The ABC's of Me (Kirsten)

So this has been passed along... I normally don't do this type of thing but I'm pretty distracted at work right now and it seemed like a good waste of time....

A - Attached or single: Attached
B - Best friend: Dallan
C - Cake or pie: I LOVE either; as long as it's chocolate...
D - Day of choice: Friday..It's dress down day at work, parking is easy at BART and the weekend is oh so close!
E - Essential item: Blackberry
F - Favorite color: Pink
G - Gummy bears or worms: I like the sour gummy worms
H - Hometown: Roseville, CA
I - Indulgence(s): Coming home, grabbing a Pepsi a magazine and getting in the bath
J - January or July: July
K - Kids: Not for awhile...
L - Life is incomplete without: Dallan
M - Marriage date: January 31st, 2004
N - Number of siblings: 3
O - Oranges or apples: Apples. I love orange flavoring but I can't eat an orange; the white stuff is yucky!
P - Phobias or fears: Worms, slugs and snails; weird I know but I can't help it...
Q - Quotes: Consistency in performance is better than flashes of brilliance
R - Reason to smile: I'm finally back in Cali and Dallan will be home in two weeks!!!
S - Season of choice: Fall
T - Tag three friends: Janielle, Taryn and Moe
U - Unknown fact about me: I don't think there are any...I'm a pretty open book....
V - Very favorite store: Target
W - Worst habit: Procrastination
X - X-ray or ultrasound: Neither; both make me uncomfortable..
Y - Your favorite food: Country Chicken
Z - Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Olympic Torch

One of my most favorite things about being back in the Bay Area is that there is always something going on and instead of reading about it a few days later in the paper or on the Internet, I can leave my office, walk about four blocks, take a deep breath and jump right in to the chaos.

Both pro-China and pro-Tibet protesters lined the street (also, a small group of naked people who want the games to go back to the way they were in ancient Greece; I guess they assume that togas and nudity are one in the same?!?!). It was pretty intense but so cool to see so many people passionate about what's going on in the world today. Seeing the torch was pretty awesome too; it's like being part of living history.

Check out what happened on the bridge yesterday in prep for today. It's amazing what some people will do...

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080407184511.x8a9s81y&show_article=1

Woo Hoo

So, Dallan's successful PFT has lead to a promotion; he's now Sgt. Livingston.

I am just so proud I can't help but share (and I'm grinning for him from ear to ear)!

We're about three weeks out now and the anxiety is totally setting in....

Why, oh why are these last DAYS seemingly longer than the last YEAR???

It's Pretty Cool...

Tattoo's are most definitely a personal taste kind of thing. They are (or at least should be) very personal; a reflection of a passion, time in your life or love. They are forever....

Two of my sisters now have matching tattoos. As young children we often talked about one day getting matching tattoos to represent everything that we'd been through and to solidify the bond we have. As we got older, and went separate ways, the ideas of our youth did too. My sister Chelsea stayed true to her statement of getting a "sisters" tattoo, albeit much different from the ones we'd always discussed.

When she turned 18 she did some research. She wanted something that embodied certain ideals and what she found were sparrows. Here are a few things we've learned in researching the symbolism behind these birds....

1. They stand for freedom, dedication, loyalty and trust.

2. They are fierce fighters.

3. They represent true love and soul mates, but not necessarily to a romantic partner. They are for your first love, whatever that means.

4. They represent leaving to chart your own course but finding a way to return "home".

5. They embodied the souls of the ones you love so that you can carry them with you always.

For those of you who know more than you'd probably like about my life growing up, you'd know how spot on the sparrow is for my sisters and I. When we heard these things we knew that Chelsea had definitely gotten it right for her first tattoo. She took it a step further, however. Her sparrows have a banner between their beaks with our names on it. Yes, she has inked my name on her body for forever. That's commitment folks. For better or worse she'll always have it there. Now, Morgan has turned 18 and followed in Chelsea's footsteps. Morgan is more conservative so she opted for one tattoo (not the two birds) and instead of our names, she has our initials. Again, WOW!!! that's commitment.

So...after much background....here they are.....

Whole Lot of Posting Going On....

First things first....

Dallan got a 1st Class PFT (physical fitness test)! This is the best of the best in the company. He's been working towards this for as long as we've been married and he was finally able to do it (and right before they discuss promotions; he has immaculate timing....)! He did 10 straight pull ups, up from 7 before. 115 crunches in 2 minutes, up from 98 and ran the 3 miles in 21 mins and 3 sec, up from 24 minutes and some odd seconds (side note: I'd be excited if I could do a small fraction of any of this...). He was pretty jazzed about all of this and I'm so proud of him.

On another note, I went and saw Stop Loss last night. I can't explain why I HAD to do this; I know it teeters on the sick and twisted but I needed to see what Dallan's been seeing-what they've all been seeing and feeling-so that I know what we may be up against when he returns. It was heartbreaking and horrific and honest. I was crying the whole time and even more when I left and got home to see Dallan's pictures; especially the ones in uniform.

This war is so much more than who's right and who's wrong. It's more than a religion. The price of oil. The pride involved. It's about the soldiers, airmen, marines that are doing something that most of us couldn't do. It's a tough job; an honorable job. So...thank them whenever you can. Love them unconditionally. Pray for them without fail and welcome them home where they belong.

Here's a link for the movie just in case you haven't see much about it....

http://www.fandango.com/videos/102121

Lake Bled, Slovenia

So my favorite magazine just got better; Real Simple did a special travel edition and the bug has bit me so hard I'm already trying to figure a way to get more paid days off from work to trek around the globe. Moving straight to the top of my list is Lake Bled, Slovenia. I'd never heard of it but reading the articles and doing some research made me squirm with excitement! Maybe it's because I swear they filmed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang here (?!?!?) and I LOVE that movie (I know that's awful, but I've got great memories from watching Ol' Chitty and signing...Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we love you, high low anywhere you go....), but realistically it's because this is an undiscovered gem that I know Dallan and I will both love....

Anyways, June/July 2008...I'll be in a pletna heading from Grad to Otok...

Ah Paradise...

I thought I had sent all these pictures to Dallan, but I had the forethought to download them to my computer first (just in case they got/get lost in transit...). My sister and I went to Oahu, Hawaii in celebration of my 4th anniversary... Moe and I braved the waters with sharks, ate tons of good Hawaiian treats and relaxed as much as we could....

We had a great time, here are the pictures to prove it!