sweetest husband award goes to...

evan scott.

who yesterday drove over to my work place parking lot to scape my car windshield. he wins.

i love christmas.

love love love this holiday.

it's magical really.

want proof?

let me tell you a little story that always reminds me the magic of this holiday. so imagine me freshman year, i was rooming with the wonderful gal who is now my best friend and together we had set up this mini christmas tree my parents had bought me. it was about 2.5 feet tall with lights that flashed on and off. that year my roomate and i had decided to theme decorate our room in a theme and the theme was america. yeah im not even kidding. yes we laugh about it now, but i think if you would've seen our room you would've been impressed. we had flag curtains, red white and blue blankets, flag everything. and thus, at christmas time our mini tree came complete with mini flag ornaments.

i used to love looking at that tree. it wasn't as grand or beautiful as the trees my family had put up but it held it's own. so much so, that it i woke up- in the middle of the night to stare and it and demanded that my roomate take it in as well. poor courtney. as if your roomate waking you up at 3 in the morning isn't bad enough, her demanding for you to look at the patriotic mini tree and making sure you take in it's beauty really takes the cake for crazy. i mean seriously. i think my exact words were "look at how beautiful it is - our tree looks magical....courtney, wake up, i'm serious...look at it. magic. pure magic"

and it was. i mean obviously. magical enough to wake me up in the middle of the night and magical enough to demand everyones attention. the funny thing was the next morning when my poor roomate told me of what i had done the night before, i literally couldn't remember a thing. i never remembered waking up or demanding her to take in the trees beauty.

so to this day when i think of this holiday i think of laughter, christs birth, the gift of giving, and the our little patriotic tree that was so...magical.

j and a wedding

this past weekend i had the excellent opportunity to second shoot with photographer dustin steller (find his blog here - www.stellertimes.com) - he's a great photographer and i learned a lot by shooting with him. here are some shots i took that weekend:

woof woof woof.

* paul and courtney have the most adorable little pups. here's proof:

paul and courtney

my friends paul and courtney were nice enough to let me take some pictures of them and let me just say, first they are both very photogenic and secondly, they are both very fun people. i'm glad to call them my friends.

here are some of my favorites from the day.

*look for another post coming soon of the couple with their adorable dogs.

rob and sarah engagement pics

my beautiful friend sarah is marrying her best friend and love. sometimes life works out perfectly :)

these are some of my favorite shots from their first engagement session. look for pics from a second shoot coming soon.

so guess what?

i got a job.

yes a full - time, real adult job.

and i have to tell you- it's sorta exhausting. nope, i take that back really exhausting.

don't get me wrong. i've had a real life adult job before, but this one is different. no, im not an undercover spy, i don't work for the U.N., and i don't sell anything.

i'm a receptionist.

but let me tell you. that job title is deceiving. if you're anything like me you're thinking "alright katie, surely you can pick up a phone, read, write, use a computer, fax, copy, and alphabetize. i mean really how hard can it be?"

yeah i thought this job would be easy. like way easier than my previous jobs but i was wrong. very wrong. and it really got me to thinking, if i was wrong about this job - how many other jobs do i underestimate or sell short? there are probably, sadly a ton of jobs i think i could pick up in a day but in reality are a LOT harder than i believe them to be. in my previous jobs i had those little breaks of free time to check my email, make a personal phone call, go to the restroom - not so in this job. and i bet there are many many jobs out there far harder than what i head into tomorrow morning.

despite the shocking reality of how hard being a medical receptionist really is, my job is actually nice - just a lot different than what i previously thought it would be. it's really given a new outlook on jobs, salaries, what a killer paper cut can be (try a folder cut-ouch!), productivity, lunch (heaven), and co-workers.

today i miss...

paris in the morning.

whose with me?

adventures coming soon.

so blog world...guess what?

i am no longer officially unemployed.

yes. it is rather exciting.

but earlier today while at work (long story short- my office was in the process of moving this week) i found myself really missing something. it was kinda strange. it wasn't a person. or a place even. it was a feeling.

yes. i missed my sense of adventure.

im sure everyone has those moements. you're sitting at your desk, organizing files and all of the sudden you ask yourself "whoa, how did i get here?" - don't get me wrong, so far i like my job. i really do. but every once in a while i find myself asking selfish silly questions like why can't i just jump on a plane and head to england to see my best friend or drive all night to go to the coldplay concert? why can't i stand in line all day to be the first into stores on black friday or quit my job and join a traveling show choir?

well- the answer is simple. kind of. some people can do this. they are brave. or crazy. or both. and i am jealous of these people who somehow despite all of life's attempts to steal it from them retain their imagination and sense of adventure. and or, have endless amounts of money and no obligations on their time.

but for me, i can't do these crazy things. at least right now. i'm not convinced someday i won't be in a traveling show choir but for now - my place is here. in joplin. that means i may not be at the coldplay concert or find myself shopping in the best boutiques. i'll be going to my 8-5 job everyday and i'll be alphabetizing files for some amount of time every day. but you know, there are adventures to be had here, alphabetizing and all. i just have to find them. and i will. i'll find some adventures here soon. i've seen glimpses of them in places you would never expect.

and yes. i will report back to you the adventures i find.

the beards are the best!

evan and i are so lucky to have been blessed with great friends - two of whom came to visit us on thursday and friday. we really enjoyed having visitors- especially such fun ones! we are so glad to be friends with the beards. it was so fabulous to see them, laugh with them, and catch up!

and...they were nice enough to let me take their picture friday afternoon.
here's my favorites: