Advice to my younger self:

(And to my nieces and nephews and future progeny)

When taking college courses, either commit or quit. Poor grades resulting from A.) lack of dedication, or B.) failure to follow the requirements of dropping/withdrawing from classes you decide against taking after registering for them (and the professor fails to drop you despite the fact that you never attended the class, took tests, etc) WILL HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Case in point:
*Forcasted GPA upon graduation from APU = 3.82
*Cumulative GPA including all bad grades (whether resulting from A or B above) = 3.06-3.15
*"Suggested" minimum GPA for consideration by Grad Schools = 3.5 (not sure if this minimum is the cumulative GPA or GPA upon graduation)

This is one of those situations where I am reminded as I type this that God already knows what will happen and if it truly is His plan for me to pursue my Psy. D. then somehow, someway, I will get in to a program despite the sins of my youth.

I just hate the waiting. The wondering.

Portland III, IV & V

And without further ado...

After learning about the Hood To Coast (the world's largest running relay race of 197 miles from Mt. Hood to Seaside, OR) from a fellow passenger on my flight to Portland, we couldn't resist heading to the coast to see the runners come in. The drive was beautiful and reminded me of both parts of Northern California and northern Sweden with the many trees and verdantly green pastures. There were even a few charming rustic (aka. hick) towns along the way. I believe Mike may have captured on camera, one potty stop where we were handed a hubcap (with key attached) and directed to a colorfully decorated (aka. covered with graffiti) bathroom outside. Ah, the fun of public restrooms!

Sorry no pictures of that yet, but here is the official Seaside welcome sign (something to do with Lewis & Clark), a runner racing to the finish line and the finish line.


That night Audrey and I hung out while her Mom & Dad went on a date. We had fun reading and giggling. She was sad to go to bed. And cried about that for a while. (A long while.)

Sunday brought a piece of Monrovia to Oregon as I headed to the burbs (Lake Oswego) for a luncheon celebrating my childhood friend Phoebe's new daughter, Agnes Mae, who was blessed that day. Almost all of Phoebe's family were there, making for an impromptu Monrovia-Reunion-In-Lake-Oswego. It was great fun to see Phoebe, David, Henry, Calvin, and of course, little Agnes, as well as Phoebe's parents and siblings and now all of their kiddos. Thanks to the wonderful world of blogging, I felt quite caught up on everyone's lives. (Yes, Terrills, I stalk your blogs. :-)

We also visited 2 churches that day: Imago Dei and Mosaic, the future pastoral home of my dear, dear friends, the Osborns. They are moving to Portland in less than one week so it was neat to worship with the community that they will soon be a part of, and to pray along with the church, for them as they travel and move and settle into their new lives in Portland. Though I will miss them dreadfully, my experience with Mosaic reassures me that they are heading into something good.

Monday, my last day in Portland, brought me to the purpose of the trip: to meet with a representative from Pacific University-SPP. From my time exploring the Hillsboro campus (currently a 5-story building with plans to build another by Jan 09) to my discussions with the rep, I feel confident that PU-SPP could be a great fit for me. With their blended focus on both Clinical and Research skills, I have little doubt that I would be more than prepared to pursue many options upon completion of the 5-year MS/Psy.D. program.

The rest of my day was filled with a visit to the Osborn's soon-to-be home in the Argay neighborhood, enjoyment of a Blackberry Sundae from the renowned Burgerville, and a nice visit with Wendy (Small World Alert: she was part of the pastoral search committee at Mosaic that brought Tim to the church, as well as a good friend of an ex-boyfriend of mine, who I had previously met on a handful of occasions.) Wendy was kind enough to be my taxi to & from the airport. Thanks, Wendy!

So, in summary...

Pros: The Osborns; The Fillmores; great school; beautiful area; quaint neighborhoods with beautiful brick buildings and cozy restaurants & shops; efficient public transportation system; more distinct seasons; no need to church shop; and I'm sure many, many more.

Cons: I can't think of any...Oh wait! I just thought of one: not much snow

Yeah, it's going to be hard to decide.

For those of you waiting with baited breath...

Sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer. No time yet to upload pictures, which must, of course, accompany thoughts on my time in Portland. I promise to do so at the earliest opportunity.

K~

PS. Ok, fine, I'll give you a little something: Portland is a GREAT city and if I end up there, I would most certainly not be unhappy about that.

Portland: I & II

I'm too tired to be original with the title. Sorry to all of you who read my blog for the witty titles (I really do try most of the time). I'm just a wee bit tired. You see, people in Portland walk a lot. Or at least we have been.

Arrived yesterday afternoon after getting a little lost (and by little I mean I was told 4 different times to take various routes and each time was directed in the wrong direction) trying to find our hotel (suffice to say I was not in the best of moods; I believe I told Brandi, "I hate this city already." Forgive me Portland, for I actually like you quite a lot!). Our hip & cool hotel is located right by the quaint Nob Hill neighborhood (just blocks from the über trendy Pearl District), where great restaurants, stores and cafes are within walking district.

(I have a feeling this post will contain a lot of parenthetical remarks. You are forewarned.)

On last night's after-dinner walk we passed an amazing old home that had been converted into apartments. Today we arranged a time to look at it--our curiosity couldn't stand not knowing if the inside was as amazing as the outside. We were not disappointed. My word, was it great! Sorry, no pictures of that. (But if you have a spare $2250 to give me each month I can live there and you can come see it any time you want.)

The rest of today went by in a flash as I wrote a paper (Due via email by 6pm tonight!), and we took a streetcar to the Pearl District to spend some time strolling, and of course, visit the world's largest bookstore, Powells. (I do have pictures of that.)

Dinner at Daily City and a walk back all lead me to this point, dear readers, where I sit on my bed staring at the orange covered tent that is dear Audrey's little bed, and contemplate whether I should study (boo!) or finish a book (yeah!).

The book wins.

Dearest Eagle,

I do believe I'll love you forever and ever.

Sincerely, your favorite Statistics student,
Me

PS. I wish I had a picture of your endearingly mismatched shoelaces. They made me smile 4 days a week for 6 weeks.

Lauren's Birthday Extravaganza

Ah, birthdays! I had another one to celebrate this past weekend; that of my dear friend Lauren.

The birthday extravaganza began Saturday with breakfast at my new favorite breakfast spot--Julienne in San Marino. Food. Was. To. Die. For. You can see pictures of the WONDERFUL NESS at Molly's blog.

Sunday, La's actual birthday, we continued the fun with lunch at Camille's at Paseo, followed by a showing of Bourne Ultimatum (GREAT!) and then a little birthday shopping where the birthday girl found herself a nice little birthday present (an adorable dark brown purse from Jigsaw).

It was a lovely day and a lovely way to celebrate a lovely friend.

Happy Birthday, Lalen! I wish you all the loveliness that you may never think to wish for yourself.

Art find

I've always wanted to find a great stately portrait of an 18th-century lady from Europe. I found this one on Etsy that I'm considering. Her hair and dress lead me to believe she's from Spain or Portugal.

I love the painting and the frame. I think I'm going to buy it.

Update 11:55am: I think I already bought it...

The ugly truth about infidelity

As some of you know, I willingly and pre-meditatedly committed adultery this weekend on my 17+ year-long relationship with Joe.

Joe is my hair stylist.

The mistress: Cassandra, from Technicolour Salon in Redlands, CA
(Photo borrowed from Denise)

And I've now learned first hand that there is an ugly side to being unfaithful. Things don't always go as smoothly as one might hope.

I arrive for my appointment 15 minutes early, and am told that she is running 15 minutes or so late. An hour after my scheduled appointment time I'm finally sitting in Cassandra's chair with her full attention. Unfortunately, due to my time constraints (I needed to leave no later than 3 hours after my scheduled time) and her tardiness, I had to choose whether she would do cut or color, as there wasn't time to do both. (For first time clients, she needs at LEAST 3 hours to do a full cut & color consultation and then do the actual cut and color. So there wouldn't have been enough time, or at the very least, she would have been very rushed--not something I want when I'm with someone new. I just wish they'd told me that when I booked and I could have arranged my schedule accordingly.)

