Hoppy Easter

Yeah, I'm cheesy, deal with it.

First things first and then my story. My brother and his girlfriend of 3 years are ENGAGED!!! I am so excited for them and all I keep saying is that I've always wanted a sister. Now I have to admit that she has come along at the perfect time because I had a hard enough time sharing with just one sibling as a kid... 2 would have been a little much, haha. Anyways, I am beyond excited for them and just have love pouring out of my heart. I hope they don't get too fed up with me being so excited! Here they are:




Ok, so here is a little story that I have heard 5 or 6 times now recently....

Apparently when my brother and I were in college, (he's 3 years younger but 2 years different in school) we woke up early, ahem I mean, I woke up early on Easter to find all the Easter eggs before him. Now tell me, anyone who knows me knows that I will sleep in all day if I was allowed. I love to sleep so much that I almost didn't believe this story was true... but then I started to remember.


I did get up, but it wasn't extra early. My brother just didn't come downstairs right away... so I peeked.
and peeked
and peeked all around the house
and found the eggs
all of them.
all of those glorious little sugar filled treasures.... mmmh

So, when he finally came down and my parents said we could look for them, I found them all rather quickly. (Mind you, the entire time I was giggling to myself )
"Mit" gave up and just waited until I finished finding all the eggs and sat there with a sour look on his face.

Well. Whadya expect? I like surprises, I was up and he wasn't, I got excited! He always used to beat me. How do you think it feels loosing to your little brother. Not good I tell you, not good.

When I had realized all of this had actually happened I went out and bought Easter eggs and candy to make it up to him. (this is now present day) This Easter, when he was able to come up to the burbs after work, we did an egg hunt for Mit, his fiance "Akiko" and her sister (insert cute nickname here: _______ (ill come up with one later)). My parents and I laughed and watched as these 3 grown kids ran around the living and dining room. Mit pulled a Hulk a few times and physically lifted large pieces of furniture to find things quicker. This amused me greatly but not so much my Mother who just kept saying his name with a bit of amusement/annoyance/worry in her tone.


Fun was had by all, and I have officially made up for the time I stole all the Easter eggs.

Hey Shorty!

Before I begin, I'd like to comment that I've had two helpings of coffee already today including a quad venti non-fat carmel latte with whip and drizzle (ultimate fav) and a medium black coffee. I feel nothing extra special but a little tired. How can this be? Come ON caffeine, work your magic on me!!!

This post is titled "Hey Shorty" because I have a bone to pick. When I went to Dunkin Donuts today to get my coffee, I had a rather unpleasant experience. I wasn't ready to order yet so I stood pretty far back from the counter. I was clearly on my phone asking a co-worker what kind of bagel she wanted. Both employees behind the counter repeatedly asked me what I wanted. First, I worked in that type of environment and I know that what they did is completely inappropriate. Second, IM ON MY PHONE!!! Third, I stepped away from the counter, far away, so that it was clear that I was not trying to place my order.
Moving on, when I finally got up to the counter, both short little ladies just glared at me. I said "hello, im ready to order now" in the most polite tone I could muster. The one says "waddya want" in a tiny quiet yet somehow rude voice. I asked for two bagels toasted with cream cheese and she walked away. The other one goes (with disdain dripping off every word) "whad didsha ged"? This little one was not quiet and I couldnt even tell if she was talking to me or the other person. I answered her so as not to be rude and she replied "anithing elsh?" so I said, "yes please, I would like a medium cup of black coffee" and she said "anithing elsh?" so I said, "just the coffee, thank you" and she replied "anithing elsh?!?!?" so at this point I said "NO THANK YOU" rather loud. She slammed my coffee down on the counter and took my money. She provided no receipt and didn't say another word.
Now, I would like to know what I did to so severely tick these women off that they felt the need to behave that way. I did everything I thought I could to be respectful. Moving away from the counter until I was ready to order, speaking clearly about what I wanted, having my money ready, being as polite as possible, etc.
I'm 5'9". I'm no giant but I'm certainly not short. I appreciate my height but I have to say, I never notice that people are short unless they have a chip on their shoulder about it. My advice, quit being angry about being short. You have one life, and one body. Love yourself, make yourself the best version of who you can be and LIVE. Brush that chip off your shoulder and the with the weight lifted, maybe you'll feel a little taller.

On-wards and Up-wards...

I have pictures to share because I had a great time last Saturday with my Momma up in Lake Geneva. I really needed to get away but I think she did too. We hung out and went out for dinner and shopped a little. It was such a nice respite from all the craziness that's been going on lately.
Here is a little photo story:

This is the Lodge we stayed at

This is Sunday morning when we stopped at Covenant Harbor to buy some Maple Syrup but they were all sold out!





The blue chords are running from tree to tree collecting sap and letting gravity carry the sap down the hill!








That's sap from the maple trees!








Official greeters at Cov Harbor!


Me and my Momma. This picture is pretty indicative of our weekend. Me being being cheesy and mom laughing at me.

Loved it.

Faith, Hope, and Love

Lately my life seems to be all black and white. Anyone who knows me well knows that I live in the gray.

When I live in the gray, I can fly by the seat of my pants. I make light commitments so that if I can't handle something or I need desperately to do something else, I can. It helps me to feel free and not confined to expectations or limits.

Now that I've been living in the black and white, I'm finding it isn't as horrible as I thought and I can schedule some free time *which, to me, feels like the epitome of an oxymoron*. Some of the b&w has been thrust upon me and is not in my control. One of the biggest things for me is family and friends going through big life changes *marriage, babies, houses, moving...etc*. I've been feeling un-needed lately. I do need to mention though that I don't feel un-wanted. I can see and feel my family and friends making efforts to keep me involved in their lives and I love and appreciate that more than I can express.

I've got some big things coming up. Life changing decisions and I pray for the strength to meet them head on and power through. I get stopped up when I need to make big decisions because I wait and wait for someone to help me decide. At some point i'll learn and be comfortable in the fact that I only need God and my own instincts, and that both are trustworthy.

Here's to living in the black and white and gray.

Seriously?

These are the kinds of calls I get on a daily basis:

Me: Member Services, this is Kate, how can I help you?

Lady: Hi, I went to a meeting and my husband and I went to the same meeting and I went to the meeting and I need my certificate because I went to the meeting and I need to know how many credits I earned from the meeting because I went with my husband in 2005 and he went to the meeting too.

Me: Ok, do you need a copy of your certificate showing how many credits you earned at the meeting?

Lady: Well, I went to the meeting with my husband and I need to do my certification so I need to know how many credits I got from the meeting.

Me: Alright, we can send you a copy of your certificate from the meeting showing how many credits you earned, but it costs $15 for the reprint

Lady: Well I went to the meeting and I earned the credits and I need to know how many credits I got at the meeting and so does my husband. I am trying to do my certification so I need to know my credits, can I look it up online?

Me: Unfortunately we don't have a section on our website that shows how many credits you earned. I can look you up in the database and confirm whether or not you attended the meeting, or I can take your credit card information to have a certificate resent to you.

Lady: Well, no, I went to the meeting and I need to know how many credits I have from the meeting that I went to with my husband so I can, um, so I can, um, so I can do my certification.

Me: I understand what you are looking for, at this point your options are that I could confirm you attended over the phone for free or you can pay $15 to receive your credit information

Lady: No, no its free, I already paid for it.

Me: I'm sorry paid for what?

Lady : The certificate, the meeting.... I went to the meeting and I did the stuff so I could get the credits in 2005

Me: Yes ma'am, I understand you attended the meeting. Would you like to purchase a copy of your certificate that shows how many credits you earned?

Lady: No, I already have enough credits anyways, I was just wondering how many I had.

*click*

Me: (under my breath) Thanks for calling have a nice day.

(completely futile, since she has already hung up on me)

Now, hang up and repeat approx 40 times a day. On a good day.
I would just like to comment that I am not a jerk. I know she didn't want to pay for her credits. But, I have no authority to send them to her for free. There is nothing else I could have done for her and in all fairness, if you lost a certificate from 2005 whos fault is that? not mine.

Grumpy here. Justified? Maybe.
Wish I was doing something much more fun? Yes.

Curtains!!!!

Today I received an email from the Spark Ventures staff with pictures of the new curtains that Hope Ministries was able to buy. These curtains are especially special to me because I was able to donate all the money for them! Last summer when I visited Zambia and Hope Ministries, I felt called to donate the money for the curtains and I had a little extra money that I had saved from selling jewelry for my trip. It fills my heart with joy to see and share these pictures with you:



(sidenote, im done with the coffee review, if i find something amazing, ill let you know.)

Sleeping In

Medium McDonalds, black, 6-10

Last night I slept for 14 hours. I started thinking about why it is that I was able to sleep that long. What I figured was that I was just pretty much exhausted from trying to keep a busy schedule.
*work, training, family, friends, boyfriend, knitting, counseling, cleaning, and soon my photography class! (not in order of importance)*

Here is a picture of my friend J-Lynn and I from this weekend


Even though I didn't get to see her for that long, I had fun and I got to see a bunch of other good friends too. I'm finding more and more lately that my friends are a good respite when I'm ready to just crack from all the pressure of my current job.
Starting my photography class is so exciting but also a little nerve racking. Right now, I have had nearly no professional training (I took one class in high school but had to drop it when I got mono) and I am free to be goofy with my pictures, and if i mess something up, its not a big deal. Now, I wont really have an excuse to take stupid pictures. Clearly, I'm free to take stupid pictures up the wazoo, but somehow it feels like the pressure is on. I really just want to get started.
I recently hosted an Arbonne party at my apartment and ordered a bunch of stuff which is set to arrive tomorrow!!! Yes. Next time you see me, my face will be glowing and my hands and feet will be silky smooth.
Hope that all 3 people that probably ever read this blog are enjoying it so far. Once my photog class starts, I promise to provide much more stimulating visual entertainment. *haha, that sounds bad but I didn't mean for it to...*
Best Wishes!

Maaaaaagrarita!

McDonalds, large black 6-10

Here are some edited pics from margarita night last weekend! It was impromptu fun! Though if I do say so myself, i make killer margaritas so if you're reading this, let me know if you want to come over for one and we'll make plans!





If pictures could talk, these would all say: "yeah Margarita night was pretty much the best night ever... AWESOME. YEAH!" (quote must be read out loud in a Ron Burgundy voice)