Tuesday, November 30, 2010

a wonderful week!


Hello everyone! I'm back on the west coast--I landed safe and sound into the SeaTac airport today greeted by the gray rain that I walked through as I made the trek from the airport to my AmeriCorps site for the second half of the work day.

I had a really, really wonderful week in New York, so I thought I'd share some more pictures and some anecdotes about my week!

First of all, I just love John's family. Our family lives are vastly different, and I have such a good time seeing a peak into his life and getting to have wonderful relationships with his family members. John loves his family so much and so enjoys spending time with them. This is especially true of his brother and sister, and I can understand why. Tim and Tess (and John too!) are so genuine and loving.  I had a great time getting to hang out with them this break.We played games, watched movies, and just enjoyed each others' company. I love them! And, I love Tess's addition to the family, Rufus, the wonderful bunny rabbit! 
hanging out with Tess's bunny Rufus
Tim, Tess and John down stairs 
Along with spending time with the family, John and I went into the city several times together. Whether it was for a commute to work, or meeting up with Beth, I just loved the time I got to spend with John on the train. Public transportation rocks and NY is just one great example of this!
train ride into the city :)
After Thanksgiving, it seemed like the city transformed overnight into a Christmas wonderland! Black Friday was filled with people and decorations and though Black Friday has come and gone, the decorations continue to shine and light up the streets with the holiday spirit!
the decorations and crowds in Macy's on Black Friday
Nutcrackers in Midtown
Beth and I loving the Christmas tree :)


I think my favorite part of being in New York were the people I got to spend time with. Between John and his family, Beth and her family, and meeting up with an old high school friend, it was just great to be with people I love! 
i love him.
 Seeing Beth was a blast!! I always have an incredible time with her and I am sooo very glad that it worked out that we got to see each other. Potentially the next time we will see each other is at another one of our best friend's wedding as bridesmaids! How crazy is that? (More details on that in a future post!)
i love her. 
While with Beth, the three of us got to see some of the most beautiful parts of NYC. John, Beth and I ate at Bryant Park by the ice skating rink, we visited the most perfect street in Manhattan (or so I'm told :) ), we enjoyed the crazy crowds and beautiful decorations, and we got to go to Beth's aunt's apartment and see the views from her roof top access! It was beyond breathtaking!
view from the rooftop!
posing in front of the empire state building at sunset :)
 It was an incredible week that has left my heart happy yet excited for the next time I am with all these wonderful people again! I have to say, New York is definitely one of the places I call home :)



Monday, November 29, 2010

reunited!

Being back in New York has been such a sweet, sweet gift :)



I'll share more pictures and stories with you when I return to Seattle and am able to download pictures from my camera, but for now, let me just say, it has been great!

Today is my last full day in New York and I am spending it in Union Square. I am currently in Barnes and Noble drinking some coffee and using some free wifi. John is hard a work a couple blocks uptown and we will meet up for lunch and then again after work :)

We've been all over the place this last week--
Wednesday: I spent the day in the city, visiting John's work and the like. Wednesday night both John's brother and sister had returned home and I got to spend some time just relaxing with them. We then all went rock climbing--John's new sport of choice. It was super challenging, but really fun! I loved it and was thoroughly impressed by others' rock climbing ability!
Thursday: Thanksgiving, was full of food and family. Most of John's dad's side of the family came over to John's house and we ate and ate and enjoyed each other's company. After the appropriate amount of digesting, we went to Harry Potter. We prepared for the movie by drawing scars on our foreheads and speaking only in British accents
Friday: John and I met up with Beth in the city! It was WONDERFUL! We met up for lunch and ate a yummy lunch while watching ice skaters. We then wandered around the city through the crazy mobs of black Friday shoppers. It was so great to see Beth and just get some time to hang out with her. It was an incredible day! John and I returned back to Dobbs Ferry where we went on a lovely dinner date :) The day couldn't really get much better than that!
Saturday: John's mom, Cindy, and I went to Sunnyside, the estate of Washington Irving. It was beautiful! We then went out to a really enjoyable family dinner filled with laughs.
Sunday: We drove out to the home of the CEO of commercial realestate firm that John works at. We spent some time talking, eating brunch, playing football outside, and watching it inside. It was lovely. When we returned we went to Mass at a local Catholic Church and then headed over to a close family friend's birthday celebration.
Today: I am writing my latest post in the Barnes and Noble in Union Square :)

It has been just incredible to be reunited with some of those I love most. I have felt so at home, and so comfortable being here. It really has been a breath of fresh air!








Until Seattle,

Saturday, November 27, 2010

'tis the season for holiday cards!

Thanksgiving and all it's delicious glory is over, except for those left overs that will fill our stomaches with good cheer for the next couple of days and that means Christmas Cards and Holiday Cards are now in season! As many of you may know, I just love letters and cards (remember my post about it?) and holiday cards are no exception!

Being out of school and living on my own, I now face the decision--will I send out my own holiday card this year? Without much hesitation, I have decided I will! Perhaps not in the quantity that I may chose to do in the future, but nevertheless, I will and I am excited!

I have decided to use Shutterfly in my holiday card making process! As many of you may know, I love working with photos and creating various projects using pictures of past memories in creative ways. Shutterfly seems like the perfect way to do this for the holiday season. Though I've never used Shutterfly before, just today, I saw a printed Shutterfly holiday card that came in the mail(these people are on top of their game!) and was super impressed.

I've been perusing the Shutterfly website and am excited by their really great selection. Check out all their card and stationary options here (www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery)!
They have all sorts and styles of cards and so many to choose from! The website is also really easy to navigate and upload pictures onto. So, even if you feel inept in computer related matters, Shutterfly walks you through it step by step. Check this link out to see how they demonstrate the ease of uploading pictures (www.shutterfly.com/upload-pictures/).

On top of that, they have so many great deals which makes using Shutterfly really practical :)

Here are a few I'm choosing between:
Livestrong Holiday Card-- the proceeds go to the LIVESTRONG Foundation!





What do you think? Will you do personalized Holiday cards this year? 


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thankful Thursday Thanksgiving Style!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! I hope that you all get to be with people you love and a plate full of great food today!

This Thankful Thursday blog is going to look a bit different than the past ones. Instead of choosing one thing to highlight, I'm going to choose a few :)

In general, I love holidays. I just love celebrating, so having a reason to celebrate makes me smile all over. Thanksgiving, however, is even more special to me! I love how the very nature of Thanksgiving calls on us to reflect on all that we have been given and all that we have to be thankful for. And what a good and challenging opportunity to share this with others!
One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is going around the table and sharing one thing that each person is thankful for! It is a pretty powerful and humbling experience.

This year, I will share with you all  my brief and probably incomplete list of all that I am thankful for. (Some of these you will be able to guess from past Thankful Thursday posts, and some of these will likely be expanded upon in upcoming Thankful Thursday posts, so enjoy the taster!)

I am so very thankful for...
... my brothers and their sweet love
... my wonderful and unique family
... my dad's health
... good music that speaks to my soul
... my incredible friends and how they love me
... my past and present relationship with my grandparents
... everything bagels with cream cheese
... my mom and all she has given up for me
... God's incredible provision, demonstrated in a myriad of ways
... fires in the fireplace
... my loving boyfriend and his faithful patience and love
... my complete experience in Seattle and all the people and experiences that contribute to this
... all the wonderful children in my life--including Rafe and Ellie, Kenia and Jose, and all the kiddos I have worked with
... how Jesus loves me and what He has done to set me free
... good conversations
... lattes
... all the families that have adopted me into their own and made feel completely welcome

I could go on and on and on and on, however, I think that to summarize most of these points in the very best way is to say... I am thankful for LOVE!

Thank you for reading my humble little blog-- indeed I am thankful for this too!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

and off to new york I go!

