December Favorites

I have not done a very good job at keeping up with all I've been doing lately, but being back home in Kansas has been wonderful! It will make it tough to go back to Seattle in a week or so. I'll be sure to update you on all the cool things I've been up to over the holiday season. But for now, here are my favorite things for this month!

• My new Kindle Fire! As an unexpected Christmas present from Andrew, this little guy is so fun! I never thought I would've needed one of these things, but I've used it a ton already. I can get on the internets, download music, and get read lots of books! He thought it would be great for when I ride the train everyday and won't have to worry about hauling around a big book that doesn't fit in my purse. The best part is that before he gave it to me, he downloaded some of my favorite music, and a book from my favorite author onto it for me. Such a thoughtful guy :)

 

• Giving gifts! I know I have mentioned it many times before, but for me, the best part of the holiday season is making/picking out gifts for my close friends and family. My parameters for gift giving are ones that are personal, thoughtful, and useful. I will be sure to show some pictures of my favorites that I made in my post-holiday blog.

•  The beginning of justice! This. My family, and our close family friends have been waiting for this to happen for almost 10 years. In 2002, Mike and Karen were found shot at Karen's residence. I have had the privilege of knowing the Mike's children, and the Boots family for my entire life. I remember the funeral. I remember hearing the buzz about Dana showing up. It was creepy and disgusting. Mike's children, Dustin, who is my age, and Haley, who is older, have turned out to be successful, bright adults. I have never seen such strength and perseverance, despite this horrible, prolonged process that they have had to go through. Every time I think about having a bat shit crazy mother, or testifying against her, all I think is "I can't even imagine." Almost every day, I think about what will happen in the next few months, and what will happen. I can only pray the prosecutors keep up the good work like they did for the hearing, and justice finally gets served.     

 

 

• Hobbies.  I have also mentioned this aspect of my life before. I am sometimes a jump-around jack of all trades, master of none. Well, as I get older, I would kind of like to hone my talents in on some of those activities. This interest to find my own special hobby was sparked when Andrew got his very own, remote control airplane for Christmas. And let me tell you, he is borderline obsessed, but more on that in the next post. I figure I'm going to need something to be as equally enthusiastic about so I can suck him into one of my interests, as I have been sucked into pretty much all of his. Mostly airplanes. Not that there's anything wrong with that! We can just grow together while investing in each others interests :) And since I know he probably wouldn't be too keen on crafting, my list so far is crew, skeet shooting, and more wine stuff. (That's a picture of a wine bouquet aroma kit. I'm gonna train my nose!) I am sure this will prove to make many interesting memories in the future!

O is for Ode to the Preschoolers

Did you know the average preschooler asks 437 questions a day?


Did you know the average Kelsey says "No thank you!" an average of 829 times a day? (No thank you, is our nice version of "What the hell are you doing??" or "STOP IT.")


Though my career as an assistant preschool teacher was short-lived, it was a good experience that let me bond with some children, learn a little bit about how I would and would not parent my future kids, and get some insight into early childhood education. 


I never realized how I would get attached to the kids so quickly, or that I would get the opportunity to intern for the Seattle Aquarium the very first time I interviewed for it. It left me in a tough situation. I do not pride myself in leaving jobs after only 4 months, but I would be crazy not to. My boss did not seem to agree that this was such a great thing for my career, but you can't please em all. I will always try to live my life for what is best for me, and though that may sound selfish, I feel like there is no other way if you truly want to be happy. 


So here is a collection of my favorite quotes from my little buddies at Little Acorn.  May you read them and get a laugh at the innocent, unfiltered language of 3 year olds.


"Are you a good pole dancer??" A very enthusiastic question asked in reference to his favorite America's Got Talent act, an acrobat who did flips and tricks like a monkey between two large poles.


After staring for a good 5 seconds at my chest area...."I've got little titties!"


"I've been watchin' a whole lot of Star Wars. My favorite character is Astrodoodle."


I gave a worried look to a little boy after he did an uncomfortable, almost painful looking dance down the hallway, without having to say anything to him, he replied, "Don't worry Miss Kelsey, I'm just fixin my weewee." 


I asked one little guy what he was asking Santa for as a Christmas gift. He told me ever-so nonchalantly, "money." And when I asked what he would buy with it? "More money." Ah, an entrepreneur's early start. 


Finally, my most recent and favorite conversation with the most hilarious, feisty, 3 year old girl.
"You know who said a bad word?" No, who?
"Somebody said a bad word." What did they say?
"Somebody said something." Well you can tell me. 
So she she leans down very close to my face like she is going to whisper in my ear....
"DAMNIT!"
"My daddy says that." Oh! Well I am glad you don't say that.
"No I just whisper it to myself so I don't get in trouble."


Some of these kids I wish I could carry around in my pocket for the conversations and entertainment. Even when don't listen, or tell me I look like a boy when I wear my glasses, they always would find a way to put a smile on my face. Preschoolers are sometimes a very good solution to a crummy mood. Emphasis on the sometimes. 


I will hopefully get the chance to sub for the school, and get to see my little buddies soon. I made sure they all knew where to find me at the aquarium. 


Until next time....


Cheers,


KLM

L is for Lollygaggin' Around the City

December is here; everyone is all wintery and Christmasy and cozied up in new sweaters. I have discovered that the dinky lights I attempted to hang up on my own, (very difficult for a 5-footer with no ladder), and mini Christmas tree on the coffee table, never get me as pumped for the holidays as the smells do. It's true. I have turned into an obsessed seasonal candle collector. For the fall, it was pumpkin spice and cider ones, but now I've got evergreen, and cinnamon, along with applesauce cinnamon gingerbread dudes baking in the oven.  Now I know if I ever need a boost of some seasonal/holiday spirit, I will just light up. The candles. I wonder what smells go with Valentine's Day....

Speaking of love and mushy stuff. Last weekend Andrew and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary :) along with the OSU v. OU football game. I booked a flight without his knowledge, planning on showing up in Stillwater, where he was supposed to be watching the game, as a surprise. However, that is tough to pull off when you date someone who figures everything out. It never fails. He just asks the right questions at the wrong time! I swear I don't give the secrets away! Needless to say, when he suggested he come home to Seattle for the weekend, and I said nooooo thank you, the jig was up. At least he was still surprised. After a 5am flight, layover in snowy snowy Denver, and a few exhausting hours later, I arrived in OKC and got to spend a quick weekend with the manfriend.

We ate at a nice wine bar/bistro, and then watched the WONDERFUL OSU victory in the hotel bar. A quick weekend together was a great way to break up the monotony of being apart. It was certainly better than not seeing each other at all. Here's the only picture we took. MIND YOU I had been awake since 3 am. And wine was in my system. But I do look like a happy happy girl.

In more recent news, today I spent about 8 hours downtown today. True, part of that I was volunteering at the aquarium, but LOTS of that time was walking. And shopping. I didn't want to do too much Christmas shopping to avoid bringing home a whole bunch of stuff on the flight home, but I couldn't help myself. Giving thoughtful, wonderful gifts is the best feeling in the world to me. Andrew and I's first date involved driving around to look at Christmas lights, so this time of year it always makes my heart smile when I see the city lit up. Not too much longer though, and he will have a break from air drop school, so we can check out some together! Here's a little taste of what Seattle looks like this time of year....

Until next time my friends. Don't forget to take time to stop and enjoy the lights :)

Cheers,

KLM

November Favorites

Everything here in the Pacific Northwest is done changing colors, trees are starting to get naked, and it.is.getting.cold. I am not naive to the winter weather here, Andrew and I visited last November, but golly. It sure is a different kind of cold! The wind just cuts through all the layers you have on, and makes it feel like you've gotten the wind knocked out of your lungs. If that isn't pleasant enough there is usually a cold mist pelting you in the face at 40mph too :) It is manageable, and I refuse to let the grey get to me! My vitamin D gummies have become the highlight of my mornings. Here are my favorite things as of recently.

•  Reading this book. Oh my gracious! IT IS SO GOOD! I'm not even an avid reader or anything, but this is an awesome one. I've tried to start reading before I go to bed, instead of hauling my laptop around and watching The First 48, because I heard its bad for you and whatnot with the lights from the screen and your sleep cycle blah blah. If you haven't read it, I would check it out! Or do it the easy way and watch the movie.

•  How I Met Your Mother is probably one of my favorite shows ever. Like many shows, Andrew got me hooked on it because he got hooked on it. It is my understanding that during a deployment there is a lot of movie/TV show watching and downloading, maybe or maybe not illegally. Andrew's collection now includes all the seasons of lots of different shows and about 100 movies. When he leaves his hard drive here to go to air drop school, that means I watch all the episodes systematically, one season at a time :)

•  Spending my weekends volunteering. Not only does it give me a great sense of charity but its awesome experience to get acquainted with how the aquarium works and the people there as well. Talking to guests and watching kids use their brain never gets old. Volunteering also gives me sweet opportunities to see the aquarium after-hours, which is an experience in itself. The underwater dome (pictured) is the most amazing, tranquil place when the lights are out. I can't wait to see what awesome things I get to do when I start interning!

