because i can.

Here are some pretty flowers to brighten your Monday. Just because I can.

Taken around the five o'clock hour, that magical hour when the light makes everything look so soft and ethereal. I tried to experiment with backlighting & such but it didn't really work out. Ah, well. I still like the dreamy quality.

Sometimes I get worried that I post too many pictures of nature, or that I don't write enough about important things. That I post too often, or not enough. But then I think, who cares? If I do something differently than other people, then that's a good thing, not bad. I don't do it to please people. 

I do it because I can. 

Who needs a better reason than that? 

So throw out all the ropes and sail away. Do what you want and what you love today and don't think about those who say you can't. Because you can.

Have a beautiful penultimate day of May! :)

-Kendall

a morning at the market.

The farmers' market, that is. Yesterday, I got up bright and early (okay, not that early, but before nine, which is the same thing) to venture downtown with my dad, grandpa and sister. First we walked around the trail by the lake, among bikers and joggers and people with dogs and strollers. I must have walked a few miles...

Then it became unbearably hot as the day wore on, so we sought shade under the trees and tents of the farmers' market. I've been wanting to go for a while so I was happy to get to check it off my list of things to do.

 It was a feast for the eyes--food in every color, lining the sides of the street. They were all beckoning to be photographed.

We passed all sorts of fresh produce--everything from the orange carrots (which we bought) to the dark purple of the crates of blackberries.

I gotta say, blackberries have now replaced raspberries as my new favorite fruit. I had some with my lunch yesterday and boy, are they delicious. Just the right combination of sweet and sour.

There was live music and interesting people-watching. And of course, good food. I got a homemade mango popsicle--I could taste the chunks of mango. Nothing like the processed ones from the grocery store. I also sampled some plums. They weren't quite sweet enough for my taste, though. I'm picky, what can I say? All in all, though, the little excursion was fun, and I rather like some of the pictures it yielded.




Crepe myrtles are like the epitome of summer to me. Love.

Have a wonderful day! :)

-Kendall

so close.

Today was our last full day of school, and therefore our last lunch. I ate with some people I don't normally sit with, as some of my friends had a project to work on. And it was nice to have something different. It was nice to watch the dappled light dance across the sidewalk, filtered through the trees. Today's lunch period was for braiding hair and passing around a box of cookies and singing off-key to terrible music. I was happy to have a lunch period that wasn't used for frantically finishing algebra homework or the like. I was happy to just sit there in the shade and talk of teachers and summer and miscellaneous things like hairspray.

And now it is the weekend, and all that stands between me and summer are three half days of finals. Monday is just parties; those finals are already completed. Tuesday is algebra (which I am exempt from, hallelujah), and art, which is a presentation and short multiple choice quiz. Wednesday, the last day, is the hardest: biology and English. After that I'll be taking the bus home with my friends, where we will celebrate by swimming and watching terrible movies and possibly eating Thai food. I can't think of a better ending, or really, beginning.

Right now, though, my grandfather is town. He came down for my sister's play yesterday and also just to see us again. Plans for the weekend are still up in the air but I'm hoping for the library, going to dinner and maybe kayaking or something like that if I'm lucky. We'll see.

There's only three more days of school--getting up early and riding the bus and, bittersweetly, seeing friends--until sweet summer. Part of me doesn't know if I can make it until then, but the other part is telling myself to just calm down and be happy for what I have right now. June will be here before we know it, but isn't May beautiful?

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

-Kendall

flukes.

(linking up to Hannah's Lovely Photo Wednesday)

fluke (n.)

1. A stroke of good luck.

2. A chance occurrence; an accident.

I went exploring in my backyard yesterday to see if anything had sprouted since my last visit (heh). I found some interesting things and got some lucky shots. Like this flower.

I love the color, but the picture is blurry. So later I went back to try and get a better photo, but I couldn't find the flower anywhere. It was gone. GONE. Never to be seen again. Odd. At least I got one picture...

And this one? Look closely.

Do you see the wasp (is that what it is?) in the corner? I was just taking pictures and then it flew right in and made it more unique, even if it is fuzzy. After I snapped this, I got the heck away from there. I do not like stinging bugs at all. No me gusta.

And here's another accidental shot:

My finger was in front of the lens (it's out of focus intentionally, though). I thought it looked kind of cool, a splotch of pink.

Okay, can I just say something? It was ninety-eight (98!) degrees today. You could probably fry an egg on the sidewalk in this heat. Yesterday, when I took these, it was nice, not as hot. Last Friday it was raining (see below). Can't the weather just make up its mind?

(linking up to Happy Monday & Carlotta's Photo Challenge: Green)

(Click on the picture for the full effect--you can see the raindrops falling!)
Something I love? The rain. I love the sound of it and how it renews everything, makes everything soft and green again. Beautiful.

Have a wonderful evening (or whatever time it is where you are when you're reading this). I have my first final tomorrow (Spanish). I'm not really worried but... Tengo que estudiar. Adios.

-Kendall

much love.

practically the only heart I could find anywhere---linking up to Much Love Monday

Loving:

homemade oreos (recipe here) ♥ hummingbird feeders ♥ bright, eccentric yellow nail polish ♥ peppermint milkshakes ♥ having only 7 days of school left (only 3 that aren't finals!) ♥ smelling dinner as soon as I walk in the door ♥ sunflowers blooming ♥ dreaming of Hawai'i ♥ the Beatles ♥ making wishlists ♥ dogs and cats and all creatures of the world

I don't really like Mondays (waking up early & math tests & uncooperative electronics) but it's always nice to be able to pick out the good little things. So, what do you love today?

-Kendall

a lazy saturday.

"Oh, let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France,
let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance."

Ingrid Michaelson, You and I

So I spent a majority of my morning playing that song on my guitar, with music printed out from the internet (oh, what would I do without it?). It's pretty simple; all chords I know, and the only one that gives me difficulty is the bar in the F, which I, um, don't do. Anyway. It's fun playing real songs that weren't written by classical composers who died two centuries ago.

Yay for self-time successes.

And since we're on the topic of music: these are my favorite songs right now. (Bee-tee-dubs, got any recommendations for music? I'm always open to suggestions.) 


skinny love // wake up // call it off // back in your head // to be alone with you* (& also various Glee songs)

In other news, today has been pretty boring. The weather is still gross; it's like stepping into a sauna every time I go outside. Bleh. I was thinking about riding my bike or something but the sun is still hiding and the humidity is stifling. I think I'll stay in, thanks.

So I decided to make a cake as something to do indoors. I wanted to bake a lemon cake but I couldn't find a good recipe anywhere, so I settled on some cookies. They were pretty easy to make and if the batter is any indication, they'll be delicious. :) I'll show pictures later.

Oh, by the way, you probably noticed that I switched out the header to something that I think is a little more summery and changed some of the colors. What do you think? Well, have a great rest-of-your-weekend!

-Kendall


*Yes, I know, I already shared this but it's just so beautiful.

dreary or cheery.

dreary:

-My stupid Internet connection. It made me want to punch my computer. So I did. All that happened was my knuckles hurt.

-This weather. Wet and cloudy and gray and ugh. I never saw it rain today but there were puddles everywhere when I got out of school.

-Finals in about a week. I've pretty much forgotten everything from longer than two weeks ago, so lots of studying will ensue. Or, you know, should. Can't actually promise I won't get distracted. ;)

cheery:

-Tea and a book after dinner. So relaxing. 

-This song. Okay, it's not really cheery, per se, but I like it.

-Nine more days of school; only really five more days, the other four are finals.

-Cats. Streeeeeetch, Mr. Simba!

What's dreary or cheery in your world, readers?

-Kendall

oh, memories.

One of my favorite ways to procrastinate-slash-waste time (besides, you know, the internet) is looking at old pictures. I was looking through folders of pictures a week or so ago and I found some that really amused me. I thought I'd share some of the best ones on here. 

...Like this one, from when I was about, I don't know, two or three? I'm not really good at judging ages, but it was before I got glasses. (That's my grandma, by the way.) 

This is from Germany, when I was almost four. My sister Lauren (in the red) and I are in the middle and our cousins are on the sides. That cute little boy is now taller than me. 

And here's my sister Mallory's first Easter, so, my goodness, ten years ago? According to the date in the corner, she would have been eleven days old. She's conked out. But look at me, so patient. I remember I got a Barbie from the Easter Bunny that year...

I'm not in this one, but I completely love Mallory's face here. It is so adorable I am going to die. I wish she was this age again... And mhm, ice cream.

Speaking of cute little sisters...

Here she is again. Sorry. I couldn't help myself. 

This picture is a lot more recent (two years ago?) but I love the mountain scenery. We were snow-shoeing in California. Try to ignore my stupid hat, if you can.

One last picture. Not of people, but of a special place. That's my grandparents' cabin, where I go every other Christmas and usually every summer (but not this summer). Look at all that snow... Anyway, I like this picture because it looks kinda vintage, like a postcard. :)

Oh, the memories! Old photos are so fun...and time-consuming. I'd better go now. Anyone else love seeing these snapshots of simpler times? ;)

-Kendall

dancing through life.

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." 
— Friedrich Nietzsche

my neighbor dancing at sunset.

Today I went over to my friend's house to work on a school project. We were supposed to write a song or a poem based on a scene from Macbeth. We ended up with, er, interesting lyrics like, "I should be king of everything, ruler of all, bestest of all." Oh, yeah, it's going to be great. Did I mention we have to perform this in front of the class? What also ended up happening: swimming, eating too much chips and salsa, jumping on the trampoline, and laughing so hard I spit out my drink. Lots of singing and dancing, too.

My hair is all messed up, falling out of a sloppy bun, and it still smells like chlorine. The soles (I wrote 'souls' first) of my feet are sore and slightly browned. These are the perils of dancing, I suppose, but there's also a certain feeling of accomplishment, of wholeness that comes along as well. It's like the quote says; the day is complete now.

And now, while I let my feet rest, I can tuck into a good book (I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and got two I'd been wanting to read for a while) and a brownie smothered with peanut butter, because that's how they're best.

It's a perfect day for dancing.

Wait, scratch that. It's always a perfect day for dancing.

-Kendall

constants and variables.

Much as I hate to admit it, math terms sometimes do apply to life outside. I’ve been thinking about this lately and I’ve realized there are constants, the things that stay the same no matter what happens, and then there are variables, things that are ever-evolving.

Like the weather.

One day the sky is blue and pock-marked with a few clouds, and the temperature is warm. The next day it is a torrent of a thunderstorm, bringing a cool front. No one can really predict it. It varies too much.

Kind of like hair. It’s so easy to switch it up: dye it, cut, it, curl it, straight it, hide it under a hat, shave it all off. I got my haircut yesterday, about five inches. I like that; it’s always soft and bouncy after being straight-ironed, which I only do when I get it cut. I keep on stroking it...

please excuse my stupid expression

These are things that are always changing. Fickle and evolving. Things like friendship, or really, any relationships. Thinking back to a year ago, I haven’t talked to some people who I was good friends at the time in months. And some of the people I am friends with now, I didn’t even know a year ago. Many people in your life are just variables, they come and go, leaving only memories...

Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound so morose.

But there are also the constants. Your family. The ones you know who will always love you, always have your back. Your true friends. They’re the constants in your life.

And there are other constants, too. Things that happen everyday. The sunrise, the sunset, and all the little things in between. The consistency of life. Things you know you can rely on, like the knowledge that spring will come again, and rise up in triumph of winter. 

Smaller things, too, like the fact that your mom will always have a cup of coffee in the morning. Constants and variables. You need both in life, variables to change things up when it gets boring and constants to even it out, to provide something solid.

By the way, these are worry dolls, for those of you who were wondering. :)

Aah, I'm so glad Blogger is back. :) I was going to post this yesterday, but it was down, so I typed it all up in Google Docs. :P Happy Friday the Thirteenth! It's actually been a pretty good day so far; I got another A+ on an algebra test (we've had two in the past, like, week and I'm on a roll) and had left-over fried rice for a snack (the best.) And, of course, it's the weekend.

-Kendall

list love.

Some happy things from the past few days:

♥getting a parcel from my grandma containing two books and three worry dolls
♥channeling my British subconscious (shut up, it's totally there) by using words like 'parcel'
♥not using proper capitalization
♥cloudy skies (surely I'm not the only one who thinks the sky is much prettier when adorned with fluffy white or grey clouds?)
♥getting 99% on my algebra test
♥the sound of popcorn popping
♥rain dances
♥cats
♥looking at old pictures
♥the colors yellow, green & blue (clearly, I don't believe in having only one favorite)
♥having 16 days of school left

Other lists (hey, look, a list of lists. Heh) that I'm constantly amending in my mind & on Post-it notes: daily to-do lists, general to-do soon lists, songs to buy, books to read, wish-lists, summer goals. The latter will be shared on here sometime closer to summer. (More lists.)

I just like lists, okay?

-Kendall

this weekend.

(get ready for a bit of a picture overload, haha)

This weekend was like a little slice of summer, short and sweet and sunny.

My dad had a friend in town for a few days and he brought his five-year-old son. That's who the little boy is. He's cute but a handful. ;) I had a soccer game (last one of the season) on Saturday and then I went swimming (first time of the year. Man, I haven't been swimming since, like, September). It was quite refreshing. I wore my colorful flip flops instead of my usual white ones. :) Afterwards, we went to my sister's dance recital. There were tons of people there! We had dinner at a nice, bustling restaurant on the lake. I admired the sparkling blue water and the red wooden seats. And I ate a lot of chips.

Sunday was Mother's Day. I spent like an hour going through old pictures trying to find one of me and my mom to put in a card. Turns out there's not too many. But I did find some pretty adorable/hilarious/beautiful pictures from a while back of various family members that I'll have to share sometime. Anyway, we had cinnamon rolls for brunch and frozen yogurt for dessert and there are many flowers in a vase for that occasion. I love you, Mom. :)

-Kendall