Fall is definitely on its way and it is coming in full force. The last two mornings I was woken to the cool air coming through my window (it probably doesn’t help that I have a fan in the window) and it makes it difficult for me to leave my warm bed. There is something about the change in weather that you can just smell that summer is coming to an end.
September is my favorite month out of the ENTIRE year so I am excited for what is to come this next month. I love summer but there is something about September that is perfect, I guess half of the month is still summer but the fun and craziness of summer comes to a close and a more relaxing, cooler fall sets in. Summers can be jam packed with activities, trips and just plain craziness. I did so much this summer and I am happy to say that I am ready for the next season…
My top 10 summer adventures:
Hosted my first Stella & Dot party in June.
Traveled to Seattle and had a chance to visit the Seattle Aquarium (I LOVE aquariums).
Spent a few days in Newport, RI.
I finally had LOBSTER!! I had a really fun lobster night with my family.
Read three really great books (and will hopefully finish the 4th by the end of the month).
I got a really nice tan (I haven’t been this tan in years!)
Spent an amazing day on a lake with friends and family.
Saw Rascal Flatts in concert with some crazy kids.
I was able to golf a ton this summer.
Relaxed for almost an entire week in Myrtle Beach, SC.
I am happy to say that this summer was really great and I am looking forward to what September brings me. So far, a camping trip is in the works, another Stella & Dot party and hopefully some relaxation. I am going to enjoy the few weeks’ left of summer and get ready for a great fall.
Last week, I made one of the best decisions I have made in a really long time. I spontaneously decided to fly down to Myrtle Beach, SC to meet my family and I could not be happier. I didn’t care what I was leaving behind, my job or pretty much everything. I got on a plane and went there without questioning a thing. It was one of the best times I have had in a while. I didn't have to make any plans or worry, and most importantly THINK about anything. I had the beach, my book, baseball, and my running sneakers. And of course I awoke to, “HI KIKI!” every morning from a smiling two year old. It was perfect… even at 6am.
You always look up to your older siblings, it’s a given. Being the youngest of four, we have a really strong support system and I have quite a few people to look up to. Watching my brothers baseball team last week – cheering for the players like I was thirteen again, cheering for my big brother – made me realize how proud I am of him and what he has accomplished. The one sibling in my family who didn’t go to college and the one who is doing what he loves to do. He started his own business teaching baseball because that is something he was always good at. He does it with ease and sometimes frustration but he loves going to work and teaching kids the sport that he has such a talent for. He takes his team to The Ripken Experience at Cal Ripkens baseball facility (some of the nicest fields I have ever seen) in Myrtle Beach. He had quite the crowd cheering his Rebels on and we all had a blast.
Myrtle Beach is such a cool place to visit. We stayed in a condo that was a five-minute drive to the beach, the parking was incredibly easy and the beaches were amazing. Crystal clear water at the perfect temperature, no rocks, waves; it was an overall relaxing and fun time. The nightlife was really fun there as well, piano bars, bars on the ocean, and tons of shops. I am going back next summer and I can’t wait!
I also finished my book One Day – a story about two friends in the span of twenty years, living their separate lives, and the struggles they both endured along their paths while communicating through letters and an occasional visit. Overall it was a really good book. I accomplished my goal of reading a book a month this summer – go me!
Okay time to go. Talk to you soon about something more creative.
Two years ago today at exactly 8am, a healthy and beautiful baby girl came into the world, I met her five minutes after she was born and I fell in love as soon as I saw her perfect little face. Two years later, she is growing so incredibly fast. I want to press a pause button for a little while before everything moves too quickly. I don’t want to miss a thing.
At 2 years old, Paige is:
Dancing.
Kissing and hugging.
Laughing hysterically.
Chasing.
Snuggling.
Running.
Talking as much as she can.
Loving books.
Watching Dora.
Dressing up her princesses.
Taking care of her baby.
Playing with friends.
Sharing.
And most importantly, she is loving everyone around her.
Happy Birthday to my little Paigey, you have no idea how much happiness you bring into my life.
Mud. Planks. Trees. Hills. Let's just say my sneakers are pretty much ruined but it was worth it. Last night I did my first 5k of the summer at the Summer Sizzler 5k at Forest Park in Springfield, MA with my dear friend Jessica. It was hard. I am so thankful she was there, I probably would have walked half of it because it was all hills and hills are not my friend. She pushed me and I pushed her, we were a good team.
I beat my time from last summer which I am proud of, especially since I would never call myself a runner. I run to stay healthy and as a form of cardio but I have never been the type of person to put my sneakers on and go for a run because I like it.
I say this as I train for the Hartford Half Marathon on October 15. I am training my body to do something it has never done before, something new that will push me. I have never run more than 6 miles at a time, how am I going to run 13.1 miles?? Am I crazy? I was raised an athlete and that is what we do, we push our bodies and transform them, I have done this since I was 3 years old. I know I will do it, my goal is only to complete the race and so I will. Getting to the goal of 13 miles will be a challenge but if I can set my mind to it I can do it... right? I hope...
Jessica and my two cousins are running the half marathon with me which I am excited about. It is always helpful to have a running buddy.
I just finished reading the book, The Help, and it made me want to become a writer. I know I will never be a writer but it was an inspiring story of a girl who took a chance and risked her life on a controversial topic in hopes to fulfill her dreams and to be taken seriously. All the while making a difference in the town of Jackson, Mississippi. Miss Skeeter Phelan was a character who most women should look up to. I want to share my favorite part of the book,
"There is so much you don't know about a person. I wonder if I could've made her days a little bit easier, if I'd tried. If I'd treated her a little nicer. Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."
This part stuck with me, and it is SO true. Be kind to others, we learn at an early age to treat others how we would want to be treated. It can be a difficult task for some at times, I am not saying I have never been mean or thought I could be a little nicer. Just because someone looks different than you, or makes less money than you, or has a different way of doing things, does not make them any less than you. The next time you say an unkind remark and I will do the same, remember that person is more like you than you think, "We are just two people. not that much separates us." I just wanted to share that.
I have some photographs I took this week while I am clearing my head. If I do not become a writer maybe I can find something in photography ;)
My life feels as if it has been turned upside down. It is funny how you get so into a routine and when you get pulled out of it, it feels like you are living another life. A new place to sleep, a new drive to work, a new run. Everything seems new but it makes me miss the old so much (it has only been a couple of days). This weekend I felt like I was in a fog, that this wasn't real life and it was all a dream. But it wasn't. I woke up feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by what is to come, and most of all, overwhelmed by the unknown.
Who will I text the unimportant and unnecessary things like, "I cleaned my car today!" (which only those who have been in it can appreciate the fact that I finally cleaned and vacuumed it) or "I just had the best breakfast!" or "I miss you."
We take for granted the people we have in our lives, the people we have dinner with, or the people we sleep beside and say goodnight to. You never realize how important someone is by just being there and not even having to say a word.
I am taking a step back. Looking at my life and adjusting where I find necessary. The only problem is I don't know what to do, or where I should go, or who I should be. For now, I will just be Kari, the girl who loves to do arts and crafts, loves to workout, who likes doing fun and different things with her friends, who loves her family more than life itself, and who only wants to find a cup of happiness out of this overwhelming yet unexciting life I seem to live.
I have so much to write about. I still have to tell you about my trip to Seattle and Newport, RI. My next entry will be about the fun adventures from last week but there is something more important to write about today. I want to tell you about my sister, Kate, she was born on the 28th of July.
Kate – just Kate, not Kathryn, not Kaitlin, don’t even think about calling her Katie or you might end up with a black eye – her name is short, simple, yet unique. She is one of two of my big sisters and there is nothing in the world like the love and bond of sisterhood. One is not better than the other and I do not love one more than I love the other. We fight, we laugh, we cry, and we are there for one another when we need someone to lean on (of course we have the occasional slap or punch but that’s not important). My sisters’ will tell me the truth, even if it hurts and vice versa and they are the first to celebrate the joys in life.
As long as I can remember, I have always looked up to my big sister, Kate. She is the closest in age to me being three years apart. I want to share some of my fondest memories about her since today is her day.
When we were little, my mom would dress us in matching outfits – poor Kate, at least I was too young to remember – which consisted of disgusting floral patterns (sorry mom).
Kate taught, okay she actually forced me into doing a back handspring at the age of 3. It is probably because of her I became a gymnast.
We took dance classes and gymnastics together.
When I was very young, I had to get a tetanus shot because Kate told me to pick up a turtle, but it was actually a mole and it bit my finger. (Either I was really dumb or Kate was really mean - or both)
We shared a room until I was 13, with a sheet down the middle and my side always seemed to get smaller and smaller.
We had a hot pink record player with our one and only record Simon & Garfunkel, we played “Cecilia” over and over and over. To this day, I think of Kate when I hear that song.
My mom and Kate surprised me by painting my new bedroom the colors of Crayola (bright orange, yellow, pink and lime green).
I would watch her field hockey and basketball games in awe, hoping someday I would be a good player like she was.
I could never try to scare Kate because if you did, her first instinct is to come out swinging. I have been decked quite a few times, and trust me it knocks the wind out of you.
We used to hit and run… or at least I would get a punch in and run as fast as I could to the nearest room with a lock.
We would wear zebra and leopard pants, we thought they were so stylish.
Whenever we drove in the car together we would blast the radio or CD and sing at the top of our lungs.
We took our first long flight to Hawaii together and Kate hates traveling with me ever since. We have traveled to Hawaii, California, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, St. Thomas and most recently Seattle, Washington.
I hysterically cried (seriously, I sobbed to the point of not being able to breathe) when she left for college. The thought of not having her in the house with me anymore scared me.
Kate picked me up the first time I got really drunk at a high school party – I later threw up. Sorry Kate for that obnoxious car ride home.
After a long week of field hockey camp when Kate was in college, she had to drive home because her roommate got me too drunk to drive. What a good sister! Ha
When I was upset and hated my first college, Kate and Travis came and took me shopping and to dinner.
When I transferred to Marist, Kate and Travis moved me into my new room in a blizzard; they also moved me out at the end of the year. This was the start of me calling them mom and dad.
Kate and Travis helped me celebrate my 21st birthday. It was by far the best birthday because of them. They gave me my first digital camera (that I accidentally dropped and I will never live it down).
They came back to celebrate my 22nd with an 80s themed party – hilarious.
After college, Kate, Travis and I lived at my parents’ house. We used to snuggle and watch TV in their gigantic bed, with me in the middle of course. Kate would eventually yell at me and tell me to leave.
As Kate’s maid of honor in her wedding – with my sister Kelley, who refused to give a speech – I almost threw up having to give a speech in front of two hundred people.
Kate won tickets to Britney Spears Circus tour on the radio and took me with her because I was the first person to answer the phone.
Kate gave birth to my niece, Paige, almost two years ago and at that moment I had never been so proud of her.
Kate got me a job with the company she works for, we see each other almost every day.
Above were only the highlights of our twenty-five years together. We have so many good memories and some bad of course but she has always been there and is a huge part of my life. Almost every memory I have growing up includes Kate. She has been a best friend and an incredibly loving and generous sister. Happy 29th Birthday Kate! I love you so much.
Click above to listen to Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel
Below are some silly pictures through the years...
I woke up dreaming about photography. Maybe because before I went to bed, I finally charged both my cameras batteries for my trip to Seattle, ya that’s right, BOTH. I have a Canon Digital Rebel XSi, which I love. I also have a Nikon Coolpix - Yes, I am obsessed with cameras.
I have always LOVED photography. It has been a passion of mine for a long time and I really began to understand it my sophomore year of college when I took my first photography course (I wasn’t taking goofy pictures of my friends anymore). We didn’t use any of the digital stuff we have now, it was actual film – weird right? I hate that film is becoming obsolete. I miss the feeling of film, placing it in my camera just right so when I closed it I could hear the sound of the film being rolled and then a CLICK! it was ready to capture memories.
The dark room in college was where I spent a majority of my time, it was a place to hang out and see an amazing photograph come to life, literally. A photograph will go from a blank piece of photo paper to an image that you captured. I miss the feeling of seeing a really great photo – after 10 tries of course trying to get the black and white areas just right – floating in the chemicals as I would wait patiently to get a glimpse of it in the light. When you step out of the darkness you actually have to squint back to reality. You get lost in photographs and your thoughts in a dark room, it is as if you are lost in time. When you are in a dark room, it feels as though time has stopped. You don’t think about what is going on in the world outside the dark room, just you and your memories you have captured on film.
I need to explore new places and take more photographs. I need to find a way to make a living off of photography. Ha!How can I combine my graphic skills with photography in a new and exciting way? I am going to keep thinking about it and get back to you. I want to share some of my favorite photographs.
Famous Photographer Sally Mann - LOVE this.
Elephants are my favorite animal, I think this photograph is beautiful.
My sister had this poster growing up and I have always loved this image, a moment shared by two people while everyone around them is moving forward in their life.
A candid photograph of Marilyn Monroe - not expecting it but still so beautiful. Candids can be some of the most amazing photgraphs, that's why I love them.
Now some of my own that are my favorites... Most are from my senior capping project for college. I took old photographs of actors/actresses and took modern day photographs of them.
