stay tuned...

Needing a clean break. I may or may not continue blogging. I will keep you posted on where I am going and what God is doing.

Looking back and forth

Here we are at the close of another year. I'm not sure if this blog has become more of a spontaneous journal, or if I'm slowly giving up. Either way, I'm thinking that 2012 will hold great things, whether I document them or not.

That having been said, I wanted to review the old resolutions and make some new ones. Last years can be seen here. My first goal was to exercise consistently, which I am proud to say I have done, with special thanks to my "warrior daisies". Some friends and I decided to compete in the Warrior Dash (a 5k with obstacles), and we began our training by running together and doing the occasional P90X. Now that the dash is done, we continue to get together and are looking for more races. We also are working with a friend that is a personal trainer, and man is he kicking our butts!

My second resolution was to paint more. I'm sad to say this one was not fulfilled to my liking. I finished one small painting and I'm in the middle of a second one, which I'm hoping to get done within the week. But as for these pieces, I really like them, and more importantly, I've had fun doing them.

The next resolution was to learn to sew. I LOVE TO SEW! Since I've learned, I've made a pillow, altered several items of clothing, and have started making my quilt. it's been a blast. I have a lot more projects liked up.

The following two resolutions were in regards to reading (one in particular for Harry Potter). And so I am now proud to present Kelly's Reading List of 2011:

-Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
-Forgotten God by Francis Chan
-Created To Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl
-Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone
-Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
-Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
-Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
-Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
-Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
-Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
-The Gospel According to Harry Potter by Connie Neal (a very interesting read)
-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (not sure why I reread this. I really dont like it)
-Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
-Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I may forgetting something, but those are the ones I had written down. I plan on reading the rest of the series by Diana Wynne Jones about Howl. And I have a few others on my list.

Read the whole Bible. That was a goal that was not fully met. I maybe read half of it with the reading plan that I had mentioned. I do plan on continuing the reading plan however, and making it more a priority over fiction.

The other two I have done moderately. Cook and bake more and take more pictures. I feel like I could have done more, but I am not overly disappointed with what I have done. Heck, just this morning I made biscotti and lavender shortbread cookies! I do however want to make more Indian food and take more pictures.

As far as 2012 goes, I have a few more additional goals. I plan on continuing the ones that are above, as well as teaching myself Mandarin Chinese, doing some woodworking projects, doing a study on women's ministry and counselling, and Lord willing, get pregnant! This is just a glimpse of what I hope this new year will hold for me. Cheers!

Guilty Pleasure: All things Korean

I am 1/4 Korean. My dad was born in Seoul and lived there til he was four. He moved to the states with his dad after his mom, his Korean half, "passed away" (my dad grew up being told she had died but my grandpa secretly divorced her). Growing up in the US, he never knew anything of his Korean heritage and culture, which for some reason didn't seem to trouble him. When I have asked about it, he has only seemed indifferent. I on the other hand have felt as if I have missed out. I didn't grow up with any grandparents and as I have grown up I have gotten to know a little bit about them from my parents. All except Kim Soo Young. I know nothing of her, of where she lives or if she is even still alive. Part of me is drawn to find out and the other part grounded in the reality that I'm too poor to just up and travel to Korea to find out. Still. I yearn for a piece of that culture I missed out on.

With that in mind, I have recently started watching some Korean television shows. I confess, they have become my guilty pleasure and I cannot get enough of them. I've watched all of Heartstrings, which I absolutely loved and I'm in the middle of Flower Boy Ramen Shop and You're Beautiful. I've also been enjoying some Korean music from C.N. Blue. I've already started picking up pieces of the language and after watching some of the shows, I've started cooking more "Korean" food, which I'm still learning how to do. So this is my guilty pleasure. The shows can be super cheesy at times, but they are now dear to my heart. I love Korea!

Twenty Seven

I know I haven't talked that much about turning twenty-seven.... I know I haven't talked that much in general in this blog. To be honest, my motivation to blog has been at an all-time low. It may have something to do with my exhaustion at work or preoccupying my spare time with other things. Either way, I'm here now to tell you about my birthday.

