my heart

my heart is...

nervous

worried

scared

my heart is...

graceful

happy

cheerful

my heart is...

sensitive

timid

anxious

my heart is...

playful

blessed

sparkling

my heart is... IN LOVE

vegas

I just got back from the most amazing weekend in Vegas with the Matthew. While Vegas is known for its glamor and glitz, I have such an fantastic boyfriend that I think we could have spent a weekend in a cardboard box and I still would have loved it :)

happiness

happiness is...

I think each person defines happiness in their own way, but where I am in my life right now,

I AM HAPPY!

birthday

today is my birthday... I am now 25... I love birthdays!!!

weekend

I just had the most amazing weekend. For those of you who don't know, my birthday is this week and it is a bit of a tradition to celebrate birthdays for about a week. My celebrations started this weekend, with an awesome night on the town Saturday evening. The day started with massages with one of my best friends and then sushi for lunch with a few friends followed by checking in and getting ready at one of the very nice hotels in town. We had a beautiful suite for the evening. Soon after getting ready I met up with about 15 friends for dinner and then headed to one of our nice night clubs to meet up with all my other friends. All in all I was able to spend time visiting and enjoying the company of a lot of close friends. I cant thank them enough for such a wonderful evening. The next morning I was joined by a few friends for brunch and spent the rest of my day snuggled up watching movies. Such a wonderful weekend... and to think that's just the beginning of my birthday week...

twenty six

October 26th is a day I have waited for, for a LONG time... excited... YES... nervous... Oh my gosh YES... thinking I might be a little crazy... perhaps. All the same... today is October 26th. YAY!!!

excited

have you ever been so excited for something that you can hardly stand it... I have that feeling right now!

dentist

so I had to go to the dentist today... it got me thinking... why is it that why have an entire doctor just for our teeth and then only one doctor for the whole rest of our bodies... whats that about... seems a little off to me...

baltimore

Ewwwwwww... Not a fan!!!

dunk

Today is my office's final fundraiser for Operation Blessing and our attempt to build a water well for a community in Africa. In our last fundraiser we raised well over the $1800 it takes to build a well, so now we are working to build a second well. Today's activities include a dunk tank with our management team. Tickets are being sold for chances to dunk your favorite, or least favorite manager :) Unfortunately today is the coldest day we have had this week so I am hoping the weather warms up a bit before the activities begin this afternoon. Good Luck to all the managers and let's raise some money!

workout

so I have been working out on a pretty regular schedule lately. working out helps me get rid of any stress I happen to be holding on to... and theres been a ton running through my mind lately so the working out has really been helping.

fun sized

I really like fun sized candy. I am not supposed to have a lot of sugar and really I don't crave sweets too much, they usually make my tummy hurt but there is just something about the tiny little fun sized treats, they are just the right size. I can eat one, totally get my sugar fill and still not feel horrible. Who ever came up with this wonderful idea is definitely one of my hero's... Krystal + fun sized candy = legendary :)

bedazzled

I finally figured out how to bedazzle my blog... YAY!!!

one week

it has been one week since I last had a red bull... for those of you who don't know, I used to be a bit addicted to red bull... but its been a week and I am still alive YAY!!!

operation blessing

Every year my office raises money for an international mission, this year we are combining our efforts to raise $1800 to build a water well in Africa through a program with Operation Blessing. In an attempt to raise this money we held a silent auction bake sale and live auction of baked goods in our office. Each department was asked to bring a few desserts to put into the silent auction and then the best from each department was entered in the live auction. Now I am on the giving committee for my office and we only have 25 employees so as a committee we were hoping to raise about $600 from this fundraiser and then hold another few events through out the year to raise the rest of the money... but let's just say we wont be needing to hold any other events. The auction style fundraiser was such a huge hit, we had banana bread being sold for $45 and zucchini cake that went for over $200. I cant event put into words my excitement. I have never doubted that I work with phenomenal people but today just reminded me how blessed I am to be working with such thoughtful and1 generous people. We just received the total of what we raised today... $2500... WHAT A BLESSING :)

red bull

well today is day two of NO red bull...

lotion

Have you ever pored out way more lotion than you need? You know, like when you try really hard for it to come out and nothing comes and nothing comes and then... enough for your whole body comes out and then you're sitting there with two hand fulls of lotion, not really sure what to do with all of it... then you're trying to decide how the heck am I going to use all this lotion so your running around putting it on people, sending out emails to your office titled "anyone need lotion" eventually you find use for your handfuls of lotion... and you think... I will never do that again!!! Yeah, well that just happened to me!

inspiration

Happiness is always there within reach, no matter how long it lasts... lets enjoy life and don't live a complicated life. Life is too short.

