Aug 01
Wahoo! Today I’m celebrating. Well, actually I’m celebrating all month, because that’s how I roll. I highly recommend that when you have a birthday, you celebrate all month too. I can’t take credit for that brilliant idea. It’s a suggestion I got from a friend of mine a long time ago and it means the month of August totally rocks every year. I’ve officially reached “antique” status. For those of you who don’t speak the language of my 2.0, that means I’m now 25 years old. Don’t fault her for the whole “antique” thing – she’s only 11, so 25 is bound to sound ancient.
There are so many blessings in my life! In honor of turning 25 today, I thought I’d list 25 things that I’m grateful for. Yep, this is going to be a long list. Deal with it – it’s my party, and I’ll write what I want to.
- The Gospel of Jesus Christ and my membership in His Church
- Mom
- Dad
- Alisha
- Logan
- Jessie
- Reece
- Wade
- Sam
- Cassie
- My law degree from BYU
- Running my own law firm
- Living in KCMO
- Cute running clothes
- The color blue – that totally bright, really happy blue.
- Cupcakes
- Country music - Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, Jaron & the Long Road to Love… all those good people.
- Four Inch Heels
- The Piano
- Scented Candles
- Calla Lilies
- Italian Food
- Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Men who open doors
- Big dreams. And little dreams. Just all sorts of dreams.
I picked up a card a little while ago. There’s a quote on it and it’s how I’m determined to live. “This is your world. Shape it or someone else will.”
Tagged with: 2.0s • alisha • birthday • cassie • cupcakes • dad • family • jessie • kcmo • leila • logan • mom • reece • sam • the 2.0s • wade
Jul 31
Yesterday my parents celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary. In this day and age, that’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment in and of itself. Add in the fact that they still like each other? Well, that’s priceless. Mom still calls Dad “Boyfriend” (he’s even saved in her cellphone as that – like he doesn’t have another name or something) and my Dad is still crazy about her. He’s even learned to instant message so that he can hang out with her when he’s gone at work. They talk – and it’s more than just “please pass the salt.” I know there are at least eight people in this world that are thrilled that my parents still like each other. (Besides them of course.) No prizes for guessing who. Since there are no prizes, I can tell you who we are – Me, Alisha, Logan, Jessie, Reece, Wade, Sam and Cassie. Maybe I should’ve offered prizes. Reece might be inclined to remember who we all are then.
Dad’s in Brazil right now – it made taking Mom out on a date last night kind of difficult for him. Don’t worry, he’s not a slacker – he’s got plans for when he gets back. Mom was cool about him being at work. After all, having a job’s kind of important when you’re supporting a family. HOWEVER, we couldn’t really let the day go uncelebrated. A waterfall in the living room (don’t ask – just be appreciative when your roof doesn’t decide to leak during a rainstorm) cut a big chunk of time out of our lives, but we still had enough time to do SOMETHING.
My Dad has two favorite restaurants – Ma & Pa’s Kettle and The Rib Crib. He’s a country guy. What can we say? When he’s out of the country, Mom and I NEVER go to either one. They aren’t really our style. (Mom is NOT a country girl.) Except last night. We did their anniversary just like they’d do a normal date night* for them – dinner at Ma & Pa’s and a movie at the local theater. It was almost like Dad was there.
And yes Dad, before you ask – I made sure to get Mom’s door.
*Dad’s already got “real” anniversary plans for when he gets back that are a departure from the normal routine, so I didn’t spoil anything, don’t worry.
Tagged with: 28 years • anniversary • cameron • dad • family • kids • ma and pa's kettle • mom
Jul 27
Why would you want to spend time working out inside when you could wake up and work out on these? Yeah, that’s what I thought. You wouldn’t waste your time inside either. Of course, when it’s freezing, I’ll be back at Scott Fitness where there’s no contract ever, and you can start and stop as often as you like. For now, I’m on the “stopped” phase. (And no, it’s not like I get any sort of bonus for linking to their site. I just like them.) Since I’m not at Scott Fitness, over the last few days I’ve spent a LOT of time on these stairs. Forget counting how many steps I’ve taken – that’s one area the machine definitely has the advantage. I just go by the number of songs I listen to while I run up and down the stairs. It helps if I pick fast songs. I definitely would NOT recommend climbing them to Jordin Spark’s “No Air.” (My mom loves working out to that song. I will NEVER understand that.)
My running has been sporadic over the past few months. I was blaming that on my fooorever long commute, but since moving to KC three weeks ago, I still wasn’t feeling it. For some reason, Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” as my alarm doesn’t help me vault out of bed. And if I don’t work out in the morning, it’s probably not happening. I am SO a morning person. Last week, I changed my alarm. Nickelback. Just about anything from their Dark Horse CD makes me jump out of bed. Problem solved, and I am back on the wagon. It’s a good thing too – I unpacked my scale this week. Of course, given that I’m taller than I thought, that number isn’t really as bad as it could be – I’m only six pounds off from the range that I give myself. Give me a month and I’ll be back on track. For now, I’m just extra bootylicious. That’s hardly a bad thing.
This morning I talked my roommate into going with me. Let’s call her Juarez – that’s where her family’s from, but it’s not her real name. (Roommates are almost family, but they get some level of protection. Come on, that’s only fair, right? Reece wishes he was my roommate.) We’ve actually got another roommate who will be joining us in a few short weeks and we can’t wait! Maybe we’ll rope her into early mornings too. It’s always more fun to run with someone else. Even when you’re not running “together.” (That wasn’t a problem today. Juarez is shorter than SixFour.)
Take a look at how beautiful it is out there in those early morning hours. Care to join us?
Tagged with: exercise • juarez • kansas city • kc • kcmo • mom • reece • running • sixfour • stairs • working out
May 09
Okay, so I know I told you I was the baddest bad apple of the Christensen family. I lied. Yes, I am admitting it right here in print, to be googled and everything. Actually, I didn’t REALLY lie. I just didn’t explain myself fully. Or, as Logan puts it, I told you a “really good story” and just didn’t tell you if it was true or not. (Yes, he can say that with a straight face. Don’t ask me how.)
My MOM is the baddest bad apple in our house. Since she wasn’t born a Christensen, I can still claim to be the baddest bad apple of the Christensen family. (Like that argument? It’s a little flimsy for a lawyer, but I’ll argue it anyway.) We all love her. You want reasons? We’ve got them. And much like the Alisha post, this is from everyone.
- She dances in the kitchen.
- And in the living room.
- And in her studio.
- And anywhere else. What can we say? She’s got rhythm, and when she hears a good song, she can’t help but move. It’s a trait she passed on. Everyone dances at our house. Except Dad. Obviously, he was not so lucky to have Mom pass on that gene to him. It just doesn’t work that way.
- She’s fun to sit on. In fact, this is Reece’s favorite thing to do. I’m not positive that it’s Mom’s favorite thing, but she humors him. She even tells him he’s her favorite child. That is, of course, a lie. *I* am her favorite child.
- She’s a rockstar. Especially after she gets her hair done. And yes, she can totally do the headbanging moves. If you’ve ever seen Alisha or Cassie, this is also a genetic trait.
- She let us have cake on Sunday for breakfast when I was growing up. You know, so we’d look forward to Sundays. Since we couldn’t play outside or do other weekday sort of things, it was definitely a bonus. Sometimes we’d have ice cream instead of cake. And sometimes we’d have both. (And sometimes we still do that sort of thing. We love Sundays at our house.)
- She’s an excellent painter. And she’s used us for models for a lot of her paintings. Except for Logan and Reece, who are not quite as beautiful as the rest of us. Or they just won’t hold still long enough. You be the judge.
- She’ll stay up all night talking to us. Or she’ll stay up all night working on a project. She’s a night owl. I definitely did NOT get that gene. Samantha and Reece, on the other hand, definitely got it. Jealous.
- She loves our Dad. Like crazy. We know, who wouldn’t?
You can see, there are all sorts of reasons that she’s the baddest bad apple. We could keep going, but we’d be at it all day. And since it’s Mother’s Day, we’re trying to spend a little bit of it with her. We love her. What more can we say?
Tagged with: alisha • cassie • dad • family • leila • logan • mom • mother's day • reece • sam • wade
May 05
Sometimes my family surprises me. Well, “surprises” is probably not quite the right word. I know them, after all, and nothing that comes out of their mouth is that unexpected. Some days those phrases are lucky enough to turn into entire blog posts… other days, I write them down and save them for later. For example:
- “What are those, pigs?” – Mom, the country girl. Not. We were driving past a field with a lot of GOATS in it when she asked the question. Granted, Mom was driving. But how do you get PIGS confused with GOATS?
- “I see all the cow faces and it reminds me of Barry.” – Jessie (19), the REAL country girl, aka NOT Mom. Jessie works at a dairy (where she sees cow faces) and Barry is her boyfriend. Barry’s on a two-year mission in Fresno, California. Maybe he should be worried if Jessie’s reminded of him when she sees COWS. PS – Barry is not nickname-protected because Jessie has his real name on her own blog. Plus I don’t know what nickname we would use for him. “Jessie’s COWboy” would maybe work, given that she sees cow faces and thinks of him.
- “You are not even CLOSE to a cow.” – Reece (16), the king of compliments. You know him as the Cowboy Casanova, but he can have more than one title. I was trying to figure out how much our cows weighed… when I said 125 (which is what I weigh) he informed me of the above “fact.” Oh – and at the time I said that, our cows weighed probably 300-350 lbs. Maybe 400 lbs. Maybe I have a misconception about how 125 lbs looks. (And maybe Jessie should take a cue from Reece so that Barry doesn’t cry when he realizes that Jessie thinks of him when she sees cow faces.)
- “When you turn 25, then you’ll be an antique!” – Samantha (11), commenting on my upcoming birthday in August. I wonder what that makes Dad (who hit the big 5-0 last October). How do you get better- or older- than “antique”?
- “Dad, when you’re too old to remember, I’m going to sell the house and buy an RV. Then I’m going to take you all sorts of places.” – Cassie (almost 10), when talking about her “assignment” as the youngest child. That assignment? She’s taking care of them in their old age. We all voted, and she got the job. Maybe Dad should rethink that one. Unless he wants to go all sorts of places.
Can you see why I’m always laughing? Oh. Maybe you didn’t realize I’m always laughing. Trust me, it’s hard to stop with a family as fun as mine. I totally love them. And I’ve gotta admit – it’s a real relief to know that I’m nothing close to a cow, even if I’m going to be an antique soon.
Tagged with: cassie • cowboy casanova • family • jessie • mom • reece • sam • the 2.0s
Apr 29
I am the queen of scrabble in my family. My mom’s my biggest competition – in the past week, I’ve beat her by 144, 62, and 46 points respectively. In all fairness, she’s had a rough scrabble week. Really. I only beat her by eight points the time before that 144 point victory. But a win’s a win.
Unfortunately, that works even if it’s only a four point victory. Take a look.
And now the shocker. This. Wasn’t. Mom. And no one beats me except Mom. (And annoying online people I’ve never met named nanda93 and MessMaker.) This. Was. T2.
Let me explain. T2 and I play games online for date nights. Being far apart forces you to be resourceful. It’s all worked out – I kill him at scrabble and he slaughters me at chess. That’s how we roll. Kind of an unwritten agreement. Except now it’s written down here, so I guess you could call it a written agreement. And T2 totally threw it out the window today. It started with him laying down “HOBBIES.” Who knew it would be worth 42 points? I’m lucky it was only a four point victory. It’s so NOT happening again.
PS – In all fairness, I probably threw out our (un)written agreement before T2. I beat him in chess today. Twice. In a row. Boo-ya.
Tagged with: chess • dating • mom • online games • scrabble • t2
Apr 18
Except for calla lilies. But calla lilies don’t grow out in Missouri unless they’re in a pot indoors. The last time I tried to grow them, they died. In less than a week. And that was in Las Vegas, where they’re actually SUPPOSED to grow. May the calla lilies I killed rest in peace. (Okay, confession over.) Now I just enjoy calla lilies when other people grow them. I feel a lot less guilty that way.
There IS a cool story behind my love of calla lilies. (It doesn’t involve dead ones, don’t worry!) When I was around 14, my church group had an activity for moms and daughters. The moms were asked to identify a flower that reminded them of their daughters and talk a little bit about it. My mom went above and beyond. (If you know my mom, that is no surprise.) My mom chose a calla lily for me – and she brought a beautiful silk calla lily with her, along with a whole letter about why calla lilies reminded her of me. (No, you can’t read it. Mostly because I can’t find it right now. I think it’s in an old journal somewhere.)
Anyway, back to lilacs. Of all the flowers that grow in Missouri, lilacs are my favorite. They come in the most beautiful colors, can grow as bushes or trees (and are equally gorgeous either way!), smell absolutely divine… AND I just discovered a whole bunch of them blooming in my postcard. (Notice the transition… I’m totally claiming Loose Park as “mine” now.) What a great life.
Tagged with: calla lilies • kansas city • lilacs • loose park • mom • spring • vegas
Feb 19
I was on kid duty tonight. A voluntary thing, let me assure you. I like spending time with my siblings. Since Mom, Jess & Logan wanted to go see “Dear John” (I already saw it and enjoyed it – I LOVE Channing Tatum), I offered to watch the kids. Reece was away on a camping trip (who goes camping in the snow anyway?), so it was the 2.0s , Wade and I. Dad is in Brazil, but he gets back soon, wahoo!
At first we said we’d have a “girls night plus Wade.” He quickly corrected us – we were going to have a “girls night plus THE MAN.” And we did – a little popcorn, a movie, cupcakes and some nail polish. (The Man skipped out on the nail polish.)
This isn’t the first time this week that Wade has cracked me up. Mom and I were hanging out at the table while all the boys were being their usual crazy selves. I said we needed to think of a word to describe them – without skipping a beat, Wade had one. “Sexy.” And then he walked out of the room.
Can I just tell you I love my life? Really, how could I not?
Tagged with: 2.0s • cassie • channing tatum • dad • family • girls night • jessie • logan • missouri • mom • reece • sam • wade
Feb 10
Yes, I said “heart.” NOT “hate”! Please make sure you’re listening. (Ahem. Reece.) For all of you that are oblivious to the month of February, Valentine’s Day is coming up. At FHE this week (you’ve heard about FHE before), our family talked about L-O-V-E.
My first memories of Valentine’s Day involved special Valentines on our kitchen table surrounded by great treats. (Thanks Mom!) For a couple of years, I didn’t realize that Valentine’s Day was a “romantic love” sort of holiday – I just thought it was a day where everyone made sure to tell the people they loved that they loved them. Really, you should be doing that on a pretty regular basis – how sad would it be if you saved all your telling for one day a year?!? I know that I’d never have enough time to make sure that everyone I loved knew it.
In the spirit of the holiday, this Monday night my siblings, mom and I spent the night making hearts for each other. (Dad is in Brazil, or he would have been making them too, don’t worry. He still likes us. Why on earth do you think he goes to work every other month?) We put them up on the doors in our house so that we’d all remember how much we love each other. (Kind of like texting - except better.)
Here are a few of my favorites…
Is it any wonder I heart my family?
Tagged with: alisha • cassie • dad • family • fhe • hearts • jessie • leila • logan • love • mom • reece • sam • valentine's day • valentines • wade
Jan 06
My mom’s an artist - she paints. In my absolutely unbiased opinion, she totally rocks. Don’t take my word for it. Check out her work yourself. She normally paints with a technique called “grisaille” – she does an underpainting first in shades of gray, and then puts color on top of it. It’s pretty amazing to watch. Oh – you can watch it yourself. It’s on youtube. And for a little extra education – “grisaille,” loosely translated from French, means “gray tones.”
It’s a complex process, but it’s not just her paintings that are complex. Most things in this world come in shades of gray, because people are complex too. Wouldn’t it be unfortunate if you were so inflexible that you never recognized there was anything but black and white? (At any rate, it would certainly kill the grisaille method.)
In my professional life, I deal in grays all the time. Granted, my work isn’t the same as my mom’s, but work with me here – I didn’t get those creative painting genes, so I’m doing my best with what I’ve got. Of course, in order to really grasp the grays, you’ve got to understand the rules that come with black and white. That’s just common sense. But when I’m at work (or anywhere else!) I remember that grays exist, and that’s part of what makes this life so interesting. The next time you’re out and about, take a look at the grays. You just might surprise yourself at what you find.
*PS – Notice my mom’s shirt is gray? Oh yeah, I totally planned that. Well, actually I didn’t. But I thought it was cool anyway.
Tagged with: art • family • gray • mom • shannon
Wahoo! Today I’m celebrating. Well, actually I’m celebrating all month, because that’s how I roll. I highly recommend that when you have a birthday, you celebrate all month too. I can’t take credit for that brilliant idea. It’s a suggestion I got from a friend of mine a long time ago and it means the month of August totally rocks every year. I’ve officially reached “antique” status. For those of you who don’t speak the language of my 2.0, that means I’m now 25 years old. Don’t fault her for the whole “antique” thing – she’s only 11, so 25 is bound to sound ancient.
