My Staycation

I took a staycation. And it. was. awesome. I have been wanting to take a staycation for a while, but wanted to do it at the right time. After working 29 days and only having two days during that time where I was off work and home, I figured I was overdue. So, I took advantage of the free Fourth of July holiday, and took almost a full week off of work! Here are some pictures from the week:

Fourth of July and our awesome outfits:

And here are Mark and I at another Fourth of July gathering, watching fireworks:

I feel like I need to add that Mark and I met at a fireworks stand back in 1998, so he always says our relationship "started with fireworks". This gives every fireworks display more meaning. (-:

I planted some beautiful flowers:

Someone got too friendly with the sprinkler and had to get blow-dried:

Someone else got groomed and is officially the cutest poodle ever:

I had girl time with lots of friends - and one friend and I happened to both have on polar bear pajamas, so I figured that was photo worthy:

I watched lots of Harry Potter in preparation for the newest  movie this week:

Cookie baking definitely took place (more than once):

Mark and I attended a wedding reception and they had cupcakes that we got to eat and decorate:

And last but not least, I got to spend extra time with Jesus, and that was wonderful:

One of my favorite things was not setting my alarm each night when went to bed, and not waking up before around 10:00am. (-: That was pretty awesome. 

So, I am a lover of the staycation. It was super cheap (I only spent money on flowers to plant, one skirt I bought, coffee at a coffee shop, and baking ingredients). For a vacation, you really can't beat that. And it was nice to slow down and not be busy. 

Have you ever had a staycation?

~Kathryn

The Thing About Hope

Mark: "What do you want to do?"
Me: "Let's stare into each other's eyes and talk about our hopes and dreams."


I don't know how or when this ridiculous conversation started, but it was before we were married and it takes place semi regularly. We like to talk about our hopes and dreams. And those big brown eyes are awful dreamy. (-:

I've been thinking a lot about hope lately. We've been talking about it too - Mark and I take walks regularly, and we talk about all kinds of things, including our hopes and dreams. Sometimes we talk about happy things, and somethings things that aren't as happy. Things other people would likely think are weird - like if hope is really a good thing or not. We always hear people talk about it, and I've started realizing that I have quite a love/hate relationship with hope. All you have to do is look at a few quotes about hope to see the extremes through which it is viewed:

Some people love hope:

Once you choose hope, anything's possible.  ~Christopher Reeve

The miserable have no other medicine but only hope. ~William Shakespeare

 

Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier.  ~Author Unknown

Whereas some people don't:

In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man's torments.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

There is nothing so well known as that we should not expect something for nothing - but we all do and call it Hope.  ~Edgar Howe

Hope is independent of the apparatus of logic.  ~Norman Cousins

And then we all know those sayings - like about how "hope is not a strategy", and how we should "never deprive someone of hope because it may be all they have."

Hmm...

I've always considered myself a hopeful person. I've "hoped for the best", and when things haven't been the best, I've hoped they would change. I've felt that sometimes hope really is all a person may have. And that when things are a real bummer, there's always hope, right?

But hope has been on my mind lately, because sometimes, hope hurts. I'm starting to understand what Nietzsche said when he said it prolongs torment and is the worst of all evils. It seems like hope doesn't allow for closure in a terrible situation. I mean, really, how long should a person hold onto hope before letting go and moving on? Sometimes hope really makes my heart ache. Wouldn't it be easier to just give up hope? So what about when hope starts to seem unrealistic and hurts more than it helps?

But isn't hope itself unrealistic by nature? It's thinking about something completely turning around in a direction we want. And generally, it's something that's out of our control as well. It's like this longing, deep within us, that we choose to keep alive.

It seems like sometimes if it weren't for blasted hope we could just move on. We could "get over it". We could have more realistic expectations. We could heal.

But can we have it all? Healing, realistic expectations, and hope? I mean who wants to be the person that gives us hope? And isn't there always hope through Jesus? And isn't hope like faith? That's what makes it tough for me. Even in the most "hopeless" situations, while hope is definitely not a strategy, it can be a comfort.

I guess, like everything, it's a balancing act. We have to balance hope with each situation. Maybe we should never give up hope, yet we should be realistic. We should allow ourselves to heal by accepting our situations as they are, and keep that little flicker of hope alive. 

Because just what if, what we hope for actually happens some day, but we gave up on it long ago? What then? 

So, even though it hurts an awful lot sometimes, I think I will choose hope. A realistic hope. A hope that allows for healing and moving on. 

What about you? Are you conflicted about hope? Has it been good for you, or painful? What do you think?

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71:14

~Kathryn

DIY: Mud Pit Be Gone

As you know, we own a home... or least we probably own the porch swing by now. I think the other 99% of the house is still owned by the bank. But you get the picture. Along with the awesomeness of having our own home means that I can't just call the apartment office when I need a light bulb changed. Those were the good ole days. Seriously. Because right now, I can think of about six DIFFERENT kinds of light bulbs that need to be replaced at my house. This is going to require me personally going and buying said light bulbs and figuring out how to change them. And while that might sound ridiculous, some of them are inside light fixtures. So not only do I have to buy the right size light bulb, I have to figure out how to get it in the fixture. This is a goal of mine for next week. Anyway, I have completely digressed.Bottom line - there's no apartment office to fix things. I am the apartment office.

So, owning a home also means I own the mud pit that has made itself right at home in my backyard. The mud pit that has become the personal playground of Boo, Melvin, and Bella. The mud pit that has made certain that grass has no chance of growing. The mud pit that laughs at me when I fork over money to yet again have Boo groomed because he decided to lay in the mud pit. This is the mud pit:

See that green square? Yes, that's a French drain. Unfortunately, that French drain is just slightly off from the mud pit and the water flows away from the drain, meaning, it's not really helping out. Everyday when our neighbors water their flowers, the mud pit returns.

So, the other day, my hero, Jeff, looked in our yard and was like, "You know, I think I can fix that". I, of course, got really excited because (A.) I clearly have no clue how to fix something like that - I mean, I'm having light bulb anxiety over here, and (B) I really wanted the mud pit gone. In fact, I got so excited that I started bragging to my neighbor - the neighbor with the flower bed and the sprinkler. He was outside, and I was "checking out" some drainage stuff,  because I'm a drainage expert. He inquired about the drainage, and I started making all these proclamations about how my boss Jeff could totally fix the drainage problems easily, and he could do it for like $40. I think I might have even waved my arms around for extra dramatic effect. You could tell my neighbor was skeptical of my proud claims, but I knew it my heart Jeff could do it - so I told him I'd "keep him updated" - code language for "I'll let you know when I prove he can do it".

A couple of days later, the project started. We started digging (okay - mainly Jeff and Mark dug). Our goal was to put in another drain along the same pipe thing so the water wouldn't just pool. After finding the pipe thing, I got out all my fancy pants tools and started digging. myself. Here was my work site:

I love my pink tool kit. It's awesome. Here's what I had to drink while I worked:

Yes - sweet tea - with lip gloss marks. Because if you can't look good while digging a French drain, why do it?

And here I am, glad to be working outside on a beautiful day:

After making it completely through Joni Mitchell's "Blue" record and through most of James Taylor's "New Moon Shine", I had made some seriously impressive progress:

Yes. I dug all the way under the drain pipe thing and around it so that we could fit another drain in. This was pretty much the extent of my expertise. Digging. After that, I needed help. So, I took a break and waited for the expert.

Once the expert came, things started happening really quickly. There was a lot of sweat and grunting - it was like Bob Vila on steroids. Things just magically went into place. I clearly wasn't needed, but I watched and it was amazing. This is what the hole quickly looked like:

After cutting the pipe thing, Jeff stuck the new drain on there. We poured some water in to make sure it worked, and sure enough, it did. Then, I got to pretend like I did something really awesome:

Okay don't judge me. Someone has to put the lid on. And really, who's more qualified than me?

