Beautiful Colorado

Claire and I went to Colorado to visit two of our amazing friends, Alysha & Ara back in January. It was so fun!! My one and only wish (besides spending time with these incredible women) was to play in the snow. Claire and Alysha both enjoy looking at the snow but preferably through a window of a nice, warm building (potentially their one big flaw! ;). Anyways, God sent Ara to my rescue and we set out on a mission to find snow (of course we went the one time that Colorado hasn’t had tons of snow this winter). Much to my delight, we found it!! My high school friends and I used to drive to the snow at least once every winter, but, sadly, I have not been in quite a few years (I know, Kristin, you’re trying to imagine this crazy life I lead). I was SO excited to tromp around in snow up to our thighs, throw some snowballs, make an amazing snowman (his name is George Allen) and, of course, a snow angel. These few hours did my heart a lot of good!

Next on the agenda in Denver was….the rodeo, which, in Denver, is apparently a HUGE deal. Man, was that an experience. I find different cultures and lifestyles very intriguing and I was fascinated! The four of us could not have stuck out more as the naïve California girls (well, ok, maybe if we were wearing pink PETA shirts or something, but we were close). Thankfully, I was sitting next to a very knowledgeable woman from Kansas (yes, who drove to Colorado just for this rodeo) who helped us understand the rules, scoring, and general background of the different events.

Back in Colorado Springs, Claire, Alysha and I went to the Garden of the Gods, a public park with really unique rock formations. Claire and I were also able to see Alysha and Clifford’s beautiful home for the first time.

Thanks to Ara, her roommate, and Alysha for their hospitality and for showing Claire and I around Colorado. It was such a fun girls trip and I love you all!!

I Have A New Job!

In case you haven't heard, I have a new job!! I am working as the Grants Management Assistant at the International Medical Corps (IMC) in Santa Monica (even closer to our apartment than my old job). My passion is really international affairs (hence my degree in International Studies) and it has been my goal to work for an international non-profit for a while now.  However, almost all international non-profits are located in Washington, D.C. or NYC, with only a couple of options in LA. Besides that, the economy has not really helped the hiring process for non-profits in general. For those reasons, I feel extremely blessed and thankful to God for this job, as He truly made everything fall into place.

If you are wondering, the International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. And no, I do not write grants but actually track all of them to help monitor exactly where your buck goes when you donate (IMC has a remarkable record). If you have a minute, you should check them out here: www.imcworldwide.org. IMC is one of the leading U.S. organizations doing amazing work in Haiti.

Tomorrow is the start of my second week, so send me good thoughts!

Orrin “Denny” Joiner, my Grandpa Joiner

September 8, 1926 -Dec. 15, 2009

It is fascinating how many different lenses one person can be viewed through, one lens often isolated from the others. A Commander. A pilot.  A husband. A friend. A father. A church member. A veteran. A volunteer. A neighbor. A grandfather.

There are two things that I will always remember about my Grandpa Joiner. First, he was courageous and strong. He served our country in three wars, WWII, Vietnam & Korea, the majority of that time as a pilot. I am not sure if his career in the military is to blame (that is what I always thought) but he was extremely hard of hearing and around the age of 70 he became legally blind. My grandpa took these setbacks and ran with them. He learned tricks and bought gadgets to make up for his lack of sight to a point where he could fool many a stranger into thinking he could see just fine. He never slowed his enthusiasm for computers, even volunteering at the San Diego Center for the Blind teaching computer classes to others. He re-learned how to do everyday tasks, chores, social and volunteer activities so as not to miss out on his obligations. I always admired him for that. So many people would have quit, used their handicap as an excuse but I do not think he ever considered that option.

The second is that he loved my grandma. Married for almost 58 years I am sure they had many ups and downs. I don’t know what really went on between just the two of them. I don’t know what they were like as a young married couple or how they handled every situation with their 4 kids. But I DO know that after my grandpa went blind he continued to care for my grandma and their house to the best of his ability; that when my grandma was sick, my grandpa was right next to her instructing her in her rehabilitation exercises and encouraging her to get better for my wedding; and that after my grandma passed away and he was suffering from hallucinations far away from the present time, questions about my grandma brought him back to us. On a whim I asked him if he could describe grandma in one word, what would it be? Honestly, I was really not expecting an answer. I think he was seeing men he fought in the war with, not his granddaughter in front of him. But he answered quickly, “devotion.”

Happy New Year!

I know it has been quite awhile since my last post so here is an attempt to catch you  all up on our crazy but wonderful life…

November 3^rd was Darby’s birthday! Darby is the son of one of my best friends from high school and he is ADORABLE! Ryan and I, of course, went to his party in Santa Clarita (suburb of LA).

My best guy friend (before my husband!) got married on November 14^th, exactly eight months to the day after my wedding! I am SO happy that Jason found a wonderful and amazing woman to spend his life with (and to take care of him!). Congratulations Jason & Rose!

We spent Thanksgiving with the Dapremonts in San Francisco and had a blast! It was so good to have the usually far-flung D family (minus Doc, sadly) all in one place and, of course, the food was delicious! Thanks for hosting Todd & Moka!

The best man from our wedding came back to the states from serving overseas in the military and he and his wife (!) Kim came to visit. Ryan had been looking forward to seeing him for awhile, so thanks for sharing your leave time with us Mike!

Christmas was, in turn, with the Joiners in San Jacinto and it was a special time. Mom outdid herself with presents and Ryan took part in another Joiner family tradition by reading the Christmas Story this year. And those are our Christmas crowns (Dad accidentally threw his away, so he used his hand). Don't ask. My family rocks.

Cut to New Years Eve in Santee baby! There is nothing like a country bar in East County with some of your best friends and tons of be-dazzled 50 to 70-year-olds to bring in the New Year.

January 3^rd is my favorite sister’s birthday- YAY! Happy Birthday Sums! We had lots of fun celebrating with you.

THEN January 4^th is my mom’s birthday, so back up to San Jacinto for a birthday lunch. Happy Birthday mommy, we love you!

I think that about sums up November, December, and the beginning of January (very busy, in case that wasn’t evident). We thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with our friends and families over the holidays. And Ryan and I are looking forward to a bright and exciting year in 2010.

p.s. Thanks to Summer and Jesse for letting us stay at the Hotel Del Tracy!!!

I love rollerblading!

For those of you who don't know, I love rollerblading!! It is super fun and great exercise. Pretty much I love doing active things besides running, preferably with speed. My favorite is rollerblading on any boardwalk at the beach. Currently, my closest beach is Venice, which is a very entertaining and luxurious place to rollerblade. The last couple of times I've been out, however, have been a bit further inland, much further south... and closer to my roots- SANTEE. We have gone to San Diego frequently in the last month- for Halloween, my best friend Jason's wedding, etc. The tragedy is that I bought new rollerblades (my $5 thrift store ones finally broke) back in September and had barely had time to try them out. So, I convinced my best friend Claire to meet me at Santee Lakes in between our hectic SD schedule. We've done this twice now and I feel a new tradition coming on. It was super fun to go to the lakes (my dad, sister and I used to ride our bikes there from our old house), catch up with Claire, and get some speed on my rollerblades.

ALSO, my adorable husband decided to give rollerblading another go after he swears he almost died attempting rollerskating in his childhood. He is doing FABULOUS and soon we will be a mean, lean, rollerblading machine cruising through Venice Beach together!! I can't wait!

Kanye West & Taylor Swift

What actually happened at the VMAs:

What should have happened:

So………. clearly Ryan and I embraced pop culture this Halloween and went as Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Pretty good fit, right?! Our extremely talented friend Ixie was so generous as to shave Ryan’s hair exactly how Kanye had his- didn’t it look amazing?! Summer safety pinned my silvery dress together like a pro and I rocked that red lipstick!

Anyways, we drove down to San Diego to spend the holiday with Sums and Jes. We first went over to their friends Roger and Karen’s house for some famous elk chili and passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Then we headed to Mulvaney’s (our hometown country bar) to line dance and win their costume contest! I am happy to report that my favorite sister won “sexiest costume” for her 80's rocker and my adorable tough husband won “scariest costume” for being Kanye West in a country bar. ;) We had lots of fun. Thanks for having us Summer and Jesse!

Yes, Jesse was a mormon. Look at him trying to show that hot rocker the Book of Mormon.

My Sister is the Best Teacher Ever

For those of you who do not know, my sister is a 5th grade teacher and she is phenomenal!! Besides working so hard to teach her kids the required subjects, Summer goes above and beyond everyday to expand her kids' worldviews and teach them how to be contributing members of their communities. For example, she allows her kids to decorate paper bags which are then used by a great organization called Project Angel Food to hold nutritious meals that are delivered to people with life threatening diseases. A decorated bag is much more cheerful for these clients than a plain bag! To see the shout out to Mrs. Tracy's 5th graders from Project Angel Food, click here: http://www.facebook.com/projectangelfood