it's [just me] and her titles...

When I was little I had bright red hair. Bright red. And I had a lovely little cowlick right smack dab on my bang line. Red hair and a bang cowlick? Cute, I tell you. Cute indeed [sarcasm intended]. To make matter worse, I had three older sisters who had mastered the skills of a curling iron and a bottle of hairspray. So of course I had to keep up.

I would try to curl my hair everyday for school. Emphasis on "try". You see, the hot rod inches from my skin scared the crap out of me. I could curl the sides of my hair just fine because I could see what I was doing. But the hot rod and little arms didn't mix for the back of my hair. This equated to the left and right sides of my hair being curled and the back...well let's just say it looked pretty stupid.

That is, until Kimmy took pity on me. I remember the fist day she curled my hair in a long time. I got on the bus and the bus driver said, "Wow, all of your hair is curled! You should do it more often!" From then on, I always begged and pleaded with Kim to curl my hair. I am sure it annoyed the crap out of her, but she did it anyways. So I appointed her with the title of my lifelong hairdresser.

To be honest, I appointed her with a lot more titles than just "hairdresser" throughout the years. She's been my chauffeur. She's been my cook. She's been my maid. She's been my roommate. My TV-viewing partner. My second mom. My wedding planner. My counselor. My college planner. My secretary. My vacation coordinator. My financial backer. My secret keeper. My shopping partner. My role model.

Best of all? She's been my sister.

Happy Birthday Kimmy. Thanks for...you know...everything.  

it's [just me] and my big brother...

Today I had an Oral Final for my Spanish class. After several "Yo soy amable pero un poco terca" and "No me gusta cocinar" the professor asked me to tell her about my family. I responded, "Yo tengo cuatro hermanas y un hermano." My professor's eyes showed her surprise and she replied, "¡Ah, pobre chico!"

Poor boy? Uh, yah right. That "poor boy" has the best "cuatro hermanas" anyone could ever ask for. And I am sure he would say the same. I think. No, I am sure of it. Pretty sure anyway. Definitely. 

***

When we were little, we had a LONG lane that we would ride our bikes down to catch the bus to school. One day, after the bus dropped us off, my big brother and I jumped on our bikes and decided to race home. I looked over at Alan to see how much faster my little legs had to peddle. My eyes somehow steered my bike...straight into the barbed-wire fence. [Really, I still have quite a substantial scar on my hand to prove it.] Let me tell you, I cried. I cried and screamed and thought for sure I was dying. 

Alan jumped off his bike and ran over to my oh-my-gosh-I-am-sure-I-just-died little body. He didn't hesitate. He didn't get disgusted by the gushing blood [Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't gushing. But to my seven-year-old self, it definitely was]. He didn't point, laugh, and run back to his bike to win the race. Instead, he picked me up and RAN all the way home. Ran. The whole lane. And let me tell yah, it was a long lane to run, especially for a nine-year-old holding his screaming seven-year-old little sister. 

Even at nine-years-old, my big brother took care of me. 

Happy Birthday, Al. Thanks for always taking care of me. 

Spring Sunday...

pink skies // flowers picked and gifted // volleyball in a park by the river // walking across bridges 

oh, the perfect spring sunday.

16 days, 11 hours, 58 minutes, & 11 seconds. 

10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds... 

The Countdown...

Oh hi guys. Remember me? Yep, it's been a while. Turns out blogging isn't so fun when you have nothing worth mentioning going on in your life. Sure, it's Spring Break and all. And I really wish I could tell you all about the crazy adventures the Break has brought. But they don't exist. Instead, my break has consisted work. Work and sleep. Sleep and work. Sure, the sleep has been pretty nice. Well, it would be if we actually went to bed at a decent hour. What is it about not having class in the morning that makes you stay up until 4am? Who knows. 

But goodness, thoughts of Monday make me want to throw up. My break wasn't long enough. Not long enough at all. 

The only thing keeping me sane is 5512. Yep, 05052012. 05-05-2012. May 5, 2012. 36 days. 35 days, 8 hours, 50 minutes, and 5 seconds. You know, the countdown to Graduation. I can barely hold my excitement in at the thought. But it really seems like the day is just never going to come. The countdown is never ending. 

But I will take it one day at a time. Only because I have to. 

So in honor of one day at a time, tomorrow I am devoting my day to Conference. The next day with be devoted to family. And then it's Monday. And I will continue to take it one day at a time until 050512. Let's hope I can make it...

35 days, 8 hours, 47 minutes, 45 seconds. 

And counting...

Flashback: it's {all about him} and his girlfriend...

You guys sick of the flashbacks yet? Too bad. My posterity will thank you for your patience. Besides, I am almost done.

I think.

