2, my favorite number

Two names I go by (other than Kat):
1. Katie doo day (my mom came up with this one)
2. Miss Kat- such a term of endearment. My good friends in CA called me that.

Two things I am wearing right now:
1. Red nailpolish that I'll have to take off before work tomorrow
2. Earrings

Two things I want very badly at the moment:
1. No more tummy aches
2. A kiss from Travis (He's doing homework right now)

Two things I did last night:
1. mmm SUSHI
2. Cut Travis' hair

Two things I ate yesterday:
1. mmm SUSHI
2. French Toast

Two things I am doing tomorrow:
1. working at UVU
2. going to see if I qualify for a pell grant

Two longest car rides:
1. I guess from Utah to New York and back? It was a charter buss. Does that count? Even though we made several stops? It was over a period of 3 weeks though.
2. California to Utah

Two favorite holidays:
1. 4th of July
2. Christmas

Two favorite vacations:
1. Cancun
2. Hong Kong in March (even though I haven't gone yet, I KNOW it'll be my favorite)

Two favorite beverages:
1. ANY kind of juice
2. Dr. Pepper

Free Kisses!

Travis just walked into the room with this huge cardboard. Isn't he the cutest?! So clever. And charming.

mmwwaahahaha!

So Travis and I went to St. George for Thanksgiving, and it was great! His entire family was there (except jeff who is serving a mission). It was such a blast! We did lots of lounging around and relaxing. Well during the trip I had the girls pretty much convinced that we were going to Las Vegas for Black Friday. Well, we woke up early and to Vegas we went! It was AWESOME! I was ready to throw down some elbow punches to get what I wanted, but to my disenchantment it was not busy at all! It was just like your average Saturday afternoon!

Oh well... we did find some great deals. At one place there was 40% off already marked down clothes and if you made your purchase before noon, you got an additional 20% off your entire purchase. We went to several other places and found some awesome deals. Yay for Black Friday! I also got to go to my favorite stores ever (not found in Utah) and got some super cute stuff. Some Christmas gifts, too.

Well here's the highlight of my post... Travis is awesome. Why?Because he woke up at 4:30 on Friday and went to Walmart and bought us a 42' LCD HDTV flat screen TV. HAHA! He also purchased a 2 year warranty on it so if ANYTHING happens we get a free replacement. Ready for the grand total? $650!! I didn't know he was doing it! He woke me up when he got back and told me he bought us a TV. I was too tired to really understand but later when I saw it shoved into our car, the excitement began! He had some funny stories to tell that morning about crazy shoppers, long lines and an old lady cashier who took forever. Perfect timing to get a TV, because our friend is moving back to Utah and we'll give her back her TV. We've been borrowing it for over a year. All in all, a GREAT weekend! Shopping, a new TV, laziness, stuffing my body with good food and spending time with Travis! Oh I love life!!!

race the elevator!

Both at Sorenson and UVU there are elevators and stairs, and they are very close in proximity to each other. Everyday I'm faced with a choice; elevator, or stairs. So many times I wanna take the elevator because I have such long days and I get exhausted running from one end of the campus and back at the end of each hour. Well I decided around the middle of the semester that I would play a game. It's called, "race the elevator!"

This only works when the elevator is just leaving the floor I am on. As soon as those doors close I book it up the flights of stairs to the 3rd floor and I see if I can beat the elevator. I do. Everytime. I skip steps though. When the elevator is on a different floor, I justify taking the stairs because 1, it's exercise 2, I don't want to wait for the elevator to come down and it's faster taking the stairs, even when I don't run up them. The stairs at sorenson are awesome. They are many, but perfectly spaced apart for my stride length. The elevator at Sorenson is much faster so I push myself harder. I still beat it. I must say, my legs are getting pretty toned! ;)

little things

So many little things make me happy. Let me give you an example of a few that happened today.
-chiclets. I love them. The little baby ones, ya know, you have to eat like 10 in order to have a sizeable amount to chew? MMM love it.
-I went home for lunch today and as I drove home I thought, "I wish Trav was home, that would be awesome!" I pulled up to our house and he was there! I was so happy I literally jumped up and down when I saw him. :)
-Student cancellations. I love getting paid for doing nothing. Hey, I've paid my dues, don't hate!
-At Walgreens the cashier called me sweetie. She said, "Have a good day, sweetie." I get this all the time. I've heard sugar, honey and sweetheart. Even the other day when leaving Smiths, a worker about 50 years old smiled and said, "Hey, how ya doin, girl?" HA. I loved it. Is it because I'm small and short that people think they have the right to call me sugar? I don't mind, I actually love it.
-When an awesome song I haven't heard in forever comes on the radio. 'Nuff said.
-I love having the time to do crafts. I made a bunch of flowers on hair clips to wear, and I love making cards. In fact, that's what I'm doing right now.. watching a movie and making cards/gifts.

These are just a few that make me sooo happy even though they aren't a big deal. They are tender mercies of the Lord. He's always watching out for us, we just have to look for the blessings.

50

I guess this makes 50! I forgot I ordered these! They took so long to arrive that I almost forgot about them! I love these super cute golashes! Target online has some really fun ones, all for $25 and under. I'm still not ready for snow but when I'm trudging around in these, it won't be so bad. ;)

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, meanness.
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be cleaning you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and
invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
-Jelaluddin Rumi

long-winded

In a letter to his friend, Mark Twain wrote, "I'm sorry I wrote such a long letter; I didn't have time to write a short one." I'm sure you have noticed by now my long-winded posts. I do not claim to have such a creative mind as Mark Twain, but I do feel the same way he did about his letter to his friend. It is much harder for me and requires more time to write posts of shorter length. I envy those who can say so much in so little words! To all my fellow bloggers out there... to you I say, "I'm sorry I wrote such a long post; I didn't have time to write a short one." ;)

drumroll please....

Well no one guessed spot on, but the closest guess was Kim, and she guessed 50!

The correct answer is: 49.

I know it's not as high as some of you anticipated, but as I stare at my shoes next to me, I realize that I actually DO have a lot of shoes. And yet, "I want mooooooooore!" Thing is, I truly do wear them all. Thanks for playing!

let's play a game!

How many pairs of shoes does Kat have?

NOT including flip flops

Guess right and you win a special prize!
(Prize TBD later)

leave the leaves!

Every morning when I come to school I see a guy with a leaf blower. He blows all the leaves into a center pile and then hauls them away. The next morning I see him doing the same thing. Not that I don't mind seeing the beautiful green grass underneath, but come on, it's fall! Leaves are supposed to be on the ground! If there are no leaves, I can't crunch them under my feet! :( I don't see the point of blowing all the leaves away (which really takes him about half a day) and then doing it again the very next day! Can't he do it every other day?

I suppose someone was looking for a job at UVU and since they couldn't find a place, they probably made up the job description "leaf-blower man." I wonder what he'll do when all the leaves are gone? Maybe he'll be the "snow-blower man."

such a great day!

Yesterday wasn't the best day of my life, nor was it the worst. Things just didn't go my way and certain experiences and events had me down. I rely on the Lord so much and I always have the faith that He'll give me some sort of a break in some way. Yesterday it didn't happen, but I knew He'd make up for it somehow. The Lord always comes through for me, I just have to stay positive and make sure to give thanks to Him.

Well today was just wonderful, even though it's not over yet! 4 of the 5 classes I interpret were cancelled today! Talk about a MAJOR break! I went from a horrible day yesterday to a wonderful day today! Looking back I'm actually glad things turned out the way they did. Heavenly Father knew that I might not have appreciated such a BIG break today if things had gone better yesterday. Or perhaps if I had a small break today and a small break yesterday, I would have just "expected it" and not been more grateful. Either way, I'm happy things happened this way.

So, I got laundry done, did some reading (skill development), went to lunch with my mom and dad, and enjoyed my time off! The one class I did interpret went really well. Plus I saw a huge flock of birds on my way to school. There were probably like 200 birds flying around. It was beautiful. Yet another gift from our Heavenly Father. He gives them to us all the time, we just have to look for them and be grateful!

rose above my expecations

I went to the Rise Against concert last night and it was seriously face melting. My experience was AMAZING and I've decided Travis is the BEST concert buddy in the world! This was actually our first concert experience together. I must say that from now on, every concert I want to go to I'm taking him along! He protected me the entire time! Concerts can be icky and gross because of all the sweaty bodies but it was so worth it! Travis basically made a halo with his arms and I stood in it. No one touched me! Travis is seriously my hero! He is so big and so strong!!

We were in the middle of the floor and I was satisfied, jumping, screaming, singing and enjoying the experience, but at one point, I desperately needed to be closer. The closest. I told Travis, "You're getting me to the bar." And SO HE DID. He picked me up like a little doll and shoved a ton of people out of the way. I didn't know what was happening or where we were going. Up was down, down was up, and I had no concept of left or right. Then all of the sudden Travis whipped me around and BAM, there was the bar! I was right up there, feeling the sweat and spit of Tim McIlrath! They played several of my favorite songs and my throat is coarse from screaming.

I'm sure people look at me and think, "what a poser." Well if you think that, you're right. I'm sick of being a poser.... of a goody goody! I'm a wild woman at heart and I LET LOOSE last night! I went crazy all over the place. It was incredible! I'm not pretending to be a crazy concert goer, I'm pretending to be a molly! ;) This is what I am and I used to go to concerts all the time! I forgot how much stamina I have. I think I'll be going to more concerts soon.

I had very very high expectations of Rise Against. Travis had seen them 3 times previous to last night and told me all about them. My friend Dayna also spoke highly of them. They were MORE than I imagined! The stage presence, the music, the energy..... by the end of the night all I could say was, "That was totally WICKED!" (If you know where this line comes from I'll give you 17 cool points). I've seen many many bands perform. Honestly, Rise Against is my favorite band and by far the best I've ever seen! SICK!

Guinea Pig

As an interpreter of UVU I get the benefit of interpreting classes and seeing how the class is run. If I like the teacher, I may take a class from him/her. It's a great way to test out the waters before taking a class. I also like using my siblings as guinea pigs, especially my sister, Lizzie. I keep changing my mind, but I think I want to be a psychology major. The classes are super exciting and interesting to me and I think I could be really good at it. So for now, that's what I've decided.

I am taking a much heavier load of classes next semester and we'll see how it goes! Two of the classes I am taking next semester are classes my sister has already taken and from her exact teachers. She's already given me the inside scoop and is willing to let me have her books! She's a little further than me in her major of Social Work but several of our classes are the same. Hopefully one day we can be in the same classes at the same time! :) That way we can study together. I hope she doesn't mind that I use her as a guinea pig for school! She's also my little testing subject for style. If she can pull it off, so can I! :) She's such a doll.

P.S. I took the compass exam for math today and I placed into Math 1000. Not bad, but not great. At least if I get a good grade I can go straight into Math 1040 or 1050 and be done with it! I am feeling super ambitious lately and I have gotten so much done! Also I'm excited about my schedule for Spring because I decided that I am not going to work at all on Tues/Thurs, and I'm taking all my classes those days. I'm sick and tired of not being able to wear all my cute patterned clothes during the week! So on Tues/Thurs and Fridays it's jeans for me baby!! I know it's silly but I really can't wait! (Both for my classes AND to wear my true style of clothes! Yipee!)

Where to start?

My momma tagged me and I don't know where to begin!It's gonna take me forever to write this post!

1. I am obsessed with the smell of Travis' breath. I know... barf if you must, but I LOVE it. During church I always ask him to "breathe on me" and he'll move his lips to the side and breathe in my general direction. I take a sniff and I always LOVE IT! Don't think I'm gross.

2. I pick my lips when I get nervous or when I'm stressed. When I watch scary or intense movies, I pick. When I was six, my mom told me that if I stopped picking my lips for one week I could get my ears pierced. It was a challenge but I did it. I still do it today and my lips are always scabby and peely. That IS gross.

3. I am the queen of thank you cards. I love writing notes and sending them. I collect thank you cards and I also love making custom cards as well. Any excuse for writing a card and I'll use it!

4. Okay 3 down 3 to go.... this is hard! Alright I thought of one. When I get home I take off my shoes immediately. However, they are never in the same spot. They are right near the door, near the kitchen table, behind the couch, or sometimes in the bathroom. They are NEVER put in the right place when I get home. I have shoes everywhere and it makes it tough when I'm looking for a certain pair and I can't find them!

5. When I get out of the shower I immediately dry myself off while still standing in the tub. I cannot have a drip of water on me. I hate getting my arms or face wet and although I love showers I cannot stand being wet. If my hair is a little damp I can tolerate it and it naturally dries pretty fast anyway. But if Travis has wet hands or just brushed his teeth and has water on his chin and then wants to kiss or touch me, I have to make sure he is completely dry before I can touch him. Wow.. I guess Kats don't like water either!

6. I have a fear of flushing toilets. I must've had a bad experience as a child or something. That being said, I have certain stalls at school and work that I frequent. They have been good to me in the past, so I figure I won't have any problems.

OOPS!

So when it comes to interpreting, I KNOW I am competent. For only being 23 years old, I have succeeded at a rate much faster than I thought I would. I am already Utah Level 2 and plan to take the National Interpreting performance exam very soon. Four short years ago I lived in Logan and went to USU to become a Deaf Education major. I quickly realized how much I loved interpreting. While I was there I wanted to interpret (and because of the law in Utah about interpreting, I needed to be certified). I knew I wasn't good enough to pass level 1 because I had no training so I went and took the interpreting provisional exam. I FAILED!! I had a very short sojourn of a year at USU.

