Walk for Animals! First, thanks to everyone who pledged. Weiland and I raised a little over $300, which equals helping 2 homeless pets! It was a great day FULL of free stuff. Weiland has toys and several boxes of biscuits. I couldn't resist buying this rediculous hat for him. We spent the first hour browsing the stands, eating lunch, and visiting Santa (thats right! Santa in the park!). After some absurd warmup routine we got in the pack near the back, because hey, I walk slow. It was awesome. All the dogs were off, except of course my boy, who got confused and was walking sideways. When we FINALLY made our way, he pulled and made me go fast enough so we were in the lead pack. One lady was like "Wow, he means business!" He's dedicated to walking for his homeless brethren, I suppose. It was a well organized walk, with water stations set up every so often for pooches to stay hydrated. As we rounded the turn, I'm feeling pretty good until I realize we are walking WAY close to the lake. Some girl was like "Don't jump!" and there was Weiland, standing at the edge, eyes all aglow. I actually took note that all the lab owners were pulling their dogs off the edge. Gotta love water dogs. We did find some steps, and when I saw other dog owners letting their dogs in, I let Weiland jump in for a quick swim. Newly refreshed, we finished the race, lounged in the grass for a bit, and headed home for a nice long nap. I unfortunately just realized my official race photo is going to be posted in two days, but I think I threw the website away. No matter, you can see my attempt at capturing this day here: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4119026&a=31967262&f=. Thanks for the help everyone!! 

And I'm back!

I'm back from my vacation, and no I did not get the writing done I was planning on, but I got in a lot of staring time with Tobias. It was great. He'd stare at me for an hour, look away for like 2 minutes, and look back at me with a crinkled brow as if saying "who are you?". I get to see him again for x-mas. I'm hoping he'll know how to smile by then because I feel like I bore him.

Other than that all is well. My friend from Iowa, Sarah, came to visit. She didn't have much money, so we only went out of the first night she was here. It was just like old times. Nothing too unusual happened except some guy I gave a good-bye kiss too decided he liked my tongue ring and bit my tongue. I know, makes no sense right? We actually did some landscaping when she was here, and fixed up the house a bit. The yard looks much nicer, and it really showed her there is more to this world than Iowa. Of course I hate to see visitors go, but it will be nice to get a full night of sleep.

Thats all on the news front for now. Events coming up: Walk for the Animals on Sunday! Weiland and I will post photos. Also, Weiland turns 7 on Monday! Make sure to get your birthday cards sent in time!

Oh, boring halloween.

For the first time that I can remember since I've been in AZ did just about everybody I know leave town. No big parties, and no big excitement for this holiday for those of us who stuck around. On a pleasant note, Eric Anderson did come to town for a few days. Other than that, it was a humdrum weekend, but I DID get some movie watching done. Yes, yes, I will be on vacation next week and devoting part of my time to getting my site http://www.kristielove.com/ up and running. Well, HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ANYBODY WHO CARES!

I'm a loser baby...

First, I think Stay is an awesome movie, I highly recommend. It was while watching this film I decided I want to marry a guy like Ryan Gosling. Don't get me wrong, Dave will always be my dream guy, but Ryan seems more tangible to me. While Ryan looks eerily like my ex bro-in-law, he as absolutely fantastic to watch on film!

So I promised (I think) to post regularly on my supposed weight loss. So while I'm still too shy to reveal my actual weight, what started this journey, but I put on 20 lbs over the summer. I've just finished up week 4 (even though I've only worked out 3 weeks since I twisted my ankle last week) and I'm +5 lbs from where I started. Thats right, now I'm 25 lbs heavier. The good news? I had put on 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks, and have lost 5 of that already. Apparently my body is adjusting to the trama I put it through, but this is good news. At least I'm heading in the right direction. I can't find my starting stats for weights, but here is what I'm at now:

Leg Extension - 75 lbs
Leg Curl - 50 lbs
Abductors (inner thigh) - 70 lbs
Abductors (outer thigh) - 100 lbs
Leg Press - 140 lbs
Chest Press - 52 lbs
Seated Row - 50 lbs
Shoulder - 30 lbs
Calves - 105 lbs

So I'm not a lifting champ, but I did manage to go a bit from where I started. For now, I'm stuck on a stationary bike and only working upper body, but hopefully I'll have some more good news in month 2's weigh in. :)

Weiland and I are participating in a walk hosted by the Arizona Animal Welfare League to Walk for Homeless Pets. Its AZs largest "no kill" shelter. If you have a few spare bucks and would like to donate, Weiland would be most happy. Please let me know and I can send you my home address if you wish to mail in donations. Our goal is to reach at least $150, since that is the cost to save one homeless pet (vet bills, etc). Thanks to those of you who already pledged. Weiland and I will send you photos of our event! 

They used freaking "laser" beams!

First, I am the hugest klutz and managed to twist my ankle with the first 2 minutes of my workout with my PT. ARGH!

Second, thank you, whoever, for Julian McMahon. I've been having recurring dreams about him and they are SO good.

Anyways, I decided to give over to vanity and try this laser hair removal thing. I'm too lazy to shave my legs as much as they require. So here is my experience with it. First, they stick you in an ice cold room and give you a little robe to wear (i was getting my legs and armpits done). She loaded me up with towels though to keep me from freezing. Then I got handed a pair of VERY squiffy goggles to protect my peepers from the "laser". The "laser" itself is about nickel size, and while blowing ice cold air on the area its treating, it beeps as it zaps. She drew all over me with a white pencil (since the "laser" is drawn to pigment) and asked if they offered to sell me some numbing cream because this was going to hurt. Actually, no they hadn't, but I didn't really want to invest more money. She then handed me a squeeze ball for my stress. Oh boy.

She started with my armpits. The pain was more shocking then anything because it was such a small area to treat. However, I really got to feel it when she did my legs. People say it feels like being snapped with a rubber band really hard. WRONG! I've felt that pain, and it stings and lingers a bit. This actually reminded me of an 80s contraption called the epilady. The new epiladies are cute, but the original ones had this slinky attached to it. Your hair would get stuck in it and ripped out by the roots. Thats what this felt like. All my hair was being ripped out (even though it was being zapped out of existence). Unlike the epilady or a rubber band, the pain was instant, and then gone. I felt fine most of the way, I didn't need any breaks, and I did squeeze the ball when she went up my shin and around my ankles since I had no fat to lessen the pain. She was so happy she exclaimed "wow. You have a HIGH pain tolerance. I want to crank this machine up." So after about 1 1/2 hours in the chair i left the clinic with red blotches legs. I couldn't use lotions, or even sweat, for 2-3 days so I would not irritate my skin.

The results are fantastic so far! I have 4 more sessions scheduled (the next in jan), but this is what I've noticed so far. My hair growth has slowed down immensely. I have not shaved since I had it done (5 days) and I only now have some stubble that would have taken me only 24 hours to grow before. I do notice a bit of my hair hasn't grown in at all. Apparently it can take up to 3 weeks for the hair to fall out, and I should only expect about 20% per session (so next time would be 40%, then 60%, etc).

The verdict? Its great. Totally worth it if you can handle some discomfort for an hour or so. People get tattoos and piercings and all sorts of weird things. The only great thing about this is that when I turn 75 people won't say "what the hell was she thinking when she did that", well, unless leg hair on women becomes stylish someday. As an extra note I should add the hair should stay away until the time (ha ha!) I get pregnant. Apparently since all a woman's hormones are in high gear they start to grow more coarse (or even just more) hair. The horror.

K.Love

ok, I haven't mastered the art of this blog yet, hence the separate entries for the pics, but he looks like a smurf here. I love it! That's his daddy, Mikael. He's swedish hence the funky spelling. (and yes folks, he has watched the Swedish chef on the muppet show, and alas, he is *not* speaking swedish. Oh the horror!) 

The newest edition to the K.Love crew, little Tobias Mikael. :) 

The Clock is Broken in Arizona

Well,
So this past weekend turned out pretty darn sweet. Friday night i got in a little late, and so i missed October fest in Tempe. Honestly i'm having a little trouble with the math here. Friday night was September 30. October Fest, as the name implies should take place in, well, October. So they wanted to get an early start, sure i could understand. Why then, did it STOP at 11pm!? That's just plain retarded!
So yea, missed out. But had a great time at the Tavern with all sorts of fun people. Chalupa was present and quite livley. K-love's always laughing and having fun. Her new roomate was pretty cool, too. Pemma, however, gets a "D" for her laziness. BOOOO! At least Greasy Tonys is still in business.
Oh yea, one more thing.
GO TROJANS!

