Grateful for... uh... stuff

Grateful heart Friday time! Today, I don't necessarily have anything in particular that I am grateful for. I mean, I'm grateful for all kinds of things, but nothing sticks out today. I'm grateful for all the standard things, like having a place to stay and food to eat, and a fairly good life in general. But I guess that I should focus more on the things in my life that are worth being grateful for. So yeah.

Hanging in there...?

So one of my dear old friends in Haines, Arlene, died last week. And yet, I know that she is in a better place and she is far happier now than she was while she was still on this earth. For the past two years, when someone would ask how she was doing she would either feign a "good" or reply more honestly with "I'm hanging in there."
I've been feeling a little bit like that this week. I'm not good, but I say that I am. Or if I respond honestly, I'm hanging in there. But there is so much more to life than just hanging in there. I feel like I'm not making the most of my life when I'm just hanging in there. If I'm supposed to consider it pure joy whenever I face trials (James 1), then I should be doing more than just hanging in there. If I'm not supposed to worry and just pray about things (Philippians 4), then I should be doing more than just hanging in there. If I'm supposed to fully understand the love of God (Ephesians 3), then I should definitely be more than just hanging in there.
Sometimes I may just be hanging in there. But I'm called to more than that. We all are.

Long time no update!

Hello blogishpere!

I'm alive and well. Living in Haines is pretty much everything I missed about when I left a year ago. I'm subbing a bunch at the school, still working for the town handyman, and just loving life in general. Of course, the thing that I added on this year is camp stuff, which is pretty much my dream.

This summer was absolutely awesome. It was exhausting and challenging and frustrating at times, and I wouldn't change it for anything. I laughed a ton, cried (just once :)) and ran and played and spoke in front of kids about serious things.

Life now is pretty much whatever comes my way. I work when and where I can. I'm living with the Jones family until I can figure out a more long-term solution. So life in general is good... though I do miss my family (especially the little ones) a lot...

Haines and more

I realized that I've been slacking on my blogging lately. I mean, since I last wrote, I have been in Haines for ten days and back to Seattle. Alaska was awesome. Which, come on, we all knew would be the case. I decorated, hiked, watched football, ate... it was grand. And I realized that as much as I love that place, it's ok that I'm not there right now. Sure, I'd love life if I was living in Haines, but that doesn't mean that I can't love it since I'm living in the greater Seattle area. So I hereby declare that I am going to work on loving life more in Seattle rather than wishing I was somewhere else. You heard it here first.

Oh Seattle

I joked about dressing in all my Seattle sports gear and calling myself a masochist for Halloween. After this weekend, I kinda wish I had. I spent the weekend in Eugene with a bunch of Duck fans and went to see the Ducks slaughter the Huskies on Saturday. It was fun enough, but just about every time a Seattle sports team leaves the field/pitch/court my heart breaks a little because we usually just lost another game (of course our main court team got taken away, but don't even get me started on that...). It almost makes me wish that I lived in New York where I could cheer for winning teams and not feel like a sell-out. But then I remember that I will never be a band-wagon fan and maybe, just maybe, we'll do better next season. In a way, cheering for Seattle teams year after year is a little proof in my life that I really do have hope for the future.

October Madness

10 days ago I took off in the car with my mother. We knew a few stops, but had some playing to do in between. We ended up going to Eugene that first night, a place I hope to never see again. Then we went to San Francisco and played tourist for a few hours and hung out with Stefanie, the intern who lived with my parents my Freshman year of college. We were at a bar in downtown San Francisco when the Giants made it to the World Series. It was pretty sweet. Then we went to Huntington Beach via Merced. I got to hang out with Erica (friend from HS) and her husband Matt, which was fun. We went to the beach because my dad had a conference down there. Two nights in the Hilton on the beach? Yes please! My mom and I went out to a bar that night for dinner and I got carded, which led to me receiving a free dessert. Best getting carded that's ever happened to me. And as long as we were only 20 minutes away, we went to Disneyland for my birthday. 25 on the 25th, and I must say, my birthday was indeed golden. And I have pictures of me and many Disney characters to prove it. The next day we went to Ruby's on the pier. It's over 1800 feet from the road next to the beach out to the restaurant, and it's all alone out there. Pretty rad. Walnut Creek and my Godparents were calling our name, so next we headed back up to the Bay Area. It's always good to see Scott and Nancy. We spent a couple days with them then went on to Bend to see Scott, Alissa, Owen, and Josh. Those boys are super fun. And my brother and sister-in-law ain't so bad either. We were there for three nights then headed back to the Seattle area today.
My mom and I drove 2713 miles and spent about 42 hours in the car. Good times.

I just think this is cool

Because it's never to late to follow your dreams. check it out

October

October is nearly half over. I have done just about nothing exciting. I have worked on school and hung out with people. Maybe the second half of October will bring a little bit more excitement.* It is my golden birthday this year afterall...

*hint: I know it will :)

a week in

I've been back in the lower 48 for just over a week. Granted, I spent half of that time in Oregon with my family, so I haven't exactly had the chance to settle in, but I think things will be ok. In all honesty, I think the hardest part about being in the big city will be loneliness... being that I am living between 35 and 1000 miles from most of my friends. I wonder if this is how people who live out the road feel...

Home Sweet Home?

Home is where your heart is right? Then more than being homeless, I am homefull. Or something like that. Saying goodbye to my people in Haines was crazy hard. I for sure left a part of my heart there, but am back in Seattle for a year or so or longer... who knows. I put my car on the ferry yesterday and then flew down to Seattle today. On Friday I'll head up to Bellingham with the amazing Ethel and pick it up and hopefully get a few pictures (because it is comically loaded down). Then I'll start unpacking my old stuff (life) and make it feel like home in Seattle (Arlington). Here's to living in my parents' basement for most of my 25th year!

small town Haines

There's those places in the world where everyone is connected to everyone else. Haines is one of those places. Most of the time, I love that about Haines. But when a 14 year old drowns swimming a relatively short distance in the ocean, it's hard that everyone in town is connected to it somehow. It's good though too, because that way everyone can lean on everyone else. So tonight my prayers go out to all the people of Haines who knew Andrew Williamson, a good kid who's life was cut unfortunately short.

Time keeps ticking away

I'm moving back to Seattle from Haines in less than a month now. And at least half of that time I'll be in other areas of the state. It bums me out a little that I'm leaving so soon. But I'm just trying to make the most of the time that I have here, which includes working a bunch, kayaking a bunch, going bear hunting, and spending time with the people that have made this place like home.

drumroll, please...

For all three of you who follow my blog, this is me publicly, internet-ly announcing that I am moving back to Seattle. Most of Haines hasn't heard for sure yet, but I'm sure it'll start trickling around, and the people that I wanted to make sure that I told personally, I have told, so here it is in blog-land. Kate Maxwell will be living in (or near) the emerald city once more. In case you haven't figured out the reason why, refer back to any post about Pedro. That pesky bugger seems to still be wreaking some havoc on my guts, so it's time to go to a place where I can get more regular help and not have to travel anywhere between 5 and 18 hours to get to a doctor. So Seattle, here I come. Look out, or you might not know what hit you.

seattle

So, I'm back in Seattle yet again. Someday I might finally kick Pedro out of my guts. But until then, it looks like I'll just hand out with people who have letters following their names. Oh well.

the long list...

of things I am apparently at least a little bit allergic to...
cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, cow's milk, lactalbumin (one of the proteins in dairy), yogurt, blueberry, grapefruit, orange, papaya, pear, raspberry, strawberry, alfalfa, celery, cucumber, peppers, mushroom, olive, onion, potatoes, tomatoes, buckwheat, corn, kidney beans, oat, pecan, pinto beans, rice, sesame, soy, chocolate, and coffee.
In case you're wondering what that leaves... I am pretty much eating nuts, meat, select veggies, apples, and bananas. In six weeks I get to start adding some stuff back in to see how my body reacts to it and what I can deal with. Doesn't that sound exciting?!? On the bright side, we may have finally found the source of Pedro...

lazy

I'm sure there's at least three or so people out there that are wondering how school is going, so here's the lowdown...
The first semester of my masters in teaching is going fairly well. I've finished one class, schools and society, and now I'm working on Human Development. Sounds thrilling, huh? Yup, it's about as thrilling as it sounds. So rather than actually doing school work, I'm writing about it. I'm not really sure how that works, but it's what I do. I've been subbing at the school a ton lately... today is the first weekday that I have been in Haines and not been working at the school since the first of the year. So I feel like all I've been doing lately is working and studying, but I guess that's not such a bad thing in small town Alaska, as the crazy wind is in the air and some people seem to seek drama like a wolf with a knife soaked in blood (even if it never really did happen). So I'll immerse myself in school and some working and movies sometimes.

procrastinating

So, it's been a long time since I've posted. Since the blog world last heard from me I have been to Seattle twice and Las Vegas once.
The first Seattle one was planned... that being Christmas. I had such a good time with my family. It is so much fun having three little kiddos around. Owen (nephew) wanted to help everyone open their presents.
Las Vegas was awesome. I went there to meet up with some friends from the Dominican Republic in '08. We just chilled and caught up. Good times. And since what happens in Vegas obviously doesn't stay in Vegas, if you want to see pictures, check facebook.
The second Seattle trip was medical-related. I finally found a doctor who was willing to keep looking (beyond just lingering parasites) for something wrong with my stomach. So I went down to have some blood drawn. I get the test results back in about a week, so I'll reveal the diagnosis at that point.
Other than those three jaunts, life has been pretty standard. I have been subbing a bunch at the school, which is cool. I'm getting a little bit better of an idea what age I want to teach and stuff like that. School is good. Working on my masters is a little harder than undergrad, but I guess it should be.

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

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.

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!