So, it's been almost a month...

Wow, hard to believe that in the last month I simply haven't found the time to post anything new on my blog...
I meant to--believe me.
I thought of waxing poetic when my faithful, old (albeit way beat up) Honda Accord finally pooped out on me a number of weeks ago.
(Now Josh and I are sharing driving his VW Jetta.)
I considered sharing some heartfelt thoughts on the eve of moving my stuff into the new apartment I'll be sharing with Josh. But moving takes forever and no extra time was found to blog.
I had banked on being able to post something once we got unpacked in our new place, but we soon discovered that there was no free wireless internet in our apartment building's lobby as had initially been promised...hmmmm.
While couch-hopping this last week, I figured I could sneak onto a friend's computer and put something on my blog...but no, it was enough of a battle just turning up by 10pm each night.
But here I finally am...my pals S&V just left for a trip to Puerto Rico this morning, and I'm staying at their place for the next few days, so I was determined to put some form of communication up and let you know I'm still kicking...

It has been a crazy month.
For work, I transferred stores but the original promotion was reneged on. So that was an adjustment, as was the move, as was the car, as was spending less time with Josh, as was having no time to exercise, as was being sick for about 3 weeks straight.
Then last week I was offered management of the store I transferred to, and as of this last Monday I officially took over the ship (so to speak). I am determined to do the best job I can, but such a big change so close to our wedding (and all the last minute drama it's enduring), is a bit of a challenge.

But as the Beatles sang, "O Bla dee, O bla da, Life goes on..."
And it does.

To leave you with something a bit more palatable, the following pics I leeched off of my friend Christy. She snapped them at a 'roomie reunion' a couple of weeks ago, when a bunch of us got together at a tasty pizzeria in Larchmont. (That explains the red glow).
While we never all lived together at once, I think Christy and Elizabeth managed to live in the apartment with most/all incarnations of the mix.



From left to right: Sarah, Stacey, me, Elizabeth, Elise, Christy, Tammy
Elizabeth/Elise/Tammy
Sarah/Stacey/Me

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!

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'...?

Goodbye, Ristey!

So, a lot of you who read this have already gotten the news, but to make it public knowledge: I am engaged! Wahoo!!! :)
Josh and I plan to get married in my hometown in Wisconsin this coming June 21st.
Should be one heck of a great time! :)
I am already feeling WAY blessed by the friends who have agreed to be a part of the wedding party, help out, and attend.
This pic is of almond blossoms, which I really *really* hope to get for the wedding flower...might prove difficult, but we'll see what we can do. It's hugely significant--if you want the dirt, shoot me an email.
I will try to post a better pic of Josh and I soon, but if you want to see a 24 second clip of him in real time, search for "Dodger Rant" at Youtube. :)
For those of you I promised an email of details to, I promise I will get on that soon...it's been a bit busy for me as of late, but I will get to it.
Thanks for sharing the joy, all!

Just checking in...

Hi Blog readers...sorry that this week has been lacking in entries.
I've been sick!
Ugh...I think Disneyland is a cesspool of germs or something...seems that I got sick after my day there almost two weeks ago.
Never fear though, I took the advice of a number of friends and finally decided to schedule a doctor's appointment for Monday. With a vat of antibiotics at my disposal, life may just return to normal in the forseeable future.
More wedding nostalgia to divulge, I promise you that.
Cheers for now!

This and That

Hey Friends--sorry for the not so on-top-of it manner in which I have been posting recently!
The good news is that I'm all moved in to my new place now, and it's going really well. Last week was a bit of a blur, but over the last day or two, I have made a significant go at unpacking.
Now I find myself putting the process on hold again as I'm leaving LA in a few short hours to help celebrate my pals Cheryl and Lizzy (a boy!) getting married in Las Vegas this coming Sunday.
I'm the Maid of Honor, and it's my first time being part of the wedding party...here's hoping I perform my duties to the best of my abilities!

So if you're wondering, the pic at the top of this post is from this past Saturday when Josh and I took our young pals Caleb and Elisabeth to Disneyland for the day. We were there for over 13 hours! It was quite a day--filled with moments of laughter, happiness, hunger, and being ready to go home... ;)

Before I forget, I obtained another quotable quote last week. Wednesday was Josh's birthday, and a number of us went out to eat sushi. During dinner, a fellow named A.J. began airing his opinion about myspace and blogs. Expressing his distaste for a number of these sites, A.J. explained that he was more sensitive than the average web surfer due to his experience with computers...he went on to say, "For me, a website can be like a bad rash!"
Ha!
:)

Quick Update

Hey Friends!
Sorry the blogging has been a bit sparse over the last couple of weeks. Life has been keeping me busy!

So I helped out with Kairos' Vacation Bible School a week ago.
It was quite an experience, and I'm glad I did it.
I got to lead a group of 4-5 little kids (ages ranging from 5-11), and encourage/connect with twice as many. It's really heart-warming to see how open little kids are--how much they crave your attention, how much they want a hug, how much they want to come up with a right answer, etc.
It's also really cool to see their personalities come out. I really enjoyed the opportunity to encourage a couple of kids when I saw that they excelled in something too.
On the other hand, I think this experience reconfirmed to me that I'm much more geared to working with teens. There's only so much intellectual stuff you can discuss with a 7 year old. We had one bible point each day (eg. God is real; God is with us; God is in control...), as well as a bible verse. If the kids remembered the point, they were doing well. Three hours to drive home one point feels a bit frustrating, but I guess if it became real to them then, it was worth it.

Switching gears, at work this week, I officially started writing the schedule. I've been wanting to take this task over basically since I started back over a year ago, so it's really nice to finally get around to it. We have a complex computer system (or so it seems) to help write the schedule out...it feels a bit like playing a game, but I really enjoy it. My manager is glad to be able to release this duty to someone who is a more 'linear' thinker...writing schedules was torturous to him. (He's only had to do it for a month or so though, as a former Assistant Manager headed it up before.) What's more, I've already been complimented on a good job, which is really nice.

Ok, well, time to start up my laundry so I'd better get going. Hopefully I'll have more interesting things to post about soon. :)

Biting off as much as I can chew...

So after waffling about it for quite awhile, today is the day I told my pal Audrey I would volunteer for the VBS (Vacation Bible School) our church is putting on in less than a month.
The theme of the week is going to be 'Avalanche Ranch', and this is one critter I'm sure to see popping up all over the place...

I have never done a VBS before...unless you count the one or two I went to when I was a wee tyke.
It's also been a goodly amount of time since I taught Sunday School or anything...
I get excited about Youth ministry...but teens are my preferred age bracket.
It's not that I think I can't connect with the younger crowd, it's just starting to be a little more out of my comfort zone. A child here or there is one thing, but like 7 all at once is a completely different animal.
Hmmm...
In appreciation of irony, I have to share this tidbit too. While my summer looks to having me work with the elementary crowd, my dear friend Cheryl (up in Minnesota) is spending her summer working at a camp and stretching herself by working with older youth (aka teenagers). She's much more the elementary-friendly leader. Maybe this VBS thing will give me a better view of her world...

We'll see how it goes, I guess.
In other related news, I'm concerned I'm beginning to tarnish the efficient image I work so hard to uphold. ;) One of the ministries I serve on at Kairos is called Soulfood. Essentially, it's taking the cd copy of the week's message, editing it (taking out pauses and getting it into proper computer form), and then putting it up on a backstage version of the website. Someone else makes the message accessible.
I took over this ministry around October to help out...and went along at a good clip for quite a while...then in April I experienced massive technical difficulties that made my job impossible to complete. So...the good news is that the problems were figured out recently and it works again. The bad news is that I've got quite a backlog to work with now, people all over world are getting impatient, and I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to this stuff.

Bottom line = Friends, if you feel like praying for me...by all means!

Feeling Jonah

This pic is courtesy of: http://breadsite.org

Earlier this week I was praying about something and I decided to do one of those Kamikaze-open-up-the-Bible randomly to see if God had something to say to me. I opened up to the end of Jonah (Chapter 4) where God asks Jonah, "Do you have any right to be angry?" It didn't seem to hit me that night, but fast forward a few days and it's making a lot of sense...

I called my pal Foxx earlier today to get some counsel and she posed this question to me, "How do you know anything is God's will?" I gave her my answer which I felt very confident about, but I also realized some defensiveness was creeping in on my part. Foxx and I have been pals for a number of years, and she has seen me move from Minnesota to Los Angeles to New Zealand to Minnesota to a different part of Minnesota to Los Angeles. In other words, she's weathered a good chunk of my transitions and heard my different passionate stances on, "I think God is calling me to do this!" only to be changed into a different "Now, I think God is calling me to do this!"
In my defense, I do believe that my moving around and doing different things is evidence of God working in my life, as by nature I'm a homebody. (Just ask my friends from Wisconsin who still remind me at every chance that I used to proclaim I never wanted to leave my hometown!)
I also have prayed a lot before every major decision to leave, and I have faith that if I'm asking the Lord what direction he wants to lead me in, He's going to be a good Father and answer those prayers.
But I also have to admit that my credibility feels like it gets shot in the foot every time I seem to...um...change my mind. It leaves a lot of room for people to ask, "Kristie, is that really what God wanted you to do, or was it simply what you wanted to do?"

Which brings me back to Jonah.
God asked him to go to the City of Nineveh and proclaim that it would be destroyed because of the people's disobedience.
Jonah didn't want to go. Instead, he sailed in the opposite direction and had to be convinced by sitting in the belly of a whale for a few days.
When he did go and say what God asked him to, the people of Nineveh repented. And God relented. And the city was saved. No wrath falling. And Jonah was mighty TICKED OFF that his words didn't come true.
I can sympathize. I mean, in the Old Testament, there are rules for what to do with prophets whose prophecies don't reach fulfillment.
"You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."--Deuteronomy 18:21-22
And in the preceding verse we read something a little more severe...
"But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say...must be put to death." (vs. 20)
Yikes! I'm hoping the Israelites didn't enforce that one on old Jonah or he really would've been in a rough spot... When the Ninevites repent, Jonah essentially says to God, "I knew you were going to do this! That's why I didn't want to say anything in the first place!" But that doesn't change the fact that God wanted him to deliver the prophecy.
So is it fair to say that translates to the modern world? Does it go beyond prophecies? Does the Lord allow us to think a certain thing is His will for us (even if it doesn't come to completion) that would serve a purpose in the end anyway?
Heady stuff, friends. And I'm feeling it...

I saw the ending quote on a webpage with a pic of Jonah that I didn't use due to copyright reasons. I thought the quote was very worth sharing and pondering though...

Because this one struggling believer answered the call to obedience, thousands came to a saving knowledge of the Lord God. Not even Jonah doubted this would happen; he had actually run away because he knew God would save the Ninevites. How much, I wonder, could God do with my obedience? How much could He do with yours?

—Allen Harris

Last Weeks Goings ons...

Yes, I know, after saying I have a laptop to compose blog posts from my very own home, not a peep from me for days on end. Oh, the Irony. :)
But really, to give me a little bit of credit, I've had a heck of a week.
Tuesday, my pal Andrew and I saw the band MUSE live @ The Forum in Inglewood (which passes for LA, I guess). The first pic here shows lead singer Matthew Belamy (?I might have butchered that spelling) wearing the same red jacket he opened the set with. The second pic is to give the other 2/3 of the band equal airtime.
Despite the outrageous cost of the event (including $22 parking!), it was a great gig. I wish I knew how many people the venue held...it was surely enough to form its own city. (I'm not sure that it rivaled the crowd in East Troy, WI when I saw 3 Doors Down and Creed a few years back though...)
The sound was a bit muddy due to the size of the place and the constant roar of cheering from the crowd, but it was still an excellent show. Hooray for Muse! (I do have to admit though that I liked seeing them @ The Quest in Minneapolis a few years back better because of the intimacy...however, this time I did know all the songs they played...)

Wednesday I went shopping for a bridesmaid dress with my pal S. That was an amazing experience. I'm one of the few women on the planet that doesn't enjoy shopping, so I just told S. to take the lead. That she did! She even gave me a briefing before we started about how I should be careful to not follow her too closely (thereby avoiding collisions if she turned in a hurry). I found that that extremely comical (in a respectful way!). She also made me grin when she sounded like a drill sergeant talking to me from within one store: "Retreat! Retreat!"
Anyway, we found a lovely black skirt that was originally priced over $100, and I got it for less than $40! (Wow, it helps to pray before shopping!) The top we settled on isn't quite doing it for my friend, the soon-to-be-bride, so we'll have to try over on that...but it was only a $5 investment, so I sure won't complain! All in all, a very successful venture.

Last night I went to see the movie The Reaping with my friends Deana, Andrew, and Josh. It was an interesting flick. I'm not sure how I feel about it, all told...I guess it's sure not bad for a horror movie. The ending left me a bit befuddled, and the four of us were trying to think out the moral ramifications of a person deciding to have an abortion if they were carrying the Spawn of Satan. Yes, deep theological stuff! Ha!

Ok, so lots going on, and even more I don't have time to write about...I'm off to a housewarming party in a few hours, so the week of STUFF continues!
Hopefully next week will calm down to the point that I can be more contemplative.
Ciao for now!

mini update and upcoming new video to look for!

Here's a link to a VH1 article that has got me excited and ready to find a computer with speakers so I can watch a little Youtube...
http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/
1546013/20061116/cash_johnny.jhtml?headlines=true

This article talks about an upcoming video for Johnny Cash's song, "God's Gonna Cut You Down." I heard the tune once on the radio here (Indie 103 is a super-cool radio station and they have a Cash song around 4pm most days of the week...too bad my car's antenna gets crummy reception), and it was a memorable experience. The song is like a slap in the face--lyrically and musically. And it sounds like the video will be rather poignant...whether all the celebs in it realize the significance or not. Interesting.

As for me, sorry I haven't had much of a chance to post candidly on this here blog lately. Hard to say how many people are even checking it, so maybe only a few people feel put out...er...anyway.
Yeah, I'm an internet moocher these days...exploiting my roommate's laptop when I have time to bring it to a Starbucks, exploiting my church's internet access when I'm serving in a ministry with the computers, and even popping into the local library when I'm desperate. Ideally this will soon come to an end and we'll get an internet connection at the apartment...ideally. Or I might just keep up the scavenging for internet time for the next 6 months and see where that puts me.
Aye karumba.
So, how am I these days?
mmmm...ok.
I'm waiting to see if I'll officially get promoted to Assistant Manager at work. Seems to be taking some time for the powers that be to get their ducks in a row. I got some sad news on Monday that one of the residents at the group home I used to work at in MN passed away last week. He was a Christian, and I'm sure he's very happy where he is now, but it's still sad to lose him...and it's been making me think about my work and if I'm really on the right course or not...
Lots of questions with not so clear answers right now...
I'm also rather frustrated that my whole reason for coming back to LA has yet to be realized...as in, in the 5 months I've been here, I have yet to work with any youth outside of a few younger coworkers... The mental dilemma is do I 1)Wait patiently for things to line up or 2)shake things up to make something happen--and possibly change a lot of things (in my own life) in the process?
Maybe I can blame the holiday season for making me feel a bit homesick. It was my mom's 51st birthday yesterday. This last week I thought about how much I'd like to beam myself back to her place to have some coffee with her in the morning, while sitting on the kitchen floor--my back to the oven--and peering out the big picture window.
On that note, I also thought about how much I wish I could beam myself back to Minneapolis and take a morning run around Lake Nokomis with my pal Foxx. Of course, I'm not sure I'd want to run in the chilly air there...
And call it masochism or not, but Crowded House's Together Alone album has been in constant rotation in my car's cd player. This album reminds me of New Zealand more than any other...with the last track featuring a Maori choir, how could it not? And as I've been driving to work, seeing posters for the Nativity Story movie coming out soon, I keep looking at the girl who plays Mary (she's Maori and starred in the movie Whale Rider) while Neil Finn sings in my ear, and wishing I could find myself back in New Zealand--or even Australia--again for a while.

But for now, here I am. Work to be done, bills to be paid, lease to follow through on...thus is life.

D'oh!

Ok, so the latest posted God-writing is a bit of a shambles...I'll get the rest of it up properly soon.
See, I've tried posting it a few different times now.
3 times it seemed that the pic didn't appear, so I logged on today, ready to insert the pic and be done with the thing.
Then I noticed that the post was already up...and I erroneously thought it was fully posted. Strange-weird computer problems.
So I didn't double check and I deleted two of the three versions...only to find the one I kept was only a partial entry.
D'oh!
And my journal with the original is about 10 miles away back in my apartment right now.
And the email I had copied the post to when I thought it hadn't got published, I deleted last night.

So, all this to say, please excuse my haphazardness...in the next day or two, it should be fully viewable.

While I'm giving you a quick update, I might as well throw in a few other facts...
1)I'm leading my canvas group this Wednesday (like a small group from church), so any prayers would be appreciated.
2)While you're praying, maybe you could throw one in for Jasmine K. the daughter of a couple of missionaries I know from New Zealand. She's got some scary health issues going on right now back in New Zealand and her parents are both in Thailand. She's around college-aged, so I'm sure it's a stressful time for her.
3)I've been having some weird dreams lately. I could elaborate, but I'd probably confuse and/or scare some people in the process (my dreams lean toward the violent side), so I'll leave it at that.

Quick Update

Hey Friends,
how goes it?
I am starting to go through internet withdrawl I think...I'm using my roommate's laptop at a Starbucks at the moment. Hooray for generosity! :)
So, just thought I'd send a shout out to say I'm alive and kicking.... A little under-the-weather at the moment, but not too bad. I've got this frog-in-my-throat thing going on so my voice sounds quieter and more growly than usual...at least from my ears.
Hopefully I'll be back up to par in a day or two.
The apartment is faring well. It's almost funny how stuff has gone wrong (elevator didn't work when I moved in, I lost my checkbook during the moving process, a door on a kitchen cabinet ripped off it's hinges when I opened it, and yesterday we had a pipe in the ceiling start dripping water all over the floor), but so far I haven't been derailed in thinking it's an a-ok place to live.
My roommates are pretty darn cool too.
We hung out a bit on Sunday. I discovered that Sandra and I have the same birthday (she's 2 years older though). Hunter--staying in the living room--is my coworker who is a delight to be around...though he just told me he thinks I'm obsessive-compulsive. Hmmm...
Here's a link to his Myspace page if you want to check it out:
http://www.myspace.com/hunterrobobinson

Ok, I'll be back when I can be.
I miss all of you that don't live within a 10 mile radius! For real!

New cell phone #

Yes, you should've gotten an email from me about 11 hours ago letting you know that I have a California # now instead of a MN one. If I accidently overlooked emailing you, let me know and I'll give you the new digits!
Crazy how much of a run-around it was. At one point customer service told me I should go to a store to change the #. At the store, after waiting for about 15-20 minutes for a rep, I was told they couldn't do it, and I needed to call customer service. Thankfully, when I finally had the gumption to call (last night) I talked to a guy who knew his stuff. He had me set within 10 minutes.
Ah, life.