The everyday extraordinary

Deep thoughts....well, maybe not deep thoughts

2007-04-06T06:29:00.000-05:00

So these pictures of baby animals brought up two major thoughts.

1. Pretty much anything is cute when it's a baby (look at the pigs).

2. things that are cute and look like you would want to cuddle with on a cold night for warmth should not want to rip your face off. I mean, who wouldn't want to cuddle with a polar bear? They are large, fuzzy, and warm...and, unfortunatley, they will dismember your body and have it for an evening snack. It's just not fair!

Weekend highlights!

2007-04-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

1) Saturday some of my friends and I celebrated my birthday. While we were at Kathy's for dinner, Liz and Kathy told me it was time for my birthday surprise. My surprise? My friends all chipped in and got me a Kitchenaid mixer....How do I not have the greatest friends?!!!

2) OSU made it into the finals...Go Bucks!

3) Liz, Amanda, Mike and I road tripped it to Detroit to see Snow Patrol. It was probably the best concert I have seen. They were truly amazing!

4) When we got to our hotel room, we were looking through the Detroit books to see where we could eat that was close to the theatre. We found an add for a Restaurant called "Crave" Written underneath the name, it said that it was "the sexiest restaurant in the country" Amanda and I said, "what makes a restaurant the sexiest in the country" So, Liz decided to call and find out. The conversation (from what we could hear) went something like this:
Liz: "Hi Stephanie, my friends and I are in from Ohio and we saw an add for your restaurant and it says that it's the sexiest restaurant in the country. Well, we were just wondering what makes it the sexiest restaurant in the county? (Pause while Stephanie from Crave talks) "Oh, so there aren't any naked waiters or anything? (Again, pause for Stephanie) "Oh, Ok well thank you for your time Stephanie". It was hilarious!

5) So, right across the street from the theatre we were in was the Baseball stadium where wrestle mania 23 was being held. This made navigating the city difficult because apparently 75,000 people turned out for wrestle mania. So we played this fun game where we tried to guess who was going to wrestle mania and who was going to see Snow Patrol.

6) The band Ok Go opened the concert and the lead singer said, "So, have you guys heard of Kids Bop? I didn't until the other day when I friend of mine sent me a link. Apparently they it's a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds covering pop songs...they covered one of our songs. So, then I did the mental math of what it would mean for a 9 or 10 year old to sing that song. Cause really the song is about waking up totally hung over after a one night stand and thinking what the heck just happened. And so, I have to wonder, how many 9 and 10 year olds can relate to that song?"

7) Wrestle mania conveniently ended at the same time our concert did. So we wandered around the streets of Detroit looking for a place to grab some food. After eating, we went back to the parking garage and sat in our car for about 30 minutes before we could even move anywhere because there was so much traffic. Some guys in the garage started honking there horns and Amanda said, "you get them all testosteroned up with the kicking of ass and then expect them to patiently wait their turn?!"

So, as a tribute to seeing a wonderful concert, I though I would include some of my favorite snow patrol lyrics....

"It's starting to get to me, that I know more of the stars and sea then I do of what's in your head..."
~It's starting to get to me

"Get up, get out, get away from these liars' Cause they don't get your soul or your fire. Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine and we'll walk from this dark room for the last time"
~Open your eyes

"One giant leap of faith is easy when everyone you ask is so sure"
~Grazed knees

"Shut your eyes and think of somewhere Somewhere cold and caked in snow By the fire we break the quiet Learn to wear each other well "
~Shut your eyes

"I need your grace To remind me To find my own "
~ Chasing cars

The last two weeks...

2007-03-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a busy past few weeks. Allow me to recap.

Friday March 9:
My parents came in to town because Saturday we were leaving to go to North Carolina for a week. My mom came with me to look at some codos because the topic came up about a month earlier that maybe I should buy. Mom, my realator and I looked at about 6 condos that I felt would be possibilities for me. The first condo we looked at, my mom and I both liked the best.

Saturday March 10: 8:30am- Mom calls and says, " I think you should put in a bid on the first condo we saw yesterday." 8:45am- I call my realator and appologize for calling at 8:45 on Saturday morning and ask to look at the condo agaon because we may put in a bid. We meet at the condo, look through it again and decide that we will make an offer. We then leave for vacation. 3:30pm- I get pre-approved for a mortgage loan.

Sunday March 11: Evening- The seller did not accept our offer and countered.

Monday March 12: Morning- We make a counter offer, then we go to see the Builtmore Estate (It was lovely by the way).

Tuesday March 13: Evening- We find out the seller accepted our counter offer...yay!

Thursday March 15: Afternoon- somewhere in West Virginia the home insepection is scheduled. Evening- arrive back in Columbus.

Friday March 16- 4:30pm, Home inspection.

Friday March 23- Still trying to figure out where the mortgage loan is going to come from, what colors I want to paint in my house and creating an on-call spread sheet for Nathan, Pete, Ben, and Patrick in case there are ever any bugs in my house (spiders in particular) that need to be "taken care of".
Anyways, I am mostly excited about being a home owner... a little terrified, but mostly excited!

Lyrics

2007-03-03T19:35:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by Ashley's post... so here are some lyrics that have stuck out to me lately.

Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first.
Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes.
I know that waiting is all you can do... sometimes.

"Strange and Beautiful (I'll put a spell on you)" : Aqualung

on my playlist

2007-02-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

1. Absolutely nothing- Lily Allen
2. Sunday- Sia
3. Other side of the world- KT Tunstall
4. Stolen Car- Beth Orton
5. Hold you in my arms- Ray LaMantagne
6. Transatlanticism- Death Cab for Cutie
7. Sing- Travis
8. Stolen- Dashboard Confessionals
9. Stars and Boulevards- Augustana
10. High and Dry- Radiohead

Snow Day!

2007-02-14T07:39:00.001-05:00

On Monday we were all talking about how this huge snow storm was on it's way to Columbus. Of course, no one believed it. Usually when they say HUGE SNOWSTORM, we really get 1 inch of snow. However, to all of our surprises, we awoke yesterday morning to 3-4 inches of snow! Every school in the Columbus area was closed, people couldn't get to work, even some businesses were closed. By 9:00 most of my friends had communicated with each other that we did not have work. So, what better thing to do than to all be in the same place and hang out all day! The next logical thing to do was to gather everyone up and go sledding. yes, at 9pm last night in the snow and sleet, we braved the elements to go sledding. There is something about snow that turns people into 5 year old. After a few hours we decided it was time to be dry, so we went to Kathy's house and drank hot chocolate and watched the Office and hung out...the whole day was glorious! We went home late thinking that we would all probably need to go to work at some point on Wednesday. Well, we are now in a level-2 snow emergency. And, for the 4th time since 1950 (or somewhere close to that date), OSU is closed. The last time this happened was right around this time in 2003. Yay for snow days! The trick is, can I do something productive with the time?

I am an aunt...sort of!

2007-02-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

At 2:14 this afternoon, one of my closest friends (an her husband) had their first child. Molly weighs 7lb 6ounces and she is BEAUTIFUL! Amanda and I went to the hospital to visit them after work today. It was definitely emotional, although I only cried a little and I didn't throw-up. About half way through Abby's pregnancy I had this re-occurring dream that when I went to the hospital to visit her I threw up. I was really hoping that this was not a prophetic dream... and it wasn't! It was just kind of a surreal experience to see my college roommate and one of my best friends with her baby... she is a mom. I think I am still wrapping my head around that. Anyways, here is a picture of myself and Molly!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

2007-02-05T23:50:00.000-05:00

So, we were really spoiled here in Ohio during November and December with our 50 degree days and sun and only needing a light jacket to enjoy the outdoors. I remember around Christmas people were saying, "will we ever have a winter?" Well, today is that day. It has been FREEZING. However, I do not let the cold get me down. In fact, I work the cold to my advantage. Tomorrow will make the second day that my schools have been closed because it is too cold outside! Yes, that's right, two days without my schools. It's almost like Christmas. Granted, I still have my private clients in the afternoon, but I get to sleep in and eat my breakfast on the couch and watch some TV. Oh, it's lovely. Wednesday will be sad when I actually have to work a full day. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. But, it will be a blazing 21 degrees on Wednesday, so they surely won't cancel school. Well, I am off to go enjoy my warm bed! Stay warm all my Midwestern friends!!

I love technology....Until it dies

2007-01-23T22:41:00.000-05:00

So, it's been an interesting few weeks for me, in that I didn't have a computer. 2 weeks ago, my computer decided to die. Well, actually, just the hard drive decided to die. Yesterday I got my new hard drive installed and spent the evening re-installing my drivers and Microsoft office and things like that. Loosing my hard drive was kind of like having my house burn down. All my music is gone, all my pictures, everything I wrote in graduate school, all trapped inside a small black box that is sitting on my desk at work. I turned on my computer last night after I got everything installed, and it's just not my computer...it's not my background, it doesn't have my icons, I can't listen to my music, it's just weird. I actually had a hard time sleeping the first few days I didn't have my computer, it was like I lost a very important part of me. I found it amazing how attached I had grown to a piece of equipment. However, since I am an adaptable being, I managed just fine. After a few days, I was able to sleep through the night and I have become accustomed to only using the computer when I am at work. I am sure that in a month or so it'll be like all of this never happened. I will have grown familiar with my new computer and I'll be back to checking my email right before I go to bed and such. But, it was good to know that I could make it without it! Anyways, it is good to be back and be able to check people's blogs and watch the producers' cut of last week's Office.

a long meme

2006-12-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

Complements of Jim's blog!

1) How old do you wish you were? I am pretty content at my age... I can vote, I can drink, and I can rent a car. What more can a girl ask for?

2) Where were you when 9-11 happened? At RA (resident advisor) training my junior year of college. We were in a big lecture hall in one of the chemistry buildings.

3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Wow, I can't remember the last time I used a vending machine! I guess I would probably just be angry for about 5 minutes and then move on.

4) Do you consider yourself kind? I have my moments

5) If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Thanks to my friend Kristen, I have had a lot of tattoo "trial runs" (give the girl a marker and you WILL have a tattoo, but I am still not sure. The real issue is that I don't know what would be so meaningful that I would want it permanently etched into my flesh.

6) If you could be fluent in any other language what would it be? Italian, I think it's a beautiful language!

7) Do you know your neighbors? Sadly, no.

8.) What do you consider a vacation? pretty much anything that's not work

9) Do you follow your horoscope? nope

10) Would you move for the person you loved? Ask me when I'm in love

11) Are you touchy feely? I can be, if I know the person really well...or if I am really tired.

12) Do you believe that opposites attract? In some things

13) Dream job? Own a bed and breakfast

14) Favorite channel(s)? NBC (The Office), ABC (Lost and Grey's), SPIKE TV (Only because they play Star Trek and CSI)

15) Favorite place to go on the weekend? My couch

16) Showers or Baths? Showers are all I have time for

17) Do you paint your nails? Sometimes, mostly in the summer

18) Do you trust people easily? Yes.

19) What are your phobias? spiders

20) Do you want kids? perhaps

21) Do you keep a handwritten journal? yes

22) Where would you rather be right now? On a beach, with blue water, a gentle breeze, and the sound of waves.

23) What makes you feel warm and safe? Being at my parents house

24) Heavy or light sleeper? Heavy

25) Are you paranoid? Do paranoid people know they are paranoid, because maybe I am paranoid and I just don't know it!!!

26) Are you impatient? yes

27) Who can you relate to? I think I relate to a lot of people on different levels and in different ways.

28) How do you feel about interracial couples? you love who you love.

29) Have you been burned by love? Hmm... I have been burned, but I don't know that I would classify it as love.

30) What's your life motto? "Fake it till ya make it"

31) What's your main ringtone on your mobile? chimes and vibrate

32) What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping!

33) Who was your last text message from? Liz

34) Whose bed did you sleep in last night? Mine.

35) What color shirt are you wearing? Green

36) What are you listening to right now? "The weight of it all" by Matt Nathanson

37) Name three things you have on you at all times? My cell phone, lip gloss, and a hair clip.

38) What color are your bed sheets? white.

39) How much cash do you have on you right now? None, I just spent the last of it tonight

40) What is your favorite part of the chicken? Ummm... the cooked part?

41) What's your fav city/place? I have 3... Estes Park, Co; San Diego, CA; and Boston, MA

42) I canÂt wait till . . . I have some time off work!!

43) Who got you to set up a blog? peer pressure

44) What did you have for dinner last night? Salad from North Star Market...yumm!

45) is missing. Good thing, one less question to answer.

46) Have you ever smoked? Nope.

47) Do you own a gun? Nope.

48) Tea or Coffee? Tea

49) What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

50) Do you have A.D.D.? sometimes

51) What time did you wake up today? 8:00am

52) Current worry? What am I going to do next year?

53) Current want? that list is too long

54) Favorite place to be? my bed...sleeping

55) Where would you like to travel in the future? New Zealand... did you know you can go Kayaking with penguins and dolphins?!

56) Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs? Who know?!

57) Last thing you ate? A cookie...frosted with love and care by Pete and Kristen

58) What songs do you sing in the shower? What ever is stuck in my head, recently it's been O Holy Night.

59) Last person that made you laugh? Liz and Amanda at dinner last night.

60) Worst injury you've ever had? When I cut my shin open in the 4th grade.

61) Does someone have a crush on you? I'd like to think so

62) What is your favorite candy? York Peppermint Patty!!

63) What song do you want played at your funeral? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm packing for lunch tomorrow.

It's getting hot in here...

2006-12-17T23:06:00.000-05:00

So, I just wanted to point out, that today it was 58 degrees in San Diego and 64 degrees in Columbus...Yay for global warming!!

Weekend highlights!

2006-12-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

Here are the highlights from my weekend!

1. Celebrating Carrie, Ashley, and Hope's birthdays! (No, they are not triplets. Although, as Jeff put it, they are 2/3 of a triplet).

2. Playing "Imagine If" with my friends from Cleveland...Hilarious!

3. The joke wars: We hit this point in the evening when everyone started telling jokes. Some went over better than others. The best was Allison and Mike's dueling gender jokes (How many men does it take to screw in a light bulb vs. How many women does it take to screw in a light bulb).

4. Hearing about Ashley's experience dislocating her jaw. While this is not a highlight in Ashley's life, it was amazing to hear about the whole ordeal. Ash, I hope the pain is getting better!

5. Abby's baby shower: One of my best friends (and college roommate) is having a baby in February and her shower was this weekend. She is really cute and pregnant. I can't wait for little Molly to arrive!!

I hope that you all had great weekends too!

Lost in Transition

2006-11-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

I am a creature of habit. I like the stable, familiar, and comfortable. I am not a huge fan of change, it just kind of stresses me out. Generally, I dislike every new thing for at least a month. I remember one of my placements in grad school was at Columbus speech and hearing. I came home from the first day and I hated it! I remember telling my friends what a long quarter it was going to be because of this placement. On my last day of the quarter, I cried. I didn’t want to go. By the end of the quarter, I loved it there! I don’t like new things. For most of my life though, I have generally been able to prepare myself for transitions, for new things. I new when I moved, that I wouldn’t like my house for a little while, I new I wouldn’t like working for a while… I was prepared to feel uprooted and unstable. Right now, I am in the second year of working at my office, this is my second year in my house…my life is pretty stable and consistent…or is it? I went home this past weekend for Thanksgiving. I LOVE going home because I love my family and I have a handful of friends that I’ve known since high school and I love seeing them. I was talking with my friend Morgan who is finishing her master’s degree in Philadelphia, and I asked her if she was going to move back to Ohio or stay in Phili, or go somewhere else. She said she didn’t know. She looked at me and said, “it doesn’t end, does it; this whole not knowing what you want to do with your life.” I responded with, “no, I don’t think it does.” I truly thought that, when I picked speech pathology, I found what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Now, I love my job, but I have a whole list of other things that I would like to do. So I find myself actually thinking, “what am I going to do next year?” “Where am I going to live?” “Am I going to move back to Cleveland, or to California?” “Maybe I will go back to school?” There is this glamorous notion that when you are done with school and you start your first job that you are “set”. I thought I was “set”…I know where I want to live, I know what I want to do, I know who my friends are, I know what I think/feel about life. Those have all been challenged for me this past year, and I am getting the sense that they always will.

The most wonderful time of the year!

2006-10-29T18:27:00.000-05:00

No, I am not talking about Christmas, I am talking about fall! I love the fall, it is definitely my favorite season. In my opinion, it is the best time to be in Ohio. I wanted to document some of the fun things that happen in the fall!!

First, is the circleville pumpkin show! This is a big deal, there are a TON of people there, all to celebrate the large, round, orange, gourd known as the pumpkin. There is pumpkin everything...pumpkin cookies, pumpkin ice-cream, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin chili, pumpkin hamburgers, pumpkin pizza, and the list could keep going. There is also the world's largest pumpkin pie. It is 14ft. in diameter. I tried to get a picture of it, but you can only see a portion.

This is the sign for the 14ft. pumpkin

This is a piece of the 14 ft. pumpkin

We went to my friend Heidi's family's house this weekend out in the country. We shot guns, we played poker, ate pumpkin pie, made friends with a stuffed deer head named Toby...it was all around good fun! Here are some fun pictures from our weekend.

This is Kathy feeding Toby some yummy pumpkin pie!

Sometimes my friends are goofy...Steph and Heidi!

Kristen and I after a yummy pancake breakfast

I shot a gun for the first time ever this weekend... it was fun. Definitely harder than I thought it would be!

Kristen and I took a detour on our way home and went hiking in Cederville (where she went to college), it was sooo beautiful! It love being outside in the fall.

all the small things

2006-10-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

Life has been really busy...really stressful. So, I am trying to find joy in the small things. So... here are some of the things that have brought me joy in the past few weeks.

1. I was having a discussion with two of my students (5th graders) about Friday the 13th. One asked what the big deal about the number 13 was anyways. The other said, "because when you turn 13, you turn into one of those stupid, psychotic, teenagers."

2. The next week, I was meeting with the same students. One said to me, "hey, are any of your friends married?" I said, "yes, many of my friends are married." He said, "so, some of them are single then?". "Yes", I said, "why?" "Oh", he said, "It's for my uncle, he could use a wife." I smiled and said "how old is your uncle?" "He's 32, but he looks a lot younger."

3. Lost started this past Wednesday. It wasn't the best episode, but it wasn't bad. But it was nice to make dinner for my friends and have people over my house!

4. Yesterday was gorgeous! I went running (I use this term lightly, I don't want to falsely paint myself as someone who is proficient at running... I am crap at running actually, but at least I try). and it was so nice to see all the leaves and enjoy the sunshine.

5. I got a new purse on Saturday. It's really cute, it was on sale, and it was the last one in the store.... I'm the winner!

None of these are big things, but either way, they brought a smile to my face.

Who will save your soul?

2006-09-26T13:56:00.000-05:00

This story comes from one of my schools. First I must set the stage. This particular class has 4 kids. 3 are about 17 or 18 years old, one is 14 years old. The three older kids are pretty typical. Unless you worked with them closely, it wouldn't be apparent that they have any special needs. The third boy, however, it much more apparently impaired. He has aspergers and has some cognitive issues. In addition to that, the other boys all have similar interest, sports, music, girls. The third boy (we'll call him "Bob") is from a more rural part of Columbus and enjoys fishing and catching insects. He also has some hygiene issues which is unfortunate for a 14 year old. So, last week I go into their classroom and there is some commotion. One of the kids tells me, "Bob sold his soul 'Joe' (his classmate) for two rubber bands." "What?" I ask. Their teacher proceeds to tell me that "Joe" had some rubber bands and "Bob" wanted them, so the kids drew up a contract which was signed and everything that stated that "Bob" would sell his soul to "Joe" for 2 rubber bands. The teacher of course took the contract and told the kids that they were not allowed to barter souls. The moral of the story is: your soul is worth more than 2 rubber bands.

Cool cubes!

2006-09-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

This goes out to all my friends (and my dad) who have to work in cubicles. One time my Dad called his cubicle his cubby hole... I thought that was neat. Anyways, there was a whole article on yahoo.com devoted to making your cubicle cool. There are some really cool things on there, like a device that mutes out the sound of other people talking and a device that keeps you posted on the weather. I am fortunate that I do not have a cubicle. When I was in graduate school, we had most of our classes in the basement of our building. We would be down there for hours. The joke was always that the apocalypse could happen and we would never know because we never saw the outside world. But fear not my cubicle dwelling friends, there are things you can do to make your environment more appealing! I would particularly like to point out that the article mentions something called the "pimp my cubicle kit". Umm... awesome! It's genius really. We could turn it into an MTV show... really cool people could come to your office and put hydraulic on the door of your cabinet and surround sound speaker, and a disco ball, and a lot shiny things. I can see it now... a bunch of guys with pocket protectors standing around at break time saying, "dude, Bob totally pimped out his cubicle this weekend!" Well, if you have a cubicle, you should think about it!

http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/cube_1.html

"Rain drops keep falling on my head"

2006-09-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

It is raining...a lot. It is gray and cloudy and wet. I would really rather be in my bed where it is warm and dry. I think on days like this, you shouldn't have to go to work. Of course, in Ohio, that would mean we would only put in probably 30 days of work per year. Well, stay dry everyone (unless you are one of my friends who live in southern California... I am sure it's not raining there. Say hi to the sun for me).

Why I love vanity plates: Part III

2006-09-06T08:24:00.000-05:00

I saw this one driving between one of my schools and my office.

humilit

It was very humble of that person to announce their humility of their license plate.

I've been tagged!

2006-09-05T17:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks for tagging me Ashley!

1. Three things that scare me:- spiders, failing, neuro-degenerative diseases (Alzheimers, ALS, MS, etc).

2. Three people who make me laugh: all my friends (I have really funny friends), my Grandpa, My parents' friend Scott.

3. Three things I hate the most:- suicide, loneliness, apathy

4. Three things I don't understand:- the vastness of space, love, suffering

5. Three things I'm doing right now:- umm...answering these questions, eating dinner, listening to music

6. Three things I want to do before I die:- Pay off my student loans (amen Ashley), Own a bed and breakfast, visit all the continents.

7. Three things I can do:- speech/language therapy, write music, ice skate

8. Three ways to describe my personality:-outgoing, intelligent, sensitive

9. Three things I can't do:- draw, dive into water, water ski

10. Three things I think you should listen to:- Jason Feller (thanks Carrie and Ashley), Damien Rice, Ryan Adams' cover of Wonderwall.

11. Three things you should never listen to:- most of what's on top 40 radio right now...I don't know if I can come up with three specific groups/artisits.

12. Three things I'd like to learn:- how to be a good runner, how to fix cars, to play the drums

13. Three favorite foods:- hummus, avocados, dark chocolate

14. Three beverages I drink regularly: water, orange juice, odwalla mango smoothie

15. Three shows I watched as a kid:-star trek, clarissa explains it all, Ghost writer

R.I.P: The late, great, planet, Pluto

2006-08-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

What do you think of when you hear the name Pluto?

Perhaps you think of the Disney dog...

Perhaps you think of the Greek god of the underworld...

or perhaps you think about the planet. The ninth planet in our solar system, farthest from the sun.

Last week, it was announced that Pluto was no longer a planet. It was demoted...ouch! The universe, as we know it, has been forever changed. This decision truly has a wide spread impact. Think of all the text books that will need to be re-written, all the solar system posters that will need to be re-done, all the funny acronyms that people use to remember the planets will have to be re-written. Our lives will never be the same! So, maybe that was a little over-dramatic. Needless to say, it will take some getting used to. As my friend Nate said, "we need to embrace change."

God is not a magic 8 ball!

2006-08-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

My lifegroup has been reading the book “Blue Like Jazz”. It’s been a really interesting book and an enjoyable read. This week we discussed the chapter on worship. Don, the author, said something that really jumped out at me. He said, “I think we have two choices in the face of such big beauty: terror or awe. And this is precisely why we attempt to chart God, because we want to be able to predict him, to dissect him, to carry him around in our dog and pony show. We are too proud to feel awe and too fearful to feel terror. We reduce him to math so we don’t fear him, yet the Bible tells us fear is the appropriate response, that it is the beginning of wisdom.” What really struck me, was the part about reducing God to math so that we can predict him as opposed to fear him. I thought about all the times that I have turned God into a math problem, for example…
1. Read the Bible + Prayer = good things will happen to me and I will get what I want
2. Pray + Read the Bible + Don’t mess up = God is happy with me
3. Read my Bible + Don’t mess up + spend all my time at church = I am a better Christian then you.
While, I think all of those things (reading the Bible, prayer, service, etc), are wonderful things and things that we can do to honor God, I don’t think we can boil it down to an equation because God does not work in the confines of our human parameters. In lifegroup we talked about how often, when making a decision, we have felt that God kind of “wrote the answer in the sky”. We all answered, “one time that I can really remember.” Hmm…interesting. I know that all of those women have prayed, read their Bible, and sought the Lord more than just once. I read in a book once that we ask God to tell us when, where, how, and why, and then we will trust him. I think this is true. We want answers. We want God to tell us what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and where to do it. Can we call that trust?? Doesn’t that just reduce God to a magic eight ball. “God should I move to Wisconsin and take a new job”…shake, shake, shake… “all signs point to yes.” God is not that simple! Not to mention that I don’t really think we could call what we have with him a relationship. Can you have a relationship with a magic 8 ball?? The other danger to reducing God to an equation is that we get totally thrown when the equation doesn’t hold up. What happens when we pray, read our Bible, and seek God and something doesn’t turn out right?! We are shaken…”what did I do wrong?!” Well, maybe nothing, I mean maybe you did, but maybe you didn’t. Maybe God is just bigger and more mysterious than that. But seriously, if God really were like a magic 8 ball or a math formula, how fun would life be? Life would not be fun at all! Life, would actually not be worth living. Why learn, grow, change, and take chances if all you had to do was shake a little black ball to know the next step. I could go on, but I feel this is quite long enough. Perhaps Don’s words will strike something in you as well!

Holly Chocolate

2006-08-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

My love of chocolate is no secret. Chocolate, like wonderwall, touches my soul! I was checking out what news stories were on my homepage today and I came across this story about a chocolate shop in California that found a piece of chocolate shaped like the virgin Mary. Wow! I love chocolate and would even say that it possesses special healing abilities, but I don't know that I would put chocolate on the same level as the mother of Jesus. Here is the picture of the chocolate Mary... judge for yourself! I am also including the link to the article... it's entertaining.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_on_fe_st/chocolate_virgin_mary

"Afterall, you're my wonderwall"

2006-08-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

I LOVE music...perhaps too much. One of my all-time favorite songs in "Wonderwall" by Oasis. To be honest, I am not entirely sure what the song is really about or what a wonderwall is, but I do know that this song touches my soul! In California, they have an idie radio station and every friday afternoon they have a half-hour show of what they call "mash-ups". A mash-up is when 2 or more songs are combined together, or mashed up! One of these mash-ups is a combination of Green Day (Boulevard of Broken Dreams) and Oasis (Wonderwall). It is AWESOME! You must check it out! In the words of my friend Rachel, "It changed my life". Ok, so it didn't really change my life, but it is really darn cool. Speaking of Wonderwall, you have to check out the Ryan Adams cover of Wonderwall, it is fantastic! Happy listening my friends!

www.partyben123.com/PartyBen-BoulevardofBrokenSongs.mp3

http://hype.non-standard.net/track/8089
(when you get here, click on "Listen")

"California Love"

2006-08-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

I was able to spend last week in lovely southern California with my friend Megan! It was awesome for three primary reasons. 1: I wasn't at work, 2: I got to spend quality time with Megan, 3: I was in southern California. Megan and I had some great adventures...like when I got to airport in San Diego and told Megan to look for a black suitcase when, in fact, my suite case in navy blue, and Megan accidentally running a red light, and me driving her husband's new Lexus up the 5 in L.A traffic to Santa Monica. Yes, there were good times had by all!! Here are some fun pictures to chronicle my trip!

Megan and I stayed at this little inn in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla (that is pronounced La "hoya" for those of us who don't speak the Spanish). This is what we saw when we stepped out of our door...beautiful!

This is in Cabrillo which is where the first Europeans saw the Pacific ocean! This is the lighthouse they lived in. Sometimes, when the tide would rise, this little hill that the lighthouse was on would become an island and they would be separated from the main land. The rooms in the lighthouse were small, but it would have been worth it for the great view.

This is the great view!

On Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo. We saw a ton of cute animals, but this is by far my favorite picture. I call him "chill out panda". He is currently my wall paper on my computer because he reminds me that sometimes you just need to chill out!

This is Mission San Juan Capistrano. There are 24 Spanish missions along the coast of California. This one was founded in 1776. It was beautiful!

These are my feet in the ocean... it was cold!

These are just some of the fun things that Meagn and I did on our tour of southern California! But, now it's back to work...no rest for the wicked right?!

why I love vanity plates: Part II

2006-08-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

I was driving home yesterday and this is what I saw

IBHPPY RU

I can only interpret this as "I be happy, are you?" or "I be hippy, are you". Ahh...the things that people think are good ideas.

Rest and Relaxation

2006-08-01T09:09:00.000-05:00

So, this past Saturday, my friend Kathy and I went up to her family's house in port-clinton. It's right on the water and it's so calm and peaceful. We were both feeling like we just needed to get out of Columbus for a little bit, so it was a pretty spontaneous trip. I will now document the weekend with pictures and captions...enjoy!

This is where Kathy and I spent most of our time... well, we actually spent most of our time floating on the water, but when we needed a break (or a nap) we sat under the umbrella!

This is Betty, she lives next door. She is very friendly and hung out with Kathy and I when we would hang out on the beach.

So, after a long, stressful day of floating and napping, we needed sustenance. We stopped at a little market on the way up and got food to make dinner with (no frozen pizza for these girls)!

That was Saturday, but really these pictures encompass Sunday as well. It was so nice and relaxing. I definitely slept better Saturday night then I have in a while (for many reasons). It was a great way to get time with my great friend and to get away from Columbus.

why I love vanity plates

2006-07-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

so, I was out getting lunch today and I was driving behind a car whose license plate read: "4 GEEZUS" At this moment I don't even have anything witty to add...I will just let the license plate speak for itself.

Deep thoughts

2006-07-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

1. On Saturday I watched Natalie, she's 11 and she is awesome. She is quite possibly the most sophisticated 11 year old that I know. She is a big fan of the Disney channel and so after dinner we watched the latest Disney channel movie. The story had two main plots. The first being that this girl who is a virtual nobody in school accidentally has her personal journal published. It becomes a best selling book and she now is faced with a new life of popularity and ends up pushing her true and nerdy friends away in the process. The second main plot line is that she has a huge crush on the most dreamy and popular boy in school. Her best friend (who is also a guy) really likes her, but she doesn't see it because she's too busy drooling over Mr. Popular. Like all Disney movies it has a predictable ending... The girl ends up apologizing to her friends for being a jerk, they in turn forgive her and they all have a group hug. She also realizes that while the cute, popular boy may be cute and popular, he has the personality of a sponge and ends up realizing that her best guy-friend is actually the guy for her! So, after the movie, I turned to Natalie and said (kind of joking), "what did we learn from this movie?" Natalie looked at me and smiled and said, "don't let your personal journal get published." While not the life lesson I was looking for, she does have a point. She asked me what I would do if my journal was ever published. I said I didn't think anyone would publish it, my life is not all that exciting. She then said the other lesson was that "cute boys are shallow." Again, not quite the lesson I was going for, but this one I could work with. I explained that message was not to judge a book by the cover, just because someone is attractive, doesn't mean they're a quality person... they can be, but there is not a 100% correlation between the two. She told me that a lot of the kids in her grade started "dating" this past year. I asked her what she thought about that. She said, "I think it's stupid". "Why do you say that?" I ask. "Because they're 11, where are they going to go on a date...it's just dumb." I was impressed by her logic in the situation, what a smart cookie!!

2.Yesterday afternoon, Liz and I hung out at panera for a few hours. She got lunch, but I had already eaten, so I didn't get anything. The following conversation happened after she finished her lunch. Liz: "If I get a brownie will you help me eat it?" Kate: "I'll have a few bites, but I have tennis in an hour and I don't want to throw up during tennis." Liz goes up to get a brownie and comes back with a brownie and a cookie. Kate(looking at the two baked good on the tray): "What happened here?" Liz (in reference to the cookie): "It just looked so lonely up there...with it's six friends." As any good friend would do, I helped her eat the baked goods. After desert was gone we both attempted to do something productive with our time. We were both working on stuff and Liz looks up at me and says, "do you ever look at bread and just think you could eat pounds of it?" She then referenced a stack of fococcia bread and said, "if you had that at home, you could always eat it and always be full." Wow... profound, I know! I just wanted to pass along these deep thoughts so that you can take some time in your day to reflect on the profound nature of baked goods and focaccia bread.

just another day at the office

2006-07-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

Our office administrator is out today because she had some surgery on her arm, so today and I am Kate: speech therapist and office administrator. One of the advantages of sitting at the front desk instead of in my office is that I can hear what's going on in the other therapy sessions. Every other Friday my boss has 2 boys, well call them "Bill" and "Ted". They are both about 19-20 years old and they are both have significant cognitive delays. In order for you to appreciate any of this, I have to describe Bill and Ted to you. Bill is about 6 foot 4 and at least 250-300lbs. He is HUGE. You have to remind him that he needs to shake your hand because he likes to give hugs... and if he hugs you it will knock the wind out of you. So, I am at the front desk trying to schedule evaluations and I hear, from my bosses office, Bill singing "We are the champions" at the top of his lungs. So, of course, Ted has to join in. Ted is also a pretty big kid (not nearly as big as Bill), and he is much more delayed than Bill...he has much lower language skills. Bill has a very low voice, but Ted's voice is probably higher than mine. so, now, I am trying to talk to people on the phone and tune out the sound of two, 19 year old, guys singing Queen at the top of their lungs. It's never a dull moment!

To boldly go where no man has gone before...

2006-07-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

So, if you are really my friend, you know that I have a deep love for Star Trek...and if you are REALLY my friend, you know this and still love me anyways. As a young child who was raised on Star Trek, much of my free time was spent contemplating the break in the space time continuum and the notion of being "beamed" somewhere. I always hoped that by the time I was a "grown-up" star trek would be real... that we would fly around the universe in nifty space crafts and meet alien beings. Alas, I am nearly a grown-up and the chances of me traipsing through space with Jean-Luke Picard are rather slim. This morning, I was reading the news clips on my homepage and there was a link to an article about how some famous people are reserving spots on a 2008 flight to space. The actual time in space is a mere 15 minutes (which includes 5 minutes of weightlessness). The cost for 15 minutes in space? $200,000. If we start now, we would only need to save roughly $400.00 per day for the next year and a half and we too can have our 15 minutes in space. If anyone out there is thinking, "hmmm... what should I get Kate for Christmas?" You can rest your weary mind...a ticket to space will do just fine!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060717/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_transport_virgingatlantic

An all American love story: boy meets girls from Germany on internet and goes to Germany with his mom to meet her

2006-07-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

I have a acquired a new group adolescents from one of our therapists who is moving. I meet with them every other Wednesday evening. Last night was our first group, so we spent most of the hour doing ice-breakers and getting to know each other. I had the kids in the group write down two questions that they would want to know about someone in order to get to know them better. We then took turns choosing a question at random. On of the young gentlemen received the question, "have you ever been to a foreign country" He replied by saying he was pretty close to the boarder of Canada once, but that's it. He continued though, and said that if he went to a foreign country he would want to go to Germany. "Oh, why Germany?" I asked. "Because my brother is there and he really likes it" replied my student. I, of course, inquired as to the reason why his brother was in Germany...thinking perhaps he was in the military or something. My student said, "Well he is visiting his girlfriend." "Oh, where did they meet?" I ask innocently. "They met online." He continued to tell me how his brother and his mom were in Germany for a week so that his brother can meet this girl he met online. Our office administrator asked me today if my parents would have let a young, teenage, Kate go to Germany to visit her new online boyfriend. I can safely say the answer to that question would have been NO! Really, I appreciate that I have a lot of options in my life in terms of where I live, what I do, the kind of activities I can be involved in...how to meet people, but I can't help but feel it's all gotten a little complicated. It kind of makes my head spin to think that I could meet some nice young man from, I dunno, let's say the UK, online and end up on a 12 hour plane ride to go meet them! Maybe I'll just let my parents pick someone out for me... or maybe not...yeah, 'not' is definitely the answer to that question.

Kate goes to prom!

2006-05-23T17:12:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I did something that I have not done in 7 years. I went to prom! No, I did not go as anyone's date. My friend Kate is a high school teacher and asked if I would help chaperone and so that's what I did! Over the past few weeks, Kate was pretty stressed out with prom planning (she was the prom advisor) and so I told her that I would be her "prom slave"! We commenced with "proming" at 11:00 am!! We had to run errands and decorate and coordinate and all that kind of stuff! It was awesome! The theme was "Midnight in Monte Carlo" so she had a portion of the prom hall designated as a Casino. My job was to run a black jack table. The most interesting part of the evening was listening to the other chaperones talk about prom. You could tell who had a good prom experience and who didn't by their attitudes towards the event. I, personally, had a delightful prom! So, thanks needs to be extended to my prom date, Kyle, where ever you are...thanks! But it was fun to see the kids dressed up and enjoying one of their final high school experiences. It made me thankful that I had such a lovely high school experience... it also made me thankful that I am not in high school anymore!

Adventures in Kate's Kitchen!

2006-05-04T19:20:00.000-05:00

So, I attempted something today that I have never attempted before...I cooked fish! First of all, you should all be impressed that I am eating fish in the first place. I don't particularly enjoy fish, or sea food for that matter, but it's so healthy for you so I am forcing myself to add it to my diet. So, when I went grocery shopping on Tuesday, I picked up a half-pound of fresh Salmon. So, tonight for dinner I made broiled salmon with a brown sugar and ginger sauce with steamed carrots as my side dish. I was totally open to this going badly, but it was actually quite tasty! Not bad for my first time with fish! So, on other matters... Lost was amazing last night! I'm not really going to say anything for all those who haven't seen it yet, but leave your thoughts!!

Safe Places

2006-04-27T12:21:00.000-05:00

So, I have been sick the past two days. I feel like once it is nice and sunny outside, a person just shouldn't be sick. Oh well. I am pumping myself full of tea and getting plenty of rest in the evenings. When I am sick, I really just want to be in my bed. Come to think of it, even when I'm not sick I really just want to be in my bed. Hmm. Remember when you were little and you would try just about anything to avoid the impending doom of bed time!! When brother was little, probably 4 or 5, we would here him in his room, long after he was put to bed, moving the furniture around. There once was a time when I would look at the clock and thing, "Ok Kate, it's getting late, you really need to get to bed." Now, I look at the clock and say, "Ok Kate, it's only 8pm, you can't possibly justify going to bed now... go grocery shopping or something." Ah, how times do change. My friend sent me this picture in an email and it made me laugh...mostly because it's true! Enjoy!

On a clear, sunny day

2006-04-22T14:18:00.000-05:00

Ahhh... I write to you from the sunny patio of the Cup O' Joe in the Short North. It is a BEAUTIFUL day outside! This is why I love the spring. Jessi and I have spent the day here, mostly being productive, which is pretty good for us! Generally when we try to go somewhere and be productive we end up talking... a lot. However, this afternoon, I have written thank you notes, read the first chapter in Blue Like Jazz (book my Bible study group is reading), and worked on some stuff for work... all while enjoying the beautiful weather and working on my tan (I use this word lightly because I'm pasty and don't really tan). I am enjoying the music of my newly made mix CDs. I have named them "songs of summer 1" and "songs of summer 2". The summer music anthology will be complete when I make "songs of summer nights". I carefully selected all the songs and they are all attached to summer memories. For example, the song "got you where I want you" by The Flys reminds me of driving around in my friend Becky's car when we were in high school and my friend Kyle trying to drive it while sticking his head out of the sunroof. Ah, the silly things we did in high school. Another thing I love about the spring is that everyone is out and about. Jessi and I stopped at the North Market to grab lunch before we settled at Cup O Joe and it was packed. It's so nice to feel like part of civilization. And everyone is so much friendlier in the spring. In the winter everyone walks with their head down and very quickly. This is mostly because if you look up, the bone chilling wind will surely freeze your eyeballs and they will fall out of their sockets. But, in the spring, everyone walks slowly and with their head up, and so people smile. People don't smile in Columbus in the winter. Another great part of nice weather is people watching... I am a chronic people watcher. Sometimes in the winter, when we all hibernate in our homes, I kind of forget that people exist. I particularly love watching groups of people. It makes me happy to see people enjoying each other and caring about each other. I also like watching couples. It's fun because you can tell which couples are new, which ones are established... the best though are people on first dates. There is a lovely awkwardness shared between people on a first date. Well, I will stop rambling now and continue to enjoy the sunshine!!!

"go in peace and be free from your suffering"

2006-04-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

Yet another new Lost last night! I think that this makes 4 weeks in a row! Some things that happened in last night's episode were unexpected while others were totally predictable! Unexpected: A back story of characters that would not be considered "main characters", Rose was/is sick, Locke is starting to "loose faith" in the island. Predictable: Jack would ask Kate to go with him on his adventure, they would end up trapped in a net precariously close to one another, you could cut the sexual tension with a machete. What really stuck with me from last night's episode was that Rose had/has cancer and that she feels the island has "healed" her. She and Locke seem to have quite a bit in common, and it seemed like they knew each others stories. I think the notion of the island being a place of healing is interesting to me. Both Locke and Rose feel like the island has special healing powers and neither is keen of leaving the island. The fear is that back in the "real world" Locke would again be paralyzed and Rose's cancer would return. Even in season one, Locke struggled with "obeying" the island because he feared that the island would take away his gift of walking. So, here's my deep thought about all of this. Do you think that the healing power of the island is a gift to it's inhabitants or a means of manipulation? If I had a life altering condition and I found a place where it was taken away, I would have a hard time leaving... even if it wasn't a place that was ultimately beneficial to me. Have Rose and Locke been deceived? Is this a way of manipulating people to want to stay and give to the island, if this a way to keep people on the island? I would like to think that if I were in Locke or Rose's position, if I discovered that island would ultimately be bad for me in the end that I would be strong enough to leave... but I don't know.

