An interesting day at the pool

I went to the pool to relax and read a book. Little did I know that wouldn't be as simple as it sounds. There was far too much going on to focus on Nights in Rodanthe. Warning: People watching can suck you in no matter how hard you try to avoid it.

There was the ugly, large girl with the full VA Tech sweatsuit on (in 90 degee weather, mind you) with one of those loud voices that carries and pierces the eardrum talking about cute boys and parties to her bikini clad high school friends. And the lonely middle-aged woman tanning, listening to music, and reading a book. She seemed quite harmless until her favorite song came on her iPod. Then it was a blur of snaps, claps, and singing. I was ready to pull out the video function on my cell phone. That is until I got distracted by hairy chested dad. I'll be honest it was the most red hair I had ever seen on a person. His legs, his chest, and his back were a forest of vibrant red hair.

Today I learned that preggo girls want to be tan too. Blonde-pregnant-pretty girl stripped down to her favorite tube-top swimsuit and instantly fell asleep in the sun. Grampy and Grammy still want to catch some rays too. Grandpa stayed busy with a crossword and Grandma spent the day people-watching. Which is quite understandable considering our surroundings. So, next time I want to read a book I will definitely have to find a different spot. Read more...

NYC

We went to New York for the 4th of July weekend. Kind of old news but it was really fun and I am sure you all want to hear about it, right? We originally planned on meeting up with Billy and Nikki but our dates didn't work with their dates so when we slipped out of that depression we decided we'd go up there just the two of us. I am so glad we did. It was an easy, quick trip but we were able to do tons of schtuff.

Day One - Busy Bus Tour - Our trip started with a painful wake up at 6 am Friday morning. There wasn't much traffic and we made it there by eleven o'clock. We drove right into some mad traffic but were so excited to be there that it didn't matter. New York is awesome, there is so much going on, so many people, and so many gi-normous buildings. We jumped on a double decker tour bus and got to see the whole city.

Our Lady Liberty Times Square We stood in line for two hours to freeze to death on top of the Empire State Building. Day Two - Gum on the sidewalk, harrassment, & baseball - We had another eventful day that started off with Tanner and I arguing about what these black spots are all over the sidewalk. Come to find out that it really is old gum, am I the only one that didn't know this was gum?Just a great photoCanal Street (we got all of these good buys for less than $100) My first ride on a subway (I also saw a newborn baby taking her first ride from the hospital to home, talk about building up her immune system.) Tanner was very surprised when I told him to grab some papers off the printer and in the stack were a couple of Yankees tickets for the 4th of July.Getting drawn in Times Square
Day Three - Killer Grates - We were very sad to leave the wonderful city of New York. We had breakfast at a cute little diner and walked up and down Lexington Avenue checking out the street vendors. A common theme of our trip was my fear of road grates and the joy that Tanner had of freaking me out by walking on them everywhere we went.

Can't wait to go back, we love New York.

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Happy 2 Years!

Holy crap is it July 14th already? I love being married to Tanner, it's been a wonderful two years spent sharing our lives and growing together. I feel really lucky to have such a sweet guy that puts up with my sassy-ness and busy schedule. I love that he can always makes me die laughing in any situation. Tanner, thanks for being you!

I could watch this video every day, it was an amazing day that flew by as fast as the past two years.

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baseball, sports radio, buffalo wings, and 80's rock

Birthday week...Part II

I thought it would be fun to go to the Nats game Friday night after my birthday to continue the celebration. I kind of figured the chances of going would be slim, but when Tanner found out I wanted to go he did everything in his power to get us tickets. We ended up getting freaking amazing seats from our friend Eric from Comcast Sports. Surprisingly (haha) there weren't many peeps at the game and after the 7th inning we moved down to the FRONT ROW. It was such a great experience and Tanner got a chance to bully Zimmerman every time he came up to bat.


Everyone was just so happy to be out at the game on such a great night. There was a group of couples sitting behind us that you could tell were definitely enjoying themselves. We were eavesdropping (not by choice) on their funny conversations and realized that they seemed kind of like us slash nothing like us. The nerd, the preppy, the party animal, the drunk, the voice of reason, the lawyer, the future doctor, and the accountant had a great time. We ended up hanging out at the bar getting to know each other til it closed and then headed over to the Shadow Room. It was pretty interesting from the bouncer thinking my ID was fake to one of our new friends getting thrown out.

The next morning was a late wake up that was followed by preparation for Tanner's first radio show The Sports Hub on WJFK 106.7. He was really nervous and excited all day. All the preparation was well worth it because Tanner and Nick, his sidekick, had a freaking awesome first show. They talked about sports and had many awesome guests Steve Wyche (from NFL network, Jamie Mottram (Yahoo! blog editor) and Chris even called in from Wyoming. After the show we met up at Buffalo Wing University for some out-of-this-world amazing wings, played bags for the first time, and then went to an ACDC cover band concert where we were totally out of place but had boatloads of fun.

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Sharp Objects

"Ahhhh, be careful!" I exclaimed as Tanner handed me a knife, that he didn't use, uncomfortably close to my eye, "I have a test tomorrow."

Tanner: "You're acting like its your birthday or something."

Kirsten: "No, I don't want everything my way," I emphasized, "I just don't want to get my eye stabbed out the night before my test."

Tanner stated point blank: "Kirsten, its important to have eyes everyday."

I love conversations like this. Read more...

I am not a runner.

There is something calming and wonderful about waking up at 6 a.m. for a good run before you start your day. Its relaxing to drag Tanner out of bed, tie up my running shoes, painfully emerge into the bright sun, and to spend the entire beautiful 20 minutes dragging ten feet behind.

Did I mention?....I do get a great view of some booty for 2 miles, and I get to hear the sounds of morning before anyone has gotten out of bed, and its calming to hear our feet pounding on the sidewalk, and have the awesome yet awful feeling as I'm trying to make that last block .....so even though I am not a runner its really not that bad.....and I love to sprawl out on the floor after and get licked to death by Jack. Read more...

Bug Bites

Today I forgot my anti-itch cream in the car but by the time I reached my desk it seemed like such a journey to turn around and ride the elevator the 6 floors down to the parking garage where the Benadryl was waiting. I ignored those tiny, itchy, red marks until I was unconciously and feverishly scratching while I was working.

Suddenly about one o'clock I was in a panic. I could NOT take it anymore. I walked as fast as I could down the hall to the elevator, nervously rode it down to Parking Level 4, and as soon as those doors opened I made a run for my car. I was literally whimpering in pain and agony by the time I got my car door shut. It was crazy how the unbearable itch just hit me like that. Benadryl brought me relief for a little while but as I type I am itchy as I can get out. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH. Stupid bugs. Read more...

24...Remember its only a number.

I love birthday week! I am used to being bombarded with many great events including mine and Courte's b-days, dress rehearsals, dance performances, going out to eat in far away places, family time, cupcakes, etc. I was bummed when I realized that my birthday was coming up and I wouldn't be able to share it with my family. Needless to say this year was very different than the rest. Although it did have one commonality in that it was still a very busy birthday week....

The big 2-4! What a wonderful day...the funny thing is I still act like a 9 year old on my birthday...not the 24 years that my drivers license portrays. I want to tell everyone what day it is, I expect everything to revolve around me, and oh ya lots and lots of presents are a must.

The morning started off with my love/hate relationship with Tanner's inability to keep a secret. He kept asking me if I wanted an early gift. He was like it's something you can use for work do you want it?...and there I was torn between whether or not I should open it now or wait....but oh what the hell...I told him I wanted it. He instantly pulled an unwrapped bottle of perfume from the kitchen cupboard and presented it proudly. A gift in the morning is like having ice cream for breakfast...and that moment truly marked my entry into adulthood.

My segway was also evidenced by the fact that I had to go to WORK on my BIRTHDAY which happens to be in the SUMMER. It was a pretty painful day, I tell you, that was interrupted by a delicious trip to the Cheesecake Factory with Tanner and Nance and the spirit of Jen (who couldn't make it because she got stuck at work). I loved enjoying a couple hours with two of my favorite people eating indescribable food and opening presents...and I hear their ultimate margarita is amazing.

Work...work...work...DINNER. My life revolves around food every other day of the week so why not on my birthday too? Tanner and I went to my favorite Ashburn sushi restaurant, Akira. It was 2 other restaurant diner's birthdays too. A 16 year old, a 24 year old, and an 82 year old, it was so weird to have so many people in one room with the same birthday. I loved all the birthday vibes : ) We ended the night relaxing, making rootbeer floats, and opening more presents. All in all I think it was a great birthday. I will tell about the rest of the birthday week festivities later, I'm tired of typing. To be continued...

Oh ya, thanks to everyone that sent me birthday wishes. It really makes you feel good inside to get lots of birthday wishes.

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Holy Baklava

Greek fair. Greek gyros. Greek music and dancing. Greek iced coffee. Greek Orthodox priest. Greek Baklava. And voile, an out of the ordinary, interesting Sunday night. Read more...

The cute ones are always the crazy ones

Our dog Jack is known to go off his rocker at least once a day. The little puff-ball at some point during each day, without warning, begins sprinting around the house leaping over the furniture and bouncing off the walls. He literally goes from 0 to 60 in .2 seconds for no apparent reason (maybe to get Baxter's attention, but who really knows?). We find ourselves stopping whatever we are doing to watch this amusing display of speed and agility.

On Sunday afternoon after the pups received their weekly bath Jack began his daily spectacle. And there we were innocently laughing at him, saying how cute our soaking wet pup was, as he jumped up on our unmade bed galloping over the comforter and digging around in our pillows. We were in a euphoric, simple-minded state as we watched him fly off the bed and out of the room and down the stairs...and there we were smiling, it was almost sick how happy we were.

So you can probably understand our disbelief when a few moments later we both caught a glimpse of something shiny, liquid, and yellow all over our white comforter. Jaaaaack!!!!!!! I ran downstairs after him to take him outside to finish relieving himself, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he only cowered and let out a dribble. I felt so bad, it was absolutely our fault and there he was shivering and feeling terrible. He knows better and he never has accidents it had just been like 6 hours since he'd been outside, and in our condo its hard for him to let us know, and he was shivering and wet and freezing.....way too many variables against him....so we took the blame.

Life lesson: When things get too perfect, be afraid, be very afraid.

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