January 2013
1 post
December 2012
4 posts
peppermint chocolate cookie bars (& secret yeti)
december brought a legendary “secret yeti” event to our workplace.
secret yeti? whaaaa? — if you have no idea what secret yeti is, here’s a brief synopsis:
1. each of our coworkers drew one name and kept it a secret (or tried to). 2. for the five weeks leading up to christmas break, we adorned our assigned coworker with gifts/random acts of kindness/borderline-creepy...
November 2012
2 posts
taking time for yourself.
[t][r][u][e] [l][i][f][e]: i binge.
i binge on adventures, and sweets, and exercise, and lack of sleep.
sometimes i get swept away in a sort of a tunnel-vision, missional sort of lifestyle that i forget to leave time for me.
time to decompress. time to be creative, and embrace my love of life itself.
i guess i’m not surprised that i found myself just last week at the brink of...
oh, hai ku! didn't see ya there.
i adore autumn crunchy leaves, cider, crisp air best beers, scarves, fam’ly
October 2012
1 post
steel-cut oats.
please allow me to make light of one of the most underrated breakfast foods i’ve yet to encounter…
STEEL-CUT OATS.
i was recently introduced to this wonderfully fibrous dish and have since integrated it into my daily diet.
so what are steel-cut oats?
“Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces...
September 2012
9 posts
The Ripple Effect
I’m one of the “office people” at College Possible. I use that term lightly because even as a cube-dweller, I definitely have more than enough opportunities to venture outside of the office walls.
This week was especially busy, adventure-wise.
Aside from visiting 4 of our partner high schools to complete various projects (recruiting new students, accompanying a donor on a...
hustle & bustle
78 & sunny, with lake winds: perfect biking weather. biking instead of driving: most excellent kind of release. 2.6 miles between my apartment & work: quality me time. (and cheaper than gas.)
combine the three and you’ve got a fool-proof formula for a mind-clearing 11 minutes in the morning.
working out in the morning has been a necessary part of my schedule. be it biking to work,...
the busiest month of my life. thus far.
hooftah.
the past 5 weeks have been absolutely, wonderfully exhausting.
there’ve been so many terrific, blog-worthy happenings lately, but unfortunately there’s been little time to sit down and just…think.
sorry for throwing everyone by the wayside. (i probably owe an extra-special apology to my dear camera for the neglect. sorry, elliot.)
busyness aside, i’d like to...
August 2012
1 post
AmeriCorps*VISTA training + the issue of poverty +...
I loaded up my car, checked the oil, picked out a mix CD, and backed my trusty Saturn out of the driveway.
I had spent the past 3 days on a small sabbatical—a bit of time in the town of which I called home for the past 4 years—between ending my job in my parents’ hometown and attending AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) training (also known as “Pre-Service Orientation” or “PSO”)...
July 2012
12 posts
living on an americorps stipend, part one:...
as many of you know, i’m moving to the big, bad city next weekend to start “big kid” (post-college) life!
i’ll be serving for a year as an americorps VISTA (volunteers in service to america) and living on a “modest” stipend of roughly $900/month. with rent/utilities teetering around $550/month, i’m flirting with ideas for how to live thriftily without...
my lil soapbox.
especially of late, i’ve noticed myself getting increasingly upset with the way our society is comfortable with the state of the world.
my genuine apologies if you’re irritated by my soapbox talks/quotes/statistics about issues such as hunger and starvation, homelessness, neglect, educational inequality, and abuse.
these are simply things that, in their current state of existence, i...
mom's best advice.
I was by no means an easy child to raise.
For the first 16 years of my life, I especially lived up to my title as an Army “brat”.
Instead of seeing and imitating the refined and perfect qualities of my parents
(the determination and selflessness of my dad,
or the joy and zest that my mom has for life),
I fostered my own collection of yucky traits:
I was...
sweet july peaches
summer is my favorite time of year.
i love the long daylight hours. i love waking up at 5 am to run (and not have to bundle up). i love beaches and sun and biking and hiking and driving for hours on end. i love camping with my family. i love our annual luau and grilling out and eating fruits all day. and i love the georgia peach truck.
every july, there’s a trucker that drives up from...
privileges.
When I was younger, I never saw college as a distant dream. College wasn’t an “option”. In my mind, it wasn’t even a “privilege”. It was an expectation.
Both of my parents -and even some of my grandparents- attended college, and I was slated to follow that path.
So when the time came to visit, apply to, and attend school, I had a community of college veterans...
June 2012
4 posts
“confession: i wish i was clever.”
why i run.
i’ve recently learned that there’s a large population of people who don’t understand “runners”.
i’d like to start off with a disclaimer that i am by no means a seasoned “runner”. yes, i run. i’m not quite sure when the bridge from recreational running to “runner” running happens. or if it happens. or if it’s a matter of...
May 2012
15 posts
vacation, and first-world problems.
i’m currently in the living room of a hotel suite in tampa, florida. to the left of me are three of my best friends from middle/early high school. (i haven’t seen them since 9th grade.) we’re lounging amidst a plethora of ice cream, candy bars, leftover pizza, and sparkling wine, and having conversations about the home renovation show we’re watching on one of the two huge...
things i never thought i'd do.
when i was little, i wanted to be an artist when i grew up.
i’m a adult now and, to an extent, i’d say i’m a practicing artist. not for a profession, but it’s still pretty neat. i feel like my childhood self would be pretty happy if i could re-visit her to tell her that i still love art (specifically photography), and i have a pretty baller camera. childhood kerstin would...
bumble and bumble sumotech (fauxhawk without the...
nearly two months post-shave, my hair is finally long enough to fauxhawk! hooray.
i’ve rocked a mini ‘hawk for the last three days, & i’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it. a common question seems to be: “how’d you get it to stay up without product?”
truth is, i DO use product! it thrills me that people can’t tell… because that crunchy gel...
rollercoaster emotions. (graduation)
my mind is in 34124982104981 places right now.
i can’t pinpoint a single emotion.
i look at my seemingly-endless “to-do” list, most of which needs to be polished off by tuesday, some of which i haven’t started, and i feel overwhelmed. i look at this list and i laugh, because i think to myself “there’s no way you’re going to complete this in time”....
“wee infants fascinate me.
there’s something about their curiosity; their...”
April 2012
12 posts
prom 2012: i'm the old fart with the driver's...
prom? 2012? WHAT?
yep. you read that correctly.
and just to make things clear up front: i did NOT crash* this prom. i was hired to chauffeur 6 freshmen, and i think i had just as much fun as those guys did.
if you’re confused as to why freshmen were making a prom appearance (as i was), let me explain. apparently when your district has 300 students between the middle/high school combined,...
