3... 2... 1...

I'm Feeling: pooped!
Background Noise: The Power of Love by Huey Lewis & The News

This is Maggie. She's about 5 1/2 months old in this picture (7 months old now!) and is absolutely darling. When I went to St. Louis to visit with her, her mama and her sister - I wanted to take her home with me. Beautiful face, chubby legs, and the most precious smile. Makes me feel better just to think about her.... :D

Mark left for Traverse City today - it's game time! I'll drive up tomorrow afternoon with our friend Jamie - as has been the tradition for the past 5 years or so. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous - 60s and sunny (which doesn't matter much when you're stuck in a conference...) but it will be nice for Saturday, when the conference is over. The guys - Dave, Jamie, Mark, Mike - will play golf, while I enjoy a massage in the Grand Traverse Spa. Fabulous!

Work is wearing me out, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - and this week will be a change of pace - the conference is extremely fast and busy, but at least it's a different kind of busy. I really apologize for my vanilla blogging habits lately - but my mind feels fuzzy and blank. Too much work buzzing around. I'll be back to my stellar, oh-so-entertaining self in a week or two.

mondays....

I'm Feeling: sore-throaty (finally caught whatever Mark has/had)
Background Noise: World's Greatest by R Kelly

This is Nat, Brianna, Christy, Lindsey, Rachel, Huntar and Ellen - they are some of my favorite people - my friends from Mason Middle School. I get to hang out with them tonight after work - wahoo!! :D

Pretty good weekend - Mark was at work most of the time, I got a lot done around the house, got to relax some, go to church, get a little craft-ing done (I didn't realize how much I missed doing things with my hands... I've probably opened the floodgates - buy stock in JoAnn's Stores - quick!) Unfortunately, I've also managed to start coming down with some sort of throat-y illness - turns out Mark was contagious after all, I guess. Please pray that this goes away quickly - I have a very busy couple days at work, then it's up to Traverse City for the HOSA conference. No time for this!!

Happy Monday!!  

bet you didn't know...

I'm Feeling: a little impatient - got to RE-LAX!
Background Noise: We Will Become Sillouettes by The Postal Service

Go to Wikipedia.com and look up your birthday (leave off the year). List 3 events, 2 births, and 1 death that happened on your birthday.

Events:
1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
1912 - The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith, debuts as the first gangster film.
1941 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.

Births:
1950 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
1968 - Vanilla Ice, American rapper
2002 - (Jordan) Ezra Hanson, Son of Musician Taylor Hanson (I know this makes three, but I just had to add this one)

Death:
1926 - Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874)

Six Weird Things about Me:
1. I sleep with 3 pillows – one for my head (must be reasonably fluffy – I abhor flat pillows), and one for each side of me (I sleep on my side). I used to just sleep with one in front – to hug, support my knees, whatever… but I got tired of moving it every time I rolled over. Easy solution – now I sleep inside a little pillow fortress.

2. I have really long arms. Seriously. Almost ape-ish. My fingertips are literally about 3 ½ inches above my kneecap. It’s creepy.

3. I stand on the sides of my feet a lot… as in, my ankles are kinda rolled under, and all my weight/balance is on the outside edges of my feet. Pretty sure that’s going to wind up causing problems later in my life….

4. It really drives me nutty when things aren’t organized, but I seem to be a fairly clutter-y person by nature. My bedroom is usually piled high with clean, folded laundry that I don’t want to put away, and piles of junk mail accumulate on my counters… my own habits drive me crazy!!

5. A few months ago, I printed off a bunch of math problems from some website I found – and I did them all for fun. It was mostly fairly straightforward, college-level algebra stuff. But it was fun. I miss it.

6. Every two years, I cut my hair short. Like chin-length short. Then I moan about missing my long hair, and spend two years growing it out. Repeat cycle.

smells of spring

I'm Feeling: a little spacey
Background Noise: Down Where The Green Grass Grows by Jed Marum

After my perilous climb to my office this morning (all the way up to the third floor!), I opened my office door, and was greeted by a fantastic smell - the hyacinths that I brought in yesterday are in full bloom - it smells like a little spring garden in my office now! I love it - as the days get nicer it gets harder and harder to be in an office all day - but if I open the windows and smell my flowers, I can almost pretend I'm not here. Almost. Except for the phone, the email, and the flow of students in and out of my office... I just hope no one has really horrible spring allergies. I like my plant.

The other day I was driving home in the late afternoon, and I always take College Road - which consists of a 1-2 mile stretch straight through the university farms. In the spring, another rather potent odor is detectable there - the smell of natural fertilizer (ie, some kind of animal poop). The weird thing was - that I was excited to smell it! The smell of manure is the harbinger of springtime!! 

had a ball!

I'm Feeling: hungry (almost lunch time!)
Background Noise: Take My Breath Away by Berlin

Date: April 29, 1999
Time: somewhere around 9pm-ish until almost 5am
What: Mark and I have our first significant conversation - we'd only been spending time together for a couple of days, and were still very much in the starry-eyed, cautiously flirty (well, I was cautious) stage of getting to know one another. We rolled a tennis ball back and forth across the floor of his residence hall room the whole time we talked.