• Trying not to be a Grinch! Don't get me wrong, I love me some Christmas time. Giving thoughtful gifts is probably one of my all-time favorite things to do year round, and this time of year that activity gets its own little spotlight. In the recent years I just haven't felt that butterflyish feeling right after Thanksgiving like most people seem to have. Mine usually sinks in right before Christmas eve haha! Better late than never. It is hard to get excited when there's nobody to hang lights with, chop down (yes we had planned on chopping our own tree this year!) and decorate a tree, make cookies, and wrap presents with. All those little events along the way that are like the pre-game to Christmas. Just like fall though, I WILL get that feeling, even if it takes a bit to sink in.

Alright, time for me to get out of here. It's been great November, we'll see ya next year!

Cheers,

KLM

K is for Ketchup and Mustard

Not literally ketchup, but catch up :)

Here I am, readjusted to being in solo mode L It was only a short reunion for Andrew and I, but at least this time he isn’t as far away, overseas, and dealing with war conditions.  He is busy doing an air drop upgrade, being a stud C-17 pilot, as usual. Long distance training is a lot easier for me to deal with on a daily basis; I can call him whenever I want …which may or may not be a good thing for him ;), and we’re only a plane ride away. Even though I probably won’t see him till Christmas time because of scheduling stuff, it puts my heart at ease to know that seeing him is not out of my control, unless they recently started border patrol in western Oklahoma. Here we are on a Sunday outing before he left, at the Hawk's Nest, which is a fun place to watch the Seahawks lose. God forbid we take a serious picture.

Other than that, life is good! I’m puppysitting this week for a coworker who is in Hawaii while it rains like the dickens here. Ruby is a great listener. And she smiles at me when I sing in the car.

I have no plans for Thanksgiving, besides watching the parade and football with Ruby, and eating a turkey sandwhich. Andrew and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago so we could experience the whole sha-bang of cooking together, which I was really looking forward to before we learned of his training dates. I meant to write a blog about it but got caught up in the readjustment of being by myself and work and whatnots. It was about 7 hrs worth of cooking: Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, stuffing, homemade gravy, pumpkin cream cheese truffles (courtesy of a Pinterest recipie that WAS A LIE that didn’t turn out at all like described. WARNING: They are NOT pretty like the picture shows. Not at all.), and apple pie! Almost everything from scratch besides the stuffing, rolls and cranberry sauce. It was exhausting but definitely fun. Here is Andrew with his beloved turkey. The second time he did this pose, post cooking, the wings fell off. He was so proud of all the crap he stuffed into that thing. It all paid off, because it was yummy, so thank you Chef Barrier!

The one thing that Thanksgiving reminds me is that I dislike when people embrace thankfulness for one day. Why can’t people have that attitude, and the general holiday spirit all year round?? November through December is great for some people, but personally, the holidays serve as a reminder to be gracious, giving and kind, no matter how close the date is to December 25^th.

Besides our giant Thanksgiving feast, I have been cooking a lot lately, who knows why. Probably because leftovers are easiest to pack for lunch. My great and lovely friend Kelli always raves about this Pioneer Woman website, and all the recipes, so I tested it out and look forward to finding more goodies there. Here’s the lasagna I tried, it was yum! And Andrew approved.

Finally, I added some more pictures from Andrew's camera to the previous post about our trip to Canada, so go check them out! Until next time friends...

Cheers,

KLM

T is for Tea?

ANDREW IS BACKKKK! He surprised me at work last Thursday with flowers and everything :) After a relaxing dinner and day of shopping we began our journey into Ooooo Canadaaaaa. The trip began with a drive downtown, and a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, which is across the Sound. So here we are, in a car, on a boat, in the bay, goin to Bainbridge!

We then drove about an hour and a half northerly to Port Angeles, where we caught our 2nd ferry, sans car, and arrived in Victoria.

If you're not familiar with Puget Sound geography,  here's a general idea of our path. The drive was just gorgeous, as I have found with most things in this part of Washington, and it was nice to enjoy simple things like being in the car with Andrew.



After a full day of traveling, we finally arrived in beautiful Victoria! And then Andrew told me a surprise he had been keeping from me, and pointed out where we were staying! The Fairmont Empress......

Which was right across the street from their Parliament building.....

Amazing right? Our hotel room had it's own little fireplace and the staff were willing to do anything to make your stay a nice one. As you can see, the outside of the building was covered with ivy, and apparently, it too, changes color in the fall. Obsessed. I was obsessed with it. So.BEAUTIFUL! Here are just a couple of the many, many, pictures I took, solely of the ivy.

Obsessed I tell you. I loved staying at The Fairmont, not just for the ivy, or the service, but the atmosphere! Don't you always wonder what it would be like to live in a castle? Well, I do. And I figure this is about as close as I'll get. Though I don't know what I would do with alllllll of those rooms, while walking down the long, curvy hallways it was fun to think about. Until Andrew brought up The Shining and made me nervous to turn corners in fear that there would be two girls on tricycles at the end of the next corridor. Nice Andrew. Real nice.

Besides exploring the hotel, with it's own restaurants and shops inside the place, we mostly just walked around the town. The hotel was within walking distance of the ferry dock, and tons of shopping and great eating opportunities! We got takeout one night and sat in our room to watch American football, found a brewery (Sorry Canada, your beer sucks)....

Ate some salmon nachos, and waffles. Fancy waffles are quite popular there....

Found a Christmas store with an anal retentive owner who allowed no photos and minimal handling in his 6,000 square feet of PURE CHRISTMAS. (Yea I took one anyways HA!)

and finally, on our last day there, our favorite part of the trip, we had afternoon tea :)

We dressed up nicely, and had the opportunity to head to The Fairmont's very own, Tea Room. The tradition has been around for over a century and it was an amazing experience to be apart of. This link tells you a little more about the "quintessential Victorian experience," and what is involved in afternoon tea. Even though the tea was caffeinated, both Andrew and I found it to be super relaxing and felt like we could have sat there all day chatting and calling each other things like "dahling" and "my sweet." As a gift, we received some tea of our own, and I'll have to say, I look forward to drinking it again. Andrew now wants his own tea set.

Of course we, nay, one of us can never take a serious picture, so I had to opt for one on my own as we left town. Until next time Victoria!

Cheers,

KLM

P.S.

Favoritos de Octubre

Here we are again. The end of another month!! Technically, Andrew should be done with his first 60 days in Manas. Unfortch, as is with the military, it'll be about 70 days before he actually gets home. But that is soon! And I absolutely cannot wait! I am only working till Thursday in anticipation of his return. We plan on taking a celebratory trip to Victoria, Canada for the weekend after he gets back, again, cannot wait! I've never been to Canada so it'll be great to put my passport to good use.

Besides getting more excited every day for AB's return, I started volunteering for the aquarium every Saturday. I only have one shift under my belt but it was fun! As "interpreters" we stand by exhibits to answer questions, encourage "touching the animals gently with one finger" at the touch pools, and generally just talk with visitors. The Seattle Aquarium is great because they treat volunteers just like staff, and understand that donating our time is such a wonderful gift we are giving. I am proud to be apart of it! And it is definitely a great place to make contacts in the aquarium world :)

Here are my favorite things for the month of October!

• All things fall. This one was a favorite last month too, but I already had a long list. Look at how our apartment has transformed!

 

Navy pumpkins monogrammed with thumbtacks :) Wheat filled wine bottle :) Kitchen sticks and leaves :) I was going to spray paint the sticks but I liked the more rustic look. (P.S. Don't ya love our cabinets!?)

• Ann Taylor Loft shopping!! Oh gracious. I love everything at this store which may or may not be a good thing. Its great because it's quality stuff, it's bad because my pay checks are only so big! No worries I'm good at budgeting, and am slowly building a wardrobe I love, not purchasing it all at once. So family who reads this blog: Now you know what gift cards are FABULOUSSSS presents! ;)

• Shopping in the kids' section oooo yeaaaa! Look at my new bright red trench coat! Courtesy of the little girls section at Target! One reason I'm thankful for being so short, it saves me money sometimes! That picture also highlights the magnificent scarf my best Megan SEWED me. Yea that's right people, she knows how to sew now, watch.out! Which leads me to my next favorite......

• SCARVES! After Meg's kept me so warm in cozy (I am trying to hold off on the heater until December) I decided scarves look super cute AND they keep you warm. My next purchase will be a big knitted one like the picture. Can't wait!

• My last minute Halloween outfit for preschool. I spent $5 on a red t-shirt and made the rest. I am, if you didn't get it, an Angry Bird! (It's a game you play on your phone G-Unit) Kids in our class love all things Angry Birds, so I can't wait to see their reaction tomorrow on Halloween! And finally.......

• I GOT THE AQUARIUM INTERNSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes that's right. The internship I talked about wanting in my very first blog ever, I have gotten the position! In January, my "volunteer" status will be changed to "intern!" I am so grateful for all the prayers and support I have gotten from those around me. For 10 or so weeks I will be cleaning, feeding, training, and doing whatever they tell me to, with the mammals and birds (ya....birds) of the aquarium. That means I'll be the closest EVER to seals and otters, and birds. Dreams really do come true! The internship will be the foundation of knowledge and skills that I need to become a biologist in a zoo or aquarium, so cheers to starting the rest-of-my-life career path!

I learned about my acceptance into the intern position AND Andrew is almost home AND I am taking time off work to go on a trip with him. Life is truly wonderful right now and I feel so BLESSED! Until next time...

Cheers,

KLM