In the wake of the storm....

So I decided last year I wanted to start a blog.... I needed an "outlet" or a way to remember the things happening in my family and my life. Then, my life went haywire last year with loss and pain. This year started out much happier. May 1st, 2013 I got engaged to the love of my life, my partner in crime, my other half for the last four wonderful years. Planning our wedding for May 2014. Can't help but show off my new "bling":

This excitement and happiness has me ready to start writing again. I feel like I have joy to share rather than sorrow. SOOOOO... be prepared for wedding planning extravaganza haha. Don't be surprised if I start rambling about centerpieces, DJs, or favors. It WILL happen so consider yourself warned. :-)

It's always a little humbling to enjoy happiness after a time of sorrow. It makes my heart ache a little thinking about the family members I lost last year will not physically be in attendance at my wedding; however, their spirits I know will be by my side through the entire journey.

Another storm I can't ignore as I post today in small town Oklahoma is obviously the tornadoes that swirled through over the last couple days. My heart goes out to all the loss and devastation, but Oklahoma is strong and will thrive through the rubble. We will come back on top, as we always do in times of pain and loss.


I want to share something making its way around social media right now... not sure of it's author:

"And on the 9th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need someone to live where the red dirt is settled." So God made Oklahomans. He said "I need someone who can handle the blistering summers and the freezing winters." So God made Oklahomans. "I need someone who can wake up in the morning, drink black coffee, head out to the fields, cut the wheat, bale the hay, and stay in those fields till long after dark" so God made Oklahomans. "I need people tough enough to stand the heat as they work day in and out on drilling rigs and pumping units." So God made Oklahomans. "I need people to wear Orange & Black, Crimson & Cream and though those schools are rivals, all can rise together to support the Orange & Blue." So God made Oklahomans. "I need people who believe in me and the power of goodness. People who aren't afraid to say 'Hello!' to one another and welcome in visitors to their land with open arms." So God made Oklahomans. "I need people who are strong enough to stand thru the strongest storms and the most devastating heartbreaks" So God made Oklahomans. And amidst the destruction, turn to me for comfort and come together as a state and rise above it all. So God, made Oklahomans."


Watch us rise--we always do; OKC Bombing in 1995, airplane crashes for collegiate sports heroes,Moore tornadoes in 1999, 2003, 2010 and now yesterday... and many other tragedies have struck this state--we come out stronger, braver, and more united every time--I expect nothing less this time around--Proud to be an Okie, today and always.

Out of the Loop

WOW.. I feel so "out of touch" lately. I haven't had wifi at my house for a few months, and I feel like I'm going crazy (or maybe I already was lol). I started back to school last Wednesday so now I "need" the internet back on so next week it will be back... whoo hoo! I know everyone has missed me as much as I've missed writing. haha. Can't wait to get back to "normal". :-) Talk to you soon!

Life may give you lemons, but it also gives you someone to help you make lemonade with them.

I feel so far behind. It's been over a week since I've written! I don't like it at all, but my life has been super crazy in the last week. Sunday was my first Pampered Chef party! I had so much fun. I'll be honest that the turn-out wasn't quite as amazing as I thought it was going to be, but the people closest to me plus an extra super special girl I hadn't seen in a while were there. I've had some additional orders outside of the party so it's going to work out pretty well for my first order being placed tomorrow.

So I spent the whole weekend cleaning to prepare for all the guests at my house. I finally finished my kitchen redecorating that I started the weekend before, and it looks pretty good if I might say so myself--especially since pretty much everything was "budget friendly".  (I will post pictures sometime soon)

Also, this week I learned how hard it is for me to not get overly invested in things/people. It's like when I care about something or someone I have to give it/them 110%. I guess that's not a completely bad thing, but it starts to wear on you. It's easier to get your heart broken by people or your feelings hurt if you care so much. I do it a lot with my employees too. It's hard for me when I find out one or some them have been talking about me--I take it so personally, but then I have to try to step back and realize, everyone talks about their boss at some time or another and it's not personal most of the time. SIGH.

 I posted on facebook about this exact subject because my feelings were hurt, and I was having an "emotional day" because female hormones are so lovely and sometimes you just get upset because you feel like it--or even if you don't feel like it...

 I ended up deleting the post on facebook today--about 24 hours later because it was pretty negative and I'm not usually the one to post negative things so publically. However, the response I received in that 24 hours was overwhelming. I realized that I DO have friends or at least people who are close enough to know my heart and know that I have good intentions--even when ranting on facebook. I appreciated all the encouragement and today was a much better day. I probably offended some people with how blunt I was about them talking behind my back, but I realized if they are guilty enough to get upset about it then they probably thought it was about them because they were guilty and had been doing it...so I feel less bad about that. It started out being in reference to a specific situation but really was more in general about how much people talk about other people and how much it frustrates me.

I have a lot of younger employees so I'm around the gossiping so much--it is exhausting sometimes to listen to all them bicker and fight with one another over the most trivial things, but I guess that's one of the joys of management huh?

On a happier note, last night AJ (after knowing how heartbroken I was over the gossiping) was even sweeter than he normally is. I have to tell you--he is a very sweet guys, but last night he let me ramble about girl stuff and didn't criticize or ignore me for "just being a girl." He genuinely loved me and held me until I felt all better, and that ladies and gentlemen is one of the 1,763,054,834 (approximately haha) reasons that I love him so very much. So thankful to have my soulmate by my side--no matter how much friends, family, or others in my life hurt my heart I know that he has it and is protecting it from the storm.

Feeling Adventurous

Link to this quote

It seems right now all I keep doing is going "down new paths." Starting this blog a week ago has been incredibly exciting and has helped me learn more about myself/get back to enjoying things that I love--I mean, a girl can't just work, eat, watch TV and sleep; there has to be more. Don't get me wrong--I love my life. I am very happy, but writing is something that I enjoy but have not been keeping up with much now that I am no longer in school. This blog has been a great way to move forward with my life like "an adult." Sometimes I forget that I am one of those, but I am. I turned 25 last September. I will be getting married in the next year or two, and being a "grown-up" now, I would like to share some life experiences before I forget about them--I will be old and senile before I know it. HAHA ok maybe it's not THAT bad, but it seems this most recent birthday has hit me harder than the previous ones. I feel like I need to accomplish more. I feel like I haven't accomplished as much as I thought I would at this age. I feel like I need to remember what it's like to dream and work toward acheiving goals--rather than getting stuck in the "day to day" monotony.

Well, my newest adventure I'm wanting to embark on is becoming a sales consultant for Pampered Chef! I am so very excited. I sat down with a very nice lady that also sells it in this area, and after that conversation, I was even more sure that this is something I want to and can do. I feel like it is attainable and although I work around 50 hours/week at the restuarant I think it is something I can work into my schedule enough to make some extra money on the side. Who doesn't like extra money afterall? It will take some effort to get up and running and to keep it going, but I know that I have lots of friends and family that will LOVE to have the opportunity to purchase such amazing kitchen gadgets, accessories, and spices. Not to mention, I am incredibly excited about the good deals I will be able to take advantage of.

I am looking forward to what the future holds, and I cannot wait to see how great this adventure will be in my life to help better support AJ and myself. I love him so very much for giving me the opportunity to follow whatever makes me happy whether it be a blog, selling pampered chef, wanting donuts in the middle of the night, or going on a vacation. His goal is to make me happy no matter what and I know how blessed I am to have that/him in my life. I hope that all of you can be so lucky to find a man (or woman) that would drop everything just to make you smile, and if you are that lucky, don't take it for granted and show him the same in return. Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Getting Started

Well, I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now but wasn't quite sure how to do it, what to write about, or if I had anything to say. After much thought (because I tend to overthink everything), I decided that I would finally do it. I would finally start sharing my thoughts with "the world"--at this point the world is just the laptop in front of me and myself, but I believe that this can become a bigger deal and create quite a following. My goals for this blog are to share my experiences with you, to give you a little inside insight into the service industry, and to capture memories for my family and the future. I don't know about you, but I am awfully excited about this and the possibility of greatness--and fun.

So, when I got more serious about writing this blog, I turned to the greatest way to share/get advice on the internet--Facebook. I asked a series of questions that I was curious about regarding blogs, but most importantly I wanted to know HOW... How do I know what to share? How do I start? How do I get a following? How do I know if what I'm writing is what people want to read? How do I know what I'm doing is right?

After much advice from such great women that shared their blogs with me, that shared what has worked for them, and that shared what they think I should do, it was very clear that everyone agreed that I should just share what's important to me and not worry about the future details. They think I should share whatever's on my mind, whatever's important at the time,  and whatever I think I want to share. What great advice! Why didn't I think of that?

So I guess now I will do a little introduction of myself (maybe I should've started there...but oh well). My name is Kristen. I'm a 25 year old Southern woman from a little town in Oklahoma. My boyfriend is A.J. (a.k.a. the most wonderful man in the world) and we have been together for almost three years. I couldn't ask for a better partner for me. We own our own house. He provides for me. He would do anything in the whole world for me... Guess it's true love then huh? It is for me. Now, just waiting on that "rock". I know it's happening soon and trust me--It WILL be updated on here as soon as it happens!

Here's a picture of the happy couple...

Aww aren't we cute?!?



A little more about me--I'm a manager of a restuarant. It is an interesting line of work, but I love it. There's never a dull moment. I'm sure there will be plenty of stories that will come up on here about it--I know you can't wait to hear them lol. Also, I'm an aunt of the greatest, most adorable 7 1/2 month old nephew in the world--love him so very much, and I'm not sure how I survived the first 24 years of my life without him. I'm also the oldest of 5 kids (I have 3 brothers and 1 sister) and the greatest mom, dad, and step-mom ever. I'm so very blessed to have the best family a girl could ask for. I can't wait to share more of my life with you, but that will have to be saved for another day and another time.

Thank you so very much for reading my first post. I hope you liked it, and hopefully you will enjoy the rest of my posts as well.