life in general

One one hand I feel like nothing much ever changes. On the other hand, I quit my job at the coffee shop to make more time for school, I'm moving out of the house I've lived in for the past year, and I'm almost done with my first term back in school. So here's a list of cliches that seem to fit my life right now....
-the more things change, the more they stay the same
-life is what you make of it
-the best things in life are free
-life is like a box of chocolates
-there's no time like the present
-life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away
-life is not fair, but life is not fair for everyone. That makes life fair
-live each day as if it were your last, but learn from each day as if you will live forever

the bug and me

here's a pic of calla and me. life is good from up high.

especially when pulling aunt kate's hair.

better picture

He's all the way up to 7 pounds!

time in Bend

not the best picture ever, but Josh is still pretty cute. It makes me smile that Owen LOVES his little brother and refers to him as Joshie. I had some good times with Owen, playing with Legos and drawing and poking play dough. He is so different from the last time that I saw him. It was great to be able to hang out with Scott and Alissa and their growing family a little bit.

fleece pants update

I know that you're all dying to know how my life has been since my fleece pants got eaten by a rabid animal. Well, I purchased a new pair of black fleece pants online, but they just weren't the same. I mean, I like them, but nothing was like my pants. But then, just when I had lost all hope, my mom picked me up at the airport with some purple husky pants. They're not quite the same, but they're good. Sometimes change is a good thing.

same old, same old

Things are standard. Life is good. I'm getting close to being done with the last of my undergrad beefing up, which will be glorious. Other than that, I'm excited to head down to the lower 48 on Monday to see my fam.

bears and eagles and whales?

I'm housesitting out Lutak Road (toward Skagway) and there's tons and tons of fish, which means tons of other wildlife... so here are few short stories...
Last sunday the dog, Tahvi, was pretty sure she could take on a brown bear. She scared it away.
Virtually every time I have left the house and gone across the river over the bridge an eagle has dive-bombed the car.
A couple days ago I was pretty sure I saw a whale out the window because it looked like it took a big breath out. It was just some sea otters, but it was still pretty cool.

New Maxwell?? HECK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

So, my 24th birthday was this past Sunday, and I got the best birthday present EVER! Joshua Todd Maxwell was born at 1:48 AM Sunday morning. I also celebrated by sitting in the back of a 15 passenger van with 12 8th graders from Tok to Haines. We went to an awesome youth conference in Anchorage over the weekend and got back on my birthday. I'll probably write more about the trip later, but for now I just felt the need to share with anyone and everyone that there is a new maxwell in the world!

for the sake of posting

Life has been standard still. I went to Whitehorse this weekend, and the most exciting part of that was going to Tim Hortons, A&W, and Boston Pizza. School is going well. I finish Econ and am now working on Behavioral Science. Not the most thrilling thing, but it's all good. I'm going to Anchorage on Wednesday with a bunch of kids, so I'm super stoked about that!

weekend story

So this weekend I went to the grocery store to look for pumpkin goo in a can. I went to the store that was closer to me at that point and asked about the magic orange stuff, but they were all out. But rather than be dismayed, I took heart and decided that the other store might have some. So I confidently walked out the door of the grocery store to my bike determined to ride to te other store and get some pumpkin goo in a can. But after 10 feet of riding my bike, a dog decided I looked rather threatening in my purple husky pants, and decided to attack them. Now, these were my favorite pants in the world, and this little weimaraner/pit bull mix thing ate them. I mean, she took a full on chunk out of the cloth. Better the cloth than my leg. Anyway, I went to the other grocery store determined to find pumpkin goo so as to make mini muffins and now perhaps find a new pair of fleece pants since the dog owner said she would buy me a new pair. But alas, there was no pumpkin goo to be found. So, rejected, I headed home, but only had 3 minutes before I headed off to a friend's house for game night. So, wanting to show off my pants, I didn't change. She lives relatively close, so I wouldn't take my car, but I felt a little shaky seeing as how a dog tried to eat my leg but had to settle for my pants, so I walked. And I called my mommy to tell her that a dog tried to eat me. As I was walkling to Natalie's house, talking to my mom, I saw my friends Lindsey and Ashley drive by. So I did what any self-respecting almost 24 year old would do, and promply ran after them shouting, "I want a ride!! I want a ride!" But, no dice. So I put the phone back up to my ear to talk to my mom again, only to hear a friendly voice call from across the street, "everything ok?" I guess it's not every day you see someone running down the street with pants in slight tatters shouting, "I want a ride!" I said, "yeah" and pressed on. I tried to tell my mom that I was ok and the dog did not in fact break my skin, only to see another friend, Jody, driving by. So what do I do? Again, I run down the middle of the road shouting, "I want a ride! I want a ride!" Then I saw the most magical sight I have seen in a while... break lights. So I got a ride the rest of the way up the hill and played games and all was well with the world. But I still want a new pair of pants.
Anyway, if you got this far, you must be bored, and I am sorry. I felt the need to post something, and this is the most exciting thing that happened in a while, so there ya go. I'll let you all know how the fleece pant shopping goes.

Legen... wait for it... almost there... dary.

How I Met Your Mother Season 4 came in yesterday. Awesome. My friends came over last night to watch the whole first disc. We should have it done by the end of this weekend. YES!

life and times of kate

Life is standard. I'm still working at the coffee shop, cleaning the bank, and pounding through school stuff. Life is good. I'm working on having some down time. I'm usually really good at that, but lately it's been a little harder for me. I'm taking Economics right now, which is lame, but it's all for a tangible purpose, which makes it easier. It's a gorgeous day in Haines, which is great, but I can see the snow creeping down the mountains heading for town, which makes me think that it's going to be winter all too soon, which really is inevitable in Haines, but alas, it's just the way it is. I miss my niece and nephew. The rest of the family I can talk to regularly, but it's a little harder with kids under 3... oh well.

This is Kamikaze...

He is my friend Lindesy's dog. She is a USC Troajan fan for some lame reason like her dad went there or something. As you can see in the picture, he has a redish and yellowish collar that said trojans all over it... or had, really. He now looks very handsome in a beautiful purple and gold collar that fits him much better and doesn't have the name of a condom on it. Someday he might get his other collar back, but it will probably be a while :)
GO DAWGS!!!

back to the grind

Things have been pretty much back to normal for the past week or so...
I finished my first class for school, which fells amazing. It still weirds me out a little that I am back in school.
I started a Bible Study for kids in their 20s in Haines. I'm pretty sure it shouldn't have taken a relative outsider to get this started, but maybe either that means that I really am part of the community now or at the very least that it's good that I'm here.
I gave the children's message at church yesterday. I went up there with a remote, cell phone, cd and bible, and proceeded to hit them all with a hammer, trying to show that only God's word is indestructible.
I picked up a few hours at Mountain Market, which means that I legitimately worked 40 hours this week in addition to school stuff.
And last, but by no means least, I didn't put my life in danger. Yay!

Ahh, Sunday

I got up in time for church this morning, biked over there, did the worship/fellowship thing for a couple hours, then headed to the library to work on a couple papers. I was there for maybe an hour when I got a phone call along the lines of, "hey, you wanna come on a boat ride and go rock climbing with us?" Uh, only always.
So I ended up not finishing that paper this afternoon, which is why I'm on my computer now. And clearly, still not working on that paper...

Sorry moms...

