jumbles

I'd give you my heart

But I'm afraid to say

It isn't my heart

That you're looking for today.

You're lost and confused

Dazed but amused

Covered by blinders

That you don't know you use

So open your eyes

How you may ask?

Well this could be

A quite difficult task

Turn to our lord

The lover of your soul

He knows you more

He can fill that hole.

the importance of making a bed

http://www.askousa.com/laundry/xxl_laundry/

I did it. I finally did my laundry. After it started to pile up onto my desk and all over my room I figured it was time. Three loads later, I've finally managed to get it all done and picked up. 

As I was putting the sheets back on my bed, I thought about how this had been a ritual that I had learned and continued with since kindergarten. I remember my mom teaching me how to make my bed, and while it never was perfect or even daily, it was definitely important. So then I got to thinking about just how imperative making your bed is (and all chores really...gag who am I? haha).

I think that productivity stems from making your bed. There's something about mustering up the motivation to actually place your sheets in an orderly fashion that sets you up for success for the rest of your day. So I've set a goal for myself to try and make my bed everyday. 

I challenge you to try it as well, dearest readers. I promise you'll start your day off right and that motivation will carryout throughout your day. 

who knows, maybe doing something simple as making your bed will give you the momentum to do something you see as impossible.  

{like major in architecture...}

found some adventure!

I'd venture to say

that this made my day

when I stepped on the bank 

of Hartwell, the lake

thank goodness for my kayaking class. There's nothing quite as relaxing as paddling on the lake after a hard week of classes. While it might take me a bit to convince myself that this class is worth the time, I definitely don't regret it once I'm on the water. 

I'm so grateful that my parents let me explore this interest as an adventurous 4th grader. I know kayaking will be a hobby I'll have for life.

tuesday night dinners

hello thereeeee readers!

mmmm those beautiful clemson sunsets

Today is a beautiful day in Clemson, SC. However, I've managed to sleep for 4 hours today (missed 2 classes...yikes). Considering that's how much I sleep on an average night, I'd say I'm ahead of the game! I got yet another night sleep just by napping today. holllllllaaaaa

so today is tuesday, which means one thing: Catholic Dinner.

Tuesday night dinner is a parishioner-provided-home-cooked-dinner with all the college kids from my parish in the basement of my church. It's become quite the tradition among my friends and I, and I haven't missed one yet this semester. I look forward to it so much simply because I love that sense of belonging, and crave the home cooked food (sometimes the dining hall just doesnt cut it). The people there are pretty interesting as well. Let me introduce you to a few:

1. the grumpy old priest: this guy is the man. he pretends to be a real grouch and his famous line is "have a nice day...if you want to". He'll occasionally even tell people to have a terrible day. He is loved by all and really has a sense of humor that appeals to college students. He's a spectacular people person, often remembering everyone's name and making really personable conversations. Underneath that tough facade is a loving heart and guiding spirit perfect for his position as parish priest.

2. the newbie: Every Catholic dinner you can bet there's a newbie. this person just looks uncomfortable and is disoriented at first but will soon become acquainted with the at home atmosphere of these habitual dinners. Everyone was once a newbie, so most people try to make other's first catholic dinner experience a good one. I still remember my first catholic dinner when my friend Mike and I decided to venture out and give it a try. Even though it was a bit awkward and felt like we just stepped back into the 90s, I'd say it was most definitely worth it.

3. the non-catholic friends: These people can be seen from a mile away. when asked if they attend St. Andrew's, they'll often reply with "umm, I'm still looking for a church now." Their Catholic friends try to make them feel at home and comfortable, yet they still feel a bit awkward when the youth minister brings around a sign up form for the weekly newsletter. They especially feel strange when someone at the table speaks of vocations or other catholic traditions that seem so foreign to those that weren't raised Catholic. I may or may not be responsible for supplying many of these attendees. While a lot of my friends aren't catholic, I still invite them weekly and they manage to show up. I mean, who wouldn't turn down free food?

4. the "I just want free food" guy: this guy sticks out like a sore thumb. usually the first in line and the first to leave, he's just in it for the free food. and you can bet that if the food is sub par, he's bouncing out. I don't blame him, the dining hall can get old sometimes.

5. the graduate: these guys are in a very in-between period of their lives. while they might have just graduated, they still hang around campus like it's their job, which they wouldn't do if they had one. We love these people but are sometimes left wondering...how old are you?

6. the Catholic dinner veteran: this person  knows the ins and outs of catholic dinner like the back of their hand. They often bring in the newbies and Fr. Jack knows them by name. I'd like to think that I'd be considered a veteran at this point after being acquainted with most of the regulars at tuesday dinners and also bringing anyone and everyone out that might want to join us for dinner. these veterans call st. andrews home and help make everyone else want to do the same.

the note that my friend mike left at my desk

So, happy tuesday my friends! Hope it's been spectacular

.

craving adventure.

I really want to go camping right now. I wish it were warmer already. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

i love boys that dress cute and wear bow ties...

Caution dearest readers, I'm about to be brutally and embarrassingly honest...
I've never been in a serious relationship for Valentine's day or any day for that matter... It's not like I haven't had the opportunity to have a relationship, I just don't want one right now for some reason. Don't get me wrong now, I don't want to be a lonely cat woman (hahah my name is kat...) but then again I don't want to be wasting my time pining over a boy. I do want love. true, unrelenting, sacrificial love. Like every other girl out there, I dream of meeting someone that will fit me just right. after all my exploring, there is only one place where I find that love right now though. it's in Jesus. He will lead me to such a love someday, and wherever he goes, that's where I want to be.

just gotta give it all away.

so my thoughts on finding Mr. Right? well I'm just going to let God do the finding for me. Let go, let God. 

A drop in the ocean..

this song came on last night in the studio and made me feel like climbing a mountain. Props to my little sis, annie for getting me hooked on it.

Well, as shown by my lack of posts recently, this semester has already been one filled to the brim with lots of things. I've been so busy with architecture during the week and then even busier with homework and trying to balance a social life during the weekends. I can't believe I'm already on my second semester... what whatttttttt!?

Today it is 70 degrees and absolutely beautiful outside. Days like today make me LOVE clemson even more than I do (I know, hard to imagine). It seems like Clemson is either the most beautiful place in the world or it is terrible/cloudy/rainy. There seems to be no in between. But I think I'll take those rainy days in exchange for days like today. It makes me want to run down bowman field in a long skirt singing "the hills are alive" like Fraulein Maria from The Sound of Music. ahhhhh so beautiful.

Studio has been slowly killing me, and I'm only in my first semester of it! this is no good my friends, I need to toughen up or something! Hopefully, I'll get into the groove of things soon. I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 hours in the studio yesterday...ridiculous! Right now, we are working on a project where we have to draft an object that has movement. Naturally, I chose a difficult object: a drawing compass. So now I'm left puzzled by this project and wondering if the whole semester is going to be like this... we shall see I suppose! 

In better news, Harcombe dining hall has stepped up their game. The meals have significantly improved this semester. The only complaint I have is the music. The emo-punk-rock-I'm-in-7th-grade-and-I'm-uncomfortable-with-myself  genre of music has got to go. I went to request something a tad lighter and pleasing to a larger crowd; however, the manager was busy talking with the sandwich ladies. So considering he was most likely giving them more pointers to make even more improvements, I quietly left the scene without speaking to him. no worries, I'll make my music request promptly if it doesn't change soon. I think he'll listen to me...I'm a valued customer. Actually, I think the dining hall might lose money on people like me because i'm there so much.......

I'm so excited right now. I have little to no homework this weekend (for the first time this semester), I'm listening to good music, I just got out of my last class for the day, and I have the whole weekend ahead of me.  Praise Jesus, life is so so so good. Now I'm off to pick out my outfit for tonight's festivities. Theme: 80s. Should be fun fun fun!

have a spectacular weekend, friends! 

I wish you all the happiness and adventures in the world!

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. Be happy now and if you show through your actions that you love others, including those who are poorer than you, you’ll give them happiness, too. It doesn’t take much –it can be just giving a smile. The world would be a much better place if everyone smiled more. So smile, be cheerful, be joyous that God loves you.” -Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

the history of art

I'm sitting in art history right now watching as my peers also neglect to pay attention and instead spend their time on facebook, email, pinterest, twitter, or youtube. The guy in front of me is currently watching videos of fights while the girl two seats down is using pinterest to plan even the most minute details of her future wedding. A few rows over, I can see a guy soundly sleeping as the rest of the class continues to waste away.

It really isn't their faults. The teacher turns down the lights, speaks in a very soft and soothing voice, and talks about the history of art. This isn't exactly the most stimulating of lessons. Therefore, we are all left gazing into cyberspace and finding boundless options to waste away our time with.

I find it utterly amazing that there are so many options for us to waste our time with. I wonder what kind of things we could achieve and what level of inner peace we might obtain if we didn't constantly have these distractions in our lives. It perplexes me that even Henry David Thoreau found his life filled with distractions even though he lived in such a simpler time. I long to sneak away into the woods and re-center myself like he did. To run away from the hectic everyday existence we carryout constantly. Who knows what would happen if we actually took the time to see.

Have a splendid day my friends, I wish you all the inner peace in the world! 

wow arch

Life is so busy these days. I've never in my life have experienced a workload like this. Studio takes so darn long, and this is only my first semester of a long long time of studio work. It's only gonna get harder...but I know that if God brought me to it, he'll bring me through it. This makes me extremely thankful for a multitude of things...

My family who always supports me (even from BR), my friends who listen to me complain about how much I have to do, my architecture friends who work along side me, and my God-given ability to complete these projects.

So much to do, but I know I'll get it done.

lesssgoo

where's waldo.

Sometimes it's so simple that we miss it completely.

 

School is starting. I oh no my classes are so hard. SAWdo I really have to go to studio.THE I'm getting fat. DEEP I eat too much. HOLE Do I have to buy all of these books.I  I just want to hang out and not go to classes. WAS Where is all of my money going.BURYING who will I invite to formal. MYSELFI don't think anyone likes me. IN why do I exist.

And immediately I knew that I had to quickly create an evacuation plan. 

As shown by my lack of posts lately, I went through a bit of a glum time. All of this negativity swarmed my life and all I could think about were my own problems and how I felt so different, so joyless. I tried to jump out of the hole by questioning my sadness and trying as hard as I could to find joy. You see, dearest readers, I focused so much on my problems (lack of joy) that I completely neglected to find the actual joy in my life. 

Finally when I couldn't reach the light at the end of the tunnel, I gave in and felt so hopeless. My mind tricked me into thinking that my life sucked and that I would never like clemson the same again along with other awful lies. I worried and felt insecure about every move I made. Anxiety filled my entire being until it hit me like a ton of bricks. BAM. I'd forgotten the order of things. 

I was so focused on all the bad things (that actually weren't that bad...just me being a drama mamma) that I consumed myself with these negative thoughts. I was holding on so tight to all of this negativity that I couldn't let any joy in. It was such a selfish thing. I was putting myself and my pointless problems first over all others in my life. All this sadness simply stemmed from me being so darn selfish. 

Joy is about putting others first

Jesus Others Yourself

so I set myself up to a challenge. I began praying even though it brought me little comfort. Then I began putting others before me simply by thinking about them. cheesy as it sounds, it actually worked. in no time I was back to loving life and loving clemson. (wow I'm such a cheeseball! hahaha) 

so dearest readers, I'd just like to share that tip with you today! Focus on Jesus and Others and You will automatically feel more satisfied and happier. Don't let the little monster bring you down in your own selfishness. conquer the monster and free your insides from it's captivity.

have a stellar rest of the week!