Highs and Lows

Highs

-New camera!
-New 'hole-in-the-wall' Thai restaurant.
-Crazy connections that God set up. Northwest Awaken Tour, let's see revival!
-Tea in the grass. Well, tea in cups, while sitting in the grass under a beautiful blue sky.
-Meeting cousin Boaz (newest family member, 2 months old)!

Lows

-Camera/Computer connection complications. (See that alliteration?)

Highs and Lows

Highs

-That first look two weeks ago. ^ She shot my wedding, and I, hers!  
-Fresh grapes off the vine. Grandpa, you are a master.
-Fresh carrots from the garden!
-Pears, apples, and plums. Thanks to my parent's fruit trees, I have never tasted a pear so sweet, an apple so juicy, nor a plum so purple.
-One of my best friends is engaged!
-The Lord is so good! Providing like none of our business.
-Street ministry. AH! I love the souls of Seattle.
-The class that I thought would kill me has become one of my favorites.

Lows

-Mega reading. But I'm learning lots!
-Zachary is working like a rented mule.
-Confronting a friend and then watching said friend not listen at all.
-Dreams about a self-destructing rocket exploding right over my head... ?  
-This cold, tho.

And your week, how was it?

Highs and Lows (delayed)

Highs

-Dropping a class.
-Street ministry.
-Education.
-Walt Whitman.
-Meeting new faces.
-Deep questions. 

Lows

-Broken camera.
-No time to respond to emails.
-Second day of class: twenty minutes late.
-Trying to edit photos amidst class schedule. Two hours free the entire week - yikes.
-Second shooter comes to wedding without my prior knowledge. I later learn that I wasn't given the check because the bride's grandma is afraid I'm going to con them. And now I sit here, almost fished with all the edits, while simultaneously working on a very deliberate contract for all future weddings.  

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Grapefruit; if it were any other name, it would be 'Pristine'.
-Barbecued peaches, because why not?
-Editing photos on the front porch.
-TWO weddings to shoot this weekend!
-Quality company over to share meals four times this week! Community.
-Coconut chickpea green curry. I've never been more satisfied with any other experiment.
-Epsom salt. Magnesium - I'm all about better sleep!
-Fresh produce. Especially zucchini. Sometimes I feel like I'm eating Larry the cucumber.
 ...Which doesn't make sense, because Larry is a cucumber, not a zucchini. Anyway... 

Lows

-Stinging nettle. Thankfully, baking soda is never amiss.
-School starts on Monday. I'll be taking 23 credits. My monotone typing says it all.
-Blogging has been on the back burner.
-Flies. Flies everywhere! We usually leave our door open if we're at home, but for the last two days flies have been finding comfort here along side us. Last night, after some friends left around 1:00 (it was a good conversation), Zach tried to ninja swat the flies with a towel ... he broke the light fixture.
On the bright side, I might explore the partially abandoned world of 'Katie's Crafting Supplies' and conjure up something fancy. (Here's to hoping I don't burn the house down.)

What's you're list this week? I'd love to hear about it!

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Spinach, cucumber, basil, and tomato salad.
-Sister visits.
-Booking photo sessions.
-T.S. Eliot poems about cats.
-Frozen banana + peanut butter + cocoa powder .. BLENDED = ice cream.
-Finding this husband/wife photography team. The last hour has been spent browsing their talent! 
-Editing a wedding shoot. Almost being done with said shoot.
-Meeting new people.
-Planning for two upcoming weddings!
-Freezing peaches. So.many.peaches.

Lows

-Purchasing books. (I love books, it's just the price of said school books).
-"Your fish is dead." The first thing I heard from my sister after she arrived. Time for Cleo #3!
-My little ducklings that I've mentored these last two years are now all leaving for college! Be well, and make daring yet wise decisions, dear flock. Let's get coffee when you each return.
-I pulled a muscle while jump roping. WHO DOES THAT? Jumping a rope! It's the most simple, carefree exercise tool on the planet, and I pull a muscle on the fifth skip!

What are your highs and lows this week?  

Highs and Lows

I received this box today! It's traveled to five different places already.

What's in it? A lensbaby. Basically, it's a lens that creates a tilt-shift effect. Thank you, Borrow Lenses, for shipping right to my door!

Highs

-Ikea meatballs. I don't know how they do that.
-Zach and I purchased a whole box of peaches from a local fruit stand for only TEN DOLLARS.
-My cousin is getting married tomorrow! I'll be shooting with a good friend (who also shot my wedding). We both shot our first wedding together, and are so psyched to mesh our ideas and see how this one turns out!
-My sister is visiting from Canada for the weekend.
-We held a party for all the horse boarders and office people last Saturday. It went off without a hitch!
-ELEVEN new chicks were born this morning! The mama hen is so cautious; rightfully so.
-Bubble tea with my favorite person.  

Lows

-One of my best friends is getting married and I might be in Asia when it happens.
-Fruit flies were bespeaking their power in our kitchen for a few days (they're gone now).
-School is fast approaching. I'm rather uneasy about one of my classes.
-Not nearly as much as I have wanted to read has actually been read this summer.

What are your highs and lows this week?

Have you read much this summer?

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Camping last week!
-Running! Here's to hoping it stays consistent.
-One of my best friends recently became engaged! Although it took everything I had not to spill the beans before it was announced publicly, not even a peep came out. A visit to Portland was necessary.
-ALSO, the most amazing wedding in Oregon. Seth and Kristina, your celebration was truly one of the best wedding's that I've been to. I couldn't stop smiling during your ceremony!
-Paid our school bill in cash. Oof. But worth it.
-Met with two friends for dinner last night. We all went through our awkward stages together in middle school and haven't seen each other since. Nothing has changed. We laughed for four hours straight. 
-Blueberry picking. Blackberry picking. Fruit.
-Cabbage, potatoes, peas, and zucchini from my grandpa's garden. Vegetables for days. 
-I never realized how often Zach got me flowers until I started keeping a 'highs/lows' list. That boy knows the way to my heart: wildflowers.

Lows

-Complete scone fail. Blackberries, let's try this again.
-Z's new manager has been scheduling him all night shifts for the last month. 
-Fruit flies! I can't seem to keep up with eating all this fresh fruit on time! (No complaints, though.)

What are your highs/lows this week? Have you gone camping this summer?
Pick any good fruit/vegetables recently? Have a great day!

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Independence Day. Hip hip hooray for freedom!
-Street ministry tonight. 
-Zach and I saw a friend that has been missing for the last two months. So good to see him.
-Zach and I went to get Thai food with one of Z's coworkers; he's been to Thailand 17 times!
-SUNSHINE has been scaling this state with a warm hug! Which means that lake and pool visits have been called for. So happy about it.
-Met with/called three brides this week!
-Movies and gelato. Need I say more?

Lows

-The hammock in that photo... it's not in the air like it's suppose to be. I blame the chain!

Do you have weekend plans?

What are your highs and lows this week?

Friday Highs and Lows

Highs

-Street ministry tonight!
-BBQ's. It's hot, hot, hot outside.
-Sending off a sister to Costa Rica. Psyched to hear her stories!
-Posting my website on facebook booked me a wedding! Hooray!
-Tofu soup. I'm not a big fan of tofu. Like.. at all. Sometimes it tastes like I'm biting into a buttery sponge. BUT when a Chinese friend makes it the way she was taught growing up, it is quality business.

Lows

-Emergency room bill. Yikes. Can they charge that?
-Allergens floating through the air like they just don't care. And they don't. Unruly minions.
-My handsome husband is being worked like a rented mule. I am so proud of all his work, but his schedule has been a bit chaotic as of late.

Friday Highs and Lows

Highs

-Sunshine!
-Playing 'catch-up' over at this space. (Whoops - everything was posted today.)
-Coffee (last week) with that beauty next to me.
-Zach had the last three days of work off. PERFECT timing!
-Spending the night with family and watching sister's sing a duet in the middle school choir. 
-Watching a video of my brother-in-law's kindergarten graduation. Over and over.
-Hiking with the boyfraaan (a.k.a. the husbaaaan).
-Watching Jesus work. I love this. Find someone (or five), buy them food, and listen to their story. I cannot stress enough that people (no matter what they look like or smell like), are people.

Lows

-Burns. My skin is not made for this weather, but, OH, how it loves it.  
-We walk into the emergency room on Tuesday:
      Nurse: What can I help you with?
      Zach: I sliced my finger pretty deep.
      Nurse: So you have a laceration.
      Zach: Yeah, you could call it that.

Highs and Lows

Look who helped with my laundry.  Presh.

Highs

-Seven loads of laundry conquered. Thanks to Thing 1 and Thing 2 (youngest siblings).
-Tom the turkey died. He fell over backward and was suffocated by his own neck fat.
      ...Not such a loss.
-Seeing family for a good amount of time on Wednesday. My heart is happy.
-BBQ. Zach made a smoker he's really proud of. Maybe I'll blog about it. Maybe he will?

Lows

-None off the top of my head, it's been a good week. :)

This weekend you won't want to miss the two posts I have planned. 

Two incredible testimonies about grace and love. Visit back!
Now, go have a lovely Friday.

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Finding that photo and realizing we've been married for ten months. What? You guys. I still have THANK YOU's to send out! I am seriously the worst. I wrote them all, but they were never sent! I give you full permission to bug me about this. They really need to be on their way. Please, make life difficult for me. They NEED to go. 
-Peanut butter and nutella. Mixed. On a spoon. In my mouth.
-Picnics.
-My older brother's birthday dinner at Red Lobster. 
-New books.
-Catching up on the last five months over coffee with a dear friend.

Lows

-Rough week with the horses. One horse broke a chain on a gate with her body weight while I jumped out of the way. Two days later, she broke it again.
-Realizing that it's almost a year and the 'Thank You' cards are still in my house. Yikes.  

My cat and highs and lows

To be honest, I really don't like cats. I'm allergic to them and I may have watched cats give birth one too many times during my childhood. That said, this cat is at my parent's house.

  Why post a picture of a cat?  It takes no effort, really. And I honestly don't have any other photos that I could put up at the moment. Also, his name is Rocky. Blame my first grade mind for that one. As for the other cat we got at the same time, I named her Gracie. 
Because she was gray. Naturally.

I've come to the conclusion that 'Rocky' is fitting; he always has a black eye.
... And a permanent 'I'm gonna fight you' expression.
Now we just need to get him in the ring. Any fans out there?
Go cat, go. Sock 'em, Rocky.
  

Highs

-Instead of going for coffee, two friends and I climbed a mountain instead.
-Leaving for Portland tomorrow at 4:30am. Food trucks, here's looking at you!
-Ran a 5k for human trafficking last week with a few of my small group girls.
-My Senior girls had their senior dessert tonight at church (where families come to celebrate graduation, and observe the cardboard stands put together by their mothers). :) I am so proud of each of them! When they all gathered at the end to release balloons into the sky, I may have teared up a bit.

Lows

-My Great Grandpa Day had his service and graveside burial today. I was holding a younger sister-in-law (2nd grade); she began to cry within the first two minutes of the service. Then another sibling (in 4th grade) was sitting in front of me, and he winced as hard as he could to not cry. That alone ushered me into the grieving process. The rest of the day was so difficult; as I held another brother's hand (kindergarten) while following the bagpiper and pallbearers, he just looked up at me and said, "Everyone is crying. I'm so sad." Keeping him close was comforting. It was still hard, though.   

Friday Highs and Lows

While shooting one of my senior small group girl's, a gentleman asked to take one of us.

With that, my day was made.

Highs

-One of my best friends graduated college last Friday. She's 19. WHO DOES THAT?  She got her bachelors in Psychology, and has already been accepted to all the Master's programs that she applied to.  I am SO proud!
-My nephew's first birthday celebration on Cinco de Mayo.
-My uncle's military burial. The gun salute, the veterans that ran the service, the flag, it was all very honoring and sobering. (This is a high because I loved being there with family and loved watching a great man get honored in a fitting way.)
-Massaman curry. Pad Thai. Peanut sauce. 'Nuff said.
-Offered a teaching job in Madrid. Uh, what? Yes, please. 
-Our good friends, Michelle and Nathaniel, are pregnant! Baby Michaniel on the way!

And a high all on it's own:
"Uh, I think a lump just came out of the creamer."
"Shawna, don't drink it!"

11:00 pm Saturday night marked the the start of writing 65 pages for a final project: three Odwallas, two cups of coffee, one cup of green tea, one cup of good earth, six cups of water, three bowls of honeycombs, and plenty of Sufjan/Vitamin Sting Quartet/ Fleet Foxes/Radical Face/Andrew Belle/Bon Iver to keep my friend Shawna and I company. When the lights turned off inside, the sunrise had already crawled into my windows and the stars were resisting the push of the light. Soli Deo Gloria for beauty in the midst of papers and projects!

Lows

-So many papers.
-Family loss, as you have already read.
-Never try to blow out a candle when you are brushing your teeth. It gets messy. 
-Late night studying. Zach didn't go to bed at all one night. He stayed at school until midnight, and then came home to work on the rest of his paper. He finished at six in the morning. Then he had to go back to school for a meeting, a test four hours later, and then to work until 11 that night.

All that aside, this trumps everything:

SCHOOL IS FINISHED, SUMMER IS HERE, I COULD EAT A WHOLE PINEAPPLE!

Friday Highs and Lows

Highs

-Good music.
-Riding on the handlebars of Z's bike.
-Today my love reached up to pull a cherry blossom branch out of the tree for me. :)
-Cooking a full balanced meal for the first time in two weeks.
-Street ministry. God is so cool!
-One of my best friends came to visit from Portland. :)
-Summer is so close. The weather is already here.
-Days like these are when I play frisbee with the trees and smell the cherry blossoms relentlessly. 

Lows

-My uncle is passing away. I have learned so much from this man.
-Mega stressful week with school and photo shoots. Another shoot tomorrow, and five to edit.  

Highs and Lows

Highs

-11:11 wishes.

-Picking the ignored daffodils behind the shrubs that no one cares about.  

-Baking until midnight.

-Coming home from school to the scent of cinnamon rolls (even if they were a flop).

-Street ministry tonight!

-Finishing my younger brother's photos. Check 'em. 

-A photoshoot with a senior from my small group ... in the pouring rain. She killed it.

-Inspiration for a final paper in Advanced Expository Writing. It is this: pain is what compels me to forgive. I will write on past bitterness, and how faith and art are connected between the two.

-Lunch with my mum and brother. You know it's an authentic Indian restaurant when the parking lot is packed, the seating is compromised of 95% Indians, and the line to get inside is going out the door. Quality, quality food.     

Lows

-Does anyone know how to prepare and make a turkey? Like ... a really heavy, really big one? I've got a bird in my freezer and I need some guidance!

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Loose-leaf tea.
-Two-hour bike rides surrounded by butterflies and sunshine.
-Thai-iced tea, thrifting, and frisbee.
-Homemade cashew milk.
-FREE new suitcase found in the u-district (Seattle) in a dumpster. 
-Husband teaching me about Jesus.
-Second-day curls.
-Spending time with friends before they leave for Ethiopia next week!
-6:00am greetings from the birds.
-Running in before Trader Joe's calls it a day, and then making it out right on time.
-Surprise bowling with two younger sisters.
-Learning to make curry.
-Reconnecting with old friends.
 

Lows 

-Not being able to join friends on the Seattle streets this evening.  
-I accidentally ran over a gardener snake today. My bike tire couldn't avoid it!
-Getting stung by bees; due to the will power of two stubborn horses. 
-There's talk of new horses coming to stay on the farm (permanently). We have no more stalls! Twelve horses is quite enough already. Count it all joy, Katie ... count it all joy. I am trying. 

Highs and Lows

Highs

- Street ministry tonight. Yes. I love these people and can't wait.

-Friday, obvs.

-God's sense of humor; it snowed on the first day of spring.

-Finishing the OBE; the exam I was stressing mad over. It turns out, everything I read wasn't relevant to any of the questions the profs prepared. One book, however, I read at midnight before the test, and I was able to base a paper off that. We'll see if I passed. You can never go wrong with C.S. Lewis papers. My other paper though, ikes.
-Fresh flowers and open windows.
-Honeycombs.
-32 ounce containers of Hummus. Yum, yum.

Lows

-I cut a bald spot on Zach's head. A little too much of a haircut on his crown...

-This week has been absolute chaos with school. I do love it, and am so grateful for the opportunity, but this week has been so difficult with balancing excessive reading, writing, cooking, cleaning, and finding time to talk with my love.

-Getting frustrated at little things; it's been so petty.

Highs and Lows {a tad late}

Here are this last week's ups and downs:

Highs

-Spring Break. Hellooo Portland, prepare to meet your biggest fan.

-Impromptu coffee and boutique outings.
-That photo you keep looking up at (..or am I the only one?). Sifting through last year's stash, and that gem showed up. Picking only one photo to post wasn't easy. It was either this one of Hubs and I, or the photo of last halloween where he dressed as a Norwegian and I dressed as a.. a... I don't really know what or who I was dressed as. All I know is that I had a comfy sweater with pockets large enough to cram a substantial sum of sweet treats into. We obviously put a lot of thought into it.   

-Bike rides under a sky that isn't crying.

-Father-in-law arrived safe back from Haiti, in one piece.

-Family.

-A few Friday's ago (March 1st), a friend from Seattle was freed from bondage and drug addiction. God is so good, you guys! It was amazing to watch as joy came over him and he began to smile uncontrollably. His response to this "hug" from God: "There's just so much love and stuff, I want to feel like that all the time!" God is so good! He brings hope to the hopeless and freedom to those in chains. 

Lows

-10,000 page minimum to read by the 21st is not going well.

-It took an hour to bring out the horses Friday morning. Much too long for those long face foals.

-Going out to the Seattle streets on the 8th didn't happen. I was crushed.

Enjoy your Sunday! Feel free to post your highs and lows in the comments! 

Friday Highs and Lows

Highs

-I'm currently writing a social commentary on Costco; in which I relate the warehouse to being like a United Nations meeting where everyone from every nation has gathered together to prepare for an apocalypse, but yet no one talks to each other. Curious. 

-A clean house. Every.Single.Day. It's a record.

-Our friends Michelle and Nathaniel, or, Michaniel, as we call them, visited last night before they head out to Ethiopia at the end of this month! Pray for them, God's going to do something incredible.

-It's been chilly and rainy around here, but today the rain held back and the temperature rose. This change meant that I was able to ride my bike to school without getting soaked or splashed by cars. What's better? Each person I rode past (other bike-riders, walkers, joggers) all smiled and warmly bid their greetings. Today was a good day.   

-Warm scarves.

-God is moving in Seattle! Please pray for us as we go out again tonight.

-We have another hand on the farm! She's from Sweden and is in Washington for four months with her husband. She wanted to volunteer, so she's taking over barn duty on Wednesday's, which is a huge help! 

-I met up with my cousin this last week to talk about her wedding. So far, I have three weddings booked for this summer! If you would like to see my work, click here.

-Going to coffee with one of my aunt's. Always quality conversation!

Lows

-Realizing that I have a huge English exam in 20 days. It determines whether or not I graduate, basically. I have a kajillion and one pages to read (a.k.a. over 10,000). When I saw the reading list, all I could think of were the negative aspects. Side effects include, but are not limited to: nausea, the fear of failing, stroke, depleted highlighter ink, 4:00am-6:00am sleep schedule, sleep dept, and an inherent lack of motivation to do anything. BUT, I will read what I can. If I pass, praise thee Lord. If not, then I have one more chance to take it. Also, praise the Lord! 

You have highs and lows this week? Chu can share, I will listen.