...you can't do that...

i have always wanted to be a painter and i decided that this summer in colorado i would try my hand at painting. i just finished painting the background to my painting and even though it is such a small accomplishment i feel so "good"... 

i have found that i tell myself often that "i can't do things"...i have the personality that if i can't do something perfectly or completely i won't even try it...my goal this summer is to challenge myself to do things that i have in the past told myself "i can't do"... for example...i went hiking with friends yesterday and wanted to stop so many times but made myself keep going. i think too many times i take the "easy" way out and don't challenge myself. i don't want to live that kind of life...i want to challenge myself physically and spiritually...i want to press towards the goal...because in all reality i can do a LOT of things that i once told myself i couldn't do...

philippians 3:14 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

camp nurse katie

i'm a camp nurse this summer in fort collins, colorado and i am LOVING it! basically i put band-aids on scrapes and tell kids to drink water all while looking outside at the mountains of colorado...i couldn't have asked for a better job this summer....

found this parking sign at a high school in estes park and thought it very appropriate to take a picture with it...

the drive...

leaving my last apartment in florida to start the journey to colorado....

after day 1 of driving i got to stay with jamie and aj in atlanta and have a "life-changing" burger

as you can see by my face i was ready to tackle day 2 of driving

this picture was taken right before i drove through an apocalypse of tornados and torrential rains and high winds....the Lord directed the wheels of my car and kept me safe...thank you JESUS!

armed with starbucks for my third and final day of travel...this was the longest day of driving, which ended up being almost 12 HOURS!!!

this is the view at the house i was staying at in colorado springs before i headed up to fort collins....SO worth the long days of driving....

new adventures

yesterday i set out on a new life adventure and i think i'm going to have fun! a friend shared this verse with me in regards to my new adventure...

 You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.

isaiah 55:12

i asked a boy out

i have always wanted to ask a guy out. i thought it would be a fun thing to do and kind of empowering...

well i did it and here is how it went down...

i have an unhealthy addiction to starbucks coffee and i go there every morning before work. because of this addiction i had been spending lots of money and was considering giving it up for a while until i met him... 

since i go to the same starbucks every morning i had started to notice one particular barista. my roommate goes to the same starbucks quite a bit to work and she knew exactly who i was talking about. we'll call him don juan...just to protect the innocent...haha!! so every morning that i would come to this particular starbucks i would see don juan and give him some of my "killer smiles". i have been complimented on my smile lots so i have to tell myself to be careful who i give my smiles out to....

one particular day sara and i were going through the drive thru and don juan and another one of our favorite baristas were like...how do you girls know each other? we told them we were roommates and then don juan tells sara that i like to smile a lot and sara and i laugh because we both know my smile gets me in trouble sometimes...or at least noticed...

after that interaction the guys started giving me free coffee! score! so not only was i able to see this guy who i had a little crush on everyday but i was also getting free coffee... these morning interactions continued and the smiles continued to be exchanged. so a couple fridays ago i decided i was going to ask him out. i had sara do a little recon to make sure he didn't have a girlfriend...she talked to him and found out he did not and that he really did like my smile...

so on that fateful friday morning i decided to ask him out...i pulled up to the drive thru window and said...you know don juan...you keep giving me free drinks...i think i'm going to owe you a drink pretty soon...he smiled and said ok...i asked him when he got off of work and told him i would be back to talk to him...

we went out on a date and have another one planned...he did tell me that he and the other barista called me smiley until they found out what my name was...i will take that nickname any day...

5k

i ran my very first 5k this past saturday. the first time i have ever run a mile without stopping was last year and saturday was the first time i had ever run 3.1 miles. 

a nurse that i work with was like we should run a 5k and i was like ok. i have been trying to become a runner. my training is by no means the best way to train but it somehow worked for me. it kind of looked like this...

i know i can run a mile so i'll do that a few times. then one day i decided to run around the lake by my house which is 1.25 miles...i decided to do that for a little bit combined with walking around it once. well one day i was like i can go a little further so i made it to running 2 miles...then i would add .10 segments to my distance...before saturday i had never run 3.1 miles...they have tons of different training plans out there to prepare people to run a 5k...maybe WHEN i train for my next 5k i'll use one of those fancy training tools...

i rode with my friend susan to the race site...we got there a little early and i was nervous...we picked up our packets and then waited in the car until it was about time to start. at the start of the race i just kept telling myself keep your feet moving and go as slow as you need to. i only had two goals when running...run the whole thing and do it under 45 minutes. 

as i am standing there getting ready to run i pick out a good song to get the momentum started..they announce the start and we are off...we are going at a slow pace and i am completely ok with it. susan and i had decided at the beginning that if either one of us wanted to run ahead that was ok...we stuck together the whole time...as we were running we go to a point where we saw people who were already on their way back...i was like WHAT??? but didn't let it bother me and just kept running...when we got to the 1mile mark there were kids cheering us on...i began to tear up because i started thinking about how i couldn't even run a mile last year....we continued on and i teared up again at the 1.5 mile mark and again at the 2 mile mark...once we were past that mark i just started watching what was around me and began making goals in my head of where to run to next...i kept running and felt good the whole time. i kept praying and saying... 

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH

as we continued to run i spotted the 3 mile mark ahead and i was like i'm almost done and i couldn't believe it. as we got closer to the finish line the cheering got louder and i decided to run a little faster. i crossed the finish line and burst in to tears...I DID IT!!! i ran my very first 5k and i did it in 43:08. i met both of my goals. i didn't realize it would be so emotional but then i started thinking about it...i had always told myself that i would never be a runner and that i couldn't do it. well I DID IT and I AM becoming a runner. it made me think about other things in my life where i might not be pushing myself enough and wondering what needs to change...

the moral of the story is...YOU CAN DO IT...whatever it is you keep telling yourself you can't do...YOU CAN...i did it and i believe you can too...and God believes in you more than i do!

my friend susan and me

after the big race!

online dating...the search for my LOBSTER

when i was home at Christmas my sister signed me up for online dating. she said she wants me to be happy so i should at least try it to find my mr. right. 

so this far in to the game i have started talking to one person and have had interest from a few more. some of the ones who have shown interest seem nice and then others i look at their profiles and i say...

..."oh my word...you could be my dad"...

i had coffee last night with the person i had been talking to and i woke up this morning and decided he is not my LOBSTER. he makes me laugh and has a relationship with the Lord but there was something that was missing. now i have the unfortunate task of telling him i think there is someone out there who is better for both of us. i never want to hurt anyone and i feel like telling someone that you don't like them more than a friend is really hard and can be really hurtful...

in all of this online dating stuff i decided before hand that i would always be honest and upfront. i am 28 now and i don't have to apologize for what i like and don't like or what i want or don't want. i say all that because i have finally come to really live by this. i am a people pleaser and i don't have to be...especially in this situation.

some of you...who am i kidding? there are only like two people who read this thing...so the two of you who read this may be thinking why does she keep talking about seafood :) i heard the phrase "he is her lobster" on an episode of friends and it has kind of stuck. the thought behind that is that lobsters mate for life...i just did a little research and that is false but it won't be false for me...once i find my LOBSTER i will not let him go :)