roses and thorns.

ok. so confession time.

it is 10:37, wednesday evening {hump day, evening?, if you will}, and i have a complete essay to write and i just cannot. we have had a little longer than a month to write this lovely essay on the equally lovely book "as i lay dying" {sarcasm on the 'lovely'? why yes. also, read the book in high school....we called it 'as i die reading'. true story. luckily with an actual qualified teacher the book made more sense this time around and was actually somewhat enjoyable. still, it had some moments of 'dying reading'. my apologies mr. faulkner} anyway and in true 'kate' fashion i have procrastinated till the end..its due next tuesday. if there is one thing i win at in life it is my procrastination skills. really, they are awesome. but anyway tomorrow is the last day my professor will read drafts and as this is worth 25% of our grade, i really think it is a good idea. plus some overachievers {slash people i wish i were right now} have already sent him 4 and 5 different drafts. seriously. i have one page down. essay: 1 kate: 0. its beating my butt. i was excited about this essay in the beginning. i actually do enjoy writing and so initially welcomed this assignment with an open heart, but now, especially after composing an email to my education class advisor discussing the 2nd grade class i teacher aid in, all i want to do is share more about that class. not discuss the characters in a.i.l.d which exude signs of heroism.

in case you did not know, i am in the teacher certification program here at gonzaga, and am currently enrolled in a class which requires a field experience where once a week i get to dress up in cute teacher clothes {including heels. splurged last week on some adorable red little heels}, and spend and hour and a half on tuesdays with little 7 and 8 year olds. the school i am at is a title one school, meaning it has many impoverished and at risk students. 61% students are on free or reduced lunches. it is a complete 180 from the elementary school i attended. many of these students do not have a steady home life; many do not even have permanent homes.

here is an excerpt from the email i sent my advisor relaying my one of my experiences with these students from the first two weeks:

...This week was just as good. The day was started with a little girl, Melina, asking what the empty milk carton was for, which was sitting on a desk. When i told her it was a penny drive for children who werein need, she said in her tiny voice, 'when i get my allowance, im going to give it all to the carton'.when i told her how nice andgenerous that was, she answered back saying how her family was 'broke' and how they had been 'broke' for a while. I then noticed the holes in her long sleeved shirt, as she mentioned she hasn't had new clothes in a while. It made such a huge impact on me, that this little girl, one, knew her family was having financial troubles, and two, still thought togive her allowance to the penny carton....

incredible right? right after that, a little boy said he was going to put a whole twenty dollars in the carton. the selfless spirit of these kids is so uplifting.

after just 2 times with these kids, they have touched me and i can say it is easily one of my most favorite times of the week, if not my favorite.

i am still not 100% sure if teaching is the career i want for myself. i still go back and forth with i don't really know what but i don't like the idea of pigeon-holing myself so soon into one career, even if it is one i know i could be extremely happy with. i feel like i need time to explore others. the problem is the education program here is so specialized i don't really have time to explore. its not a major so i have to pick a major, meet all those requirements and then meet all the requirements of the cert. program. so its pretty hectic. oh well.

anyway:

my secret dream job of the week? wedding photographer.

how cool to get to experience this every time you go to work??

found here

ok. i suppose it is time to get back to my essay. i have a feeling it is going to be a late night for me. oh joy.

also a girl in my class (college, not elementary) shared that her class (elementary, not college) went around and did 'roses and thorns' each morning: the good and bad about their previous day. so today:

rose: got a lovely late valentines day letter in the mail from my little blue devil. read it twice i loved it so much.

also. it snowed a lot. {it makes our campus look so cute}

thorn: my essay. meaning a late night and i am tired. and sick. spring break hurry up please? :)

also. it snowed a lot. {i am starting to forget what warmth feels like}

my apologies for this insane monster of a post.

again basically its for me. but then again, partly for you if you find my random procrastination influenced thoughts interesting.

love to you.

to be continued.

photographs and memories.

i absolutely love pictures.

i am always the annoying one asking a waiter to snap a picture of the dinner group or the mom-like person who gathers the group for a picture, at sometimes the most inopportune times. my friends can attest to this. {i can feel i am totally going to be the annoying mom who has the camera in her kids' faces all the time. funny thing is as a kid i hated that.}

however i always know that i'll be glad i did. and because of this i have tons and tons of pictures saved on my computer. i don't think this is necessarily a unique thing to have or to like, but after ordering new prints a couple of days ago it was reaffirmed at how great pictures are.

when shutter-fly notified me through email my pictures had been delivered i literally jumped up from my bed and practically ran to the mailroom eager to get there before it closed.

it was seriously like christmas. {although whenever you have mail in college its like christmas}

i then decided to reorganize my pictures in my room, adding to the collection and taking some down..just as a refresher.

it was so much fun. :)

{part of the board}

{pardon the messy bed}

oh and also? spokane officially cannot decide on its weather. talk about bipolar. today it was snowing while it being sunny and partly cloudy out. weird? yes. i kept saying it felt like those old movies where the snow looks fake, because the screen is odly lit up. does that make sense? i don't know but thats what it felt like and it was very confusing. i think im ready for it to be spring.

you cant really tell, but this was taken right now and it was snowing:

and lastly some girls in my hall and i went out on saturday for a pre-valentines girls dinner. we all dressed up and ate white cheddar and apple salads, bruschetta and sipped on our waters with lemon.

it was very classy.

such a relaxing, fun dinner.

{until we called the taxis too soon and the drivers got ansy waiting while we dealt with the checks. it was a bit uncomfortable.}

that is all.

love to you this week. xo

{inspiration for title? see jason reeves. my fav singer}

to be continued.

st. valentine.

"all you need is love"

this short phrase containing merely 5 words is perhaps {in my humble opinion} the most influential phrase to be ever spoken or i guess sang in the english language. and why? because its true. don't try to argue. i think love is the only thing in the entire universe that everyone is looking for and is also something that can not fully be explained....or in the very least people have many different definitions. how do you know what love really is? how is it defined? it seems as if there are varying degrees like some classics: puppy love, first love, everlasting love, true love.... is there a difference between loving something or someone, and being in love? shouldn't love, well, just be love, plain and simple? humans have made our entire world complicated, and i feel like, over time, we have made love complicated as well.

i feel like until you find 'the one', people always question if they love the person they are with, or if it a simply an infatuating lust. you know you love your family, and you know you love your friends....so shouldn't you be able to tell just as easily if you love your significant other? why do people find it so hard?

valentines day is a day completely devoted to this complex emotion, and living in a hall filled with 50 girls there has been some discussion about it...to say the least. most of it is discussion filled with hatred and resentment....complete opposite ideas than probably intended by ol' st. valentine.

i however, love this holiday. maybe its commercial or even silly, but its still one day out of all 365 in a year completely dedicated to honoring the ones you love, be it a significant other or a friend....something that is surprisingly hard to do in our every day busy lives. i love the idea of love. therefore i love valentines day and always will.

and because i love it so much i decorated...naturally:

{love}

{our mirror decorations. some dino love}

{our door}

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

and...although a couple days early, i hope you have a fantastic valentines day loving the people in your life!

to be continued.

summa lovin.

hello lovelies.

so basically i have been craving some summer

and when it is summer i would like some of these suits.

adorable right?

right.

found here

happy end of the weekend! hope it has been splendid for everyone.

heres to a magnificent monday.

xo to all.

to be continued.

jan births

oh hello there.

it tis nearing the end of january which brings me to another birthday post! there are quite a few birthday folks who i would like to give a shout out to :)

first and foremost:

{jan. 5th.}

happy happy birthday daddy! you are simply the best. love you so much!

second, my pup:

{also jan 5th}

easily my most favorite dog in the world. duh.

i love my sibs too. just side note.

these lovely ladies:

{kellie: jan 18th. and katie: jan 7th}

love you girls!!

and jeffrey

love you jeff!

{jan 14th}

basically one of my favorite pictures. there is just so much wonderfulness going on tehe

happy happy birthday month to my wonderful family and friends. love you all!

xo

to be continued.

a reminder.

