Rainy Sundays

It's warm (in the 70s) and rainy today.  I think that factored into the difficulty I had dragging myself out of bed... I slept close to 8.5 hours and just wanted to keep sleeping.  I wanted to get up to blog, read PostSecret, email my roomie at college (she sent me a Halloween card), and download T-Swift songs :) before church at 10:30 a.m.  I also need to vacuum and wash my dishes before volunteering at a nursing home at 1:30 p.m.

Last night, a group of us went to see Cloud Atlas.  I honestly did not like it.  There were excessive amounts of murder and too many time/place jumps.  I got frustrated that I couldn't watch good portions of the money because I was covering my face.  Ugh.  And then my stomach actually felt upset after the movie!  What a waste of 10 dollars and 3 hours. 

Okay, I'm doing bitching now.  I'm just getting nervous because I only have five weeks of work left... five more weekends in Houston.  It makes me feel panicky.  Like if I'm not enjoying every minute of every day, I'm wasting my time.  And it also frustrates me that nothing is happening between me and this guy I like.  We're running out of time... 

Friday night on the other hand was a blast!  We went country dancing, and Chris and Lucas joined us!  They were both good at two-stepping and polka-ing :)  And then the pop songs came on and we rocked it.  Also, Footloose.  Love that line dance. 

Portia, me, Kris, and Sarah... love these ladies!

Carpe diem!

Weekends...

My crew in the Osprey,

... are the best.  I love them.  They go way too quickly though, as I'm sure you know.  My weekend was crazy busy.  Saturday consisted of shopping, a soccer game, pumpkin carving, chicken-pot-pie-making, and a Halloween party.  Today was IHOP (yummmm) followed by the Wings Over Houston Air Show.  The air show was amazing!  I don't know the names of planes, and I can't tell you their history.  But I can appreciate the roar of the jet engines and the coordination of the Blue Angels.  And I can enjoy every minute of being with my fellow co-ops.  It amazes me that I never tire of being with them. 

The Blue Angels

And lastly, a shot of my new shoes.  I'm about to plan my outfit for tomorrow, which is definitely feature these babies. :)  Anyway, have a totes fantastic Monday! 

SO PUMPED

October skies...

Wow.  It's been more than a month since I last wrote, and of course, a lot has happened since then.  I've survived beach party, improved at rock climbing (but only when three of my experienced friends are there to coach me), ran a half marathon (13.1 miles... piece of cake, well, if you're Lis anyways), passed my specialist mastery (an oral exam) for my job... and so much more.  I can't believe how fast time flies... it amazes me that more than half of my second co-op tour is over.  I've resigned myself to just being present every day and enjoying every moment. :)   I loved going home to Iowa for a weekend, and when I was there, I felt like that was were I was supposed to be.  But when I came back to Houston, Sarah picked me up at the airport, and we went to Olive Garden for Kris's 21st birthday.  And sitting there, talking to my friends, laughing, and not caring that it was 10:45 p.m. and we had work the next, I realized that I also loved being in Houston.  How blessed am I that I really have three places I can call home?  Of course, where my family is will always be my true home... they're my greatest blessing <3  Lisa, Laura... if you're reading this, I love you!

Okay, I'm done being deep and philosophical. I've obtained lots of new clothes lately :)

Co-Op/Intern t-shirts... love it!

Front of new sweater I bought at Target for $9 on clearance :)

Back :)

Shorts for volleyball... they have Spandex (and funky Spandex) underneath

Cytennial t-shirt to commemorate Lisa being on the Cardinal Court :)

Shirts my family made for our half marathon.  Lisa, Laura, Mom, Nanny, Uncle Tom, Stephen, and I all did it together.

Shirt from the half marathon :)

Shirt from JC Penny's.

Who knew JC Penny's still had cute clothes?!?!  I was shocked, but the shirt above and the pink shorts were super cheap, and adorable!  I wore the Cytennial t-shirt last night to Capture the Flag, because it was actually chilly here in Houston.  Note the word choice of chilly and not cold.  It's in the fifties and windy, but I know it's probably colder back home :)

It's Hump Day!

I love Wednesdays... it means we're getting close to the weekend :)

It's still warm here in Houston, but I broke out the scarf! I love how it easily dresses up a plain, green v-neck t-shirt essentially.  Tuck that into a black skirt, throw on flats, and voila!  I wore my usual accessories: white watch, moon/star ring, and pearl earrings... typical me.  

 

Have a great Thursday! 

Being happy is productive...

I needed a day to just catch up on life... I tell myself that I will take time off for myself one night a week and just do things like dishes and balancing my checkbook and keeping up with my email. But then sports and Sherlock's (the local bar every goes to for happy hour after work) and baking and training for my half marathon and more sports get in my way.  I realized that that is a-o-k.  I saw a post on Pinterest that read, "Being happy is productive..."  What a good reminder that it is fine to just roll with life... I guess we can sleep when we're dead!  

I love getting to dress up for work.  I rocked the jeggings with a denim button-up for Casual Friday, and last Friday I wore a dress with cowboy boots.  Speaking of cowboy boots, I think I'm going dancing tonight.  I can't wait.  I miss line dancing, waltzing, and two-stepping.  Fun times ahead :)

The following pics are from Endeavour's stop at Ellington Field.  I love the first picture.  Not too many of us are looking at the right place, but that is the beauty of it.  I love how happy we look. Sometimes it hits me like a ton of bricks that why I love my job, the thing I really love about my co-op is the people.  NASA gets an A+ for hiring amazing people!  Everyone brings interesting talents and senses of humor.  <3

Mah frands :)

Me with the shuttle (taken by a media photographer)

Last night Kirstyn and I made souffle!  Seriously!  It was delicious.  Definitely the trickiest thing I've ever made. It tasted like a light, fluffy brownie.  I don't think Matt and Brian liked it though... haha. To each his own. 

Also, I've been hooked on this song ever since Kirstyn played it for me. Love music, love Glee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xskvngG-5zk

Happy Saturday y'all.  Work on being happy. 

Birthday Blessings

Hey y'all.  My birthday was this past Friday, and all day I could not stop thinking about how BLESSED I was.  My inbox was flooded with birthday wishes from the other co-ops and people in the Bible Study I attend.  My NASA bestie put a Birthday balloon on my chair, so people popped into my cube all day to wish me happy birthday. My friend who moved to Stanford on my birthday sent me a package with gifts from China and the Philippines (a beautiful scroll with a painting from China and pearl earrings from the Philippines). My roommate from college sent me a card. My guy friend created a PowerPoint entitled "Krista's Birthday Briefing" and filled it with pictures for my wedding Pinterest (inside joke).  I'm not sure if I was crying because I was laughing so hard or because I felt so lucky to have amazing people in my life.  Maybe now that I'm 22 I'm just getting sentimental, but when I reflect on where I am right now, at this very moment, I can't help but feel overwhelmed by the amazing family, great friends, and fantastic opportunities God has blessed me with. Seriously.  I feel so content right now.  I don't feel lonely, even when I'm by myself. I feel happy and complete.  I know my family loves me, and I have friends all over the nation.  I have people that went out of their way to make my birthday special.  Who could ask for more?!?!

Okay, I'm done being sappy! :)  Here are some pictures from my special day!

The ladies!

On Saturday, I ran a 5K with three Penn State buddies.  I ended up getting third for my age group, so I won a medal!  Gary and Brian beat me, and I ran at about a 7:40 mile.  But it was fun, and I ran into a Purdue alumni who I met at Purdue Alumni Band last fall... he remembered me!  It is a crazy small world!

Heroes Run 5K

Balloon from Kirstyn

I got awesome gifts!  I love everything so much!  I already wore my purse, and I'm going to wear my yoga pants with the green band tomorrow to Dance Jam.  I can't wait to watch Moulin Rouge (one of my favorite movies) and go shopping with my NASA bestie!

My gifts!

Yesterday was a sports day... I ran a 5K, watched Kirstyn's soccer game, played soccer, and played football.  It was fun!  

Hope you all had a good weekend!

I heart pink...

Two pics of me in my absolute favorite color, pink. :)  I just can't deny that I love the color.  In fact, as I write this, I'm typing on my pink laptop. I'm wearing pink running shorts and my pink running shoes.  My wireless mouse is pink, and the Swiss Army knife I just used (confession: to cut open a bag of brownie mix) is... you guessed it, pink.

Anyway, I wore this first outfit to Dance Jam on Monday.  The exercise class is difficult and so much fun.  I take cues from one of the other young ladies in the class: she was a dancer for the Houston Texans.  So copying her moves sometimes makes me look boss.  I sweat so much, feel absolutely great, and learn dance moves to a popular song. Win, win, and win. Also, this tank is a win. Boiler up!

For work the next day, I continued my streak in a top my twinsie lent to me.  It was light-weight... perfect for the summer heat! I wore my key necklace, my white watch, and pearl earrings.  I must emphasize (again) that I love my watch.  It gets worn pretty much every day.  

Keep things in perspective... it's almost Friday!  Cheers :)