Quote of the Day

It comes only by saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much... It's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

- Steve Jobs, referring to innovation; but I would say this applies to personal greatness

What we did (in August)

My precious sister-in-law Kristy with the Teton wildflower bouquet we collected for Bruce's mom

• Witnessed our dear friend Sarah's wedding to our dear friend Jed. Happiness! (and pictures)
• Went to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana (barely) with the whole Christensen crew! 
• This included the beautiful Tetons, going to Yellowstone for the first (but NOT the last!) time, and family pictures :)
• I got some mild excema reaction between the fingers of my left hand. Traveling to Utah and Idaho only aggravated this*, sadly, so I had it throughout our vacation. :( 
• Bruce got very ill the day before we came home (Tuesday) **. Turns out he had an infection, but he is in good shape now with the antibiotics he got from our awesome doctor. Hooray for Dr. Tong!
• Not even a week after getting home, Bruce is off to Tahoe with his coworkers (for some reason Google did not invite spouses. Lame!). He left this morning.
• Bruce and I went without sugar in August. I went back on today and almost died.***

*Within 2 days of returning to California it cleared up. Truly California is the promised land.

**102.6 degree fever. No joke.

***I was placing an order for our anniversary cake**** and picking up some cupcakes for a friend's birthday at Icing on the Cake in Los Gatos when I decided to treat myself to the cookie dough cupcake. Big mistake. I couldn't eat another bite until another hour later, it was so overwhelmingly sweet. I had to pace myself and I just finished eating the last bite now -- 4 hours later. Unprecedented.
****I know, right? Just 6 weeks away!

Quote of the Day

There must be more to life than having everything!
Maurice Sendak

Quote of the Day

The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.
Robert Louis Stevenson

#30 Witness Stuart's temple marriage

The happy couple!

Last weekend Bruce and I flew to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Stuart's wedding to Barbara Wittwer. It was extremely hot and humid, but St. Louis is so beautiful and green. We loved meeting the Wittwers, who are an incredibly sweet family, and we are so excited that Barb is now in our family!

Classic: beautiful Barbara and silly Stu :)

 We were so happy to have so many of my cousins come to St. Louis for the occasion! My Thomas cousins Glenn (with his wife Cindy & their beautiful boys + girl) and Melanie came as well as Jacob (with his wife Veronica and their sweet girls). On my mom's side (the Bradshaws), Hyrum and his wife Rae came. Jacob and my cousin Hyrum are two of Stuart's closest cousins, so it was so wonderful that they could both be there! Also, my adopted brother Dave Hodgman was there, so it really was complete.

The darling daughters of my cousin Jacob & his wife Veronica

It may seem silly to have my siblings' weddings on my list, but they really are some of the most important events I have had and hope to have in life. My brothers and sisters are some of my best friends and I love and admire all of them. It is wonderful to know that Stuart will have a best friend in Barb.

FHE Report

Bruce and I try to do a family evening on Monday nights, although sometimes we do them on Tuesdays.

This week we planned more in advance than we usually do. The goal is to sing a hymn (we started from hymn #1 and are going straight through -- sometimes we sing the same hymn two weeks in a row to be sure we really learn it!), pray, have a lesson and an activity.

This week's assignments were as follows:

Hymn: 18 - The Voice of God Again is Heard

Prayer: Karren

Lesson: --this was delivered late because my brother Gordon stopped by and our activity was time sensitive -- Bruce referenced Elder Porter's address in the June 2011 Ensign - Defending the Family in a Troubled World

Activity: We went to Santana Row and saw Midnight in Paris

Treat: We went to The Cheesecake Factory and got some small plates to share

We really enjoyed the movie! It had lots of references to American writers and artists from the 20s and the Hemingway references were especially delightful. It was one of the milder PG-13 movies we have seen in awhile. It was a fun, light movie -- perfect for a date.

#40: Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

Happy Birthday, Bruce!

Bruce and I drove to Petaluma (up north in wine country, southwest of Napa) on Friday night. We had a really nice dinner at Le Bistro and then we planned on a sunrise hike on Saturday morning (Bruce's birthday). What better way to greet a birthday than with the sun?

What Bruce didn't know was that we were actually going to go on a hot air balloon ride. I couldn't figure out how to wake him up at 4:15AM, but luckily he has talked about a sunrise hike for awhile, so I lucked out!

While it was quite thrilling to drive up and see the huge balloons, the ride itself was very serene -- you really do just drift and float. That day we just explored the area and then settled down to watch "UP!" :)

Here is the slideshow of the ride:

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Bruce's birthday and also marks 9 months of marriage for us. It's amazing how much life has accelerated and how quickly one adapts to change. I love being married to Bruce and am grateful that he is my partner in life and beyond!

After work today I'm surprising Bruce with a trip out of town (within driving distance). It was fun telling him to pack a bag without him knowing exactly where we're going. It's not really anything exotic, but it's fun to be able to go away together on an adventure!

Have a great weekend!

What we did (over the last two weeks)

Two Karrens together!

• Visited my first niece Audrey Karren Lyle on her birthday.*
• [I] co-hosted an epic*** bridal shower for a beloved past roommate Sarah O. Bruce took the pictures and witnessed his first (and last) bridal shower.
• Celebrated my brother Gordon getting a job after a two year hiatus. Hooray!
• [I] made this cake twice.****
• [I] worked a gazillion hours (including past midnight in the office on Friday). yuck.
• [Both] enjoyed work holidays on Tuesday, July 5th -- and borrowed my dad's convertible to celebrate.
• Celebrated my best friend Andie's birthday!
• Had the obligatory ribs, swimming, root beer floats, and flag-raising breakfasts that come with Independence Day.
• Biked to Shoreline Amphitheater on the Fourth and saw the San Francisco symphony along with amazing fireworks!
• [I] got a haircut with like 5-6 inches cut off. 
• Visited with two friends from out of town, Christina and her fiance Victor (in town from Chicago) who had come out for our wedding in October and Inki & Robert (in town from Norway with their beautiful little girls). It was great catching up!

*Which happens to be Friday, June 24th**

**Which anniversary she shares with my sister-in-law Amanda!

***Epic in both how happy it was and in how tired we were afterwards

****Bruce likes it served with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. I like it best plain the next day.

Cause I'm a sucker for internet visuals

I got this via my cousin Alice via her SIL Ashley. Let's keep in mind that until my senior year of high school I had only been to 4 states: Arizona, California, Utah, and Hawaii. And I had been to 3 countries: US, Mexico, Australia. I've added 16 states and 2 countries since then. Don't you think I should add more countries to the mix? I do :)

Here are the states I've visited so far:

visited 20 states (40%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

And countries:

visited 5 countries (2.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World

A few things

1. On Friday my older brother Gordon signed an offer for full-time employment! After 2 years, 2 months of contract / part-time work since graduating with his MBA, we are extremely grateful! He starts on Monday - hooray!
2. I paid my deposit for the cruise in February 2012!! I am going with some high school / church friends from Saratoga / LG as a celebration of our 30th birthdays.
3. I found a spot behind the laurel hedge in our yard that is PERFECT for a discreet clothesline. This could save us $15-20 a month! (Our coin-op laundry is very expensive - $1.25-$2.00 / load - and we do 2-3 loads a week.)
4. I burned myself with the curling iron yesterday. It looked scandalous*, but only hurt for an hour or so.

*And, naturally, I burned the right side of my neck - the side that faces the entire congregation** when I play the organ.

**Do not you worry! I was able to strategically place my hair such that I think my burn escaped detection. ;-)

#49: Buy a Bicycle

I just crossed #49 off of my list - Bruce and I found a bike on Craig's List on Memorial day and now I am just riding all over the place!

So far I've completed 20 or 21 out of the 50 I've defined so far! My goal is to complete 25 by my 30th birthday and to add the next dozen or so (I purposely haven't defined all 100 as I want to give room to develop new goals).

Here is what I'm working on now:

• #8 - Go Rock Climbing
• #16 - Go on a Cruise
• #30 - Witness Stuart's Temple Marriage :)
• #45 - Learn to Play the Organ Using Pedals
• #50 - Visit Crater Lake, Oregon

Since the proposed cruise is technically after my birthday (even though it's in the same month!), I need to come up with one more that I could accomplish in the next 7 months or so - I want to plan on beating my goal of 25 by a few, so that there is NO risk I'll miss it! I'm thinking #33...

Things I'm Looking Forward To

• Riding my bike tonight
• Eating the strawberries, brie and walnuts that are waiting for me at home.
• The pending niece that has almost, ALMOST arrived...
• My haircut scheduled for next month.
• My baby brother Stuart's wedding in a month! (!!)
• Sarah's and Jed's wedding in August! (!!)
• Christensen family vacation in August*
• Crater Lake in September
• Spending Christmas in Portland**

*In Which I Will Take Off 7 Days From Work.
**In Which I Will Take Off 5 Days From Work.

Things that make me happy

<3

(in no particular order)

1. Sleeping 10 hours at night*
2. Riding my bike =)
3. Being married to Bruce
4. Cooking dinner
5. Flowers
6. Reading / listening / watching GC talks, Mormon.org profiles and Mormon Messages**
7. Being with my nephews (see picture)
8. Google Docs
9. Talking to extended family on the phone***
10. Having a clean house

*One of Bruce's 'surprises' when he married me
**I have found that when I don't do this, I'm not happy.
***Poor man's alternative to being with them....

This Week

• Bought a bike on Craigslist
• Bruce fixed it up tonight :)
• Did wedding planning / helping (Stu's wedding)
• Bought a new pair of jeans -- I'm finally getting used to the new weight / body I have with birth control. My only real complaint is that half of my wardrobe doesn't work right now... (okay two: and the heartburn side effect. So happy to have Zantac and tums!)
• Planned Bruce's birthday surprise -- so excited about this!
• Punched the numbers and confirmed that nothing has changed -- we still will never be able to afford a house in the Bay Area. heh.
• Caught & beat a cold.
• Caught my youngest nephew FINALLY calling me "Kawen"* (instead of "Bruce").

*He's not the only one to miss the 'r's. A few months ago Bruce and I signed up to help clean our church building on a Saturday morning. When the sign-ups went around the following week, someone had typed out previous sign-ups and mine read "Kawen Christensen." 

Pixar Surprise

[Email sent 17 October 2009 to some former roommates of mine]

I am lying on a couch in the ladies restroom of the Oakland Interstake Center. My feet have healing ant bites from my uncle's grave dedication and so I find it particularly soothing to jam the right one between the hard arm and the seat cushion. I am taking a break from the two temple shifts I am working today and will return shortly to iron my hair and eat in the cafeteria.

But first I'm providing an update on last evening to you.

Last night started appropriately with Bruce and I meeting at Melville* for an evening run during which we relied heavily upon our inner compasses. Bruce runs in his glasses. After the run Bruce asked me when we could go out again. I wavered slightly in my reply because I am going to Arizona for a week (a week!) starting on Monday but told him that tonight or tomorrow would work. With that we decided we would meet back at my house to watch a movie.

So Bruce arrived and selected Monsters, Inc. I sat down on the couch while he negotiated the DVD player and when he came to join me he sat directly right immediately just next to me on my left.

I wasn't making my hand too available neither was he making the move he was clearly intent upon (seriously? But yes, he was intent. This much was clear) and when my feet were getting cold I threw caution to the wind and grabbed a blanket.

"Do you want a blanket?" I asked. He answered enthusiastically. And with one deft motion grabbed one end of the blanket to pull to his side with one arm and pulled me into him with the other. Not long after that he put his other arm around me and over my hand.

And so I found myself watching pixar in the arms of one BC.

Shortly after he left he sent me the following text:

1. If you walk out your front door and look to the right, you'll see Orion at the end of your street.
2. You rock.

Love
kt

*Melville is the name of a home I shared with the aforementioned roommates for 2 years.

Good Morning

Breakfast

Drinking at least 2 of these a day

Gift from Bruce =)

Holiday!

My company randomly gave us Friday as a holiday this week. Words cannot express my happiness!

Bruce still has to go to work (bummer) and, incidentally, has a scout campout that night. In the 6+ months we've been married, the only time we've spent apart has been when I've had business trips, so this will be quite the novelty: having 100% discretionary time by myself for ~30 hours.

I have a lot of ideas in my head, but I've decided to play it by ear and keep things relaxed. Here are a few things I'm considering:

• sleeping in (both Friday AND Saturday!)
• hiking "the dish" at Stanford, or maybe just 
• going for a run, or maybe
• getting a massage* at Courtside Club** in Los Gatos & then working out at their gym*** & maybe also using their amazing steam room with eucalyptus oil mmmmmm
• seeing my nephews
• cleaning out some files / papers
• seeing the new Jane Eyre in theaters****

*Let it be noted that Bruce gets free massages at Google (or heavily discounted at least) -- so I deserve one now, obviously.

**We got massages at Courtside Club last year for Bruce's birthday and pretty much that day was THE tipping point on us deciding to get hitched****, so you can see it's a good idea for me to go back to this place. 

***You get free access to the club (gym, steam room, pool...) when you buy spa services. Luckily, their massages are way more affordable than most spas since they are primarily a gym.
****Bruce has suggested I do this one without him. hehe

***** kinda kidding on that one - but only kinda.

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who made the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and the crotchety -

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light -
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

6 Months

Bruce and I have been married 6 months as of last Saturday. To celebrate, we went to Arizona to attend the wedding of our mutual friend Benj Christensen. We are so happy for him and Meg :)

Photo lifted from Chris Perry's facebook. Thanks, Chris :)

It was fun to reflect on our wedding day 6 months ago - our ceremony, the day, the wonderful honeymoon afterward - and to hope the best for these two. Their wedding dinner was rather fabulous and the bride was beautiful. It was great seeing Benj's family again (since my surprise visit to them in Vienna almost 2 years ago!) as well as my grandparents, my Uncle Richard's family, and my Aunt Mary's family (with whom we stayed while in town).