Clearly no one.

So, after the lid was on, we filled in the hole and smoothed the dirt around it, and this is what it now looks like:

Legit, huh?

So, the mud puddle is no longer. We are still watching to see how it holds up and if we need to put in one more. Either way, it's already way better, Mark and I learned a new skill, and I'm basically a professional drain digger. I know you are all so impressed. Might I add, this only cost $16 to fix - less than the originally estimated $40.

I hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the mommy bunny took the babies and moved them - probably because we were a little too friendly with them. Oh, well. (-:

Peace!

~Kathryn

A Bouquet of Newly Sharpened Pencils

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.

Ahhh.... "You've Got Mail". Don't you just love that movie? Don't you just want to be Kathleen Kelly? Don't you want to wear those cute jumpers and be able to pull off that cute short hair? And isn't her apartment just to die for? And the charming bookstore where she and her mother used to twirl. Be still my soul. I just adore that movie.

Ahem. I didn't get on here to talk about one of my all time favorite movies, but I am clearly easily distracted. I logged into blogger to tell about my newest endeavor, which will require some new school supplies, and maybe, just maybe, a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.

Yes, I'm going back to school. I've been out of college for four years now. This is just enough time where I don't convulse when I think about opening a text book, studying for a test, or writing a paper. And while I admit I was not a model student, and studying was not my forte, I am genuinely thrilled to be going back.

At the end of my senior year in college, I started looking into the possibility of seminary. I picked the school I wanted to go to and even started getting letters from those hungry admissions counselors, but I knew in my heart I just couldn't do it. Not that I wasn't capable or didn't want to, but I had paid for my own college and already had a decent stack of student loan debt, and I just really couldn't justify going to seminary. That would mean getting farther in debt, and honestly, I don't know that I could have handled much more of the poor college student stress of trying to come up with money for gas, or anything for that matter. So, I put the idea on the back burner and put on my cap and gown.

Since I graduated from college and joined the grown-up world of working, I have every few months surfed the 'ole world wide web to see if my dream could somehow become a reality. Due to finances, the lack of a seminary I could or would go to near where I lived, and my needing to work while I went to school, it seemed very unrealistic.

But this time, after another dead end internet search, a friend of mine mentioned online seminary. Mind you, I found a fair share of ".com" seminaries - those sketchy schools that don't have a ".edu" at the end of the website. But, after I kept looking, one of my top seminary choices had just started a fully online program last fall. And it's definitely a ".edu" school.

My first question was about finances and scholarships, so before I really told anyone about my idea, I emailed our church to find out if there were any scholarship options. As soon as I found out there were, everything happened really quickly. I got two more scholarships, and within about two weeks of starting the process, I was accepted, and as of yesterday, I am enrolled.

So what degree program am I doing? Well, I will be working toward a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. It's a forty-five hour program. I plan on doing nine hours a semester, so it should take me about two and half years to complete. I am so excited, and nervous at the same time. I hope I still have the brain power to pull it off. There will be lots of reading and writing, and I even have to get proctors for my tests since I can't use notes/books/etc.

So, you could definitely say that this fall I will need a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. Or at least a new Mac Book. (-: That's what I'm hoping for - that and some Bible study software.

So, that's my new endeaver. Class starts August 22. (-:

~Kathryn

On the Road Again

Well, hello, everyone! I am blogging from a charter bus right now, somewhere in between Destin, Fl, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am on my way back from our church's youth choir tour. I feel really legit blogging from a wifi card on a bus.

Our trip has just been fantastic. We ministered to lots of people through singing the Word of God over them, and we had lots of great fellowship, and of course, lots of wonderful beach time. I don't have any pics right now of the choir singing, since I couldn't take pics while singing, but I do have some beach pics, which I will most definitely share. (-:

This is the view from my room - how stinkin' cool is that? I stayed with a couple of sweet ninth grade girls and another sponsor.

