Technicolor Salon

I always feel uber-hip and cool when I get my hair done at this modern salon.

FREE Getty Villa tickets

One place on my list of sites to see before I move is the recently reopened Getty Villa in Malibu. As the free tickets must be reserved in advance, I chose a Sunday several weekends away that I was sure was free. Come to find out it is Easter Sunday. As my family plans will likely not allow me to do this visit--and the Getty Center can't just cancel my tickets, though I am welcome to pass them on to someone else--I have 4 FREE tickets to the Getty Villa for Sunday, March 23 at 11am.

Interested? Comment/email/call me.

If you aren't interested in that day, but would like to go with me in the near future (read: before it becomes heinously hot), let me know and we can coordinate a date & time. Please be advised that there will be copious amounts of picture-taking, in which you may be required to pose. :-)

Apparantly I *would* jump off a bridge if everyone else did.

After seeing the "Free Handwriting Analysis!" bit on several blogs I frequent, I gave in and tried it myself. Here are the findings:

"You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
You are a social person who likes to talk and meet others.
You are affectionate, passionate, expressive, and future-oriented.
You are not very reserved, impatient, self-confident and fond of action.
You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others."

Doesn't it look like it's 80 degrees?

That's because it is.

Although I do have a favorite time of year, most of all I love the changing of the seasons. Summer, with it's warm days and nights, wearing flip-flops and lightweight skirts. The change to fall with crisp nights, blustery days and vivid colors, this is my favorite season of all. Then winter where you bundle up in heavy layers to keep warm or stay indoors in front of the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate. And then comes spring, the shedding of the winter coat, suddenly so free and unencumbered, you can't help but want to run barefoot on the nearest grassy knoll.
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Spring is here, friends!
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(At least in Los Angeles.)

Verizon made me do it.

It's Girl Scout cookie season! I thought I'd let you know in case you haven't already been attacked by your friendly local Girl Scouts outside of your grocery store. Normally I pass this fundraiser by. I can easily justify not contributing to obesity through cookies, right? This year, however, I was approached by 2 little girls I know personally, with their sweet little smiles begging me to drink the Kool-Aid and contribute to the cause. A fan of lemon, I decided to order 1 box of their new Lemon Chalet Cremes and 1 box of my faves, Samoas. From each girl. So now I have 2 boxes of Lemon Chalet Cremes and 2 boxes of Samoas.

All total, that's 4,640 calories of charitable goodness.

This afternoon at work I've had to call Verizon to rip them a new...er, I mean, complain nicely about their screwup in applying the payment appropriately...YET AGAIN. This has to be--at least!--the third time I've called in the last 9 months. That's screwing up 33% of the time in case you were wondering. (That Stats class I took last summer has come in handy!)

You may be wondering what Girl Scout cookies and waiting on hold with Verizon have to do with each other. Or, if you've ever waited on hold with Verizon, you may have already put 2+2 together to equal 4 cookies. But you'd be wrong. It's just 1 cookie.

Oh wait. Another 14 minutes, 47 seconds has gone by since I took this picture. I guess I have to have another cookie. And if they "accidentally" hang up on me before fixing the problem I swear to the Lord on high I will eat the whole box! This, my friends, is what's called COPING SKILLS.

Other than a surprising change of heart ...

I had a lovely time visiting Denver with my gracious hosts Carol, Phil, Elaine & Natalie.

They showed me beautiful countryside and we went to Idaho Springs for pizza at the famous Beau Jo's. As you can see, they arranged gorgeous and warm weather for me.

I saw a frozen waterfall that was spectacular.

We looked at an old train....................And goofed around with hats Carol has made.

They made me laugh..............They made me melt..............They showed me the city at night.

..

We visited the huge REI downtown...

...Where Carol and I agreed that one of the best reasons to go camping was to get another set of pots & pans.

Thanks a mile (pun intended), Hull family, for providing me not only a place to stay, but for showing me a great time!

I've said they'd have to WOW me...

And they did! I didn't fall in love with Denver as I have with other cities, but the school did it's part to persuade me. For a variety of reasons, it may well be the best choice for me academically and professionally. I won't hear back from them for 3-5 weeks to know if I've even been accepted, but friends, --- and I NEVER thought I'd say this...---FRIENDS! I may be moving to Denver.

(Jeremy, you dark horse, you! You may just win the Turkey Party Poll after all. Who woulda thunk it?!)

Oy vey. This is not what I expected. Or anticipated. Or thought might happen. (Yes, I realize those sentences all say the same thing, which should adequately express how much of a surprise this all is to me.)

Please allow me a moment to digest this latest development.

In the Mile-High city

Love this!

I am not typically a fan of collage frames, but this one from Umbra, I ADORE.


Must. Get.
Ordering Friday.


And at only $31.50, it's a steal.

The Lord's ways are mysterious

In light of my own experiences with how God answers prayers in the most mysterious and oft times random ways, I had to share a hilarious post by Cjane (equally famous sister of NieNie).

She too has recently experienced the way the Lord answers prayers... <---Click there

This started my morning off right.

Imagine Me & You

I do.

I think about you day and night,

.
.
it's only right,

.
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to think about the girl you love,
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and hold her tight, so happy together!

If I should call you up and wish to dine,
.
.

will you say you belong to me, and ease my mind

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SCREECH!!!!!!!!!!
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Portland said NO.
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Sigh. I'm sorry to all those I know and love in Portland, or who plan to move to Portland. I tried, I really did. But in the face of such obvious elimination of my two top choices, I must follow where He leads. In that there is comfort in rejection.
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My interview in Denver is this weekend, but they'd have to really wow me to prefer them over Chicago.
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Lord, are you there? It's me, Kelly...Am I really moving to Chicago this summer?

The Never-ending work day

Today was one of those days where the seconds eek by. Tick...Tock.....Tick.............Tock................... As slow as molasses and you swear you will keel over and die (!!!) before the work day comes to a close. It was painful. With 30 minutes to go I had to get out of my chair and get some fresh air.

Based on these pictures, KSP needs to do a little fix-up of our backyard...

"This is wild."

This is so crazy! So surreal, so cool, but how freaked would you be in those first seconds before you realized what might be happening?! Almost apocalyptic.

Breakfast

Running late this morning, I didn't eat or bring breakfast before I came to work so I was left to scrounge in the office fridge. Fortunately for me, I found some of my favorite treats had been left this past December by our former CSR: diced peaches in light syrup and no-sugar-added applesauce.

Oh, the bounty! God is good.

(PS. I realize that disposal cups of diced fruit, commonly consumed by school kids, are not eco-friendly, but aren't they so fun to eat out of?!)

Places to Go: Suicide Bridge

This is my 310th post to this blog. As I near each hundred, I've thought to do a special post, celebrating that milestone, but I somehow manage to forget or not notice as I approach the 99th of the hundred and then suddenly it has passed and I realize it somewhere about the 09th. As happened today.

So today let's celebrate 310 posts of randomness! Hooray!! (Do you spell it hUrray or hOOray??)

As part of my desire to explore LA sights before I move this summer/fall, I decided to explore (at Kim's suggestion) the San Rafael Bridge; known to locals as Suicide Bridge. With it's old-time lamposts and a fantastic view of the Rose Bowl and Foothill mountains, I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day. Unfortunately I couldn't find a place to park that would allow me to walk across it as I originally planned; some other time. My adventure-companion Lauren and I did, however, find a way down below the bridge. We saw what we thought was a little stream amidst the Arroyo Seco. Turns out it was just a sewer spit out point, but it was still pretty and made you feel as though you were out communing with nature.

Our second adventure of the day was to hunt down an architectural icon of the 90's. Can anyone guess what it's significance is?

More pictures from my weekend in Pasadena here.

Happy Valentine's Day to Me!

Yarelli from the admissions department at The Chicago School just called to wish me a Happy Valentine's Day in her own way....

I AM IN!

Ironic that this morning I was investigating Master's programs, in fear that I wouldn't get accepted to any Doctoral program and I'd be forced to reconsider my plans. A sense of calm and peace came over me during the call and I knew that if I did not get interviews or acceptance to Denver or Portland, that I can rest knowing that God made it clear he wanted me in Chicago. Just like I dared him to do. (I don't suggest daring God on such things...)

Less than 30 minutes later I got a phone call from Denver inviting me for an interview.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Photo by PhoenixFeather on Flickr)

A good and a bad day

The good...

My (long) interview day at The Chicago School went well! The faculty & administrators were engaging and professional, all questions answered thoroughly and competently, and the facilities & location once again impressive. My personal interview time of 40 minutes sped by and I'm fairly confident in my answers. The snafu regarding my application handling was acknowledged and apologized for, and I left the day comfortable that if Chicago is where I land, my education will be in good hands. They say I will get word in 2-4 weeks of their final decision.

Like a true Chicagoan, I road the El home and spent the rest of the afternoon gazing out the window as the snow began to fall. It was all rather lovely and serene and as I sat I felt a sense of knowing that if it is to Chicago that I come, I will be just fine.

The bad...

After dinner I checked my email, not expecting to have heard anything from the other schools at that late time. But alas, I did. And the email I received broke my heart. My application to MSPP in Boston had been declined with a polite, "We regret to inform you..." When assembled together, those must be 5 of the most ominous and foretelling words in the English language. There is no hope after such words, no optimisim can survive. Only disappointment and sadness, confusion and hurt. I realized how firmly I expected Boston to be an option. For so many years it has been the city of my heart and now it had rejected me. When friends were recently going through a job search and had been turned down by one position, my friend described the feeling as being broken up with before the person has given the relationship a chance. I can now attest that the feeling is indeed such, and as with any breakup, the giving up of hope and having to accept an outcome you did not want, sucks.

Last night, the knowledge and assurity that I need not give up hope on my future career aspirations or my desire to relocate because "God has a plan!" was of little comfort. It was surprising to me how quickly I began to fear that I have completely misheard that this was my calling and that rejection by all the schools may be in my future. Though too soon to believe that, the fear is nonetheless there and must now be fought. Sigh.

It was a sad ending to a good day

Still no word from Denver or Portland, something I expect within the next 2 weeks. More 'wait and see' is in my future and I must now, more than ever, trust that all will be as it should. And if it turns out to be something I never expected, deep down I know that it will be even better than I could possibly have imagined.

I said, "Brrrrr! It's COLD out here!"

Never more appropriate is that line from Bring it On than it is right now in Chicago when it's so cold your nose hairs freeze and your eyebrows are lightly dusted with frost. Although in the 24-hours that I've been here I have heard a couple people tell me how it's even worse in Minnesota or Wisconsin, as if to say, "So suck it up, Sissie!"
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With that said, so long as you dress appropriately and have nice friends who wear the same size shoe as you and so can loan you a pair of toasty UGGS (thanks, Liz!), you will manage to live through the cold Chicago winter. Liz said that if I survived today, I can survive living in Chicago. Now I feel hard core.

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Being in Chicago these two times has been a bit like being back in Pasadena; just colder. On this trip Liz & I had the pleasure of a visit from recently-moved-to-Michigan-Julia and Jeremy, who was in town visiting Jules for the weekend. Just 2-hours away in Kalamazoo, MI, they made the trip to Chi for the day. Lunch at Stella's Diner where we watched the snow flurries fall, followed by a nap, dinner at Giordano's and a show at Second City rounded out our day together.

Today Liz & I took advantage of "Free February" and visited the Art Institute which was free to visitors. Finally, I could see Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. We also saw American Gothic, the very first piece of "art" I ever owned, purchased when I was 15. It still hangs in my old bedroom at my parent's house. There were a couple other paintings I wouldn't mind hanging in my home if I had a few million dollars to spare.

After the museum we headed to Millenium Park and "The Bean" to see an outdoor ice exhibit. As you can see, the (heart-shaped) peeps made an appearance.

Thai food, manicures and Sex and The City completed our day.