Independence Day

They move in silence as if someone had a gun to their back.
But yet they are calm—
Dress gliding across the cool wood floor,
Heads held high,
Elbows up,
One in form migrating to an unknown land.

Why aren’t they afraid like I am?
Or am I? Envy does not connote fear.
Tranquility in flight versus anxiety in combat.
Must keep moving. I feel like I’m trapped in a Super Mario Brothers game on the level where the time clock is running and you have no choice but to push forward.

What if I can’t keep up? Do I have a choice?
I’m here because I made a choice.
I choose. I too can move with confidence because I know.
Too much, too little. One step, don’t fly.

a Glimpse

It’s warm like wind chimes.
It’s cool like blue walls and creamsicle striped sheets.
It’s muffled like traffic in a glass box.
It’s uneasy like my neck on the bulges of a floppy pillow.
It’s hot like creased vinyl in the sun’s entrance.
It presses, prods, pokes, and pushes.
It pulsates, waits, rips the air apart with a burp, and you know it’s come.
It’s deep with glitters and light drowned by shades of turquoise.
It’s open like a dance of shadow and light.
It’s soft like sincere words seeping through to your heart.
It’s still like a door shut in place.

I Believe in the Easter Bunny

This year the Easter Bunny came and stayed with us for the weekend! She has cute little pink ears and two bunny teeth and likes to hop (in place with support). She not only gave me lots of chocolate in my basket but drooly kisses and some little love pats on my face. I'm not quite sure how she gets around to hide the eggs and jelly beans, though. She doesn't know how to crawl yet, but she does know how to roll!

Our little bunny had fun playing with Grandma & Grandpa, her aunt and uncles, Carol, and Izzy. Izzy rarely barks, but on Saturday she saw some neighbors walking out in front of our house. She was sitting in Nate's bedroom window watching and started barking like crazy! Instead of startling Emma, she laughed her head off!! She just kept laughing and laughing, so pretty soon there were three cameras rolling and Carol was outside make faces at Izzy in the window to keep her barking. Hah! And it worked! Emma's turning into such a cute little girl.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Dee!

I almost posted the picture of Dee and her molletes, in honor of Dee's birthday and the name of my blog, but there was cilantro in Dee's teeth. I guess I might as well have posted it since now I'm telling you all about it.:) Well, okay I'll post it! Happy birthday, Dee! These pictures are from Mexico. I'll have to scan Yellowstone pics, because those ones are awesome too but were taken before the digital camera era. Best camping trip EVER! I think we need some new camping pictures. I guess that means we need to go camping.

It's All About Katie

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed. Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections. Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down. You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. In love, you are very protective and supporting. However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous. At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud

What's Your Personality Type?

Life—don't wait for it to happen

I've encountered a few messes this past week. By sharing them with you, I am hoping you will get a good laugh and learn whatever it is you need.


1. Take time to dance. I didn't dance enough this week and I got sick. I'm dancing right now to try and make up for my lack of movement and music.

2. Okay. Here's the real stuff. Now that I have a shiny black automobile that is quite costoso, I decided to go to a CAR WASH—you know, the kind where you pay for a machine to spray water on your car. Salt from the winter roads is bad for paint jobs. The only times I'd gone to a car wash was with Dee, usually after a weekend camping trip. It seemed like a synch.

I get in line at the Chevron car wash, wait for about 20 minutes, and happily find I have three one-dollar bills and $2 in quarters. No debit cards accepted. Apparently, no bills accepted either. The coin machine spit all of mine back out. I needed to get change quickly. My door is right up against the machine, so I climb out the passenger-side door, slide on the ice in my flip-flops, and get $3 in quarters from the gas station attendant. I run back and luckily the car in front of me is still sudsing up. My turn! I pull in...PULL FORWARD...PULL FORWARD. There are two bars on the left side of the ground and it looks like I'm supposed to get my tire in between them. No luck. BACKUP...BACKUP. Now I'm getting a little flustered, because I know there are about 6 cars behind watching this crazy girl who looks 16 driving her daddy's car. Finally I get out, praying the nozzles wouldn't suddenly come to life and spray me! So I go to the man in the car behind me and ask for help. He tells me to go farther to the left so that my tire lines up with this orange pole. Nonsense. I try it, see it's not helping, and finally run in to get the attendant. When I get back outside, I see that the car wash garage door has closed on my car. First thought: Oh no. I left my door open and now the dumb thing is going to turn on!! Second thought: Hey, my bumper is sticking out from under the garage. Ooooh they didn't. Yes, they did. There're some nice little scratches where the trunk handle is.:( So sad. Luckily the attendant helps me get in line of the sensor (which was farther RIGHT than the orange pole). While my car is getting sprayed, I sit stiffly in my seat praying that nothing else goes wrong. I wanted out of there as soon as possible!

Please take something more than laughter away from this story. It had to have enlightened someone else besides me. Those scratches cannot be in vain!! Dad says he knows a better car wash to go to next time. Thanks, Dad. Grandma made me feel better, too. She said the same thing happened to her there.:) I shared this story with my family as we were all kneeled down for family prayer. It was pretty funny watching everyone cringe. Brad and Chels were there, too. Mom's advice: Always have a gas station buddy. Any takers for mine?

3. TK. That means "to come" in book talk. I have a feeling this entry is long enough for your attention spans.:) Watch for more of Katie's Lessons Learned.

BIRDS are totally IN

So according to our sales reps from all over the country, birds are big. And they're only getting bigger. If you've been waiting to make your move and make a big break in the publishing world, write about birds.

One piña colada, por favor

Don't these new colors put you in a tropical "Chiquita Banana" sort of mood?

Patience Cultivates Love

There were a couple choice moments a last week and the week before, and I almost wrote about them. Now it's too late to relate them because I wouldn't send the same emotion into my words. They'de be empty stories and you would say to yourself, "Well, that was lame. Who has Katie become?" About 5 minutes ago I drank 30 ml of Nyquil, so now may not be the right time for me to write about anything sensible. I'm hoping that typing in this entry will send me to sleep. We'll see what I type before my eyes close.:)

I'm speaking in church on Sunday, and my topic is "Put love in your heart." It's a three-part message from President Monson (I think) that they've given to three of us. I'm the middle part. The beginning is something like, "Put intelligence in your head," and the end is "Put service in your life."

I thought back to when I first really understood what it was to love, and it was on my mission in Venezuela . . . so I pulled out my journals. I LOVE to read my journals. It transports me back and makes me all passionate about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and fighting hunger and living simply. There was one entry, well there were actually a lot of them, where I talked about the true joy I felt when I looked at the people surrounding me at church whom I had served and come to know and loved the previous week leading up to Sunday. It amazed me how quickly I could love someone so deeply. I got inside their lives and understood their struggles, and that enabled me to love them at a whole new level.

On June 11, 2003, I wrote something that applied to my talk topic. I wrote this on a really trying day. About every other entry says that it was a hard day! Ha ha! Oh, man. Wasn't it so good, though? So good.

"Attitude determines everything. As a missionary and as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we need to feel honored to suffer for Christ's sake. What more can we give Him? There's nothing temporal or tangible that He can't create or be given already. The unknown blessings will come in the vida venidera (next life). Trials work patience and patience cultivates love, which becomes charity. Poco a poco I'm working my way back to God. The mission helps remind me I have a LONG way to go.:)"

Tomorrow I am going to think a lot about the part where I said, "Trials work patience and patience cultivates love, which becomes charity." Any thoughts on if you think that's even true—who knows where I get my ideas. :)—and, if so, how you've seen it happen in your life?

Jack Handey

This blog entry is dedicated to Megan. She was the one who introduced me to Jack Handey. If I'd had the story about the golden baby, I would've posted it too.:)

"He was a cowboy mister, and he loved the land. He loved it so much he made a woman out of dirt and married her. But when he kissed her, she disintegrated. Later, at the funeral, when the preacher said, 'Dust to dust,' some people laughed, and the cowboy shot them. At his hanging, he told the others, 'I'll be waiting for you in heaven with a gun."