Hello, My name is... Kimberly

A Memorable Memorial Weekend

2010-06-04T17:02:00.001-04:00

Since my office is always closed the Friday before Memorial Day, Ryan and I decided to take a little roadtrip. We didn't know what we were going to do until we decided on Tuesday morning to drive all over the East and into Canada. Luckily we have flexible enough families that they were cool with us dropping in at the last minute.

Friday morning we got up early and drove to Twinsville (right outside of Cleavland) to visit Ryan's Aunt Tracy (better known as Bubby) and Uncle Mike. We ate dinner in their lovely backyard and went to a single's adult conference (where Mike was presiding) to listen to John Bytheway speak.

The next morning we were also lucky enough to accompany the Bytheways on a personal tour of the Kirtland Temple. The tour guide took us to the upper rooms of the temple where Joseph Smith had had many visions and revelations.

(picture stolen from this website)

We said our goodbyes and drove another 90 minutes to one of the greatest amusement parks in the country: Cedar Point!

It was a beautiful day! And while there were lots of kids there (it was like the high school band day at the park), we still enjoyed ourselves while we played games in line, and especially when going on some of the greatest rides in the world.

You may think I'm exaggerating about Ohio having some of the greatest rides in the world, but before you do, let me say this. We went so high and so fast on some of these rides that when we finished two of the rides my shirt had unbuttoned.

Did you hear that? My shirt came unbuttoned. Not once, but twice.

Even Superman himself can't do that.
(Though I'm just assuming that he probably wouldn't because he's not a creep...but you see my point.)

When the rides shut down, we drove on to Northville (right outside of Detroit) and visited my brother Mark and his wife, Shannon and their six kids.

We had one of the funnest days playing hide-and-seek with the kids, running around their backyard, playing freeze tag in the basement, walking around the Detroit waterfront, and just catching up.

While Mark & Shannon came to our wedding last summer, it's been nearly a year since I've seen their kids and they are cuter than ever. Would you look at these faces? How could you resist them?

Monday morning we got up early and drove to Niagara Falls where we met up with some photards (i.e. strangers who are not good at taking pictures).

Here you can see that we are at Niagara Falls...

oh, you can't see the falls? It's the photard's fault.

Thanks...

After doing a lot of racial profiling we gave up trying to determine which ethnicity takes the best pictures, and just took some of our own.

We walked around the falls area, got our fortunes told, and then rode the Maid of the Mist (which was a highlight as you can see),

before jumping in the car and driving back to Manhattan where we arrived at about midnight on Monday night.

Phew. It was kind of a whirl wind, but I'd do it again.

I love road trips! Especially with Ryan.

And with our new travel companion, Gypsy (the GPS that we bought off of Craigslist before our trek).

Stats about our roadtrip:

Miles Traveled: 1406
Hours in the car: 26

Top MPH on a Roller Coaster: 120 MPH
Longest wait for a Roller Coaster: 1 1/2 hrs. (but it was the Maverick. It's the greatest ride in the world. We couldn't resist)

Car food consumed: Grapes (3 bunches), Yogurts (3), Strawberries (2 pints), Wheat thins (2 boxes), Clementines (1 bag), Bananas (2), Orange Juice (2 liters), Nectarines (2), Apple (1), French bread (1), Ciabatta loaf (1), Cheese (more than I'm willing to admit).

Memorable things found in gas stations: An LDS book rack (in Pennsylvania), ketchup and fry flavored chips (in Ohio), and tour buses full of tourists from India (everywhere).

Spring Break

2010-04-21T16:25:00.020-04:00

Since my "real life" job doesn't give a week for spring break (boo!), I decided to take matters into my own hands and take some time off work to enjoy the lovely spring flowers

(pictures by my talented husband, Ryan)

and take a wee jaunt to DC to meet up with Taylor, Ryan's Sister, and her husband Todd

(incidentally, we found some other DC Wheelers, pictured here) (Sorry I can't remember your name, Aubrey, or whoever you are. Luckily you probably don't remember mine either, so we're even?)

to spend time with my awesome in-laws, Kim & John, to enjoy the spring weather in New York City,to ride my bike, and to enjoy the extra time with Ryan.

Easter in New Yolk City

2010-04-09T11:30:00.016-04:00

Easter was one of the most beautiful days that we've had all year. If we weren't in the church trying to soak up everything said at general conference we were outside trying to soak up the amazing weather.Early Sunday morning we dressed in our Easter outfits and went to the Easter Bonnet Parade on 5th avenue. New York's Easter bonnet parade gives the best evidence that Easter brings all types of people together:
1-The Classy Upper East Siders, 2-Families 3-The church-going women up in Harlem, 4-And the crazies. We should be the poster children for this event because somehow or another, we seem to fit into all four categories.

We took hundreds of pictures of hats and had a few taken of us too.
(Some of our favorite Easter Hats)After parading around for a bit we ran across the park and made it to conference just before it started.After the first session of conference, we raced up to Central Parkto meet up with Candice & Jordan Wheeler and Hank & Stacy Toone to play a little game of croquet.

Candice, a self proclaimed croquet champion, was not happy with Jordan's win...

but they did seem to make up once we started taking glamor shots in the flowers.

We call this "The Toones Shotgun wedding engagement photo"

After the photo session, we walked around the park and ran back up to church to catch the second Sunday session.
After conference we had a little visit from the Easter Bunny i.e. Melissa & Davis.

Davis was kind enough to wear the bunny ears all during dinner which added to our springy decor.Happy Easter!

KIMBIRTHDEY (the big 3-0)

2010-03-30T20:59:00.020-04:00

For the record, Let me just say that I'm happy about being 30. People keep saying to me:

"Oh, that's a BIG one!"
"Oh boy, you're SO old."
"Ugh are you depressed?"
Or other like statements to jab me or to commiserate with me.

But in any case, let me say again: I'm excited about my 30's.

Why?
Well...glad you asked:
1-Saying that I'm 30 makes me feel like a legitimate adult (something that my maturity level has never let me feel)
2-If I'm ever going to have kids...it's going to have to be in my 30's
3-I imagine that if I ever have any type of career it will also be in my 30's
4-And most importantly, if I say I want to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. I feel like that's fine. I'm no longer a 20 year-old trying to pass for a teenager. I'm a mature woman and I'm looking forward to MORE SLEEP (oh, unless that whole baby or career thing works out for me).

So take that 20's. I'm so over you. Literally, because
I'm 30

What is also awesome about turning a year older (specifically this year) is that I have a sweet husband who did everything, besides turning back the clocks, to try and ease me through this transition. He did what he does best: Made the whole weekend a celebration.

FRIDAY:
When I came home from work on Friday, Ryan had brightened up our apartment by putting roses all over the apartment and also helping our little white trees to bud.He also physically brightened it by making this sign for me
SATURDAY
On Saturday, we followed what is now our favorite birthday tradition (see here and here). We spent the whole day trying to accomplish 30 acts of service.

The 30 Acts:
1-Passed out 30 roses2-Filled phone booths with change
3-Left 30 random notes around the city
4-Picked up 30 pieces of garbage
5-Talked to an old man, named Herb, that I happened to serve last year.
Last year he was feeding the birds by the cathedral so we thought it was pretty exciting to run into him again. 6-Gave bread to a homeless man
7-Gave directions to tourists
8-Hid 30 Easter Eggs in various locations around the city9-Handed out 30 balloons to 30 kids10-Took treats to the Saturday temple workers
11-Helped some tourists take pictures together in the park
12-Doubled a couples odds at the Wicked lottery
13-Carried strollers down the subway stairs
14-Handed out candy on the subway
15-Lifted luggage up the subway stairs
16-Gave out free subway swipes
17-Bought someone popcorn at the movies
18-Brought hot chocolate to a street vendor that seemed really cold (it was FREEZING outside that night)
19-Gave directions to a group of teenagers who were lost in the city
20-Took a man named Rowland to get a Grey's Papaya
21-Bought chicken McNuggets for a man who called himself 007
22-Called Ryan's Grandma (who just got out of surgery)
23-Bought a lamb & rice dinner for a beggar named Calvin
24-Gave directions to Tourists
25-Gave out 30 dollar bills to different musicians and beggars around the city
26-Took a man, named Hutch, to dinner
27-Lifted a super heavy stroller down the stairs
28-Said "Hi" to 30 people
29-Donated money to "This American Life"
30-Donated money to "New York Cares"

It was a really fun and tiring day. I realize that maybe none of these acts of service were that meaningful to anyone, balloons deflate, McDonald's meals are forgettable, but the whole day meant a lot to me and I feel so lucky to have spent it that way.

Each time we've done this day of service I feel too inadequate to sum it up. But since I'm putting it up here anyway, I just can't help but say a few things.

Most importantly the reason it's such a good day is because it always reminds me that service can be SO small.
A smile.
Holding the door open for someone.
Being nice to a stranger.
Sometimes I forget that to affect the server and/or the served, it doesn't have to kill anyone.

Also, I believe that giving things on a larger scale (or better said, a more difficult scale) reaps huge rewards. When it hurts to give (again, not killing you...but maybe just pinching you), your joy will be immense.

I would assume that most people reading this are much nicer people that I am (because I think I know most of you) so I'll stop raving about things that you already know or already do. But if I can add anything else it's just that whether you serve often or not there are so many ways that we can and should serve and no matter what, you'll feel so much happier once you've given something more. Don't let yourself miss those opportunities.

Lastly, if you want any incentive to do something, here are two things I've been thinking about since Saturday:

This quote from CS Lewis
President Monson's talk from last October General Conference

SUNDAY
(My Birthday)
Sunday I woke up to Ryan bringing me breakfast in bed. It was Fast Sunday, so there wasn't much on my plate.
We went to church and I taught sharing time while Ryan taught singing time in primary. I had a meeting after church and when I finished, Ryan picked me up at the chapel in our friend's car and took me to Coney Island (one of my favorite places).

We came home and Ryan cooked me a Thai peanut stir fry dinner (so delicious). We ate and relaxed, but only for a few minutes because we had another Sunday drive to go on. We drove up to Westchester to pick up Ryan's birthday present to me (a bike. Yeah!!!)(How adorable is that? Huh? Wait until you see me on it. The 30's have never looked so cute.)

We came back to New York, went for a bike ride, and then came home and had some of the delicious mango pie that Ryan made for me earlier that morning while I was sleeping (is there anything he can't do?).Besides having a great husband to celebrate with, I have two sisters 2,000 miles away who were trying to help me feel their love by texting me all day (30 in total) with their favorite memories of me, sending me videos of the whole family singing happy birthday, and shipping an awesome birthday present full of 30 things that they love about me.

So, while I we ate pie, I opened all 30 of their little packages of love and talked to my family.It was a wonderful weekend.
See why I'm so happy about this 30 thing?

White People

2010-03-25T15:37:00.009-04:00

A few years ago Kim Gardner was visiting me and on our way to church I glanced at her legs and said something like, "Hey, nice white nylons."

She laughed because she wasn't wearing any nylons at all and thought I was just making a joke.

I wasn't making a joke.

In fact, it wasn't until hours later that I realized that she wasn't wearing nylons at all, that's just really the color of her skin.

But that's one of the reasons we lover her: pearly, white skin.
What was lovely, was that last weekend (i.e. March 21--late post, I know...I haven't been able to upload pictures to blogger) Kim Gardner came to visit. We hadn't seen her in MONTHS and since it was the warmest weekend we've had all year we gladly exposed our winter white skin while being outdoors all weekend long...and not just to make Kim feel better about that whole white nylon comment from a few years back.

Also, especially for her, we pulled out all of our favorite pictures of her to make her feel at home in Harlem Went to a Broadway Show
We ate some great Chinese food
We celebrated Heather's birthday gluten-free styleWe went to the Farmer's Market in Union Square Visited the home of a dead author
We saw Anderson Cooper...not on purpose, but he just happens to live across the street from the dead author
Walked all around New York City And went to Versailles...I mean, the MetAnd we celebrated my birthday a little bit.

