Pictures from Spain and France

At last here are a few pictures from my adventures in Spain and France. I'm not adding much commentary or else this post would be days long! So, you'll just have to deal with the little captions on the pictures. Enjoy!

SPAIN

FRANCE

A hot new look

I just quickly wanted to post the HOT new look that Rob Pattinson is sporting now. I know a bunch of girls were obsessed about his long hair, but OMG!! This new look has me swooning even more than I was before. Good move Rob!

Science Saturday Night

Wow - I really need to stop posting! Three posts in three days...out of hand. But I had to share this with everyone. Tonight I discovered that I was magic (and a dork...but I guess I already knew that). Anyway...here's a video about what I discovered. Enjoy!

Good News!!

I found an apartment!! I'm SOOOO excited about this place! I wasn't able to sleep at all last night because I was so excited about it and also a little worried that someone would swoop in and take it out from under me. But I talked with the landlord today and he ran my credit check and then tonight he sent over the lease!!! I'm paying a security deposit tomorrow to hold my spot while I'm in Utah for Christmas and then when I get back I'll turn in the signed lease and get my keys!! It's a really great and pretty spacious (by NYC standards). I'll be living in a different neighborhood, but I like the area I'm moving to. Anyway...I just wanted to share this good news with everyone mainly because I'm super excited!!

Ummm...yeah....

Last post I was so excited about not having to move...well...joke was on me! I'm now moving out of my apartment. I found out on Tuesday and I need to be out of my place by Jan. 28. I wouldn't be worried, but I leave on Sunday for Utah and will be gone until Jan. 6! And then to add to all of that, I have training for work in DC the whole week of Jan. 12. So...I've started looking for a new apartment.

One thing that is nice about living in NYC is that the church has a website for LDS singles looking for apartments. So obviously I hit up the site and searched for anything promising - nothing!!! Ok...so really there is a lot available right now, just nothing I'm interested in. I'm being picky about where I live (the Upper East Side below 96th street) but I feel like I'm entitled to that much. I love my ward and friends and I don't want to move away from them.

Anyway...so I don't bore you with lots of little stupid details...I decided to look for my own place! That's right - you heard it here first. I'm going to be living on my own!!! I have a few reservations about living on my own. I'm such a home-body that I can see me becoming a recluse and losing any contact with the outside world. I also kind of feel like I'm throwing in the towel. Am I admitting defeat in finding a husband by getting my own place? (many of you might not get how I could feel that way...but I'm sure someone out there understands where I'm coming from)

And then there's Mom's worry - what if I die...no one would know if I didn't come home for a few days. Or I could be rotting away in my apt all by myself and no one would know until the stench got so bad that my neighbors called the super to come investigate. Then they would say - I have never even seen her before...she keeps all to herself and rarely comes out. She orders food in and so all we ever see is the delivery man. OK - I think I've been watching a little too much CSI - but this is a serious concern. I'm not letting Mom think that I am even worried about this possibility since she's already freaking out at the idea of my being on my own in NYC...so shhhh!!

But I'm also looking forward to having my own place. I will never have to worry about hogging the TV or the bathroom. I can take total control of the decorations and make it look super cute (this is what I'm most excited for right now). And I can also get a kitten!!! Jo and I have been wanting a cat for so long, and if I get my own place we can finally have one (I say we because Jo is going to be over at my place all the time - I've already made her promise). Also - I love my alone time. I've always loved it when my family were all gone and I had the house to myself or when I came home and all my roommates where away. Oh my goodness...I really am a recluse!!

Anyway...I'm off to go look at some apartments before I go into work today (which will put me coming into the office around 2:30). Wish me luck!! I sure hope I find a place that I love. I'm going to miss my current apartment and all its luxury...but I'm ready for this new adventure!

To Move AND Not to Move

So today's been a pretty big day for me already and it's still early. But in order for you to be able to understand why, I must take you back...

For the past 15 months that I've worked at PwC, my "desk" has honestly been a windowsill. Now you may be thinking what's so bad about that...I've got a seat with a view, neighbors close by to talk with, and it's much better than being shoved in a conference room with 6 other people. But, while all of that's true, it was VERY welcome news to find out that I have finally been assigned a real cubicle! I got the news last week, but honestly, I didn't want to get my hopes up until I was actually sitting at my new place. And guess what - today was the day of the big move! I have now settled into my new desk and must say that I'm liking it.
I know that it's still pretty boring - no pictures or any hint that I have any sort of personality - but give me time. I'm sure within a few weeks/months/years (yeah right) it'll start looking more Kristyfied. But for now, I'm enjoying the extra space. Here are the top 5 things I like about my new desk:

1- More space for all of my crap (client files, tax returns, etc.)
2- Walls to block out my neighbors' annoying habits (loud eating, nail biting, constant playing with their hair, etc.)
3- No longer have to listen to Lisa's (aka Hyena) 20 different laughs (all as annoying as the others), her constant talking on the phone, or basically just her (it sounds like I'm being rude - but trust me...you would want to get as far away from her as possible too)
4- Drawers! (no - I did not have any sort of drawers at the windowsill and now I have 4!!)
5- Privacy - everyone was CONSTANTLY walking behind my computer at the windowsill so I felt guilty watching TV shows online, reading blogs, playing solitaire, etc. But now, hardly anyone walks behind me, so I can slack off all I want :)

Well...my move was not the only reason to write this blog (as you probably guessed from the AND in my title). Other big news in my life...I'm NOT moving out of my apartment!!! Again, you may be asking what the big deal about this is, but for the past 2 months, I have been on pins and needles wondering if I would suddenly be kicked out of my apartment.

My apartment is for 4 people, and lately there have only been 2 of us living there. Kimmy moved home to Utah (sadface!) and Jamie got married (congrats!) so they have been trying to get someone to move into their room since the end of October. Since the economy kind of stinks right now (surprise!) it's been a struggle. So we also put the entire apartment up for sale to see if our management company could do better.

