Finally!

I created a photo book for my recent trip to Europe--not sure how the resolution is, but feel free to check out the link in the post below.

I was able to narrow down my 500+ photos into the 39-page book...but really, photos can't do the places justice...all of you should definitely plan a trip there soon!

Kristi's European Adventure 2011

Click here to view this photo book larger

Hello, hello?

Two-week vacation to Europe? Check.

Starting new job with longer commute, more responsibilities, and a cubicle? Check.

Still working at old job, trying to fit a 40-hour work week into an 8 hour day (which today stretched to 14 hours)? Check.

Co-leading a summer Bible study without a clue as to what I'm doing? Check.

Trying not to go completely crazy, or develop a worse drinking habit? Check.

I'm learning some challenging life lessons about letting go, distancing myself from a situation, and taking the high road. Valuable, absolutely. Difficult, extremely.

I think I need to start planning a big trip for summer 2012. I envision a beach, with lots of sun, and lots of umbrella drinks. Who's with me?

The difference a decade makes

It's time for trip-a-month #3! This month I'm headed out to my old stompin' grounds...a city in western Colorado where I spent most of my formative years (middle school, high school and college).

On a side-note, if you're looking for some fun, I highly recommend this traveling thing--even though I've taken winter clothes on all my trips this year, it's still fun to pull out that suitcase!

The funny thing is, I couldn't wait to get out of Grand Junction and I left less than a week after graduation. I hadn't wanted to stay there for college, but received an offer I couldn't refuse, basically went to college for free, and when my parents moved away after my freshman year I still had that early opportunity to "be on my own."

I never lived on campus. I never did anything terrible. I never had any wild and crazy drunken nights (my very first shot of Goldschlager during karaoke night was fairly tame). I think I went to one football game and one basketball game. Though I spent a lot of time at school, school spirit was most definitely not my middle name.

I'm planning to take a stroll down memory lane at my alma mater...which this week has proposed a school name change. Even the old building where I took all of my business classes is being demolished to make way for something. Change is good and progress is important, but the whole thing just makes me feel old (though I suppose my diploma is even more one-of-a-kind now than it was before).

The other great thing about this trip is that it's brought to mind some of the great experiences of my senior year. Nights spent with great friends having some good 'ol fun...

• Blizzards at the local DQ
• Catchphrase and a rousing rendition of our own version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
• Fajitas and watching the TV show Ed
• Karaoke at the local hotel bar
• Matt & Tiff's pancake breakfasts, Ali's homemade pizza, and Rhonda's 25th birthday party that included 25 lbs of flour, 25 pennies, and 25 pairs of underwear
• An end-of-year party where our friends Sally & Jay totally schooled us when they unveiled their "secret" friendship (and then we followed them to campus and totally spied on them in the coffee shop and parking lot--not my finest moment, I will admit)

From a social aspect, my final year of college was great--it was certainly challenging to try to figure out next steps (I still only have a flippant response to that "what do you want to be when you grow up" question), but I had a fantastic group of friends. Looking back, if I have any regrets it's that I worked too hard (a full class-load plus a retail job at the mall, a work-study job on campus, and an internship with the city), and didn't play hard enough.

I'm hopeful I've had a lesson-learned in all of this. Some days I remind myself that it's important to have an equal balance of work-hard/play-hard (with emphasis on play). I've found that sometimes you can become so consumed with the pushing ahead, that you forget to enjoy the now.

And though I'm living in the now, now, there's nothing wrong with taking a look back every once and awhile.

Oh, and the best part about this trip? I'm planning to see LOTS of old friends (including all 4 of my college roommates!). The best part about getting together with old friends? Despite the years gone by without seeing each other face-to-face, and the marriages, divorces, kids loved and lost, it's like no time has passed at all.

Bookstores, rubber boots & a day in Boston (where everybody knows your name)

My trip-a-month goal continued in March with a quick weekend trip to Boston. The two goals of the trip were as follows:

1. See Boston.

2. Spend time with my friend Deb (who drove down from Vermont for the weekend).

Deb's a good friend from my Bangkok days, who I see every couple of years--when we meet up in exotic locales like Philly/NYC, Waco, Texas and now Boston.

Day 1 found us wandering the streets of Cambridge and touring the Harvard campus...in the snow, sleet and slush. Despite my winter coat, gloves, scarf and multiple layers, I was freezing (this desert girl isn't used to cold weather anymore!). Thankfully there were lots of little shops and bookstores for us to stop in and warm ourselves. I especially loved the bookstore where I found these two cards.

We took a free tour of the esteemed Harvard campus (established in 1636 making it the oldest institution of higher ed). Our tour guide Adam was a hoot and the students we passed looked just like ASU students (except for the winter coats and what looked like rubber gardening boots--some sort of east coast craze that we saw everywhere we went).

Four things I learned about Harvard (but have not fact-checked):

1) The office of the Harvard president is housed in a fairly nondescript (old) building...which also houses dormitories on the top two floors.

2) The woman who donated funds for the humungo library building required that all Harvard graduates know how to swim (this has since been changed due to the ADA laws).

3) Until 1999, only men received diplomas conferred by Harvard University....women's diplomas were from Radcliffe College.

4) Only two movies have been allowed to film on-campus...The Great Debaters (yea for Denzel!), and....Love Story (what?!?!).

Day 2 found us 'following the yellow brick road' in Boston (otherwise known as The Freedom Trail). The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile walking trail through the streets of downtown Boston, marking 16 different historic sites (churches, graveyards, parks, monuments, shopping, a big ship, etc.). As long as you stick to the red brick line, you know you're headed in the right direction. It was a great way to wander and see the city (along with some more bookstores!). Also along the trail is the USS Constitution--the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Now I can say I've been on a Navy warship, though it's hard to believe its been almost 200 years since she earned her nickname Old Ironsides.

After visiting the harbor, we decided to head 0ff-trail and made our way westward to the Boston Public Library (which is gorgeous and definitely deserves a stop if you're in the area). We even stopped at a used book sale they were having. After a quick coffee break in the library atrium, we headed out to visit the Boston Public Gardens...I was on the hunt for the 'Make Way for Ducklings' statue, but we were soon sidetracked when we realized how close we were to Cheers (or at least the spot where exterior shots of Cheers were filmed).

Day 3 found us enjoying a morning of worship at the Greater Boston Vineyard church, which just happened to be around the corner from our hotel. Check out this picture of their sanctuary--quite a traditional physical space for the significantly modern worship service! We also stopped at the church's bookstore (anyone noticing a pattern here?!) before enjoying a great service. The structure of the service was interesting as well--sermon first, then singing (which actually worked well).

I had a great time on my Boston adventure and I'll say this--among other things, Boston does four things really well: history, 'green' space, seafood and beer. And, I'm not ashamed to say, I enjoyed all 4!

This also completes #26 on my 101 list. Sort of. Given that I had crossed out 'visit Boston' (check) and replaced it with 'read Jane Eyre' (not yet started).

Here are some more pictures from along the Freedom Trail (I had this fascination with 'looking up').

Things that make you go hmmmm....

I'm on one of my trips-of-the-month and while traveling I've seen and heard some odd things....

Sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight yesterday, I overhead the following (via a man on his cellphone): "Be sure to put the food away, and watch out for the skunks and possums."

From the young woman seated in front of me on my flight, to the middle-aged gentleman seated beside her: "Have you ever read Playboy? They have really great articles. Really, they do!" (I'd like to point out that this young lady was beautiful and I'd have to say the gentleman next to her enjoyed every minute of the 5-hour flight.)

Then today, waiting for a local walking tour to start, I noticed a gentleman who took out his dentures and put them in his pocket. That's right--just took them out of his month and popped them in his pocket.

Huh.

Trash or treasure

This past weekend I was at home, reading a book on my living room couch (when I should have been emptying the dishwasher or folding the towels that had been sitting in the dryer for 3 days), when I heard a strange noise outside my window.

I thought it sounded like someone was digging around in the dumpster (which happens to sit just below my balcony). When I went to investigate, I discovered that someone was indeed digging through the dumpster. I was so stymied by this that I stopped and watched for awhile.

I've seen folks stop at the dumpster before (like when you can see there's a big piece of furniture sticking out, or something like that), but this was different. With the engine on his Isuzu Trooper still running, this gentleman, with gloves in hand, was systematically going through the dumpster, pulling out pieces of what looked like cardboard. I'm not sure exactly what he was looking for, or what he planned to do with all the cardboard, but after I saw him open the back passenger door of his vehicle, I could see the inside of his car was jam-packed with trash bags and furniture odds and ends (including what looked like a large lamp).

As I watched him pack the cardboard in and drive away I wondered: desperate or entrepreneurial? Does he have no choice but to dig through trash, trying to provide for his family? Or, does he choose to dig through trash, looking for that discarded treasure or item that can be reused or recycled?

I was stumped.

And conflicted.

Should I have felt compassion? Or have been humbled?

Somehow this seemed different than the homeless people I've seen downtown digging through the trash, looking for aluminum cans, or food.

Even now, a few days later, I still see it in my mind. I sort of wish I had gone out on my balcony and called down to ask what he was doing--not in an accusatory way, but in a curious way--like, what does he do with the items he finds? And is he looking for specific things? Or just looking to see what he can find? And what does he do with all of it? Does his wife yell when he fills up their garage with all his 'junk'?

I remember at a party once, when I was in elementary school, that I accidentally threw my retainer away in a napkin...and I was afraid to tell my mom because 1) the retainer was expensive and we didn't have a lot of money at the time, 2) I had done something irresponsible (and as the oldest child, I was supposed to be the most responsible), and 3) I was embarrassed, plain and simple. I eventually told my mom, we went back to the party, and the hostess graciously looked through all the trash. I actually can't remember if we found the retainer or not, but I do remember thinking that going through trash had to be the worst thing. Ever.

Is it the worst thing? Or a way to make a living?

I'm just not sure.

A day in the desert

Yesterday was one of those days that we're reminded how wonderful it is to live in Phoenix--especially this time of year when the temps hover in the 70s & 80s (rather than the furnace-temps of the summer).

We happened to have family in town, visiting from the Pittsburgh area (and yes, they were definitely soaking up the warmth and sunny skies!). Mid-morning on Saturday found us out hiking in the South Mountain area.

Today we're headed to church and then to a spring training baseball game. Thanks, Dan & Blair, for coming to visit and reminding me why this is such a great place to live!

Hazard

Earlier this month I blogged about how my daily commute is starting to bug the heck out of me. Well the other day I was driving up to my local Wal-Mart (via my local freeway) and saw the following sign:

ROAD WORK NEXT 30 MILES

Lovely.

This is the 'local' freeway that I take, not only to visit Wally-world, but also to visit my parent's house and the mall (both roughly about 15-miles away). Plus, it's an alternate route to church that I normally take for my Tuesday-insanely-early-morning Bible Study gathering.

Stellar.

Speaking of Bible Study--our lesson this week was on patience. Endurance. Tolerance. Long-suffering.

Me thinks the Lord is speaking to me through my Bible Study lesson this week and that highway sign.

But, a sign like this seems almost more appropriate.