Date: yesterday
Time: almost 10pm
What: I run upstairs to get the big bouncy ball that was part of Mark's Easter basket gift, and we bounce, roll, catapult, hurl and kick the ball back and forth all night while we talk, laugh, and try to relax from the impending work-stress looming ahead of us this week.
(Just kidding, it was really only about a half-hour... but still!)

I've decided to write a book about this phenomenon. Mark and I invariably have better (that is - more fun, more effective) conversations when we are DOING something. (This may be why our basement is littered with ping pong, foosball, and air hockey implements.) Now last night there wasn't anything life-altering to discuss, but we sure did laugh a lot. And honed our pirate-like reflexes. I'll never have a conversation without it again. :D 

end of a long week...

I'm Feeling: worn out, but ready for a good day
Background Noise: Sweet Baby James by James Taylor

These are my silly friends Lauren and Jillian (a picture from the B & W party we had at our house a week ago). They're both volunteer leaders w/YoungLife and WYLdLife, and they're amazing women. Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous - they have big hearts, lots of love for other people, and they always have a hug and smile to greet you. I get to see them at least every Friday (more often if I'm lucky).

What a week - days are buzzing right by - lots of work, lots of things going on in the evenings. Mark has a LOT to do for his upcoming HOSA conference, and is starting to feel a cold/flu thing coming on. Please cover him with prayer - there's never a good time to be sick, but this is definitely NOT an option right now!! Send healthy thoughts his way!

I'm a little bummed that I've been so busy with work and whatnot this week - I know I haven't given myself appropriate time to meditate on this time of year - especially to prepare my heart for tonight. I love Easter - as a kid, it was more because of candy, presents, egg hunts, pretty dresses, and flowers in church. I still like those things very much, but I resonate much more with the celebration - the incomparable victory of Christ overcoming sin and death, and the unimaginable depth of His sacrifice for us. Blessings to you this weekend - I pray that you and I both will be able to find some time to be still this weekend. Be still and know He is Lord.

Happy Easter!! 

earmuffs!

I'm Feeling: a teensy bit frazzled
Background Noise: 1985 by Bowling for Soup

I want a pair of earmuffs for work... not because it's chilly in here, but to drown out the same questions that get asked over and over... it's nobody's fault (not like I expect everyone to know the answers themselves)... I'm just in need of earmuffs. Or a tape player, with all the most commonly answered questions on it - so I can just push play when another student walks in.

I feel like a broken record these days: busy at work, busy at home, all is well... blah blah blah. Those are good things to be stuck on, but I feel bad for my 3 or so loyal readers. So rather than making you listen (read) all about this repetitive cycle I'm in... I thought you could entertain me.

1. What's one tiny (preferably dorky) thing that can always make your day better?
2. What is your favorite drink containing ice cream?
3. What do you want for your birthday?
4. What's your favorite type of weather?
5. Name one thing you're a tiny bit ashamed to admit you own.

That's the best I can do today... looking forward to your answers!! :D 

where'd who goooooooo?

I'm Feeling: blurry
Background Noise: Something in the Way She Moves by James Taylor

SO - I had an amazing weekend - huge party at our house on Friday night - it was SO FUN. Tons of people, all dressed up (aren't we lovely??), lots of food, music, laughing, picture taking... thanks to everyone who showed up and made Tony's birthday (and my Friday night) so cool. Saturday I got to sleep in a little, and then had lunch/went shopping with one of my absolute favorite people, Kelsey J. Not enough time to spend, but it was wonderful to see her all the same. And last night we got to grill brats. Spring is coming (I would say "here", but I don't want to jinx anything)... life is good!!

Work has shot past me today - I was in a seminar this morning that REALLY made me want to be a college professor, pilates class at lunch (our last one until fall - *snif!*) and then 7 appointments in 3 hours. Almost time to head home for WYLdLife tonight. I'm pooped, but all smiles. Happy Monday! (I think that's an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp or something, but hey...)

don't ask...

If you could pick a theme song to play whenever you walked into a room, what would it be?

get ready!

I'm Feeling: that work should be canceled on rainy Fridays
Background Noise: Be Our Guest from the Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack

Tonight there is going to be a big party at our house - and the best part is - I'm not planning it! It's our friend Tony's birthday today, and some of the YL gang wanted to have a party for him, and asked us if our house could serve as the venue. So it happens that tonight at 9pm, people will descend en masse upon our house, decked out (it's a dress-up, you can only wear black and/or white party), to celebrate 20 years of Tony.

I know that some people are buying new clothes for the party, and as much as I love to shop, I decided to wear something I already own. This is my never-fail black party dress. It has accompanied me to many weddings, church, work, and even (its original debut) to my high school graduation. That's right, this dress is 8 years old. But it's simple, plain black, and I just love it. It's nice to have a fall-back. And, I don't have to drop extra money on a new dress that I'll only wear twice a year.  

pointless grins

I'm Feeling: ready for another round
Background Noise: Tower by ISH

Driving into work this morning, I was stopped at the light at Farm Road and South Shaw Lane on campus. I glanced in my rearview mirror, and the woman in the car behind me was smiling. Not just regular smiling... she was grinning. All alone in the car, no cel phone stapled to her ear, or even a little earpiece. Just smiling. The radio could have been on, of course - I have no idea. But I kinda like to think she was just smiling for the heck of it. It was kinda cool.

Superduper busy around here these days - nonstop flow of appointments, emails, phone calls - so much so that I neglected my blog yesterday! That may be the way of things around here for the next few weeks. Hang in there with me!

I hope you catch yourself smiling for no reason at all today!! 

warning - a (rather wordy) glimpse into my head...

I'm Feeling: like I didn't sleep quite enough last night
Background Noise: Beautiful One by By The Tree

I was up too late last night, reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - I haven't seen the movie, but I want to, and I thought it might be nice to read the book first. Not always true, but I love books.

So you may be wondering why I've pictured a yoke here (used to yoke two oxen together to plow fields). Well, I wanted to expound a little bit on my "God is faithful" declaration yesterday. Jesus tells us (all who are weary) to come to Him for rest, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Without going into too much background/context detail, Jesus's yoke is - love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Yup, I've heard that before. But I never really understood the piece where it's not wearisome or heavy. I like people a lot, but historically, I like them in moderation, and on my own terms. I have a tendency to cling to my space and my time, and become worn out by excessive socialization. I know, I sound like a big old weirdo.

I've been thinking and praying a lot about that lately, and I think part of my problem is/was that I've proven to be very susceptible to thoughts like "somebody else would be so much better at loving (insert name here) ight now" and "I'm not that energetic/silly/fun - they'd rather be friends with someone else." The funny thing is that I'm not really a low self-esteem-y person (I don't think). I'm just hard on myself to the point of martyrdom. I felt like I didn't have enough in me to be giving so much to other people all the time. I haven't always thought that way - I just think Satan has been able to get a secure foothold in that niche in my brain... it's been a slow change over a number of years.

Anyway, I've been praying for God to remove the poisonous thoughts from my head - it's obviously not helpful to have things like that floating around, and leave only what came from Him. In the past, I've asked for more energy, more time for myself, blah blah. I finally just asked for the thoughts to be gone altogether. And something clicked. This weekend, I just suddenly found this huge desire to seek out people and love them - and it was like there was a different voice in my head completely. "Where did Katie go??" I wondered - God either kicked Satan out and these new thoughts really are my heart, or He kicked me out and took up residence Himself. Either way, I'm glad He's walking with me. It's hard to explain if you don't know me that well, but let's just say it feels like a huge jump.

The only way to have friends is to be one, the person everyone likes is the person who likes everyone, and I have more than enough in me (from Him) to be able to give my all to those around me. Jesus's yoke is lighter than mine - praise God for simple answers to prayer!!

this is my life... ?

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.6
Mind:	8.1
Body:	8.6
Spirit:	8.4
Friends/Family:	6.5
Love:	7.3
Finance:	8.4
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I'm Feeling: a little judged
Background Noise: The Engine Driver by The Decembrists

So I got this Rate Your Life link off of Mark's blog... apparently my life is not quite as good as his. I mean, I already knew I didn't have the body, but sheesh. Cut me some lack... I mean, just look at my competition. ;)

Had a great weekend - Friday, after a fantastic YL Leadership meeting, Mark and I went to see The 5 Browns at the Wharton Center - really incredible and fun (oh, and I had an ice cream cone), went to a birthday party on Saturday and played Settlers all afternoon (if you've never heard of it, you need to - Mark and I will be happy to teach you!). Sunday was church (Steve taught), discipleship class (James taught), lunch with JR and Tricia, and then it was off to Martha's house (Mark's older sister) to celebrate the March birthdays. I also got to round up the weekend with a few rousing rounds of Connect Four with Lukey... he plays a mean Milton Bradley, let me tell you.

It has to be said - God is SO faithful! I've been staggered at the way He answers prayer - I got this amazing answer this weekend, and I'm just in awe. It's like when you were a kid, and you'd ask (and ask and ask and ask) your parents for something, but they wouldn't give it to you until you asked the right way, or for the right reason, or with the right attitude. Now, I'm NOT saying that I think there is a right "way" or a wrong "way" to pray - it just seems to me that I finally asked God for something, and my heart was in the right place, and my desire was motivated in the way He wanted it to be, and He was more than happy to bestow it upon me. It's cool. Beyond cool. And a really humbling lesson too - sometimes I'm just asking for things selfishly, or because I want the easy way out, or I want God to change someone else... not me.

I'd be happy to give more details if you want to ask me about it. I'm excited to see how He keeps moving through this!!