Have a "Horrible" Halloween!

I know I've posted this once before on this blog, but I think it's fan-freaking-tastic and Halloween-y enough to repost:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

You must invest approximately 42 minutes of your time to fully enjoy this. It is all worth it.


Happy Halloween!

First Snow

I muttered and complained all day.

Glared at the snow-happy physics TA.

Put my sith lord peacoat hood on.


But tonight, I'm warming to the idea.

Threw on my Old Navy pajamas with penguins on them.

Made candy cane hot cocoa.

Embraced the oncoming winter, if only for one very fleeting night.

what kind of blue are you?

I've been meaning to write this for some time now, but thank you to all of you who recommended jeans to me! In the past three weeks I have tried on H&M, Forever 21 (can't beat $13 skinny jeans), 7s, It! jeans, Vigoss, Express, True Religions, and...one other that I can't remember right now. The point is, I was willing to plunk down $120 for True Religions at Nordstrom Rack, but they didn't fit. How lame is that? I have a friend who works at Buckle who's going to set me up with a jean fitting, so hopefully I will be able to find some that fit like a glove (for lack of a more interesting cliché).

Also, I miss Rockband.

Dear Family,

Can I maybe borrow it and the Xbox for a week? Probably Jeff would kill me, but it would do wonders for my stress levels.

Love, Katie

love, save the empty

I'm sitting in my room listening to the rain fall. Today I was in the homecoming parade, handing out balloons marked with "50th Anniversary- Ballroom Dance Company Annual Concert April [whatever the date is that I can't think of right now, but you should all buy tickets from me and come when it rolls around]" to little kids. It was actually really fun. All of the other teams had to dance lindy, but we did not (and did not have to spend the time to learn the routine), as we have already sacrificed enough time to the ballroom gods lately.
This week was sort of weird for me. I got back from tour and jumped right back into school...except kept doing performances with Homecoming Spectacular all week too...so it was like tour...only at home... (odd thing number one) somehow I managed to get all the way caught up with my schoolwork by Tuesday night (odd thing number two). Granted, this took failing (ok, so I use that term loosely) a physics test (perfectly normal), but at least it's over. This white cat with one blue eye and one green eye has been wandering around my apartment complex (odd thing number three). I named it Francis in my head as it followed me back and forth between my apartment and the laundry room a couple days ago. Both of my classes were canceled on Thursday (odd thing number four). It was national chemistry week, and I ate liquid nitrogen ice cream every other day. I finished my physics homework that's due Monday on Friday (odd thing number five).

I feel a little...off kilter? maybe? I'm not sure what I'm "supposed" to be doing with myself now...I could leave on a mission next fall. I could do study abroad next fall. I could stay on the team and go to Thailand next summer. I could do more research and get a paper published. I could, I could, I could.

But what is it that I should?

Hmmm.

I should go study for American Christianity.

Happy weekend everyone. :)

currently listening to:

Originally, this was going to be a post about how much I like the lyrics of "If it Kills Me" by Jason Mraz. It morphed into a list of three artists I think you would all enjoy.

Recommendation One: Jason Mraz

Pretty sure you've all listened to him before.
Let me just say that "If it Kills Me" is an awesome, awesome song, both the Casa Nova version and the regular one.

Recommendation Two: Erin McCarley

She has this Ingrid Michaelson/Sara Bareilles vibe going on that I absolutely love.
Listen to "Pony (It's Ok)" or "Love, Save the Empty."

Recommendation Three: Renan Luce

Probably you won't appreciate him as much as I do, because he is French and I am automatically inclined to like all things French...but, he has this nice acoustic-y, sort of Sondre Lerche-esque sound with this gorgeous French voice. My favorite French artist thus far. (Let's see how many times I can get "French" into one description...that would be five)
Listen to "La Lettre" or "Mes Racines"

What are your current favorite artists/songs?

i can do hard things, i can do hard things, i can do hard things

This afternoon quickly spiraled into a I-need-a-cupcake-or-fudge and I-want-to-hurl-glass-beakers-at-the-concrete-walls-of-the-chemistry-building sort of day.

Me and physics have the rockiest relationship.

:(

time is all around

As of 5:10 this morning, I am back to reality.

Tour was so much fun this year. I knew what to expect and what not to expect (vacation-like experience, I don't think so), so it was a lot more enjoyable. We got to see some cool things like the beach (we didn't get to swim, but we did get to get our feet wet), the Reagan Presidential Library (which has his Air Force 1 plane in it, the entire, huge, actual plane. It was awesome.), the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (shopped at H&M and got a delicious ham and cheese crepe), Downtown Disney, multiple temples, Hollywood, In-N-Out, and more. The thing that always strikes me when we tour is how generous people are. We stay with host families every night, and they are always so welcoming, so willing to do whatever to make us comfortable. You have the chance to see people from all walks of life and from all socioeconomic statuses, but everyone has the same high level of hospitality. It's awesome. It's also great to go to church in different cities and see that it's still the same, no matter where you go. The members believe the same things, give talks on the same subjects, testify of the same doctrine everywhere in the world. What a testimony of the truthfulness, stability, and unity of the church.

The forecast for this week is:
three tests
three extra homework assignments that should've already been done
two 5-11 pm rehearsals for Homecoming Spectacular
two performances for Homecoming Spectacular
one morning full of balloon handing out for the Homecoming Spectacular parade

May I be blessed with three extra hours in the day and twice as much brainpower for the next seven days...

crack the shutters

This website is really funny. I saw it on Amanda's facebook, and it made me laugh out loud in the dressing room earlier.

We're in Lancaster, CA right now. It's finally sunny! It rained all yesterday and the day before (perhaps misted is a better word). We got to explore Downtown Disney yesterday, without actually entering the theme park. This was rather depressing and led to us deciding to do a weekend roadtrip to Disneyland next semester. Instead of riding rides, we ran around the little shops, settling on the Lego store to spend most of our time. Becky, Ryan, Jared, Daniel, and I built an Egyptian pyramid, and then an obelisk, and then a reflecting pool, and then a sphinx. It was awesome. That night we performed on an extremely small stage in a theater without air conditioning. We were swwweeeeeaaaatttttyyyy.
This morning we went to Santa Monica. Some people went to the pier. I did not because it's a one time only experience, and I believe I am at least twice past that quota. Instead, Toffer, Ian, and I headed to the 3rd Street Promenade for some rad shopping. I think I just might start a blog series about jean shopping, I have done it so much lately (and I'm pretty much desperate for some good fitting jeans. If you have any brand suggestions for girls whose jeans are always too tight in the hips and too loose in the waist, let me know).

Tonight we're performing in an awesome venue. Another performance in Oxnard tomorrow, a matinee in Long Beach on Saturday (my cousin Nick and grandma are coming! I'm really excited to see them!), and we are on our way back.

So I have two more days to prepare to take three tests when I get home.

Maybe I will drop out of college and become a stage crew member instead.

Just kidding.

Sort of.