heart.

If you haven't heard Adele yet...let me introduce you.



Here's another Adele song, sung by (and affirming my appreciation for) Gwyneth Paltrow:

Why Easter is more than chocolate.

you know what they say...

In June I will be a bridesmaid for the third time.

Don't say it...cause I know girls who've been bridesmaids more than three times and still ended up being a bride.

So there.

Today Lana and I went on a hunt for bridesmaid dresses. We may not have found anything proper (and complained about how easy guys have it...), but we had fun. We also considered ditching the dress hunt and engaging in building a bear, taking hilarious photos at the photo booth, and asking well-dressed people where they shop. We ended the day with people watching and El Salvadorean food on Commercial drive. It was good.

It was good to spend time together after a year in which we have both been working and going to school. Oh, and Lana's been planning this little party for 160 of her closest friends, so that's kept her busy as well. Sometimes running errands together just has to be the hang out time as well...and it was good to laugh.

Well, we came up with a plan...here I come David's Bridal...(anyone have any hints for us as we try to find two dresses by June 25th? The colour is green. And is negotiable.)

In the meantime, enjoy these gems that we found. These pictures were sent as texts to Carleigh with the following captions (please note the sarcasm):

We found one!

We may need your help.

surprises are the best...

...when YOU are the surprise.

This weekend, after about six weeks of planning and scheming with Stephen Hubbard, I got on a plane to Calgary to surprise my dear friend, Maria. Stephen, being the good husband, had asked me to come and be a pleasant surprise at Maria's baby shower (baby Hubbard #2 is on the way). I loved the idea, and loved that he thought of it (when do friends' husbands think of these things?)...and loved that it was finally time to make it happen!

I can't ever say that I have BEEN the surprise before. And I have to say, it's pretty dang fun.

I loved the weekend.

I felt like I truly left everything behind...work, school, the pile of laundry in my un-vacuumed, fully cluttered, truly chaotic room that is my space. I let it stay in BC, and I said hello to Alberta. Snow and all.

The thing about good friends is that it doesn't matter how long it's been, or whether they're expecting you or not, you just pick right back up where you left off. You rejoice in the ways you've grown, you commiserate about the ways you haven't, and you simply love how despite all that's happened, you both are still who you are at the core. And that's why you're friends. (P.S. Maria, we completely forgot to take that picture at the airport...and our hair looked really good. So sad.)

There was a bonus this weekend, in that I didn't only get to hang out with Maria and Steve and their darling Anna, but I also got to spend time with "the Amys" (two dear girls I went to Bible college with). One I had just seen a few weeks ago, and so it felt great to defy the normal rate of seeing each other (almost once a year or so). The other I hadn't seen for 7 years. Seven! How does that happen? It was definitely a great treat to break bread and sip soup together and hear about how our lives have unfolded thus far.

Time flies.

The other day, I was sitting with a few CBC students at work, and the girls were asking me: "Kathleen, do you still hang out with your friends from your bible college days?" I could hear the anticipation and longing in their voices. The end of their first year is here, and they want to know if there's hope that these amazing friendships will continue. And I was proud to tell them: it's totally possible. I was so happy to explain how my friends from then are still my friends now, although the friendship may look differently...and was careful to explain how intentional you need to be.

So thank you, my CBC friends, for being intentional.
It makes all the difference.

Speaking of time...it's almost May. And I was thinking about my "things i want to see happen in 2011" list. I want to assure you all, it's still on my mind. (Because, I'm sure you've been so worried...)

Here are my updates:
1. Find a drink substitute for pop (specifically coke).
With the exception of one can of  ginger ale (i had the flu), and about half a cup of sprite, I have been pop-free since January 1. There have been moments of impending weakness. Sandwiches and chips, slices of pizza, and any type of group bbq seem to just beckon a good tall glass of coca-cola. But alas, I am proud to report I have chosen water. Whew. Two thirds of the year left to go...

2. Donate blood.
I have called the blood donor services, and was about to set up an appointment, when I got a wicked cold. Wicked cold is starting to subside...appointment is about to be made.

3. Learn to make some type of Guatemalan food.
This actually happened by default! I went over to Estela's one night, and she had mixed up her days and didn't realize I was coming over. In the meantime, she had prepped everything for tamales, and was just about to put them together. With a mix of Spanish and English, I found out how to make them! I'm not sure if I could replicate it...yet...but I was pretty excited to witness the process.

4. Go somewhere new.
This will take place in June. I will let you all know about it after it happens...but I will tell you this: I'm going to visit 7 friends in 4 states in the good ol' US of A...and it will be my first time in TWO of those states. I'm excited. 

5. Get a great pair of boots.
This has been postponed until further notice. And further money. And further winter.

6. Grow a small garden, and help the Davey/Doll household return to composting!
Oh boy. This has yet to happen...
I feel a sudden urgency to get on this. Almost a panic. What month are we in? When do I need to plant? Oh boy.
BUT...Amy did tell me a great tip about composting this weekend...and now I'm inspired again.

7. Learn more about knitting.
Goal date: June. (i.e. time when I don't work or do school and have some sort of a life).

8. Take a pottery class?
Did I have any idea that pottery classes cost around $200 when I posted this brilliant thought? No. This idea is postponed until I am re-employed in the fall or win some sort of lottery/scratch and win/beauty contest.

9. Spend more money on other people than on myself.
I will admit, I am trying my darnedest...and now that we're four months in to the year, I think I'm getting better. I think... 

So, I give myself a B.
I'm on my way.

In other news (wow, this post just goes on forever)...I found this today and love it. May it inspire you: The 25 Best Songs of 2011 (so far)

namaste, fairy God, ribbons and bosom buddies.

I'm not a mom.

I'm not even a real aunt...

(subsequent condition of being an only child...and why my grandma lectured me about the dangers of marrying another only child...I was six years old and I still remember her exact words: "if you marry someone who's an only child, you'll never be an auntie, Kathleen. And your kids won't have any cousins. You don't want that, do you?" She was making a good point. But perhaps she should have been more concerned about encouraging me to marry, rather than focusing on the details of it all. What would she say to me now, I wonder?)

But despite this...I can hold my own in the "mama/auntie stories" department.

That's the pay off from living with a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 20 month old who thinks she's 14.

And so, to share in the delight of living life with this crew, I bring you the best of the best stories from the last few days.

These are my latest Charlee favourites (age 4.71...I did the math.)

Namaste, horse land.
It's Saturday morning.
I roll out of bed and make my way upstairs, to find Carleigh and the kids partying in the living room (aka usual Saturday morning stuff).
I make breakfast and join in the party...we all sit at the table and eat and talk about the day.

Mid-conversation, Charlee puts her hands together, bows her head, and dips her head into her clutched hands...she reminds me of a Buddhist monk.

God bless us, she says.

Carleigh and I can't help but laugh.
Charlee, where did you learn that?

She looks up.
What?

(A very typical Charlee response)

Where did you learn to do that, Charlee?

She shrugs her shoulders, grins, and utters,

Oh, just in mine head.

Oh, of course.

She repeats the whole process...with added dramatic effect, for our benefit.

Well, where was your head?

I believe that's a legit question at this point.

Um...it was at horse land!

Oh.

Of course.

Well, namaste, horse land. Namaste. 

Guess who?
I'm sitting on the couch, working on some homework.

Charlee runs up to me.

Kaleen, I'm thinking of someone...

He has wings!

He can fly!

And he lives...(points to her heart)

...right here!

Who is it, Kaleen?

Um...well, Char, I'm not sure.

Come on, Kaleen! You can do it! He can fly and he lives right here (points again to her chest).

Um, Charlee, are you talking about God?

Yes! It's God! That's who I'm thinking about! 

And, he has wings and can fly?

Yes, he can!

Right, okay, well, we might need to work on your theology, Charlee.

(At this point, Gary walks by, and points out to me that I have no proof God doesn't have wings or can't fly. I return to my homework...a little bit speechless).

No, that's where my ribbons are.
Tonight we're in the middle of dinner.
Charlee points to my shoulder, and makes a circular motion with her finger.

Kaleen, what's this called?

Well, this is my shoulder, and this is my back, and this is my arm (she'd covered all three with the finger waving).


No, Kaleen, I mean, what bone is this? 

Well, I think it's a bunch of bones, Charlee.


Kaleen, I think it's your talus bone.

Oh, really? Well, I think your talus bone is lower down, like maybe in your back? (at this, I point to my lower back...I obviously have no idea. I just googled it. It's in your ankle. I plead the fact that I never took biology as my excuse for ignorance).

No, Kaleen (she points to her lower back), those are my ribbons!

I immediately chuckle.

Actually, Charlee, your ribbons are in the front. And they're called ribs.

Charlee looks at me, and realizing her mistake, bursts into a giggle.
We laugh together. 
I love this kid.

Don't worry, Kaleen.
We're still eating dinner tonight.

Charlee asks: Mom, can I have some dip dip for my fries? (in our house, this is a common reference to ketchup, known as red dip dip...or ranch dressing, known as white dip dip. You see the theme.)

Attempting to help Carleigh out, I ask Charlee if she wants the open container of sweet and sour sauce that came with the chicken we bought.

No thank you, Kaleen.

Carleigh hands her the ketchup, and Charlee happily starts eating her fries.

I feel a hand on my shoulder.

I turn and see Charlee's big eyes:

Don't worry, Kaleen, you're still my bestest friend.

Cue heart melt.

i have an addiction...

...to music.

But not just any kind of music.

My addiction lies in the 

home-cooked, 

un-canned, 

makes-me-wanna-road-trip,

un-lip-synced,

has-no-idea-who-is-brittany-what's-her-face,

maybe-even-makes-me-shed-a-tear,

harmonica-accompanied,

harmony-accompanied,

or sometimes totally un-accompanied,

music.

like this...

enough is enough.

Ugh.
Double ugh.
Triple ugh.

Sunshine.... I miss you.
Was it something I said?


Weather for Abbotsford, BC

8°C | °F	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed
Current: Shower
Wind: NE at 13 km/h
Humidity: 87%	11°C | 7°C	9°C | 4°C	11°C | 6°C	9°C | 4°C

yet another...

...the musical crushes are accumulating.
Matthew Mayfield just came out with a new album.
It's great.

Here's a favourite. Enjoy...

backwards reversed.

Sad days come when I get trapped in the lie that life should give me something...rather than that I should give it my all.

I get blue.
I wish for what I have not.
I realize how selfish I can be and that I have rights to...nothing.
I deserve nothing, and that's the flat-out-honest-mind-blowing truth.
It makes someone else's sacrifice for you that much more real and gut-wrenching.

Often I wonder about how my worries, my own mini temper tantrums, actually reflect my view of God.
I forget I am here to serve Him...not for Him to serve me.
If that were true, He would not be God.

Everything I have is a gift from Him.

Honestly.

Every. Little. Thing.

With that in mind...

In approximately 41 days I will be unemployed....
Mid-May to Mid-August.
That's a long time.
It's a necessary time.

It's simply the way my contract works...and I will be in school all of July...and let's be honest, I need some down time in order to be properly functioning in society. It will benefit us all, really. Especially my poor housemates (I used to be the girl that didn't cry that much. I don't know if I can say that anymore...and maybe that's okay).

Someone asked me how I was feeling about lacking a paycheck for three months.

I looked deep down inside and responded:
When I remember who God is, I have peace about it.
When I forget who He is, I start to panic.
So, I just need to remember who He is.

Here's to remembering who God is.
And remembering who I am.
And to remembering how the relationship we have doesn't require me to panic, or try to manipulate life into working for me, or always think about the next thing.

What it does ask me is this..
How do I live justly, love mercy and walk humbly...with Him? That's my measuring stick.
Because really, everything else is temporary.