Sunday in Seattle.

Yesterday I got to be a tourist in my new city.  

Best looking guy in Seattle, right there. 

I had great tour guides, 

stereotypical Seattle weather, 

found a troll under a bridge, 

saw some Larpers larping 

and....

I even got pooped on by a bird.  

I could have done without that last one, 

but I figure I WAS just walking around in it's natural pooping space, so I couldn't get mad.  

First...we found the troll under the bridge.

Hey now, that's my boyfriend. Be nice.

THAT'S the troll.  And that's a real Volkswagen car he's holding too (for real).

Then we went to the Fremont Street Market.

They had artisans' handiworks outside, and inside was like a big flea market that smelled like grandma's musty attic. 

Gas Works Park. 

This was where we randomly found the LARPERS!! 

Volunteer Park

This was where I realized that people really do get used to the rain here.  There were still runners everywhere, people playing with their dogs....and then there's even me with my soaking wet shoes and socks, still having the time of my life exploring my new city. 

Climbed some stairs...

View from the top! 

My wonderful tour guides. Thanks Jeff and Brittney! 

Today's Lesson: 

My new city is better than your city.  

Just kidding. 

......but seriously.

A little blog on fog.

"Fog (noun): A thick cloud of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface that obscures or restricts visibility." --Google

Let's try that again. Here's my definition:

"Fog (creepy): 1. A thick cloud of water droplets that surrounds the earth and instantly transports one into a real-life horror movie, where behind each tree is a psychotic axe murderer."  Obviously.

2. "The conditions that cause one to drive like an old lady because you can't see the street signs until they are 10 feet in front of you. Especially when you are new to the city." Please don't tell my boyfriend I've been driving slow...

3. "A result of an unfulfilled New Years Resolution, where the clouds have eaten too much Nutella and got so...um..."fluffy", that they are expanding into our very own neighborhoods." Someone please get these things on a meal plan and treadmill.

 4. "A condition in the Seattle area that can be very annoying, because it is actually partly sunny above the fog, but you still can't see past your own driveway, much less Mount Rainier." And that is just mean.                                                                          

This condition has been perpetrating my life and the lives around me for about 3 full days now.  And I'm ready for it to go away.  Although I'll admit: It is sort of pretty in an emo sort of way.  (Can I say that?)

Some of these pictures I took awhile back in MN. But fog is fog, right?

Walk in Love.

"Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but extravagant.  He didn't love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us.  Love like that. " 

Ephesians 5:1&2 (The Message)

If I were to describe my personal state of being these past two weeks, it would be this: Survival mode. 

No I'm not stranded on an island, or homeless, or stricken by disease, or being chased by a tiger.  In fact, my circumstances are just the opposite.  I've been completely blessed and taken in by those around me--by this new community of people who have all made me feel so incredibly welcomed. So why does my spirit feel like I'm in this constant state of survival? 

I think it's because I'm still totally out of my comfort zone.  As welcomed as I feel, it's not "home" yet.  

I'm constantly meeting new people, eating food in new places and watching sports in different homes, and it's been so much fun--but I wasn't able to really let my guard down.

Until this past weekend at church while worshiping.  

Because worship felt like home. 

And again while hiking up a mountain. 

Because the same Creator who made that mountain, is the one who created me.  

West Tiger Mountain hike with my friend Carrie

Even though I'm in a new state, a new city, a new home, looking for a new job, hanging out with new friends, getting used to being in a new type of dating relationship...

I still worship the same God.  

And at that moment I realized that in my state of survival mode I've been sort of neglecting my relationship with Him, which is exactly the opposite of what I should be doing at this time in my life.  He's my Constant. The never-changing, always faithful Savior and friend that I need at all times in my life---but especially during big life changes.  

He created me to praise Him.  Not just in worship at church, but with my lifestyle.  With the way I interact with others.  These past two weeks I haven't been focused on loving others the way I am called to do, either.  Survival mode makes a person focus entirely on themselves.  "How can I feel safe, comfortable, and loved?" while neglecting the "How can I make others feel safe, comfortable, and loved?"

I need to get better at that second part. 

Survival mode in general is a good thing--it keeps us safe and alive. 

But it should only be temporary.  Are you about to be eaten by a tiger? Then run. God gave you instincts and legs for a reason.  Jump that fence...and then get on with your life.  Give God the praise, then go love on the people in your life. Don't reconstruct your life around this constant fear of becoming tiger lunch. 

My survival mode is over.  I'm here, I'm safe, now it's time to get refocused. 

The cool thing about situations like being chased by a tiger and surviving or moving to a new state for the 2nd time in a year, is that eventually you will have a cool story to tell about how God stepped in and did something amazing. 

You just have to be paying attention.  

Week One: Check.

This time I sit in Panera, where the two 60something women sitting on my left are discussing the evils of Facebook.  They almost have me convinced. While the two 20something women sitting on my right are discussing getting their nails done with "French tips but, like, with lots of glitter and stuff!"

Uffda. 

But hey! I've lived in my new state for a week!  

This first week living in Washington has been a huge blessing! I say that even amidst the mental-emotional-spiritual-physical adjustments that comes with a move like this.  Because seriously, everyone here has made me feel unbelievably welcomed!  

Also, people hug alot here.  My Norwegian/Swedish background has not prepared me for this.  I think I've gotten more hugs this past week than in my entire 25 years of life.  But...seriously. Again--so welcomed! 

Josh and I stopped by the beautiful house of their family friend, Karen, who has so graciously agreed to let me be her roommate for awhile! We stopped by to see if her dog, a German Shepherd mix, would demolish my little hedgehog.  He sure was curious about him...but he didn't try to eat him. Directly. He did try to eat Quincy's blanket once we put him away, however. So..maybe hedgie will live behind closed doors. 

I got spoiled my first three days here with SUNSHINE! It was beautiful.  But now it's rainy. Like right now, my socks are soaked inside my boots. It's okay though, I don't mind the rain because it's so GREEN here! And they have lakes! And you can see Mount Rainier!......sometimes.

In other news, I ended up making a few belated New Year's Resolutions afterall. I think I'll just make them up as I go. Is that allowed?

First one: Run at least 10 miles a week.  This past week I ran 12. Nailed it. 

Second one: Get a job.  So I can pay my bills. And be a productive member of society. And so I can get a gym membership and stop being such a lil weakling that gets sore the next day after stirring too much while baking.  True story.  

But back to running..

Even with all the hills here--it's reminded me how much I love running.  And mostly it reminds me how I can't afford a gym membership until I find a job. So I just keep on sloshing through the miles in my soaking wet tennis shoes, up and down and up and down and up and down the hills.   

They have weird trees here. When I'm out running I feel like I'm in Alice in Wonderland. Or a Dr. Seuss book. But without the rhymes and weird cats. And with more clouds, wet shoes, and nice people. 

And it's so warm here! For January at least. Except I look at my weather app and see that it's almost 50 all the time, so lil miss Minnesota girl here decides to be tough and not wear a jacket.  So then I'm always freezing.

I've gone through this "It's so warm I won't wear a jacket....Omg I'm freezing!!" skit every single day so far.

Can someone please text me every morning and tell me to wear a jacket? Thanks. 

(Just kidding mom, I wear a coat and hat and gloves everysingledayyyy) 

I'm surprisingly totally okay with this. 

So because I'm not very good at this whole being unemployed thing, I better get back to some job applying and resume printing and driving arounding that has become my new routine. 

I suppose I should do some laundry too.  

Oh...and hang out with my boyfriend on a Monday night.  Because now I can :)  

Yay for spontaneous date nights! And almost beating my boyfriend in Air Hockey! 

I live in Washington now?! Yep, it's true.

So, I live in Washington now! Happy 2013 to me! I still feel like it's just a dream--or like it's just another weekend visit and soon I'll be flying back to Denver.  Sometimes I even still think I should be flying back 'home' to Minnesota. 

But Washington is my new home now. And so far, so good :) 

The past couple weeks have been such a whirlwind. Life has moved so fast with holidays in MN, work events in Miami and St. Louis and then the 21 hour drive through 5 states to move out here....I'm officially [temporarily] sick of traveling.  No more airports or long roadtrips for awhile, please.  

Day 1: 11 hours of driving and gummy worm eating.

Day 2: 10 hours of driving to get to Seattle by 5pm and then celebrate New Years with Josh's friends!

First views of Washington state!

Quincy checkin out his new state. It's no Africa for this African Pygmy Hedgie...but I think he approves.

My first morning living in Washington, and it was SUNNY! :) So I went for a 5 mile run! Gotta love the 40+ degree winter temps! 

So this New Years I haven't really made any huge resolutions besides figuring out a routine and what God has for me in this new chapter of life!

