips were touching.

Pressing your ring back into the palm of my hand.

….Sweet Relief….

As you walked away I wasn’t filled with dread

--but peace.

There was nothing so wonderful as hearing the pounding of your

boots on the sidewalk running towards me.

seeing you turn the page in your life

Was an intimate moment I will not soon forget.

Days later I can taste your breath and smell you around me.

I don’t know if you can hear me,

But I can feel you with me.

As we go on to walk to the edges of earth; wearing the tread on our individual boots

I know one day, upon looking up, I’ll see your smile again

Because whatever our souls are made of,

Yours and mine are the same.

Chasing Kate

I have resolved to have more adventures in my life. Now, with that being laid out there, I completely believe that adventure can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and, I think, that's beautiful! In my life I've had adventure be spelled for me every way from a new haircut or style to moving across the country to serve a mission with less than a well-planned agenda. Recently I have returned from that journey and it was so fantastic that I have this unquenchable desire to continue experiencing and adventuring everyday of my life.

“Don’t live the same year 75 times

& call it a LIFE.” 

Was basically the thought that struck me shortly after returning back to my, "home". I use the term home loosely because, honestly, there's so little left for me in this place I can't imagine staying for a very extended period of time. My family is finally beginning to spread out, but even without that incentive it doesn't feel like a place I want to be rooted, so I have joined the ranks of countless bloggers around the world and this, dear readers, is going to be my story: the cliche coming of age, go find yourself, roller coaster adventure that is my voyage. 

I find myself conveniently located in the United States of America where people are anxiously engaged in the dialogue of supporting, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." As I look around me, however, I see less life in people, less liberty reflected in our "freedoms" and less people on a trip for their happiness. In my humble opinion, life is for living, liberty keeps us aware and thoughtful, and happiness makes the earth turn. At the ripe age of (almost!) twenty-one I have fiercely decided to go find more of myself, live my life, exercise my liberties, and pursue happiness. I'm going to go chase Kate. 

Growing up my everyone called me by my given name: Katie. No, it's not short for Katherine, or Katelynn, it's just Katie. Everyone, that is, except my parents. Endearingly, I was nicknamed Kate and as I grew up (let's be honest, I'm definitely not "grown up" yet) Kate became this part of me that I wanted to be full-time. I didn't like the split. Nobody makes enough working part-time, anyways. But I didn't feel like I could be. In my mind it was the best parts of me and I had not the slightest idea how to be the best me 24/7. That sounded like a heck-of-a-lot of work! 

Along with this rejuvenation in my spirit to be whole, and the wanderlust running through my veins, I want to chase this best part of me and figure out how to be her all the time. Now, to some of you who are smarter or wiser than I am, this might seem trivial, childish or that my energy is being funneled in the wrong direction. To you, I would say a.) this is my blog so don't read it, b.) to be old and wise you must have first been young and stupid, and c.) maybe you should be on a pursuit of happiness...? Just some food for thought. :)

Now, please do not misunderstand me, here people. I am so blessed! and I love waking up each morning with the knowledge of who I am, who I can be, where I came from and where I am going, however, we each need that segment of life to hash out the details and refine our personalities. That's what I'm getting to here. That's what I'm after. I know who I am and I know where I'm going. I don't know the way, but I'll be there soon! :) 

Ever Sincerely, 

Kate