{politics}

Well, not yet.

Unless you live under a rock you’ll know that the Ohio primary is today. So I feel compelled to post something political. I groan at all things political, so I’m sure it won’t happen again.

A couple of weeks ago, I was really excited to learn that Ohio’s primary results will end up mattering. When I heard our primary was more than a month after Super Tuesday, I was pretty disappointed because I figured that our votes wouldn’t make a difference. But now I wish our votes didn’t really matter. And I know that’s horrible thing to say. But voting is SO stressful for me. You see, I actually care about making an informed decisions befire I vote, and not basing my decision on whoever is most charismatic. But I have a serious problem making decisions. I’m not a person with strong political convictions. Not because I’m apathetic, per se, but because I am not a black-and-white kinda person. I see the world in numerous shades of gray, making it difficult for me to see anybody’s point—with a few exceptions, of course--as wrong. I always feel like everyone makes a good point. And how am I to know what the best answer is? I just feel so worn down with confusions and frustration and a feeling of “I just have absolutely no idea.” Case in point: I took this online quiz that is supposed to tell you which candidate(s) best line up with your ideals. The results? I best line up with both Huckabee and Clinton. Um, yeah, exactly my point. So what’s a girl to do?

{dispelling myths about editors}

I get a lot of incorrect assumptions about my job. I also get a lot of people pointing out typos in my blog posts and emails. So in an effort to clear up all this confusion as well as prevent future pointings-out, let me explain a few things about editors:

1. Just because we know the right thing to do, doesn’t mean we actually do it. It’s like a doctor who smokes. I hate typing, so when I’m writing a quick email, the last I’m caring about is proper grammar.
2. We don’t know everything about grammar, we just know when and where to look something up. The dictionary is my best friend.
3. Whether you’re an editor or not it is nearly impossible to perfect your own work (and the reason why we need editors in the first place). Our minds play fill-in-the-blank when we read are own writing. So my emails and posts, even if I reread them, are bound to have mistakes.
4. An editor’s job is not to check spelling. In fact, I rarely pay attention to spelling. A proofreader’s job is to check the spelling, along with grammar, punctuation and adherence to style manuals. An editor’s job is typically much more. My job consists of working with an author to take their manuscript from first draft to prepress. I mentor and guide authors through the book process, I rework and rewrite their manuscripts so that they are comprehensible and appropriate for the topic of the book. I do photo shoots, I work with designers who design the book, I track budgets, and attend title brainstorming sessions. I love this description: “The job of an editor is, among other things, to prod, shape, wheedle, cajole, mediate, challenge, anticipate, nit-pick, chastise, inspire, support, confront, defend, harangue, and, as required, suggest different words, phrases, or grammar.” That pretty much sums it up.
5. For the record, although everyone thinks think they can proofread, few are really good at it. In fact, most of the proofreaders that I work with at my job are pretty poor proofreaders. Proofreading doesn’t just require an interest in reading or an ability to spell, a proofreader has to recognize when wording, grammar, or spelling might be amiss. They must be very detailed, paying attention to every word. They must pay attention to consistency, remembering if the details on page 99 matched those on page 1.
6. Contrary to popular belief, editors are not perfect. Just like every other person, we make mistakes. Only unlike doctors, our mistakes won’t kill you, so give us a break!

{just a little something...}

…to get you through to my next real post. My latest scrapbook page (about me and my dad), which I made for work (of course):

{happy valentine's day!}

{i heart ikea}

Saw this today and I was so excited I had to share:

OH, West Chester


Yippee!!!!!!

{of blogs and valentine's day}

I know, I have been a blogging slacker...but I have good excuse. I’m contributing to not one, but three blogs (two for work and this one). Since I paid to write the ones for work, those are my priority. I just recently got the job of writing the third blog. Our company started a web site that’s like Facebook but for people who do all kinds of crafts. The fact that I’m even involved in this new site is kind of ironic since I’ve pretty much refused to involve myself with either Facebook or Myspace on principle, and now here I am populating blogs and message boards and photo galleries on a Facebook clone. I have to say I was pretty honored at being named the scrapbooking and papercrafting group leader on the new craft site. A long with a lot more work to do, I get...a lot more work to do. I really shouldn't imply that I’m annoyed about it because I’m not. I’ve always been a big fan and having too much (rather than not enough) work to do, and I’m glad to know that my boss acknowledges that I’m a good blogger and all my blogging experience has paid off. Plus, it’s pretty cool to get paid to play around on web site and read message boards.

So, in honor of both my new post (pun intended) at work and Valentine’s Day, here’s a digital scrapbook page I made recently for the work blogs:



The quote (from Story People) says: “I'm not that good at being a tourist because I'm always looking at the way the light shines in your hair or the way your dress opens to the wind & my favorite places in the world are places filled with you.” This is actually my “token of appreciation” (we don’t exchange gifts) for Paul, but he won’t be reading the blog before Thursday.

Photos courtesy Jennifer Disney Photography.

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends and family. I love you guys!

{transparency}

I was just reading Heather’s most recent blog post about being transparent and sharing struggles with the blogosphere. I really appreciate Heather’s willingness to be open and honest about her life. I don’t typically write about such things, mostly because writing about Starbucks and decorating is way more fun. I feel so heavy right now with “stuff,” that writing about frivolity is a nice escape. That said, I have been trying to come up with something to write about the last few days, to no avail. Nothing interesting has happened and I haven’t uploaded any new pictures yet. So, after reading Heather's post, I thought, “Why not be transparent? If I can lift someone else up or if one person prays for me, that’s not a bad thing.” So here goes. Here are a few of the things that are weighing me down right now:

*Feeling lonely as an outsider. We recently joined a new church that we really love. We love the teaching and the worship and the people are absolutely awesome. But I am struggling to find my place in the world of young marrieds. With the exception of a very small few, the women my age have very young kids and are consumed by the world of young motherhood, a world I am obviously not a part of.

*How to be married and love Paul well. I love, love, love being married. It’s so much better and easier than I anticipated, and it’s such a release for me, after all the work of wedding planning and all the drama of moving to Cincinnati. But sometimes I have a hard time being in a relationship. Sometimes (okay more often than not) I just want to do my own thing, I don’t want to consider someone else’s feelings, and I want it my way. I miss being single in some ways. And I sometimes resent that it’s not my way all the time. And more often than not I feel guilty about not being a “good wife,” whatever that means.

*Being content where I live. I’ve never really been happy living in the area we live in. I dreaded it before I moved in to Paul’s house, and I don’t really feel much more content about it now. And now that we go to a church that is a 40 minute drive, the discontent is really wearing me down and I get a headache thinking about what our next step should be. Of course, the housing market sucks and there’s no way we can sell the house right now. So, do we try and rent it while we buy anther house? Or do we just stay while I try not to be bitter and annoyed for the next three years? And either way, I know God has placed us in that house right now for a reason, but Paul and I both struggle trying to get the motivation to use the opportunity we have to be good witnesses.

Wow, I do feel better now, not trying to keep it all in. Thanks, Heather!

{currently loving...}

Starbucks Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte



With only 90 calories (without the whip) and 75mg of caffeine it’s the perfect little afternoon pick-me-up. Plus you get calcium and some sweet tooth satisfaction. (For the record, the grande has 130 calories and 150mg of caffeine). But there is a downside to this treat: Without a gift card, a tall alone will set you back $3.50. Happiness always has a price.

{a little scrapping for you}

So, I'm sitting here at work this sunny Friday, not wanting to work (is it obvious??) so I thought I'd post some of the most recent scrapbook layouts I've made for work. They're both all digital, made in Photoshop with free kits available at Memory Makers.


(The title says, "My 8 for 2008: 8 things I'm looking forward to this year." Number 5 is "The opening of IKEA." Yay!)

{hooray!}

My super very most favoritest fabric designer, Amy Butler is putting out a new fabric line called, appropriately for me, Midwest Modern. I’m so incredibly excited, as Amy’s fabric never fails to excite me and I’m eagerly waiting the chance to sew pillows for the living room. Even more perfect, is that the new line includes a collection of bright green and blue fabrics (called, also appropriately, Ohio Sky), exactly the hues that I have planned for the house. The bummer is that the fabric isn’t due to hit stores until April. I guess if I have to wait until March for IKEA to open (hello chairs, bookshelves, and frames, oh my!), I might as well put off finishing the home décor one more month to wait for Amy. Okay, so no one’s allowed to visit until June, got it?

{why I like the snow}

Found this on my way out the door this morning:

{30th birthday weekend recap}

My 30th-birthday-eve was almost just as special as my actual birthday. The girls at work got me a super-sweet card and brought in food in honor of my bday. Totally low-key but so nice that they thought of me. I’m very thankful for my coworkers—they are such as nice group of young women, with whom I have tons in common. Thank you, girls! I came home to pack and prep for an overnight trip to Nashville, Tennessee. After delish garlic bread pizza and some cabernet, Paul and I headed to the local theater to see Juno. (I recommend the movie if you haven’t seen it.)

Nashville was a great mix of kicking back, looking around, and having fun. Plus Paul and I love road trips—having four hours to talk and eat sour Jolly Ranchers is always a good time. We got to Nashville pretty early since we forgot about the time change, so we headed a little south to cute little downtown Franklin to eat at Merridees, which has the BEST baked goods. We walked in a few shops but it was so darn cold this weekend (25 degrees), being outside was pretty un-fun. We stopped at the Belmont Mansion for a little historical tour.

The tour was pretty interesting, but one of the women on the tour with was SO annoying...she asked about a million stupid questions, most of them asking if the wallpaper was original (after about the 10th “no” she would have figured it out).

Anyway....we headed back up to the hotel for opening presents and taking naps. (Thanks, mom, for the super cute Amy Butler bag!).

Paul did a great job surprising me with some really great gifts. What a sweetie! That night we headed out early this rather well known , but small hole-in-the-wall kind of place called the Bluebird Café. It was SO much fun—way more than I expected. Four singer/songwriters played some awesome country music (way better than the crap they play on the radio) in the round. And we sat about a foot (literally) from the musicians. Not only was the music really good, but so was the company. I was dreading having to be social with other people at our table (I was really tired...and I don’t like people all the much). Some girl who knew one of the musicians came along and sat at our table. She was really nice and asked some questions but I just felt really awkward. And then it turns out she lives in Nashville but she’s from Orange County and went to EV Free. Small world! We chatted easily after that. I had planned to go out after the Bluebird, but it was so much I figured nothing could top it, so we just kicked back at the hotel.

I woke on Sunday morning to find the bed empty (Paul was downstairs reading so he wouldn’t disturb me) so I did some more kicking back, drinking coffee and watching tv. By the way, I have to mention Paul did a great job picking the hotel...I highly recommend (at least the one in Nashville) the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott. The rooms were really nice (suites) and only $90! Plus they come with two free bottles of water—wow! About 11am on Sunday we headed to the Pancake Pantry, a Nashville tradition. We were expecting the line that greeted us when we got there—unfortunately, the line was outside and it was 25 degrees, but it was worth it.

After cinnamon and sugar pancakes (yum!) we spend some time browsing in a used bookstore, then drove out to the Hermitage to tour the home, tomb, and grounds of Andrew Jackson, 7th US president.

