Your New Apartment = Your New Life

I've bit the bullet and I'm moving! Hello, independence (again)! I found a nice one-bedroom place in New Cumberland (ironically, a few blocks from Dan's place).

It's a nice spacious place in the basement of a business ... a 15'x15' kitchen (a GREAT kitchen), a 15'x15' living room, a decent sized full bathroom, and a 9'x12' bedroom. Great closet space... all white ceramic tile floors... decent light for a basement apt... central air/ heating... on-site laundry room... off-street parking... full use of the back yard... all utilities included in the rent except cable tv. Pretty sweet deal.

My biggest gripes on the place are that the living room and kitchen are light paneling (i HATE paneling) and there's a slight smell. I'm thinking it might be because they smoke upstairs and some of it has sunk through the ceiling? Not sure. I am going to purchase an air purifier system to help with that (fingers crossed). But overall, it's a lot of apt. for the $$ and definitely the best I've found in New Cumberland thus far. It'll be a nice little home for me for my first year completely on my own!! (not to mention, will be within walking distance of my prospective new job, too...)

I was a little freaked out when I took Dan to see it after picking up the keys and we found a spider in the living room... it was the size of a 50-cent piece and black and disgusting. I made him kill it. He started to scoop up the remains and said, "Oh wow... I think it's a Brown Recluse...." K- "What does that mean?" D- "Nothing, honey." K- "Does that mean it's poisonous?" D- "Yes." To which I started to cry. But we'll make this work and flush out all the creepy crawlies. No worries. Thank goodness for an awesome boyfriend who always seems to be there when I need him most!

I've decided to paint the bedroom (since it's the only dry-wall room in the place), so that's on deck for next week. I need living room furniture and good lighting, mostly, and have everything else. Time to go shopping! I'm looking for something lightly used that's nice and bright... red, perhaps?

More to come in the way of photos as I get settled in... and I'm planning on having a housewarming party/barbeque when the weather gets nice, so be ready to party it up, guys!

In the words of Dan, "Your New Apartment = Your New Life." Here we go!

Blue/White Weekend

Miami Reunion at the Phyrst!


Aside from the rain, Blue/White weekend was fantastic! We tailgated at the Niebel's house and watched the game on the 50 yardline. Cannot wait for football season 2006.

I spent Saturday night at the Phyrst with Dan, Emmy, Andrew, Doug, Lexie, Ben, Erika, Curtis, Dave Williams, and more... Jenn, Marc, Abby and Tori were all there, too! Miami reunion!

Highlight of the night was cheersing to Caitlin and getting a special message from Mo, Cait's former hot professor-turned-member-of-the-Phyrst Phamly to send to her. Rock!

Odds and Ends of Day #110

We are 110 days into 2006 already- can you believe it? Spring is finally making itself known in Central Pennsylvania. I had the moonroof open today in my car (which, by the way, if you have the option to upgrade to a moonroof and a kick ASS stereo system with ipod plugin capabilities package in your new car, DO IT. The best $1500 ever spent!) and was enjoying the glorious sunshine.

And I had one of those life moments. You know what I'm talking about. One of those moments that you realize that you may not have all the answers, you may never have all the answers, but your life is definitely in the right place, heading in the right direction, with the right people involved in the whole affair. I smiled as I drove because I realized I am well on my way to making 2006 the best of my life- a year of freedom and happiness and celebration, free from the self-doubt and misery that having the wrong people around inevitably brings about.

It's a year of true rejuvenation. :-)

I'm really excited for my vacations most of all. Planning is coming along well ... the girls and I have our route chosen for the cross-country road trip which will happen in July - Rt. 66, the Mother Road. We will be driving from PA to LA to help Emmy and Marcia settle in to their new home. I am very happy for them because this is where they need to be... but I will be sad to have them so far away.

But then there are the weddings! 3 this year for me - #1 Curtis (PSU prof/ friend). #2 Apryle & Phil (Wild Red... a hometown party). #3 Kristi & Miguel (one of my best college buddies who is marrying another friend of mine! There couldn't be two people nicer or more deserving of each other than Kristi and Miguel. And I hooked those two crazy cats up!).

Curtis' wedding outside of Albany, NY, so I'll get to explore the NY countryside again, but this time with Dan. Apryle's wedding is local and should be as unique and funky as she is. Kristi's wedding is in paradise- Atlantis in the Bahamas.

I'm especially excited for Kristi and Miguel's wedding because I'm tying it into a personal vacation with my boyfriend. As of last week, Dan and I have our villa and our plane tickets reserved! I'm very excited to be see that beautiful crystal-blue Caribbean water again and to share it with him!! Bring on the boat drinks & the Jimmy Buffett tunes!

I continue to raise my glass to 2006!!!

Easter

Christmas is probably my favorite time of year overall. In regards to individual holiday days, however, Easter is my favorite. Maybe it's because Christmas has become so commercialized that it's difficult to feel the quiet, beautiful religious undertones in it all. Perhaps it's because my Grandma (she's an angel now) always loved Easter and so many of my past Easters involved spending time with her (I think part of me feels really close to her this time of year because of it). I'm not entirely sure... but I feel like there's just something so revitalizing about Easter. After all that darkness and sadness of Lent, Easter brings us light. It truly is a season of rebirth and redemption on all levels.

I spent my weekend making peanut butter eggs with the family and then hanging out with the Niebels. Sandy and I chatted and cooked all day Saturday- so nice and relaxing! We fit in some shopping in the evening and some Nittany Lion graduation pics (cannot believe Doug and Ben are graduating in a month) and an evening of celebration at the Phyrst.

Easter Sunday was lovely - the music, the lillies, the family togetherness, the whole feeling... I love that 2,000 years later, we probably celebrate with the same passion that early Christians did. What a binding tie of the ages!

Let's Make a Swap!

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/

This guy's story has to be one of the coolest things I've ever read about... I would totally be friends with him. Basically he started with a single red paperclip and is trying to barter his way into a house...

Amazing.

21 humor at its GREATEST.

"Green Skies" - By Doug Burlew

Green Skies is officially out! For those of you wanting to get a copy of my brother's 5th CD, please contact me at kburlew@gmail.com. Price is $10 (plus shipping if I have to mail it to you) and it was done professionally! Doug's sound goes in a whole new direction with this CD - and it includes some of his best material to date.

And there's a song on there all about me. :-)

A Busy But Very Happy Weekend

Thunder 2005 /2006 - My girls! Gotta love them!


On to happier things! I had a great weekend. I went drinking on Friday night with a few old friends and one very cool new friend. Good guys - good times. Then I spent the rest of the weekend helping Dan move. He was forced to move out of the house he was renting because the land was sold. Progress is so sad sometimes.

So I spent my weekend with him, helping to clean and freshen up his new apartment and make it a home. And a gorgeous home at that (complete with giant windows and crown molding)! After much scrubbing and sweeping, the bright apartment was finally ready for his furniture. Lots of hands helped to make Saturday go by quickly... and it was very nice hanging out with Erika and finally meeting Steve (drunken phone exchanges don't count).

I took a break Saturday night to go ice skating with my rec league basketball team. I decided to throw an end-of-the-year party for them to get together as a group one last time so we rented the "Puddle," the small private rink at my local skating complex. All the kids brought snacks to share, and Emmy and I brought a gallon and a half of hot chocolate. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves, and the parents were so appreciative. I got so many thank yous for donating my time and efforts to their daughters - it truly made me feel like this is what volunteering is all about... touching the lives of others in a postive way.

Dan and I spent Sunday by ourselves unpacking and setting the place up. At the end of the day he cooked dinner for me (I'll never get over how great it is to date a fantastic cook) and then we painted Easter eggs and watched kung fu. Doesn't get much better than that. :-)

OH! FROG & TOADS starts this week! SOOOO excited to see all the guys again! I can't believe I'm not a tadpole anymore...

Cheating - The Scarlet "C"

I try to keep this blog light and happy because I like to promote the beautiful things that life should be... but sometimes it's good to acknowledge the ugly things so that you are reminded to hold yourself to higher standards. The anger and pain that comes from the act of cheating on another person is one of these things. Hopefully this entry will make some of you think about the destructive nature of cheating in regards to your own relationships and will give you the courage to do the right thing if it needs to be done.

