Most of you that read this blog probably don't listen to pop music much but there is this song on the radio called 'Boston' by Augustana and funny that it talks about moving to Boston and leaving California...its all over the radio and it seems that whenever I turn my radio on its playing. I told Kelsey about it and she sent me another song about Mass./Calif. and its just down right comical!
Still no answer on what will happen this summer but I have a feeling that I'll be giving you and answer soon. Stay tuned...sorry this post isn't very long. I hope its enough to hold you over Jen. :)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

no words needed....

Year anniversary...almost

I can't believe its been a year since I started my blog! Crazy that I could have had a whole bundle of archived posts but alas, I went on a blogging hiatus, and have only a small handful of previous posts. Allot has changed in a years time, I've changed allot in a years time and it reminds me of how fast our lives pass us bye. I've been playing keyboard at church for the past month and every once in a while we sing the song "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" and it reminds me of my friend Bethany that passed away a year and a half ago. God gives and takes away and we chose to trust Him and bless Him for His goodness towards us when times are both plentiful and hard. The trials of my life are allot different now then they were when I initially lost my dear friend but God still wants that same trust now as He did back then. Whats awesome is that He always gives us the perfect amount of grace that we need to best live our lives for His glory....a reminder I should tell myself more often than I do.
I'm sure I will look back after this year passes and be amazed at how it brought with it things and blessings that I couldn't even have started to imagine!

I'm not sure if anyone still checks this but I decided to take another swing at the whole blog thing. Its a big commitment but I'm in the middle of some big decisions and could use a place to get down some thoughts.
Most of you that read this know that I'm considering moving back to the East Coast. I go through my ups and downs with the thought of moving and would covet any prayers for wisdom regarding the possible move. The past few days have been quite chilly here and I can't say that the cold is helping the East's side. People often say that you can't be cold in 45 degree weather if your from a place where the winter lasts half the year, but I can assure you that your blood does acclimate :)
I will keep you all updated, don't want to get back into the whole blogging thing too fast.

A profound thought?

An unusual occurance happened last night: a chance to sit down with a friend over dinner and have time to chat and catch up on life's goings on. This is quite rare these days, funny that I didn't think I could get any busier than when I was in school.
During our dinner we were both talking about different things that had happened while growing up and she mentioned how her parents used to react a certain way but since she had grown up alittle more her parents had improved in how they handle difficult situations. I guess as I grow older and am now old enough to be a parent myself, it hit me as she was talking that just as we've grown up from being kids to being young adults, our parents have grown up too and perhaps that is why they handle hard situations better now than they did when we were teenagers. The thought had never actually crossed my mind until that point. Parents are always kind of stuck in the child's mind as being the same throughout time and kids just grow up into their parents...how false this notion is! I do understand there is a greater gap between a 13 year old and a 23 year old than there is between a 23 year old and a 33 year old but we are all maturing, are all still growing up. Funny.

what an honor!

Nikki: "Hey, how come you don't blog on my blog, Kels? You can ya know :) I'd love the help!"

I figured I should take advantage of this opportunity as soon as possible. Hello Nikki, roommates, Jen, and Mrs. Wilson :)

Let's see... Nikki has been talking about wanting to cook more often so I'll tell you an inspiring story. Last night my roommate Bethany and her boyfriend came home with bags of groceries, ready to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. This obviously presented a wonderful opportunity for the potential of my eating well that night. I sidled into the kitchen and suggested that I cut up my pineapple and maybe we could all have it for dessert. Luckily, I had, unconsciously, been displaying a whole, beautiful, uncut pineapple in our kitchen, just waiting for the right moment for eating. And although I knew that Bethany loves pineapple too (we once had amazing pineapple gelato served in the "shell" of half of a pineapple together in Rome), I hadn't consciously planned on bribing her with this particular pineapple. But the plan worked! I was fed meatloaf and mashed potatoes for volunteering my pineapple for her dessert (and volunteering to cut up an onion).

The moral of this story, Nikki, is that you need to learn what foods you can bribe your roommates with, stock up on those, and then slowly influence them into cooking your favorite foods for you. :) Or, just plan to all add one ingredient into becoming a meal. That happens in my house often too. If someone is cooking chicken in your kitchen, wander in and offer them the can of green beans that you forgot was sitting on your shelf for two months. And for this random act of kindness, you will most likely be rewarded with some chicken! Hopefully these plans will still work even if your roommates read this blog...

Good luck!

Love ya,
Kelsey

Well, it's time for another post! Dun du du duh...about well, nothing much. I haven't posted because life doesn't really change all that much these days; go to work, go to piano lessons, go to sleep, etc. Some people say 'well, tell us the funny things that happen in your apartment, surely you can write about that!' Here goes, Mandy is doing an aerobic video as we speak. Her knee is crossed over her thigh and she is crouched, like she is sitting in an imaginary chair. Sarah is cooking, a rare thing in this household and Esther is walking out the door on her way to worship team practice. Kristie is at a wedding this weekend and after some bridesmaid dress trauma last night, she is off for a fun filled weekend in San Diego. There are the occasional funny stories but overall our lives are normal, a blessed thing indeed.

I went for a consultation at a local optometrist about getting the LASIK done. The thought of not having to wear glasses really excites me. No more dry eyes, no more annoying contact lenses!! I'm going to check out another doctor for another consultation, just to see if there are any differences and funny that this doctor is a customer of mine (grande non-fat latte). I'll keep you all updated with the progress.

Oh, so Mandy and I have a pact to cook more so send me your favorite recipes, thanks!

Sentimental?

Blogs truly are a great thing. I've been catching up on my blog reading here recently, reading people's comments and looking at pictures, and I've been struck by how quickly time is passing. Of all lessons I've learned over the past months its been that life truly is vapor short, some of ours are longer than others but none are long. This is a lesson that I don't think I'll ever stop learning on this earth as with each new change I'm reminded once again that I'm grown up now. When did it happen? I'm not sure, but you know its happened when you look back on a conversation in which an older person is telling you the probability of a situation panning out a certain way based on their own personal experiences and at the time you are so convinced, with utter certainty, that they are wrong, only years later to realize their words are ringing true. Some lessons take longer to learn than others I guess. I miss the simple childhood life back in NH when church was my life and sin was of little concern. It all seems like yesterday, all part of my vapor that is vanishing quickly. Who knows what lies ahead for all of us but I'm thankful that we can share it, though thousands of miles apart, through our blogs!

slacker

I think that I have Jen beat on the 10 days since my last post thing. Its not that I don't want to post, there just hasn't been anything out of the ordinary lately so I've been wracking my brain trying to think up something.

Lately I've been feeling very grown up. After weeks of trying to get my benefits sorted with work, I finally did. I am now an adult with her own health insurance. I even picked out my primary care physician this morning. Hopefully she will be good. Her associations and credentials looked honorable, but that doesn't always mean something these days. Hopefully I won't have to take advantage of her too terribly much.

Well, as you can see my life is pretty boring. Now you won't be begging me to post (Jen) because you understand that there isn't much to post on. Okie dokie...TTFN.

Not for a lack of trying

As most of you have noticed I haven't posted in awhile. Its really not because of a lack of desire but more so because of a lack of good content. Lately I've been pressured to post, so...this is the best thing I could think of to post on.

Coffee is something that is very dear to my heart. If you don't love coffee, you're missing out. Yesterday I added a new coffee mug to my collection. I've been dwelling on this mug ever since I saw it at a friends apartment about a year ago now. The mug itself is a shell color and in the bottom corner is the outline of a brown coffee mug. Coming from the mug, like steam, are all the letters that spell coffee. They are interspersed with random little shapes in all different colors that wrap around the mug. The inside of the mug is the best part and those of you who know me will know why...it's brown!!! Yup, it is a thing of beauty.

There you go Jen, hope you're happy.

Close call...

Its official. 408 was almost burned to the ground tonight. My Asian roommate was the guilty culprit. Mandy and I were on the couch watching the TV and Sarah was, well, lets just say 'detained' and we heard Esther screaming from the kitchen, "its on fire, AHHH, its on fire!!" She proceeded screaming and ran to the corner of the kitchen, opposite of the burning waxed paper which at one time held her fish. It was a sad sight, but we are all ok. We teamed together to put out the flames. Mandy got out an oven mitt, very calmly I might add, and opened the broiler, Esther dumped a cup of water on top of the broiler and I turned the oven off. No need to fear, we are all safe, I repeat, ALL safe, well, except the fish and the waxed paper.

Let me suggest some reading material: