It’s been a while…

Well hey there,

I know, I know…I’ve failed miserably at keeping up with this whole blog deal. You’ll have to forgive me, k? K. Now that we’ve settled all that, I’d thought I’d fill you in on what’s happened the past few (errrr…almost eight) months.

September-December was filled with me just focusing on blazing through the semester. It was a toughie too, but I made it out alive. It was questionable for awhile there.

December came and I flew off to NYC with some friends the week before Christmas! We saw the sights, shopped (Canal Street is AMAZING, people), saw some shows, and had an overall rocking time. This was my second trip to NYC and I loved it just as much as the first time if not more. The first go-around was mostly business and a quickie trip, so having the time to just enjoy the city and relax was much needed. Christmas with the family was awesome; nice to have all of us in one place finally and not in different continents. Best Christmas present? I found out I’m going to be an aunt again!!! My sis announced to us on Christmas that she’s one month prego! So excited.

January came and so did the start of my FINAL semester for my undergrad degree. Holy cow. It seems like it’s taken forever to get here, but at the same time it’s totally flown by…does that even make any sense? And as part of my final semester, I am required to do an internship so I started that up to. I’m interning at United Way in a town a little over an hour from me. So that means my schedule consists of leaving my house at 6:30AM, driving to get to internship by 8:00AM, working eight hours, getting back in my town at 6:00PM, and then I go to my “actual” job until 10:00PM or so, go home and do homework (yes, I still have homework despite doing a non-paid internship), try to fit a workout in somewhere (not always successful), catch a few zzzz’s, and wake up and do it all over again. Four days a week (T-F) and on Mondays I have class at the university all day long. A killer research class this semester too.

February brought much of the same as January in regards to the whole internship/school junk, BUT it also brought the wonderful news that my brother FINALLY popped the question to his girlfriend (after like eight years of dating) so I am going to have another sister come May!

My life was on repeat of the above schedule for the entire month of March. I also finished all my grad school applications and now I have to make some pretty big decisions…woohoo. Oh, and on Monday my sis found out that the little human being inside her is A BOY!!!! So, yep, I’m super stoked about soon having ANOTHER cutie pie of a nephew to spoil rotten.

And April is just around the corner. It’s filled with five papers, two tests, two HUGE deadlines at my job, the last couple weeks of my internship, and not a whole lot of sleep. Bring it on, April, bring it on. (And May will be filled with my graduation(!), brother’s wedding, and some big decisions regarding my future).

Have have y’all been? Anything new in the last eight months?

Cheers!

-C.

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Simplicity Like A Child

Conversation with G. about video games ::

G: “I’m not scared of those zombies that try to stab you in the back. You know why???”

Me: “Why?”

“……Cause I’m FIVE!!!!!”

Oh, if only all life’s problems were as easy to brush off as a back stabbing zombie.

Hipsters.

This is hilarious. And so true. I love it. Be sure to read all the chapters…you will enjoy. I’m pretty sure I may meet 80% of those “bullet points.” Not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed….??? Oh well, check it and let me know what you think :)

Click Here

Cars and Simplicity.

Cars are great. Cars are lovely. Cars are expensive. In the past three months I’ve had four tires blow (including my spare) and now I’m in the shop waiting for my brake pads to get changed. Yeah, needless to say it’s been an expensive past few months. Oh well, that’s what I get for having a car.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my car. It’s served me well (and still serving), and I love the independence having a car gives. I don’t like the part where I have to fill up with gas, pay for insurance, or all of these other lovely road bumps.

Sometimes I wish I lived in a big city where I could take a bike to where I needed to go or a bus. In extreme situations, take a taxi. But I live in a small, rural town where it takes 20 minutes by car to get to work and Walmart. Hence the reason for a car.

Please don’t think I’m complaining…I’m just processing and thinking. I’m grateful for my car. I’m grateful I have money in the bank to pay for all the above mentioned. There’s just times I wish for a simpler life — one without all the “extras.” Am I alone in this?

Parenthood.

I love my parents.

I’m 100% a “daddy’s girl.” He’s someone I can go to about anything and he is a constant supporter of anything I want to do. My pastor told me something he did with his children when they were growing up called a “free zone.” When he would sense something was going on with his three boys, he would tell them that he was going to give them a 60 second “free zone” in which they could tell him anything and not worry about getting in trouble. My dad is my 24-7 free zone. I mean sure, when I was younger if I did something really wrong then I would get in trouble, but I still felt free to tell him anything without fear. He and I have the same sense of humor (we’re both fluent in sarcasm), love music, and have the same sort of personality. He would do anything for me and he even watches “chick flicks” with me. :) He’s someone who I call just to talk to and let him know what’s going on in my life. Now as I’ve gotten older and become an adult, my dad has really become one of my best friends. He’s the best dad ever.

