kaylanaut!

things and thoughts

2013-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

OH HI FRIENDS, LONG TIME NO SEE!

I think. Wait, how long has it been? I don't even know, I think since life lately has been full and lovely and I have lost track of time and stuff. So, just to peek my head in, see how y'all are doing, and share what I'm up to, I'm opting for bullet points because bullet points are easy on the eyes and the brain (which seems to be operating a little slowly today)!

I guess I look like a chipmunk when I'm happy? AW CUTES

There has been baseball. A lot of baseball. Hell, Jordan and I bought cable just to increase the amount of baseball in our lives exponentially. I am saving my baseball diatribe for some other day, but boy howdy, I'll tell ya one thing -- very little in my world has the ability to send me into extreme euphoria and deep dark depression so suddenly.
Speaking of baseball, my favorite team, the Oakland A's, recently had a Star Trek fireworks night, and of course Jordan and I had to come together and make a sign to bring with us to the game. You know, it's two of our favorite things that you'll rarely if ever see together, so it was a very special occasion!

Finally getting caught up with Project Life, but not with sharing it here on the blog! I have a couple weeks that are still waiting to be photographed and put up, but I am still having such a blast with that project. I just ordered the Midnight Core Kit (designed by Liz Tamanaha) and I'm excited to see if/how it influences my spreads!
My friends know me very well. Case in point: this video of a pug and a cat was posted to my Facebook page and it just brought me unbridled joy. I am a simple person.

I got my first StitchFix* yesterday! At the time of writing this I actually haven't opened this box, so I can't exactly say how it went, but here's hoping I love at least *one* thing in there. ;) I have high hopes!!
Lastly, I just gotta give some serious big ups to Stephanie, who I affectionately refer to as my "blogging bestie," for writing this courageous post about her weight, health, and self-confidence. So proud of her for being so honest and for taking charge like she's doing.

I hope you are all doing well, and I'm hoping to get up and going in some more regular capacity here on the blog soon. But for now, I bid you adieu! <3

*full disclosure: so this is totally a referral link. if you click it and read about it and end up trying StitchFix out, I get $25 towards my next box. I don't usually do that kind of stuff, but oh well whatever I'm doin' it anyway! [Oh, and possibly thank you in advance!]

project life - week 16

2013-05-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Week sixteen, still playing catch-up.

It's really a matter of just collecting all of my photos and getting them printed! I'm really hoping to catch up with the 2-3 weeks I'm behind this weekend/upcoming week, but between kayaking adventures, baseball (lol I totally just wrote "babeball," that's gotta be a thing somewhere but I'm scared to google it) games, and just general decompression/hang-out time, it's been tricky to hunker down in front of a computer, edit photos, and then make the trip out to Costco.

This week felt like a bunch of little things, nothing momentous, but that is also so important to capture -- it's what this project is all about! It's about real life, not "real life but only the prettiest parts, duh," right?

Not entirely satisfied with my week marker and that "goodbye April" card, if we're being honest, but I was working on this in a bit of a rush right before a social commitment. That real life thing again, though, right?

The card on the left is from the latest Studio Calico Project Life kit... and unfortunately it's a bit hard to read when captured in a page protector with not-the-greatest lighting. I circled "PERFECTLY IMPERFECT," and an arrow pointing to the photo of an iron burn that happened when I thought it was a good idea to do crafty things while at home sick from work. Lesson learned.

Don't tell the left side, but I definitely prefer the right side of this week's spread, if only for that screenshot of the epic Oakland A's 19-inning win and the awesome journaling card beside it. It makes me warm and happy.

Epic!

The bottom right is a photo I snapped of Jordan and I on the couch, where I drank tea and watched him play Bioshock Infinite. The "you're my cup of tea" stamp is from the Give A Girl A... "Tea for 2" stamp set, and pretty much everything else is from Studio Calico.

Still very much in love with this project, but I can see how getting behind can throw your "system" and schedule all outta whack! I blame that whole getting married business... ;) I'm also very much looking forward to the availability of the PL Midnight Edition core kit, though! Perhaps that'll breathe new life into my process.

