grrr the snow still hasn't completely melted

1. Fooling around with the aperture and ended up liking the one that was overexposed the best. Seems like a shot that could have been in Fargo. Not like I'm good enough to have been part of the masterpiece that is Fargo. But. I'm just saying it has that feel. Throw Frances McDormand in there and you got yourself a winner.

2. I've never noticed all the non matching bricks on this building. I pass it every Monday and Wednesday and only now has it dawned on me that A) someone messed up or B) someone decided to give good ole Science Hall a little character. Either way, I'm down with it.

3. Sometimes you need water to live. Sometimes you need coffee to function in order to do homework. Sometimes you need milk for your gooey fudge brownie with heath. Sometime you need a gooey fudge brownie with heath because it's March and March stinks.

4. Nick's Diner. Love it.

5. Bows are making a comeback. Mark my word. And even if no one joins me, I'll be rocking them.

Lighting and Food

1) I'm a candle junkie all of a sudden. And I might have a favorite candle scent. Windsor Forest from Crabtree and Evelyn. I don't care if it's not considered "in-season" and I don't care if it reminds people of the holidays; I'm going to have that baby burning well into summer.

2) Peanut butter brownies dipped in milk chocolate and decorated. On Valentine's Day, nothing says "cheers to not having a boyfriend" like chocolate dipped in chocolate!

3) A basket of laundry I've failed to empty for the past week and a half. A purse filled with gum wrappers. A garbage that needs to be emptied. An old school TV that likely has to be dusted. Gummy vitamins that make taking vitamins so much fun.

4) This picture was taken literally two minutes after the one above it was taken. I'm always amazed by how quickly lighting can change. I think my favorite memories of noticing lighting changes are from when I was little and would go to my older brothers' baseball games. Summer days and during the first inning it is sunny as can be. Ninth inning and the moon is high above and some guy needs to turn on the booming bright stadium field's lights.

I HEAR THAT

I'm so glad that we named our dog after Lenny Leonard from The Simpsons. He's the best. It might seem ironic that we decided to name our black lab after the white guy, but Carl would be a funny name for a dog.

Scratch that. Carl would be an awesome name for a dog. WHAT WERE WE THINKING???

exemplifiers of love

Corey and Topanga

Kevin and Winnie

Vada and Thomas J.

Everything else is rubbish.

so sleepy

I'm in a public place right now. Sitting in a hall and passing the time until my next class starts. Too cold outside to walk home for the hour interim. I'm so sleepy and I think I'm going to doze off. These strangers sitting next to me are in for a treat. I'm kind of stuffed up, which means there's a good chance I'll make some weird snoring-esque noise.

LET THE GREAT EXPERIMENT BEGIN!

Lately, whenever I'm about to embark on something ( in this case, sleeping in public), I find myself shouting these words in my head.

Oh, and here is some good sleep music. James Mercer. Ow ow!

22 isn't so bad

And two weeks later, Kathleen says to herself, "Hmmm maybe I'll blog about my birthday."

I really didn't think the year of being 21 could be topped. 21 was grrrrreat (as Tony would say). Honestly, Forever 21 had it right. What could be better than finally being legal to drink/being a senior in college/living with your best amigas/getting the chance to travel to LA for the Rose Bowl? And on and on and on the list goes. Well, 22 is shaping up to be pretty good. I mean, I'm fully aware that it's soy milk in comparison to chocolate milk (being 21 duh!) but, I guess you gotta move on.

{Me, Lauren & Ryan on my birthday... note Ryan's shirt. Packer fans love dem Packers}

This is why the day I turned 22 (January 18th) ended up being A-Okay!

1) Dinner at Nitty's. Texas Burger. Free beer.

2) My cousin Sean and his girlfriend Sarah came to visit

3) On my first day of class I got to listen to some sweet hits in my African American Studies - Black Music and Culture class... this is on repeat in my head lately...

4) Soup, scarf, and BA shirt gifts from my roommates

5) I got a job offer with Teach For America!!! (and I said YES!)

{photo via}

Twin Cities, Josh Hartnett, Prince, Coen Brothers... Here I come!!! I am thrilled to make the Twin Cities my home for at least the next two years. And I can't wait to go all Ms. Lippy on the youngsters I'm going to be teaching. If you don't know who Ms. Lippy is, then you should probably go rent Billy Madison. And if have seen Billy Madison, please know that I am entirely kidding when I say I'll be like her. I plan on hopefully being like Miss Honey from Matilda. She's the nicest : )

PS22 "Gonna Be Friends"

Just one of my favorite songs being sung by some talented kiddies.

essentials

I don't know how I ever survived without...

Madison without rain boots. I was about three years too late on the uptake that you kind of need some sort of water protection boots when you are walking to class every day in slush. No matter, I got em now. And I couldn't be more pleased with these bad boys. A lot of people have the tall Hunter galoshes, and though I think they are cute, I looked like a goon when I tried them on. They gaped awkwardly and I think my tree trunk calves were too big for them.

This was a birthday gift from my lovely roommate Mallory. Are you a lefty too and understand the hassle it is to write in a notebook and have to deal with the spiral? Well if you do, I highly recommend this assignment notebook/calendar. On top of the spiral positioning, this sucker is full of cool facts about lefties. Cary Grant and I share a birthday (Jan 18) and we are both lefties. Soul mates.

I woke up sort of early today. Well not really really. My mom and dad (and any other working adult) would probably roll their eyes at me for thinking 7:45 is early. But HEY, I'm in college and I didn't have to actually get up until 8:30. And, I'm notorious for liking my sleep. Maybe a little too much. Four hour naps? No problem. Anyway, coffee. How did I ever survive without you?

On Saturday I watched the Shawshank Redemption all the way through for the first time with my roommates. That movie is brilliant!!! Talk about moving mountains. I couldn't embed any of the videos, but honestly, you need to see this movie if you haven't. What is that you say? Everyone has already seen this movie? Okay okay. Well IF you haven't, then stop what you are doing and make it a priority.

{I guess I just miss my friend}

i wish i had a river

Skaters on Mendota

Such a beautiful song. I know Christmas is over and I know that the picture I took above is actually a lake, but still. The mood just felt right for this song.

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had
I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Oh, I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river I could skate away on

a cozy day

I was housebound a good chunk of my winter break. No, I wasn't grounded. I simply didn't have a car because my entire family was at work during the day. Annnnd, I live in Chicago and it's cold there. Walks are brief. As in, I take my dog for a walk that's, like, maybe, three blocks long. Anyway, I got a camera as a Christmas/birthday gift and I couldn't wait to use that sucker. So, here are pictures I took around the house on one blustery January day. Cozy on the inside, cold on the outside.

Lenny has his favorite spots. One of which is the corner by our front door. We usually keep that area clear for him, but I kind of forgot and just threw my boots down. That didn't matter to him. He made himself cozy anyway. Look at those eyes! He is the most handsome "puppy" (he's almost 10) I've ever seen.

We just got a new green door. I originally told my mom to go with a light egg robin's blue when she asked for my opinion. And, like most moms, they like others' input, but they usually go with their instinct anyway. I'm glad she did.

Winter break reading! I had never read Of Mice and Men before... so so sad. Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.

Chocolate chip cookies my momma made!

I did manage to leave the house to walk the three blocks to our town's downtown area. I went to Snackers and got my favorite - the best curly cheese fries in all of the Chicagoland area!

We are getting new wood floors upstairs, so I needed to empty out my entire childhood bedroom. My mom also might be painting my room and putting in a new closet. I should be thrilled... but I don't like change. I'm a stickler like that. We'll see what happens.

time well wasted

I was fortunate enough to get to go to two Blackhawks games over my winter break! Hockey + fine looking players + beef sandwich + good company = a very happy Kathleen.

And, anyway, I've been "wasting" my time watching tons of youtube clips of Hawks interviews. Must. Stop.

But I probably won't.

Here are some goofy ones.

Jonathan Toews puts it plain and simple -- "I'm gonna tell you my trick right now, cause I'm gonna beat you anyways................you chew it and then you swallow it."

Dogs in aprons

It really does not take much to make me happy. Whoever came up with this segment for Sesame Street is brilliant!

Eliza

Really loving Eliza Doolittle lately. Fun music and a beautiful voice. In addition to the song below, check out "Skinny Genes" and "Back to Front".

I get tired

And upset
And i’m trying to care a little less
When I google I only get depressed
I wast taught to dodge those issues I was told
Don’t worry
There’s no doubt
There’s always something to cry about
When you’re stuck in an angry crowd
They don’t think what they say before they open their mouths

[chorus]
Pack up your troubles in you old kit bag
And bury them beneath the sea
I don’t care what the people may say
What the people may say about me
Pack up your troubles get your old grin back
Don’t worry ’bout the cavalry
I don’t care what the whisperers say
Cos’ they whisper too loud for me.

Hot topic
Maybe I should drop it
It’s a touchy subject
And I like to tiptoe round the tiff goin’ down
You got penny, but no pound
Your business is running out
‘not my business to talk about
They don’t think what they say before they open their mouths.

Last week when I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I know, shame on me for not seeing it sooner. As a diehard HP fan, I'm embarrassed) I was reminded...

1) Bonnie Wright aka Ginny Weasley, is BEAUTIFUL! She has the prettiest hair. Also, side note. She's engaged. That's kinda weird.

2) Getting popcorn at the theatre always leads to disaster. Because I really have no aptitude for knowing when I'm full. So I'm kinda just chowing down and before you know it, the previews are over and I've already finished half the bag. All that butter just sitting in my stomach. Couldn't go to bed. It always seems worth it until you are cramping up and sitting on your bedroom floor rolling in pain. Not an exaggeration. Maybe next time I'll remember to not get popcorn. Or if I do get popcorn I'll pace myself. Butttt, the chances of either of those taking place is slim. Damn you movie popcorn.

loves peanut butter & always wears a smile

Kathryn,

We all love you, are thinking of you, and praying for you. You are such a strong, sweet and beautiful girl. We are always here for you.

Love,

Your friends

Kathryn and me at Prom

The year of the cicadas! - Amy, Kathryn, Jackie, me

BBQ two summers ago

Some of the girls over Thanksgiving

Anne, Jackie, Kathryn

me, Katie, Moira, Jess, Paige

To anyone reading this, my dear friend Kathryn is a gymnast at Michigan State. Last week she was in a gymnastics related accident and is now sustaining a neck and spinal cord injury. Please, please keep her in your prayers. Thank you!