happy birthday, PERP!

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear eleanor,

happy birthday to you!!

well, the cutest puppy in the world is not so much a puppy anymore. today, princess eleanor rose turns 3. three!! in dog years, she's 21 - she can drink!! maybe i'll give her a teaspoon of beer later [she loves the stuff]. [don't worry, i know dogs shouldn't drink]

i know i talk about her a lot, and post more than tons of pictures of her, [well, let's be honest - you guys love the pictures!] but i just want to take a minute to say that this past year especially i've been so lucky to have e. cuddling with this little furball has helped cover a multitude of troubles. she gets me out of the house and into the neighborhood where i've meet so many nice people. she keeps me fit with her constant pleas of 'let's go for a walk!'. she keeps me grounded in reality [except when i have conversations with her - i'm pretty sure those aren't necessarily 'real' in the conventional sense]. and while she doesn't reach golden retriever status in the over the top bubbly unconditional love department, she does her fair share of cute and heart melty things [minus the slobber!]. for all these reasons and so many more, i am happy and blessed to be little e's mom. 

 my little dog - a heartbeat at my feet  

[edith wharton]

pretty leaves that have since gone

we do not grow absolutely, chronologically. we grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. we grow partially. we are relative. we are mature in one realm, childish in another. the past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. we are made up of layers, cells, constellations.

[anais nin]

mm srry

hi friends. what's up? sorry about the lack of anything substantial lately. usually when i'm out walking about doing my things i compose potential blog posts in my head that sound ahhhwesome, but then when it's time to sit and tap it out, i think of better things i should be doing [sending emails! prepping for teaching! learning things! watching steven colbert and hoping that there will actually be a "south carolina serious, classy republican debate" on animal planet!] and/or i think all the ideas i previously thought up to chat about with you guys would sound LAME in print. this isn't an excuse. i just wanted you to know what is up, and have an excuse to post some more pictures. that's what you're interested in anyway, right?

k and e on the last beautiful day of 2011, watching the clouds roll in 

the things that are easier said than done and my motto for the week:

1. Out of clutter, find simplicity;

2. From discord make harmony; and finally

3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

[albert einstein] 

warning:

. . . only view this post if you are ready to be completely overwhelmed by cuteness.

love, love, love, says Percy. 

and hurry as fast as you can

along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

then, go to sleep.

give up your body heat, your beating heart.

then, trust.

[mary oliver]

sister thanksgiving

i'll be back soon, i promise!

there are things you do because they feel 
right & they may make no sense & they 
may make no money & it may be the real 
reason we are here: to love each other & to 
eat each other's cooking & say it was good. 
[story people]

thoughts while on the metro

*did i turn off the coffee maker?

*why don't i have any glitter in my apartment? 

*how can i continue to put off studying?

*why on earth did i watch to catch a predator last night, am i crazy?

*i wonder if the princess wants to play catch when i get home.

*the new coldplay album is fine.

*life is going well, isn't it? i guess i'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

*i need $ so i can go to the eye doctor to get some new d#*%^@ contacts and stop looking so emo

*there are about to be way too few hours in a day

at first glance, this sounds pretty pathetic,

with a second glance it is exactly right.

[thank you magic hat]

brian andreas

I like people until they 
give me reason not to, she said.

Some days they just drop 
like flies, though, she added. 
[story people]

to my wonderful grandmother

 

i traveled home to kansas this past weekend to celebrate my grammy's 90th birthday. that is right, 90 beautiful years! i've been so blessed to know her for 26 of them. she is my family's rock and is one of the strongest people that i know. she is witty, she is generous, she is fiercely protective, and she is so loving. i couldn't be more lucky! now i'm just counting down the days until the next holiday when i get to see her and the rest of my crazy/wonderful family.

"it is always sad when someone leaves home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches"

[lemony snicket]

exactly how i feel every time i hop on a place back to the district. this time i had to choke back tears as we sailed home over the beautiful midwestern plains. i cried because i love my family so much and it's a shame not to see them more often, and because life is short, and because school is hard, and because i didn't track down any bobs 47 while i was in town. but then a couple of hours later i saw my little townhouse in miniature out the airplane window and put my [figurative] big girl panties on and got to the business of life.

i'm back.

moving briskly along because 
introspection gives her a stomach ache. 
[story people]

something to tide you over with laughter

posts forthcoming, i promise!

until then, enjoy a little bridesmaids extended feature with some klassic kristen wiig:

making things

we're all young and naive still

we require certain skill

the motive changes like the wind

hard to control when it begins

-the naked and famous

i'm coming to you from the other side of some modestly successful cooking/baking endeavors. last week i was starving and i only had some frozen old bananas so a lightbulb went off and i decided to make cranberry banana muffins from scratch. yeah, that happened. i modified the recipe a little [i don't even know what shortening really is. vegan buttery spread worked just fine. also, craisins do the trick in place of real cranberries. and, cinnamon makes anything better, right?]. anyway, point is, they turned out like something i actually wanted to eat every morning for the next two weeks which i had to because i made a full batch. 


that upped my confidence, so the other day i made veggie fried rice with some peanut sauce. i have to give a shout out to michelle though, she showed me how first. then the leftovers were looking unappetizing so i threw in some onion and a smashed up black bean burger and some soy sauce and voila - i had the weirdest tasting concoction ever. maybe black bean burgers don't belong in fried rice. i ate it anyway being the pauper that i am. 


this is all to illustrate that i'm not ready to be on my own yet. i could still use a caretaker - you know, someone to take care of my budget and clean the toilet and cook me meals because heaven knows i am really quite bad at it. this is not a pity party - it's true. there is a very real reason i can't be a homemaker, and it's not because i'm some sort of feminist [that's a completely separate thing - i think modern feminism supports the choice to be a homemaker as long as it's actually your deliberate choice]. it's because i don't have the desire to learn to make yummy food and keep the house looking clean. i strongly dislike doing it. i feel like life is passing me by as i do dishes and prepare food that can be purchased premade in the freezer section [or that can be thrown together within 30 seconds as a sandwich]. these activities make me want to cry and i don't know what to do about it. 


HELP.

. . . look at the funny squirrel i saw coming home last week. i think he's pretending to be a statue so that i don't notice him. silly little rodent [is it a rodent?].

labor day weekend

this was my birthday party a few weeks ago. we ate dinner at busboys and poets and got drinks in a fancy speakeasy and laughed until our abs hurt. i love my friends!! top left: the metro escalator at dupont circle that i feel like i have to run up every time even though it's like the longest escalator that exists. why?

here comes the bride!

i want to dedicate this post to my dear friend courtney, who got hitched without a hitch this past weekend in STL! it was a beautiful ceremony and i was so blessed to be a part of it! She made a stunning bride who was organized, levelheaded, and the most chill bride i've ever seen. i'm not surprised, because courtney has always been my most reasonable, put together, and no fuss friend. she's good at planning for rainy days and therefore isn't fazed when things crop up. she is encouraging, kind, loyal, and oh so deserving of a happily ever after [which began on the 17th!].

pre-wedding festivities:

wedding day!

the only redeeming part of having a 7:15am flight the day after the wedding:

all in all, the wedding weekend was a huge success, and i even got some studying done. courtney and dan, thanks for letting me be a part of your big day. i look forward to being your friend for forever! i can't wait for you to pop out some babies for me to spoil rotten!

xoxo,

kate and ellie

finally, new ben folds!

when will our consciences grow so tender

that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
-eleanor roosevelt  [the princess' namesake]

people made quite a large fuss about the execution of a possibly innocent man the other night [although sadly, according to facebook, people were more worked up about a barely noticeable facebook layout change]. it [the execution] was indeed an unfortunate miscarriage of justice. however, i wonder what would happen if instead of making a fuss about this one instance, we used our collective voices to protest the execution of anyone, anytime, anywhere? or to protest the fact that people die every day of preventable causes due to an inability to procure care? or that fetuses are aborted every day simply for being conceived to careless parents? or that cute kittens and doggies are euthanized because there isn't funding and foresight to spay and neuter? these are everyday tragedies that are largely ignored because facing the truth is too hard for the average american. so yes, i am sad for mr. davis. but i am equally sad for the millions of nameless lives lost who will never have celebrity sponsors or widespread public outcries.

and i don't apologize for sounding like such a bleeding heart.