Also, if you know Kim Gardner, you must know that she always remembers your birthday and is a great gift giver. Some of my favorite books I've read have come from Kim.

Ironically, this year Kim gave me the book, "Stuff White People Like" and basically every activity we did that weekend had been made fun of by the book. So, I guess it was kind of Kim Gardner's way of proving who really has the fairest skin of all.

But, as you can see, it really is hard to tell who is whiter,
but that's probably why we get along so well.

Pi(e) Party

2010-03-16T12:22:00.010-04:00

We don't know that much about math, but we know that Pi=3.14

Just don't judge us because that's ALL we know about pi.

We do, however, know and love PIE.
All sorts of pie.
(you may have noticed that, though)

So combining all of our mathematical knowledge with a bit of our baking and decorating forces, we decided to celebrate pi(e) in all it's glory on what seemed to be the most appropriate day:
3.14 (i.e. March 14).

I made 6 pies:
Apple and Tart Cherry
Lemon curd with a Rosemary crust
Chocolate cream
Blueberry
Banoffee
Key Lime Pie
(And we also had a generous apple pie contribution, thanks again Carrie & Erik)Ryan decorated our apartment and made pie hatsAnd we had some friends over to celebrate Pi(e) with us
And according to the pie left-overs (or lack there of), it seems that we're not the only pie lovers out there.I will be posting all these recipes this week on my pie blog.

Another Snow Day

2010-03-02T18:02:00.006-05:00

So, I'm a few days late, but we had another record snowfall here in NYC.

Beautiful. Again, just beautiful.

I'm sad to say, that by the time I'm actually getting around to writing this post, the streets hardly show any more evidence of how wonderful it was.

Thank goodness it's not spring yet, right?
I think that snowstorms like this are heaven-sent (unless, of course, you're traveling in it).Other things that occupied our weekend: here, here, and here.

Get A Room

2010-02-16T09:27:00.009-05:00

Why I love my Valentine:

He's my best friend
He makes me laugh
He makes life better
And he's so good looking!

Every time I tell him these type of things, he rolls his eyes and says, "Get a room."
Which is his way of saying, "Thanks"

But people,
I have the best husband.
I know it.
And you know it.
So, hold onto your barf bags, because our Valentine's weekend was gagdorable.

First of all, I was especially smitten when I came home from work on Friday and he had decorated our apartment like this:

On Friday night we went to a dinner/dance club and took swing dancing lessons.
We mopped the floor with our one dance move until the band started playing and all the regulars started arriving and showed us a thing or two.

On Saturday, we both had things that we had to do early in the morning so when we met back up at our apartment, we spent the rest of the afternoon making cookies for our neighbors and snuggling for warmth.

That night we went to Carmen, the opera, at the Met. Thanks to the singing orange on Sesame Street, I was already familiar with the music.

We couldn't get over the chandeliersand how beautiful the fountain is at Lincoln Center.And more than anything, it was fun to be there together. There's no one I would have rather been with.

On Sunday we did our regular church/meeting/nap schedule and then we went for a walk in Central Park, ate dinner, and then went to a midnight show at a Jazz club.
(Midnight. So that means Monday. Not the sabbath anymore in case you needed clarification.)

One of the Dreamgirls, Lillias White, sang love songs and she was amazing.

And since we were awake until the wee hours of Monday morning, we spent most of the day doing things around our apartment, being lazy, and watching Meg Ryan movies.And, I may or may not have cried during "Sleepless in Seattle".But it was okay, because I think that Ryan did too.

From Fran:

2010-02-11T09:48:00.006-05:00

Pictures from a photographer we met yesterday morning, Fran Reisner.

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T11:03:00.006-05:00

I

LOVE

SNOW!!!

And you know what I love more than snow?
Playing in the snow with this guy:
(that's Ryan, if you couldn't tell)

I feel like Central Park's most beautiful moments are when it's covered in snow. I probably feel that way because I love snow so much, but also it only happens a few times each year, and when it does the park is exceptionally peaceful, quiet, and clean.

It also probably seems more beautiful because it is completely opposite of what the rest of the city is like when it snows: chaotic, windy, and covered in dirty, slushy snow.

So when we woke up and saw that the big, anticipated "blizzard" had finally started, we pulled on our boots and walked to work through The Park, because we didn't want to miss out on this:

This is me calling work to tell them I'm going to be a little late...like an hour late...oops...

Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons whipping pastry

2010-02-08T13:15:00.004-05:00

Dear Mom,

This probably won't turn into your most beloved song of all times, but I hope you listen to it. Last night my friend, Rachel, dissected some of the lyrics and it turns out, this guy is singing about Ryan & I.

Listen carefully, or you might miss it, to the line at 0:30

Mom, it's cool because he's kind of a big deal. Who would have thought Jay-Z knew what we do in our kitchen.

Maybe we should think about getting curtains...

Love,

Kimberly

p.s. Yes, we're still "whipping pastries." This week I made a chocolate peanut butter pie. I think you would have liked it. Come visit and I'll make one for you.

Resolutions

2010-01-11T14:37:00.010-05:00

I believe in resolutions

I believe in making resolutions every year (though I usually wait until a week into the New Year, so I'm good and ready to keep the resolutions).
And while I often make a weight-loss/exercise resolution at this time of year, this time around, I'm making a resolution to make more pies.
That's right. Eat more sugary, and delicious pies.
52 to be exact.
I will be tracking my progress here.
and if you're interested in reading up on my first pie, click here.
Why?

Well...there's really not much more to say than what I've already said:
My husband likes eating pie,
I am also a big fan of eating (anything, but especially sugary things),
I love cooking and baking,
and while I've made some delicious pies in my day (if I do say so myself), I've also made some...um...not so good pies.
So all in all, I'm hoping to 1-feed my husband, 2-bake more, 3-expand my pie repertoire, 4-and in so doing, try to become some type of a pie extraordinaire.

And hopefully, even with all this pie, my weight-loss resolutions won't have to be reinstated until next year.

Two Thousand Mine

2010-01-07T12:24:00.012-05:00

I feel like everyone is so down on 2009. As if it were a major burden and their happy to have it off their back.

Maybe I'm too nostalgic, but I just keep thinking about how it was one of my favorite years. I felt like everything came together for me in big ways and in small ways. At the top of the list, of course, I got married; but there were so many personal miracles leading up to our engagement and so many surprisingly wonderful moments after as well. To anyone else (except for maybe Ryan), the details of these events would probably seem silly, but let me just say, generally speaking, that 2009 was great.

Although I'm very nostalgic, I'm not really one for trying to play catch up with my journal or with my blog. However, before I archive my pictures from the past and move on to 2010, I'd go ahead and pepper the old blog with some of the liked, yet unused pictures of 2009.

The view from my bedroom window
(in the apartment I lived in while I was single)
From one of my many spring walks in the Conservatory Gardens
My Former Street
Going to the "Senior Prom" with Ryan
(we loved this lady...especially her eyebrows)
When my Mom came to visit a month before the wedding
The 4th of July in Provo
Moving in together & painting our apartment

Here's hoping that 2010 will be as great as this past year:

Two (globes)
Thousand(s of people)
Mine

This is The Place...to Party

2010-01-06T16:19:00.009-05:00

Maybe that's not how Brigham said it, but that's kind of how our week in Utah felt.

We drove all up and down I-15 trying to spend as much time as we could with our family while also fitting in some key elements that Utah has over New York City (namely, the Rocky Mountains):

We sledded

We skied
We ran on the steep streets of Oak & Indian Hills

We played "Ticket to Ride"

We met baby Gweneth (Catherine's newest)
We visited with brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even some ex-New Yorkers
(oh, how we miss you all)

We built fires...and by that I mean, we watched my Dad build fires (folks, I'm no boy scout)

We inhaled Scott's Thai food
We watched movies

We laughed until late into the night

We saw old friends
(i.e. as in long time friends...if she looks old, it's because she just got back from a third world country. Give her a break.)
We ate Cafe Rio

We hoped for the lines to die down at In-n-Out
(though they never did)

We decorated my parent's house for New Year's
We danced the night away
And then we beat our "New Years" ball until it produced candy We were in Zion
(or so my dad proclaimed when we arrived)

To Seattle

2010-01-05T13:30:00.014-05:00

My Favorite things about the week of Christmas

*Skiing at Whistler (2 great ski days with new snow each day)
*Watching the birds near the Harmony lift

(yes, that is Ryan giving the bird the bird)
*The Nativity, Christmas Eve at Nana & Papa's house*Nana's Decorations
*The frost on Whidbey Island, Christmas Morning.

*Going to the Messiah sing-along in Seattle. (My favorite Christmas tradition that I've adopted from Ryan, is going to as many Messiah Sing alongs as possible during the Christmas season. This Seattle sing-along is one of my favorites that he's taken me to; they don't skip any of the songs and it's a sing along as well as a play-along.)

*Watching the "Barbie Christmas Carol" and playing super heros with Grant & Aurora (my new niece and nephew).
*Being with Ryan 100% of the week.
*Relaxing and enjoying Kim's decorations.
*Starting a new knitting project (thanks to my inspiring & helpful in-laws).
*Getting to know Ryan's extended family a little better.
*Eating (but of course I'd put that on the list) I loved our cheesy, rosemary french toast that we had on Christmas morning; as well as our very creative, and surprisingly delicious Christmas dinner that we put together from what we could find at the only open store on Bainbridge; the Christmas treats that Leslie made, and I can never get enough peppermint ice cream.

(Excuse my excessive love for food, but it was Christmas and I'm eating for two: me & my husband.)

Up On The House Top

2010-01-05T10:08:00.015-05:00

We danced

(Dancing pictures from Jake)

Took pictures in front of the Christmas Tree with the Jell-o Mold:

And then threw it out the window (because we wanted to see how it sounded)

We are very mature people

Just the way we left it...almost

2010-01-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

We returned this morning on the almost always painful redeye from SLC to NYC.

When we went to the airport two weeks ago we didn't think that we'd actually fly out because our flight, the day before, had been canceled as well as ALL flights from New York/New Jersey because of "the big storm."

In a half-hearted effort to give hope a chance, we grabbed whatever was packed in our luggage and left in the wee hours of the morning.

We carried our suitcases down five flights of stairs, rolled them the two avenues (despite the nine or so inches of snow that had fallen) to the subway, subwayed to Penn Station, trained to Newark, airbused to some parking lot, rolled our suitcases through the snow once again, and started waiting in line.

The only things I could think about were:
1-How we had promised God and ourselves that we would NEVER complain about the weather again because we got the best weather on our wedding day...so I was thinking about that and any other non-complaining thought in my head.

2-How we were probably going to have to wait at the airport until dark only to roll our suitcases back to the parking lot, wait for the airbus, so we could wait for the train, in order to get back on the subway and roll our luggage through the snow to our little fifth floor walk-up. Blerg.

3-And how bad I would have been at being a pioneer.

Ultimately, it wasn't bad at all.
While I waited in one of the many eternal lines (surrounded by sleepy, screaming strangers), Ryan looked for other alternatives.

And in what can only be explained as a Christmas Miracle, Ryan found Bianca, the Continental agent, and told her he would "lick her face" if she got us on a flight.

Whether that was the reason or not, she got us on (even though he didn't actually lick her face. I will admit, however, that I kissed her face and hoped it made up for Ryan not licking it.)

So we made it to Seattle only twelve hours later than planned. (Again, let me emphasize: CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.)

And besides the melted snow, the strange smell in our garbage can, and the way the streets feel like a ghost town when all the tourists are gone--it's basically the same old place.

...but since the nostalgia of the Christmas season (and especially of our family) is still fresh, allow me to share a few pictures of one of the best Christmases I've ever had.
More to come, this week...

My True Love Gave to Me:

2009-12-17T10:31:00.010-05:00

Gold & Silver Paper Birds
A few white branches

A big white fluffy wreath
(probably to go with my fluffy white booty)

Colored bulbs & balls

A Lovely little Christmas Tree
and one big peppermint pole

Isn't he the best??

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Reasons to be Thankful

2009-11-28T13:09:00.008-05:00

That I'm married to such a talented man that can turn our little apartment into this:

That my food was pretty delicious (if I do say so myself)

That Stephanie Nielson is okay, not just because of all that she's been through in the past year, but also because she had to go to the hospital on Thanksgiving day and wasn't able to come to dinner.

And that even though she couldn't come, we were able to share our dinner with her family (Ryan's cousins and my neighbors from Provo), the Clark family:

That Andrew knew how to and was willing to carve a turkey (I still have no real idea how to do it). Thanks Andrew!
And although we've spent the past three Thanksgivings together (2008 & 2007), I'm so grateful to be married this year and not have to go home to our separate apartments.

Pie Am Thankful

2009-11-25T11:23:00.000-05:00

Ryan LOVES pie.

And...I LOVE Ryan

I also love food
and I especially love cooking food.

Because of this combination of loves, I've recently I had the bug for baking pies:

Berry pies,
Peach pies,

Pear pies,

but mostly apple pies.
(They all look like the same pie...don't they?)

Recently, I have also had the bug for competition...specifically pie competitions.

I'm an amateur, but I wanted another reason to make a pie so, when I saw this:

I had to enter. My pie:

The Competition:

The Results:

Well...I didn't win...but one of the judges complimented my pie and since it seemed like the judges consumed more alcohol than pie, I felt good about how much was actually eaten out of my pie:

This is how much was eaten out of some of the other pies:

The best part? The pie free for all. I hadn't eaten all day and we were in a prime location to chow down!
(That's right, I'm basically shoving the whole pie in my mouth)

The worst part? The pie free for all: Bacon apple pie?(ahem...excuse me while I get on my soap box)
To all the Indie kids of Brooklyn (and anyone else who tries to imitate them): I know bacon in pastries is a big trend with you guys, but it's gross. Bacon Brownies? Bacon Cookies? Bacon Chocolate? Bacon Pie?
wrong.
wrong.
wrong.
WRONG!
Look, I too believe the pig is a magical animal, but I have yet to try one of your ironically seasoned sweets and like it. Please surprise me with something that's actually good or knock it off.
(Thanks...)

So...on to the next pie contest: Martha Stewart's First Annual Pie Contest. You can watch it here and you might just see a few shots of us in the audience.

Or you can see our picture here.

Results:
Well...it was rigged. For the record, my pie wasn't going to win anyway (there were really some impressive pies there), but I we walked in with the lady who "won" and they knew her name at the door. Some really cute old lady who used to be on the Rosie O'Donnell show...so she's some adorable celebrity grandma who makes pies..but come on...she really made the best pie? Doubtful.

Well...if I can get my celebrity status up for next year's competition, maybe I'll have a chance.

In any case, all of this pie baking has really put me in the mood to cook. I can't wait to leave work and cook some Turkey, potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce...and especially pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Few Lessons From The Street......Sesame Street, that is

2009-11-09T14:12:00.004-05:00

1-Shoving a ton of cookies in your mouth at 1 time is comical and helps you make friends (and while it unfortunately will also make you fat, I've learned, in my later years, that Cookie Monster isn't obese because most of the cookies he "eats" fall out of his mouth.)

2-How to count: onetwothree, FOUR, FIVE, sixseveneight, NINE, TEN, eleventweeeeelve.

3-How to count to six in Spanish (besides the words found on the menu of a Mexican restaurant, that is still the only Spanish I know )

4-Bath time IS more fun with rubber duckies

5-Living in a trash can (or dirty place for that matter) will make you grouchy too.

6-How to Dance (though I obviously took lessons from the white girls in the background)

7-And everyone can make a difference:

(Even if you are a man with a deep smoker voice, who hangs around playgrounds, and is never really that helpful. I mean, nothing says super hero like a plastic cup, right? You'd think he'd save people from dehydration or something.)

8-Being adorable can help you make millions of dollars (i.e. the Tickle Me Elmo craze of Christmas 1997) and if you dress up like something adorable, you can still make money in Times Square:
(Mark took the picture for his kids...really, just for the kids)

9-Everything around you has life: lady bugs have picnics, oranges sing, and you never know whether or not the Yip Yip Aliens just used your telephone.

10-And although Sesame Street was based on the row houses in Harlem, it's a little bit cleaner on their set: no rats, no broken bottles, no drug busts, and no crazy people...but oh, how the air is still sweet.

11-Clearly I should have spent less time in front of the T.V. with my friends from Sesame Street and maybe more time out on the streets of my neighborhood with real-life friends (and maybe the most important lesson from this post).

Falling for you: The day Ryan walked me to work

2009-11-05T17:19:00.009-05:00

I feel pretty lucky because my office is on the Southeast corner of Central Park and I live on the Northwest corner of the park.

From either location I can be within the gates in about seven minutes and I try to take advantage of that as often as I can because it's my favorite place in New York (you may have noticed since I write about it all the time...like here, here, and here to mention a few...).

So, if I haven't convinced you yet of it's greatness, start Falling in love right now because those leaves are real and they're spectacular:

A Few More Halloween Pictures:

2009-11-05T16:15:00.006-05:00

To answer your questions, yes, I really wore my wedding dress:

And Ryan wore his wedding suit:

Crazy?

Nostalgic?

Or just too busy to come up with another costume because we were working on throwing the ward Halloween party together?

All.
To see what we did last weekend
("We" as in the Ryan & I, the sole members of our ward's activities committee),
go here.

Happy Halloween, from the NEWLYDEADS

2009-11-02T09:37:00.005-05:00

Village Halloween Parade 2 20090126, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Will Work/Drive/Run/Pick (whatever I have to do) For Food

2009-10-08T13:52:00.008-04:00

A little over a week ago Ryan and I went to Holis, New Hampshire with
Ann

and Leslie

to run a 1/2 Marathon.

"Where's Holis, NH?" you ask.
Well...I have no idea really. I was asleep in the car.

But I will tell you this, we stayed in Boston Friday and Saturday nights and then drove an hour to this lovely location:

The true impetuous for running the race was the apple crisp at the finish line and the after-race apple picking (one of my favorite fall activities).

If you haven't noticed this about me yet free food is one of my greatest motivators.

My life is just a series of carrot chases.

Actually come to think of it, I don't know if I have chased a carrot, but in Holis, I certainly chased down my share of post-race apple crisp.

And Apples:

We had a great time picking

picking apples...that is...

It's really hard not to test the apples that you pick...
as you can see...

And then we spent Saturday night and Sunday morning with Chelsea
(Ryan's friend who we stayed with in Boston)

and Cristi

(our long lost New York friend)

A Spiritual Buzz

2009-10-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was trying to explain to one of my friends at work how much I loved General Conference weekend.

"Eight hours of church meetings? And you're sober the whole time? No thank you."

Obviously, she's never experienced an intoxicating serving of my Dad's famous "Rubber" Eggs which are ONLY served at conference breakfast....and well, she's also never heard one of those solid Jeffery R. talks...but whatever.

Hope you have a great weekend. It's one of my two favorite weekends of the year.

And Dad, I hope the "Rubber" Eggs are as good as the talks. Wish I could be there to have one, but I'll be trying out my own version in your honor.

Ryan's Birthday (updated 4 weeks later)

2009-10-02T14:40:00.003-04:00

After the amazing day that Ryan and I spent together on my birthday (in March, which you should check out here), we decided to start a birthday tradition:

Together we will perform one act of service for every year of the birthday girl or boy's life.

For Ryan's birthday, we planned just that. In addition, I asked 30 family members and 3o of Ryan's friends to do something on his behalf as well

It was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and it was fun to be together (as always) and we set out to do 30 acts of service while also visiting a couple notable locations in New York:

(Liz Lemon's apartment)

(Jerry Seinfeld's apartment)
as well as a few other places.

OUR 30 ACTS OF KINDNESS:
1-Returned lost shoe to crying child
2-Helped a family carry groceries from their car an up 5 flights of stairs
3-Complemented a lady's shoes
4-Picked up garbage

5-Bought lemonade from a stand for us as well as another little girl and left a big tip
6-Gave a bouquet of flowers to a nice Russian lady walking past
7-Gave money to the homeless people we came across
8-Helped a senior citizen renew his bus ticket and added an extra $5 on his card
9-Bought a filet-o-fish for a homeless man
10-Helped a lady with a broken ankle carry her groceries
11-Gave a free swipe and directions to an out-of-towner
12-Bought a ride for a little girl on a mechanical horse outside a pizza place
13-Gave 30 popsicles to 30 people

14-Took a photo for a tourist
15-Gave money to a very deserving, young juggler
16-Bought carousel tickets for strangers
17-Gave money to a musician
18-Gave detailed directions to a few lost souls
19-Upped someone's chances at the Wicked lottery
20-Gave a Jamba Juice card to someone outside of Jamba Juice
21-Paid for a load of laundry but left before starting the machine
22-Left "Thank you" notes and post its all around the city
23-Bought a cheeseburger for a homeless man named Kevin
24-Bought 2 chicken and rice meals for a homeless couple
25-Left money in a random telephone booth
26-Handed out a flat of water to people near Penn Station
27-Were nice to the doormen all along 110th
28-Complimented (and talked to) sidewalk chalk artist
29-Bought Dinner for a stranger
30-Helped a couple with a huge load down the subway stairs

FAMILY
Uncle Mike: helped someone find a job
Uncle Bob: took tires to the dump for his mother
Aunt Luwana: took Zucchini bread to a neighbor
Craig: stopped a bus to help a stranger catch it
Nana: bought 10 ice cream cones for strangers
Janelle: threw a baby shower for a girl in her ward
Verdonn: cooked a spaghetti dinner for his landlord's handyman who had been working all day
Katie & Dougie: cleaned out their closets and gave her clothes to a homeless shelter
John: Gave someone who was running to catch the ferry a ride to the dock, and donated a backpack full of school supplies to an elementary school
Papa: Paid the ferry fare for the car behind him in line
Aunt Janet: visited a sick friend in the hospital
Jeff: Let all of his employees out of work early for the weekend
Scott: made breakfast for Marcelle's friends and helped set up tables at a function that night
Nanette: Made special zucchini bread for a neighbor
Marcelle: Sent a missionary care package to her brother
Kim Church: Gave the money that she would have spent on Ryan's birthday present to a woman in her office who is struggling financially
Paige: Helped an older couple
Tony: Helped co-worker with a project
James: made cookies for a family whose dad has shingles
Ann & Jim: Helped Mark and Shannon move and fed the Elders who helped.
Wanda & Lester: took fruit and bread to the sick and the elderly
Mark: Gave a copy of The Book of Mormon to his new neighbor
Shannon: visited with the neighbors
Catherine: had a very spiritual and uplifting conversation with a friend in need
Calder: unloaded a car of groceries for his mom
Christine: did an endowment session
Taylor & Todd: complimented people in the park

FRIENDS
(I don't have everyone's act of kindness that they did because most of the messages went to Ryan's phone, however, here is a sampling of what was done:)
Cy: Gave $5 to a homeless man
Ann: helped a co-worker
Kim G: gave money to homeless kids
Blair: bought doughnuts for her office
Lisa: gave her last lollie to someone in Times Square
Chelsea: sent a bouquet of flowers to a sad friend
Amber: shared her pizza with her roommate
Jeff: bought an extra Trax ticket and left it in the kiosk for the next person
Tracy: gave flowers to a friend
Tamara H: let her interns go home early
Megan: gave money to a lady on the subway
Tamara D: helped a paraplegic man and fed the missionaries
Heather: fed the missionaries
Anita: helped and elderly man down the subway stairs
Cristi: smiled at strangers
Holly: cleaned the hair out of her drain at her apartment
Roger & Heidi: helped one of their employees receive a very generous scholarship
Cameron: did his home teaching

To everyone who participated: thank you for being willing and thank you so much for doing something. It made the day so better than it already was. Getting your text messages and emails and voice mails were inspiring. I'm so amazed by people's creativity and generosity. I was thrilled to hear about the wonderful acts that others were performing all across the country.

To all the friends who helped: thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being Ryan's friend, thank you for being my friend, and most importantly, thank you for letting us exploit the friendship we share.

To all the family members who did an act: thank you for showing Ryan you love him. Thank you for responding to my request....whenever that was that you happened to respond...Thank you for giving such sweet service for your son, brother, uncle, new son, new brother-in-law, and new favorite uncle. I swear we won't ask anything else of you this year...unless maybe we could get some of you to come visit for Thanksgiving? No...? Too much to ask...? Okay then...we'll wait for 2010 to put any more requests in.

To everyone we helped: thank you for letting two crazy strangers pester you. Thank you for being so gracious. Thank you for being so kind to us.

To everyone who wouldn't let us help them: thank you for being honest with us that you wanted us to get the hell away from you.

To everyone that we stared down while we were trying to figure out how we could help: thank you for not hating us for staring. There were good intentions behind it.

To everyone that took a popsicle: thank you for taking them before they melted--we were stressed for a minute or two that we wouldn't get them out.

To President Monson: Thank you for reading this blog and using this same idea for your birthday (see here). And even if you don't read this blog thanks for thanks for being a Prophet and sharing your vision with us.

To Ryan: thank you for wanting to do a day of service again.
I love you.

Warning: Dream Blog

2009-10-01T11:00:00.005-04:00

I had this reoccurring nightmare throughout most of my twenties:

I'm engaged to someone.
In fact, I'm minutes away from being married or it's the day before the wedding or worst of all: we just got married and I know IT'S WRONG!

I don't want to marry them.
I'm not supposed to marry them.
It does NOT feel good.
And, I start freaking out:

How am I going to get out of this? What do I say? Who do I say it to? How do I fake my own death right in this very moment to avoid this situation?????

Then I wake up and I breath deeply because I'm not married.

This dream came regularly while I was single, but while I was dating a few particular people it crept up as a nightly routine. Sometimes the reoccurring dream drove me so crazy that I broke up with people to make the dreams go away.

I'm happy to report that I never got this dream while Ryan and I were engaged (not even the first time we were engaged).

But the other night, the dream came again:

I was engaged. I was getting married to someone in a few days and I'm not miserable, but during the dream it dawns on me: I don't want to marry him. I want to marry Ryan.
I love talking to him.
I like being with him more than I like being with anyone else.
He's my best friend.
So, I started freaking out:

How do get out of my engagement? And more importantly, how do I convince Ryan that he's supposed to marry me???

And then I woke up with him right next to me and was relieved to find that somehow, I had already convinced him to marry me.

(pictures taken especially for Paige who so graciously gave us these adorable hats)

Pictures: The Wedding Day!

2009-09-07T23:15:00.001-04:00

Pictures outside of the Manhattan temple by the amazing Gugelman Photography

Pictures: The Wedding Luncheon

2009-09-07T23:10:00.006-04:00

Wedding luncheon pictures by Gugelman Photography

Pictures: Around New York

2009-09-07T23:05:00.001-04:00

Pictures around New York City with Gugelman Photography

Pictures: The Reception

2009-09-07T23:00:00.007-04:00

Family and Reception Photos by our favorite guys. Again, I give you: Gugelman Photography

Pictures: Engagement Photos

2009-09-07T22:00:00.001-04:00

Photos that I've wanted to post for a while
(excuse me, I've been busy getting married):
Our awesome engagement photos (by the even awesomer Ty Arnold)

Re: Some Talents Are God-given

2009-08-24T16:29:00.003-04:00

An email from my brother Mark:

August 21

Subject: It is genetic

Some Talents Are God-given

2009-08-20T11:06:00.008-04:00

Some are not.

When Ryan & I ran the Lake Winnipesaukee 1/2 marathon we hitched a ride to New Hampshire with our friends Georgina and Jeanette. They just happened to be going up there for a getaway and at the last minute, we crashed it.

On the way up, we talked Georgina into running the 1/2 marathon with us. She's a runner, but hadn't been training for anything and hadn't really even been running that much at the time. She complied saying that "it might be fun."

Due to some confusing car/race number logistics, we lost Georgina at the starting line and didn't meet up with her until the last 1/2 mile when we saw her jogging toward us so she could re-finish the race, but this time, with us. We asked her how her race went and were surprised to hear that she took 3rd place. Not only had she placed but during the last mile, she had slowed down because she didn't want to win.

I was impressed and still am.

Later, I asked her how she did it, how it felt to run a race without much competition, and what things I could do to be a faster long-distance runner. She gave me a lot of tips, encouraged me, but finally (probably because of all my questions) had to break the news to me in the kindest way she knew how:

"I was just born like this. You might get a little bit better, but your either a runner who wins races or you're not."

She must have noticed my 10 minute mile.

So, although I haven't given up running entirely, I've been trying to throw the bushels off a talent or two by thinking about a few things I'm naturally very good at, like:

Shaking my eyes at an incredible rate of speed (Don't stare too long, it might put you in a trance)

NOT crying while cutting onions (this one might have to do with my contacts...but that was God-given in a way too, right?)

Being able to imagine the perfect dessert to follow any given meal.

And probably my best known and most useful (and what prompted this post since we've been borrowing Kim Gardner's car for the past month): Parallel parking.

See?

I parked that car in that spot without touching any of the cars around me.

Impressed? It's not me. I was just born this way. Okay, forgive me. It's probably my best talent, though.

I've tried to teach people. I have, I've tried to give. But perhaps that talent of teaching is buried under too many bushels. In any case, if you happen to need a tutorial, see if this helps:

1-Pick a spot that your car will fit into.

2-Line up your rear bumper with the bumper of the car next to you.

3-Look over your right shoulder.

4-Reverse and crank your wheel.

5-(The key and MOST important step) as soon as the corner of your trunk is pointed directly in the middle of the car behind you, start cranking your wheel to the other side no matter if it looks like you're going to hit the car in front of you. (Note: it ALWAYS looks like you're going to hit the car in front of you)

6-Reverse until you are nearly bumper to bumper with the car behind you (Note #2: You can tell how close you are by how small your brake lights/reverse lights reflection is in the car behind you.)

7-Straighten out.

8-Do this all in one continuous motion (besides the gears switching) and in less than a minute.

Note #3: talking on the phone while parallel parking is like that part in the Bible when Samson gets all of his hair cut off. All parallel parking powers are lost when the phone is near you. It's your kryptonite...oh, sorry, wrong story.

Now please, go and do thou like-wise.

Note to My Former Roommates:

2009-08-10T16:33:00.003-04:00

Dear women with whom I used to live,

I'm so sorry that I always blamed you for leaving so much hair in the sink, in the general bathroom area, and around the house. Though we never had any conversations about the wandering follicles, I judged you. I thought that most, if not all of it, was YOUR hair.

I've always known it was wrong of me to quietly assume that it was yours, but I had no reason to believe I wasn't seeing the facts clearly. Who knew that one strand of MY hair could look so dark against the white tiled walls of our bathroom? Who knew it could look like that when not attached to my head? Although, almost literally right before my very eyes (or above my eyes in the case of my bangs), I had no idea.

However, since I've been living with a boy (who, by the way, doesn't shed much) and having only had a few visitors in the apartment, I have no one to blame for the hair in the sink, the drain, or gathered in the corners of the hard-wood floor, except myself. At first, I didn't think it could have possibly been mine. Maybe the former tenets. Maybe some stowaways from my last apartment. But no. Mine. After all the sweeping and cleaning, it always turns out to be mine.

Though you may have never known I was blaming you, sorry. I was mistaken. Please excuse me. I intended no harm.

Also please forgive if you happened to notice me lashing out in any passive-aggressive ways (like wiping "YOUR" hair back onto your towel). Oops!?! My bad. I'm sorry!

Much love,

Kimberly

P.S. Ryan: just so you know, if any long hair ends up on your towel, it was an accident!!!

Some of the things I learned on my Honeymoon

2009-07-31T17:12:00.025-04:00

For our honeymoon we stayed in a little town on Cape Cod, in a charming little inn. We explored Cape Cod a couple of days and took day trips to both Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Most importantly, I learned that I love being with Ryan 24/7 (it's the best when he doesn't have to go home at night or sleep in a different bed), though I was already confident that would be the case. Nonetheless, it was a dream to have so much uninterrupted time together.

Here are some of the other things that I learned:

It's possible to get sunburned on the ferry boat.

Before:

And After:

The oldest working carousel is on Martha’s Vineyard

Lobster Rolls are really just like tuna fish sandwiches--but lobster instead of tuna (I'm not sure what I was expecting...but it wasn't a lobster/mayo sandwich. I was so disappointed.)

Married life is full of Love n' Happiness

(and this store may have been too, but since we were in P-town--aka one of the gay capitals of the US--it was filled with snacks, gay porn, and cat magazines. So...I guess it all depends on what you definition of "Love n Happiness" is. Oh, and in case you were wondering, our definition includes more snacks and less of the other two things...)

And speaking of snacks...Cape Cod has some delicious treats

There were more light houses than we had energy to see in one trip (but we sought out as many as we could)

The sunset is really pretty when there aren't any buildings in the way

Drive in Movies still exist! Yeah!! It was like being 15 years old again

There was always something fun to see

or shopping to do

Tandem biking is the best way to get around the islands

The beaches are beautiful

The hydrangeas are AMAZING! More amazing than anywhere else (I think it's because of the rain), and not only are they beautiful, they're EVERYWHERE. Each bush prettier than the last.

The houses and towns are charming. We found it was best to walk by them, point, and say "Adorbs" at loud as the house deserved. It's really the only way to describe things: AAHDORBS.

Also, we're both pretty adorable (or both just narcissists. Whatever you want to call us, I guess...)

(Are we not?)

"Whale" makes for some good puns (like, "We had a whaley good time," "We Whale-come you," etc.)

And I learned this to be true as well:

Skinny men ARE sexier

B.D.E.

2009-07-27T14:56:00.033-04:00

I have all of these half-written posts about being engaged: having fun as "the bride to be," feeling so loved at all of my awesome wedding showers, registering, visiting the gynecologist, finding a wedding dress, and many of the other things that went into getting married. Interesting though the posts may be, they all seem pretty insignificant now.

I got married.

And it was the BEST. DAY. EVER.

I love my husband.

I love married life. It's kind of like normal life, but better.

I know I'm officially married because I'm starting to say all of the cliche things that married people always said to single me:
"Married life is the best! You should try it."
"Just wait, you'll find the right one for you."
and then speaking in "we"'s: "We just love you..."

So there's that.

I'm an old married woman.

Ahh...correction: an old, married, happy, woman.

...Mrs. Simmons...

So any way, how do you describe the best day ever? I don't know. I realized that even after the video footage, the many pages I wrote in my journal, the estimated 7,000 pictures (photographers, 3900 + My Dad, 2000 + John's 700 + all others) that were taken of the single day, and the hundreds of conversations that Ryan & I have had pre-and post-wedding, I'm not sure it will ever be captured.

It was more beautiful than I expected. Every moment was fun. And with the 29 years of anticipation, the 4 months of planning, the sacrifices that so many of our loved ones made to travel across the country to attend, the concern about the logistics and implementation of all wedding day events, and the significant stress that we had over the weather, it all turned out perfectly. Better than I dreamed. But again...those still aren't the right words and since I may never find them, here are some pictures that John, one of my father-in-laws (see how I naturally I used that term?), took with my camera.

The new Mr. & Mrs. Simmons

The Dress

The Luncheon

The Family

The Party

The getaway

The End (or..I guess...The Beginning!)

Formal pictures (as well as many other things) to follow...

Dr. Mark Merrill Calder

2009-05-20T10:49:00.009-04:00

Some of my favorite memories of my brother, Mark, occurred while riding in the lime green Ford truck that is as old as my parent's marriage.Mark mostly only drove this truck during high school, but with the holes in the floor, bat behind the seat (in case he "got into trouble"), and the jimmy-rigged stereo that was always blasting Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Stone Temple Pilots, every drive was adventurous.

On a normal drive to school Mark would find a mud puddle that needed to be driven through, snow banks that needed to be plowed over, or a slow driver that needed to be passed by with Mark's classic move, "The Turbo." And while the only driving tip I received from my brothers--"You waste gas if you slow down"--is actually attributed to my oldest brother, Jay, Mark has always strictly adhered to energy conservation: save gas, drive fast.

I've always said that if I needed to escape from the cops, get to the hospital in a second, or if I ever just happened to be stuck on a bus that would blow up if it went slower than 50 MPH, I would choose Mark to be my driver. No matter what, if my life were in danger, I'd want him to be the genius behind the wheel.

Our neighbor, let's call her Sister Call, didn't see Mark's driving ability as "Skillful". If we ever drove past her house on our way home, she would have already given my mom an earful by the time we pulled into the driveway. Mark would get Sister Call's lecture verbatim through my mother, "There are kids that play on the street! It's a neighborhood full of families! Don't you have have any respect for human life?"

Many threats and tears put the brakes on Mark's opportunities to exhibit his fine talent in the green truck.

He grew up (in the right ways), got married, had six kids, and starting working day and night; through floods and evacuations; through Mardi Gras; and through family triumphs and even some tradgedies; to earn his Doctoral degree from Tulane Medical School.

Who would have guessed he placed such value on human life?
Well, just for the record, Sister Call, I would have!

CONGRATULATIONS DR. MARK M. CALDER!!!
I'm so proud of you!!

(Mark's kids congratulating him at the door)

(The crawfish boil after the celebration.)
(Can you believe people eat these things? I couldn't, until I tried them...and it turns out they are delicious. A perfect New Orleans treat.)

P.S. If you want to hear the commencement speech, it was given by Ellen DeGeneres (and it's definitely the funniest commencement speech I've ever heard. They certainly don't give 'em like that at BYU) go here.

Somebody give that guy a scapel already...

Bill, I love you so, I always will

2009-05-11T16:16:00.004-04:00

It's not that we love Bill Murry SO much. I mean, we do, but we're probably not sending him a wedding invitation or anything. Neil Diamond, yes, Bill Murry...maybe not. But then again, there are only two types of people in this world, those who love Neil Diamond, and those who don't...but I digress...

Any way, we don't watch very many movies, so it's kind of become a funny thing that most of the movies we have watched together include at least a cameo of Bill Murry.

Some of the classics like Ghost Busters and Tootsie just happened because they were filmed in New York so we had to watch/re-watch them, but then with the Royal Tennenbaums house right up the street from us, he's just kind of unintentionally permeated our relationship.

In any case, we have made it a point on more than one occasion to drive several hours just to visit the site of a Bill Murry movie.

Last time, Punxsutawney, PA for Groundhog's Day,

This time, Lake Winnipesaukee, NH for a 1/2 Marathon, but in celebration of "What About Bob?"

Next time, we're going to go somewhere that is a little easier to spell...Hong Kong maybe?

Any way, we drove up late Friday night with Georgina, Jeanette, and an unexpected (but great) travel companion: Gil

We got there pretty late, hardly slept (because we were freezing), ran a half marathon the next morning, took showers, gave Gil back to the lake,
jumped in a car, and forced ourselves to stay awake while we drove the 5 hours back to New York so Ryan could make his flight to London.

So...it was kind of a whirlwind tour of Lake Winnipesaukee, but it did have it's peaceful moments.

April Showers DO Bring May Flowers

2009-05-01T17:48:00.001-04:00

Posted again on the Traveler blog! Yeah!

(however, let me say, there are a lot of mistakes that the proofer, missed created when they moved things around...don't judge...)

Coney: The Island of Special People

2009-04-28T13:46:00.004-04:00

On the first hot day of the year we went to revisit one of our favorite places in the world:

Coney Island.

If you love freak shows,

carnies,

roller coasters,

Russians, and a lot of garbage, this is the place to be.

And since we love mostly everything on that list (especially the infamous Cyclone roller coaster),

we thought it was the sweetest way to start out the summer.

The Kawanzan Trees

2009-04-27T15:42:00.005-04:00

Last year

(during the 23 hour that Ryan and I were engaged for the first time)
we walked in the park and discovered these trees together. It was my favorite moment of our first engagement. The trees were beautiful and for a few minutes I felt pretty peaceful.

After we broke up and since we've gotten back together I've walked or ran past these trees at least 365 times in the past year, maybe closer to 465 times.

I thought about us.
I thought about life.
I prayed.
I napped.
I waited for time to pass.
I talked on the phone.
I wrote.
I read.
I starred at the sky.
I wondered if what I was doing was right.
I watched the petals fall and then the leaves fall and
I kept hoping that the spring would return soon.

All winter I waited.

And then 2 weeks ago

And then one week ago

And finally...

And it was beautiful again

Save this:

2009-04-21T16:28:00.002-04:00

Since I've been asked this question a few times by people that I thought already knew (Sorry! I'm a little absent-minded), I've posted it here for your ready reference.

The date is:

The place is:

And YES, of course you are invited.

JHC to MI 4-1-35

2009-04-16T15:47:00.006-04:00

So this is a little story about this girl

Who fell in loved with a boy.

They met during the depression when they both worked at Taylor Brother’s department store.

He, a business manager.

She, his secretary.

Instantly they were drawn to one another. They fell in love over commonalities: the same hometown, the same interest in business. She adored and respected him, he appreciated and esteemed her. She always wanted him to make him proud; he was kinder and more jovial because of her.

To keep a proper office relationship, they would finish work and go home their separate ways. Once he made it home he would quickly drive to her house, pick her up, and take her to the hot springs to teach her how to swim. They spent their summer sneaking up to the hot springs and falling in love.

In April they were married. They quit their jobs, honeymooned in Europe for a month, moved back to the states, and opened up an ice cream parlor. A few years later they had a little girl and after another few years, a little boy.

They moved to the foothills of the nearby mountains to a spot that overlooked the valley and built their dream house with a little pool where they could swim.

She was happy. He was happy. In fact, all of them were happy.

I never knew him and I only knew them through their stories. After his death, my Dad, her son, moved into the house in the foothills with the pool and she built a smaller house next door. I spent hours at her house eating wheat thins and tea cookies. We ate birthday dinners at her house and had fashion shows in her living room. I collected yarrow from her front yard and acorns from her back yard. Every time I left her house I felt like I could do anything because she told me I could.

Six years after she passed away I met there was a boy who was so sweet to me. We fell in love over our common interests: laughter, adventure. He adored me and I admired him. We snuck off to secret corners of NYC and fell in love.

This same boy gave me the ring that my grandmother used to wear

and every time I look down at my hand I feel on top of the world all over again.

Make Way for Ducklings

2009-04-13T13:30:00.007-04:00

Growing up, the Easter bunny always brought candy, a new swimsuit, and since my Dad...er...the Easter bunny is such an animal lover, we would occassionally get an extra special find during our Easter Egg hunt: a couple of ducklings.

The Easter ducklings have inadvertently turned into some of the Calder family's most told stories:

The ducks that Scott "played" with too hard, stuffing them in my barbie car and trying to make them swim in the toilet. And then the angry mob of siblings that came at Scott yelling, "Scott killed the duck. Let's kill Scott!"

Howard the duck--who we found out months later wasn't a drake at all--layed eggs all over the yard.

And most importantly, the ducks, Lucy and Ricky and the fateful spring morning when we couldn't find Ricky and Lucy was missing one of her eyes. The $100 surgery that followed to save the duck and then how Lucy was thereafter referred to as "Lucifer" because of the fear she instilled in everyone who entered our backyard; if she ever caught a glimpse of you out of her "good" eye, she would chase you until she had bitten you.

Though Easter marks the the beginning our our 3 year knowing each other (Ryan and I met on the subway on Easter Sunday), we haven't necessarily started any of our own Easter traditions (oh, unless you count riding the subway to church a tradition). However, since we're officially in the market for traditions, here are some of this year's Easter Events that may be the beginning of our own family stories:

The Easter Hat Parade:

A walk through Harlem after church to see even more hats and hear gospel music (we even joined in for a few minutes):

Dinner with friends:

A walk around the meer:

And staying up (basically all night) to make coordinating Easter outfits.

The Miracle of Luisa

2009-04-08T16:39:00.002-04:00

I've made it a quest to find loveliness in the world and it turns out that once I opened my eyes, the good things of the world have been almost knocking me off my feet. For example, the little incident that happened to me this week:

Tuesday I returned from a trip to Utah and between my birthday, getting engaged, and leaving on a vacation, I forgot to deposit my roommate’s rent check in my bank account. A small, but unfortunate, overdraft fee notification in my inbox brought me back to reality. So, upon my red-eye return, I remembered the rent check, took it off the refrigerator where my roommate had left, stuck it in my back pocket for safe keeping, and laid down for a pre-work “powernap.”

So, of course my powernap went a little longer than expected and of course I rushed off to work, but I kept reminding myself that I had my check in my pocket (that I definitely hadn’t left it at home) and I needed to deposit it at lunch.

At about 9:30, I reached into my pocket to get my check and it was no where to be found. Not in my bag, my front pocket, coat pocket, and especially not my back pocket. No where.

I chalked it up to my blurry, red-eyed memory and made another mental note to look for it when I got home.

At about 10:30 a.m., I got an email from a stranger saying:

I don't know if you're the right Kimberly Calder, but I've found a check for the April rent under your name. I live in NYC. Please feel free to contact me anytime,
-Luisa

She had googled my name and found my website. Though it boosts your vulnerability, I guess it pays to put all of your personal info on the old World Wide Web. (Right here, pre-searching-for-lovliness, I would put in a sarcastic remark like, “Although, I’ll probably get raped next week...” But with my restored hope in humanity and ever-increasing love of New Yorkers, I will leave that comment out for now.)

Gratefully and desperately I wrote her back. She confirmed she had the check and said that she’d meet me on the corner of 55th & 6th at 1:30 and that she is a Spanish woman and would be wearing a beige jacket.

So of course I went to the corner at 1:20 (though, admittedly, all I could think about were Bourne movies--Yes, restored faith in people, but what can I say, my mother raised a skeptic) and I starred at every Latin-looking woman and waved at every woman in a beige, off-white, or brown jacket. At 2:00 she still hadn’t come. Discouraged, I went back to work.

Last night when I got home, I was about to give up on the whole thing and ask my roommate for a new check when Luisa called. She said she couldn’t find me (I think we were on different corners) and she said she would leave the check at the front desk of her office building. I hoped she’d do it. I thanked her as much as I thought I could without seeming kind of kooky and sure enough…Luisa pulled through. Sealed in a teddy bear envelop was the lost rent check.

I don't know how I lucked upon such an honest person. When I told my co-worker the story, she called it "karma," but really, it was a little more miraculous than that. I'm starting to believe that these random interactions with strangers can be some of the most wonderful moments of the day because no matter who they are, every person is wonderful in someway or another.

Whether it was a miracle or karma, I must admit, it's pretty unheard of, especially in New York, and I wanted to tell Luisa that I hope the miracle or the karma comes back to visit her because she was so wonderfully honest.

55 Hours and Counting...

2009-03-31T16:20:00.005-04:00

Last time I went to the Empire State Building I met Ryan at the top. We stood up there (stood because they won't let you sit) and talked about our relationship for 6 hours. 6 hours of DTR-ing and standing!! Woof. If we're being honest here, it was a little painful.

At the end of it, he proposed to me. I, very hesitantly, said "okay," wore the ring for 23 hours until we broke up and didn't speak for 3 months...that was even more painful.

I missed him terribly and I guess that was the most painful part.

So in August we finally spoke again for the first time in months. I told him I didn't want to live without him, and though it took some time, we started dating again and things have been a lot less painful...in fact, pretty wonderful.

Sunday morning Ryan asked me to go to breakfast with him and a friend who was in town. We got up early and went to midtown to "meet" his friend. As we walked past the Empire State Building, people were standing in front of the doors trying to sell tickets to the tourists. To my surprise, just as I said "No thanks" to the ESB salesmen Ryan said, "I think we will go up" and opened the door.

He was very cautious and wanted to make sure I was okay with visiting our old stomping grounds. "If you think you might not want to go up, tell me now. We don't have to go right now if you don't feel good about things...just tell me before we get up there." I assured him I wanted to go and the second time around we conquered it in under 60 minutes.
Because of the rainy morning were the only two at the top and maybe the only two that would appreciate it on a cloudy morning any way.

We ran around the balcony and were whipped around by the misty clouds sweeping over the banisters. It felt like a dream. It still does.

I'm super happy. Now we just have to work on eternity...

29 Random Acts of Kimberly

2009-03-30T17:40:00.007-04:00

The Objective:

Visit the homes of notable NYC authors while...
Performing 29 Random Acts of Kindness in NYC and...
Take pictures of things that make me happy.

Homes We Visited:

(Though our real purpose was to serve, we didn't want to wander the streets aimlessly so Ryan looked up the addresses and history of several authors and we set out to find their houses and read about them.)

-The Poet’s Corner in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: This location memorializes many American authors and poets. I was especially excited to search for Elizabeth Bishop’s name.

-J.D. Salinger’s boyhood home: one time I feel in love with his quirkiness and read everything I could find, which, to be honest isn’t a huge amount of reading, but he’s still someone I like a lot.

-John Steinbeck’s home: right now I’m reading “East of Eden.” He actually wrote that novel at a different place in NYC, where he lived temporarily, but we visited his main home.

-Turtle Bay Gardens: home to many different writers, one of the most important to me is E.B. White. I had an imaginary friend named Wilber when I was little probably because I watched Charlotte’s web so many times.

Our 29 Random Acts of Kindness:

1-Picked up trash in Morningside Park

2-Gave bread to the old man feeding birds at the Cathedral

3-Helped a lady with her heavy luggage up the stairs of her apartment building

4-Gave 29 roses to strangers

5-Helped Ula Barack (a lady who had come from Staten Island all the way to 110th street to go to her interfaith conference) carry her bags to the church.

6-Helped older lady cross the street

7-Gave Sophia (a 3 year-old girl) an ice cream cone.

8-Bought construction workers doughnuts

9-Bought an Iced coffee for the man in line behind us.

10-Left 6 happy notes in random places for people to find.

11-Held the door for a lady getting off the bus.

12-Gave $2 to a man begging

13-Gave a pink balloon to a little girl

14-Ryan saved a man's life on the subway (well, we don't really know what happened to the man, but Ryan held a man who was having a stroke or a heart attack or something, yelled for help, and got him off the subway).

15-Helped 2 tourists take a picture

16-Used iphone to help some hungry people find the restaurant they were looking for

17-Took Sandy, a homeless man, to dinner at McDonald's

18-Helped some people who were on a scavenger hunt find their clue

19-Stopped foot traffic in Times Square so a wife could get a picture of her husband.

20-Stopped a lady and complimented her on her clothing/how nice she looked.

21-Gave a street musician money

22-Helped a lady, with a broken bag, up the subway stairs

23-Gave a $40 DSW gift card to a lady standing in line at DSW

24-Held door open for people

25-Left an extra big tip to our waitress

26-Safe walked Ali home from Dinner

27-Left a sleeping homeless woman $5

28-Gave up subway seat to an older lady

29-Carried (some super heavy) luggage a few avenues for a German girl coming to the city to visit her boyfriend.

30-Celebrated with the German girl!!

The Gift:

Ryan asked 29 of my friends to do a random act of kindness in my honor and text me about it when they finished. It was so wonderful to be out looking for service while receiving texts from my friends about the things they were doing. I can't tell you how touched I was to get these, some were so sweet I couldn't help but cry. Here are the texts in order:

Ann: Happy Birthday! I have to work all day so in your honor I made breakfast treats for my co-workers. Have a great day!

Ruston: In honor of you on your birthday, I bought a subway day pass for this guy who needed a swipe. You’re awesome! Happy Birthday!!

Brook: Happy Birthday Kim! As inspired by your bday I wrote thank you notes to people I love!

Lisa: I just went from the pool to the condo to get Brooke’s sister’s goggles for Free, even though she was going to pay someone to do it. Happy Birthday!!!

Ali: Happy day Kimberly! My act of kindness was with Kelly in general…helped her moved boxes to her uhaul and then cleaned all her moving stuff while she drove her boxes to Jersey…Don’t ask. Anyway it was small but I think it helped her a lot! I will see you tonight!

Collin: Happy Birthday! I bought some candy from someone on the train and gave it to a little boy that lives in my building. And I did it in honor of you! Plus, maybe because I’m so happy you were born, I’ve been sharing my smile all day with others! I hope you are having a great day!

Leslie: Happy birthday Kimberly! I’m in DC with Ashley and we have been offering to take pictures for all those poor tourists who don’t have anyone to take it for them—you know, the couple who gets home and doesn’t have a picture together.

Ashley: Happy happy 29^th! Leslie and I are in DC right now. We’ve made it our duty today to be family photographers for everyone documenting their trip. Moms need to be in pictures too!

Liz: Some people say service is about what you’re thinking about doing, not what you are actually doing. I tend to disagree, which is why for your29th birthday I am honoring you with action. I did some research to find a classic on the subject of death and healing for a friend whose mom died. I sent “Motherless Daughters” off to her in your honor. Happy birthday Kim!! Much love!!

Tamara H: Happy birthday, I hope that you are having a great day. We wish that we were there to celebrate. I wanted to let you know that I was very nice to my mother in-law this morning, I let my niece win our card game, but most important was giving up our breakfast table to an older couple so that they did not have to wait. Love you girl.

Don: Hey in honor of your birthday I helped my brother take down his Christmas lights. Hope you have a wonderful day and can’t wait to ski with you here in UT.

Rachel: In honor of your day, I made a harried mom an extra big frappuchino even though she only ordered a tall. She looked like she needed it.

Angela: Random Act of Kimberly Kindness-we are at the zoo and lunchtime was busy, so I held the door open for people with trays and brian bought a little family of 3 and a young married couple their lunches

Sarah: Happy birthday! I picked up some trash at a state penitentiary for you J

Kim: I continually keep my cousin’s kids from impending doom by being the only one to watch them

Georgina: Happy birthday! Today I helped two people file their tax returns and I wish for you this year a trip to HawaiiJ

Anita: Happy birthday!!! Hope your having a great day. Just wanted to let u know I did a little act of service by cleaning the house for my mom in your honor! Hope your having fun!!!

Tamara D: Happy birthday Kimberly! I’m in Portland and have had a big day. As part of, a baby was born in our family. In honor of you, I brought flowers to the first-time mom, the nurses, and I brought an extra bouquet for daffodils. I asked the nurses to please give them to one of the new moms who they thought needed something to brighten her day. The nurses were so excited! They loved the flowers and were so happy to think of which patient could use the pretty flowers in her room! I hope your birthday is treating you well. I noticed today that R.A.K. can stand for random acts of kindness AND Ryan and Kimberly. Cute, huh? J love you!!!-T

Cristi: I gave some money to a homeless man on the train.

Kathlene: Dearest beautiful birthday girl…In honor of this blessed day of your birth, I am pleased to share that I have purchases 10 single ride metro cards, and am in the process of giving them away to 10 different people indiscriminately! I love you!

Carlyne: Happy birthday Kim, my r.a.o.k. I saw a boy standing in front of a vending machine, gave him my change but it wasn’t enough to get anything L so I went to get more change. When I got back he was gone. Dble L. So I searched for him but to no avail. This all took place in the museum @ FIT. While looking for the little boy, I saw a little girl with her parents. I figured they were tourists. So a little girl was just as good as a little boy. So I went up to the mom and explained the three dollars were for them to get something from the vending machine. Their eyes brightened, they said thank you. Also they said they would pay it forward. That’s exactly what I wanted. So I thanked them and went back to the sewing room to work. Happy birthday Kim!

Kim: Alright, I just pushed three little boys on the swings at least 29 times longer than I would have. Does it count if it ended up being fun despite my incredibly sore arms?

Jordan: Hey. Happy birthday. I just wanted to let you know that in honor of it Jeanette and I left random notes for people to cheer up their day.

Helen: Hi Kim! Happy birthday J today I gave flowers to a friend.

Ashley: Today, in your honor, I helped a mother at the grocery store with her groceries to her car, and left some money in one of the bags. Happy birthday!

Jeff: A man with one leg asked me for 10 cents. I swung my random axe of kindness, and fortunately rather than wound him further it cut much more money out of my pocket than he initially asked for. Happy birthday kim!

Ruston: I also helped a guy out by offering gum to him. Not only did it benefit him but at least 4 people around him. Happy birthday.

Seth: Happy Birthday Kim! Today I got up so a lady could sit on the subway. Yesterday I used my map to help another lady find her way. I dedicate my service to you.

Taylor: Made Banana Bread for a neighbor.

Holly: (She accidentally forgot to push send on her text message, though she was probably the first one to finish her service. She made cinnamon rolls for her roommate and roommates fiancé and on top of that, she brought me a cinnamon roll to church! It was so super yummy!)

Meredith:

Hi Ryan,

My internet will not bring up Kimberly's address, so please forward this to her. First of all I am SO sorry for being late. It is amazing what happens to your brain when your Sabbath day gets switched.

Anyway, here is my Random of Act of Kindness (so random that I didn't even think about Kim's gift as being the objective for this RAK): Aaron and I needed new work toothbrushes (a bakery necessity to avoid cavities). At the store I saw all these nifty two-packs of toothbrushes, so I said to myself, "Hey, I'll buy a two-pack and give the extra one to Aaron!"

He really appreciated it, and I felt good about it. Even better that the idea came rather naturally.

Happy Birthday! and Congratulations!

-mere

Pictures of things that make me happy:

Unfortunately, the best things that I saw on Saturday were saved as mental pictures rather than actual physical photos. For the most part, we were too busy looking for people to serve to take pictures, but there were definitely moments that I have saved in my memory that I hope I never forget, like when the little girl ran the pink balloon back to her father. I watched him as he tied it to her wrist and searched through the sea of people to find the giver. Somehow he found us and we made eye contact as we waved and walked away.

Really though, it all made me so happy. I was absolutely one of the best days of my life. And of all the things that make me happy...I guess the best picture to sum it up is of the guy who made it all happen: thanks Ryan!

Something Lovely

2009-03-20T13:18:00.005-04:00

Every time I finish a book I read up on the book and author like on obsessed ex. If the author is still living I often write them adoring emails that I never send.

Yesterday I checked on a book/author that I read 3 years ago and I found that she started a new project:

“The Beckoning of Lovely”

This is how it started.

This is what it became.

This is the project.

I wanted to get involved so I wrote her an email, and…this time…I actually sent it:

Lovely

You are lovely.

My friend gave me "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life" for my birthday 3 years ago. I fell in love with it. It was lovely.

Later that summer, I was backpacking through Europe with my younger brother. One night in a hostel in Sigisoara, Romania we met two friends who were in Romania because they were tracing their ancestry. We went to dinner with them, spent some time with them. She was very passionate about journal writing, as am I, and I told her about how I had just read this book that I loved...your book. She actually happened to know you (or knew someone that knew you...her first name is Perri, but I don't remember her last name). Any way, we bonded. It was lovely.

I love this project and I want to be a part of it. I'm an aspiring writer and I would love to write something for your New York event, if possible. Here is a sample of my writing and if you would like to see more the link to my blog and website are below. Thanks!

Kimberly Calder

ANNNNddd.....She wrote me back!

Re: Lovely

hi Kimberly

Oh my.
I love how the world works sometimes.

I know only one Perri (not the most common name)...and it sounded like it could be her. (traveler, journaler). I am actually very close with her mom. I forwarded her mom your email and asked, could this be your sweet daughter Perri?

Indeed it is.

Can you believe it?

I would love to have you read/perform at New York event.

This piece you sent is wonderful, but I am also open to looking at others and deciding together what would be best for you.

thanks for reaching out,
amy

p.s. i should also mention that I have always loved Perri for one other reason aside from just that she's super great...
my daughter's name is Paris and we often call her Pari...

and last year we had a double daughter Perri/Pari date at Jill's (her mom) where we hibernated in their cool arts and crafts room for a couple hours and made fun collages and cards!

Re: Re: Lovely

Yeah! I'm so excited to be involved! I would love to write something that is as lovely as I think your project is...I don't even know what that means yet, but I'll see if I can get the universe to tell me. Could I send you something (or a few things maybe) in April?

Oh and I do love how the world works. I love that you know Perri and that I spent a brief 24 hrs (if even that) with her in a random little town in Eastern Europe right after I read your book. I'd like to think that it's more than a coincidence.

Thanks again for giving me a shot. Good luck with getting everything together, and if you run into Perri, tell her hi and tell Perri's mom how refreshing it was to have such a serendipitous meeting with such a sincerely lovely person..

Kimberly

So, I’m now in search of the loveliest things in this world, luckily, they’re not that hard to find. Sometimes they come to you, like this morning’s snowstorm that welcomed Spring with the biggest snowflakes I’ve seen all Winter.

P.S. Kim Gardner, thanks again for the birthday gift 3 years ago.

That one time when...

2009-03-18T16:53:00.004-04:00

So, my camera is broken.

And by broken I mean that I can't find the charger ANYWHERE, which really is such a bummer because it happens to be the most resilient camera known to man.

Sure, it has a delay which causes me to miss basically all exciting moments that I'm trying to document, but with all the times that I've dropped it, gotten it wet (accidentally, of course), or shuffled it around with the other one-hundred things in my bag, I would have thought we would have parted on different terms. And frankly, I've really missed it. I've had so many great things to take pictures of (Whistler, Seattle, the huge snow storm a few weeks ago, the frozen ponds, the view of 5th Ave on St. Patrick's day, DC, Inaguration, that time I saw Kathy Griffin, the beginnings of spring, and so much more.) but I'm stuck with my camera phone. I guess beggers can't be choosers.

Any way, my roommate happened to take a picture of Ryan and I the other day when we were playing around on the piano and at least it documents that one time when we pretended like we could play a duet, right? Oh, p.s. If you would like to donate to my camera fund, I will accept donations on my paypal account. You can just send me an email: kacalder (at) gmail (dot) com.

Top of the Mornin' to you!

2009-03-17T12:01:00.003-04:00

I just stepped out on the balcony of my office building to watch the sea of green bystanders and the St. Patrick's Day parade marching up 5th ave. It's a crisp, beautiful morning outside and our balcony happens to have one of the best views of 5th Ave that I've ever seen.

Jokingly, my co-worker with a macabre sense of humor said, "I can't imagine why anyone would choose to jump to their death."

Which instantly revived my fear of heights that I gained AFTER I went sky diving; something about knowing what it feels like to jump/fall enables me to easily envision this whole jumping off a building and falling to my death scenario. Don't people go sky diving to "Cure" their fear of heights?

It seems like the best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day is to stay at the top of my building this morning, accompanied, so it seems, by bagpipes and drum lines.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling!

2009-03-13T15:41:00.004-04:00

I think I got the luck of the Irish wore off on me and I was able to post another blog this week on the Intelligent Traveler Blog. YEAH!

It's just an informative blog, so, I realize it's a little bit boring; however, you can see it here if you would like.

I do intend on blogging here again (and not just redirecting anyone that visits my blog), I just have to fix my camera first--or maybe that's just my excuse.

Published...er...POSTED!

2009-03-09T12:46:00.002-04:00

I’ve had a blog post that I’ve been constructing in my head ever since I started working at National Geographic. It goes something like this:

After taking {Insert: number of used phone message books x 300} amount of messages,

writing {Insert: (weekly reports + quarterly reports + semi-annual reports) x how many years I’ve been here} amount of reports,

and kissing {Insert: a made up number} amounts of butts,

I’ve been published in the prestigious {Insert: any place that would accept me} magazine.

I’m a real writer now…or maybe not a real writer but a published, wannabe “real writer,” writer.

Blah, blah, blah…

About a month ago, I thought that this blog was actually going to be published due to several exciting conversations that I had with National Geographic’s Green Guide. However, due to a failing economy and NGS’s decision to lay off the entire Green Guide staff and discontinue the Green Guide altogether (after, may I add, I had written a few articles for them and done a lot of research). So, long story short: it didn’t work out just as I planned—but what does?

Nonetheless, I’m very fortunate that there have been other possible places here at NGS, where I can practice writing. I’d just like to point you to my first online article! YEAH!!

Please visit: National Geographic’s Intelligent Traveler Blog…here.

Oh, and if you were wondering how many phone messages I have taken…somewhere around 3,000, not to mention how many times I've answered the phone.

Neglect

2009-03-05T14:01:00.002-05:00

Some things get better with time.

Some things do not.

This blog is starting to stink...don't you think?

Real posts to come...

I saw this...

2009-02-12T10:28:00.004-05:00

on Karren's blog who got it from Chris' blog.

1. Snow On The Mountain (for Rigs and Kimberly), 2. The sun sets on this sad carnival, 3. Soaring, 4. Yellow army, 5. George Lucas and Harrison Ford on the set of "Raiders".jpg, 6. Year 2008, 7. Farewell India, 8. Strawberry Lemon Basil cupcake, 9. Just another Saturday morning., 10. pools of light in the d(p)ark, 11. If paradise is half as nice, 12. autumn skirt with pocket plushie

the questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favourite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favourite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your blog name?

Today: Things That Stole My Attention

2009-02-11T15:57:00.004-05:00

Floating heads and people More pictures here

60 lb. rice crispy treats (Go to the archives to be sufficiently disturbed)

And of course, Mike, the headless chicken.

Yes We Did!

2009-01-21T14:24:00.005-05:00

I hope yesterday historically marks a change for good.
I hope, because of the significance of having a our first black president, that we remember our history, remember our foundation, and remember that we're just starting to realize the dreams of our forebearers.

I hope that American's still believe in America in 4 years.
I hope that American's still believe in Obama in 4 years; however, I hope that people will stop mistaking Obama for their savior (hence the ubiquitous comments such as, "Now that Obama's president, I'm going to get a pay raise!").

I hope we remember that our leaders are not infallible and we shouldn't hold them to higher standards than we hold ourselves.
I hope we don't look back on the last 8 years with discouragement or resentment. (I'm so tired of all the negativity.)
I hope that people realize how inappropriate it was to boo President Bush during his last few minutes in office.
I hope people remember how much we loved him, especially after 9-11, because of the genuinely good person he was and still is.

I hope we can make changes. Real changes for good. Changes that will help us in pursuing the American Dream that the Founders envisioned.
I hope American's realize that this "Change" has to start on an individual level.
I hope all Americans are kinder, happier, and better in the coming years.

I hope that one day I can tell my kids about inauguration yesterday and tell them how I battled the crowds and the cold and walked at least 2 miles--up hill, both ways--to be there.
I hope they'll be interested to know about it, just like I was interested to know where my parents were when Kennedy was shot or why they didn't go to Woodstock.
I hope I can tell about the millions of people who gathered together on the Mall in front of our nation's Capital Building.
I hope I can tell them that people were so desperate to get a glimpse of the event that they were hanging out of trees, climbing on cars, and sitting on port-a-potties rooftops.
I hope I can explain the goosebumps I got when they announced Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
I hope I can vividly describe the excitement of the crowd, how emotional, how proud, and how willing everyone was to wait, in the cold, to cheer on the man who in whom we place our hopes.

Skip to My Lou

2009-01-15T10:22:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite parts about working in the temple on Thursday mornings is leaving.

I guess that didn't come out exactly like I meant it.

I love being there, but after my shift I walk across Central Park to my office and it feels like my sweet reward for getting up early in the morning. It's only one of my favorite things about Thursdays, but I always feel really happy at that time, so happy that I usually skip to work.

I just can't help it: it's beautiful outside, I'm a little delirious from waking up at 4:00 a.m., my ipod surprises me with a great song, and I've been hanging out at the happiest place on Earth all morning. Wouldn't you skip too?

I always want to skip the whole way but I don't because I'll get embarrassed or because I'll come across a reason not to (like last week when a huge section of the park was roped off with "Do Not Enter" tape because some cops were investigating a crime scene), or because I vaguely remember that one time I got shin splints from prolonged skipping.

So I walk for a step or two but then I remember that no one is watching me, I don't care what they think anyway, and I'm not even sure that it was the skipping that caused those one-time shin splints. I just want to start skipping again; so I do.

I didn't know that my morning skips in the park could get better than they were in the Spring, but today was greater than ANY OTHER DAY because of the new snow. It was so beautiful!

I was so elated that skipping seemed too slow so I would run, see how far I could slide, skip, and then run again. The park was powdery and silent and snow was still falling from the sky.

"This is the greatest day ever!" I yelled out loud.And it was.
And it still is... because it's still snowing.

I can't wait for my lunch break.

Aunts

2009-01-12T15:42:00.005-05:00

Though this isn't my news to announce,
I wanted to say
CONGRATULATIONS TO MARK AND SHANNON!

I celebrated today by eating a classic for lunch:
Aunts on a Log
Good job on number 6
(Is it surprising that it's still the best way to eat celery?)

Crooked

2009-01-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

Today at work my bangs were bugging me. They kept falling in my eyes when I looked down or fell across my face when I was talking to someone. My right eye is itchy because my hair fell in it so many times.

So, I was fed up, but instead of getting mad, I decided to do something about it: I went to the bathroom and cut them.

Knowing that cutting my hair in the work bathroom isn't a very effective use of my time I didn't spend much time on the project, which, in the end, didn't bode very well for me. I think they're crooked. I guess that's what I get for cutting my hair on company time.

My main question is, should I feel guilty while I'm completing my yearly evaluation today?

"How can you increase the effectiveness in your job?"

Maybe I should answer, stop being so crooked.

The Crazy House

2009-01-07T17:07:00.010-05:00

When I was younger, there was a house that we (and by we, I guess I really just mean me) called The Crazy House. (Note: not that this was a consideration, but it was probably a good thing that God didn't create Adam and me as the first people on the Earth. Had I been in charge of naming things it would have been more like the green thing, the slimy thing, the thing that sticks on your teeth....and I call myself a "writer")

Any way, The Crazy House was located at the bottom of The Wild Mouse (the winding road by my house), right where Oak Lane and Elm intersect.

And though they didn't have much lawn, they always made good use of it. Lights, fake snowmen, a manger, Santa and ALL of his reindeer. Okay, maybe I wasn't so off when I called it The Crazy House.

Any way, for the past few Christmases I've missed The Crazy House. I never the knew the people that lived there and I have no idea what happened to them, but I still think of them every time I drive past, especially in the Winter.

However, this year I noticed that I didn't really need to miss The Crazy House any more, because a lawn ornament trend had really started a trend in the Oak Hills area. I've been wondering if it's in memory of The Crazy House, but it probably has something more to do with Global Warming and Costco's newfangled selection of lawn gear.

So, while I was in Utah, I was obsessed with finding best of the decor. Here are some of my favorites: (Thanks to Marcelle for taking the pictures while we drove past).
Here's Santa Skating. I love the flashing lights on this one:
Right, Left,

And how about that shadow? Though I personally love the self opening and closing mailbox.

So, yeah. Nothing says Christmas like lawn ornaments.

Not knowing my love of decorations, Ryan took me to walk around Dyker Heights, a neighborhood where each house tries to have more lights & decorations than the last. Here's a little view of it (By the way, this is a random youtube video and it's kind of boring, but at least you can see 2 of the hundreds of houses that are decorated).

I think it's obvious that the owners of The Crazy House moved to Brooklyn.

THE LET IT SHOW, LET IT SHOW, LET IT SHOW

2008-12-09T12:19:00.003-05:00

Looking for something to do on the 17th?

The Lingos

2008-12-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Every Year, the New York singles gather for a short film competition called The Lingos (named, obviously, after of the greatest LDS films ever, Johnny Lingo).

Ryan created this movie with the help of Collin. I'm in it for about 2 seconds so...I thought I'd post it here (not to mention that it's true and a little autobiographical).

Enjoy!

To My Readers

2008-12-04T12:36:00.008-05:00

Okay, okay people.

Good Job!

Seriously. You impressed me with that whole Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. Don't you secretly want to sing that all the time? I do. There's something so rewarding about singing every memorized word of a rap song, even if it's from a theme song...wait, especially when it's from a theme song. I mean, come on...when you didn't even mean to memorize it? And it's just there in your brain even after 10 years and 100's of tests that you crammed for in college?

Just tell me, can anyone do that head move that Will does right at the end? You know, the one where he rolls his head down, back up and then in a circular movement like it's in a blender.
So cool.
So impossible for a white girl.

Um...I just inadvertently did it at my desk.
I can just hear my co-workers:
"And then did you see Calder? She was like flopping her head around and smiling. So bizarre. I mean, she's nice, but what was that?"

I've already convinced myself that they probably just think that I'm stretching my neck after a long day/week at work.

But let's get back to Will:

So yes KT, Jessica, and Megan. Of course I thought you'd get it. But to explain, I have 3 people on my "email-me-every-time-you-post" list.
My Mom
My Dad
My Sister Christine

Those are the only people that I'm pretty sure will read my blog at some point.
My Mom, whenever she happens to check her emails (2-3 times a month or so);
My Dad, when he's not busy;
and Christine, when she has time between feeding 7 mouths (seriously, if I had 7 kids I probably wouldn't even be able to zip up my pants let alone do things like check my emails. I would literally just run around in sweats all day long. My kids would probably all be in sweats too because I wouldn't have time to zip up their pants either. Don't even get me started on shoe laces...).

Although my love for them (i.e. the three on my list) has always been greater than even my annoyance for Carlton, these people do not know the theme song. Right?

And although they may feel like I'm calling them out at this moment (or in a few weeks when they get the chance to check), I'm not. You should feel pretty pleased with your life that you haven't watched so many TV hours that you have the theme song memorized. Good job.

However, I will be working with you on that head move when I'm home for Christmas.

Start practicing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGTiaywatro

I am Thankful

2008-11-29T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am Thankful for great decorations (courtesy of Ryan)

I am Thankful that my turkey (the first one that I've ever cooked) worked out.
I am Thankful that my pie (the second one ever) was tasty
I am Thankful for my little New York family that came to dinner (almost as many people as my real family).
I am thankful for everyone that helped with dinner.

I am Thankful for Ryan.

"In West Philadelphia Born & Raised on the playground is where I spent most of my days..."

2008-11-24T16:17:00.000-05:00

No, actually we spent time at the "sites."
(And since no one who reads my blog knows where that song comes from...it's a great title...) However, my point being, Nicole Santiago, Kim Gardner, and I met up in Philadelphia for a little get-a-way and had an awesome time.

We stayed with Kim and Nicole's friend, Carrie and went to Valley Forge:
Had breakfast with the Amish, visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell,Saluted the founders
Pretended to be like them:

And I don't know what this picture is all about...

I Am a Child of God too.

2008-11-13T14:35:00.009-05:00

Being a "Calder" means a few things.
Calders love:
1-Swimming
2-Coca-Cola
3-Eating
4-and Laughing
(especially when done simultaneously.)

Calders own:
1-A robe
2-A petzl "reading lamp" (not made for reading...but clearly, a very versatile item.)
3-Old clothes that will hopefully fit again (though not in style) as well as old clothes that are too sentimental to throw away (though the line there is a fuzzy one since some jeans are held onto because of sentimentality over the once-fitting size of the garment).
4-A desk, a cedar chest, drawers, or some other piece of Grandmother Calder's furniture.

Trademark Calder characteristics are:
1-Blue eyes
2-"Athletic" thighs
3-A loud phone voice
4-Loyalty
5-and a Dalzen smile

Some things are inherent. Some adopted. Some discarded.

Whatever the case, I find it very comforting to know that there are other people who get bumps on the back of their arms, have an extra bone in their foot, and like to plan their next meal when they are finishing up dessert.

Inherently we're all different too: Catherine has the blondest hair, Scott is the skinniest, Jay is the most creative, Mark is the most organized, Christine is the most efficient, and I'm the most sentimental. And maybe this is just me being sentimental, but even with our differences, they represent the best description of me. I identify with them; I'm a Calder kid.

Something else I identify with, just as much as being a Calder, is being a Mormon.

In fact, it's hard to separate the two.

I've often wondered, do I go to Church because I'm a Mormon or because I'm a Calder?

Maybe initially it's because I was a Calder. Because I was the bishop's daughter. Because of that story my parents tell about the one Sunday morning, early in their married life, when it was cold and snowy outside and even though their warm, soft bed beckoned them to stay in their little Indiana apartment, they got up and went to church.

But even with that, I know the Book of Mormon is true. I have felt the spirit testify to me at quiet times and in sacred places that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I'm Mormon because I can't deny those feelings. In fact, I don't want to deny those feelings. I'm a Mormon by choice.

Last night as I walked out of the Shops at Columbus Circle, I ran into a police barricade. Protesters were marching to Columbus Circle and I think they were trying to corral the crowd into the park. Having no where to go but North, I walked towards the temple.

After a block I saw thousands of people carrying signs like,
"No More Mr. Nice Gay."
"Clear the State of Mormon Hate!"
"You had 5 wives, just let me have one husband!"
"We're an Obama Nation. Not an abomination!"
"Don't expect us to create and then go home without a mate."
"I'm a Child of God too!"
Some ten thousand people had gathered to protest Prop 8 at the temple.

I started worrying whether or not it was safe for me for me to be there. What if someone found out I was Mormon and turned the mob on me? For the first time in my life persecution seemed like a reality. I felt mad, I felt nervous, I felt like crying, I felt like standing up and shouting, "No guys! You don't get it!"

And then someone ran out of the crowd to the bystanders next to me.

"Oh hi!" They said, "It's so good to see you guys. Can you believe how many people showed up?"

How could he be so hateful towards something that was so personal to me yet instantly change into someone who seemed genuinely nice, someone with whom (in other circumstances) I'd probably want to be friends.

I listened to their conversation while I watched the crowd go by. All of these people attacking my identity because they felt like their identity had been discriminated against. What a strange paradox. Sticking up for what I believe makes them feel attacked. Standing up for what they feel is right attacks my beliefs.

Who can really win?

It reminds me of a classic story at the Calder household. Catherine and Christine, both made Cheerleading one year; Christine a Varsity, Catherine a Sophomore.

With Catherine now effecting Christine's Senior year, things got ugly. Christine giving orders to Catherine. Catherine fighting back and giving orders to Christine. I remember a lot of yelling and shedding tears when my parents intervened. Their war of harsh words and silent treatments never really settled down until Christine went away to college.

I don't remember who said these words, but the most repeated incident that came from their fighting was when one of them yelled at the other, "You'd be nothing without me!"

This is probably the part where I need to sum up this post and tell you what I mean by all of this, but, I don't really know yet. I'm still working out my feelings on the situation. Even 3 weeks later when I post this, I don't have exactly the right words to say except that I know what I believe. Though the only common ground might be that we are all from the same family.

Rich Blessings

2008-11-10T16:26:00.006-05:00

Friday night Ali, Ryan, and I went to the movable Chanel Art exhibit in the park. All of the art inside had been inspired by Chanel handbags (which is why Ali wanted to go); it is coolest, newest, temporarily available hot-ticket in town (which is why Ryan wanted to go); and it looks like a spaceship landed in the park (which is why I wanted to go. It looked cool).

Audio Tour: A+
Visuals: A
Price: (Free) A++

Saturday night and Sunday morning were filled with meetings for the Manhattan Stake Conference. No stake conference has been a let down, per se, but because we have 15 units in our stake and because we are too big to meet in one building, I've gone to every stake conference with expectations of big announcements like: boundary changes, new buildings, dissolving single's wards, or a command to trek to Missouri....I don't know...big things.

Note to self: I'm not going to let myself think up possible policy changes when preparing for church meetings...it's a dumb habit any way.

In any case: great music + prepared speakers=fabulous meeting. I watched the broadcast at the Harlem building which is always a plesant experience because:
a-I can walk there from my apartment (unlike the building where my single's ward meets, which is 45 minutes away).
b-The congregation talks back to the speaker, or screen as was the case yesterday.
c-They always have post-conference treats.
Love the Harlem ward!

Visual broadcast: High Terrestial (I mean, it would have been nice to be all together)
Spiritual insight: Celestial
Price: Celestial++

And last but not least, Ryan and I went for a walk in Central Park to look at the leaves (because it's quiet possibly the most beautiful fall that I've ever seen), and we decided to walk to the river just to visit our old friend, the Hudson (where I like to go on Sundays in the summer), one last time before it freezes over. When, to our delight, we found tickets to get into New York's Chocolate show.

New York's Chocolate show is a room full of unlimited chocolate samples: chocolate fountains, chocolate brownies, hot chocolate, truffles, but mostly a lot of chocolate squares from all around the world.

Visuals: B+
Price: A+
Taste: Celestial...though it was so good I felt like I was being a little Telestial.

Gotta Get Back in Time

2008-11-03T11:20:00.007-05:00

This was the prototype for my Halloween costume:
Do you know who it is?
Here's a hint, it's a type of quiche:

Okay, here's another hint:

Our Halloween costume:
Marty McFly and Lorraine Baines

And...the Halloween party:
The most frequently said lines of the evening:

"Wait a minute, Doc. Ah....are you telling me that you built a time machine...out of a DeLorean?"

"Hey Biff, get a load of this guy's life preserver. Dork thinks he's gonna drown. "

"Isn't he a dreamboat?"

Candy Whore

2008-10-31T16:51:00.004-04:00

I've always thought that Halloween is just an excuse for people to dress slutty.

It's my excuse to eat a lot of candy.

I guess that's cool, as long as we're all happy.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!