Mama Bear

Dear Mom,
I was hoping that by now I would've diligently kept up with my Thirty Days and Thirty Thanks posts, but sadly, I am a procrastinator and I've fallen behind (no, I know, I did NOT inherit such a trait from you).
Here's the thing...
I'm really really thankful for so many things. I'm truly thankful for all that I have, and even things I don't have but maybe dream of having. You taught me to be that way. A thankful dreamer.
In fact, you've taught me the most about gratitude, which is why I wanted to save you for last.
You're a strong mama, Mama (hehe). No but really. You have been a constant light in my life, always there to teach me, through your example, to embrace all that I have and "create my own happiness". Even in your darkest hours, you never cursed the heavens for what you didn't have, you've always turned to them to strengthen you and remind you of the blessings that you do have.
You are my greatest example of achievement and have shown me that through hard work and dedication, you CAN have the good things in life that you want, while still remaining a person who lovingly gives and gives.


I'm so thankful for you.
I'm thankful that you've always taught me the importance of gratitude and the words, "Thank you".
I'm thankful that you're thankful for your 'smile wrinkles' (which I promise, no one notices, it's just that you always talk about how you like them). It's nice to have a mama who's always smiling.
I'm thankful that you showed me how to dream. Dream books/boards are still my fave.
I'm thankful for the memories we've made 'giving back'. I really think it feels best to be on the 'giving' side of things... not that the 'receiving' side is too bad either.
I'm thankful for your strength. Strength to overcome, strength to move forward, strength to stay positive and strength to believe... the list could go on and on.
I'm just really so thankful for you. Not to mention, you're the one who gave me life. I'm pretty thankful for that too.


I love you, Mom. You continue to amaze me each day just by being you. Thanks for that.


Forever Yours,
Kaitlyn Marie

Starfleet Academy... Here I come

I treated myself to a great movie yesterday.

Now all I can think about is going "where no man has gone before" and commanding my very own Starfleet ship.

Live Long and Prosper,

Kaitlyn

My Life List Pt. 2

My Life List Pt. 1

1. Learn to drive a stick shift
2. Go on a run along the Great Wall of China
3. See the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
4. Learn to play the ukelele
5. Become scuba diving certified
6. Ride an elephant
7. Feel more in control of my life
8. Pay for the car behind me at a toll booth
9. Be completely debt free
10. Own my own dog
11. Visit a rainforest
12. Spend a New Years Eve in New York City
13. Really learn how to surf
14. Go on a spiritual retreat
15. Swim naked in the Mediterranean
16. Learn how to meditate
17. Form a great habit of waking up early
18. Visit a live volcano and see flowing lava
19. Climb the Statue of Liberty
20. Spend a Mardi Gras in New Orleans
21. Journal every day
22. Finish a crossword with no help
23. Hug more often
24. Be the best sister I can be
25. Speak less, listen more
26. Write a love letter to myself
27. Make a gingerbread house
28. Learn how to bake bread from scratch
29. Explore Amish Country in Pennsylvania
30. Learn to make chocolate truffles
31. Take a bartending class
32. Learn more about wine
33. Attend Carnival in Rio de Janiero
34. Spend time on every Hawaiian Island
35. Take a martial arts class
36. Go skydiving
37. See marijuana legalized
38. Snowshoe in Canada
39. Ride on top of a double decker bus in England
40. Drink sake in Tokyo
41. Find a four leaf clover
42. Visit Machu Picchu in Peru
43. Attend Oktoberfest in Germany
44. Go on a cheese tasting tour in Europe
45. Pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem
46. Write an article for a magazine
47. Take a ceramics class
48. Sing karaoke
49. Host Thanksgiving dinner
50. Grow a garden

My Life List Pt. 1

Naturally, I'm a dreamer. Thankfully, I was also born to one. My mother is a dreamer and despite many odds, she's accomplished so many of her lifetime dreams and goals. At a young age, she taught me to cut out pictures of dreams that I want to see and do during my lifetime from magazines. From those pictures, we created our first "Dream Book" and filled the book with pictures and words of things we'd hoped to someday see, do, or have. Years later, I can now look at that first dream book that we created and I can put a check mark next to many of those pictures. Since then, I've made many dream books. Gratefully, I still have too many dreams. Many will be accomplished, and others may not be, but I cannot imagine a life void of dreams and goals. So here are a few. There will be many more to come.

1. Run a marathon with my mom
2. Smoke on a Jamaican beach
3. Get my degree
4. Swim with dolphins
5. Learn another language
6. Write a song
7. Learn to sail
8. Spend time in a foreign country doing humanitarian work
9. Get bigger boobs
10. Leave a casino with a lot more money than I started with
11. Write "our" book with my mother
12. Smoke legally
13. Learn to play the guitar
14. Fall in love. The right kind.
15. Roadtrip across the United States
16. Have a child
17. Have a star named after myself
18. Build a savings I can actually depend on if need be
19. Enjoy a beer at a pub in Ireland
20. Join a book club
21. Learn to make my own sushi
22. Leave a $100 tip for a waitress
23. Attend the Grammys
24. Take a gourmet cooking class
25. Go whale watching in Alaska
26. Spend a summer travelling Europe
27. Visit the Seven Wonders of the World
28. Horseback ride on the beach
29. Purchase a piece of clothing over $1000
30. Camp in the Grand Canyon
31. Ride a camel in the desert
32. Start my own business
33. Take part in the movement to legalize it
34. Visit castles in Europe
35. Ride a gondola in Venice
36. Safari in Africa
37. Learn to decorate cakes
38. Spend a weekend at a winery
39. Spend time in Amsterdam
40. Go on a Mediterranean cruise
41. Ride in a submarine
42. Go on a vacation alone
43. Develop a healthy and honest relationship
44. Visit the historical sights in Washington D.C.
45. Attend a broadway show in NYC
46. Sleep in an igloo
47. Learn to surf
48. Win a beer pong game
49. Be able to say, "I'm with the band"
50. Visit Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris