Santa Fe | Part 2

Not many words today! In fact, as few words as possible. Just pictures. This trip has been a good exercise in using my camera on manual. I'm not yet ready to submit to National Geographic, but I'm working on it. And y'all are like my accountability partners. Cool?

Here is this week's practice sesh.

 St. Francis Cathedral | Downtown Santa Fe

Daniel always has my back with the iPhone panoramas

 Looking out at Santa Fe from a very high, very chilly mountaintop 

 Have a lovely weekend!

Santa Fe | Part 1

It's hard to say what has been the highlight of my time in New Mexico so far.

Was it my very first Whattaburger hamburger (um, it had green chiles on it?!?!)? Stomach says YEAH.

Or was it standing in front of one of the most iconic fictional residences in modern day TV?

My love of 'Breaking Bad' says YES.

Or, was it when a really cute tour guide showed me around the Santa Fe Opera?

Definitely a top 3 moment!

BUT NO. Y'all know I had to get up at 5:30 am for this one.

It was cloudy, a little rainy, and a lot chilly. But you can't tell it from this picture. 

As I snapped pictures of the sunrise, Daniel noticed what was going on behind us.

This is a panorama of me taking a panorama of the rainbow--because it wouldn't fit in one picture! I was thoroughly impressed with nature... in one direction was a beautiful sunrise, in the other was a massive, majestic, MOST MAGICAL rainbow.

 SEE? SO BIG! SO GRAND!

My rainbow face.

And my panorama...

NATURE! You even made this parking lot look nice.

And I think I might see a sunset tonight. Nature, can you pull out another breathtaking moment?
Pretty please?

A Perfect Day with Papaw

Last Friday brought a transformation of one kind. This Tuesday, I want to share a transformation that was much, much longer in the making. 

My Papaw and I wanted to make a fishing trip--our first one together in YEARS--before I left Kentucky for an extended stay in New Mexico. 

There's no better time than the last minute! We went yesterday, and it was the perfect way to spend my last day in Kentucky before a few weeks of sand and dry heat. 

'Twas a smidge gloomy, but Papaw guaranteed Dale Hollow Lake would be the most scenic place to fish within a reasonable driving distance, even if we happened upon a little rain.

The sun found its way out for a few minutes every now and then...resulting in a pretty gnarly nose/forehead/shoulder/chest sunburn for me.

Did I mention my younger brother came with us? This is his expression, reading the nutrition facts on the back of our lunch. 

Which was this: the classic Papaw lunch. You can't catch a fish without eating a couple "vy-ee-nees."

Good thing I had some, otherwise I might not have caught this tiny, tiny bass.

And Papaw might not have caught this ol'... shell cracker, I think he called it?

We tried night-crawlers, minnow, and artificial bait, but the big fish just weren't biting. Nevertheless, I don't think Papaw minded a day on the boat with a couple of amateurs.

We certainly enjoyed the day with the legend, himself.

So, about that transformation I mentioned earlier.

Here are some moments from past experiences with fish.

Some are very cute and sweet.... like this one in the Summer of 1994

Some are not as cute. (From the looks of those bangs, I'd say 1997-1998?)

If you're wondering why I appear to be upset, it's not because of the bangs. I didn't want to touch the dead fish.

By 2001, we had kept the bangs, added the glasses, and remedied the "touching the dead fish" problem! Take a closer look and you'll notice I'm cleverly 'pretending' to hold the fish. HAHA...GOTCHYAAAAA

I tried to get another picture with Papaw yesterday, but the sun killed our vibe.

It is safe to say Papaw and I have both changed a little over time. But, I like to think I'm still as sweet and cute as the little girl holding the fish in the summer of 1994...at least in his eyes, anyway.

(sniff...sniff)

Thank you for a perfect day, Papaw.

And Landon, here's that selfie we took.

Thank You, Girl At The Gym.

I'm calling you out! You know who you are. 

You wonderful, wonderful friend who stepped onto the treadmill next to me and happily exclaimed "Why are you still here?! You don't have to work out anymore!"

Thank you. 

THANK. YOU. 

You unknowingly sparked what is possibly the longest dialogue I have ever carried on in my head. 

Should I write about this or not?

What will they think?

Am I showing off?

...setting myself up for criticism?

So many questions.

WELL, I DONE DID THAT LAST ONE. By simply competing in a pageant, I signed myself up for criticism. To shy away from it now would make me a hypocrite. And I did the next-before-last-one too. I walked onstage in a swimsuit. And I werked it. 

As for the second one, I try not to think about it.

As for the first one...well, you see how that worked out.

Back to the original question posed to me by a friend.... What was my response?

"Turns out I like to work out."

While that is true, there is far more to the story. For those that know me, let's go back to 2009-2010. For those that don't, meet the Kiley of 2009-2010. 

This is her.

And my personal favorite....

I look at my face and I see a girl who did not like to work out. She ate WHATEVER she wanted whenever she wanted it. She had no concern for her health, fitness, or general well-being. THAT GAL didn't even know she could feel better, because she didn't even know she felt bad.

So, what happened?

I'll be real honest. I wanted to compete for Miss Kentucky. It's not that I couldn't have competed at that size/shape, but I was not the picture of health or fitness, nor did I look like the other women winning their state titles and going on to compete for Miss America. I knew what it took to be competitive. Whether or not that is a realistic image in today's society is another topic for another day. All I know is, I knew what I had to do.

When I began the process, I didn't even know I had 35 pounds to lose. I gained the Freshman 15--every bit of it-- and I was more concerned with those 15 pounds I had lived so contently without only 10 short months before. So I got to work. And, over the course of two years, I got to where I am now and have remained since early 2013--give or take 5 pounds. There

are no plans to put the weight back on.

And you know how I can guarantee it won't happen? Because there are no plans to stop working out or eating healthfully.

Mine is not a miraculous weight-loss story. I don't claim that it was. But seeing that it has only been a month since my last pageant, and I've already been met with numerous questions about how my diet or exercise schedule has changed, I wanted to shed a little light on my situation. And to the person that said I'd "better start saving up for a closet full of bigger clothes..."

No. Just no.  

YEAH, girl at the gym (whom, I love dearly), I totally got in shape for a pageant. Thankfully, somewhere on that "journey" (how cliche is it to say 'journey,' anyway), I grew to love the way I look and, more importantly, feel, and I'm totally cool with feeling good for the rest of my life. 

Lord, I don't know if I made my point or not. Given the energy, I could write a month's worth of Friday blog posts about this topic. 

Now is the time when I am so utterly tempted to click delete and start over with something new. Maybe you don't care about this, maybe you shouldn't care, I don't know. I suppose the thing to remember is that it's important to me, and that's why I have chosen to share it with you on this beautiful Friday afternoon. 

I LOVE YOU. I do. Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you next week from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Poached Eggs / Life

This morning I wanted poached eggs and toast for breakfast. I'm not sure if this goes for everyone, but poaching eggs is kind of stressful. The first time I did it was, well, a negative experience. The whole time I was afraid the water wasn't "gently simmering," my water-swirly-thing wasn't whirly enough, and I left the eggs in too long, producing a yolk the consistency of a bouncy ball.

But, the more I practiced, the better I got. This morning, when I wanted two poached eggs, I didn't stress about it, I just did it. And my breakfast was delicious, because it was just what I wanted.

It's such a little thing, but the little things sometimes get you to thinkin' about the big things.

And right now, like everyone else on the planet, I'm dealing with the biggest thing: my future.

I'm in a weird place right now--kind of an understatement, but whatever. Should I go to grad school? Should I start my own business? But, what do I go to school for? Will I be happy? Starting a business is so risky. Where will I be in 5 years? In five weeks? In five hours? 

I have lots of dreams and lots of goals, and a bucket list ten-miles long. How can I have a secure, successful life while doing what I love? This is the big question, playing in my mind 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So, I am coming up with my own answer.

I wanted a delicious breakfast, so I made one.

I want a delicious life. So I'll make one.

YES, YES, I know it won't be easy.

Even though my future is so completely up in the air right now, I know the best things in my life haven't yet happened. The best thing I've ever done, probably (hopefully) hasn't happened. YET.

I'm going to keep pushing, keep creating, keep learning, and keep moving forward. Along the way, the answers will reveal themselves. Right? Please tell me I'm right.

Either way, now I want a donut. If I want it that bad, I guess I can always make one.

I love my self(ie)

sel·fie

ˈselfē/

noun

informal

1. a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

   "occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself everyday isn't necessary"
2. .......................................
3. 
   

I'll admit to taking at least one selfie a day. If you took hold of my phone, you would make me admit to more. But, it's whatever. I take selfies whether I'm dressed up or dressed down--like yesterday when I wore workout clothes the whole day with no intentions of working out.

Lots and lots of people think selfies are a display of vanity. And I totally, completely, wholeheartedly understand, and on some levels, agree. HOWEVER, in my incessant usage of social media (specifically, Facebook and Instagram) I've noticed a trend. On average, selfies get more "likes" and comments than any other type of picture. Based on my personal experience, I could expect to get more likes on a photo of my face than I would on a picture of a beautiful piece of art or a gorgeous scene found in nature. If this is the same for others, does that not encourage us to turn the camera in our own direction and spend 5-10 minutes taking the perfect picture (because, yeah, no one achieves that on the first or fifth try)? In a society fueled by social media, it certainly does. And, I'm as guilty as anyone.

I take selfies with...

my coffee

my precious, PRECIOUS grumpy cat

and buildings where photography is strictly forbidden. Remember all your disapproval before this one, Daniel? 

I even took a selfie with Starry Night one time.

Like, the real one.

BUT! I will not apologize anymore! No, sir, I will not.

Because, lately I have been reliving practically every day of 2012-2013 through photograph--mostly captured by a grainy iPhone camera. Let me be the first to say, there were as many selfies as there were anything else. I searched for any pictures taken on August 1, 2012 or 2013, hoping to revisit what it was I chose to document. On August 1st, 2013, I only took one photo. I was a LITTLE ashamed to see that it was a selfie.

Looking at this photo, the general public can discern only a few things:

I'm in a vehicle

I appear to be in an excellent mood.
One of my eyes is clearly bigger than the other.

But I look at this photo and remember that day very clearly...

I thought my hair looked awful

I got up extra early to make a trip to Bowling Green for work

I stopped in Horse Cave and got a McDonald's coffee

I was excited to have a reason to wear that sweater

I went in a Hobby Lobby, but didn't buy anything

I wore a pair of heels all day

My feet didn't hurt (success)

I had Mexican food for supper (a grilled chicken salad to be exact)

It's a strange concept, to remember all of those things after looking at a picture of my face.

I tried it out with a few more selfies, and a version of the same thing happened with each one--I recalled memories of the most trivial things that happened on the most uneventful of days all the way back to early 2012.

Looking at that photo now, I have nothing but positive thoughts. What I once thought was a bad hair day, I now look at and (almost) wish for long hair again. That squinty eye sticks out like a sore thumb, but it doesn't bother me now like it did when I first took the picture. 

While some may think selfies are vain--I'm with you, they kind of are. But, this particular selfie reminded me to better appreciate one of the thousands of days of my life I have taken for granted or chalked up as average. Maybe I would have remembered all those details if I had taken a picture of the McDonald's drive-thru in Horse Cave...I don't know, but I doubt it. 

Of all the selfies I take--granted, I would rather include a second person (or cat)--I'm most grateful for the ones taken on ordinary days. They're the ones that remind me there is something to remember in every day, whether or not I realized it at the time. But, I can't help feeling sorry for my grandkids. What a boring photo album they will have to remember me by! (Note to self: go on more adventures)

Sorry, grandkids. Sorry, world. I'm not going to stop with the selfie-taking. Looking through my vast collection of selfies has reminded me of so many wonderful times with the most amazing people...and renewed interest in certain items of my wardrobe I had shoved to the back of the closet and forgotten about.

In the spirit of selfies, here are a few in my collection. You can't tell much about any of them (unless you're the other person in it), but I can remember something good (often, many somethings good) about these days, in particular--almost all of which I had forgotten about until now.

May 4, 2012 - Memphis, Tennessee

June 21, 2012

July 1st, 2012 - Santa Fe, New Mexico

April 26, 2014

August 30, 2012 - 524 Angliana Avenue Apt 2309

September 22, 2012 - Berea, Kentucky

October 19, 2012

August 28, 2013 - Hoopeston, Illinois

August 10, 2013

September 20, 2013 - Cow Days

November 16, 2013

September 30th, 2013 - My 23rd birthday

One year from now, in case I happen to wonder what I did on August 1st, 2014...here's my selfie.

You'll notice my squinty eye is still going strong.

Oh well. Here's to a squint-free selfie 365 days from now.