I love spring!

2006-04-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

Ahh, spring is finally here!! I am in a really good mood today, for the following reasons!!!

1. This weekend was great! I saw LOTS of friends, helped my friend Kathy paint her new office, went to a great concert with Mike and Amanda, went shopping, went for a walk, and cooked out (I love cooking out!)!

2. It's a short week... only 4 days, our office is closed on good friday!

3. New Lost this week!

4. I get to go the Cleveland again this weekend and some of my favorite people ever!

5. It's been beautiful outside!

"What dreams may come"

2006-04-06T10:33:00.002-05:00

Ah, Lost... so glad it was another new episode. I enjoyed last night's episode. I have to say that it was pretty predictable that Dave would end up being imaginary... very "beautiful mind". So, I am going to go directly to my observations/questions for the evening!

1) "Henry" mentioned that "couldn't reveal any information about himself to Jack because "He" is dangerous. It seems like "He" is not the bearded guy that stole Walt, so who do yo think "He" might be. Also, do you think that there is more than one group of others?

2) During the conversation between Locke and "Henry", Locke said "God only knows where we are." Henry said that God can't see the island, just like no one else can see the island. What does that mean???

3) The whole Hurley, Dave, Libby thing. They definitley left it ambiguous as to whether or not the whole show is all in Hurley's head or not. On one hand, they placed a lot of clues that would point towards that conclusion... Libby being in the Hospital, a picture of an island in his psychologist's office. On the other hand, I don't think that they would give away the end of the show in the middle of the second season given that they plan for the show to be about 5-7 seasons long. What are your thoughts?

That's all for right now! Have a wonderful thursday! It's almost the weekend!!!!

I need...

2006-04-03T14:27:00.000-05:00

a vacation

Clarification

2006-04-02T00:44:00.000-05:00

So, upon discussion with a few of my friends about my last post, I feel as though I should clarify that I did not leave the card for the waiter. My boss left a card without my knowledge... I found out after she had already given it to him. Apparently that piece of information wasn't apparent in my last post. I clarify this because as one of my friends pointed out that if I had left the card myself, that would have been "desperate". Just in case it was ever in question, I am not desperate.

The power of advertising: Part 2

2006-03-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

So, I went out to dinner tonight with my boss and three other of my co-workers to celebrate my and Meredith's birthday (Meredith is one of my co-workers). We went to The Texas Roadhouse out by our office. Besides Meredith, who is my age, all of my co-workers are closer to my parents' age. Being that I am the only single person in my office, my co-workers get very excited at the idea of finding me a nice gentleman to go out with. The running joke when we go out together is that we will get some cute waiter and we'll leave him my number. So, tonight, we actually had a nice, cute waiter. So, my co-workers were all over it! The waiter actually ended up sitting down with us to have a conversation which mostly consisted of my co-workers asking him things like, "where do you live", "who do you live with", and finding out other such information to determine if this would be an eligible young man. So... Here's what we found out. His name is Bryan (yes spelled with a 'y'), he's going to be 26 in may, he had a girlfriend last year, but currently lives in a townhouse with a friend. Yes, my co-workers are ruthless! So, at the end of our evening, one of my co-workers, Lynn, turns to me and says, "do you have any of your cards on you?! " "No." I say. So, they are now trying to figure out how they can leave him a way to get a hold of me. So... my BOSS ends up leaving him an office card, but put my name on it. I have to admit that I was mildly embarrassed. "It doesn't have your last name on it and it doesn't have your home number on it...if he doesn't want to call you, he'll just throw the card away", says my boss. All in all, it was an amusing evening.

The random, the silly, and the just plain weird.

2006-03-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

The random:
Yesterday I wrote my first check to the government to start paying back my student loans. The check number...666. Hmmm, what does this say about giving money to the government?

The silly:
One of my co-workers students (1st grader) was telling another kid about corn dogs. The other student wasn't sure if he knew what a corn dog was. So the 1st grader explained it as the following, "you know, you get at it amusement parks or fairs... you get it from the confession stand." No, that is not a typo on my part, the kid actually told the other child that you get a corn dog at a confession stand!!

I was working with one of my clients yesterday and we were playing a game where you had to tell the use of a given object. My client's word was sweater. This is what he told me was the use of a sweater, "you use it to cover your tummy so no one will see it, because if people can see your tummy they will laugh at you."

The just plain weird:
SO, I was in the DMV yesterday to re-new my driver's license and there was this guy infront of my arguing with the worker. I wasn't really paying attention until I caught the phrase, "it's against my religion!" When I tuned into what they were arguing about, the man was making a fuss about having to sign the electronic signature pad. He said to the worker, "haven't you read the book of revelation? This is the mark of the beast. If I sign this, I am signing my soul away to Satan." It wasn't the signing of his name that was the problem, it was that it was electronic. The man proceeded to talk about how when you sign the electronic pads your name goes into some central system where the devil can then access all your information. I wish I could tell you that I am making this up, but I am not. WEIRD!!

Babies, Balloons, and backstabbing

2006-03-22T22:55:00.000-05:00

Finally, a new episode of Lost! I feel like it has been forever! I enjoyed this episode. It wasn't very action packed, but I appreciated that it wasn't as dark as most of the second season has been. I really wasn't expecting Sun to be pregnant, I thought for sure that her pregnancy test would come back negative. But, hey, what's another Baby on the island!? Maybe this one will be a girl, and she will grow up to marry Aaron?! Hmmm. This brings me to my Lost questions of the week!

1. Sun: pregnant with Jin's baby... or the Island's baby?? As my friend John so eloquently said, "If the island can make Locke walk, it can make Jin's swimmers swim". Or is there some kind of "immaculate conception" thing happening with the island?

2. Henry: Other? Personally, I think he is not to be trusted...it's something in his eyes. The thing that makes me the most uneasy about him, is his ability to plant seeds of doubt in others, like when he commented to Locke about always following Jack. It seems as if he trying to ensure they don't trust each other.

I actually think those are the only questions I have right now. I am also very tired and so may realize tomorrow that I have more questions! Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed Lost tonight!

"Just Kate"

2006-03-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

When I was little, people used to call me Katie. At some point in my young life (I think I was 7 or 8), I decided that Katie was too immature sounding and I wanted to be called Kate. Apparently, when people would call me Katie, I would correct them by saying, "no, it's just Kate". Something about not wanting to be called Katie has stuck with me through the years. Today, I emailed one of my client's parents to give them some information. The mom emailed me back, "Katie, thanks for...". Kaite!! There is no 'i' in my name! It was spelled out at the end of the email I just sent you, 'Kate': K-A-T-E. Clearly, no 'i'!!! The best is when I am conferences and such and I am wearing a name tag and people look at my name tag and still proceed to call me Katie. Do, I just look like a Katie as opposed to Kate?? There is no real or rational reason for this to bug me, just one of my pet-peevs I guess.

growing pains

2006-03-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

Sundays are so bitter-sweet. On one hand they are relaxing and a lot of fun, but on the other there is the impending doom of Monday that hangs over the whole day. This Sunday was particularly delightful…church in the morning, lunch with friends, shopping with friends, quality roommate time, and more hanging out with friends. A group of my friends has had the tradition of going to Applebee’s on Sunday nights for the last 4 years or so. Last night we had an interesting discussion on growing up and our taste in music and movies changing and stuff like that. I have often wondered, at what point did my parents stop liking new stuff. When they stop listening to new bands or keeping up with current culture. I remember being in college and thinking, I can’t imagine not keeping up with the culture or liking new music. My friends and I had a discussion about this very topic last night. We all admitted to each other that we are starting reach the point in our lives where we don’t like new stuff. My roommate confessed that she had downloaded a bunch of old Brian Adams, I have been listening to a lot of Oasis and Better than Ezra, my friend Ben had similar confessions about the music he’s been listening to. Why is this happening?? It was interesting, when we each talked about why we were listening to “older” music, everyone made some comment about having fond memories of high school or college attached them. My friend Joanna commented that perhaps we like to remember a “simpler” time in our lives. Could this phenomenon of arrested cultural development really just be a symptom of growing pain?? I believe it! When I listen to the song “wonderwall” by Oasis, I transported back to the parties we had in high school marching band after a game. I have such fond memories of that time. I have been feeling lately like growing up is overrated. Being an “adult”: overrated. Having responsibilities: overrated. Paying bills: overrated. Really, I do like my life. I have wonderful friends and family, a good job, a roof over my head, all that stuff. But there is a part of me that longs for the time when my biggest worry was who I was going to take to homecoming!!