On the other hand, my mom and I don’t have a great relationship. I love her, but I can’t say she’s my best friend. She and I just don’t click. We can barely be in the same room without getting into an argument, sometimes trivial, other times major arguments. I love the show Gilmore Girls. I love the relationship the mother and daughter have. It’s something I wish I had with my mom, but I don’t. I’m the youngest of four kids, two girls and two boys. My sister is the oldest and she has that kind of relationship with my mom. Most of my girlfriends are all best friends with their mom. The lack of that kind of relationship is something that really used to hurt, to be honest it still does a little. But I’ve come to the realization that it’s never going to happen so I’ll just have to settle with having a mom/daughter relationship and not a friendship. This isn’t trying to bash her at all, she’s a great mom…she raised four awesome kids (okay, I’m a bit partial), homeschooled all of us, and still managed to take care of the majority of the household duties while my dad was working. This is just an honest post – one that is a tribute to the amazing best friend I call my dad and a tribute to my mother who did a great job of instilling values and educating me.

Both of my parents have given me different views and different experiences that I will take with me when I have children. My dad has taught me to always listen to your children, believe in them, and make them feel like they are the most important people in your world. My mom has taught me the importance of instilling values and integrity. Both sides are vital to raising great kids, I mean look at my siblings and I, could we get any better?! JUST KIDDING!!!! (sort of) ;) My parents aren’t perfect and I know I won’t be either. I do know that I’m going to try and have a friendship with my children, WHILE still being their parent. Working at a daycare, I’ve seen too many parents take the extreme route with being there friend and other parents take the extreme route of being too much of an authoritarian. My goal is to find that balance. I know parenting is WAY easier said than done. I don’t pretend that I’m going to be supermom and amazing all the time. It’s going to be hard and there will be times that I will utterly fail at attaining that balance, but my hope is to one day raise great children that have a mom and a dad they respect, who are their biggest fans, and who will one day be their friends as well.

“It Ain’t Easy Walking In Stilettos, But Somebody’s Gotta Do It…”

The above quote is from a new song by Jordin Sparks I heard briefly the other day. That line caught my ear. Let’s be honest, ladies, stilettos hurt. Maybe not at first and you’re like “ok, I can do this” but then the longer you wear them the harder it is to look like you’re not waddling to the nearest chair. Yet somehow we still push through the pain and slip them on before we walk out the door. Why?

Well, I think I found out a reason (at least for me). As silly as this may sound, stilettos make me feel more confident and beautiful. I know, I know, they’re just a pair of shoes, but seriously knowing you’re walking in stilettos just add a different *swag* to your walk.

Yesterday, I pulled out my stilettos for the first time in a while, walked out the door and immediately got compliments on how I looked from people I knew and didn’t know. I’d worn that sweater before, worn the necklace before, worn my hair like that before, but I hadn’t added the stilettos until yesterday. Could it be I was complimented because of the fresh confidence I felt die to my stilettos? Maybe, maybe not. The world will never know, but I do know I’ll be pulling out the stilettos a little more often than I used to. :)

What do you think, guys & gals?

¡Hola!

So I learned how to type in español on my phone. I’m just a tad excited about it. I will most likely start interjecting random spanish phrases from now. Hope you don’t mind, but if you do — just don’t read. This is my official disclaimer.

And because I can now use the all the accent marks and such, I would like to wish happy birthday to whoever has a birthday today. Someone, somewhere.

Feliz Cumpleaños!

kbai

Why hello.

Hey there, blog world.

It’s been a while. Quite a while. To fill you in on the past couple of months in a short, non-detailed post — Life has been crazy, but it’s a good kind of crazy. I finished the spring semester, started the summer semester, finished the summer semester, and now I’m just a few weeks out from starting the fall semester. Yay me. Mixed in with that insane amount of school, I’ve been working [a lot], been spending time with my wonderful family, making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and starting a new church [which i absolutely love]. So, yeah, there’s been a lot of change happening the past couple months. I won’t post a long drawn out post because frankly I don’t have time today and you probably won’t want to read it, but I will let you guys know that I now have a twitter [see side of blog] so you should follow me and I’ll follow you back [maybe, as long as you’re not stalkishly weird]. I also have a tumblr, which I’ve been told is the same thing as a blog, but somehow I don’t feel guilty for posting one sentence posts [does that make it like twitter?] or quotes without posting something to go along with it like I do here on the “original blog.” I can’t post on here without feeling like I have some sort of substantial information to share. Anyway, I have a tumblr, ok? And I like it. So you should check it out.

I’m going to be posting a blog soon that actually makes sense and it’s going to be awesome. I promise. [No refunds, if you don’t like it though.]

Til then or until you tweet me or ask me a question on tumblr.

Ciao.

 

Spring Break — Oh, wait it’s supposed to be a B.R.E.A.K.????

Hey all,

I’ve survived! Survived the mounds and mounds of papers and projects and case studies and tests that have been bombarding my life lately. *SIGH* I’m done for a few days at least. Next week is Spring Break for me and I am absolutely committed to not doing any school until Monday. Yes, I will be working on school during Spring Break, but I get off a few days before it. Gotta do what I gotta do. Anyway, just wanted to drop by and say “hello” and fill you in on my life, however interesting it may or may not be to you. (If you’ve made it this far in the post, you must be somewhat interested.)

Like I said, I’ve been doing an insane amount of school, but I’ve also been working at my regular job — less than a month before tax season is over!!! (I work at an accounting service and this time of the year is our busiest and craziest time of the year.) Oh, and I got a raise at work…holla. Oh, I also started going to a new church the past couple of weeks…love it. But wait there’s more….this past weekend I went to my first ever Jewish service and Purim festival (no, I’m not Jewish, nor is this the new church I was referring to). I have a culture and diversity class at school and we have to do a cultural immersion project and my group picked the Jewish culture (at my recommendation, because it was either Jewish or someone else’s suggestion of a nudist colony. Uhmm…no thanks). So yeah, that was fun. They had an awesome “pin the crown on Queen Esther” game at the festival.

So yeah, that’s my life in a nutshell. There’s really been a lot more going on, but I’m tired and I feel like I’ve pretty much passed the point of rambling. I’ll post an actual decent post in the next few days (one that is coherent and meaningful…hopefully).

Hope your weeks have been going splendidly.

G’night.

Hayli Lindgren.

So, I am SO excited about this new post in our series. Why? Because this week we have out first ever international artist interview! Please welcome the lovely,

Who would you compare your sound to?

I would say that its similar to dido or perhaps Katie Melua with more of a dancy feel to it.

Where does your songwriting process start?

It normally starts with stories or a message that I want to convey. I have so many songs buzzing around my head so its never difficult to find inspiration.

Do you like writing solo or with others better?

I like writing solo best as I know exactly how I want it to sound because it has to be exactle as I hear it in my head.

Where do a lot of your songs come from? (i.e. personal experiences, friends, experiences, etc)

Each of my songs usually tells a story which there is a message behind for example “Miss Maripold” which is on my album is about an old lady who has lived her life with unforgivness and is bitter and resentful. The moral of the story of course is not to follow in her foot steps :)

How/when did you get into music?

I wrote my first song “ Superficial World” when I was 16 as a need to express what I saw going on around me. It was only last year when God helped me complete the song.

Who/what are some of your biggest influences?

My family, my husband and daughters. Other artists which make a difference with their voices.

If you had to pick, which of your songs is your favorite and why?

My favourite would be Oxygen because it reminds me how much I love my Husband and how marriage is exciting.

When you’re not performing/writing music, what do you like to do?

Love to go on walks in the countryside, love watching period dramas, Love poetry and spending time with the people I love.

Who is your biggest inspiration to succeed in this industry?

Its difficult to say but I love LZ7 and bebe vox who work in schools with their music to spread the gospel, that is definately something on my wish list. The definition of success is different to different people, in my opinion they are the most successful.

What is the best thing about being an artist?

The opportunity to influence!

What is the worst thing about being an artist?

Everyone has a different opinion and judgement about your music and who you are as a person.

What is the number one thing you hope people get out of your music?

Enjoyment, I want people to like to listen to it whilst knowing there is a deeper meaning behind the songs.

Just for Fun: :)

Who are you listening to on your ipod right now (or walkman, CD player, record player or whatever your poison is)?

Hillsong aftermath. tastyfresh.com has some great christian dance music which is so so cool!

What is your favorite television show/movie?

Pride and predjudice!

Who would you trade lives with for a day?

Princess Diana if she lived today.

What city is your favorite place that you have lived/visited?

London, Notting hill. So romantic.

Tea or Coffee?

Absolutely tea!

Besides music, do you have any other extraordinary talents? (it can be as serious or crazy as you want to confess ;) )

Im a black belt in Karate and love chainsaws which is quite scary I suppose!

Who is your favorite author/book?

Jane Austen

Give us a quote, by you or anyone else, just something that seems to stick with you.

His ways are higher than my ways….

If you could send a message to your fans/future fans, what would you want them to know? (you can do this in writing or even a video message to them!)

Im honored that you like my music and choose to listen to it :)

So, as you can see Hayli is a pretty wonderful gal. She seems like the girl everyone wants to be best friends with. Not only does she like Jane Austen, but she has a black belt too…watch out world! Seriously though, her music is awesome. It’s not often that you find music that has a dancy feel to it that is 1) clean and 2) has pure vocal and musical quality. High quality, may I add. I love it! So, special thanks to Hayli for participating in this series, and for being our first international artist featured. Check out her website, buy her entire album on itunes or amazon, follow her on twitter, or check out her facebook and myspace.

Thanks again, Hayli! :)