Karlie and I got to spend some quality beach time together, too. (-:

Being a church choir trip, I was on a hunt for a one piece swim suit. Now, I don't know about you, but I have the HARDEST time finding a one piece that fits. I think I have a long torso, so the one pieces never seem long enough. It's like I'm always having to try to pull them up and stretch them out and it's usually frustrating, and never flattering. But, this time I splurged. I bought a one piece that is supposed to be super cute and look decent. And I'm glad I did. You guys all need to check out www.modcloth.com and see their really cool and vintage one and two-piece swimsuits.

Mark didn't get to go. And I missed him a lot. I'm pretty sure he missed us a lot to. We sent lots of pics to him like these throughout the week:

We will be home tonight and we are excited to see Mark, Boo, Melvin, and Bella. We are very ready for that. (-:

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

~Kathryn

A Treasure in Our Garden

Can I get a shout for the second blog post of the week? Woo!

As we were enjoying our family dinner Monday night (might I add, it was pretty darn good - we had pork chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus and salad - YUM!), we kept getting distracted by Boo barking in the backyard. He was barking and I asked, "Mark, what is he barking at?" Mark looked out the back door and said, "He's barking at the garden." So, we figured he was just being a goofy puppy. He will occasionally bark at a random object as if it were some sort of mythical creature. We go on regular walks around our neighborhood and every once in a while he will see someone's trash sitting out by their curb for the next morning and he'll bark. And I'm like, dude, it's a bag of trash. No need for alarm. ANYWAY, the point is, he sometimes barks at weird things, so I wasn't too surprised.

But he kept barking. We're talking non stop for like ten minutes. Reminder: we were trying to enjoy our family dinner. Finally, I had had enough, and figured the neighbors had as well, so I asked Mark if he would go see what all the commotion was about.

I watched Mark go out there and look in the garden. And then I watched him keep looking. And moving back one of the plants to look more closely. I knew something was up. He gave me a look, and I jumped up from the table, Karlie in tow, and we went to see what was in the garden. And lo and behold, look what we found:

Yes, folks, that is a nest of baby bunnies. Cue ridiculous squealing, picture taking galore, and mass pandemonium as we looked at the baby bunnies. It was pretty amazing. We looked for a really long time, called everyone we knew, and then we left them alone.

Karlie did some research and found out that we can hold them, because domestic rabbits don't mind human scent. And apparently, mommy rabbits feed the babies at night and then they are good for twenty-four hours. The mom leaves during the day so that the nest will not be obvious to predators. Apparently Boo is a good predator, because he knew they were there. Good thing we got that chicken wire around the garden.

Want to get a better look?

Oh. My. Word. Is that not the most precious thing you have ever seen? Karlie named her Annabelle. (I don't know if it's a girl but, oh well.)

And here's another little guy:

I checked on them again this morning and they looked like they were doing good. I'll keep you posted!

Happy Wednesday!

~Kathryn

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

First, of all, I know. I'm like the worst blogger ever. I'm thinking about working on it. You know how like when you see a friend you haven't talked to in so long and it's hard to talk because it's like, "Wow, where do I even begin?!". That's how my relationship is with blogger. It's like I haven't blogged and there's so much back log and what do I even say? So, I will just start with the festivities of this weekend. Coming soon, I will update on my furniture projects, my awesome garden, and something new and exciting I am going to be starting in the fall. (-:

We got to go to the Driller's baseball game and had the most fabulously awesome time. I'll just post some pics to remind you what I look like since it's been so long.

We ate at this AWESOME burger joint. And we ate a lot.

At the game, we got suite seats.... pun intended. Here's our view:

We got cotton candy at the game. It was AWESOME. I mean, cotton candy is like pretty, sweet, and fun to eat. Best of all worlds. Plus it's got the novelty factor going on.

But, it does this to your tongue:

Can you tell my favorite flavor was blue? Yeah.

And here's our family pic after the game:

It was a wonderfully fun night. So, there's a little teaser. I'll try to be a better blogger again. Please forgive me.

~Kathryn