When I was younger, and I'm not sure when the fascination started, but I grew to love and anticipate the age 27. I felt in some way that that would be the age in which I would have it all figured out. I would have 'arrived' at age 27. I was born December 7, at 7:27am, 7lbs, 7oz. Twenty-seven would be my golden year. Looking at it now as it has finally come to meet me, I can say that I am truly excited. This year Caleb will be finishing school and his internship and we are talking about what life looks like after these. We are talking about having children. We are members at an amazing church that we love dearly. I have some of the best friends a girl could have. From where I'm at, it doesn't look like twenty-seven will disappoint. Granted, there will be trials, there will be rough patches, and I will look to God for my hope and joy, and not an age and the circumstances that lie within. But, oh manny, I don't think I've ever been so giddy about a number, an age, a birthday.

Today will be a mellow day. I got the day off work. I'm going to have lunch with a friend. Dinner with Caleb and some other friends of ours. And the in between time, I'll be getting some much missed rest. I actually slept in til 8am! yeah.... I know, so lazy of me. Anyway, I hope all of you have a wonderful day as well. Stay warm!

Halloween Costumes

Some great Halloween costumes courtesy of Pinterest.

Mary Poppins

Ferngully

Up!

Princess Mononoke. I love this one!

Harry Potter

Where the Wild Things are

Beekeeper

As for me....well, I'm still brainstorming. If I can pull together a decent Mononoke, I may do that.

Things that I'm excited about:

These are things that I'm excited about:
-Blogging again
-Sewing more
-Costumes!!!!!!!!! I love halloween for this reason
-Winter running
-Homemade pumpkin pie. From a pumpkin. It's the best.
-Soups.
-Outings with friends, especially during the holidays
-Finishing my painting
-My hubby finishing school
-Writing more
-Blogging again. Yeah, I've been quiet for too long.

Moving On

We are a week away from our move into our new apartment. I'm incredibly excited. Everything about this move is positive. We'll be saving money, getting a little more space, more perks, closer to work, near some friends. I feel that with this move, it is a new start and an opportunity to pick up some of the things that I left behind this past year. When we first moved to Columbia, I was rushed into two jobs at first, then a full time job, getting acquainted with the people at our church, finding my way around and resting when I could. My crafting slowed, my cooking became routine dishes, I stopped my baking (I miss my apricot pastry!), and I somehow lost time to make my homemade soaps. I miss these things. But I feel this move is a new wind, a new space to work and inspire. Granted, the view at our new place is not quite as green, but you make the most of what you're given. Which is what I haven't been able to do this past year. I have so many craft ideas and I'm getting excited about participating in the handmade market, and finishing my painting. I just finished a small one...which I'm sad to say was the only painting I did in this space. And hopefully my blogging will increase with the move. I even have some story ideas for my writing.

Now, I'm moving on in other ways. At the beginning of the year I made some resolutions that I'm happy to say are for the most part being kept up. The first was exercise consistently. I've joined up with a group of girls, and for the past month and a half we have been training for a running competition called the Warrior Dash. I don't know that words can contain how excited I am about this. It is a 5K with obstacles- over ropes, through mud, jumping over fire. We have been training by running (I think the longest I went was four miles), P90X, and "obstacle runs" where we go to a park with some obstacle equipment and include them in our run. It's been encouraging to go through this with the girls. We push each other just enough, cheer each other on and have tons of fun. I love those ladies! Other resolutions: I have learned to sew! This will hopefully play a part in my craftiness that is to come. I have so many ideas and have a fair amount of materials to create from. So hopefully you will see more of that from me.

The last resolution that has been fulfilled, and also something to move on from....Harry Potter. I had set out the goal to read all of the books, which I hadn't done, though I had seen all of the movies. So from February to May, I read all of them. They were fantastic. I love the movies, but the books were far superior. And now that the last movie has been seen, it is done....well, sort of. I thought the last movie was fantastic. This being the only movie I've seen after reading the book, I will say I was more aware of the things they changed or left out, or scenes they interpreted differently than how I pictured them. The only thing I would say I didn't like, was the pace of the film. It was nonstop action, and because of that, there was less time for important, thematic detail. They could have slowed it down a notch. And personally, I would have loved to see more Snape.

Anyway, that's it for me. Hopefully you will see more of me in the weeks and months to come. Cheers!

well, this is just embarrassing...

So....I haven't written in a good long while.

Oops.

Life is going well, however. We are on the edge of our move into a new apartment. I've been working a lot and pursuing artsy endeavors in my spare time. Caleb just came back from a mission trip to Joplin to help with some clean up. It's good to have him home.

Today I went to the With Heart handmade market. Local crafters joined up on the streets to sell their goods, encourage each other and promote their shops. There are so many talented people here in Columbia. It's truly inspiring. Unfortunately, being poor, I was only able to purchase a CD called "Cicada Summer", which is a collection of songs from artists inspired by columbia's thirteen year visitors. There's even a tribute to Sparky's Ice Cream, our local homemade ice cream shop that was also inspired by the cicadas.

There were a lot of great vendors at the market and it would be shameful not to share them with you!

First is Brittany's Buttons. Brittany makes the most adorable crocheted hats for babies, children and adults. And they are amazing. The best quality I've seen.

Along for the Ride come from a great crafty lady. I loved all of her jewelry and hair pins.

One of my favorites was Mamaroots. She makes wooden toys. She started this because she didn't want her sons to have to play with a lot of plastic toys. So she acquired the tools, picked up some wood and watercolors and started crafting. I definitely have a soft spot for wood works, so I really enjoyed seeing her work.

After stopping by the market, I went to a few garage sales. No special finds. Then home: made curry (yum!), and starting to clean the house before a friend comes over. We are going to have wine and talk theology. Looks like a great day!

Happy Birthday Mama!

Today is my lovely mother's birthday. She is far away in Phoenix, so I don't get to spend it with her, which is sad. My mom and I are very close. We can talk about anything and everything together and we always have tons of fun when we spend time together. Happy Birthday, Mommy! I love you!

Into My Own

ONE of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as ’twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
I should not be withheld but that some day	5
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
I do not see why I should e’er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track	10
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.
They would not find me changed from him they knew—
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost. There is a simple, soft elegance in the way he turns a phrase. I love the way he brings things back to nature while incorporating the message he's trying to get across. This has been, for a long time now, my favorite poem. It's the poem for my life. When I read it I think back on my twenty-six years and see where I've been and where God's taken me. I remember being the insecure girl in school. I remember finding my voice through writing and art, and translating my thoughts into something coherent. I recall the many stages of my life...the changing of scenery, friends, family, beliefs. My faith has grown solid and resonates with the third and fourth stanza. Friends, even family have seen this change in the past eight years, and wonder at it. Some feel as though they don't relate, or they want the old Kelly back. There is no turning back. This is the path that is before me and I'm "only more sure of all I thought was true". I don't know where God is going to take me in my life, but I know where he has taken others in the past that followed Him faithfully. There are no guarantees of comfort, safety, security or riches in this life. But those are not my concerns. Of course it is my hope that others "set forth upon my track", that they know the truth and love Him. This is my life's work, to love my Savior and follow him "unto the edge of doom."

Edmund Dulac, "Alone"

Back and Forth

Well, I'm slowly but surely getting used to my short short hair. I don't know that I would go so far as to say I like it....or that I'll be putting any pictures up anytime soon. But it's growing on me (no pun intended).

Anyway, after an eight day stretch of work, I finally have a day off. It's been filled with leisure and productivity. I've recently learned to sew on my mom's old sewing machine she gave me. It's been such a blast! I never realized how fun it could be. So far I have altered a skirt that has always been way too big on me and I've turned two ugly vintage dresses into vintage treasures. One looked like an old lady muumuu night-dress. I brought it up above the knees and turned the slouchy, wing-sleeves into cropped short sleeves. It's pretty adorable now. The other is a vintage Banana Republic, cream maxi dress. I took off the sleeves, brought in the top part (to accommodate my modest bust) and brought it up a bit to be a midi instead. Now I just need the sun to shine a bit warmer and I can wear it.

