State of Grace

Twilight Movie

2008-11-23T13:05:00.003-05:00

I loved the Twilight movie! I can't wait to see it again. I think they did a great job casting Bella and Edward. Of course, there are things that I can criticize, but I don't really want to. It was fun to visually see this story that I really enjoy and I totally want to eat Edward up! I'm curious to hear a critique from someone who has not read the book.

A well-cultured Friday night.

2008-11-22T10:39:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Chris and I went to the International Festival at the Fair grounds.

We were sitting at Brewpub Thursday night talking about what to do Friday night when I stumbled on the add in Nuvo for the festival and our minds were made up. Why choose one type of food when you can travel around the world sampling different foods without going as far as 38th St! Also a big draw for me was the performance by the Peking Opera.

We had a really good time and I recommend it to anyone who is wanting to do something different this weekend (9$ admission, food is about $8 for a combo plate that usually includes 1-2 meat choices and a couple sides, $5 wine, $4 beer). We did a once-around before picking what we would like for dinner. Our goal for the night was to try new foods. To be honest, I was a little disappointed by what appeared to be watered down, Americanized foods. I was really hoping for something authentic and a good representation of what they eat in the different countries, but instead I ran into lots of kabobs and teriyaki chicken.

We started off at the Indonesia table where we both got a chicken kabob with peanut sauce and shared a spring roll. The spring roll was different than we were used to, it was stuffed with peas, corn, and lima beans. The chicken with peanut sauce was delicious. Next, we headed to Jamaica where we shared a plate of jerk chicken, fricasseed chicken (I probably spelled that wrong), fried plantains, and rice with beans. This was probably the best thing we ate all night. The food was from Da Blue Lagoon in Broad Ripple. We sat down to eat our food in the Beer and Wine garden. Just like the food, the beer choices were the watered down "Budweisers" of international beers including Corona, St Pauli Girl, Heineken, etc. They did have Taj Mahal and a Greek beer which were a little different, but I was still disappointed by the selection of "International beers". They did pretty good with the wines, except for Ecco Domani there was a selection of wines from different countries that I've never heard of. My favorite was a red wine from Spain. I can't remember the whole name, but I think the first word was Tapena and the second word started with a "T" too.

Between plates of food we were able to see the performance of the Peking Opera. My introduction to the Peking Opera was in the movie Farewell My Concubine. It is not at all like western opera with the big voices. The singing is a strange (only to my ears because I'm not used to it) high pitched whining sound, but the best part is the make up, elaborate costumes, acrobats, and fight scenes.
Here are some photos from last night:

This is a video I found, which is the same performance we saw:

We finished the night with a shared plate of Philippino food, which included more kabobs. Chris got a spinach dish that he liked (I didn't) and I got an Empanada. At first I thought it was strange that empanadas were considered a Philippino food, but then I learned that there is a Spanish influence in the Philippines that accounts for the spanish food and Catholicism.

After the festival we came home and watched Three Sheets. My friend Eric L. recommended this show when I first started getting into Anthony Bourdain and after waiting for months for it to make it's way to the top of the Netflix list, we finally got it in the mail. This show is great, it has all my favorite elements: travel, food, and booze. Not only does the show talk about the different libations around the world, but it has a built-in drinking game for those who may enjoy beer while watching the show.

I'm surprised.

2008-11-14T17:18:00.002-05:00

I proofread whatever I write and use the spellcheck, but mispelled words still seem to make it into what I post on here. harumph.

Friday is here! Bulletworlf is playing their CD release show at the Melody Inn tonight and I'm going to sleep in tomorrow.

Fun with YouTube

2008-11-12T19:17:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed by now that when I get bored, I turn to YouTube. This week I'm amusing myself with News Bloopers. This combines two things that I love: blooper reels and poop/fart jokes. These are hilarious!

Some of you may have seen this first one on my myspace page.

This one isn't the funniest, but it's from Indianapolis.

This one is pretty good.

Here's some more:

Ok, last one.

Who the fuck is Taylor Swift?

2008-11-11T13:40:00.002-05:00

I swear, this girl is EVERYWHERE!!! When I pick up a magazine, when I turn on the TV, when I get on the internet. I have no idea who this girl is, but all weekend she has been everywhere I turn. Literally. It's crazy. At this point I don't want to know who she is. I've seen her face plastered so many places that I'm becoming suspicious of her. What does she want from me? Is this some type of conspiracy or take-over? Stay away from me, Taylor Swift! I won't let you corrupt my mind. You may have already gotten to our mass media, but I won't let you get me too. Oh wait, I'm blogging about her...maybe it is already too late for me. SAVE YOURSELVES!!!!

Back home in Indiana

2008-11-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

Chris and I had a great time in Nashville. We were there for two nights and successfully accomplished our goal of doing nothing but hanging out and relaxing. We got there Saturday, walked around, window shopped, then stopped into Roberts for some music and drinking. That evening we ate some bbq at Rippy's, then returned to the honky tonks for more good music and drinking. The band playing at Robert's was really good. The bass player was Johnny Cash's bass player and was an awesome slap-bass player.

Since we started so early, we headed home early and were back to the room by 10pm. The next day we took our time getting ready, had breakfast at the hotel, then went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We didn't want to pay the $18 to get in so we just looked through the gift shop. Now, THAT is how you vacation on a budget. Next we went to a bar we knew would have football on. We watched most of the Titans and Bears game, then watched the Colts spank the Steelers. It was fun. This place had a 2 for 1 deal on Sundays so whenever we finished a beer, the waitress would bring us a second of whatever we were drinking. It was awesome.
So as you can guess, by the time both games were over we had been drinking for several hours. We went and got more bbq (at Jacks this time) and visited a couple more honky tonks, but by this time I was full from the bbq and sleepy from the mix of beer and bbq. Chris and I headed back to the room about 8pm and were asleep by 9pm.
Yesterday we checked out about 9:30am and headed back home. Unfortunately on the way home I got a speeding ticket. Before this year I have never gotten a speeding ticket, then I get 2 in one year. Sucks! I-65 is 70mph almost the whole way, but of course they got me the 10 mile stretch that the speed limit drops to 55 mph. I was going 75, which was within the speed limit only 5 miles before they pulled me over. No excuses, I should have been paying attention. It just stings a little.

Today I have the day off for Veteran's Day. It's only 1pm and I got up early enough to watch a move (the Bucketlist), do some knitting, go to the gym, shower, do my e mail checking, and now I'm heading to the store. I feel pretty productive. Chris had to work today and my plan is to make him dinner. I'm pretty excited about it because I think I have a good meal planned.

ROAD TRIP!!!!

2008-11-07T16:36:00.002-05:00

Yay, it's Friday! Chris and I are going away to Nashville, TN for the weekend. Weekend road trips are one of my favorite things ever and Nashville is a perfect get-away spot. It's about a 5 hour drive and the town is all about music. You can't go wrong with that! For those who have never been, there is a strip of road downtown with basically bar after bar of live music playing all day long, you can shop for cowboy boots, eats some bbq, take in some country music history, and its just a fun environment. So yes, I am very excited.
We're going to leave tomorrow (saturday) and we'll come home Monday. Our friend TJ is watching the pugs. We are so lucky to have a friend who will come to the house and take care of the kids while we're away. Its so nice to not have to board them and they get to stay home with someone they know. Yay! Yay! Yay!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Announcement!

2008-11-07T11:57:00.003-05:00

Chris is no longer in the screen-printing biz. Chris's partner bought him out and will be taking it on full-time. There was no drama or falling out. Coz has the opportunity to take it on as a full time gig and Chris supports him whole-heartedly. It's really a win-win situation. Chris will certainly appreciate having more free time and not having to worry about t-shirt designs, cleaning screens, and equipment malfunctions. Honestly though, I give him 30 days before he is filling his time with another project.

Yum!

2008-11-06T16:20:00.004-05:00

These are great! I recently discovered them and have a box stashed in my desk. I've been snacking on them almost every day. They're pizza-flavored, Pringles Stix. They're actually these baked wheat sticks and are nothing like the Pringles potato chips. They come in other sweet flavors (vanilla and honey butter), but I don't think I would like those as well. And no, this is not a paid advertisement.

My vote counted!

2008-11-05T12:23:00.006-05:00

As long as I've lived in Indiana, I've been told that a Republican was always going to win this state and my measley little democratic vote, although important, wasn't really going to make a difference. Well, my friends, my vote made a difference. An African-American, Democrat, won the presidential vote in Indiana. This is so exciting!
Not only did a democrat win in Indiana and contribute to this historical presidential victory, but even more specifically, Indianapolis was named in this article http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081105/pl_politico/15301;_ylt=ApY3HCTcYxd5uHW4RXwZ9xpeW7oF as one of the "racially-mixed growing areas" of the country that helped to make this victory possible. True to Obama's campaign, I believe that this morning Indiana voters woke up feeling...hope.

Now, if we could just legalize gay-marriage.
Most have probably heard by now that Proposition 8 was passed in California. Prop 8 bans gay marriage. It truly saddens me that there is a group of people in this country who are not able to marry their partners (or whoever they want) and have the same rights as everyone else. Thousands of people who were allowed to get married after the supremem court decision, are now having this right stripped away from them. I'm having a hard time finding the words to express just how sad and angry I am at this injustice. Its so fucking twisted.

9 seconds of bliss

2008-11-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

This is what we do for fun at the Kmetz-Morrison household.

numb

This is pretty entertaining.

2008-11-04T17:00:00.002-05:00

Obama/ McCain Dance Off

Yee-Haw partners!

2008-11-04T09:26:00.004-05:00

Hey there Cow-folk, Git out there and place your vote!

P.S. It's kind of weird, but Barack Obama looks very sexy in a cowboy hat.

This is great!

2008-11-02T13:27:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Sarah Roommate.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T13:02:00.003-05:00

So did everyone have a good Halloween?
I don't usually get dressed up, but I do enjoy the holiday. I like to see everyone else dressed up. I think my favorite costume was a couple who were dressed up like Juno and Paulie Bleaker. It was cute. My friend Pete always has great costumes. This year he was a metal dude. Chris and I did our usual Friday after work trip to OPTs in Broad Ripple. We sat, had a few beers, and did some people watching. Then we went to the Thai Cafe for dinner. My food was soooo spicy. I like spicy so it's rare that something is so spicy that I can't eat it. My food was good, but I was jealous of Chris's pad thai. After dinner we went to a show at the Halloween house. It's a house where they have punk shows and it's actually called Halloween house all year around. Friday they were having all punk cover bands which was exciting because I really like the bands being covered, but I was bummed because the bands started playing really late and I only got to see one of the bands before I had to go home.
Yesterday I went to Target and bought one of those fitness balls. I'm actually sitting on it right now. Just sitting on it is supposed to help strengthen your core, because you use your muscles to help keep yourself balanced. We'll see.
So anyway, today is Sunday and I'm not sure what to do. Chris went to Brownsburg to help his dad change the oil in his motorcycle. I would like to get out and do something besides laundry, but I'm not sure what. Its too nice of a day to stay in doors.

Ugh.

2008-10-29T14:31:00.002-04:00

I have been sooo unmotivated lately. Obviously my blog has been suffering as a result. My apologies. I would like to blame my lingering cold whether or not that is actually the cause, I don't know. I haven't felt like doing anything. It's really pathetic.

sick days

2008-10-23T11:35:00.003-04:00

This was written on 10/23/08, but because illness affected my attention span and energy level, I am not proof-reading and posting until 10/24/08.

I'm home for my second sick day. Why do people get sick when the weather changes? Is there any truth to that or just a myth? Either way, I always fall victim to weather-changing illnesses. I knew it was inevitable, but I was hoping it would hold off.
Anyway, nobody likes to sit next to a sicky at work and I feel like plane ol' poop so I called in sick. The last 2 days have been filled with the same 2 activities, alternated throughout the day. These activities are listening to the book Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (the 3rd book in the Twilight series) while playing Sim City and watching TV/movies while knitting. Both are comprised of listening to something while keeping my hands busy. I could not do one without the other. I could not watch TV without knitting, and I couldn't knit without having the TV on. The same with the book.
I recently had a knitting lesson when some social worker friends and I attended a "craft night" at another co-workers house. The lesson taught me a basic knitting stitch, then I went home and tried it on my own. I have to say, it didn't start off too well. My scarf kept getting wider. I was somehow adding an extra stitch at the end of each row. Needless to say, my scarf started to look like something besides a scarf. I'm not sure what, but it wasn't a scarf. I joked with Chris that I was making him a sleeve that I would sow onto the end of his t-shirt to give him one long, yarn-sleeve. Anyway, despite the malformation, I kept knitting for the practice of it and knitted until I finished the yarn. I was able to learn how to "bind off" (the term used for when you want to finish your knitted item) by watching a YouTube video. It looks ridiculous. I'll post a picture when I get a chance. Now I'm excited to start over and try to knit a scarf for real. Looks like I know what everyone is getting for Xmas!!!! Scarfs for everyone! And for Chris...a second yarn-sleeve.
OK, typing is wearing me out. I would like to elaborate on my Sim City addiction, so stay tuned for my blog entry titled, "Simulation".

harumph

2008-10-20T19:13:00.003-04:00

When they lose, I get sad.

Go Social Workers!

2008-10-19T12:56:00.004-04:00

Thursday and Friday I spent all day at the Social work conference. I actually have never been and I have to say I was impressed, especially since this conference doesn't have a good reputation. There were a lot of very interesting speakers and presenters and being at these events renews my excitement over my chosen profession. The second day I spent the entire day in a session on treating and diagnosing sexual issues. It was definitely very interesting and I have to admit that I could feel myself blush on more than one occasion. I don't think I'm ready to delve into sexual issues with my clients. I agree that sexual issues are important issues to address, but just not by me. I'd rather not go there, thank you. The presenter definitely took a controversial view on sex in the US and it was interesting to hear his views. He was also extremely narcissistic. He was not open to people asking questions or making comments and he made that obvious. His rudeness led to at least one woman leaving the session before it was over.
Anyway, asshole or not, he was interesting. He has a blog at www.martyklein.com. I tried to to add it to my blog list, but I don't think it worked.

The week of house guests.

2008-10-16T18:53:00.002-04:00

I am having my second out-of-town friend come visit me this week. How fun!
Over the weekend, Tanzie came from Elkhart for our friend Diane's, daughter's wedding. Diane and Tanzie are part of my super-awesome social work group. There are a group of us who met in grad school and have kept in touch over the years. I'm sure I will have other opportunities to go into more detail about this super neat and unique group of women that I'm privileged to be a part of. Of course, it's always a treat when we can get together. Unfortunately there were group members missing (Lindsay and Mary) but they certainly weren't forgotten. We were going to do a shot of Tequila in honor of Mary, but the bartender wasn't allowed to serve us shots, it had to be "on the rocks"... so we declined. Anyway, Patrice lives in the area, but way up north so she stayed with me too. It was fun having the girls over and the wedding was beautiful. I had THE BEST wedding cake I have ever had in my entire life! De-lish! I was also stoked that the reception was at the zoo in the dolphin pavilion because I got to watch the dolphins swin around. I love dolphins!

(Thanks to Tanzie for the pictures.)
The next morning we were able to go visit Lindsay and meet her beautiful little girl Nora and see her new house. It's so much fun seeing your friends become parents.

So anyway, my second guest is coming this evening. My friend Irene recently moved to Louisville for her residency and an early flight tomorrow morning (leaving from Indianapolis), has given us this opportunity to catch up. Since the flight leaves very early, her and her fiance are coming to stay with us for the night. I haven't seen Irene for a few years. Maybe more?? She went to Arizona to become a Dr. and meet the man of her dreams. I'm so proud of her for everything she has accomplished.

Just as a side note: I think it's pretty exciting to have house guests, but for the pugs it's like the second coming of Christ. They go fucking nuts! I wish there was a way I could warn them and get them to agree to behave. I would sit them down like a team huddle and go over the game plan, strategies, and rules for the game. It would be like, "OK guys, we're going to have some house guests. I know, I know, this is some exciting shit. This is what I need from you. Let's keep jumping up and face licking to a minimum. One 'hi, how ya doin?' is ok, but do your thing and move on. Second, going nuts, barking, running on the furniture, and launching off things is obnoxious. Let's keep that to a minimum too. Lastly, while there are guests...no humping. Can we do that? It's kind of embarrassing. Thanks guys, your good behavior will be rewarded with treats. Now...BREAK!"

Time warp

2008-10-09T18:34:00.003-04:00

My home is one big fat time suck. For some reason whenever I am home I find myself sucked into things that take up way too much time and I get nothing done. I have no idea what I do with my time or how time passes so quickly when I'm home. The weekends are the worst. It seems like I can wake up and before I know it, the day is over. I may have a plan to leave the house, but usually this doesn't happen until after 3pm. I think I need to set small goals for myself. Right now it's about 6:30pm. Between now and 8pm I NEED to work on getting the house ready for my weekend guests. Ok, that's an hour and a half. I can do this. Focus kjirsten, focus. Step away from the you tube, turn on some music, and get moving.

I'm obsessed.

2008-10-05T15:26:00.001-04:00

This book is consuming my Sunday.

Anniversary Dinner

2008-10-05T15:19:00.001-04:00

Last night, Chris and I went to The Oceanaire. I ate Halibut cheeks. Apparently a delicacy. It was delicious! There were plenty of jokes throughout dinner about eating hali-BUT CHEEKS. Get it, "but" cheeks. You can put us in a fancy restaurant, but you can't make us fancy.

Anniversary!

2008-10-04T13:04:00.002-04:00

Today Chris and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!
I had a thought yesterday while we were on our hike about this being our anniversary weekend. I turned to Chris and said, "you know, I don't really see being married to you for 5 years as an accomplishment." I was thinking about how people usually say "Congratulations" as a way to wish you well on your anniversary. But for me, this doesn't seem fitting. It implies that the last five years have been work. Like it was hard to be married to Chris for 5 years. When in fact, this has been the EASIEST 5 years of my life. So please, no need for congratulations. Instead, raise your glass and say "party". That is much more fitting.

Hookey!

2008-10-03T19:19:00.003-04:00

Since Chris had today off, because he is inbetween jobs, I thought it would be fun if I took the day off too and we went on a little adventure. I've been dying for a day off and since I love fall I really wanted to go do something outdoors. So, we decided to head over to Turkey Run State Park (Thanks to Chris Ray for the suggestion.) and do some hiking. The weather was perfect! We decided to do a 2 mile trail that was "moderate/rugged" and also did part of a "very rugged" trail that was absolutely beautiful. I got to slosh around in a creek! It was so pretty and felt so good to be out in nature with the fresh air and also doing something physically active. Too often my days off are spent in doors and it feels like such a waste of a day off, especially when it's fall. I really feel like I need to eat up as much of the season as possible before it turns cold. I definitely plan to spend more time outdoors this weekend.
Here are some pictures I took: