Farewell....

Hello all & Happy New Year!
I just wanted to drop a note that I feel it's time that The Adventures of Suelo blog come to an end.
My initial intention for this blog was to follow my move from Dallas to Chicago waaaaay back in 2007. Since then I have obviously completed that task and my life has continued to take many turns in different directions.
Now that I am in Florida, my life is in a completely different stage & I feel that this blog has run it's course.
I want to thank each and everyone of you who followed me, especially in the insane early posts of my move to Chi-town... That adventure was one of the greatest challenges and accomplishments of my life to date and I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends, families...and even a few foes...

One thing I learned for sure is what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

Is this the end of my blogging??? NO WAY! Just the end of this saga... so to those of you who are closest to me... be on the lookout for a new blog coming your way soon... to those of you who's friendship is no more but you still feel the need to read... farewell and I wish you the best in all of your own adventures.
Namaste,
Kristen

Holy Karma Batman!!!

Well karma does exist... not to mention, a little prayer helps!
For various reasons unknown to me, I have been blessed with an amazing amount of work! In the past 2 weeks I have gone from teaching one class a week to picking up an additional 6 more! PLUS I have an additional email out there for what might be 1-2 more classes on top of that!
So when all is said and done, I will definitely have 7 by January & potentially could have 8 or 9. Wow...
Let's just say that I have faith and I do believe in how things work. I have never been perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I have made TONS of mistakes, blunders, pitfalls, sins, whatever you want to call them... I won't get too spiritual on those of you who are not but as someone who has found God in her life more and more the past several years, I truly believe that he helps you and leads you in the right direction... even if that means going in the wrong direction first to learn things the hard way...and more than once....
Not to get off track but...
I had some nasty comments posted on this blog a few months back & I know exactly who they were from. Am I mad about it? No... do I feel sorry for those who feel the need to judge others when they are far from perfect? Yes. I only hope that those who have made their mistakes are willing to pay before judging others. I am a firm believer that "those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"... and those comments were definitely from some fragile houses.
...at any rate, things can change for the better, even if you have ever felt like you are at rock bottom. Sometimes it just takes time and asking for forgiveness...over and over again... deep and from the heart....'cause He knows if you are sincere or not!
Happy Holidays to everyone! xoxo

I need a fix...

I need my needles... my knitting needles.
I've been home sick for 3 days & outside of have an Office marathon yesterday, I've done nothing, which I suppose is what you're supposed to do when you're sick but I don't sit still well.

I've been facebooking & watching all of my old Stitch N' Bitchers still talking about their needles. It only seems like yesterday that I couldn't get enough of my sore shoulders, wrists, & back from cranking through 2 hours of stitches. Now, I haven't finished the scarf I started LAST AUGUST. How sad is that?
So with box of tissue in hand, I think I will drag myself out into the garage & dust of the box that clearly says "Closet of Doom"... which is where all of my knitting gear resided in Chicago.

K1P2K1P2K1P2K1P2

Step-?

According to GNR, it is supposed to be "the cold November Rain"...yet it's still 80 degrees where I am. Funny that I know that all of my Chicago friends are bitching about the cold rain & dreary weather yet I'm dying for a reason to wear a sweater!
One thing I will not miss how the time change affects the midwest. At its peak, the light fades away & disappears at 4:15pm... seriously. 4:30 looks like midnight & SAD disorder sets in, hard.
Halloween has come & gone & I was super proud and excited to put together my first costumes for the little people. I even got a pretty good response from the face painting. Surprisingly enough, Kieron was far more receptive to the make-up application than his sister was. He'll be in good shape for his future days in drama class... 'cause with the dance moves & the voice that boy carries, I predict some stage stardom in his not too distant future.
I am super jazzed about being daddy's girlfriend. They've decided that stepmom isn't appropriate as that means 2 mom's & they only have one mom so until we come up with another term, I'm just Kristen... daddy's girlfriend...and that's just fine with me.

Pooped...

So with this move I've been the sucky blogger. I WISH I had time to blog! In one month I've bailed across the country, changed careers, bought a house, moved twice, and become Stepmom For Dummies...
I'm toast....

