Better Late Than Never

......Better Late Than Never? Not me!

It has been a busy but super great semester so far.  The fall semester before graduation is one of the busiest for Accounting students because they go through the recruiting process into the CA world.  I was so blessed to get offers from different accounting firms, especially where there were so many that didn't get any.  But to make a long story short, I am the newest employee of KMSS- Kenway Mack Slusarchuk Stewart Chartered Accountants.  They were my number one choice so I was thrilled when they offered me the job.  They are a firm up in Calgary so I guess I am going to have to get used to the big city!

They wanted me to come up to Calgary to tour the office and do lunch and stuff.

I showed up downtown Calgary 1 1/2 hours early.....you know me,

I hate to be late to anything!

And the best part is my official start date is September 4, 2013 so I get to spend one more summer with Kyle and Jess!!!

So the other exciting news in the family that I am sure everyone already knows about is Kody and Lindsay's wedding!!  It was kind of all of the sudden but couldn't have been more perfect!  I adore Linds and am so glad she is part of the family!  Her and Kody are just perfect together.

Everything worked out so perfectly for them! 

Look at how happy they are!!

The other day my professor walked up to me and said she saw my picture on the U of L website.  I had no clue what she was talking about and was quite mortified.  Sure enough, there on the website is a picture of me mid-sentence (and we all know how flattering those pictures are...) during that speech I had to give last April for a scholarship.  Still slightly mortified though....

Well it is nearly bed time and I still have so much to do so here are just a few more pictures to finish everything off!

Halloween has never been one of my favourite holidays but

Laura made me dress up....as a cat.....I don't even like cats.....!

I honestly adore these girls!  There is no one quite like them!

And I have loved doing my nails lately!  Corny to show pictures 

but this was my best turnout yet!

I owe this to Jessica...

So I am super embarrassed.....I can't believe it has almost been a year since I last made a post!  Slap me on the wrist several times.  Jess and I made a promise that we would blog at some point before the middle of September.  Well here it goes, Jess......

 So much has happened in the last 11 months; it is hard to know where to begin.

I was asked to speak at a Business Banquet towards the beginning of April.  I thought it was just a short couple minute shhpeal...nbd.  But when I arrived at the Banquet Hall, I wanted to faint.  There was around 500 people in attendance, cameras everywhere, and big screens posted in corners of the room-like 15 ft big screens!  There is nothing quite like getting up in front of a crowd of strangers and seeing your giant face in the corner staring back!  But it went really well much to my relief and I was honored to have been asked!!

And of course with the end of April and school, thus began my now annual trek across the country to good ol' Virginny!  Gah how I love it there.  Well this summer, Kody decided to tag along and come sell this summer, and we started on our journey.  He took the first driving shift as I had pulled 2 all-nighters preparing for finals.  I slept for a couple hours and then took my turn behind the wheel.  Within 10 minutes I saw flashing red and blue lights behind me and my heart stopped.  We had crossed state lines within the past hour and we were now in North Dakota (where there may or may not be an outstanding warrant due to an unpaid speeding ticket back in 2010).  I pulled over and, with my hand on my seat belt, I turned to Kody with a panic look in my eye and tried to think of some way I could magically switch places with him in the passenger seat.  The cop walked up towards my window and I passed him my license and registration with a sheepish and rather frightened look.  He was in his car for what seemed like an eternity until finally I saw him emerge.  He put his hat on and I thought, "Oh noooo....he's getting all official looking for when he puts me in hand cuffs..." and I had images of being hauled off to jail.  But he handed me a ticket and waved me on our way.  To this day I still count my lucky stars and swear I will never speed again...well at least not in North Dakota.


Virginia was grand as usual.  I loved work and it was so fun being there and working with Kody and Kyle.  Kody loved pretending I was his personal secretary...I let him have that fantasy for a couple months.  Another highlight was being there with Jessica and the kids.  Words can't even describe how much I adore them.

At the end of the summer, Kody and I drove from Virginia to Echo to spend a couple days with the family all together.  There really isn't anything quite like it!

Here are some more highlights.....

Kyle, Kody, and I got to spend the afternoon at the DC
Temple.  It is positively gorgeous!

These boys are just way to much alike.  I love it!

We went paint-balling as an office one morning.
Probably one of the funnest things I've done.
I definitely got some good shots in....as well as some good welts!

We also got to meet this special gal!  Aren't they
 just precious!  I love those grins.

Oh I just love pool side days!

I also got to babysit on occasion, and there is nothing funner
with those two!!!  Here we had made soap clouds.  Just put Ivory
Bar Soap in the microwave for a minute or two and
watch (love Pinterest!).  There is nothing better than that face!!

These kiddos know how to work.  It was so fun to look up
from my desk and see them washing windows!

I just love this family!  I am so grateful that I have
been able to spend my summers with them!

Ok!  I just adore this boy!

That grin!  Probably my most favorite
 picture from the entire summer

Everybody loves the Teddy Bear Picnic at the Lake!

Love these 2 to bits!

Look at my Gma go!

Kennedy and Eric's kids are super adventurous to surf
with Uncle Kaden!!  They follow in Jonah's footsteps!

My new family!  (Don't ask!)

Back in Lethbridge and living with Laura again.
This is just after a Miranda Lambert concert.  I have
never really listened to country but it was way
fun!  VIP seating and all!

Well now I am back in school and I finish this year!  Words can't even begin to describe how excited I am to be done.  But I am dreading all of the decisions I need to make in the next couple weeks!  So much to figure out!  Well folks!  That's all for now!

PS- I'm not shnazzy with the pictures and they have gone all out of whack so I apologize for the discombobulation!

Language Is The Dress of Thought

Language is the dress of thought- Samuel Johnson

Language is a funny thing, especially the english language. But I never really knew how funny it was until this semester when I decided to take a Linguistics course at the University. And amidst my other classes on auditing and control systems...well it provides for the most entertaining couple of hours my entire week.

But yes, things are very different in the English writing system. Imagine a new word comes into the English language that is spelled 'ghoti'. How would this be pronounced? In an attempt to demonstrate the inadequacies of the English spelling system, some famous playwright argued that the word could be pronounced as 'fish'. How so, you may ask?! Well just take gander!

enough --> f

women --> i

nation --> sh

And any writing system that could possibly pronounce the string of letters ghoti as fish is in desperate need of reform. But that is just one of the many interesting things I have learned.

For the first part of the semester we have been learning the International Phonetic Alphabet. I think it looks sweet! The following is a paragraph about my life as of late that has been transcribed into IPA....see if you can read it! This kinda thing is what I have been doing all month long!

How'd ya do?!?! Well this is what I said just in case you had no clue what that was....

Close to what you thought? Kinda cool though huh! Ha I know I will never use this in with my accounting degree but that's ok! It is the only fun I get to have this semester!!

Summer Lovin....Had Me A Blast

I'm bbaaaaacccckkkkk!

I have been without my computer for the last little bit so we will pretend that is why I haven't blogged. Sad side note....I lost everything on my computer. Three years worth of music, pictures, and all things pertaining to school. Yes, sad day indeed.

Well much has happened the last little/long bit! Another summer has come and gone much to my dismay. And what a summer it was. We sure had a funny group down in Virginia. I had to leave a little earlier than the rest of the sales team. When they heard it was my last day....well they kinda ambushed me....

I'm in the middle on the chair, and then they decided to "bar mitzvah" me...

Yes, they were an interesting (but super fun) bunch.

A round of applause may be in order as I drove the 40 hours home once again without getting a speeding ticket. It definitely helped that my brother, Kody, flew out to Virginia to help me drive home. But I was still proud.

We had quite the party to say goodbye to Summer. For the first time in many years, our entire family got together and partied like there was no tomorrow! We'd been planning this for the past year and not even Echo-no-wake-Lake was going to stop us. Some family friends gave us their cabin for the week down at Ashley and it was amazing!!

Yes, that is me!!! I was the only one that got up in the parasail this year. Amazing! Although there were a couple times I thought the wind was going to take me up and carry me off....

I remember loving to watch my dad and brothers ski. It was fun to have a course down at Ashley that the guys could hone their skills once more.

They had everything down at Ashley: ping pong, hot-tubbing, home theatre room, paddle boards, quads, crazy fun popcorn machine, not to mention the many water toys!

I love all my handsome brothers!

My mom was happier than a...well there is nothing that I can really compare it to. It was so great to have all the little ones around. Aren't they fabulous!

These are the three new babies this year. Johnny (5 weeks), Jonah (8 months), and little Samuel (about 9 days or so- Kennedy likes to make things exciting)!

We didn't get a chance to take a pic of all the electronics we had down there. Our family sure loves them Apple products! I believe we had something like 7 mac computers, 10 iPhones, 2 iPads, and 3 iPods. Ya life is good!

I am adjusting to being home bit by bit. School is already in full swing and running me off my feet. I had a scare with one of the guys that I have tutored for the last year and a half. We were in the middle of a session when he stopped mid-sentence and said, "Katie, you have ruined my life...." I kinda laughed awkwardly and apologized, having no idea what I was apologizing for. I thought he had been doing so well!!! I stuttered for a second, trying to think of something I could say, when he continued on with his thought. "...yes, you have ruined my life because before I met you, I was completely fine to get 50-60% in my classes. Now if I get something lower than an 80-85%, I am disappointed in myself. You have ruined my life!" Of all the ways I can ruin someone's life, that is one that I am ok with!

Life is good though. But it has definitely been interesting. I was visiting with an old friend the other day and told him some of my stories. After tears were streaming down both our faces he exclaimed that my life should be a movie....but then realized that even Hollywood couldn't come up with some of this stuff...!

So I am going to end this here but I need to say one more thing! I didn't get a chance to talk to my dear friend, Katelyn, yesterday when it was her birthday. So I would be remiss if I didn't get a chance to pay tribute to her right now. What an amazing friend she has been to me over the past..well lots of years! As I mentioned earlier, I have lost all my pictures from the past 3 years so these were stolen from facebook. Thank goodness my parents have copies so not all is lost!

We have had some good times together though! She has been there through it all! I was trying to find some cute friendship quotes but everything was too cliche. So just know that I absolutely adore you, Kate. And your cute little family too! We will need to do lunch soon!

Pessimist's Drinkware

So I know my blog posts have been pretty lame the past month or two. But it isn't my fault. Life is amazing down here in Virginia, but either things aren't exciting enough to blog about....or they are too exciting and crazy and probably shouldn't be shared publicly.

But overall life is good. Life is really good! Kyle and Jess had their baby, and he is absolutely beautiful. I love my schedule and the time I have to do other things and relax. I love that I can walk outside in shorts and a tshirt and enjoy the amazing view and weather!

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend. He commented on how he loved how positive I was. And I started thinking. (Apparently, I have been doing quite a bit of that lately). I used to think of myself as a pretty positive and optimistic person. But I always hated that question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?"

This is a common expression, used rhetorically to indicate whether a person is more of an optimist or a pessimist. I always said the glass was half empty...because it is! It is half empty! But I always wondered if that meant that I was really a pessimistic and cynical person.

Then I found this! This glass is half full!

See! So I am not a cynical person...I prefer to think of myself as more realistic.

And a side note...I hadn't locked my keys in my car for the past 5 years! Now I've locked them in my car 3 times in the past 3 months. Gah I am brilliant!

Oh To Be Me...

You know the elephant in the room. Yes, that giant one over there. Isn't it funny how 2 people can be looking at the same thing, and one sees an itty bitty mouse where the other sees a mammal monstrosity. Just to clarify, it really is/was an honest to goodness mammal monstrosity. Not even exaggerating a little bit.

My life should be a movie. Call me for details....!

Katie In Concert

Time. I love how I have time to do things now. I have decided to fulfill a life long dream while I am here in Virginia.....Look what I got!!!

Forgive the awful background and lighting and everything but I was too excited!

My Heart Is Just A Little Bit Broken

Kody comes home tomorrow. I'm 4100 km away. 'Nuff said....

The Fortune You Seek Is In Another Cookie...

Check one off my Bucket List!

I think I am in the wrong profession! I would love to wear crazy clothes and play cards all day long. So basically it was all a bunch of 'fortune cookie' stuff but I loved it. She definitely had a lot to say about the relationship aspect of my life more so than anything else.

Last weekend we went to the 'Celebrate Fairfax' Fair. I love a good fair. There were rides and booths and games and shows and food.......and a full fledged honest-to-goodness psychic. I've walked past countless shops that advertise palm or tarot card readings or something or other. And there has always been a part of me, a longing if you will, to succumb to that little desire and have my future told! So I did. I'm not one of those people that really believes in fate or signs in the stars or anything. (Although a couple months ago, my horoscope was creepily accurate. Like it's not even funny creepily accurate!) But here is what Madame Zora told me....

There have been some changes in your life- some that you are resistant to and some you embrace.

There will be a move in your future. And although it will be overwhelming, it will have a positive impact in your life. Don't be afraid.

There are things that you am not facing head on in your work and career focus. Don't be resistant to taking another look and heading in different directions. Be open to opportunities that present themselves,

Love and Relationships...There are 2 energies surrounding that aspect of your life. A negative and a positive energy. The negative energy is in your past. You have been very resistant and full of negative feelings towards such associations. You have been hurt by friends and loved ones when it comes to relationships. Because of past affairs, interactions, circumstances, and experiences, you have created a negative aura when it comes to commitment. But that is going to change. There is a positive energy is in your future. The next person you meet will have a positive influence (watch out!). But you need to be careful to not let past events and feelings come through into this new relationship.

I think I am in the wrong profession! I would love to wear crazy clothes and play cards all day long. So basically it was all a bunch of 'fortune cookie' stuff but I loved it. She definitely had a lot to say about the relationship aspect of my life more so than anything else.

Life is definitely a mystery. I am so grateful that I have other places I can turn to for answers. But every once in a while it is fun to have someone gaze into their crystal ball for you...

And I want to wish my Dad and brothers a Happy Father's Day. I have the most amazing family and the most amazing parents. I Love You Dad!!

Hands down, my most favorite picture of my Dad EVER!! What a shining personality! It's no wonder I've turned out the way I have!!

War Of The Roses....

So I know my last post was pretty pitsy, especially since it was so long over due. But this is one that has been on my mind for awhile. I found a radio station here in Virginia last summer that I loved listening to on my way to and from work. It's hilarious. And so real. They talk a lot about the differences between men and women and relationships and marriage and stuff. I know, weird that I would enjoy listening to something like that, what with all my commitment issues and everything. Every once in a while they do this thing called 'War of the Roses' where sadly 9 times out of 10 they catch a partner cheating (which probably doesn't help with my commitment issues any). But one day they brought up an interesting point. And by posting this, I am in no wise saying I agree with everything. But it got me thinking about a few things.

Licenses. We have to renew many of our licenses, whether it's a driving license, a hunting license, a dog license, a software license, a business license, etc. One license that we don't renew is our marriage license. Strange thought, I know. But what if we did? What if people had the choice of whether or not to renew their marriage license? If people had to renew their marriage license every four years or so, don't you think people would try a little harder? If one knew their spouse had the choice of whether or not to renew, wouldn't he/she pay more attention to the little things? Watch the tone of his/her voice? Communicate better? Show more appreciation? Work together? Express love more often? I don't know. I can definitely see a lot of negative repercussions that such an idea could bring, what with the world being the way it is these days. But still, I thought it was an peculiar but interesting idea that they brought forth. I don't know. I'm not saying it is a good plan. It just brought some things into perspective for me, and it has been on my mind back and forth over the past few days.

Thoughts...?

Carry Me Back To Old Virginny

I made it! There were times that I wasn't so sure...

With finals and tutoring and everything else finally out of the way, I was getting ready to embark on my journey of 4100 km across the country. But smooth sailings were not to be had. In the few days leading up to my departure, my car started acting strange. Turns out things like transmissions don't last forever...turns out they tend to go kaput just after the warranty runs out. Funny how that happens! But with it being Easter long weekend, I didn't feel like I could wait around for 5 more days in order shops to open to get it fixed. So Saturday, April 23, I decided to head out and get as far as I possibly could. KJ and my dad both said they thought my transmission would probably get me all the way to Virginia. Good enough for me, so I started to drive. With my GPS and Google Maps in hand, I prayed for smooth sailings.

I love GPS. I do. But sometimes it is a love/hate relationship. I don't know what happened but the GPS took me places I just really didn't want to go. A normal person driving from Alberta to Virginia would drive across the entire state of North Dakota. But strangely, the GPS decided to add 300-400 miles onto my journey and drop me down through South Dakota instead. I didn't see so much as a glimpse of a North Dakota horizon. I have to think that God was looking out for me in some strange way. It probably has something to do with the fact that there is kind of a warrant our for my arrest in the state of North Dakota....no big deal.

It was a long long drive though. The pep-talks I gave my car were definitely oscar movie material. I didn't really know what to expect if my transmission were to suddenly die on the way down, but I kept having these visions of my car blowing up as I drove down the interstate. I had to keep reassuring myself that my Dad loved me more than that and wouldn't have let me drive with the possibility of suddenly combusting.

But I made it! And I love it! It is so incredibly great to be here.

I had my first Saturday off a little while ago, and it was the weirdest but best feeling in the world. I had no responsibilities, no errands, no stress, no decisions to make. And I love it.

I also had to speak in Chuch last Sunday. My topic was Patience. I was glad it wasn't Honesty....

But Life is Good!

There is a light at the end of the Tunnel...

I just hope it's not a train!

I was so proud of myself for blogging regularly a month and a bit ago...and then it all kind of came crashing down. Life was just busy! But the end is in sight with 3 finals to go!

This is kind of what I have been feeling!

And amidst of studying and tutoring and everything, I have been packing too!

Thank goodness I don't have this much stuff accumulated yet...

I leave for Virginia this week!!! Good riddance, snow! I am super excited to be going down there again to be with Kyle and Jess and their little family. I am excited to be somewhere with nice weather. I am excited to start working and not having to squish tutoring sessions into every tiny little break. I am also super excited to see this again....

I Love Wegmans!!

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music...

This used to be my favorite time of year when I was younger. I participated in the Rotary Carol Festival every year starting when I was 5 years old. I remember carefully choosing the songs I wanted to learn, whether it was singing, piano, or flute (and I even did a speech number or two in my days)! I loved when the books would come out that showed who had all entered and when everyone would be performing. I would scan every page over and over again till I basically had the whole thing memorized and had stars beside certain people that I wanted to watch. My mom was always so good to me because I would practically take the whole 2 weeks off of school!

Sometimes it scares me when I think about Kaden. He is turning out to be a little mini-me! I love that kid though! He played the piano and sang a vocal solo in the festival this year and did amazing! I was so proud of him! He got asked to sing his song at the Grand Concert this year and received an award for both piano and vocal.

These Olsen twins sang this song at the Grand Concert as well, and they were fantabulous! For the first time, I wanted little boys of my own so that I could teach them to sing in harmony just like this. Yes, the video is sideways but you can't see anything anyways and it is the sound that is coming out of their beautiful mouths that matters!

The festival seems to be getting smaller and smaller each year, which makes me kinda sad. It caused me to think a lot about the way music has influenced my life and I really do wish I was doing more with it.

I grew a love for music at an early age! I loved loved loved to sing!! (I still love to though!)

I found this picture that I drew in grade 6 or so. Ya, definitely not an artist in the slightest!! I must have been obsessed with voluptuous lips at the time....

(Well that, and the dress is a little provocative too...)

And I even did my fair share of piano too. Everyone ALWAYS says, "I wish I would have practiced more when I was younger." Sadly I am no exception to that, but it is something I am still working on!

I was so blessed to grow up always surrounded by good music. Some of my earliest memories are waking up to the sound of my Mom's flute students warming up with a scale. I don't remember feeling so grateful at the time though!! But my mom is amazing!

Her favorite thing is having the whole family gathered together around the piano and singing together. I feel the same way!

This is one of my favorite memories of my Grandpa Cahoon! Well, this and when he would always take his teeth out and talk with his gums. Oh, and always play this game about dishes on a bush or something to that effect! Sadly, the accordion is a dying art!

I was pretty lucky to grow up in Cardston! There is such great talent, and so many opportunities to take part in. I was pretty blessed to do choir under the direction of Linda Burwell and Leslie Dittmann! Words can't even express how much I learned from those 2 great ladies!

I loved choir! These were my Junior Choir pals! Monica Prince (Bell) and Candace Olsen (Kipp).

And I was pretty dang lucky to have Katelyn with me through it all! Here is us in Edmonton at Honor Choir when we were little.

As you can tell, I went searching through some of my mom's old photos. It is so easy to see what an influence music has had in my life. That was who I was; it was a part of my identity!

I will never live this one down! I got asked to sing 'A Part of Your World' from The Little Mermaid at a Community event. I got there to do a quick dress rehearsal and realized that they had a costume for me to wear! Yup! A costume for the Little Mermaid!! I was slightly mortified. Little did I know that several of my guy friends were also in the concert as the 7 dwarves. To this very day they still call me 'cockle-shells'!!

But since my 'cockle-shell' days, I have expanded my talents to other musical areas as well. I am quite the accomplished iPhone player. Oh yes, it is a real musical instrument! Here we are performing a trio at the Family Christmas Party.

I am so grateful for the joy that music has brought into my life! It played such an integral role into helping me become the person I am today.