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
where there is hatred, let me sow love.
where there is injury, pardon.
where there is doubt, faith.
where there is despair, hope.
where there is darkness, light.
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that i may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
for it is in giving that we receive.
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

birthday epiphany

at first i was sad and annoyed about turning twenty six but then i heard someone complain about how worried they are to turn 25, and that was just annoying. almost as annoying as how i just used numerical values and spelled numbers in the same sentence. i realized that complaining about age just makes a person sound silly and vapid. so i'm excited to be another year older because it is a blessing to be alive - and there is so much good to experience in this world. so yay, and thank you in advance for the wonderful birthday wishes. you should really be wishing my mom happy kate's birthday, because she's the one who had to be filleted open because my stupid placenta implanted over her cervix so i couldn't be delivered naturally. thanks mom! you are #1 and congrats on 26 years of being the best mother!

here

do you want to know something??

these are people that i love. and they love me back, to boot.

how does one girl get so lucky?

i'm missing everyone back home right now. thanks for the wonderful summer! above are photos from my mom's birthday party - it was  great way to wrap up my terrific vacation. [you'll notice the vegetarian corn dog - i was in heaven!]

in other news, we've survived a earthquake and a hurricane recently. neither proved to be a big deal for dc, but thanks for all the good thoughts and the prayers! i really really appreciate everyone's concern with calls and texts and emails.

i'm just trying to stay afloat in terms of school and all the miscellany that i need to attend to [it never seems to end, does it?] but i'm trying to stay positive because in the end, happiness comes from within [but it also doesn't hurt to have lil miss eleanor being cute all the time and some quality friends giving me time, smiles, and encouragement]. in the end, everything and everyone on the periphery will fade away and only love will remain. probably. 

xoxo,

kate and the princess

i feel the earth move

[under my feet]

i was finally doing my piles of neglected dishes and then there was an earthquake.

maybe i shouldn't mess with the natural order of things???

this year

The Mountain Goats "This Year" from A Bruntel on Vimeo.

i stood willingly and gladly 

in the characters of everything - 

other people, trees, clouds. 

and this is what I learned, 

that the world's otherness 

is antidote to confusion - 

that standing within this otherness - 

the beauty and the mystery of the world, 

out in the fields or deep inside books - 

can re-dignify the worst-stung heart.

-mary oliver 

we miss colorado

the video is of eleanor demonstrating her excellent "doggie paddle" stroke. it turns out that she is quite the little swimmer! we purchased the kiddie pool this summer because the heat wave made it all the way to colorado, only it was worse there because most people don't have ac due to the typically temperate summers that don't usually require it . . . anyway, i just wanted to post some cute pictures of the cutest dog alive. back to the books!

xoxo,

kate and the little fish

right now

i am taking a study break with beer and ritz crackers and the colbert report. one of these days i'll need to go grocery shopping.

eleanor and i are pretty much back to normal. here's the proof . . .

walking the familiar streets, seeing the perennial and nostalgia-inducing zinnias, and tripping over those blasted apple things in the alley.

[ellie eats ritz, too. smart dog.]

here i am, you can find me here

here is back in dc, settling in and getting adjusted to the school year and trying to stay on top of things, instead of playing perpetual catch up. good luck, me!

first we celebrated michelle's birthday with peach picking and dinner, which was wonderfully fun:

then, the next day, we had dinner and the best froyo i've ever had at mr. yogato to celebrate the real birthday:

today little miss eleanor split the dew claw on her left paw which bled and hurt her so we went to the vet and paid an arm and a leg to have it trimmed back to the nail bed (poor baby! she had to have lidocaine and hardcore antibiotic shots too) and like the little sneaky pup she is, she kept chewing/licking the wound so she ended up in one of these:

we're accepting good vibes sent our way. hopefully she's feeling less sneaky tomorrow so she can have the collar off. 

we'll chat more later! i'm off to finish the rest of a $3 bottle of whole foods chardonnay!!

xoxo, 

kate and the bruiser

awake is the new sleep

so wake up. -ben lee

that is the theme for the new school year. i complain a lot about how i never did anything last year but study, but the truth is that the reason i didn't have much time is because i slept too darn much. all the sleeping took the place of other fun things i could have been doing, like seeing the city and spending more time with friends. so this year, i have to sleep less (no more than 8 hours, ever! or at least never more than 8 hours except maybe once a month because let's be honest sometimes a girl's gotta sleep in), study more, and do more. I can do yoga, and cook healthy meals, update my blog thrice per week and see my friends 1-2x per week, and [most importantly] excel in my studies. so there it is, friends. help me stay accountable. if you notice me slacking or not waking up until after 9am, call me up and say "hey loser, get your act together. it's called coffee and a cold shower".

ok, awesome. more later, i just had to get that off my chest.

in other news, i'm flying back to the district tomorrow [cue nervousness, anticipation, dread, and melancholy]. i can't wait to see my friends that i've neglected all summer though. i love you guys!!

xoxo,

kate and the intrepid traveler eleanor

we do what we must

and call it by the best names. -rwe

you could say that this summer has been one of much needed relaxation, but what it really comes down to is a series of perturbing impasses. i have indeed relaxed and cleared my mind of the past year, but i have also stressed about the state of uncertainty accompanying this summer - i'm completely accustomed to having a plan and a backup plan. it's not often that plans a & b fall through and leave me at a veritable dead end. 

as i reached said dead end, i decided to come home for a few months. what i've found is that home is a good place to end up when everything else falls through. here, people will love you even though you're a big grouch-ball lazy lump of a person, complaining about the injustices that you alone have been so harshly dealt in life. 

i've also learned that a summer like this is a gift in disguise. i've spent some valuable time with my radiant grammy, my kind aunties, my supportive parents, and my merry and droll siblings. princess eleanor rose has been spoiled rotten. i've cleared my mind and soul for the impending year. my faith has been restored and i am reminded that i am sustained by something greater than my own resolve. 

i am grateful and renewed. 

estes park, co

steamboat springs, co

fourth of july

well, over the fourth of july i headed east to kansas for a family celebration. it was a week full of family, fireworks, and - obviously - fun. i'll let the photos do the talking since i haven't much to say at present (the heat in colorado is currently stifling, but i hear that i have nothing to complain about in comparison to kc and dc)!

be here now

don't let your mind get weary
and confused your will be still, don't try
don't let your heart get heavy child
inside you there's a strength that lies

don't let your soul get lonely
child, it's only time, it will go by
don't look for love in faces, places
it's in you, that's where you'll find kindness

-ray lamontagne

to my family

dear family:

thank you for welcoming me home. it's the exact nourishment my soul needed.

i don't know how you do it, but you meet me exactly where i am. 

i know i'm hard to love sometimes, but thank you for loving me anyway. 

thank you for raising me from a stinking cute baby to a more or less okay young woman.

thank you for loving eleanor like a [great]granddog/[great]niece dog. she loves you too.

thanks for supporting me and helping me to become more than i ever could be alone.

xoxo,

k and e

company of friends

when i die, let them judge me by my company of friends
let them know me as the footprints that I left upon the sand
let them laugh for all the laughter
let them cry for laughter’s end
but when i die, let them judge me by my company of friends


when i die, let them toast to all the things that i believe
let them raise a glass to consciousness
and not spill a drop for grief
let the bubbles rise at midnight
let their tongues get light as thieves
and when i die, let them toast to all the things that i believe


i believe in restless hunger
i believe in red balloons
i believe in private thunder
in the end i do believe


i believe in inspiration
i believe in lightning bugs
i believe in slow creation
in the end i do believe


i believe in ink on paper
i believe in lips on ears
i believe what’s shared is savored
in the end i do believe


I believe in work on Sundays
i believe in raising barns
i believe in wasting Mondays
in the end i do believe


I believe in intuition
i believe in being wrong
i believe in contradiction
in the end i do believe

i believe in living smitten
i believe all hearts will mend
i believe our book is written
by our company of friends


-danny schmidt

dear friends: as long as i have you, i have everything. xoxo

i have no excuse

hi y'all. i have absolutely no excuse for being mia for so long via interwebs, phone, text, mail, etc, except that i am lazy. and that is not an excuse, so i don't have an excuse. this is a placeholder for until i get my act together. probably tomorrow!

xoxo,

kate and the dog

i'm so sorry for the hiatus!

ellie and i are being the epitome of lazy by sleeping in, reading, visiting family, and doing some extreme relaxing. today we're about to break that trend by heading up to steamboat springs for some touristing/admiring the scenery. you know how we do.

i would be remiss to not end this post by saying - congratulations to abby and adam for their engagement this week!! they are my dear friends and such a wonderful couple. mazal (mazel?) tov, you two!!

xoxo,

kate and eleanor

on vacation in colorful colorado

to sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

-jane austen

law and order: svu

hi hi! i just wanted to take a little break to talk a little bit about why i xoxo law and order svu. 

1. there are like a million episodes on netflix to have on as background noise.

2. you learn something new in every episode.

3. the science is usually pretty good. sometimes.

4. it features women in many prominent roles - high powered detectives, lawyers, judges, medical examiners, etc.

5. they don't shy away from ethical hot topics, and usually present logic from both sides of the issue before ultimately making the best decision [probably? who really actually knows . . .].

6. i love the gold necklace that mariska hargitay wears. i don't know how to get my paws on one. 

7. everything i know about the legal system i learned from svu.

happy memorial day!

it's a real scorcher today, folks. 94 degrees and rising (the weather channel says it feels like 99F . . . and they are correct). simply standing on the patio and taking some cute pics of the pooch in her 'merica clothes made beads of sweat cascade from every pore. therefore, i'm not too sad about staying indoors and studying. it does get old hauling my teeny fan from room to room (well, from bedroom to living room and vice versa . . . those are technically the only two rooms i have. haha) though. i'll invest in another [fan] probably, because i hear it only gets hotter from here on out in the lovely district. there's always something to look forward to.

anyway, i wanted to be sure to mention my gratitude to those who have served the the united states in military capacities, especially those who have been and are in combat zones. your sacrifice does not go unrecognized and i thank you so much for combating malevolence in this world. however, i can only keep hoping and praying that someday peaceful discourse will become the order of the day. if we make thoughtful progress toward combating hate with love and showing the world that we can be a respectful and caring nation, then i am convinced that a more peaceful future can be ours. i think we owe that to every man or women who has dedicated their lives to this country.  


if everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace. -john lennon

another, yay

as requested, another vlog. what was i thinking? i always start out with such high hopes for vlogs, but then i always just end up talking about a lot of nothing. i meant to talk more about how i got to go sailing on saturday, and how awesome the conference was, and how interesting and confusing the brain is. OH WELL. goes to show i can't think on my toes. (think on my feet? what is that expression?) i think the take home message from this post is that i appreciate everyone who reads my blog. even the people i don't know personally. thank you for listing to me blabber on and on in an often lame fashion!

xoxo,

k and e

***clarification: i just listened to my vlog and it sounds like i call strangers who read my blog lame, but i don't. i actually meant lame in relationship to my blog posts and my vlogs [because let's be honest, those are typically lame]. i greatly value all of the strangers that read my blog and you are absolutely not lame! in fact you're the opposite of lame. you're aweeeesome.***

it is our choices

that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities 
-jk rowling

i've been thinking about that idea the last couple of days. one of the speakers at the doctors for america conference mentioned that our choices speak volumes to those around us, telling them what we value and what we are willing to sacrifice. it is so true. our decisions are the lens though which our peers see us, and every day represents a new set of choices to be made. how do i want to be portrayed to the world? do i want to be a compassionate and kind person, or a lazy and apathetic one? do i want to be healthy and wise, or chubby and ignorant? do i treat my friends and family as i should, or do i take them for granted? it is good to be reminded of this, because it's so easy to get wrapped up in the everyday-ness of life and forget about things that matter. so give it a thought - what do those around you learn about you from your choices? do your choices reflect your values, or do you need to work on being truer to yourself and your convictions?

just something to think about.

one's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. in stopping to think through the meaning of what i have learned, there is much that i believe intensely, much i am unsure of. in the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. the process never ends until we die. and, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. -eleanor roosevelt 

[aaaannnnd some uber-cuteness for your viewing pleasure]

hello there circle of friends

hi i'm so happy to say hello to you! it's been a certifiably crazy week. went sailing and saw my beautiful friend jess and smashed my cell phone on saturday, felt a little sick on sunday, went to a doctors for america conference on monday, tried to keep my cool on tuesday, and had an exam in evidence based medicine today [that's basically just biostatistics, :( ]. i've been sitting down a lot lately with studying and class and all so my a$$ injury has been flaring up and aching a lot - i'm pretty sure it was actually a broken coccyx judging from the residual ouch.

anyway that was just a quick update. i'll try to elaborate on all the above as i get the time! maybe another [super embarrassing] vlog is in order.

this post is dedicated to my little brother benjamin on the occasion of his 17th birthday! it seems like yesterday that we were rolling him down the stairs in suitcases and dressing him up like a girl. he's turned out alright :) happy birthday, dear brother!

then

now

until next time,

kate and ellie

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

and it does . . .

i'm loving noah and the whale right now.

thanks to my dear friends michelle and abby for such a lovely evening. i'm a lucky girl.

the only devils

in this world are those running around in our own hearts, and that is where all our battles should be fought. -ghandi