A friend sent this picture to me...so strange that I don't remember ever wearing such an elaborate headpiece. :)

I think we all have a majestic lioness within ourselves! ROAAAR.

I love her...

I need to post about my Christmas break thus far... but, for now I will settle for a picture of Ash and I. I just love this picture. It speaks to my soul. :)

Ashton- You will never know how much I LOVE YOU!!!

"Well Hi There!"...

said the Kaitlin.

My absence from the blogging world has been too long. I have to admit that I had a despairing sort of attitude about blogging...because I figured that it was too late to make up for all the lost time. Things happen and I don't blog, and then more things happen and I still don't blog. Do you see what a terrible situation I found myself in?

Well-- I've decided to escape from the dark pit of bloglessness...WHAM!

I am currently sitting with Christen at her parents house. We don't have to be back to campus until, like, noon. You know why? Because, it's finals week! Finals isn't really a happy thing. But, not having any of my finals till the end of the week is wonderful. I really need to motivate myself to study now so I'll be prepared for them. Ok-- enough of this boring school talk.

A funny story:
Christen was eating a frozen fruit cup. She decided that it would be funny to creepily grab my hand with her freezing cold one. Christen, and mostly everyone else, knows that I don't like it when people touch me very much. heh hehe. :) I guess I was feeling a little more chill than normal because it surprisingly didn't bother me all that much. A few seconds later Christen's mom walked in the room to talk to us...oh my. So funny. There we were holding hands while not realizing we were and also not realizing how incredibly strange/weird and embarrassing it looked. Jacki died laughing and was like "what's going on?" Then we died laughing. So then we were all laughing, with Christen and I frantically trying to explain the situation.
(

Christen's been working on some design project on her computer for the last hour. I've been surfing a cool and unique blog link Jenny sent me...for the last hour(if not longer--- so pathetic)! Let me tell you, I've added some pretty radical photos to my screen-saver collection. :)

Here's one now...


and another...


I feel the need to clarify: It's not that I don't like it when people touch me...it's just that...I wouldn't say it's how I express myself to others. And, touching me annoyingly is a good way to get a "freak out" out of me!) NUFF Said.

Little Snipets of things

Wow. I feel like I've hardly had time to sit since school started!

Fall semester has got to be the busiest in terms of PYG planning stuff for sure. There's been a little stress here and there, but pretty great overall. I love the dynamics of all the girls this year...I was wondering how it would be different with so many new girls. It's been wonderful.



This is a picture of a girl I got to know on the plane ride back from Florida. She was on her way to Chicago for school, and had never really been away from home for an extended period of time. We talked pretty much the whole way. It was cool.



I love this picture. Turns out, Luca gets a little nervous on planes just like his Mom. :)
------ missing you guys in Florida! Jenny- Thanks for delivering my picture to me. It made me smile.

Here are some pictures of Kurt and I on our way to Denny and MaryAnn's about a week ago. I'm not sure what inspired us to strike midnight poses...other than the two abandoned tires along the side of the road that served as great props.

Last day in Florida...

I woke up this morning around 7am to the sounds of Luca and Luke talking and moving about in the kitchen. For some reason I decided I needed to join them, even though I'm the farthest thing from what you'd call a morning person. I've adjusted to the morning life quite well here in Florida...Luca gave me a run for my money. Funny as it sounds, School starting will give me a chance to sleep in a little. Luke offered to make me eggs before he left. Usually I would decline the offer because eggs just never sound that good to me. But this morning I liked the idea quite well. I thought it was awfully sweet of Luke to make them for me.

At 8:30am I met with Lauren to walk the 3mi Haile trail. Lauren and I were first introduced to each other at the pool. The day I met her she invited me to her apartment(which was so cute) to watch a movie with her and her mom. I am seriously always so surprised by how friendly people are here! Our walk was fun and a great way to start the day.

Jenny, Luca, and I headed to Urban Thread around 10:00am with Aimee and her cute kids. It was so much fun! Jenny and Aimee left the little shop to sit at the Starbucks next door because too many little kids in one place for too long is just...too much. All of a sudden I see Jen's head poke in the window. And then I kinda feel panicky because I'm thinking she's going to tell me I'm taking too long and then I'll feel bad because I should be hurrying and helping with the kids! She runs in the store and with a big smile on her face grabs the skirt I had planned to buy and proceeds to buy it for me. It was so sweet. She said it was a gift from her and Aimee. :) Oh but it doesn't end there...When I joined them at Starbucks a few seconds later Jenny had bought a little muffin with a candle on top. I felt the love. Did I mention it was raining at this point? Rain is my favorite thing ever.

There's the muffin and a happy me holding it.

This is Aimee. I absolutely love this girl.

The kids...how cute.


You probably thought this post was about over, huh? Think again! This was a crazy & long day. Pretty much I'm explaining it in extreme detail too...probably because...it's my last day in Florida. I'm savoring every little bit of it. :)

(Picking up where I left off)--
We then moved our party to Chick-fil-A so the kids could play. And guess what they had there? An annoying, huge, stuffed cow that walked around scaring young children. I think those stuffed costume things are weird & creepy, but I guess some kids really do like them.
Oh and, we shared a tasty peach milk-shake together...that we got for free from a coupon Aimee had. :)

Here's a picture...




I ran my last circle around Village Haile this afternoon. Running in the FL humidity for a summer has been a good experience. It's tough...and I think I'm actually going to appreciate Indiana exercising after all I've had to endure! Jenny and I watched our last show together on her tiny mac screen. I've got some good memories of Luke, Jenny, and I huddled together on the couch watching something ridiculous like, "I survived a Japanese Game Show!" :)

At around 8:00pm I met with two of my close friends for dessert at the Melting Pot. It was wonderful. We dipped Pound cake, fruit, and cheesecake into a steamy pot of dark chocolate while chatting. so good.
Now that I'm thinking about it, ending my last day in Florida with chocolate is just about perfect. :)

And there we are.



Before this post comes to a close, I have to mention: There's no way I would have finished my packing in time for our flight tomorrow if it hadn't been for Rachel(she's the girl on the left in the above pic.). I pretty much just handed her items in a dazed state while she some-how fit them all in my bag. There's no way all of that stuff should have fit! It was incredible. She's a one of a kind girl.




And here's another picture in honor of her. :)


Now that it's 1:30am I'll go to bed...and wake up in a couple of hours to head to Orlando for a way early flight. Wowsers. No sleep for me.
NIGHT!

Little spheres of delight!

I just ordered these online. I feel they'll be the perfect touch in my quest to create a magical desk space at Purdue. It's little things like this that make all the difference. :)




And-- Here is the first of my Florida art projects. Sadly, I'm not sure how I'm going to get it home with me! Distressing situation to be in.

ART invasion!

This past week I've had an endless surge of art inspiration. It's very strange. I'm once again realizing the tendancy I can have to get a little extreme about things. I literally can't sleep at night lately because I'm thinking about all of the art projects and things I want to do (while I still have time and it's summer). Maybe that's it...I feel frantic because I know I won't have time or mental energy to invest in these art projects once school starts.

The other night I found myself suddenly wide awake and it was still dark out. As soon as I woke up I had all of these verses of a poem running through my head. I jumped out of bed and in the dim light of morning, I wrote them down...then I went back to bed. That would be verbal art I guess. :) WELL OK, if you really want to hear the poem I might share it with you later...Ha.

Friday I ran to a craft store and purchased oil pastels and a huge 20x30 art board. Four hours later I had finished a vogue painting of a 1920's lass with scarf blowing in the wind. I'm planning to have it framed and put up in my apartment, which I'm really excited about. Taking it on the plane with me should be interesting. I'm going to have some good memories attached to this painting, because Jenny and I spent the evening at Kathy Gratto's(Lady that hosts sewing weekly) house while I painted it. Kathy has a really cool daughter named Audrey that's friends with Jen, and they were so fun to hang out with. Jenny studied Biology, Audrey worked on a fun sewing project with Kathy, the kids watched Jungle Book, and I oil-pasteled. It was super relaxing.

I bought a pretty curtain for my apartment bedroom and am going to order some beautiful flower-fairy lights too. I've spent so much time looking at inspiration filled pictures of decorating on the Internet- I love it. This is another area that's consumed me. I'm going to make my apartment desk space magical. :)

This afternoon, I want to work with watercolor pencils. I've never used them and am so excited about it! I found a picture of an earthy, unique girl that I'm going to re-create.

-------......-------......------- Three Cheers for art!

Florida Update...

