My 30th!!!‏

I turned 30 on Saturday, October 10th. Yes, no matter how much begging and pleading I did it still happened. The good news is that I survived.

WORK

I arrived at work on Friday to a desk decorated in 30th Birthday garb. Deborah had balloons, streamers, candy, confetti, and banners all over my desk. There was no doubt in any one's mind how old I was about to turn. She had given me a super cute card with a cat on it and a check! Whoo! Later in the day some beautiful flowers were delivered to me with the bible verse "For I know the plans I have for you, they are plans for good and not for evil. To give you a future and a hope. I love my child. Jesus". I have a feeling Deb was behind those as well. Vincent gave me some super cute earrings from Banana Republic. Everyone in my department signed a 30th sign for me and people walked by all day wishing me Happy Birthday. It was great!

DINNER

After work I was supposed to have dinner at Abuelos with mom, dad, Courtney, Rashahn, and possibly Keelie. I knew my parents were running a bit late as they had headed over from Decatur around 4:30, were going to go get my key's at Discount Tire (I had left the car there at lunch because my tire pressure was low), were picking up dessert at Cheesecake Factory (I requested the Red Velvet Cake & Cheesecake dessert), and wanted to run by my apartment to drop off some items for Saturday that needed to be refrigerated. I was a bit annoyed because they were running late as usual and they even called at one point asking if I could figure out another way to get my keys. I had to work until 6:15 so I didn't know what I was going to do since Discount closed at 6. They said they should be able to make it in time. I asked Rashahn to pick me up at work at 6:15 since I had no car and she was coming to Abuelos with us. At this point I figured Keelie wasn't coming because I hadn't heard anything from her. I left my desk at 6:15 and headed outside but I didn't see Rashahn anywhere. I looked around for a bit but still didn't see her car so I stood at the front of the building waiting. By 6:31 I was starting to worry so I called her but had to leave a message. A few minutes later I was in the process of writing her a text when she called me. She thought I had said 6:45 instead of 6:15. She felt bad but was nearly there. I had called mom & dad and they were still at my apt because Court was not feeling well so we were still going to beat them to the restaurant. Rashahn and I got to Abuelos, put our name on the list and then waited for mom, dad, & Court. They finally called and asked what the exit was so I knew they were close. I kept staring at the door waiting for them to enter. Finally they did, but to my SURPRISE and SHOCK right behind them were Deborah & Elizabeth all the way from Houston, Vanessa all the way from San Antonio, and there was Keelie!!!! I was SO excited! I had NO CLUE! I knew Deb & Eliz were coming the next day but I had no clue Vanessa was coming at all and I didn't know Keelie was coming to dinner. What a great night! Courtney bought a crown that said Birthday Queen which they made me wear and the girls had brought me balloons. We enjoyed some good Mexican food and then headed back to my apt. Oh, and Court was never sick. They were killing time waiting for my surprise guests to arrive. :) Rashahn took me to get my car so we were the last to arrive. The girls wouldn't let me in my apt at first. When they finally did those sneaky girls had decorated with 30th Birthday decor. There was a table cloth, suckers that said 30 Sucks, confetti out the wazoo, a 30th centerpiece, streamers, presents, AND a trivia game board labeled "It's All About Kristi" (think the trivia episode from Friends). It was GREAT! I opened presents & we ate cake. Robert arrived after getting off work and brought cinnamon dessert from Papa Johns. Yum. We then played the trivia game. I had to determine who raised their hand first and what the correct answer was. Talk about pressure. Hehe. Courtney ended up being the winner. Go figure! She has known me my entire life! After that we just hung out eating and talking. I LOVE my family & friends! Everyone left after a while and Vanessa, Deb, Elizabeth, & I crawled into bed around 3:30.

SATURDAY - THE BIG DAY!

