snow decor.

I've seen full bottles of beer, coat-hangers, trash (of course), baseball caps, and bicycles stuck into the snow....but never a discarded Christmas tree. The funny thing is, it didn't show up there until about mid-week last week, so someone living near me definintely enjoyed christmasfullness for just about as long as they could without their apartment catching on fire from a super dead, dry Fraser Fir.

I still think Bones should do an episode where a dead body is found underneath the mountains of snow after it all melts away. Maybe a finger or toe is poking out at the beginning of "melting season" and some dog sniffs/licks it as he's out doing his business and then his moth-ball-coat-fancy-pearl-wearing owner notices and her screams echo off the surrounding skyscrapers?? Totes brill, right??

You saw it here first, just in case they steal it :)

say cheese,

katy

"is there something in my eye??"

This afternoon I attended CityLife church in downtown Boston. The sermon was on judgment, utilizing Luke 6:37-42 about pointing out a speck in your brother's eye and not noticing the log that is in your own. Of course, I've heard this passage discussed many times before but I truly appreciated Rev. Dr. Um's complete, and unapologetic, exploration of it.

He acknowledged that Jesus is not saying that all assessment of others is inherently "wrong." If that were so, the valid and appropriate assessments done by parents of children, teachers of students, and employers of employees would be wrong...and then where would the world be? Rev. Dr. Um also pointed out that we know Jesus is okay with assessment (aka judgment done in love) because otherwise his direction in the Luke 6 parable would itself be hypocritical and self-negating.

Of course, the heart of the passage tells us that we must get rid of our own "imperious self-righteousness" and choose only to "assess" others when we are able to do so in love. Our hearts have a sneaky way of twisting judgment into a virtue, Rev. Dr. Um said, as we convince ourselves that we're helping others when we correct them; when in fact, we are only granting ourselves a greater sense of superiority and actually condemning ourselves in the process. With a chuckle, he pointed out that in becoming less judgmental, we also help ourselves to become more humble, more patient...and less cranky.

Obviously, there was much much more substance to his sermon today than what my measly notes are providing, but here's the very essence of his message: Since every single human being who has ever lived, is living, and will live has a sinful nature, the Lord--who is perfect and completely separate from sin--had every right to say to each of us: "Depart from me." But by grace and mercy, he reversed the sentence and took our punishment, instead. As recipients of this amazing love and unwarranted act, we, too, must be infinitely gracious and charitable of others and, instead, be hypercritical of our own hearts and motivations.

say cheese,
katy

psy, like "sigh" but totally not.

The lovely Emily Heckman and I got all cleaned up and fancified tonight to attend PSY, a "mind-blowing circus" showing through ArtsEmerson. It was fan-freaking-tastic!!!

There aren't many shows that are as jaw-droppingly impressive and mesmerizing from the fifth-to-the-last row as they are from the front row...but this one was! Being a circus, there was, of course, the expected clown, juggling, and stunts that make the audience catch its breath, but this was way more than your average big-tent-cotton-candy-high-wire jazz! The circus' story follows its performers through exploration of their own psyches as individuals meeting with mental illness professionals regarding sleep disorder, OCD, manic and paranoid tendencies, and more. With few audible words throughout the two-hour performance, every story line was still absolutely crystal-clear, which was refreshing within a "classic theater" setting.

We saw all kinds of wonderful (and sometimes stressful, personally!) performances ranging from hand-balancing, the swinging trapeze, knife manipulation, the German wheel and more! Once, the principle juggler was juggling four bowling-pin things with his two hands and the hook of a walking cane. HOLY COW!! Then they even did a group juggling act of eight--yes, eight!--people! YOWZA!! And there was a spectacular showing of some mad Chinese pole talents. Let's just say, at one point a man was hanging sideways off the pole as he balanced--on his head--a young lady doing a split--on her head! WOAH!!

Still, the best part may have been the elevator-music musical chair game played to distract the audience from a simultaneous set change...brilliant and hilarious!

say "cheese and rice, how'd he do that?!?!?"

katy

fye.

This still is absolutely unbelievable to me, and I get to see it in real life every single day!!

i was standing on the sidewalk. the squirrels were standing practically at my eye-level.

please note height similarities--i'm 5'10'' if that helps your jaw drop further...

say cheese,
katy

avalanche.

The snow has arrived! I can hardly see the building outside of my window for all the snow!! It's pollo loco out there!!

Jocelyn and I played in it a little tonight for the first time by throwing pre-warned-backs-turned snowballs at each other in our fancy new winter gear! Here are a few pics of what we've accumulated so far...and I swear none of these have been Photoshop altered! This. Is. Real. Life.

the common...

my snow.

from the warmth of my bedroom.

and the winner is...

Well the votes have been cast and the ballots counted, and it looks like BOSTON is the big winner!

As I'm sure many of you heard (interrupting your favorite morning news shows, no doubt), the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced this morning! Settled among films that I absolutely adored (ahem...."Toy Story 3" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1") and those I wasn't able to catch quite yet but definitely will ("True Grit" and "The King's Speech"), nominations for actors, actresses, directors, and entire films from and about my beloved Boston seem to be abounding this year!  Statistically speaking, we're likely to be well represented (I hope!) on the big night, February 27th. 

"'The Town' only got a measly 'supporting actor' nomination!" you're screaming at me. I know, I know. And while my heart is sad--Ben's cinematography and ab work were both quite impressive--we've still got a pretty strong representation out there! Let me explain....

As previously mentioned, Jeremy Renner was nominated for his supporting (and sometimes too scarily convincing) role in "The Town." Christian Bale, nominated in the same category, was also acknowledged for his spectacular performance in "The Fighter" as a drug-addicted ex-boxer living in Lowell, MA. 

Also in "The Fighter," Amy She's-Come-A-Long-Way-From-"Enchanted" Adams and Melissa Leo are going toe-to-toe (or is fist-to-fist more appropriate, here?) for their parts as actresses in supporting roles.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" but I know she's definitely deserving of her actress in a leading role nom...especially if her performance was anything like Jim Carrey's rendition shown on SNL a few weeks ago! But why the Boston nod, you ask? Well, she's a Harvard grad, thank ya very much.

And speaking of Harvard, I can hardly leave out the fabulous (and surprising) cool, calm, and collected performance by Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network," which was mostly set at the Ivy League school. Eisenberg's showing--approved by Zuckerberg or not--is most certainly worthy of all the buzz its gotten and more...including his nomination for best actor in a leading role.

All of these spectacular Mass films--with the exception of "The Town," sad face--were also nominated for best cinematography, best film editing, best picture, and best director (you were robbed, Benny Boy, but that's karma for ya). So take that cheese and put it on your cracker!! Check it out for yourselves here. 

Now I realize that most of you geographically-intelligent folks out there are trying to think of a quick quip to point out that the majority of these wonderful films weren't actually set in Boston and that the ones worth anything were actually placed outside of the city itself. And I totally know that! But I'm proud to be in (or near, geez) a place creating so much hype and inspiring everyone from ballerinas to computer geeks to bank robbers! 

So even if ya can't come visit me, you can sorta-kinda-just-a-little-bit experience what I get to see everyday by watching one of those great films that the Academy so aptly nominated! Just take out the millionaires, shoot-outs, and boxing titles and basically you've got my little life here...which is technically in Allston, but what's the point in taking territorial lines into consideration now??

say cheese,

katy

totally stinks for this guy.

from one colony to another.

My front walk...please notice the height of the snow 

and the height of the car next to it....

I'm back in Boston after a long, totally relaxing five-week adventure through the South! My flight left Atlanta this afternoon around 5 p.m. and I bid adieu to the "warm" Georgia weather :)

The flight began interestingly enough due to entertainment provided by a new U.S. Naval company headed to Connecticut via Boston. (I was seriously sitting in a sea of blue Naval uniforms for my trip up.) After the normal "seat-belts on/cell phones off" speech, the head flight attendant guy welcomed the new sailors aboard and everyone on the plane cheered for them (which was a really sweet moment to experience). He then announced that there were two empty first-class seats available to the first sailors who could answer his trivia questions. (To which all they started cheering and hollering and standing up--obviously excited about a free upgrade and fancy adult cocktail of their choice!)

His first question asked how many buttons the original Navy uniform pants had....to which they ALL yelled, "Thirteen!!" (....like it was so obvious or something). Blown away by their intelligence, he asked if they knew what the buttons represented, to which they all answered, "The colonies!" (....clearly, they all passed their Navy history tests). Getting frustrated by their brilliance (and I'm sure desperately searching for a hard enough question to get them seated so we could get that bird in the air), he pondered for a moment and asked which two presidents died on the same day. Aha!! He stumped them! But then some smarty pants over my left shoulder screamed "Adams and Jefferson!" which was apparently correct, so he got to gather his items, parade all the way up to the front of the plane and claim his prize. That meant there was only one seat left--the heat was on!!

(Now, before I tell you what the last question was, I think I should defend these boys--whom I overheard had been traveling all day from somewhere else in the U.S.--by telling you that I'm 99% sure they weren't Georgia boys.) So the final question was posed: "What was the 13th colony?" Not one of them knew it!! (I fear for our country.) I leaned over to the kid next to me (who was maybe one day over 18 years) and said "It's Georgia." He looked at me like I was an alien. At any other time, I'd look at me like I was an alien, too, if Katy Capers was trying to tell me the answer to a history question (it's not my finest subject, FYI). But I said, "I'm telling you, the answer's Georgia." Again, he just looked at me like I didn't speak his language (which, I found out later, that I actually did). He obviously wasn't listening--but I was pretty intent on getting rid of at least one of the two fellas squishing me into the airplane wall--so I leaned to the guy on the aisle and told him, too. Again, alien! Apparently, I finally said "No really. I promise the answer is Georgia!" loudly enough so that another guy behind me heard MY answer, screamed it out himself and got a spot at the front. I didn't so much care that he got first class--I figure my living quarters will be much nicer than his for the next few months so, ehh, why not give it to him--but he could have at least had the decency to make one of the boys on my row move to his old seat so I could have a little extra leg room. Geez! But alas, he forgot all about us poor folk once he got beyond that tacky see-through dividing curtain. Whatevs.

My annoyance was soon forgotten, however, during takeoff, when the boy in the aisle seat on my row grasped the armrests with all that he had and muttered to his friend, "Dang it, man! This is why I joined the Navy, not the Air Force! I hate flying!" ....and he proceeded to sit with his eyes squeezed shut, head tilted upward, and hands firmly squeezing those poor armrests for the duration of the flight.

Anyway! Now I'm back in action and completely submerged in a world with which I'm totally unaccustomed and sorta terrified. Please see pictures for this rationalization :)

say cheese,
katy

PS -- Haley. I love you (and now you've been mentioned)!!

i'm baaaaaaack!

I've been on a vacay in the South for the last few weeks to celebrate the holidays, see my fam and my favorite friends! Here's a quick update on some of the few awesome things I was able to experience!

On arrival in ole Georgia, the studly William Anderson Capers and I drove straight up to Blue Ridge for a three-day visit with my Poppi and Gaygle!

Poppi reppin' his GT gear on 12/22.
He could hardly lift his right hand to his chin (and with a smidge of trouble) then....just wait for the next update below!!

Then Mommy, William and I held an Open House Christmas Party for all of our lovely friends on Christmas Eve eve! Sangria was made, sausage balls were ready, and a great time was had by all!

And some of my beautiful C-Town friends stopped by!
Mary Helen is standing next to me, and from L-R is Blair, Paula, Carmen and Riley! I love y'all!!

Christmas Eve was had with our Maw Maw and Paw Paw and their whole clan.
The kids were all in a frenzy when it was present time! So cute!!

Merry Christmas from the Capers Clan!

Then I got to see my favorite girls up in Athens for the first Botans reunion on New Year's weekend!!
My gorgeous best friends, L-R Lindsey, Hillary, me, Nicole and Katie! We're on the same wavelength :)

And since I can't post a pic of the real thing (that Katie actually bought that weekend! Agh!!), here's a dress that will definitely not be seen on the big day, July 15. Sometimes it just looks good on the hanger and bad on the bod. Other times, it looks bad on both...

I know you probably can't tell, but the moped in front of me had the biggest (ugliest) Florida Gator sticker on the back of it. Well, I was in my dad's huge-take-over-the-whole-road truck and I thought if I just pumped the gas one quick time....I could easily give the world one LESS annoying UF fan...but alas, I have a conscience....

And then Weeyam and I hung out with the doggies for a few days, Millie, Maya and Oliver!

I saw my stunning cousin Catherine, Aunt Katy and Uncle Phil in Jacksonville to celebrate CBA's 17th birthday! Happy birthday, beautiful girl!!

And now I'm back in Blue Ridge!! Almost four weeks later (1/21), he can raise that lil arm way over his head without any issue/pain/strain at all! Go, Poppi, go!!

I'm back in the blogging world, so don't forget about me :)

say cheese,

katy

new year, new blog couture.

Enjoy the new background as my blogging hiatus (and winter break) draw to an end. I've missed being here and talking to you all :) Some serious back-blogging coming soon!

say cheese,
katy