Great Expectations

2006-03-14T23:31:00.000-05:00

EXPECT (according to Webster) implies a high degree of certainty and usually involves the idea of preparing or envisioning

Have you ever had one of those evenings where you haven’t felt like a participant, but an observer? Saturday seemed to play out that way for me. As I have been processing this weekend, one word continues to come to mind. Expectations. To be quite honest, that word sends shivers down my spine. Why? Because to have expectations is often times equated with being disappointed. This weekend, I encountered many people who had expectations and those expectations were let down. Expectations of others, of what an evening will be like, of a relationship, of what we want for our own lives. I watched a number of my friends create expectations of one variety or another and I watched each one get let down. YUCK! So, what is the answer here? Do we learn to just not expect anything? Personally, I think that is impossible. But, it is almost certain that, at some point, one or more expectations will not be met. The let down is inevitable!!! So, we cannot eliminate expectations meaning we therefore cannot eliminate disappointment either. I, personally, am not a very flexible person. I don’t “role with the punches” very well. I am the kind of person that makes plans for today, tomorrow, and the next 10 years. I like to be in control, to have all my ducks in a row. However, life does not care about my ducks or if there are in a row or a squiggly line, or even anywhere close to each other! I have had many expectations for my life… what working would be like, what I would look like, what being an “adult” would be like, and I have to say that for the most part those expectations have been let down. Now, on most days, I would tell that it’s been for the best. In some ways, having expectations is like putting blinders…it narrows our field of vision. We look at life and say, “I have option A or B” . We don’t leave ourselves open to option C, D, E , and so on. So, my question then becomes, how do we balance having expectations with being open to life coming in and changing things? Hmmm… my brain is starting to hurt. I expect that my brilliant friends will have some wonderful insight on this.

From the microscope to the panoramic lens

2006-03-06T13:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a riddle for all of you. What is loud-mouthed, claims to know everything (including the location of the break in the space-time continuum) and is socially awkward? Need a clue… Everyone has been one of these? Yes, I am talking about the adolescent. Some of you may be reading this thinking, “I was not a loud-mouthed, know it all, socially awkward, adolescent… I was the perfect, well behaved, humble, socially eloquent, young adult.” Well, if that is what you think, you are either lying or seriously delusional! Trust me, and if you don’t, ask your parents! I try not to remember much about my adolescence. It’s tucked carefully away in a box with many locks. It’s interesting though, my memories of that time, particularly middle school, are very different than my parents memories of when I was that age. For example, I remember middle school being HORRIBLE! I hated myself and everyone else, I had no friends, and no purpose in life. I was awkward, I was tall, skinny, and had ears about 3 times the size of my head. When I was home a few weeks ago, my mom and I were talking and somehow middle-school came up. I made some comment about it being the most horrible time in my life and my mom said, “what are you talking about Kate?” So I explained the cruel and unusual punishment that was…..middle-school. My mom chuckled and said, you really liked your teachers and you were in a writing club you really liked; she continued to describe a life that I am pretty sure I was not present for! Was I abducted by aliens?? Did I indeed find the break in the space-time continuum and occupy some parallel universe for the whole of middle school???? Well, I now have the privilege of working with middle-schoolers, and I feel as though I can now explain the holes in my memory. I affectionately call adolescence the “microscope” phase of life. Let’s pause for a moment and think about what purpose the microscope serves. It serves to focus on something small… to make it larger so we can see it in detail. This is what happens in middle-school. We view our world as if we are looking through a microscope. We focus in on something and it becomes huge and it’s all we see. I shall give an example. A middle-schooler is walking down the hallway at school and “Jenny” doesn’t say hi to her, the following is the inner-monologue that would transpire: “Oh my gosh, Jenny is mad at me… she hates me… no one likes me… I am worthless and will never amount to anything…my life is over”. For some reason, as a child goes through the time of adolescence, they are unable to see more than what is in their “microscope”. So, something that, to the outside world, would appear to be a blip on the radar, is now taking up the entire radar screen. I believe that this is why I only have bad memories of middle school… because I was looking at my life through a microscope. Now that I am a “mature” “grownup” (I use quotes because I cannot confirm that I am either mature or a grownup), I am in what I like to call “The panoramic lens” phase of life. I now have the ability to see more than what is right in front of me… I have a wider perspective. So, as you encounter loud-mouthed, socially awkward, know-it-alls, whose life will be ending for one reason or another, remember you were that person not so long ago…but feel free to thank the good Lord that you are not anymore!!

The dingo ate your baby!

2006-03-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

Another action packed episode of Lost! Perhaps more enjoyable than the show itself, is the environment in which I watch!! A few of my good friends and I get together each week and eat dinner, hang out, and watch/discuss Lost together! This week was particularly enjoyable! We went to our friend Kate's house (as we do often) and she has a particularly emotionally unstable dog. To the naive, casual visitor you may think him to be cute and innocent... but be not fooled! He is calculating and manipulative. Last night, one of Kate's friends came to "Lost night" for the first time...yay!! She brought her 6 month old daughter with her (cute as a button I might add). The dog has some, shall we say, abandonment and replacement issues. He one, is afraid that Kate is going to leave him for another dog (or worse another human!) and two, is concerned that someone will come and into the house and assume a role more important than he. On this particular evening, the dog was feeling rather threatened by the 6 month old baby. This small creature may attempt to take Kate's attention away from him. Therefore, it is best if he stakes his claim on the baby before Kate has a chance. Yes, that's right folks, the dog tried to pee on the baby!!! Fortunately our friend Kegan was there to save the day!! Oh my goodness, that dog is an adventure! Now, to the matter at hand, Lost. The following are my questions about last evenings episode. I hope that you all enjoyed your Lost watching experience as much as I did.

1. Others: good guys or bad guys?

2. When the man came to talk to Ethan, I thought that it was "zeke" (the bearded guy who stole Walt), but then when they showed the man, he had no facial hair. However, towards the end of the episode, they found a fake beard and some glue... was the man infact "Zeke" and his whole vagrant fishmeran thing he's got going on is just a disguise?!

3. Were they saving the baby or infecting the baby?

4. The teenage girl: Alex, not Alex?

5. The survivors have only been on the island for about 2 months. Claire was taken, I believe, two weeks after they crashed. She was gone for about another 2 weeks. That would mean that it's only been a little over a month since she's been in the other hatch. So... a) why did the others leave the hatch and why did they abandon it so quickly? b) If the others left the hatch a month ago, why did it look like it had been abandon for year?

Happy deep thinking friends!! Have a great end of the week... and ladies, I think the we all learned a lesson in this past episode: Don't except drugs, knitting tools, or a nursery from slightly attractive but mostly creepy men, it will only end badly.

The power of advertising

2006-02-27T23:17:00.000-05:00

I had my favorite kind of Friday… good friends, good beer, and good conversation. One of my friends was talking about these new belt buckles that have scrolling screens on them. I have to be honest, I have never heard of these belts and quite frankly, I think it sounds kind of silly! What could you possibly need a scrolling screen on you pants for?! During our conversation of this new fad, we somehow came around to the idea that this would be the new frontier for the personal add. Think about it! What better way to promote yourself and to tell the world what you are looking for in a significant other then to let it scroll across your belt buckle. On Monday afternoons I have 4 high school boys in a social group, and for the adolescent male there is no more important of a venue for communication then with girls. One of my students talked about how he meets girls on my space, another told us that he doesn’t even have to talk to a girl, they just walk up to him and give them their numbers. The story that topped it all though, was my student who got a number from a girl and when he called her, he got some kind of rejection hotline…ouch!!! This all spawned a very interesting discussion about how meeting people online is tricky because a person can…umm… “embellish” the truth! One of the other teachers, who overheard our conversation, illuded to an incident when he thought he met a woman online…however, she turned out to be a he. Seriously, this is a scary proposition… I mean it’s one thing to round your weight down about 10 lbs or paste a picture of your face on a super model’s body, but to lie about your gender!! That is truly a mystery. I have to say this about my job… it’s never a dull moment!!

everything I know, I learned from kindergarteners

2006-02-23T13:40:00.000-05:00

I would have to say that my favorite ages are 4-7. At these ages, kids are old enough to do most things independently and you don't have to watch them every second and you can talk with them about things, but they are not yet old enough to figure out that you are old, out of touch, and not cool (this happens around the 4th or 5th grade). Another advantage of this age group is that they are not under the influence of dangerous, mind altering hormones!! 4-7 year olds have not yet learned about the concept of the "inner monologue". Therefore, anything that pops into their young brains will ultimately come out. At this time I would like to present a few scenarios of experiences I have had with my students. For privacy reasons (and so I don't lose my job)the names of my kids have been changed.