However, today I learned the good news that I am getting a new roommate which means that I will not be leaving my luxurious apartment (at least any time soon). I've met my new roommate once and she seems super sweet! Her name is Eden and I'm excited to get to know her. She's not LDS which is going to be a little different for me, but I think that it'll be good. I'll keep you posted as to how the new roommate situation is.

So today - I both moved and did not move. Kind of ironic :)

Boredom

For two weeks, I was constantly on the go visiting one amazing site after another. Now that I have returned to NYC, however, life has taken a different turn. It doesn't help that December is a very slow month for tax accountants in the hedge fund industry. We are in between our busy seasons and there isn't much for us to do. So all week, I've been trying to fill those 8 hours at work by reading blogs (thank you everyone for your great blogs), writing on my blog (sorry for so many posts lately), playing Solitaire, and watching TV online. Needless to say, the past week at work has dragged on.

But at night I have tried my hardest to fill my hours. On Monday I saw Twilight, Tuesday I went to All My Sons (staring Katie Holmes and John Lithgow), Wednesday I caught up on all the TV I missed while I was away, Thursday I saw White Christmas (the Broadway show), and last night I saw Twilight again! But now it's Saturday night and I've spent the day baking cookies and hanging out with Jo. But Jo had plans for tonight and I wasn't in the mood to go out with other friends. But then...I got bored.

I've learned that I shouldn't get bored because that is when I get impulsive. Sometimes I bake, sometimes I buy too much music on iTunes, other times I go shopping online. I don't always act on my impulsiveness, but tonight I did. I decided that it was high time that I made yet another change in my appearance (remember a while back when I mentioned my addiction to changing my hair?). But I didn't want to cut my hair...I'm trying my hardest to grow it out...so I stopped by Duane Reade to buy some hair color.

My roommate Kristin wasn't home when I got back, so I went straight to the bathroom and got to work. I covered my entire head with the dye (which didn't take too long since my hair is still quite short), spent 12 minutes dancing around my apartment to Christmas music, then hopped in the shower to wash my hair. When I got out of the shower I was a new person! I went into the shower with brown hair and came out with BLACK! Yes black.

I've had black hair before, but that was when my hair was long and I didn't have bangs. I wasn't sure how black hair would look with my current cut, but I must say that I actually quite like it. However, I'm going to let you decide for yourself. Here is a before and after picture (I apologize for lack of makeup in the after picture - hence the shine. I wasn't about to put on make up just to stay in for the night):

One more thing to be thankful for...

OK...so still no pictures to post yet. But I promise that they will be coming. I just had to write about one more thing that I am thankful for in my life that I didn't even know existed a few days ago. But in order to make you understand why I'm so thankful, I must take you back about 2 weeks to when I was in Seville, Spain...

Stacy and I had already been to Barcelona and Madrid and I had taken approximately 500 pictures. I was in need of a new memory card because I knew that I would be taking A LOT of pictures in Paris, but I was holding out until my memory card was completely full. Anyway...it was the first day in Seville and I took out my camera to take a picture of something (what I don't remember...but that's not important) and a message came up on my screen saying "Format memory card." I told the camera "heck no!" and turned it off faster than I could say "adios".

Needless to say, we went straight to a camera shop to get a new memory card. The man in there was super sweet and had me check to make sure the card worked in my camera before I bought it (I love Spain!). Well...long story short ("too late" - thank you Clue)...the new memory card worked and so now I had 2 whole GB for the remaining portion of my trip.

Fast forward to Sunday night...setting: my bedroom in NYC...time: late.

I'm talking with Mom on the phone and telling her about my horrendous flight back from Barcelona when it occurs to me that I should look at my pictures. I stick in my first memory card (the one that wanted to be re-formatted) and to my horror no pictures come up. It says that my card is BLANK!! I was speechless...I couldn't even talk to Mom. I just told her that all my pictures from Europe were gone and that I had to get off the phone.

I tried everything I could think of to get those pictures back and when everything had failed I broke down in tears. These weren't just normal tears...I completely LOST IT!!! Luckily none of my roommates were home or they probably would have sent me to a mental institution.

But after some time of lying on my floor lamenting the fact that I no longer had pictures to document my first week spent in Spain I decided to snap out of it. This was mainly do to the fact that my TV had been paused for so long that it couldn't be paused any more and the Britney Spears special was playing and I didn't want to miss it. (I know - pathetic. But whatever works, right?)

OK...fast forward again to yesterday. I had mentioned to one of my co-workers the travesty of my lost pictures and she told me of this amazing software out in the technology world that will recover your lost/deleted photos from your memory card!! So of course, the first thing I did when I got home from work was buy this said software. And...IT WORKED!!! I have all 500 + pictures that I had taken while I was in Barcelona and Madrid on my computer as I speak!!! I can't even tell you how excited I am about that. So...thank you Jackie for telling me about this! And thank you technology people who came up with this software! You are truly a blessing from Heaven!

Now I just need to get the 5 GB worth of pictures and video from Stacy so I can put together one mean slide show to share with you all. But don't hold your breath...there are a lot of pictures for me to go through :).

Side Effects

It's 5:45 am here in NY right now and I've been awake for almost an hour. Why you might ask? Well because for the past 17 days I've been in a strange country where when it was 5:00 am in NY it was already 11:00 am and I was out seeing the sights of Spain and France. So now that my body is totally screwed up I guess it means that I will truly live by the saying "early to bed, early to rise...blah blah blah."

And what, you might ask, have I been doing for the past hour at this ungodly time of day? Well, thanks to Google Reader, I have been catching up on the 155 new blog posts that my friends have posted while I was away. Btw...Google Reader is a God-send. All your favorite blogs in one easy place. That way you don't have to click on each individual person in your blog links list. Saves so much time (thanks Kimmy for opening my eyes).

