Friends: Part II Happy Birthday BFF

After a fun time with Pip & Andrew, Ross and I headed to Palmdale to hang out with my mom before going to Brigette's birthday party. Brigette always throws great parties and has fun themes. This year she turns 25 and decided the perfect way to celebrate her mid-life crisis would be to have a 90s party.

What I love about Brigette is that she always goes all out for her parties! She had fun 90s snacks and treats and Lisa Frank inspired decor, and of course perfect 90s music. Aka the music Ross and I listen to all the time. As we were driving to Brigette's we turned the ipod on to the 90's mix and realized that it is pretty much just the entire ipod.



Whenever I come over I spend a fair amount of time hanging out with Asher, until he needs to go to bed. We played with his TMNT for a while, then some cars, then with Legos. I was talking about his minifigures and asking him if he remembers where he got them from, which admittedly, he does not. But then later when we were playing he was like, "Where is that guy that came with the Spiderman you gave me?" Made me pretty happy that although this kid gets lots of presents from lots of different people, Auntie Kristen's Spiderman Lego set gets remembered. SCORE! Also, I was telling him how much I liked his Yeti minifigure, then before he went to bed he said that Ross and I could borrow it if we want. That, to me is the ultimate stamp of child approval, letting someone borrow your toys. I love that kid!

It was a fun night, and the highlight was finally getting to try one of those cool character ice creams I was never able to get from the ice cream man.



Definitely opted for the Spongebob with gumball eyes. Duh.



Did I mention how epic Brigette's outfit was? Overalls, headband, white ked-like shoes, complete with scalloped socks! Also, she was rocking her tamogatchi pet on her belt loop. Of course Brigette would have an impeccably operating tamogatchi.



BFF!!!

I am so lucky to have Brigette in my life. Her thoughtfulness, big ideas and the ability to perfectly execute them have always made me jealous in the best way possible. She is my forever friend and being her friend is the best! Happy Happy Birthday!

Friends: Part I Hi Pip!

It has been awhile since I wrote a travel log type post. I guess not a whole lot is going on around here, or at least not a ton that I feel is blog worthy. But this past weekend was absolutely jam-packed.

A few months ago my best friend Pip told me that she was coming to California for a family vacation, and that hopefully she would have time to see me. I was beyond excited and I probably screamed a little when I read her e-mail. Pip and I were college roommates for 3 out of the 4 years I was there. Doesn't get much closer than that. I have mentioned her many times on the blog before. Perhaps most notably here. This whole week I have been beside myself, being so freaking excited to see her.

In order to try and but all my excited energy into something productive... I put the finishing touches on this Christmas (I know, I know) present for her. Can you tell what her hobbies are?!



I saw Pip only a couple times, way too briefly, this summer (every visit is brief when you are old roommates), so I was even more excited to be reunited.



We met at a Panera and chatted for a while before finally deciding what to do. That is the great thing about friends. It doesn't matter if you are chatting it up in Panera or traveling the world, the company is what matters! Since we were in the OC, a territory that is still pretty unknown to me, we kind of had to wing it. But we decided to check out Crystal Cove State Park, a territory unknown to all of the parties involved.



We took a walk down to the beach, which was pretty with all the bright flowers.

The sky was pretty ominous, there was about a 50% chance of rain that morning. Ross and I caught some heading down to OC but thankfully that was all. I was in a bit of a panic actually- that when Pip finally comes to California IN THE CERTIFIED DROUGHT, we would have rain to ruin our plans.

But it worked out!

We ended up poking around in the tidepools. It has been awhile! Growing up the tidepools were pretty popular with my family and visiting friends and family, so it was cool to be back, even if in a different location.



As we were looking around a nice older lady stopped us, and stared at us for a moment before asking, "Do you know what you are looking at?" Me, being the daughter of Gary The Science Guy, definitely knew everything. But we chatted with her for a moment and she presented us with these pretty cool little pamphlets about tidepools, tidal zones, and little creature friends. It was geared for younger kids, which meant it was perfect for me. It's a pretty handy little basic guide and is on nice heavy, slick paper so you can cart it along with you. Thanks Crystal Cove Conservancy and rich people with money, you rock!



We all had a pretty fun time and I was impressed with how impressed my friends were. I sometimes forget that I have cool stuff like this right at my fingertips. Pip grew up in Minnesota but has also lived near the sea in Boston and Washington, so it was fun to share a southern California beach with her.



One of my favorite moments was when Pip jokingly said something like, "It exists outside of a touch tank at the museum!"



It was a short visit, because Pip and Andrew had to go pick up family at the airport, but I am so thankful for friends that make time for me in their busy schedules. It was almost surreal to have Pip in my California habitat but so much fun.

Things that Must Go

One of my favorite things about my time in Utah was making friends with Kerry, Bill, and Gina.

Kerry, Bill, and Gina have no idea who I am, but every time I listen to them, I laugh.
When I watch movies I don't always laugh out loud. When I listen to their morning radio program, "Radio from Hell," it is impossible for me to not laugh out loud.

The have a bunch of different fantastic re-occuring segments, but my favorite is on Wednesday mornings. It's called "Things that Must Go." Some weeks the hosts read their lists, other weeks they read ones from listeners. Either way, it's perfect timing because those fateful Wednesday mornings can prove to be dreaded for so many reasons. It makes it the perfect day to air some grievances.

I usually try to stay pretty optimistic and outta people's business, but for comedic and health purposes, here is:

Kristen's List of Things that Must Go

1.) Unreliable people.
I don't think anyone generally likes unreliable people. But my beef is, just don't make the promise in the first place. It's cool, I'm afraid of commitment too. So just don't commit.

2.) Ambiguous baby announcements. What happened to the good ol' days when you could call people up and tel them you were pregnant? Or for the people that you don't actually care to tell- what happened to the good ol' days when there was the church rumor mill? I miss it. Because now, you have to tell everyone on Facebook. But even those good ol' days are over. Now, you have to make it cute. and great. but not just great... MORE GREAT than everyone else.




Pretty much anything is a baby announcement. As long as it involves one very small object and two larger objects. But also, please feel free to incorporate your pets.

3.) People who are obsessed with being skinny while pregnant. I'm not so sure about these pregnant ladies. They seem to be on my bad list. But this one I struggle with the most.

YOU ARE GROWING A HUMAN LIFE INSIDE OF YOU WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE SKINNY AND MALNOURISHED.

Maybe because these women look skinner with a baby in them than I look now. Maybe I'm just jealous.

5.) Obviously I have issues with pregnant ladies. But I guess I have issues with (psycho) moms too. I used to love Pinterest and all the great ideas on there. Now, I get bored by looking at the inherent doom of motherhood looming before me. Pretty soon I will have to plan all these insane parties for my children's friends. Of course, I am not planning the party for the kids, but the parents. Because WHO ELSE CARES that Oreos resemble tractor wheels, and are therefore the perfect snack for your son's farm themed party?



Also, I need to start saving now and using my weekly Michael's 40% off coupons to buy the most adorable vases and jars to hold all this crap in.

     

What I am saying is, cute little title themed foods need to go. MOMS: cotton candy being unicorn fur actually kind of creeps me out and no one under the age of 20 knows who Pete is or appreciates the value of a good alliteration (given that they can actually read). Don't get me started on these "Pirate bananas"



Why can't you just eat bananas at a party? Why do they have to don a bandana and an eye patch.

4.) People who have an emergency. I'm not talking about the Emergency Room. I'm talking about my job... which is not in an Emergency Room, nor Urgent Care. So why I get yelled at because "WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT ME, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY," is beyond me. I know this sounds insensitive given the amount you probably know about what I do for work, but I'm already done talking about this.

That's enough kranky kristen for one day! What is on your list of things that must go this week?

Charity and Choice

Last night as Ross and I were exiting the supermarket, we saw a guy who timidly asked us for "Anything, I'm just a couple bucks short."

I really have no rhyme or reason when it comes to panhandlers. Sometimes I give "generously" sometimes I give just a couple coins. Other times I might clearly say, "No, sorry," and other days I might ignore them all together and pretend they don't exist when they petition me. But for whatever reason, Ross and I each pulled out a dollar and gave it to him. I think it's a natural curiosity to wonder where he was going with it and we subconsciously watched him as we walked to our car. He walked at first then the closer he got out of the parking lot and to the road, he began running.

I joked to Ross about how creepy it would be if we followed him. Then we had a conversation on the way home about the situation.

In life, people want validation for their actions. When I make dinner I want Ross to thank me and say it is delicious. When I clean the house I want Ross to notice and say something. But when I do those things I benefit just as much as he does, so it isn't a big deal. When it comes to charity things are a little different. I see two groups of people. People who don't give, and rationalize their behavior about how they don't know where the money is going and express their doubts that the beneficiary will do something wrong with the money. OR people who give and talk about how they have changed the world and fed a family for the night, or helped someone put some gas in their car, or have heat for the night.

But I think both of those ideas of thinking are wrong. I have an ever growing list of things that are, "Not my job." And this is one. Because it isn't my job to worry about what he does with that money. Maybe he used it to buy $2 worth of drugs, or feed his little dog. I shouldn't care.

People have agency. And they will have agency whether they get two dollars after 12 hours of begging outside the store, or whether they steal it- they are free to make whatever choices they want. Just as I am free to give him the money or not. Ross said something like, " You can't worry about what they do, you can only worry about what you should be doing."

One of my favorite professors in college (who coincidentally is the uncle of one of my Grenada friends) said that his father had a motto, "Give until it hurts." This man always tried to do a great amount of good, constantly giving and helping others. But he became concerned that he wasn't doing enough because, "It didn't hurt yet."

I thought of how it is to feel the sting of giving up that two dollars. Being in med school and living off my salary is tough and we are constantly pinching pennies. I could have used that money to buy a loaf of bread, a bus trip, a dozen eggs, six bunches of cilantro, or even something as frivolous as a couple candy bars. I could have put that money to good use! But when it comes down to it, I doesn't hurt. And that means my life is pretty damn good.

QW #23: If You Dream...

I think sometimes I can sound a little negative. But I call that realism.

Real enough to know that good things can happen, but life also happens.

Source: Get Back to Work by Drew Ellis

"If you dream big enough anything can come true. Just kidding get back to work." 

Personally, I am a little tired of people and things telling me that I am only limited by how big I dream. Because (to borrow words from a Disney princess), "a dream is a wish your heart makes," but then work is stuff your brain and hands do. Maybe this is all unsaid but implied. 

Not to turn biblical, but ever heard of the scripture verse in James 2:17? It reads, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." In this case, faith would be dreams. Faith and dreams take a lot of hard work.

We live in a society that tells us we can have anything and everything we want at our finger tips in an instant. We forget that's not true for the bigger and better things in life. Ross can't become a doctor in an instant. And although he is working at the dream, chipping away at it, it takes a great deal of really intense work, for a trillion instants which add up to years and years. I don't think people really understand how long it will take Ross to be where he has always dreamed of. 

But more than that, I like the principle this quote conveys of, "hey- sometimes you have to do your time." I believe that sometimes dreams have to take the back burner. Ross is working hard at his dream. I am not. The fact of the matter (especially in relationships) is that someone has to sacrifice. And although sacrificing everything to move to Grenada for Ross's dream was probably one of the more extreme dreams-on-the-back-burner situations, that is the way it happened. I can dream big, but right now I just need to get back to work- literally. I have a job to do and money to make to pay rent :) 

California Dreamin'

Remember my CAlifornia Love post? We sure have our problems, but as everyone is getting plastered with snow and blizzard after blizzard, I find myself a little prideful when I eat lunch with the beautiful sun rays shining on my skin at a comfortable 83 degrees. 

I thought I would share some more funnies I found around the web regarding my current state. 

A couple days ago I walked out of the house shivering. Then looked at Ross and exclaimed, "It's like Spring in Utah!" Just to be a butthead. Californias don't do below 65. 

• "You think the USC/ UCLA rivalry is a really big deal. A really, really big deal." 

I always look back to when my sister-in-law quizzed us on our California alliances. We were all, "We aren't into sports so, we don't really have alliances." But when she continued to quiz us, "Angels or Dodgers? 49ers or Raiders? Lakers or Clippers? UCLA or USC." We had emphatic responses. And we don't even watch sports.

I think I shared a link to The Californias sketches/ characters from SNL right? Well, I don't think I talk like that, but I do acknowledge I talk a little funny. 

But I'm not so far gone as Valley Speak. They like totally have their own Wiki page. Also, The Valley is not any valley. Know this. 

While I am speaking of not The Valley, let's take a minute to acknowledge my hometown.

• "You live next to two major fault lines and your house is still worth over $500,000." 

Truth. Also probably the reason why, even if Ross becomes a cardiac-surgeon-anesthesiologist-dermatology-plastic-surgeon-in-Beverly-Hills-king, we could never afford to actually live here. 

• "Every year is supposed to be "the big one."

The big one what? If you don't know, you don't have to worry. But clearly none of us are worrying either, we hear it every couple of years. 

In California we have a bunch of funny words that you probably don't know how to pronounce. From the Cajon Pass, to Cahuenga Blvd to Fort Tejon or La Cienega. You think knowing Spanish pronunciation would make things easier but not always because you'll find yourself in a pickle with (the apparently heavily debated) Los Feliz. 

But don't get overwhelmed, I can start you on something easy like Sepulveda, Van Nuys, or La Jolla.

The other night I was watching The Bachelor (I know, I know) and I heard then say that his hometown had about 400 people. FOUR HUNDRED. My high school graduating class had more people than that.



Just a couple more.

• No one has a basement 

When I heard about what basements were, I was confused. Sooo... is it a storage area? Or a place for bedrooms? Even after I got a handle on the fact that they could be either, it made me laugh when people wouldn't count it as a floor.
         "Do you live in a two-story or one-story house?"
         "Two stories. Well, and it has a basement."
         "OMG YOU LIVE IN A THREE STORY MANSION."

But to be honest, I still kind of think that way.

• You judge people based on their area code. 

Oh heavens yes. Area codes for days, all of them coming with a rap.

Valentine's Day

Last Valentine's Day was phenomenal! It was such a fun day and celebration of love for friends, family, and of course my husband. I wrote a huge long post with tons of fun pictures and then the cursed Blogger somehow mysterious deleted it. I was furious after all my work. So as I compile this post. I'm still a little bitter.

Last year and the previous year I was busy with Valentine's festivities, homemade dinners and crafts galore. This year Valentines was more down to business. We signed up to help clean the church that morning. When I told people this they were kind of appalled. Maybe after 4 years of early morning custodial work it just ain't no thang. Although, when I started gagging at one... issue. Ross made fun of me and told me I have become soft. Thanks babe. 

I decided it's really all about perspective anyways. Ross signed us up because he was being incredibly cute! After all, we met through our custodial work and our love grew as we discussed the proper technique of how to put baggies in the feminine hygiene boxes. Also, we were in the service of God and our fellow beings. In actuality, this date was incredibly romantic of him- an homage to our puppy love! D'aww!

We got some sodas from Gerrard's market next door and picked up some fruit from someone's yard. The citrus industry is huge here, but most of the local fruit is shipped out to companies like Sunkist. As far as the local stuff goes, you can find many stands in people's yards with bagged produce! It is all on the honor system and you stick your money in the lockbox. This house had grapefruits, oranges, and tangelos. We picked up a bag of grapefruits. Can't beat that for a buck.

The rest of the day we worked on a Fireside or lesson/ chat we were assigned to present to the Youth at church. That was time consuming but the best part of the day was dinner!

We keep our Valentine's dinners low-key and this year we got some microwave fondue from Trader Joes. I made french bread and Ross cooked up some beef. It was incredible!

Even thinking about it now, my mouth is watering! Ross also did some oil fondue beef. He said they had it all the time growing up, and raved about it. I didn't really understand until I had a bite. Wow. Fondue beef, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! I am now fairly certain I need to own a fondue set. 

After dinner we got dressed up and went to the Redlands Symphony, because we are fancy. And apparently old. I didn't see anyone under the age of 60 there besides us. The music was wonderful, the title was "65 Years of Romance" and featured pieces from Chopin and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, and what I think was Ross's favorite Die Fledermaus by Strauss. 

We didn't do gifts this year, just candy. I begged Ross for these and my only regret is that I didn't secretly go behind his back and buy out the whole store. These chocolates are incredible. I've only had a couple and I already have separation anxiety. 

BoWA #2

Remember "Best of What's Around"?

Well here is post #2. I am finally catching this blog up. Except for that HUGE road trip I took back in November. I am almost up to date. Which means I have a collection of random photos that I just can't quite delete from my phone before sharing.

#1 I saw this shirt and thought that it was so dumb. Plus, the word "bae" makes me cringe. But in true Kristen fashion, I have adopted this word into my sarcastic/ mocking/ regular vocabulary and now I want this sweatshirt.

I think with Valentine's day coming, it is only appropriate.

#2 Have you ever seen "Who Wore it Better" fashion segments? Where you have two celebrities wearing the same or very similar fashions and you vote which is best? Here is my version.

What do you think?

#3 Speaking of fashion. I have finally found the perfect bun mechanism. Ever since I got my hair donut a year and a half or so ago, we have been frienimies. I just want my hair to look beautiful and full and trendy without having to fight with that dang donut for 30 minutes + all day at work. 

I have had my eye on "Hot Bunz" which have now made their way to the 99 Cent Store (except it's a whopping $1.49). I finally broke down and bought it and I am glad I did. Even with my thin, fine hair it works pretty well!

#4 A friend of mine posted about these red velvet Oreos. I made that happen. I was skeptical, but man they are good!

#5 I work at a beautiful place. I may not have a single window or sunshine ray for most of the day, but that makes the time I eat lunch outside even more great. 

Even if the blossoms are severely confused as to weather or not it is actually Spring or still winter. 

#6. This is the best lego minifigure. Ever. 

#7. And in a classicly sarcastic twist on BoWA, the Creepiest Thing Around.