Wow. I only have 8 days left here...I'm gonna miss it bad! I've had some amazing, quality time with the girls I've met here in Florida. I'll call them my Florida girls. :)

I'm going to create a list of some social highlights from my Florida summer:

-Driving range to work on (or should I say develope) my golfing skills. I went with Klaus and Charley who are our condo neibhors...and Charley's sister & 2 brothers were visiting for the weekend too. I felt very priviledged to be included in their family outing of golf. :)

-Anastasia/St. Augustine beach. This was a great day, and I'm so glad to say I finally traversed the sands of a Florida beach while here. I was getting worried that it might not happen...how embarassing would that be to tell people. :)This day I also had my first experience surfing. It's tough and you gotta be tough. Kristen (Jenny's friend) was brave enough to surf with me and we both brought home some impressive bruises.

-Dance party wit my FL girls(the "wit" is a typo, but I'm leaving it because I think it's funny). we danced for three hours...hardcore.

-Jewelry making with Charley. This was a lot of fun and now I have a pretty hip bracelet out of the deal too. Maybe I'll put it on my keychain.

-Fun dinners, again, w/FL girls. They have been amazing all summer about calling me and inviting me to random stuff. I love it.

-Late night talk with Holli(one of my FL girls)...I'm getting sick of using that phrase! We had a REAL heart-to-heart last night. Seriously, I've been able to connect with people on a deeper level than I expected...I'm so thankful God has blessed these relationships. :)

-Lunch with Miriam at Sister's. She's the best co-worker a girl could ask for. We've been hostessing together at sister's this summer. she pretty much was the perfect teacher too. It as so great connecting over lunch...and seeing the other Sister's staff that I love.

-Pool time with Aimee. Aimee is great. She's one of Jenny's closest friends here in Gainesville and we hit it off too. She has a little boy Luca's age so they keep each other happy playing.

-Sewing Nights. This happens once a week with ladies from Jen and Luke's church. It's such a special little group. You're always guaranteed some delightful baked goods and fresh coffee to enjoy while sewing. I sewed a ruffle scarf a couple weeks ago. So fun.

I think I'll have to do a post about some of my favorite memories with Luke, Jenny, and Luca before the summer comes to a complete end. That would be nice.

What a Find!

I was looking through my old post list and realized that I have a ton of posts that I never actually published!...so I decided to randomly read the drafts. I kinda felt like I was discovering buried treasure, if you know what I mean. :)

This particular post dates back to some time in February. I guess I really had some strong feelings for Nancy Drew at that point in my life. I mean, I still do...but the relationship between Nancy and I just isn't as strong as it once was. I think it might have something to do with the fact that her last PC game stumped me. Where's Luke and Ann when you need them! :)

Nancy Drew is such a thrill
Always finding ghosts with voices shrill
She is known to be quite sneaky and clever
always triumphing through every mystery endeavor
Nancy Drew is such an inspiration
Her sleuthing skills speak to the whole nation...

Well, there it is! Just think, this poem could have spent it's whole life as a forgotten draft in a long list of posts. How sad--- but then again, a little less embarrassing for me if I'd have only left it unpublished. :)

Sea World

A few years ago Ash, Liv, Christen, Natalie, and a bunch of other fun people traveled out to CA to hang with the young group there. I remember having feelings of deep regret after hearing all about the trip I missed out on. Let me be more specific...I wept when I heard they spent a glorious day at Sea World. And then wept more bitterly when I heard about the glorious meeting of--- Shamu.

Who would have thought that I too would be priviledged enough to meet Shamu so many years later? It's a miracle...Shamu is a miracle (sigh). :)

The day was fun, but very expensive and super hot. After getting soaked during the Shamu show, it was quite convenient that you couldn't tell whether we were sweaty or just sea-water drenched. :) We were seated above the splash zone --- Eight words: Don't ever underestimate Shamu and his splashing abilities. We didn't stand a chance.

We met up with family on Luke's side. It was so cute to see Luca with his cousins. I think all of us were very worn out at the end of the day. Those ocean creatures are just so dang stimulating!

Visit from the Steffens

Ashton and Bryan brought Liv and Brett to Florida and stopped in Gainesville for the night! It was so much fun. I love those people. We had a great dinner that was quite an adventure to cook together. After dinner we all talked and laughed around the table...one of my favorite things to do with good friends. Jen and Liv got into a pretty serious conversation about career stuff. I wasn't feeling particulary serious, so Ash and I ended up giggling about outrageous pick-up lines on the web instead. It felt good to be totally retarded and care-free together. And don't worry we have our serious moments too. :)

Ash, Liv, and I woke early to go for a run on the trail(Yes, you should be impressed!). Then, we headed out for a fun breakfast at The Flying Biscuit. The food was great. I definitely want to have breakfast there again before the summer ends.

Blasted Routine

Right now I'm reading a book Jenny picked up from the library- Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson. Chapter three is about how we form routines in our lives,and consequently forget that God is involved in Evey detail...even in the small things that we've lost appreciation for. It made me think back to how often I fell into this at Purdue. I'd live like a robot, mechanically going to class, doing homework, and "enjoying" my youth group. "The sacred becomes routine. And we not only forfeit spiritual adventure but we also start losing the joy of our salvation."

Mark Batterson asked, "When was the last time you, as an act of worship, watched the sun rise?" This made me realize how much more connected to God I'd be if I could stop for a moment to notice the small things around me. God gives me little hugs all the time and I step right over them in my attempt to keep up with a demanding routine that I've created and let rule my life. As I was reading this chapter, I stopped to look up at the view from Luke and Jen's balcony. It was the kind of weather right before and after a rainfall. Everything is fresh and sparkly with rain and the sky looks like it wants to keep raining. I love the way the air smells and how calm everything is. There are so many amazing things around me that I want to open up my eyes to and see. And, it's so cool for me to remember that by noticing and appreciating these things we are worshiping God.

As a response to the thoughts in this book, I'm posting this picture.



I found these lights stored away in the bedroom closet. Twinkle lights are one of my favorite things ever. I love how they are able to make a room so cozy. Before I found them, I had been thinking how much I wanted a lamp for the same purpose. The twinkle lights are much better. Seriously, the lighting of my bedroom is a big deal to me...now it's like a little, twinkly oasis.

I want to say: thank you for that special gift, God!
Mmm hmmm, girlfrieend!--You know I'm feeling more joyful. :)

Luca

These pictures were taken on the first day of our nannying adventure.

Friday night fun

After a long week for us all, we celebrated its end with dinner at Dragonfly Sushi. It's located in downtown Gainesville...I fell in love with the fun college atmosphere there. I hadn't experienced that part of Gainesville before. Dragonfly happens to be Luke's favorite...and yes, the sushi was first-rate.

After dinner, Jen and I went to a cute little shop down the street. And, that's where I purchased my first FL souvenir of the summer. :) It's a pretty awesome purse that was originally $54. I said I liked it and the guy that owned the shop offered it to me 50% off! Needless to say, it was sold.

The night ended at Barnie's coffee. Jenny needed to stop to grab a friend's keys. I'm glad we did because they had a live jazz band playing. :)

It was a great night. How I wish I'd have thought to bring my camera.

Sister's for Breakfast.

I met with Monika(spelling?)this afternoon and I'll be starting training at Sister's tomorrow at 10:15! I'm definitely jumping into it sooner than I thought, but am really excited about it. The people working there seem really cool, and I'm thinking it'll be a pretty good experience for me. It sounds like I'll be doing hostessing and mostly working on the weekends.

Florida!

I'm here and it's already Wednesday! I'm taking the opportunity to blog while Luca is napping.

I'm planning to make dinner tonight for Luke and Jen-- it should be fun. Luca was great today, which I was thankful for after a grumpy, sleep-deprived Luca yesterday.

Monday evening Luke, Jenny, and I ran together with Luke pushing Luca in the stroller. It was so great to all exercise together. We ran a three mile trail around village Haile. I'm really loving how much I've been able to be a part of their lives here in Florida. I've been able to meet Jen's friends and just do everyday things with her. I'm really thankful for the chance to experience some of Jenny's world. Going to church together Sunday was really cool too.

Last night I was pouring myself some coffee in the kitchen and looked up at Jenny in the living room...it suddenly hit me how crazy it is that I'm here with her. She's not my far away sister in Florida that I never see anymore. I get to see her every day for a whole summer! I've been really impressed with Luke's willingnes to help out with Luca!

Monday Luca and I went to the park and walked around the village. I got some pretty cute pictures of him. :) I think I might just upload them all on a separate post though. There's way too many to upload here.