Sleep?

In all of the stress of last week and this week, it is difficult to lay down at night and relax enough to fall asleep.

So, I have developed a routine the last few nights that allows me to relax, breathe easy, and drift to sleep.

I listen to this. Works every time.

If there was one person I would want to sing me lullabies, it's Ingrid.

Thank you for this song, Ingrid.

15 hours

That's how long I've been in Manhattan for since returning from Thanksgiving break (Which I spent in Texas and it was great, btw)

Here is a breakdown of how these 15 hours have been spent:
5 sleeping
6 working with 2 different groups on group projects that are looming.
2 working on individual homework
2 unpacking/showering/reading
= 15 hours total.

Break is over and school is back. And I am in ultimate crunch mode. I will be spending all of my time working on school. So, if you are too then feel free to join me!

On a good note though: I have rediscovered reese's sticks. Does anyone remember these?? They are delicious. I totally forgot they existed until I won some playing white elephant bingo with my family.
Yes, we play white elephant bingo. And yes, I won candy, potholders and a knife set.

Good things in my life

1.) Christmas: For the first time since I was in grade school, I have made a Christmas wish list. I was supposed to be studying but found it to be overrated so I made a really cool wish list on the computer (that includes clipart… and word art!).

2.) Laptops: My new favorite thing is checking out laptops at the library. It makes me feel cool (kewl) and like a real college student. Plus I feel free to do whatever I want on it; unlike the library desktops where people judge you if you aren’t doing real work on them 100% of the time.

3.) Usher: I am re-in love with Usher. Good songs. Great dance moves. Plus he is HOTT. He reminds me of a black Matthew Mcconaughey… he always manages to take his shirt off. Even when it’s totally unnecessary. But if my abs looked like his, I don’t think I would wear a shirt either.

4.) Home cooked food: Tricia and I dine with the A.D. on Thursday. Hopefully I don’t spill something on me. He is making us steak. I’m also really hoping there are potatoes with it!And corn. And bread.

5.) Let’s go to Colorado this weekend.

Dear Future Husband,

If you make me.... correction: WHEN you make me mad, there is a simple solution that will (mostly) fix everything and get you out of the dog house.

Just buy me this. It equals instant happiness.

Forever yours,

Kelsie

Karma is a b*tch

I dressed up as the swine flu for Halloween.

The next day, I became ill. And was down and out with a badass flu for an entire week.

Do I think I got sick because I tempted the swine with my costume?

Absolutely.

If I had know my Halloween costume would come true then I would have dressed up as Vanna White. (can you say dream job!)

Grandpa love

It is time for a blog update. but I really have nothing to say. So to follow Tricia's lead, I am going to post an email from a grandparent.

I received this email from my grandpa last night.

Subject line: katz

"kels... i tried to promote a visitation to sat's game, but nana said to wait for hoops. i assume you were roaming the sidelines yest. nice win for ksu and if anyone had any lingering doubts about bill snyder's coaching prowess, they should be taken to the woodshed. happy halloween! pa"

taken to the woodshed?! that sounds totally creepy!

But I love my grandpa, so its fine.

Apathetic State of Mind

Is it terrible that I kind of don't want to graduate with a job lined up?

I know it is probably a little irresponsible but so far my life has been one planned thing lined up after another... and its making me crazy!

I love the thought of graduating with no plan. Taking the summer to enjoy my new found freedom and eventually finding a job. Having that deadline of: must find job by end of school year is really cramping my style...

I literally have no desire to start do anything in terms of finding a job. I've been ignoring my resume. Ignoring job fairs. And not even attempting to find jobs to apply for.

And it feels great.

Perhaps this feeling of apathy will pass as the year goes on.... then again, perhaps not.

We shall see!!

Simple pleasures

Have you ever woken up in the morning feeling completely defeated for no reason?

That was me this morning.

I had had a wonderful fall break and was in no way ready to return to my life. I woke up this morning feeling grouchy, blue and just generally unpleasant. I couldn't seem to think of a single positive thing about the day.

My head was swarming with thoughts of, "why is fall break over?", "why do i have to start the week off with my least favorite class?", "why is my alarm already going off?", "why is it cold outside?", "why is thanksgiving so far away" "why do i have nothing for breakfast...", etc.

Clearly, I was having a negative attitude. And as I embarked on my journey to class, I remember thinking, "okay, i can tell today is going to be a dismal day and there is nothing I can do it about it, so i'm just going to have to accept it and hope that it ends quickly".

However, as I'm cutting through the MCC campus, I see my friend Jess walking and she beckons me over. This little surprise meeting makes me smile, for now I have a friend to entertain me on my walk to class. Plus, she has a huge chocolate muffin that she couldn't possibly eat alone, so I help her dispose of it. and its delicious. And I arrive at (my most hated class) feeling marginally better.

From there, things only get better. My teacher announces that instead of having our test this Thursday, it has been moved to Tuesday. GREAT NEWS!! I was in no mood to study for that test this week and now I don't have too. What a surprise turn of events!!

I then head to the union for my usual break. I discover that I have forgotten my wallet and am very hungry... but Tricia is a pal and buys me a chicken sandwich. which always equals happiness :)

And then I go to the restroom and over the restroom speakers I hear they are playing the song, "The winner takes it all". Which is one of my favorite Abba/Mamma Mia songs. And because no on else is in the bathroom, I get to sing-a-long!

For the rest of the day I have a great attitude and feel 100x better than I did when I woke up.

I was amazed at how quickly and unexpectedly my day took a turn for the better. I couldn't help but think of how unexpected God is and how we shouldn't become discouraged, for we never know what he has in store for us, right around the corner.

Moral of the story: Ya never know when something great is going to happen. And never underestimate the simple pleasures in life. Sharing your chocolate muffin with a friend can go a long ways!

I Love Lucy

Just got back from the class with the chipotle give-a-way. Tonight she chose the winner by saying a random number. And if our seat had that number, then we won! She said number 73.... I was seat number 70. SO CLOSE!! Why didn't I sit 3 seats over?!

She said she has a bunch of gift certificates to chipotle as well, so she'll start handing them out.

If... no, WHEN, I get one. I promise to take you.

Tonight in class I learned that men have a fear of rejection.

Guys, is this true? If so, that poses a problem considering that females expect you to make the first move.

Take my advice on this one: Don't ever let the fear of rejection stop you.

OR if a sports analogy is more up your alley, then this could be applied as well: you will always miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

On another note, here is a little nugget of information you may not know about me. Since I was a small child, I have LOVED the tv show "I Love Lucy". On Saturday nights they used to have 3 hours of Lucy. It was 2 episodes of I Love Lucy, one (hour long) episode of the Lucy/Desi Comedy hour, and 2 episodes of the Lucy Show. It was heaven for me. I remember in particular one birthday of mine fell on a Saturday. and i was soooo excited because it meant I got to spend my birthday watching Lucy. Which for me, was the perfect way to spend a day. So, even though many of you may not enjoy the show. Here is a little clip from one of her more famous episodes.

Enjoy :) (I know I did/still do!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wp3m1vg06Q

As of late...

Sam was right. The blog post that had 'disappeared' was actually in my drafts. But I'm not going to post it now because all the info is old news and irrelevant.

But brownie points to sam for figuring that out!

Hmmm what is going on in my life right now:

I need to go to the dentist. I think a filling fell out and my tooth hurts because of it. I need to get it refilled otherwise, as my mom said: "your tooth will fall out"....

On the Saturday of Fall Break, a friend of the Dawson Family is throwing a party called 'Fall Festival' in Topeka. And my dad's band is performing. It should be quite the spectacle. The man throwing the party has a long curly mullet... and there is going to be inflatable things there.

My dad told me I am invited to come and should feel free to bring friends with me.

Who's in?

Pet peeve: I think it is very rude when people start packing up early in class before the teacher is done talking. It drives me crazy. I hope none of you faithful blog readers out there do this!

Well. That's all I have to report for now. Sorry this was all over the place.

I will leave you with these closing remarks:

Here is the only video I have of my dad performing. It was taken at my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. The picture is super dark and the sound quality is terrible. Plus the guy filming it was sitting next to my Grandpa (who was singing-a-long) so all you can really hear is my grandpa singing the whole time. You can't actually see or hear my dad's band.

I figured it was better than nothing though?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neZWu0tZY6k

Better luck next time

I just wrote a really great blog post and then it disappeared. I don't know where it went...
Probably cyberspace.

I'm sorry.

I tried to update this but blogger failed me.

I guess you could call it a fail blog!

Is it okay to pray for free chipotle?

I am so tired lately. Its crazy. It is currently 9:30 and I could get in bed and fall asleep immediately right now.

I used to be one of those people that always stayed up until about 1 am during the week. But this year I have been averaging a 10:00 bedtime. What's wrong with me?!

In other news:

In of my classes there is a fun give-away that happens every week (this class only meets on Mondays). There is a giant cardboard 'box', wrapped in foil and shaped like a chipotle burrito that my teacher has. And every week, my teacher draws a name of someone in the class and that person wins the giant 'burrito'. Which means that if you take the burrito into chipotle, then you and a friend each get free burritos!

This past Monday, I unfortunately did not win. A girl from my high school did... BUT I have hope. We have 13 class periods left. I'm bound to win... right?!

If I win, I have to pick a friend to come get free burritos with me.
Feel free to bribe me so that I'll pick you.

And so it begins...

ahhh blog... i've been avoiding you.
but I figure its probably time for an update.

well the new school year is upon us and I must admit, i'm not thrilled. This is the first year of college that I really didn't want to start classes. Senior year is very weird and I'm feeling all kinds of emotions... many of which are contradictory to each other.

So how do i cope?

Try not to think about things. Trust in the Lord always. and focus on the here and now. I like to enjoy each day and not allow myself to get bogged down by too many things.
I'm a pretty simple girl... and I'm okay with that.

Here is a list of good things about Senior Year (so far):
1. I started the year off with a return trip to Colorado with my favorite people. and it was wonderful. So hard to come back. but I'm glad we went and can't wait till we all travel together again!

2. My internship. As i have spent more time working for my internship, i've really grown to enjoy it. I like a lot of the people and I genuinely enjoy most of the work. the experience it provides me is going to be awesome when i'm job hunting in the (very) near future.

3. Pulling rank. I love dropping the ole' "i'm a senior" thing when i want to establish rank amongst peers, adults, etc.

4. I really like all of my classes except for one... that being Law of Mass Comm. but I figure 4 out of 5 ain't bad (pardon my use of ain't. it was for literary effect)

Well that's really all I have going on right now. I am relieved to be done with the first week of class and am happy to begin the weekend. I have skillfully avoided having to work at all this weekend so I am a free bird!

Let's play.

The Great Pencil Protest of 09'

I'M BAAAACK!! That's right blog fans, I am alive and blogging.

And if you thought I was kidding when I said the only thing I would have to report this summer is about office pens at work.... I was serious. (the following story is pretty long, but if you are bored, you should read it. Its a classic day in the office!):

This summer when I returned to KDOT I went into the supply room to get a pencil. Now, KDOT normally has these maroon mechanical pencils that I absolutely love but I when I went in there to get one... they were no where to be found. They had been replaced by a black mechanical pencil that was, in my opinion, a shotty piece of craftmanship.

So, being the good employee that I am, I took the new black pencil, walked back to my cube and didn't question as to where my old favorite pencils had gone.

A few weeks later we got an email from the receptionist Mike (whom I like to call the manceptionist) explaining that we were allowed to cast a vote as to whether we liked the maroon pencils or the black pencils better. The pencil with the most votes would become the permanent KDOT pencil.

I immediately cast a vote for the maroon pencil and started asking my surrounding cube mates what pencil they were in favor of. A few of us got to talking and I realized that I was not alone in my dislike for the black pencil. There were others out there who also loved the maroon and wanted nothing more than to see its return to KDOT.

Jokingly, my cube mate and I suggested that we must protest the black pencil by staging a sit-in in the supply room until our demands were met.

A lady that sits next to us said, "yea that's a great idea! or we could make maroon arm bands and wear them around the office in support of the maroon pencil".
We all laughed but none of us took the idea as serious.

However, 20 minutes later that lady came into our cube holding maroon strips of paper and said to us, "give me your arm. I've got armbands."

Needless to say, my 2 cube mates and I each grabbed a maroon strip of paper and taped it around our arms to show our support of the maroon pencil. I also saw others in our unit walking around with maroon armbands, as well.

So, that was it. The office had officially been split into two groups:
The maroon supporters... and everyone else. You could feel the tension in the air!

We were all very confident that our display of support for the maroon pencil would persuade others to vote for it and therefore, KDOT would once again supply us with the maroon pencils we so greatly desired!

However, about 2 hours after our whole armband protest began, we received an email from the manceptionist saying, "alright, I just checked with our supplier and looks like the maroon pencil has been discontinued. Black wins by default"

EXCUSE ME?! DISCONTINUED?!

Heartbreaker....

After receiving the email we all ripped off our maroon armbands and tossed them in the trash. It was as if the whole thing had never happened.

But for me, the Great Pencil Protest of 09' will forever be a day I remember.

PTL!

Praise the Lord, i just took my last german test EVER! I have had four long semesters with german. Four long classes that equal 19 credit hours of german total.

I just took my german final and it was.... interesting. Our teacher sent us a studyguide online and when i opened it to look at it, it said: you cannot study for this final. either you know the information or you dont.

GREAT.

that's helpful...

So, I have no idea how I did on the final. but hopefully I did average. I'm hoping for the best!

As much as I am relieved to never again have to take a german test, write a german paper, memorize german vocabulary or sit through a class where a teacher asks you a question and all you can do is stare at her because you dont know what she said, I will also greatly miss german. For some strange, I love the german language. That's probably why I took 4 classes of it.

I love knowing how to speak another language. Right now I am at my prime when it comes to speaking german. I have peaked, if you will. I speak, hear and write german quite fluently and I'm sad that everyday I spend away from german class, I'll be losing some of my german skills.

If ya don't use it then ya lose it.

Maybe this means i should travel to germany?!

Sports, Bread and Shag Carpet

Alright folks, this is the moment you've been waiting for.... i'm updating my blog!!

Hmm. What's new in my life?

a.) I finally got an internship! with kstate athletics! as did Tricia! this is good news for many reasons: the internship is durinng the school year so I can still work at KDOT this summer (yay?). Also, I can go to all the football and basketball games for free so I dont have to buy any tickets this year.

b.) The lady Aardvarks lost their first soccer game the other night. but we're still in the playoffs so no biggie. We duel it out tonight in the first playoff game.

c.) My mom and my Nana are coming to visit me this Friday. Which means I need to clean my room. Gotta keep up appearances for Nana!

d.) I am out of food right now. I have nothing to eat. All I want is some sandwich bread and some chips. I have stuff to put on the bread... just no bread. And i'm out of POP!! Clearly, I'm living in a state of destruction.

e.) I have tons of projects and papers and test to cram in sometime in the next 7 days. and really just not enough time to do it. But i'm sure you can all relate.

f.) my parents are re-doing our basement. my brother used to live in the basement and so things got really weird and smelly down there. but he moved out and so now we are completely re-doing it. New paint, new carpet, new furniture, the whole works. My parents are making it music themed (they would...). I think there is going to be shag carpet. And record covers on the walls. How groovy of them.

Well that's all I've got for now. Don't expect many posts from me this summer. Not because I'll be too busy having fun adventures. But because I'll i have absolutely nothing to write about.

Unless you want to read a post about how we got new pens at work and it was really exciting.

Peaceful Easy Feeling

I have been feeling very at peace lately. Everything feels right in my life. And I’m very hopeful about the future. I've always been a pretty content person but these last few weeks I have felt an overwhelming sense of peace like I've never known.
The Lord has placed a feeling of peace within me and it is so satisfying.
I feel open and ready to new possibilities.

I guess what I’m trying to say is… everything’s right.

(yes, that was a Matt Wertz shout out)

And for an extra special treat, here is a little something that I’ve been spending a lot of time with lately. If you know me well then you know that I can spend endless hours, just laying on my bed listening to music. Its one of my favorite things to do and is where I get my best thinking done.
These past few days I have been listening to this on repeat. I always have one song that I listen to constantly for a few weeks because it fits with my mood at the time. And right now, this is it.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLwZxcObRT0

Update

Here is a little update on the Life and Times of Kelsie:

1.) I have been eating a lot of grapes lately. to the point where they make my stomach hurt... I'm wondering what the nutritonal value of grapes is?

2.) I have an interview on Monday for an internship! and I need to get an interview outfit. All of my appropriate interview clothes are from high school and do not fit properly anymore.

3.) The (baby) Aardvarks still have not won a game. Let alone, scored a goal. Kristen and I are beginning to wonder if it is a result of bad coaching on our part...

4.) The (Lady) Aardvarks are 3-0 and have made it to the playoffs! I'm hoping to earn my first ever intramural champions t-shirt. wish us luck!

5.) FARM DAY IS THIS WEEKEND and I am more than excited! especially because we get to spend some time in wonderful Topeka and eat at Olive Garden!! (i love breadsticks!)

peace, love and breadsticks,

KD

Blog rant

Here is my rant for the day. Sorry if it is a little negative. but I figured it is better for me to complain via blog then complain to you all in person (where you would be forced to listen). agreed?

Today for my MC research class, we got divided into focus groups and got to talk about everything that is wrong with K-State's Journalism and Mass Communications School.
It was wonderful.

There were about 15 students from the JMC school in my group and we just got to sit there and bash the JMC school. Which to some of you may sound harsh, but believe me, it was necessary.

We got to complain about out of date teachers that dont know how to use the software we use in classes and therefore have other students come to class to teach it. we talked about mean office staff (tricia: you know who i'm talking about), that everyone wants to get rid of. we talked about how our classes dont prepare us for the workforce at all and we gave them a long list of things that we would like to see changed, added, removed, etc. from the JMC school.

Unfortunately, it is a little late for me to see many of these changes. I will graduate before much change is completed. However, it feels dang good to let out your frustrations after spending 3 years in a JMC school that is from the stone age.

Fun JMC story: tricia and i are in a class together this semester that is taught by an old man that has clearly not updated his curriculum since 1990. he showed us a video that was literally from 1990, and then a fews week later... he showed it again! we had to watch the same video twice. and he didn't even realize it. (a great use of my time and tuition money)

I dont ever want to watch a video that is 20 years old... let alone, watch it twice.

Soccer Frenzy!

I just finished an evening full of soccer. And it was wonderful.

The (baby) Aardvarks, which is the little boys team that Kristen and I coach, had their second game of the season tonight. The final score was 0-0 which is an improvement from the 5-0 beating they received last week. Plus, our boys dominated most of the time. Just couldn’t score a goal! This game was much more physical than our first. Multiple injuries. But our boys took them like men. They all earned a man card tonight!

All of you need to come watch a game sometime. Seriously. It is so hilarious. You won’t regret coming. We have a game on Tuesday and Thursday of next week. BE THERE!… or else!

Once the (baby) Aardvarks game was over, I had to take off my coach’s cap and put on my player’s cap. I had my first intramural indoor soccer game of the season tonight. Kristen is also on this team with me, along with Katie and some other fabulous ladies (we are also called the Aardvarks….. Confusing? Deal with it).
I think we were all a little nervous before the game. For most of us, it had been a few years since we really played but we did great! We won 5-1. But we scored on ourselves so really it doesn’t count. Let’s call it 5-0, yes?

It felt GREAT to be playing again. Just like riding a bike! Although, I definitely noticed that some of my foot skills weren’t what they used to be, nor was my stamina. I am old and not in shape like I used to be!

You are all welcome to come watch us play, as well! However, we might not be as entertaining as the little guys. But if we make it to the playoffs then I’ll expect some fans to be rooting us on!

Aardvarks

Well I just finished coaching my second practice for my little boys soccer team and i'm loving it! In case you all have forgotten, Kristen and I are coaching a team full of 1st and 2nd grade boys. (little boys are crazy!)

Tomorrow is our first game and I'm interested to see how we do. I won't be shocked if we are terrible. But really I just hope they have fun. Kristen and I will get to put our "coaching skills" to the test and try and pull out a victory for our little Aardvarks. (yes the team name is Aardvarks, and no we didn't pick it).

Too bad the Aardvark is a hideous looking animal.

Fun fact: the Aardvark is a nocturnal mammal that can suck up close to 50,000 ants in one night. YUM!

I expect all of you faithful blogger readers out there to attend at least one Aardvark game this season. I mean, who wouldn't love to come watch Kristen and I wear matching t-shirts and "yell" at little boys?!

See you all tomorrow night. 7 pm. Griffith Park,

KD

*FMOMD: Kristen and I started a new tradition tonight, of taking a jog around Cico park after practice and it was a great decision. Perfect way to work in a nice workout. I've missed running!

Ask and you shall receive

Great news.
I woke up this morning with 3 very promising leads in my internship hunt!! Just yesterday I was writing an angry blog about how its impossible to find one right now and then... bam! today I have options. Who knew my blog held such power?!


(Or maybe its because I really prayed about it last night.... ahh the power of prayer!)

Damn economy

I hate internship hunting. It is absolutely impossible to find one these days. As I was getting on here to write a blog about how hard it is to find one, I saw that tricia had just written a post about it too.
That is proof that it is next to impossible to find one. I am starting to get stressed about it.... like really stressed.

Remain calm.

*this a record for shortest time between my blog posts.
Your welcome :)

Help!

You know what's crazy? In person I have plenty of things to say. I'd like to think I could always come up with something to talk about. But when it comes to blogging, i've got NOTHING.
I sit down at my (desktop...) computer and stare at the screen. My mind goes blank. Its terrible.
Thus, my lack of blogging and plea for help.

Someone should come up with blog ideas for me and I will write about them. Deal?

Well as I'm sure everyone knows, I went on a trip to Colorado over spring break. It was myself, kristen, brian and sam. And it was wonderful! You've probably already heard all the details about it, read other blogs, and seen pictures so I won't bore you with that. All I will say is that it was an awesome trip with a perfect group of people and I want to thank them for being such great traveling buddies!

Other quick updates on the exciting life of Kelsie:
- finding an internship for the summer is easier said than done.
- my family is in the market for a new dog which means several trips to the Humane Society, walking through aisles of cages with barking dogs and weird smells...
- kristen and I are coaching a 1st/2nd grade boys soccer team and tomorrow is our first practice. Wish us luck!
- it looks like Spring is upon us and i'm so excited. Who's up for joining me in some outdoor activities?!

peace, love and Colorado,

KD

Thanks for nothing Oprah

Its 3:15 in the morning. and I'm wide awake. i'm at that point where staying up all night seems like a normal option... which we all know it never is!

I do not nap. I'm not a napper. I dont like it. esepcially because if I nap for more than 20 mins, i can't sleep later.

WELL, today i was snuggled up on the couch, watching some Oprah and around 4:30 I accidentally fell asleep. and slept for 2 HOURS. before jena found me and woke me up. PTL!

so now its 3:15. and i cant sleep because of my stupid nap. and i'm really angry. i'm doing that thing people recommend where you get out of bed for a while and do something else. and then return to bed to try and sleep again.

I guess Oprah's show wasn't entertaining enough to keep me awake earlier... thanks for nothing Oprah.

peace, love and not Oprah,

KD

I am the Tinman

Hello to all of my fans out there! I've had several (two) requests to update my blog, so here we go!



School is back upon us and for the first time since entering college, i was not looking forward to it at all. Winter break was pretty boring for me. just working 8 hours a day in my cubicle and going to bed at 10 everynight. I'm someone that if allowed to, i can be a huge homebody. I spent every single night alone, watching tv online and i loved every minute of it. Now, i am adjusting to having to be social again. but its good for me. otherwise i will turn into the old lady that lives alone with 25 cats. (ah, what a life that would be!)

Goal for the semester: try and be a little less mean/cold-hearted/souless. People keep claiming that I am cold-hearted and often mean. And they're probably correct. although, i'm not like that with everyone. I just have a low tolerance for certain people and certain situations. Sometimes I can be very caring! But never the less, i do agree, that I could be more caring. So, i'm going to try and be nicer this semester. Maybe chip away at this heart of stone of mine. I don't want to be an Ice Queen! I feel like the Tinman from the Wizard of Oz... "if i only had a heart!" But bear with me, because it will take baby steps. (HAS ANYONE SEEN THE MOVIE "WHAT ABOUT BOB"?!)

really, i think what i need to get me back in the swing of things is a good ole' fashioned dance party. i just need to dance the night away. feel the music bumpin'. that's all i need :)

i love you all.

peace, love and reality tv,

KD.

FMOMD: my women's studies teacher wore a skirt to class that barely covered her butt. and she wore a black choker from 1992. the 90's are alive and well and I'm fully prepared to embrace it.