tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10114686426302028812024-03-19T05:47:56.718-04:00the good part's nextI've come to realize life's one warped-yet-fascinating David Foster Wallace-size novel..complete with run-on sentences galore. A series of stories, plot turns & quirky characters. Things that don't make sense until they do. This blog tells some of my stories. If they seem boring or inconsequential, keep reading. The good part's next.kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-38373268792133702642015-01-07T00:07:00.000-05:002015-01-07T00:07:06.678-05:00Straddling the Highs and LowsChemo is a necessary evil.
It's sort of like a "good war," if there is such a thing. You know the fight needs to be fought, but no one really wants to experience it. There are all these plans and strategies and tactics. Certain drugs work on one front but not on others. Some take a proactive, offensive approach, while others fight the disease in a reactive, defensive state. It can kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-90405461023505159882014-07-25T10:57:00.000-04:002014-07-25T10:57:00.858-04:00On heartbreak, setbacks and moving forwardMany of you may remember that when I first diagnosed with breast cancer, I chose to pursue fertility preservation in the event any cancer treatments would pose a risk to my ability to have children afterward. You can read about my decision to do so with my then-boyfriend, now-husband over here.
Long-story short on that decision: I'm glad I made it. As you know, over the next year mykshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-39428776937382132372014-05-27T20:59:00.000-04:002014-05-27T21:00:50.005-04:00#YesALLWomen - Time for a BlogfessionalI've had a pretty blue two days for reasons I'll talk about later, so today I set off on a wandering journey around intown Atlanta. I thought about a lot of things, but then I got distracted by this #YesALLWomen #NotAllMen controversy. I thought I was on the uncontroversial side of things by posting something that explained why it's a valid topic of conversation. I innocently reposted a link onkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-32380071836368487892013-11-10T20:18:00.001-05:002013-11-10T20:18:34.164-05:00Words from my FatherMy father wrote this today, and it explains a little better about what's been going on this week with my help. I wish that you could have all heard his wonderful toast on Friday night. If I know my dad well enough, I know it was probably done extemporaneously. But he took time to write this one out, and so I wanted to share it to my networks as well.
TO ALL MY FACEBOOK AND NEW kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-49959872972344700342013-08-20T21:51:00.002-04:002013-08-20T21:52:11.070-04:00Active ListeningHer: "I feel that I wish you would make coffee now."
Him: "I'll make it in just a second."
[Seven minutes elapse as He stares intently at the iPad.]
Her: "I feel that you don't have the same understanding of 'now' as I do."
Him: [realizing the moment is ripe for active listening]
"What I'm hearing is that you want coffee 'now.'"
Her: "You are hearing me correctly."
Him: kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-21066951527818334182013-02-18T18:07:00.001-05:002013-03-28T22:15:58.340-04:00The shirts are here!If you've been following along on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I decided to make #teamkristen t-shirts so that friends and family could show support as I went through this little life-detour we call "cancer." I'm not a huge fan of the ubiquitous pink ribbon emblems, so I wanted to make my anti-cancer statement in a more black and white way. This also allows all of my guy friends to kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-57672922174058044392013-02-01T20:48:00.000-05:002013-02-01T20:48:41.071-05:00Forget Next. Fast-forward to Now.
“These are our few live seasons. Let us live them as purely as we can, in the present.”
―
Annie Dillard,
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
I've been remiss. I haven't updated the blog since November. I even left you hanging by titling the last post "Decisions, decisions: Part 1," as if a "Part 2" was to be written soon thereafter. Such a tease, I am. kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-24768207099485614022012-11-18T22:36:00.001-05:002012-11-18T22:36:17.097-05:00Decisions, Part 1: Ice, Ice BabyI've had to make some really big decisions this fall. Weird decisions. Life-changing decisions.
I suppose this is common for anyone facing a recent cancer diagnosis, or any illness for that matter. In my case the decisions started small...like the long list of doctor names -- which ones do I choose? Which ones are the best? Which hospitals are they affiliated with?&kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-30368133318554965232012-10-01T23:24:00.002-04:002012-10-01T23:24:38.688-04:00Keeping you a-breast of my newsWhere does one begin? When the last five weeks have been a whirlwind of out-of-the-blue news, appointments and heavy-hit-you-in-the-gut decisions, where do you begin?
Many of you already know this news, if you've been following along on social media, but for those who haven't heard the full story yet...where do I begin??
I suppose I start at the beginning.
Five weeks ago, today, I went kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-44128593184167828522012-05-17T23:17:00.003-04:002012-05-17T23:18:19.449-04:00Tattoos
I have a tattoo on my wrist that I got when I was 20.8625 years old. This is fairly obvious to anyone and everyone who has ever met me. It's not anything I really hide nor flaunt. It's just there.
Most people seem to like it, save for my father, but I think it's in a father's job description to be opposed to these sorts of things. And for those who mention that they like it there are usuallykshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-6226425973975803612011-12-23T22:31:00.003-05:002011-12-24T00:07:33.503-05:00Dear GrandmaFor Christmas all the grandchildren on my mother's side of the family were asked to write a letter to our Grandma, in place of our usual gift-exchange. There were no real parameters for what this letter should be. It was more of a "Let her know what you've been up to. Let her know she's special," sort of a thing.My relationship is somewhat unique, however, since I live in the same city as my kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-86536655734408266172011-04-15T16:30:00.011-04:002011-04-15T17:41:50.674-04:00I've been working very hard on my yard this year. At the beginning of the year, I thought I might be leaving in the fall -- to go away to school -- and that this was my last spring and summer in the yard. It was a hard realization to have because it brought home all of the transformational work I've done to the yard over the past seven years. Literal blood, sweat and tears have gone into my kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-42374403207541288842010-06-12T15:42:00.005-04:002010-06-12T15:55:10.538-04:00Tumblr.Consider it an amuse-bouche. I have a Tumblr now:http://thegoodpart.tumblr.com/In keeping with the "Good Part is Now" theme, I created the Tumblr as a place where I can post the little things that make me happy. Things I find online...recipes that tickled my tastebuds...photos of things that make me smile.I'll still try and post on this blog when I feel the urge to write more than 140 kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-49981954724538124992010-06-11T20:03:00.003-04:002010-06-11T20:36:34.314-04:00You want a post? Here you go..Why haven't I been blogging lately?I'm too busy being happy, dammit.That's right. I'm happy. And I'm encountering obstacles every day. But I'm still happy.My life is all rainbows from rainclouds these days. Literally. See that photo? I thought for a moment I was having a sad day, but then I saw that rainbow. And not just any rainbow...no! A DOUBLE RAINBOW. How often do you see a sign like that? kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-23216140624484104582010-03-26T14:58:00.003-04:002010-03-26T15:34:57.556-04:00"Pardon me, but where have you been?"Yes, I have not blogged since 2009. Yes, a lot has happened since last fall. I debated with myself over how to share some of this news, and finally just decided to spill the news on the blog. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may already know what's been going on. However, if you're like my mom & this blog is your only way of keeping up with me (outside of a phonecall or kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-50216254029953373372009-12-19T09:00:00.002-05:002009-12-19T09:01:37.921-05:00Blur to bring the background forward - A Repeat[I posted this last year, but I thought I'd bring it back again this December. It's one of those things I wrote a long time ago that I re-read because it reminds me of something important. I need to remember that lesson again this Christmas, so here's the repeat. Please forgive me, if you've already read this. Hopefully, I can post something new before Friday rolls around to make up for it.]I kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-33032810659236803992009-11-11T17:23:00.007-05:002009-11-12T19:24:47.058-05:00Stewardship, Service & the Sacrifice of Giving We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. - Winston ChurchillYesterday was Veteran's Day. In all honesty, I can't say that Veteran's Day ever feels like much of a "holiday" for me, as it's a normal workday for those of us in the retail biz. And yesterday definitely didn't feel like a holiday since I had a very long, hard day at work. However, in the midst of my invoice kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-36339360794642989992009-11-04T20:51:00.006-05:002009-11-04T22:47:24.541-05:00Passing Through Boston On The Way To Who-Knows-Where"As the traveler who has lost his way, throws his reins on his horse’s neck, and trusts to the instinct of the animal to find his road, so must we do with the divine animal who carries us through this world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson from "The Poet"As promised, I'm posting photos from my trip to Boston a couple weeks back. However, I've been staring at this computer screen for a good hour and a kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-91194917037530473252009-11-03T09:40:00.004-05:002009-11-03T10:36:51.354-05:00Silly Socrates: Excuses, ExcusesI realize I haven't posted here since August, but it's not from a lack of ideas or desire to do so. It's just that life has gotten in the way -- or perhaps, I let life get in the way of writing.Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I will say that I fully intend to post at least one new blog post in the near future. I want to post photos from my Boston trip last month (which I know you're kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-92149107626182101592009-08-29T09:43:00.001-04:002009-08-29T09:48:04.527-04:00RIP Teddy, In His Own Words"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-15110783830949055872009-08-04T19:56:00.005-04:002009-08-04T20:50:53.767-04:00Bits & PiecesWell, my New York trip has come and gone. So now what?To all of you who out there who are dying to know what I "decided" or what "grand epiphanies" I experienced, you're going to have to wait a while longer...because I'm not sure any of that will happen for a while. In fact, I'm not really sure it was ever supposed to happen while I was there anyway.Let's just say I'm "ruminating upon the kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-413317864117262082009-07-06T19:15:00.016-04:002009-07-06T20:51:09.381-04:00Life Takes You Where It Goes....Several weekends ago I decided to take up walking again. I've been quite the slug lately, and I needed to get moving for physical reasons --- obviously -- as well as mental reasons. (Stress relief, anyone?) The exercise has been great, and I have managed to keep it up for several weeks in a row. But what I wasn't really expecting was the almost-spiritual benefit that I gained from that first kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-84144034185276090902009-06-21T19:36:00.004-04:002009-06-21T20:27:05.454-04:00A "Prescience of Mine?"When I started my blog a few years back, I'm not sure I had a clear purpose in mind. Perhaps it was a hobby, perhaps it was an outlet...or perhaps it was just 2006, and it was the "cool" thing to do.If you know me in real-life, you know I'm rarely at a loss for words; and I often even have something to say. (The two don't always go hand-in-hand, you know.) My husband (among others) would tell kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-54337228281350520702009-05-06T23:28:00.017-04:002009-05-21T16:43:14.937-04:00Alton Brown, Popovers & the Mysteries in LifeI'm about to get slightly philosophical on you, so hang onto to your hats…The other night I was on Twitter (and really? Who am I kidding…I’m always on Twitter), and a friend was commenting on an episode of Alton Brown on the Food Network. Now, if you have never watched Alton Brown, he delves into the science, history and inner-workings of various “food-stuffs.” He explains the proper way to kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011468642630202881.post-6963180306167245622009-05-04T17:53:00.002-04:002009-05-04T18:33:20.177-04:00A little history & why today suckedFirst of all, an apology: I acknowledge that I haven't blogged since March, and for that I am sorry. I spend much of my time on Twitter these days -- for many reasons, but I think that's another blog post in and of itself -- and therefore, the blog is neglected. Many of you follow my exploits on Twitter & Facebook, so I doubt you're missing much by my failure to update here.But on to the kshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06203821607350621496noreply@blogger.com9