Kjersti Mersti Muffin

Testing Out Scrapblog

2010-03-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

Job Description

2010-03-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

I am studying to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. In fact I graduate this June from my Masters program :D Many people I know have no idea what a Marriage and Family Therapist does, and I often find it difficult to describe what I do. I recently came across these FAQ's on Marriage and Family Therapists, and am satisfied with how my job is described.

If you don't read the whole article then perhaps this portion will give you hint of what I've been training to do for the past 3 years of my life:

"Marriage and family therapists treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including: depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems.

Research indicates that marriage and family therapy is as effective, and in some cases more effective than standard and/or individual treatments for many mental health problems such as: adult schizophrenia, affective (mood) disorders, adult alcoholism and drug abuse, children's conduct disorders, adolescent drug abuse, anorexia in young adult women, childhood autism, chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital distress and conflict."--The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Email Chain gone blogging

2010-03-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

I just got sucked into filling out one of those pass along emails with lots of random info about me. I took the time to do it so I thought I'd copy it onto my blog to make it last longer :) Anyway, most, if not all of my readers probably received this info in an email, but if you didn't here it is, all about me:

1. High heels or boots? both

2 What time did you get up this morning? 9:00

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Alice in Wonderland

4. What is your maiden name? McCombs

5. What is your favorite TV show? Big Love and Chuck

6. What do you usually have for breakfast? coffee, sometimes oatmeal

7. What is your middle name? I don't have one

8. What food do you dislike? hmmm, I like just about everything!

9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Zee Avi

10. What characteristic do you despise? holier than thou attitudes

11. Favorite Clothing? Dresses

12. Anywhere in the world on vacation? Nice, France; Athens, Greece was pretty amazing I'd love to go back! Anywhere really, I love to travel.

13. Are you an organized person? In some ways yes, in other ways no.

14. Where would you retire to? The Oregon Coast

15. What was your last memorable birthday? 26

16. What are you going to do when you finish this? Go to bed

17. Furthest place you are sending this? Seattle

18. Person you expect to send it back first? Vanessa or Cynthia

19. When is your birthday? October 21st

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Late morning

21. What is your shoe size? 6

22. Do you own any animals? Garbanzo my dog and Redji my tortoise! BEST PETS (children) EVER!

23. Any news you'd like to share? I'm going to graduate on June 11, 2010 with my MA degree in Counseling Psychology!

24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? a hairstylist, a lawyer, a politician, a nurse, a vet, a French Person (I still want to be a French Person...although I'm very patriotic and like being American too)

25. What is your favorite flower? Cala Lily

26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? April 6, and June 11

28. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Black

29. How is the weather right now? chilly but nice

30. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom and dad

31. Favorite soft drink? Root Beer

32. Favorite restaurant? B Street and Vine, Lahmacun, Chilis

33. Hair color? Coppery Auburn (for now)

34. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a doll that really ate food and pooped!

35. Summer or winter. Summer!

36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

37. Coffee or tea? Coffee

38. Wish you were still young? I am still young

39. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes

40. When was the last time you cried? Friday

41. What is under your bed? Wrapping paper and picture frames

42. What did you do last night? Watched Robin Hood Men in Tights for the first time ever! hahaha!

43 What are you afraid of? getting attacked while out running by myself

44. Salty or sweet? Sweet

45. Best quality you have? I have a real love for life, and am easily motivated to do stuff.

46. How many years at your current job? 0

47. Favorite Day of the Week? Wednesdays and Saturdays

Now it's your turn! Copy these questions onto your blog and answer them. Then leave me a comment and I'll learn all about you too :D

Cheers!

Je suis juste un peu en retard....Je vous présente ZEE AVI

2010-03-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

I'm just a little late in posting about last week's Zee Avi concert I went to with the girls. The night was just perfect! It was one of those nights that I thought to myself, "why don't I live in the city!?!" I seriously want to consider moving there, no matter how unrealistic it would be for us to do that.

So here is what the night was like:

7pm~Suffer through horrendous traffic (thanks to Missy for driving)

8pm~Dinner, French style, at Gamine. I ordered the Onion Soup Gratinée and Warm Goat Cheese Arugula Salad. Both were A-Mazing!

9pm~Arrive at the concert venue! We danced on the second floor watching the pre-show, followed by us flooding to the front to get close to Zee! She was even better than I expected, and hilarious! This girl has so much personality, style, and talent! What a great show!

12am~Kara's cupcakes had a van parked right outside the venue for all the music goers, and it was the perfect ending to the perfect evening. What a good idea too, it makes me want to start a cupcake business (however, I think I'll leave that to Missy and Mabel)

Photos grâce à Missy:

yummy French food

Me-showing off- :/

Missy being lovely as always

The girls~Missy, Laura, Alaina, and Me (I love these girls!)

can you see the stage off in the distance? That was our first view

Our Final view~close up of Zee herself!

I want to start going to more concerts supporting artists like Zee Avi. One of my other favorite's is in town this weekend, but the tickets are SOLD OUT. Boo! If anyone has tickets to go see Tegan and Sara, and needs/wants to give them to someone, give them to me please!

If I was more irresponsible..

2010-02-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

If I was more irresponsible with my (Greg's) money, if I never had buyer's remorse, or if I had a PAYING job I would wrecklessly spend all my money here: ModCloth

I would have a new dress for every occasion. I'd go see more foreign films wearing the french cinema dress, and go to work tomorrow in the Miss Issipi Dress in River. I would indulge in vintage looks, and have a new quirky necklace for every outfit (I actually have this necklace :D).

Oh, I wish people would give me money for free so I could be more irresponsible and stylish!

Documented Growth

2010-02-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Garbanzo just turned 1 year old today! I can't believe how much he's grown! We brought him home weighing about 9 lbs, and now he weighs 51 lbs! (pictures are in order from oldest in age to youngest in age)

Happy birthday lovebug!

Follow Up W/ Meaning

2010-02-17T23:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I realized just yesterday that My google analytics was showing that I had 0 readers because it had been removed, woops! My bad! Around Christmas time I changed the background of my blog and accidentally removed the html code, so who knows how many readers I've had. BUT I do know that I've had at least 3 readers! Thank you Kristen, Michelle, and Katie for reading my blog and responding!

I noticed the common thread in your responses to what makes your life meaningful is FRIENDS and FAMILY! And I agree! My friends and family make my life so meaningful. They (You) fill my time with laughter, with love, with sincere interactions. I feel like it is the personal connections I make with others that create any sense of spirituality I ever feel.

I always tell Greg that I live a 'charmed life', and I really believe I do. I've been so lucky to do just about EVERYTHING I've ever wanted to do. I've travelled to places I've always wanted to see, I married the man of my dreams, I'm pursuing a career (psychotherapy) based on my interests (and have the added benefit of being invited into people's most intimate parts of their lives even if just for a little while), I have the best dog and family in the world, and I feel like I "have it all"~I pursue my hobbies, I have my health, and I am mastering the arts of being a home maker and a career woman. I mention these because it is these things that I look back on, or forward to, that fill my heart with warmth and meaning.

In short, I think what gives my life meaning is my love for others and an optimistic outlook on life.

One quote I enjoyed from Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning says, "Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self." I like that.

Calling All Bloggers

2010-02-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

Dear fellow bloggers,

I have a question. I want to know what gives your life meaning?

I recently read Man's Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl, so this particular topic has been on my mind. As an Existentialist at heart I believe it's what people designate as being meaningful that makes life worthwhile.

Since Christmas my google reader went from showing I had 100 readers weekly to 0 readers weekly, so I hope I get at least a couple responses!

I look forward to learning something meaningful about YOU!

xoxo,

KjerstiMersti

Life's a Dance, We All Have to Do

2010-02-07T23:10:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas in 2008 my good friend Heather died, doing what she loved most, skiing, she was caught in an avalanche. She was one of the most vivacious people I've ever known. Full of life. She'd travelled the world, dancing her way through. She spoke at least 3 or 4 languages, which is quite unusual for an American. She is the most enthusiastic person I've ever known. She had a genuine curiosity about everyone and all things she came into contact with.

After she died her family had facebook memorialize her facebook page, so it still exists. Friends and family still post on her wall. From time to time I look her up to see what people are saying. A full year has passed and people still post on her wall almost daily. It always makes me cry. It makes me so happy and devastatingly sad to see how many people's lives she's touched. I look at it and feel happy that she's remembered and so loved, then I realize how many people miss her and the pain they all must feel when they think of her.

Recently someone posted this youtube video on her wall saying that the song reminded her of Heather, it warmed my heart. Any of you that know her will probably agree that this song reminds you of her.

The song We're All in the Dance by Feist has reminded me of Heather for a very long time too.

I feel like life is so short and the only hope there is at all is to find love and happiness in the people around me and to give them my love in return.

Heather was the first of three to die last year of people I love. In September Greg's Grandfather Nelson died, and just before Christmas his Grandfather Locke died. Both of these men were amazing people, and accepted me into their families with so much love. I wish I had words to describe what kind of people they were, but I don't. Nothing I say could come close to describe the kindness and gentleness they personified. They were true family men that ALWAYS put their loved ones first, they were patriotic (both fought in WWII), incredibly organized and took pride in all they did. It's funny how genetic personality traits show themselves as families grow. As I got to know Greg's grandfathers I recognized so many traits in them also present in Greg.

I wish I could express what I'm feeling and thinking better, I want to say so much, I want to be accurate in describing the way these three have touched my life.

A break from fantasy

2010-02-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went babysitting.

The kids I was caring for had found some salamanders. The salamanders were sitting on the kitchen table in a bowl of dirt. The oldest girl asked, "What do salamanders eat? Can you look it up on the internet?" (she's 6).

"Sure" I said, as I proceeded to pull out my iphone and google 'what do salamanders eat'. Within minutes this six year old's world was about to fall apart.

I cheerfully report, "It says that they eat worms, snails, spiders, and centipedes."

The six year old starts running for the table crying, "There are worms in that bowl!!!! I love worms! I want the salamanders to eat food, not other animals!"

I stop her just in time to save dirt, salamanders, and worms from falling all over the kitchen floor. She's visibly devastated and mad at me for ironically saving these "animals" lives from the wrath of her little internal world that is quickly unraveling. Maybe I didn't do the right thing, maybe I should have let it all fall to the floor.

Next thing I know, she's running to her bedroom. She's on the top bunk bawling her heart out, repeating over and over again, "I want them to eat food not other animals!"

Her younger sister (a 4 year old) rushes to her side to ease her pain. "It's ok ____, animals have to eat other animals to live, that's how they live. it's ok!" I couldn't have said it better myself, but this does not calm the six year old's tears.

I babble on about how "all animals are born of the earth, live a life, and then return back to earth". I don't know if this was the right thing to say.

She continues to cry. After a few more minutes her tears subside, she lifts her head from the pillow and says, "it's ok, I learned that __?__ have to eat seals and that they always give thanks to the seals before they eat them."

Again, the 4 year old chimes in and says, "yeah, animals have to eat other animals to live."

The six year old says, "yeah, we eat fish."

Then all was well and playing with dolls and fairies resumed.

The Day We Brought Garbanzo Home

2010-02-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Garbanzo's 1st birthday is coming up this month. I can't believe how much he has grown up! This morning I came across a video of him and his best pal Abbie from THE day we brought him home (he's 10 weeks in the video). It is so cute, and such a good memory, a must watch indeed :)

Zee Avi and ME!

2010-01-26T23:18:00.001-08:00

I've been collecting some favorite singers/bands over the past couple years, I have a particular genre that sticks out to me, but I don't know what to call it. It consists of artists like Norah Jones, Belle and Sebastian, Nellie McKay, Cat Power, Carla Bruni, Kat Edmondson, Robinella, the Be Good Tanya's, Allison Kraus, Buddy Holly, Chairlift, Feist, and others. They all have something in common, but I'm not exactly sure what. All I know is that I LOVE whatever this genre is!

Well, my new Fave is ZEE AVI! If you haven't heard of her yet, you have got to give her a listen! She is an adorable 23 year old with an "old soul" check out her bio here.

She has quite a few youtube sensations, but just so you can get a little flavor of her style watch this clip:

So My lovely friend Missy and I were hanging out yesterday, sipping tea and listening to Ingrid Michaelson, and I was like "Missy, you have go to check out Zee Avi." So she looked her up online right then, we listened to a couple of Zee's songs, and then as we were reading about Zee we realized that she is coming to San Francisco on February 25th to perform! So on the spot we bought tickets!

Man, I'm feeling lucky, and can't wait for a girls trip to the city to see such a fabulous musician!

How cute are my parents?!

2010-01-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

So you know how you can get "post-it" notes on your computer (paperless post-it notes)? Well, yesterday I found out that my dad leaves my mom love notes on their computer's "post-it notes." I think that's sweet. It got me in the mood for Valentine's Day :) Every time I talk to my mom (which is weekly), she always tells me that she is in love with my dad, and loves him more and more the older they get. That makes me happy. <3

This is not their post-it note, I just thought it added a nice touch to this blog post :D

Tell someone you love them!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2010-01-16T23:37:00.000-08:00

Greg was gone all day (and evening), so I had a girls day! It was much needed, and much fun! Let me tell you about it!

My darling friend Alaina came over for the afternoon and we had a yoga day. Started with a little meditation, did a couple yoga routines (hard work, but felt so good), followed by a tea party! I totally want to do this again, I feel so rejuvenated! Thanks for coming doll :D

healthy snacks and tea

Alaina in her yoga gear :)

Then I went to dinner with my 'Stanford girls'! followed by my favorite movie (Move Over Darling, made in 1963), a little wine, and GIRL TALK! WOOO! Totally fun.

Damn, I have a great life and great friends!

Surabhi, Melanie, Emily, Me

Playing catch-up STILL

2010-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

I still have so much to blog about from our trip to Utah, and I'm getting so far behind! So I think I'll give you a little recap of a few more happenings. :)

So my lovely friend Maiko who lives out here in CA, near to me, was also in Utah at the same time Greg and I were! Her boyfriend (Nick) went to high school/College with me and Greg, so they were home visiting his family for the holidays. So we met up, and I had to get a picture of us proving that we are not only super good friends in Cali, but in Utah too!

Us in front of a really dirty Utah street sign.

So we met up with Maiko and Nick, and a few other friends like Nam and Danchi (more of Greg's college friends) and went to AHH Sushi where Greg and Nam like to consult the Oracle about major life decisions (you should ask Greg about that sometime).

Nick and Maiko at Ahh Sushi

John, Greg, and Nam at Ahh Sushi

Later that same evening Nick, Nam, and Greg threw the party of all parties! It was a) the most creative party I've ever been to, and b) a blast! The party was a forum for a bunch of friends to perform their guitar/piano/singing skills followed by games and fun! We had a really great venue, speakers, microphone, great food, and people! I wish I had some video of the event because it was A-mazing!

The Groupies :D

duo self portrait of the sexiest ladies at the party ;)

Garbanzo, Snow, and Cabin

2010-01-12T23:21:00.000-08:00

Heaven on Earth

Play time! The snow is taller than Garbanzo (up to my waist)!

Sexy Mountain Man!!

Out for a hike

Turning the snow yellow, hehe!

I had a feeling Garbanzo was going to love the snow when we got to Utah. At first, he just wanted to smell it, that led to licking it, then chomping it, then full on romping in the snow! Actually, I think he turned into a snowbunny. To get through all the deep snow he would place his front legs out in front of him and swing his back legs forward just like a bunny rabbit.

He had so much fun in the snow and got to spend most of his time off his leash while in Utah...it is for sure taking some adjustment getting use to needing a leash all the time back here in Cali.... for both of us!

I think Garbanzo loves the Nelson cabin more than Greg and me (that's pretty hard to accomplish, we LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEE the cabin). He spent his mornings in the snow and the rest of his time sleeping on the couch with the fire keeping him cozy-toasty. I'm starting to get jealous of Garbanzo, he has such a charmed life!

Check out how cute Garbanzo is in the snow.... by the way, it's official I'm obsessed with my pooch :D

A Nelson Christmas

2010-01-12T23:10:00.001-08:00

Pretty Tree and presents for ME!

The Siblings: L ---> R Vanessa, Natalie, and Greg

Grammy (Cynthia) and Sammy C! My niece is getting so big and adorable!

My LoveBUG, Greggy!

I, unfortunately, did not get many pictures at our Nelson Christmas :( Missing from these pictures: Rourk, Josh, Garbanzo, Redji, and me.

We had a wonderful time with both our families and are so lucky to spend time with both over the holidays. We love you all soooooo much!

A McCombs' Christmas

2010-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Garbanzo's First Christmas :)

Presents!!!

All the Originals :)

Tout le Monde

The Sibs and Ins

The Sista's!

The Brothers

Friends

2010-01-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

In Utah, over the holiday break, I got to visit with some of the very best friends I've EVER had :) If I could change anything about living in California it would be to have each of these girls become my neighbors.

Megan (with Madison), Mandy, Chelsea, who can find me?

Me, baby Brooke, and Corinne (my life-long friend and confidant).

Jaxson and Colton...cutest kids ever!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

2009-12-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 11 Pipers Piping, 10 lords a-leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

As it turns out this song has been influenced by the Scots! Traditionally music would be provided at the twelfth night celebrations. As it turns out, the French had incorporated bagpipe music into their own Franco culture, even though we usually associate the bagpipe with Scotland. Also, after Queen Elizabeth I the Stuart Kings of Scotland took rule over the British Monarchy. AND ALSO, the French and English nobility commonly married. SO with all these links to bagpipe music, it is no wonder that bagpipes would be played as the celebratory music for all the Christmas festivities. I read about this here.

Merry Christmas Eve :)

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 10 Lords a-leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

The last half of the song I find to be less interesting than the first. Dancing, leaping, piping, drumming, all seem straight forward, and less cryptic. All the birds in the first half of the song seem to be symbolic in some way, or carry some amount of significance to the song (in a secular sense and/or religious sense). It seems to me that the first half of the song refers to what may be served at the Twelfth night celebration, and the second half seems to be a description of the actual celebration. It does seem like quite a jolly party, if I do say so myself.

Religious people would say that the 10 lords a leaping represent the 10 commandments. I think it is a description of the noble males participating in the festivities. That's just me though.

On Wikipedia it says that one theory for the song is that each verse represents a month of the year, and either identifies a food that is common in that month or a sport. I guess October (the tenth month) must be a great month for leaping. I'm happy to hear that, since I'm an October baby myself, and I consistently find myself leaping around October-time each year ;)

On the Ninth day of Christmas...

2009-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

9 ladies dancing most likely refers to the celebration of the the 12 days. "Ladies," during the time period that the song originated, referred to woman of noble birth, and these nine ladies were not entertainment, but most likely guests enjoying themselves at the party.

KJ fact: Whenever I go out dancing I get a side-ache. The only other person in the world that I know this happens to is my bestest friend Mandy Mather Spencer :) When we go dancing we always have a moment where we look at each other, start laughing, and say I have a side-ache! It's funny :D

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese-a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and partridge in a pear tree.

So I guess the 8 maids a-milking are representative of the 8 beatitudes of the Catholic faith. I'm not real sure what a beatitude is, but according to this, it is the 8 required times of the year that a Catholic must receive Holy Communion.

I have no idea why the original song would say "8 maids a-milking", if in fact it did. It seems likely that maybe once upon a time this verse was filled with some sort of bird, but I have no evidence of that, and only suspicions! Perhaps, milk is what was traditionally drank on the twelfth night, but once again I'm only guessing at this particular verse's significance.

KJ Fact: I use to only drink skim milk, now I only drink whole milk; it's so much better!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

2009-12-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese-a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

In the medieval ages swans were domesticated, and commonly served at Christmas dinner. In England, around this time, swan breeders would mark their swans' beaks by carving a symbol. Any unmarked birds belonged to the British Monarchy. Swans were considered a generous gift from the British Monarchy for Christmas dinner, 7 swans as a gift could be considered much more than generous, maybe even graciously generous :)

For Catholics, the seven swans represent the Seven Sacraments. This interpretation of the song mostly likely developed in the 1700's.

I learned this here.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-19T02:20:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 6 geese-a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Geese were among some of the first domesticated birds, and a traditional Christmas meal in England. BUT I bet it is a traditional meal in France first (continuing with the theory that the song *probably* originated in France). I mean, hello, FOIE GRAS!?! Geese are totally a French food :)

Well, something interesting about Geese, they mate for life, BUT they are also polygamous! The males mate with multiple females -for life- So I guess it makes sense that in the song 6 female geese are given. (Male geese are called Ganders).

I learned some of this post's information here. Anything else that isn't cited, I just made up :D

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

... My true love gave to me 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 lords a-leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree!!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Some of you may think today is the twelfth day of Christmas, but actually it is the FIRST! Somewhere along the way we all thought the last day of Christmas should be Christmas itself, but originally it was the first day, with January 6th being the final day of Christmas, and twelfth night! So if you wanted to celebrate the twelve days, but thought you were too late to the game, well good news, you can start today! As for me, I'm signing off on this topic, of which I only skimmed the surface. I hope you all learned a little something along with me. Merry Christmas y'all

Xoxo,
Kjersti

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-18T17:13:00.001-08:00

... My true love gave to me 5 Golden Rings, 4 Colly Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, and a Partridge in a pear tree.

The piece of trivia I learned today is that originally the 5th day's "Golden Rings" referred to Golden-Ringed Neck Pheasants, but somewhere along the way was interpreted as 5 pieces of jewelry. And really, I can see why the meaning changed ;) After all, what girl doesn't love jewelry especially when she's already received 10 birds at this point! Wanna know for yourself?... Here's my sources: 1, 2.

Supposedly, these are really tasty birds, and were likely served as part of the the twelfth night feast long ago. I think I'd rather just look at them than eat them :)

Quite Frankly, I'd rather receive a ring like this, Chanel No. 5 Ring in Golden

Or maybe this Golden Ring, plus 4 additional others of course ;) They don't all have to be "golden".

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

...My true love gave to me 4 calling/colly birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

In the brief research I just did on the fourth day of Christmas, I found out that the "4 calling birds," as I grew up singing, should actually be "4 colly birds," which is a type of black bird.

How did we go from colly birds to calling birds? Well, I don't really know, but one clue I found is in the intent of the song. It is believed that originally the 12 days of Christmas was a secular song that reflected the gifts a young woman was receiving from her true love (she must have loved birds!). Later on it is believed that the song was adapted as a catechism for young Catholics. The purpose of the song was to learn the surface meaning of the song in relation to a deeper religious meaning. I learned this HERE.

The 4 calling birds was adapted from colly birds to represent the 4 gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I'm sure 4 colly birds could represent the 4 gospels just as well as 4 calling birds, so there must be another reason for the change. All the same it's a pretty interesting evolution of the song, I think.

On the Third Day of Christmas...

2009-12-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

My true love sent to me…3 French Hens, 2 Turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

As you all know I’m a big fan of all things French! So this may be my favorite part of the song ;)

Did you know that when this song was written there were three varieties of chickens associated with France? They were the Crevecoeur, the La Fleche, and the Houdans. Also, It is not known where the song originated from, but this may be a clue that it *probably* originated in France! I learned this HERE. And verified that here.

Three French Hens Card

Here's another handmade card that would be cute to buy for Thank You cards for any gifts you get for Christmas. It belongs in the same collection as yesterday's post :) Both cards are by Olivia Bossy and found on Etsy.com. I'm loving her style!

On the second day of Christmas...

2009-12-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

...My true love gave to me 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

The Turtle dove is a bird that in mythological texts, represents devoted love. To learn more about the turtle dove read here.

If the turtle doves represent devoted love, then they must personally represent this guy,

and this pup,

and this turtle!

I love them sooooooo much!

Aren't these handcrafted cards adorable? Two turtle doves in turtlenecks :) These would make great thank you cards for any Christmas presents you might receive this year. I might have to buy them!

Two Turtle Doves Card

On the First Day of Christmas...

2009-12-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

These partridge pendants and earrings would make any vintage-loving, hip girl happy on the first day of Christmas.

A Partridge Pendant and a Little Good Fortune

A Partridge In A...

Partridge In a Pear Tree --1960's Children's Reader Illustration Pendant

That last one, the 1960's Children's Reader Illustration Pendant...Consider that added to my Christmas Wishlist :)

Scarf-it!

2009-12-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

Last week, I practiced my sewing skills by making Garbanzo some scarfs to wear. For Halloween I had made a scarf with skeletons on it, and for Thanksgiving one with turkeys. So I spent last Saturday morning sewing a Christmas scarf and two general use scarfs! They looks so cute on Garbanzo! Check it out:

Fashion Show:

"Blue Steel"

My friend Mabel makes clothes for her shih tzu, and has a fashion show posted here that makes me laugh so hard!

Hey, I can make these scarfs in different sizes...small, medium, or large if you want one email me. I charge $6 for small, $7 for medium, and $8 for large :)

ZumoDrive

2009-12-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all! I've been meaning to blog about ZumoDrive for a while now! Just today Walter S. Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal gave his review of ZumoDrive and I think you all should read it! It explains how ZumoDrive works via cloud storage. If you are looking for even more information on ZumoDrive you should check out Greg's blog.

My friends, I have personally used ZumoDrive and twice in the past month it saved my life! The first time being when I had to do a powerpoint presentation for school. I didn't need a flashdrive, I didn't need to wait through a long download, I didn't need to contact media services to hook up my macbook, I was able to access my powerpoint within seconds in front of the entire class! Man, that really helped calm my nerves! There is nothing worse than getting in front of a group of people just to have whatever technology malfunction at the point of no return.

The second lifesaving moment happened when I forgot to print out a document I needed for work and didn't remember until I was AT work! Thanks to ZumoDrive I was able to access the document while at work both on my iphone and the work computer! A total lifesaver!

As an MFT in training I'm planning on keeping all my logged hours (I need 3000 hours) saved on ZumoDrive so that I never lose them, and can have access to them at any time! I mean, what would I do if I lost those hours!?! I'd have to start all over, and we all know that could mean years of lost time and work!

There are lots of uses for ZumoDrive that you'll just have to check out for yourself. You can get up to 2GB for free :) I've actively used ZumoDrive to have access to my iTunes music collection wherever I am, and I do lots of photo sharing. The possibilities are endless. The days of hard drives are over, cloud storage is IN!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

2009-11-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

'Tis that time of year my friends! December is tomorrow, and you know what that means! The countdown is ON! 25 days 'til Christmas, and 19 days 'til I leave for Utah :) Woot Woot!

As is the tradition chez McCombs, the tree goes up on the Monday after Thanksgiving...I was so excited, I put ours up yesterday. I thought maybe Garbanzo would be scared or fascinated by the tree, but he doesn't even seem to notice it.

You know what I'm most excited for this holiday season? SNOW! You heard me, SNOW! I hate snow, but I have a feeling Garbanzo is going to LOVE it! I can just see him now, digging, jumping, rolling in and kicking up snow! He's never going to want to leave Utah and her snow.

Bird instead of star...so much cuter than a star :)

Fiber Optic tree :)

Garbanzo and his best-lovebug Abbie posing in front of the tree. All smiles :D

Have a holly-jolly Christmas y'all! I hope you all bust out your Christmas music, movies, and sweaters this month! I know I will be.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Thanksgiving :)

I wanted to list what I'm thankful for like so many of you have already done on your own blogs, facebook, and twitter accounts. I am thankful for:

Greg, the love of my life
Garbanzo, the best dog in the world
Redji our tortoise
my education (and Greg's education, and his job)
my family (my family and Greg's family)
my friends, every single one of you!
and
for yummy food on turkey day!

I really am a very lucky lady to be blessed with so many friends and family that I love and love me back.

Some highlights from turkey day at the Nelson's house:

I made our traditional stuffing that has been passed down from multiple generations on Greg's side of the family:

Started by drying my own bread, just the way my mommy does it!

Finished product...oh so yummy-tasty!

I picked limes from right outside our apartment, straight off the tree, and made the freshest, most yummiest, lime pie I ever tasted! I used my mom's recipe :)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup lime juice (freshly squeezed)

1 1/3 cup milk

4 heaping TBSP corn starch

3 unbeaten egg yolks

1 cup sour cream

Mix sugar and cornstarch, set aside. In pan melt butter, add lime juice, egg yolks, and milk~blend. Gradually add sugar and corn starch, cook over medium heat until thick. Mixture will be lumpy. Stir in sour cream. Pour into a pre-baked pie shell. (I used a pre-baked pie shell, but it is good with a graham cracker crust as well). Cool.

The turkey turned out perfectly :) It was so tender and moist.

I also made some of the other traditional items: like super yummy butter rolls, and Cranberry Apple Chutney, Brussel Sprouts & Leeks, and potatoes & gravy. YUMMY! The one thing I forgot: Sweet Potatoes...which I had all the ingredients for, I just forgot to make it~woops!

We had Nick and Maiko over. They were such fun guests. We played nintendo, Rage, Settlers of Catan, and went to see the newest version of A Christmas Carol in 3-D. I'm telling you, it was a good time!

One of the best parts of my day was taking Garbanzo for a 3 mile run. The moment I put on my running shoes he couldn't contain his excitement! I can't believe how great a running companion he is. I'm telling you people, Garbanzo is the best dog EVER! After the run he was soooooo pooped! check it out, this is how he spent most of the day:

Operation Save the Toys

2009-11-25T10:52:00.000-08:00

Garbanzo really loves his toys, so much that he often destroys them! Within a couple days of buying him his frog toy he had ripped it open! I saved it just in time so that it's stuffing stayed intact. I finally got around to fixing it today! The chicken and monkey weren't so lucky :(

It Happened AGAIN!

2009-11-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

So, today I was driving home from work around 2:30 pm, I was exiting from CA-85 to the US 101-N when it happened AGAIN!

What happened again? Well, check out this old blog post of mine because the exact same thing happened today as it did on September 20, 2008: http://kjerry.blogspot.com/2008/09/on-road.html. So weird! Why do cops on the 101 drive diagonally across the lanes so no one can pass causing a big traffic jam? I do not understand this behavior. There were no accidents, no cars stalled, no pedestrians in the roadway, nothing!

Well, referring back to my old post made me realize that I'd still like to go for a road trip across the country, maybe when I graduate in June I'll take that trip with my honey. What do you say honey?!

And as inspired by that blog post on September 20th, I picked up another of Jack Karouac's books Big Sur which featured another one of his roadtrips around the bay area. It was really fun to read since I live in this area, and love love love Big Sur!

Ta-Ta ya'll! You'll be hearing from me again soon and often since I'm done with school-work until January! Wahoo!

Passing on the CUTE

2009-11-12T19:11:00.001-08:00

My blog was recently deemed "Super Cute" the other day by my bestest friend Missy :) on her Lovely Little Life Blog. Receiving this award put a big cheesy smile on my face :D What a great friend, right!?! Well she is. And now I get to pass on this swell award to 5 more cute blogs, whom I hope can pass it on to 5 more cute blogs, so that the cute just keeps on giving!

I officially award

Mabel at Obsessed With My Shih Tzu Dog

Melanie at pPod's Kitchen

Emily at Emily's Blog

Tara at bite the bedbugs

and

Elaine at El estante para libros

These blogs are not only very cute, but they are thoughtful and well-written :) Enjoy some good reads everyone and please remember to Pass on the CUTE!!!

My super cheesy smile :D

Lovebirds

2009-11-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

Garbanzo and Abbie are in L-O-V-E

First comes love

Then comes marriage

Then comes puppy in the puppy carriage!

But not really, Garb got snipped :(

Kisses! (French kisses, ooh-la-la!)

Ahhhh, young love.

cutest picture of the day

2009-11-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

I love me some Garby :)

Mini food and my sea-sick-green thumb

2009-11-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

I have a sea-sick-green thumb :) Really I do. But, at least it is green right? In the past I attempted to grow herbs like basil and lavender out on my patio. They didn't grown past baby sprouts before dying, sadly. I had a Bonsai tree once, that despite my watchful care, died. I've tried growing flowers and failed. I had cala lily bulbs that kept trying to grow, but continually died. Despite my failed attempts, I still have this unrealistic hope that I'll be a plant connoisseur and have a thriving apartment-garden.

So this summer I planted tomato seeds :) I thought my tomatoes would never arrive, given how many times I forgot to water my plant, let it partly die, and attempted at breathing life into it again. For an entire week in September I was out of town. When I arrived home my plant had been blown over on the patio. The pot broken. The plant mostly dead. But somehow I seemed to rescue it. I never imagined after that that actual fruit could grow on it, but they finally did, just recently in fact. So on Wednesday I picked them and put them in my lunch salad. They were so cute! They were about the size of the tip of my pinky...so itsy-bitsy-adorable! I showed them off to all my coworkers, who happen to be fantastic real gardeners. I should have been embarrassed by the tomatoes' size, but I wasn't. I was so damn proud.

So after enjoying my home-grown tomatoes I was feeling pretty good about my food creating skills. So I cooked up a mini pumpkin squash for dinner. I decided that I would toast the pumpkin seeds (rather than throwing them out like usual). I've never even eaten pumpkin seeds. I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy mini-toasted pumpkin seeds are with a little salt...tastes like popcorn! Such a yummy-delicious snack! So great to eat while watching my favorite Curb Your Enthusiasm :) And so seasonal.

Life's little pleasures

2009-11-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a break from writing a research paper right now. Here I am daydreaming about my weekend. Yesterday I hosted a brunch with a few friends. It was so enjoyable, just what I needed to forget all about work, school, and research papers! I was so happy with how the menu turned out. Here are some of the recipes: Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup, Spinach Quiche (which I adjusted significantly by adding a pie crust, 2 extra eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1 TBSP flour, 1 clove garlic-minced, fresh spinach--heated just until wilted, and some garlic salt).

Later in the evening we went to Mabel's for a Halloween dinner and movie. So nice. I wish I was there right now. I can't wait to be done with school! June can't come fast enough!

To cope I just have to focus on life's little pleasures.

isn't this picture pretty!

Happy Halloween :D

2009-10-31T18:08:00.001-07:00

This year for Halloween Greg and I dressed up as a cowgirl and gorilla!

In years past we've both been much more adorable:

Well, Greg's stayed about the same ;)

He's always been adorable :D

WICKED

2009-10-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry to flood you all with blog posts, I didn't want to shove everything on my mind into one long- disconnected post, so you get it this way :P

Today was a magical day.

Greg got me tickets to the Broadway musical Wicked, which we went to today. We started out by going to a Farmers Market in San Francisco where we got some yummy Gyros :)

Then we headed to the Orpheum theater to see Wicked! It was so good! It made me fall in love with live-performance musicals! It was so well done, I'm in awe at the singing, the instrumentals, the lighting, the stage, everything! I'm not kidding, you HAVE to see it!

After Wicked we went to dinner at Suppenküche, which is a German restaurant I read about on Yelp. It had over 1,000 reviews with a 4 star rating! And let me tell you, I give it a 4 1/2 star rating. The food is amazing! I got Jägerschnitzel in Champignonsoße mit Spätzle und grünem Salat~Sauteed Porkloin in Mushroom Sauce served with Spätzle & Green Salad. I ate the ENTIRE meal because it is just that good! So tasty delicious! Greg got the Kassler vom Grill mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffelbrei~Grilled Cured Pork Chop with Sauerkraut & Mashed Potatoes, and it was the tenderest, most beautiful, most tasty pork chop ever (I had to try it). The experience seriously makes me want to visit Germany. I don't give it 5 stars because if you have less than 6 people they will sit you with strangers, unless you choose to sit at the bar, which is what we did!

Farmers Market

Cute girls buying honey

Yummy Gyro

"The Wizard Will See You Now!"

SuppenKüche

delicious! but poor lighting for a camera without a flash.

Thank you Greg for a wonderful day and a wonderful birthday! I love you :)

Art for art's sake!

2009-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I asked Mabel, one of my artist friends, if she could paint some pictures for me to finally finish decorating our apartment. She did such a great job! Check out her art blog! If you look through enough of her posts you can see the process she went through to paint the pictures, which is pretty interesting I think.

Check out the final projects as displayed in my apartment :)

Sal Lake City

San Francisco; Seattle Space Needle

Looks so good!

Thank you Mabel!

I have the very best friends :)

2009-10-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

I want to thank all my friends that made my birthday so special this past week :) Especially Melissa and Mabel who threw me such a great party on Friday, made me a decadent and delectable cake, and took me to lunch on my birthday. I've made the most amazing friends since I moved to California, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving people. Thank you everyone that came to the party! I'm not the only person that enjoyed the party, and I know that because Melanie already blogged about it!

Melissa and Mabel recently opened up their own pre-order bakery, so you know that the cake they made was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. You should check out Sugar Therapy, and spread the word that they are in business and they are GOOD!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Cinnamon the flower

Burger the bee

Garbanzo in a massive amount of toilet paper :)

SCU girls: Mabel, Melissa, Alaina, Annie, and Me

My homies: Emily, Me, Surabhi, Michelle, and Melanie

I like this picture of me and Surabhi :)

The Newly-Weds won the mummy game

Ziga, My husband the gorilla, and Paul

Cute couples

The cake

Another View...all flowers hand-made by Mabel

Nellie McKay/Doris Day

2009-10-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

For my birthday I got myself a gift, the new Nellie McKay Normal As Blueberry Pie {A Tribute to Doris Day} soundtrack. I heard about her on NPR.

Sometimes I feel like I grew up in the 1950's--the baby boomer generation. Thanks to my mom I grew up watching TV shows like I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave it to Beaver, and the Andy Griffith Show. My mom loves musicals too. So of course that was the genre of choice for the movies I watched as a young girl. Actually anything with Doris Day in it was the genre of choice, chez-moi, whether it was a musical or not. Doris Day has always been her favorite actress/singer. So I guess I get it from my mom, I love Doris Day. I love I Love Lucy. I love that time period. It was a time when women were just beginning to establish their multi-layered roles openly in the world. And despite taking on new non-traditional roles as a woman, Doris Day somehow managed to maintain that classic womanly-ness. She is just so feminine, and I think her music reflects that. I love it.

I really love Nellie McKay's take on Doris Day's music. It sounds to me like a mix of Norah Jones and Frank Sinatra. I could listen to it all day long, every day.

To my mom, to Doris Day, to Nellie McKay, and all you feminine women out there, thank you for being so classy.

I got the picture from HERE

L'amour au musée

2009-10-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

Ma Journée au SFMOMA

Dog Park Champion!

2009-10-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Garbanzo officially loves going to the dog park, and can greet other dogs appropriately! I'm such a proud doggy-mommy :) He use to be socially awkward with other unknown dogs, now he's socially appropriate and makes friends easily. What a champ!

Garbo...Polo

2009-10-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a polo match? We went to our first ever polo match today with some of our good friends. I felt so hip. Some people there were dressed up all in white, wearing big hats, sipping wine, and being all aristocrat-like. Next time I go, I'm definitely going to do that :) Any reason to dress up, right!?! Well we had a great time. Thanks for inviting us Martin!

Our Polo watching buddies...excuse the smudge covering Ziga.
In order from left to right: Ziga, Surabhi, Greg/Garbanzo, Melanie, Martin, Mark/Toro, Emily

Garbo... (pause) ... Polo!

Stanford vs Cal Poly

Garbanzo and Toro

Divet Stomping Time

Cherry Merry Muffin

2009-09-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why my blog is named Kjersti Mersti Muffin? Probably not, I'm sure, but if you were alive in the 80's you might remember a little doll named Cherry Merry Muffin and all her muffin pals. Thanks to my bestest friend Jenna's mom, (way back in 1989) Cherry Merry's theme song was turned into the Kjersti Mersti theme song. April (Jenna'a mom) would always sing it whenever she saw me: "Kjersti Mersti Muffin, she looks sweet, she cooks sweet, and smells sweet too...Kjersti Mersti Muffin!" Now that I've grown into a well-adjusted narcissist, I sing this song all the time ;) and YOU should too! hehe!

Enjoy the real Cherry Merry advertisement, maybe it will remind you of your own childhood :)

Parlour 308

2009-09-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus, I finally got my hair done yesterday :) No more roots! I also got rid of the highlights. I'm loving it!

When I first moved to the Bay Area (3 years ago) I searched long and hard for a good hair stylist. I tried numerous places. I always found my hair looking not quite right for too large a price. I also had some pretty terrible experiences. One time a stylist got bleach all over my clothes and still charged me full price. Another time a lady cut the very back of my hair super short, and all of the rest of my hair a good two inches longer (trying to cover up the mistake in the back). This person also charged me full price.

Then I met Missy, she has the best hair of anyone I know. I asked her where she got her hair done. She said, this really adorable salon in Los Gatos, and to ask for Laura.

Every time I go to Laura I come out so happy with how I look. She is truly a professional. She exudes a confidence that is evident not only in the way she appears, but in each and every haircut she performs. She never assumes to know what you want, but if you ask for advice she'll give you some. Every haircut comes our like a piece of art. I've never gotten so many hair compliments in my life as I have since I started going to Laura almost two years ago.

I recommend Laura to everyone I know, and I'm pretty positive everyone (even my mother-in-law from Utah) has adored the haircuts they've received.

No More Roots!

Copper Red

Surabhi with her new haircut from Laura, and Me sporting my blunt bangs!

One of my most favorite haircuts--blunt bangs!

A Place I Love

2009-08-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I lived in Idaho. True story.

Idaho is a unique place. It is hard to describe in words what it is like, you kind of just have to go there. It is this place that is beyond austere, but magnanimous at the same time. It is full of conservatives farmers and liberal tree huggers, a combination that seems to work out just lovely. You can drive for miles and miles and only see quilted land which I'm sure would look much more like a quilt from the view of an airplane. When you arrive in a town, it immediately feels like home. Even in Boise (Idaho's largest city, and Capitol) you can ride your bike and jay-walk practically without looking, it just feels laid back, and well put together at the same time.

I moved to Idaho at the peak of my high school career :) to a city called Pocatello. The population of Pocatello about a year ago was 54,901. It was a big change for me, but probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me at that time. But I won't get into that now. I just want to emphasize that I really love Idaho. There is something so relaxing about living in Idaho that makes me want to go back again and again. Here is a picture of Pocatello, I use to run around this particular area a lot for cross-country practice:

Pocatello, Idaho (a picture I did not take, but looks so familiar)

Boise, Idaho (a picture that I obviously did not take)

When we were visiting Greg's sister, bro-in-law, and niece in Boise I tried to take note of the things I like. Here are some things I like about Boise:

--wide streets, easy-going traffic

--big street signs

--outdoor eating at restaurants

--great coffee shops

--from what I hear, a great night-life

--trails that go all over for biking, running, walking, and happiness

--it is dog friendly

--people do fun stuff like float the river, kayak, hike, and lots of outdoorsy stuff

--the temperature in the summer is hot, but not stifling sticky

--houses are so nice, and affordable (and they have big yards)!

--great university :) Greg's sister is a professor at Boise State

--even though it is a city, there is a lot of open area

--people are friendly

We went to eat at some great places: Mai Thai, and Big City Coffee If you get a chance to travel to Boise, or you live there, you should definitely go to Big City Coffee, their Quiche is to die for, and the name of their coffee makes me laugh... Big Titty Coffee. Proceeds go to breast cancer research, I believe.

When we were driving I took some pictures of the land that really remind me of living in Idaho. They are so open, flat, austere, and beautiful. These pictures make me homesick for a place that is no longer my home.

Ted Kennedy

2009-08-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

"I am a part of all that I have met
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

--Alfred Tennyson

I was touched today as I was watching on every channel about the life and legacy of Ted Kennedy. I remember my dad (a "conservative") always speaking highly of Senator Kennedy (a "liberal"). He was always impressed with how well Kennedy could work effectively with all sorts of people in the Senate--Republican, Democrat, and the sorts. I think what my dad and I like about him so much was his integrity. He wasn't the sort of politician to flip-flop on issues. He has always stood by his political and moral beliefs. He has done this in the midst of all his personal tragedies.

Today I kept hearing quotes of his speech from the Democratic Convention of 1980. So I looked it up and read it. You can find it here: Democratic Convention of 1980 speech.

I was struck by how much of the speech reflected the 1980's as well as RIGHT NOW! I'm so sad that he, being someone that has always stood up for the common man, will no longer be the "Lion of the Senate." I wonder who, if anyone, can replace him. I wonder how anything good will get done. I wonder who now will stick up for the common man with such grace, compassion, and bilateral maneuvering.

Following are a few paragraphs from his 1980 speech that I think reflect our current situation. I hope that we can continue to apply his wisdom to the status quo.

On Jobs, the common man, and the economy:

"The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue. It is surely correct that we cannot solve problems by throwing money at them, but it is also correct that we dare not throw out our national problems onto a scrap heap of inattention and indifference. The poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs. The middle class may be angry, but they have not lost the dream that all Americans can advance together.

The demand of our people in 1980 is not for smaller government or bigger government but for better government. Some say that government is always bad and that spending for basic social programs is the root of our economic evils. But we reply: The present inflation and recession cost our economy 200 billion dollars a year. We reply: Inflation and unemployment are the biggest spenders of all."

On Health Care:

"Finally, we cannot have a fair prosperity in isolation from a fair society. So I will continue to stand for a national health insurance. We must -- We must not surrender -- We must not surrender to the relentless medical inflation that can bankrupt almost anyone and that may soon break the budgets of government at every level. Let us insist on real controls over what doctors and hospitals can charge, and let us resolve that the state of a family's health shall never depend on the size of a family's wealth.

The President, the Vice President, the members of Congress have a medical plan that meets their needs in full, and whenever senators and representatives catch a little cold, the Capitol physician will see them immediately, treat them promptly, fill a prescription on the spot. We do not get a bill even if we ask for it, and when do you think was the last time a member of Congress asked for a bill from the Federal Government? And I say again, as I have before, if health insurance is good enough for the President, the Vice President, the Congress of the United States, then it's good enough for you and every family in America."

I agree!

p.s. I recently wrote to each of my California Senators and Congresswoman saying that we need to pass a universal health care plan! No matter what side of the issue you are on, I encourage you to do the same.

Love,

Samantha-baby

2009-08-25T19:26:00.001-07:00

We went to Boise over the weekend to meet our first-ever niece in Boise, Idaho! She is adorable, lovable, and so so sweet. She was so popular it was hard to get a chance to hold her. Here are some highlights:

Samantha's Oh-so-adorable face :)

Greg making her smile so BIG!

Whatcha looking for Sammy-C?

Proud Uncie-G and Auntie-KJ spending time with our number 1 B-A-B-Y!!!

Getting my own turn with Miss popular :)

Chilling with Auntie Vanessa

Garbanzo is so interested in his cousin (hehe)! He was so sweet around her. I think he knew she was a little person.

ModCloth

2009-08-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

I discovered ModCloth this morning! It is an online store with vintage-like clothes! I want EVERYTHING they have! I just want to wear ALL the dresses ALL the time! AHHHH, I'm going crazy inside---I LOVE these clothes! Check them out http://modcloth.com/!!!

These are some of my favorites:

"Applause Is Welcome Dress"

"Picnic In Paris Dress"

"Samantha Dress"

"Zen Garden Two Piece" --I think this swim suit would really look good on my curves--ooh-la-la :)

Doggy sleepover

2009-08-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Garbanzo had two of his bestest buddies sleep over for an entire week! He had too much fun, and is now waiting by the door hoping they'll be back at any minute.

Here are some photos of him having so much fun with Berger and Derby (mostly Berger):

My Brother Nick

2009-08-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

My older brother Nick came to visit this week. We had a fabulous time. I was so happy that he came to visit me. Here are some of the things we did:

Day 1: I had to work, so Nick took the train to San Francisco and saw some of the sights. That evening he and I made tomato soup from scratch, it turned out super yummy, here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garden-Fresh-Tomato-Soup/Detail.aspx

After dinner Nick had the best idea ever, we went hot tubbing with ice cream! It was so much fun. I want to do it all the time. You can stay in a hot tub so much longer when you are eating ice cream because your body becomes the perfect combination of hot and cold. It feels so good :) Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the scrumptious event.

Day 2: Nick and I took a mini road trip on the Pacific Coast Highway. We took Garbanzo with us too. I think Nick was blown away by how absolutely beautiful the coast and California is. We started by going to Half Moon Bay, then stopped at random beaches along the way. Then made our way to the Pigeon Point lighthouse, then down and around to Santa Cruz where we had a picnic.

Half Moon Bay

Random beach along the way

The closest Garbanzo has ever willingly gotten to the water!

Camera Happy Nick looking out the window :)

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Garbanzo hiding from the waves in Santa Cruz

Us having our picnic in Santa Cruz... I have food in my teeth! haha!

That evening we ate at Jack's Prime, which I've mentioned before. It seriously has the best burgers in the Bay Area, not even kidding! It was a lovely day.

Day 3: Nick went for his morning run, and then we headed to Shoreline Park in Mountain View where we rented a Pedal Boat. We had a good time being on the water. There was a summer camp there that day with tons of kids on sail boats. It was funny to watch all the kids. If I was a kid I'd like to go to that summer camp :) Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day :( So no pictures.

Later that afternoon I took Nick to the airport and was so sad to see him go. Come back Nick!

McCombs Visit

2009-08-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

My parents and my two youngest brothers came to visit me and Greg the first week of July. I've been meaning to blog about it for a while now.

I had such a great time with them. We went hiking, to the beach, to the Exploratorium, met up with my cousins at Pier 39, and just relaxed. I miss them.

My youngest brother Josh just turned 16 a couple days ago, I can't believe he is so grown up. I remember being so excited that he had brown hair when he was born because I was the only child in my family that wasn't a blonde.

Benjamin was texting on his cell phone, just about the whole trip, made me realize how different my teen years were from his. I didn't get my first cell phone until my second year of college!

My dad was more in love with Garbanzo than me or Greg (well, practically, probably not really). When he left Garbanzo tried to leave with him, that's how much Garbanzo loves him :)

My mom was the best, she kept me company on one of my long runs (11 miles). My mom is my favorite running partner in the whole world. Running with my mom always means girl-time! Sometimes I find myself calling my mom in the middle of the week just to hear her voice.

Next week my older brother Nick is coming to visit. I can't wait. He is one of the most inspiring people I know. I always look forward to spending time with him.

Now I just need to convince Jannifer and Cameron to make the trip out here :)

baby teeth

2009-07-30T09:11:00.001-07:00

I think Garbanzo has officially lost all of his baby teeth. Over the past couple weeks I've been collecting his teeth, is that gross?! I'm amazed at how fast dogs lose teeth and get new ones. It's almost immediate!

Now we need to put some treats under Garb's pillow.

Good Bye Jeep, Hello Foebe Fit

2009-07-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program. We turned in our jeep for a more fuel efficient car. We are very excited to have a new car, but we love the jeep so much, it was hard to let it go. That jeep has been with us through our entire relationship! It took us on many weekend drives across the state of Utah to see each other. It took us from California to Boise, to Utah for many Christmas vacations. It took us on a trip up the Oregon Coast to the great state of Washington, and then back again. It's taken us through the rough terrain of Death Valley. It was there when we brought Redji home. It was there when we went to meet Garbanzo, and then brought him home with us. It has been packed from the floor to the ceiling for numerous camping trips. It has never failed us. It was always a reliable, lovable car. RIP jeep.

We loved the jeep, and now we have a new Honda Fit (aka Foebe Fit)! We are so excited about our new car. I'm excited for all the adventures it is going to accompany us on. It is so fun to drive, and feels so smooth. Best of all, it has air conditioning! Yay! We think it looks like a Mac book.

For whatever reason I couldn't get these pictures to rotate, sorry.

Funny Story

2009-07-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to the City to the running Expo to pick up my race packet. Every year the Expo is full of vendors giving away or selling all sorts of items. Items like t-shirts, race frames, bed sheets (weird), shoes, and all sorts of goodies like peanut butter, granola, and power bars. I rode the train up to Expo with Greg on his way to work, which was when I remembered something terribly funny that happened at the Expo last year. I thought I'd share that story.

So this it, I was walking around the Expo (2008) taking as many free samples as possible. I had already sampled fruit smoothies, granola bars, energy beans, you name it. I was going from table to table just taking things. At one particular table I started taking power bars (you know those candy bar like things that are suppose to give you energy), the man behind the table said to me, "You have to pay for these." Not even thinking, I said to him, "Oh, I'm just taking samples." Then I walked away with one in my mouth. The man just stared at me blankly, and it wasn't until three or four tables later that I realized, OMG, he was telling me I had to pay! I blatantly stole power bars and looked him straight in the face as I did it. He was so shocked he just let me do it.

This year, they got smart and labeled every item's price. Probably because of me. haha!

Update: Today I ran the San Francisco 1/2 marathon. I did ok, a little slower than last year, but I'm happy with my results. :) Glad to be done.

Eli!!!!!!!!

2009-07-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've realized that the older I get the harder it is to make genuine friends. All through elementary school, middle school, and high school, it is easy to find friends that have similar interests, senses of humor, or whatever else you are looking for in a friend. Not to say that I don't have great friends now because I absolutely do. It seems that at certain life stages friends can be few and far between. That was the case when I moved to California two and half years ago. I was lucky though. I met a few friends in a French class taught at the Bechtel International Center at Stanford: Eli, Yumiko, and Annie :) These three girls are seriously some of the most interesting, open-minded, fun, and genuine people I've ever known. I was so sad when all three moved away a year ago. I've missed our weekly get-togethers, our self-taught French classes, our lunches, poker nights, just everything. So you can imagine how happy I was yesterday when Eli came to visit :)

I had such a great time with Eli yesterday. A year ago she moved to Texas, so I got to hear all about her transition. I feel completely inspired by her! She has gotten so involved in so many activities in TX. She teaches Spanish and French, she is learning Italian, she dances and dances, and lives her life passionately. She's really done a great job at putting herself out-there socially (which is such a scary thing to do), and it seems that she had made a lot of friends.

We went to lunch like in the good old days and totally reminisced and missed our dear Yumiko and Annie. Come visit girls, we need a reunion! In the evening we (and Greg) went to The Guild, in Menlo Park and saw the movie Whatever Works. It was such a good day. I was sad it ended, and sad that it doesn't happen more often, but so happy that it happened.

Thanks for the visit Eli!

Bisous!

Three Years and Counting

2009-07-08T23:05:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's been three years since Greg and I tied the knot! I've been loving every second of it! I love you Greggy! I feel so lucky to be married to Greg, he really is the love and light of my life.

This years KJ & G Volume 6

1. Down the Mountain, Robinella
2. Lucky, Jason Mraz
3. She's Always A Woman, Billy Joel
4. I Will Possess Your Heart, Death Cab For Cutie
5. Imagine, Avril Lavigne
6. When You Were Young, The Killers
7. The Greatest, Cat Power
8. They, Jem
9. The Forgotten People, Thievery Corporation
10. Lucky, Kat Edmonson
11. This Is Us, Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
12. LDN, Lily Allen
13. A Sorta Fairytale, Tori Amos
14. Downpressor Man, Sinead O'Connor
15. Hotel California, Eagles
16. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

Us Dancing to Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby by Lyle Lovett

The Sountrack of Our Lives II

2009-07-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

KJ & G Volume 4--
1. Something, Shakira
2. Seven Years, Norah Jones
3. Canon in D, Pachelbel
4. S’il suffisait d’aimer, Celine Dion
5. When You Say Nothing At All, Alison Krauss
6. Quelqu’un m’a dit, Carla Bruni
7. Baby Now That I’ve Found You, Alison Krauss
8. Satellite, Dave Matthews
9. La tribu de Dana, Manau
10. You, Evanescence
11. Mr. Jones, Counting Crows
12. Love and Some Verses, Iron & Wine
13. I’m Glad There Is You, Jamie Cullum
14. Leaving On A Jet Plane, John Denver
15. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

KJ & G Volume 5
1. Black Dog, Led Zeppelin
2. Caring Is Creepy, The Shins
3. Stoned, Dido
4. Let Go, Frou Frou
5. Crazy, Gnarls Barkley
6. In These Shoes, Kristy MacColl
7. Relax Max, Dinah Washington
8. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Joe Zawinul
9. Strings That Tie To You, Jon Brion
10. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
11. Mr. Blue Sky, Electric Light Orchestra
12. guitar solo by Mark Knopfler
13. I Will, Alison Krauss
14. Kathy’s Song, Simon & Garfunkel
15. Don’t Crash The Ambulance, Mark Knopfler
16. God Shuffled His Feet, Crash Test Dummies
17. Underneath Your Clothes, Shakira
18. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

December 2005 at the cabin

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

2009-07-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I often daydream while I'm out running about what blog I should write next. This particular post is one I've been daydreaming about for a long long time. There is no other way to begin than to say, I feel most like a movie star when I run. This is because I usually have my music blasting through my headphones narrating every move I make... it's easy to imagine that I'm in a movie with music dictating the mood of my every movement. And quite literally, the music does dictate my mood while I run, causing me to run slow, fast, confidently, and timidly. If I'm sad or happy I choose music that reflects those moods and I'm able to match my running. To put it mildly, it's cathartic, especially if I'm angry.

This post isn't really about running or my moods, it's actually about Greg and me. You see, as long as I've known Greg he's been influencing my music. That's right, for the past 9 years Greg has been influencing my music!

Way back when I was 16 Greg made me a cd, one I still listen to. It was accompanied by a note, that I still have, giving a reason for every song. So romantic :) When we started dating the second time around I was in a big car accident, and Greg made me a cd for my new car, which he sent to me in the mail with the sweetest card, which I also still have.

Then we got engaged and Greg made the first KJ & G album. It is this album and all that follow that I've been thinking about. They are filled with songs that are so completely Greg-style, and some that are Kj-style, and other that are OUR-style, and others that just simply are. These are the songs that make the sountrack to my life. Today I'll share some of them, tomorrow some more, and on Wednesday (our 3 year wedding anniversary) I'll share the newest album :)

KJ & G volume 1:
1. For You, Barenaked Ladies
2. If I Had a Boat, Lyle Lovett
3. You Got It, Roy Orbison
4. I'm Gonna Be, Proclaimers
5. Short Skirt, Long Jacket, Cake
6. You Can Call Me Al, Paul Simon
7. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes
8. Me Gustas Tu, Manu Chao
9. New Slang, The Shins
10. Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key, Woody Guthrie
11. Such Great Heights, Iron & Wine
12. Doctor, Catie Curtis
13. Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime, Beck
14. The Luckiest, Ben Folds
15. Trapeze Swinger, Iron & Wine
16. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

KJ & G volume 2:
1. Trim, Underworld
2. For The Longest Time, Billy Joel
3. Better Together, Jack Johnson
4. Wildflowers, Tom Petty
5. This Love, Maroon 5
6. Such Great Heights, The Postal Service
7. The Boxer, Simon & Garfunkel
8. Under A Stormy Sky, Crystal Plamondon
9. More Than Words, Extreme
10. We Will Become Silhouettes, The Postal Service
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Scarborough Fair, Simon & Garfunkel
13. Bee's Wing, Richard Thompson
14. Pink Moon, Nick Drake
15. Fields of Gold, Eva Cassidy
16. Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton
17. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

KJ & G Volume 3
1. Burning Up, Alpinestars
2. You're My Best Friend, Queen
3. We Will Become Silhouettes, The Shins
4. Don't Crash The Ambulance, Mark Knopfler
5. Crash Into Me, Dave Matthews Band
6. Buildings and Bridges, Ani Difranco
7. Gentle Moon, Sun Kil Moon
8. I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis
9. One Hundred Years, Five For Fighting
10. Make You Feel That Way, Blackalicious
11. Make Someone Happy, Jimmy Durante
12. That's Amore, Dean Martin
13. Change The World, Eric Clapton
14. (They Long To Be) Close To You, The Carpenters
15. Perhaps Love, John Denver
16. I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song, Jim Croce
17. Hallelujah, Rufus Wainwright
18. Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby, Lyle Lovett

More to come tomorrow :)

Welcoming Samantha Claire

2009-07-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

My first-ever niece was born on Thursday! Greg and I are thrilled to pieces :) I have not met my new favorite baby yet, but I can't wait until I do. I'm already in love with her. Samantha Claire was born on Thursday, July 2nd at 11:45pm. She weighs 8lbs 13oz, and is 22 inches long!!! Oh, and she definitely has her mommy's nose :)

Cutest little pumpkin ever!

Sammy-C with Grandma Nelson

Happy Family :)

All you dog-lovers beware, there are dog-haters out there!

2009-06-26T12:02:00.001-07:00

I usually try to refrain from being negative on my blog. I don't want to damage my reputation or anything ;) BUT I have had it up to here (imagine my hand drawing a line a foot above my head) with strangers getting in my business about my pooch!

Everyday in my neighborhood park someone has to come up and tell me what I'm doing wrong, and warn me that my dog is going to get big and out of control. I always try to remain polite and let them know he is just excited, and that he is in behavior lessons, and yes I have watched Cesar Millan's The Dog Whisperer before, and Yes, I work with him everyday on learning new skills, and Yes, I work on socializing him (in fact he has a whole crew of puppy friends). Everyone wants to tell me how to raise my dog. Yesterday someone went almost on an entire walk with me and Garb trying to convince me that I should let him run off leash while he is young. While, I would like Garbanzo to learn to go on walks off leash, I don't think he is ready for that, especially in an unfenced area!!!

So, today I decided to take Garbanzo to a different neighborhood for a walk. A neighborhood with a bit more shade, and less of the usual know-it-alls I run into in my neighborhood. The walk started out nicely, but the further we got from the car the more Garbanzo wanted to turn around. Our trainer has told us this is normal behavior for a puppy. He says puppies get anxious when they leave a safe area, and it is common for them to plop down and refuse to move. So after 15 mins of trying to convince Garb to go farther I decided to turn around because I was losing my patience.

Garb-a-licious was very excited to turn around, and was prancing along having a lovely time. We passed many houses with shaded grassy yards, all of which Garbanzo felt the need to roll around on. So when we got to a particular house with just such a yard (and no exterior fence), Garbanzo got on his back and rolled around a bit, he looked so happy. I usually let him roll for a second or two and then call him to come. Sometimes he comes, sometimes he doesn't. At this particular house I was just about to call Garbanzo to come when I heard a rapid knocking on the window. I look up to see an angry, grandma-looking lady yelling at me from the inside. I waved and proceeded to pick Garbanzo up to physically remove him from the yard. As I did this a grumpy, grandpa-looking man steps out the front door to see that I leave and don't cause any more trouble. As I get to the next house (only a few feet away) I can hear that the grandma was now outside. I turn around to look and she is pointing out every spot of the yard to her husband where "that dog" had been. She was purposely speaking loud enough for me to hear. I was furious. I was thinking, "look lady, he's just a puppy, he didn't poo or pee on your lawn. He didn't dig. He didn't even eat a strand of grass." He was there for maybe 30 seconds. About five minutes later I reached our car. I decided to drive by the house just to get a good look at which house it is. When I drove by the grandma was still out there looking through the grass trying to find any spot where Garbanzo might have peed or pooed. For heaven's sake lady! Calm the hell down! She obviously is a dog-hater (and possibly a people-hater), and has way too much time on her hands.

I don't know why that particular incident made me so mad out of all the others, but I feel so angry. I can totally understand how annoying it must be when a dog uses the bathroom on your lawn and the dog-owner doesn't clean it up, but I always clean up after my dog. I carry bags with me. Plus, Garbanzo didn't do a damn thing to her lawn. If she really doesn't want dogs, cats, people, or whatever to go on her lawn she should really invest in a fence. I feel vindictive. I want to go yell at the lady. I wish I had. I want to take Garby there to poo on her lawn every damn day for the rest of her life!

Ok, I feel better now. I'm not usually so vengeful. I'm just sick and tired of strangers telling me how to care for my Garby, and to be wrongfully accused by this grandma-dog-hater put me over the top!

Seriously, how can you hate on this little fella'!?!

Night of Mayhem

2009-06-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight Greg and I went to dinner with Surabhi, Ziga, and Mick at Koh Samui & the Monkey in the city. It was yummy, and the company was wonderful. You could say it was a night filled with good conversation, yummy food, and cheer, but then we went home-- dun-dun-DUN!!!

When we got home Garbanzo was not where we had left him (fenced into the kitchen), but the fence structure was still firmly in place, he must have jumped onto his crate and over the fence. That is all I can figure. Our shoe closet by the front door, which was closed when I left, was open. Shoes were spread out everywhere. And what was Garbanzo doing? He was peeing on them. That's right, he peed on my new Simples (see today's previous post)! Argh. Bad Dog, BAD! The good news is that he didn't chew any of the shoes he pulled out. He only spread them out around the room, and peed on a few of them. Oh the joys of having a puppy.

I still love him even though he peed on my new shoes. :)

More New Shoes :)

2009-06-24T15:09:00.001-07:00

I'm really loving the sandal trends this season! So I got another pair, once again from Piperlime, it's my favorite. I also got some new casual shoes. They are Simples. Simples are the best, everyone should own a pair. LOVE them! Check 'em out:

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

2009-06-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Picture taken in the Marin Headlands, made me think of 'The Raven'

'Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

--Edgar Allan Poe
Partial Poem

First Beach Trip

2009-06-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while now. A few weeks ago we took Garbanzo to the beach for the first time. He went wild in the sand! I think the pictures say it all:

This is as close as he would get to the water

Content

Being a mommy, cleaning the sand off his nose.

Can it be Thursday yet? PLEASE!?!?!

2009-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I have my last final...it's a complex test on chemical dependency and it's many forms and treatments. I just want to be done so I can spend all my time, and focus all my energy on these two faces:

Milly-Billy

2009-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

My sister Amelia came to town recently :) We had sooooooo much fun, however, I think she might have been disgusted with how obsessed Greg and I are with Garbanzo! I thought I'd document our time together with some pictures and stuff.

Day 1:

Amelia meets Garbanzo!

Day 2:

We spent the day at Half Moon Bay

We bundled up, it was so cold!

Day 3: We walked to the Farmer's Market near my house then came home and made our first ever home made strawberry pie!

Then we went to China Town, followed by Pier 39

We thought this Truck crammed full of boxes was an interesting sight!

Amelia, The Pier, and the Sea Lions

S.F. Tour :)

Giant Cruise Ship

I love me some Greg!

We went back to San Mateo and ate the yummiest burgers at Jack's Prime Burgers on El Camino Real....I highly recommend this place! Then we went home and ate our pie! Yum!

Day 3: Next we headed off to the Marin Headlands. We hiked with Garbanzo for 3 1/2 hours, and he walked the whole way! He loved being with the whole bunch of us and didn't want to miss a second of it! I think Amelia had fun too ;)

After the hike we went to Sausalito for dinner. We met the owner of a restaurant that was talking all politics with Greg and watching Fox News. He seemed a little misguided in his views ;), but he let us bring Garbanzo into the restaurant.

After dinner we headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge. We were on the side with the army barracks. We hung out there until it was dark enough to see the city light on the other side of the bridge.

Day 4: Greg headed back to work and Amelia and I headed to Palo Alto :) We spent the day shopping at the Stanford Shopping Center, touring downtown PA, and eating Sprinkles Cupcakes, YUM! I recommend the Red Velvet cupcakes.

Amelia bought some super cute outfits, and I wish I had some pictures of how she looked in them. Then I took her to the airport, and I was so sad to see her leave. We all were.

Come. Back. Amelia!

Redji: Garbanzo, Garbanzo: Redji

2009-05-27T22:20:00.001-07:00

And at last they meet...

SHOES!

2009-05-21T23:11:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in my neighborhood there is a trail of red shoe prints running away from whatever was being painted. What's funny is that I never even noticed myself stepping in paint. I should really pay more attention when I run.

These are my new sandals that arrived today from Piperlime. I LOVE them! I feel so hip :)

Puppy in Training

2009-05-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

So far I love being a doggy mom. I can't believe how fast Garbanzo is growing. At his first vet visit (about a week and a half ago) he weighed 9.5 lbs. At his second visit on Monday (6 days after the first visit) he weighed 11.4 lbs, and I swear he has gained a couple lbs since then :) He's my growing boy.

In the last week his senses have become much more keen. Last week he hardly noticed other living creatures or their smells, now he is distracted by everything he sees and smells, and he smells EVERYTHING! Along with these senses he has discovered his bark. uh-oh. We got a barker. It's hard to know if a dog is going to be a barker when he's a mut and you never met his parents. Our Garby is definitely a barker. He barks whenever he is scared, which is just about anytime he sees or smells anything when he is outside. Everyday his bark seems to become more bold. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Good thing he starts puppy kindergarten in two weeks.

He knows quite a few commands now :) He can sit, lay down, shake (thanks to Kat and Rob), go to his spot, go to his crate, and find "daddy" (aka Greg). I'm pretty proud of him.

I'm doing my best to socialize him, which will hopefully curb his fear of strangers (and hence his bark). Over the weekend Kat and Rob took him while Greg and I were in SLC. I think he had so much fun with them and Abby. On Monday I had my girlfriends Melissa and Mabel over with their dogs Burger, Derby, and Cinnamon. Garbanzo loves Cinnamon, who loves Burger...crazy little love triangle that one is :) It was fun having all the pups together while hanging out. All my neighbors have been great too. Everyone wants to meet him. I usually give anyone he hasn't met a treat to give Garby so he has a positive experience.

Greg and I really love this new addition to our life. Overall he is a pretty calm puppy, he likes to lay around and have his tummy rubbed. He LOVES his crate and has to be bribed out every morning. He does a good job at sleeping through the night too. He's a little lovebug.

Presenting GARBANZO NELSON!!!!

2009-05-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

We did it! We got the dog of our dreams! We named him Garbanzo :) We couldn't be happier. He is very calm, friendly, and, like they said, full of puppy energy (especially around Abbie).

We are babysitting Abbie (Kat and Rob's dog) this weekend, they seem like best friends already. They like to play with each other, and Garbanzo follows her everywhere she goes.

puppy update

2009-05-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

We haven't found the perfect puppy yet :( But today we have an appointment to meet this cute boy. He's a beagle mix. He is 10 weeks old, and full of puppy energy they say.

Puppy Search

2009-04-29T16:14:00.001-07:00

So Greg and I are taking the plunge! We want to enlarge our family and get a puppy! We've been wanting to for a long long time now, but the timing hasn't been right. The time is now right! woot! woot!

We've been researching dog types and we think a beagle would suit our lifestyle well. They are smallish (18 - 30lbs), but not so small that their legs don't move fast enough to keep up with a quick jaunt. They are energetic, smart, and get along well with other animals, and people. They are gentle and incredibly tolerant. I look forward to taking my pup on runs with me, and I think Greg is looking forward to every part about having a dog...except the early morning bathroom breaks, well probably bathroom breaks in general, but you do what you gotta do.

We've started filling out applications and calling around to rescues (we want to get a rescued puppy). I've fallen in love with quite a few. Greg has particularly fallen in love with lovely Daisy

Lovely Daisy

So I called the SPCA of Stanislaus (in Modesto, CA) to see if we could arrange to meet Daisy and find out more about her. Whoever I talked to on the phone was completely RUDE! The women said to me, "In or out?" I said, "What do you mean by in or out?" and she said, "Will you keep her in our out?" so I said (in a very friendly voice, I was trying to give a good impression), "Oh, inside, we have an apartment." and she said (with very little patience), "Daisy has to be outside, she has lots of energy. You couldn't take care of her. She is an outside dog!" and that was the end of the conversation. She hung up. She didn't even give me a chance to tell her what a great person I am/potential dog owner, or to let her know that we are looking for an active dog, NOR did she give me a chance to say we live next to a dog-friendly park, or that I run daily and plan on running with Daisy. She has no idea what great dog parents Greg and I are going to be. It made me so mad! All I wanted to do was meet little Daisy. What's the harm in that? I know there are bad people in this world, and even good people with good intentions that just can't take care of a dog, BUT Greg and I aren't those kinds of people! We deserve a chance, at least, to be considered to adopt Daisy!

Well, maybe Daisy isn't the right dog for us, or maybe there are many dogs that are right for us, and it's just a matter of finding them. Soon we will find THE RIGHT one! I can't wait. Here are a few other dogs we are trying to line up appointments with:

Olive

Cherry
Winter

They are all so cute! Who knows if we'll even get a chance to meet any of these cuties, but someday soon we are going to be the proud parents of a rambunctious little tyke of a pup :)

Swine Flu

2009-04-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

So I think that the current epidemic of Swine Flu is a really great reason why the US Government should switch us all over to a universal health care plan. If we all had universal health care then the Government could make sure everyone that might possibly have/get swine flu could have access to adequate treatment. AND if we get a vaccine made for it, then it could be made mandatory to get vaccinated against it, or at least everyone would have access to it (assuming that there would be enough vaccine for everyone...which might not be true).

As it is, the most likely people to get Swine Flu probably don't have health care coverage. That's what I think, maybe I'm wrong, but we should still make the switch to universal health care :)

P.S. In any case, don't forget to wash your hands! You may even want to get OCD about it!

Happy Birthday Greg

2009-04-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today is Greg's birthday. I thought I'd write a blog about him. He's the best, he really is. I'm so lucky to be married to him.

Tonight we went out to dinner at Saffron Indian Bistro in San Carlos (very yummy) to celebrate. For some reason we were talking about what it would be like to be a drug dealer (we are kinda weird like that, haha). In the middle of the conversation I was like, "hey Greg, do you remember when I wanted you to move to Cedar City and become a drug dealer instead of going to Stanford?" We both remembered and had a good laugh.

To put that comment into context for you, way back when Greg and I were first dating he lived in Salt Lake City, and I lived in Cedar City (four hours away from each other). We were already dating long distance, and I was trying to convince him to move to Cedar City, and he was trying to convince me to move to Salt Lake. Then Greg was accepted into a graduate program at Stanford, which meant he'd be even farther away from me :( I was excited for him, but I still wanted to convince him to move to Cedar City to be with me until I graduated. He was like, "hmmm....go to Stanford... or go to Cedar City? Tough choice. What could I do in Cedar City?" So I told him, "Well, sure you could go to Stanford and then someday makes lots and lots of money and be super successful, but if you came to Cedar City you could be a drug dealer. You'd have lots of money really fast, and I guarantee it'd be an exciting life ;)" Well, although he ended up living far far away from me for a while, he made the right decision and went to Stanford instead of becoming a drug dealer. We still haven't struck it rich so now we are both considering becoming drug dealers.

Well, the truth is I'm really proud of Greg. Not only is he a smarty pants, but he is my most favorite person to spend my time with. There is no one in this world I'd rather grow old with. I love you Greggy!

Push-UP

2009-04-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have the weakest arms of anyone you know. Seriously, I do. However, I'm getting stronger all the time. For my New Year's Resolution I decided to do push-ups everyday. I could hardly even do one at the beginning of January. So Greg suggested I do a set of five, then do some lunges, then five more push-ups. Every month I add one more push-up to each set. It has been such a rewarding goal. I can actually do push-ups now---real ones! Not modified ones. I don't fall flat on my face in my effort to push back up even! Each month when I increase each set I can totally feel myself getting stronger. I LOVE it! Since it is the beginning of April I'm up to 8 push-ups per set! The best part is that my chest looks great ;) just ask Greg...hehe.

Nike+ iPod Pouch

2009-03-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got a Nike +, which is a little device that keeps track of the miles you run, how fast you run them, and how many calories you burn while listening to your music on your ipod. I LOVE it! To use it you are suppose to buy Nike + shoes that have a little pouch in one of the soles of the shoe to place the device. Well, I didn't want to buy a new pair of shoes, so I made a little pouch that attaches to my shoe laces. It works so well, and is SOOOOO much cheaper than a new pair of shoes. It's pretty cute too.

To use it you place the Nike + sensor into the pouch, which is designed to hold it securely in place. The sensor does not have much room to wiggle in its pocket inside the pouch because the inner pocket is fastened shut with velcro.

Then you simply wrap the pouch through the bottom laces of your running shoes. The sensor will be held securely between the laces and the tongue of the shoe. After fastening your laces as you normally would, both ends of the pouch secure together with velcro.

I thought I'd try selling some on ebay since I'm guessing most people don't want to have to keep re-buying nike + shoes, when they could buy my pouch for super cheap once! I hope it sells :)

Here it is attached to my dirty shoe

Here it is laid out flat, next to the sensor.
The inner pouch is roughly the same size as the sensor
(so it holds the sensor securely), but is hard to display in a picture.

Redji-roo

2009-03-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

As of Monday I'm officially on Spring Break, possibly the last "real" break of my life. I think Redji knows it's spring because just this past week he's been coming out and walking around, climbing on things, and being really happy for most of the day (he is much more active than usual). So today, I decided to take Redji to the park. It's been since last summer that I took him, poor little guy. I think he loved it! He always perks out his head over the grass, looks where he wants to go, and then starts walking as fast as he can. Every once in a while he stops to check if he is going in the right direction still, and occasionally redirects himself, or chooses a new destination. When Greg and I lived in Redmond, WA we use to take him to the park and put him on the slide...I think he loved that ;)

While I was at the park I laid out on a beach towel and started reading Big Sur by Jack Kerouac. Ever since I wrote that post entitled On the Road by Jack Kerouac, I've been wanting to read some of Jack's other books. Since I love Big Sur (the place) I thought Big Sur (the book) would be a good one to start with. Reading for pleasure is SOOOO much better than reading for school, blah.

Back to Redji... the other day Greg left one of his computers on the floor and I found Redji basking on it. It was all toasty warm, it made me laugh. Redji is always finding the warmest spots in the house, or the spots with the most tangled up chords, which he loves to get stuck in.
In a week and a half we are going to Half Moon Bay to go camp on the beach, and you can be sure that Redji is coming with us. Our favorite thing to do with Redji is to take him camping. He loves it. He doesn't usually like the car ride, but when we get there he loves to roam around and dig, and eat the weeds. I can't wait!

Bittersweet

2009-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

When I returned back to my nanny job, after the Christmas break, I was told that I am no longer needed. I was asked to continue my usual schedule through to the end of January, and starting in February I'll become one of their regular "babysitters". Part of me was excited because I've been wanting to quit for a long time, but another part of me was really sad. I really love the kids I work with, and I love being an important person in their lives. I haven't really told anyone yet, I haven't really known how to tell anyone. I don't feel like I was fired, I'm just needed less, but I also feel like I'm out of a job. I suppose I am.

Today was my last "usual" day. It went pretty well. A little weird. Avery the three year old and Mclain the 6 month old were both sick, but in good spirits. Their house was being used as a photo shoot for Pottery Barn, so a good part of the house was filled with interior designers, photographers, and future Pottery Barn goods. For that reason I spent most of the day with the kids in the basement. We did "ballet" to Zippidee doo da, made rock pets, went to the park, read lots of books, ate snacks, and had a good time. For a long time today I just held Mclain and sang him lullaby's until he fell asleep. It was so sweet the way he snuggled his head into the crevice between my shoulder and neck.

When it came time for me to leave, I walked to the door, and yelled goodbye to Catherine, Avery, and Mclain. Avery yelled, "WAIT! Kjersti Wait!" Then she ran as fast as she could with her arms open, her little feet pitter-pattering loudly on the wood floor. I leaned down to her level and she threw her arms around me and gave me a great big hug. It made me incredibly sad, and happy. I'm going to miss Avery the most.

I'm in love with the holidays

2008-11-29T00:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, as many of you must be aware. It marked the beginning of the holiday season for me. Although I must admit I started listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. All month I'd been looking forward to Thanksgiving. I was really excited to cook, more than anything. And I spent most of the day cooking. I made all the traditional foods (traditional to my family). I made turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, candied yams, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, some veggies on the side, and of course pumpkin pie! And I of course, ate way too much ;)

Fact: The first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner, I made the meal for a about 25-30 people. That was three years ago.
Fiction: I did it all by myself.

When I was a kid my family always put up our Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. I got a little anxious this year so Greg and I put ours up today! It makes me so happy. We also put Christmas lights out on our patio.

Since I have such a big family we always draw names to decide who gives gifts to whom. I started calling my mom up at the beginning of November asking her to have my family still at home draw names for Christmas. All month they've been meaning to do it, and every week I call and ask. Today I finally found out who I am giving a gift to, my little brother Ben! and Greg gives to my mom! I'm so excited. I love buying presents.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered our Christmas cards that we'll be sending out to close friends and family, and they arrived earlier this week. Man, I'm just so excited! I'm excited to start making holiday candy, and maybe even attempt to make eggnog. I even have my first holiday party of the season coming up a week from today. Jeez, I love this time of year :) I feel so happy.

Abbie

2008-11-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

This week we are dogsitting our friends' puppy Abbie. She is so adorable. The most well trained puppy I've ever seen. She reminds me of my brother's old dog Zeus, and she reminds Greg of his old dog Tiffany. We've fallen in love with the sweet thing. The best part of having Abbie around is watching Greg play with her. He seems like he has so much fun, and Abbie does too. I think it is so amazing how much happiness a dog can bring to a home, especially when they are as well behaved as cute, little Abbie. She's still pretty young but she knows a lot of commands, and she's really obedient. We've spent the evening trying to teach her to play dead. She doesn't quite have it, but I think she'll get it soon. Well, here are pictures of the cuteness I'm witnessing:

Home Sweet Home

2008-10-28T22:28:00.001-07:00

As all of you know, I'm from Utah. Greg showed this article to me. It made me really happy. Read it. Keep in mind that there are a few things about Utah that I don't like, but this article made me really proud of my childhood home and my heritage. Go Utah!

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12480476

Birthdayween

2008-10-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

I had a really great time at my birthdayween party last night, thanks to everyone that came :) Also, a special thanks to Melissa and Mabel who made yummy cake and cookies. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends.

When I woke up this morning Greg made me bacon, eggs, and toast (he's a sweety). We started talking about how fun the party was over breakfast. He mentioned that he thought it was so thoughtful of Marco to take water around to everyone on our cookie, cooling tray. Thanks Marco! That reminded me of the parties Greg use to throw at his house in high school. Greg had a wagon filled with drinks that he would personally roll around to each of the guests. Greg is a good party host, always has been. Greg also had the perfect house for hosting parties. His basement was two to three times the size of our little living room, it had a pool table, fooz-ball table, a big screen t.v., a kitchenette, and plenty of places for people to sit and enjoy. Oh yeah, and a back door to a nice backyard that overlooked the valley below. It was beautiful. Thanks Greg for being the best and for hosting fun parties! Here are some pictures from the party and one from this morning:

Universal Health Care

2008-09-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

On NPR this week I heard someone (sorry I'm not sure who it was) debating why Universal Health Care is sooooo bad for everyone. This person argued that in places like France and Sweden people don't get to choose their doctors. They may not get treated immediately, and overall the health care quality will not be as good as it could be if health care was privatized.

Now let me be completely honest with you for a moment, I'm a big fan of Universal Health Care. I think it is ridiculous that people have to spend an exorbitant amount of money on health insurance every year, and the moment they have an accident or get sick they still get stuck with paying a good portion of the bill (or all of the bill) because insurance companies try to weasel their way out of paying for as much of the bill as possible. Then after all that, you are guaranteed to have your insurance rates go up. And even worse, if you have some sort of terminal illness or precondition to something like sleep apnea you then have to pay loads more money for them to pay a portion of your bills, that's IF they allow you to keep them as your insurance provider.

So now that you know my view on that, let me tell you about my personal experience with Universal Health Care. In 2004 I was studying abroad in southern France. One night near the end of March I was in excruciating pain. The lower/right hand side of my back was throbbing. I didn't know what was wrong, and I just prayed and prayed it would go away by the morning. It took hours to fall asleep. In the morning I felt ill. More ill than I have ever felt in my entire life. I had planned to spend that day being a tourist with a friend in Lourdes. I told my friend how sick I was, but I didn't want to miss out on an adventure so I went anyway. Around 11 am I thought I was going to pass out. I found a bathroom, and tried to calm down. I was breathing heavily, and I couldn't see straight. Since I was in the bathroom, I decided to relieve myself (sorry to be so disgusting, but this is an essential part of the story). I realized immediately that I peeing blood. I started crying. I didn't know what to do. I was in a foreign country with socialized health care for gads sake!

I told my friend that I was peeing blood (this friend was a friend I met in France, and hence was French). He immediately called up some people and asked what doctors they would recommend I go see. Then I called and made an appointment for the next morning. I chose the doctor. The next morning I arrived to my appointment on time, and I didn't even have to wait. Nor did I have to pay some huge health care cost :) My doctor was very knowledgeable. She made me feel comfortable. She performed a whole exam even though pretty immediately she identified that I had a kidney stone. She informed me of all my options, and told me her highest recommendations. She then sent me to a lab to get my pee tested. At a time when I was feeling physically at my worst, and was scared of out my mind to be sick in a foreign country, it was a relief to have such a great experience with the French SOCIALIZED health care system.

I honestly don't think that our experiences with our doctors will change that dramatically if we adopted Universal Health Care. I do believe that more people will receive health care, and that people will be able to afford health care. I think it is a great idea and American's shouldn't be so scared of socializing something that everyone requires once in a while.

Besides, we are already socializing banks (due to the Wall Street/Bailout crisis). As a matter of fact I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher and heard Chris Rock (I believe) mention that Americans are so afraid of SOCIALISM, but now with the whole Wall Street-Money Crisis-Bailout thing going on, we are SOCIALISTS and aren't receiving any of the benefits of socialism...like Universal Health Care, equal education for everyone...and that sort of stuff. Of course he was making a joke about the current crisis, but he does make a good point.

On The Road

2008-09-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while I was driving on the U.S. 101 South at 1:30 in the afternoon something odd happened. I was in the middle lane, traffic was running smoothly right around the 65 MPH speed limit, when all of a sudden all of the cars around me hit their brakes. I figured there was an accident, or road construction, or something. After all traffic isn't usually stalled at that time of day, even on the 101. I drove for a few minutes, I didn't see an accident. I didn't see construction. I didn't even see a car pulled off to the side of the road having car troubles. What I did see was a horizontal line of cars leading the following pack of cars I was in (I was actually quite near the front of the pack). Leading the pack of cars was a typical black and white police car. It had it's lights flashing and it was behaving oddly; It was driving diagonally, back-and-forth, across all of the lanes, not allowing any cars in any of the lanes to pass it. I thought, "well, this cop must know something I don't. Surely NOW we'll come to some construction, or a terrible accident of sorts". Minutes and miles pass, we are all driving about 25 MPH. I don't see any construction. I don't see any accidents, not even a car pulled off to the side of the road. Then all of a sudden I see the cop speed straight ahead, off into the distance and disappear, and nothing else happened. Isn't that weird? Very strange in my opinion.

So speaking of driving, I was watching Elizabethtown at about 3:30 this morning, and it inspired me to want to go on a road trip. I'd like to travel across the country and listen to music and see places I've heard of, but never seen. Someday.

Speaking of "on the road," On The Road by Jack Kerouac, is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it since high school, but I remember when I read it I felt like going on a road trip and changing my life. For a moment I really wanted to be a beatnik.

Humans are made to RUN

2008-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my older sister, Jannifer, completed a 100 mile race. She took third place out of all the women, and finished 3 hours faster than she had planned on! I'm so proud of her! That is amazing! About a month ago she competed in a 50 mile race, and I was amazed then. I almost can't believe that she ran a 100 mile race!

It is hard to believe that anyone could run this kind of distance, it must take an incredible amount of training, high levels of pain tolerance, and a huge amount of mental strength!

This morning I discovered this article:
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/may/tramps-like-us/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=
You should read it. It is kind of long, but super interesting. It is all about how humans are designed to run. from the ligaments in our legs that do nothing for walking, but are essential for running, to our BIG butts that balance us when we run, but do nothing when we are walking or sitting (It is even believed that our butts have to be "big" for us to be able to run. That makes me feel better about the size of my buttocks!). The article talks about how our body is more efficient at regulating heat than any other animal, and that is the reason why we can outlast any animal when running long distances whether they are faster than us or not. At some point the animal will have to stop or it will overheat and die of heat exhaustion. Even our neck and shoulders have evolved to help steady us when we run. Incredible.

I don't think I'll go out and run 100 miles any time soon, but it is nice to know that if I set my mind to it and trained intensely I could do it.

This is my sister Jannifer and my brother Nick, the two most amazing runners I know :)

Barack Obama and Technology

2008-08-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was driving in the car listening to NPR. NPR was having a pretty interesting discussion about Barack Obama giving people the opportunity to find out who he will choose to run as his VP running mate via their cell phones.

Someone called in to NPR and said it was just a gimmick to increase his celebrity status. Another said it was so people could feel important and good about supporting Barack Obama. Another said it was an interesting way to collect data from people that likely don't have home phones and therefore couldn't be included in census studies. Someone else said it was a way to get people excited about the campaign. I think those are all pretty interesting answers, and I wish I could have heard the whole discussion before I had reached my destination. Maybe I should download it.

This whole topic kinda got the wheel in my brain turning. I am one of those people that receives daily emails from "Barack." I occasionally donate a bit of money here or there to his campaign, and watch the video clips he sends out. Overall I'm pretty excited about the possibility of him winning, and I really enjoy "hearing" from him or someone on his campaign daily. So as my brain was spinning out of control, I thought, you know this is one of the many reasons why I support Obama. HE GETS MY GENERATION. My generation includes the up and coming leaders of this country, and the people that are the most active throughout the world. He gets that COMMUNICATION is a big deal to my generation, and he uses communication to its greatest potential. He is an effective communicator. Overall, he is savvy, he's in touch with the modern world...that can only be a good thing.

I'm sure I could say a lot more about this, but I won't. I'd love some feedback on this particular post. :)

Running

2008-08-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

I started running when I was 14 years old. My whole family runs. Both my parents have ran multiple marathons. My older brother qualified for the Olympic tryouts this past year and competed in the tryouts. My older sister has ran many marathons, including the Boston Marathon, and now runs ultra marathons. My three younger brothers all run. My little sister is good at running, but doesn't like to run. So pretty much my whole family runs, it's a family affair. I'm not a fantastic runner, but I do ok.

When I first started running I adored it. I lived to run. It felt good to have wind blowing in my hair, my legs moving fast, my heart pounding, and sweat dripping down my body. Not only did it physically feel good, but I made so many friends running. For a long time it was normal for me to run 7-10 miles a day six days a week. I've participated in multiple 24 hour runs and I can honestly say that the most I've ever ran in a 24 hour period is 33 miles. I've ran to the top of Mount Timpanogos (11,749 feet in elevation). I've ran three marathons, a handful of half marathons and many, many 10K's and 5K's. I don't bring this up to brag, but to show just how much I LOVED running for so long. I think it is safe to say I was addicted.

Since my last marathon in June of 2005 I haven't loved running. I've hated it. I've dreaded going outside and moving my feet. I've been lucky to get three minimal runs in a week. At some point I even swore off running. I can't really say why. I was just tired of it. Even though I didn't feel like running most days, I was really sad I wasn't keeping up with my runs. Last year, because of a good friend, I ran the San Francisco 1/2 marathon...completely unprepared. Although, I did fine in the race, and really enjoyed the course I still didn't feel like running.

However, this May Greg and I moved to San Mateo, CA. For some reason when I moved up here I caught the running bug. For three months now I've been running almost every day, and I've been loving it. for the first time in three years I'm starting to remember why I loved moving my legs fast, sweating disgusting amounts of sweat, and feeling my heart pound inside of my chest. I caught the running bug just in time to start training for the San Francisco Half Marathon again. I ran it on Sunday and did better than I expected. I mean, I've definitely gotten slower over the past five years, but I did great for me. I held an 8:24 minute per mile for 13.1 miles. I was hoping to hold a 9 minute mile, so that's great. Out of 1,984 people in the half marathon I came in at 443rd. Out of 1,145 women in the race I came in at 140th. Out of 377 females in my age category I came in at 59th. Anyway, this post has turned into me bragging about me...that's probably not very fun to read. So I'm sorry readers. I'm just so happy that I'm loving running again. I have another half marathon this Saturday in Provo, UT. Wish me luck!

Brighton High School Cross Country Team 1999-2000

At the top of Mount Timpanogos with Sarah Larsen and Lorraine Looney

San Francisco 1/2 Marathong 2008

MORE PIZZA

2008-07-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

Back in March I wrote a post about pizza in the Bay Area. Tonight Greg and I went out to dinner with our friends Gautam and Mindy to a restaurant called "Cicero's Pizza, the pizza with the secret." Gautam and Mindy are big fans of this restaurant, and now we are too. This pizza was like no pizza I've ever had before. It is the thinnest crust I've ever had. It is thin in the same way that Saltines are thin. I admit, sometimes it is the chewy thick crust that is appealing about a pizza, but the Cicero crust is nothing to laugh at, it is YUMMY!

Our friends recommended the cheese pizza because otherwise it is like having a salad on top of a thin crust, and this pizza is about the taste and texture of the crust. The sauce is pretty good too, sweet, but not too sweet. We also got a pepperoni pizza, which was good because it wasn't too much topping. If you want more information you can check them out here: http://www.cicerospizza.com/

One really great thing about Cicero's pizza is that you can eat a lot of it before getting full. Since the crust is thin you'll want to eat more slices than usual and hence enjoy it over a little more time than a regular pizza. This is a good pizza to eat when enjoying the company of friends.

Since Greg and I moved to San Mateo in May we've started ordering pizza from ZORBAS PIZZA www.zorbaspizza.com
This pizza is delicious! It is my favorite. They have a pretty diverse menu, and as usual we generally get the pepperoni pizza, but sometimes we get it with olives too:) This pizza has a chewy crust; a crust to die for. It is much thicker than Cicero's crust, which is a plus for this pizza. The crust kinda reminds me of Papa John's crusts; chewy. They also have yummy cheese and delicious sauce. I could eat this pizza every week and never get sick of it. ZORBA's also has a really delectable greek salad. I haven't tried any of their other salads, but I would recommend this one.

Now I'm in the mood to have a pizza party.

I Love GREG

2008-07-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today is mine and Greg's second anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have really been married for two years. Time flies. I just wanted to reminisce about some of my favorite memories of Greg...I have so many it is hard to choose what I want to share. This post may be a bit lengthy, just to warn you.

Greg has written about how we got together, so I won't talk too much about that, but I will say this: our first date...second time around...was amazing. In fact it was magical. We hadn't seen each other in about five years, but it was like we had never been apart. We went to dinner with some friends, then played some games at a friends house...which is a funny story, but probably deserves a blog dedicated solely to that night, so IF you haven't already heard the story feel free to ask.

After that first date Greg sent me an email. This is the email:

hi there kjersti,

so how was the drive back? and work? for me, today was nice and
relaxing, i slept in and then read the da vinci code all afternoon.
how Come i do that? once agAin i'm neglecting my homework; oh well.

i hope you receive this email, this is the address i am trying to use
more and morE now.

i had a wonderful time with you last night. i enjoy discussing thingS
like books and history with you. it sure is a treat when i get to see
you. =) i hope you cAn come to the colin mochrie show with me.

have a great week and don't forget about all of our spRing break plans!!

love,
greg

----

RUBBKI CKBYUH, Y QTEHU OEK
shift = 322 (modulo 26)

You may notice some odd things about this email, originally I didn't. Months after receiving this email Greg asked me if I had figured out "the code". I was so confused, I didn't know what he was talking about. After getting some direction to look through some old emails I was able to figure out that this email was a code. Maybe you can figure it out, if not I can tell you what it means. Anyway, this was the first of many codes that Greg and I exchanged. It really made me feel special when he would give me codes. It was always so exciting to figure them out. I would usually spend hours looking up things like ASCII, binary code, and Caesar Ciphers. Then I would sometimes have to understand certain references to songs, movies, or historical events. It was always worth all the time spent. Greg always had sweet, sometimes cheesy messages for me. I always tried to give him codes back, but mine were always way too easy.

Greg and I lived about four hours away from each other before he moved to California, but before he moved we use to take turns driving back and forth on the weekends to see each other. One weekend I visited him it was really rainy. We didn't know what to do, but one thing you should know about Greg is that he is full of good, creative, unique ideas. He suggested that we take the TRAX (the Salt Lake City train) to downtown Salt Lake City and go to the courthouse to watch a court hearing.

On the train ride we both started to notice the strange people sitting around us. Greg pulled out a notebook and started writing me notes. We started to make up stories about each of the people on the train and kept passing them back and forth. It was so hard to contain my laughter. We still have the notebook, somewhere, with all our notes. By the end of the train ride Greg had asked, or at least suggested to me (in the notes) to come out to California with him when he moved to go to Stanford. It was on that train ride that I realized I was falling in love....I know, I'm a cheese ball.

Once we got to the court house we couldn't decide if we wanted to go into a drug hearing, murder hearing, divorce hearing or what...so we left and went out to lunch.

When we were first married we lived in Redmond, Washington. Greg was doing an internship, and had moved there before we got married. When I moved there I didn't know a soul. We were only staying for the summer so I didn't get a job, and for some reason I was really scared to go do anything alone so I didn't know a soul besides Greg all summer. Greg was so wonderful during this time though. Everyday at lunch time he would come home to our apartment and have lunch with me. (which was about a ten minute drive one way...so it took up a big chunk of his lunch hour). It was the best part of my day everyday. It would make me light up the same way I get now when I pick Greg up from the train station. The moment I see Greg I can't help but to smile. I always like when he comes home. Even if I've had a bad day everything gets all better the moment Greg gets home. He makes me so happy....so back to Washington. Since I didn't know a soul I got pretty lonely. At some point I got a bit depressed and cried about it to Greg. The next day he showed up in the middle of the afternoon and said something like, "Honey get ready, I'm taking you on a date." Then he took me to see a Woody Allen movie and to my favorite restaurant in the whole world, Thai Ginger. Greg always knows how to make me happy.

Some of our best moments together have been when either of us have had to make big decisions like where to work, where to go to school, what to study, where to move, etc. The day I found out I was accepted to Santa Clara University (the school I really really really wanted to get into for my masters program) Greg pulled out the camera and as I opened the acceptance letter I started jumping up and down and screaming, and Greg joined right in. We celebrated that night. It is the most wonderful feeling to get to share moments like that with Greg.

Funny things happen with Greg around all the time. One time, not too terribly long ago Greg and I were wrestling (something we do far too often). He started to bite my armpit. I screamed out, "I hope you got deodorant on your teeth!" Immediately Greg ran out of the room spitting and screaming "I did, I did!" Another time we were wrestling he piledrived me head first, that hurt really bad, but it was funny.

There are so many good memories, like: camping in Bryce Canyon, Camping along the Oregon Coast, Camping in Yosemite, Big Sur, Death Valley, Mount Ranier, Colter Bay and other randome places. Going to baseball games for the Salt Lake Bees (aka Stingers, or Buzz), Seattle Mariners, and of course the San Francisco Giants. Going swimming (something we really enjoy doing together), or simply sitting around watching our many favorite T.V. series like Arrested Development, Real Time with Bill Maher, LOST, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, Prison Break, and others.

How could I forget to mention going to Greg's cabin!?! The first time I went to Greg's cabin I was 16. We watched Better Off Dead. Years later he took me there for spring break and taught me how to snowboard. The cabin is a sacred, special place for us. Maybe someday we'll go back up in the attic to read a story that we wrote on the walls in random order with a code to decipher what order in which the story should be read.

We have a lot of great memories together, I've merely mentioned a few of them. I love being married to Greg. It really is the best thing that has ever happened to me. :)

1/2 burned

2008-06-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've had a little extra time lately since I'm out of school for the summer. For a while now I've been complaining (mostly to myself) that I am pasty and need a tan. When I lived in Utah I use to go tanning all the time, but curiously, living out here in California, I've hardly gone at all. Partly because tanning in Utah is cheaper than out here in the Bay Area. Partly because Utah summers are great for laying out in the backyard, and here I don't have a backyard. Anyway, back to the story, I decided to lay out at the pool today. I clearly wasn't keeping track of the time, or about how much time I was spending on my back vs. my front...a while after coming inside from my long lay-out session I felt the back of my legs burning, then my back burning. I went to look in the mirror...my front side looked great, slightly tan with no burn...a good base tan to start the summer out with. Then I turned around, my entire back side is as RED as a lobster...seriously! So now I'm half burned...I'm kinda embarrassed, ah well, that's what I get for exposing my skin to the harmful sun's rays.

Who Needs Toenails Anyway!?!

2008-06-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

In Early May Greg and I went with some friends to play miniature golf for a friend's birthday. The day was going splendid. We were about half way through when one of the balls went flying into a near by pool of water. Greg, being the hero of the day, went off into the water (in his flip flops) to save the ball. He came out triumphant, BUT with the wrong colored ball. So he went back to the pool of water with a big smile on his face, determined to get the correct ball. However, on the grass, next to the pool of water there was a post or rock or something very hard. He slipped and his big toe crashed into the post, his golf club hit him in the eye, and he landed on his butt. The next thing I know he is pulling his big toe nail all the way back asking "What am I suppose to do?" I almost fainted. Blood was oozing out in the shape of a big toe nail. He managed to clean it up with a couple of band-aids and dirty water in the mens bathroom. Then he finished the game of mini-golf. THEN he went out to dinner with the gang. FINALLY, at almost 8 pm, he decided he wanted to go to the Instant Care center down the road.

At the instant care center we were met with a doctor that didn't seem to know anything. She certainly didn't have very good social skills, and acted as if Greg should know what the best thing to do was. Once a decision was made as to whether the toe nail should stay or go she attempted the process of cutting an entire toe nail off. She started by stabbing a needle into the tip of his toe, wiggled it around, and claimed that she numbed it. Greg could beg to differ. I watched the whole thing, and almost threw up. Next she grabbed some plier like utensil and grabbed hold of the big nail, moved it around like it's nobody's business, then gave herself a little pep talk that we could all hear. She said, "I'm just gonna do it." Then with some scissors ripped into the nail and very NOT-gracefully cut the damn nail off to the very edge of the cuticle.

It was very dramatic, and painful. I still cringe just thinking about it. So you can imagine how I felt when this evening I saw Greg trip, barefooted, into our ottoman, ripping off a portion of the opposite foot's big toe nail. It wasn't nearly as bad, but it was bleeding a bit. I told Greg he needs to start wearing steel toed shoes at all times. I am serious.

My Bedroom

2008-05-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

I put together our bed today all by myself. It made me feel all confident and independent. It reminded me of when I was thirteen years old and I wanted hard wood floors in my bedroom. Originally my bedroom had hardwood floors, but years before had been covered with carpet. I asked my mom if we could have the hard wood floors restored. She told me that wasn't a good idea. So I went into my bedroom and, over the next few weeks, moved my furniture out of my room, tore out the carpet, tore out the cushioning under the carpet, and tore out all the nails, staples, and thorny like boards that held the carpet down. When I was done the floor looked so beautiful.

My mom was, of course, impressed. I think she also felt a tinge of guilt that she hadn't helped me, so she decided to help me paint my room. It was so elegant looking. It looked like it had been restored to it's original condition. If I do say so myself, it looked like a professional had come in and fixed up the place, not a thirteen year old little girl.

That was a really significant experience in my life. It secured the idea in my mind that whatever I set my mind to I can accomplish. I still feel a lot of pride when I think about all the work I did. Unfortunately, a few months later I moved to a newer house. I wonder if my hard wood floor is still on display in that house. I wish I had pictures.