Tobias Mikel Cars was born ~ 2:45 a.m. on October 2, 2005. Wee-haw! (Oh! If you are a visitor this is not *my* baby, but my new nephew.) Congrats Myra and Mikael! :) 

I'm a New Yorker!

So I know I am supposed to cover Beerfest '05, but I don't know what to say except the rains came, and they came hard.

Ah school. I love it. Well let me rephrase that. I love the social setting school provides, but don't like the homework involved. Really though. Classes are great because you are locked in a room with other people for at least an hour, and during that hour you make temporary new friendships because you have a common bond. Maybe you all in there because you have the same interests, or because you need the same pre-requisite, or (as in my case), you want to get your ticket erased from your record.

Yes, dear readers, after 5 years K.Love has received her first speeding ticket. I was fortunately enough to be able to go to driving school and get my record set back to zero.

My instructor's name is Walter. A retired cop back from the east coast. He had that harsh accent that could be heard when saying "the tree second rule" or "he don't know what he's doin'." I discovered he and I share a lot of qualities, which lead me to believe I'm an east coaster deep down inside. How can I tell? Well here we go:

1) Have a scary angry side - Right when we walked in the door he threatened us to be quiet, don't bring in food, no cell phones, etc. We were all scared straight. I have been told my angry side can be just as scary.

2) Be naturally funny - Walter had that old man-dry sense of humor. He seemed like he was pretty serious, but the stuff he was saying was hysterical. I find people laugh at what I say a lot. I suppose they could just be laughing at me though.

3) Inability to control one's mouth - Now I am, what I like to call, *too* honest. In reality, the self edit feature in my brain doesn't work, so any thought I have just sort of tumbles out of my mouth. Same with Walter. In the beginning of class I noticed a woman with a baby. I thought it was a little odd. Sure enough 20 minutes into class it starts to bawl and will not stop. After awhile Walter stops class and tells her she has to leave. Babies aren't allowed and this is why. She argues that he is hot, he won't take his bottle, and 20 other excuses. I of course want her to leave since its annoying me, but 2 guys in the back say "let her stay!". Ironically the two mother's that I'm sitting between both agree that she needs to leave. Anyways, the mother decides to get bold and says "will anybody in this class that wants me to leave please raise their hand." Before I can get my hand up Walter interrupts and says "its not their decision. its the rules. I told you that when you first signed up. Can't you get a babysitter?" She says they have a hard time giving him his bottle. Now, here is the groan worthy part. He then says "Well, where is the father?" Now there are 75 people in the class and I've never heard such a ruckess. Even I know that is not a very PC thing to say, but as I scrunched down in my seat I knew I was sort of thinking the same thing...

4)Ability to speak so fast you confuse your audience - When we'd fall behind the class schedule, Walter would read through the manuel at lightening speed. I could hear student's asking "what did he say?" and look confused. Since I'm quite experience in the art of speaking fast I was able to pick up when he left words out or sort of made up his own words because he was going to fast. I'm a master at this!

5) Low tolerance for stupid people - There were 3 specific students who just HAD to keep asking the most stupid questions. Like when Walter said "according the law if you taking a left turn and the light turns red before you are completely out in that intersection, and you still turn left, you're breaking the law." Enter lady is pink hat "Why?". Walter - "Because its the law!" Urgh...where is common sense when you need it. Just shut up and let the man teach.

All in all it was a good class, and its nice to know that at least one person out there is as completely un-PC as I am. :)

czesc!

Sweet Caroline

well hellllllloooo!

i have been invited to join this forum of silliness!
how can i describe my excitement? I’m giddy. very very giddy. its like a kiddy pool filled with alcohol-laced fruit punch.

i will get the honor of seeing k-love this up and coming weekend. this is also exciting. i'm sure this blog will probably double in size based on one little night of our mis-adventures. i can't wait!
i awoke this morning to Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline.' Oh we must go karaokiiing! only time will tell....

First workout

For those of you who don't know, I've recently developed a new layer of fat around my entire body. Its soft and jiggly, and it must go away! This week I signed up to work with a personal trainer twice a week, for 3 months. I figure if they can't discipline me enough to go to the gym nobody can. Today was my first official meeting with Ron. When I had first walked in, there was nothing there but young hot guys ready to train. I luckily found the only girl, and requested that I get a not so attractive gentleman to help me out. I have enough pressure, I don't need to worry about my butt jiggling in front of some hot guy's face. I'll share my starting stats at some other time, but lets just say I'm off the scale as far as poor health goes. Ron is retired, and says he actually doesn't work out himself, but he's in better shape in his lazy state than I am in my active state. He seems to take this very seriously and hardly cracked a smile. Those of you who know me know I need to laugh and make it easier on myself. The only time I'm serious is when I'm angry (though my temper is better than in college, still happens fairly regularly), or if I really need to get my point across. I did finally break his shell when he went to measure my waist and asked "Where does your hip bone start? See this? This is where mine starts." I sort of poked my squishiness and said "Well here is where mine is, but its hidden by this nice layer of fat." I was being serious, but he laughed and said "Well thats what I'm here for." So we only got to complete my fitness test, and he is working out a program for me, which I will start with him on Monday. Till then I need to do 1 hour of cardio each day. I made the comment that I wanted to be less pear like, so he stuck me on the elliptical trainer w/o arm movements. I hate to say it, it was fun though. I actually like doing cardio, shocking as that seems. Once I get in the zone, it feels pretty good. I also have the best mix on my iPOD shuffle. I call it K.Love's World Mix. From the U.S. I have some Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx. From Europe I have E-Type and thats really it (Mikael, send me more stuff!). For some Latin American flavor I threw in a little DLG. And for that pure Hispanic groove, some Celia Cruz. Her stuff rocks! The only drawback is that I must remember I'm not working out at home, but in a gym. In my acting classes I learned to be in the moment and forget everything else that is going on around you. I caught myself throwing in some nice hip movements when DLG was on. I just really hope I don't find myself singing out loud like I do at home. What an embarrassment.

So, my best friend in the world, Robb, is coming back to visit this weekend. Its going to be awesome, but tomorrow will be a slight challenge for me, since we are attending every calorie lover's dream...beer fest. All you can eat and drink for $30. Luckily I've been there a couple times, so I know what lighter beers I like and probably won't stray. Its my food choices that kill me. If I remember correctly they had all that bad food that goes great with beer; Pizza, chicken wings, Krispy Kremes (well I'm sure somebody likes dunking it in their beer), etc. You know what is remarkable amazing? When Robb lived here, we'd go out all the time, either to eat, or to go to the pubs and end up at places like Greasy Tony's. Through all of that I managed to maintain my weight, but as soon as he moved I definitely eat out less and managed to pack on the pounds. In whose world does this make sense?

As far as the homefront, I'm in the process of refinancing my house (yeah!) so I'll just have one payment instead of two. I'll also be able to pay off my credit cards and such. Good stuff! Yesterday Brian (BOOFAH!) and I headed to Ikea and bought some bookshelves for the den. I'll be getting my new desk within the week. I'm slowly trying to makeover my house so it doesn't look like a penniless college student lives here. My proudest accomplishment? Actually buying an small TV stand to replace the end table my TV has been on for 5+ years.

So I know some of you are asking, ok, why did you give in and start a blog? I'm pretty anti-technology. Always behind the times. I mean a blog to me says "Hey, I think I'm pretty swell, and instead of keeping a diary, I'm going to share it with everyone so they can tell me how cool I am." I still pretty much feel this way, but a lot of friends have moved away, and my mother and sister both have higher priorities than BSing with me on messenger, so I don't get the daily interaction with them I'm used to. We are a very tight knit unit, so instead of writing 20 e-mails about the same thing, I figured this would be the easiest. Keep in mind, this is the edited version of my life. The really "good" stuff will be kept on my online diary, which only a very few select individuals that I trust. Ok, well one wasn't exactly invited to my diary. His wife accidentally left her password saved on her account, so he logged in and took a look. Its ok though. This was a guy who broke into my closet, put on my spandex like workout clothes, and ran out in my living room and gave me a cheer. If he's brave enough to do that, than I'm brave enough to let him read. :) Also, this is just the beginning steps of them Pem-K takeover (just a temp made up name). Pemma and I have plans to take over the internet. Ok, well not really, but we have lots of ideas we share with each other that might be fun to share. I mean really, the internet is full of useless crap anyways, we will just add to the fun. :)

Must go shower...

k.love

First Entry...sort of

So since my family has all but disappeared, I have finally been inspired to start my own blog so they can know what the heck is going on in my life. I actually don't really have much to say now since I woke up, but hello, world! My attempt at trying something new.

k-