[uh-oh.......]

And the whispering has begun........[again].

[green with anger]

I was just talking with tracie and somehow the Hulk came up. I mentioned how sometimes The Boyfriend calls me the Hulk. As stated before, I am an emotional person and sometimes when I get super angry, I get really large in size and my flesh turns green and I destroy towns with my mere finger and throw silly humans over my shoulders and fling them around in circles over my head and I toss cars and trucks that stand in my way but only if I don't feel like running over them and crushing them with my giant angry and beautifully pedicured foot and other times I just like to do sprints down the highway and toss cars and irritable drivers out of the way like tiny pebbles blocking the highway to my destination and when I finally get there I am happy to have expressed myself in my usual volatile way and I can safely say that my skin returns to its natural fleshy glow and my muscles shrink to their appropriate girly size and for a minute I am at perfect peace with the earth.


Until (She) whispers again....


(Courtesy of http://www.gottawiz.com)

[employee benefits 101]

Of all the benefits I earn from working at The University, the biggest one (by far) is that of the tuition reduction. I am registered for:

FA 252 Section 10: Mosaic Design Applications , 3.0 credits
Is taught by Ozdogan
In Smith on Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
3:55pm-6:45pm
CRN: 31597
From: 05/22/06 to 06/29/06
Fees: 105.00


This is a graduate-level course. It will go on my transcripts. I will receive a grade for it. I will have access to all the materials and kilns and supplies in the ceramics studio. I will be back in studio mode, high gear. I will be spending all of my Mondays off in the studio, rockin' out with geelite. Paradise. Tesserae? Check. Grout? Check. Rusty metal and other such objects of my affection? Check.


Normally, this course and all the lab fees and taxes would cost me a total of:

$3,742.18

However, since I am an employee and receive aforementioned benefits, the total I NOW owe is:

$224.40

So if anyone is ever wondering what I'm doing working @ The University, you can show them this blog and all their questions will be answered.

A total savings of:
$3,517.78


[insert phrase: Kristen = genius]
Commence cheering

[growin' pains]

congratulations, mahoney!
new title: official condo-owner

[itunes playlist #1 - a mental medley]

I just set up an itunes account and these are the first songs I've downloaded. They will eventually wind up on the kickass ipod that bruter gave me for Christmas!

Talk about a medley: Perhaps further proof of my creative insanity?

1. Kodachrome by Paul Simon
2. Are You Gonna Be My Girl? by Jet
3. Girls & Boys by Blur
4. Let My Love Open the Door by Pete Townsend
5. Something to Talk About by Badly Drawn Boy
   
6. Keep On Rockin' In the Free World by Neil Young
7. Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House
8. Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

My advice to tracie: listen to a killer song before you go, one that gets you pumped and positive. Get that song stuck in your head and kick some butt. Good luck!

[follow the money....eddie money, that is]

Back in the summer of 2003, The Boyfriend, our darling friend Nugget and I attended a Red Cross Benefit Fair in Old Town, Alexandria (Virginia, for all you outta-towners!) down on the waterfront. Of course, there was only one real reason we were donating our severely tight cash to such a good cause. And that reason was Eddie Money. The man, possibly even more legendary than This Stud, was performing live on a spacious stage surrounded by crazed 40 year old women who once idolized the legendary man and his large wave of eighties whipped hair. That's right. We. Saw. Him. LIVE.

In honor of the man, the music, the legend and per the request of my dear friend Nugget, I place this great photo on my blog for all to enjoy. If you are not familiar with Mr. Money, I suggest
you listen to the song '2 tickets to paradise' and feel the power of The Money.


Ed-die! Mon-ey! Ed-die! Mon-ey!

(Courtesy of www.eddiemoney.com)

This post is dedicated to Nugget - no matter the distance, I can always count on you to find the most ridiculous pictures of Eddie Money and his hair, "glamour shot" style.

[ask the expert]

I've just given Running Guru Fred my blog address and I'm hoping that he visits because I have a question for him. (For those of you who don't know Running Guru Fred, he and I became Official Running Buddies (ORBs) back when I started training for the Marine Corps Marathon through the AIDS Marathon Training Program in 2004. He was my Running Guru. Now Running Guru Fred is living his dreams and he's simply inspiring! He's also an incredible chef.

Okay, so back on topic!!

Problem:

I'm having this weird leg thing on the outside of the left leg - toward the side/almost the back of the leg when i run. Feels like a nerve problem. It doesn't hurt necessarily. It tingles/tickles. Feels weird.

Running Guru Fred: Does this sound like Compartment Syndrome? Any tips? Advice?

Thanks!

P.S. It's not me - I haven't started running yet!

[things i'm sure of]

Good Morning!

Another list to start this day:

1. Mighty Leaf makes the best tea ever! No, seriously. The best. The green tea is especially excellent. Ingredients: Green tea, natural tropical flavors, flower petals, pineapple bits. All that sewn into silken pouches. Unreal flavor - even I don't use sugar in it!
2. Rilo Kiley. Shannon introduced me to this band and all I can say is - addicted. Still can't stop listening after all this time. Today's in-head repeat - "We'll Never Sleep, God Knows We'll Try". Thank you, Shannon!
3. Post-Cosi work days are the best! It seems that the busier I am, the happier I am (I know, duh!) but this is especially noticeable after a busy, long and lucrative evening of waitressing.
4. Know your enemy. Excel is my enemy, however, following yesterday afternoon's class, I'm feeling ready to conquer that program - kick its ass full of completed spreadsheets, save and close.
5. Layering shirts look the coolest. Nothing more to say. They just rock.
6. String cheese is a perfect snack. There is nothing better than cheese, except maybe cheese that peels down to small strips of snacking delight.
7. Cats in heat are miserable creatures indeed. Spaying May 24th and we are gonna c-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e!!!
8. Moldy tupperware cannot be avoided...if you're name is K.
9. Good days are to be placed on pedestals and admired in the moment.
10. Diamond Dave. Spandex, Jump!, splits in the air, the hair. Diamond Dave was Van Halen.

Hope you have a fantastic day!

OH - and check out all the flavors - (Mighty Leaf Tea)

(Courtesy of www.davidleeroth.com)

[an inspired moment]

In case you haven't heard the news: tracie just registered for the Marine Corps Marathon!! She's taking a lot onto her plate and although I know she's likely shaking her head right now saying what the hell was I thinking, I know she can do it. She's completely inspiring me. SO - in honor of inspired moments, I'm going to throw some inspired thoughts into a list.

• Start running again and possibly register for a marathon (a fresh one!)
• Participate in as many free trainings through work as possible (master all the computer trainings - excel, word, dreamweaver, photoshop, etc.)
• Stay super focused in my Mosaics course (starts the 24th!!) and learn as much as I possibly can (especially from Ms. Mosaic Grad Student herself).
• Build up my portfolio, start taking digital images of my work.
• Complete application and financial aide forms for International Opportunity (Presently Confidential).
• Eat healthier.
• Start biking with The Boyfriend (yay! new bike!!!)
• Party my ass off this week with tracie at least once.
• Start reading during lunch hour with tracie (so she can start studying!)

Okay, I know this list is a bit long and enthusiastic at the moment and I also know that inspiring moments are fleeting and very easily crushed...so I will just ask that everyone out there in my internet audience send some positive energy to both tracie and myself, and we will, in turn, send you the same.

ahhhh...inspired.

[adventures in south caroline-eeee]

The road trip to visit Pam in South Carolina led The Boyfriend and I to the largest margarita I've ever seen.

We indulged in said drink and proceeded to eat in what we could only describe as a Mexican restaurant operating in a house designed by Mr. Brady himself. Strange peeling pleather booths, slanted ceilings and lots of brown. Very strange.


On our first full day, we decided to hop into Pat's car early in the a.m. and travel to Charleston. The road trip was full of tree-lined highway, windows rolled all the way down, and large Kristen afro blowing in the beautiful South Carolina wind. It was awesome. A good hour and a half later, we arrived at Drayton Hall Plantation. If you are ever in Charleston and have thetime, I highly recommend visiting this awesome piece of preserved history. We stayed for several hours, taking the informative guided tour as well as strolling the river on a self-guided tour and walking through the marsh (which was unfortunately all dry for our visit). We posed under giant trees (some 300 years old, we were told) with Spanish Moss hanging (neither Spanish nor moss) - though it gave Kristen the BIGGEST THRILL to behold such a movie-style southern delight! I mean - Spanish Moss !!!

We then strolled through downtown Charleston, hitting up the Noisy Oyster and a fun outdoor art market. That evening we indulged in some serious ice cream cones from the Marble Slab (I had sweet cream ice cream with coconut) and following a lengthy visit to World Market, we concluded the evening with pomegranate and watermelon martinis with sugar-rimmed glasses and that (read with heavy sarcasm) smash hit comedy that will leave your sides hurting from laughing so hard, The Family Stone. (I'll leave that movie review for another day).

On Saturday, The Boyfriend, Pam and I walked around Columbia, enjoyed a light lunch at Yesterday's and visited THE GREATEST ANTIQUE STORE EVER! 2 and 1/2 hours later, we emerged from THE GREATEST ANTIQUE STORE EVER! with a giant window, paint peeling and glass intact (Pam) and several mini comic books, a cracked doll face with creepy blinking eyes and tiny horse teeth, and two gorgeous old metal skeleton keys (Yours Truly, of course). It was awesome.

That evening we indulged in a fine dinner at The Liberty (great beers, great prime rib, GREAT wild mushroom pizza) followed by a fun Ghost Tour of some USC and Columbia 'haunted and historic' sites (courtesy of Aunt Margaret & Uncle Stevie). The best part was the grave yard....lots and lots of pics - we went back once it got dark and the tour ended just to walk through again and freak ourselves out. I could've stayed all nite looking for orbs.

(Check out the kickass mosaic in the background!)

That evening ended with a fantastic dessert session featuring one of the funniest faces The Boyfriend has ever made (causing fit hysterics of the attention drawing kind), two desserts for K and a bathroom with only a urinal (details undisclosed in respect of one certain 'maker's' privacy - wink wink). Back to the apartment to enjoy 'The Sixth Sense' and eventually ' The Exorcist'.

The visit concluded with a lovely breakfast (BEST BACON EVER) and a long and exciting trip to the local dollar store. A scrap booker's heavenly paradise down isle 5!


Soon To Come: The road trip back.

[happy mother's day to all you muthuz!!]

Happy Mother's Day, MOM!!