Baseball and life

Hi Friends!
Once again I acknowledge the lack of effort I have been devoting to keeping my blog updated. Sorry to an avid readers...Life has been super-busy...so much so that the countdown to my wedding isn't even in the forefront of my mind these days! (But it's 40 days to go for anyone who's wondering...)
This pic is from my recent visit to Wisconsin. To my left are my pals Lisa and Nick. The 3 of us called ourselves the trailergators. One year for Lisa's birthday, we had a 'trailergator' party and got alligator-themed items. I worked at a bakery in my hometown, and was able to order cupcakes with gators on them made out of frosting. Lisa was the purple one, Nick was the green one, and I was the blue one. Would've been well-represented by this pic here if only I had wore blue instead of Gray!



And this is Josh and me at a Dodgers game this last Friday night.
Our friend Matt--who is as much an avid baseball fan as Josh--was celebrating his birthday.
This was my second baseball game ever. The first was the weekend before when Josh took me to see his favorite team--the Baltimore Orioles--play the LA Angels. Josh did an excellent job of fielding all of my questions, and I actually enjoyed the game. By the end of it, I was even moving to see if foul balls were being caught (aka I really did care!). The Dodger game wasn't as fantastic for me due to a a number of reasons 1)there was so much going on in the crowd that it distracted me from the game...for instance, one home run was hit, but I missed it because our section was batting around a beach ball 2)Josh and I stood in line at the concession stand for 2-3 innings waiting to get hotdogs. They were so slow!!! 3)I ended up chatting with Matt's wife Kim at the end of the game, which was great--but again, I wasn't really paying attention to the game.
So the moral of the story is that I have learned that yes, I can quite enjoy watching a sports game...but I am still the same Kristie--no sportsified, die-hard bbal fan version to deal with.

In other news, Josh and I went apartment-hunting last week too. We found a nice place in an apartment building not too far from where I used to live last year. I was a bit sad that we didn't end up getting a place closer to where our friends live, but I guess that's life. The apartment we picked makes sense for us.
AND I found out the same day that I am getting a promotion through work and will be managing my own coffeeshop starting next week.
Wow!

Pics from my Bro's Wedding

So, I'm back!
This last Saturday (April 19, 2008), my sole sibling got hitched.
Here are a few pics from the event--courtesy of my Aunt's boyfriend, Eric. :)

This is my Grandpa (Vernon) and me sitting in a pew before the ceremony. I got to be a bridesmaid, hence the fancy getup.

This is my Aunt Sharon and me with the light of God shining upon us...or something! Ha!

This is my brother Kurt, his wife Jessie, my Aunt Sharon and my Uncle TB. Sharon and TB are Kurt's godparents.
Kurt and me! We used to look a lot more alike than we do now...that's probably not a bad thing.
Jessie dancing with our cousin Corey (who doubled as the best man) during the dollar dance portion of the reception.
I paid a buck for this attitude?! Eric had to ask me what I said to make Kurt look at me so strangely. That is my little secret...I did laugh out loud when I first saw this pic though...

The count goes on--or, The clock is ticking!

66 Days till I get married, Friends!

Tomorrow I am flying back to Wisconsin for my brother Kurt's wedding. I am quite looking forward to this weekend. Friday I have a lot of my own wedding details to take care of (seeing a florist, checking out the reception site, figuring out manicure details for my bridesmaids, ordering cakes, picking out decorations, etc.), but Saturday is all about the Bro!
I have the honor of being a bridesmaid. :)
Sadly, Josh isn't able to come with me...but this should be the last time I have to travel alone before we tie the knot in June!

So yeah...getting down to T-time here...
Next weekend Josh and I are going to go apartment hunting...yes, add moving to the "To Do" list of Pre-wedding activities. Well, Josh will probably be moving in on June 1st, but I'll just be moving my stuff in till after the big To-Do.

Work is perpetually consuming my time too. My manager has been on vacation for the last week and a half, and shouldering even more responsibility than I already have has been a bit crushing. Last week I put in well over 50 hours. If I was a workaholic that would be great, but I'm not. Still just waiting for a spot to open up so I can manage my own coffeeshop...

Last night Josh and I got to go to a taping of Mad TV, courtesy of my pal Hunter who is a PA on the show. It was fun, but wow...I hate faking laughter. I really can't do it. Josh can--he pretends to laugh like Tom Cruise (and *that* makes me laugh!)--but I can't...it's like faking coughing--I can't do that either.
I would like the comedy on the show a lot more if it weren't for all the sexual content. As it is, I laughed a fair bit, but was quite ready to go home at the end of it.
The episode we viewed guest stars Dominic M--something or other. He was Merry the Hobbit in Lord of the Rings. Seems like a nice guy.
It's going to be on tv the weekend of the 26th...so if you watch it, you should let me know if you can hear me laughing. ;) Josh and I were in the front row on the balcony with a mic right in front of us, so odds are good.

Peace out for now, Peoples.

What's on My Mind

Logistics and numbers...
Wedding Planning can be fun but consuming.
Sorry I haven't had much time to update my blog these days...
Work is keeping me busy too.
Soon Josh and I will be apartment hunting too.
Hooray!
I will share deeper thoughts again soon...!
How many more times can I use the word 'soon'...?

Easter Psalm

So Yesterday at Kairos, our Pastor JR had us take the last 5 minutes of his message time to write a psalm to God. 5 people shared what they wrote. I did not, but I thought I might as well put mine up here... So this is inspired by the things JR addressed in his message...


Lord,
let me not struggle
in your delverance

When you hear
the cry of my heart
but I hold the medicine
in my mouth
refusing to swallow
Let your mercy surround me

When I pray for a sign
Then defiantly look through it
Turn my eyes to yours

Rebuke me in your Love
and let your correction
be the Light that leads me.

Do not let me dawdle on the path
Or sink down
when I protest I am tired
Be the strength in me
and urge me ever onward
Discontent with everything
but pure obedience
to Your perfect, divine,
Loving will

Turkey Pics III--Miscellanous

Sorry I've been neglectful, Dear Blog! Life has been busy, and I promise I will have something of substance to say again soon... For now, here are some final pics from my trip last month to Turkey...

When Suhye and I drove into Efes (or Ephesus), we had to go through a couple of tolls. At one, a little girl (I'm guessing she went to work with her dad) held this pretty purple flower out to me. I smiled at her and nodded, saying "pretty!" in English as if she could understand me. She just kept smiling and holding out the flower so I put my hand out to take it. She nodded and as I said "Thank you!" her smile got bigger. I put it on the dashboard of our rental car and snapped this pic before I had to toss it out at the end of the day.
This is one portion of one wall of a public toilet in the ruins in Ephesus. No ceiling, four walls, lots of chances to get to know your neighbor a bit better. Ahem...yes well, Thank God for indoor plumbing!
This is one of the many cats overrunning the country! There were cats at Ephesus, running around in the ruins. There was a cat at the Blue mosque, sunning itself--or trying to on an overcast day. There were cats traipsing through the neighborhoods of Istanbul. Thankfully, I like cats!
This sign is the $1,000 shot! This was at the entrance to Ephesus. Yes, it's a pay-to-go restroom. Yes, that's a mostly naked kid on the sign. And yes, it was enticing tourists to experience 'the magic atmosphere'! WHAT?!!
This was an add on the back of the seat in front of me...flight towards Ephesus. Suhye tells me the name of the airline--Onur--means respect. What's great is that the little motto underneath literally translated is, "Fly Turkey, fly!" Ha!
I like birds! This one was around the Blue Mosque area.

And this was a shot of traffic, but I enjoyed the humor of what the ad looked like on the truck driving by. Finally, this bottom shot was a beautiful taste of irony...a brightly colored plastic trash can in the middle of the magnificent ruins in Ephesus. Go figure! Ha!

Reasons to Smile...

Sometimes I just have to think about how good I've got it... :)

Today it was payday at work. I was happily surprised by the fact that my paycheck included a quarterly bonus that I was 95% positive I wouldn't be getting. Thank you, God! This is the second quarter that has happened...my wedding budget is not so intimidating with these happy surprises.

Today was also rainy here in LA. I went to a shop down the street to get alterations for the bridesmaid dress I'll wear in my brother's wedding this April. His fiance sent the dress to me in the mail, and expressed her concern over it getting wet or lost. I had an appointment at the shop for 2pm, but when I got there, a sign said the owner would be back at 2:15. I waited right in front of the door....the weather was amazingly clear for this short window of time, and then started to rain AFTER I was done and leaving the shop...I think I would have been in big trouble if the rain kicked in while I was waiting outside.

Another reason I have to smile is that a good handful of my coworkers are FUN and Funny! Last week I had a laughing fit after I called one coworker by his initials--HR. After a couple of times, he responded, "HR? Oh yeah, like Human Resource..." However, our store was loud and busy when he said this, so I didn't quite catch it, and I asked him, "What about a racehorse?" He chuckled and repeated, "HR like Human Racehorse...Yeah." The imagery of that almost put me in tears!

And yet another reason I can grin ear to ear...I know Valentine's Day was last week, but I'm still thinking about what a great gift Josh surprised me with--Fair Trade Chocolate Truffles AND a little Care Bear. It was the best present ever! And whenever I think of it, I can't stop grinning....!

Ok, my final pics from Turkey will be up soon, but I was feeling too happy to let the chance slide by without posting my thoughts today...!