the scrunchie.

you know, Kelly Kapowski (i am more excited now than ever that Kapow is in her last name).

i have seen two people in the last year who can actually pull off the scrunchie. ew, you might say? of course, both were in Seattle. why is it that these two hip gals looked cute with a scrunchie, even fashionable, while yesterday in Namps another lady was rockin the same look and i cringed. hmmmm.

moral: few can, most shouldn't.

sidenote: http://www.scrunchies.com/ - this isn't some sick joke people. it is a legit website. they have everything from English tea rose scrunchies to strawberry shortcake. please, please only buy from here if you are one of the few.

last sidenote: the scrunchie pictured here can be found on the scrunchies website i listed...the name, well...Bunches o' Blueberries.

bare feet and recording.

most of you know how and when i began my recording adventures. for those who don't i will sum it up in a few sentences. went to Festival of the Rockies - competed - met Billy Smiley (he is a producer, not a used car salesman) - spent time co-writing with Billy for first ep - went to Nashville - recorded with amazing studio musicians - came out with my first ep a few months later.

i am glad i had that experience. i would have changed a few things, ok, more than a few....however, i would not be writing songs, playing shows, and recording again if i had not been at the Festival and met dear Billy.

now to the present: a few weeks ago, a second recording began. my fantastic guitar player, Marc, and great, inventive drummer, Ryan, are engineering and producing the record. we have the basics of four songs done...a few more to go...and then on to vocals, tambourine, claps, bells, and fun. Ryan has been blessed (i won't go into how bitter i am) with a beautiful 73' Rhodes. it sounds like magic....real magic. i might steal it.

we are having great fun. i cannot wait for all to hear.

sidenote: i have yet to see Marc or Ryan wear shoes while recording. they run around to and fro with their bare feet tagging along. it is quite hilarious.

also: thank you to Claire (Ryan's lovely wife) for letting Marc and i borrow him for this project!

to the wind.

if you are going to blow at speeds of 194 miles per hour, i'd like a little magic help here...

Namps, and the Valley.

those who live in Namps think poorly of Caldwell.
Boise folk think Namps is a joke.
Seattle and Portland dwellers religiously bash on the Treasure Valley.
New Yorkers don't even acknowledge the Northwest....as anything important at least.
and the list goes on...

i know i just put everyone in a box. i also know that not everyone thinks this way. the fact is, i simply grow tired of hearing it.... "you live in Nampa? why?" - "honestly, you Treasure Valley people really need to get out." - "please tell me you aren't staying there your whole life."

i will be the first to admit that i love the city. when i visit Portland or Seattle, i itch to move there. it is beautiful. and yes, they do have more to offer. however, i can honestly say that i love the Treasure Valley. i do. a big reason is the people who live here - they are dearest to my heart.

i was at a piano bar a few years back and my friends and i spent a few hours talking with some gents from Scotland. they had been traveling around the U.S. for six months working on airplanes. Boise was one of their last stops before heading home, and it just happened to be their favorite stop. they told us that people in Boise were different than the other places they had been. they said people were so friendly here - so kind and welcoming. they couldn't wait to come back someday.

we are a kind valley, you know? sure, other places have more concerts, events, restaurants, stores, green, etc...but i am glad i live in the Treasure Valley. someday i might move away from here and if that day comes, i will be sad. a piece of my heart will always belong to Namps, and the Valley.

surgery, a Title company, and making fun.

a friend of mine was in medical school. he was excited to be a surgeon, until he had a chance to work in the surgery room. let me preface this story by saying that not all doctors and surgeons are like these men. anyway, the surgeons my friend was assigned to work with were awful. granted, they were good surgeons in one sense of the word - the sense that keeps you alive...but in the areas of respect and honor, they failed miserably. my friend could not believe how fake these doctors were - so sweet and caring to the patients' face, yet so cruel when they were away from the room or unconscious. i will never forget what he said - "Katie, you would not believe the kind of things i heard during surgery...from doctors making fun of a patients' personality, to making fun of body parts, and so on." ask me if i EVER want to go in for surgery? the answer is obvious really. needless to say, my friend quit medical school. he is now a hair dresser, and a good one at that.

i was thinking of this story today. i work at a Title Company. for those of you who do not know what the title business entails, don't worry about it....(only grown ups have to know, you know, big kids who buy houses for keeps). an Escrow officer was getting out of a closing today at our office...she was very sweet to her clients as she walked them out. i don't know what inside our human minds tells us that it is ok to be kind to someone and the minute they are out of earshot, rip them to shreds. and that is what she did. i've heard it more than a few times in this business.

sadly, i am guilty of this too. we all know that some people are asking to be made fun of (the lady who tried to flush her underwear down the toilet so that we would give her husband's plumbing business, some business...or the bro who comes in to be helped and says, "how you doin'?" - you know, that phrase that everyone jokes about, except he is serious, very serious - and after laughing really hard in his face for a minute straight, you realize he is not joking at all...).

i guess the real question is, where do we draw the line? the surgeon who is poking fun at a woman's body while he is operating on it? the escrow officer who is talking about how ridiculous a client is? or a visor-clad bro?

similarities of a 3-year old and a 25-year old.

my neice is 3.
i am 25.
how is it that a 3-year old girl and a 25-year old woman can enjoy the same activities so incredibly much?
it is a beautiful thing.

i have lunch with my neice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. i cherish these times.

a lunch in the life of Tee Tee ("Teets" more popularly as of late) and Addie:
--come home to, "Teets is home!"
--a running hug.
--argue whether my bathroom is really hers or mine.
--Addie hates when we argue (I of course find it rather funny)...she looks up at me, "Teets, stop! you are my aunt and i love you." and the argument over the bathroom is lost forever.
--play in the sandbox and make castles.
--listen to the Juno soundtrack (it's her favorite...well, mostly just the first and last songs). i play my piano horn and she plays a tin whistle. we dance and play and sing.
--have lunch.
--time to go back to work.
--"bye Addie, your my fav."
--"bye Teets, you're my fav too."

a dear hymn.

a wise woman once told me, "the secret to loving is living loved." i am now beginning to believe that statement to be true. is it possible to grasp the love of God? how rich and pure; how measureless; how deep and how wide; how strong? what does it mean that God IS love? oh, how we are reminded daily of His love, yet so often we miss it. is it possible that there would be less insecurity, less hurt, etcetera, if we would live IN God's love at all times? i believe so. God delights in showing us His love...He sings over us! how wonderful!

many people are currently reading The Shack, as am i. what an encouragement it has been to me! one of my favorite lines in the book so far is when God is talking with Mack, and he states, "I don't deal in shame and guilt, only in love." a statement i have been reminded of for years, yet i easily forget...when guilt from past mistakes comes pouring back. God only deals in love. those words bring me to tears.

and hear is a verse from a hymn that is oh, so dear to my heart:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky."