Quote of the Day

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll; I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. ~William Henley

Much Love
Kait

A Monestary Weekend

So a few people have been writing about faith and life in their blogs, and I found it so coincidental as I spent this entire weekend at a Monastery in Brooklyn, NY. Thats why I haven't been able to post any new blogs.

It was the most inspirational and education weekend that I have had in my life. My roommate along with a 18 other people went to NY for training on side walk counciling, but it ended up being so much more. We got to meet an amazing man named Monseigneur Reilly. I swear this man is going to be become a saint. He has done so much in the world, and I don't know how he does it. Just being their for a weekend drained me so much.

When we got there on Friday, we all got to pick out our rooms, and each room was named after a different Saint. It was just the cutest place. Each room had its own sink, all it needed was a shower..lol. Then we would have been set for the whole weekend.

Saturday we went to 7am mass and then we were going to march in front of some medical clinics and pray, we had to leave by 6:20 in the morning. I felt like I was going to die, but I told myself that this was for the babies! That helped a lot when I had to get up at 5am. I ended up only getting a total of 7 hours of sleep this entire weekend, but like I said in the beginning it was totally worth every minute of lost sleep. Weird to say I know, but so true.

Today was very easy going and relaxing. We all hung out during breakfast and went to mass together. I don't go to church very often, but I find that when I go I feel really good about myself, kind of like I am doing something good in world.

This whole weekend got me reflecting about my faith and what it means to me. Like Kim and Amber I have realized that life is to short, that you must live in the present. To take each moment as it comes, and take it with your head held high. That god is always with in each and every step you take not matter how hard things maybe. He never leaves your side, even though it may seem or feel like he is gone. The one thing that I have heard all my life is that, god never gives you anything that you can not handle. Its because he knows that even if maybe difficult you will find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Much Love
<3 Kait

Music of my mind..

Ok so everyone has been posting their top ten favorites of things, so I thought that I would join the club..lol. Sorry that I haven't really written a blog in a while, life has totally gotten in the way. So before I get to posting my top 10 favorite movies, I thought that I would give a little summary about my past 3 days. Also the title of my post is an album title of Stevie Wonders.

Monday-
Went really fast, I had a meeting with my adviser and she basically told me that I needed to choose a major. If I didn't I would have to enroll as a part time part time student, because I am running out of General Education courses to take. I have been trying to get into the nursing program for the last year and it has been going no where. Sometimes I feel like, why should I even bother trying. Eventually I tell myself to shut up and just keep working towards my goal. Monday was that type of day. Although when OTH came on my day got much better! It was a GREAT episode.

Tuesday-
Things got better, I found out that my 8:30 class was canceled for Thursday! WOO HOO man!! That was the best news that I had received all day! The rest of the day I had to work on a power point for my presentation I had on Wednesday. That was a pain in the butt, but I got it done. My roommate and I also met this really nice guy named Mike. It turns out that he is in my history class. :)

Wednesday-
I had my presentation, I had to talk for 10 minutes. It was so nerve racking. I was talking to myself the whole time walking to class, trying to calm me down. Talking in front of people is like my worst fear. Then I had choir, and Mike drove me up to the dorm! I know its not anything big, but I thought that it was sweet. Then I just hung out with my suitmate last night. We watched almost all of Season 3 of OTH. I forgot how good it was. :)


Then today I slept a lot. I decided to not go to class today. I know that I should have, but when I got up I was not feeling school. It was a very lazy day today. We watched more of season 3 and we are going to Applebee's fairly soon. We are just waiting for our friend Larry. It should be fun, we are going to enter a trivia contest.

I know I said that I would add my top 10 favorite movies in this post, but I am going to have my next post just them. Hope you all have a good day! :)

Much Love
~Kait

Quote of the Day

This was inspired by a few friends who are making great strides in there life. All the power to these brave women!

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. ~John F. Kennedy

XOXO
Kait(KO)

The Seagull

So I read Raquel's blog, and it seems that everyone is looking for their power animal, so I gave it a try. This is what I got....

Take a deep breath and let the spirit of the seagull fill you.

---

Soar in joy. Soar in freedom. Feel your power. You are the seagull!

The seagull knows that freedom is a state of mind and of the heart. She can teach you to let your heart soar on the wings of freedom and joy, no matter where you are and no matter what you are doing. She will help lift you out of the sands of worry and petty concerns and into the soaring heights of being one with all that is: one with the ocean, one with the land, one with the vast and glorious sky. The seagull will also teach you perspective. Whenever you care to, she will take you for a ride, up into the sky and across the vast ocean, where you will see that your cares are as small as the grains of sand on the beach. She will teach you that your power is limitless and unbounded and that all you need to do is stretch out your wings and let life carry you.

Feel the freedom in your heart. Smell the salt air as you soar across the vast ocean. Feel the wind beneath your wings lifting you higher and higher, endlessly higher. Fill yourself with all of this power, the power to be all that you truly are, fully and freely expressed. For you are the seagull, and freedom is yours!

So I thought that this was so neat. When I did this I never expected to get the animal that was the most like me, especially a Seagull, I mean they are so grose..lol. But this little description describes me to a T! My friends are always telling me how they wish they could be as stress free as I am, and as happy as me. I don't understand why though, it sucks being happy all of the time, but I must say it beats being unhappy. Sometimes I have those moments where I just want to scream, but for some reason I just can't. The bad thing about it is that some days it just gets to be to much and I just snap, which is not always the best thing. Im working on telling people how I feel instead of keeping it all bottled up.

ok..I've expressed enough of my feelings for one entry..lol.

Much Love

<3>

Footprints..

So I was reading Charlotte's blog, and she mentioned making her own footprints in the sand. So I thought that I would share with you one of my favorite poems/stories, which is called Footprints. Its by Mary Stephenson.
Hope y'all enjoy :)

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

Copyright © 1984 Mary Stevenson, from original 1936 text, All rights reserved

Quote of the Day

Still in my Eleanor Roosevelt kick, I thought this quote of the day would be from her...

"Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the word." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

What Inspires Me

Inspired by Nicks newest SGP post, I started to think about what inspires me. First I thought what is inspiration? Inspiration to me is what gets your mind ticking, what gets your brain juices flowing. Kim in one of her earlier blogs, looked it up in the dictionary and this is what she came up with....

1. an inspiring or animating action or influence.

2. something inspired, such as an idea.

3. a result of inspired activity.

4. a thing or person that inspires.

5. Theology

a) a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.

b) the divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.

6. the act of inspiring; quality or state of being inspired.


That being said, some of the things that have inspired me lately are..

1.Southern Gothic Productions:
It has done so much within that last few months, and it really makes me feel that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. Especially this last month, I have been trying for about a year to get into the nursing program at my school. SGP has shown me that even when things get hard if you push yourself, you can achieve your end goal.

2. Jon & Kate Plus 8
One of my favorite shows besides OTH, A Baby Story, and Supernatural. I don't know if any of you have seen it, but it always puts a smile on my face. I could be having the worst day and they way Jon and Kate interact with each other makes me laugh so hard. It just amazes me how just those two people can take care of 8 children by themselves. If there story isn't inspiring I don't know what I don't know what is. I recommend everyone watch this show. Its so cute :)


3. Quotes:
I have recently become a Google quoter. Some of the quotes that I have read, have really got me to thinking about what I want to do with my life. Elanor Roosevelt, Jose Ortega, and George Bernard Shaw are just a few that I have read. They can be really helpful in expressing moods. I was thinking about buying that Poetry book that Nick was talking about in his latest blog. I know that really does have any thing to do with quotes, but I thought that I would share =) This quote is one of my favorites from Elanor Roosevelt...

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Its tough to be inspired these days, when all you hear about is how our economy is in the toilet, and all of the companies that are laying people off. I myself have recently found myself out of a job, but its in these times where we have to find things that inspire us. Things that help us to remember that things can get better, and that despite all of the adversity many people are facing that good things can come out of it. Things like SGP for example, during this time of trial this little production company is thriving and helping so many people and not even knowing it. So I encourage all of you to go out and find yourself some inspiration. Even if its watching the sun come up, or a walk in nature. Everyone needs a little inspiration in their life, it was make life worth while, along with all of the little happy moments that occur throughout our lifetime. =)


I hope that all of that made sense..lol. Sometimes I can just go on and on, and everything seems to get jumbled all together.

Hope that all of you had a wonderful day!! I know that I did, twilight came out yesterday and first thing this morning I went out and got it :). Im a very happy person...haha.

XOXO
Kait(KO)

Quote of the Day

"Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be." ~Jose Ortega y Gasset

Not the best of Days...

So Im still kind of getting used to the whole blogging thing, so please bear with me if I don't write an entry everyday. I still have to find those Valley Forge pictures that I promised to upload. It's just going to take a bit of time to get into the swing of blogging..lol.

Today has been quite a day. I woke up, and felt horrible so I ended up missing my first class. Not the smartest thing to do, but if you knew how I felt you would have done the same. Then later on in the day this guy named Mike comes on campus to my roommate and I get a pro-life group started on campus. Sorry if I offend anyone, but I just need to vent. So he comes up and we talk a little bit, then we decide to petition the students and ask them if they are pro-life. Purely for recruitment purposes for the club that we are starting. The next thing we know this woman from student activities comes up and says that we are harassing the students, when all we were doing was asking them one question, which they could say no to being asked. It wasn't like we were just randomly walking up to people and asking them a question. We just walked up to them and said "Could we ask you a question?" They could have said no at anytime, it would have been perfectly fine.

After talking with her a little bit, actually it was more like arguing...anyways so my roommate and I are standing there watching these to verbally got at it, then after they are done talking she walks over to a phone right in front of us and calls security. While she's on the phone Mike gets on his phone and calls a lawyer, Im thinking "ohh boy this is soo not good." We're in the cafeteria by the way, I forgot to mention that..back to the story. So we leave the cafeteria once we see a member of security walk in, once we're out the door the security guard walks outside and asks Mike to leave the campus. So we walk to his car, and we decide that he is going to go and talk to Ginny, the woman that called security to try and smooth things over, and my roommate and I are going to go and do a little more clip boarding. After about 5 minutes the two of us are standing on the basketball courts and we look into one of the windows toward Ginny's office. We see a whole bunch of security personnel escorting him out of the building. The police were even called, and he helped escort Mike to his care and took down all of his information including his license plate number.

Personally, I think that was totally unnecessary. We weren't starting up any trouble, yet they turned what we were doing into a total fiasco. I must admit I was pretty scared the whole time. Im not one for confrontation, and the security guard kept asking me questions. Especially when they asked for both mine and my roommates information as well. We are probably going to get called down to the Vice President of student services office either sometime this week or next week. I just have a feeling, but I must say despite what happened to day, I feel good about it. Yes things got a little out of hand, but maybe now they will take us seriously, I mean they is a Catholic College. They should already have a pro-life group.


ok..Im done now..lol. I feel so much better writing what happen out. Its amazing how writing can make all of the stress or anger that you are feeling seem not so bad. Its like a little weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

On a happier note once we were done we ended up going and meeting up with Mike at Starbucks and we talked about the goals for our club once we got it established. Then we went to Applebee's and got the half price nachos..yumm =)


Thanks for listening guys. I promise my next post will be a happy one. =)

Hope you all have a wonderful friday!

XOXO
Kait(KO)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For my first quote of the day is "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."-Andy Warhol

This quote to me means that you can just sit on your but and expect things to happen, that if you do life is just going to pass you by. Sort of like SGP, Hilarie, Kelly, and Nick. They didn't just sit by dreaming of what SGP could be, they went out and got the ball rolling. Now look at how much it has grown in just a few short months.

So with today being St. Patrick's Day, I thought that it would be cool to research some of the traditions and symbols that are celebrated.

The Shamrock

The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy"by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

Irish Music

Music is often associated with St. Patrick's Day—and Irish culture in general. From ancient days of the Celts, music has always been an important part of Irish life. The Celts had an oral culture, where religion, legend, and history were passed from one generation to the next by way of stories and songs.

After being conquered by the English, and forbidden to speak their own language, the Irish, like other oppressed peoples, turned to music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage and history. As it often stirred emotion and helped to galvanize people, music was outlawed by the English. During her reign,Queen Elizabeth I even decreed that all artists and pipers were to be arrested and hanged on the spot.

Today, traditional Irish bands like The Chieftains, the Clancy Brothers, and Tommy Makem are gaining worldwide popularity. Their music is produced with instruments that have been used for centuries, including the fiddle, the uilleann pipes (a sort of elaborate bagpipe), the tin whistle (a sort of flute that is actually made of nickel-silver, brass, or aluminum), and the bodhran (an ancient type of framedrum that was traditionally used in warfare rather than music).

The Snake

It has long been recounted that, during his mission in Ireland, St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop (which is now called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden staff by his side, banished all the snakes from Ireland.

In fact, the island nation was never home to any snakes. The "banishing of the snakes" was really a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the triumph of Christianity. Within two hundred years of Patrick's arrival, Ireland was completely Christianized.

Corned Beef

Each year, thousands of Irish Americans gather with their loved ones on St. Patrick's Day to share a "traditional" meal of corned beef and cabbage.

Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century.

