it's nothing special....it's just kriss

Monday: I love school. Tuesday: Just hang in there, it will be worth it in the end. Wednesday: I don't love school anymore. Thursday: I must be crazy to be doing this. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die. Find a happy place. Move to happy place and forget school. Friday: Ooh - it's Friday! No classes. That's a happy place. Sunday: Last week wasn't SO bad. I can do this. I love school. Yep. That about sums it up.

You should know that my parents HATE Nacho Libre. You should also know that I LOVE Nacho Libre...ok, mostly just quoting it. I have successfully forced my parents to watch Nacho at least twice. Now that you understand the background, you should also understand why the greatest pay day EVER was hearing my Mom say quietly to herself last night "I wanna win!" (Said with a distinctly Nacho accent). Wha ha ha! Nacho and his sweats are taking over!!

People say you lose it once you get engaged. I have fought hard to deny that reality. Last week - it became undeniable. A good friend and I decided to visit another good friend at the Fair to support the booth she was in charge of. I checked the website for the Utah State Fair for admissions fees and hours of operation, filled up my car with gas for the drive to Salt Lake, and picked up my friend for our grand adventure. We talked and laughed all the way to Salt Lake. We found the State Fair Grounds with little effort and without getting lost (that's a big deal for me in Salt Lake...ok, or anywhere). Then we looked inside the Grounds. They were completely empty. No one anywhere! Wierd. So, we called our friend. Guess what? She was at the Fair. But the Utah County Fair in Spanish Fork! Three hours and some minutes after we started our journey...we finally made it to the Fair. Oh boy. Good thing the company was awesome cuz that was the LONGEST drive to Spanish Fork of my ENTIRE l

To any of you still reading this blog - thanks for sticking it out. And sorry for being such a slacker. I will try to be better. But you should know up front that there is a great possibility that this blog will become the diary of a Grad student - that and a tracker for wedding planning. So, I hope you don't mind too much. But stay tuned...this could get interesting.

I should probably feel guilty that my blog has gone sappy...but...what can I say. Love is in the air? Well, our story is certainly a tale as old as time ... our story starts - guess where? - the singles ward! I know, I know. I said I would never be one of those people who met their future spouse in the singles ward. It always seemed a little cheesy. But...The Lord has a sense of humor. Anyway, we met in February and became casual friends. I thought he was super cool - but when we first met I was doing full-time school and work so I honestly wasn't interested in a relationship. Luckily, or sadly...the poor guy thought I was interested in someone else so he never asked me out. Fast forward a couple of months. This is where we had a little Divine Intervention...It was my Mom's birthday. Uncharacteristically, a friend and I decided to kidnap her for a girls night and go to dinner. As we were sitting there eating some super tasty food - in walked Placido. I thought, 'Hey, I

Stories are great. And everyone seems especially interested in this one. So, here it is. We were supposed to go to the gym Tuesday for lunch. But I got a text 20 minutes before he showed up saying he wanted to talk instead. Immediately my stomach sunk. I just knew he was going to break up with me or something horrible like that. Well, he picked me up and we started driving - I had no idea where we were going until we turned up the road by the Timpanogos temple. Then I thought - 'There are only two reasons we would be going to the temple. 1) He is going to propose or 2) He is going to break up with me and knows I can't kill him if he does it on temple grounds.' I'm morbid - I know. We got out and sat on the grass and I had to remind him he wanted to talk. He was like, 'Oh yeah. I almost forgot.' Nerd. So he started talking about our first date and the first time he knew he wanted to be with me and the things he loved about me. Then he started talking about ho

Remember THIS post? Well... Slowly I unlace them, my precious running shoes. Gingerly I place them on the shelf where they belong. But this time is different - I won't be lacing them again; My running career has ended, my running shoes are done. A toast to those who still run this race, whose feet are prone to flee - Keep running fast and far, my friends Just know you run without me. 

Okay - so this post was supposed to be published like...a while ago. Sorry. Slacker? Yep - that's me. How cool is this - last week a friend and I had lunch with our 11th grade weight lifting coach. Yep - an entire decade later and we're still good friends. I'm surprised that she didn't give up on us years ago! We were nuts in high school (and still are)! Hopefully we've grown up a little since then - though it's highly doubtful. It's always awesome to see her and no matter how long it's been, it feels like we just saw each other yesterday. I didn't realize until recently just how much I have gained from Coach: weight lifting knowledge, a disdain for running, a love of (or tolerance of) Diet Coke, an insatiable desire for knowledge and learning, an understanding that learning is hard work but pays incredible dividends, an appreciation for great literature, a sense of self-confidence, and a deep respect and gratitude for those who dedicate their li

For your sakes - I wish I had pictures. But, since I don't - a thousand words will have to do. :) Tuesday I came home to work on my house for the last time (insert slightly sad sigh here). It was warm and sunny. I needed to paint the outside doors and mow the lawn so I was extremely grateful for the sunshine. I opened the front door, put up the baby gate in the doorway so the tiny puppy couldn't escape and put a towel under the door so I didn't accidentally paint the carpet Piper thought the towel on the floor was just for her and plopped herself right in the sun. She was far enough away from the door that I didn't think twice. So I started painting. As soon as I painted far enough down the door that Piper could reach the wet paint, she decided she needed to smell it. So, naturally, she got a little bit of paint on her face and ears. I scolded her and she returned to her spot in the sun. I finished painting the door, went to put the roller in the other room, and retur

Last week I think I experienced the ENTIRE spectrum of emotions. It was an amazing yet slightly traumatic week. Monday: I listed my house for sale. Tuesday: Someone called to look at my house. But I wasn't ready yet. So I took a half day and finished painting and yard work. Wednesday: My closest friend at work was let go. And to make things worse, her job wasn't eliminated ... it's been moved to me. Talk about awkward. But Wednesday I also took my final for Lab - only one more to go!! Thursday: Signed the contract to sell my house. We close May 21st. Kinda freakin' out. Friday: Aced my last test of the semester for lecture. Just one more class and the final - then I'm free! And found out that I passed my Anthropology class. Whoo hoo! Saturday: Had a fantastic time shopping, eating yummy food and hanging out with my whole family! Best day eva! Also found out someone very close to me has decided to move in with their significant other. Not so best news eva

A few weeks ago on fast Sunday one of the sisters bore her testimony ... it was her birthday. That was tender. And she cried. Then she said, "Well, I guess it's my birthday so I'll cry if I want to". Audible laughter. Awesome! So, I decided since today is my birthday and I don't really want to cry, I'll blog instead. Cuz I want to. So thank you for joining me for this epic post. That is all.

All stuffed animals be warned. This house is armed and dangerous. Picture proof below. Notice the innocent looking dog hiding just outside the doorway... At least the mouth she created is in the right spot. :)

Yesterday after lunch I happened to glance out the window. On the mountain near my office there was a huge festival going on! There was a big canopy up and lots of cars and tons of people. It was a beautiful, sunny day - perfect for a festival. Then it dawned on me. The mountain behind us isn't a park.... It's a cemetery. And my festival...was actually a funeral. Face palm.

Piper plays hide-and-seek. Seriously. She sits in the family room and waits for me to hide. Then, as soon as I say, "Okay, come find me" she jumps up and starts tearing through the house to find me. When I hide somewhere new, she runs through the whole house and then stops outside the family room door and cries for a minute before starting the search again. It's pretty hilarious. For the dog who doesn't hold still long enough to lay down on command - it's pretty impressive that she can search for me in a house full of distractions and people without getting distracted. And she is so proud of herself when she finds me! It's pretty cute. And I decided if she's smart enough to play hide-and-seek ... she's smart enough to write my Anthropology papers for me...right?!

The Sun Will Rise by Kelly Clarkson  is officially my new favorite song. It reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes from General Conference: "I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest. But the doom of that day did not endure. The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can

Does it take to turn off a fire alarm? Five. And a hammer, screw driver and crow bar. Saturday I met up with a bunch of wardies to clean the building. Another ward was having a breakfast while we were there and they managed to set off the fire alarm. Apparently no one has keys to the closet where the alarm is. And apparently it goes off so often that the fire department doesn't even bother responding any more. So...after an hour of cleaning to the beat of the fire alarm...five high priests and an elder from our ward finally took the hinges off the door. Is it sad that my Saturday morning was so boring that sitting at the church for an extra hour just to watch the guys break open the door was exciting???

Last week a friend of mine kept saying how tired she was - much more tired than usual. Every day she was so exhausted and she couldn't figure out why. Then she happened to look at the box of tea she had been drinking all week - it was sleepy time tea. BAH HA HA!

My favorite part of Ward Conference Sunday: "We would like to sustain brother So-and-so as the pianist for the Relief Society." Followed by an audible "Huh?!" And concluded with Bishop's comment about Brother So-and-so, "Well, that was wishful thinking on his part."