Some perspective

When I first started blogging, a little over a year ago, I started my online writing adventure as a way to 1) mark events/thoughts/experiences at a point in time of my own life, and 2) to share those events/thoughts/experiences with others. Some months I blogged more than others. I've noticed a trend lately that I haven't been blogging as often, pretty much because, unless there's something actually going on (trip, event, etc.), I'm not sure what to blog about. Which makes me wonder...is my life totally boring? AM I totally boring? Do I not have thoughts/feelings/opinions about things going on (that aren't necessarily travel or event-related)?? Ack!!! Talk about pressure!!!

So, some random things that are on my mind lately...

1) I'm trying to find more 'joy on the job'--I have a good position, a great boss, a comfortable work environment--sounds like it should be enough to keep me joyful and content, right? Right. But, some days I really have to work at the joyful and contentment part. And some days I'm not very good at it and I have this internal dialogue with myself that goes something like this: "Girl--get it TOGETHER! You are where God wants you to be, right here, right now, and He has a plan and purpose for your life! Stop being so selfish!"

2) I'm getting tired of freeway/rush hour driving. Let me amend that--I'm getting tired of freeway/rush hour driving when my destination is church (45 miles from home round trip - a route I take 3x/week), or work (20 miles from home round trip - a route I take 5x/week ). It seems that I don't mind the driving at all when my destinations are say, the mall, or homes of friends and family. I miss the days, back in South Dakota, when I lived across the street from my office, and within walking distance of my church. (I do not however, miss the snow/ice/cold of living in a northern state!) I don't have an ipod, or a CD player in my car, so it could be that I'm getting tired of listening to the radio (NPR and the classical music station are my go-tos now--everything else just sounds the same). I think a run to the library for some books on tape is in order (do they even make books on tape anymore?!?).

3) I attended a lecture a few weeks ago featuring a presentation by the provost of the institution where I work. The presentation was on food and the research the provost is doing in food psychology--the title of her lecture was "Why we like the foods we do: the Good, the Bad & the Fattening." Though I originally went, basically to see the provost in person, the lecture was actually really interesting and informative. Some of my take-aways: the more you eat something, the more you'll like it; candy is basically sugar and butter; kids will eat vegetables if you flavor them with something sweet/fatty like cream cheese and sugar--eventually faze out the sweet/fat and they'll still eat the veggies because their body has been conditioned to like them; giving rewards for food consumption is not a good way to train kids to eat their green beans (ie, if you eat your green beans, you can have dessert, etc.). At one point the presenter made a comment that she rarely, if ever, goes out to eat--that she loves to cook and prefers to cook with fresh/natural ingredients (she also mentioned she's currently working on a cookbook). I was fascinated by this comment, mostly because I eat out a lot--sometimes at least 5 days/week (take-out, etc.), and even those days when I do eat at home, it's usually one of four things: cereal, frozen pizza (or some other type of frozen meal), crepes, or salad. Boring--yes. Easy to clean up and plan for--yes. I know some people just love to cook, but cooking for one, and then being left with all the clean-up is, for the most part, just not worth the effort to me. I do try, on occasion, to whip out a new recipe (with sometimes mixed results)--on the one hand, I wish I cooked more, but on the other hand, cooking exhausts me and I'd rather expend my energies elsewhere!

I've read lots of blogs where the author goes through a dry-spell, has writer's block, or is busy with other things in life. I suppose I don't really believe that my life is boring but maybe I'm just going through my own drought season...waiting for spring! Which makes me think of the lyrics to the song 'Make Our Garden Grow', from Candide (an operetta composed by Leonard Bernstein in the 1950s).

MAKE OUR GARDEN GROW - from Candide

You've been a fool, and so have I,
But come and by my wife.
And let us try, before we die,
To make some sense of life.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good;
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow,
And make our garden grow...

I thought the world was sugar cake,
For so our master said.
But now I'll teach my hands to bake
Our loaf of daily bread.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good;
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow,
And make our garden grow...

Let dreamers dream what worlds they please,
Those Edens can't be found.
The sweetest flowers, the fairest trees
Are grown in solid ground.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good;
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow,
And make our garden grow.

Trip-a-month club

This weekend I'm in western Pennsylvania for a little winter vacation. Some might think I'm crazy, given that I'd leave the 70-degree weather of Phoenix for a cold dose of frigid temps, but honestly, the warm gets old after awhile and I was ready for a break. The Pittsburgh area might not be everyone's idea of a go-to vacation spot, but I have family in the area, have actually been here once before, and love all the trees and open spaces.

This is the view outside my cousin's front door--isn't it great? Yesterday morning I went out for a short walk--enjoying the peaceful surroundings and the cool (well, more like really REALLY COLD!) morning air.

I recently decided that I need to start traveling more and to do so, I'm starting a trip-a-month club. So far I'm the only member, and this is my first trip (I got a slow start and January was a bust), but I have several adventures in the works and feel confident that I'm already on the right track.

As for this weekend, I'm having a great time. Its been wonderful to be with people that I love (but don't get to see that often), to share stories and life and plans for the future. And though it's just a quick weekend trip, the change of scenery (in more ways than one) has been refreshing for my soul.

(Update--just looked outside and it's snowing--woohoo!!!! Though I'm probably more excited about this than anyone else in the region!)

A penny saved... (#8)

A couple of years ago, back when I was a grant accountant for the local nursing college, I hosted a series of internal workshops for faculty who were responsible for managing their grant funds (they thought I was responsible, but really, they were responsible and I just had oversight). To make the workshop fun (and less boring), I used the tagline 'getting our financial ducks in a row' and gave everyone a plastic duck as a give-away item (which I paid for personally). The ducks just happened to be dressed up as pirates, which was my own little joke (ie, we were 'pirates,' protecting our 'grant-funded treasure').

Back in those days I was working long hours, long weeks, and had very few things to laugh about--so pirate ducks were about as good as it got.

I mention this story now, because although I'm excellent at managing my financial ducks at the office (and yes, they're all in a row), I'm not so great at managing my financial ducks at home. Well, let me clarify--I make enough to pay all of my bills, set aside funds for saving and retirement, and have some fun money for travel and entertainment, but I don't operate on any sort of specific budget. And from time to time, my personal non-budgeting ways make me feel a little uncomfortable--because I'd really like to know how much I'm spending on random, discretionary things like coffee, and movies, and of course, cards and postage! (If only I could buy stock in Hallmark.)

A few years ago I used Excel to track my spending, establishing line item categories and logging all my receipts. That proved cumbersome (I like to shop, and buy coffee, and be precise about things I'm tracking) and soon became obsolete.

Then last year, my brother told me about a free site, Mint.com, that would track your spending for you, as long as you gave it access to all your spending accounts (so it can auto-update). He said it hadn't really worked out for him (something about his bank having high security), but that he'd used it for awhile and saw the potential for the general user.

I admit, I was a little leary of any 'free' online site that requests access to sensitive data such as bank and credit card information. And although I created a Mint account over a year ago, I never really engaged in using it. Because I was suspicious, or lazy, or busy (or all three). Until last month. I figured if I've been 'on it' for a year, and no one's hacked into my accounts or stolen my identity, then it must be fairly safe. That, and now, without classes, I have a bit more time on my hands to focus on outstanding projects such as this.

A few days ago I decided to go into my Mint account and figure out if I could use it for budgeting purposes. Turns out Mint has a pretty sweet budgeting function--where you can set aside money in different categories, and then as data flows in (from your actual spending accounts--bank, credit cards, etc.), it receives a label that corresponds with one of the budget line items (or becomes 'uncategorized' and you can assign it to one of the categories).

So far the budgeting system is working great for me...I even created categories for my spending on coffee and cards (separate line items). Some of the budget totals I created arbitrarily--I know about how much I spend on rent, utilities, and gas, but am not as sure about categories such as restaurants, groceries, movies, etc.--so it's interesting to see, in the first month, how my budgeting aligned with my spending. (I made a major purchase at one of my favorite stores, Restoration Hardware, and that really killed my 'home furnishings' budget category.)

I especially like the graphical interface (pie charts, bar graphs, etc.), but haven't quite figured out how to track cash transactions (there's a function, I just need to sit down and learn how to use it). To be honest, I don't spend cash on much these days (it's never convenient to stop at the bank to actually GET some cash!). I'm pretty sure I spend my cash on two items: the pay parking lot near my office (when I'm too lazy to walk the 5 blocks from where I park on the street), and coffee (no explanation needed). Maybe it's better if I hold off on tracking those transactions for now--I may be appalled when I learn how much I spend on those non-essential items.

You can also split transactions--so, for example, when my purchase at Costco auto-defaults to the 'shopping' category, I can split it into 'gas' (I buy a Costco cash card to use for when I want to buy gas there--long story, but my debit card doesn't work at the pump), 'groceries,' 'books,' etc. The same is true for purchases at Wal-mart or Target.

I have some slight concerns about housing all my financial data in one place--every time I log into the Mint system it downloads and updates recent transactions from my bank account and my two most-used credit cards--but this online software system is managed by Intuit, and they're a legitimate company (makers of Quicken and TurboTax), so I feel some protection. I know some banks that have several levels of security do not play well with Mint--I originally had some issues with one of my savings accounts that kept blocking Mint, but was recently able to create a special access code and now everything works fine. I think financial institutions are wising up to the fact that folks want to be able to utilize tools like Mint to streamline their lives--and it's better to get with the program, or be left in the dust.

I'm still figuring out all the functionalities of the system--but have become almost addicted to it. If you're in the market for a financial/budget management software, give Mint a try. It's fairly easy to use and completely free.

My little pirate ducks give the system two thumbs up, and I consider #8 on my 101 list, complete!

Hitting the slopes

A week ago our family trip to Colorado found us driving the winding road up the Grand Mesa to Powderhorn--the local ski resort about 45 minutes outside Grand Junction.

I learned to ski at Powderhorn when I was in 7th grade--I remember I took a bunch of ski lessons with my BFF Megan. Our parents would take turns driving us up on Saturdays--we'd have lessons in the morning and then in the afternoon we could free-ski (not that we skied for "free," just that we were allowed to ski on our own). Those were good times and looking back I have no idea how I talked my parents into the luxury of allowing me to participate in a several-session-ski-lesson adventure...

Anyways, when we arrived on the slopes a week ago, getting back on the skis was like riding a bike...given that I haven't been skiing in more than a decade. But I was in good company with my brother and his wife who also hadn't skied in a very long time. And my 4-yr-old nephew had never been skiing (much less spent much time in snow!).

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day--clear blue skies and no wind. I'm sure it was deja vu for my parents who hung out in the lodge with my 2-yr-old niece (they don't ski and would often hang out in the lodge when they took us skiing years ago).

I had always been under the impression that Powderhorn was more of a "regional ski resort"--it's small, doesn't get a ton of snow, and is a bit off the beaten path (though it's the closest ski resort to the Colorado town I lived in). But riding up the lifts I met folks from Delaware and Pennsylvania (the woman from DE had just spent big bucks to ski Telluride for two days and the gentleman from PA was trying to figure out where he would ski the next day--"either Vail or Telluride"). And, when I was in line to rent my skis, I got to talking with the woman behind me, who had driven up with her family from Yuma. And my sister-in-law mentioned she had ridden the lift with someone who was visiting from Gilbert! Apparently Powderhorn is more a destination place than I realized (though I suppose it was the holidays)--yea for supporting the local economy!

Powderhorn is the only place I've ever skied and it was as great as I remembered it. I think my nephew had a good time too--by the end of the day he had done a run on the bunny slopes without any falls!

I can't wait to hit the slopes again--hopefully it won't be another 13 years before I get back out there!