What if...

The other day someone told me I would make a good writer.  I just laughed at them.  Yes, I am creative, but I'm not that kind of creative.  
Well then I started thinking... what if?  What if I was an author?  A singer?  A seriously legit photographer?  What would I write/sing/photograph?
So I sat and pondered, and these are the answers I came up with for my three ultimate dream jobs.


AUTHOR:  I would FO' SHO' write children's books.  I would write about pretty princesses, dastardly dragons, evil witches, handsome princes (oh, the handsome princes!), curious creatures, and far-off fairy filled fantasy lands.  Is it so wrong that I love using literary devices like alliteration, simile, parallelism, and imagery even on this silly little blog?  Just look through my blog entries and you'll see that I use them all the time... sad and pathetic?  Maybe.  Awesomely cool?  Probably.  And there would be beautiful artwork, even if I was writing a "chapter book" as I used to call them when I was younger.  One of my favorite books of all time is The Voyage of the Bassett, and it is a chapter book with some of the most beautiful artwork of any book I've seen with a fantastical story that makes your imagination soar.  That is the kind of book I would write.


SINGER:  I want to be a rockstar and I LOVE to sing... in the shower, in the car, at church, into my hairbrush... everywhere and anywhere.  (Don't EVEN pretend like you don't sing into your hairbrush too or play the drums on your steering wheel...)  I'm not fabulous, but I'm not terrible either (at least I don't think so...).  What would I sing about if I ever became a famous performer?  I would sing about how beautiful each of us are, no matter our differences.  I would sing about mending a broken heart.  I would sing about the thrill of new love, and about the intense longing when it feels like you will never experience it for yourself.  I would sing about feeling good about myself, even on bad hair days, fat days, blue days, pms days, and all the other days in between.  I would sing about Christ, His love for me and my love for Him.  I would sing about the joy the Gospel brings to my life.  Mostly I would sing from my heart, the experiences I've had and the things I want to experience before this life is over.  And I would get paid for it instead of being told to shut up.


PHOTOGRAPHER:  I know what you're thinking...  Kim is already the best photographer I know!  (Just humor me, okay??)  But not everybody thinks that.  SO... if I were a professional photographer with a studio and people recommending me to other people, and people booking sessions months in advance to get a shoot with me instead of me having to beg and plead with people to book me, I would really like to specialize in couples portraiture, and especially in engagements.  For now, I am a renaissance girl when it comes to photography and I shoot everything and anything, but I ADORE shooting engagement portraits.  Those are almost always my favorite shoots.  I love the love that you can see, and the tender moments that I secretly capture in between shots when the couple is unaware the camera is still pointed at them.  Something I've learned recently... shooting kids is hard!!  When they don't want to cooperate, it shows.  I kinda like the challenge though :)




What if... ?

THE Gift

Every Christmas there is at least one gift that is THE gift and I am so excited to give it.  This year, that gift was my mom's gift.  I made her a box to keep all her letters from Zack in.  I was SOOO happy with how it turned out.

Front (sorry it's blurry)

Close up of Front details

Side. 

Back.  I took that picture of the temple.  Isn't it a beautiful picture?  When I have a house I'm going to blow it up and hang it on the wall.

Close up of back.

Other side.  I also took the picture of the Angel Moroni.  I'm also going to blow that one up and hang it in my future home.

Top.  My favorite side.

Close up of the top.

I love this trunk.  It turned out way better than I had even originally imagined it.  It was a lot of tedious and difficult work to make it, but my mom's reaction made the hours upon hours spent on this all worth it.  I think I might make one for Zachary too...

Christmas is:

Homemade gifts wrapped in pretty paper with pretty bows and pretty gift tags.

 Lights, lights, and more lights.

 Free tickets to Universal Studios and a day of goofing off together.

 Ginormous Christmas trees (this one courtesy of Disneyland)

Family, minus one.  

 Having fun with best friends.

 The Castle all lit up at night time.