The four of us were up by 10:30 and were snacking on cake, chips, cinnamon dessert, and whatever else we could find. I received birthday wishes from family and friends via text and phone calls. Keelie & Glory came by to drop off my birthday present and cupcakes for that evening, since Keelie wasn't able to make it. We eventually all got ready and left for the Belmont Hotel around 4:15. Hey, only an hour and fifteen minutes after we had planned to leave. Not too shabby with 4 girls, 1 bathroom, and 2 wild cats. Leigh Ann, Leah, & Margaret were already at the Belmont and had decorated with streamers, a banner, and had fun drinks ready for us when we arrived. We had met up with Robin & Erin in the parking lot. We hung out, took pictures, and got ready to go have dinner at nearby Tillman's Roadhouse in the Bishop Arts District. There we met up with Stephanie, Jessica, & Julie, and Brinda joined us later as well. We had the Trio of Fries as an appetizer. This consisted of parmesan black pepper kennebec fries, chili dusted purple peruvian fries and smoked salt scented sweet potato fries with housemade catsup and horseradish pickle mayo. Yum! For my meal I had Hickory Smoked Chipotle BBQ Ribs on white cheddar mac-n-cheese. Talk about amazing! Best mac-n-cheese EVER. The blood orange margarita wasn't too shabby either. The waiters surprised me with a smores dessert with a candle and sang Happy Birthday. After dinner we headed back to the Belmont for Keelie's awesome red velvet cupcakes, drinks, and presents. We just hung out, talked, took pictures, and played w/Leah's doggies (well hers and her parent's). I think we headed to bed around 1 am. Most people left on Sunday between 10 and 11. Elizabeth & Deb headed back to Houston and Vanessa rode back to my apt with me, we had some Taco Bell, hung out and rested for a bit, and then she was off to San Antonio.

It was a FANTASTIC 30th Birthday weekend! I could not ask for better friends and family. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life that care about me. Thank you all! You mean the world to me.

2009 State Fair of Texas‏

I have attended the State Fair twice in the last week and a half. I LOVE the fair. What could be better than crazy foods, fun shows, and interesting exhibits?!

On October 3rd I went to see Mary Poppins at the Music Hall at Fair Park with Beth, Chris, & Emma. It was a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious show! It started at 2 pm, had one 15 minute intermission, and lasted until 4:50. It was as great as I remembered the movie being. Mary Poppins flew through the crowd and wowed the audience. The music was great, the costumes were perfect, and that big bag of hers was full of magic. It was practically perfect (as sung by Mary in the musical)! After the musical ended we decided to head into the fair. It was sprinkling so we decided not to stay long. We did make it to the 2010 Auto Show, grabbed a Fletcher's corn dog, saw Big Tex, and visited the animals in the Barnyard. By the time we headed out the sprinkling had gotten heavier. A new experience for me this year was riding the DART to the fair. It was a great alternative to fighting traffic and finding a place to park. We hopped on at the American Airlines Center and it took us right to the Fair Park Station that was adjacent from the Music Hall. It only cost $4 dollars to ride and $5 to park at the station. We had a great time, even if we were a bit water logged by the end.

Columbus Day was yesterday and I had the day off from work. (Thank you Bank of America.) Robert, Rashahn, & I decided to head to the fair, as Rashahn had never been and Robert hadn't been in a while. We arrived at the fair at 10 am and walked out at 7 pm. Yes, we were hardcore. We watched the Kroger Bird Show, Pirates of the Caribbean High Dive Show, Jump! Dog Show, and Dancing with Canines. I do not recommend the High Dive Show or the Dancing with Canines show. Skip that and eat more fried food! :) We visited the Children's Barnyard (it's for big kids too), the Cattle Barn where we saw two cows milked and watched a video about milking in the Milking Parlor (this made me crave milk all day and I bought it twice - yes I'm weird), perused the Gateway Pavilion, the Creative Arts building where we saw the butter sculpture, Food & Fiber Pavilion, Embarcadero, and the Craft Pavilion. We checked out the 2010 Auto Show as well. No, we did not see Oprah, although she was taping her show there yesterday. We weren't really interested in that at all so we stayed clear of that area until after her show was over. We did hear a horrid band called Honor Society on the Chevy Main Stage. I do not recommend running out and buying their CD. We did stop and listen to the celtic group the Killdares perform and they were pretty good. Now for the food...we ate a lot. We first hit up the Coca-Cola Food Court where I had a frito pie. Yum! Rashahn tried out the ft. long chili cheese dog and Robert got deep fried bbq brisket. We three split fried peaches & cream and a funnel cake. I had fried smores and it was awesome. I feel as though I need to learn how to make it. We got Fletcher's corn dogs as well. Rashahn had three bites of a pickle and disposed of that. She said it was sour, as in bad, not the way pickles are supposed to taste. Robert had a BBQ sauerkraut sandwich and a hand dipped nutty ice cream bar. Hmmm. I guess that was it. I wanted to try fried butter and fried cookie dough but the line was too long and I didn't want to wait. With all the walking we did I'm sure we burned it all off. Hehe. Of course we saw the Ferris Wheel and Big Tex, which Rashahn got to hear talk. We decided to drive and park at the fair which worked out very well since we got there so early. And we only had to pay $10. It was a super fun day but by the end of it each of us was complaining about different body parts hurting. We were ready to head home and crash.

I highly recommend the State Fair of Texas. There is fun to be had by all ages. I try to make it at least once every year. You still have time to make it this year as it runs until October 18th. If you can't make it by then definitely start planning for next year. By then someone will have invented some new fried food that we'll all want to try!

Nearing the End

Well, I only have a few days left of my 20's. I am in mourning. I can't believe I'm actually about to turn 30. I feel a lot like Rachel in the Friends clip. Sometimes it is hard to face the reality that some things haven't happened according to the timeline in my head. I certainly do know that God has a bigger plan for me than I have for myself. But sometimes it's just hard. Kinda like the end of a dream. Although I know there are new dreams to be had around the corner.

I know I'll survive turning 30. Everyone else has. I've really enjoyed my 20's though. I graduated from college, have made some wonderful life long friends, been on some great trips, done some really fun things, and have learned a lot about myself along the way. Learning about yourself is kinda cool, actually. It just sort of happens. You learn what you believe in, what you'll stand for, how strong you are, how to survive the tough situations, and what really matters. I just hope my 30's are as good to me as the 20's have been.

Red Writing's Twelve Weeks of Christmas - #1 Christmas List

Dearest Santa Claus,

It’s your old pal Kristi. I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve been kind of good and kind of bad this year. But the way I figure it I’ve been more good than bad so I feel as though you should still bring me some nice stuff this year. Okay? Great, okay!

For Christmas this year I would like a Cricut Expression. It’s SO cool and will make my scrapbooking even better. Rashahn got one a few months back and I really like it. My scrapbooks will be the talk of the town if I get that! While we are on the subject of scrapbooking and crafting, I’d really enjoy a gift card to Hobby Lobby. That store is terrific! You KNOW I’d appreciate any extra money I can spend there. I would also like some Pleasures Perfume. I ran out a while back and decided I would wait and ask for it as a gift. I’m trying to be better with my money. J I would also like some more seasons of the Will & Grace DVDs, as I don’t have them all yet. I could also use the DVDs Bride Wars & Confessions of a Shopaholic. My DVD collection is getting a little old so these new ones would really spruce it up. I would like an iTunes gift card as well. There is a lot of good music out there lately and I really want to download some of it. Oh, and a massage. I would LOVE a massage. I haven’t had one in forever. That would be a great gift.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll hit you up later if something else comes to mind. Don’t work too hard during this time of year.

Love you always,

Kristi Michelle Stevens

Meeting the Neighbor

I don't know my neighbors. I've lived in various apartments for the last 9 years and have never gotten to know my neighbors. This may sound rude, but what's the point? We aren't going to live here forever, why get invested?! I realize that sounds harsh, but it's pretty true. Don't get me wrong, I recognize some of the people that live around me. There is the lady directly across from me. We say hello to each other when we see one another and she drives the blue Nissan Morano. Then there is the lady upstairs and down the way from me. I see her walking her dog all the time. Her yappy little Yorkie that used to bark at me. I'm pretty sure she smokes and I know she drives the little silver Ford car. I don't even know if anyone lives next to me right now. In the three years I've been in this apartment many people have been in and out of that one. I know I've had two different tenants above me in the last 3 years. There was the older woman that I would hear talking on her porch. She INSISTED on vacuuming at 8 am on Saturday mornings. I didn't care for her. Then there were the young kids that lived up there with their two huge dogs. Those stupid dogs ran around all the time and were SO loud. And the people were smokers that let their butts fall on my patio. They went in and out of their sliding door all the live long day. I didn't like them at all. I even called my apartment complex on them once. The straw that broke the camel's back was one night at 2 am when it sounded like they were dribbling a piano above my room and when the item came slamming down everything on my walls shook. Yes, I'd had enough. They have since moved. Yahoo!

Today I met the new neighbor that took the loud youngsters' place. Although, I'll admit, I was neither dressed or in the mood to meet someone new. I couldn't sleep last night and was up every couple of hours. During one of the times I was up I realized I hadn't paid rent and it would be due by the time the office opened today. Why do I always forget to pay it on time? Grrr. I wasn't sure what time the office opened but I didn't think it was before 10 am. So when I woke up yet again at 9 I decided to run up to the office and drop off my check, check my mail, and grab some McDonald's breakfast. I'd already abandoned the idea of getting ready for church. There was no way I'd be alert enough for the sermon. After running my errands, I parked the car and headed toward my apartment. I saw a figure at the top of the stairs but I didn't look up to see the person. I don't look strangers in the face a lot of the time. That's probably rude too. All I knew was there was a person dressed in black coming down the stairs. I was concentrating on carrying my breakfast, two drinks, wallet, phone, keys, and mail. I hadn't carried a purse. Dumb! I was also concerned with how I'd get into the apt carrying all that junk while keeping the cats inside. So I struggle to get the keys out of my arm-full of mess when a voice goes "Hi! I'm your new neighbor. I just moved in above you!" My first thought was "Crap, why are you talking to me?" My hands were full, I was concentrating on keeping the cats in, I had the clothes on I slept in, yesterday's make-up smeared on my face, and my hair looked like a rat's nest. I smiled at the boy (okay, probably an early 20's young man) and said hello. He was way too chipper this early in the morning. He then said that he didn't know how thick the floors were but to let him know if I he was ever being too loud. I told him "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I won't hear you." Really? Why had I said that? I'd heard the two previous residents. But at least he realized that this is apartment living and that I might hear him so he was trying to be nice and keep it down and that was cool. I struggled to get inside and shortly headed back to bed to catch up on that sleep I lost during the night.

Around 3 pm I decided I was hungry, having only awoken an hour before, and having no groceries, I decided I'd hit up some fast food. Who do I see when I head out to my car? Yes, the same young boy neighbor getting something out of his car. I looked exactly as I had hours before. I hoped he wouldn't speak again. I walked down the few steps to my car, smiled in that direction, no clue if he really looked up, and I headed out. Thankfully he wasn't outside when I returned. Don't get my wrong, neighbors are great, I guess. I don't really know. Hopefully he'll be quiet and I won't have to turn him in. I'll keep you updated. lol.

Tutu Much Fun

So Rashahn & I, the super crafters that we are, got together last Friday (09/25) to make tutu's. Isn't that what everyone does on Friday nights? It's funny actually. I called Rashahn from Houston a few weeks before and told her I was about to go into Hobby Lobby to buy material to make a tutu for Glory's 1st birthday. Rashahn then told me that she'd already started working on one for her Tinkerbell costume to wear to work on Halloween. I thought it was a funny coincidence that we were working on the same project. We both had researched how to make a tutu online and watched an instructional video as well. So last Friday night arrived and we were set.

I arrived at Rashahn's with all my material cut and was ready to starting tying on the tulle. She had bought a little more tulle that day so she had to cut that. We learned from our online research that the easiest way to cut tulle for this project was to have it folded in half, like it probably was done by the person that cut it at the store, and then roll it up so that you are cutting all the material at once. It also makes it easier to cut straight. I cut my tulle in 3 inch sections and because I was making mine for a child, I then had to cut my strips at the fold so it wasn't too long.

Once all your material is cut you just start tying it on your ribbon or elastic in a loop fashion. Meaning you create a loop with the fabric at the middle and then loop the rest of the material through the loop so it ties onto the ribbon/elastic. I chose to make my tutu for Glory with bright ribbon that matched the tulle I used. Rashahn used elastic and it worked well too. I may use elastic next time and see which I like better. Now being the crazy, somewhat anal person that I am, I needed my tulle to be tied on perfectly. It needed to be super tight and pushed all the way to the end. As the night progressed this became less of a priority. My thumb hurt from pulling the tulle so tight, and my head and back hurt. Crafting comes at a price. Plus I was running out of that 5 yards of tulle pretty quickly so I started to tie it on less tight. It worked out great though.

I even added in a few random ribbons around the tutu for added cuteness. :) I'm not sure how long it actually took us between our cutting and tying. The video said the entire process would take about 45 minutes. Um, I'm gonna have to say 'yeah right' to that. My tutu would not have been too cute if the entire process took me 45 minutes. Oh, and the best part of the night? Once my tutu was complete we tried it on Rashahn's Boxer dog, Abby. I'm sad to say that we did not get any pictures. She freaked out and tried to get it off right away so there was not time to get footage of that. She was jumping and wiggling around. It was hilarious! I'm thinking she will not be getting a tutu made for her.

My tutu was a hit at Glory's birthday party. She even enjoyed playing with it as she wore it. How great is that? Served two functions. I'm sure Rashahn's tutu will be a hit at work on Halloween. She'll have to let us know. I've decided tutus will make great gifts for my cousin's children for Christmas as well. I mean you can't go wrong with something that's adorable and only costs $10-$15. And who doesn't LOVE dress up?!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. "This is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer." ~Wikipedia

I AM THE CURE is a great program from Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that teaches people simple steps they need to know to take charge of their breast health. It talks about the importance of early detection and provides simple, action-oriented chants that Race participants can take home and put into action.

I AM THE CURE 2009 Chants:
*"See your doctor, learn your risk!" : Your doc can help you learn about your personal breast cancer risk. You should also talk to your family to learn about your family health history.
*"Notice changes to your breasts!" : Know how your breasts look and feel, and report changes to your heath care provider right away.
*"Get mammograms and breast exams!" : Ask your doctor which screening tests are right for you if you are at higher risk. Have mammograms every year starting at age 40. Have clinical breast exams at least every three years beginning at age 20 and every year starting at age 40.
*"Start the fight by living right!" : Make healthy lifestyle choices that may reduce your breast cancer risk, such as:
*Maintaining a healthy weight.
*Adding exercise to your routine.
*Limiting alcohol intake.

Men, this applies to you as well. You can get breast cancer too. You need to do your self-examinations! I personally know men affected by this disease. It can happen to you.

Obviously breast cancer awareness is very close to my heart with my mom being a TWO TIME SURVIVOR of the terrible disease. Mom's grandmother died of breast cancer in the 1940's. I thank God for the advances in technology that have been made since that time. I'm trying to do my part to take care of myself and raise awareness. I'm involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure North Texas, which is holding their next annual race on June 12, 2010. I'm trying to eat healthier and add exercise into my routine. I've even already had a mammogram a few years back due to family history and to get a baseline. I think it's sad when someone won't go get a mammogram because they are scared that it will hurt. Really? It's not THAT bad. A little squishing here and there and you're done. It's much better than the alternative. Early detection saves lives. I know that personally.

So do me and yourself a favor...get those boobs squished, do the self-exams (yes I'm talking to myself), read the literature, donate your time and money, and become more aware. I'd love to see a world without breast cancer in my lifetime. It's what we're working for!

Save the Tatas!