2014 Tour de Cure

We did it; we did it; we really, really did it!!

After two+ months of training, fundraising, and then wondering if I could bike that far with morning sickness, the Tour is complete! All 28 miles!

Before anything else, THANK YOU to our wonderful sponsors and supporters for your financial gifts, encouragement, and prayers. You were behind us all the way! 

Now, the story. 
Yesterday was rainy. Like, really, REALLY rainy. And all we could think as we drove to Douglasville through the downpour was, "Wow, this is going to be miserable." 

We got there and suited up for the worst (at least as best you can when you're going to be on a bike...).  

We registered, and pinned our numbers on our coats. John even got a super cool bike jersey because he's a "red rider," meaning, he rides with diabetes. He kind of got special treatment like that all day. ;-) 

 It wasn't raining at the starting line, so off we went. The ride was gorgeous--through the woods and farms of south west Atlanta. The air was cool and fresh, but the roads were hardly wet, and the rain, and my nausea, held of the whole ride. God is so good! Every 7ish miles there was a pit stop--with water, gatorade, granola bars, and the.best.oranges.ever., so we refueled often and took our time. We rode 28 miles in 2.25 hours (plus stopped time).  The hills were challenging, but we really did enjoy it (probably me most of all. ;-) ). Yippee!

Perhaps the best surprise was that not just Stuart, but April, Anna, Adam, AND Chester were all waiting for us at the finish line with cameras and cheers. What a welcome!

It was an awesome experience. Yesterday's riders collectively have raised $400K to STOP DIABETES! And, as our lives are daily impacted by the disease, the thought that better treatments and maybe even a cure can be found is an awesome thought. 

 (Photo from the Tour de Cure Atlanta Facebook page)

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

Moby Gimli Bat-Cat

Good Morning!

How about a happy cat story to start your day with a smile?

Once upon a time, there was a tiny little kitten. As far as anyone knows, he was only 6ish weeks old when he was abandoned at a PetSmart near Chattanooga. He was black with a grey undercoat and amazingly social, affectionate, and playful. 

One day, a husband and wife wandered into this same PetSmart. They were there to buy a white betta fish and name it Moby Dick (the wife was nerdy like that). On a whim, they decided to go say hi to the cats in the adoption center. They were busy sticking their fingers in the cages and cooing at the cats when they heard a most insistent mew. They looked around to see where it was coming from just as the little kitten crawled out from under the cages. He stunk to high heaven and had fleas galore, but the wife picked him up anyway. It didn't take long to figure out he had no where to go, so the couple decided to take him home and try to convince their landlord to let them keep him. 

On the way home, they named him Moby. Little Moby was so tired that he fell asleep in his litter box as soon as he ate a little bit of food.

They took him home, bathed him, and made sure he had plenty to eat. He fluffed up and settled in very quickly--loving both his makeshift bed and his little mouse. 

But, alas, the couple's landlord was the only soul on earth not completely vulnerable to Moby's charms, and he would not let them keep him. But, after a week of agonizing over the fate of the world's best kitten, HA met Erin. Erin and her hubby have two kids and three other cats, and were thrilled to add this feisty, loving kitten to the mix. So, for about 6 months, Moby lived with them, enjoying kitty-friends and being carried around like a dishtowel by the little girl. During that time, he grew up quite a bit!

He never quite grew into his ears, though, and was known as the Gimli Bat-Cat. 

Then, in March, Erin called HA and asked her about readopting the Bat-cat. He has a knack for mischief that was just a little overwhelming with 5 other potential mischief-makers in the house. HA drove to Chattanooga the next day and brought him home to the Studio. 

The Mob-ster is still crazy, but also crazy cuddly. There is certainly never a dull moment!

 (He's also still not sure if he's cat, dog, or human. ;-) ).

And they all lived happily ever after--including Erin and her family whom we love very much! 

Adventure well, Live fully.
HAK

Knightlet #1

Howdy, Everyone!

Shortly after my last post, Hubster and I got some exciting news: Our first Knightlet is on the way! 

I wish I could eloquently describe our emotions and thoughts, but it's really very simple: we are so happy. 

Rather than trying to keep the secret, we told the whole world pretty much right away with the help of our Moby-cat:

 

While I can promise you he doesn't really have a clue that I'm pregnant, he's the only one that has reveled in the exhaustion of the first trimester--he's getting spoiled by all this extra cuddle time! 