Work as if it was your first day.

Forgive as soon as possible.

Love without boundaries.

Laugh without control

and never stop smiling.

quote

I am a big fan of famous quotes... I think quotes are similar to motivational books... during different times in your life you can get something totally different from the same words. Here are a few of the quotes I have really enjoyed lately:

"Every great accomplishment began as a dream in some body's heart. All things are created twice: first in your mind, then in your life. Dreamers allow their minds to wander outside the boundaries of what is, creating a mental picture of what could be"

"To accomplish great things we must dream as well as act"

I have a lot of opportunity in my life right now and I want to take advantage of every great opportunity placed in from of me.

lazy

so I just recently bought a new car and its an automatic... I have driven a stick shift since as far back as I can remember and have always loved it. But this morning I was driving to work, changing my radio, doing my make up and drinking a red bull, all in slow moving traffic and I thought to myself, I could have never done all this with my stick shift... I think I might be a little spoiled with this automatic now.

art

I went to the Art Institute of Chicago last night... what an experience. I could have spent 5 more days in the children's section alone. I would recommend the Institute to anyone visiting Chicago!

chicago

so i am currently in Chicago... this is my first time traveling alone, but it has been an amazing time. I was a little nervous at first. My first dinner alone felt more like i had been stood up but I have actually ended up meeting a lot of people and have had no more meals alone. I have gotten the chance so do and see a lot of things so far. I spent last night in Millennial Park listening to the Chicago Symphony, indulged in my first Chicago pizza and enjoyed meeting a ton of locals. I have two more days in this beautiful city and look forward to experiencing even more of it.

thirteenth

Today is Monday the 13th... I wonder if that is anything like Friday the 13th... hmmm

camp

8 - Beautiful Cheerleaders
7 - "Post-It" Pads Used
6 - Blue Ribbons
5 - Cafeteria Meals
4 - New Stunts Made Solid
3 - Balloons Lost in Route
2 - New Trophies
1 - Very Proud Cheer Coach
Congratulations girls at a great job at camp!

naked

i was at the gym yesterday and i walked into the locker room and there was a completely naked women in there... now i am not so conservative that i think you should have to be fully clothed at all times in the locker room... but completely naked?!?! come on!

lovely

I am finally getting to a place in my life where things are going well. I am learning to stress less about the little things and enjoy every moment. I am a truly blessed person. I have a great job, a great family, great friends and great cheerleaders. I have in the past been called a "high stress" person and I think maybe I was... but I am learning that sometimes things just happen and you can either stress about it or enjoy growing from it. Sometimes God allows as to go through struggles so we can learn to better rely on him... the moment we learn to put our worries in his hands is the moment we become more like him. I previously blogged the quote, the will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you... I am finding this quote to be more true every day!

thoughts

To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.

When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.

kim and jim

i miss you already...

cookies

...so I had every intention of eating healthy today... thought it would be a good start to my week. I have already been to the gym this morning and was doing well until 9:15 when I walked into the office lunch room... there were many treats on the table including blueberry coffee cake and chocolate drizzled peanut butter cookies. I thought I was doing well, I could pass up most of them... but then behind the other treats stood a plate piled high with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies... the cookies were so big I almost needed two hands to even pick one up. I think I could have resisted but my curiosity about how such a large cookie could even be made led me to picking one up... just to see how heavy it was, you know... but then I started to reason with myself... I HAD worked out this morning... maybe I deserved this cookie... I hadn't eaten breakfast... maybe I could just consider this my breakfast, plus I had lifted this heavy cookie... it might break if I put it down and it just wouldn't be right for me to touch it and not eat it. It was decided it was actually my civic duty to eat this cookie. I am sure you can guess what happened next... soooo starting now I am eating healthy...

red bull

... so I have heard before that "you are what you eat" well it was brought to my attention today that maybe I am what I drink... as I have stated before I am a fan of the Red Bull... but maybe Red Bull and I are alot more alike than I thought... take the name for example... Red... my favorite color, the color of my hair, the reason for my blog, my ultra-ego's name... Bull... well I wouldn't consider myself a bull but thats ok :) How about the fact that Red Bull is like an energizer... and I am definately full of energy... hmm that may have something to do with the Red Bull... Oh well :)

window

i have a window in my office... it is a lovely window... it looks out at the building next to us and is beautifully landscaped with a row of nice shrubs... from the inside i have dressed my window with long shear curtains... all in all i have a very nice window... however my window was disgraced today when someone walked past it picking their nose... i know, gross right? i wanted to tap on my window and tell them to stop... i feel like the view from my window has been tainted now...

stress

I am a little on the stressed side right now... the funny thing about me and stress is no matter how much I stress it doesn't actually solve the situation and it always ends up turning out ok... I am a very blessed person and things always work them selves out... I guess I just like to stress about them in the mean time.

krystal

This is a exercise I do with my cheerleaders... although we add a bit of a spin to it... but here's my attempt...
K - Krazy
R - Reliable
Y - Young
S - Sassy
T - Tenacious
A - Assertive
L - Laughing

chelan

I just spent the weekend at my family's condo in Chelan. It was wonderful... there is something to be said for getting away, even for just a few days to relax. My family has had a place there since I was really little and this time we spent one night just talking about all the different times we had been there. It was a lot of fun remembering some of the funniest times and stories that we still tell. I have an amazing family and this weekend just reminded me how lucky I am to have them.

what it is

"it is what is it" this is a statement I have been struggling with for a few weeks now... I really want to believe that "it is what you make it" cause I think you should never settle for something less than what you want, but the more I think about it... I think there are times when "it is what it is" unfortunately there are some times when no matter how much you wish you could change a situation... sometimes it just "is what it is"

eight

I have eight beautiful cheerleaders for the 2009-2010 school year. Tryouts were last week... they all did wonderfully. I am so glad I didn't have to judge, but as always it broke my heart to call the girls that didn't make it. Aside from the heartbreak that comes with having tryouts and cuts, we had our traditional initiation sleepover which was amazing... the pictures (run on regal), the stories (creeper joe), the laughs (spell out your name)... some things you just can't recreate! I look forward to one amazing year with eight amazing girls :)

comfortable

John Mayer sings a song called Comfortable... "I just remembered that time at the market, you snuck up behind me and jumped on my shopping cart, and rode down aisle five, you looked behind you and smiled back at me, crashed into a rack full of magazines, they asked us if we could leave." If you ask me that was probably a little embarrassing at the moment, but John Mayer is remembering the moment as a happy one... isn't it funny how when we look back on things we idealize a lot of the memories... maybe its just me but when I think back about things I tend to forget the bad times... I think that's a good thing, but some times it makes it hard to move forward. I just finished reading the "who moved my cheese" book... all about change and how to deal with it and move forward... great book, if you haven't read it I encourage you to. I wouldn't say that I am going through a lot of change right now, but I think the book really helped me identify that there are some areas in my life that are a little stale and need some change. I think it's ok to look back on the past and have fond memories but it isn't ok to dwell on them. Have a level of comfort-ability but always be looking for ways to grow!

tomatoes

... so it turns out I actually like tomatoes. I used to hate them so much that I told everyone that I was allergic... but in San Diego we ate taco's at a famous Mexican place... they said to get the full experience you just had to eat them the way they were made, which included the tomatoes... and I liked them!!! Now it wasn't like I loved them or like I would go out and just eat some tomatoes but I think we are making progress... maybe I am growing up they say your taste changes as you get older... I am curious to see what else I might like with this more grown up taste!

cheer

so I coach cheerleading for a local high school... practices for tryouts start today! I am so excited. I love my cheerleaders so much. I have 4 girls returning from my squad last year and about 10 new, who are interested in cheering this coming year. We had our informational meeting yesterday and it was wonderful meeting the new girls. I have some adorable 8th graders who will be trying out since they will be freshman next year. I am so blessed to be a part of these young girls lives. They never cease to amaze me!

mosquito bite

so I got my first mosquito bite of the season... I cant stop itching it!!! Mosquitoes seem to like me more than other people... when I was young my dad used to tell me it was because I was sweet... I don't want to be sweet anymore. I would like the mosquitoes to just leave me alone!

home sweet home

...well I am home again and happy to be here although, I am missing the beach... we had an amazing trip, our last few days were spent on the beach and visiting with old friends. It's a funny thing that vacation does... it allows you to relax and refocus... which is exactly what I needed.

sun burned

... so I am half way through my vacation and I am loving every minute of it. We are currently back in San Diego and heading out to the beach for the 3rd day in a row. We have gotten the chance to see a ton of stuff while we have been here... spent the first couple of days seeing old friends in the San Diego area, then went up to LA for a few days. Stayed in the most beautiful loft right downtown, we spent our evenings enjoying the roof top pool and hot tub... what a view enjoying the city lights and the stars from the roof only blocks from the Staples Center in downtown LA. We have also gotten the chance to spend some time in Pasadena, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point.
... you wouldn't believe some of the people we have met... everyone from boys with ukuleles on the beach to people from Boston who just spent the last 4 months in Australia... but I think my favorite would have to be the ex-pro-skateboarder with the Mazzaratti... 0 to 60 in one city block... don't worry we got pictures.

travel

... so I have been traveling a lot. I just got back from Atlanta and am just trying to get a few things done before I leave this evening for California for a little over a week. I thought for sure I would have more time to blog while I was traveling but that has clearly not been the case.

let's see... although I am still struggling with the time zone change, Atlanta was amazing. I have never been much of a fan of Atlanta but I actually really enjoyed myself. The conference I was there for was very good. I was able to have some great conversations with some really amazing people. The industry I work in works with ministries and non-profit organizations and it always amazes me to hear what God is doing.

the weather in Atlanta was beautiful, I was able to spend a little time laying by the pool at our hotel, which was lovely. I have a favorite restaurant in Atlanta, which only through an amazing connection, I was able to get us reservations... the food, as always, was fantastic... they have the best oysters Rockefeller I have ever had. Centennial Park was beautiful as always. I think I could watch the water fountain at that park for hours.

all in all Atlanta was a wonderful trip.

now just getting ready for California... YAY!!!

la-ren

I love her... more coming soon...

perfect

drove to work this morning... latte in hand... music on... sun shining... sun roof open... red sun glasses on... it was PERFECT!!

crazy krystal

what does crazy mean anyway... if it means unique and different... I want to be crazy! I think we are all a little crazy at times... each of us in our own way. It's funny, I think my favorite people are what most would call "a little crazy" I think that's why I like them. Dictionary.com says the slang definition of crazy is... wonderful, excellent, perfect... yeah, I am ok with being a little crazy!

one sweet love

Sara Bareilles sings a song called One Sweet Love... she asks "have I already tasted my piece of one sweet love" how sad... I guess my optimistic personality likes to think with every broken heart there is just new opportunity for something better to come along. Maybe I should write my own song... call it... Two Sweet Love... or maybe Three...

home depot

... so I had to go to home depot today... I was wearing heels... hmmm not a good idea... as though I didn't already stick out like a sore thumb, all dressed up in my work clothes and being a GIRL... the heels topped it off... I don't know if you are aware but cement floors and heels just don't go well together... I made a clanking sound with every step... and then of course the tie downs that I had gone in to buy... were in the far back corner... eventually I came to terms with the fact that the sound was just not going to go away... so I decided to pretend that I was a contestant on America's Next Top Model and the isle was my runway... you would think that when I was accidentally spotted by one of the employees I would have been embarrassed... but NO... I was already embarrassed enough given that for the entire 5 minutes I was there, the entire store new exactly where I was... never wearing heels in home depot again!

red sunglasses

I have a pair of red sunglasses that I just love... I normally don't wear red cause it just isn't my color... but I could wear my red sunglasses everyday. It has been really sunny lately so I have gotten the chance to wear my sunglasses more than usual, but I am so in love with these glasses that I would wear them even if the sun wasn't out... I would even wear these glasses at night. I might trip over something and fall on my face because it would be so dark but at least I would be wearing my RED sunglasses...

writers block

I like asparagus... I also like seafood. My favorite color is RED, I think it's bold it says HELLO I AM RED!!! I love chicken in the crock pot... I like tulips. I love the movie Happy Gilmore. I don't like ice cream, but I do like root beer floats... I just like the way the ice cream makes the root beer taste... maybe I actually just like cream soda. I love clothes... I organize my closet by color and sleeve length... I might be OCD. I love the home and garden channel. I enjoy a good glass of wine. I want to be a good friend. I love the word "delicious" My favorite cursive word is "always" but I recently found I also like "utilities" try them both some time. I like to wear flats... but every once in a while I like to pretend I am tall with a pretty pair of heals. I enjoy going for walks. My body temperature is 1.2 degrees lower than the average. I am really organized. I have a great roommate. I love the Oregon coast. I hate tomatoes. I love the song "a moment like this" by Leona Lewis. I went through a time where I only bought pink shoes... I don't wear any of them. I like BLT sandwiches... minus the T. I love to decorate. My favorite park is Moose Park. My dream car as a kid was a Dodge Neon... I like the circle lights. I am a really bad speller. I drink a lot of Red Bull. I am addicted to my Blackberry. My first limo ride was in California. I held a baby kangaroo in Chicago. My favorite airport is the one in Denver. I really like the Cosby Show. My favorite number is 15. I am a big fan of Jack in the Box tacos. My favorite cereal is Lean Koshi Crunch... I liked Cracklin Oat Bran as a kid. I am afraid of lighters... my roommate has to light all of our candles. I like to eat hard boiled eggs with salt. I like Tim's Cascade potato chips... they're extra crunchy. I like lip gloss. I like post-its... one time I had a post-it party. I am really ticklish. I love bubble bathes.

butt-ee

So I went to the Humane Society this weekend... I met a cat... seemed like a nice cat... very pretty, super talkative and then... it started licking it's butt. Now initially I thought that was very un-becoming of the cat, but the more I thought about it the more I think it might be interesting to have a butt-licking cat. Could be a good conversation starter... you have new guests over to your house for dinner and you've run out of small talk before you have even had dessert, the cat comes in a does what he does best... now you have something to talk about. Or how about, you are one of those people that takes their cat for a walk... you're out on your daily walk and the creepy guy next door wants to talk... your cat lick's his butt and grosses out creepy guy... problem solved. Maybe you could start a club "owners of butt-licking cats" maybe you turn it into a support group... Maybe there is a world record of longest butt-licking. I would name this cat "butt-ee"

blood drawn

... so I have some health issues... supposedly my body doesn't digest properly, I have been seeing a tummy specialist for about a month now and last week I had to go in so they could run some blood tests on me. Now, I am not one of those people who has problems with needles but I do like to pretend like I am dieing when they draw my blood (I also like to pretend its the end of the world when I have my teeth cleaned) there is something about pretending that it's the worst thing that has ever happened to you that makes any medical attention much more fun! Anyway so I went into the doctor last week... and the little nurse lady had a hard time finding my veins... needless to say I left the doctor with my arms looking like they had been to war and back. I walked around the rest of the day with my bandages on... people always feel bad for you when you have bandages, they ask "what happened?" I like to come up with something super exciting like: I fought an alligator or was run over by a train... most people don't believe me but at least I get a kick out of it...

me

Ok so I have only written on here once and I am thinking that I need to do this more often... I am hoping that in a few months from now I can look back on these and see improvement and growth both in my writing and in my life.

So where do I start... well... I am Krystal. Yes, that's Krystal with a "K" it's much prettier that way. Sorry to all you Crystal's with a "C" I know you didn't have a choice, but maybe you can legally change it :)

I am a red head... two words that can define a person. As a kid I wasn't the fondest of my hair. I had a teacher who would dismiss us by hair color and she always forgot she had a red head kid... needless to say, I was always dismissed last. I can remember standing in line for a ride at Disneyland and some lady came up behind me, brushed her fingers through my hair and said "you have the most beautiful hair... I am sure you don't like it now but you will" she was right... I LOVE MY HAIR. I think having red hair allows me to get away with being much sassier than the average person. They say red heads bleed more than other people... I don't know if that is true, I have never measured the amount of blood that comes out of a cut... I think that would be weird... I am just going to take their word for it. They also say red heads lack potassium... supposedly potassium is what keeps your body at a mellow state... that may be where they get the term "fiery red head"... it's not our fault, we just don't have enough potassium... maybe they should offer free bananas to red heads.

hmm... what else should I tell you... oh I am left handed... I know right, as though being a part of the only 12% of people that are red heads, I am also left handed. I don't know what the statistic is on left handed red heads is but I am sure it is some super low number. I am not one of those crazy left handed people who writes upside down... no... I right like any other normal person except I write with my left hand. I do find it hard sometimes to be living in a right handers world ie. right handed desks/ right handed scissors, but when it comes down to it there are a whole heck of alot more right handed people so I guess I will just conform.

lets see... I love to travel. I think it would be awesome to be able to say I have been to every country... hmm maybe that should be a goal... some people want to see the seven wonders in their life time... no no... I want to see all 195 countries :) so far I have been to 3... wow I am doing good!

hmm... well I think that's all I've got today. More to come I guess :)

blog

Well I have a blog... hmmm.