i (don't) suck at everything (and neither do you)

i had one of those grumpy weekends.

you know, when you feel like you just suck at everything.

we might be able to blame it on hormones.

it finally all unleashed last night at home with my roomie,

when she turned on a sappy country song,

and suddenly big crocodile tears were leaking out of my eyes.

and i thought,

"i suck at everything and only the wrong boys like me and my laundry is never folded and why do my desk plants always die."

so i went outside and floated in the pool.

and then i took a hot shower.

and drank my pumpkin spice hot chocolate.

and today my head remembers that i'm good at stuff.

like writing.

i got a 10-percent raise last week.

and i'm really good at liking the olympics.

and being loyal to michael phelps.

i'm also good at buying goodwill clothes.

and i'm pretty good at laughing a lot.
and my violin lessons are going smashingly well.

i also made healthy food on saturday to last me all week.

and i'm good at liking greek yogurt.

and i went running this morning.

so, you know.

i don't suck at everything!

...maybe you need to remind yourself of the same?
what are you good at?

did i mention i love michael phelps,

katilda

*inspiration of the day: cast not away therefore your confidence*

O-L-Y-M-P-I-C-S-!-!

sooo...

have you kiddos been watching the olympics?

please say yes!

here's some of my rambling thoughts, in relation to...

...the opening ceremonies.

let's be honest, they were a little weird.

but my roommate did make this uh-mazing pie:

...the NBC announcers.

these guys weren't big on personal space, eh?

is it just me?

...michael phelps.

i love him, always forever.

gold medals or no gold medals.

and i've got a wheaties box from 04 to prove my love:

...ryan lochte.

i'm just not sure about this kid.

he seems a bit stuck on himself.

but maybe i am just biased?

[via]

...gymnastics.

what are the u.s. women doing with their hair?

that half-ponytail, half-bun loop thing?

i mean, i've been there.

...on sloppy days.

you're competing in the olympics!

on worldwide television!

seriously, slap some tidy braids on those heads.

[via]

these are all my thoughts for now.

yours?

da DA da da da DA da,

katilda

do you want the good news first, or...

in good news:

i went to my favorite cafe last night whilst getting some work done....

i found love in a hopeless place...

i thrifted some razor scooters for the office...

i tried out some new fashiony things this week,

namely denim on denim...

[killer necklace via fashion to figure]

and a romper,

courtesy of my 20%-off goodwill adventure...

...must it be called a romper? so silly.

in less good news:

my keyboard declared mutiny on me this week...

aaand i had me a little run-in with the coppers this morning,

after i didn't give a red light its proper dues...

you may notice that i had no victims, no fatalities and was not arrested.

in fact, i succeeded at about 9 out of 10 things on that list.

that's like an A minus, right?

in other arenas of life, that's completely acceptable.

happy friday, yo.

i fought the law and the law won,

katilda

in which i claim my rightful territory.

i'm not one for fangirling about celebrity crushes very often, but...

i have to make a statement.

before the dark knight rises...

before inception...

before 500 days of summer...
before 10 things i hate about you...
even before 3rd rock from the sun...

there was angels in the outfield.

[via]

...there was also maybe one episode of dr. quinn medicine woman.

you might say we were childhood sweethearts, 

joseph gordon-levitt and myself. 

just to clear things up for all the newcomer ladies in line.

*insert raised eyebrow and finger pointing around the room*

but hot hooverdam,

dark knight rises certainly fanned the old flame.

[via]

call me maybe, JGL?

cher, mcdonald's & life coaching

more skypersational gems from me and da kels.

enjoy, yo!

on life coaching...

on ronald mcdonald...

on cher...

and one more, just for kicks...

JUMP IN IT,

katilda

thriftology and strangerNOTdanger

sometimes it's the little things...

like spending an hour thrifting at the local goodwill.

like having an old man, who is lounging in an easy chair in the furniture section, beckon you over and slip you a 20% off coupon.

like finding 3 razor scooters to surprise your coworkers with.

like finding all the following treasures for a grand total of 52 bones.

i love humans and i love thrift stores.

you're welcome for the shoddy iPhone photography,

katilda

up, up, up & away

if you're not my friend on the ol' instagramcracker...

then you may have missed this gem:

i was headed straight to pluto, i was.

be my instafriend and stuff?

...let's go with the term instamigo.

find me: katilda_grams

tut tut looks like rain,

katilda

a spiritual awakening

this is another link-up to the weekly journal prompt,
via the lovely and endearing harley & jane.

catch my previous entry here.

this week's theme:

a spiritual awakening

i have quite a few to choose from,

but here's what i finally settled on...

---------------------------

"i guess i just want to be good."

the words were his, not mine.

perched on a log by a campfire,

wrapped in a plaid blanket,

his knee leaning against mine,

the hum of 10 other conversations buzzing around us.

it was summer in utah.

i'd known him for a week,

but it was one of those things,

where conversation just spills out of you with a mind of its own.

and so we talked.

we talked and talked.

i can't remember what i asked him,

but i do remember his answer.

"i guess i just want to be good."

fresh out of my teenage years,

when everyone wanted to be a little edgy,

a little rebellious,

a little bit bad...

his words were new to me.

he wanted to be good.

he wanted that lifestyle.

he wanted that reputation.

the fire popped and i shuffled my sneakers in the dust.

and i decided.

i wanted to be good, too.

i later found this inspired quote,

which, when i heard it,
the words stole into my soul and simply said:

"yes. that's it right there. that's who you need to be."

"I will not consent to any influence from the adversary. I have come to know what power he has. I know all about that. But I also have come to know the power of truth and of righteousness and of good, and I want to be good. I'm not ashamed to say that -- I want to be good. And I've found in my life that it has been critically important that this was established between me and the Lord so that I knew that He knew which way I committed my agency. I went before Him and said, 'I'm not neutral, and you can do with me what you want. If you need my vote, it's there. I don't care what you do with me, and you don't have to take anything from me because I give it to you -- everything, all I own, all I am,' and that makes the difference."
Boyd K. Packer

just a little moment of decision,

by a campfire,

at age 19.

and it somehow ended up meaning everything.

---------------------------

i love how many of you participated last week!
go check out harley & jane's entries,
and then link up your own!

looking forward to reading.

awake,
katilda
 

it's never too late...

remember how i started violin lessons this week?

after 8 years of almost-daily playing,

followed by a 9-year hiatus,

it was the strangest feeling of deja vu, i tell you what.

swinging my violin case in my hand.

casually propping my feet up on the case under my desk at work.

hearing the click of the metal snaps on the case.

the familiar weight of the instrument in the crook of my palm.

inhaling the sweet smell of rosin and wood glue.

knowing instinctively exactly how many twists would tighten the bow.

the way my wrist settled without argument into its proper position,

and my back and shoulders straightened without reminding.

turns out something inside me still remembers this very, very well.

and there were some hard parts...

like when my brain knew the notes,

but my fingertips would miss them by just a bit.
or take too long to get there.

come on fingers, you know this!

and remember my lovely teacher, czech marie?

she says great things, such as...

"vee vill get you back on zee horrrse"

and, when i make mistakes,

"ees ok, vee all do it!"

i asked you guys before what talents you might be burying.

you know, all those "somedays."

i guess my next question is...

...what are you waiting for?

take it from someone who knows,

katilda

katie is a freelance blogger for Udall, Shumway & Lyons. 

girl with glasses.

yes, i'm now that girl.

the one with perfect vision who envies her bespectacled friends.

now, i'm grateful for my eyes, i am!

but glasses are just so hooverdam cute...

so i did what any good pseudo hipster would do.

i faked it.

*cue onslaught of ridiculous photos*

and i decided i did, in fact, like them.

so i rocked 'em.

and then my friend told me i was like a reverse clark kent.

aka my glasses were actually my true, secret identity.

which works out, because i'm supposed to marry clark kent.

four eyes for the win,

katilda

restaurant review: nourish

the truth is,

i love me some healthy foods.

and after an experimental bout with a gluten-free diet last year,

and an ongoing mysterious quest to find foods that my tummy agrees with,

i have some serious empathy for people with dietary restrictions.

if you're one of those people,

and you're in the scottsdale area,

you must check out nourish!

the entire place caters to people with dietary restrictions,

the prices are totally decent,

and besides all that...

the food is G-double-oh-D!

...aka muy delicioso.

and from a marketing & design standpoint,

i was totally crushing on their color-coded menu,

as well as the large amounts of green in the restaurant decor.

not to mention,

they're located in the middle of a garden oasis,

i kid you not.

our server told us the sweet potato fries were their feature item.

and good grief, i can see why!

but what i'm really obsessed with?

the sweet potato and avocado salad.

oh. my. drool.

so pretty much...

i. highly. recommend. this. place.

i must go back, so if you need a friend to take you there...

just sayin.

nom nom nom,

katilda

all images via the nourish website.

writing: first in love ▲

he told me i was beautiful,

and i didn't believe him.

"that's what boyfriends say."

and i hadn't had a lot of those.

i'd been cute, a few times.

i'd been pretty, once or twice.

i'd been awkward and gangly, most times.

but he said beautiful.

and i knew he was wrong.

i knew it.

no makeup, i said.

in this baseball hat?

this tshirt is two decades old.

but he said it again.

and with his calloused fingers on my arms,

and his face a few inches from mine,

and the reflection of my own dark eyes in his blue ones,

for the first time,

i thought he might be right.



---------------

today's blog is my response to the weekly journal prompt,

via harley & jane

now go read their lovely posts on this prompt and link up your own!

book review: The Name of the Wind

remember when i got that most marvelous package?

well,

let's just say,

i didn't do much sleeping for the next couple weeks.

this is why i have to limit my access to literature.

i have a priorities problem when it comes to reading.

the good news is,

the book was most excellent.

it reminded me of harry potter at times with the way it sucked me in,

but i'd say it's geared more toward an older audience.

don't worry that it cracked my heart in half a couple times.

i am seriously antsy to read the second one in the series!

if you're into fantasy lit,

or if you want to be,

which you should want to be,

then i highly recommend grabbing a copy.

yes yes.

what have you been reading lately?

do tell.

another big thank you to jael for sending me this one!

planning a trip to the bookstore,

katilda

that one time steve nash broke up with me.

it's no secret that i harbor(ed) undying devotion for Mr. Nash.

if you haven't heard,

we've been through a bit of a rough patch this past week...

and of course, i expressed myself with some microsoft painting...

and then some writing from the depths of my despair...

That One Time Steve Nash Broke Up with Me
{by yours truly}

Enough about Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise -- let's talk about my own little heartbreak. Because the 4th of July (my favorite holiday, as it turns out) brought one big burn when Steve Nash left Phoenix for The Team in Los Angeles That Shall Not Be Named.

It’s not me, it’s you. Definitely you.

I am a woman scorned. My love for Steve Nash ran deep. I wore his jersey, I owned a shirt commemorating his one-eyed escapades and I denied any and all trade rumors with total, blissful devotion. And then he dropped the bomb -- Steve Nash was leaving me.

And he didn’t just fall out of love with me. He left me for a two-bit tramp on the West Coast. A two-bit tramp who hangs out on the same street corner as Metta World Peace.

I could have cheered for the Heat or the Knicks, or at least acknowledged their existence long enough to get my Nash fix. I could have, given time, even grudgingly watched a few minutes of a Mavericks game here and there without nausea overtaking me.

But...the Lakers?! Dirty. Why not take up baseball and have a tryst with the Yankees while you’re at it?

I thought we had something special.

All those games. All those odd-yet-endearing finger-licking moments before free throws. All those questionable haircuts (or lack thereof) and crazy-eyed expressions. And oh, the Vitamin Water commercials!

Do I just box up our memories? Scrapbook them? Burn them? Dump them out the window onto the front lawn? Wallow in my purple #13 jersey with a pint of ice cream and (insert Meg Ryan movie of choice)?

Take your cap and leave my sweater.

Steve, Steve, Steve. We need to have a little discussion. I know you probably have your reasons, or you wouldn’t have left me. It was a good business decision, right?

Hint: Good business is about loyalty as much as it is about money.

If I wanted to, I could read all the articles about why this is a better choice for him. A better choice for his increasing age. A better choice for his finances. (Which, when you’re debating between this-much-million and that-much-million, I fail to see what difference it truly makes.)

Right here waiting for you.

I’m a girl who values loyalty over many other factors. I also believe in life after love, thanks to Cher and luckily for Steve Nash. If he comes crawling back to Phoenix someday, I’d like to say I’d be blasting Kelly Clarkson and happily moved on to the hypothetical arms of my next on-court love affair.

But here’s the ultimate truth: I know I’d take him back. Now all I need is a boombox to hold over my shoulders and a Peter Gabriel cassette tape.

so instagram me, maybe?

well, it has happened.

i decided to finally start using my instagram account.

i'm known in those parts as katilda_grams

so...like we should be friends on there and stuff.

you'll get to see pics like this one:

...the plant was dead so i stuck a fork in it.

and maybe i'll take pics of my ombre heidi braids and stuff...

bear with me while i figure out how the hezz it all works.

i'm like a grandma when it comes to the technology curve.

...instagrandma?

so...any great instagram tips?

advice?

...housewarming gifts?

instagramcracker,

katilda