Raise your hand if you’ve marked THIS on your calendar!

Now, there are many of you who are aware of this guilty pleasure of mine… The Duggar Family! Yep, it’s true, I’ve been watching this family for a few years now, and really it’s like a car wreck, you don’t necessarily WANT to watch, but as you’re flipping through the channels- you can’t HELP BUT watch! For those of you who have not yet been introduced to the magic which is the Duggar Family, here’s a low-down.

Basically, there’s a family that lives in AR with their 18 children. One mom, one dad, only 2 sets of twins. AND, all the kid’s names start with the letter J. Some are a bit of a stretch, Jinger… please, but I guess they’re running out of options. So, Jim Bob and Michelle (Dad and Mom, and that IS his real name) are kind of quirky. You know those people where the girls never cut their hair or wear pants, which is NOT. MY. JAM. But it is very much the Duggar Family! While they are a bit eccentric with their polygamist wife clothing, there are some things about the family that I can’t help but give them mad props for. Mom and Dad REALLY love each other, and genuinely care about their kids, (Which is more than can be said for some parents out there.) their kids are all pretty well-behaved, AND they don’t have ANY debt.

BUT, the real reason for my post today is that on January 25^th the Duggars are bringing life changing in a MAJOR way! The eldest Duggar boy recently got married, after the world’s crappiest proposal and no pre-marital kissing and LOTS of pre-marital hand-mauling. (Homegirl’s FAVORITE past-time) You may be curious as to what hand-mauling entails exactly. Well, on account of the Duggars encouraging their children to save their first kiss and YOU KNOW until the wedding day, their children are left with no option but to hold hands… and boy do they HOLD hands! It’s like unto thoroughly washing your hand… with a partner. Pretty revolting. BUT, hand mauling aside, on January 25 TLC is showing the world Josh and Anna’s wedding in all its glory!!! You had best believe I’m going to be watching in my long denim skirt. Now if only there was a boy to maul my hand…. I’ll get right on that!

2009- I Bes Looking FLY!

So, usually every year I set the same goal for New Years- Find a boy to kiss my face at the stroke of midnight the next year. Yep, pretty sure I've had that goal since New Year's Eve 2001 (The same year that my cousin and I made a newspaper hat with an 18" picture of the naked guitarist from Blink 182 for her mom to wear- Clas-sy!)... and can I just tell you that this year was my BEST new years... to date!! No kiss at Midnight or anywhere near that time. BUT, I realized some fantastic things about myself: Like I'm SUPER fly, and I can do hard things! "Ah Ha" moment if you will!
I'm thinking that 2009 is SOO going to be my year!

**And yes, of course I made my own hat!**

The Living Nativity of AWESOMENESS!!

Ok, so let's be honest. I really wanted to have these posted like 15 years ago... but because of situations beyond my control... also tied to some drama that is SO beneath me (If you really want to know about it call me, but honestly, I'm WAY too classy for this.) I just got the pictures today. But I digress...

SO, around Thanksgiving I came up with... what I'm pretty sure is my BEST idea... oh wait, EVER! So, I bring you, the first, and hopefully not the last... LIVING NATIVITY!

TA DA!!!!

Pretty fantastic if I do say so myself! So, it was pretty funny, cause those of you who REALLY know me, know that when I get an idea that I REALLY love, It's going to happen, and it's going to be done right, and it's going to be huge. So, mad props to all my friends who came through to make this such a success!

Special thanks to my sister for taking the picture, Angel Donkey for not putting up a stink about having her costumes separated, to Ears for contemplating building me an ACTUAL manger, to Creamer's Field for having an "ACTUAL" Manger already built, to the man who shaved twice that day to make sure that the Baby "didn't have ANY stubble," to Homegirl for looking FLY in her turtleneck and to Spencie for being a good sport about wearing the Asian lady robe. :) I have GREAT Friends!


The following convo took place during our photo shoot:
The Man playing the Baby: "Should the baby Jesus be smiling?"
My Sister: "NO!! You already look CREEPY!!"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

You're maybe thinking Wow, could that lighting be hitting on the manger bed anymore perfectly? Well, here's the thing, we didn't even plan that, it just so happened that The Man Playing the Baby, just so happened to park his jeep in just the most perfect spot with his headlights on to create this heavenly effect. Magic!

So, I'm pretty sure that was a HIT! Can't wait til next year! And I think I'll be Mary again, on account of me just being the best Mary out there. :)

This Blogging Thing is Tough!

Ok. So, first off let me begin with this. I have like 900 Billion ideas for blog posts... However, I'm really bad at the actual execution. BUT, have no fear, because 2009 is SOOO my year, and I'm pretty sure that applies to blogging too. Don't worry.

The Moment You've ALL been waiting for...

Ta Da! Homegirl started a blog! You’re excited, I can tell. Yes, by popular demand I have started a blog so you all can come, and read all about the inner thoughts & workings of Krystal. You are welcome in advance! Feel free to let me know if you have any burning questions or topics you’d like discussed. Call it a virtual Dear Abby, if you will. But for my first post, in honor of Thanksgiving, which happens to be my favorite Holiday… A list of the things I am most grateful for:

Toothbrushes. Think of how gross the world would be without them. Ka Ka.

My AutoStart. Call me a wuss if you will, but all I am going to say is starting the car when it’s cold out is SO a boy job, and seeing as I don’t have a boy to do that, I’m glad I have an AutoStart!

My friends. I’m just one incredibly lucky lady, cause honestly, I have fantastic friends! I have friends that will dress up and come to my The Office Party, I have friends who will go on Scenic Byways with me across cattle guards, I have friends who will Rat-A-Tat-Tat in my face, I have friends who will erase the fridge when I’ve written something in haste. SOLID friends.

My family. LOVE LOVE LOVE my family. Honestly, I just feel bad for people who don’t love their family. I have been tremendously blessed to have such a fantastic family. Amazing siblings, super cool cousins (All cousins are NOT created equally!) Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents and SOLID parents. I probably should vocalize more often how grateful I am for my family.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was talking to a friend the other day and he’s quite disillusioned with the church, but my conversation with him helped me realized how when my life is falling apart, the gospel keeps me grounded. When everything else falls through, The Church is constant. The people in the church, fatally flawed, but the gospel is perfect, and I am grateful to know that. Truly, the gospel, and my obedience to it's principles is what makes me happy!