Not too long ago a close friend of mine brought her second beautiful baby girl into this world. I had the precious opportunity to visit them in the hospital, accompanied by another close friend. There was something special, almost sacred, in that hospital room. Perhaps it was the tiny spirit who so recently left the presence of her Father in Heaven. Perhaps it was the beautiful, loving relationship between my friend and her awesome husband. Perhaps it was the smile of a gorgeous two-year-old, proud to be a new big sister. Perhaps it was the quiet, deeply rooted friendship which has existed for more than a decade between the three friends who gathered there. Perhaps it was a little of each. 'What greater gift does thou bestow, what greater goodness can we know than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways strengthen our faith, enrich our days. For worthy friends whose lives proclaim devotion to the Savior's name, who bless our days with peace and love, we praise they goodness, L

No...sadly this isn't a post to announce a wedding...but the title seemed oddly fitting. As I drove to work yesterday morning, I paused in my usual morning routine of rushing past slow drivers and actually took a moment to enjoy the view. The snow-covered mountains were breathtaking with the early morning sun glinting off of their craggy ridges. As I looked at those beautiful mountains, a sense of peace and calm came over me. With emotion usually foreign to that time of morning, I thought to myself, "This is it. This is my home. This is where I belong." Living in Utah has it's down sides - slow drivers, endless road construction, crappy pay checks, brutal winters, snow in July and only two good months of summer. But it also holds unparalleled beauty - the majestic snow-capped mountains, the red rock of southern Utah, soon-to-be 13 operating temples , the family I love so dearly, so many of the friends who have helped define me and better me throughout the years, the

I think I should get an award for posting the most dog posts in a row...sadly you can see what my life revolves around. Here are a few pics - for no real reason...just cuz.  This is the shirt that Matt got her for Christmas. Does this shirt make my butt look big? Can you please stop torturing me and take this stupid shirt off? This is her favorite place at my parents house - staring longingly at the outside...

Last Friday was the official interview day for the Occupational Therapy program at the University of Utah. Let me tell you how it went down. Step One - Herd all 70+ awkward interviewees into a conference room and spend an hour talking about the program and the field (Great information during this part!!). Step Two - Break awkward interviewees into groups of 6-7 (The schedule varied by group here...but since I was only in my group, the rest of the steps are in order of what we did). Step Three - Second year grad student takes group on building tour (Our tour guide was adorable. And the work load of the program hadn't killed her yet ... that's always a good sign). Step Four - Group activity (i.e. 'You have 12 minutes to take these tinker toys and make something functional that is not a car or a truck. Ready...set...go.' Of course, as soon as they said 'not a car or truck' - the only thing I could think of was a car or truck. Thankfully there were smarter p

Yesterday was the best Valentine's Day! I didn't get roses or a kiss from a special someone. Heck - there isn't even a special someone at all! But yesterday I saw first-hand what Valentine's Day, and love, are truly about. An amazing friend of mine has stood by her boyfriend's side for the last year and a half as he has battled cancer. Their story wasn't supposed to play out like this. They fell in love. They were supposed to get married and live happily ever after with beautiful fat babies. Right? Isn't that how a love story is supposed to go? But that's not how their story went. He got cancer. And their story changed forever. Instead of planning a wedding and savoring the giddy moments of a growing love, she gave up her entire life to be by his side every step of the way. She has slept on hospital beds for weeks during his chemo treatments. She has organized fundraiser after fundraiser, sold her car and given up everything of monetary value to rais

I bought Piper a frog for Valentine's day. Ok - it had nothing to do with Valentine's day. It was just because I've had this obsession with finding a ridiculously huge stuffed animal for my tiny dog. And Valentine's day happens to be the perfect time for obscenely large stuffed animals. I wondered what the lady at the check out was thinking when she rang it up. I thought about clarifying and saying, 'No, I am not one of those chicks that thinks this is a great gift for a grown man.' But I didn't. Instead I chuckled to myself as I thought about 'those girls'. Anyway, Piper loves her frog - and by love I mean eats. It's pretty hilarious to watch. The poor frog's body shakes as she attacks it and slowly it disappears behind the furniture. Then Piper emerges from behind the chair, panting like crazy and plops down in the middle of the floor for a rest. Apparently attacking a stuffed animal at least ten times your size is exhausting. The dog to

When we come home, James and I greet Piper the same way: "Hi Piper! Don't pee!!" (Repeat that...but this time in a really obnoxious high pitched voice...yep, that's about right). I don't know if it really helps or not - she hasn't been having accidents as often when she first sees us. But it never ceases to amuse me how dumb we must sound. And I can only imagine what people would say if we greeted them that way...

I was reminded of a powerful truth a couple of Sundays ago. I was talking with my Mom about how The Lord doesn't call those who are qualified - He calls those who need that calling to learn and grow. Naturally, I thought of my mission. At one point I had a companion who didn't want to do the work. She was discouraged and frustrated. And as I focused on encouraging and strengthening her, I started to get frustrated with her. I felt myself getting upset that we were not tracting or teaching or baptizing like we should have been. I felt we were failing as missionaries because we were not bringing souls unto Christ. And I was confident that if this sisters attitude were different, we would be achieving those goals. I felt like I knew what we should be doing and how we should be doing it and yet I couldn't achieve it because my companion was holding me back. Sadly I admit, I felt it was her fault we weren't reaching our goals because she was turning the focus back on her whe

I heard growling. So I turned around. There was James, almost 21, kneeling on the floor with the dogs toy hanging out of his mouth and growling in unison with the tiny dog on the other end as they played tug-of-war. It was priceless - I was admittedly disgusted that he actually put her toy in his mouth - but it was nonetheless priceless. And I'm pretty sure if I had managed to snap a picture in time - someone would probably take away his man card.

In Psychology last semester we talked about how babies have different cries - the hungry cry, the sad cry, the startled cry, the angry cry, the hold me cry ... you get the picture ... and I'm sure all of you with kids are intimately acquainted with those cries! Anyway, I realized this morning (not because I want to compare my dog to your kids...but sometimes there really are some pretty funny similarities) Piper definitely has her own set of cries - almost all of which revolve around playing (or food) in one form or another (that's why she and James are such good buddies - they are both motivated by two things: playing and food. ;) ). Here are a few of her cries: - You have my ball! I KNOW you have my ball! Give me my ball!! (Accompanied by jumping and sniffing you for said ball) - Food!! Can I PLEASE have your food?! Please?? (Insert pitiful puppy eyes and head cocking) - Hey! You aren't paying attention to me! Don't you know the world revolves around me?! (Usu

Is it bad that I bought a new planner ... and the only dates written in it have to do with Piper?

For Christmas I bought my brothers the Pass of all Passes - thinking that as two teenage boys they would love being able to go to Seven Peaks and Trafalga and all that jazz for free all summer long. And it would encourage sibling bonding since they could go together, right? Well, before the Christmas break was over, my parents and I were totally jealous of their super cool passes and all the stuff they got to do with them. So we bought one for each of us as well. We spent that first week going to Trafalga and playing mini golf, taking my Mom laser tagging and a few other fun things. But the options are still a little limited until March when we can go ice skating and May when we can start going to Seven Peaks. But, one of the perks of these passes is that you get into a couple of Grizzlies hockey games for free. One of the free games was on the 19th and my Mom and I decided that would be a great mother-daughter bonding opportunity. -I interrupt this story to comment how freaking aw

The final piece of the Robert Burns Night 2012: The  Mason's temple in Salt Lake and assorted tidbits! One of the Association members is a member of the Mason's so he was able to give us a full tour of temple - which was incredible! There are so many architectural styles showcased beautifully throughout the temple. My favorite room was probably the Auditorium  which has amazing acoustics and a gorgeous night sky complete with working lighted constellations in the dome (please note that this building was built in the 1920's so the fact that you can stand anywhere in the auditorium and be heard because of the original acoustics...that's pretty freaking awesome!). But it's hard to pick a favorite with so many amazing rooms to choose from! It was by far the highlight of the evening! After the tour, we had a delicious dinner of perfectly normal food (including strawberry short-carbs...we couldn't decide on strawberry shortcake or shortbread...so we just stuck wi

On the 21st I had the awesome opportunity to go with my wonderful friend Mandy to the Utah Scottish Associations annual Robert Burns Supper. I have a few stories...so I think I'm going to break it out into a couple of posts. Hope you don't mind. Not like you really have a choice. :) Mandy asked if I would be willing to bring the Haggis up from BYU. Yes, the Haggis. If you don't know what Haggis is...don't ask me. Google it. Or click on this handy link  but try not to lose your lunch. Now we went to our first ever Robert Burns Supper up at Utah State last year - where I tried Haggis for the first (and last) time. It actually wasn't too bad - but after you read the link above, you might understand why Haggis and I are not exactly friends. So when Mandy asked me if I could bring up the Haggis...I stemmed the instinctual urge to vomit and said yes. Why? Because I love Mandy. Here are a few of my thoughts about the warm-reekin  entrails as I drove to Salt Lake with a

So I'm pretty sure it's a good thing I'm going into Occupational Therapy. Too bad I won't be done with school this week though - I'm going to need some serious rehab just to be able to get dressed after working out with Melanie at the gym this week. She is kicking my trash!! (P.S. Melanie is my personal trainer. She is REALLY good at her job...which is painful.)

