January Favorites

I cannot believe it's already the end of the month. Forgive me for having so few posts lately, life is crazy when you work 40 hrs a week for free ;) I'll save the aquarium and Seattle adventures for an upcoming post, but here are my favorite things for the month of January:

• I'm in love with the end of January because it means 2+ weeks of hearts and sweets and love and pink. I am a sucker for holidays and the feelings they give me. Valentine's Day makes me feel so smiley and cheerful! Last year, I made a paper heart chain, complete with red glitter, that stretched around my entire living room. Yea....probably about 40 feet worth of glittery hearts.

• Ever since grad school I've not been much of a fan of reading. Never read so many books in my life. But my Kindle Christmas gift and rides on the Light Rail every morning have prompted me to start up this whole "reading for fun" thing. From what I've heard, the Hunger Games Triology started out as a series directed towards teenagers, then a much larger audience caught on. It's basically about a futuristic North America where annually they choose a boy and a girl from each of the 12 districts to go to the Hunger Games, and fight to the death, till there is only one winner. I'm on the second book and they are so fun to read. I often hate myself in the mornings because I can't put it down at night.

• Another Christmas gift that I'm loving. My mother just knows me so well :) This FlipFold makes my dressers so pretty and organized. An organized home is a happy home!

• Sugar. Oh my goodness. I'm not proud of this being my favorite this month. I don't know what it is! Andrew says I have a problem. Cookies, cake, donuts, chocolate, frosting....I can't get enough. Not such a good thing to have as a favorite! I usually tell people I don't have a sweet tooth, I have a salty tooth, because I crave salt much more often than sugar. NOT THIS MONTH! Eating frosting by the spoonful must not be apart of my life next month, or Feburary's favorites list will be topped by Weight Watchers meetings!

I'll catch up soon with more posts I pinky swear!

P is for Post Holidays

So here I am, back in the land of Subarus, seagulls, and evergreens. Being in Kansas for a few weeks was absolutely wonderful! I ventured back and forth between Topeka and Winfield a few times; north and south, up and down, doin' the holiday shuffle. My favorite memories of the trip involved simply being with my family whom I hadn't seen in a long time. KJ and I decorated the tree, we all ate a ton of food, laughed for hours, had lazy days, and coddled me and my screwed up sinuses (I am NOT good at being sick. It just makes me so mad! I have better things to do than feel crappy.)
I spent a lot of time with Andrew's nieces and nephews. All 4 of them. Under the age of 4, God bless em. Here is the newest addition, sweet little Natalie, in her lamb coat!

I feel like it takes a special kind of person to appreciate scenery like Kansas'. The Flint Hills is one of my favorite drives ever. You can see for miles, and the blue sky sits right on top of the hills. No buildings, no trees. Nothing to separate the best friends of land and sky :) Much different than the Washington scenery, that's for sure.

Much of my time home was spent watching Andrew fly his.....wait....fix. his new remote control airplane. We watched it slam into a telephone pole, get snapped nearly in half, fly into a tree a block away, and it's still alive!! The thing did start to grow on me after I got a lesson from the pilot himself. We'll see how long those feelings last. In the meantime, I'm getting my shotgun warmed up for sporting clay lessons, so I hope we don't try to "practice" our respective interests at the same time ;)

We took a horse and buggy ride with two GIANT Clydesdales in Winfield. Just a short, chilly ride around their famed "Isle of Lights" display.

Got to have coffee with one of the best friends ever from my college days. It was so great to see Ashley and get caught up in person. Since moving, first to Oklahoma, and now to Washington, I have found that true friends are hard to come by. Distance makes things inconvenient to many people, which is a shame when you think you are close friends with somebody. Luckily, I have a select few girl friends who have been supportive, and not let mileage get in the way. They know who they are and I couldn't be more grateful for them!

And finally, New Years! We have a great tradition of going somewhere new each year with a couple, Eric and Kelli. This year, we traveled alllll the way to Wichita for a nice dinner, and dancing! If only we had gotten a good picture....funny Andrew. Real funny.

That's all I've got for now. I hope your holidays were all you wished for! Can't wait till next time when I can fill you all in on some aquarium happenings. Until then....

Cheers,

KLM

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