Kier's Serendipity

Idaho

2009-11-12T20:14:00.006-06:00

Most people do not pick Idaho as a vacation for anything with the exception of some skiing. I never in a million years would have thought I would ever go to Idaho, but away I went this week. A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by my boss to go on a store trip for work. Sure, why not? Where are we going? Idaho. Okay, so let's get it booked. Oh, you don't need to do anything, we are taking the corporate jet. WHAT?!?!?! Okay, count me in!

So what do we do on these store trips? Well, let me tell you---it is a lot of standing around in suits, high heels, listening, and asking questions. This was no different. We went to a total of 5 stores in Idaho. I must say, Idaho was pretty much what I expected it to look like...kind of middle of nowhere, small towns, and probably getting a new car is the biggest talk of the town. The people were very nice though and that is always a good thing. I do have to say, I would not mind going back to Boise though. It was a fun college town and a nice downtown area. I could see where some good fun could be had.

As much fun as the store trip was (uh, huh, sure it was), the highlight of my adventure had to be riding on the corporate jet. Who knows if I will ever get to do that again, so I made the most of it. Plush seats, a flight attendant who served awesome omelets, and had whatever I wanted to drink on the plane at any given time. The bathroom was just cool. We are not talking the tiny itty bitty things you see in commercial airplanes, but this one, well, there was head room and room to take care of business. While I was in the restroom, I had to poke around all the drawers and everything. Fully stocked with mouthwash, toothbrushes and toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, sewing kits, medicines, and even chap stick. How cool is that? Wow, so this is what it is like to be a corporate exec...maybe I should aim higher in my career goals.

Enjoy the pictures!

The corporate jet...nice, right...they even had a red carpet for us at the Boise airport...and cars waiting just outside the plane.

The cushy seats

My breakfast!
The Rocky Mountains in Colorado

MiMi

2009-11-08T20:44:00.004-06:00

Thank you for coming to visit me MiMi!

Love, Elizabeth

Friday Random Thoughts

2009-11-06T13:24:00.001-06:00

“Fair” by Remy Zero from the “Garden State” soundtrack is still one of my favorite song after all of these years.
I surprisingly, for the first time in many many months have nothing pressing to do at work---right now at least. It could change at any moment.
I am curtain shopping…and have something in mind but don’t want to spend the money. I might just bite the bullet.
My mom is coming in for the weekend. I’m really looking forward to it and for her to babysit so that I can run some much needed errands.
I wish the weather would be a little bit cooler so that I can wear sweaters.
Working on getting some invitations custom made for a gathering.
This day is so beautiful and I am stuck behind my desk, waiting for something, anything to happen.
Today, I scrubbed my desk down with Lysol wipes. Ew.
I am thinking about the Fort Hood mess and wonder what makes a person want to harm other people.
Enjoying the “Twilight” soundtrack and am not at all ashamed about it. The music is really good!
My latest guilty pleasure is listening to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” CD in my car. I really enjoy listening to the words and remember what it was like to not be jaded by the real world. It is a nice change of pace to hear words written and sung from such a young and innocent outlook on life.
Ate too much Mexican food at lunch, but it was good.
Thinking about lavender baby lotion.
Wishing I could just whip open my book at start reading so that I can finally get it finished and can move on to something new. (It’s “Emma” by Jane Austen in case you were wondering.)
Looking forward to the weekend….

To Gift Card or Not, That is the Question?

2009-11-05T15:38:00.003-06:00

Gift cards as presents. That is what we are talking about today, peeps. Do you like them? Do you not? Do you buy them because you do not know what to get someone? Is it because you’re lazy? Is it because it is incredibly convenient? Is it because you think the other person would enjoy the shopping experience more by picking it out themselves? Is it because they straight up asked for a gift card?

I personally, am a huge fan of the gift card. Yes, I do agree that it may not be the most personal of gifts, but if you get it from one of my favorite stores, that does make it more personal. Shopping for me should be a competitive sport and therefore, I enjoy it. I like to go in, check out the goods, run through quickly or peruse to my little heart is content. Do I spend said gift card right away? Sometimes I do, sometimes I hold onto it for something special, and sometimes, I let them accumulate so that I can put it towards something big.

Last year, my brother, Andy went on a tirade about how he does not like gift cards as they are not personal and he would much rather have the traditional Christmas present instead of the gift card. So I took it to heart and asked him what he would like for Christmas this year. What did he say? A gift card. So there you go…apparently, he is over his tirade and wants something in particular. I see his point however, on wanting a traditional present. For people that I know are not particularly fond of the gift card, I try to do something tangible, wrap it up with the gift card and that way they get the best of both worlds. That something tangible may make the value of the gift card monetarily smaller, but it makes them happy so I oblige.

What do you think?

Nine Month Appointment

2009-11-03T21:35:00.006-06:00

Today was Elizabeth's nine month check up with her pediatrician. As it was at an odd time this morning, Sean stayed home and was able to do some work from home and look after Elizabeth. This picture I snapped moments before I walked out the door. It is too cute for words!

Working hard on our laptops

So here are the fun statistics that probably only the grandparents care about, but they are here for your reading pleasure as well. Yep, she's still a big girl! Her doctor thinks that as she is becoming more mobile, her weight will start to taper off....we'll have to wait and see.

Weight: 23.1 lbs 97th percentile

Height: 28.3" 90th percentile

Head: 17.5" 75-90th percentile

The only measurement that we think may be sketchy is the height. Sean was standing to the nurse and helping her out when the measurement was taken and thinks Elizabeth's legs were not straight...entirely possible. He seems to think she had another inch on her height to make her around 29 inches. Either way, she's a tall girl!

Nine Months

2009-11-03T21:19:00.006-06:00

Today Elizabeth turned nine months old! She as become quite the cruiser around the coffee table and is enjoying standing whenever she can. And jabbers--I only wish I knew what she was saying. I even think that she is starting to "sing" in the car too. So many changes and growing so quickly.

Here are some pretty pictures of her from today. Happy nine months lovey!

Hanging out in Elizabeth's room

Let me outta here...but I still look really cute!

Mommy and Elizabeth

Daddy and Elizabeth

November, November

2009-11-02T16:49:00.002-06:00

This picture cracked me up so I thought I would share it!

November 1st has come and gone. It excites me, even though all the bills roll in and I am broke for at least the first week or two of every new month. That’s life right? For some reason, the beginning of every month always reminds me of a fresh start and something new. And that is because it is. There is always something to look forward to in the new month and this month is no different.

Sean’s annual Father/Son trip to the great outdoors to bond over tents, gourmet (I’m not kidding or being sarcastic) meals, no showering, and a ton of country music all in pursuit of Bambi
An extra hour…of sleep or whatever
A possible trip for the whole family into the great outdoors around the middle of the month
Gearing up for holiday festivities
A lot of work for me (gotta love retail)
The opening of “New Moon” in theatres
Starting a new book, “The Virgin Blue” by Tracy Chevalier—thank you for the suggestion Kelli
A business trip to Idaho for a couple of days
More fall decorating—gotta get the cornucopia out!
Last of all Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays

I hope your November is starting off incredibly fally. Enjoy your day!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T17:35:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Check it out!

2009-10-28T21:17:00.005-05:00

See my new kicks? Well, they are really house shoes and have been a long time coming!

Every year I go through the drama of needing house shoes for my cold toesies. Already, this year is not different. I get cold, throw on a pair of heavy socks, you know, the ones with the tread, and go about my business. Sometimes you just need something with a bit of a sole though and I end up stealing Sean's shoes and have a difficult time giving them back.

Sean bought me these cute duvet slippers from Restoration Hardware several years ago. They were cute and fabulous...so much so, I have had two pairs. The first pair was destroyed by Raider when she was a puppy. Yes, feathers went absolutely everywhere. The second pair, I have had longer only because I hide them from her. I think we would have the same feather incident left on her own. However, last year, I noticed that I had ripped the fabric and starting leaking feathers. So here we are, back to square one on slippers. We searched high and low for slippers. In fact Sean even gave me a pair of slippers for Christmas last year, but they were too small. I went to Target and found some that would work for the hospital when Elizabeth was born...just not what I was looking for though... Finally, I found what I was looking for...Sean's slippers...but in black. He bought them for me so that he could have his slippers back! They may be sold in the Men's department, but I love them just the same.

Enjoy your slipper weather!

Fall Decorations

2009-10-27T21:54:00.004-05:00

Remember all the pumpkins and gourds we bought at the pumpkin patch? Here is what I did with all of it.

Every year, I add a bit more fall festiveness to the home's decor and I am already eying some decorations as soon as the season is over and they are on sale. I just love the fall.

Honey Do

2009-10-26T16:12:00.008-05:00

Ladies (gentlemen if you are reading) be prepared for the most awesome thing my husband may have ever asked me...are you ready? "Will you marry me?" That was a good one, but here is another one almost as good as that....Are you really ready? "Kristin, will you make me a list of things you want me to get done with my time off around the holidays?" Yes, you read that right. He wants me to make a Honey Do list and I have never been more excited about it.

Every year, Sean gets time off around the holidays as he facility shuts down from December 18th through January 4th. Lucky ducky--I wish it worked that way for me, but alas, one of us only gets that time off without having to actually take vacation days. I digress. So this year, with his time off, Sean wants to take care of some household projects (yours truly will be helping while Elizabeth is at school). It is music to my ears.... and I feel splinters already in my hands.

So what's on the list? Painting, fencing, and I'm sure some kind of drilling. I'm so glad he asked, there are things that definitely need to be done. His motivation is rubbing off on me too! Aww...it's beginning to look a lot like home improvement time.... Am I lucky, or what? To be asked...maybe I should put something really ludicrous on the list to see if he actually tackles it!

At First...

2009-10-25T21:47:00.003-05:00

...if you don't succeed, keep trying!

Thursday evening

Sunday afternoon

Nap time cuteness...so glad we lowered the mattress a couple of weeks ago!

Getting Mommy's attention with that beautiful face.

All tuckered out after a big day of pulling up on EVERYTHING!

Apparently, Elizabeth is skipping the traditional crawling stage and going straight for pulling up and standing. Don't get me wrong, she can roll, belly crawl, and get herself around quite effectively, but she is all about standing up so that she can see the world. I am so excited and so scared at the same time!

Where the Heck Have I Been?

2009-10-23T16:34:00.003-05:00

I have been sick. No fun. I have had my lovely little sinus/allergy issues for about two weeks now, but it apparently decided to come to the evil point on Wednesday. Yuck. I have basically had a migraine headache since then and shook it long enough to come to work today.

I went to the doctor yesterday (a new doctor for me and I already love her) and she gave me an antibiotic for the infection but nothing for the congestion since I am still breastfeeding. Ugh. Problem only half solved. I am giving it through the weekend to see how things are going with the antibiotic and will make a decision on the other half. I have to feel better, but me feeling better is literally throwing the baby out with the bath water. Good drugs=no more breastfeeding. Needless to say, I am stuck with trying to figure out what to do and it is not fun for me in the mean time.

But I'm back, just in time for the weekend too!

Have a good weekend!

Fall Days at the Dallas Arboretum

2009-10-20T20:33:00.004-05:00

Pictures from the Dallas Arboretum

Elizabeth standing on her own

Corn husk horse in the pumpkin patch

Daddy and Elizabeth in the pumpkin patch

Beautiful baby...

Who knew pumpkins can float? I didn't but now I do...

The Day of Greatness

2009-10-19T15:31:00.005-05:00

The Day of Greatness was awesome!

I took a half day on Friday to spend some time with my husband, go to the grocery store, and have my birthday lunch. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Houston's, for our celebration. We go to Houston's every year and I am happy to say that we continued the tradition.

Saturday was Saturday. Lots of football watching in our home while I did the laundry and other assorted goodies... and then the Day of Greatness came.

Elizabeth had me up pretty early for her breakfast, but while I was feeding her, Sean was out getting us breakfast pastries from Main Street Bakery and Bistro in Plano. You just can not go wrong with their cinnamon twists. They are to die for! After that we headed of to the Dallas Arboretum for there beautiful Fall decor to and celebrate seeing one of the few truly beautiful days we have had lately. The weather was perfect and we had a blast. Elizabeth was fascinated by all of the color and people watching. Aww...to see everything fresh and new for the first time. It must be great to be a baby. When we came home, we had Sean's chicken parmigiana and birthday cupcakes...strawberry with vanilla butter cream icing. To finish the evening off, we watched "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It was funny and I highly recommend it!

Today, I took the day off and had lunch with my friend, Jennifer, ran errands, and have been taking care of odds and ends around the house. It has been a good day...now, off to the Dallas Stars game. I just love it when we have free tickets....

Happy 31st

2009-10-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

Me and Elizabeth at the Dallas Arboretum

October 18, 2009

Mommy's Birthday

Last Day of 30

2009-10-17T22:48:00.003-05:00

Today is my last day of being 30. I celebrate the fact that God has blessed me with another year of life and the blessings that have come with it in the last year.

So much has happened since October 18th last year, many of those things have changed me forever and I think, in the best way possible. I have learned more about myself in this year than I have possibly ever learned in any other. What are the things that I have learned?

I learned to listen to my body. It was telling me something wasn't quite right with my pregnancy before I had a doctor tell me
I learned that it is just uncomfortable to be pregnant
I learned that I can never get enough of those kicks from the inside, just to know that everything was alright
I learned that the same one month can seem like the longest and the shortest time ever
I learned that me left alone with all of my thoughts is a very bad thing
I learned what it was like to be scared for me and for someone else at the same time
I learned that people can come out of the woodwork and give you delightful surprises when you are least expecting them
I learned that the pain of what labor is not fun, and absolutely thankful I will never have to go through that again
I learned what it was like to hold my daughter, who was a stranger to me, and think, well, the adventure of getting to know you begins now...and being scared and excited all at the same time
I learned that healing from a C-Section is the hardest and most painful experience I have ever had
I learned what pure exhaustion is like and that you can overcome it
I learned how much laundry I can do for such a tiny individual
I learned going back to work and being a mommy is awfully hard
I learned that I am a better mom to my daughter because I do work
I learned that no one else cares about my career and work well being the way I do
I learned that people are not always who they appear to be--the good and the bad
I learned that change is inevitable and that I should just embrace it instead of fight it--change is typically good in the long run
I learned that asking for help and advice is not weakness, but human
I learned that my love of reading has not dimmed and have read more books this year than I have in the last 4 put together--I am proud of this fact
I learned that my daughter is growing faster than I ever could imagine
I learned that time does not stand still in the least bit and that every day passes even more quickly than the one before
I learned that I have an amazing PARTNER in my husband, who just happens to be a great Daddy too
And finally, most of all, I learned what it was like to love someone so much, it makes my heart hurt. I have so much love, pride, and awe over something so tiny and small. I never in a million years could imagine loving someone as much as I love my Elizabeth.

Thinking of this place....

2009-10-15T20:11:00.003-05:00

...right now and can't wait to go back one day.

Paris, France

Sweater Time

2009-10-14T20:03:00.005-05:00

...not that you really needed on today in the Metroplex. It was all kinds of nasty outside between the early morning fog and drizzle to an afternoon of unruly humidity. You could just feel the air sit there, stagnant. Ugh.

Over the weekend, I brought out all of my winter sweaters and put them on the top shelf of the armorer. The bottom part is Sean's and you don't want to see the unruly mess it currently is at the moment. As you can see, they are arranged by color. The far left is ivory (there is no such thing as white cashmere) and black. The far left are brown hues (Lacy, I know you would be proud of all the brown), and the middle is everything in between. I would buy the same black sweater over and over and over again every season so I have to be very careful that I do not go there!

If you do not know this, I am a self realized clothes horse. I have been for a long time and as I have gotten older, it has gotten worse. Now that Elizabeth has come into my life, there is a lot less disposable income so it has been curbed quite a lot! As you can see, it is filled to the brim with sweaters, mostly fine gauge merino wools and cashmere. Some of the cashmere sweaters in there are ones that I helped develop when I worked at Neiman's. I still wear them, love them, and think that sweaters are just about the coolest things ever....and hide a magnitude of sins. Fall clothes are easily my favorite fashion season for the very fact of sweaters...and leather...and suede..and well, the list goes on...

So let's talk sweater care and storage. Most people hang their sweaters in the closet. Um, no. Don't do that. It stretches the fibers in them and they lose shape. Once a sweater loses shape, there is not getting it back...so proceed with caution (better results on the hanging with cottons, acrylics, and poly blends). Recommended storage is folded (and I can fold a mean sweater from my days working for a very particular sweater buyer) in a dry, climate controlled area away from any chance of insects. During the off season, I store mine in a large plastic bin, sealed till the next season, in a closet IN my house, not an attic or the garage. For cleaning, some you can wash in your machine, some hand wash, some say dry clean. Most cashmere sweaters will say dry clean only. This is misnomer. The chemicals in dry cleaning actually damage the delicate fibers and cut into your sweater's life span. While it is a pain in the tush to hand wash and then block your cashmere sweaters, it is so much better for them. I will be the first one to admit that I have been known to take my sweaters in to the cleaners on occasion. I try to avoid it though and you should too. Also, sweaters pill. Not fun, but they do. Either pick it off gently or take a very fine toothed brush or comb and comb it out. There is nothing like walking around looking like your sweater is from the 70s just because you didn't take the time to make it presentable. It seriously spruces up your look in no time at all.

Aww...sweater weather...how I love you so...now get cold so I can snuggle up in you!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T11:33:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the pictures from the church pumpkin patch we visited on Saturday afternoon. As you can see Elizabeth is deck out in her A&M watching outfit.

Checking out the hay.

Mommy and Elizabeth with all of our loot. Yes, we really did buy that many pumpkins and gourds. I will post pictures of what I did with all of it in the next few days or so....

Daddy and Elizabeth.

Weekend Stuff

2009-10-12T12:35:00.005-05:00

Happy Monday…well, kind of since it is Monday after all and I have a nice stuffy nose, congestion, and a little baby who has the same thing. But it is Monday regardless and we are starting off the week of greatness and that is always a good thing in my book.

This weekend was full of fun and cool weather. Friday night we ran up to JC Penney to get Elizabeth some more pants. As cool as it has been and will only get cooler, she was in need of something to cover her legs. Luckily, we found everything and then some that we were looking for. So Mom, she is completely covered on clothes at the moment!

Our church, Custer Road United Methodist Church, has a fundraiser pumpkin patch every year so we were off to enjoy that…and it was a bit cooler than we anticipated. But we got some pretty pumpkins for the house and the yard (I will post pictures in another post later). The picture below is one from the church...it was not bright, sunny, or short weather when were there on Saturday.

Saturday evening, cousins Tara, Michael, and baby Chloe came over to visit. Sean, made a rib roast, his infamous sweet potatoes, and popovers. I was in heaven. If you haven’t had Sean’s popovers, you are seriously missing out…

Sunday brought us more dinner guests. Aunt Karen and one of her friends came over for chili. I just love this time of the year when you can bring out the crock pot for some yummy chili. We will be having it at almost every meal this week as we have so many leftovers, but you don’t hear me complaining about that at all.

Then it was off to watch the Season Finale of Army Wives. I am a sucker for random TV. While I like the show and find it very entertaining, the show is horribly written. I find myself making fun of the dialogue. That is probably not a good sign, but for some reason, I still watch it. In other TV news, if you are not watching Flashfoward, start. It is from the same creators as Lost, and oh my, it is just good times. I highly recommend it.

Have a good week!

Oh joy...

2009-10-11T22:16:00.004-05:00

Well, this is not how I intended to start the week of greatness off, but what is a girl going to do? Yep, Mr. and Mrs. Sinus and Allergy has hit...and hard too. Between Elizabeth and I, we are some stuffy, runny nose, coughing, congested girls. All I can say is poor Sean. Sadly, Elizabeth is too young to take something, but this Tylenol Sinus is all I can take due to the fact that I am still breastfeeding. No good stuff for me! Let's just hope this works...

Weekend update tomorrow...the night time is going to kick in soon...I hope.

The View

2009-10-08T18:33:00.002-05:00

This is the view from under my desk on almost any given day....

So where are my feet? Usually sitting cross legged (or at least one of them up) in my chair until one of them falls asleep. Then they go back on the floor for a bit. Repeat. Again and again. You would think I would learn to sit in a chair properly after all of these years, but not a chance. I’ll be sitting this way till they carry me away…

See the box under my desk? There is not a darn thing in it, but when I was pregnant and the doctor told me to elevate my feet at work, I used this box and still do when my feet are in the vicinity of the floor. Yeah, I know, I was/am too cheap to go out and buy a foot stool. It works.

See the big bag in the picture? Yep, that’s my handbag/carryall/water bottle hauler/flip flop home. It is too big to fit into a desk drawer (or at least a conventionally sized one) so that is where it stays for most of the day. Don’t worry; I don’t have anything in it that anyone would want to steal.

What is on the iPod today?

“Calling You”—Blue October
“Blue Monday”—New Order
“I’ll Take Everything”—James Blunt
“You and Me”—Dave Matthews Band
“How Do You Tell Someone?”—Cowboy Mouth
“Wide Open Spaces”—Dixie Chicks
“Juicy”—Better Than Ezra
“Supermassive Black Hole”—Muse
“Feeling Stronger Everyday”—Chicago
“Strange Currancies”—REM
“Promise of Summer”—Jackopierce
“Mrs. Darcy”—Pride and Prejudice soundtrack
“Could Be Anything”—Eames Era

Shout out time! I have a new follower. Welcome Book*Addict! I hope you are enjoying the blog as much as I am enjoying writing it.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

2009-10-07T16:51:00.004-05:00

…and also, my favorite Rolling Stones song.

Yesterday, I received an email from the beautiful Lacy just checking in…i.e. reading between the lines on what the heck is going on in my mind these days. That one, she’s a smarty as there has been a lot going on there. Sadly or thankfully (???) it all stems from work.

I have not been content at work for some time now. It ebbs and flows with degrees of contentment and non-contentment—always has and probably will till I get to be in a place where I just love my job (if that is possible…and I truly do think it is, I just haven’t found it yet). But these last few weeks, I have decided that I need to be very proactive about moving to the next level in company. Thankfully, I have put enough time into what I am doing now that I do not have that holding me back. I have been looking and have come to the realization that in order to do pretty much whatever I could want to do in this company, I have to go back and be an Assistant Buyer again. Apparently, my previous work experience does not count and it is back to square one. Don’t get me started on what I really think about that… For me that position is a been there, done that kind of thing. Taking a step backward or forwards? I don’t know. The way my job is structured, it would be taking a step forward, for me mentally, a step backwards. Can I do the job? Yes. Do I want to do it? No. Will it get me where I eventually want to go? Maybe. Regardless, it would open more doors to other things and that is what I am concentrating on right now.

Here is the biggest kicker of them all: the time commitment. Everything in life comes at a price and a job is no exception to that. To go up the next step is a big time commitment—8-5 becomes unheard of and a possibility of some travel in there to spice things up a little is added to the mix. If I did not have a beautiful baby girl, I would not even think twice about it, but I do and that makes things even more complex. Every day something new has happened or changes with her and I don’t want to miss a minute of it. I work so that I can provide the best I can for her and for us as a family.

So where does this leave me? Sitting up to my ears in indecision.

In the meantime, this is what has been staring at me from my cube wall, giving me some hope:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11

When do you shop?

2009-10-06T19:04:00.004-05:00

Amazingly, we are in the last quarter of the year. Do you know what that means? Yes, alas, Christmas is just around the corner. As much as I would love to do all of my Christmas shopping in December when the malls are festive and gift giving is in the air, I can not. In order to avoid credit card usage in the month of December, I start my Christmas shopping early. How early is early? One year I started in an after Christmas sale in December. Esk, that is early. Usually, we start some time in September and then rev up with each passing month that gets closer to Christmas. This year, we are getting a bit of a late start and I am now compiling my list of who and what I am going to get with a dollar amount attached. And yes, I am a nerd and it is on a spreadsheet. I know, I know...

When do you start Christmas shopping?