My Mom wanted to go to the Idaho Falls temple while we were there last weekend. So, we got up early and headed over there while we left the gaggle of cousin's getting ready. Just as a side note - Idaho is COLD! Walking up to the temple I lost all feeling from my toes to my nose. And I am pretty sure my brain froze. I told my Mom that just because there was no snow and the roads were safe didn't mean we were supposed to come visit Idaho in the winter. BRR! But what better contrast to the frozen outside than the warmth and Spirit of the House of The Lord. And what better refuge is there than the temple when visiting family we adore but who don't live The Gospel. It was a really neat experience. We did Initiatories and, among many other thoughts and impressions, I was again reminded of the amazing love our Heavenly Father has for each of us and His willingness to forgive us as often as we seek that forgiveness. I am grateful for the temple and for the promised blessings we f

You gotta love Idaho Falls. And my family. My cousin, K had a date on Friday night. They went to Jaliscos for dinner. She left at 7:00 and we showed up at the house a few minutes later. We all decided to go out to eat too - all 7 of us crazy, loud family members. Guess where we went for dinner? Jaliscos. Guess where we sat - close enough to spy on them on their date. And we interrupted them to make her give us a hug since we hadn't seen her in ages. Yeah, we're just cool like that. Oh, and my cousin's are blond to the core. During dinner, my cousin H told us her woes about going on vacation to the Dominican Republic next week. She has to buy a suitcase. But she just can't bring herself to 'commit' to a suitcase. Note: H lives with her boyfriend. Living with a boyfriend is acceptable commitment. Buying a suitcase - inconceivable. And I thought I had commitment issues. Then she told us about her sister, D, who is going on vacation with her. D was putting in fo

This past weekend my Mom and I took Piper on her very first road trip. We went to Idaho Falls to visit my aunt and cousins. This dog LOVES car rides - so I didn't think it would be too bad. And really it wasn't. On the way there, she sat on my lap the whole time. She stared out the window and wagged her tail for seriously the entire four hours! My Mom was super sweet and set up the back seat like the doggy Hilton. There was a tarp on the floor so Piper could have her food, water and litter box down there - just in case she needed them (and my Mother says she hates this dog. Right. I'm so not buying that!). The first time I put her back there, she got in her litter box and then jumped right back out and gave me this look like, "Are you kidding me!? How the heck am I supposed to use that when the whole freaking car is moving!?!" Then she proceeded to scratch at the back of the seat and cry because she was too little to jump back into the front seat. As pitiful as

I had the opportunity to give a talk in my ward on New Year's Day. That was an awesome experience. Really. The topic was, want to guess? Resolutions. From my previous posts...it might be obvious that I struggle in the application of the principles learned from preparing my talk. But, there were a couple of points that I came across that I absolutely loved and wanted to share. Resolutions, goals and covenants are not so very different from each other. They are all commitments and they all require action on our part. Preach My Gospel has some amazing quotes on goals: “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life” (Elder Ballard

My New Year's resolution for 2012 is to make New Year's resolutions next year. Aim low & you reach your goals.

So, I know that the rest of the world doesn't really care. But today I made the first cut. Yep. That's right. I got an official invitation from the University of Utah to come on February 10th for an interview day. That means I have to manage to not say something stupid, act stupid or trip on anything in front of the people I am trying to impress - each of which is a monumental feat in and of itself...so I'm not sure how I'm going to pull off all three in one day and for an entire day. But, if I do manage to somehow pull it off - I might actually make it in. But, at this point, I think that is actually more terrifying than not getting in! (P.S. Inspite of my sarcasm and boasting...I just have to put a plug in here that I fully acknowledge that getting in to grad school - even making it this far - doesn't happen unless it is supposed to. The Lord is in the details. And He is guiding my life as He always does. He is opening doors that otherwise would remain shut i

I was talking with my Mom (who shall remain nameless) the other night and she was reminiscing about her mission and the film strips they used as missionaries. Then she said, quoting the introduction to Man's Search for Happiness : "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." Need I say more? Best laugh ever.

So I think 2011 can be summed up best by Chris Cagle: "Scars heal, glory fades and all we're left with are the memories made. Pain hurts, but only for a minute. Life is short so go on and live it." We'll stop there because 2011 certainly wasn't lived because 'the chicks dig it'...that would be awkward. But this year definitely taught me that scars, both external and internal, do heal; that the glory of this life will fade - but the glory of a righteous life will live forever in the hearts of those you touch. It taught me that memories made and relationships cultivated with good friends and family members are some of the greatest privileges and joys of this life. 2011 brought a share of pain - but it really does only hurt for a minute if we turn to The Savior. This year, perhaps more than any other, I have become keenly aware of the frailty of life. But I have also found courage in that awareness - courage to take a chance, to live life a little more full