The best announcement I have ever given.

   LOVE KIDS ORPHANAGE

I have been looking at this Ghanaian Orphanage for a little over a year. I have wanted to volunteer there so badly. I know Africa?! Everyone is like why do you want to go to Africa?! I really can't tell you why other than the fact that I am just drawn to it, me the one who hates bugs (especially spiders), extreme heat,  and doesn't do well with no modern day bathrooms. Why do I want to go? I have no clue I just do Africa is so BEAUTIFUL and culturally rich, I can't see why everyone doesn't want to go! 

      SO here is my wonderful,  amazing, and exciting announcement... I am going to Nkoranza, Ghana for two weeks in May of 2014. YES! I am SO excited! I can't stand it. I finally have a job and I am on my own I will be 18 in a week and I have no reasons not to go. The trip is roughly $3000 and if anyone is interested PLEASE contact me about it because I would love a travelling companion! Here is the break down of the different costs. 

Plane Ticket: $1500-$2000  (If you buy early its not that expensive)

Orphanage Donation: $100 (The orphanage asks for a donation for the building)

Food: $180 (its $12 a day for the staff to buy and prepare food for your stay and two weeks is roughly 180)

Misc. Expenses: $300 (memorabilia, unexpected expenses ie: shuttle from Accra to Orphanage) 

     NOW is that exciting or what?!? I am so happy I love this kind of thing and why wouldn't you? If you think about it how many people can they say they've been to Africa AND you are helping a WONDERFUL cause by being a volunteer. Whether you are interested in going or not I think everyone should check out their website because its awesome you will fall in love, I know I did! the address is lovekidsfoundation.org 

check out their page and see what it is that I am so excited about, there is so much you can do for them if you cannot physically get to Africa and volunteer. 

        I hope you all will at least look at the page. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL rest of their Sunday or whatever day you are reading this (: LOVE YOU ALL!

Becoming a better you.

 

     SO a year or so ago we had a lesson in young women's about looking for the right spouse.
I don't pay attention very well but when I do I always remember at least one thing from a lesson, lecture, or even a discussion with a friend lol. I can remember the teacher saying the usual things make a list of all the qualities you want in a husband. We all put down acceptable church qualities because we all know the answers they want to hear (don't get me wrong we all subconsciously desire all the "correct" answers) and then after we had shared a few of them with the class the teacher proceeded to tell us something I had never really thought about before but I really like it now. If we expect our future spouse or current spouse to have certain qualities then don't you think they have a list of qualities that they want us to have? Well yeah sure they have a list we all know that, it may not be written down but there is a mental note of course.
       
      Now here is the kicker, you need to meet these high expectations as well. If you want your husband
to be fit and healthy chances are he wants his wife to be fit and healthy. If you want your husband to be patient and understanding then you had better develop these virtues as well. Now we don't have to have all the same qualities as each other life would be boring if it were like that but think about it if you are striving to do all that is on your list then your chance at finding someone with those qualities becomes much more likely. We have to prove we are willing to be a "perfect" spouse if we expect them to be the "perfect" spouse. People will similar values and standards are more attracted to people with similar values and standards.

     This post is NOT an excuse to lower your standards though!!! Keep your expectations high this is in turn allow you to become the best person that you can be and also help you find the person that you were meant to be with, even if you aren't looking to get married right now it never hurts to start developing positive attributes. You don't have to be looking for a better half you could be looking for new friends or maybe wanting to go on a few more dates than you have been. Whatever the case there is no excuse to not work on  improving yourself.
       
     I hope you have enjoyed this post and continue reading what I have to say. I love you all and will post again soon!

Getting out.

So yesterday I went to my first State Fair...
    If you all know me very well I am a homebody I don't like to go out and about its too stressful to get ready for it and I just am  not all that social, however, 99% of the time I have a blast once I am out so I don't know why I still resist leaving the house. I've been told by many different people the only way to enjoy 'college life' is to get out and be active participants in your singles ward. I am working on it.
     Yesterday one of my apartment mates from upstairs came down to ask if me and Rachel wanted to go to the State Fair in SLC so since I keep declining her invitations for different activities I decided it would be a good idea to just go so I don't seem too rude and come off as anti-social :) Me, Rachel, Sabrina, Star, and Nina all went to the state fair. Some of us ate disgusting looking fair food, we looked at Sabrina's AMAZING art piece she had in the fair (I envy her talent), we rode some of the rides, saw the BIGGEST bull I have ever seen in my life, payed a dollar each to see an alligator, and over all had a great time. There is nothing quite like the smell of a Fair, depending on where you are you can smell the greasy food, cigarette smoke, and the best of all B.O! Yet everyone goes to the fair, its just a fun experience. Anyway we all had a blast there we walked around all night which was good since I missed my routine that day. We got there around 9 and left at midnight. By the end of the night Sabrina was second guessing her judgement on eating a giant corn dog, I was incredibly dizzy from the last ride, and everyone was tired.
    Okay so moral of the story is it is true the only way to have fun to get out of the house and socialize with the world (; I am still young and ready to live life to the fullest, do as many ridiculous things as I can, and have fun doing it. I am looking forward to the many more adventures that I will encounter while I am here!

The SERIOUS misadventure. My first road trip...

    Moving is a hassle no matter what right? Well now but a 17 year old who has never driven outside of her small town called Winchester KY, who is also crying in a car with her 12 year old sister and let her follow you for 1700 miles too her NEW home in Utah in a little Saab chalk full of my belongings. Yes that was definitely an adventure in itself. Not to brag or anything but I think I did exceptionally well. So we started our journey north toward Louisville KY where we would meet up with our dearest Elder Jolley and Elder Day for a "quick" breakfast that all went smoothly we were doing great! I didn't even break a sweat in the noticeably heavier traffic of Louisville from Winchester. Our goal for the the day was 10 hours we would reach Kansas City MO that night...  Okay so we made it to a small town 20 minutes from Kansas City (which made me mad) but Mom was too tired to continue any further. At the hotel Savannah, Emma, Hannah, Annaliese, Brendan, and Logan all went inside mom left somewhere too and I was left outside. Now if you know me very well you know I am painfully shy so I was just going to wait for my mom to come back and go up with me because I had no clue what room we were in and no cell service. I waited... and waited... and waited... Still waiting.... Finally it had been a full hour and I went inside hoping that the desk clerk would tell me the room number, she was very kind and accommodating and I finally got upstairs to a stinky room with a bunch of grumpy girls and boys who were running around like crazy drugged up fools. The night was just beginning so after trying to find wet wipes so I could change Logan because no one else was about to, I failed in my search and the only things I could think to do was get toilet paper a little wet and try that. Oh yeah we won't even go into that it was ridiculous. Logan has this habit of running around just back and forth and so he was doing that and we were on the second floor so we got a phone call saying that someone was complaining about noise underneath us. Needless to say we were embarrassed and annoyed with the grumps who needed quiet at 6pm. Finally Mom came back and everyone went to the pool except me and mom. That was night one.
       Day Two was pretty good if I remember correctly just smooth going we all got along pretty well me and Hannah were in my car the entire trip and everyone else road with the T.V haha So my antenna is non existent I pulled it out because it was having issues. So I had a selection of CD's me and Hannah had to listen to on the 3 day voyage to Utah. I blast my music always I just think its better when you can feel the music ;) SO my CD's were mostly Disney hahahaha I am a little kid at heart and always will be so that is what we listened to but we would blast Fergie sometimes me and Hannahs song is London Bridge by Fergie now :) We would pass mom just to make her mad and sing at the top of our lungs. Our destination for that night was Denver and we made it. Denver was the most nerve wrecking part of the journey so far. That night was the shooting in Aurora... It was a little scary we were really close to it. We headed out for the last leg of our journey our goal today was to make it to Delta Utah!
          Day three was much like day two uneventful until we reached Greenriver UT... We were three hours away from our destination. We had stopped to get gas at the Greenriver gas station and I was pulling out onto the interstate and then my car started to freak out it wouldn't go faster than 40mph and I was freaking I had no idea what that meant! My poor little car had steam coming out of the hood and the temp. gauge was waaaaay up on the H it was overheating. I was devastated! We were so close why was this happening!? Why were we having problems now! Couldn't it wait another 3 hours!? No of course not. So we had to buy more coolant and have someone look at it in Greenriver and we went on our way it was okay once we put the coolant in it again but mom drove my car and i drove the van. We had to pullover again about ten miles out of Greenriver but after that we were fine we traded places in Salina and I drove the rest of the way to Delta with no problems.  When we were finally about 20 miles out of Delta I BOOKED it past mom I went 90 all the way to the 4 way to turn into Delta then I had to slow down for fear of a ticket. We had these walkie talkies that were SO annoying Mom got them so we could keep in touch after I lost service in Missouri so the entire way she would beep in saying slow down. It was irritating but helpful when I had overheated! We had the car taken to a shop in Delta and they replaced the water pump(?) I'm pretty sure that is what they replaced.
      About a week later we were headed to Provo/Bountiful and mom decided to take the scenic route! Mt. Nebo loop! It was horrible. I over heated 3 times on that stinking loop (it will forever be ruined to me now) We chugged into Kristen Duncan's in Spanish Fork and visited for a little while we were headed to Provo to see my apartment and maybe move some stuff in. We made it to my apartment with no overheating and we walked in on poor Nina she didn't really know what to think but I decided I didn't want to take anything in that day because I would be moving downstairs in a little bit anyways. We were heading out to go to Bountiful and my car overheated and dumped coolant  all over and my power steering went out. SERIOUSLY!? What the heck! The car that I had been so in love with was slowly becoming my enemy. I ended up leaving the car in a parking space at the apartment (it had EVERYTHING in it) and we headed to Bountiful.
     I have this thing where as long and I don't talk I don't cry... I was just mad. Mom made me call Dad and tell him what had happened and I couldn't even tell him before I burst into tears about it, it was just so frustrating that it seemed like everything was working against me! We made it to Bountiful and had a nice time Dad ended up flying out to fix my dear old car which mind you I had bought a week before we left.
It turns out that the Serpentine belt had come off and the coolant was all gone again the guy in Delta didn't fix the problem... Me and Dad went to the apartment and he fixed the car mostly while I moved in and Brendan ran in and out again and again. We drove it back to Bountiful.
     We were headed back to Delta for the Bear Lake trip that I LOVE! My family was leaving before we would get back though so I was in tears about them leaving wishing they could go but glad to get this over with so we said our goodbyes and while I was gone Dad replaced the the Thermostat so that seemed to be the problem and it has run fantastically since.
      So now you all know the craziness that was my summer... Actually that was just the end of the summer. 2012 has been the busiest year for me ever. Mindy Gledhill concert in VA in Jan. and a couple other VA trips that year then graduation, then S. Carolina with a friend, my last Girls Camp, and MOVING was the final thing that happened to me this year.
   I am glad to report that my car is doing great and I am much better too ;) I am settling in just fine ;) my wall is going to have sooooo many little holes in it from all the stuff i have hung up but I think if it feels like home it makes it better!
       I would love to hear about some of your crazy summer stories now that you have had a brief look at mine!!!!! Love you all and talk to you sooooon!
kat

What is a Bucket List? (BL)

One may ask themselves what exactly is a bucket list? I believe bucket list can be interpreted in may different ways I have looked them up online (they were quite interesting, ie: own a pet.. I won't judge but they don't seem to be very exciting people if that is their bucket list. LOL)  and they all vary for each person, but, a bucket list is supposed to be a list of things that you wish to do before you die or GOALS. I have always had a list in my head of things I want to do in this life but I never really made a separate notebook and took it seriously before. Rachel Smith has a giant 'Five Star' notebook full of things for her bucket list. One of the things on her list was to make someone else make a bucket list and I was like okay just so she can mark it off. I started writing the obvious things like travel to all the wonderful places I love (we will save that for another post) but then I was in a rut I didn't really know what else I wanted to do... To me a bucket list has endless possibilities I think it really should be full of things that you actually want to do for example I put in that I wanted to complete a marathon and bike 50 miles starting in Delta UT. I could NOT do that as of right now but now I think about it everyday and I feel motivated to do what I can to be able to accomplish these things on my list. I am a little OCD and I now know that I am going to have to fulfill most of this list (I may not ever have enough money to travel to every country that interests me but I will CERTAINLY do my best.).

 Okay so anyways What is a Bucket List? I challenge all of you who have not made one to make one right now because its not ever too late to start enjoying life. A BL is the best way to motivate yourself into doing something new and fun!!! I dare you to try and have fun!

   

     So here is how I started mine I had just received a brand new notepad and I wrote down everything that I could think of that I wanted to do it was two pages long (I looked up ideas so that I had a second opinion it makes your list longer and gives you ideas you may never have thought of ie: blackwater rafting yeah it looks awesome look it up ;)) I then ripped them out because once again we all know I am really OCD about that.

 I made categories that I thought would be appropriate for each goal, my categories so far are; Travel, Adventures,"Learns",and New Experiences. (I made one of them "learns" because its things that I would like to learn, ie: new languages, piano, snorkeling, etc.) I then color coded each category so I didn't have to skip a bunch of pages to accommodate my goals as I thought of them which I would suggest to everyone just because it looks better and is more organized. I keep mine close to me at all times because if you get excited about it you will be thinking about new things to put on  your BL all the time and its truly exciting if you actually try ;) 

I wish you all the best of luck in your bucket listing experiences! Please comment and tell me about what you have done with yours I would love some more insight of what works for different people!!! 

Love always

Katarina

Hurry and grow up!

     When you are a kid you always fantasize about growing up and adults always tell you to "enjoy being young" but you being a child don't really care you want to experience it now and will yourself to grow up as fast as you can. I am finally a grown up. I still don't know whether or not I am ready to be a grown up. Its a whole different world now, on one hand I do whatever I want to do when I want to do it because there aren't any adults to tell me otherwise, however I don't have anyone to pay for my stuff anymore. Since I moved from Kentucky back to Utah I am trying to earn residency so college tuition is less daunting, however I am also postponing because how should I know what I want in life?! I am 17 for crying out loud I cannot possibly know what is good for me and what isn't right? Well thank goodness for modern technology! Technology has aloud me to move to Utah and still communicate with my family like they are here with me, Skype is a wonderful tool! For those who haven't tried it, its magical. Anyway what I am trying to say is no matter where you are in life its best to just enjoy it we aren't here to be punished! We should take every opportunity to pursue the things that we want in this life, whether it be to bike across the country, travel the world, or own your own business we should all do what we dream of because the fountain of youth is joy... 

      Okay on a side note this blog is for the documentation of my new life as an adult learning and growing from these awkward encounters and new experiences! I hope you all enjoy what you read :)