Dr. Pepper... I mean, MISS Pepper!!

Meet Pepper. She is our new little puppy! I love her so much! I can't get enough of her! She's such a good little girl, and she's so tiny! This picture actually makes her look big, but she's tiny! She is only 6 weeks old. She loves to play with us! We're definitely getting good practice of being parents. We had to "puppy-proof" the house when we got home! She was getting into everything! We are teaching her to be house trained (aka potty trained) and it's quite a challenge! We enjoy it though. I LOOOOOOVE having a puppy! I'm really not an animal person, but we love our Pepper! She is so freaking cute. She's already being exposed to other dogs/animals and especially kids. So far so good! You'll have to come over and play with her! She loves visitors. :)

So... how we came up with her name is quite funny. We were debating on several names for a while (trying to decide if we were gonna actually use the names on our baby name list) and I liked Stella, Dottie or Clementine... and Trav wasn't too keen on those names. I figured he needed to have a say in what her name was as well, so we needed to pick a name we could both agree on. Our friends Chris and Sandy were over, and Chris said, "Why don't you name her after your favorite food or drink or something?"
Jokingly, I said, "What... like Dr. Pepper?"
Then Trav said, "Wait... Pepper! That's cute!!"
I agreed. We both agreed. Finally!

And that's how our puppy was named! Cute little Pepper. She is so much fun! I can't believe I have a dog!!!

from start to finish

I made this, all by myself! Everyone has these cute headwraps nowadays, and I figured I could make myself one, totally how I wanted it, and tailor made to fit my head! :) I've had a little bit of time on my hands (I've been really sick). In less than an hour, this is what happened:



(Please ignore my scraggly hair... I've been really sick, and stayed home for the past 3 days straight.)

The headband took longer than the actual flowers! There's lots of things I would change. I would make the petals on the flowers bigger so they were more defined, and I would make the band a little thicker, too. Not bad for my first try!

today

Today is a very significant day for me and my family. On this day, four years ago, my Grandma (my dad's mother) passed away. It was very hard on my family, because it was an unexpected accident. My mom and dad drove out to Utah as soon as they found out what happened, and Lizzie and I stayed in California. I was debating flying out to Utah because I was in the Interpreter Program, and if I missed more than 3 days of school, I was out of the program.

I knew I needed to be there for my dad, so I called my mom to tell her that Lizzie and I wanted to go. Literally 4 hours later, we were on the plane to Utah.

Now, many of you know the story of how Travis and I met, but let me refresh your memory, and explain the significance of it all.

My dad and Trav's dad were best friends in high school and throughout college. They were always over at my Grandma's house, raiding her pantry and fridge, like all teenage boys do!

My grandma's obituary was in the newspaper, and Trav's mom and dad saw it, and decided to show up at the viewing the night before the funeral. When they walked in, my dad's expression immediately changed. I don't think my dad has seen Paul (Trav's dad) in many years!

Later my dad pulled me aside and introduced me to my future in-laws! I shook my mother-in-law's hand and said, "Hi, I'm Kat- Mark's daughter-, and I think I'm supposed to marry one of your sons... which one ya got?" (Yes, I was BOLD back in the day!) She got my phone number and email address, and the rest is pretty much history!


The summer before my grandma passed away, my family had the opportunity to come to Utah and spend lots of time with her. I personally had many bonding moments with her, and I am so grateful for that opportunity. We had no idea what would happen months later, and I am happy I had those experiences with her. We even share a middle name!

Look at her, isn't she gorgeous?

(Thanks to Ashley, I stole this picture from her blog!)

Because of my grandma's passing, I was able to meet my husband. We all miss her very much. I honestly wonder if I would have still crossed paths with Travis if my in-laws hadn't shown up to my grandma's viewing. Who knows exactly what would have happened? All I know is that I miss my grandma, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet Trav's parents that night. It just goes to show that something good can happen from something very very tragic. God moves in mysterious ways. We just have to trust Him.

So today, as I remember my grandma, I am grateful for her, and for my amazing husband.

my first attempts at DIY projects

During the break I had some major fun with different projects. Some took longer than others, but I would do any of them again, and it was really fun! I already have tons of ideas for more.

You will all be happy to know that I am now the proud owner of a hot glue gun! This definitely is a plus when doing DIY projects. To start off, first I made a little headband and ribbon flower. I went to a store and saw this on sale for $15:



and I thought to myself, I can make that! I went to walmart to get some felt, and some string for the headband, and from left over ribbon from Christmas presents, I made myself this little headband and 'flower'. I made it for a grand total of 50 cents!


Not bad, right? For my first project, it's not too shabby! There are lots of things I learned on the way and things I would change for the next few, but it's so quick and easy! It only took me 15 minutes!

Now this next project didn't really take much assembling, it was really easy. I saw this fishbowl at roberts for $4, the glittery string of purply leaves was $3, and the candle $2. You can't tell in this picture, (because all these pics were taken with my iphone... my camera broke)... but I used spray glue on the candle, and rolled it in salt (bigger rock salt but crushed) to give it a snowy, glittery look.


and... now for the project that took the most time.... my curtains! I finally finished them! They were a pain in the butt only because of the material, and my sewing machine was getting just as frustrated. I got glass doorknobs and used a double sided screw to mount them on my wall. It leaves huge gaping holes, but I don't care. It's my house! Travis was the handyman and got the knobs up for me, while my mom and I did the rest!
It was quite a challenge to design these curtains. Once I came up with the design and how I wanted them to hang, the rest wasn't so bad. I was the mastermind behind the design, and my mom showed me how to actually make it happen. (Thanks momma!)
They really change the look of the room! (It looks better in real life... so I guess you'll just have to come over and see!) Oh, and that pillow... I got it at Tai Pan for $9!!

The end.
More to come when I'm done with school. :)

worth a thousand words

I was looking through my pictures the other day, and I found some very random pictures that I thought I would share with you! I will explain some of them, because they really need it....

This picture is me with a bunch of random clothes on. I found all this random stuff in my room, and my cousin Melissa dared me to go get breakfast dressed like this. I'm always up for a good dare, so I did it! (Understand that in Utah, this may be a common occurance to see people dressed like this, but in California... you wouldn't be caught dead wearing stuff like this out in public. At least not where I'm from! I got a lot of stares and whispers as I walked by.)



This is me at the boardwalk, interpreting on Friday nights during the summer. Oh how I miss it!


These next two pictures were taken with my regular digital camera! We found this dragonfly chilling out on my antennae when I was at home one day, and he was patient enough to wait for me to get my camera and take pictures. He was a great subject to shoot, and was very photogenic.



Here is me in my wedding dress for "pre-wedding" pictures. I think it's probably my favorite picture of me. I know that's vain of me to say...


These are my sisters cute feet! We were on a road trip in Caifornia with our friends and it was the most perfect day! Gorgeous weather, and my favorite time of day.


I love this picture! This is on a rollercoaster at six flags. I LOVE rollercoasters, and even though I look scared, I am LOVING it!!


A kid in a candy store. I LOVE my candy! I definitely have a sweet tooth. Funny thing is, my mom has a picture JUST like this when she was my age! It's soo funny to put the pictures together and compare! We look just alike!!


Ok. Story time! Every year around finals (or when grades came out at the end of each semester in high school) I would either cut my hair or completely organize and rearrange my room. It was a major tradition. I did this even in junior high! It was therapeudic for me! I'm not sure why, but I had to do it! This is what it usually looked like in the process. I have a picture when I was in junior high and my room is a MESS and you can tell that I am crying my eyes out because I can't figure out how to put it all back together.


This is me with my cousin's baby (he's 3 now). I love babies! He is so darling!!


This picture describes pretty clearly what nights were like growing up with Liz. We slept in the same bed, and we were always texting other people before we went to bed. Just to be silly, we would even text each other!


No description for this picture, just funny. "I'm off to school!!"


Getting ready for the boardwalk, wearing too much makeup.


I LOVE this picture because it shows how lizzie and I look alike, but we are soo different! The blue eyes and blonde hair, and the brown eyes and brown hair. Not only that, but our styles are so different! Gosh I love that girl.


This defines ME. Everything about me. I see this picture and it is ME. I'm goofing around, I'm near the ocean, I'm in casual crummy clothes, and I'm sticking my butt out thinking I'm the hottest thing in the world (even though I know I'm NOT!!... Look at me, I look like crud!) But I love this picture!


My awesome cousin Melissa and me! I love jumping pictures! I think the first time I ever did a jumping picture was with my sister at the beach like 7 years ago. Ever since then, I've been obsessed. I love them!


And yet another... Hmm I should have been a gymnast!


Lizzie and I traded clothes with our two guy friends. I wish I had the picture of them wearing our clothes! It was skanky, and so tight on them! We were lousy "guys." I tried to be all cool. Not working.


I don't know why we are posed this way, we are just wierd! This was at our house in San Jose. I miss that house! So gorgeous, and really pretty backyard.


Ah, the beach, and sun-bathing. My super cute cousin Ashley came to visit one summer, and we went to the beach everyday, obsessed with tanning. We were sooo dark, but we didn't think so! We were trying to get some good tan lines!


This picture makes me so happy. I was running out to greet the ocean and Ashley snapped the perfect picture! I could critique many things about this picture (in regards to my body) and I'm even tempted to, but I won't... because these were the times when I was overcoming depression, breaking free and getting out of the rut I was in. Very liberating, and this picture describes that perfectly. I am happy!!!


Loving the oversized glasses, sun on my skin, and french-braided hair. Good company, and good weather. Doesn't get better.


This picture was taken in Geneva, Switzerland. I am holding myself up in this little archway. I love it because black and white pictures ROCK, and I love the expression on my face! Haha!
That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed the randomness that is a portion of my life! Have a good long weekend!

a little something

I am wierd. Not that I needed to say it out loud or even write it on my blog, because you all know that... but I wanted to tell you something about me, and perhaps give you some insight to the real wierdness.

First, let me give a little background. My dad served his mission in Argentina. So, he speaks Spanish, and he taught my mom how to speak Spanish, too. About 5 years ago, I was rummaging through our family compilation of billions of CD's, and I found a CD called "Argentina Canta Asi." I was curious, so I popped it into my CD player and listened. I fell in love. It's all in Spanish, but the music is beautiful! Music from Argentina is so wonderful, and sexy! (Is that ok to say on a blog?)

Since that time, I've uploaded the music to my ipod, and every once in a while when my ipod is on shuffle (I have over 7,000 songs so it takes a while to cycle through everything), I hear a song from that album. There are 4 or 5 songs that I could listen to over and over, and I have.

I know every single word of those songs, in Spanish, mind you. I can sing them, complete with accent and all, even the pronunciations of the Spanish words, yet I have NO IDEA what I am saying. Even right now, I could recite them to you (although not as beautifully as the actual singers), and STILL... I could be saying something like, "I want to eat my dog for dinner with a glass of milk..." and I would have no clue. As I belt these songs to the top of my lungs, I can't help but wonder what these songs are all about. Guess I'll never know. :)

dead end

I learn by analogies and object lessons. If I need to learn something, I am generally more apt to be receptive to it if I am told using an analogy and/or an object lesson. Blunt and to the point usually turns me away from the idea or concept all together, because for some reason or another, it's too overwhelming. (My brain just doesn't work that way, and my emotions don't like it!)

Yesterday I was driving home from work in Salt Lake, and Travis was working in Draper. I knew he hadn't eaten all day, so I decided to bring him some food and eat with him. I had missed his exit, and ended up a few miles away. I was near a Quizno's, (which ended up being what Trav wanted anyway,) so I got the food, and was on my way to meet him.

I didn't want to take the freeway because it was pretty busy (right around rush hour), so I decided to take a frontage (back road) to his office.

I was on a path I had never been before.

I was sure of the general direction in which I wanted to go.

My goal (being with Travis) was my motivation to get me there.

As I was driving along the very windy and bumpy road, I saw a sign that said, "DEAD END." I had just looked up at that moment to see it. (I was looking down at my food because the drinks were spilling, due to the twisty and bumpy path).

If I hadn't looked up right at that moment, I would have missed it, and continued driving straight, instead of making a VERY sharp left turn to go where I wanted/needed to be.

I was able to make the turn in time, and I found my way to Travis.

I hope you can see the symbolism in this little story, as insignificant as it may seem to you. At the time, it didn't seem too important, because I could have turned around, and everything still would have been fine.

But what if??

If I continued driving, arrived at the dead end, and turned around, would I have been the car to get hit by the person running the red light? Would the timing have been just so... that I would have hit a pedestrian crossing the road?

It's quite possible that a ton of things may have gone wrong, or that nothing would have happened if I hadn't seen that "dead end" sign.

As I ponder this experience, I can't help but wish I had those same types of warnings in the past. Why didn't I see the "Dead End" sign in past relationships (ex-boyfriends, etc)? I might have saved myself so much trouble, heartache and even regret, had I noticed those signs. Maybe the signs were there all along, but had I heeded them, would I have arrived at the same destination?

Don't get me wrong, I am sooo grateful for the past experiences I've had, because they make me who I am today. But if I had seen those dead end signs, (or even detour signs)... would I be an even better person? I truly think: yes.

Among the many resolutions I have for this year (in many arenas of my life, as a person and as a spouse)... I've decided that my main goal is this:

Keep my head up.

I mean this in two ways:
1. Keep a positive attitude and not get too "down" on myself or others, and
2. Be more aware of what's taking place around me.... look for those signs, and heed them.

2009 was a great year. This year will be even better.