An Impulse Move

Yesterday, my day suddenly freed up.  I was supposed to start my private practice (woot woot!!), but there was an emergency with the space I was renting and I had to cancel all of my clients.  Naturally, I was bummed.  So when life throws you curve balls, you count your blessings, go to lunch with a friend, and you impulsively cut your hair.  I feel great about it. 

chopped (and bleached)

 a little impulsive and i am loving it!

august letters

dear august,
first of all, welcome. second of all... please take your sweet time. no need to rush. let's relax and make sure we enjoy every minute together. 

dear soccer season,
tomorrow you come to a close. i'm pretty bummed about it. you have been the highlight of my summer. i love being on the field with jeremy.  my favorite part is when he gives me a sweaty kiss at the end of the game. i also love that we spend the whole car ride home talking about the details of the plays.  i wish this could last forever.

dear hair,
i made it through july without using a blowdryer on you. i can't even believe it. i am learning to embrace your natural wave, which i have feared since junior high. i feel like i want you to grow a mile long and just let you be wild and free. 

dear vacation,
my paper chain countdown is reminding me daily that you are fast approaching and i just can't wait. i haven't had a real vacation from work since christmas, unless you count the day in march i spent in the hospital. i am ready for a break. i promise to soak it all in.  it will be glorious!!

dear family,
i'm coming so sooooon (2 weeks!). i have been dreaming of late nights, lots of laughter, and endless fun. hope you're ready for me. rest up... we will play hard.

dear spinach,
oh how our relationship has recently shifted. everyone has been trying to get us together for years and i finally gave you a shot. you are my favorite green in a salad, especially with berries and feta cheese. this new thing between us works out well because you are incredibly nutrient dense and interestingly enough... delicious.

dear my hot husband,
you're my very favorite. i will never stop choosing you. i love you with my whole heart and more.

xoxo, katie

july letters

dear summer,
welcome. stay as long as you like. and try your hardest to keep this humidity under wraps.  may you be filled with sunburns, endless fruit, and new adventures.

dear job,
although i like you very much, you are getting in the way of my tan. i am spending far too much time indoors. can't we all take summers off?

dear watermelon,
i just discovered your goodness.  i apologize for not properly appreciating you and comparing you to watermelon starbursts my whole life.  you are quite lovely and very refreshing.  i am you're newest fan.

dear salt water sandals,
i need you. you are a throwback to my childhood summers which consisted of scraped knees, ice cream, and everything fun. i would love a daily reminder of that joy. i think a red pair would do the trick.

dear blowdryer,

i flat out refuse to use you in this heat. i guess i will be rocking the air-dried locks for the month. i need to get in touch with my natural wave anyway, no matter the perceived inconsistencies. my new hair mantra: just embrace it.

dear red, white, and blue,

you are the epitome of summer and i'm obsessed. i will be rocking you far past the 4th. who's with me? land of the free, home of the brave... i'm proud to be an American. 

dear soldiers and veterans,

thank you. thank you for your sacrifice and your bravery.  we are forever grateful for your protection and your service. may you be healed, physically, emotionally, and mentally, from the inflictions of war. God bless. 

xoxo, katie

changing it up

long live the blonde streak!

what a day!

what a fun day, really!

i put in a call to quaker,
 because a whole box of instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal was not so maple and brown sugary.  so after suffering through quite a bit of the box i decided to do something about it.  i called the number on the box for "comments and questions" (or complaints and concerns in reality) and told the sweet lady on the phone of my tragic breakfast saga.  she apologized for my ruined breakfasts, took the box information and my information, and promised coupons for a replacement and other quaker treats would be on their way.  what wonderful customer service?  she was quite helpful and the whole experience makes me want to eat more quaker stuff.

i made a visit to our beautiful library.

 it's a gorgeous building, complete with fireplaces!

i love reading!  especially FREEEE books.  my goal is to read one book a week.  i have this whole routine going right now that i just love.  it was slow going at first because this particular library is pretty small and they rarely have the books i want to read.  but my friend Janet, the dear librarian, orders the books from different libraries in the area and then just gives me a call when they arrive.  so now i go every other week to: take back the two books i read, pick up the two books that i put on hold last time, and to put two more books on hold for next time.  it's a great system! and Janet is just the nicest.

i also booked a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!

in new hamsphire!

remember when i wishlist wednesday-ed it years ago??  well, i figured now was a good time to make my dreams come true.  you know... why not?  so i gathered my graduation monies and booked a sunrise hot air balloon ride in august complete with a picnic afterwards.  it's going to be AMAZING!  charles is our pilot and he is sure friendly.  i told him jeremy is afraid of heights and he assured me that some people get in the basket kicking and screaming and by the end they want to go again.  he also told me all about how being afraid of heights is different then being afraid of falling and that jeremy was probably afraid of falling. he went on about how when you are attached to something on the ground the fear of falling is more real than when you are not (so in an airplane, hot air balloon, etc) so it shouldn't be a big deal.  i'm not really sure i understood, but he assured me jeremy would be fine and offered to talk to him to answer any questions.  charles has been flying balloons for 20 years and totally knows his stuff and i REALLY want to go!  so i asked jeremy if he could handle it and after some unfair pressure from me, he said to just go ahead and book it.  he loves me.  in the mean time we will be working on exposure therapy, so we can get him ready for this wonderful adventure.  i am so jazzed about it.

i also completed a french braid for the first time.

can you believe my luck?!  it must be a fluke.

especially since i consider myself hair impaired.

i have understood the concept of french braiding, but i have never been able to do it, especially on myself.  i don't know what came over me when i was getting ready for work, but i thought i would attempt a french braid.  to my surprise i was able to get through the whole thing without fuddling it up.  i was so excited that i took this picture at work and sent it to my mom with , "Look mom!  I did that!"  after i sent the message, i felt a little like i was 5 years old.  you know... just showing my mom the cool tricks i can do.

surprise!

some people get tattoos over spring break, others get haircuts.

hair impaired

i am hair impaired.

what does this look like you ask?

oh i don't know... how about the same basic hairstyle everyday: hair down with the bangs pinned back.

i would post a whole bunch of pictures to prove my point, but in almost every picture on here i have my bangs pinned back, so consider the point proved! i just can't do my hair. i think i can blame this on being the only girl and being quite the tomboy when i was younger. i wouldn't let my mom put anything fun in my hair and we always kept it shorter because i barely let her brush through it. i was never one to spend time on my hair and i guess i am still like that. i can manage to curl it into cool waves occasionally and coerce it into a side braid for a few meager hours... but besides that i only know how to pin back my too-long-and-still-attempting-to-grow-out-bangs with a bobby pin. and boy is it getting OLD... but i don't like them in my face! sometimes i will add a little twist as i pin back the bangs to pretend that i am somewhat skilled in the hair department, but when a twist is my version of getting "fancy" then we know i need help. i can't even braid the poor hair out of my face. i attempted again and again with no luck the other day until my arms felt like they were going to unhinge from my shoulders and just drop to the floor. so i ended up just twisting them back... yet AGAIN. this french braiding thing sure feels impossible though. i understand how it is supposed to work, yet i cannot do it. but practice makes perfect right? i guess i will have to keep practicing and maybe some day i will nail it. that would be a miracle.

it's back!

my blonde streak! YAY!

last night my friend (who is also a professional in the hair department) gave my hair a little trim and dyed my blonde streak again. i love everything about it!

a change

i have finally decided... i go back and forth all of the time, but there is no stopping me now.

i have decided to grow out my bangs.

and i think i can do it. i first cut my bangs back in 2007 to help conceal my lovely scar i acquired after running into a door and every time my bangs start to get into that stage where they are toooo long i think to myself, maybe i should grow them out. and then they drive me crazy and i cut them again. so this is the time... i am going to grow them out and see what life is like with my forehead joining the party.

any tips on how to stay sane in the process?

process group

quick story from my internship:

yesterday we had a process group (a group where we ask the kids what they want to talk about or "process" that's hopefully related to staying sober). my co-facilitator asked if anyone had a topic they wanted to process. one boy said, "i want to process the streak in katie's hair.... i think it's awesome."

suddenly questions were shooting at me from all different directions, including "is it natural?" funny kids. i mostly just smiled and said thanks trying not to actually entertain the distracting topic. my co-facilitator stepped in, "now that we have processed katie's hair, does anybody have a topic more relevant to recovery?" luckily, a client did and we ended up having a great group discussion.

my streak is only a few inches long these days... but i'm glad some think it's cool rather than totally lame since it's so grown out.

WISHLIST wednesday: No. 36

today i wish for another blonde streak.

  (blonde streak summer 2011)

now it's pretty much non-existent, it may be time for a new one!

fishtailing it

my first time ever! online tutorials are great.
i thought it looked pretty good.
too bad my shorter layers completely fell out of it by three. eh, oh well.

rash decisions

i had a lot of success at the farmer's market today.

i went with the intention of buying nothing, but after sampling some local raw honey from the sweetest old man i quickly dropped $6 on a pound of it - rash decision #1. it was tasty and i needed honey, so i couldn't be happier about it. then i decided to rock the feather trend when i walked past a tattooed lady that was doing it for $7 - rash decision #2. and i think it's FABULOUS! and so will my family i'm sure, since the purple is now out.

conclusion:
the farmer's market is my favorite and
sometimes rash decisions are the best kind.

i wonder when jeremy will notice...

a wild streak?

alright guys...

here is my blonde streak these days:
(well, today actually. i took these pictures at lunch)

remember when i bleached it way back in october? a peekaboo streak is the way to go, my friends. it has grown out a ton, but you can't even tell. LOVE it!


so the very serious question i have for you today is...

...
should i make the blonde streak PURPLE?

oh yes, i said purple!

why purple? well, why not! apparently it's what's hot in tampa, florida, so why not make it hot in provo? could it be too punk? maybe... but look at this sweet girl. she still looks nice and so does this girl. i would do a semi-permanent dye that would eventually wash out, so we could call it the summer of purple and make it a wild one.

well, this is the official place to vote so... YAY or NAY people??!

don't lie to me.

p.s. i may or may not dye it anyway no matter the outcome of this poll.

a little blonde

i bleached a section of my hair on my lunch break yesterday.
well, a professional did...

gotta love the young life.

the new do

jeremy went golfing...

so i got my hair cut

bangs again! yay-i'm always
up for a change.

and jeremy is still golfing
leaving me...bored.

so bored.
next time, i'm going with.

who knew?

ok... so remember this post?

i was debating whether to stay with side-swept bangs or take the plunge and go with blunt bangs. everyone who voted said go for the blunt bangs. jeremy was a little skeptical of the change, but he is pretty much skeptical of any change, so i cut them (scratch that... i went to a professional and she cut them). i liked them and i thought jeremy did, too (he said they looked good when i asked him).

well, recently jeremy has confessed that he misses my forehead. true story. he just cracks me up. i was also kind of tired of pretending that my forehead didn't exist, so i am on my way to side-swept bangs once again. thanks for the adventure blunt bangs. maybe i can experiment with you again in the future... but for now i shall stay with the trusty side-swept bangs.

who knew my forehead was so attractive?

p.s. i think it is hilarious that i feel the need to blog about my hair.

Do you like?

blunt?

i have been contemplating...

should i go for blunt bangs?

(like Jessica Alba?)

or keep them swept to the side?

cast your vote in the comments, por favor...