After that I did some cleaning while listening to this among other songs. I took a little stroll down memory lane as well. I had an old YouTube account that held a bunch of old college video's. Most of them are just my friends and me being ridiculous. There's a part of me that misses it, and another part that is happy to just be looking back on it. But while I'm reminiscing, I might as well take you along with me. Most of these are with one of my best friends, Rachel.

We always managed to come up with the most...interesting...photoshoots.

 It was a time in my life for great road trips. And kidnapping friends on their birthday.

And then there was Battle of the Bands. We made this band for this occasion. We even included one of our professors. Our name was Rach, Rach, and the Funky Bunch.

That's all I have for now. Looking back just a little. I'll have a post soon that is more current, I'm sure. But for now, I hope this was at least a little entertaining and a bit of a closer look at your host.

Cheers.

changes....

I know I haven't posted in quite some time. I'm getting now out of a need to vent. I just got my hair cut....the shortest I've ever had it. Shorter than I got it cut a month ago. I'm freaking out a little. I don't know if I like it and I don't know how to handle it. AHH! I was going for this:

and I got something closer to this:

still cute, but I don't know if it is on me. I know, I know, they aren't that different. Well....they are kinda. About half an inch and a bit more layering different. Anyway, I need a moment to digest this.

Life has been crazy. The past ten weeks I've been filling in for a manager. It was supposed to be six weeks but he had to be gone longer. I wasn't supposed to get paid his salary, considering I'd be filling in for a short time, but since it was extended, they are going to go back and pay the difference for all the weeks I've been filling in. Yay! In a crazy turn of events, one of the other managers unfortunately broke his leg...in three places...ouch!... So I will be filling in for him for a few months.

Also, we are in the process of moving. By that I mean, we have picked out an apartment and will move in July. But being me, I want to plan ahead and get the details hashed out.

Also, I am not pregnant. Yet...

I promise a proper update soon. I'm just waiting for life to get a little more quiet.

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Sick Day and Some Thoughts

For the past three days I've had a cold that has ranged from bad to blah to very bad. Right now I'm almost on the mend, though I did need the extra day off work.

Last night was downright terrifying. Let me start back a bit. Tuesday I still felt gross and it was raining, so I decided to push all my errands off to Wednesday thinking I'd be feeling a bit better. Wednesday I happened to feel worse, but figured since it was my last day off, I'd make the most of it. The previous day's rain made the air frigid (somewhere in the 30's), so running around town was painful. I managed to get most of my list done (an oil change and haircut. Yes....my hair is now cut!). When I came home I felt miserable. My fever started to spike up and I had a terrible migraine. I ended up passing out around 7pm from the pain, waking up occasionally, crying because it hurt so much. My husband ended up joining me in bed around 9 or so. I think that was when my migraine was at it's worst. I had taken Tylenol for it, but it had no effect. I just grabbed my head and applied pressure and cried hoping that some pain would leave. Instead I started seeing flashing lights. At first I thought I imagined it, but it happened a couple of times and at one point my vision in my left eye was blurred. I had never had migraines with auras before and it scared me for one particular reason. If any of you take birth control pills, then your doctor has probably mentioned the risks of blood clots and strokes. Although it is not a high risk, it is still a risk. There are some things that increase these risks: if you smoke and if you have migraines with auras. I get migraines 2-3 times a year, and this is the first one with an aura (that I can remember; there was only one other migraine that was worse than this one).

I called in sick today and my migraine stuck with up until about an hour ago. With last night still fresh in my mind (and my husband's) we have decided to talk to my doctor about other forms of birth control. Even if this was a once in my lifetime occurance, it's not worth the risk. I feel some nervousness about the changes we may have to make, but I also feel a peace about it. I wish my migraines didn't raise my risk factor, since the pill is affordable and convenient, but I know there are safer alternatives to family planning.