Irish immigrants living on New York City's Lower East Side substituted corned beef for their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money. They learned about the cheaper alternative from their Jewish neighbors.

The Leprechaun

The original Irish name for these figures of folklore is "lobaircin," meaning "small-bodied fellow."

Belief in leprechauns probably stems from Celtic belief in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes of the other fairies. Though only minor figures in Celtic folklore, leprechauns were known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure.

Leprechauns had nothing to do with St. Patrick or the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic holy day. In 1959, Walt Disney released a film called Darby O'Gill & the Little People, which introduced America to a very different sort of leprechaun than the cantankerous little man of Irish folklore. This cheerful, friendly leprechaun is a purely American invention, but has quickly evolved into an easily recognizable symbol of both St. Patrick's Day and Ireland in general.

Now I hope y'all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!=)

I bid you Adieu with an Irish blessing..

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way -
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

<3

Kait(KO)

Beautiful Weather and Quote of the Day

So the weather today is absolutely PERFECT. Its not windy, not to hot, not to cold. Its not that sunny, but that's how I like it..lol. Today really makes me think of Spring. Im so over being cold..haha. Its time that we got some nice weather. You know I always tell people that I would not be able to live with out the 4 season, but when its windy, snowing and freezing cold I think twice about the previous statement..lol.

I've also decided that I am going to have a Quote of the day. Every day there will be a new quote, and Im going explain what it means to me. I think it'll be fun!! =)

Going to go grab some lunch!

Hope everyone's having a fabulous day =)

xoxo
Kait (KO)

Valley Forge, Sing Star & The Movies

So yesterday, the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was the perfect spring weather. I just love it when you can go outside in jeans and a sweatshirt. Kier, Nick, Julie, Jess and I went to Valley Forge Park. Now that was an experience. Somtimes I don't know why we do the things we do. Granted we all really wanted to go, but we forgot how big the park was..haha. Our feet were killing us by the end of the walk. We were all worn out by the time we got back in the car. The only good part of the trip was that we got to meet a really cute guy, who was one of the reinactors. We also took some great pictures. =)

Last night at school there was a St. Patrick's Day dance, and OMG it was the most hilarious thing every. My roommate Katie's two friends Courtney and Stef came up so that we could all go. When we got there the place was completely dead..haha. No one had even showed up yet. It was just the 5 our suitmate Kryssy came with us as well. It was really awkward. The club that was sponsoring the dance stared at us the whole time. It was until people started showing up that it got interesting. You could tell that some people had been drinking. Their danceing was too funny, there were these girls that we propped us against the wall and were dancing against it. I must admit I had never seen that before, but Im not really a party type of person. Im a small get together kind of girl. So we all decide to leave and go back to the dorm and play sing star.

Sing Star is a kereoke (not sure if I spelled that right). It was hilarious...we all got into the singing. We were so loud im sure that the whole floor could hear us..haha. I felt kind of bad for them because none of us can really carry a tune, but it was just soo fun. We were all danceing a laughing.

Then tonight my friends nick, julie and I went and saw He Just Not That Into You. Which is a great movie. I reccomend that everyone go and see it. Well anyway..lol. We were all watching the movie, and I look over and my friend nick has fallen asleep on my shoulder. Julie and I could not stop laughing especially when he started snorreing. Thank goodness that there were only a few people in the theatre. Seriously the best part of the night, love that boy. Don't know what I would do without him sometimes.

Well its late and tomorrow I have to go to work.
much love

=)

KO(Kait)

p.s. posting the pictures tomorrow/later today.

First Blog Ever!!

Wow this is pretty cool! I used to be really into blogging. For a while I had both a Live Journal and a Xanga. Although I always felt like I was writing a in a diary..lol. Here I do not feel that way at all. Speaking with some of you on the chat has made me see blogging in a whole new light!

So since this is my first blog I thought that I would tell you a little about myself.
Here goes...

My name is Kaitlan as you all know. I am 20 years old, turning 21 this July...YAY I'll finally be legal! Woot Woot! Currently I am going to school become a nurse. I am in my second year of college. One Tree Hill is my FAVORITE show in the world. I do not know what I am going to do without it. :(. Umm...lets see what else can I tell you guys. I have 2 brothers one older and one younger. My younger is in his freshman year of high school. Still can't believe it...he's growing up to fast on me. It also does not help that he's only 15 almost 16 and taller than me. Its not fair that he got all of the tall genes in the family...haha.


Well gotta get up for an early class tomorrow!
Much love

:)

Kait(KO)