I noticed they kept the mention of the whole Indian removal thing to a minimum, but the place was pretty interesting. By they end of our two hours, much of it outside, I was pretty frozen and ready to head back to Cincy. Which we did.

{currently loving...}

CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint No. 1136

I got a tube of this luscious lip gloss at Bath & Body Works on sale for $5 (and I just heard it's on sale for $3 at the CO Bigelow store). The tint is the perfect hint of color, the gloss has a slight sheen that's not too shiny or sticky, and it has a fabulously minty taste. Plus it doesn't dry out my lips. Mom and sis both tried some of my tube and agreed it was every bit as great as I said it was. Mentha Lip comes in a couple different tints as well as clear.

{new year, new perspective}

Literally. I now have pieces of dark plastic framing my vision, which can sometimes be distracting. But I’m excited that I finally got new glasses, which I have been searching for the entirety of 2007.

Anyway...

Happy New Year to all of you!

I can't help but make New Year's resolutions. Maybe it's my goal-oriented side. Or my tendency to self-reflect. Or constant dissatisfaction with myself. Or maybe just my love of list-making. In any case, I never have trouble coming up with a few resolutions. Here are the three that came to mind first:

(1) Do more pilates (actually, that would be just "do pilates")

(2) Accept my personal style (but also stop feeling self conscious when I wear things that are “not me”)

(3) Wear more skirts (which is Paul's personal favorite)

I was discussing these facts with Paul on the drive home from the airport on Sunday, and lamenting the fact that I am never able to get the motivation to really change, specifically my complete inability to want to exercise. Paul, who had just come from hearing an appropriately relevant sermon, said something to the effect of this: It's not up to me to change myself or even within my capability of changing myself; it's up to God to change me (I'm assuming counting partly my willingness to allow the change...I can be pretty stubborn sometimes.) Well, good point, Paul (and thanks Dad-in-law!). It’s one of those notions that is so obvious yet so easy to forget, but so freeing when we remember. I don’t have to try to do the impossible. I don’t have to beat myself up for failing at the impossible. I don’t have to despair that I can’t complete the impossible. I can still try to make an effort to do Pilates or whatever, but it’s so nice not to have to rely on myself.

So, we'll see how the year goes. In the meantime, I will chuck my resolutions. Except maybe the one about the skirts because it's such as great excuse to go shopping.

{which holiday treat are you?}

Turns out, I’m a gingerbread house, which is really pretty accurate considering I’m sweet and crusty most of the time. According to the quiz, I'm a gingerbread house because:

“Wild holiday parties? Not your thing. Since your home is such a tasty place (nonpareils, gumdrops, and licorice are very welcoming), you'd rather hang out there with a small group of invited guests. The holidays are a lot of work for you, but it all feels worth it when everyone compliments your artful decorations and inspired seasonal soundtrack. You surround yourself with sweetness at home, so you don't feel the need to venture out -- you're happier in your own, carefully-constructed holiday surroundings.”

Which holiday treat are you? Click the image below to find out!

{guest post from my hot husband, Paul}

Kristin and I have been thoroughly enjoying her clever Advent calendar. In fact, tonight's Advent activity is to blog on each others blog. So I thought that I would post a Christmas activity list for all Kristin's readers looking for a simple way to add some simple joys to this Advent season.

1) Go to the library and check out some Christmas movies (my favorite is the Charlie Brown Christmas).
2) Call a long lost relative or friend to wish them a happy Christmas.
3) Read Luke 2:1-20
4) Listen to King's College Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (at 3pm GMT or 10am Eastern on Christmas Eve).
5) By some peppermint ice cream and hot fudge and enjoy a winter treat.
6) Go ice skating.
7) Give a gift to someone you know in financial need.
8) Drink coffee and read all day long.

Cheers!

NOTE FROM KRISTIN: Check out my post on Paul's blog here.

{i'm famous!}

Okay, not quite. But gotta toot my own horn every now and then...

My advent calendar got a mention on the "who's who of scrapbooking" blog, scrapscene.com. Pretty cool! Plus a reader gave me this comment, "This has got to be cutest most clever Advent Calendar I have ever seen!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us! Hope you & your family have a wonderful Holiday season filled with love, peace, & laughter!" Aw, how sweet.

{santa and his friends}

Last night, we took a trip to the carnival of gaudy and overdone Christmas décor that is one of the houses on our street. I wish I could show you the entire display. Unfortunately, dark enough for the lights is too dark to photograph. But I was able to get a photo of Santa and a couple of his friends:

{advent}

One of my fondest Christmas memories is opening the tiny little doors of a paper advent calendar. Every year, my mom would buy my sister and I our own little calendars (her way of providing peace on earth—no fighting over who got to open the doors). I haven't had an advent calendar for years and I miss the tradition. So after seeing some really cute scrappy advent calendar ideas on the blogs I read at work, I just had to make one. I saw a wall-mounted, tree-shaped picture holder at Pier 1 a few weeks ago and snatched it up, just planning to hang it on the wall bare. But inspiration struck an advent calendar tree was born:

The backs of all the squares have activities for Paul and I to do each day (like drink hot chocolate and give each other foot massages). It makes us feel like kids again, finding ourselves racing to the tree and eagerly anticipating a new activity. And we like the idea of developing new Christmas traditions and incorporating old ones that we can enjoy now and share with our kids when the time comes.

What are your Christmas traditions—old or new? Wishing you a joy-filled advent season!

{random}

I was getting ready to send some random pictures to my mom and thought I'd just post them here:


The perfectly delicious pumpkin cake I made for Thanksgiving. I really worried about it since I don't bake and our oven is old, but it was scrumptious! I ate at least a 1/3 of the cake myself. And I now I don't want to see pumpkin cake again until next Thanksgiving.



Paul's old hand-me-down side table made a bit more stylish and modern. I took out the glass tabletop, wrapped some funky Amy Butler fabric around the glass, and put the glass back in the table. Voila! Easier than paint, cheaper than Pottery Barn.



Some fabric I bought during a trip a coworker and I took to a really cute little town an hour from Cincy. I'm thinking I will use it as boudoir pillows for the bed.



One of the three aforementioned pine trees Paul purchased for the backyard. It turns out they aren't pine trees they're some other kind of evergreen, but still. Paul planted two and kept one on the porch to use a Christmas decor. The little thing looks pretty cute! Like I said, pine trees are only pretty as Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve looked forward to Thanksgiving for one reason: Nana’s (my grandma) stuffing. Sure, I fill my plate with tons of Thanksgiving treats, but the helping of stuffing far outweighs all the rest. Nana passed away several years ago, but my mom took over the stuffing-making duties (and my sister had the pleasure last year). I will be at my in-laws this year so, sadly, I won’t be able to partake of Nana’s yummy stuffing goodness. But dreaming about the herbs and spices Mom promised to make me for Christmas instead inspired this quick digital scrapbook layout I made for work.



What are your favorite Thanksgiving treats? From Paul and me--Happy Thanksgiving!

Pine Trees: An Informal Survey

Last week Paul was mentioning the types of tree he would like to plant in the backyard. First on the list: a pine tree. My reaction? Something along the lines of “What?! Pine trees are ugly. I don’t want to see a big ol’ pine tree first thing right outside my kitchen window.” (For the record, my sweet Paul has decided to plant the pines way down the hill in the forest of our backyard). This discussion has come up a few times since then. I recanted my statement at bit; it’s not that pine trees are ugly per se, they’re just not pretty. Why would anyone choose a pine tree over, say, a beautiful maple or a delicate Bradford pear? To me, pine trees are only appropriate in winter or in the mountains. Paul, and the guy who told him about the tree in the first place, disagreed. Then I was relating the tree story to my mom, who had much the same reaction to the pine as I did (and for the record, we both also hate palm trees and birds of paradise). Then I began wondering if it was California thing. I mean, in California the only time you see a pine is inside your house surrounded by presents.

So, I’m conducting an informal survey. Pine trees: Yay or Nay? Please leave a comment stating your opinion of pine trees and your state. Thank you for participating!

The Gift of Gifting

At small group last night we were given the task of being content with and not squandering the talents and skills God has given us. I’m terribly guilty of squandering my talents. I have a tendency to dismiss them as not good enough. I’m an artistic and creative person and I like writing and shopping, but I always tell myself those things don’t “count” as skills that can be used for the kingdom.

In the church lobby they put up one of those trees where you take an ornament and buy a gift for a kid. I happily picked out an ornament, one inviting me to buy an item of clothing for a teenage girl. And as I was walking away it hit me—here was my opportunity to use my shopping skills for good and not evil! Turns out, shopping does count for the kingdom. I mean, not everyone can do it well or even handle it. Paul, for example, would probably rather poke his eye out than go inside Forever 21. So from now on my talents, shopping at least, will go on the “things that count” list.

New Wedding Photos!

We finally got the disc of all our photo proofs. Yay! I had a freak out moment when I first looked at the photos. I snuck a peak at some of the bride shots while dinner was cooking. My reaction? That I looked like complete crap, totally unphotogenic and that my parents has wasted many, many dollars on horrible photography. I lamented the photos all through dinner. Paul suggested that perhaps the photos were fine and that I was just hungry. Whatever! was my reply. Like that would really affect my ability to look at pictures of myself. Turns out, Paul was right. I went back after dinner and looked at the same ten photos and they looked completely different! All the pictures turned out awesome, even in their "raw" form, and I'm really happy with them. Here are some of my favorites:

Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is my one-month wedding anniversary! It’s flown by. Paul and I love being married. It’s so much fun and really more enjoyable and less stressful than both of us expected. It has not been an adjustment at all; everyday we find new things we enjoy about living together and being married. I think it makes us wonder why we didn’t do it sooner! I’m definitely so grateful to God for bringing us together and provding a wonderful, loving, firm foundation for our lives together.

In honor of our mini-anniversary, here are five things I love about being married:

*Having something besides my alarm clock wake me up in the morning...and bring me a mug of deliciously dark coffee

*Getting to see my favorite person first thing when I wake up in the morning and last thing when I fall asleep at night

*Doing my own thing but knowing Paul is in the next room

*Not having to lug the entire contents of my apartment (laptop, cooler of food, magazine, book, DVDs, flip flops, etc.) to Paul's house

*Cable TV (just kidding! sort of…)

TV

You may know by now that Paul is fairly anti-TV. For him, TV is a mostly a waste of time. You may also know that I’m 110% pro-TV. It’s my passion. If I could allow myself watch TV all day long, I would. Imagine the sacrifice of living without cable last year. Um, yeah. So, the deal with the new hubby was that when we moved in together we would get cable (since I no longer had to pay for cable Internet at my apartment). Let me tell you, it’s been so nice to relax after work and catch some Project Runway reruns and feed my not-so-secret obsession with America’s Next Top Model.

As it turns out, I am not the only cable fan. That’s right: Paul likes cable TV! Not one but three CSPAN channels, plus the Military Channel and National Geographic! Wow!! One time, Paul was watching TV while I read a book. It was like bizarro Paul and Kristin. And imagine my surprise to find out that Paul has been viewing the tube before he goes to work each morning (the Cincinnati version of CSPAN, but still surprising). So of course I’m all excited that Paul shares in a bit of cable excitement and doesn’t resent the new expense. Now if only we could find a channel that we both like to watch… Having completely different TV interests is kind of a problem. It’s bad that I finally have cable and I find myself watching a DVD on my laptop in the bedroom…

His and Her Decor

One downside of getting married and living with a boy is that you really have to keep the girl décor to a minimum. Paul’s been pretty good about letting me put some floral fabric accents around the house. But he pretty much drew the line at hanging a collage print by this etsy artist I love who specializes in girl-themed art. But how cute is this print??













It’s called soul nesting. How perfect! Two newly marrieds...souls joining as one…nesting in a new house together… Plus, the bird in the top right matches a bird in some other fabric I'm putting in the living room. Paul hasn’t actually seen this particular print yet…maybe I can talk him into it. What do you think?


P.S. Yes, I'm in a posting mood...it'll save me the trouble of posting for the next month. (just kidding...sort of...)

Two "hot" topics: Coffee and global warming

I just got back from my weekly trip for a Starbucks treat. It's a bit ridiculous that a cup of coffee (fancy coffee spiced with pumpkin, but still) costs more than four dollars. It's even more ridiculous that I spent the more than four dollar to get one. We wonder why Starbucks costs so darn much. Guess what? We let them. I do, anyway. There are three Starbucks within a 1.5 mile radius of work. And I'm pretty sure a lot of other people let them too. Maybe I should boycott my weekly treats... (yeah, right).

On a separate note, I love to read the quotes on the side of the Starbucks cups. Today's was a rather witty comment regarding global warming:
"So-called global warming is a secret ploy by wacko tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don't let them get away with it!"

He has a point. I don't know whether global warming exists or not. And, frankly, I don't really care. But certainly is can't hurt to use cleaning products without chemicals, to save money on the energy bill, and drive the car a little less. I'm fairly intrigued with the whole green movement...much of my ideas and information comes from the various home décor and lifestyle magazine I read (which, for the record, I either save or recycle). Perhaps my semi-liberal husband is rubbing off on me.... But, don't worry, I'm rubbing off on him too; he went shopping yesterday (by himself) to find me a houndstooth winter coat...

Wedding photos: Sneak peak!

My good friend Jen Disney took some super cool photos at the wedding and posted a few on her blog (thanks, Jen! You rock!!). Check them out here.

What City Do You Belong In?

I’m supposed to be working right now. But my boss and almost all my coworkers have left for the day, so you can imagine how motivating that is.

So, I’ve been a blog stalker this week. I love reading people’s blogs, getting their stories, finding out what other people’s lives are like (much more interesting than my own, and way more interesting to me than celebrity gossip.) Anyway, I’ve been a blog stalker this week on Tracy’s blog. I don’t know Tracey personally (but I do know her husband from EV Free) but I made my way to her blog from Jen Disney’s photo blog. On Tracey’s blog was a link to a quiz called What City Do You Belong In? I’m belong in Paris—how apropos. Not that I’ve traveled to that many non-US cities, and it’s actually a toss up as to which is my favorite, but I would go back to Paris (where I’ve been twice) in a heartbeat. I dream of Paris and it totally inspires me.
What City do you belong in?

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

PSA: Best Diet Dessert Ever!

I'm sitting here enjoying my new favorite discovery: Weight Watcher's SmartOnes Chocolate Cookie Dough Sundae. It doesn't seem that exciting from the picture on the box, but oh-my-goodness, it really is super delish. And only 170 calories and 3 grams of fat. I'm definitely not a diet girl and I eat my fair share of ice cream...but I can't go without something sweet while watching tv so this is a good way to cut back. Just had to share!

The New Black

I was walking around the mall today (as I do 3-4 times a week these days) admiring all the new fall fashions and quietly beckoning the cool air to come visit so that I can wear my new cashmere sweater (it was on major sale, I swear!). Most everything in the stores was varying shades of pine, teal and eggplant. And then it struck me—these hot new colors weren’t paired with chocolate brown. The multitudes of basics (pants, skirts, shoes) were all displayed in varying shades of black. Black?!?

Let me take a time out to explain a simple fact about the fashion, for those that need to be enlightened (as my sweet, yet clueless fiancé needed to be). When a color is said to be “the new black” it means it is the “it” color, the color that just has to be had for the season. It’s the color with which every other color goes, and every basic line of clothing will surely include that color. In recent years, brown has been the new black. Chocolate and espresso could be seen in every store and on every catalog page. Before that it was gray—everything from stone to charcoal invaded stylish American closets.

As a big fan of brown and one who owns quite a lot of it (my new sweater in fact—no wonder it was on sale) I’ve been a bit nervous about the time that brown would cease to be the new black and be replaced with something else. I’ll have to go naked from now on, I guess, because it’s official—black is the new black.

Working Hard...Or Hardly Working?

While I’ve decided to revive the blog, don’t expect any thoughtful prose or witty comments on life. Just anticipate some random updates and photos of my latest craft projects. In an efforts to post something—anything—about what’s going on, I’m mostly sticking to “just the facts.” I’m saving my witty prose for the blog posts for work (see blog here.)

Speaking of work…I love my job. Well, if I were going to choose between going to the mall and going to work, of course I would choose the mall, but if I have to spend 40 hours of week somewhere, at least I get to surround my self with really sweet and creative people and look at scrapbook pages all day. The new job is a vacation compared to my old one, especially considering that reading home decorating and craft magazines is considered professional development. Plus, I get free scrapbook supplies. In fact, yesterday we were cleaning out the collection of rubber stamps and each of us got to take a few home. I took five, which if purchased in the store would have been about $50. Plus I often get paper and stickers and copy ideas out of our books. I’ve learned that scrapbooking is an expensive hobby, but I can do all my shopping for free at work. Such a sweet deal!

Wedding Update

You’ve all received your wedding invitations by now (and if not, then I guess you’re not invited…sorry) so you can guess where I’m at about now. I’m so ready to be married! First of all, driving home from Paul’s every night (or vice versa) it rather tiresome. Plus, I’m tired of spending my free time working on wedding tasks or, if I’m relaxing, wondering what wedding tasks I should be working on.

On the upside, we recently got our engagement pictures from my wonderful photographer and friend Jennifer Disney (of Jennifer Disney Photography at www.jendisneyphoto.com). Here’s the link to our slideshow and a photo sneak peak. Jen is awesome!

http://www.jendisneyphoto.com/_clients/paul-kristin/

Playing House

Adding to busyness and stress of life, Paul and I are trying to get the house ready for me to move in. We’re pretty much sticking to the essentials at this point. But things like redoing the hard wood floors and painting are so much easier to do without furniture so we’re trying to complete them now. A while back Paul sanded and sealed the wood floors in the living and dining room; last week he did the two bedrooms. He did a fantastic job!! I’m so proud (and thankful I didn’t have to help) and the floors look awesome, like brand new. Here’s the living room:

We also finished painting the office bedroom a vibrant, organic green. My vision for the room is to make it the “garden room”; furniture and textiles will be mostly black and white with colored botanical prints. I want it to be my crafting sanctuary and a place for Paul to harvest all his plant seeds during the winter. Here’s a picture of the before and after:

Diary of a Lazy Blogger

I’ve been horribly neglecting my blog. I’ve actually had several things to write about lately, but no time to write them. So I’ve compiled some brief synopses of intended blog entries.

February 20: The cheesiest place on earth: What’s your guess? Vegas? Disneyland? The Midwest? Nope. It’s Pigeon Forge, TN (home to Dollywood if that explains anything). We went to Pigeon Forge because it is the base of the gorgeous Smoky Mountains, where we were going to go hiking. Pigeon Forge has all the cheesiness of Vegas without any of it’s sophistication—like Celine Dion, the Bellagio light show, or PF Clang’s. There were neon lights everywhere in Pigeon Forge begging us to visit dinner shows with names like Dixie Stampede and Black Bear Jamboree.

February 21: Speaking of hiking: It snowed in Tennessee so we didn’t end up going hiking. I felt horrible (because it was Paul’s anniversary present) but I was also secretly glad about it. We drove through the mountains and it was breathtaking. I love the mountains, but I am perfectly happy simply driving through them. I don’t need to work for the view. And that was when I realized it—I don’t hike hiking. I don’t mind it--spending time alone in nature with your loved one is nice--but I was fooling myself into thinking it was a favorite pastime.

February 25: We are family: What do you get when you put two parents and their daughter in one small apartment for five days? Yeah, exactly.

February 28: Something’s fishy: I was listening to the radio the other day—some Arby’s commercial highlighting its two new flavors of tartar sauce. And it dawned on me that I’d heard a whole lot of fish sandwich ads lately. Weird. What’s up with all the fish!? And then I realized it is Lent and Cincinnati is very Catholic, and then it all made sense. Are there fish ads in California too?

March 1: Shopping around: I keep complaining that I don’t have any friends to shop with. I kep meeting people, but no one likes shopping. But I don’t even like shopping with other people—I prefer the solitude. What I want is someone to talk about shopping with.

March 2: I love the Bureau of Motor Vehicles: No, not a typo. Okay, I don’t love it—like I love TV and shopping--but I went there yesterday to get new license plates and it was a remarkably pleasant experience. Hardly anyone in line, and the workers were so incredibly friendly and helpful. Welcome to the Midwest!

A Thought

It's definitely bad when you don't leave the house for two days. What's worse, is when you don't even realize you haven't left the house for two days. Maybe I'll venture out come spring...

For the girls who went to Paris...

Want to know what 5 degrees feels like? Remember how cold it was in Paris, those first couple days? It's about 20 degrees colder than that. Yeah. Brr. I'm ready for spring! 50 degrees, here I come!

Going postal

Literally. I had a little freak-out session yesterday while attempting to pick up my mail from the post office.

To begin, let’s go back to last week when I opened my mailbox to find a hand written note from the mail guy telling me my mail was taken back to the Murray Station post office, and also he was begging me to pick up my mail every day. (For the record, it had only been 2 days.) It was sunny on Saturday and I thought it would be my last chance to get outside in “nice” weather. My usual PO (post office) is not Murray Station so I had to look up which one it was. One listing online said “Post Office—CPU Meijer Murray Station.” Great! It was right next to Target, where I was headed anyway. How perfect. What a great day! When I got there I discovered that the PO was inside the Meijer grocery store. Weird, I thought. But the internet said this PO was Murray so this has to be it. I go inside and ask the girl for my mail. She give me a “you’re nuts” look. She’s like “We don’t keep mail here we just accept packages.” I’m trying to explain to her that I know it’s strange but my note from the mailman said Murray Station and I looked it up and this was it. And she’s like, “This is Marburg Street.” And I’m like, “I know, but it’s Murray Station.” They didn’t have my mail. Ugh. So I left and thought, Great, all the POs will be closed by the time I get home and now I have to go outside on Monday.

Yesterday turned out to be sunny (10 degrees, but at least bearable from of the sun). I decided to look at usps.gov again to see about the whole Murray Station thing. There it is again--“Post Office—CPU Meijer Murray Station.” Obviously my mail is not there so where the heck is it?! I call the number the post guy left me and the nice lady tells me they are located on Murray Street 2 miles from my house. I look on the web again, and this time scroll down a little further...and I see “Post Office—Murray Station,” which is located on Murray Street and not inside the Meijer grocery store. Oops. Guess I should have looked more closely. Anyway, great!, close-by, easy-peasy. Right? Wrong! I found Murray Street very easily and proceeded to drive up and down the street several times trying to find a building that looked like a post office with cars in front and stuff. Where is the darn post office?!? I finally see a sign that says “entrance,” which I take to be the PO because none of the other buildings turned out to be the PO. I turn in and see what looks like the back of a building and lots of little postal cars. Well, this must be it. I follow the customer parking sign around the building…and around…and around…Where is the customer parking?! I follow another sign and it dead ends at a one way driveway. Hmm… I can see a parking lot behind the building, so I drive the wrong way and park. And then I look around and discover that the opposite side of the building also looks like the back of a building. And there’s a sign that reads “Must Have Employee ID.” This can’t be right. Where do the customers go?!?!?!?! So I drive out again, back to Murray Street, drive around, and drive back to the PO, hoping the PO has magically changed into something I can figure out. I drive back through the one-way drive, and park again. I sigh…and start screaming to myself…potential tears… Where is the post office?!? I need to get my stupid mail!?! I’ll never get my mail!!!! Cincinnati sucks!!!! Out of options, ideas, and resolve, I give up and drive back out the one-way drive (this time the correct way). I look around once more before I leave…and I see it. Four small parking spaces and a tiny, unmarked door. This can’t be it. Can this be the customer entrance? I was so confused. I parked, went in, asked for my mail and two seconds later a load of post was in my hands and I was on my way home. Apparently Murray Station is not a real post office, but the distribution center for the area. Would have been nice to know that.

It's 5 degrees outside right now...

That's all. Nothing much else can be said about that. Except...BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Updated wedding ideas

I figured out what was wrong with the links! Also added some new photos...

IDEAS

Flowers:
http://tinyurl.com/yw5adj
http://tinyurl.com/29pevv

Bridemaid dresses:
http://tinyurl.com/2xum5l

Cake
http://tinyurl.com/2c6mt9

Invite inspiration
http://tinyurl.com/2dwylb
http://tinyurl.com/2d2spa
http://tinyurl.com/yu5lup

STUFF I HAVE DONE!

My Save the Date Cards:
http://tinyurl.com/2bahx8

The Place:
http://tinyurl.com/25zs9z
http://tinyurl.com/293zqm

Wedding ideas

I know you’re waiting for me to post something—anything!—about wedding planning. You’re thinking, “Stop writing about the stupid weather!” You photo whores (to use a term from the Knot) want to see some ideas. Am I right? Well, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Knot. In fact, I’ve made friends with the girls on the Orange County message boards. (Which made me sad when I realized they were in Orange County like all my other friends =( ) So wedding ideas were the last thing I felt like posting about. I’m feeling pretty calm right now, with all the major stuff taken care of: booked my place, the caterer, the DJ, the photographer, and got the Save the Date cards printed.

So damn cold!

When Paul and I left Cincinnati for a little road trip on Saturday morning, it was so warm we didn’t have to wear our winter coats. I’m talking like 50 degrees. Wow! So you can imagine our surprise and discomfort when we arrive in Chicago, at a mere 20 degrees, sans gloves and hats. Winter is always bearable in the warmth of a heated apartment, gripping a hot mug a coffee. And then you find yourself walking around the Windy City (and I mean windy!) and you think "I’m never moving to Chicago!!” The walk from the train back to the car was so painfully cold; I’ve never been so cold in my life. We had a really fun weekend visiting Paul’s twin and his new wife, eating Chinese and deep dish pizza, and seeing downtown. But I was excited to get back to sunny, warm Cincinnati. So you can imagine our surprise and discomfort when we arrive in front of Paul’s house, at a mere 19 degrees, sans gloves and hats. What the heck?! I was practically crying the whole drive back to my house I was so uncomfortably cold. It’s still 20 degrees out. Like I need more motivation to not leave my house...

Snow day!

It finally snowed! Real snow. We had several inches (3 or 4) overnight on Saturday and we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland! Plus, snow doesn't get plowed until noon, so we had a snow day from church! (should I be less excited about that???). Paul and I went for a late breakfast and then on a snow walk near my house. Here are a couple pics:

Happy birthday to me!

I can see some snow flurries falling right outside my window. A birthday snow just for me! (Hope it doesn’t snow too hard…I have to drive to my birthday massage.) No matter how old (or how depressed) I am, I always get excited on my birthday. Birthdays are special. I feel special on my birthday, and feeling special is hard to come by. I want attention on my birthday, even though I claim I don’t. I like that I’m the only one getting presents. (And honestly, I’m still a little bitter about my sister opening a wedding gift on my birthday. Well, ha! It’s my turn now.) I was thinking yesterday how funny it was, the dichotomy of birthday feelings. There’s this conflicting mix of feeling incredibly excited and special and also feeling fairly depressed. Birthdays remind me of how much I haven’t accomplished, and, frankly, that I’m closer to death. But I think it was Paul that reminded me that just because I haven’t done something by the time I’m 29 it doesn’t mean I’ll never do it. I could argue, What if I die tomorrow without doing it? But then, when I’m in heaven I’ll probably have better things to think about.

When will it ever end???

It’s been raining nonstop since Friday night at 10pm. Nonstop. I don’t think people in California realize what this means. When Californians say it’s been raining constantly they mean there have been intermittent showers during the night, or that it’s been raining heavily for an hour. Here in Cincinnati it has a completely different meaning. While it hasn’t been a constant heavy downpour, there has been water falling from the sky without ceasing for almost 60 hours. Okay, so 60 hours doesn’t seem like that much when you put it in other terms—2 and a half days. But on the third day of waking up with bright hopes of sunshine (or least not having to don--again--ugly black boots), and your dreams are shattered, then 60 hours seems like an eternity. Oh precious rays of light where are you?!

Friends

For someone shy, making friends is an endeaver, one not to be executed easily. And I’m learning that older you get the harder it is to make friends. In elementary school and high school, it’s your purpose in life to make friends, to “hang” out, tell each other secrets. In college, everyone is in the same place—friendless—and meeting people is easy. But in that post-college, post-right-out-of-college stage, not everyone is looking for a best friend. In fact, people’s friend-meters are about at their limit, and even having coffee with another person is more than they can take.

So making friends is hard. But then you add making friends while wanting to spend time with your fiancé, making friends as a couple, and making friends in the same life stage (married, no kids) and the task seems Herculean. I was reminded this morning how great it is to have friends in different life stages—it reminds us from where we’ve come and gives us perspective on where we’re going. I was also reminded that it’s okay to feel lost, or confused, or overwhelmed when life switches stages. And that God’s love and grace mean we don’t have to handle it well. I don’t have to “handle it" at all. That said, is it too much to ask to meet one married person who doesn’t have children?

I was talking to an older friend the other day. I told her that a certain guy doesn’t understand how I feel, and she said get used to it—he’s a guy and he’ll never understand. It’s true—with each other, guys talk about topics (sports, theology, movies, etc.) So they can relate no matter what stage of life they’re in. But when girls talk, they share their life experiences (school, guys, kids.) So it’s a lot harder to relate to someone when you can’t share their experiences. And it’s hard for a guy to understand why I need friends without kids.

I cherish those friends that I will have and love no matter how different our lives are. And I know I'm not being entirely willing and open-minded. It just would be nice to have a friend who doesn’t need to find a babysitter every time we get together and meet a group of girls whose conversation isn’t centered around diapers.

My extremely generous mom bought me a sewing machine right before I left for Ohio. I immediately put it to use making a laptop bag for myself. I had all this extra fabric as well as a lack of laptop bag. Plus I had never made a purse before and wanted to give it a try. I have to say that I’m pretty dang impressed with myself. The bag is far from perfect—there are no right angles and my uneven stitching is pretty obvious. It could never pass for store-bought. But fortunately, I’m not a perfectionist nor am I looking for extra cash, just a creative outlet.

As cute as the bag turned out, I vowed never to make another laptop bag again. I had to re-sew every seam five times. Why? I completely lack spatial intelligence. I would think that I was sewing sides together correctly, but they always ended up backward or inside out. I just can’t think that way. But I guess now I’ve worked out all the kinks. Just in time because my sister immediately asked for her own bag. But don’t get any ideas...

Winter wonderland

We finally had our first snowfall. It always amazes me when I go to bed and the world looks one way, and then I wake up with it covered in a blanket of snow. When I look outside in the morning and am taken aback by the fluffy white, I smile, and get all excited, and run to look out every window. I’m so eager, much like a five year old on Christmas, to see the new world from every angle. The excitement of a first snowfall will never get old.

Luckily, here in Cincinnati it’s too warm to get much snow or for the snow to stick around (no pun intend) for very long. Already it’s melted in the streets. (But it did stay long enough for me to have an excuse to skip going to the gym.) At the same time, that is the saddest part--when the snow melts. Instead a sense of wonder, with a soft, white veil making the world seem pure, you start to see reality. The world begins to look unclean, slushy, bleak. And you go back to work and get on with your adult life, leaving the child in you behind.

Revisiting Bloomington

I visited "Adventures of a Heckler" today, hoping for some inspiration along with an update. It came through! Heather was talking about Biola and I was inspired to write about my college. As is happens, this past weekend Paul and I visited Bloomington, Indiana, the home of my alma mater, Indiana University.

IU is about 2.5 hours from here, a nice little drive, mostly two lanes through small towns. Paul and I had a fun afternoon together, just walking and driving around, soaking up the incredible sun on our cold-chapped cheeks. We visited the local winery—free tasting!—and then went for a “hike” near Monroe Lake. It was really nice to share such a huge part of my past with Paul. I got so excited telling him everything about all the buildings on campus, and showing him my apartments and my church, and taking him along the paths I walked to class. It made me wish that Paul was with me when I was at IU.

I revisited Bloomington for the first time about a year after I graduated. That trip was a time of closure for me. I was really reluctant to leave school—for all the things I didn’t like about being there—and had not quite gotten over that until I went back and really said goodbye. This time around, I had some realizations, among them how much the experience at IU was worth it. Because I had been thinking that maybe I regretted going there. But walking around campus and around town and seeing all the things I loved and all things I had never visited made me realize that what I regretted were the opportunities I missed while I was at IU. If you can, just imagine a more reserved, fearful, hesitant version of myself. I had not yet learned the virtues of risk, of stepping out and meeting people, trying new things, and reaching beyond my comfort zone. I tended to only a few close friends and many hours alone with some books. So, I missed out on many things.

This recent trip also made me realize that even with my regrets, I wouldn’t exchange IU for anything because of what I did experience there. Foremost, it is the place and moment I personally encountered God. I became a Christian my sophomore year at IU through Campus Crusade. And then there was the independence I gained at school. I could never put my finger on why I went so far from home. But I needed that escape, that refuge, and that break, and I needed to force myself to rely on me. Bloomington is a bite-sized city, easily navigable, underwhelming, and centered on IU. It gave me the training wheels I needed to become an independent adult. And, of course, there are the friendships I would never give up, the closest of which ultimately led me to Paul.

I’m just now realizing that the regrets from school have prompted me to pursue things since then. I have experienced so much in the last few years for fear of having more regrets. And the Bloomington trip reminds me of how I need to experience life here in Cincinnati, despite sometimes feeling overwhelmed and alone. Because if I ever leave, I do not want to leave a trail of regrets in my wake.