Hi, I’m Kate and I’m so glad you’re here! If you like the short-version of the story and just want the details about what this blog is about, read here!
If you like details, keep reading!
About Me
Hi, again! So glad you’re here! 🙂
A little bit about me: I was a high school English and Bible teacher in a Christian school for 15 years until the birth of my twin boys in April 2015. Currently, in my ‘spare’ time (ha ha!), Â I tutor and do freelance writing and editing (for details, see here).
I live on Long Island with my husband (married in 2010), our boys, and our 4 cats (which, at the moment, is 4 too many). Fun fact: something of a late bloomer, I didn’t get married until I was 36, and I had our boys when I was 41. So, first-time-mom in my 40s! Huge learning curve and life adjustment!
I’m a bit of recovering perfectionist and worrier. I love the outdoors – kayaking, hiking, mountain biking –  and I used to be a really fun and adventurous person before I had my boys! However, as the boys get bigger, fingers crossed, the fun and adventure will return!
I like to travel, write, eat Indian food, and I love to sleep (again, pre-children – but I still am fond of all those things!).
I hate yard-work and I’m a terrible cook. Well, that’s not entirely true. Â When I was working full-time, yes to both. Â But now that I’m home, I would say that I tolerate yard-work and I’m a passable cook.
I am a compulsive organizer when given the freedom, and I’m obsessed with purging clutter. I can be absent-minded, I’m getting better at multi-tasking, and I’m also a little clumsy (runs in my family).
My mind is always busy, and I’m always coming up with new goals and projects to keep me motivated and inspired; I am a huge advocate of being a life-long learner, and if I had my way, I’d be a career student.
I LOVE missions and have had the honor of serving on over 20 short-term trips, with about 15 of those being overseas. My first trip was to Africa when I was 23, and it changed my life.
Here’s the real core of who I am: I believe that the only fulfilling life is one that is lived for something bigger than myself, something that will outlast me. I believe that ‘Something’ – really, SomeONE – is Jesus. My own story is too small to live for, and I love being a part of God’s Big Story. And when I’m in sync with Him, I’m at my happiest and my best. He’s won my heart, and what matters to Him matters to me.
About My Blogging Journey and A Hundred Affections
Here’s the “story behind the story” of my blog:
In 2009, my sister (The Girl Creative) suggested blogging to me when I was planning my wedding, thus ‘One Girl’s Journey to the Altar‘ was born. I had that blog for a good year and a half, but the adjustments of a new marriage left little time for blogging. I let that one a die a slow death, and then picked up blogging again in 2012 with “This Side of Eden;” that one died a quick death. I was in the middle of one of my most stressful – and worst- years of teaching, and I was a too ambitious trying to kick it off when I did.
Later that same year, I had my first miscarriage and started to blog again atA Hundred Affections (at Blogspot), but only for a short time. In the months that followed, God told me to quit my 2nd job and focus on writing (about what, I wasn’t – and still am not – quite sure! Work in progress!). After procrastinating, squirming and pretending I didn’t hear, I finally obeyed and the current A Hundred Affections was born in July 2013.
At the time, I was in the middle of a very difficult miscarriage and infertility journey. The blog evolved into a real-time play-by-play of our infertility struggles, and I believe it was what it was supposed to be at the time – for me and for the other women I connected with.
In summer of 2014, I finally became pregnant with our twin boys, via IVF. The blog slowly took a backseat during the pregnancy and the boys’ first 2 years. In the summer of 2016, I relaunched the blog (you can read about the relaunch here), which is how you ended up here!
My goal here is to inspire moms who are running the show at home – trying to balance faith, family, home, and health. Moms who need a little encouragement, a spiritual boost, practical tips for kids, healthy recipes, ideas for kids, DIY projects, home decor-Â everything that falls under the category of being a mom and homemaker.
About the Name “A Hundred Affections”
If you’re curious about the title, here’s the story:
It comes from the poem “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman:
“The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred affections.”
I fell in love with this line during my first year of teaching. It perfectly captured the idea of there being something meaningful to discover with every experience in life. It’s all important and it all matters.
I really believe we are all just doing the best that we can to juggle and negotiate life. We are all trying to find balance. Â While these ‘hundred affections’ are what make life worthwhile, they can also leave us with our heads spinning as we try to manage it all. Â But they are all gifts from God in our lives and we owe it to ourselves – and to Him – to be good stewards of those gifts.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I hope we can do you some good here. 🙂
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