Much to my dismay I returned home to California to pursue an Interpreting Preparation Program and I was one of ten people who were accepted out of sixty to apply. Yipee! After 7 months of the program I flew back to Utah to take the Utah written exam and passed. I was DETERMINED to show Utah what I had and before finishing the IPP, I once again returned to Utah to take the Level 1 performance and passed that as well on the first try. I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am, and it has paid off. I am envious of the people that are fortunate enough to have ASL and interpreting come naturally to them. Honestly, you lucky ducks!

Regardless, when I look back on the past 4 years and how I've excelled at interpreting, I must say, I am quite satisfied. I went from NOTHING to Level 2 in no time flat, thanks to the dedication and perseverence I demonstrated. (Please understand I'm not that special, many people succeed in the same amount of time, or even surpass my skill level. All I'm saying is that I am personally satisfied with how I've lead my life and the path I have chosen for my career. I have a long way to go, but for my age, I have arrived at some great milestones that most people don't reach until later in life!)

The rest is pretty much history and I actually didn't intend to give this much background information before getting to the meat of my story today. All that being said, I do have my days where I have my "moments" and begin to doubt my skills. I interpret a class in which I do a lot of voicing (when deaf people sign, I voice for them). On Wednesday I was 100% SURE I had seen this word signed/fingerspelled and I didn't think about what I said when I said it. The IPP I was in taught me to be confident when voicing and not trail off. My teacher said if you say something with confidence, it is very unlikely people will notice the mistake. Not on Wednesday!

I loudly and confidently said "Diuretic." (pronounced di-a-re-tic). I could NOT have been more wrong. The correct term was DIACRITIC. Just a slight slip of the tongue! If you do not know what either of these terms are, let me do you the honor of defining them for you. A Diuretic is tending to increase the excretion of urine. A DIACRITIC (the correct term) is a mark near or through an orthographic or phonetic character or combination of characters indicating a phonetic value different from that given the unmarked or otherwise marked element. Yep, I'm pretty smart, I know what these terms are, now if I could only get it right!!

The entire class roared with laughter and I admit, so did I. Oops, I guess these things are bound to happen especially when working with 2 completely different languages. Why couldn't I have chosen a profession that required less skill? :)

Higher Education

Recently I have been thinking a lot about education and how important it is for the future. You all know I'm not the smartest crayon in the box, sharpest knife in the bunch, coolest hen in the den (ok I made the last one up) but I have been trying harder everyday to learn something new and expand my mind. As an interpreter my memory is the most important thing besides my hands. I have so many words/phrases/dates etc in my mind and because language is always evolving, so must I.

*mounting soap box* - (Thanks for letting me borrow your phrase, Shanna)

I don't want to give a false impression that I am about to be exalted or that I think I'm all that and a bag of chips, I simply want to share some positive experiences I have had lately. My new focus is positivity and I feel so great about the efforts I have put forth towards that goal. I have seen success and it has been well worth the soul searching I have done in order to begin the journey.

I've decided that the way to increase my memory and expand my mind is through memorizing scriptures. I memorize one a week and I carry it with me throughout the day to accomplish this goal. I figured if missionaries can do it, so can I, right? I has truly helped! Memorizing anything is good for the mind, but I think that because it's Holy Writ that I have seen more improvement. Not only this, but it helps me try to lead a more Christ-centered life.

Yesterday I chose to receive a higher education by attending the temple. I love going with Travis but sometimes I forget that I can go alone and if I have time, I should take up the opportunity. I had the most wonderful experience. Without exploiting the temple or making my experience seem "grandiose," I would just like to say that I went with several questions and ALL of them were addressed. I have said and done several things I am not proud of, but I am in the process of making amends and patching up the areas that I have torn. I have a ton to work on and I am ever aware of what I need to do to improve.

Any time we do a deep analysis of ourselves and present our weaknesses to the Lord, it's going to hurt. No one likes having their faults be made known. It requires a lot of effort on our part to humble ourselves, although being compelled to be humble isn't much fun either. :) In the temple I learned that while I have a lot to work on, I don't have to beat myself up in the process. This life is about learning and although we'll make mistakes, we can always learn to not do it again. All I ask is that you all please be patient with me while I go through this process and in return, I'll do the same with you.

*Dismounting soap box now*

Love her!

I had lunch with Rachel today and it was so refreshing! I always feel so uplifted after being with her, and we have the greatest times together. We can also have a super deep conversation and shed a tear or two but the next minute we could be laughing again. We follow along with each others' moods quite well and I must say it's so nice never having to explain myself to her. She can put me in my place without hurting my feelings and also give me a genuine compliment without it seeming fake. Gosh, I love her! Don't you?! Rachel, can I please be YOU when I grow up? ;)

You Decide

I can't figure out who I look like more. Spock or Audrey Hepburn. I kinda feel more like Spock. Decide for yourself.