Shower the people you love with love.

Posted on July 25, 2013 by haydenkatie

Another audible! I’m getting pretty good at this…though I’m running out of substitute challenges…

I spent some time filming a particularly fun challenge this weekend with my cousins, my parents and my aunt. My cousin Mike has a film production company, Bon Lavi Productions, and his other (paying) clients need to come first so we have a slight delay on when the footage will be available.

That being said, I have taken this week to do another challenge that I’ve really been looking forward to.

Challenge #14:

“Choose 5 important people in your life and write each one of them a letter letting them know how much you love, admire and appreciate them and why they are so special to you.” – From Amanda Rose

Amanda, thank you for giving me this challenge. I don’t think we take enough time to really let one another know how much we care about each other these days. Everyone is so busy with their own lives that sometimes the appreciation gets lost in the hustle and bustle. I have been fortunate to have so many incredible people in my life, and while I always say “I love you” at the end of every phone call, I don’t always let them know why.

I have selected both of my siblings, my best friend Braden, my best friend Megan and my cousin Amy as the recipients of these letters. These are not in any specific order and please don’t be offended if you are not one of these 5 people. It was really difficult to figure out who to choose for these letters because I have so many wonderful friends and family members in my life.

This forced me to take a step back and really think about the people that have influenced me to be a better person, always wanted what was best for me and been there, unconditionally, every single step of the way. It also made me realize how incredibly lucky I am. I have so many more letters I want to write and who doesn’t love getting snail mail these days!?

Writing these letters was a very personal experience and I spent the better part of the day crying, both happy tears and sad tears, while writing each letter. I also laughed as I reminisced about all of the good times I’ve had with each one of them. I’m not going to share the letters word for word because those are between me and the recipient, but I’ll give you several highlights from each.

We’ll start with John, my big brother.

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When I say that he is the best big brother a girl could possibly ask for, I beg you to prove me wrong. From day one, John has been by my side, cheering me on, building me up and teaching me how to be a better person. I used to joke about how he was the All American Kid in high school because it seemed as though he could do no wrong. The truth is, that’s exactly what he is. Captain of every sports team he ever played on, good grades, flawless in the eyes of everyone- he gave me some pretty big shoes to fill. More importantly, he is my protector, my leader, my confidant and someone to aspire to be like. When we were little, we didn’t always get along. We were fighting so bad once that my parents created a rather unconventional punishment. We were forced to hold hands for 24 hours. I had to go to his baseball practice with him and hang out in right field while he caught fly balls. If one of us had to use the bathroom, the other had to wait outside until they were finished. It was really very brilliant. Well done, Mom and Dad. John takes time to understand why I work the way I do and loves me for who I am, good parts and bad. Now that he has found his perfect counterpart, Becky, and they have brought a beautiful little girl, Belle, into this world, I am even more proud of the man he has become. I love you, John!

The next recipient is my sister, Abbey.

Anyone that has spent any time with either one of us, both separate and apart, knows that we have not always gotten along. Abbey and I butt heads frequently, but over the past few years we have developed a relationship that I have really come to value. As a kid with ADHD, I was kind of all over the place. I had a temper, I forgot things frequently, I got picked on (but who didn’t?) and Abbey spent a lot of time looking out for me. She played the big sister role when she really didn’t have to. Since she moved to Dallas and now onto Denver, she’s really started to find her way and I couldn’t be happier. She is the definition of independent. We have started to build the friendship I’ve always wished we’d had and I can honestly say she’s one of my best friends. I turn to her for things I never dreamed I would have as a child. We have our inside jokes and we goof off with one another whenever we have the opportunity. She gave me a “sister trip” for Christmas! All we need to do now is pick our destination! Can’t wait!! Love you, seester. Boop.

I sent the next letter to my best friend, Braden.

Braden and I have known each other since we were younger, but through college and now in our young adult lives, he has become one of my best guy friend. He’s my go-to for many things including a good laugh, comfort in times of need and advice when I need a straight shooter. He’s helped me through some difficult times and vice versa. The absence he created when he moved to Boston for a new job with Gillette at the beginning of the year made me realize just how much I relied on him and missed him. It’s not often that you come across someone that can cheer you up more than anyone else and give you a heavy dose of reality at the exact same time. He’s got my back when I need him to and I’m very grateful to have him in my life. I’ve been up to visit him twice since he moved and had the time of my life on both occasions. Boston is an incredible city and I’m so proud of all that he has accomplished. Love you, B.

The fourth letter goes to my best friend Megan.

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Megan and I got to know each other when we joined the Junior League together. We knew each other in High School, but hadn’t had much interaction. She is one of the reasons that I encourage every young woman I know to join the JLC. I have met some really incredible women and built some pretty unbelievable friendships. Megan is one of the most compassionate, warm-hearted people I’ve ever met. Her husband, Drew, and I poke fun at her “silver lining” perspective, but it is one of her most admirable qualities. She finds the upside in everything. She is always there to listen, give me perspective and support me when I need it. She’s also my go-to mani/pedi date and I love our catch-up sessions. Megan and Drew are currently expecting a little girl, their first child, and I know she will be the most amazing mother. She is everything that a best friend should be and I’m grateful for her every day. Love you, Megan!

My final letter goes to my cousin Amy.

(WTF Amy. How do we not have ANY pictures of just the two of us!?)

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This little lady is by far one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met. Life has handed her more than her fair share of curveballs and she handles each and every one of them with grace, maturity and positivity. She’s actually one of the reasons that I started this whole project in the first place. I hope to come out of this adventure having learned to handle these unexpected life events half as well as she does. We have spent quite a bit of time together in the past year or so and I cherish every minute of it. She has incredible drive and succeeds at everything she tries. She’s another one of those All American kids that every parent should be honored to have raised. Her parents are equally as amazing and I’m so honored to call them my family. She is not only my cousin, but another one of my best friends. I view her as I do my sister. Amy moved to New York at the beginning of the summer to take a well-deserved job as a PA with Nightline. I miss her very, very much, but I’m so excited for her and cannot wait to see all that she achieves in the Big Apple. Plus, it’s just another place I get to go visit!! I love you, Ames.

This challenge has been incredibly rewarding. It has reminded me of all of the blessings in my life and allowed me to reflect on how lucky I am. I’m surrounded by amazing friends and family and am grateful for each and every one of you.

I’d also like to take a minute to write a little note to my loyal readers that check in every week to see what I’m up to. It honestly makes my day when people message me about how much they liked my blog or ask me why my post isn’t up yet if I’m late updating it. It reminds me that I’m not just doing this for myself, but for all of you, as well. I went into this expecting for it to be exciting, but I never expected to have so much support and encouragement from all of you. I’m still floored by some of the numbers that this has generated. In less than 4 months I have been read by over 5,000 people in 31 countries. I’m humbled and overjoyed to have touched so many lives and am incredibly eager to see where it goes from here. I have expressed this to many of you individually, but seriously. It means the world to me. Thank you so very, very much!!

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On that note, I feel like I need a catch phrase…suggestions?

Wakeboards, Music Festivals and Family! Summer Vaca at its finest

Posted on July 19, 2013 by haydenkatie

Hey, guys!! I have returned from family vaca, music festival madness and some much needed R&R! I hope you all have had a lovely last couple of weeks! Those that were in Cincinnati suffered from quite a bit of rain and are now entering the hot, humid dog days of summer. We had perfect weather while we were up in Michigan at Walloon Lake so it was difficult to come back to.

The sunsets on Walloon are priceless.

I have had a crazy couple of weeks since my last post and have a lot to fill you in on! My next official challenge will post next week as I’m just getting back into the swing of things in my normal every day life. It’ll be a good one so be sure to tune in!

I spent 10 days surrounded by my family relaxing at our place on Walloon Lake. I got my cherries, spent time with my grandparents, learned how to drive a boat, fished, watched a parade, cooked, roasted marshmallows and took in some of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever see. I also stood witness to the most incredible fireworks show I have ever seen, standing directly beneath it!

Just because I took a little vacation from the blog does not mean I did not see my fair share of challenges along the way. For starters, I learned to wakeboard!! I’m a bit of an odd man out in my family in the sense that I am incredibly uncoordinated. Like constantly tripping, bumping into things and seriously injuring myself uncoordinated. My brother, John, and sister, Abbey, are both athletically inclined and are generally successful at everything they attempt. As mentioned before, I’m the artsy one. That being said, I have been wanting to try this for awhile and since water skiing didn’t go so well, I figured I stood a better chance at wakeboarding.

The reason: both legs are strapped to the same board and can’t get twisted all around, spread into splits far more than my flexibility allows and if you catch an edge, your whole body falls in the same direction. These are the same reasons I prefer snowboarding to skiing.

My parents got us a new MasterCraft wakeboarding boat for Christmas so I have been planning on conquering the sport since I first looked at the pamphlet. This thing is pretty sweet. It has more storage than any boat I have ever seen in my life. Naturally, this is to conceal all of the sweet water sports accessories he got to go with it. We have skis, tubes boards, surf boards, knee boards, etc. It has a killer sound system and definitely isn’t hard on the eyes. They said it was for us, but I’m pretty sure it’s dad’s new favorite toy.

Determined to pick this up, I asked my Dad to take me out on the boat and give it a whirl. He had arranged for a pro to take us out the next day and I did not want my first attempt at the sport to be witnessed by someone who competed professionally. I know that sounds kind of backward because he could obviously teach me better than my family members, but whatev. After receiving some guidance from my siblings and reviewing a few instructional videos I found on YouTube (because everyone does that kind of research first, right?) I strapped the board to my feet and got into the lake.

For those that aren’t aware, this is the hardest part for me. There is something about sitting in water where I cannot see what lies beneath me that causes me to become compleeeetely unglued. So after a small fit of squeals and Ohmygodohmygodohmygod’s and a bit of splashing around to scare away lake creatures (like that really works…) I adjusted. Dad put the boat in gear and off we went!

Look how good I am! Just kidding! This is Brett Dense, our pro that showed us how it’s done!

Popped up on my first try!!! Sure I face planted 4 seconds later, but the point is I got up!! Feeling slightly defeated, and again floating helplessly in the fish-ridden abyss while the boat circled back around, I analyzed what I thought I’d done wrong, grabbed the rope and gave it another go. Up again. Down again. Followed by a few bouts of being dragged through the wake when I didn’t make it up. I’m a *bit* stubborn so my sister is hesitant to provide criticism on my technique, but I asked nicely and she obliged. We concluded that this kept happening because I couldn’t figure out how to stay within the confines of the wake. For some reason my alignment is off and I pull to the left. I also wasn’t pulling my knees close enough to my chest and instead of letting the boat pull me up, I tried to stand on my own too soon. I tried a few more times and had a few successful 10-30 second rides. And after a particularly wicked wipe out, I mastered the graceful landing by surrendering the rope once I realized I was going down. After the 6th or 7th time I sat defenseless in the lake water, I became acclimated and didn’t mind it so much. It was actually kind of pleasant. I guess there’s an adjustment period for everything. I’d had enough for the day so we boarded the boat and returned home.

The next day, Brett Dense from Action Water Sports (the pro I mentioned earlier) arrived to show us how it was done. After watching my sister do her thing and learn to jump the wake, it was my turn to show him what I was bringing to the table, which was not much. He was, however, impressed that I managed to get up on my first try. He saw my first run and I pulled off a decent ride, though he told me that my legs were too stiff and my body was too squared up with the boat. We also adjusted the rope. Contrary to popular belief, when first learning to wakeboard, the rope should be as long as possible. My sister put his advice into terms I would understand by comparing my stance to what I would do in Pure Barre. Pelvis in, shoulders back, core tight. This solid gold information proved extremely beneficial when I not only popped up and stayed up, but I also stayed within the wake. We hit a bump that shook my ego and I let go, circling around and sinking gracefully into the water. My brother called this my “pirouette.” Armed with a new sense of confidence and the tips of keeping my arms straight and leaning on my toes or my heels to steer my board, I tried again. I glided along the glistening waters of Walloon Lake like a pro, weaving from side to side within the wake. Then I got a little too close to the waves, caught a wicked edge and ate it. Bad. And my brother caught it allll on film.

My first time wakeboarding!

My brother gave it a go after I did, but he’s been doing this for years- well over a decade if my memory serves me right. He worked on the technique of trying to jump from one side of the wake to the other. He had a few wipe outs, but he had some pretty impressive jumps!! Brett gave us a treat by showing us some pretty great tricks and acrobatic feats that I could only dream of accomplishing. It was a very impressive show.

Wake surfing followed. I have never even seen this before so I was intrigued when they brought out the board. John and Abbey mastered it almost immediately. Wakesurfing is different from wakeboarding in many ways. For starters, you are like RIGHT behind the boat. The idea is to ride the wake coming right out of the prop. The rope is MUCH shorter and eventually, if you get in the right spot on the wave, you can release the rope and continue to surf as your normally would on a regular surf board. Since you’re just surfing, your feet aren’t strapped into the board like they are on a wakeboard. It was pretty cool to watch, but sadly, I was not lucky enough to figure out how to do it.

Other than that, my dad and I spent some time fishing on what I presume to be is an almost fish-less lake. He hooked one by the fin and I had 2 on, but didn’t bring them into the boat. We spent the week with Belle, all completely fascinated by the little munchkin. She is walking (everywhere) and starting to learn how to talk. She mastered “Mama” while we were up there and my mom seems to think she is now Gaga instead of Grandma. I continue to be completely enamored by her and her development. Since my mom is sick we all took turns taking care of the meals that she normally puts on the table so effortlessly. We celebrated my Dad’s 56th birthday and my twin uncles’ 54th birthday. My uncle brought his kite surfer over to test out on the water to no avail, but it drew quite the audience and was hilarious to watch him try. Becky and I also spent some time tubing in the new three seater that dad got to go with the boat!

Becky tubing!

I returned home for a day and immediately headed up to the bustling metropolis of Ft. Loramie, OH to spend the weekend in a field with 35,000 of my closest country-loving friends at Country Concert. It’s a three day music festival in the middle of nowhere Ohio. People come from all over, set up tents and RVs, camp for the weekend and listen to a pretty impressive list of country music performances.

This was my second year attending and, let me tell you, it was MUCH better than last year. Last year we camped (yes, I camped) in a tent in 110 degree heat and I woke up each morning expressing my hatred for the entire experience. For $6 a piece you can shower in a semi truck trailer hooked up to a well water line. The lavatories are either porto potties or a similar semi truck trailer offering 6 disgusting stalls a piece. This year, to my delight, my friend Mike rented us a top of the line RV featuring air conditioning, a flat screen TV, a refrigerator and our very own bathroom. I will never camp-camp again. Troop Beverly Hills style from here on out.

Country Concert 2012

Cards Against Humanity: A Party Game for Horrible People

I even purchased a pool off of Amazon in preparation for the heat. However, mother nature decided to be kind and treated us to a weekend of blue bird skies and 85 degree days. It was magnificent.

Kevin and Mike sitting in my pool! We filled it with well water, which quickly turned an awkward shade of brown. I think the Porta Kleen team drained it because it looked rancid…

Our sweet RV that took us all of 5 minutes to destroy

Our American Flag Beer Ping Table really sets the tone

We got up early Sunday morning and hit the road to head back to Cincinnati, exhausted, covered in dust and ready for a night in my own bed in my own house. On the way, I asked Adhrucia to look up the line up for Bunbury, another music festival in Cincinnati that coincided with Country Concert, featuring many of my favorite bands. It was a tough decision but the atmosphere at Country Concert is worth it. The moment she mentioned that The Knocks were going on at 2:45 and I made the executive decision to drive faster and tack on another music festival to the weekend. My friends said I was ridiculous, but Christy Samad, always at the ready, gladly attended! She even got me a free entry bracelet!!

The Knocks are two DJs out of New York, Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “Mr. JPatt” Patterson, that play fabulous jams that I cannot get enough of. Their name references the early days in their career when neighbors would knock on their door for playing music too loudly. Had I been their neighbor, I’d have asked to come in and listen. You should listen to them immediately.

My faves:

Christy and I were charging our phones in the Techbury tent and Ben and James walked by us and Christy was like, “Um Katie…aren’t those the guys you came to see?” I immediately leapt to my feet and ran after them, you know true fan-style asking for a photo and to chat for a minute. They were super cool, totally obliged and mentioned some of the acts they were there to see. It’s refreshing to see artists acknowledge their fans! Thanks guys! Totally made my day! You rock!!

Ben “B-Roc” and James “Mr. JPatt” of The Knocks

Bunbury, along with MidPoint Music Fest, have brought some pretty impressive acts to Cincinnati that I might not otherwise have had the chance to see. I am sad to say that I missed some of my favorite bands on Friday and Saturday, like Youngblood Hawke, Atlas Genius and The Mowgli’s. I did have the pleasure of discovering Camera Obscura and Bethesda. Christy and I also caught Night Terrors of 1927, The National and another personal fave, A Silent Film.

In case you haven’t figured this out, I’m a music junkie. Shazam is my favorite app and I use it about 30 times a day. This is also the reason I’ve spent an exorbitant amount of money on iTunes lately…life needs a soundtrack. I sing in my car without shame. Sometimes I dance, too. Deal with it.

And to conclude this summer vaca of amazingness, MY MOM FINISHED CHEMO!!!!!! How cute is she, seriously?! Thank you all for the well wishes and love you’ve sent our way. My family is forever grateful!!

Mom made it to the finish line! NO MORE CHEMO!!

Tune in next week for the official challenge to bring it all back to action. It’s gonna be a good one!!!

Let’s Catch Up

Posted on July 4, 2013 by haydenkatie

Hope you all are having a marvelous Independence Day with your family and friends. I will be spending the next 2 weeks relaxing in the sun and spending time with those that mean the most to me. In light of this, my blog will not be the center of my focus. I will do my best to keep up with it, but it’s been a little difficult with travel and such. It’s also a little hard to have that lake 20 feet away and be sitting here typing on my laptop.

I thought I’d take a minute to circle back around on a few of the challenges I have had and how they have taken shape since I completed them.

Let’s recap!

I started off this little adventure by reading The Four Agreements.

For those that don’t remember, The Four Agreements are:

1. Be impeccable with your word – Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t take anything personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t make assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always do your best – Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

I was asked to post them somewhere that they’d be visible and try commit to living them every day. While I have not fully lived these Four Agreements every day, I would say that they have made me more self-aware and aware of those around me.

The biggest difference it has made is in realizing how powerless I am over other people’s actions. I have taken into consideration the fact that when someone does something out of character it is not always a reaction to something that I have done. I am trying not to make assumptions as frequently as I used to. I don’t jump conclusions nearly as often as I used to.

I am a firm believer in “Always do your best” because that is how I was raised. As long as you gave it your all you can be proud of your results. This has come in quite handy with job interviews and relationships lately. All you can say is that you tried. Sometimes things don’t work out.

I haven’t noticed too many lasting changes in perspective since reading this book, but I do catch myself from time to time and say things like “This has nothing to do with you” or “you have no idea why they did what they did so don’t try to figure it out.” It’s rather refreshing, actually.

Katie Goes to Hoxworth….

I apparently have the most popular blood on the planet, because Hoxworth is stalking me. No seriously. I have O neg blood and they need a ton of it. I have not yet gone back to donate more of the goods. But I will. I promise.

Letters to My Teachers

I received a very nice note back from both recipients of my letters. This is a screenshot of my letter to google:

Dear Google Response

For those that didn’t get a chance to see it before, here it is again:

The Challenge that has had the greatest effect on me thus far is the one from Adhrucia. Remember how I always told you she knows what I need before I know I need it? Once again, the chick is spot on. Not only has the book profoundly affected the way I think, the woman she introduced me to, Shari Goldsmith, is indeed helping me find my inner sass.

Recap:

For starters, I was clearly skeptical of The Secret when I read it. If you’ll remember, in my post I stated that these people were essentially crazy to think that things would happen to them if they simply willed them to happen. Well, I stand corrected.

I began by testing the theory with smaller things. I would concentrate on wanting someone to call or text me, thinking only positive things and then, suddenly, it would happen! Then I began thinking about certain songs I wanted to hear and they’d play next!

I started drafting the perfect job description in my head and considering everything that it might entail and then it, almost word for word, it appeared! Better yet, they called to ask me if I was interested in discussing it before I had even applied! (This is the Special Events Development Officer at Children’s.)

That whole money in my purse thing is still happening. Just the other day I had to go pick up some desserts I had my friend Blair, of Brown Bear Bakery, put together for my dad’s birthday. I totally forgot to pick them up and ran down quickly, without time to stop at the ATM. 4 dozen salter caramel crispy bars cost $48. The whole way I kept thinking “Please let there be $48 in my purse. Please let there be $48 in my purse.” I pulled into the parking lot and dug to the bottom of my purse, unfolding every last dollar bill I had in there. I sh*t you not. I had EXACTLY $48 in my purse. This keeps happening to me and has happened to me for quite awhile. I hope it never goes away…haha

Now I believe this is all about the power of positivity, but I won’t say I’m totally ruling out the Law of Attraction thing just yet. But the Scientist in me says it’s crazy…

Shari Goldsmith is a women’s life coach. She is helping me figure out what I wanna be when I grow up. I think the root of the problem is a matter of confidence. When one loses their job it is easy to be knocked down a few pegs. I remember walking into our very first meeting, horrible posture, intimidated, shy, not sure what to expect. I now walk out of every meeting feeling rejuvenated, motivated and empowered. There are ideas of starting my own business, but I think that’s a little ways off. Need to get some real experience first! Adhrucia was spot on in saying that she thought Shari and I would be Soul Sisters. We’re practically the same person. Maybe that’s why I like her so much!

On the job note, I have been called in for second interviews with the Art Museum and Children’s. I am also still volunteering with digital engagement at Cincinnati Museum Center and I absolutely love being there. I’m trying to decide which would be more worthwhile. Walking in every morning and staring at that GORGEOUS Chihuli every morning at the CAM or gazing up at the Rotunda at CMC everyday. These brief moments and experiences continue to remind me that deep down inside, I’m still just a child staring at the world with incredible wonder, curiosity and amazement.

The most exciting challenge was attending the Passion Pit concert solo from Tara Noland. I owe you many thanks for this because I never would have considered doing it without the nudge. Because you had me do that, and because of my little note, my blog was read in 16 countries that day.

Since then, it has been read in 32 countries. HOLY. CRAP. I don’t know how these people come across it or why it interests them, but I’m beyond excited about it!!

Having spent the last 6 months working on this project, in terms of conception to present day, I can honestly say that I’m thrilled I decided to take it on. You have taken me in so many interesting directions and it’s only been 14 weeks. I cannot wait to see what lies in store for the rest of the year.

For those readers that live in the USA, I hope you all have a spectacular Independence Day. Let’s celebrate what those men, and the women behind them, fought for so many years ago. Consider the bravery, energy and determination the exuded to create this great nation we live in today. I hate to say it, but if met with the same concerns today, I cannot say that we would fight as strongly for the same liberties that they did back then and that makes me sad. I fear that we take them for granted and we might lose sight of just how hard it was to obtain them. In light of the recent political events, striking down DOMA *yay!!*, the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg and with all of our American history in mind, please remember these words:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

‘Merica

A very special shout out to Lil Zain, my most America-loving friend, happy favorite holiday, presh!

Let freedom ring. ‘Murica.

Learning to Hit the Curve

Monthly Archives: July 2013

Shower the people you love with love.

Let’s Catch Up