happy as the sun.

there are a million things in this world that you can't control or count on. you can't control the traffic (esp. here in la), you cant control what schools you'll get into, or the promotions you'll receive at work; maybe you can't count on your alarm clock to go off every morning at exactly 6:05, or any other insanely early hour you have to get up at, and although you can't really control the weather isn't it interesting how no matter what you do, the sun will always shine? sure there will be the cloudy days where the sun is covered up by those big white puffy things you used to wish (and sometimes still do) you could sit and play on, but eventually the sun will come out, and show its lovely face again. you can count on that sun to always be there. in a constantly evolving world isn't a small comfort to know the sun will never change? it will always be warm. it will always be yellow, and it will always rise in the morning and set in the evening. no matter what goes on, that sun will be there. how many things in the world can you say that about? how many things never really change? plants change through the seasons, animals grow and evolve, technology advances, buildings are built and torn down, bare landscapes erode and/or are turned into strip malls and housing developments, people definitely change, gosh i could go on and on. the only other thing i can think of in this moment that is as constant as the sun, is the moon.

in my ever changing life, i see very few things that are solidly constant or left unchanging. so i find myself very thankful these days for the wonderful consistency that is the sun {and moon}. thank you sun for always rising in the morning and setting in the evening. you are a comfort. and i do enjoy seeing you most every morning.

you were especially wonderfully bright today and i am very thankful for that.

{also since i am 'moving' to spokane next year, which isn't the sunniest place on earth i find myself appreciating the sun more and more these days. however even when its covered up there, isn't it cool to know somewhere in the world the sun will still be out and about??}

today i am thankful for the sun. what are you thankful for?

i hope this finds you in happiness, health and love xoxo

{how awesome is our sun that it creates such beautiful sights as this one?}

taken last year in hawaii. hawaii=most beautiful sunsets.

what i am loving: {this} and {this}. enjoy!!

to be continued.

drum roll please.

today was very stressful.

so stressful in fact decided to escape. i had been in school for a grand total of 2 hours before i realized i needed to sign myself out for the rest of the day. i just could not be there. i had some thinking to do; thinking that couldn't be done with a million other people around. i headed to the office after 2nd period, to do just that. upon telling the office lady i was signing myself out she replied with some very snide comment about seniors always leaving (to which i wanted to tell her i had only signed myself out a grand total of 5 times and i have been 18 since september, but i couldn't get it out because of what happened next.), and then she asked for the reason of my departure. i wasn't sure how to respond, as i hadn't thought she'd ask but i decided to just go with the truth which was to think about my college decision situation, as it was getting down to the wire and i was very stressed about it. i had gotten a mere two seconds into my explanation when i started crying. and not just like a few tears rolling down my cheeks crying, but like the awkward gasping hyperventilation crying. all my stress had finally caught up with me...in the office of my school. tight. plus it didn't help that she was getting mad at me for signing myself out. but anyway i couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she must have semi felt bad for me as she stopped lecturing me, and talking about calling my teachers to ask if they'd mind if i left (since when can she do that??), gave me the pink slip and turned to the next person.

i continued to sob the entire walk to my house where i promptly got my keys and purse, and hopped in my car, off on a search to find a peaceful thinking spot.

i went on auto pilot and without thinking ended up at sugarloaf, a street that leads to a hiking trail overlooking la canada and la. i then proceeded to hike to the one lone bench on the top of the hill. i had the entire area to myself. i concluded this was because it was 11 am on a tuesday. and i was thankful for that.

i sat on that bench for two hours just thinking. thinking about many things that have been on the back of my mind recently (contributing to my building stress) but mostly i thought about college. i have to decide in 3 days where i will spend the next 4 years of my life, and for me, and most people actually, it feels like just the biggest decision in the world. in fact, it is probably the biggest, most life altering decision i have ever made. so needless to say it is indeed very stressful.

So i thought. and i thought. and i weighed pros and cons. and i overviewed every interaction i have had with each school. but most importantly i listened to my heart which i have had trouble doing recently. i listened really hard, and i heard what i think i have known for the past month or so.

SO...drum roll please :)

come fall you can find me at:

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY!!

{pronunciation: Gone - ZAG (as in "bag") - uh}

i am just ecstatic with my decision. the more i think about it, the more i fall in love with it. it feels surreal to say it out loud, and its scary, and so foreign to me, but im excited. so very excited.

please enjoy some pictures of my new home:

{cherry blossoms in the spring}

{a foggy morning in the fall}

{SNOW}

photo creds: jennifer raudebaugh, gonzaga u

i hope you have had a lovely start to your week!!

with much love,

kate

GO ZAGS. :)

to be continued.

lemonade revelation.

its the little things.

this thought came to me the other day, actually more like a week ago, when one of my friends picked me up to go to lunch with a cookie and lemonade in hand. she had just been to a lemonade stand. the lemonade was hers (although she let me share it, kind thing that she is) but she bought the cookie for me.

There are three little things i notice about what i just wrote. 1). she was kind enough to let me share her lemonade. 2). she bought me a cookie from the lemonade stand. 3). she stopped at the lemonade stand. ( im going to focus on the 3rd. )

After handing me the cookie and offering to share the drink, she proceeded to say that stopping at little kids' lemonade stands is one of the things that makes life full, and something you can do to lead a happy life. it is so true. its a little thing, but its something easy anyone can do to make someone's day and to share some love. the kids are always so happy that someone stopped and it reminds you to appreciate the little things in life. you can't not leave a lemonade stand feeling depressed about life. the kids always greet you with giant smiles, eagerly offering their delectable treats at 1950's prices. (another thing thats so great, you normally only leave about 75 cents poorer).

the credit of this lemonade revelation, as i am going to call it, goes fully to michelle. i am just borrowing it because i think it is brilliant. (mich i hope you dont mind)

amongst all the craziness, it seems to me that the little things in life are the ones that count.

saying hi to a passing stranger while walking your dog, holding the door open for someone behind you, offering to carry an elderly person's grocery's to his or her car, or yes stopping at a good old fashioned lemonade stand (and buying a cookie for your friend you are about to pick up) are all little things that can make a big difference in someones life, even if its just for the moment.

i hope you get the opportunity to experience or share the little things in life this week. they do seem to make all the difference.

and...

i hope this finds you in happiness, health and love. xoxo

when you just cant seem to get it right today do the above. (and focus on the little things in case you haven't caught on yet :) i know it helps me. i hope it can help you too.

{click}

to be continued.

laughter.

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

-- e.e. cummings

{date night with michibee a while back. too much fun.}

have you laughed today?? what about yesterday....the day before yesterday??

laughter is definitely good for the soul.

find a buddy and laugh a little to live a little.

i hope this finds you in happiness, health and love xoxo

to be continued.

just because.

'some people care too much. i think its called love'

-winnie the pooh

just the cutest?? i think so.

i hope this finds you caring too much, and loving even more. xo

to be continued.

picture creds: google.

if you're going to san francisco...

i had my choir tour this past weekend.. my last choir tour of high school, which is weird. all these lasts...its a bit unsettling, a little exciting but unsettling all the same. what is also unsettling is the college decision situation. i have narrowed it down to three but have absolutely no idea which one is the fit for me. it keeps fluctuating and one day its this college and then next its another. how do i decide?? i have made pro and con lists, researched, visited, and i still do not know. so many people have made their decision and although i am not the only one, i feel like i am the last person to pick a college. all these people belong places; walk around campus proudly sporting a T-shirt, or sweatshirt from their college of choice, and i belong no where. ok. that seems a little dramatic but its how i am feeling at the moment. may 1st will be a good day. there will be a very happy blog post from me on that saturday. stay tuned. but anyway choir tour was so much fun. i enjoyed exploring the city of san fran, and spending the time with some friends; old and new. there is something about traveling with friends that is just the best. a hope of mine is to one day gather a group of friends together, get in a car, and just drive. have absolutely no plans or direction whatsoever and just see where we end up. like maybe a cheese factory in wisconsin or a goat farm in Illinois. seems as though the possibilities are endless :)

{claire and i with a view of the city}

{duck tours. too much fun}

{..'Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair'. i have discovered a new love for daisies.

haha i took these pics while claire and i were trudging up a huge san fran hill. i saw this little patch of daisies amidst the concrete sidewalk and insisted i had to stop to get some shots. she said i reminded her of her mother. haha lovely yes? thank you claire for putting up with me. :) }

i hope this finds you in happiness health and love xoxo

what i am obsessively listening to these days: (although i am trying hard not to over listen as then it will lose its charm)

{click me}

to be continued.

letting go.

I have always been aware of the fact that i am an over thinker, but i've had this sudden epiphany that i think and over analyze a seemingly unusual amount, almost too much. So much in fact i have a hard time letting go. You can always tell that i have something on my mind, because when i do, i don't talk. I think im afraid that if i do talk when something's on my mind, it'll end up slipping up in a really awkward moment. Kind of like a word vomit situation. So anyway these days i have had SO much on my mind i find myself just thinking constantly.. plus im not really one to talk about how im feeling until ive completely analyzed the situation by myself. It has a lot to do with the fact that i am a very independent person and so often find it hard to ask for help. I just want to do everything myself. Like for instance i hate asking teachers for help, which used to get me in trouble in math classes because i have never been good at math, but i never wanted to ask for help because i thought i would eventually figure it out on my own. and let me tell you, that never happened. But anyway asking for help is something i have definitely struggled with, and it is something i am working on, and working to improve on. This year has been such a growing experience and so many things and events have taught me that its ok to ask for help, and its ok to share what i am feeling, and its ok to let go. Being open i have found is such a freeing experience. So much so i can see how it could easily become addictive. We all know those people, sometimes like an awkward and crazy 2nd aunt once removed, who just share way too much about their lives, and as you're talking to them you're kinda thinking ok thanks for sharing, but did i really need to know that? But then i find myself wondering if they used to maybe be like me and then once they started opening up they couldn't stop. Like opening up the flood gates. Once you do so you can't stop the flood from pouring out. So whether you're like me, who is just learning the blessing of not thinking so much, or you're like the 2nd aunt once removed, i invite you to share with someone, even if its just your goldfish, something you've been keeping inside, and experience the wonderfulness of letting go. From recent exposure i can tell you it feels pretty much the best.

let go. be free. and be happy.

i hope this finds you in happiness, health and love. xoxo

{although this was taken a while ago, it was a moment in my life of letting go. aka dressing up in weird glasses and headbands and going to e-mile late in the night. although not seemingly an act of letting go, i don't normally do such things. thanks girls for insisting i wear the weird glasses. it was fun. }

to be continued.

obsessions.

what i'm obsessed with at the moment:

-isaac russell aka RuRu. he has crafted the most beautiful music i have ever heard. his raw talent amazes me. (bonus-i enjoy that his music brings me back to my mississippi trip. i discovered him a couple days before i left, and listened to him throughout. i love how songs can bring memories to the surface.)

-buttons. thats a given if you know me. i have collected buttons ever since i was a preschooler. i currently have over 750 and occasionally spill them out of their jars to count them on my bedroom floor. definitely an obsession.

-purple.

-lower case letters.

-friends. i love you guys probably more than you think possible.

-writing in my thought book. i've never been a steady journal keeper, so instead of forcing my self to keep a daily "diary" i decided to keep a thought book where i put down my random thoughts, questions, musings, etc. i love it.

-vanilla chai tea (lattes). its like christmas in a cup.

-wedding videos. thank you michi for sharing that link with me. i stayed up until 2 watching them.

-photography. i fell in love with it in 10th grade. i am a complete amateur but i love it and spend a decent amount of time looking at photography blogs.

-harbio rasberries. i'm pretty sure i am the only person on earth to like this candy but they are delish.

-spontaneous dance parties. particularly to "animal" by miike snow.

-"animal"- by miike snow.

-the word serendipity. in case you haven't already noticed. i got the dvd of the movie in my easter basket this year, and it has re-instated my love of everything that has to do with that word.

-the 5th grade class i teacher aide for. 5th graders are the coolest people ever in case you were wondering.

-cardigans. i wish i could just wear jeans, and a different colored cardigan everyday.

-lists. my room is littered with to-do lists, shopping lists, etc all scribbled on scraps of paper.

and lastly:

-post-its. also an easter basket item (the easter bunny just happens to know about this particular love). it is a dream of mine to one day completely cover a car, room, bike, person, etc, with post-its.

{these people got it spot on tehe}

photo creds: google.

p.s- {to see what i'm talking about} {and for the more upbeat}

to be continued.

serendipity.

This is the start of my blogging experience. I've had this recent obsession with reading people's blogs, and after much consideration, have finally gotten around to making one of my own. I have no idea what i am doing, and although previously said blog obsession has taught me a thing or two, i still find myself wondering if i can actually do this. However considering these past couple months of confusion, happiness, new experiences, stress, love, etc, i have decided to attempt to put it all down; to capture the inter workings of my last quarter of high school, and to reflect on the person i have become over the past 18 years, and the person i hope to be in these next years of my life. This is mainly for my own self-discovery, but if you, whoever you are, happen to be reading this, i hope my random, quirky thoughts may lead you to some self discovery of your own. :)

i hope this finds you in happiness, health and love. xoxo

ps. - jonathan: This is the ultimate blend to drink. How'd you find this place?

sara: I first came in because of the name: Serendipity. It's one of my favorite words.

jonathan: It is? Why?
sara: It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident.

-"Serendipity"

serendipity: one of my favorite movies, songs, and words. and has one of my favorite definitions as i believe some of the greatest things in life are the results of fortunate accidents.

pps. - Have you smiled today?

{i captured this on a recent sailing excursion with my pup. it made me smile.

i hope it had the same effect on you.}

oh and a special thanks to my dear friend cece who has been a recent inspiration for my blogging journey.