Fortunately, we were able to schedule my return visit for color for this Wednesday evening so that I don't have to go to Portland with my hair unfinished.

Cause that would be a travesty.

Here is my work in progress hair. (Sorry for the camera-phone pics)

Let's just hope I don't run into Joe anytime soon...

On the hunt

Care to join me?

If anyone finds this lamp (or similar) someplace for less than $100, would you let me know?


I want 2 of these for my bedroom.


But with different shades.

Something like this. ------->

<------------------- Or this.

And I don't mean 'A bientot'

I awoke this morning and realized that today is the last day of a few important things:

• The last day of my Statistics class (4 days a week for 3+ hours a day for 6 weeks).
  

• The last day of my crazy summer intensives schedule (5 classes in approx 10 weeks).

• The last day of my last class at Citrus College. Ever. And I mean, ever. (Lord, please don't let me eat my words on this one.)
  

• The last time I can justify spending $4.10 on a Tangerine Frappucino Juice Blend or 1/2 Passion Tea/1/2 Lemonade blend at Starbucks (because I had $40 of gift cards to use up and my daily drive to school was made all the better when I stopped by Starbucks in Azusa to pick up a tasty beverage to take with me to class).

And so, I do not say 'A Bientot'. Rather, I bid 'Adieu', for I do not plan to see any of these things any time soon.

I rue the day...

I subscribed to Daily Candy. Ok, maybe not. For D.C. led me to this:


I LOVE the plum color. I'm counting the minutes till the stores open at 10am to find out how much my new best friend would cost me. 26 minutes to go...

UPDATE @ 10:41 am: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :-(

Birthday Shout-Out!

Two people who are dear to me mark today as their Happy Birth-Days.

My Cousin, Summer!

Wishing you a wonderful day with, a Dirty Dancing and/or Pride & Prejudice viewing, and brunch at Home Town Buffet. Love you!


And a dear friend from Denmark, Jan!

I dag er det Jans foedselsdag, Hurra, Hurra, Hurra! Han sikkert sig en gave faar som han har oensket sig i aar, dejlig chokolade med kage til! Jeg glaeder mig til at se dig i Oktober!

Martha's minions provided the pics.

Post-Party Wrap-Up

Audrey turned 1 and was celebrated in grand style with all of her favorite people this past weekend. Complete with lots of loot.




There was good food and tasty dessert.







Audrey LOVED having everyone sing to her.





After the first rendition of "Happy Birthday" she kept several people entertaining her in the kitchen with numerous additional renditions. Complete with continued bites of cake. Of course.

Isn't she precious?!

I may be a tad partial, I realize, but I don't think so--She really is just so smart and precious and adorable.

I dream of decorating

Friday afternoon I was bit by the decorating bug. I'm starting to imagine my new apartment when I move, and how I will change some things, including but not limited to, new bed pillows & color scheme for the boudoir.

I found these and L-O-V-E them. Lots.

Here is what they'll look like with my headboard. (Imagine my white shirred duvet cover.)

Not sure what paint colors I'd choose (if I'm even allowed to paint).

All he wanted was for someone to accept him.

(Also titled: "I hope his face is the work of makeup artists, but I think it may not be, in which case I feel bad for even thinking he looks kinda-funny.")

(Also titled: "K's hooked on YouTube and wants to share some fun/ny videos.")

I just bought this.
(Well, a reproduction of it, anyway. It's a WWII era poster.)

It should be headed across the Atlantic within a couple days.

I envision it in my future office as a mantra to my clients.

Shout-Out

If you need a laugh today, go here.

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

My tied-for-first favorite niece, Audrey, turns 1 year old today. Hurray!

I love my little girl. I love this picture of her taken in July. She looks SO SMART. And so perplexed. There is intelligence behind those eyes. And attitude. I imagine she's looking at the camera wondering, "Um...yeah?!" Gotta love a girl with attitude! She's not going to be a pushover, this one.

Wishing you a wonderful day, filled with all your favorite things!

Love you bunches.

(Photo of Audrey credit to: Molly)

2 things:

1. I LOVE this location. The burnt orange walls! The amazing paintings! The wainscoting! Sigh.
   
2. I would LOVE to be as cool as this couple.

(Did anyone else have a summer where they watched dirty dancing 20+ times? With one particular day where you watched it 5 times? No? Just me? Oh. I'm Ok with that.)

My inner animal...Zebra?

I don't generally consider myself a fan of animal prints. At least not in excess or as my signature look. Animal prints are, in my opinion, something best used in moderation...

I am, however, tempted by these black & white zebra print note cards by Crane & Co.


These also caught my eye.

"Thought I'd been in love before"

I HEART Regina Spektor. She's crazy cool.

I like her cover of "Real Love" better than Lennon's original. This version calls to my soul.

A tisket, a tasket

A pretty white lace bike-basket...

Wherever I move, I hope it's a place that is bike-riding friendly (read: little-to-no hills/Alps) so that I have an excuse to get a new bike; preferably a comfy cruiser with gears. And when I get the bike, I'll have an excuse to buy this basket to attach to it.

It also comes in green. I can't decide which I think is cuter.

I'd also have to get a bell. And a baguette and some cheese, and a bottle of wine. And a cozy blanket to sit on and eat my baguette and cheese, and drink my wine and read a book. Ah, lovely.

Summer love

So You Think You Can Dance! is this summer's surprise crush for me. In addition to some amazingly talented dancers, SYTYCD (as it's known among fans) is choosing some great music.



It's also given me a new appreciation for Contemporary Dance. One of my favorite routines of the season so far...

People are funny

My friend Liz (the one I'll be visiting in Chicago this October) was here for the weekend and we had a chance to catch up at Starbucks this morning. I had to take a picture, of course. Here we are.



This was funny to see after. It made us laugh. Aren't people funny?

I wouldn't survive selling drugs on the street.

This is Brian. He's my seat neighbor in Statistics. (Several of the girls have a crush on Brian. He is rather charming.)

We had just endured over an hour of annoyingly repetitive questions by another classmate who couldn't seem to remember a formula we'd learned just 2 weeks ago, thus requiring our professor repeat the entire lesson. At one point Brian looked so forlorn and bored I requested he reenact the look for capture by my camera. Poor Brian didn't have a PDA with Solitaire, Hearts, Marbles & Dope Wars to while away the time.

Boahstun

Did I forget to mention that I'm also going to Boston?

Have you ever had that feeling, deep in your heart, nay, in your very soul, that you were home? That you were where you were supposed to be? Such was my experience when I first traveled to Boston four or so years ago. Driving from the airport to my hotel was an almost religious experience, so strong was the sense that all was right in my world. The brick buildings, the people, the majestic historical sites, even the telephone wires are images burned in my mind. Although I spent most of my 3 days there sequestered in a hotel conference room learning about Yellow Page advertising, the time I did spend strolling the streets left me yearning for more. Words can almost not explain, but I felt as though God was telling me, "You will live here someday." I cannot help but wonder if perhaps that someday has come. Hopefully this fall visit will help determine if that one experience was a momentary aberration or a true calling.

This trip I'll have the pleasure of the company of friends from Denmark, Jan and John-Arne. As Jan is a history buff (you want him on your Trivial Pursuit team!), I expect we'll conquer all the major historical sites one can possibly conquer in 3 days. We'll likely have to fortify ourselves with some local snacks.

I also plan to soak up some culture at the MFA and Gardner Museum.


As always, I look forward to utilizing public transportation and plan to avoid driving in the city (though from the Guide to Boston Drivers, I may just fit right in. Case in Point: "Remember that the goal of every Boston driver is to get there first by whatever means necessary." That's my kind of city!)

Rather than stay at a pricey hotel, we've decided to rent a private apartment in the Back Bay. It is affordable and should be nice to have our own private pad to pretend we're locals.

Oh-I almost forgot! The purpose of the trip...I'll be visiting Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, (hereafter known as MSPP), as well. The school has a tremendous reputation and I look forward to meeting with various administrators, faculty & students to help get a better idea whether this is the place for me.

Going in mid-October. Can't wait!