It's been three long months without seeing my love and the day is finally here!! I'm headed to New York to celebrate Thanksgiving with my wonderful boyfriend and his lovely family! I spent Thanksgiving last year with these loving people and am excited to do so again!
an oldie but a goodie--sophomore year spring :)
Though I was planning on just leaving work a bit early and walking across the street to catch the plane--I work right across the street from the airport--it seems that the snow had a different idea. I left New Futures early on Monday and got a call letting me know the office would also be closed Tuesday. Since the snow has started, I've been praying all day long that I am still able to make it to New York on schedule. We've been counting down the days for a while now, and I can't believe it's here!
silly snow pic from last winter!!
John is in NewYork working hard at a commercial real estate firm. Describing all that he's doing is way out of my league--what I know is that he's on his way to get his broker's license, which is a two year process. Basically, without stumbling over describing his position even more, what I'm trying to say is he's doing a great job and I'm so proud of him! I can't wait to see him all dressed up in a suit and in the working world! What a treat this will be for me :)
he's so handsome!
I can't wait to see John and just get to spend some time with him now that we've entered this post college life of ours! I miss all the little things about this wonderful guy. He is such an incredible man, and without getting too gushy and romantic, let me just tell you I love him and can't wait to see him :)
love love love her!
I also get to see my dear dear friend Beth!! I am so looking forward to seeing this sweet lady and getting to spend some quality time with her. Beth is one my best friends in the whole world. One of those wonderful people that I just love to spend time with. She has such wisdom and such a wonderful heart. I trust her, and feel so happy just being around her!
summer 2009
Between getting to see John and Beth and both of their families, I am one happy girl!

My next post will be from New York! Stay tuned :)


Monday, November 22, 2010

snow in seattle

Today, was my first Seattle snow day.

I saw the flakes of beautiful white trying to make their way out of the sky yesterday during church, but though they fell they didn't stick.

Today, the snow stuck and New Futures closed at 12. I've been enjoying a relaxing afternoon at home in my cozy, warm room. Here are the views from my room this morning!



Happy Snow Everyone!

--Kate

Sunday, November 21, 2010

yummy yummy in my tummy!

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a while since my last post, I've been trying to get good night sleeps, which means my blogging hours get cut short :) After a late night Thursday when I saw the Harry Potter 7 (part 1) I was pretty wiped Friday. With my AmeriCorps team, we served at Food Lifeline on Friday repackaging food. It was pretty wonderful to be part of something that enabled organizations and indivduals the opportunity to have good food for their clients and themselves. Over the three hours we were there we repackaged four thousand sixty pounds of potatoes! Needless to say, when we were done repackaging them, all of us were craving some sort of potato product :)

Being potato inspired, Friday night, a friend of mine from my AmeriCorps program, Lina, and I decided to make potato soup! It was yum yumm yummy!! It was so much fun to make, and I just had a great time with Lina as well :)
Lina found the recipe online and we combined ingredients from both of our kitchens to make this delicious soup. It was pretty simple to make, but maybe I should let Lina comment on this, since did most of the making :) I've had the soup for lunch Saturday and Sunday and it is just as good. I'll definitely have to make it again. Click here for the recipe!
So if you're in the mood for something warm on a cold winter's day, check out this recipe and enjoy! We sorta ad-libbed and added some tomatoes and little bit different portions of the vegetables. We also kept it vegetarian so we used a vegetable broth and no ham. One more substitution (maybe the most important)--the recipe called for russet potatoes but we used yukon gold and klondike rose ones instead!  It sure was good :)
Do you have a favorite soup recipe that you want to share with me? If you try this one, let me know what you think!!

--Kate

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Thankful Thursday: Today :)

After having a very draining day yesterday, I couldn't be more thankful for today!

I had a really wonderful time with 8 of my first through third graders. We went on a field trip to Starfire field and played soccer. They had a blast and I had so much fun seeing their smiling faces run all over that turf field. I also enjoyed chasing after them and playing a bit of soccer myself :) In the midst of it all, I got to see some new and wonderfully sweet sides of these kiddos today--I just love how genuine kids are!

Aren't they sooooo cute?