NOTHING hurts worse than seeing someone you care about wearing the Scarlet C: "C" for Cheater; "C" for Coward.

Now, let me make my definition of cheating clear to you all before I write on: Cheating isn't necessarily sleeping with someone or even kissing someone. Cheating, in its purest form, starts with intent - if you are in an established relationship and you meet someone new and you a) communicate with this new person with inappropriate intent b) earnestly plan to take action physically or c) actually do allow something physical to happen, you are cheating. All three tenets violate the bounds of your current relationship and are unacceptable.

As I said before, I've been thinking a lot lately about the relationships in my life, both past and present. I've been thinking about things that have caused some to grow strong and things that have caused others to fall apart. And I have decided that truly, the MOST HURTFUL and WORST form of disrespect is to cheat. Breakups are difficult enough without adding this pain to the life of another person.

And cheating certainly cheapens one's memories of the relationship as a whole. In an instant, all experiences shared, all positive energy created together is wiped clean by cowardice. Why? Because cheating invalidates the beautiful, real, and honest experiences. It leaves the memories to sit like an empty eggshell, still viewable on the outside but missing true substance on the inside. You can't trust anything you thought the relationship was or who you thought the person was because they not only have the ability to lie, they can and will use it.

Good relationships are based on communication, trust, honesty, and respect. I really want you all to think about this... if you're in a relationship that isn't making you happy or in a relationship that you can't see yourself in long-term, do the adult thing - tell him/her. Don't make excuses. Don't be manipulative and conniving... be honest. It may hurt him/her now, but he/she will forgive you and respect you for it in the future after the heartache has subsided. He/she may even be able to find a friendship with you down the road.

I'm not saying this is the easy thing to do, but it is the right thing to do. Hold yourself to these high standards. Just think, cheaters have to carry the ugly "mark" on their souls the rest of their lives. They have to live with the fact that not only did they break a heart, they inflicted the worst kind of pain imaginable on someone else. That must be a heavy heavy load.

Don't let that horrible person be you.

Life List

Life List - n. A list of personal dreams or anticipated goals that one intends to accomplish in his/her lifetime.


For me, life is about passion and commitment, both to yourself and to the people you love. I believe that everyone should have a life list for this reason. I think it's important to think about the grand scheme of things. Here is my life list as of April 2006:

1) Hike In/ Hike Out to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon.
2) Drive the Mother Road (Rt. 66) from start to finish. (THIS SUMMER!)
3) Drive the Pacific Coast Highway (2007?)
4) Drive Rt. 50 from coast to coast.
5) Visit all 50 states before I turn 50.
6) Visit Salt Lake City, UT to float on my back and read a newspaper in the lake.
7) Live in a foreign country for at least a year.
8) Teach my kids Spanish to ensure they are bilingual.
9) Charter a boat for 2 weeks and sail the Caribbean, Jimmy Buffett style.
10) Own a sailboat and learn to sail.
11) Write a book.
12) Experience either El Dia de los Muertos (Halloween) or la Pascua (Easter) in Mexico.
13) Learn to throw pottery.
14) Refurbish and live in an old farm house for a while.

April Fools... and Angels

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people who have come in and out of my life and the effect their passing has had on me. Good people have come and gone. Good people have come, turned bad, and have gone. It breaks you down in way, but in the same light it releases you and makes you look more closely at yourself and re-evaluate the kind of person / friend / daughter / lover you want to be. In turn, you start to realize the types of people / friends / lovers you want in your own life.

I stumbled across an internet email that is a pretty lovely way of summing it all up. Maybe you guys have seen this before... I have and I think it's very real. Hang on to those lifetime people, guys. They're what ground your soul at the worst of times.


PEOPLE COME INTO YOUR LIFE FOR A REASON

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it; it is real. But only for a season…

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Clarion, PA

Weekends like this were made for road trips!

Just thought I'd mention what a lovely weekend I had with Tiff this past weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon/evening drinking coffee, eating the worst meal we've each ever eaten (at Cozumel, the only Mexican joint in Clarion), and hitting up the bar with her friends Amelia, Tom, and Andy. We slept in Sunday and then went for a long walk on the beautiful day. After brunch I headed home via State College and stopped for 1.5 hours to take my brother to dinner.