Well...just to finish up this random post I have a few things that I have learned to be thankful for during my trip (and since I missed Thanksgiving I feel entitled to this).

1. International phones that allowed me to talk to my Mom every day of my journey. I love you Mom and miss you tons!
2. Being back in a country where I can understand almost everyone (sometimes it's hard to understand the cabbies here...but for the most part everyone speaks English) and where I don't have to guess what I'm ordering for dinner from a menu that is only written in French
3. My bed!!!! And I might add my pillows. Hotels in Europe have really given up in the comfort area of hotel service - rock hard beds with either rock hard or paper thin/barely there pillows
4. American men (wow I never thought I'd actually say that - hahaha jk) - most don't think that if you smile at them it means that you will willingly go to bed with them or just move to Spain and help them kill rats in the basement of their store (true story...not joking)
5. My closet and drawers. Yes my closet is half the size of my one growing up and I don't have THAT much space in my NY apartment...but it's SOOOOO much better than living out of a blasted suitcase.
6. Paying for things in USD - no conversion
7. My Blackberry
8. Jo being tempted to camp out on my doorstep til I came home because she missed me so much - I missed ya too Jo!
9. Christmas music - that's all I've been listening to since my return
10. DVR and TV online - instead of going to work yesterday I spent the day catching up on all the shows I missed. I only have Greys Anatomy left to catch up on.

There is so much more that I'm thankful for...but I won't bore you any longer with my early morning rambling. Plus I'm heading off to the gym to try to work off the 100 lbs of chocolate and pastries that I ate over the past 2 1/2 weeks.

ps - Pics will be coming shortly. I just have to weed out the bad ones and then I promise a very long, boring (yet fun) post about my travels.

The Holy War

There is one day a year when friends go up against friends, when family ties get thrown out the window, and when you are allowed to act like the biggest jerk imaginable and get away with it. It is a day when everyone is separated into "us" and "them." For this one day it is OK for Mormons to gamble and swear. There are only two colors allowed to be worn on this special day and if you get caught in the right crowd wearing the wrong color - BEWARE! People talk about this day over the pulpit the following day at church either thanking God for their answered prayers, or letting everyone know how they were able to get through the latest trial of their faith. For my family, it is a day when half the people are ecstatic and the other half go home in tears.

If you grew up in the state of Utah then you know what day I'm talking about. If you did not, you may think I'm making up such a day - I promise you I'm not. This is the day of the big game: BYU vs UTAH. The state of Utah is not known for its big football programs, but not many rivalries can match that of the battle between these two schools. This is why it has come to be known as "The Holy War."

Since I can remember, people have been forced to choose a side. Even in elementary school friends wanted to know whether you were a Cougar or a Ute. Most people chose the school where their parents went, but my parents graduated from Utah State, so I was left to follow my own path. For me it was an easy decision - the boy I liked was a Ute so naturally I cheered on the U of U. I even got a coat and hat to declare my dedication to such school (which I think might still be hanging up in my parent's garage in Bountiful). Oh how young and foolish I was back then. I was a Utah fan until I repented and chose to go to BYU after high school. Since then I have been a dedicated Cougar (GO COUGS!).

This game is always fun to watch with my family. Half of us are dressed all in red while the other half is sporting blue. There is much heckling and ill wishing that takes place during the days that precede and follow game day. My birthday is always within a few days of the game and one year my sister lovingly gave me some Ute ice cream after they beat BYU (yes I did grudgingly eat it). Stats from previous games fly around the room like...well...flies. Even my nieces and nephews get into the rivalry. I've never heard so much trash talk come out of a 10 year old than I do during this time of year.

Unfortunately, I will not be with my family this year for the big day. I leave tomorrow for my 17 day excursion to Spain and France (I know - pity me). I have been looking forward to this trip for a while, but I do feel sad that I am missing this game (and the Twilight premiere - don't get me started). However, I did tell Kelli that she should blow up a life-size picture of me, dress it in blue, and every once in a while yell "Go cougs" for me. But since Kelli's a Ute, I don't think my wish will be carried out.

On November 22, however, I will be praying from Spain that my Cougars can keep up their winning streak and beat those Utes. For your viewing pleasure - here is what happened the last two times these two teams met in battle. It still gives me chills every time I watch these videos! Now all that is left to say is... GO COUGARS!!!!

(PS-I hope you noticed my subtle use of colors)

Bragging Rights

I'm a nerd. I've always been a nerd, and I will be until the day I die (come on - I'm an accountant for Heaven's sake). I'm not ashamed of my nerdyness. I embrace it daily. So allow me a few minutes of nerdyness to really shine through.

I just received an email announcing the 2008 Public Accounting Report Rankings. I am proud to say that for the first time ever BYU's graduate accounting program is named #1! We finally unseated University of Texas who has held the position for the past 7 years. So now when people ask me what's the big deal about BYU's accounting program, I can proudly declare that it is the #1 ranked graduate accounting program in the U.S. Go Cougs!

One more reason to LOVE the holidays

There is no better time to be in NY than at Christmas time. It is such a wonderful time of year! But today I discovered one more reason to love the holiday season (that really has nothing to do with NY other than that I am in NY). Per my usual routine, a couple of co-workers and I took our daily trip to Starbucks and I was introduced to my new favorite drink...gingersnap soy steamer. Drinking this wonderful gingerbread drink out of the holiday cup (which they started using again this week) made me even more grateful for the upcoming Christmas season. Hooray for Starbucks special holiday drinks!!

Belated Halloween

Everyone has been posting about their Halloween adventures. So not to be outdone by anyone...here is what I did to celebrate this fun time of year. A couple of weekends ago some friends and I took a trip to Sleepy Hollow. It was the perfect day to be in such a creepy little town. It was foggy with a permanent misty rain. It was such a fun thing to do at this time of year. We did all the things that you would want to do while in Sleepy Hollow. We visited the HUGE cemetery, saw some really cool old churches, and saw a lot of really cool carved pumpkins. This place called The Blaze had thousands of carved pumpkins. They were some of the coolest things I've seen! They had arranged the pumpkins to look like skeletons, dinosaurs, spiderwebs, and many other things. Sadly that night it started raining pretty hard, so we got kicked out before we could see all the pumpkins. But it was still fun. Since I took a lot of pictures I decided to put together a slide show for you all. So...enjoy!

Here Comes the Sun

I'm so glad to finally be blogging about something that has made me very happy instead of depressed, frustrated, etc. This ray of "sun"shine came with the release of Snow Patrol's latest CD - A Hundred Million Suns. You may be asking yourself - "how can a CD release make someone so happy?" Well, if you don't know this already - I'm basically obsessed with Snow Patrol. I literally almost screamed when I heard their new song, Take Back the City on Gossip Girl the other week. I immediately got on iTunes to see if I had somehow missed the release of a new CD...but it wasn't there. So of course I went to SP's website and found out that it was going to be release in the States on Oct. 28. I was so looking forward to Tuesday that I even put a calendar reminder on my phone so that I would for sure not miss it! (I know I'm a dork - but that's why you love me!) And let me tell you - they did not disappoint me in the slightest. I've been listening to this CD non-stop for the past few days and I'm loving it more and more. Let me just share some of my favorite lines of a few of my favorite songs from this new CD...

From Set Down Your Glass: And I'm shaken then I'm still; When your eyes meet mine I lose simple skills; Like to tell you all I want is now.

From Take Back the City: Two weeks later like a surplus reprieve; I found a hair the length of yours on my sleeve; I wound it round and round my finger so tight; It turned to purple and a pulse formed inside...I said I knew the beat 'cause it matched your own beat; It's become my engine my own source of heat

I could seriously find amazing lyrics like this in basically every song on the CD. I'm totally obsessed! Thank you Snow Patrol for this ray of "Sun"shine in my life right now. My only complaint is that Snow Patrol is not coming on tour to US anytime in the near future. But you can bet that I will be one of the first to know when they do come.

Pictures

Here are some pictures to go along with my story earlier this morning...

My bed covered in garbage sacks to protect it - where the pots and bowls are is where my bed used to be and the wet spot on the ground shows how big the wet spot on my mattress is.

This is what my ceiling looked like BEFORE the maintenance guy (Chris) came.

And this is what it looked like after he came - two large holes in the ceiling.

And this is what my room looks like now - no bed, clothes, or other items - only pots and bowls filled with water.

But that's not all...here's a video for your enjoyment!



Now that it started raining harder...I had to add a little protection...

UGH!!!

Why, you might ask, am I up at 5:30 am on a Tuesday morning? Oh have I got a good one for you today...

You know the saying "when it rains, it pours?" Well in my case - the rain is literal. On Saturday, after a big rainstorm, I noticed that the ceiling had leaked right onto my bed. It wasn't a huge wet spot, but obviously I wasn't too happy about it. First thing Monday morning (I know I should have done it on Sunday...but it was kind of a crazy day for me) I called the super to come over and fix it. Mid-afternoon, our he came over and took a look at our roof to see where it could be leaking and said that he would send someone by to fix it. A few hours later, I got a call saying that they wouldn't be able to come until Tuesday. I was a little worried that it might rain tonight, and...

You guessed it - another huge rainstorm.

At around 2:00 am I woke to the sounds of rain. I checked my bed where the leak had been before and to my relief it was completely dry. But then it hit me - right on the head - a drop of water from the ceiling. The dang leak was coming from a different part now. I was too tired to do anything else, so I just grabbed my pillow and blanket and went to sleep on the couch. However, I couldn't sleep very well. I kept getting up to check to see if the roof was leaking. But every time I looked, my bed was completely dry. Until...

I woke up at around 5:oo am and noticed that the rain was heavier than it had been earlier. I anxiously went into my room to check to see if the roof had started leaking and I almost died of shock/terror/grief/alarm...I can go on if you'd like. My bed was SOAKING wet!! I mean it - there were puddles of icky roof water on my matress. Immediately, with minimal swearing, I went into the kitchen and grabbed pots and pans and garbage sacks to put on my bed and floor. But it was leaking from too many spots to really get it all. And there was one big bulge in my ceiling that I knew was going to blow at any moment. There was only one thing left for me to do at this point. I had to move all my stuff out of my room.

So I gathered up all the clothes and shoes and purses on my floor (sorry Mom - my cleaning habbits haven't changed much) and dragged them into the kitchen and living room. Then I had to move my bed. There was no way I could get my bed out so I just had to move it somewhere in my tiny room to where it could not get any more damaged. Luckily, by turning my bed 90 degrees, I could move it out of harm's way.

An hour later I'm exhausted and a good portion of my belongings are in the kitchen/living room. So now I'm going to try to get some sleep before assessing the total damage done to my bed and other stuff. All I can do is hope and pray that my ceiling doesn't start leaking in other places and that the maintenance people will be here early to fix the problem (yeah...not holding my breath for that one).

Lesson Learned

Today marks the premier of High School Musical 3! For anyone who knows me at all you know how much I have been looking forward to this movie. In celebration of this blessed event, Jo and I called in "sick" to work. Jo came over around 12:30 and after talking for a bit, we realized that the next show started in just 6 minutes. We almost ran down my 5 flights of stairs and the 6 blocks to the movie theater and got there just a few minutes after the previews had began.

Don't worry...I'm not going to give anything away about the movie except to say that I loved it!! I mean...honestly, how could I not? Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and Vanessa Hudgens singing and dancing - who could ask for more?!?! There was great music, terrific dancing, and I couldn't have asked for better company.

But wait...that's not the end of my story. As Jo and I were about to leave the theater, a bunch of little girls ahead of us (yes...there were the two of us with a bunch of middle school girls in the theater) started screaming and running outside. As we looked through the glass doors, we saw why. There, a few feet in front of us was a Fox 5 News camera interviewing peole who had just watched HSM 3. Jo and I immediately ran the other way, back into the theater. We could NOT be caught on the news coming out of HSM in the middle of the day. Could you imagine what our employers would have said had they seen us on TV? Bad news all around. Not only were we ditching work, but we were at High School Musical 3 - OPENING DAY!!! And to make matters worse, I hadn't showered yet, my hair was in pigtails (yes it's getting long enough to be put into small pigtails), and I didn't have an OUNCE of makeup on. Let's just say I wasn't fit to be seen on the news.

But Jo and I realized that we couldn't hide behind the pillar in the theater all day, so we got up the courage and started to leave. We were trying to rush out as quickly and inconspiculously as possible when we were detained in the doorway by a little girl who stoped to talk to her mom. I wanted to shove her out of the way, but I kindly said excuse me and rushed on by. Hopefully, the cameras did not catch us, but if they did, most likely we are just blurs in the background running away.

So as my mom said after I told her of this experience...I guess I learned my lesson. But going to see HSM 3 on opening day was totally worth it!

I Want My Mommy

Isn't it amazing that even though I'm grown and living on my own, when I have a day like today all I want if for my mom to give me a huge hug and tell me that she loves me. I rarely get homesick, but right now the only thing that could make me happy is to be sitting at home watching a movie while my mom rubs my feet.

Today some hateful words were said to me by a "friend". To this girl, I would just like to say...I hope that you feel better about yourself after tearing me down. I hope that by telling me what an awful person I am and that everyone hates me you can sleep better tonight. I do not know what I did to deserve such things thrown at me, but whatever it was I apologize. You will never know how your words have cut me. You will never know how I had to sneak into the bathroom at work so no one would have to see me cry. But I would like to thank you. You have made me take a good hard look at my life and the people in it. You have made me even more grateful that I have my family who love me no matter my flaws and who I can go to whenever I need them (even if they do all live in Utah), real friends who accept me as I am, and a Heavenly Father who sees more in me than anyone else ever will be able to. You have helped me to see that no matter what you say, I am loved. The Beatles really had the right idea...All You Need is LOVE!


"The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' - they may not be smart enough to say 'yes.'" - Keith Olbermann (thank you Starbucks coffee cup)

A Day in the Life...

A few weeks ago my friend Stacy asked me what my dream job would be. Without blinking I told her 'a trophy wife'. At the time I was partly kidding. But this weekend confirmed this dream of mine. I am now aspiring to be a trophy wife.

Wednesday marked the end of yet another busy season in the tax world. To celebrate this blessed event, I didn't work Thursday or Friday. I spent two glorious weekdays living the life of a trophy wife (sadly without the benefits of having a husband...wink wink). I slept in, went to the gym in the middle of the day, got a pedicure (I paid extra for 'spa treatment'), watched TV, read, and was basically lazy for 2 whole days. It was AMAZING!!! I decided that this was the life for me.

Unfortunately, today I am back at work. But I still have my dream and ambitions of becoming a trophy wife someday. So if any of you know any single, rich men out there looking for a wife to support give them my number PLEASE!!!

It's been a while...

Hey all you bloggers out there who take the time to read up on the happenings of my life. Sorry I've been kind of MIA lately. I really shouldn't even be blogging right now, but I feel like it's been so long and I have so much on my mind right now that it has to go somewhere...so here is a quick update on the things that have happened to me over the past month or so...

First off - I passed the last section of the CPA exam!!! Yay!! I can't really even explain how excited I am to have that behind me!! Now I just have 2 tiny open-book exams that I have to take for Utah (crazy Utahans) and a couple hundred more hours or so of accounting work and I will officially be a Certified Public Accountant! How crazy is that?!?! So it's looking like I'll have my actual license by May 2009. I can't wait!!

Second thing going on in my life is busy season #2. Oct. 15 marks the deadline for partnership tax returns that have been put on extension. So what does that mean for me? Well...working until 1 am and feeling guilty when I leave at 8 pm to work from home so I can do my laundry because I am completely out of clean clothes since I don't have time to do it ever. Why am I an accountant again??

Thirdly, I might be moving out of my glorious apartment to a less glorious apartment that I have yet to find. It's a long, complicated story that I'm sure you don't really care to hear about and I don't really want to write since I'm tired and I should really be working right now and not blogging. So I'm just going to give you the reader's digest version. We are trying to rent out our apartment and if someone rents it then I need to find a new place to live. But if no one shows interest in it, then I will stay here. So basically I'm totally in limbo right now and it doesn't help that I don't have time to even think about the situation because of work. And I can't decide if I want to move. I mean, I LOVE this apartment and I don't think I'd ever be able to find a place like this in the city, but it would be nice to pay a little less in rent each month and have a little more money to either save or to go have fun with (most likely the latter option).

And to go along with apartment searches...I had a memorable experience on Monday looking for potential new apartments. Again...reader's digest version...the broker who took my roommate and me around was pretty flirty with us. But then Kristin left a little early and I went alone with this guy to 2 more apartments. Let's just say the flirting increased tenfold. I don't think I've ever had someone tell me how cute/beautiful I am more times in one night then this guy did. It was pretty creepy and needless to say I was pretty glad when I was finally able to say "well this is my stop." I felt like I was on a date with this guy. We pretty much had a DTR on the train ride back when he told me that I was scared to admit how much fun I had that night becuase that meant I'd have to acknowledge the feelings that I was too scared to admit that I felt. I'm not kidding you. He actually said those words. It was weird. Let's just say that if we do go back to this brokerage firm to get an apartment, I'm going to request that this guy is not the one who takes us around the city again.

Last thing on my mind...why do some people not know where to draw the line? At work this guy that was reviewing some returns that I prepared (let's call him Jaxon) told me to make some changes that I thought were kind of weird, but I made them anyways. Then I gave the returns to the director (we'll call him Ryan - directors are right below partners) to review (returns go through extensive review processes before they are filed). Anyway...Ryan was like, this is wrong. When I told Jaxon what Ryan said, he told me that he never said I should do what I did and said that he was going to rectify the situation. He told me that I would enjoy the email he was sending to Ryan. He actually cc'd me on the email and it went something like this..."Kristy's an idiot and she hates Gentiles (bet you didn't know Mormons use that term as well). And I apologize on her behalf." Ok...maybe those aren't the exact words, but it's seriously pretty close. Ryan is Jewish so I guess Jaxon thought that we would have this little thing in common. But seriously... SERIOUSLY??? I'm speechless. Let's just say I hope that I never have to work with Jaxon again and I have some serious thinking to do about what I'm going to do about this email (if anything).

Well...those are the things that have been going on in my life. I know I didn't mention a lot of great stuff that I've done over the past month or so (like going home for Hannah's baptism), but like I said...I should really be working right now and not blogging.

US Open

Last night I went to the US Open with my friend Sara. It was the second day of the tournament, and I expected to see a couple of no-name players. Not the case at all!!! The first game was between Samantha Stosur and Venus Williams! But it only gets better. The second game was between Maximo Gonzalez and Roger Federer!!! Can you believe it?!? I got to see both one of the Williams sisters and Federer play at the US Open! It was my lucky day! Here are a couple of pictures for your enjoyment!

The US Open at dusk - it was the perfect night for tennis

Sam Stosur (left) vs. Venus Williams (right)

Sara and me listening to our free US Open radio commentary and eating one great cookie - we stimulated the economy last night

Maximo Gonzalez (right) vs. Roger Federer (left)

First the Worst, Second the Same, Last the Best of ALL the Game

Remember when you were in elementary school racing your friends to get in line for the slide and, being last again, you taunt them with that little rhyme? Well, never in my life have I desired those words to be truer than I do today...

Waking up this morning I feel the pressure weighing me down. I say to myself "by 12:00 this will all be over." If only I could get that stupid voice out of my head saying..."well, maybe." I get up, get dressed, eat some cereal (thanks again Kimmy for letting me use your milk) and get back in bed for a few last minutes of preparation. Something tells me that I should check the address just one more time. Oh my goodness!!! You have to be kidding me!!! I have to be at Penn Station and NOT 42nd and 3rd? What am I still doing in bed?!?! I need to leave, NOW! This is not how I would have liked to start the day. But I say a quick prayer as I run down the stairs thanking Heavenly Father for that warning. I don't know what I would have done had I gone to the wrong place.

45 minutes later I step off the subway and head to 1 Penn Plaza. I give the girl at the front desk my driver's license and credit card. Well, I've passed the first requirement - I am who I say I am. She asks how I'm doing...I say that I'm doing pretty good while in the back of my mind I think "how do you think I'm doing...do you know what I'm about to do?" But I smile as she shows me to my tiny cubicle (30 minutes earlier than expected!!). I sit down and with one deep breath I click "OK" on the computer...

2 hours later I finish just as I had began...with a deep breath and one final click of "OK". As I click on that button for the final time it hits me...this could possibly be the last time ever that I have to go through this!! That weight that I was feeling so strongly this morning is immediately lifted. I can forget all about this ordeal for at least a month...

Now here is the part where I explain how these two completely different experiences tie together. This morning I took my final section of the CPA exam (assuming that I actually passed it and the previous section). And if that little taunt I used to say to my friends ahead of me in line is true...today was the last exam that I will have to take EVER AGAIN!! Here's to hoping, right?

ps - Thanks to all my friends for their support and for understanding why I was shutting myself in my room instead of having fun on the weekends. Hopefully all that anti-social behavior was well worth it!

Tag-Team Back Again

Before I begin my actual post...here are the promised picture of my new haircut. Enjoy!


The other day I was taking a shower thinking..."man it's been a while since a new tag for blogs has come my way. Low and behold...a few days later Camille informs me that she has tagged me.

Here are the rules:
1. You link back to the person who tagged you
2. Post these rules on your blog
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs
6. Enjoy the results!

ONE: I love music. My favorite is to find stuff that no one has heard of really because then I know that it won't get overplayed like so many songs do. And I like to feel like I'm cool when I tell people about new music that is out there. And another plus to liking less popular music is that when they come in concert the tickets don't cost hundreds of dollars. For example, Thursday night I went to a great concert - Missy Higgins and Eric Hutchinson. Both are great singers and I LOVE their music. And the tickets only cost $25!!! You can't beat that.

TWO: I used to hate reading, but now I'm totally obsessed. For some reason all throughout junior high and high school I detested reading. I didn't read an entire book my whole high school education (thanks to sparknotes.com I got an "A" in my AP Lit class). But after I graduated from BHS, I became obsessed with reading.

THREE: I have a recurring dream that started when I was 10 years old. I'm outside and I see a bear and it starts chasing me. After I run into an enclosed space that I can't escape from, with the bear still chasing me, I notice Dad laughing at me. There is an explanation for this dream...I just don't want to go into it right now so I'll leave it for your imagination for now.

FOUR: I get panic attacks if I ever feel like I'm going to be late. All you have to do is ask Mom about this and you will have no doubts left that I do not handle being late well. I've gotten a little better as I've grown up...but I still show up to everything at least 10 minutes early (or an hour early if it's something like a flight).

FIVE: I always read the last few pages of a book before I get to the end. If I'm being good, I get at least half-way through before succumbing to the temptation to find out how the books end, but I usually don't even reach the half-way mark. Many people believe that I am ruining the best part of reading - the suspense of knowing if things will work out in the end. And all I can say is that it doesn't ruin anything for me. If anything it helps me to enjoy the book better. I'm weird I know.

SIX: In the 11 months that I have lived in NYC, I have gone to 23 Broadway/off-Broadway shows (19 different shows...I've seen a few twice). I have seen some amazing shows and if you were to ask me my favorite I don't know if I could tell you. Of course Wicked is amazing, but so are so many others that I've seen. Surprisingly enough, there are plenty of other shows that I still need to see.

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about me and that I didn't bore you too much. To carry on this fun post...I am going to tag Jo, Kacee, Whitney, Liz, Tanner, and Katie Shelley.

My Addictions

This weekend I realized that I have three new addictions to add to the ever increasing list. These are not your typical addictions, and when I tell you about them you might just think that I'm ridiculous (which quite frankly I probably am). But since when do I care if people think I'm ridiculous? So here you are...my three new addictions:

1. I realized this first addiction as I was sitting at Arrojo studios on Saturday. It had almost been three months since I had last gotten my hair cut and I was WAY past the "trim" phase. So I decided to do something new...shocker! That's when it hit me. I am totally addicted to cutting my hair. And not just cutting my hair but shocking people when I come home or go to work and church with a whole new hairdo. I seriously love to see people's reaction to my newest hair style. I don't know what it is. But I love surprising people (that is the reason why there is not a picture of my new hair cut to go with this little blurb....I'm waiting so I can see Kacee's reaction next week when she picks me up at the airport- don't worry...pictures will shortly follow my trip home). And the crazy thing is...as I was getting my hair cut I wasn't thinking "I think next time I come I'll just keep this same style" (even though I absolutely LOVE my hair), I was thinking "what will I do next time with my hair?" See...I'm addicted!

2. Go back to the time when you were about 12. What games did you play with your girlfriends at sleepovers? MASH, fortune, the name game (where you match up your name with the boy you like to see if you're a match made in Heaven), others? Well apparently my friends and I have not grown out of the 12-year-old girl phases of our lives. A few months ago some friends and I were sitting around talking when we began the fun old game of Marry, Date, Kill (yes we changed the name to be a little more Mormon friendly). Now if you haven't heard of this game it is where you choose 3 things (usually guys but we have taken this game to new extremes where we include professions, hobbies, and other non-human objects) and you have to decide who/what you would marry, who/what you would date, and who/what you would kill. I know it doesn't sound like this would be something that you could get addicted to...but I totally am. I find myself walking down the street thinking up men/things to M/D/K. For example...the other day I walked by a corner that just smelled NASTY (which unfortunately is a frequent occurrence in NYC), then some jerk blew cigarette smoke in my face (another joy of NY), and of course there was a pile of dog poo on the corner as well (gag). That's when I thought "of those three things what would I M/D/K?" But this is not when I realized that I was addicted...it was last night when Jo and I were over at Stacy, Kara, and Candice's apartment and we just had to play one round of MDK about three of the boys in the group (secretly and in code of course because like I said we're 12). But in my defense this game does provide many hours of entertainment when you are in a group of friends and no one has any suggestions of what to do.

3. This last addiction I'm sure most (if not all) of you have experienced. I am totally addicted to blogging. Now you might be thinking..."Kristy, you couldn't possibly be addicted to blogging. It's not like you do it everyday." But I have to confess that a day doesn't go by when I don't think of at least 2 different posts that I could write. Most of the time I refrain from actually making those posts because I figure that people don't want to hear my random thoughts that often :). But I will be walking down the street thinking about something that happened during the day, something that I wish would happen, or just thinking about really nothing (when I'm not thinking up M/D/K's) when I find myself composing a blog post about that subject in my head. And I must say...sometimes I'm a pretty good writer in my head. Haha! But it's not just my blog that I'm addicted to. A day doesn't go by without me checking my friends' blogs for their newest posts (ok...I might miss a day or two now and again...but I'm pretty constant). I thought that my blogging phase would die out pretty quick...but I'm learning that this is something that is going to stick around for some time. Plus it gives me some form of entertainment when, like today, I really just don't want to work.

So there you go...the three things that have I realized I am addicted to.

PS - M/D/K: blogs, facebook, or flickr?

The Bachelorette

Warning: Spoiler alert!
(If you haven't watched the season finale of The Bachelorette and you plan to...stop reading now and come back after you watch - unless you don't mind having it spoiled for you)

Ok - for those of you who have been faithfully following the Bachelorette as I have you will know what I'm saying when I say what was DeAnna thinking? Ok...maybe that's not fair. DeAnna did seem to love Jesse and there are probably people out there who were rooting for him to get the last rose. I'm just not one of them. I like Jesse, but just not as much as Jason, Jeremy or Graham. For the past few weeks at each rose ceremony I have been shocked that she kept calling Jesse's name first. I just kept thinking...does she realize that she just kicked off another amazing (and extremely good looking I must add) man from the show?? But nothing could prepare me for the shock that ensued when, as Jason got down on one knee, she told him to stop and that she cared for him, but was in love with someone else (aka Jesse). I am still in a little bit of shock. I thought for sure she was going to choose Jason. But I guess I should be happy for Jesse and DeAnna. I'm just sad to see Jason go. (However, if you would like to have Jason or Jeremy as the next bachelor you can go to abc.com and vote)

Best Fourth of July EVER!

What do you think of when you hear "The Fourth of July"? I have always thought of parades and fireworks. But all of that has changed after the day that I had today. My Fourth of July started out early with a trip to Coney Island. Some of you may have heard about Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest. Honestly, before today I hadn't. But apparently it is super famous and world champion eaters come from all over to compete in the contest. ESPN even broadcasts the competition, so if you're curious about what went down check it out at espn.com. The winner, Joey Chestnut, beat out Kobayashi in overtime after they had both eaten 59 hotdogs in 10 minutes. Chestnut won by being the first to successfully eat 5 more hotdogs during the tiebreaker. 

But watching the hotdog eating contest was not the only thing to do at Coney Island on the Fourth of July. After eating at Nathan's Famous Hotdogs 

(of course we had to participate in the hotdog eating too) we walked along the boardwalk for a bit, and then decided to risk our lives riding The Cyclone. If there was anything other than the hotdogs that Coney Island is famous for it's The Cyclone. The Cyclone is the oldest roller coaster in the United States (maybe in the world...I don't really know). This thing was built in 1927 and it is still running. For those of you who have been to Lagoon and ridden the white roller coaster...if you thought that was rickety you haven't seen anything until you've ridden The Cyclone. Ricketiest roller coaster I've ever been on. There was a point where I thought I was going to fly 

right out of the cart (yes, I did lift off my seat on multiple occasions) but luckily I made it through with only one minor injury. For some reason both Sara and I ended up banging our elbows and getting bruised. But man, that was one fun and crazy ride!! It was a very hot and humid day today, so after spending a

few hours crowded together with many other sweaty people on Coney Island, I was grateful to get back on the nice air conditioned subway and head back to Manhattan. It was quite a long ride, and we were all pretty exhausted, so a few of us decided to take a short nap.

After getting cleaned up (a nice cold shower has never felt 

so good) I was getting all set to go watch some fireworks...until I looked out the window and it was POURING rain!! So my friends and I changed our plans. Instead of joining the other New Yorkers along FDR/East River, we went to Stacy's house to catch a glimpse of the multiple firework displays. This way we were able to see the fireworks while keeping dry.

However, we also had other plans for the night for which we had to leave a bit early so I only got to see a few fireworks. But I would give up watching fireworks any day to go to the show we went to. Abby's co-worker at the Apple store is in this production called Fuerza Bruta and he was able to get us free tickets 

for tonight's show. Oh my goodness!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Seriously...you HAVE to check out the website. (click on the name above) It doesn't even come close to showing how cool this thing was, but it will give you some idea of my crazy night. What it is, is an interactive, weird artsy show with a little Cirque de Sole/Blue Man Group vibe. There were things going on all around us. And when I saw all around us I mean ALL around us (in front, behind, and even above - on walls and ceiling). It's standing room only due to the fact that you are constantly having to move because the performers and "stages" keep moving and coming out from different places. One of the coolest parts was when the performers were swimming above us on this clear plastic tarp thing. For anyone who watched America's Next Top Model you will know what I'm talking about because they did a photo shoot using this same thing. Anyway...as they were "swimming," it was lowered down from the ceiling far enough that I was touching it. I got very close up and personal with men in boxers as they were swimming over my head. There were also many times when the performers would run through walls of boxes filled with confetti which was pretty dang awesome! Anyway...as you can tell I could go on and on about this show because it was seriously one of the coolest things I've done in NY so far. But there is one more part that I need to share with you about Fuerza Bruta. Throughout the show there were multiple parts where the DJ (dressed up in a Mozart wig) would just play music for everyone to dance to and would spray the audience with water. It was great. But that's just the beginning to how crazy it got. After the performers took their final bow, it was time for the real party to begin. The DJ came back and started spraying water and then it started raining from the ceiling. And I don't mean a nice little trickle. I mean a freaking huge rain storm inside the building. Let's just say I was SOAKED!!! And there was tons of confetti everywhere from the show, so not only were we

wet, we were covered in confetti. (I wish I would have gotten a picture of all of us right after the show, but the only picture I have of the craziness is my feet covered in confetti.) Oh my gosh! Seriously...I can't get over how freaking awesome this show was. If you ever come to NY you HAVE to go see Fuerza Bruta. Just make sure you check all your belongings at the coat check and wear comfy clothes and shoes that you don't mind getting wet.

Anyway...now can you see why I would say that I had the best 4th of July ever?!?! It is definitely one to go down in the history books (at least my history books). And if you're thinking that it doesn't seem like the most patriotic thing to do on the 4th of July, you might be right; but they did play Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner at the show (Camille I thought of you and how you told me your dad would wake you up by blasting this song) and I did watch the annual 4th of July hotdog eating contest...so I would say I got my patriotism in. God Bless the USA!!!

Having Fun in NYC

Friday night, a bunch of girls and I went to a karaoke club! We had a BLAST!!! What a difference it makes singing karaoke with only girls. We sang songs by Celine Dion, Jewel, Salt n Peppa, Kelly Clarkson, and many others that we would never consider singing in front of guys. After, we were going to hit up this club in the Meat Packing District, but we found out it was just a bar so we stopped by a different club on the Upper East Side. The club was full of old European men who kept hitting on Sarah. But we had a good time dancing the night away! Here are some pics from our fun Karaoke and club night.

Me and Kristen singing Chris Brown 

 The group of girls singing a dancing away to some chick music!

Candice and Emily 

 Me, Kristen, and Jo at the Karaoke bar

This is outside the club we went to 

 Like I said...lots of old men at that club

Me and Candice dancing 

Another fun thing that I did this week was to go to the New York Philharmonic concert in Central Park. This was our FHE for the week. What a great time! It was fun to just sit and chat with friends and listen to great music all while sitting in Central Park. It was the perfect night for it - not too cold and clear. And after the concert there were fireworks!! It got me really pumped for the Fourth of July!!! Here are some pictures from this great FHE.

 (Kind of creepy looking fireworks in this picture. It looks like red skeletons dancing in the sky.)