How are my fellow Project Life-rs doing?

adventures in kayaking

2013-05-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

Jordan and I have been trying out different ways to stay active lately, and it's been a bit of trial and error. He tried running, which he really enjoyed, but suffered terrible shin splints; I hated going to gyms and felt like my yoga practice could use some supplementing... so when Jordan brought up the idea of taking a sea kayaking class, my head went:

Hey, that's a great idea! That would be a lot of fun----OH SHIT WAIT IT'S WATER AND OCEANS AND A LITTLE BOAT WITH ME IN IT WHAT HAVE I DONE

Some backstory: Despite growing up in Phoenix where I somehow survived 120-degree summers, I hated swimming. It started around the time I was about 10 and went on a school field trip, I got caught in a riptide while at a beach hundreds of miles away from home. Since that incident, I may dip my feet if I'm feeling ballsy, but for the most part I'll stay on land. This fear overflowed into swimming pools as well, but had morphed into something a bit different -- I just found the concept of bopping around a hole in the ground filled with water rather silly.

Seriously, though, let's think about this for a minute -- I can jump out of an airplane, but I can't flop around in an ocean? Whatever.

But for the sake of being brave, trying new things, seeking adventure, and staying active and healthy, I put my foot down and said "Hey fears, STFU! Let's do this!"

So the day comes along, we have a hearty breakfast, we head out, we go through training, don the wetsuits and life vests and splash skirts, and drag these heavy-ass single-person kayaks down to the dock. I get into mine with little issue, manage to paddle my way into our designated "classroom" area of the bay, and all in all I'm doing pretty alright until our lunch break, which a) gave me time to think, and b) meant the next half of the day was focused on rescuing.

Rescuing. Meaning, like, if you fall over and your boat is upside down in the middle of the ocean with you in it, here is what you do.

I understand the importance of this, I really truly do, but it didn't keep me from going into a panic for our lunch hour. Like a full on I can't do this this was a terrible idea why did I think I'd be able to do this I am terrified I'll sit it out I'll just go home I won't be able to breathe I'll get stuck inside the kayak I will totally drown despite the fact that I know how to swim and I have a life vest on and the kayak isn't as constricting as it seems I will absolutely definitely definitely drown today

Jordan was very sweet and reassuring, and by the end of the lunch break I managed to get to "I'll just fucking do it and get it over with, it might not be as scary as I'm making it out to be and there are professionals there to save me if I am about to die."

And so I did, I did it, and the part that I was worried about -- the tipping myself over and escaping my boat in order to get to the water's surface and back to air part -- was the least of my problems. I'll tell ya, I had a hell of a time with self-rescue. Water is heavy when it's absorbed into all of your shit. It's a fine line between being bundled enough to not freeze, and not having enough clothing on to keep you from being able to easily lift yourself onto a kayak. Sneakers were a bad choice. A slightly-too-loose life vest was a bad choice.

I had a hard time. A really hard time.

But I made it.

However, after the rescuing portion was over. when the instructors said, "Okay, we have about 45 minutes -- who wants to go back to shore and who wants to go over to that area over there with all those waves and all that wind to see a pretty view and put those skills to the test?" Needless to say, I opted for going back. I was cold and grumpy and just wanted to get into dry clothing and go home and take a nap.

This ended up being a very smart decision, as Jordan and the other student who went to that "pretty view" area of the wavy-ass ocean ended up flipping their kayaks several times, and Jordan even ended up with some motion sickness once he arrived at the dock nearly an hour later. Meanwhile, I'm dry (and unfortunately going commando, because of course I remember Q-Tips but not underwear) and happy as a clam to be on land. Hell, I was even proud that I made it through the rescuing! And doubly-happy that I'd kept up with reapplying sunscreen so I didn't walk out of there painfully beet-red!

All-in-all, I am proud of myself for pushing through my fears and completing the class, as well as knowing my boundaries. I don't regret going. I'm not sure if I'd do it again anytime soon, but maybe something will click down the line and I'll find myself drawn back to it? Today, right now, I'm glad to have my feet planted on earth and my clothing dry. I think Jordan is planning on giving it another go, so perhaps his experience will pull me back to it as well. After all, the hardest part - the learning - is over, right?

(Also, for the record: sorry, but salty frizzy "beach hair" is not sexy, it's gross. Just sayin'.)

pining for greenery

2013-05-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Without fail, springtime and sunshine bring a terrible itch for me to plant things and grow things. Last summer, Jordan and I started an admittedly ambitious potted garden on our back porch, which... it didn't fare so well.

So what is one to do when they're itching for pretty growy green things, but their thumb is anything but green?

Succulents and air plants. Duh.

I've been scouring Etsy for ideas, and I've stumbled across quite a few gorgeous set ups that I am determined to use as inspiration for my own journey into the world of succulents and tillandsia. The neat thing about air plants - aside from the fact that they need very little attention - is that they can grow in all kinds of different environments, so the creative options are endless!

