Music Mondays - 7.15.19

Hello!

I haven't done a Music Monday in forever and since I escaped from tropical storm Barry relatively unscathed, I wanted to celebrate with music! So, I present to you Allen Stone's, "Reality"

So, I view this as very  much a break-up song and it's a message to me in a variety of ways. New Orleans is teaching me so much and I have been on such a journey this weekend. Ole Faithful (my car) got flooded (again!) and this time it may not make it. This quickly sent me on a spiral of questioning and doubting my decision to come down here that I struggled with all weekend.

But, as I sat in the car on the way back and I thought about the all of the messages and calls that people sent me, I realized how very loved that I am. How, all of these people have supported me since way before coming down here and how that has continued, if not intensified since I’ve been here. How all of them miss me, but no one discouraged me from living out my dreams. Don't get me wrong, if it comes down to it, it's going to absolutely suck not have a car, but knowing that I have all this care in my corner, is going to get me through.

I picked this song for two reasons today, one to break up with this notion of control. There is very little that I have in my control. But, the little that I have control over, I will take great delight in. Such as putting on my favorite dress, my favorite lip color and make-up, picking my favorite music to listen to, and the ability to tell those wonderful people that checked in with me that I love them has given me great joy over these past couple of days.

And the second reason I picked it, is within the lyrics themselves. This has definitely been shown to me this weekend and I pray that it gets shown to you, when you need it:

"Well, I pray all your wishes come true,
And if you're in need, help is offered to you,
And I pray for peace, love and prosperity,
And may all your dreams become reality"

love, 

ktv

ps - But, please send me money, so I know it's real 😀😀

New Orleans

Hello yet again!

Where to even begin with the city of New Orleans? I have loved this city since I first stepped foot in it in 2012 and the humidity smacked me dead in the chest. The humidity has not let up and neither has my love. Everyone always asked me, why don't you move there and I was like, is that a challenge?! Bet.

 I was so excited to be here that I was actually anxious. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, I was just waiting for me to not enjoy it and want to head back home. And although I miss home and all my family and friends, (no worries, I've already launched a full on campaign to get them to all move here) I love it here. And it may just be the honeymoon phase, but I plan on riding this out for as long as I can.

In conclusion, 

I just belong here. 

Love, 

              ktv

For this poor Americana/Who knows a little of your speech

Hello again!

Let me tell you about this 30th birthday trip though! Just like when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and like Beyonce's Lemonade album and visuals, this trip changed my life! Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to go to Venice. Not sure where this urge came from, what movie or tv show inspired this, but I have always wanted to go. From the moment I got my first "real" job, I had been meaning to get a passport and it took me 3 years, but I finally did and I headed straight for Italy. With two of my very best friends we planned and executed the best trip. Let me introduce you to the key players:

Shantel: Trip navigator de jour! Without her, we would have be hopelessly lost, because Lord knows I am terrible at directions. Literally went for a walk in my new neighborhood the other day and almost got lost.

JUST LOOK AT THIS LOVELY HUMAN BEING! I CAN'T HANDLE IT! 

Lezlee: Planner of da gods! As soon as she found out we were going she did all the research and knew all the things. It was like having our own personal tour guide. 

JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE! I JUST CAN'T HANDLE IT! 

Me: Really just happy to be here and glad that I didn't get anyone kidnapped, because I'll definitely walk into sketchy situations without any questions. 

YOUR GIRL IS THIRTY, FLIRTY, AND THRIVING! 

First stop: Rome! I enjoyed Rome, but I'm glad it was the fist stop on our trip. If we had ended here, I think I would have been slightly disappointed. I just felt the trip kept building into better and better things. Lezlee and Shantel thought that Rome had the best food and I enjoyed the history of everything. Like, I thought America was old, but Rome is literally ancient! They'd be like, before Jesus showed up, and I'd be like, BEFORE JESUS?!

I felt like I was in a Wes Anderson movie! So many beautiful backgrounds! 

Added stop: Naples and Capri! I would love to come back and spend some more time in Capri! It was so lovely and picturesque! Lezlee and Shantel didn't enjoy Naples, but I loved the gritty feel of it. And not to mention we had the wildest cab ride of our lives trying to get back to the train. Like, clearly we didn't die, but this is probably the closest to death I have ever been. It was mad exciting! Also, shout-out to all the trains in Italy, they are so efficient and fast! It's amazing : )

Capri! 

Literally my only picture of Naples, but it least it's a castle! 

Second stop: Florence and Tuscany! Yoo, when I die bury me inside an shoe store in Florence! When we were waiting for the boat to take us to Capri, a lady told us to watch out for our wallets in Florence and Tuscany. And we were like, oh yea, we've been being careful and keeping an eye out for our stuff and she was like no, I meant for the shopping. I think we all spent the majority of our money here on gifts and goods. I got a backpack and some shoes that I will treasure forever. In fact, bury both these items with me, they can belong to no one else! You heard it here first.

Also, on my birthday, we got to do a wine tour around Tuscany and stopped in all these cute little towns whose names I can't remember (ask Lezlee, she definitely knows!)

Third stop: Venice! I literally got off the train (shout-out to the trains again! This can't be said enough. They have wi-fi on them! Just #blessed) and cried. Not even out of the station and just had a total moment. And then I walked out of the station and saw that iconic city sitting on all that water and it's a feeling that I will never forget. It was the feeling of a dream coming true. I'm so happy that this was our last stop. I felt the most sense of community in Venice. We were staying very close to a school, so we saw a lot of kids. We were also staying close to a retirement home, so there were a lot of senior citizens. It was really cool to see the life of a city and how it moves. Venice, I love you.

Added stop: my fair Verona! Because I am a literature major and I of course needed to stop and see where Romeo and Juliet were hanging out. Verona surprise, surprise is gorgeous!

More added stops: Murano, Burano, and Torcello! We did a day tour of these three islands, which are so beautiful! Murano is known for it's glass-making, Burano for it's colorful buildings and lace, and Torcello, I believe Hemingway hung out here, got drunk, and wrote for awhile and, to top it all off, it's a popular spot for weddings.

In conclusion, it was amazing and I'm learning Italian for real, for real right now!

love, 

       ktv

I did some things...

Hello all!

Here we are again. Me, haven't written in like a year and life just chugging along with all these big changes. So, the last time I wrote was last year in April and it was sermon notes. The title was "Becoming Your True Self" and let me tell you, what a ride it's been on that journey! How serendipitous for that to be my latest entry, because I truly feel that this past year has been centered on me leaning into that.

 No entry of mine would be complete without lists, so let me go ahead and catch you up on all the things that have been happening since last April!

1. I finally turned 30! And got to join the ranks of other women and men in the thirty, flirty, and thriving club. One of my good friends once told me about a conversation that she had with her her friend and she mentioned that by the time women turn 35 they really come into their own. Obviously, people take their time coming into their own, but that really resonated with me. I feel that the older I get the more secure of myself I am and of my wants and needs. And equally as important, what I do not want!

 I have never been one to bemoan growing older, in fact I love it, because I do feel that I learn more and more about myself each year. I learn my faults a little bit better and I learn how to love myself that much better. And in turn, that makes me learn to love others around me a little bit better, or at least that is my hope. I never want to be stagnant, I never want to be so set in my ways that I can't learn new things and be open to new opportunities.

One of my best friends asked me, over my birthday dinner what have I learned in my past thirty years and I stumbled through some answer, because I was just so happy and tired after a full day of activity, but in a perfect universe, that is what I would have wanted to say to her. I recently read an article that said, "Part of being alive is awaiting the "revelation" of who you'll become," and I can not wait to meet that woman and enjoy every step of the way.

2. I also got to go to Italy for my 30th birthday! In fact, I think I'll do a separate post for that since there is plenty to talk about and so many pictures to share!

3. I decided to quit my job and move to New Orleans! I had been pretty miserable at my job for awhile and had a total breakdown when I was doing a one on one about my year. After that, I went back and forth about whether to leave or stay and finally at the beginning of the year, I decided to leave!

I turned in my resignation in January and wanted to be down in New Orleans by March. I had been searching for jobs there for months with no bites, so I was ready to risk it all and move down there without one. Luckily for me, I have family down here who were going to allow me to stay with them, so I didn't have to worry about finding an apartment or anything, which took a lot of the pressure off.

Well, life has a funny way of working out and I got a job offer in the beginning of February, so I moved my timeline up by several weeks, loaded at my car, loaded up my mom and dad's car, made half my family come with me, and in the midst of some snow I made my way down here. This post is about to spawn several other posts, because I feel that New Orleans also deserves it's own!

I think that about covers it! My memory is absolute trash, so these are the three things that stick out to me the most. I mean, I feel like they are pretty big ones, so sorry to all my other life events that I may be forgetting about. I'm going to leave it here and go write my other posts. See you in a bit!

Love,
                ktv