Our parents are over the moon--which is the most wonderful thing ever, and my friends are excited, too (and maybe just a little overwhelmed ;-) ). 

And, after weeks of waiting, we FINALLY had a prenatal appointment this week and got to see our little baby (and his/her heartbeat!).

 I'm 9 weeks along, and just can't wait till December 18th! 

Talk about a new adventure!

Adventure well; Live fully.

HAK

 

A Month's Adventures

Happy April 1st!

It has been over a month since I blogged, y'all, which is just nuts to me.  In some ways, I suppose my life has been too full of living and has left little room from writing about living. 

I've been on Instagram, so those who follow there have seen all that I've been up to. Two things on that:
1) FOLLOW ME! @MesAventureHAK 
I definitely Insta more than anything else because I love sharing snapshots of daily life.  
2) Look up^^^ I added that cool, scrolling bar of photos this morning. Those are my Instagram pictures via SnapWidget. So, if you click a picture it will take you to SnapWidget, but you can link to Insta from there. Fun stuff. 


There will be more stories on all of the below soon, but for now let me give you a fly by of the last month:

1) Moby Gimli Bat-Cat. He's that silly black cat in so many of my photos. He has quite a story all by himself, but the gist of it is that we have the best cat in the world!

2) Biking. With only 7 weeks till the Tour de Cure, training is in full swing. Audrey has been a trooper as I challenge her day after day to push her mind and body just a little further in the saddle. To climb one more hill, pedal one more mile, practice riding on the roads and in the rain, etc. 

3) Drawing. I won't be so bold as to say that I'm doing a drawing a day, but I'm trying to do several a week. Some are just quick sketches inspired by a verse in my morning devotions, and others are exercises in my sketchbook. I tend to be a bit pencil shy--strongly preferring my paintbrushes-- but the time has come for me to develop my drawing skills. 

4) Reading. I.love.reading. But I've done less and less of it in my spare time over the last few years as college work has dominated my reading energies. With just a month of university left, I am being more intentional about building "fun reading" back into my life. I recently finished Demon Fish and Ender's Game and am now tackling Atlas Shrugged. Good stuff. :-) 

Remember, I always love to hear about your adventures in the comments or on any of my social media outlets! Be in touch!

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK   
 

Atlanta Tour de Cure: We Need Your Help!

Good Morning! 

I've actually been quite productive in my studio lately, but I'll write more on that later. For now, I need to fill you in on a new adventure:
The American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure Bike Ride. 

The Hubster, Audrey, the sweet 7th grader I nanny, and I are joining Audrey's Aunt Stacey and some friends in the Atlanta 2014 Ride. 

Who: John & HollyAnne Knight and Audrey Sylvester

What: The American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure 28 mile Atlanta ride.
 
When: May 18, 2014
 
Why: To raise money for diabetes research, raise awareness about all types of diabetes, and celebrate the champions who live with diabetes every day (Like my Hubster, who has had Type 1 for 13+ years).
 
How Can You Help: 

• We need prayer: for safety in training and riding, for this ride as a whole to raise lots of money for research, and for that research to find new and better ways to fight, prevent, and CURE diabetes. 
• We are FUNDRAISING. We need to raise a minimum of $200 each in order to ride, and we'd like to go above and beyond that. The fastest way to donate is by going online. Follow these links!

Donate to HOLLYANNE 
Donate to JOHN 
Donate to AUDREY     


THANK YOU!!

Adventure well; Live fully.
HAK

Going Boldly: Atlanta or Bust!

The Hubster and I are moving tomorrow. 
The first move of our married life. 

We've been waiting, dreaming, and praying for tomorrow for over a month (and in some ways, longer). 
He'll be taking a new IT job, I'll be back to doing child care (in addition to Etsy), and we'll be closer to my family and many of our friends.

The Burrow is almost packed. I'm hiding out in our room as I type because it's the last semblance of order in our home. There are boxes and spreads of the last remnants of packing everywhere. 

This move is our dream.
But it's a little heartbreaking to leave our first little love nest. 
We spent our wedding night here. 
This was the first place we welcomed our parents to our home. 
Friends have come up from Atlanta, over from Covenant, down from Cleveland...
More than once faces have lit up in surprise at how often we have company...and just how many people you can fit in our little home! 
John painted these walls and built our furniture with love and care, turning a (very) humble mobile home into a sweet little cottage. 
We grew veggies in the summer, filled wine bottles with flowers, and hung succulents in the windows. 

Obviously we'll still do many of these things in Atlanta, 
but there's something about the first time. 
Our first home.

Woven in all these things are our friends, especially all the lovely ladies I've had to tea. 
One of them, probably the Burrow's most frequent visitor, asked me yesterday how it has been saying our goodbyes this week. 
Honestly, I've been trying not to think about goodbyes.
We're all grown up, and Atlanta isn't far--that means there will still be visits and teas...
 
But I'm going to miss hugging JE and NS almost every day, swapping chocolate chips with SS in the library, whispering in class with KR and MK, Sunday afternoons with our small group...

Then I look forward:
Meals and games and walks and talks with Mom and Dad. 
Tea and coffee with MD, MH, S&FtP.
The Reelets--who are growing up way faster than I care to admit. 
Meals and homework and life with A&AS. 
Breaks and holidays when "my girls" come to town, and we go to the Forum or out for Mexican, or a night in at our new apartment.
New friends that we don't even know yet--other newlyweds, young families, small groups, John's coworkers...
Visits from out of town friends--and a guest room to host them!
Perimeter.
My favorite bike routes.
The luxuries of Target and Trader Joe's. 
A sunroom-studio that I am determined to transform into arting heaven. 
An aquarium--and eventually a cat and dogs, too. 
The Someday Knightlets.  

I hope we'll name our new home...and all the homes yet to come. 
It's an old tradition that delights me. 
I can't put into words the rush I got when I realized that everyone was catching on to calling our home here "The Burrow." It still thrills me. I smile every time. 

So, we gather our skirts (proverbially), our belongings, and our courage and go boldly further south. 
We are blessed. 
We have been blessed here, and blessings won't stop with a move. 
We will grow--in wisdom, love, experience, relationships, blessings, and grace. 


"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen."  (Philippians 4.23)

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK

DIY: Make the Perfect Planner

I am a list maker. 
I love lists--writing them , checking them off, keeping track of things. 
I also love schedules. 
And the big picture. 
And room to scribble. 
My planner must fit in my purse. And since my purse is only about 7 inches square, worn as a hip bag (Think Fiona if you watch Burn Notice), that's a tall order in itself.
I do NOT love address books or sterile looking pages. 

Since this appears to be a rather tall order for a premade planner, I decided to take the plunge this year and figure out how to make my own. 


Step 1: Gather your stuff. 

I bought a small moleskine notebook with gridded pages and gathered my favorite pins for making the inside bright and delightful. 

Step 2: Know what's important to me. My top three things in a planner are 1) monthly pages, 2) Lots of to do list space, 3) a place to write a schedule for each day, all with enough space left to scribble notes around the margins. 

Step 3: Place and create month pages. I put mine on the last 12 pages (6 spreads) of the book. I use these for remembering birthdays, due dates, doctor's appointments, etc, so I want them accessible, but not necessarily at the front.  

 One of the great things about having gridded paper, is that it's super easy to make a nice, even calendar. I used the extra space on the sides to create a little "notes" box, too, for reminders, etc. 

Step 4: Design and make your daily pages. 
(Disclaimer: all of 2014 probably won't fit in a notebook this size because it has 192 pages, and I'm using a 2 page "spread" for each day. This doesn't particularly bother me, but if you want all year in a single place, you could use just 1/2 a spread for each day. That would be particularly feasible if you have a larger notebook. Mine is only 3.5x5.5 inches).  

On the left page I have the date, day of the week, what I'm cooking for dinner, and a to do list (on days when my list is not quite so long, I'd also have general scribble space). On the right side, I map out a schedule for the day around things like appointments, going to the gym, etc. Again, I like the grid because I think it adds a general neatness to the look. 

One other tip:
In case you're worried about how time consuming this could be: I've only made the calendar pages for Jan and Feb so far, and I've only made daily pages thru next week. Not only does this break it down so I can just add as I need pages and months, it also means that I could change up my layout at almost any point during the year if I wanted to try something new. 

There you have it, folks! A personalized planner in your favorite colors, patterns, and layouts for less than your average pre-made planner! Happy 2014!

Adventure well; Live fully. 
HAK