Here are a few of my favorite succulent and air plant Etsy finds:

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And I would be remiss if I didn't include this one (which I have to sit on my hands not to impulsively purchase immediately, though by the time of this blog post, I promise nothing):

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Oh, Etsy, you inspiring hub of awesomeness, you. I'll be sure to share what I come up with when I manage to make it to one of our local nurseries!

project life - week 15

2013-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Week 15! Playing catch-up! Almost there...

A relatively simple, quiet week. Lots of trips to Ikea (since we're not moving nearly as soon as we thought we would be, I think we're nesting...), lots of coffee, lots of sunshine.

It's somewhat unfortunate that since subscribing to the Project Life kit from Studio Calico, I've been neglecting the Seafoam core kit that I started this Project Life excursion with! Tried to pull that out again, even if just for the "THIS IS WHAT LIFE LOOKS LIKE" card. The color aqua seems to be my jam lately, so it works perfectly. Not to mention it seems to match the skies we've been seeing a lot of here in the bay area this last week!

Loving the super-cute Tea for 2 stamp set from Kellie Winnell/Give A Girl A... considering how much coffee and tea I drink, this stamp set had to belong to me! Also used the Dear Lizzy "HELLO THERE" stamp from her 5th and Frolic line. I am very pleased with the orange polkadot rug and teal curtain duo I picked out for my room - really brightens the place up! Pogo appears to agree.

Using my favorite white pen from Uni-Ball, the Signo white ink pen. Seriously, this pen is rad - writes perfectly, thickly, and easily on photos! The DC Deck Building Game was played many times this week. Also, that honey? OMG DELICIOUS.

I took that self-portrait (not a selfie; perhaps I'm in the minority but I hope that word dies a painful fiery death) outside of our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, where Jordan also works as a busser once a week. He had texted me "orange poppyseed pancakes today!" and I grabbed my purse and ran out the door. Needless to say they were incredible!!

Almost caught up with PL! One more week and I'll be good to go. I am still so in love with this project, and so thankful that it's made documenting one of the biggest years of my life so easy and fun!

life lately.

2013-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Life lately has been sick days, quiet days, baseball days, catch-up days, caffeinated-beverage-heavy days. Days where you look down on the ground and see a piece of paper with words written on it that are always good to hear, something you needed to hear, confirmation that you're making progress but that there is still work to do. It's discovering amazingly delicious tea, tears being shed over glorious nineteen-inning wins. It's laughing, crying, and being moved in a movie theater full of like-minded nerds as your favorite starship captain gets assimilated into the Borg. It's watching my husband play the bass guitar and sing songs about robot takeovers and radioactive Godzilla and dates with zombies.

It's scrambling for blog content, sweet text messages from blog buddies letting me know I'm missed, it's finally beginning to understand how to sign my name without hesitation and mild confusion. It's selling my car and trying to forget about that money in my savings account. It's productive, quiet Sunday mornings. It's reevaluating priorities.

It's all good.

project life - week 14

2013-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Fear not - I am alive, and I am still working on my Project Life book! I'm skipping week 13 here on the blog, as that was the week I focused solely on our wedding reception/commitment party, and I definitely don't have the permission of every guest to post their faces all over the blog.

These last 3 spreads have been very wedding- and marriage-focused... and with a lot of inserts. Mostly 4x6 inserts, as these weeks have been photo heavy (Understatement of the Year!). So, to keep the focus mostly on the images of this last month or so of my life, I kept embellishment and journaling down to a minimum.

I didn't, however, keep inserts to a minimum! There are 2 in this spread.

We took a mini-honeymoon and rented a cabin in Big Sur, where we wandered through forests, built fires, ate smores, and played board games. (Gunship: First Strike is awesome, in case you were wondering!)

Pfeiffer Beach was awesome! Very windy (and thus had a lot of YOU'RE-GONNA-EAT-SAND-WITH-THIS-GUST-OF-WIND), but the waves were massive, the rock formations were neat, and there was purple sand. Seriously!

Using up some Studio Calico Project Life kit cards in this insert, because I was running pretty low on 3x4 photos.

We also went and saw the A's play the Astro's on our way back into town, and got incredible seats (it was our honeymoon, duh!) and the A's won, 11-2. Woohoo!

Wood veneer hearts from Freckled Fawn felt perfectly in place hanging out with a massive, ancient redwood! Jordan, however, was not enthused about hanging out inside of one himself... but was sure to note that I "looked like a damn pretty wood elf." I'll take it!

All in all, it was a stellar, perfect honeymoon. So happy to have captured this time in my life using the Project Life system... so easy, and yet so versatile!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day, everyone! I will be spending it recovering from some sort of bug, laying on the couch and resenting that I'm not curled up with a book in a warm, summery sunbeam outside somewhere. Lovely weather, terrible timing to catch a virus!

peek-a-boo!

2013-05-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

My domain name registration was up for renewal and I renewed it -- so that's a good sign, if anyone was worried about my possibly pulling an Amy Morby* and letting this blog just sit dormant indefinitely. I like blogging, I do! I am just strapped for content! I'm working on it!

(That was just as much for me as it was for you. Moving on...!)

I am popping in to share something fun. I'll probably lose some of you here, but hey it's my blog you ain't my momma i'm 25 years old i do what i want -- video games! I said it!

Really, it's a video game trailer. Er, actually, two video game trailers. But really they're incredible and I think gamers and non-gamers alike will enjoy them (not to mention they're each only about two minutes long!).

Are you into TONS OF PUNS? Are you into smooooooooooooth talkin'? Are you into having yourself a good hearty giggle? Do you think boats are neat?

If you said yes to any of those, or if your curiosity is piqued AT ALL, click play.

Ship just got real:

Awesome, right? How about some more? Can you even handle any more? I DON'T KNOW BUT LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT ANYWAY,

Round two!:

Seriously, any trailer that says "for-realzies good-dealzies" instantly has my heart. This is probably my favorite game trailer in recent memory (except man, that Crysis 2 trailer with "New York, New York" playing in the background continues to haunt me). It's just fun. +5 Smart Marketing Bonus!

At any rate, I hope you got a nice little laugh out of that. Maybe I'll get back into the swing of this whole blogging thing once I hit publish. I do have some Project Life spreads that need some air...

Hope you're all well! <3

*I totally still miss Amy Morby

waiting...

2013-04-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

... on blog inspiration to hit. Just haven't been feelin' it lately, which bums me out but I'm going to allow it. So, while I'm off letting life happen and hopefully start feeling the tug of blogspiration (gag I definitely just said that didn't I) again, I'm going to ask that you a) bear with me, and b) watch this video of this cat licking a vacuum cleaner because it is funny:

Meanwhile, I'll be out and about on Instagram and hey, maybe even Twitter! I don't really tweet too much but maybe I'll get into the habit. ;)

I'll be back!

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a party, in photos

2013-04-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a very small, intimate gathering of some of our friends and family to eat food, play board games (which, to be honest, didn't get played nearly as much as we thought - but that means conversations took priority which is even better!) and to celebrate our commitment with those closest to us.

Jordan and I both felt so extremely loved and so immensely grateful for the experience and the people we are honored to call our friends and family. Y'all are the best. Seriously, wouldn't trade you for the world.

(There are way more photos than this, to be sure, but I wasn't sure about posting pictures of people who aren't like, directly connected to me and spoken of about all the time on the blog without their OK!)

Oh, and one more:

Representin' BLOB. (I am clearly terrible at "gang" signs.)

on my way back to normal.

2013-04-16T14:10:00.003-07:00

Hello, blog! Long time no see. It's been a crazy week or so, hence it being pretty quiet on the blog front! Please forgive me while I get a hold of my bearings and start settling back into the day-to-day again after all of this fun marriage stuff.

In the meantime, LOOK AT MAH FANCY HAIR-DO! brb, still swooning...

I'll be back with some more pictures and stories and goodness soon. <3

project life - week eleven

2013-04-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Week eleven! Another fairly simple week, but one not without it's charm...

Like days spent skipping rocks, watching rabbits, and completing pretty projects.

Nothing too flashy, and so happy with my phone being able to take such quick photos!

We may have had sore right shoulders the next couple of days, but it was absolutely worth it.

On the right, a few snapshots, saying goodbye to my makeshift SkyMall bookmark of a potty-trained, weird-lookin' cat, a Dio reference, a Star Trek reference, and hella oranges.

Again, not a very eventful week, but it works. :)

Those of you Project Life-rs, what do you fill your pockets with for the quiet weeks?

some brilliance for your wednesday.

2013-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

My heroes consist of Carl Sagan, Wonder Woman, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, and... Reggie Watts:

Click play. Enjoy the next 9 minutes of having your mind blown by awesome. Thank me later.

a foggy hike, and a strange discovery

2013-04-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

There's a really gorgeous state park close to us here in Oakland called the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. It's a lovely, easy hike through big trees (ones that Jordan can name and I certainly can't), and we made our way out to Sibley on a day when we were feeling a little low-energy and in the mood for a easy hike a few hours before sundown.

However, in the evenings here in the Bay Area, fog rolls in pretty consistently and turns everything a fascinating, albeit somewhat eerie, grey:

But we trekked on, loving the cool air and the eerie mist and the perfect quiet.

And then we came around a bend, expecting to come to the top of the particular trail we were walking, but instead saw this:

... ???

...

Weird crazy electrical wires and tall chain link fences! What -- why would -- very interesting!

Jordan used his masculine manliness to take this piece of pipe that was definitely straight before this photo was taken and twist it*:

Then he turned the camera on me, which he is also good at:

It was a nice, invigorating hike, turned very... industrially-weird. But fascinating nonetheless! California truly has some, well, unique places.

* this is a lie. sorry.

project life - week ten

2013-04-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

So proud of myself -- even with all that getting married business, I'm still able to stay up-to-date with Project Life (knock on wood!). I guess that's one of the bonuses to having a very small ceremony! Now, if only I could keep up with blog posts...

Despite keeping up, my spreads for week 10 (and the upcoming 11) are fairly basic. Not a whole lot of embellishment... but that's totally okay. When I first started Project Life, I had a rush of "omg this is going to be so fun! I'm going to use all the things!" But didn't really grasp that it's okay not to use anything other than my own words and pictures. Embellishments have their time and place, to be sure, and they're tons of fun -- but not necessary.

I love that Jordan has not only been patient with my photo-taking (he is not a huge fan of having his picture taken), but has also been participating -- he cut out where he wrote my birthdate in binary and put a heart around it and gave it to me. Naturally, it goes in the binder!

He did, however, ask me what I was doing when I stood up on a chair and started taking pictures of those garbage bags. "For Project Life," I said. "You're taking pictures of trash?" "Well, yeah!" "Huh." I realize that is probably a strange idea to most who don't do Project Life or memory-keeping of some kind, so I understand.

I've been holding onto that San Pellegrino can topper for weeks... glad it finally made it in there, because seriously those things are addicting and it is totally ridiculous.

Oh, and here's a fun thing: I am now the proud owner of a Silhouette Portrait. Shit is about to get faaaaaaaaaaaancy!

Wedding in Pictures (and a few captions...)

2013-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Wait, it's like, you mean, forever forever?" JUST KIDDING, JUST KIDDING

B was telling me something here about Denzel Washington that I didn't entirely understand, and I'm so glad that this face was captured...

And now, what is probably my favorite picture of all time ever:

Thank you to my best bro, Jimmy, for taking these photos of our super-rad super-chill marriage ceremony!

30 Days of Lists, days 19-30

2013-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

First of all: thank you all so very much for all of your kind words and well-wishes on my last post! You are the very best around, and I truly appreciate it. <3

Just like during last September's run of 30 Days of Lists, I finished my last list and felt a bit sad, like when you are giving a good friend a big hug before they board a plane and move cross-country. Bittersweet! However, much like the good friend, I know I'll see it again -- come this September. :)

Here are the rest of my lists from this month's project:

As per the usual, you can view them all in their full glory at my Flickr page, and they're also viewable on Instagram.

Here's what my book looks like at completion:

There is a proud, happy feeling I get from looking at a book I made that's just too thick to close completely on it's own! It's chock full of fun lists, pretty paper, and a fantastic snapshot of what my life is like right now, this month.

Thanks, 30 Days of Lists. It's been tons of fun. See you again later this year! And I hope to see some of you blog-buddies of mine whippin' up your own lists come September as well. ;)

Have a great weekend!

The Blog Post Where Kayla Talks About Her Impending Nuptuals.

2013-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

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I'm getting married on Monday.

Like, really, truly, paperwork-filed-with-the-government, now-a-Mrs., changin'-my-last-name, filing-my-taxes-differently-from-here-on-out married.

I distinctly remember being around 15 years old, bright pink hair and dark eyeliner, looking at myself in the bathroom mirror at my father's house in north Phoenix, and wondering if I could ever really be loved by anyone. It was a pretty deep and dark moment for a 15 year old, to be sure, but it was legit -- my life was spent getting pretty much what felt like only half-love, part-love, off-kilter-love, sick-love, sad-love, just-not-quite-right-love, obligated-love, backwards-love, and all I wanted at that time was... well, that year, it was probably the Zach Braff in Garden State to my quirky (but not dying) Natalie Portman in Garden State. The "other," "better" half of me, the person I would be able to tell everything to, the sweet stuff out of all those movies and books. I felt very broken in that moment, unlovable, too "weird," my standards too high, my brain too bogged down with the surreal depictions of dreams of love disguised as real life by way of poetry and poppy songs on CD-Rs.

I didn't think it'd happen. And my relationships up until this one just furthered that belief - that gooey shit doesn't exist, there's no Zach Braff, there's no love without some kind of catch, some kind of "Well, I guess this is just how it is and I'll just have to deal" deal. "It could be worse, look at my parents." There was no bliss, just... "I guess I'm okay."

Then one night on top of Indian Rock on my 22nd birthday, everything changed.

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Now, over three years later, I get to declare my commitment in a very permanent way to the one person that brings me that bliss. The one dude who I can look dead in the eye and easily say, "yes, absolutely, forever," and totally mean it -- and hear it right back.

The fifteen year old in me has her fucking MIND BLOWN BY THIS EVERY DAY. Hell, the 25 year old current me has her mind blown by this every day!

This is not at all scary for me, as many people would have me believe - all that "cold feet" business has yet to show it's face, and really I think I might just laugh into it if it does. I'm not scared. There are no doubts. Take those feelings in your stomach that you got on Christmas Eve when you were seven years old, or the night before boarding a plane prior to a long, exciting vacation, and quadruple that, and you might get an idea of how I'm feeling right now. Happy anxious nervous ready certain smitten. It's really something.

We're having a small, extremely intimate trip to City Hall. I'm wearing a $30 dress and some crocheted TOMS, with 3 other people there, quiet and private, followed by going to see the A's play the Mariners for their opening day. No massive ceremony, no long line of bridesmaids in ugly dresses and thousands of dollars wasted on a fluffy, fleeting spectacle. We are investing in a marriage, not a wedding; we are preparing for a life, not a ceremony. We will wake up on Tuesday and our relationship, our dynamic will be the same. I'll still do totally weird things and he'll still be patient with me, he'll still make ridiculous jokes to which I'll audibly sigh in response but inside be laughing at pretty hard. I'll still default to Big Spoon, we'll still play video games, I'll still make silly (and at times inappropriate) fart noises, he'll still write awesome songs, we'll still keep arguments to a rarity and opt for discussions instead. We'll still give eachother knowing looks when some girl walks by wearing Uggs, pajama pants, a poofy jacket, a Minnie Mouse purse, and a trucker cap (that person really exists, I saw her yesterday on a commute train).

We'll still adore one another.

I am so, so thankful for his existence. For his patience and his big heart and his ability to make me laugh and feel safe. I am so thankful that I get to wake up every day, knowing I have him in my corner, and that we're a team. I am totally the luckiest. (Bonus that he's good-lookin'.) I am so excited to start this new chapter of our lives together.

And that's The Blog Post Where Kayla Talks About Her Impending Nuptuals. Thanks for reading.

tell it from a mountain, The Oatmeal!

2013-03-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

TIPPING & TOOTING

A comic about people who wait tables

[the oatmeal]

If you read one thing today, please let it be this. You'll get a good giggle, and it brings up some seriously legit points regarding those of us who've worked service jobs.

And please, for all that is holy -- tip your servers and baristas. Truth is, they probably make shit hourly wages, and tips are their lifeline (I know mine were when I was slinging coffee). Consider that they might be having a hard day if the service is less than stellar, look back on your bad days, and practice compassion. Retail, food, and customer service is really hard work.

Lastly: I've totally been Little Miss FartRobin, and I guarantee you she did her best to hold it in but sometimes that falafel wrap you had for lunch just catches up with you, and of course you're going to try and play it off like "maybe they'll just think my shoes are squeaky."

I bet you've been Little Miss FartRobin too at one point or another. Embrace the Tiny Trumpet!

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30 Days of Lists, days 10-18

2013-03-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

While it's almost the end of the March edition of 30 Days of Lists, I'm still catching up in sharing my lists here with you! Here are my lists from days 10-18:

It's funny, just as I feel I'm getting into "the groove" with #30Lists, suddenly it's day twenty-five! I guess that means I'll just have to keep the listing going strong until the September edition rolls along. ;)

As always, you can see larger, fuller views of my lists on Flickr, and follow along daily on Instagram.

How are my other 30 Days of Lists-ers (?!) doing? Still going strong? And any non-Listers feeling the itch to join in next time?

project life - week nine

2013-03-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

First things first: I'm sure we've all heard about (and begun the mourning process for) the demise of Google Reader. I saw a boom in followers via Bloglovin', and I invite you to follow me there as well! I'll most likely be using Feedly for my RSS needs, but I hope that you stick around, no matter what venue you choose. :)

Follow me via Bloglovin'

Week nine! My excitement for this project is still enough to fill buckets. Big buckets!

This week was an interesting one... not entirely due to the content, but the straight-up shenanigans involved on Sunday while pulling together photos.

Usually I'll send my pictures down to the local Walgreens, walk the few blocks, pick them up in an hour, and get to work, to finish before Jordan gets home around 3:30pm. The quality of Walgreens photos was never exactly my favorite (glossy gets a big ol' yuck face from me but for the convenience I dealt with it), but this batch was balls awful. Terribly oversaturated, colors were all wrong, the photos had been sharpened to visible pixels... I couldn't deal. I tried, and I just couldn't deal. So I made the choice to drive the 20/30 minutes to Richmond so I could go to Costco. I've heard really good things about Costco from other Project Lifers, so it was time to just take the plunge.

Here's the fun part: I don't have a Costco membership.

So, because I was hellbent on getting my PL spread done TODAY, I brainstormed my roommate/pal Jimmy, and we came up with the following solution:

Step One: Instead of registering for a membership online and waiting 2 days for an ID number to be issued, we'd drive out to Costco, go halfsies on a membership, and get IDs and cards issued right on site.

Step Two: Instead of driving back home to place my photo order, only to drive back to Costco in an hour to pick up my photos, I would install a remote desktop app on my phone so I could access my home computer from my cell phone and place the order that way. (!!! That's some James Bond shit! I'd say MacGyver but there were no paperclips or chewing gum involved.) Technology is AWESOME!

Step Three: Wait for photos to be developed. Stand in terribly long line for a delicious, delicious churro.

Step Four: ?????

Step Five: Profit.

And by "profit" I mean have some AWESOME, perfectly-toned, high quality photos (and a delicious $1 churro). Don't regret this investment (and the insane steps it took to make it happen) one bit!

The product of our adventure:

Left side:

Our trip to Joaquin Miller Park.

Right side:

My craft table, my new haircut, readjusted to include the Costco adventure, pieces from my first Studio Calico Project Life kit, my new favorite afternoon beverage, some journaling, high school best friends, and sushi night!

Insert:

So special to me, this picture! One 4x6 insert cut out of a 6x12 American Crafts insert, originally made to hold three 4x6 photos. It flops around a bit, but oh well. :)

Ha! Presenting: Kayla, the High School/Art School years

2013-03-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

I just had to drop in and share this hilarious photo that my BFFAATIS* Terena sent me recently, of the two of us from high school:

BAHAHAHAHA. Holy raccoon-eyes, Batman! Clearly, I was practicing my pouty "all life is pain" face that I picked up from all those 60's Jean-Luc Godard new wave movies I watched too many of, and Terena's showing off her ABC** sandwich. Both of us sporting our "A VOTE FOR 50 CENT IS A VOTE FOR CHANGE" pins, courtesy of the free table at the Willow House.

So dark, so angsty, so... art school. Epic. I am so glad this exists.

*BFFAATIS: Best Friends Forever And Always Together [In Spirit]
**ABC: Already Been Chewed (duh!)

some thoughts for a monday.

2013-03-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, someone else says everything exactly the way you wish you could, captures with their words exactly how you feel, and it is just beyond awesome. Case in point:

I don’t want to be a designer, a marketer, an illustrator, a brander, a social media consultant, a multi-platform guru, an interface wizard, a writer of copy, a technological assistant, an applicator, an aesthetic king, a notable user, a profit-maximizer, a bottom-line analyzer, a meme generator, a hit tracker, a re-poster, a sponsored blogger, a starred commentator, an online retailer, a viral relayer, a handle, a font or a page. I don’t want to be linked in, tuned in, ‘liked’, incorporated, listed or programmed.  I don’t want to be a brand, a representative, an ambassador, a bestseller or a chart-topper. I don’t want to be a human resource or part of your human capital.

I don’t want to be an entrepreneur of myself.

Don’t listen to the founders, the employers, the newspapers, the pundits, the editors, the forecasters, the researchers, the branders, the career counselors, the prime minister, the job market, Michel Foucault or your haughty brother in finance – there’s something else!

I want to be a lover, a teacher, a wanderer, an assembler of words, a sculptor of immaterial, a maker of instruments, a Socratic philosopher and an erratic muse. I want to be a community center, a piece of art, a wonky cursive script and an old-growth tree! I want to be a disrupter, a creator, an apocalyptic visionary, a master of reconfiguration,  a hypocritical parent, an illegal download and a choose-your-own-adventure! I want to be a renegade agitator!  A licker of ice cream! An organizer of mischief! A released charge! A double jump on the trampoline! A wayward youth! A volunteer! A partner.

I want to be a curator of myself, an anti-preneur, a person.

Unlimited availabilities. No followers required. Only friends.

>> The anti-preneur manifesto [adbusters.org]

i like: OhLife

2013-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Moment of Truth: I haven't spent much of my life caring to document it. I can say, solidly and sadly, that most of my life I had deemed too shitty to really care about keeping track of in one way or another. Sure, there was LiveJournal and sure, there was my not-so-stellar "creative non-fiction prose poetry" (!!!), but the day to day stuff? Why would I want to document panic attacks and a seriously crumbled family system?

And then I got older, moved on and out of bad situations, began cultivating a life I love, found out what happy feels like, and suddenly I'm struck with the desire to make sure I remember this. The big things - the marriage proposals, the moves, the new jobs - those are all wonderful and beautiful in their own right, but they're not easily forgotten. The little things, like what movie I saw, what new food I tried, what the every day looked like for me, those things are so easily lost. And the thought of that just makes my heart ache, because this is what life is made of and I just want to keep it.

Enter: This blog. Enter: Project Life. Enter: OhLife.

OhLife is a website with a simple premise: you get one e-mail a day (or week, or however frequently you want) that asks you how your day went. You reply back with an answer, right in the e-mail, no matter how short or long, interesting or dull, and it's archived in an online "diary library" of sorts, only visible to you. And if you don't reply back, that's cool, don't sweat -- you'll have another chance tomorrow.

I've been using this system for about a few weeks now, and have found it to be a nice supplement to my Project Life, and also just a satisfying way of journaling. Most of my time I've at the very least got my phone with me, if I'm not already at a computer (working on that!) so it's no big deal to just reply back with how my day went. Some days I write a lot, other days - like last night - I wrote "Tacos with Jordan, Jimmy and Vernon -- really tired today! ZZZZzzzzz" And some days I skip entirely because I'm in the middle of something and forget to come back to it, or I just don't have anything to say, and that's totally fine. It's very stripped down, just text, so there's no pressure to make things pretty - just stories, that's it. (I think they are working on a functionality to add photos, though, if that's your bag!)

I really like using OhLife as a way to get an overview of my days, where I use apps like Diaro and Catch to take notes and capture little thing throughout my day. Paired with Wunderlist, I've got all of my note-taking, list-making, and memory-keeping covered!

... Unless I break my phone and my computer explodes, anyway. But I swear I still have notebooks! ;)

How do you collect your moments and stories?

project life - week eight

2013-03-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Week eight, still having a blast!

On the left:

Was feeling a little more muted than usual with this spread, it seems... makes for good variety, I suppose! Nothing too flashy.

My party dress came in the mail and it fits so wonderfully. The woman who made it sent a very sweet letter, and I had to include it!

A shot of the Vallejo-Benicia bridge at night, a Who/What/When/Where/Why card explaining why I was out there (card from the Seafoam core kit), some pretty stairs. Little bit of washi tape, some thickers for the title and an Avery label for the header card, but other than that, little to no embellishment.

On the right:

Same kind of deal -- no major embellishments. Trying my hand at simplicity, I suppose, and I must say that it's almost as difficult as adding details! Some washi tape, some thickers, some alpha stickers, and a Week In Review stamp.

Insert:

It's 30 Days of List time, and it took me awhile figuring out how I'd include my lists in my Project Life binder. I came up with ordering some Design F page protectors and cutting off 3 of the 3x4 card spots on the edge, leaving just the 4x6 and seven 3x4 slots:

It's a perfect way to include my #30Lists book in my spread! I'll put week 2 on the underside, and then include weeks 3 and 4 in an identical fashion in week 10.

Is anyone else participating in 30 Days of Lists and doing Project Life? If so, are you including your listing in your binder? If you are, I'd love to know how you're tackling it!!