On an upside, I have been sitting in my husbands sweater, watching The Wonder Years, eating PB & J and drinking coffee. Since my headache is pretty much gone, I can't say that this day off is too bad. I'm also enjoying running my fingers through my new short hair. I went to the beauty school in town ($6 haircut. woot!), and the girl did a really great job. She had only been cutting hair since November. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it however...the teacher came over and snipped out all the fun imperfections. Oh well. I still like it better than the boring mop I had before.

Cheers!

Never Let Me Go

What an absolutely beautiful film. I just finished Never Let Me Go, and I would recommend seeing it if you haven't. Well written, acted, and filmed. I liked the dialog at the end of the movie. It kinda makes you think  about this life. And good to know where I have found my hope (1 Peter 1:3-9).

Artsy Fartsy

I was doing some time travel, via old blogs, xanga, facebook, and old back up discs. Talk about super nostalgic... Well, during this time I came across a ton of old pictures of me at various stages in life and also some art work that I've done in the past. It's fun looking back at the pieces I no longer have, and I thought, heck, I might as well share them with you fine folks. Most of these works were before I dared at painting. I'm a natural drawer, but I'm getting better with paint.

As you can see, at some point I decided I wanted to incorporate paint. I was still primarily drawing and just filling in my drawings with paint.

I'm a huge fans of portraits, obviously. I started experimenting with shading with paint.

This was a start of my more whimsical side. It's supposed to be how Caleb makes me feel. I made it when we were dating.

Then I started painting more for reals....and that's where I am today, still trying to do more of that.

"Ash Wednesday"

"Daniel 7"

Untitled

I'm currently working on a painting, but it's slow goings. Sorry this is such a picture heavy post, but hopefully you enjoyed it.

Happy Valentines!

Caleb and I generally don't celebrate Valentines Day. It's not really a holiday we see as very important. It's our goal to love each other daily with our words and actions, and although the sentiment is endearing, it isn't very necessary to have a day out of the year to recognize our love for each other. My friends at work have been trying to figure out what they'll get for their boyfriends or try to guess what they are getting for them. It's cute. One girl had flowers delivered to her while at work yesterday. "The day isn't even here yet!" she exclaimed. I think that Valentines can have it's place, although I'm not a fan of what it can turn into.....disappointment over unmet expectations or an analyzation of one's worth if your find yourself without a valentine. You have worth and it's not defined by whether someone loves you (although, granted, it is a nice feeling). Your worth is found in the love God has for you, and the sacrifice He made with Jesus, so that he can be close to you, reunited with you. That won't change whether you have a valentine or not.

All of this having been said, I will wish you a Happy Feb. 14th. Caleb said he has a surprise for me. I know it's because he wants to show his love for me.....he always has little surprises for me. And today, just as yesterday and as I hope for tomorrow and so on, I hope to show my love for him.

How I'd fashion myself if I had the funds...

I was looking around online a while back and came across the store, Zara. I have discovered how much I love almost everything in that store. If it were an online store, I'd probably buy the things I could afford. Alas, I just look at them with longing.

These are just a few of the things in the store that I loved. So clean, simple and perfect. And here's the kicker... they have baby and kids clothes too! *sigh* I want babies... a lot.

And lastly, today I was browsing around and I came across another designer with amazing clothes and accessories. I wish my closet was the entire collection. The designer is Billy Reid. I'm discovering quickly how "preppy" my style tends to lean toward (with a slight touch of menswear). There is a dualism inside me on this matter, though....I am also in love with folky/hippie style, like the clothes Morgan fashioned for the Clyde's Rebirth lookbook.

Ready for a warm breeze...

Sooooo tired of this winter. Seriously. I'm from Arizona and I'm still not used to the Midwest climate. I'm definately ready for some sunshine and to start shedding all these layers. I don't like shivering and I don't think my husband likes how whiny I can be about how cold it is. He does a pretty good job about keeping me toasty. But still, can't spring come now?

Photos by Philip Rawson