Here are some pics!

Hi Friends!
So, one of the presents Josh gave me for Christmas was a digital camera. I have to admit, though I used to be an avid picture-taker in my younger years, I am quite the opposite at this point in my life. Regardless, the camera was a fun present and I have enjoyed snapping a few random shots. So in the last month or so, these are the images I have collected to share with you all...

A couple of weekends ago, Josh and I went hiking in Angeles State Park. We were amazed to see snow...turned out that because of the snow, we only got about a mile in and had to turn back on the trail because tennis shoes just weren't going to get us where we wanted to go.
The above shot is a rock along the trail. From far off I thought it quite resembled an alien head, but closer up, I changed my mind and could quite certainly see a likeness to George Washington...
The below pic is Josh and me!
And this was the view only a few feet from where we stopped and had lunch. :)
Below is a coffee mug I got Josh from Starbucks...snapped it shortly after we figured out how to work the camera.
And this next one is my bedroom door laden with all the Christmas and Birthday cards I received in December of '07. If you contributed, I thank you again! :)
These are my two favorite canines in the world right now...my furry friends Mitzy and Buggins who belong to my pals Eric and Audrey. Whenever I stop over at their place, I look forward to some good puppy-petting!
This is Audrey, Eric, and Josh hunkering down to an intense game of Settlers...Audrey beat me by one turn!
And this is a pic Josh snapped of me as soon as we got the camera out of the package on Christmas Day!

Pondering Eternity

The other day at work, I was running out the trash to the dumpster, and I found myself thinking through some pretty deep stuff.
I am 28, and I was thinking about how different of a person I am now, compared to earlier years of my life.
Then I thought, I wonder how different from the me I am now I'll be when/if I get to 60...
Or how about past that?
I do believe in eternal life...that's a heck of a long time. At some point will I even remember the person I started off as?
And in some ways, it feels like this changing and growing could be seen as a sort of death. Kristie version 4.9 passes away to make room for Kristie version 5.0.
And in some ways, that sort of defies my concept of 'living forever.'
But yet...maybe not...
In retrospect, when I see all the ways I've changed over the years, I do believe it's been for the better. I can feel connected to the person I was at age 9, but the 9 year old version of me would probably been a little baffled at the 28 year old version.
I believe that (perhaps?) all the changes and growth are making me more into the person I am meant to be...
Like you start out with a big blobbish sort of entity...take a little off the side here, clip out that there, tighten up on this, refigure that, and eventually the dimensions the creator intended begin to appear...
I don't know if this will make sense to anyone else, but I thought I might as well transfer it from my head to my blog, so there you go!

When you've got no one to blame but yourself...

So this morning was one of my blessed days off of work.
I slept in, which was WONDERFUL!
I ambled out to my car around 9:30 am...off to go pray with a friend.
And, whaddayaknow...there on my windshield was a parking ticket.
ARGH!!!!
My initial reaction was anger.
The stupid road I park on never has enough stupid spots anyway, and if I park in the stupid alley, I have to get up and move my stupid car before the stupid city would need access to the alley and tow me. What's more, it was garbage collection day, so everyone had their stupid garbage receptacles out on the curb, taking up space! I had found one blessed possible spot to park in when I got home late last night, but when I was backing up, the stupid wind was shaking one of the stupid garbage receptacles and so I thought I hit it with my bumper and I pulled ahead a couple feet. This left me parked a couple feet into the stupid red on the curb, though the vast majority of my car was clear. I pondered the difficulty of the garbage truck getting by, but figured I was safe...especially considering how many people park their stupid cars completely in the red and get away with it!...but not on garbage mornings...
I looked at my ticket and balked at the $70 fee this would cost me.
Money I could have put into my wedding fund...
Money I could have gotten Josh a nice 6 month anniversary gift with...
Money I could have spent during my upcoming trip to Turkey...
Money I worked hard for and had now squandered.

My mind briefly did a scan of all the people I could blame for this unfair catastrophe. Perhaps due to my creative thinking abilities, I came up with a few options.
But ultimately I had to admit it...I was the one who screwed up.
Kristie, did you park your car in the red?
Yes.
Kristie, did you make the decision to leave your car there instead of reposition it?
Yes.
Kristie, did you decide to not get up before now and move it to a safer spot?
That's right.
Ok then...so it's your own darn fault--deal!

Minutes later I wrote out my check and mailed it from my friend's place. At least I could get on with the rest of my day...and hopefully I learned my lesson.

Morally Reprehensible

Ducks are an animal I think fondly of.
Back when I lived in Minneapolis, I would see random mallards and wood ducks when I would go for a run. They made me smile and feel happy.
When I was little, I always enjoyed feeding ducks bread too.
One time, a number of years ago, a friend and I were talking about ducks and their potential to serve as a main course.
I came up with a little adage for my sentiments regarding this--Ducks are for feeding, not eating.
Ok, so I know the rest of the world is not bound to live by Kristie's convictions, but Kristie at least can, right?
Alas...I have a tale for you, my friends.
Saturday I was at a sort of potluck meal--one with a few different Asian dishes.
Among the different offerings of meat was a dish I thought might be barbecued pork. It looked good. I took a piece. It was decidedly hard to delve into, but I determinedly ripped the meat from the bone, and thought, "Not bad."
Minutes later a friend at this same meal looked at the 'barbecued pork' and mentioned, "Isn't the duck Good?"
"DUCK?!!" says I with a restrained level of consternation.
Oh yes, it was duck.
Wild duck, but duck all the same.
Josh noticed the look on my face and asked me if I was ok. I guess I had to be.
In some cultures its no big deal to eat dog or horse. For an American, this seems almost a crime. That about sums up how I felt.
Forgive me, my feathered friends, I promise to ask next time before I grab the mystery meat...

Breaking in 2008

Happiest of New Years to you all, Friends!
I hope your respective 2008s are shaping up nicely.
Mine has been off to a rough start...massive headache, getting a second-degree burn @ work from hot cheese dripping on to the back of my hand (I kid you not), and feeling generally exhausted and super-sensitive.
So do forgive me for my lack of a post with real substance.
Just wanted to check in, say hi, and state for the record that I know my year WILL get a lot better!
In the words of The Charlatans:
"I see my light come shining/there is good on the horizon!"
And now for some sweet slumber...