Buy me things.

Kyle has been bugging me about a Christmas list. I'm all "just surprise me" and he's all "No."

Okay then. List it is. I gave him a million options for my birthday presents (I'm really not that hard to make happy) and he picked the perfect one! Got to give him credit there.

But really, Ky - I would be happy with ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (mostly a puppy) but don't buy me a vacuum cleaner or a mop, although these are things that we need. A dishwasher/and or paint is totally acceptable though. I'm just saying.

First things first,

Mostly kidding.

Moving on.

Not sure where to find these at, but Google is a thing.

Boomer Sooner!!

You know, if you win the lottery

This is probably a bit more realistic. Whatevs.

LANYARD!! 

Just kidding. I want this. 

So my glasses won't get scratched! 

UMM, YES!

This has everything I love. Stripes and sparkle. 

A big bag like this. Or something similar. You know what I like. Aka stripes and sparkles ;) 

Again, YES!!

Necessary.

Aquage Uplifting Foam - Google is a thing.

You're already the master of finding my conditioner - but maybe I can have the shampoo too?

Tote. Font 3 or 14

Oh life.

Sometimes you have rough weeks. Really rough weeks.

This week was my very first week of training by myself. My amazing mentor has left our department to move on to bigger and better things (while I begged and pleaded with her to stay - you think I'm kidding. I'm not.) and my supervisor was going to sit in with me to make sure I didn't ruin every ones lives. Cool. I can live with that.

Something came up and she wasn't able to make it.

Okay. Time to prove myself. BRING IT!

Right.

So I'm getting everything ready, running through the training programs and what I'm going to cover. Our system is down. Awesome. Guess I'll have to try again tomorrow.

It's tomorrow. The day training starts.

Guess what's still down? The computer system I need.

Alright. I don't really need it for another day. I'll survive. But I should go ahead and call the Help Desk. The Help Desk. These people hate me. I'm sure of it. I always have to call for the most annoying things.

"Um, yeah, hi, my printer is jammed and I um, don't know how to fix it."
"Uh, hi. Me again. I can't figure out how to play a DVD on my computer."
"Yeah, hello. Kristin here again. So, what were you saying that one time about my printer?"

Those conversations happened. They dread my calls I'm sure.

So I dial.

"Uh, hi. I'm trying to get into my training program and it's not working." 
- 'What do you mean it's not working?'
"Like, it's not loading. It keeps telling me there's an error."
- Did you restart your computer?
"Mhmm. I did. And I tried on another computer."
- So it's not working on that other computer?
"No. That's why I called you."
- Oh right. Okay. Try again.
"Um. Okay. No. Didn't work."
- I see. Let me remote in and see what you're looking at.
"Sure."
::he fiddles around with my computer and has me log into the live mode of my program::
- 'Look, it's working.'
"Right. I know. The live mode works. I need the Cert mode. You know, for training. So they can't mess everything up."
-'Oh. Well. Let's see what that looks like.'
"K."
::shows him::
- 'Hm. Well. I don't know what that is. I'll look into it.'
"Right. Okay. Thanks."

If that's the worst thing that happens in training I can deal with that. So I run over to the hospital, greet my new employees, then start getting my presentation ready.

wait for it...

The main computer won't turn on.

Okay.

You know, the one attached to the projector that allows everyone to see what I'm doing.

Right. So... Okay. I'll check to make sure it's plugged in. Um. Where is that again? Oh right. Behind me. There's not a plug in - it's like, on it's own power supply. Magic. Cursed. I don't know and I don't care. I just need my computer on.

So I dial. From another room. Because my training room doesn't have a phone in it.

Okay.

"Um, hi. Could you send someone out to fix this training computer? It won't turn on."
'- 'Uhhhh, did you make sure it was plugged in?'
"Yes. I did."
-  'Did you push the on button..?'\

Clearly they think highly of me ;) Technology is not my friend. Obviously.

Not only am I have computer issues at work, someone decides to break into our cars. Let me clarify - someone decided to break into my car and our Jeep.

Let me back up.

It's FREEZING cold (so like, below 70) so I remote start my car every morning while I get my breakfast ready (spoiled, I know) so it's nice and toasty when I get in. I walk outside, open my door - weird, my emergency window breaker was sitting in the front seat. How did that get there? I must have moved it and forgotten about it. Wait, my glove box is open. Is it really cold enough to pop open that? I know now, my brain wasn't really comprehending the reality. Then I go to sit my purse down in my passenger seat. Why is there stuff everywhere? I don't remember going through that.

Then it hit me. Someone was in my car.

It was probably Kyle. I'll double check. I text him and he immediately calls me - Nope. Wasn't him. Someone else was in my car. Scary. It doesn't look like they took anything, but still. What. The. Eff.

Later that afternoon, when Ky got home from work, he checked the Jeep - sure enough - they had gotten into there too.

Frustrating and terrifying, but nothing we could do. I filed the police reports and my neighbor and I went door to door in the neighborhood to spread awareness. Now I'm convinced someone is going to murder me. I'm pretty sure Kyle is convinced I'm crazy, but still.

So technology problems. Cars getting broken into. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT!?

Well, a good thing.

I am walking out of the elevators at work after my ROUGH day, and I see a pallet. A beautiful pallet that I've been searching endlessly for! It takes my breath away. I remember saying with my eyes wide "Can I have this? Is this trash!?"

The doctor I was walking with looked at me like I was crazy and then said "Yes, of course. Just take it."  I kid you not, I was like a kid in a candy store!! THEN, (you'll never guess what happened so I'll just tell you) a man walks out wheeling TWO MORE pallets!! WHAT!? Have I died and gone to heaven? I'm still shell shocked. I cannot wait! We as a group decide which is the best quality pallet and which one I should take home. I think I can just carry it out.

Nope. I think we've already established how weak I am.

So this gentleman offers to wheel it out for me and help me get it into my car. I believe the words that came out of my mouth were something like "ohmygoshthankyousomuchthatissoniceofyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" and he was like, "Yeah, K, where are you parked" ::side glance, where did this crazy person come from and how quickly can I get away:: I'm confident he will never offer to do a good deed again.

So we're walking into the parking garage. Whoops. Wrong level. I insist he can just leave it there and I'll drive around and come pick it up.

No. He says "itsfinejusttellmewhereyoureparkedsoicangotheeffhome"

Again "ohmygoshthankyousomuchthatissoniceofyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

He hates me.

We walk alllll the way back to the elevators, into the elevator to go down another level. Oh. I'm parked at the other end. So we walk.

He tells me to get a blanket and put it over my seats so the wood won't tear the leather.

Good thinking. Too bad all I have is Kyles sweaty towel from his basketball game. We'll make it work. I lay it out and he lifts this into my car. It doesn't fit. I'm amazed at how heavy it is and I'm extremely thankful that he offered to carry it for me. It would have taken me forever. At this point I'm pretty sure he was cursing me and I'm all "omgiamsosorry!ihadnoidea."

Alright.

I tell me he can just leave it there and I'll run home and grab the Jeep. He leaves happily. Too bad Kyle has the Jeep.

I call him and tell him to RUN to my work (he hasn't been to my new office) and his phone is dead so he's on his own. But he's an amazing superstar and made it in record time and lifted my million ton pallet into the Jeep and drove away into the sunset.

He's so dreamy.

I digress.

This is the direction I'm leaning towards. It certainly won't be as pretty, and it has several spaces between boards, but I love it.

 My heart is full. Even on a rough day there is always good. I'm thankful I got off on the wrong parking garage level because it resulted in happiness.

Fall Back

Let's talk about this falling back and springing forward business. I LOVE getting more sleep. Sleep works for me. Kyle likes when I get enough sleep. Actually, rephrase. EVERYONE likes when I get enough sleep. I'm just one of "those" people. You know the type, but we won't get into that. It's not one of my finer points.

Next week we officially fall back. Let me tell you what time I normally go to bed...

Not kidding.

Clearly, I'm boring and not fun. I have the weirdest sleep rhythm. If I accidentally stay up until 10, I can pretty much kiss sleep goodbye. I mean, seriously, I want to kiss sleep so it will come back to me so I can catch those precious ZzZs. YEP. Those words were just formulated.

So daylight savings. Yes. SIGN ME UP. Please and thank you.

THIS IS SO EXCITING FOR SO MANY REASONS!! Actually, one reason. Because now I get to go to sleep at...

Um, yes. Thank you. Goodnight.

We won't go into what is going to take place in the spring. It's depressing me already. I wish that only falling back was a thing, but I suppose it doesn't quite work like that. Shenanigans. Thankfully, I'm not a scientist who makes these decisions. Thanks Obama.

Jumping on the bandwagon - which I'm not sure is a thing anymore. CLEARLY, I'm not hip. Do the kids still say hip?

"relaxin' all cool, shootin' some bball outside of school"

...or in Kyles case - 'relaxin' all cool, shootin' some bball inside of the church." Doesn't have quite the ring to it.

Here's a little known fact: Kyle enjoys sports.

WHAAAT!?

I'm sure you're all blown away by this.

Here's a well known fact: I could go without.

WHAT!? Just kidding. We all knew that. I'm like a fish out of water when Kyle is schooling me on the lifestyle (of the rich and famous) that is sports. Because you literally eat, breathe, and sleep sports when you're a true fan. Okay, maybe not literally. But you catch my drift (see what I did there?)

Not only do I watch sports on tv, but I also watch highlights on youtube (I really enjoy this!), go to professional games, go to Kyle's games, and watch Ky play NBA2K14. Repeat. Then repeat again.

what.

He warned me. He really did. I knew how into this stuff he was when we started dating. I was like "oh yeah, totally cool. I love my dog. I get it. We each have things we love."

No.

I didn't get it.

I get it now.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea of this. I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy watching him play. He is immensely talented and athletic. So clearly, he's great eye candy. ;)

Here are the dreaded phone pics from his most recent basketball practice I attended - yep. Practice. I was there AANNND I enjoyed it. Progress.

Blurry, but still a stud.

The first cut is the deepest...

..baby I know!

Oh jeeze. I recently made an appointment (FINALLY) with my stylist to get a hair cut. This is normally not on my list of favorite thigns to get done, which explains why it had been 15 months since my last cut. Almost a record for myself. BUT I finally bit the bullet - my hair was getting gross.

So in I walked.

Courtney asked how short I was thinking, and I told her right around my collarbone. I even surprised myself with my statement, but I know that she is a hair goddess and could work her magic! And magic she did! She kept saying that she was more nervous than I was when you're cutting that much hair off. I ended up with 10 inches chopped!!

I love it because it takes me all of 8 minutes to straighten it, and Kyle loves it because I'm not constantly nagging him for laying on it. In his defense, it was never his fault - my hair just kind of does what it wants. Wonder where that comes from. ;)

The before and after pictures...

Sister picture with long hair!

TADA!

Sister picture with short hair. She's kind of amazing :)

ANNNNND one more just because Mercedes Snow is an amazing photographer!!

Things Kyle and I Argue About

Kyle and I are just like every other couple - we have our spats. We don't fight very often, but when we do, I'm sure other people think we're ridiculous. Here's a little insight on what we get to live with!

The Oxford Comma

I think it's stupid. I hate it. I truly to my core, do not understand this scratch of the pen. I'm not arguing it's validity, I just don't like using it. Kyle loves it. I knew he was weird... But seriously.

He is adamant about this. I just don't get it. He has pulled these pictures up multiple times to prove his point.


Where to Eat

We spent a solid 10 minutes arguing about this over dinner this evening. Which leads me into my next point. For realzies. It shouldn't be that difficult. Kyle likes Steakhouses, and I think they're gross. We should just eat Mexican or Chinese for dinner every night!! Problem solved.

No thank you :) I'll take these guys any day of the week:

Who gets to wear the OU sweatshirt Ky found at one of our recent thrift store excursions:

Unfortunately, I lost that battle because it doesn't fit me. Rude.

Honestly, that's about it. We don't really fight, we just banter back and forth. It's hilarious :) So thankful to have such an amazing man by my side!

Never. Again.

We're in the beginning stages of completely revamping our house. Total overhaul. We have a list of priorities with a general timeline (which I find annoying - I want it all done, like, tomorrow) and slowly but surely we're getting there. This past weekend we painted the master bedroom and we've been working on finding someone to install new carpet or refinish our hardwood floors (not as easy as it sounds.) We were told that we needed to have the carpet taken out and the floors cleaned when this company came out to look them to give us an estimate. Sure. No problem. The only thing that could be a slight issue is Kyle has joined 10 million sports teams and is never (may be a slight exaggeration) home. Mmkay. Well, I thought I would be a super awesome girlfriend and have it done one Sunday evening while he went to flag football. YES!!

No.

There are three things I realized I would never be while I was ripping out this carpet:

1. An alligator wrestler. (I couldn't handle this beast that wasn't trying to snap me in two or take me for a death roll [I actually think that's what crocodiles do? But add that to the list. I will never be a crocodile wrestler] so clearly this life dream went down the drain.)

2. A murderer who wraps people in carpets to dispose of them.

3. Patient. (We probably already knew that.) 

I feel like I was pretty realistic about my strength in realizing that I would not be able to fully lift this carpet up once I had rolled it into this perfectly even and beautiful roll - but I thought I would at least be able to push it comfortably out into the hall, down the stairs, and into the garage. 

No.

Apparently not. 

It's not that I'm afraid of hard work. I thrive on working out when I don't realize that I'm working out. SIGN ME UP! But this.... this was not fun. It was hot. I was sweaty. The carpet was itchy. It was heavy. It was a clear wake up call that I am a weak, pathetic, hot mess who would never be able to surprise her boyfriend with any type of home improvement gesture.

Cool.

So I finally was able to pull up the carpet up. Then I was able to get the padding up. Phew. Next step? Roll them up. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and roll them up together. Oh. Apparently it doesn't work like that. Okay. Moving forward. Should I have rolled up the carpet BEFORE I started pulling up the padding? Probably. Hindsight is 20/20. Live and learn my friends. I put the padding back into it's original location (which again, was annoying) and focused what little energy I had on rolling up this A-Hole carpet. 

I really thought this would roll up nicely - you know, like they look at the hardware store. OR even like in those carpet commercials where they come in and roll out this giant sheet of carpet and VIOLA! Perfection. Add that to the list of something I will never be. 

Now that it's "rolled' up, I can't get it out the door. At this point I was begging Kyle to come home early and finish this for me. No such luck. 

I ended up folding it in half (you're going to wish there was someone videotaping this because I'm sure it was hilarious) and start pulling it down the hallway. So, let's make a long story short and I'll tell you that this idea did not work. Okay. Let's push it. Awesome! Boom, we have movement.

Let's back track for a second. Kyle and I still have those old couches hanging out in our dinning room (because I'm certainly not strong carry them to the basement [and certainly not down any steps]) and he said that if I really wanted them out of the dinning room (I do) then all we need to do was gently slide them down the stairs. 

Enter present time. I have this genius idea. I'll "gently" slide the carpet down the stairs.

Ha. I'm confident that God laughed as soon as this idea crossed my mind.

Cool.

So there I am - pushing this folded up carpet down my hallway towards the open door down the stairs. The moment comes and I give it a shove... Whoops. It unfolded and hit the light at the top of the stairs. And is stuck. Can't pull it. Can't push it. It reminded me of that children's song - "Can't go over it, can't go under it, you'll have to go through it." Okay.

So I did. 

Kyle likes this picture. I think it's weird. 

I survived the ride down AND I managed to not break the light. I'll take that as a small victory. Leggings as pants - the latest trend in our household. I only mention this 122 times a day because I never thought I would see the day that I did this (and I wasn't pregnant.) Guess we all surprise ourselves sometimes (like my love for leggings, and my weakness for moving carpet.) 

Please note that these stairs will also be replaced. Someday. Apparently home renovations cost money? Who knew. For now, I'm only responsible for the top half of our house. Our 1950's house ROCKS that orange carpet and paneling. 

I safely (kindof?) wrangled the carpet into the garage and headed upstairs. The padding was easier to get up (and roll up) since it was already broken down into sections and was less entertaining/eventful moving downstairs. That's of course when I realize that there are staples EVERYWHERE in this wood floor. WHAT THE WHAT carpet installers!? WAS that SERIOUSLY NECESSARY!? Of course they respond (in my head) YEP! As was when the previous owners GLUED down the carpet to the gorgeous hardwood prior to this. I didn't thing you would mind. Mmkay. I hate you all.

This is now turning into much more work that I had intended. I'm ready to take a shower, snuggle on the couch with the best blanket in the world with a cup of tea and watch Pretty Little Liars. Yep. That's what I do to relax. Judge me. I really like that show (SERIOUSLY EZRA!?!?!?!! Just kidding. I still love you. But really. I do. Ask anyone. Even Kyle. He's accepted it and even teases me about it.) But no. Not for me on this Sunday evening. I had the genius idea of surprising Kyle. Way to go. After this I'm never doing anything nice again. And I hate myself for trying.

Now I have about 10 millions (could be a slight exaggeration) staples to remove from this floor. Do I have a staple remover? Uh, yes. But these staples are like, industrial grade (I hate everyone) and isn't the proper tool for this kind of work. Will a hammer work? Nope. Pliers? OH YES! I have those. I open up the tool box (I have enough tools that require the use of a box to keep them in one centralized location!! Success!) and find these gorgeous little ladies. I have zero idea what they are, or what their intended use is, but they saved my life!!

I know they are ladies because they get work done. Like a Boss.

I then spend the next 2 hours removing staples. What an exciting life I lead. I made up for it by watching Stalked (it's this awesome show that has stories of people who are [you guessed it] stalked. It has officially turned me into THAT person who is convinced that everyone is out to get them. Don't even think about driving down my street twice in one fiscal year - I'll be convinced that you're after me. Or my dog.)

So that's my super awesome adventure with trying to surprise Ky with this generous gift. He walks in the door, says "So I see you took out the carpet. Nice work! Thanks babes!" And that made it all worth it.

Totally a piece of cake. 

Side note: I haven't finished pulling out staples yet. That was two weeks ago.  Ain't nobody got time for that. And no one will sand our floors!! HELP!!

Side note II: I uploaded these through Picasa (whatever that is) and they tried to auto "enhance" my phone pictures. It looked even worse than my originals!! Maybe there is some hope out there for me after all ;) 

Ky has all of the 'before' pictures of our master bedroom on his phone, but I'm sure we'll do a big reveal (on the blog - I mean, I guess you guys can come over and drink champagne with us and admire our awesome handy work - while pointing out that I completely forgot to paint one wall, or that the nightstands I picked out are exactly the same as the ones in the living room because I'm completely predictable when it comes to that stuff) when everything is all put together.

Game Lovin'

Ky and I like to pretend like we're fun and exciting. A prime example of this would be our adventurous afternoon of playing Wii Sports. We started off with Tennis. Okay. Not so much Kyles thing. Well, let's see where we're at on the fitness scale (please note we have both been too busy/tired to keep up with our rigorous fitness activities. We've accepted that we're going to be fat and lazy - and this normally occurs around dinner time.) After what feels like hours (in reality it was probably around 6 minutes or less) of vigorous activity, the results are in. 

Apparently Kyle is an old man.

And I'm an older woman. Our egos took a hit with this one.

We are old and out of shape. Awesome. Well, at least we're in the same boat, right? We're practically obligated to love each other anyway. RIGHT!? Maybe we will pick up running again so we can be at a respectable fitness age by the Wii standards. Or not. No one really plays the Wii anyway. Don't judge us. Or do. Whatevs.

At least he looks good playing - and in my favorite shirt!

I look weird and uncoordinated. I was actually bowling when this precious moment was captured. Plus I'm wearing leggings as pants, which to be honest, is my new favorite thing in the universe. 

Side note: Do you guys like our temporary TV stand? :)

Okay, okay, we get it. We're out of shape. Let's just bowl against each other to see who's the real champion. 

Really? Annoying.

 Guess we'll never know who's the better catch.