Sorry Ethel, Bonnie, Frankie, and anyone else that has that motherly worry about me from time to time... but here's the story of my weekend.
I decided that I needed some Kate time, so I decided that I was going to kayak out to an island not too far from shore and go camping for a night. It's close, I've done it a bunch before, it's in cell phone range, and worst case scenario, I would never be more than a quarter mile from shore, which I can swim even without a life jacket, so it's all good. It was a little rainy when I got there, so I set up camp right away... it was a little rocky, but I sleep in odd positions anyway, so I wasn't too worried. I forgot to check the tides before I headed out (mistake #1), so I called Jenty when I got to the island to see what was going on. So I got the times for the tides, but forgot to ask how high and low they were (mistake #2). I had a great evening and night, reading my bible and journaling and just sitting out staring at God's glory all around me. Then I went to bed. I happened to wake up at 1:30 (high tide was at 1:54) and heard waves pretty loud close to my tent. I knew that I was above the tide line, but I wasn't so sure about my kayak (mistake #3), so I went to go check it out. It was half in the water. If I hadn't happened to wake up in the middle of the night, I could have easily been without a kayak in the morning. But I still had a kayak, so I went back to sleep. Then, when I got up in the morning, I could tell that there was a lot of wind without even looking. It was pretty obvious by the random bending of my tent. So, I wasn't really gonna be able to make it back across the channel. Shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but I didn't have any extra food with me (mistake #4). I had planned on doing a little fasting/prayer retreat, so I didn't have any food with me at all. Luckily, I did have a scavenging book about the natural plants, but the only thing I could find was seaweed... and the tide was high, so I was gonna have to wait. I happened to text Lindsey, who was at a coffee shop, and she heard that there was a small craft advisory out, so that pretty much meant that I shouldn't really go anywhere. So I sat on a rock and tried to start a fire with my flint, Bear Grylls style. I don't know how that dude does it. I was getting pretty hungry too, so I was about ready to pull a full on Woman vs. Wild and take my kayak paddle apart and rope my pocket knife to the end of it and stab a seal. Probably not totally legal, but hey, I was hungry. Anyway, I waited until it was high tide so it was heading back out which meant the wind and the water were going the same direction and then I couldn't handle it anymore, so I packed up and headed for shore. I texted Lindsey to say that if she didn't hear from me in an hour and a half something had gone wrong and headed out. The wind was strong and the waves were about 3-5 feet. Not exactly optimum in my 17' long 34" wide boat. I got tossed around and ended up not exactly where I wanted to be, but I couldn't get the skeg down and I was exhausted from no food and sleeping on random rocks, so I went with it. It took me almost an hour to do something that would have normally taken about 20-25 minutes, but I made it. I pretty much just sat in my boat the whole time saying, "me and you, God. Me and you." and "i'm so tired. God, give me some strength." and "holy shit, that was a big wave." On the bright side, Lindsey and some friends came out in a skiff so if things had gone wrong I had some support. Anyway, it was a good trip overall, but not a situation I will get myself into again.
Long story, but entertaining. Kinda... Or something...

Long time no post

For once, it's because I've been busy, not because there's nothing to say...
here's the quick rundown, with details to be filled in later...
-spent 4 days in Seattle
-helped run a fundraising concert of youth group kids
-had a friend visit Haines
-worked on school a ton
-worked a ton

But here's something that is just too random to not share... you know how sometimes you say things that have double meanings without necessarily realizing the second meaning while you say it? This morning I was eating cereal that I hadn't had in forever, and I thought to myself, "I forgot how much I love Life." And then I realized it wasn't just the cereal that made that statement true.

life as usual

not much is going on in Haines these days. I mean, stuff goes on, but its nothing worth writing home about. Right now I'm really hungry and can't really think about much else. Maybe I'll go get something to eat. If reading this doesn't change your day, I don't know what will.

I do what I do

Last sunday I was a puppet for the children's sermon at church... I tried to put up a video of it, but the internet is too slow to upload something like that here. So I'll try next time I'm in Seattle. Life here is good. Pretty much the same old stuff. I'm waiting for textbooks to show up so I can really get cracking on school work. Other than that nothing much has changed.

Fishing in Skagway

I caught a salmon today. It was just a humpy, which isn't that great, but I'll take it. I don't have any pics of me catching it or the aftermath. Maybe I'll post some later of me eating it.

Stranger things have happened...

Today I started school again. I'm gonna be a teacher. That's the plan anyway. But who woulda thunk that I would go back to school...

Hmmm...

I don't particularly feel like anything has really gone on lately. I've just been working and hanging out and kayaking whenever there aren't 4-5 foot seas. I feel like I'm kinda on cruise control right now.

long time no post (ish)

Since the last post, I spent a week in Seattle, watched one of my best friends get married, and made a haul at Costco. You might not think that last part is exciting, but if you don't, then you haven't lived in a super small town. The first two on that list were way cooler. I LOVED being able to be a part of Jamie and Sean's wedding. It was so fun. And they were so cute.
In other news, my brother and sister-in-law found out that the baby they are having in November is a boy, so now Owen is going to have a little brother. They're gonna terrorize each other and tackle each other and fight each other, and I'm going to encourage it. It's gonna be GREAT!! And they'll probably love each other too.
Life is good. Still just kinda hanging out, working. It's odd. I'd never been one of those people with a whole lot of down time before I lived in Haines. Now I work three days a week and just kinda hang out for four. It's a refreshing season of my life. But I don't think I should get too used to it...
Oh, and right now I'm listening to a Backstreet Boys song... what the heck?

if my feelings were a song...

I have no idea what the title would be. It just sounded like a good title for a blog post. Searching the words "don't" and "know" in my iTunes left not good conclusions about what my song title would be. But the notion that I typed in those two words should give you some clue about how I feel about things. I don't know. I work at a coffee shop. Check. But that isn't what I really want to do with my life. I'm almost positive I'm going to start school in July to get my Masters in Teaching, but is that really what I want to do? I don't know. I was offered a spot to travel the country for a couple months doing a sort of puppet ministry, but is that really what I want to do? I don't know. I live in Haines and I love it, but is it really where I want to be? I don't know. I don't know what life is going to bring me in the next few months or even weeks, let alone in the next few years. I guess it's a good thing that I believe in a God that has my future all figured out, cuz I sure don't. Now if I could only figure out how to trust in that a little more...

oh life

i went kayaking today. i like living in haines.

sometime life just sucks

I hit a 4-year old in the face with a frisbee today. Does that make me a bad person?

mothers day

For all you fools out there who think they have the best mom ever... I challenge you to a mom-off. Mine would win.

hawaiian pictures and randomness

the whole fam-dam

my favorite little boogie boarders, Owen and Calla


Favorite story of the week: I was playing in the pool and jumping and kinda sliding up onto the edge and my brother told me I looked like a beached whale (which from him I take as "I love you sis") and Owen pointed at me and said, "beached whale, beached whale"
Coolest thing I saw: lava flow hit the ocean and turn the steam plume bright colors at night
Dumbest thing I did: got an "anti-farmer" tan... oh what a rash guard and selective sunscreen application can do for you
Funnest place I went: Kona brewery... I highly recommend the Big Wave Golden Ale
Thing I did every day: went to the pool with the fam
What I'm bummed I didn't do: surf... we even had boards. It was just a hard thing to get everyone to rally for.
Least favorite part: Being the perennial little sibling and sleeping on the pullout couch where 1 year olds liked to play in the morning... although it was a fun way to wake up.

The newest Maxwell family goal: to find people that like us a lot and want us to use their condo in Hawaii for a week so we can do it again sometime...

words can't express

Yesterday a few kids decided that they were going to canoe to Skagway. Not the most intelligent decision, but not unheard of. But the waves were high and the boat wasn't equipped, and it tipped, and two of the three died. What do you say to that?

in hawaii

I love hanging out with my family. They make me happy. So far I've swam with sea turtles, had a fruity drink with an umbrella by the pool, seen some amazing sunsets, seen a whole heap of dolphins and hung out with my family a bunch. I like it here. :)

in the airport

I don't like traveling... I just like being in different places. Like Hawaii. Where I will be tomorrow.
In other news, this week was a good one because I got to go kayaking multiple times. I think it's finally spring in Alaska.

life and such

I love Haines. I really do. But I have been here for a total of about two months since I was last in Seattle and I feel like I am bored out of my mind. Where does that come from? It's not just that it's a small town. My life in Haines is very similar to what it was in Seattle... it's that I'm in one place. How is it that after two months in one place (even with a weekend trip to Canada) I can be so restless? Haines is home. I love it here. There is nowhere else that I'd rather live right now, but I feel so discontent. Maybe because I compare myself to friends like Becca, who do crazy stuff in Africa; or friends like Annie, who follow their dreams; or my family members, who seem to be living the "American dream;" or people like the creators of FailBlog, that can take humanity's stupidity and share it for all to laugh at and make money doing it. Or maybe it's because I know that I'm so close to being able to go somewhere where it's sunny and warm (Kona in 7 days!!) I want to be doing the best that I can to follow God and point others toward him, but how can one measure that in any way? I think that part of my discontent stems from not being able to measure that at all here. It was easy to assume that I was doing good when I was in the Dominican Republic. But here in Haines, I just have to trust that God is using me for his good. All I know for sure is that I feel like I will always be longing for more at least a little bit because this earth is not my home. But there has to be some middle ground. But how do I find that?

to infinity and beyond

How does one get to infinity? Anyway, life in Haines is good. I kinda wish that I could be with my family this weekend for Easter and stuff, but I get to hang out with part of my Haines family, which is good too. And I get to see all the Maxwells in 14 days when we convene in Hawaii, which I am STOKED about.

But tomorrow is Easter, and that is a very good thing. There is nothing more fundamental to who I am than that Jesus lived, died, and rose for me. And although sometimes that seems to good to be true, it is the only real hope that I have.

"That Jesus succeeded in changing a snuffling band of unreliable followers into fearless evangelists, that eleven men who deserted him at death now went to martyrs' graves avowing their faith in a resurrected Christ, that these few witnesses managed to set loose a force that would overcome violent opposition first in Jerusalem and then in Rome -this remarkable sequence of transformation offers the most convincing evidence for the Resurrection. What else explains the whiplash change in men known for their cowardice and instability?" -Philip Yancey The Jesus I Never Knew

no longer unemployed

I got a job :) It's a little weird having a schedule for the first time in almost four months, but it's a good thing overall. I work at Mountain Market, the local coffee shop. Right now I'm making sandwiches and doing a little cashiering, but I might become a barista or, if I'm really lucky, get to work in the attached store, Mountain Spirits, that has a crazy big inventory of beer :)
Life is good. I still need to figure out what I'm doing as far as housing goes starting in May, but I'll figure it out. Stay posted for the latest on that.
Oh, and I leave for Hawaii in approximately 21 days and 21 hours :)

ABC 123

Just cuz I'm bored... the ABCs and 123s of Kate Maxwell... harder than you'd think...
A- Awesome
B- Bored
C- Cool
D- Dork
E- Energetic sometimes
F- Frozen
G- Good
H- Happy
I- Intelligent
J- Joyful
K- Kate
L- Lazy
M- Maxwell
N- Near perfect (hahahaha)
O- Opinionated (but not negatively... I just have a lot of opinions)
P- Personable
Q- Quirky
R- Random
S - Seriously Rad
T- Talkative (sometimes)
U- Unemployed
V- Virtuous
W- Weird
X- eXcitable
Y- Young
Z- Zealous

0- states I have not been in
1- college I applied to
2- kayaks I own
3- dogs I live with
4- times I've been to the Dominican Republic
5- people in my family growing up (2 bros, ma, pa)
6- years of varsity sports in high school
7- times I've been rushed to the doctor/hospital (finger, appendix, eye, finger, head, mouth, head)
8- the uniform I wore during softball
9- years since I was a freshman in high school

winter adventures

Haines doesn't seem to know what season it is. Last week was pretty clear. Then Thursday it snowed a couple feet. Friday it rained and melted a lot, but not all of the snow. Then a couple random bits of freezing and thawing later, everything is just one big sheet of ice. But, as Alissa (the sister-in-law) put it, I have almost survived my first Alaskan winter. And there is something to be said for that.

life is...

well, kinda boring. I'm living in a summer town in the winter. I'm enjoying my days, but I feel guilty for not working. I like my life though. I've been hanging out with some puppies at the rescue kennel where my roommate works, I hang out with junior high and high school kids, and I watch a lot of tv and play a lot of playstation. I'm hardcore a slacker right now. But no where is hiring yet. I'm on the lookout though.

me and ma in juneau

We had some time to kill, so we walked out to Mendenhall Glacier (the thing on the Alaska Pale label).
This pic was taken shortly before I put my foot in some melting ice water... not recommended.



When we were in snowshoeing in Haines, Ethel fell amazingly down a small hill. You know, one of those slow-motion tumbling actions when the person gets up laughing and you know all is well... This video was me waiting at the bottom half hoping that she did it again.

Ma in Haines

ma ice fishing

ma and me at battery point

post #100

is that a good thing? i think so.
I'm still just hanging out in Haines. I got to take my mom snowshoeing and ice fishing this week, so that was super fun. But then right after she left I went to the Dr. and found out that I have strep throat. Sucky. So, I'm still looking for a job, but I am also trying to take it easy so I can maybe not be sick. I mean, really... how much can one body really take? I'm sickly. I never used to get sick and now I'm getting random infections right and left.
In other news, I'm loving being back in Haines. Its just so calm here. Life seems to move a little slower. I had internet today for the first time since I moved up here. I love it. Now if I could just get a job.

Back in AK!

I'm almost home. Juneau is close, but oh so far away. And the ferry is of course at the most inopportune time. I'd prefer to not be on the ferry from 1:30 am to 6 am, but you can't win them all. So, I'm hanging out at the Southeast Waffle Co, which is the coolest place in Juneau, but still unfortunately in Juneau. I did get to go to Costco though, which was exciting.

Killing time

It seems that's what I've been doing a lot of lately. I sit here, at what I guess has become my computer for the time being at Federal Mortgage waiting for the Salvation Army truck to come.
Check that. They came. And rejected my donation because they don't have enough space. What??? Don't have enough space for a sweet looking table that is heavier than hell? Oh well.
I've also been killing time until I can go back to Alaska. But even up there I was killing time until I could find a job.
At least I kill time well.

Haines, where art thou?

I know it's good that I'm in seattle, but I'd rather be in Haines. I'd rather be looking for a job that could be somewhat longish term. I'd rather be sitting on my couch playing video games or watching movies with friends avoiding the cold weather. But I'm still in Seattle. I'm glad I was here for my family and stuff. And it'll be good to go to the funeral on Monday, but I wish that the ferries ran a little more often...

For those who keep updated on my life through my blog

I am in Seattle for two reasons:
1) my grandfather died this past weekend
2) I couldn't find a job in Haines and my uncle said he had some work for me at his office down here

I technically live in Haines, but I have spent a significant amount of time in Seattle since I moved there in November (see points 1 and 2 above).

I don't know what I'm going to do with my future. Possibilities include:
1) going to University of Alaska Southeast to get my masters in teaching
2) moving to Vancouver and becoming Canadian to enjoy the Olympics next winter
3) finding a real job in Haines and staying there for a whlie
4) moving far, far away to go see something new

I live in a house with a friend and her three dogs. Love the friend. Hate the dogs. And our house is cold because it's really expensive to keep it warm.

I will do whatever I can to live in Alaska over the summer because I'm tired of spending cold months there and leaving when it gets bareable in just one layer of clothing. And if I can be in Alaska for at least 9 months, then they'll pay me next year :)

back in the saddle, back in seattle

wait, what? back in seattle again?
i "moved" to alaska in november, and since then I have been there for a total of 7 weeks and not there for a total of 4 and counting. which begs the question, "do you really live in alaska?" I went into work today (the same job I've had on and off for about 4 years) and the people asked me if i hide in a cave for small chunks of time just to emerge a few weeks later. i didn't think i'd be saying this anytime soon, but I want to be in one place for a while.

so, what's next?

I have no idea what my life will look like in the coming weeks... All I know is that I don't have to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow has enough worries of its own... and that is comforting.

easy come, easy go

So, as rapidly as I got my job when I first got here, I lost it upon return from the holidays. Although I was assured that I would have a job when I got back from Mexico and Seattle, my boss hired someone else, so now I'm unemployed. I'm looking into things, but nothing seems too exciting at this point. But we'll see. I'm pretty much open to anything. If all else fails, the bakery reopens in February, so I should be able to get a job there. Or, if that fails, then I might move to Juneau or Seattle. Who really knows?
I sure don't.

525,600 minutes (plus 1,440)

How do you measure a year?
In how many places I went?
in seattle from the beginning of the year to june (with a trip to san fran and bend mixed in)... in the dominican republic for two months... in oregon for a week, seattle for two weeks, then around the country for 5 weeks... in seattle again... moved back to alaska... in mexico for a week... in seattle for another three weeks... and back to Haines just into 2009...
In the jobs I worked?
mortgage company... intern for non-profit... mortgage company again... vagabond... mortgage company... video store... mortgage company...
In what I learned?
i am valuable... i have gifts from God that i am called to use... i can't force people to like me... my worth isn't based on what people think of me... real estate and loan rates fluctuate for no real reason sometimes... people want change, but are sometimes afraid to see it happen...
In how many people I met?
too many to count...
In new relationships and ones that have ended?
too many to fully realize...
In movies watched?
a shameful amount...
In hours wasted on the internet?
way, way too many...
In band aids used?
ha...
In things living in me?
amoeba... parasite... infection... not enough of the good stuff...

I don't think I really can measure 2008... but one thing is for sure... God proved faithful, yet again, throughout this year.