Just Another Manic Monday.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I know I did :)

Friday afternoon the cable guy came to fix my HBO which has been acting up FOR WEEKS! He was super awesome and hooked me up with some other cable stuff, although HBO is still not working correctly, which caused me to miss True Blood last night. SAD! I talked to him first thing this morning and he will hopefully be out sometime today to try something else with it. In the meantime, I have been avoiding several people on Facebook and Twitter so as not to read any spoilers. Anyhoooooo, the rest of my weekend was spent watching a movie, delivering a mobile and burp cloths I sold to a shower, a little pool time, watching another movie, and then.... watching the most intense/jaw dropping/awesome/inspiring/ soccer game I have ever seen on Sunday morning. The U.S. Women's team played Brazil in an elimination match to get into the top 4 of the Women's World Cup. Let me just say, I have never yelled at my television that much in my life! The referees were HORRIBLE, but justice was served in the end as we overcame 2 detrimental bad calls and won the game in a shootout. I'm still excited about it, and just typing this is making me super pumped again- think I'll go for a run after lunch :)

Was your weekend as exciting as mine? Just wait, our next match is Wednesday morning at 10:30am against France. BRING IT!

I'm going to try something new on here, we'll see if I can keep it up.... Music Mondays. Today is going to be a "playlist" of what I've been listening to the last few days. I was especially into this list on Thursday and Friday of last week while I worked on the mobile and burp cloths for Saturday. Future Music Mondays will most likely feature one or two songs and/or artists.

Kenny Chesney – Somewhere with you

Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts

One Republic – Secrets

Garrett Hedlund – Chances Are

Garrett Hedlund with Leighton Meester – Give into me

Digital Daggers – Head Over Heels

Chantal Kreviazuk – Feels like home

Eli Young Band – Always the Love Songs, Crazy Girl

Brooks & Dunn – She used to be mine

Roger Waters (The Departed Soundtrack) – Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd cover)

One Republic – Good Life

Christina Perri – Arms

Blackhawk – Goodbye says it all

Travis Tritt – Anymore

Aerosmith – Dream On

Alanis Morissette – Uninvited

Alice in Chains – Rooster

Curtis Stigers & the Forest Rangers – This Life

Dashoard – Vindicated

David Gray – This years love

Paul Westerberg- Let the bad times roll

The Critic

I'm trying to accomplish at least one thing from my "summer to-do list", which means more posts on the bloggity! I know you are overcome with joy by this news. ;)

Last week I finished reading The Help. I debated about reading this book for a while, there had been several mixed reviews among friends and I just wasn't sure. I saw a preview for the movie and decided I should just bite the bullet and read it since I would probably regret having not read it when the movie comes out (which is inevitably what always happens). It was a little hard for me to get into, as I had to read some parts a little slower than usual. Each chapter has a different character narating, which in some cases required a little more scrutiny depending on the point of view. That being said, I did eventually get really into it and finished the book in just a couple days. Overall, it was a good book. I definitely recommend it and I'm really looking forward to the movie.

I also saw Transformers Dark of the Moon last week as well. Now for those of you who don't know, my childhood was spent playing "boys" games rather than "house" like most little girls. I grew up making G.I. Joe parachute from trees and playing with Heman and Thundercats in the bathtub. Transformers were one of my favorite toys and cartoons! I woke up every Saturday morning to watch Optimus and the other Autobots fight the good fight. So, when the first movie came out I was ECSTATIC! It was a great action movie, followed by the equally impressive 2nd film. The only thing I did not like about either movie was Megan Fox, and since I read celebrity gossip like it's occuring in my own little small town, I knew she had been replaced long before the trailers hit theaters. Going into this movie very optimistic it would surpass the previous two, made me a little nervous while I sat and waited for the previews to start. Let me just say, I was not disappointed! The Dark of the Moon is definitely my favorite of the three Transformer movies. It wasn't just another battle of good vs evil, between Autobots and Decepticons. We were introduced to a few new human faces, some of which were on the wrong side of the line between good and evil. There was more character development and a stronger plot than in the other two movies. Overall, I highly recommend this movie!!

Next up on the book list is The Book Thief. Dev is currently reading this one and said it's pretty good, and I found it for $9.99 at Hastings so I decided to give it a try. I also have another Elizabeth Gilbert book in the wings to read after that. She wrote Eat, Pray, Love - which I loved! For those of you who didn't read it, go buy it! The movie is okay, but the book is MUCH better. The new one I will be reading is called Committed. It follows Liz and her journey with the hard decision of remarriage. I will keep you posted on both of the upcoming reads. :)

Another thing I've been wanting to voice my opinion on is this whole feather in the hair thing. At first I thought it was rather silly and heard about places in California using real Peacock feathers...Which is disgusting! But, I digress, most of the places around here use fake feathers (I mean really, with a pricetag of $8 how could it not be fake?). After a while of contemplating this idea, I have finally decided to get one. I know, I'm a 20 year old right? I think the touch of color is awesome and just all around fun for the summer. So, at lunch today, Candy and I are going to go get clip on feathers! We decided on the clip on versions, since we aren't 15 and have jobs. The boss is out all week so we can wear them through Friday and then have them to just clip on whenever we feel like it. I'm leaning toward a solid, bright color. Maybe a blue, teal, green, or purple. I will definitely keep you posted on this venture.

Hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July, and remembered the reasons we celebrate this great holiday!

xoxo,
kris

copycat.

If you read my last post, you know I'm poor at the moment. So, rather than being out with Whit and some other friends tonight I am sitting at home. I have become a thief and stole this blog from my Erin. Enjoy! :)

Age: 28
Bed size: Queen! and I love it, I sleep like a crazy person :)
Chore you hate: toilets. they are so disgusting.
Dad's name: Stephen/Steve
Essential start to your day: washing my face, I'm not fulling awake until this happens.
Favorite actress and actor: Sandra Bullock (I concur Erin!) and the boy is a tough one.. Heath Ledger was so freaking talented, Ryan Reynolds is freaking hot!, and I love almost all of Tom Hanks movies - I could go on and on for both genders really.
Gold or silver: Silver, although I have a new love of Rose Gold
Height: 5'4" ++
Instruments you play(ed): HA!
Job title: Administrative Assistant. or to those who need more clarification: total badass!
Kid(s): negative. I love kids, I'm the coolest Auntie in the world! Just don't dig the whole 24/7 thing.
Living arrangements: just me, in a shoebox.
Mom's name: Kathryn/Kathy
Nicknames: Kris, Kristi G, Kdawg, Krissy and many more that are much more embarrassing! haha
Overnight hospital stays other than birth: Well I was really sick when I was born so I stayed in the NICU for several weeks. Other than that, none.
Pet peeves: smoking, drunk driving, people who don't wipe their face when eating, leaving early from a sporting event (you never know what's going to happen!), people who drive slow in the fast lane - bad drivers in general.. many more.
Quotes you like: waaaaaay too many to list.
Right or left-handed: Both, although I mainly write with my right hand.
Siblings: 1 seester and 1 brother
Time you wake up: 6:30-6:45 weekdays and depends on the weekends
U[was missing, so i'll make it up!]rban dictionary your name and pick your favorite definition: "

a woman i know who is incredibly sexy and i love her so much. she is the most amazing person alive and if you dont think so you deserve to die. amazingly there are some people who actually dont like her. but thats just because they're jealous and they're all asses anyway so no one cares about them. Kristi deserves everything in the world and id do anything for her. ill never leave her side and i'll always be her best friend"

Vegetables you dislike: raw tomatoes, although I'll eat them cooked in just about anything haha!
Ways you run late: I'm pretty much the most punctual person I've ever met.
X-rays you've had: This is a long list, I should probably have radiation poisoning by now.... MRI as a baby, age 5 wrist, 8 elbow, 11 chest, 16 hand, 18 foot, 19 hand, 25 wrist, 25 MRI wrist, 27 shin. and obviously the teeth every cleaning.
Yummy food you make: I've been told I should jar my tomato soup and sell it with my homemade asiago cheese croutons, several pasta dishes, cake balls
Zodiac: Aquarius

What's the deal?

So, I know it has been way too long since my last post, which means I'm already slacking on my "summer to-do list". That being said, this past week was full of craziness that inevitably will cause further slacking in the to-do department...starting with Sunday night.

Last Sunday, the 26th, I was stoked to watch the season premiere of True Blood (one of my fav shows!) and then I proceeded to shower before bed after the awesome premiere episode. Let me just say, luke warm showers are not fun especially when they turn into cold ones. Yup, you guessed it, my water heater broke. Monday morning I did some research and made some phone calls and found out I was about to dish out a ton of cash to resolve this issue. So, after shedding a few tears, pulling out some major dough, and waiting on the plumber Monday afternoon I now have a brand new water heater.. and no money (which is the part that causes even more neglect to my "to-do list"). At least I'm clean though! ;)

Now I am seriously on the job search, not that I wasn't already, I just have a new found energy for the search at the moment. I applied for a position two weeks ago and found out on Wednesday I was chosen for an interview on Friday. I also passed a test for a full-time position within Sam, and sent that application in. Obviously, this would be my first choice job, since it is right down the hall from my current office, as well as it would not require as much training since I already know the computer system. On to Friday. I actually wasn't nervous at all leading up to this interview, just excited. Since this was for my #2 job choice, and I'm pretty positive about the #1, I just went in with the attitude of "let's just see what happens". And then 11:30 rolls around... I walk through the doors of this facility (I'm not going state where, so as not to offend anyone) and realize in about 2.5 seconds this is not the place for me. But, I've already been spotted and do not want to be extremely rude and walk out without saying anything, so I proceed to the interview. This building was old, and just felt dirty. Now, I realize not everyone shares in my distaste of cigarette smoke, however, this place REEKED of an ashtray. As I sit in the waiting area, before they even call me back to meet with anyone, I already have a pounding headache from the smoke. Annnnnd then the coughing starts. For those of you who do not know, I have asthma, which means other than just disliking smoke, it also makes me sick- literally. The two gentlemen call me back after about 5 minutes of waiting (again, with a pounding headache) and I proceed to initiate the shortest interview I have ever had. After they explain how the interview will go (about 1.5 minutes in) I ask if the position will be in the building we are in. The answer was obviously yes, therefore every question they asked was answered with as few words as possible and I had no further questions to add after they finished their part. I was basically out in about 8 minutes. Seriously, like I said the fastest interview ever. I highly doubt they'll call, but if they do, I will definitely be turning that one down. My #1 choice job will hopefully be interviewing in about a week, and I've had several recommendations from people within the building so I'm really excited about this one!

On to the 4th of July, which around here is kind of dull this year due to the lovely drought we're currently in. No. Fireworks. Makes. Me. Sad. I usually watch the fireworks with the seester, seester hubby and niece, so now I am at a loss as to what I'm going to do tomorrow night. I did have some major fun Saturday with Candy, Whit and some other peeps! We hit the pool for a few hours and then headed to Candy's house for a little bbq to celebrate the 4th and her hubby's finishing grad school. It was tons of fun just hanging out with everyone and eating good food. :)

Hope you are all having a great 4th of July weekend! Have fun, eat tons of good stuff, have some drinks, watch the fireworks, be safe and above all else, don't forget what this holiday is all about. Take some time to remember those who have served and are currently serving this great nation. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for fighting for our freedom. Happy 4th of July!!

"Summertime, time to sit back and unwind."

Campus graduation was this last weekend, and let me just say these past two days have been completely boring. Candy and I cleaned the office yesterday and are now without one single thing to do at 9:30AM. Luckily, I brought my laptop so I can finally update this blog... I know, I've been bad about updating (except for posts about Love146- which is an amazing organization)!

As some of you know, I've been working on some craft projects recently, one of which is the butterfly mobile in an older post. I'm also making several other items and plan to start an Etsy page once I have more projects completed and pictures taken. Hopefully this will happen within the next two weeks or so. The first items will be mainly baby inspired, since I came up with this idea after making Amy's mobile and attending her awesome baby shower. Once I get going with some of the baby items, home decor will be added. I'm super pumped about this and can't wait to get this entire project off the ground! Hopefully you will all find something you like! ;)

Keeping in the theme of being bored at work, I've decided that I need to be productive this summer, and actually accomplish some goals. Essentially create a "summer to do list" of sorts. I was inspired to do this after reading a recent post by one of my favorite blogs, Fit Foodie Finds, when she completed a post recently regarding her goals for the year. I think this is an excellent idea to stay focused and also organized (hello, we all know I'm crazy OCD about being organized!). So, here are my goals/things to do over the summer:

1. Setup my Etsy page and other outlets for selling crafts by June 1st.

2. Continue making at least a few items per week after June 1st.

3. READ! .. I've been severely lacking in the book department lately. I LOVE reading, just haven't found anything I want to read in a while. Feel free to leave suggestions! ;)

4. Continue trying new, healthy recipes each week. I'm totally in love with my Perfect Oats and the variations I've been trying. (recipe courtesy of Lee over at Fit Foodie Finds)

5. Run 3-5 miles/day even after the Love146 Tread on Trafficking event is complete on June 30th.

6. Add more swimming days to the workout after HISD is out for summer (since I wont be picking up kiddies anymore).

7. Travel. This is a tough one since I'll be working with a tight budget, but I will definitely be visiting Dev in Dallas, and then heading to Austin at some point to see my Erin and hopefully Jonathan too. I'd really like to add some other inexpensive trips as well, like kayaking, fishing, relaxing at the beach, and hiking. The history nerd in me really wants to hit some nearby museums I've never been to as well. I'll gladly take suggestions and love to have people accompany me!

8. Find/try healthy restaurants in Houston with Jo and Melissa.

9. Run 200 miles and bike 200 miles in June/July. I'm pumped about this one and can't wait to start!

10. Blog more. I know, the posts have been few and far between lately. Hopefully, I will be able to take care of this goal quickly since I'll be posting about all my crafts. :)

11. Meet new people. This is a tricky one, since I live in a small town that is comprised mainly of young people (as in high school/college students). So, hopefully I can accomplish my travel goal and meet new people along the way!

I think this is a pretty good list to start with. Obviously, I reserve the right to add to the list if need be. ;)

I hope you all have an excellent summer and are able to accomplish any and all things you would like to do! This weather has been amazing and only pushes me to do more and more every day.

xoxo,

kris

Let's Get Started Treading!

As many of you know, I have joined the Love146 campaign and will participate in Tread on Trafficking this year - in FOUR days! That's right May 1st marks the kick off to Tread on Traffic. I have had several friends let's just say "pledge" to join the team, but as of yet have not. Okay guys, as much as I love to work out and LOVE my "me time" let's be honest here, team Texas Love146 needs some serious love! What am I saying? Don't make me stand alone, come join my wolf pack and help raise some money for some kids who really need it. I know not everyone enjoys running but the beauty of this is that you don't have to! Miles/hours can be logged through walking, running, swimming, biking, even dancing - that's right folks DANCING! The more creative you get with the miles the more fun you'll have doing it. Sooooo, CLICK HERE to join team Texas Love146! You wont regret it! ;)

Several people have voiced some questions which might be the reason some of you have yet to join team Texas Love146. The main question being "what's the entry fee?" - or some variation of that. Well, the answer is NOTHING! There is an option to make a donation in your name when you setup your page, but the key word there is optional. I would hope that we all make at least a small donation if we participate, but it's not mandatory, and definitely not required up front. For example, I skipped this option as well so I can see how much I raise and then make my own contribution at the end. Of course this is a personal decision.

Another question I've heard rather frequently is "Is the registration hard? Will it take a long time?" Again, the answer is NOPE! Registering for team Texas Love146 is easy peasy! Especially with the lovely link I provided you in the first paragraph. I spent about 45 minutes one afternoon going over the Love146 website, however, that was not simply registering. I basically read the entire site! A lot of you know, I'm kind of a nerd and wanted to read through the entire thing before (and again after) I committed to helping this cause. So, how long would it take a normal person to register? I say 10 minutes TOPS.

I've also been asked several times if you need to "have a child or be involved with children, ie. teachers etc.". I would have thought this to be obvious but alas we all see the world in different light. The answer is no, you do not need to be involved with children in anyway. Just have a heart and want the best for ALL children. Basically, you need to be a human being. As most people in my life know, my mother ran a home daycare so children have always been a part of my life. In college, I participated with March of Dimes and will probably always be involved in some children's charity or another.

I hope this clears up some questions and concerns you might have had regarding Tread on Trafficking. It's an amazing organization to help children that are abused in the worst ways imaginable. If you decide that joining team Texas Love146 isn't for you (believe me, I know not everyone enjoys working out!) please consider donating to my personal page. I know times are tough with the economy these days, but any little bit will help. Maybe just a couple bucks today and you pass on the Starbucks (or whatever brand you prefer) tomorrow!

For those amazing souls who want to make a per mile contribution, please send me an email and I will get you all set up on my log sheet. Annnnd for those of you who think the idea of a per mile donation is ludicrous, hear (read?) me out. Obviously, if you're filthy stinkin rich and want to contribute $5, $10, $20 a mile, BY ALL MEANS! But, for those normal folks out there like me, a $.10 or even $.5 a mile contribution would be awesome! I typically run 3-5 miles a day, 6 days a week. So we'll say 4/day for 8 weeks at $.10/mile = $22.40! What I'm saying is that a per mile donation isn't as scary as it sounds. PLUS, when people start contributing per mile it really pushes you to work out longer! :)

Again, PLEASE let me know if you have any questions! I'd rather be asked the same question a million times than have you forget the whole thing because you don't understand something.

Can't wait to get my Tread on with ya! ;)

xoxo,

Kris

Love146

For those of you who haven't received an email, read my facebook status, or saw my tweet, here's a quick post about Love146!

It's an awesome cause, dealing with child trafficking. Basically, you register and pledge to raise money to correspond with your workout. You track how many miles/hours you workout each day and awesome people can donate per mile or just a one time amount. It's pretty cool, you track it all on your own so if you like to workout alone, whether it be running, walking, biking, swimming, in/out of the gym, whatever! So, basically while you're keeping healthy and in shape, you're also helping raise money to help some kiddies who really need it.

After hearing (er, reading) about Love146 from one of my fav celebs through twitter, I sent a "feeler" email out to a few of you to see who would be interested in helping me create a team. Well, as most of you know I'm rather impatient. So, as I was perusing the website for more info, trying to wait nicely for your responses, I started checking out the registration page annnnnd went ahead and created a team. ;)

You can check out our team site here,http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/texaslove146 , I know, I say team site even though I'm the only member so far, BUT hopefully that will change as soon as all my awesome friends join!

For those of you who are not able to participate in the working out part, or just don't want to, you can go to my page and donate if you'd like! http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/kristig

Just remember, the actual working out (for Love146 anyway) doesn't begin until May 1st and goes through June 30th. For 8 weeks I'll be busting my hump to help some kiddies and it'll be helping me too! I'm very competitive so having a really amazing reason like this to workout extra hard/long is really motivating. Those of you who already workout could use my theory of letting this cause push you harder, and those who may not workout so much, could use this as a means to jump start a new routine. I figure as long as I'm going to be at the gym doing some sort of cardio anyway, there's no reason not to join Love146!

If you have any questions, let me know. I hope you will at least consider joining and/or donating to Love146!

xoxo,

Kris