It's Been Too Long!

So it's been a while. Just to update you all, I am still on kind of a non-dating/dating detox kick. I really want to focus on myself and self improvement for right now and enjoy being single.

In other news, I somehow strained my ankle. I had this really great running every night, playing tennis and volley ball thing going and then I some how strained (I think) the muscles in my ankle. So that came to a screeching halt. But my tan is coming along VERY nicely! AND! I did a turbo fire workout tonight and it was awesome...except for the fact that I, for some reason, hung onto these defective DVD's from last summer, so it skips over a couple parts of the workouts. Which really sucks. I don't know why I didn't exchange them. Got them on craigslist and now I can't find the guy's number. Anyway! Fascinating! 

Also! I got a job! I work at White Willow Reception Center. I really like it, but I only get a few hours a week, so I am on the hunt for another job. I applied at Brick Oven, so cross your fingers for me! 

So anyway, this is kind of a little update on my life.

New Dating Strategy

Recently I have come to conclusion that guys suck. I've always tried to be really super duper optimistic about dating and men in general and I still am, but I have realized recently that they are extremely difficult. It's not me...it's definitely them. The problem is, they don't know what they want. I know what I want and I'm the type of person that decides pretty quickly what my intentions are and I'm ready to just go for it. However, most men are not this way. They THINK they know what they want and they act like it for a little while, but they quickly become distracted or change their minds. So since I can't change them I have decided that I need to change my approach to dating. I will have zero expectations. I'll enjoy the time I spend with them and move on without expecting to ever see them again. As long as I don't build things up in my head, things will stay relaxed and I won't be emotionally stressed and my life can just move on and my heart will not be broken. So yeah. it sucks, but I think this is the best way to approach dating from now on. Anyway, this all could change next week, but for now, that is how I'm going to handle things.

...Wow. This is probably the most negative post I've posted since I started this blog. Oh, well!

Kristen is like...a real runner! WHAT??!!

So I have gotten really into running. yeah. I don't even know what to say about that. Who would have ever thought. But I really love it! I have found that I have to run at the right time or it is not enjoyable. I was trying to run in the morning for a while and I have discovered that I am even less of a morning person than I ever realized. It is painful to exercise in the morning. I really wish I were a morning person. Truly. But it's just not in the cards for me at this point. 

But anyway! Back to running! so I think I am a little more "type A" than I thought. I need to run. I need that release. I have so much pent up energy by the end of the day that I really need an intense cardio release to get it all out. I feel soooo much better physically and mentally since I started running three times a week. I have way more stamina and I just feel better and like I can handle physical obstacles. my body is literally changing shape and it's really exciting! my stomach is flatter and the back of my legs are getting this pleasing curve to them! :) That's kind of a big deal. ;) I fit into my size 10's perfectly! I also just feel so much more balanced and at peace mentally. I didn't realize how uptight I was before. I think this is something that I will do for the rest of my life. 

It's funny how some days I feel like I could just keep running and running and other days...not so much. So I was all set on running five miles today and then about three miles into it my body said, "What the crap Kristen! You had cake and ice cream for breakfast. Really? Five miles? HA!" So I didn't quite reach that goal, but over the course of the week I ran 2 miles short of a half marathon. :) I don't think I have ever run that much in that amount of time. I'm really proud of myself! I just need to keep it up! I had a goal to take take of myself this semester/year and so far I think I am accomplishing that goal! 

:D

Perhaps one day??? We shall see. For now it just feels good to run. :)

Crazy Dream I Found!!!

So I was looking for a document on my computer and was skimming through when I find a doc called "Crazy dream 1". I open it only to find that I had written down a dream that I had about 2 years ago. And let me tell you...it is CRAZY!! So I have decided to share this crazy dream with the four people that read my blog! haha! So you should feel super special! Just a side note, Jenny, you Have to Read this!
Well, here it is. Enjoy!!!

Crazy dream! 2-18-10

SO I took a nap and had a crazy dream! I dreamed that I went to a college that wasn’t a church school. It was one of those old cathedral schools (like Notre Dame). It was kind of a creepy old school. At the beginning there was something about skull and bones or something. So I have this roommate that has dark hair and is kind of fun.  One of my roommates wins lunch with the cast of Twilight. So they all come over and we are kind of awkward. I try to talk to everyone and they are just kind of awkward with me. Meanwhile Robert Pattinson has found this girl that I guess is related to me. They make some joke about them  dating all the Russells and I was like…I’m a Russell. But nobody heard me. So the dream goes on and there is this elevator that everyone goes into and gets transformed. It like vibrates and everyone gets kind of see through and then disappeared. It was really creepy and I didn’t really want to get involved with it because it seemed bad. But then I go with my roommate and it starts vibrating and it like, changes your cells and you sink through the floor and basically time travel. But you just go to the same place every time. Anything that is touching the floor first gets transported. Like I’m sitting on the floor and don’t think it’s working, but I look at my thumb and it is half gone. I go a couple of times and you don’t notice the shaking so much anymore or the going through the floor. It’s just like going on a normal elevator. So it transports you to this underground club thing for the students. There are all these creepy administrator type people with blue blazers and name tags walking around everywhere. There is a big black man with blue eyes, theres a little white lady with old lady hair and a skinny black guy with big eyes. They are all really creepy and watch everything you do. We go down a few times and hang out. There is this beautiful person for the day contest and this guy I keep seeing around is the one who wins it. I go outside with Jennifer (banner)(yes jenny! Haha) and we run into these two boys and I think one of them might be the guy who won, but I’m not sure (in the dream I’m not sure). We end up magically in our swim suits and have a water fight. Jennifer and the other guy stand there awkwardly and watch us. We have a wonderful time and at the end we are laying there on the ground kind of entwined. But the feeling of the dream is very innocent. He tells me he usually isn’t this comfortable with someone till after he’s slept with them. I figure he’s not Mormon so that’s just how he thinks. Some administrator comes up and kind of gets after us for being irresponsible, but we don’t really care. We part ways and I go to a locker room to get cleaned up. Jennifer is pouting and tells me that she really liked him and I totally am like, “Jennifer, you know what! There have been soooo many guys that I have liked, but you flirt with them so much and I don’t have a chance with them because you are so all over them.” She’s like, “seriously?” and I was like, “yeah. So don’t get all over me about it…”. She’s like, “oh…. Well…..” starts trailing off about something else. So I leave. Haha. It was a very satisfying dream. So me and my other roommate girl are either getting in or going out of the elevator and the really creepy skinny black admin guy kind of appears in front of us and shows us this button on the elevator thing and says that it goes to the penthouse suite and that we can use it whenever. My friend is all excited about it, but I was skeptical. We are walking and she’s like you can take this dan guy that you met and I was like no way. I don’t want to be a skank girl. I point to some girl in tights and a Minnie skirt and am like, “do you want me to be like her?” She gets my point. Then we see some people going to the penthouse suite and I was like, “see! They are just having a big orgy up there. We are not going”. She reluctantly agrees. Then Dan catches up with us. It was weird because I kind of have this out of body experience. I can see him walking up to me and I’m like Yes! But the me I’m seeing is kind of grumpy. So it switches back and I’m like oh, hi. We say something about the penthouse and how we aren’t going because it looks like a big orgy. Then he’s like, no a bunch of people go up there and play the piano and bring musical instruments and it’s great. So I feel kinda dumb. But I have a bit of an attitude. I realize that he’s not the beautiful person winner. I saw him back a ways and I still wasn’t sure. I was worried how we would meet up when we parted ways after the water fight because we didn’t have contact info, so I was glad when he found me, but I was being kind of a brat for some reason. He was kind of sad. The dream kind of ended after that. Bizarre! 

Hey! It's me Again!

So I decided that I should write a post since I haven't updated this blog since the end of my class last semester. I flew home for Christmas break and that was an adventure. I hadn't been in a plane for 9 years and I had never flown by myself before, so I was a little nervous. I was really wishing that I was a drinking woman, but I managed without the alcohol. It was actually a really good experience for me. The whole experience of going home in general was. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but I think I grew a lot from it.
Last time I was home, I was in a really bad place and I didn't want to go back and feel the same way and be stuck there for 2 weeks. But I felt great the whole time about being there and everything went really well! It was very empowering!  I even got to go spend New Years with my good friend and former roommate, Kirsten in San Francisco! We had so much fun! It was kind of strange to go home and have a friend there. I haven't had a friend in California...ever. I mean, I had a few in High School, but the relationships were very shallow, so it was really cool to have someone that I have a strong bond with to hang out with!
Overall going home went very well and I am really glad that I did it! So for the New Year, I have lots of plans! My roommate Jordin and I have been working out and eating healthy! I had planned this before the whole New Year's Resolution thing came into play, but I'm really excited to get into shape! The family competition thing didn't really work out, so I am just going to get into shape on my own and that will motivate the other people in my family to be fit! Right?   ; )
As I sat on the beach looking at the bay and the San Francisco Bridge with Kirsten on New Year's Day, I could tell, this year is going to be different. I could feel it. I still can. This is going to be the year where things change for me. I'm going to do things I never thoughts I could or would do and I am going to grow up and take charge of my life. This year...life is going to be great!

My Thoughts on Mcom This Semester

Alright, so the semester is ALMOST over. This means that Mcom is coming to a close and it is time to take an evaluative look at this class. I wouldn't say that Mcom was a huge challenge for me, but it was definitely not what i am used to. I have to say that I am kind of glad it's over (sorry professor Thomas!). I do feel that it was very helpful and useful and that I will use the skills that I developed in this class. I needed to take it for sure. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, though. Sometimes I felt like the assignments were a little vague and I wasn't sure what the teacher wanted. However, I was always able to figure out what was going on one way or another. I liked the group work. It was a little frustrating at times, but overall I think that it was a good experience and that my group worked together especially well. I know that I enjoyed learning from my group members. I just wished that I had more experience and could have been more helpful to my group. I tried to be very supportive and volunteer for things first, so maybe that made up for my lack of experience. Overall, Mcom was stressful for me, but I think it was good for me. It's like running a marathon. when you are doing it, it is hard and uncomfortable and you want to stop, but in the end you can see that it was good for you and you are really glad you kept at it and followed through to the end.

Thanksgiving and Play

Ok, so two things. First It's Thanksgiving tomorrow and I wish I didn't have a ton of homework so I could enjoy it! haha! The parents are coming tonight and my sister-in-law's sister is here with her 10 month old and it is so fun!

Second, I have been reading this book about the importance of play in our lives for a class and I absolutely LOVE it. I got it from the library, but am wishing I had bought it. It just validates all my feelings that life should be a fun adventure and work and play should go hand in hand. It talks about how when you play as a child the gray matter in your brain grows and you literally have a bigger brain.  When kids are deprived of rough and tumble play, then can grow up to be murderers and sociopaths. It's soooo important and yet in our culture play is really looked down upon. That is what children do and when you grow up you are supposed to stop playing and start being serious about everything. 

So I'm reading last night and it talks about a couple that have a great relationship, but as life goes on they get wrapped up in kids and jobs and just all the seriousness of life and they start feeling like they don't even know if they like each other. Then...they go to a, Get This! Play Therapist! and they play together and do races against other couples and just silly stuff like that and they reconnect and realize that they just needed a little joy in their lives. But! What stuck out to me is that there is such a thing as a "Play Therapist"!!!! How fun would that be? So I think I'm going to have to look into this. I have thought about dance therapy for couples, but maybe I could look at mixing play and dance therapy or something. Anyway! I am always trying to figure out what kind of career I should choose that would make me really happy and I think something like that would be a great fit for me! Anyway! I just got ALLL excited about it. 

So that's my blog for this week. :)