New Year, New Motivation, New Plan

It's 2011, and I am making a determined effort at focus and productivity. In this effort, I am focusing a lot of my time and energy on my writing. Therefor, I will not be writing on this blog for a while. If you want to read about my escapades, you can continue to do so at The Write Stuff. Two blogs are a lot to maintain, and I need to focus more on my productive writing, no matter how much Night Owl loves reading my blogs!!! (you can read plenty on the other blog Owlie girl)

So Happy New Year! Hope it's a great one!!!!

~KK~

Helping out a great family

So this family was brought to my attention by a friend of mine. They work with a program called Reece's Rainbow that advocate for children all over the world who are in orphanages and institutions simply because they were born with Down Syndrome.

They are currently working toward adopting 2 children, Ianna and Axel. They both have different conditions and I believe they are each from different countries. They are both around ten years old.

At the moment, they are very, very close to being able to bring Axel home. Hopefully, the Lord willing, they will leave for his country sometime in December to start the process of bringing him home.

At the moment they are holding a raffle for an iPad. As you know, these things are pretty pricey. But right now you can buy a raffle ticket for one of these babies for $25. And if you donate $100 to the site, you get 5 entries.

Here's the family's blog:
http://myianna.blogspot.com/
And here's the entry advertising the raffle:
http://myianna.blogspot.com/2010/10/ipad-give-away.html
I hope that some of you wonderful blog readers will be able to help this family out by contributing to the raffle or at least spreading the word.

God bless you all, my lovely blog readers.

~KK~

Long Time Gone

I have been severely neglecting my blogs as of late, mostly due to lack of internet access, but partly because of severe laziness on my part. So, an update on the goings on of the last few months.

In June and July I worked in the Resource room at District 25. I enjoyed the company of a wonderful Special Ed. teacher who usually teaches in American Falls. She and I had a LOT in common and got along great. Also in our room was another aide, a friend of mine who also works at Alameda Ctr. During the 2 months we worked together at summer school, she studied for and passed a slew of tests to become a certified Special Ed. teacher. She's now working at Kinport, the program I worked at last year.

I skipped out on the last few days of summer school to head back east to visit family and friends in Maine. I spent 3 weeks there, enjoying the company at our family reunion and visiting friends all over. We went to the ocean and I spent a day in New Hampshire with my honorary family, the Collins' at their family reunion. I also got a massive case of sun poisoning and had a bad run in with coconut rum (NEVER AGAIN, let me tell you!). I lost about 15 pounds due to sweating and lots of activity (WOOHOO).

The day after I returned to lovely, hot and dry Idaho, I had a job interview for a full-time position at Alameda. It was the easiest, most stress-free interview of my life!!! The very next day, I was informed that the job was mine!!!! I was really sad to leave Kinport, but I couldn't pass up full-time work, benefits, and a pay raise. It seemed almost too good to be true!!!

Diane stressed all summer about her job. She had her paycheck extended throughout the summer so we had money, but she was really stressed about finances and her dislike of her job. But at the last minute (5 days before our school jobs started) she was called about an interview in Logan, UT. The job would be in our area, but the company is based in Logan. The day after the interview they called to offer her the job!!! She's started her training and will begin working soon. This is a huge burden lifted off of her shoulders. I am so happy for her. I hated to see her so stressed and unhappy. Her job will be working with at risk babies and toddlers and their families to make sure they stay developmentally on track. Her title is Early Childhood Family Educator. It sounds so official and important. I love it.

So school started last Monday, at least for the staff. We had meetings and prep times and more meetings. Alameda Ctr. has an entirely new administration. This is both a good and bad thing. Good, because the administration has been so unstable for several years. Bad, because new administration equals changes and not everyone likes changes, staff and students both. We're managing. I'm getting used to a new job, new hours, new boss and coworkers. It'll take some time, but I'll get into a routine. We'll see how my body and mind handles the workload and the stress. I'm hoping things will work out for the best.

We finally got the last of our kittens from last year adopted out, only to have one returned after a nine month stint in a new home. She came back with what the vet called the worst case of ear mites she had ever seen. Bearie scratched her face to a bloody mess in an attempt to ease the itching. Now she's in a cone while she heals. She's less than thrilled. She's also less than thrilled (to say the least) that we have taken in a new foster. This one is an approximately 3 month old kitten who was starved and severely mistreated by her last owners. She's the sweetest, most loving kitty I've ever seen and we're working to get some meat on her bones and to keep her hydrated. She's started getting her shots and when she's healthier, she'll start going to Adoption Days every month until we find her a forever home. Diane was very hesitant to take on a new foster, especially such a high maintenance one while Bearie is still healing, but I begged. I just couldn't bear to see her end up in a shelter where she would be on death row. The Humane Society didn't have any open fosters, so if we didn't take her that's where she would have ended up. I named her Inkblot, but mostly we just call her Baby. She's getting healthier and stronger by the day!

So that's what's been happening around here. I've spent a lot of time this weekend catching up on blogs, emails, and facebook. Leave comments and let me know what's happening in your lives!!!

~KK~

Father's Day

Happy Father's day to all fathers and father figures everywhere! God bless you all.

~KK~

Learning

I've been spending my days (when I'm not at work) learning how to sew and make jewelry. It is so much fun and it's good to have a hobby, something to help me unwind. I love making patterns for necklaces and bracelets and trying desperately to sew a straight line (I'm not very successful yet). I've learned how to make burp cloths and "Loveys", a cute little baby blanket. It's great.

I'm also learning how to teach high schoolers. They're a mystery. I just can't seem to make them realize that I mean business and that I'm not "one of them."

I can't help it if I'm short, people!!!!!!!!

Sorry.

It's all one big learning experience...

~KK~

Easter and General Conference

It's a lovely weekend for celebrating Easter. I love Easter. It's such a spiritual time and also so much fun.

This Easter happens to be falling on General Conference weekend. Also one of my favorite weekends.

The first session of conference is almost over and it's been so uplifting and fulfilling. President Uchtdorff gave my favorite talk of the morning. It reminded me of one of my favorite Kenneth Cope songs and I thought I'd share it. It's called "His Hands".

His Hands
by Kenneth Cope

his hands
tools of creation
stronger than nations
power without end
and yet through them we find our truest friend
his hands
sermons of kindness
healing men's blindness
halting years of pain
children waiting to be held again

his hands would serve his whole life though
showing man what hands might do
giving, ever giving, endlessly
each day was filled with selflessness
and i'll not rest until i make up my hands what they could be
'til these hands become like those from galilee

his hands
lifting a leper
warming a beggar
calling back the dead
breaking bread, five thousand fed
his hands
hushing contention
pointing to heaven
ever free of sin
then bidding man to follow him

his hands would serve his whole life though
showing man what hands might do
giving, ever giving, endlessly
each day was filled with selflessness
and i'll not rest until i make up my hands what they could be
'til these hands become like those from galilee

his hands
clasped in agony
as he he lay pleading, bleeding in the garden
while just moments away
other hands betray him
out of greed, shameful greed
and then his hands
are trembling
straining to carry the beam that they've been led to
as he stumbles through the streets
heading towards the hill on which he died
he would die
they take his hands, his mighty hands, those gentle hands
and then they pierce them, they pierce them
he lets them, because of love
from birth to death was selflessness
and clearly now i see him with his hands
calling to me
and though i'm not yet as i would be
he has shown me how i could be
i will make my hands like those from galilee

I hope I can work harder to make my hands like those from Galilee.

God Bless and Happy Easter everyone.

~KK~

Everything in Moderation

Life is starting to look up for me. I'm making some changes in my life, hopefully for the better, and for the first time in a long time, things are going right.

Both D and I have joined Prepaid Legal, Inc. and we are both working to protect our identities, prepare wills, and file for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy thing is important. There are many things that we want to do that just aren't going to happen unless we get our finances straightened out and we've determined that we both need a fresh start, a second chance to do things right.

Once the financial situation is settled and we are secure in our life, D has decided to become a foster parent. We will both go through training, but only she will certify as a parent. I will just be another adult in the household. I'll be there to support and help, of course, but I'm not ready to take on the responsibilty of being a parent. D has 11 years on me and a lot of experience crammed into those 11 years. She's been waiting to do this for a long time. I'm excited that she will finally have the chance.

My health has been touch and go recently, but I feel that I am improving and discovering ways to make myself healthy and happy. Only time and experimentation with different medications, diet, and exercise plans will bring me to a healthy and comfortable living condition.

As for the title of this post, I have decided to moderate my life in order to be healthy and happy. Moderate spending, moderate eating, moderate work, and moderate play. I believe that is the key to being healthy and happy.

~KK~

Birthdays and Baptisms

Well this weekend is gonna be a busy one. After much drama and planning, I got the weekend off so D and I would be able to attend her niece's birthday party and our friend's baptism. We also get to spend time up in Rigby and visit some friends in Rexburg, too.

Alyssa is turning 16 today- Happy Birthday, Alystica- and we're excited to be able to celebrate with her.

Zoey has waited a long time and prepared very hard for her baptism. Even though they have moved pretty far away (PARKER??? talk about the middle of nowhere), we are very excited to share this special day with her.

We've been working to make some changes in our lives to make life better for us. We're cleaning a lot and discussing plans for the near future and preparing for the distant future. Working together instead of not communicating is making life for us much better.

I'm in full swing in my preparations for summer and Christmas. I've already started saving money for both trips and talking to my mom and dad about the trips.

Life is good and exciting and wonderful. I feel so blessed.

~KK~

I'm back!!!

I've really been away for too long. I should write more often. Bad Kaitlyn.

What's been going on in the potato state? Coldness, for one thing. There hasn't been much snow this winter (so far, fingers crossed) but it has been cold!!! Temperatures have dipped into negative numbers several times and I am constantly scraping thick layrs of frost off my windshield in the mornings.

We survived the craziness of the holidays. Christmas was wonderful, if a little homesick for me this year. I really wanted to either be in Kentucky for my first Christmas, or to be in Maine. I miss my family and it's hard living so far away from everyone.

D and I got our pictures taken by the wonderful Jaimee. It was really fun, if really cold. Jaimee is so talented and professional. The pictures turned out great. I may put some up for your viewing pleasure sometime soon.

Work work work. Sometimes it seems like all we do. But it isn't always enough. We've been struggling to make ends meet, and it's been tough on both of us. We snip a grump at each other a lot these days, but there are brighter days ahead!! Soon my car will be paid off and there will be $300 extra a month in our pockets. It will be a huge lift. $300 doesn't seem like that much but it will buy us food and the other not-quite-necessities that we've been going without. March can't come soon enough.

And speaking of things to come, my adopted little brother Aaron will be leaving for his Mission in February. He's serving in California!!! Congrats, Elder!!!

Also to come this year are Krystal, Matt, Jon, and Steve's graduation! My crew that I started this crazy journey with are finishing it and moving on to bigger and better things. More on that to come. When they graduate, their families will be coming out and I will get a much needed does of love from Maine. Can't wait!!!

This summer (planning ahead) I plan to spend 2 weeks in Maine for a family reunion. I'm excited because it's been so long since I've been back east and I know so much has changed and I can't wait to visit everyone and spend time with all my loved ones.

And planning waaaaay ahead, I've started saving for a plane ticket to go and spend Christmas vacation in Kentucky this year. Come hell or high water that's where I'll be.

So there's a brief (or not so brief) update on me and my crazy life!

God Bless!

~KK~

Christmas Plans

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Pleased to put a penny in an old man's hat. Pleased to put a penny in an old man's hat. If you've no penny, a hay-penny will do. If you have no hay-penny then God bless you. If you have no hay-penny then God bless you."

Sorry, I haven't written in a while, or posted Thanksgiving pics, but things have been busy and I still haven't found my camera cord. It's very annoying.

Christmas is a busy time. I love the hectic, festive spirit that is all around. I love the planning and buying and wrapping and giving of presents and visiting with people you love. I love the music and the decorations. I love the real Christmas spirit that comes with knowing the real reason for the season, the Savior.

What I don't love is being so far from my families. I wish that I could go to visit everyone this Christmas season. I wish I had the money to fly to Kentucky, Maine, and maybe even Canada (I miss my Night Owl) and spend time with everyone. I wish I didn't need to make money and save money and be responsible so I could do all the things I want to this Christmas.

In short, I hate being a grown up.

Ok, so there's my whine and rant for this post.

What I AM doing for Christmas is spending another Christmas in Rigby with the Olsen crew. They're awesome. I love holidays with them. I miss my old traditions, but I enjoy making new ones and enjoying others'.

D and I will head up North early next week and spend the week with Mom and Dad Olsen. We'll stay until Saturday, when I have to come home to go to work. We both have 2 full weeks off from school, but I have my shifts at SBGH. While we're gone, Chuck will take care of our cats and when we return we'll watch his cats while he goes to visit his family. It seems like a pretty decent arrangement.

So those are our Christmas plans. More to come soon, I hope!

~KK~

Thanksgiving and other thoughts

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We went to D's parents house and spent the holiday with her family and some mutual friends. The food was fabulous (D and I made rolls) and the company was even better. I will post pictures as soon as I find my camera cord (the thing really should have a GPS system attached).

I have been working on my NaNo project, but I am afraid that I'm just not gonna make the deadline. Too much has got in the way this month and my word count is just too far behind to catch up. 35k in 2 days is just too much to accomplish, even if I did nothing else. I'm not too discouraged; there's always next year to meet the goal of 50k in a month. I've got all year to prepare.

Christmas preparations are underway. D and I are getting our photographs taken by the wonderful and beautiful Jaimee of Cyr Photography on Sunday, and this will make up a large portion of our Christmas gifts to both of our families. We'll bring the Christmas decorations home tomorrow and start decorating our little apartment and wrapping our other gifts.

I love the Christmas season. Not the weather, mind you, but everything else. The meaning of the season, the festive spirit, the music, and decorations. It's all so wonderful.

I'm so glad that it's finally here!

~KK~

NaNoWriMo

I've been neglecting both of my blogs in order to focus on NaNoWriMo. Forgive me if I don't write until the competition is over. I am determined to write my 50,000 words in 30 days. I will return to blogging in December with a long report on life in Idaho.

Love to you all.

~KK~

;)

Happy Birthday to Diane.

:D

Happy birthday to me, I've turned 23!

HA! I made a rhyme!!!

I'm excited about this birthday. It's not like we're doing anything special (we're still broke) but I've had a lot of warm wishes and some pretty neat presents. I'm especially excited about getting my dad's present in the mail because he always gets me the best things, things that I really need, not just things that I want. He told me that I can buy things that I want in my 40's and to focus on what I need for now. Good advice. So, waiting with baited breath...or something. I've received some great gifts, both practical and frivilous from many of my loved ones, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, but the best gifts I've received were the hugs and well-wishes and phone calls. They're the best. Hands down.

I'm finally starting to feel better after a bout with the flu (not the Swine flu. Thank heavens) and I'm actually waiting anxiously to be able to go back to work (MONDAY!!!). I thought the time off would be good for me, but I miss my residents and students and I'm bored out of my tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!

D's birthday is Monday, so I'm planning to make her dinner and take her to a dollar movie. We're doing our Ward trunk or treat for my birthday.

Excitingness!!


~KK~

Visiting

So this weekend we went up to D's parents' house to visit and to see our other "adopted" sister whom I had never met and who D hadn't seen in 9 years. It was an awesome weekend. I was, of course, very nervous, new people you know, but S made me feel very comfortable and safe and we just had so much fun. Except for the fact that I was sick allof Friday night and D was sick all day Saturday. That part we can overlook in favor of funness, right?

hahaha.

So my preparations for NaNoWriMo 2009 are well under way. I am blogging like mad on my other blog The Write Stuff and preparing outlines and cleaning up my space so it's workable...on top of juggling 2 jobs and my Avon sales. But that's a whole other blog post that I'll get around to later.

I am also fighting illness, trying to keep sickness at bay so it does not interfere with my busy life. I SOOOOO do not have time to get sick. Keep me in your prayers.

So all's well on in this life...for the most part.

~KK~

Dating

So, I've been seeing this guy, kind of casual, friend dating. We're going to the theatre tonight to see "Thouroughly Modern Millie" and eat dinner. I'm excited because we're also going to be performing at the Festival of Trees in December. Him playing guitar and me singing. It's fun and he's super sweet. He's safe, I guess you could say. No pressure. It's good to get out once in a while. Or every Friday night. hahaha.

There are some issues with my dating this guy, namely he's older and not LDS, but for now I'm content to keep going on as we have been, having fun and enjoying each other's company.

I'm not used to "dating." It's kind of a foreign concept to me. I stay at home. I babysit people's kids so they can go out. I don't date. It's a weird new kind of thing...

~KK~

Busy Busy

I have been absent for far too long. I really need to get internet access at home so this doesn't happen.

Ahh, dreams.

We've been keeping busy, working working working! I took a job with the school district and cut back my hours at SBGH (I couldn't bear to leave for good) because the school pays better. So now I'm working 7 days a week. Like I said, keeping very very busy.

D is also busy, keeping up with all she has to do is stressful and tough, but she loves it. We're excited to see our "adopted" sister Suzanne in a few weeks (me for the very first time!) and getting to see the Olsens and MAGGIE (I miss her so much!).

My birthday is coming up and I'm really excited to celebrate it both at school and at SBGH.

Hopefully, I'll be able to write more soon.

~LOVES~

New School Year

D has officially started her school job, as of 24 Aug! She is loving it and keeping very busy with her "little delinquints." She is still trying to get used to the new schedule and getting enough sleep. She comes home exhausted, but happy. It warms my heart to see her smile and act with purpose.

I'm still woring. It seems like all I do. I have officially finished my new hire training and will hopefully be getting a bonus and a pay raise soon. I'm running myself a little ragged, but I'm still doing OK. That is, if I remember to take my meds...not as easy as one would think! But I manage. I'm doing a lot of reading about pain managment and exercise and diet. We'll see where it takes me.

I can honestly say that life is good!

~K~

Catching Up

Wow, I haven't written in QUITE a while. Bad, bad me.

Soooo...what's been happening in Pocatello? Well, I have been working, working working, 30+ hours a week. It's hard work, it keeps me on my toes. I love my residents, I love (like, tolerate, attempt not to strangle...) my coworkers, the pay's OK, it's overall a good place to be. Diane starts work in a week, so our financial situation should stabilize soon. I'm hoping to save some money and go visit my dad for Christmas and one of my brothers might come visit me after Christmas. I'm excited.

We're having a friend of ours stay with us until she can find a place. It'll be different, having more than just us in the place. We'll see how it goes. Angie is a good girl, she just fell on some crappy times. I know how that goes, so I felt the need to help. Besides, she's a great cook, she loves to clean, and she adores my cats. It seems like a good deal all around!

Of the 6 kittens we started out with, we are down to 3. Preemie and Felipila found a great home together in a household of lots of special needs animals like themselves. Belino found his forever home just last Saturday. He still lives in our building, just 2 floors down! FurReal, Tyco, and Bearie are still with us, still driving us and Tinkerbell crazy! But we love them. They're precious, if not annoying.

Maggie is doing well, still spending her days running in circles, driving Poco nuts and obsessing over shadows. I miss seeing her every day, but I know the Olsen's are taking good care of her. Someday soon, we will have a place where we can be together.

Diane is doing pretty good. She is excited for school to start, getting to work with her "little delinquints." She doesn't like me talking about her, so I'll leave it at that. ;)

Well, I think that's all I can think of for now. I'll try to be more diligent in writing in the future.

God Bless.

~K~

Mysterious Blessings

We have been havinh a rough few months.

That's no secret to anyone who knows us. But we have felt an outpouring of love and support in the last few days like we've never felt before. For the first time we really feel the meaning of a Ward family. Our ward has taken such good care of us since we moved in in February. We have home teachers that come consistently and check up on us regularly. We have visiting teachers that are bound and determined to get us involved in absolutely EVERYTHING. They've become very good friends. People actually view us as members of the ward and not just "visitors" even though we're gone so much and we actually get acknowledged and spoken to regularly by other members (in past wards we've felt very ignored and out of place). Our lives are not conventional by any means. We're both single and we both refuse to attend single's wards (SHUDDER). We've both had some issues with inactivity and, on my part, problems with doing things I shouldn't. This is the first ward where we don't feel judged for being who we are. No we're not lesbians (honest, we've heard it!). No there's not something wrong with us. We are who we are and that's ok!!!!

So our most recent blessing from this wonderful ward came with a mysterious knock on the door. Diane was sitting at home (I was at work) when she heard footsteps on the stairs outside. This was nothing unusual so she ignored it. What she didn't ignore was the manic ringing of our doorbell and the running footsteps that followed. She opened the door to find several bagfuls of food sitting in front of our door. We have no idea who left them there, but we are eternally grateful to that mystery someone. We have been running low on food and have been unsure how we're going to manage financially until I get paid (not til the 15th of July). The ward helped us with rent and the power bill, as well as giving us a food order (which we had yet to fill). This unexpected and truly wonderful gift was an amazing blessing for us, a true gift from God.

I'm overwhelmed at my good fortune and the blessings that are coming our way.