Mmmmm!!!

currently enjoying a little bit of heaven...

so what if it's 17 degrees outside right now!

it's just what i needed on this Friday afternoon at the office.

Serendipity Night

Last night we were invited to a surprise birthday gathering for a guy that I taught with at the MTC. His wife planned it all and since he is a Serendipity fan, we had our own little Serendipity night - just like the movie!

{the ticket in}

{skate rink at rockefeller center}

{frrrrozen hot chocolate}

{check out the strawberry cheesecake sundae brett got. it was good, but he liked my frrrrozen hot chocolate more}

Is it weird?

So I was chatting online with my cousin last night for a few minutes. She was tellling me that she was just getting ready for midterms. I feel as though the normal, graduated human-being would respond to that, "Oh, sorry about that, I'm so glad those are behind me!" Well, considering that I am not your average Jane, my reaction was quite the opposite. I reflected on my days of midterm madness and said "I kind of miss those." The truth is that I was a bit jealous of her at that moment. I LOVE learning! I loved the challenge of midterms and finals. There was something about the pressure to put sufficient time and effort to be able to ace a test - the harder, the better! Then going in to take the test and having a roller coaster of emotions from, "Oh, that's easy, got that one right" or "If only I had studied a little more" to "I know this, think Kris, think!" I loved visualizing the page in the book (pictures and all) or the page of notes where the answer was found and translating that to the test questions. The rush of walking out of the test awaiting the score is indescribable. And for those tests in the testing center that provided automatic results, I LOVED looking up at the screen, looking for 7413 (the last digits of my ID number) to see the results. Of course the ultimate pay-off was the flashing "CONGRATULATIONS" on the screen when you got an A. For me, tests didn't end there. Once I received the score, even if I only missed one and whether or not I knew which ones I had gotten wrong, I went back through my study materials to check what I had gotten right and what I had missed. I often would memorize the questions I had trouble with so I could check my answers upon walking out of the test.

Ok, so maybe I shouldn't be disclosing this information. I admit, it's not normal. It's just part of my competitive, perfectionist nature. I totally understand if after this post I never hear from you again. But seriously, I'm looking forward to studying for the GRE this year (I started back in October, but got busy and put it aside) and going back to school. Long live education!

Thanks TurboTax!

Some weekends are all fun; others all work; and some just downright unproductive. Well, we might not feel like we got a lot done this weekend, but I submit that our three-day weekend proved to be a list-checker-off-er.

• A little bit of "lazing" on Friday night
• Apartment hunting on Saturday along with a trip to Target in Brooklyn (love Target!)
  
• Date night at home with NetFlix (DejaVu was the pick of the weekend)
  
• Review of the finances - a conversation we always put off for a "rainy day."
• Federal taxes completed - thanks to TurboTax and Brett (since he did 97% of the work) and a day off of work that gave us the 5 1/2 hours it took.

Looking forward to that return. Any suggestions of what we should do with the money? I was thinking a trip to a remote tropical island sounds nice (or anywhere with warm weather for that matter). Or another European adventure. I'd even take a shopping spree in the city. But maybe we shouldn't be extravagant with it. And let's be honest, frugal me dreams big until she sees the pretty numbers of such luxury.

happy valentine's day!

i sure miss all the fun treats my mom would have for us on valentine's day. one of my favorite was when i was in elementary school. when we got home, there were little white bags with pink and red hearts on them and inside our little gift was a name stamp. having a hyphenated name, i was never able to find name stamps, stickers or key rings at the stores. so it sure was a treat to have my very own! i hope that i can continue those cute traditions with my own family.

hope that you enjoy your day surrounded by the ones you love! i know i'm looking forward to an evening with my valentine!

California Dreamin'!

yesterday it snowed all day

sidewalks were a mess

guess who wore heeled boots?

busses were all stranded in the snow

cabs were all occupied

it was freezing

it took me forever to get home

california dreamin'

Remember when...

...you were a kid and you couldn't wait to get to fifth grade to start to use erasable pens? and then real pens in junior high? Those were the days. But seriously, since then I feel that I have neglected my friend the pencil. Pens are standard, but permanent. Though when I make a mistake, unlike freaking out like I used to and hitting the White-Out, I just cross things out because in the end I know whatever I'm working on is going to get typed up anyway. But today I picked up a little pencil to work on a project and it was so empowering! I loved how smoothly it wrote and how quickly I could erase things away. So now I pledge to return to simpler days and use a pencil more often (they've got to be a bit more environmently friendly too).

he loves me!

1-800-flowers had a special delivery to the office just for me cuz a handsome prince loves me...sigh! and i love him too!

We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet

With the passing of President Hinckley has come much reflection. He is the prophet I have known best in my life. He has carried me through my youth, my mission, my single years, and the start of my marriage. I will always cherish his guidance and example. And I can only joy in his recent reunion with his wife - what a beautiful moment that must have been!

Thank you President Hinckley for teaching me how to stand a little taller. I have definitely pledged to BE because of you. I strive to emulate your positive outlook on life. Things do work out! President Hinckley you will be missed!

I look forward to sustaining President Monson. When I was little, my family would attend General Conference. We always talked about our favorite talk over dinner, so I knew that I had to at least pay attention to one. I always chose President Monson's talk. He was always able to sustain my attention with his stories. I look forward to his counsel in the upcoming years!