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/)