Grammar with Kate: Punctuation Personality Quiz

You know you wanna take this quiz...it doesn't get any better than this...find out what kind of punctuation mark you are! Ha! Fun!

Click here to take the quiz!

Be sure to click the personality profiles to see if your punctuation really matches who you are!

If you want, leave a comment and share your punctuation alter-ego!

Apparently I'm an exclamation mark. I'm down with that. According to the profile page, Donald Trump and Frida Kahlo are fellow exclamation marks! Who knew?

Oh, and one more thing...the quiz may be a bit geared for the average high-school age quiz taker, but hey, that's no big thing. :)

Source: Weheartit.com

It's Worth a Shot--DIY Granite Counter tops

Aloha!

So I'm not a real blogger. I know some people who blog more than just casually. Not only are they fantastic, but their blogs are dang exceptional. Check out my girlfriend Lindsay and her blog, From the Aisle to Aloha.

I blog for fun. I blog to remember. I blog to write. I blog to relate. I blog to share. And I blog to stay in touch.

I love it. But I'm sort of a bad blogger :(. Sometimes I start things and I forget to finish them. I jump around. For example, this past summer, I blogged about our DIY granite counter tops in our bathrooms. I blogged through most of the process and then I never posted the "after" pics. Not that anyone has been anxiously awaiting that post, but still... ;)

We (and by "we" I mean mostly Tim) just started a new DIY house project. But, before I share that process and maybe offer some inspiration, I should at least wrap up our previous adventure in home ownership.

So here we go... before and after:

I took this above photo of the "master" bathroom when we first moved into the house--almost three years ago!

I snapped this photo just before Tim took the counter off this past summer.

 And here it is--all finished! I don't miss the purple sink one bit. We used molding around the mirror to give a framed illusion at a fraction of the cost.

 This is our surfer themed guest bathroom three years ago. Cliche, I know. :)

 Here it is this past summer, just before changing out the counter, sink, shower curtain, and wall color.

I took this pic as Tim started chipping away at the caulking.

All done!! Come be our guest!

 

New Traditions (and that daddy date that can't be beat)

I love a reason to celebrate almost as much as I love a reason to dress in costume. ;)

Perhaps the onus lies with my parents. In a good way, of course! My beautiful, talented mother could have pursued anything in life as her number one priority. In fact, I've always been proud of her health-field skills as she's a registered nurse. But, what she chose, always, as her first place, was her faith and then her family. Always.

She put her heart and soul into making me and my 3 younger siblings feel loved and valued. Holidays were just one excuse to light up each day.

We still laugh about one Memorial Day morning when I came racing into my parents bedroom at the crack of dawn (I was maybe 9 or 10), crushed to find my parents still snoozing. I anxiously demanded to know what extravagant adventure awaited us kids for the holiday (Memorial Day, mind you). My young mind anticipated a full-blown celebration!

My mom jokes: "I knew then that I had ruined her..."

Indeed.

I'm still a sucker for holidays. And if you think I'm festive, it's only cause you haven't met my little sister.

Anyway, St. Valentine's Day was a beautiful way to start this week! Now that Tim and I have our own little critter in the mix, new traditions are popping up everywhere!

Of course dressing for the holiday--every holiday--is a must! Blakely took her Valentines to daycare and I took little heart pencils to pass out at school. :)

This year, Blakely munched on her new favorite: kiwi fruit. Heart shaped pizza may be the new Valentine evening go-to family meal, but Blakely will have to wait until next year to have her own slice. ;)

Timmy and I LOVE making pizzas together. Tonight's pizza was piled high with veggies and five kinds of cheese. Kale is my new topping of choice. The mishap was that we forgot to cut it into a heart. Oh well, next year...

Tim and his valentine (well, he has two now...) Blakely has to clean-up for her date-night-in with daddy.

Tim picked out a Valentine card for B. His letter to his baby was as thoughtful as they come. She's a blessed little one.

Daddy gave Blakely Beauty and the Beast. First father-daughter chick flick date! I'm sure there will be many more to follow... <3

Blakely will always have a date with her daddy, on Valentine's Day, or any other day. That daddy-daughter relationship is where it's at!

Thank you to my daddy--for always investing in me and Tori so we didn't feel the need to look elsewhere (for luv) before the time was right...

Regarding Faith: C.S. Lewis and Pastor Waxer

I have two unrelated things on my heart (that have been challenging me). And I'd like to share. Imagine that ;). Good thing reading a blog post is voluntary. hehe :)

1. My brother Ricky posted this C.S. Lewis quote on his Facebook. I love it.

·         “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.” CS Lewis

2. I heard through the grape-vine that I might enjoy some sermon messages by Pastor Waxer at One Love Ministries in Honolulu. I finally got around to downloading a message to my computer and then uploading it to my iPod.

photo credit: weheartit.com

This is actually the first time I've uploaded a podcast of any kind. I usually just jam to my hitzzzz ;) or run my mouth while I'm jogging (you know how you are if you get those winded phone calls from me mid-afternoon!). A few years ago I'd pick up sermon CDs (yes CDs) from Solid Rock Fellowship in Portland, Oregon. Then I'd jog around the West Hills (Steinfeld's neighborhood) and listen to various messages by the Comer's (with my trusty disc man and jogging belt). I loved doing that.

I forgot that I loved doing that.

I'm hooked again. I think I'll start downloading/uploading various sermons and get my Jesus on a bit more as I hit the pavement.

photo credit: weheartit.com

I invite you to check out some of the messages from One Love. They are about an hour and terrific (Waxer's a phenomenal speaker). I tried uploading a podcast here, but apparently I'm not that tech-savvy (don't tell my students ;)). Here's the link to the audio/visual page on their website: media.

photo credit: weheartit.com

I thank God for His mercies...which are new every morning. For every person.

Had to Share: Super Foods and Super Cute Monkeys

Aloha! Happy Sunday my Ohana!

It's been a week since I last had a chance to post! Not that you're counting...I'm sure you're not ;). But, I've been thinking about my humble little blog corner here and all of you, of course.

The responsibilities were piled on high this past week, but fortunately (by God's grace) I took it hour by hour and I think it all worked out just so!

Okay, when I took a few mental breaks last week, here is what was on my mind:

Super food! I am a freak for healthy eating. Not that I always eat healthily (SPK --if ya know what I mean), but I do try. And now that I feed little nummers, I try even harder.

Does anyone else get Real Simple? It's my top magazine choice. Anyway, this article is the bomb: The 30 Healthiest Foods. It was also just the kick in my akole that I needed to finally pick up some fresh kale and give it a shot.

Here, let me share Blakely's fave breakfast, my go-to in the morning, and our newest cube on the block...

Greek yogurt (Costco), flax seeds (Trader Joe's), and mango/pineapple/carrot juice (Target).

Coach's Oats, almonds, dried blueberries, and flax seed. Add to crockpot with water and cook on high for 2-3 hours--it's perfect!

Coffee, too, of course!

Pull kale from spine (is that the right word?) and mix with chopped apples and a quarter cup of water (give or take). Cook on medium heat until apples and kale are softened (maybe 10-15 minutes--stirring occasionally).

Add apples, kale, and flax seed (if you want) to food processor--blend until smooth (3ish minutes).

Store in ice cube trays or baby food freezer trays.

Although I didn't look it up, I imagine it's good to stay in freezer for a couple of months. Of course, the sooner baby eats, the better in terms of nutrients (of which kale is jam packed).



Aren't these sock monkeys cute? I found them at Walmart for $3 each. Blakely will take them to daycare on Monday for her little friends. The middle one is for Jackson and Leah and Alana will get the sweet blue ones. The teddy bear around the corner is for baby Evelyn.

Portlandia--(Put a Bird on It)

Ummmm, yeah.... so about this video...you have to watch it! There is a new show on IFC (yep, didn't even know that channel existed!). It's called Portlandia. And while there are a few "sketch" scenes--as in--I'm not that interested--there are far more hilarious scenes. Oh, how I miss Portland. This clip rang too true and really made me laugh. Enjoy!

Love you all! Have a great upcoming week!

There's no such thing as too soon

to start surfin' -- at least that's what my hubby says!

I'll take a baby and the beach any day!

Thanks to Blakely's Papa for the life vest! And thanks to our sweet friends, Jesse and Bethany for takin' these cool pics!

xoxo