{found this boutique in downtown spokane. how perfect?}

serendipity:

a fortunate accident.

take advantage of those fortunate accidents.

they could mean something one day.

that is all.

ok now im going to bed.

to be continued.

head and the heart.

i sit here at approximately 3:05 am on this sunday...ok i guess now monday morning, trying to keep my eye lids open as i attempt to read my education text book on poverty. there are sour patch kids, and jelly bellies sitting casually strewn on my desk, already much enjoyed yet ruining my new years resolution of less late night snacking, and i am currently on my second cup of coffee. my smiley face mug keeps beaming at me as if to tell me to keep going....'tomorrow will be better if you just keep reading. it'll lesson your load in the morn', it tells me. you can do it.' i appreciate its optimism but at the same time curse its eternal giddiness. doesn't it know i could or should be asleep right now? but alas it is a mug and so would not know such a thing. and it t'was my decision i suppose for choosing this hour in which to do my homework. still. my bed is calling me. but i had some 3:00 am thoughts that i would like to share.

this weekend is coming to a close, however with martin luther king jr. day tomorrow we do not have classes which is a complete godsend after this weekend.

it has been quite the past couple of days and although the details are not important for the purpose of this blog the ones that are, are that it was affirmed through the series of events that i have the absolute best family and friends in. the. world. i can say with complete confidence that out of all the people in the entire world, the people in my life are the. best. the absolute best. the cream of the crop if you will, and i feel so completely blessed to have them in my life. if any of you are reading this, although this isn't the most personal way to proclaim my love and appreciation for you, i say all this with all complete sincerity. and hopefully ill find some way, along the way to personally share my profound gratitude for you. xo.

now for some other important news.

i have a new band obsession. ive never been much of a band person; i have always been more of a solo artist follower but what i experienced saturday night has changed me forever. ok so that sounds a little dramatic but seriously. i don't think you understand....{not yet anyway} best band ever. and after one 45 minute show in a small cafe in downtown spokane i became hooked.

my friend carolyn invited me to go with her and our other friend kellie to this cafe where one of her favorite bands was playing...the head and the heart. i thought it sounded like a good time, and although i had never heard of them i agreed to tag along. we walked downtown, in the rain i might add, and after getting mildly lost in the complete wrong direction in spokieville finally came upon the cafe.

we arrived, a bit soggy, and just marched right in

{totally missing the spot where we were supposed to pay. half way through the concert it occurred to us that yes, it was $15 to get in and no, we did not pay said $15. whoops. lesson number 1: act like you own the place and you can get away with anything.}

this place was a riot. hip and happening people everywhere. i felt very underdressed and frumpy in my rain coat and rain boots...girls were wearing strapless dresses and cool indie boots. guess we missed the memo. it occurred to us at one point it might be a 21+ show and they just assumed we were of age {flattered? perhaps}, because everyone sat nursing a beer. however that idea was soon shot down as two little boys probably aged 5 walked in front of us. weird b/c the act that was up kept saying the 'f' word every other word. and with much enthusiasm i might add. not exactly a place i would take my child, but.. to each his own.

there were a couple acts before the head and the heart came on, and finally when they did it was close to midnight. but let me tell you, the wait?...well it was more than worth it. as soon as they started playing people were up front swaying and clapping to the music.

these people played with every ounce of their being. you could just see the music coursing throughout their veins as they exuded that energy into whatever instrument they were playing whether guitar, keyboard, drums, violin or their voices.

they had a blast up there performing for us which, in turn, made us have a blast listening to them. simply brilliant.

after their first song i was hooked. and obsessed.

i got a poster after the show.

it might possibly be my new favorite item in my room.

please check them out.

i can tell you you wont be disappointed. i think they are one of those bands who are like 10 times better live....but still ridiculously good on the album. so yes. totally worth it.

enjoy this little bit of pure joy and energy.

{click}

i also enjoy 'ghosts', 'sounds like hallelujah'...aanndd the rest of their music. lets be honest. its all pretty great.

ok enough rambling. it is time to continue reading about poverty in the world. and then time for bed. im pretty excited about it.

goodnight loves. hope you find your day brightened by the people in your life, and energized by the music in your ears, and the love that surrounds us everyday.

ps. sorry for the extremely long post. i tend to get lengthy in the wee hours of the morning as i dont have quite the filter i do in the day. meh oh well. again it is mostly for me. except for the music sharing part because that is for you. you to enjoy and pass on. many hugs and kisses to all.

to be continued.