1. Scene: walking with "bob" through the library at school to get the other little boy in his speech group. It is book sale day and so there are a lot of books that wouldn't normaly be in an elementary school. We pass a stack of Dr. Phil marriage counseling books. Oh, I should mention that "bob" is in speech therapy because he says 't' for 'k' and 'd' for 'g'... so that would mean the word "cany" would sound like "tandy". To get the full effect of why this is a problem that needs to be addressed I want you say "kitty cat", but substitute any 'k' sounds for 't' sounds. So, as we pass these books, "bob" says, "Miss Bater (remember, 't' for 'k'), it's Dr. Phil...my mommy and daddy have that book!" Wow, this is information that I didn't need to know about his parents!

2. I am playing a game with some 2nd graders where you land on a category and you have to name an item in the category. "steve" land on the category body parts.
Miss Baker: Ok Steve, name a body part.
Steve: My uterus!
Miss Baker: says nothing, but looks like a dear in the headlights
Steve: What is a uterus anyways??
Miss Baker: that's a good question for your mom!

3. Scene: playing UNO with a client, he is 4 years old. My cell phone rings, so I pull it out of my purse to turn it off.
"Bill": Who was that?
Miss Baker: My friend.
"Bill": What is their name?
Miss Baker: my friend John.
"Bill": My dad is called John!
Miss Baker: That's great Bill? What is your mom's name?
Bill: Umm...my mom is called...Honey, that's right! My mom's name is Honey!

Don't take it out on the tree frog

2006-02-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

New episode last night! What did you all think? Persoanlly, I didn't think it was the greatest episode. It was interesting, but I don't feel like I really found out any great, new information. I did come to a few conclusions after last night's episode. 1. Sawyer, as good looking as he is, is a jerk. 2. I really don't like Anna Lucia. 3. Syaid is still in the "anger" stage of the grieving process. 4. Since there is no Starbuck's on the island to make them feel better, they all need therapy (good thing there is a clinical psychologist on the island)! 5. There is only one tree frog on the island, and it is really loud! 6. We can say with great certainty that Sawyer was/is not a member of PETA. Did you all notice that the American Soldier that captured Sayid was Kate's dad?! When they were in the truck, the man asked Sayid if he had a wife or children and they showed him looking at a picure... the picture was Kate! So, here are my questions for the week...

1. Is Henry telling the truth about himself or is he an "other"?

2. When the clock hit '0', it flipped through some wierd hyroglyphic looking picutres, what do you think about that?

3. Did the clock re-set itself, or did Locke get the numbers in on time?

4. What was the significance of the whole Sawyer/Hurly tree frog storyline?

Hmmm... deep thoughts!

Where has global warming gone?

2006-02-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

So, generally speaking I am a fan of protecting the environment,but I have to admit that deep down I have a secret love of global warming. I know that there are all kinds of possible negative repercussions such as the polar ice caps melting and flooding Canada, but I prefer to focus on the positive! January in Ohio is usually brutal... freezing, gray, and windy. It's the kind of weather that makes someone seriously consider selling all of their possessions and moving to Hawaii. As my mom once said, "it's better to have nothing in Hawaii then a lot of stuff in Ohio." This January however, wass quite pleasent! There were actually some days that required only a light jacket! God bless global warming! Well, all good things must come to an end. Februrary has so far been cold, gray, and windy. Where has my global warming gone?! Perhaps it's giving another unfortuante part of the world respite from the bleak winter. I can feel the winter blahs setting in. I know for my roommate Jessi, the spring can't come fast enough! Perhaps global warming will come back and visit our corner of the world again before the winter is over. Until then, my advice is to get a killer coat... if you have to wear one, you might as well look cute!!

Lost in "Lost"

2006-02-01T18:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so as many of you know, Lost it my favorite show... ever!! I watch the show every week with some of my good friends, we get together for dinner, watch the show, and talk about what we think might be going on! I love reading the message boards to see what crazy theories people come up with and the obscure details that only people with DVR and TIVO can find. So, I though it would be fun to try to post each wednesday on something Lost related!! My questions for this week are
1. What exactly is the black smoke?
2. Are the black smoke and the monster the same?
3. What is it about Locke and Eko that allows them to have such a unique experience with the smoke/monster?

Hmm...things to think about!! Happy "Losting" my friends!

New member of the family

2006-01-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

I called my parents on saturday and my mom said, "you have a new brother". I said "You better be talking about a dog!" And she was! My family got a new puppy... now there are three. We had a phone conference yesterday to discuss possible names for the new dog. I got the official word today, his name is Shamus (It's irish). I am excited to get home and see him! I have attached some pictures (hopefully, if I can make it work), he's pretty darn cute!

Starbucks...Cheaper then therapy

2006-01-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

I love Tuesdays… well every other Tuesday, because I get to go home at 4:30!! Most days I don’t leave work until 6:00 or 6:30 and it’s so delightful to leave work when it’s light outside! On my home, every other Tuesday, I stop at Starbucks… by far the most delightful experience of my day. By the end of my day, I have seen 22 kids and I am exhausted! I drag myself from my car, across the parking lot, into Starbuck’s… tired and defeated from a hard day’s work. But, something magical happens when I leave. I now have the power of a grande caramel apple cider and suddenly I’m not tired anymore and I’m smiling and singing along to the radio and just generally happy. The more I think about it, I don’t think Starbucks is thriving because their coffee and other assorted beverages are so spectacular, but because there’s something about having a custom made, warm, beverage that restores energy and happiness to one’s life! My roommate Jessi and I have this reoccurring thought every time we go to Starbucks, that perhaps we should make a career change. I can picture it now… I would get wear a cute green apron, I wouldn’t have to bring my work home, and I would be the best part of my customers’ day! I spend a significant amount of my week with adolescents and I can guarantee you that I am NOT the best part of their day. I should note now, that this entry was interrupted because I had to have a phone conference with one of my adolescent client’s parents… seriously, Starbucks is looking really good right now!

"More Chocolate, less nuts"

2006-01-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

I work in an all female office. At first, this seems like it would be a bad thing, and generally I am not a proponent of having that much estrogen in one location, but it’s actually a delightful work environment. Since it’s all ladies, the office would not be complete without a super, secret, chocolate stash. You can generally tell what someone’s day was like based on the number of chocolate wrappers on their desk. A one to two chocolate day is a pretty average day, but when you get up into the five to six chocolate range, you know that it was a rough day. Not too long ago, I had some down time in the middle of the afternoon and realized that our “stash” was running dangerously low. So, I decided a chocolate run was in order. I asked our office manager if she had a preference on what kind of chocolate I got. Nancy paused for a moment and said, “I want more chocolate, less nuts” to which I replied, “Isn’t that the truth!” I have since adopted Nancy’s wise words as a personal mantra for my life. One of the interesting things about being in the “real world” is that you realize it’s full of crazies!! Seriously though, it’s a challenging thing to navigate the waters of the dysfunctional. My mom and my boss have given me the two best pieces of advice when it comes to making my way through rough waters; 1) “you can’t make dysfunctional people happy”- mom; 2) “Don’t get sucked into other people’s dysfunction”-Barb. I hold these words close to my heart and on my refrigerator as I find myself in the midst of one strange situation after another. So, my friends, hold the normal people in your life close…and trade the crazy ones in for chocolate!!

And in the beginning...

2006-01-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Greetings! I have decided to take a stab at having a blog. Qutie honestly, many of my friends have them and I guess you could say that I succumbed to the peer pressure! I can't guarantee that what I have to say will be profound, interesting, or will always make sense, but I just thought I'd give it a try!