***

Naturally, the fact that Jake left to California for 10 straight days after our first kiss was a case of serious bad timing. Because of this, Jake made it is agenda to make sure he never left my mind. He called me every night to catch me up on his day and randomly sent me pictures of his adventures. This was also the first of many times Jake sent me flowers. [Have I mentioned he likes to do that?].

One night, during our daily chat, the mother of the family he was staying with asked who he was talking to. Jake answered [completely nonchalantly], “Oh, it’s just my girlfriend”.

Uh, I may or may not have stopped breathing for a minute. Or longer.  I mean, c’mon, I spent the last year proclaiming “Kate Doesn’t Date” and now I was being called “Jake’s Girlfriend”. It scared me a bit…to say the least. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but smile. “Kate Doesn’t Date” had a nice ring to it, I’ll admit. But “Jake’s Girlfriend”? It just fit. As terrifying as it was, it fit.

***

Jake was scheduled to arrive back into Pocatello late at night.  I was planning to spend the day after class prepping for his arrival. You know, plucking the eyebrows, doing the hair, shopping for a new outfit, etc. All of the important stuff.

Instead, I woke up early that morning when my phone received a picture message. It showcased Jake...and the door to my apartment. I was too asleep to really understand, I guess. It took me a good five minutes, plus a knock on my window, to realize what it meant.

Turns out Jake decided to leave Cali a day early and drive all night long so he could surprise me when I woke up. And surprise me he did.

He surprised me so much that it took me a full minute after I answered the door to realize I was missing a very important supportive undergarment. This led me to run into my room, leaving a very confused and slightly hurt Jake in my living room. He was sure I was unhappy to see him. I was too embarrassed to admit to him the braless truth.

***

He waited for me to get ready, and then dropped me off on campus. I spend the next two classes with a perma-smile cemented on my face. After class, he picked me up and we spent the entire day lounging around my apartment telling each other our deepest, darkest secrets. You know, new relationship stuff.

I admitted that “girlfriend” slightly freaked me out and Jake was more than understanding. I will never fathom why he was so nice to me through everything. Jacob has to be the most patient guy I have ever met. Seriously. I put him through more things than the average guy would ever put up with. And he handled it with a smile on his face.

I kinda love him. And this day was one of the beginning experiences that lead me to have these feelings. [Cheesy enough for you, Jessica?]

 Why all the flashbacks? Find out here!

12 on the 12th: March

Hi guys. It's that time of month again. You know, 12 on the 12th. Or the 13th. Or 14th. Whatev.

I have been feeling a little gloomy lately. Maybe it's the fact that I want the warm weather of summer to be here. Now. Instead, we get rain. Bummer. But, in honor of my gloominess, today's pictures are black and white. 

[01]  My last midterm assignment. 10 pages on the Appalachian English Dialect. Don't worry, I printed extra copies just in case you are interested in reading it. 

[02]  Remember last month when I changed my name? Bad move guys, bad move. I no longer exist according to my professors. It has been such a headache but I finally fixed all my classes before my midterms EXCEPT for my Children's Lit class. Instead, I got a big FAT X. No bueno. 

[03]  I lost my name tag around the first of the year. I finally found it in the VERY back of my closet still pinned to a shirt I never wear. I am glad to have my title back! 

[04]  Work has been slightly stressful lately. One employee quit on a minutes notice and two others have given their two weeks. The only thing that gets me through the day is rocking out to my favorite Pandora station. 

[05]  My desk at the end of my work day. Lately I have been sneaking back in after classes to finish up the excess. "2 A Days" of work aren't the funnest, let me tell ya.

[06]  Not going to bore you with the details, but imagine 10 more pages of this. Then imagine having to redo all of the information. For the second time. Argh. Good thing I love my job! 

[07]  On our honeymoon, Jake and I ate at this fun little Greek restaurant right on the beach at Coronado Island. I loved it. Loved it! I crave Greek food just because of this restaurant. Today I ate a gyro at the Brass Rail Steakhouse in the hotel I work in. DELISH! Took me back to my honeymoon. [What? So what if I did just put a shameless plug in for the hotel? It's my blog.]

[08]  I told you, what a gloomy day!

[09] I have had my iPhone for about 9 months now and I BARELY found the zoom button on the camera. Goodness, that thing was elusive! 

[10]  I met Jake for dinner on his break from work today. He sure knows how to make my gloomy day just a little brighter. P.S. I am not loving the effect weird picture scaling has on my face. Not loving it at all. 

[11]  My sister Jessica sent me a text a while back saying that I should watch Downton Abbey. I brushed it off until one late night boredom strike hit. LOVE IT!! I wont tell you when I started watching it but tonight I will finish the final episode. 

[12]  So...my husband might be just a little baby hungry. Or maybe just a lot baby hungry. Either way, his wife is not. So to push of the pressure a bit I told him we had to meet every goal on my "Little Baby Bucket List". The list keeps getting bigger and bigger...