Workin' 9-5... well not really

After a week of not working, I've decided that I'm meant for the job market. I am SO ready to teach!!! I did a few hours at the "office" today which was a nice change from sitting 'round the apartment watching the dog & the cat try to get along.

Aside from that all is well. I learned that I am almost as smart as a 3rd & 4th grader based upon my help with this weeks homework...and I've also learned not only from this experience but from the frustrations of my other friends that 4th grade is apparently one big bitch all the way 'round. These kids are CRAMMED full of hours upon hours of homework. No down time whatsoever.

When do they find time to enjoy Space Invaders? Galaga? Going to Six Flags & eating Pop Rocks with Coke?

...a 10 year old should NOT, I repeat should NOT have digestive problems....

Sunshine State!!!???

Well here I am! Officially in Florida! We arrived late Thursday night after 2 days & 22 hours on the road... quite the trip...especially while holding a 10lb. dog the entire way!
All went pretty smooth with the small exception of a flat tire on the car trailer. Lucky that there are not only helpful people in small town Georgia, but that you can always count on a Wal-Mart when you need one!
Everyone is settling nicely... dog & cat are working things out...slowly but surely.
Today was my first real day not having to get up for work! I can't really decide how I feel about that... I should start work by the end of the week & early next week. A few more gigs will begin in October.... not to mention we close on our house in two weeks... woo hoo!!!
Now if I could just get used to seeing cows & hay bales on the side of the road...

Summer Fun

This has been the year of no summer... at least that's what the locals are saying. I for one have enjoyed not haveing the A/C on, not sweating my nuts off, and having good hair.

This was the perfect time for a bike ride... 23 miles to be exact. Who knew I had it in me? I love this city.

allo allo!

I am sitting in humid Florida with a houseful of Brits! Well, actually Julian's mum corrected me and said, "no, we are not British, we are English".... so there you go...
I have been here since Wednesday evening & leaving tomorrow. This trip has been a blur. We ended up working at the factory a few days this week to help Julian get the office somewhat pulled back together as he had to fire yet another office manager.
You would think that in the current economic situation this country is in, that it wouldn't be hard to find good, dependable, trustworthy help. Yet the thief seems to be a recurring theme. Is it small town USA? ... or just hillbillies in general? I am not only speaking on behalf of his current situation but from my own experiences in business. There are plenty of trustworthy folks out there but it seems that the pieces of scamming, lying crap out there tend to come in droves.

As I teach this week I am going to focus the intentions on trust and truthfulness... 'cause if you're not truthful and trustworthy, it all comes out in the wash my friends.... trust me.

Solo Efforts

I spent the weekend alone again... not that this is anything new as I spend many weekends alone, but I really enjoyed this one.
Being alone is complicated. Some people love it, others hate it... there are those of us who are torn in between.
I've lived a life with someone who I was around all waking hours of the day (by my own choice) but occasionally felt smothered. I have also lived alone and dialed my fingers off looking for someone simply to have coffee with.. with no success.
I'm not exactly sure what it is... the weather, the events, hmmmm... I didn't really run any errands which as we all know can suck the life out of you. Now that I think of it, I don't think I did any errands (out & about) as I tried to complete them during the week (is that the key?).
I did beach yoga Saturday morning, then taught a class shortly thereafter. I took myself out for a wonderful lunch & coffee break and then headed home. As I parked my car I thought, "what are you doing? you were going to hang flyers this weekend?"... but that interest wained on Friday night after I thought it through. At any rate, I decided to hang one flyer at Whole Foods and on route, stopped at both a vintage clothing store and used book store that are in Evanston. I have seen these two establishments there since I moved here 2 years ago & never made the time to stop.
I found a great shirt and 5 books all for about $20. Hung my flyer, headed home.
Instead of banging on Facebook all weekend, I actually READ an entire book from cover to cover... yeah me.
I taught an amazing free community class today at Lululemon and when I arrived, I was informed that we were taking the class to the park... absolutely perfect.
I cleaned, did laundry, changed the sheets, walked the dog a few times, took a 1 hour bike ride along the lake, then drug out the grill & cooked a steak & a baked potato.
...and here I sit writing about it comtemplating a bowl of vanilla ice cream with blackberries & raspberries...

I'm not sure why but this weekend gave me a fresh outlook on life... and I like it.