I'm off to yoga now followed by Harry Potter 7 (part 1). Doesn't get much better than this!
What a blessing today was. God's provision continues to humble me! He always knows what we need :)

Happy Thankful Thursday! What are you thankful for today?

--Kate

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

El Centro!

The Center/ El Centro is an absolutely wonderful organization. It will forever hold a very sweet spot in my heart, along with each and every child that I worked with at El Centro.

I came to know El Centro through a class requirement. Upon returning to the United States after studying abroad in Chile and Argentina for the fall of my junior year, I took a class titled Hispanic Heritage in the United States. It was a Latin American Studies class (taught in English) and perhaps my favorite class of my four years at Gettysburg. A part of our grade for this class was getting to know the Hispanic community of Gettysburg. Though El Centro does not solely serve the Hispanic population, the majority of the kids who go to El Centro are Hispanic. El Centro serves one of the poorest neighborhoods in Gettysburg (known as the third ward) and though historically the population has been predominately African American, it currently is mostly Hispanic. Thus, El Centro was a perfect fit!
Leidi is directly to my right :)

I began tutoring Leidi in January of 2009, right after her 10th birthday. Leidi is as sweet as they come. She is one of the hardest workers I know and though reading comprehension is very difficult for her, she is incredibly persistent! I loved working with her and continued the once a week tutoring past my semester requirement through the end of my senior year. The afterschool tutoring the El Centro provides is completely supported by college students volunteers (most of these volunteers come based off of class assignments, like I did at first).

Because of my experience with El Centro and tutoring Leidi, I applied for an internship where I would be working with El Centro throughout the summer of 2009. I was thrilled when I found out that I got the position! El Centro transitions into offering a summer program during non-school months and thus without the college volunteers and additional staff member is needed. My summer with El Centro is possibly my best summer to date. It was such an incredible time where I built and grew so many wonderful relationships, with the kids, the other staff and my housemates at the time.

Within a week of working with these kids I loved them like they were my brothers (and thats a lot!) It is hard to explain. I've worked with tons of kids, and always love them for their sassy and unique personalities. But with the kids of El Centro, I truly fell in love with each of them and couldn't get enough of them. I always looked forward to their arrival, and even on the craziest of days I was excited for the next day. I was able to develop and lead a writing workshop which we did each day with the kids. It was totally powerful to read what these kids wrote about and see the world through their eyes. I loved working with the kids, getting them to believe in themselves and see the beauty of their words. I ended up compiling a book of their writings, which I am sure I will discuss in an upcoming blog post :)

The organization itself was run really beautifully too. Paula Olinger (an incredible woman, professor and founder of El Centro) made sure that at the end of each day we reflected on what went well, what was difficult and what we could do to smooth out any frustrations. It seemed so natural, I took this for granted. But the support that Paula offered and the value she placed on each and everyone one of the employees whether, 16 or 40 or somewhere in between was amazing. It was such a blessing and privilege to work with her. She is so passionate about these kids and loves them so much, it truly was infectious. I also developed a great friendship with Sarah, another one of my coworkers. She had just graduated and was so much fun and so refreshing to work with. Another person I totally took for granted that summer.

Looking back, I miss working their each and everyday. It was such a special time in my life. It was how I got paired up with Kenia and Jose. It also was a time of clarity in my life--I want to work with children, I want to love on children, I want them to know they are valued.

Enough of my personal ramblings, now onto the organization itself. El Centro offers homework help for children Monday-Thursday while also offering a supplemental program that acts to empower and enhance the wellbeing of the children. As I mentioned in my Thankful Thursday: Kenia and Jose :) post, it also creates an opportunity for community members to act as mentors to individual kids in the program. Simply stated, El Centro's mission is "The aim of El Centro is to enrich the lives of children and their families by providing educational, recreational and multicultural activities."

I can say with full sincerety that El Centro changed my life. Just thinking about my time their and all the children (and adults) I worked with makes me smile :)


You can learn more about El Centro and ways to support El Centro at: their website or their facebook page. El Centro could really use your support right now! They are currently desperately searching to find an alternative to closing their doors at the beginning of 2011. Grants have fallen through, and as we all know, the economy is rough right now. If you have the funds, (even just $10) please consider this organization! It has changed my life and continues to change the lives of some of the most in need children of Gettysburg each day.

