My Life is Rather Boring

So not much has changed in the life department. Yet, anyhow. I do have some exciting new projects I'm working on freelance-wise, which is pretty fun. I just did a book cover for a local design firm — mostly so they can see how awesome I am, partly just for fun.

Oooh and ahhh appropriately, please.

Thank you.

I know it doesn't look all that interesting to you, but I think it's pretty cool. And there's a ton of math and spatial awareness that goes with cover design — and book design! It's pretty challenging to work in a flat medium (like a computer screen) that needs to translate into three dimensions, not to mention the wrapping around a book block successfully part. And there are all kinds of requirements from the publisher and the book people on barcodes, etc. that you have to deal with without ruining the quality of the design. You have to work that darned barcode in there without it totally destroying the basis of your designs.

It's fun, I promise. I enjoy it anyhow.

I'm also starting some new logos for people. Mostly logos that they're already working on that they need translated from amateur to awesome — and paper to digital. Which, let's face it, is one of my many specialties.

In other news, I'm still enjoying the snow, but I'm enjoying my commute less and less. We're starting to look at places in town — in fact, that's one of my jobs this "weekend." I need to call the mortgage guy to see about a check to see if I would qualify to purchase a house. Aiee! I'm considering buying a house. How grown-up is that?

Our figuring — or mine at least, as boyfriend is still vague on his opinion of this plan — is that if a house payment is about the same as rent, why shouldn't I pay for a house rather than just renting one? Even if we moved out of the area, we'd be able to rent the house to make the payment.

My other job this weekend is to call the Realtor and to start looking at craigslist for houses to rent (in case the whole buying thing doesn't work out). We want to move in the spring, but the good housing is on the West side of town, and now is the time to start looking at that.

Fun stuff, huh?

Oh, and I've started running again. I've managed to find a wonderful gym that has an indoor track (!) so when there's too much snow, I can run there, and I've been cross training more and more since it's so darned cold outside. Our next half-marathon is projected to be April 3rd in Portland (sorry, Siobhan and all my San Luis Obispo friends, the wine run in Cambria isn't going to happen this year...too far to travel...).

Lovely friend and I are also going to sign up for the lottery for the Nike Women's Half. Firemen in tuxes presenting us with Tiffany's do-dads after we finish? Way better than free beer. (For those of you who don't know, the firemen and the Tiffany's is part of the Nike women's run, which is why there's a lottery to do it...it's kind of popular. Free beer is pretty standard after bigger half marathons, not sure why though.)

Anyways, that's it for now.

Ciao,
kc

Are you sure it's the end of the year?

Just for the record. I'm writing this at 7:03 a.m. on December 31st. As I don't have  a lot of time, and I have a lot of pictures, I don't know when it will actually be posted, so for that, I apologize.

One thing I would like to say is what the hell happened to 2010? Where did it go? Last I checked, I was being dragged — in spite of my protests — into the rain by boyfriend's best friend on December 31st, 2009 because "Only losers don't go out on New Year's," and he wasn't about to let me be a loser while my boyfriend was partying it up a four hour drive away in Mt. Shasta.

Last I checked, I was falling asleep on a plane en route to Venice and then Rome, feeling a wee bit confused about the whole "sun rising" thing the stewardess was going on about when the sun was merely setting...and then being rudely awakened by ridiculously bright sun rays a few hours later by the said sun rising.

Last I checked, my feet were pounding the pavement with my lovely friend while we were discussing the actuality of my move to Bend with boyfriend — and whether or not it would actually happen — and he was startling me with things like making plans and discussing the future, which are normally taboo, or at least tip-toed around, in our lives.



Last I checked, I was dragging my tired butt out of bed for three unending weeks of training in Seattle for my wonderful new job, bitching about the rain, and missing home, which was here, in Bend with boyfriend.

Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the end of this year.

It was a good year at least, and I stuck with you all — rather surprisingly given my other forays into blogging — in spite of the many life changes that have struck since beginning this blog only five short months ago. Is it weird that it makes me giggle that this post, this last post of 2010 is my 69th post? If you don't get it, don't worry about it. It's terribly immature anyhow.

Recap on the holidays. It was wonderfully fun. We had some hilarity with the tree as the manly men and directing women of my family (and extended family) got the tree indoors, in the stand, and covered in lights.

I had to work and miss out on precious time with the fam as they went skiing and built an igloo in our front yard, but I did get to cook for them! I made a wonderful recipe given to me by my adorable sorority sister in Seattle. It involves roasting veggies (like butternut squash) and serving them over pasta. Yum!

The tree was packed with gifts from our very generous friends and family. So we had quite the lush Christmas, and I got many lovely gifts.

I didn't have to cook a darned thing (because my mommy loves me and is a much better cook than I am, and everyone else was helping so I put my feet up and drank my wine). And I got Christmas day and the day after Christmas off (basically because my boss is awesome, just don't let him hear that I told you that; he has a rep to keep up, after all) so I spent lots of time with my family doing Christmas-y things like going for a walk in the idyllic woods covered in idyllic snow just outside my idyllic cabin and eating turkey and skiing the day after Christmas and then going to the Deschutes Brewery for lunch and seeing Tangled as a treat.

I think boyfriend's favorite was definitely the princess movie. Dad and sister's boyfriend, Scott, agreed.

They left and I cried a little on my way to work. And then cried some more with my co-worker, Denise, once I got to work because her daughters had to leave that morning as well. Communal tears at its best.

And now it's today. And I'm feeling a wee bit bewildered as the year is ending.

I know I missed the opportune time to hand over this last 2010 recipe, but you can save it away for next year. It makes a ton of stew, I froze half and we're still sick of eating it for lunch and dinner since Tuesday. I'm hoping the friends of boyfriend that are showing up today will take care of it.

I got this recipe from one of my roommates in college who got it from her grandma. Belatedly, I recalled how much soup it made and how sick we got of it then too. It's delicious and nutritious and a great way to take care of that leftover turkey, but have a dinner party to get rid of it!

Turkey Stew
 Take carcass. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours (until the bones break easily). Make sure the bones are always covered while simmering. Add hot water as needed.

Pour bones through a sieve back into the pot to get the bones out. Pull remaining meat off bones and add to broth. Add chopped carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, leftover turkey meat and other heavy vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste (I forgot to add any, so mine turned out a wee bit flavorless). Cook that whole mess for an hour.

20 minutes before it's done, add a bag of egg noodles. Tadah! You have turkey stew.

This is me wishing you a very happy New Year.

Ciao,
kc

'Twas the Morning Before Christmas

'Twas the morning before Christmas and all through the house
every creature was stirring, except for the mouse
And by mouse I do mean my sister so dear
With her boyfriend, I'm so happy they both are here!

The stockings are scattered on our wooden floor
The presents are stacked almost to the door
My hairdryer roaring as I get ready to go
Off to work with my co-workers and my boss named Brian Joe

I know I'll be looking out the window all day
Anxious to be home and with my family to play
As they're all waiting for me, snug in my home
All that's left is for Santa to come!

With Mama and Papa and Laurel and Scott
Don't forget the dog, Puck, he's here with the lot!
When Christmas day comes, we'll all settle 'round
our sparkling tree, with gifts by the pound.

I've never seen a tree quite so stacked
With so many presents, where were they all packed?
The best part of Christmas, however
Is the part I remember forever
The bright happy looks on everyone's faces when
They open the gifts I so lovingly bought them!
Because Christmas is about giving, it's the most important part
But it's also about living, and having love in your heart.

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone. I hope you have a very merry Christmas. I know I will!

Love,
kc

"I should have been a rapper" and other things people say

It was our second trip north to Bellevue, Washington when a hip hop song came up on my iPod's playlist. Tiny little Melisa sat next to me in the passenger seat, while Taylor sat in the backseat. Melisa and I started doing the wiggle that can only be defined as dancing while strapped securely in our seats of the truck.

Taylor Swift said, "I should have been a rapper."

Wait...what?

Hilarity ensued. It was to be the first of many "darnedest things" that he would say during that trip to training, and even now that we've returned, he still says them.

Taylor, a.k.a. "Taylor Swift" or "Swifty," is one of my fellow new co-workers. At 25, he still has a baby face that at first glance pegs him at 18, second glance will give him 22. Then he deadpans something along the lines of, "I like to hold cool things in my hand because they make me look cool" and age goes out the window as you're doubled over gasping for breath with laughter and instead of a number, he's just plain ol' "Awesome."

You're never quite sure if he's serious.

You're never quite sure if he's kidding either.

Both of which make it so darned funny.

Running in Snow is Hard

I have a moment! Literally, I have about 10 minutes before I have to gather my things and run off to work. This whole work thing is exhausting. Yesterday I was "done" at about noon. I just could not summon the energy. The day crawled. It wasn't as if it wasn't busy. It was. Not swamped like usual, but a decidedly steady stream of customers.

I realized why I was so energy-less later, when I managed to jam my sandwich down my throat in approximately 2.5 seconds. Apparently as I burn somewhere between 1800 and 2200 calories a day simply by doing my job (nevermind if I manage to hit the snowpack before work with a grueling run), three cups of coffee doesn't equal "breakfast." At my old job, I could get caught up in choosing my clothes or doing my hair, or merely enjoying my coffee and forget breakfast and be fine. At this job, it appears that that is not an option. This girl needs food!


You'd think it'd be obvious to someone who loves to cook — and eat — as much as I do. It just wasn't something I had to worry about at my previous — and extremely sedentary — job. At Verizon, I get fussy at about 2 p.m. if I didn't manage to squeeze in at least a ten minute break to snag a snack earlier on. The headache from lack of food hits at exactly 3 p.m. (this was tested last Friday when we were swamped and hopping from customer to customer with hardly space to breathe trying to make up for the hour plus wait time).

It's glorious. Odd that it's glorious? Not. I gained something like 5 pounds during the three weeks I was sitting bored at training and I feel as if I've dropped them all merely from running around at work (I don't know for sure as I refuse to own a scale). My kicks are tired, my legs feel great even though I've only managed one run since I've been back. It's a job and exercise all in one!

Just another reason to love my job.

Before I leave you, I want to tell you about a fashion thing that I discovered as I haven't talked about that sort of thing in a while.

I've always wanted to wear those giant bling-y rings and have never felt like there was a suitable way for me to wear them. My fingers are rather delicate and my penchant for big jewelry lately makes that extra touch a little too much. Except I discovered this new shampoo that makes my hair shiny and stay lush and smooth all day long if I wear it down, so I've been wearing my hair down more lately and combined with a drapy-necked sweater, there's not really room for big necklaces and my earrings are mere glimpses.

Enter big ol' ring. Hooray!

I'm sure y'all care, but I'm excited. And that's what matters right?

Also, in the spirit of the season, I'm currently rocking red and green nails — upon which one customer commented yesterday, "Hey! Her nails are Christmas tree colored!" and my co-worker, Josh, glanced at them and grinned saying, "Yeah. And I'm jealous."

Jokes ensued the rest of the day about Josh needing a manicure. I think it was funnier if you were there.

As soon as I can, I will tell you about one of my co-workers whom we have dubbed "Taylor Swift" or "Swifty" when he says certain hilarious things. (His name is Taylor, so it followed).

Ciao,
kc

SUNDAY: 2.5 miles in 6 inches of fresh snow...it's like running in sand!

Letter to everyone...about nothing

Dear you all,

I love my job. I just thought I'd throw that out there. Even though I was in the store until 8:15 p.m. last night assisting with one last sale (to a very lovely woman who was super excited about her Droid but was so not tech-savvy...though perhaps, after last night's thorough tutorials, she has a fighting chance), so even though I was in the store and hour and fifteen minutes past closing and drove through a snowstorm at a crawl to make it home and just after 9 p.m. to a starving (and whining about it) boyfriend, I love my job. I didn't mind being there that late.

It made me sad because it meant my boyfriend time was halved, but I know that there will be plenty of nights where I'll get home on time like I did on Monday night and we'll curl up on the couch with our dinner and watch Dexter, or whatever TV show we're watching at that time. And he'll rub my legs and I'll give him a head rub and we'll smile tiredly at each other and just enjoy the time spent together before we go to bed and start all over again.

By the way, he's been a champion boyfriend. Monday morning, I got coffee and he cut up apples and celery for my lunch. Monday night, dinner was on the table (a very fancy from-the-box-mac-n-cheese with broccoli, which is a fan favorite around here). Yesterday morning, he full on made my lunch with a turkey sandwich, chips, apples and celery. Dinner was a little sketchier, but it was still 85% made by the time I got home (homemade pesto from the freezer on tortellini with salad, I'm telling you, that pesto business is a good call). Oh and the driveway was neatly shoveled yesterday morning before I had to leave.

He wins all the points. I have got to be the luckiest girl in the world!

Anyways, I promise I'll do a more thorough update this weekend when I have more time, but I'll try to continue to get little blips in here and there like this. Just to keep y'all in the loop you know.

Oh, and exercise has kind of fallen by the wayside. I was going to run this morning, but running's a bit more of a challenge when there's 6 to 8 inches of fresh snow. A challenge I'm not willing to conquer. My running coach is getting me an off-season training schedule, so hopefully that will motivate me, and now that I'm back home I'll be able to hit the mountain on my off days (I'm so excited!). Anyhow, breakfast is calling...

Ciao,
kc

Back from the rabbit hole

Just so y'all know:

1. I'm home.

2. I'm alive (ish). I'm still countering a very persistent cold, but with me, so what else is new?

3. I'm going to my first "real" day on the job. I've worked at the store before already, but as my boss said, we weren't fully trained so he couldn't really have us doing anything of value. He said it in a much more smart-ass way, as his penchant, but the long in short of it was that.

4. I'm excited...I don't know what to wear!

5. I'm wishing I'd slept in longer.

6. I'm not sure why I got up at 6:30. I'm not running today as I'm trying to get better first, and I feel like I'm competing with boyfriend for morning space. His involves music. Mine does not. It's frustrating.

7. Boyfriend's starting work today. He didn't sleep last night. He might be excited/nervous. He looks adorable in his uniform.

8. I think in the future I shall lie abed until he leaves so as to avoid morning differences. At least he made me coffee.

9. It's a good thing we like each other, a lot.

10. That's all, I just wanted to update really quickly. I'm back now, so expect more to come soon!

Ciao,
kc