Christmas fireworks at Disneyland and snow on Mainstreet.  (I've been three times so far and plan on trying to go again next week before Christmas)

Christmas is a lot of things this year, but most importantly of all, Christmas is a time for us to remember our Savior.  I loved teaching my Primary children about the greatest gift of all today in Sunday School.  Me: "Today we're going to learn about the best, most amazing, most awesome gift in the WHOLE WORLD."  

Kids: "Better than a lime green beach cruiser?"  "Better than legos?"  

Me:  "Yes.  Better than all of those things."  

Kid:  "I don't know about that.  Legos are the best thing ever."

I hope that at this wonderful time of year, we can enjoy the gifts, lights, trees, and fireworks, but that we can also remember why we have gifts, lights, and trees.  I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father loves me enough to send the greatest gift of all, His Son.

The "H" Kids

Some of my favorites from the shoot I did this weekend for my friend Kami.  She has the most beautiful kids, doesn't she?  And they are just as sweet and well-behaved as they are adorable.

You wish you were this cool!

 Seriously.  Don't you wish you were this cool?  Santa laughed at me and told me he was old when I said I wanted to take the picture as a self portrait instead of having someone else take it.  Good times.  All I could think while taking this picture was "SANTAAAAAA!!!!!!!  I KNOW HIM!!!"

My friend Megan took a picture with her phone of me taking a picture with Santa.  So awesome.

It's That Time of the Year!

I am so super duper excited for Christmas this year.  Last year I was kind of a Scrooge and was not excited for Christmas.  No matter what I did, I could not seem to get into the Christmas spirit.  This year, however, I have slipped right in to the spirit of the season.

-I have almost all of my shopping done (only 2 gifts left to buy, one of which I already know what I'm buying, I just haven't bought it yet)
-I have seen the Holiday Fireworks show at Disneyland twice already and it's only December 1st (It's okay to be jealous... in fact, you should be.)
-I bought sweet new pj pants for Christmas at Old Navy for $5 the day after Thanksgiving
-I took my picture with Santa (Best Santa Picture EVER.  I'll post it as soon as Megan email's it to me *cough, cough*)
-I plan on buying a pair of those super trendy slipper boots... I love them!  I might buy them in a couple of colors :)
-Bought a card that you can record your own message on.  Going to record my infamous Will Ferrel inspired version of "Silver Bells" to send to Zack.  GOULET!!

I want to know who else is excited for Christmas!  What are you most looking forward to this year?

More

Do you ever wish you were more?

More humble
More patient
More loving
More beautiful
More skinny
More creative
More wealthy
More intelligent
More active
More more more

I know that there are a lot of times when I wish I was more... something.   There are many times when I feel so inadequate.  So lonely, so lost, so under-appreciated, so invisible.  And I know that if anybody even reads this, they feel that way some of the time too.  This month on facebook, a friend challenged me to post something I am grateful/thankful for everyday in the month of November.  Doing this everyday has helped me see just how much the Lord has blessed me with.  It has helped me see more of His tender mercies and feel His love and his Spirit more strongly in my life.
This past week I had an amazing experience.  I had been praying for something for a little while, and through a simple invitation, I answered someone else's prayers, which in turn answered mine.  The Lord truly loves me and He hears and answers our prayers.
One of my all-time favorite scriptures is in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 6, verse 20 "Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.  Behold I am Jesus Christ the Son of God."  There are so many days when I just need a big hug, and what could possibly be better than Christ encircling me in His love?  That verse has such an impact on me every time I read it.  I have always struggled to believe in myself, and this scripture reminds me that the Savior is ready with His arms wide open waiting to scoop me up in His tender embrace.
The Lord has given me so much, and while there are things in my life I struggle with (lack of friendship, feelings of inadequacy, self-esteem, my weight) I know that He loves me and has blessed me with talents that I can develop (photography, intelligence, compassion, kindness, patience).
So in addition to the things I'm going to continue to post on facebook, here are 30 things I am grateful for:

1.  The Gospel.  I would be so lost with out the knowledge I have because of it.
2.  My husband.  The Lord went to a lot of trouble to put Nick in my path, and I thank Him everyday.
3.  Zachary, Elder Kitterman.  He is such an example and has inspired me to become a better person.
4.  Sierra.  Her laughter, her love, her give it to me straight up attitude.  She is my best friend.
5.  The scriptures.  Knowledge, power, answers, inspiration - I find so much strength within their pages
6.  The temple.  Within it's walls I know I can always find peace and comfort and feel my Savior's love in abundance.  And how grateful I am to know that I have forever instead of " 'til death do us part."
7.  Photography.  It has been such a bright spot in my life ever since I got my camera almost 2 years ago.
8.  Ice cream.  Mmmmmmmmm
9.  Panera in Temecula.  Life is good.
10.  Chocolate and Peanut butter.  They were made for each other.  Best way to eat a banana?  Spread on some peanut butter, dip into bag of mini chocolate chips, bite.  Repeat until banana is gone.  The same goes for apple slices.
11.  My Ex Boyfriends.  It sounds funny, but I am thankful for each boyfriend/fling/crush because they each taught me an important lesson about what kind of man I wanted, as well as invaluable lessons about myself and the kind of person I am/want to be, and if I hadn't dated each one, I don't think I would have ever given my husband a chance.
12.  My journal.  What a mind saver.  It seriously keeps me sane.
13.  Batman flannel.  I will be even more grateful for it in about a week once it has been transformed into Batman pajama pants.
14.  Crochet hooks and yarn.  Call me an old lady, but I love to crochet.
15.  Sleep.  Oh how I love you sleep, and wish we could spend more time together.
16.  Bella.  I know there will always be someone so excited to see me they practically wet themselves.
17.  My Primary Kiddos.  They teach me SOOOOO much more than I teach them, and I love them more than I ever thought possible.
18.  BYU.  I may not have finished what I started there, but I learned more about myself in those two years than I ever would have been able to otherwise.  I am the woman I am today because of the friendships I developed and experiences I had there.
19.  Hoodies.  I would LIVE in a hoodie everyday of the year if the weather permitted.
20.  High heels.  Kind of contradictory to #19, but I would also wear high heels every day of the year if my feet permitted.  They just make me feel so sexy.
21.  Flat Irons.  My hair would be a hot mess without them.
22.  Megan.  I love you so much Megs.  You know why I am grateful for you.
23.  Pink Berry.  So darn delicious.
24.  Good Books.  I love to read and get lost in a world other than the one I live in.
25.  2011.  Nick's graduation, homeownership, parenthood (may actually be 2012).  Please?
26.  Music.  Joy, sorrow, gratitude, chillaxation, excitement, anger... so many emotions can be expressed and felt in so many different ways, each one unique and beautiful (most of the time)
27.  Tithing.  I have seen so many blessings in my life from this one simple commandment.
28.  My Job.  Even though most of the time I hate it, I am incredibly grateful that I have a job so I am able to pay my bills.  I know a lot of people that aren't as fortunate as I am.
29.  The Priesthood.  I have seen it work miracles and have been on the receiving end of a few of them.  I am grateful to have a husband who honors the priesthood and keeps himself worthy of it's power.
30.  Jesus Christ.  Of all of these things, I am probably most grateful for my Savior and His sacrifice.  He suffered, bled, and died for me.  He loves me and knows me better than I even know myself.  He has experienced every single emotion that I will ever feel so that He can know how best to comfort me.  And I know that if I keep His commandments, that He will encircle me in the arms of His love and I will be able to live with Him again someday.

Trick? Or Treat?

Personally, I prefer treats.

I made caramel apples today.  No, it is not homemade caramel, yes my apron does say "Will cook for Shoes."  And yes, I custom designed it myself.

Halloweenerific

Today I carved a pumpkin.

And it is a BOMB pumpkin.  I drew the whole thing free hand.  It's okay, you can (and should) be impressed.  I was asked "Did you do that for Zack?"  The answer is no!  Okay, so maybe the answer is actually yes.

Did I also mention that NOBODY would carve pumpkins with me?  So I carved my pumpkin all by myself.  Alone.  Kind of sad.  But the awesomeness of my pumpkin makes up for the fact that nobody wanted to hang out and carve pumpkins with me, and that to take a picture of myself with my pumpkin I had to put my camera on a self timer.

Then I made cupcakes for my Primary kiddos.  I think they turned out super cute.  They taste pretty good too...  Gotta love Halloween Funfetti cake mix on sale for $1.

Beginning

A little while ago I posted about Passion, and one of my passions is photography.  It has become such a big part of my life over the past 2 years and is slowly (very slowly) developing into something that earns me a little bit of money.  The other day I was thinking about my photography, about how much I enjoy it and trying to remember where it all started.
Oddly enough it started in Mexico.  Nick and I were on a cruise to celebrate our first anniversary (insert awww's and how cute's here) and were in Ensenada at La Bufador (the natural blow hole).  I told Nick to stand in front of the wall so I could take his picture when the waves came up... and missed it, and then missed it again, and missed it again, and finally gave up.  I remember being so frustrated with my camera and it's lack of speed.  It was just a simple point and shoot camera with the normal lag time that comes with them.  I remember thinking about how nice it would have been to have a "fancy camera" that could take multiple frames per second (actually it sounded more like "I just want to hold down the button and hear the camera go click, click, click, click and have it take lots of pictures in a row").  When we got home, I remember spending hours online researching cameras; Nikon vs Canon, this model vs that one, etc.  I was obsessed (I know, me?  Obsessed over something?  Hard to believe... just keep your laughter to a minimum).  Then the "saving up" process began.  Really I just talked about it incessantly to Nick until he finally agreed to buy it for me for Christmas :)  Sometimes it's good to be a girl.
And thus my passion was born.  After that fateful Christmas, my camera and I have developed a very close relationship, as you well know.
Nobody really spoke up last time, but I'm going to ask again.  What are your passions and where did they get their start?  Anybody have any interesting stories?

Boys

Usually boys are NOT fun to photograph.  They generally have a million things they would rather be doing than having you take pictures of them.  Not these boys.  They kept suggesting pictures for me to take, cracking jokes, laughing, smiling, and then they each wanted to have their own portrait taken!  It was so much fun to have cooperative boys to take pictures of :)  Love it.

Moments

I am a photographer, in case you hadn't heard (you should book a shoot with me, by-the-way).  Each photographer has their own style, favorite shots, angles, etc.  My ultimate favorite is when I capture a moment.  Not something posed or rehearsed, but something spontaneous.  I love it when I photograph a shoot and come home and upload my photos, and find one that makes me feel like I'm intruding on an intimate moment shared between two people, whoever those people might be.  I photographed a wedding this weekend, and managed to capture one of those moments, and oddly enough, it wasn't of the bride and groom.  It was of a bridesmaid and groomsman right after the bride and groom had exited the chapel and were greeting people.  I saw the bridesmaid lean over to whisper something to the groomsman, and knew in that moment that it would be a special picture.  I just wanted to share this moment with you.  It turned out to be one of my favorite shots of the day and I find myself drawn in and captivated by it.  Don't you just wonder what the secret it?

And just fyi, this is the original raw image.  No editing, no adjusting.  I love it when an image is perfect as is... it saves me a whole lot of time 

Bates Nut Farm

We went to Bates Nut Farm with my family this weekend and had a ton of fun!

 There were so many pumpkins to choose from!  It was neat to go through the fields and pick exactly which one we wanted.

 The one Nick and I chose was 113 lbs (thanks for paying Popsicle!).  Just for the record, we won.  The Stewart's pumpkin was 105 lbs and my families was 106 lbs...  We win.  Oh, and the back is ugly, but the front of the pumpkin is gorgeous, and it now looks beautiful sitting on our front porch :)

 My beautiful mother.  Even though it doesn't look like it, she is sitting on a pumpkin, just in case you were wondering...

 Mmmmmm....  I love old fashioned country stores with barrels of candy!

 These were some wind chimes they were selling.  Each one is made of an antique coffee/tea pot or a creamer or sugar bowl or the like.  They were kind of neat and made a really pretty tinkly musical sound.

Oh Baby, oh baby!!

I finally did it.  I went Mac.  And now that I've gone Mac, I'll never go back.  I love it.  LOVE.  I love my 27" Apple iMac.  The screen is gimungous, super clear, the colors are amazingly perfect, and my photography looks even better now that I'm viewing it on a beautiful screen.  Did I mention that I love it??  Weren't you curious why I was posting so much?  This is why...  I just want an excuse to me on the computer.  Love.

 Please disregard the fact that I look like a hobo.

New Link

I don't know how many of you follow my not updated often enough photography blog, but I changed to address to it
The new link is on the side bar, or if you're lazy, just click here.

Fat Girls Unite!!

Remember when I had that weight loss blog?  Probably not, because it was a really long time ago.   Anyway, I started it back up.  It is a safe haven for those who are struggling with their weight and want support and encouragement.  It is a private blog, so you have to be invited.  If you are struggling and want help, and want to join the Flab to Fab nation, email me your email address at kgrafton615 at hotmail dot com.  If you were a member of that blog before, then guess what?  You still are!!  Yay!  It's the exact same blog, I just gave it a facelift and deleted all the old posts so we could start fresh.  I would love to have your support and support you if you need it.

Grandma

September 30th was the seventh anniversary of my Grandmother's death. She and I were so close, and I still miss her everyday. She practically raised me for the first few years of my life because my parents had to work full time to support our family. She spent hours and hours reading to me and talking to me like a person, and not just a baby. She was such an amazing woman, difficult, but amazing. The temple was her favorite place in the whole world, and I promised myself that every year either on her birthday (September 1) or the anniversary of her death (September 30) I would go to the temple to honor her memory. It's something special I do to help stay close to her and feel her near me again. It's kind of like getting a big hug from her. This is probably the only picture I have of my Grandmother and I. I was three at the time.

Passion

This is going to be a long post. Feel free to read, or not, whichever you like.

Today I was thinking about passion versus apathy, hot versus cold. I like to think of myself as a passionate person. I tend to get very emotionally involved with people/things/places/etc very quickly, which can be both a blessing and a curse. My friends know that I am fiercely loyal and would walk over broken glass and hot coals if they needed anything from me. But what am I most passionate about? Am I using this personality trait to it's fullest potential?

My passions are as follows (in order): Family, The Temple, and Photography. At least for right now.

Family: I am ridiculously passionate about my family, especially my own little family of two. I love my husband with every fiber of my being, he is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. He keeps me grounded when I'm trying to get on the crazy train, and he still stares at me the way he did when we first started dating. I'm so lucky to have found him. He is evidence that the Lord knows me better than I know myself. I things had gone according to my plan, I would never have moved home from BYU, and who knows where I would be now. I'm so grateful for the bumpy road filled with stumbling blocks, big mistakes, and losers I dated so that I would be ready and humble enough to give the weird, creepy red-headed kid who stared at me all the time a chance to steal my heart. I'm also passionate about expanding our family. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that I'm pretty much obsessed with babies. I'm obsessed with planning our baby, naming our baby, "decorating" our hypothetical nursery, baby shower ideas, I even know what I want the baby to wear home from the hospital if we have a boy. It is practically all I think about all the time. I want so badly to be a mother, to start our family... I just feel like that is my true calling in life.

The Temple: I adore the temple. I always have. Growing up, my Grandparents taught me by example just how important the Temple is. It was my Grandmother's favorite place in the whole world, and now that I'm able to go to the Temple I know why she loved it so much. Even before I was able to go in, I would love going and just sitting on the grounds and feeling the Spirit that resides there. To this day, every time I am driving down the 5 south on my way to the San Diego Temple, and I round the corner just before La Jolla Village Drive and I see the Temple for the first time, it still makes me cry and gives me goosebumps every single time. The Temple truly is the house of the Lord. It rejuvenates me emotionally and mentally, and sometimes it even feels like I've been physically recharged as well. There is no place on this Earth that you can feel the Spirit so strongly and be so close to our Heavenly Father. I know that when I need answers to my prayers, or when I just need to feel my Savior's arms wrapped around me, I can go to the Temple and He will provide me with what I stand in need of.

Photography: I have always appreciated beauty. Beautiful people, beautiful things, beautiful places, and now with photography, I feel like I have found a way to contribute something beautiful to this world. Don't get mad at me, but I have never felt like a beautiful person, except when I was being professionally photographed. Now, as a photographer, I feel like I have the opportunity to make people feel good about themselves, especially those people who might not feel that way about themselves on a regular basis. When I look through my camera lens, I see the world in a different way. I feel like I'm able to better appreciate the little things and little moments. I get so excited when I'm able to capture a special moment in time in a beautiful way. Like when I was taking a client's maternity photos and asked the mother and father to look down at her pregnant belly, and the mother kept stealing loving glances at her husband as he looked tenderly at their unborn child. It's moments like that that make me fall in love with photography over and over again.

What is it about these particular things that make me feel so much passion? There are a million other things in this world that I could feel that way about, why these three in particular? These are things that make me happy, more happy than I can possibly express with words. They bring a smile to my face, help the stress of my day melt away, bring me pure joy, make life seem just a little easier. I feel like each also helps me become more beautiful, even if it is just on the inside. I feel like a better, more fulfilled person because I have these things in my life. Each helps me focus on the things that are most important in this world, the things that really and truly matter. Let's face it, when I leave this world, it's not going to matter if I managed to get down to a size 10 like I would give anything to, or if I stayed at a size 14 my whole life. It's not going to matter if I was an amazing cook or if I was just average (I'm pretty darn good, but that's beside the point). Those aren't things that are a priority in my life. Happiness, however, is a priority. I just want to spend my precious free times doing things that make me truly happy. I want to spend it with family, going to the temple, or behind the lens of a camera.

What are your passions? What are the things in life that bring you the most joy and put the biggest smile on your face?

I love my sister.

Slideshow

To see the slideshow from Zack's farewell, click here. Watch it, love it, be amazed at my skills.

Bishops

Today I am especially grateful for Bishops. I had my testimony that they are men called of God strengthened today.
About two weeks ago I had a lady in my ward call me and ask if I could make a slideshow for her in-law's big 50th wedding anniversary bash at the end of the month. Of course I said yes (I never say no) because Zachary was about to leave on his mission and I figured it would be something to keep me busy and distracted. She told me that she wanted to pay me (bonus!) so I was excited to have a little extra money for my birthday or to put away for Christmas or whatever. Well a few days after that, I found out that at the end of the month, I would have to start paying on my student loans (BOOOO), and hadn't planned for it, so I was going to be short just for this first month... but wait! I had said yes to this paying slideshow job! Perfect! Turns out, the slideshow was going to be $50 shy of what I needed for my student loans, which is exactly what I had to put toward them! So perfect.
So I put the slideshow together, and called the clients to come over before I started burning the 25 copies of the DVD that they were ordering, and they loved it. As they were leaving, they told me that they were really glad Bishop had mentioned my name when they had been talking about putting together a slideshow. *Insert shock face here* Bishop? Yeah, didn't we mention that before? Bishop is the one who gave us your name to call.
I don't know why on earth Bishop would have given them my name. It was definitely the promptings of the Spirit. There is no other way that of all the tech saavy people, photographers, and videographers in our ward and the ward that we split with a few years back he would have given them my name. No way. The only really decent slideshow I had ever done was the one for Zack's farewell.
I know that Bishops are men called of God to lead and guide and care for the well being of their congregations. It was really nice to experience that first hand, especially with everything that's been going on in my life lately. I love this Gospel. I love my Bishop. I'm so glad he listened to the promptings of the Spirit.

Almost...

It's almost my birthday. Just two more weeks. Feel free to shower me with gifts :) To make it easy on you, I've included links to some of my wish lists.

Nordstrom's
Amazon.com

Something Worth Leaving Behind

Sending Zachary off on a mission has left me feeling very reflective lately. He reported to the MTC on September 1, which also would have been my Grandmother's birthday. The more I thought about that coincidence in the weeks leading up to Zachary's departure, the more I realized that it was probably not a coincidence at all. I truly believe that particular day was selected as a reminder that she is watching out for him, and for all of us that she left behind. It was her little way of being a part of that day and saying, "I love you and I'm proud of you Zachary." As I think about that, I can see an image of her, surrounded by crowds of people... people whose lives will be affected directly, or indirectly, because of Zachary's mission; Children of the people he baptizes, and their children after them, friends of converts who are converted too, people on the street who see him and are curious about this gringo wearing a white shirt and tie, new generations of missionaries created because of the things he teaches... That image fills me with so much joy I can't even begin to describe it. That is truly something worth leaving behind.

Happy Hubby's Day!

Yesterday was my wonderful Hubby's birthday. I love him so much and wanted to do something special just for him, so I made his number one favorite meal... French Toast! Good thing I have a super easy going man who loves the simple things in life.Yuuuummmmm!!! French toast on Hawaiian bread with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Thick center cut bacon, and pork sausage links.This is Nick's plate after he finished. I think he liked it...Dessert :) I'm not a huge fan of cake, so I didn't want to make one. LOL. I decided to make yummy chocolate covered strawberries instead.

We both had to work all day, and be up early the next day, so we didn't do much other than eat dinner and then cuddle up under a big blanket (it was cold!!) and watch some of the tv shows we have recorded, which is honestly Nick's idea of a perfect night anyway. Nick has been BUGGING me for some new t-shirts, so I got him a ton of new shirts and a few pairs of shorts, and he was in heaven. Like I said... simple things. It's a good thing one of us is simple! Hahaha. Because we all know that I am far from simple.

I love my Nicholas so much. He is such an amazing husband. So sweet and thoughtful and patient with me. Anybody who puts up with me HAS to be an amazing person. He always puts me first, and it's the sweetest thing. Even on his day, he didn't want me to cook anything complicated because he felt bad asking me to be in the kitchen for a long time. I'm so glad that the Lord put him in my life, and prompted me to give the "creepy red-headed kid who stared at me all the time" a chance.

Elder Kitterman

Zachary reported to the MTC on Wednesday. Being able to be at his setting apart and dropping him off at the airport was an incredible experience. The Spirit that I felt surrounding our family was indescribable, and continues to linger even after he has gone. I miss him everyday, but I know that he is doing the Lord's work. Two years will fly by, and before I know it, I'll be posting pictures from his homecoming. So far I've managed to keep the crying to a minimum, with very little crying in public places. He is going to be such an amazing missionary and has always been such a great example, not just to his friends, but to his older sisters as well, and I know he will be an even better example to his (future) niece(s) and/or nephew(s) when he returns. I love this kid!

Love Afair

I'm having a love affair with this jewelry shop on Etsy. The Ardent Sparrow has super super SUPER cute jewelry. It is whimsical, vintage-y, and romantic. I love it. I will shortly be owning some of it (after I get my next paycheck)

Gimmee Shoes

I love this idea! I stole it off my friend Megan's blog, and she stole it from somewhere else. I think it is such a cool idea to get your shoes up off the floor, but wouldn't it get your walls dirty? Hmmm... We'll see. Someday when I get a home I'll figure it out.

Cuando, Cuando, Cuando

When: That's the question that has been on my mind alot lately.
When is my video camera going to work properly? When am I going to find time to finish everything I need to get done? When am I going to get to sit still for more than 30 seconds without having something I have to do? When am I going to get to have my own house with a room big enough for my bed AND a dresser? When am I going to have a job that I don't dread getting up for every morning? When am I going to work for a company that pays it's employees what they're worth? When is it going to be my turn to have a baby? When? When? WHEN?????
The Lord has been putting me through the ringer as of late; testing my patience, my stress levels, and my faith. Have I passed all of my tests? No. Unfortunately not... I've lost my patience, my cool, and often times, my mind.

I've got the fevah!

And the only perscription is... no, not cowbell. At least not this time. The only perscription is a baby. Every day that goes by is another day closer to my greatest wish finally coming true. Early next year is our timeline to start trying to get pregnant, and I must admit, I'm totally obsessed. I spend a ton of time looking at baby websites decorating theoretical nurseries (for boys and for girls), picking out baby names, all sorts of stuff. When I told someone that if I have a girl, I'm not doing a pink nursery because if she has red hair I don't want her to clash with her sheets/room, they laughed hysterically.
Nick is being so patient with me. When I run names by him, he just tells me that he has to hold our little boy or girl in his arms to know which name is right. I can't wait for that moment.

September

September: What does it mean to each of you? Back to school, leaves changing color, the end of Summer, and frickin awesome Earth, Wind, and Fire song... September means different things to different people. To me, this coming September represents a milestone in life... 25. A quarter of a century. Age has always been just a number to me, but for some reason, I'm struggling with this particular number. Due to this struggle, I have decided that a party, a fiesta, a soiree, shindig, get together, excursion, something is in order.

"Hey Kim, why the heck are you bringing this up now? Your birthday isn't for 10 weeks! You're such a silly goose..."

I'll tell you why: I want to make sure you all know that you're invited!! I must warn you: this will not be free. Much to my shagrin, money does not grow on trees (shocking, I know), and because it's my birthday and I can do what I want to, I want to do something awesome. This fun, exciting, riviting, amazing, bomb diggity thing I want to do will most likely run about $100 a person, perhaps less depending on what you choose to eat, but since it's my birthday, and I have great taste in food, you'll want to eat something good... trust me. Now before you tune me out, just listen to my plan, yes? Yes.

THE PLAN!!
-Get overly dressed up. I plan on wearing this awesome hair piece that I have been desperately looking for an excuse to wear (this was me trying it on when I first bought it. I have yet to actually wear it):

- Drive into LA (I'm hoping to have enough people go that this will involve more than one car... a girl can dream, can't she?)

- Eat at Roy's. Yummmmm....... SOOOO good!! I love this place, and the cool thing is that they have an awesome shuttle service that gets us from the restaurant to...

- A broadway musical at the Ahmanson Theatre. Leap of Faith is playing for my birthday, and I think it would be super fun to see. Review for Leap of Faith: " "Are you ready for a miracle?" World premiere musical bound for Broadway! You’ll be dancing in the aisles when con man Jonas Nightingale brings his gospel-charged tent revival to rain-starved Kansas. Based on the movie with Steve Martin, Leap of Faith boasts a brand new score from 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) and a Broadway-bound production directed and choreographed by Tony Award®-winner Rob Ashford, helmer of the recent Taper favorite" Wanna hear something that just might push you over the edge? It stars Raul Esparza and Brooke Shields. Pretty sweet.

So that's the plan. I think it's an awesome plan, but then again, I came up with the plan, so of course I'm going to think it's awesome. My birthday is September 23, so I'm thinking either the 18th or the 25th for the festivities to go down. If anyone would like to be a part of this epic adventure, just let me know! I'll probably need to know by the end of the month so we can get tickets to the show. Those of you desiring to come in from out of state may be able to crash at my parents house (at that point in time they will have 2 empty bedrooms, and 3 comfy couches), you just have to let me know so I can clear it with them. You will also have my love and gratitude forever more.

I will leave you with these, to remind all of you why you love me so stinking much: