Hello!

Five years later and two kids later, I am emerging from the early parenting fog and saying hello to my creativity. Which in this case means hello to my website again. For me, this feels like hugging a dear friend who has just come back into my life. Warm, happy thoughts fill my heart. This feels like coming home.

I have many stories to tell and two wonderful people to introduce. I love my boys and am honored to be their mama. My days are filled to the brim with things I love — parenting, teaching, connecting, empowering, celebrating, and having adventures.

There is a lot to share and I’m excited to do so soon! In the meantime, here are some important things to know:

Next Thursday evening, it is my great joy and honor to be presenting to a group of parents and sharing one of my passions — the gift of High Trust Psychology with the focus bring on providing tools to promote Proactive Parenting. Those local to the Seattle area, send me a message ad I’ll get you the information to sign up.

Looking forward to sharing more adventures here.

Cheers!
Kate

Nicknaming Nancy

Truth, I've never referred to myself as Nicknaming Nancy, prior to this afternoon. Second truth, I do, in fact, nickname people, pets, and a plethora of inanimate objects. This interest and fascination with nicknames comes from the following sources: 1) I don't have children or pets. 2) I have an overly active imagination. 3) I often wish to avoid referring to items and vehicles by their brand or model name, therefore the nickname conceals this information. The following post is a list of the items to which I have given ridiculous and often, fitting names. Enjoy!

Clayton. Title: Husband. Over the course of 12 years he has been fondly known as the following: Claytor. Gary. Mator. Ju-hop. Juhoppanos. Favorite. Teammate. Poot Poot. Funny story about this one, I gave this to Clayton because I thought it would be hilarious to give him a horrible nickname that a typical girlfriend would lovingly give her boy-friend. The goal, this nickname has to be obnoxious, one that the recipient does not find favorable. Thus, Poot Poot. Success! Back to the list: ClayTron, which quickly became just Tron. One can take the root word Tron and add prefixes and suffixes to create names such as: Tronnosaurus Rex, Tron Burgandy, Tronodon, MegaTron, and the like.

Kato = cellphone. Why, you may ask? Allow me to explain...my phone is my personal assistant. Therefore, he is named fondly after the Green Hornet's personal assistant, Kato. Not to be confused with the antagonist, from The Hunger Games. That Kato is big. His story is sad. That Kato is a terrifying horrible beast of a man. Also, not to be mistaken for any other infamous Katos that may be lurking about. No, my Kato is unique to me. My Kato is sleek. My Kato keeps my world in order and brings me such joy.

Paddington = iPad. This one is pretty self-explanatory. I-Pad. Paddington. I don't like to talk about myPad, with the world. Welcome to the family, Paddington.

Tardis = computer. Why? A little TV show known as Dr. Who. Haven't seen the show? Fix this. Immediately. Seriously, stop reading. This blog post isn't as important nor as enjoyable as watching an episode of Dr. Who.

Kindle - Okay, this one makes no sense, actually. I've named my kindle OtterCat. Yup. OtterCat. No explanation. Just a name that stuck.

Old Greg = car. He also goes by Old Grey. He's grey. He is old. He is a 1997 Saturn. Yeah...

BIG Greg = pickup. Our Ford Ranger is a gift from my fabulous Mom-in-Law and Dad-in-Law. I'm really thankful for BIG Greg. He's grey, also. He too is old. In fact, he is a 1995 which makes him older than Old Greg. Isn't that too silly!

Fox = scooter. Yes, my beloved scooter is named Fox. She is magnificent! She is red. She is fast. She is very sly. Meanwhile, Tron's scooter is named Death. Death-of-the-first-born, actually. However, when a G rating is necessary, he goes by his nickname, Darth Vader, for obvious similarities.

Serenity - Yoga Towl. She is a beautiful towel. My favorite towel, actually. She came into my life on Christmas morning, when my fabulous Mom-in-Law, presented her as a gift. I love this towel. I love spending time with this towel. She accompanies me to my hot yoga classes. We've already spent 17 hours together in this month alone. Ah, yes, bliss. Well, serenity, actually.

Stuffed animals - Yup, I am 27 years old. I still very much love and own stuffed animals which I fondly name and often travel with. To name a few, I have a zebra named Zeek the Ninja Zebra, he's stealthy, a small bear named Simon, he's very cute and a great traveler, and there was a delightful white tiger who I fondly named Tortuga, which is Spanish for turtle, while he is no longer with me, he lives on in my heart.

And, there you have it. I like to give nicknames to perfectly accurately labeled devices. I find it makes life more interesting. Ah, yes. It's the little things in life.

Sunny Day in the USK

It's a sunny day in the USK! I write this often. But is it true? Not everyday. But if I want it to be true, how does one maintain a "sunny" life, especially in an area plagued with frequent rain showers, gray skys, and overall gloom and despair? Too dramatic? I think not. Trust me. I live in the pacific northwest. While this area is beautiful, the populous, in which many suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) - depression, would most likely agree with the above description. People in the pacific northwest are Vitamin D deficient. We live for the summers. We long for the sunshine. 

So then, how does one maintain a so-called "sunny" life?

I am not in the business of providing answers but rather ideas. This is why I've decided to devote a few posts that examine this idea of living a "sunny" life. Sunny/healthy, these words are synonymous in my vocabulary. I'm like Superman in this regard; we're both reenergize by the sun. Therefore, I associate health and happiness with sunshine. So here is the first of a few ideas that I frequently practice to promote a healthy and balance life in the USK.

During "share chair," yes this is what I actually call the author's chair in my classroom, the students often ask fellow classmates, why he or she choose to write the given piece of writing. The response if often, "I don't know, I had nothing else to write about." If one were to ask me why I felt compelled to share this piece of writing, I'd explain that these thoughts are the bi-product of many conversations, observations, and quiet times of reflection all revolving around the idea of living a well-balanced, healthy life. At the core of my being I believe so strongly in living a life that is healthy and full of joy. And so this is how it came about that United State of Kate shared a few thoughts about health. Enjoy!

For starters, when I think about living a healthy and balanced life, the following revolutionary thoughts come to mind (intentional sarcasm included):

1. There is the physical form of health and wellness. One which necessitates exercise and physical activity of some sort, wherein energy is exerted. 

2. Then there is also the idea of mental health; being of sound mind. 

3. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there is a rather indisputable need to have a healthy heart. 

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Wow! Thank you, Kate. You've just rocked my world with this information about healthy living." I know. I'm brilliant and I'm just getting started. Remember I said I wanted to devote a few posts to this topic. This is post number one. Brilliant!

So, lets look a little closer at item number one - exercise.

Why start here? It's as good a place to begin as any. Especially since these three are so closely related. Also, here's the thing - I like must exercise. Seriously, it's essential to my survival. Lack of exercise causes me to become what I like to call street-rat-crazy. Don't believe me? Ask Tron.

Here is a cool thing about exercise too, contrary to popular belief, it doesn't necessitate a great deal of time. In fact, as little as thirty minutes of physical activity a day can have invaluable health benefits that lead to an improved quality of life. Don't believe me? Totally cool. Here is a video that says it better than I can. 

Start living a "sunny" life. Invest the next 10 minutes in yourself. Love yourself enough to watch the following video. Do it. Do it.   

Search for the Missing Cheeto

80s Steel-frame Glasses

One of my favorite pastimes consists of shopping at second-hand shops for what one can only define as "treasures." This week, Tron and I found one such treasure in a bin marked $0.99 Each. This rare gem is now an interactive, conversation piece. Ladies and gentlemen - 80s, Steel-frame Glasses. Enjoy!

Zebra on the Couch

This is a song I wrote. The title pretty much says it all. Enjoy!

Amazing Day

A visit to the land of Facebook would reveal the following post: "Katie Visker shares that she had an amazing day! Yes. Amazing!" One may question, "What makes a day amazing to Katie Visker?" To which I respond: I am an optimist who defines amazement in a few ways. However, if one were to answer, "Very little." I would cheerfully agree. So it was, in the year of our LORD in 2011, in the first month, on the 27th day an amazing day consisted of the following:

• Walking into an empty and clean classroom at 7:30 while wearing a cute new dress.
• Successfully conducting the first winter conference with an amazing second grader and supportive parents at 8:00 am.
• Hosting a "classroom scavenger hunt" for students to discover all of the new changes made overnight as a result of Operation: Post-Spring Cleaning/Purging/Re-arranging.
• Being greeted with a delightful green tea latte, compliments of an outstanding parent volunteer, at 8:57 am.
• Proving half-days pass quickly AND valuable teaching can occur. Win.
• Successfully conducting 6 more consecutive parent teacher conferences with amazing second grade students and supportive parents.
• Having an outstanding teaching teammate who willingly switches conference times that result in staying at school for an extra 30 minutes just so I can attend a class.
• Attending day 1 of an outstanding 4-day seminar called Excellence in Teaching; not fully understanding how 4 1/2 hours can pass so quickly.
• Coming home after a 14 hour day to my best friend, husband, and partner in crime feeling tired, yet fulfilled, rejuvenated, and excited for what tomorrow brings.

Yeah, that's pretty amazing to me.

Sincerely,

       The Optimist