--Kate 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

it's because he's in love...

"love me, love me!"

Wonderful moments today :)

Today was the first time I got to see the sweet 1st-3rd graders I work with in about ten days and I have to say I missed them! Their energy, though crazy, is so endearing. 

Today, during a presentation on Coloration and Camaflouge, Ellie (the Academic Coordinator, my supervisor) was describing different reasons animals look as they do. 

For example, the snowshoe hare is white so that it's preditors cannot easily spot it, the monarch buttery is poisonous and uses it's bright colors as a warning, while other butterflies imitate these colors for protection and so on. 
[via]
When a picture this picture of a "boy peacock" and "girl peahen" came up, we got to discussing why the peacock had it's beautiful feathers. It wasn't to blend in but...

And as Samuel (2nd grade) so wonderfully put it, "it's because he's in love." And that it is.  How cute is that? It just melted my heart and added onto a wonderful day! 

Some fun peacock facts:

  • the main use of the beautiful train (tail feathers) is to attract a mate
  • a peacock will dance, fan out his feathers and call out to the peahen in attempts to woo her (talk about courtship!)
  • peacocks have an incredible need for companionship, without it they may become heartbroken
  • a group of peacocks is called a party (with all the dancing and love, why not?)

Peacocks are beautiful, but nothing can top Samuel's comment today, I just loved it!

I hope you all had a great Tuesday! 

--Kate


Sunday, November 14, 2010

weekend highlights

This weekend, I headed back "home." Seems like these days home is a relative term--more than ever I understand the phrase, "home is where the heart is." I totally identify with this--home is where my heart is. My heart just seems to be in multiple locations--with my family in the Portland/Vancouver area, with my love in New York, with all the relationships I have in Gettysburg, with dear friends in Baltimore, Missouri, Virginia, California, and all those other places I am missing. My heart is spread out all over, and thus, so is my home. So, when I am referencing going home for this past weekend, I simply mean the home where I grew up, the home where my wonderful mom and cousins, grandma and daddio, brothers and stepmom live and create a space for me to always call home.

I had a wonderful time and so enjoyed getting to spend some time with those I love!

Here are some highlights!

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, all Friday and celebrating Thanksgiving with my mom and cousins, Allison and Richard and their children Rafe and Ellie. (read more here!)
sweet Ellie and I hanging out before dinner
Having a lovely fire in the fireplace--and getting to tend to it!

Getting my haircut.
what do you think?
Playing cards with my mom! (No pictures, sorry!)

Spending the night at my grandma's with my three wonderful brothers :) I love my slumber parties with them! (I had them pose for these, so they aren't actually asleep, but they are really this cute!!)
Matt
Sean
Andy
I hope you had a great weekend! And now, onto the week! May it be a wonderful one!

--kate

Friday, November 12, 2010

Thanksgiving Friday!

This weekend I am in Portland. It is so nice to be back in this neck of the woods, where I know all the streets, and how to get from A to B without any hesitation. It has been great to see my mom and my cousins and I am very much looking forward looking to seeing my gma, daddio, stepmom and little bros tomorrow!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving, so it is officially Thanksgiving Friday!
counter full of food, all ready for us to start!
my momma, dancing to peter, paul and mary while cooking :)
yumm, I love sweet potatoes!
cooking away!
My mom and I cooked all day long. Our dinner included turkey (of course), stuffing, beets, string beans, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, apple crisp and pumkin pie! yum, yum, yuuummmmm!!!
my plate full of food!!
We had a fire in our fireplace and wonderful time with my lovely family.

Rafe and Ellie coloring away!
enjoying the fire!
everyone tickling Allison--so cute :)

story time! love these two kiddos :)

My sweet kitty, Croissant wanted to get involved in all the activity too :)

 

I love family and food, so today was pretty perfect in my mind :)
Happy Weekend!! Have any great plans for this weekend?

--Kate