dear blog,

i'm sorry that we've become less than friends lately. i will attempt to be more involved sometime soon.
i start rockhurst tomorrow. i go to the super bowl on friday.
that's about it.

sincerely,
karlie.

let me update you.

goodmorning. i would like to update you all on my life.

first of all, i have purchased 'a mom for christmas'. i found it on some shady website and bought it for $5, but it actually came and now i own it! i will treasure it forever. if you would like to watch it with me, i will watch it anytime.

my vitamin obsession is still going strong. however when paired with a complete lack of money, i am left with a few C's and some B's. maybe when i'm rich i will buy every vitamin ever. even rose hips, which i have no idea what it is but i am always interested. oh. and i bought a pill box. people, it is SO handy. it shaves hours off of my life, insteaded of constantly opening and closing bottles, i just snap open the day of the week and i'm done.

another tale from comanche:
kaiya: miss mann do you want to come to my chuck e. cheese party? you can bring your daughter.
me: i don't have a daughter.
kaiya: oh, you can bring your little boy.
me: i don't have a little boy either.
kaiya: your husband?!
me: nope, no husband.
kaiya: miss mann you're STILL not married?!

these things still inspire me. add to the list candles, spain, and cherry blossoms. and SPRING.

i got accepted to rockhust.
Master's of Education here i come.

good day to you.

just pay attention.

this work week i've exuded great effort in the morning. i wake up on time, get ready efficiently and have time to sit and watch the today show while consumning my oatmeal and coffee. i leave at a comfortable time and get to work with minutes to spare. it's been a good, stress free week of mornings.

until today.

this morning went as previously mentioned. however. as i was leaving my house i ran through my mental checklist. coffee? check. lunch?* check. ID? check. good to go. i turn off the lights, make sure the door is locked (from the inside), and shut the door. as i do this i realize my car is locked, my house is locked. and my keys are inside. i whispered a quiet curse word into the cold stillness of the morning and freaked.

i call my roommate, who at 7:40 is already teaching, no answer. i call adam who i know is sleeping, but phew he answers. what do i do? no one knows. so i decide my roommate's parents house is close by, i'm sure they have a key. after walking in the bitter cold down to their house, no one is home. so i asked adam what i didn't want to have to ask; to come get me. what a great bf.

but here is the glass half full part, the silver lining if you will. as i sat on the front porch of a semi-unfamiliar family's house FREEZING, i decided this didn't matter. i would be a little late to work, i would be a little cold, but this is not life-threatening. i am alive and fine. as decide this, i look across the still, quiet street and see a huge red cardinal sitting in a bush that is just twigs. it was stunning. then i looked overhead and saw a flock of geese flying just above the tree line. it was so still and quiet that i could hear their great wings flapping. the beauty of the morning had captured me. the line from the mary oliver poem just pay attention came to mind.

if i had chosen to become worked up, frustrated and obsessed with looking at the clock i would've missed it.
but choosing peace, choosing to be in the moment, i discovered a bit of life that i wouldn't have disovered otherwise. i thank God for that. also coffee.

AMEN.

*after finally getting to work, i realized i only remembered a part of my lunch - forgetting my lean cusine has left me with a diet coke, an apple and yogurt.

so this is the new year...

...and i don't feel any different.

blogging has been seriously slacking. blame it on my excess amount of time to make me too busy to blog. wait. that doesn't make much sense, but it seems true. too much time for other things.
like this:


i've enjoyed kansas city, wichita and cedar rapids. i've enjoyed movies and food and friends. i've slept less, watched wheel of fortune less, and worked less. all in all it's been fun.

tomorrow i go back to work, back to the real world, back to THIS.



something i learned at church today:
every gift you have is a spiritual gift.

amen.