preview

a summary of forthcoming blerg posts: stay on your toes, friends!! there's a lot of catching up to do!

apple picking

halloween - what are our costumes??

election night

thanksgiving

white house christmas tour

christmas

touristing around town

inauguration

inaugural ball

my blerg

do you know what i like to call my blog? my blerg. yeah. it sounds better than blog. i hate that word, blog. say it out loud and you'll wonder why that word exists. so do me a favor and if you're chatting with someone about what lame thing kate wrote on her blog, call it kate's blerg. you're welcome.

in other news - the leaves just keep falling off the trees around here. watching them drift to the ground makes my blood pressure spike a little bit. i feel like i'm in a race to get everything productive done before they all fall, because once they do i'll really be feeling the winter funk. and you'll hear about it all winter with melancholy posts yearning for spring.

but.

something to look forward to:

my little bro is coming to town for thanksgiving! i am so stinking excited, i hope he will be able to put up with me for a whole week.

and also, something else super exciting:

my aunt cassy aptly pointed out that my dear grandfather, a veteran who we are all so proud of, would have been so happy with this veterans day present.

k-state tailgating in the good ol days - i love this photo

off to do things,

k and e

not in kansas anymore

there is no one who comes here that

does not know this is a true map of the world, 

with you there in the center, making home for us all.

[story people]

it was so great being in kansas with my dear, dear grammy and assorted other family members. 
that sweet little town will always be my roots. 

spring has indeed sprung

the princess and i headed home a week and a half ago to have some major relaxin:

we spent the majority of our time in kansas with the ever lovely elva lola grandmother, which is a whole other post of its own, but here are some pics from the trip and our escape to kc for a day (los compas! huge dos equis! friends (and alex)! family! we're spoiled!)

ellie beholds our hometown from urban arts and crafts (if you haven't been, go. right now. 2 projects in the works from treasures found there). we certainly miss our town and all it offers in friendship and fun.

shortly after this photo was taken, we were ushered to the airport where we flew on back home. i think the princess and i should be qualifying for a free flight soon. we were greeted by a district where spring had sprung forth in a beautiful abundance. i mean, just look at my patio tree (top center) dripping with bright blossoms, or the forsythia shining golden. the irises i planted are still alive, and i even made it for the tail end of the cherry blossoms. i can't take it. so, so breathtaking. 

. . . heaven is an eternal spring. 

today i placed a really funny amazon order that contained two books (heaven is here - i love nienie's blog - and health care reform: what it is, why it's necessary, how it works - in cartoon form!), a package of biodegradable princess eleanor poop bags, and 4 oz of silver glitter. ever since i moved to dc i've been pining after some good old fashioned glitter to use to spruce up my depressing apartment. and maybe some to sprinkle on myself and be all like "long day at the office, tee hee".

alright that about brings you up to date for now. i've gotta head to a new part of town to be a tutor. wish me luck.

happy hump day!!

xoxo, 

k and the incomparable princess e

leaving

returning

i left dc in a blaze of nighttime lights for a much needed break from here. getting back to my roots is so funny. it's a wonderful respite - not just wonderful, though: necessary. life can get pretty stressful here. i absolutely love getting back to the places and people that are truly home to me. i know i gush a lot about my friends and family, but it's only because they are the best people i know. a few weeks with my people has and will always recharge my batteries. thanks, y'all. 

i'm back now, moving forward as that is the direction things typically move. i'm excited to take advantage of all this semester has to offer. i am also pretty pumped to be involved in doctors for america right now. the health care system is seeing its biggest shakeup in almost half a century and it's all happening here. i'm feeling awfully privileged to be able to play a role in disseminating information about the affordable care act and how it moves our country toward a more stable and equitable health care system. if you have questions about it, please please ask! i love a lively chat.

let's talk again soon, kay?

xoxo,

k and e

an update in photos

first, steph came for interviews and we did it up right - what fun!

then i went home for the holidays and of course we had to attempt a family photo. also, ask me about redneck sledding sometime.

when visiting my gram, we found some fun childhood pics

and i had eleanor's portraits done by the incomparable mr. zach

then to kansas city for the new year! i absolutely love these girls. i can't say it enough.

"in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed" 

[khalil gibran]

whoa, that was a lot of photos.

this brings us to now - the start of a new semester. there's more to come, but i figured i'd interrupt the quiet of the radio waves to let you know i'm still alive and kicking. talk to you soon!

xoxox,

kate and the princess

sister thanksgiving

i'll be back soon, i promise!

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.

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!

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

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)!

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

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

i'm back, no big deal :)

sorry for the long absence! ooooops.

since we last talked, i passed sdr (horray happiness!), had a lovely spring break in kc, and started a course called head and neck at school. the head and neck are complicated areas of the body for sure! there are many nerves and blood vessels snaking about and supplying a multitude of muscles.

anyway, about spring break! i headed to kc with little e in tow and we had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends alike.

sorry for the brevity . . . must go learn more! will update more tomorrow!

xoxo,

kate and ellie

p.s. tonight there's supposed to be a good old fashioned thunderstorm . . . lovely!

brace yourself

for some cute puppy footage

happy birthday to auntie zinnia!!!

it is my dear auntie cassy's birthday today, so i wanted to dedicate this post to her. she is a lovely, passionate, caring, and energetic lady who inspires me all the time. whether it is by standing up for her convictions, growing beautiful flowers, seeing the good in everyone, encouraging those around her to reach their potential, or just whipping up an amazing vegetarian dinner, she makes me feel so lucky to be her niece.

a.c. - i'd be nowhere without you. thank you for everything that you do - ellie and i love you more than you can know!!!

xoxo,

kate and ellie