bleeding love

first of all, check out this video from this week’s sytycd.  if you don’t care about the intro part much move ahead 2:38 and just watching the dancing.  gah!  brilliant. :)  this show is definitely the place to see the higest quality dance on tv.

next, i rocked my run tonight.  just killed it.  i’m beyond stoked on myself right now.  i really feel like i’m getting so much stroner with the running.  i’m still not a runner, but i feel like i can actually run, if that makes any sense.

also, i was up way past my bedtime last night.  (who’s to blame for this is still in question.)  it was worth all the sleep lost, i think.  we just talked forever and dug up our pasts and it was big but normal at the same time.

things are good.  i’m just looking for something to do this weekend (and next weekend, for that matter)…

drive me crazy

i am so pleased with today in what are probably sort of strange ways.

i laughed so hard my body hurt for like the entire hour we played dominoes at work today.  it was amazing. :)

i feel like i got to clear some stuff up with a couple friends today, as well.  harder than dominoes but definitely good.

i baked an apple-blackberry-raspberry cobbler because i like the process of assembling something with my hands like that.  i haven’t even tried the final product.  i’ll do it tomorrow.

i’m going to attempt to go to bed earlier than usual.

let’s get a little mud on the tires

well, it’s definitely time for a big update.  i’ve been quite busy since the last time i posted.  it’s been really wonderful. :)

friday morning, i was up before it was light out so i could be at the long beach airport by 5:45 or so.  but i managed to survive and be there on time for my early-morning flight home to san jose.  i slept pretty much the whole way.  awesome. :)  and mom was there to pick me up and get me some breakfast on the other side.

meg was up early on friday because she was in a boot camp execise program that meets very early.  so we decided to hang out together on her day off.  we went and got pedicures, which was really nice.  i needed that time to just relax with her, i think.  and then we did lunch at la strada on university in palo alto.  we’d never been there before, but it was pretty amazing italian food.  i will definitely make my way back there again soon. :)  and it being such a warm day out, we even dined outdoors, which i love.  and afterwards, we went over to stanford shopping center to visit kath, who was working there.  and we wandered around a bit and saw where the sprinkles will be opening this summer.  it was just perfect and relaxed and nice. :)

friday night was the real reason i went home last weekend.  dad and i had tickets to see brad paisley at shoreline in mountain view.  it was such a hot day out, but that meant it was the perfect night be outside.  and the show was really excellent.  julianne hough (the girl from “dancing with the stars”) was better than i’d expected.  i mean, i’d heard her music already, but she sang pretty well live, also.  next up was hott newcomer chuck wicks.  and it was his 29th birthday!  anyway, he sounded great, as well, but i already loved him. ;)  and then it was time for jewel.  she’s singing country music today, and i liked her performance a lot.  she sounded great, and i’m particularly fond of the old, traditional country songs she’s started singing.  and then there was brad paisley himself.  the man was so awesome!  he always is, but still i was quite impressed.  he can play a guitar like no one’s business, and he played like all night long.  i loved every second of it.  there are a few photos from the show on my flickr for you to check out.

saturday morning, i was up early once again.  this time, it was really my own doing, and i didn’t mind too much.  sarah was at my house around 9:30, and then we drove up into the city.  we did brunch at the beach chalet, which was really cool.  i’d never been there before, but it was absolutely perfect to dine by the water on a morning that sunny.  and then we headed further into the part to the de young museum to check out their new dale chihuly exhibition.  we both love his work, and the exhibition was done really well.  everything was perfectly lit in dark rooms.  it was awesome and well worth fighting the crowds to enjoy.  and next up for us was union square for a bit of shopping.  :)  it was such a ridiculously gorgeous day in the city.  like the kind you never see there.  it was awesome to just be out and about walking all around.  oh!  and we both found a few great things to purchase, of course.  and we did dinner outdoors at piacere in san carlos on yet another gorgeous night.  i hadn’t been there in a while, but it was still quite delicious. :)

and sunday, i once again found myself awake too early in the morning.  mom, dad, and i had breakfast at ihop in the city with grandma.  the weather had returned to normal, and it was foggy and chilly out in the sunset.  but still, it was good to see grandma before returning back here to san clemente.

in the afternoon, i met up with kath for a pizza lunch at toto’s (one of my very favorite places to get pizza).  we sat in there for a few hours just talking and catching up.  it was perfect and just what we needed after going so long without seeing each other.  and we topped off our visit with ice cream cones and more sitting and talking.  seriously, i miss that girl!

and then it was back home to san clemente safe and sound.

today was an interesting day at work.  things are pretty slow right now because we just shipped all three magazines to press.  it’s always like this after we ship.  and it means we can all get a little bit bored or restless, but it also means we have time for things like dominoes or watching movies over lunch.  today, we watched the first half of “two weeks notice,” which is fun.  marke chose it, so don’t go blaming us watching a chick flick on me! ;)

and this evening has been pretty chill.  i went for a walk to the park that’s sort of behind my apartment.  it’s beautiful.  i even took a few minutes to try out their swingset. :)  it was nice to get outside for a bit today.

and now i’m just getting ready for bed.  more soon…

if you had called yesterday

:)  this girl is doing pretty well tonight.

it was another great day of work, not particularly because of the work (which went fine and actually got done) but because of the people.  i cannot complain about spending my days with marke, andrew, chris, and james. :)

and this evening, after a good workout, i got to catch up with annahita a bit, which was fun.  i got to hear about how it’s not fun to be a med student, and she got to hear about boys.  perfect, right? ;)

also, i finally got around to watching the academy of country music awards tonight.  i thoroughly enjoyed that.  also, i want to be jennifer nettles more than ever.  i can’t get the new sugarland song, “all i want to do,” out of my head, and i love it! :)

tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, i will be heading up to the bay area for a long weekend.  i’m going to see some friends and enjoy a concert and other fun things.  i’m pretty excited about it. :)  also, i’ll have my computer with me, so you can still expect to find me online or get updates.

more soon…

kirsten rocks!

the company’s working on getting t-shirts with those words on them.  yep.  two people told me so. ;)

i’m feeling really good about today. :)  seriously.  so fun.  yes, i worked a lot and so did everyone else, but we also just had a great time.  i definitely laughed a lot and left the office this evening thinking i really love my job.

one particular highlight today: james, andrew, marke, chris, and me walking to carl’s jr. for lunch together.  first of all, it was nice to just have lunch together.  second of all, it was a gorgeous day out, so i’m stoked i got to be outside a bit, even if the area isn’t actually that conducive to walking.

also, marke hated my adorable dress today.  haha!  i love it!  i knew he would.  and he hated my necklace.  and he called my shoes pretentious, but admitted he was conflicted on those because he also liked them.  we have the best friendship, i swear. :)

in other news, i kicked my run’s ass tonight!  i rocked it, and i’m so stoked with myself right now.

more soon. :)

if i could stop that crime (batman’s song)

no matter what i do, i do not think i can properly describe work.  especially how it was today (and likely how it will be through the near future).  and i wish i could, because it’s awesome.  it’s madness, and i love it.  i laugh all the time because the boys are just so crazy and ridiculous.  and vulgar.  and funny.  and just great.

you know, as i write this, i’m trying to decide how much i can even write about today at work right here.  we figured out out which vulgar exclamations are good and which are bad.  we rewrote a line from a cher song over and over.  we cussed more than i ever knew was possible while playing dominoes (i won today!).

so clearly, i’m enjoying myself.  :)

in other news, i’m not sure how i feel about this season of “nashville star” yet, but i love love love john rich.  he rocks.  he’s pretty much always right.  oh, and i totally want to be friends with that guy!

<3

cat’s pajamas

well, it was an interesting day at work.  yes, i spent the whole day at work.  way too much time.  but i got a lot done, so i’m pretty stoked on that.  and i’ll be back there working my butt off again.

today was sort of up and down.  and up and down.  my head’s everywhere, so i’m just sort of holding on and seeing where life takes everything.

and after a long day and a tough workout, it was good to sort of wind down talking to megs.  plus, we get to hang out on friday, so that’s awesome!  we definitely need the time together.

and so i think that’s about it for right now.  i need some sleep for sure.  g’night.

establishing credibility

i am completely determined to get a full night’s rest tonight.  i’m going to need to be well-rested going into what should prove to be a busy week at work.  i’m sitting down to write earlier than i normally do (in fact, dinner’s still cooking) so i make sure i get to telling you about my weekend.  look at me and more foresight! ;)

okay, so friday was so, so, so, so busy at work, and i left still feeling like not enough things got completed.  at least marke, chris, and i had a fun lunch together: dominoes over take-out from baja fresh.

and friday evening, mom, dad, adam, and aunt nancy arrived here.  yes, five people lived in this little apartment all weekend.  crazy!  so while they got settled in here, i made my trip to the gym.  and then mom picked up quizno’s for dinner.  mostly, we just hung around, watched some tv, and caught up with each other.  it was pretty nice, actually.

since my parents aren’t ones to ever sleep in, we were up early saturday.  adam really wanted donuts for breakfast, so we went to the local donut shop.  mmm… delicious. :)  and for whatever reason, it took us a while to get moving.  dad did help me hang a bunch of stuff up around the apartment, though.  we went out to lunch at wahoo’s (they really liked it!), and then dad and aunt nancy went for a walk while mom, adam, and i did a little shopping around town.  they wanted to check out the rainbow (sandals) store, so we did that.  i even ended up with a new pair, which is rad.  :)  and then we did a bit of grocery shopping, as well.  they are always shocked by the lack of food in my apartment.  i think they forget i’m just one person.  in the evening, we went down to del mar to selma’s for a late dinner, which was delicious.  and then we came back here and they watched “the bucket list” while i kind of just crashed out.

and today we were up and moving pretty early once again.  we drove two cars up to westwood to the frat house where adam’s moving.  we dropped off my old mattress for him to use and a few other things.  then mom, dad, and auntie nancy headed home.  and adam and i got to hang out a bit! :)  i always love that.  we wandered around century city shopping center for a while, which was cool, even if neither of us really bought anything.  then we did a wonderful lunch at chipotle.  i love that place.  like a lot.  it’s just really far from where i live.  and we did some grocery shopping for adam, and i brought him back to the house before i drove back home.

on my way home, i took care of something i’ve been thinking about for too long now.  i bought myself new running shoes.  my old running shoes are very, very old and have entirely too many miles on them.  i mean, i owned them when i was still at pepperdine.  so i went to nordstrom rack and dsw and tried on lots and lots and lots of shoes before settling on a new pair.  now it’s just a matter of breaking them in.  i’m entirely too excited about this. ;)

and tonight, i’ve just been hanging out.  not up to a whole lot.  i did have a really amazing run.  actually, i was thinking about something when i was running my butt off tonight.  this feels like a week where i’ve really pushed myself.  i’ve pushed myself physically with some really challenging (for me, not for actual runners) running.  i’ve pushed myself really hard at work, putting in lots of extra time and effort to get too many things done.  i’ve pushed myself socially.  you’ll probably just have to take my word on that.  so anyway, it’s been really good.  :)

so now i’m just trying to get some dinner, relax a little, and get ready for monday, which i’m actually looking forward to.  hope you had a good weekend. :)

beautiful

i wish i was a mind reader sometimes.  not always.  but sometimes, like today.

life seems pretty good.  i’ve been keeping myself busy.  i’ve been working too hard, but i’ve also been having fun at work with all the boys.  we’re really into the dominoes right about now.  we have a good game going. :)  i agree with marke that it’s more fun than poker.  it sort of seems like us just sitting around a table, cussing and laughing.  nothing wrong with that! ;)

also, we had a big potluck lunch at work today as a small celebration for michelle, who just got married in napa.  it wasn’t that exciting except for that fact that i brought apple cobbler.  i made it last night, and it’s a recipe that i created (and am still working on).  i think it turned out deliciously, and it seemed to go over really well with everyone else, too.  i’m pretty stoked. :)

in other news, that mattress (and box spring) that i bought last weekend arrived today.  i love it!  i’m actually writing from bed because i wanted to hang out on it a bit before i crash.  :)  yay for a pillow top!

also, i seem to have spent a lot of time on the phone in the past couple of days, which has been good.  i’ve needed to catch up with friends.  i have plenty of things to share, and so do they!  we’re all crazy busy lately.

and the family is coming to spend the weekend with me tomorrow.  i’m excited about it, even if i don’t have anything planned for us and it’ll be pretty cramped all staying in this little apartment.  it should be fun. :)

and one more thing… i wasn’t sure i was going to love this new season of “so you think you can dance” because i loved last season so, so, so, so much, but i just caught the first performances from all the couples and they were really wonderful.  there were like three that really stood out as being amazing.  that’s a lot.  anyway, i’m anxious to see the rest of the season now!  woot!

okay, i’m off for now.  i need some sleep.  more next time.

broken in

i don’t even know what to write tonight, though i figure i should update anyway.  a lot is going on; i am just not sure what to say about anything.  my head and my heart seem to be all over the map.  i hate being a girl.

last time i wrote, i forgot to mention the most fun part of my weekend!  terrible, i know.  ;)  anyway, on saturday night, i took marke and chris out to dinner as a thanks for helping me with the move.  and i had thought they were having a boys night after that, it turns out they weren’t.  we were going to watch a movie, but it turned out to be too scary for marke (hehe), so we ended up just hanging out, talking, and watchin a few episodes of “the office.”  super chill, but i enjoyed it a lot. :)

and this week of work has gotten off to an interesting start.  it’s a busy week, so i’m working a lot.  and with steve the temp gone, marke has returned to his office so that andrew can join us in the art department room.  it has been… a transition.  but honestly, andrew’s great company in there and fits in nicely.  even if i totally want marke in the room, as well.  and as for the rest of the week, i foresee lots of work and probably some fun, too. :)  oh!  and we got a new set of double-15 dominoes that i’m anxious to break in.

and so for tonight, i am off.  more soon…