'twas the afternoon before the night before christmas...

...and all through the café
children are running and picking my flowers.

stems without flowers on the ends of them look ugly.
i'm sorry...but it's true.

the child got regañar-ed for it & said he wouldn't do it again.

so yeah! it's almost christmas!
how crazy is that?! it was just christmas.
...wasn't it?

oh...nope. turns out, alot has happened since last christmas.
mucho mucho.

so another lovely christmas season is at it's peak.
people are running all around, buying last minute presents...
i'm going through my head, trying to remember if i'm forgetting someone.

remembering something you've forgotten is hard.

i think it's a terrible feeling...'cause by the time you've remembered, it's usually too late. no bueno

Billy, Jenny, Willow & Tate safely made it to magdalena on tuesday night!
i just adore them.
not that i have favorites or anything...but especially Tate. :]
he's a doll.
tommorrow, i shall take him for a ride in my bug.
he really loves my bug. :]
we used to call it the "yellow sally car"...but i think [somehow] Tate knows that my car isn't a porshe.

Lionel is so as cool as Sally though.
but Mater totally beats 'em all...



oh yeah. totally.

i wish i was feeling totally festive right now.
but i'm really not....i haven't really played christmas music much...basically 'cause i've been too cheap to get some & the stuff i have gets old.
instead, we've been listen to alot of the same ol' stuff...
brandon heath, phil wickham, alex campos, jaci velasquez, marcela gandara, jack johnson, andrew peterson...
we might throw some luis prima, owl city, and MIA in there sometimes...
maybe.

actually...oh wait. i already wrote about the "freedom" CD.
oh. oh! you haven't bought it yet?!
WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!?!
get it!
the link in right here:

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a little to the right.
see it?
well...it's there.
in the next post down.
see it yet?
keep looking!
you'll find it!
merry christmas to yourself! splurge $5.
you won't regret it.

it's a lovely 68 degrees here in magdalena.
ha! and you're all freezing.
except those of you in arizona, california, costa rica & the artic circle (i heard it's lovely this time of year).
...and those of you who live here too.
HI, MOM!

i'm about ready to give Isela her christmas present. :]
i'm oober excited about it...
you know how exciting it is when you get someone something that you know they'll LOVE!?
*sigh* yuppers. yessiree.

wanna know what i got her? mmk...but keep it on the DL...
well...she's been drooling (not literally!) over a pair of white converse for weeks now.
and yup.
who's the best boss ever and has two thumbs?!












impressive. you're still reading this.
you do realize, of course, that i'm only writing this because everything is clean & no one is in the shop...riiigghtt?
so you're not really obligated to read this.

keep going? ok.

i love this song! you don't get to know what it is...but it's wonderful.
you'll just have to go buy the CD!
you know the one? i talked about it up there ^ and down there...

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that's the one. :]
ok. i'll tell you.
brandon has an excellent song on the FREEDOM CD.
it's called "swing low" and i have not found it on youtube...so don't bother.

ok.
i don't really have any thing else to write here...
i guess i could think of something if i really wanted to...
but if i wrote about everything on my mind...
i wouldn't have anything to write about tomorrow!
so this is really for your own good.


the end.

christmas "parties", freedom, jazz & the occasional cup of coffee.

oh man. the first annual Café Sed christmas party has been...haha...such a joke.
ok. techically...it's an open house sort of deal....and it's totally my fault that we haven't had many people this afternoon 'cause i did next to no advertising.

yeah. good job, katie.

the morning seriously started out amazing. i stayed busy until like...11.

i made cupcakes.
i ruined cupcakes.
i managed to save some cupcakes.
i put little candy cane sprinkles on my festive little cupcakes.

i made like...32 cupcakes.

annnd i've sold...
...
...
...
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zero.

what can i say?! i'm an optimist!

i made a few lattes. sold some scones. made some tea & did dishes.

i made a sign that lists all the things we have here that would make great christmas presents.

...it's really cute.

at one point this afternoon...3 little boys (about 8-9 y/o) waltzed in the door & asked me how much my candy canes cost.

"they're free today!"
"no way! can we like...have one?"

sure, kids.

so they got their free candy, told me they might come back later for a hot chocolate "or coffee! *giggle*", and left.
two minutes didn't pass when one of the kids came back with a few new friends.
asking for some free candy.
i told them to come in and get it if they wanted.
so they came in & i started handing out the canes...i asked the kid that had just been in if he already got one...
after realizing that i was giving him a chance to lie about it...

"n-n-no! i didn't get one yet!" -boy
i bent down and looked at him square in the eye (like any good & mean person would)...
"liar." *insert smirk* "it's no good to lie. -mean coffee lady

he still smiled at me & left with his friends.

well. "left".

i sat down to cancel an order of chocolate from one of my suppliers...and the boys passed by the window.
in like...a train.
one after the other.
oldest (the liar) first...the others following like pollitos following the mother hen.
their eyes were exageratedly sad.
they would walk past...look at me...walk past again...look at me...walk past again...look a - eh. you get it.
a couple times they actually looked in the window before bothering walking past again...just to make sure i was still sitting here.
i was...so they went ahead with their little parade.

haha. ohhhhhh little boys!
gotta love 'em.



after that...a friend came in and we sat talking for a while.
we talked about her new job...my new job...her kids...
it was really nice to just chat with someone about life.

theennnnnnnnn....it was quiet again.
just isela & i.

i got sick of christmas music & decided to instead turn on my new "FREEDOM" CD.
oh! you don't know what the FREEDOM CD is?!
oh man...friend, you must go to Family Christian Store and get it!
for $5 you get 2 CDs and a bonus DVD.
the money you spend goes to IJM & the CD is really great!
FOR 5 BUCKS!!!!
do it.
you know you want to.

mmk. so...music is on & i decided i wanted to read 'cause isela was reading and she's cool. :]
right now i'm reading "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller.
i'm not giving my opinion on it yet 'cause i haven't finished it...
but! i will say that i love reading this book...
mainly 'cause of the way it's written...
it's crazy entertaining.
like...read this:

"Writers don't make any money at all. We make about a dollar. It is terrible. But then again we don't work either. We sit around until noon then do downstairs and make coffee, fry some eggs, read the paper, read part of a book, smell the book, wonder if perhaps we ourselves should work on our book, smell the book again, throw the book across the room because we are quite jealous then any other person wrote a book, feel terribly guilty about throwing the schmuck's book across the room because we secretly wonder if God in heaven noticed our evil jealousy, or worse, our laziness. We then lie across the couch facedown and mimble to God to forgive us because we are secretly afraid He is going to dry up all our words because we envied another man's stupid words. And for this, as I said before, we are paid a dollar. We are worth so much more."

haha...i think i know just enough (but not really) what that's like to think it's halarious.


thank you for getting to the end of this pointless blog post.
you really didn't have to.

the end.

a stranger.

it becomes painfully clear everyday...i'm a stranger in my own town.
magdalena is more my home then probably any other place on this earth...yet...i'm different.
i'm american.
anyone can see that.

i don't understand how people can treat people differently just because of their birth place.
i get looked down upon alot.
obviously, all americans are snobs...so we must snob them.

now...this isn't true for a good 70% of magdalenians.
only some people talk about me right in front of me.
only some people make jokes about me with their friends.
only some don't consider that i MIGHT know what they're saying.

most everyone is polite and respectful.
most everyone is willing to be welcoming & kind.

the other day (friday i think)...i let myself get really worked up about this.
i was super annoyed & wanted to stay annoyed.
i wished i was quick & witty so i could cleaverly come up with some smart remark that would make people realize that it's NOT ok to shove me to take my place in line at the store.

i was told that if i just gave them the finger...they'd lay off.
i told them that Jesus wouldn't do that.

it was right about then that i realized what a blessing it is to feel uncomfortable.
this world is NOT my home.

magdalena is not my true home.

rio bravo is not my true home.

costa rica is not my true home.

washington is not my true home

that's right...not even good 'ol central illinois.

i've actually never been home. but i know it's awesome.
i know it's huge & marvelous.
i know that i will never be forgotten or forsaken there.
i know that i have a wonderful Bridegroom preparing everything ahead of time so i will be FLOORED when he takes the veil off my eyes.
when i see everything clearly.

love is a beautiful contradiction.

It knocked me down, it dragged me out, it left me there for dead. It took all the freedom I wanted and gave me something else instead. It blew my mind, it bled me dry, it hit me like a long goodbye, and nobody here knows better than I that it's a good thing.
Love is a good thing. It'll fall like rain on your parade, laugh at the plans that you tried to make, It'll wear you down till your heart just breaks and it's a good thing. Love is a good thing.

It'll wake you up in the middle of the night, it'll take just a little too much. It'll burn you like a cinder till you're tender to the touch. It'll chase you down, swallow you whole, it'll make your blood run hot and cold. Like a thief in the night it'll steal your soul, and that's a good thing. Love is a good thing. It'll follow you down to the ruin of your great divide, and open the wounds that you tried to hide. And there in the rubble of the heart that died you'll find a good thing. Love is a good thing.

Take cover, the end is near. Take cover, but do not fear. It'll break your will, it'll change your mind, it'll loose all the chains of the ties that bind. If you're lucky you'll never make it out alive, and that's a good thing. Love is a good thing. It can hurt like a blast from a hand grenade when all that used to matter is blown away. There in the middle of the mess it made you'll find a good thing. Yes, it's worth every penny of the price you pay. It's a good thing.

Love is a good thing. Do not fear.

-Andrew Peterson

vivid dreams...

i had a dream last night...one of those incredibly vivid dreams.

in it, i was walking around magdalena when i came across a little shop that looked interesting.
i walked in and suddenly the shop became HUGE (think barnes & noble size).
i was shocked that in 6 years i'd never seen this place.
the place was filled with all kinds of lovely books.
it smelled like books...looked like books. books! books! books!

"oh shoot!" i thought "Sed is soooo gonna lose business because of this."
even in light of that...i couldn't help but fall in love with this shop.

people were everywhere. some were reading...some were talking...there were a couple of kids banging board books against each other's heads...

the shop wasn't mexican at all...but i loved it.

anyway.
i woke up & thought what a lovely dream.

now i wanna buy hundreds of books & fill every nook and cranny of the café with hardback, spanish copies of my favorites.