Just jump! But don't forget your parachute.

Here I am, sitting in a coffee shop again, this time: Starbucks. I'm here because the neighbor I had been stealing internet from for 8 months must have either moved away or gotten smart and put a password on his Wifi.  I'm also here because I had 6 unused gift cards to Starbucks and I felt I should start using them. Bonus: Awesome people-watching. My most favoritest hobby.

Anyway, in case you haven't been paying attention, the New Year is coming soon and you know what that means: Sparkly dresses, resolutions, tons of weight loss commercials, overly full gyms, NYE parties, and of course--the never ending Top Ten lists.  Top Ten songs of 2012! Top Ten celebrities of 2012! Top Ten toys of 2012! Top Ten pet fish names of 2012! Seriously, it doesn't matter what it is, there will be a Top Ten list of anything and everything.  

So to keep up with culture and be a good, holiday-embracing citizen, here is Kirsten's Top Life Lessons Learned in 2012!!  Instead of doing 10, I'm going to shake things up a bit and do the top 3.  Because 10 is excessive.  And because 3 is my favorite number. 

Kirsten's Top Three Life Lessons of 2012!!! [Part One.]

"If you're willing to take a leap of faith, moving doesn't have to be hard. 

But don't jump without a parachute." 

I know I talk about moving a lot, because that seems to be my season of life right now.  Moving might not be on your radar at all.  But are you thinking about switching careers? Buying a house? Going back to school? Taking a year off to travel? The type of faith and practical steps needed to make a big move exercises the same faith muscles as many other big life decisions. 

If you feel unsettled where you are, and if your heart is leading you to something new, and the timing isn't HORRIBLE (there will rarely be a "perfect time" to make any huge life decision)...then take the leap of faith and just do it!! 

Specifically with a move, take the leap now--especially if you're young. Because seriously, if you move and you hate it, give it at least a year...and if you still hate it, you can always move back.  And once you're more settled down I'm sure it gets WAY harder to just pick up and move a family. 

But here are the top three lessons I've learned in preparing for a move:

1. Pray. If you're not the praying type, then hardly anything I say will be too relevant.  I have NO idea how I would get through life or have an ounce of joy without my faith.  I would be an anxious, worrying mess.  But if you pray about it, feel peace and excitement about the move, and your family doesn't seriously threaten to disown you, then just do it! 

Also, prayer goes very well with the whole 'finding a job' aspect of moving.  It's up to you and your own personal wisdom whether to wait to move until you have a job in your new city, or REALLY take a leap of faith and move without a job. Sometimes it's honestly easier to find a job once you're in the new city.  But that doesn't work for everyone.  

One thing I will also say, is sometimes the adventure of moving takes a bit of sacrifice and you have to take a not-so-glamourous job temporarily.  For the most part, getting a job is all about who you know.  Move to a new place, work a job to pay the bills and start meeting people.  Then you will have a much better chance to find your dream job once you've made connections. 

2. Get rid of your stuff!  This is something I've really embraced lately.  Even if you're not moving...it feels so good to get rid of all that extra stuff you don't use! My rule: If I haven't worn it or used it more than once in the past year, get rid of it!! Don't be a hoarder. Also, donate when you can...but don't donate your garbage.  Non-profits like Goodwill have to pay a lot of money to throw stuff away that people donate that is literally just garbage--stained clothes, broken appliances, etc.  Just throw it away. Or recycle it if possible. 

3. Save your money.  Moving isn't cheap.  Moving trucks are expensive.  Down payments on apartments are expensive.  New 3M hooks to hang up all your pictures are expensive. (Seriously it's like $8 for 4 hooks!) Always overestimate how much things will cost.  Sometimes you need to make sacrifices that may seem irresponsible to others, but ultimately that's between you and God--who has given you the abilities and opportunities to acquire those resources in the first place. 

So there you have it.  

Recap: Pray for guidance and peace about the decision. Make practical, tangible steps towards your goal. Make wise financial decisions so you can be a good steward of the resources you have been trusted with.

I call that the parachute of preparation. Okay I don't call it that, I just made that up now. But although you should adequately prepare, eventually you just hafta jump! 

Don't be the one that just sits on the edge. Don't spend your whole life perfecting the parachute. 

That's boring.  And pointless. 

Jump and be the one that inspires other people to jump, too. 

Packing Procrastination and COFFEE.

I'm sitting at Caribou, looking over my laptop at another guy's laptop. No, I'm not being creepy. It's just right there in front of me.  He has his calendar up.  And it's like a bright screen full of rainbows in grid, table, and chart form.  Each day has at least 8 different color coded blobs of text.  Maybe he's really important.  Maybe he lives a very busy life.  Maybe he's just neurotic and schedules every single thing for his day.  "Pet the dog." "Brush my teeth." "Go to Caribou and buy a Diet Coke like a weirdo."

But seriously...who goes to Caribou and sits and sips on a Diet Coke? Maybe he doesn't like coffee, Kirsten.  Ok fine, no judgment.  (But they even have SMOOTHIES here!)

Anyways, here I sit at Caribou Coffee, planning out the next month of my own life.  I'm not one for keeping a calendar.  But now realizing that maybe I should be.  I don't have trouble remembering stuff, but when it's not written down it just seems overwhelming.  This next month is going to be crazy. It's going to be stressful. But it's ultimately going to be wonderful.

Kirsten's life for the next 4 weeks:
1. Packpackpackpackpackpack

2. Parents come next weekend to load their truck with EVERYTHING that won't fit in my Subaru and temporarily store it at their house.  That pretty much means for my last few weeks in Denver I'll be living the life of a minimalist.  I'll have my winter clothes, air mattress, only my cheap kitchen items that I will end up just throwing or donating before the move...and Quincy.

3. Weekend after that I get to go to Miami for a work event.  Wahoo, Miami! Too bad I already packed ALL my summer clothes...

I'm really good at packing.  Packing strategically?  Not so much.

4. JobSearchJobSearchJobSearch.  Still no job lined up in WA. I've applied for 15+ so far, and have either heard "Unfortunately...." or nothing.  It's weird because usually that would FREAK ME OUT not having a job lined up yet.  But I really have peace about it. I think that's a God thing. I have a lead for a part time job that I would love, but like my dad always says..."Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

But here's the thing, He always provides! And He's been paving the way for this move before I even knew I was moving. He's provided with PERFECT timing and just so many answers to prayer already.  He's so faithful, it blows my mind!

All that to say, I'll stay faithful on my end by applying, praying, but also not stressing out over the job situation.  And I'd love it if you'd say a little prayer for me too, if you think of it :)

5. December 22nd I fly all the way to my hometown in Northern MN for Christmas.  From there I fly to St. Louis for another work event (boyfriend will be there too). From there we both fly back to Denver, and the same day we land, we load up the Subaru and "Roll My Windows Down and Cruiiissseee."

Okay maybe the windows will stay up.  It will be December 30th. But that's a glorious song. Thank you, Florida Georgia Line.   Anyway, we will then be making the 1,340 mile drive to Renton, WA.  We hope to be there in time to celebrate New Years Eve with his friends.  Ideally with high energy and low crabbiness after a 21+ hour car ride.  Possible? We're optimistic.

6.  Amidst all of that craziness, my last two weeks at work I will be training in the new Volunteer Coordinator who will be taking my place! I'm actually really looking forward to meeting her and teaching her about the awesomeness that is, the World Vision Denver Global Distribution Center, but it's just another thing to be thinking about.

So the moral of this story is, I need to buckle down and just get to it.  Plan it out.  Write it in a Calendar (blegh). And get off of Pinterest.

Really, I spend so much time on Pinterest and I don't even really like it.  I just...can't...stop...scrolling...

Because the great ideas never end! Even though nothing on there even applies to me right now.  If it could give me advice on how to strategically pack for the next month, that would be great.  But nope, all I see are 239,846,296 ways to paint your nails.

The good news is, my Crazy Month of December (yes it all needed to be capitalized) started out great with a visit from my boyfriend! We wore ugly Christmas sweaters, he bought me nice dinners and took out my trash (major boyfriend points). We took a bunch of my stuff to Goodwill.  We made a lil fire in my fireplace and he even cleaned it out for me afterwards (more major boyfriend points). And on Sunday we watched football and ate nachos like good Americans.







Okay, so I suppose I should put words to actions and stop blogging about how much I have to do and go Nike style and JUST DO IT.  This will be easier as I'm adequately caffeinated now, thanks Caribou for your free Wifi!! And delicious Hazelnut Latte!! And beautiful fireplace!! And Christmas music!! And for my free glass of water!! And for your cool snowflakes hanging from the ceiling!! And...okay leaving now.