I Ate WHAT?

Alison & Carl's Chinese Wedding Banquet was in New Brunswick, NJ so I drove from Philadelphia to attend.

I had a lot of fun but in the twelve courses of food, there were definitely some things that I had NEVER considered eating.





Jellyfish tentacles that I THOUGHT were noodles (I definitely could not have tried that mouthful had I really known), shark fin, abolone, and bird's nest created from the spit of swallows...

The fabulous dragon dance and a Tea Ceremony. The couple honored their elders by serving them tea.

Then there was fun dancing. The "YMCA" transcends cultures!


Three people from three periods of Alison's Education: Julie (Grad School at Purdue), Kara (School of Science & Math), and me (the teen years).


The Lord blessed me to give such a fabulous neighbor and friend during middle & high school!



She is brilliant and now working in D.C. so we'll no longer be hanging out at the pool or Dixie Youth Games to catch up on the news!

Goss-Eng Family Extra (For the Hometown Crowd)

Mom, Dad, John, & Alisha, everyone says, "Hello!"

Last Week in My Old Home

You have to love Charleston! It just gets into your blood. I wasn't good about taking pictures when hanging out with friends but I did bring my camera one morning when I ran along the Harbor and the Battery.
The self portraits I took of myself will not be featured here. What was I thinking?

During the last two hours of the foodshow, things can get really slow.

You start posing with chickens!




Here is the BBQ Chicken I stayed up late making the night before as one of my displays.

Last Weekend in Philly

I spent Friday and Saturday night with Jenny in Philadelphia last weekend.

It was WONDERFUL to get to see her in action as an art gallery owner!

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She has taken SERIOUS initiative to be sucessful. I am proud of her!!

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Her new uber cool house is within walking distance to the gallery. I love her neighborhood. Everything you need is within a few blocks from her front door!

I got a small taste of dealing with the public while Jenny did a cupcake run and some shopping for a baby shower.

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These art students came in, I exhausted all my knowledge on the Naked Paper exhibit in five minutes and it ended in me saying, "The owner will be back in ten minutes!"

We went to one of Jenny's favorite restaurants for Sunday brunch before I drove home.

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Our waitress recognized Jenny as, "You run that great gallery, don't you? I've been in there this summer!"

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Local celebrity!

Dinner in Chinatown on Friday night. We went to a great Vietnam restaurant.

"Many Christians are frustrated about the current state of affairs, but they do nothing. They have been slowly lulled into a spiritual sleep that eventually leads to death." Charisma Magazine

I feel as if the Lord is raising a remnant of valiant prayer warriors across denominations around the earth—radical prayer furnaces who are saying, "Lord, we don't want to have just little prayers; we want to go into the heavens and see what is happening so we can impact our world." Charisma

I'm in Charleston again for work. Tonight, Danielle and Daniel took me to dinner in Mt. P. It was great to hang out with them after an awesome weekend up North.

On the road again...

I'm headed to Richmond, VA to visit two customers for work and then on up to Philadelphia for the weekend. I'm going to hang with Jenny and then go to a Chinese wedding banquet on Saturday. It really should be a lot of fun.

I am currently trying to psych myself up for the drive but I'll have my iPod which has days of podcasts still left to listen to...which reminds me that I really should charge it while I'm getting ready.

We move Alisha back into the dorm last night. I cannot believe North Campus now has ELEVATORS!! It was the easiest move EVER!

Dad, Mom, and I went to see Rush Hour 3 afterwards.

Runs Deep

I took a trip to the clearance rack at Dick's Sporting Goods last night. (It is my third favorite clearance rack on the planet.) .

It turned out they were having a great sale on Nike shorts. FABULOUS! I grabbed five different colors and headed to the dressing room. I'm just not a shorts girl. However, it is ridiculously hot these days so I decided it was time I invested in a few pair for running.

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I decided neon pink, yellow, and orange were not the colors I wanted so I was left with navy and royal blue. Loved the navy (I'm also not a navy girl). I was definitely getting both pairs. But then, I put on the blue and my heart stopped when I turned around to look in the mirror. I WAS WEARING DOOK BLUE. Oh, heck no! I did try to talk myself into it, at first.

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"Kristin, you need shorts. These are a great deal. You won't find them this good for this cheap again. It is blue. Not Dook Blue. Just blue." No, it's not! It is DOOK BLUE. I felt a bit ill. "Kristin, this is ridiculous! It is a school rivalry. You graduated seven years ago. Are you really going to not wear this color for the rest of your life?"

.Folks, I had an epiphany standing right there in that dressing room. I mentally ran my hands through my entire walk in closet and realized I don't own one thing in that color. Not one. I couldn't believe it. I love clothes and I really love color. I mean, I rarely wear sunglasses as anything other than a headband because they filter out the brilliance of the world along with the sunlight. I was an educated woman with a decision to make. Was I really going to limit my world for the rest of my life? .

I took one more look in the mirror and knew with everything in me that I would rather sweat out gallons of water all summer than ever put that color on my body again. I went to Carolina and, while it seems crazy to the rest of the world, that means a whole lot more than a silly color. I felt so passionately about it in the moment that I almost left the store without buying a thing! .

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I wanted to start singing, "I'm a TarHeel born, I'm a TarHeel bred and when I die I'll be a TarHeel dead!" In truth, I'm a Sunshine born, I'm a Seminole bred but when I die I'll be a TarHeel dead and when I sing that song I believe it. .

Besides, this is the family that brought their photographer all the way to Chapel Hill to have their portraits done by the Old Well when we won the National Championship in 2005!

"I understand a fury in your words

But not your words."

William Shakespeare, Othello Act 4, Scene 2

I have always thought this about Chinese while watching Joy Luck Club for the umptenth time.

(Of course, Shakespeare's brilliance in these two lines is based on the fact that he is talking to someone whose language and emotion he understands, just not their reasoning. Sigh. Let me just take a moment to put my hand over my heart in silent thanks for W.S.)

I am signing up for fall classes at a Chinese Language School!

It is a three year program that I'll be joining. I've been interested in China for years. (Well documented since I was 15.) Of course, having a heart for the nations, there are more than a few other countries that have my equal intrest. I was that kid who grabbed the latest copy of National Geographic out of the mailbox to read and then drempt for hours of far off places.

I just thought that Chinese is the hardest out of all the other languages I would want to know so it is better to do it when I live in a place that I would get a lot of opportunity to practice with native speakers. Especially since the church will be starting a Mandarin service in the future!

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It isn't even that I currently have a burning desire or even a strong interest in ever living in China. I don't know that much about it, really. You just never know what life will throw at you and I'd like to learn the language. I guess I'm realizing it is possible to be prepared for life instead of surprise by it. I really want to take some of the free time I have now and invest into myself.

Titles

A friend gave me her business card for a new job she started while I was in Europe.

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I got to know her because there was a time when working in the world of sales was very tough and I needed another woman with high standards to advise me. A mutual friend put us in conact. She laid it out for me and continues to be a wonderful resource. She is one of those people I can talk to about my work, my faith, volunteering, and family. I love her style when it comes to life, love, and fun and always get refreshingly upfront, realistic yet positive opinions. It is great to come away feeling like there is someone else out there like me who is just 13 years further down the path.

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I just put her card in my wallet after reading all of her new titles but today I saw some things typed on the back of her card along with the mailing address which I hadn't noticed before:

Gung-Ho Wife

Adoptive Mother

Marathoner

Fashionista

Redeemed

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How wonderful. With complete confidence, this is what she hands all of her potential clients, business associates, and customers. I realized, "Here's a woman I appreciate. I am so glad she is in my life."

What would Emily Post think?

I have a confession to make.

Some days, I just get really tired of matching. Yes, I am serious, we are really about to discuss clothes.

I think that is one of the things that I love about London. So many people didn't match and yet they looked incredibly cool. I'm such a believer in that. It normally happens after a week of a lot of dressing up for work and other events.

I get completely burned out by having to harness my "creative dressing" side of things that much and then I lash out at fashion.

Unmatching fashionistas, unite! Wear the paisley with the stripes and polka dots!!

Today, is one of those times. I want to be contrary in how I look. Not in how I act. Just in dress. On one of these days Jaimie, who is normally my partner in bold color, fashion, just looked at me and said, "Oh. It will be dark in the movie theater. People probably won't really notice." However, that was the exact same outfit I ended up wearing to the final game of the ACC Tournament and I love the pictures from that day. I think that you can strike serious gold by not following the rules.

As Jennifer Would Say, "What's the Point?"

Tonight was my first time at the youth group's girls' discipleship group. .

I'm SO excited to start hanging out with the girls from church while Lydia Ruth starts another group at the LifeCenter. .

Among the many things I learned during my time at Starbucks with these awesome teens, what seems to be standing out the most at the minute, while the sunlight begins to permeate the sky, is that I should seriously consider switching to decaf. I just don't remain untouched by the caffeine anymore! .

So now, I drink a sugar-free vanilla, nonfat milk, decaffeinated latte. That's a lot of fluff in one coffee cup. I may have to switch back to straight up cappuccino just to save face with Jen!

Picture Ultimatum

Ceeece, Lucinda, and I crashed the Durham lifegroup's movie night since they were going to see Bourne Ultimatum. SUCH a great movie. A bunch of people came out after our picture but here's the early crowd. I like this picture bc Betsy and I look like the before and after shot of a sneeze!
Here is proof that Betsy really does have a beautiful smile!
Meet Lauren. She is so fun! If you don't already know her, you should!

Hot, Hotter, Hottest

I'd like to point out that Charleston, SC is the hottest place in the country in August. Oh, yes. And Durham is tied for second place (we just don't have the humidity).

Last night, it was a really good type of heat here. The type that completely embraces you without making you feel like you've been completely licked by a large monster (SarahS said it best).

I was on campus thinking, "This may actually be the perfect temperature" which is crazy because I normally love crisp.

Actually, it looks like it would have been a good week to be working in Charlotte. ;)

I haven't been posting the fun stuff...

Took a weekend trip to Charleston a few weeks ago. We ate at one of the newest restaurants of my favorite culinary genius where my pastor from Seacoast just happened to be having lunch with his family. Nice surprise for a 48 hour trip.

As soon as I got into town, I changed clothes at the Charleston Place Hotel and met Danielle & Daniel for dinner at Chai's on King Street. I ended up paying the local street guy ten bucks to watch my car...weird story.

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Kim was in the market with her awesome African jewelry and other gifts so it was cool to see what she has been working so hard on over the past couple months.

Amy makes fun of the face I make when looking in the mirror so she took a picture of the new sunglasses I scored from the booth beside Kim's. Of course, I'm laughing so it isn't the true look.

I met Kim, Ginny, & Amy at a new restaurant, Mercado, for some LATE night coffee. I can't keep my eyes open for most of the pictures we took that night. The good pictures of me made Amy look crazy so she deleted them! That is why you bring your own camera!

Amy, Danielle and I spent the next afternoon shopping on King Street (I so enjoy those 70% Off shoe sales).


Things I didn't do while I was there: Eat at the Mustard Seed. Go to the beach. Visit Towne Center. See the Battery...Wow, there were a lot of my favorite things I missed.

However, I'm going back in two weeks for work so I'll fit it in. I did walk past Sandra's aunt's store on King Street but it was late and already closed for the evening!

Do you know which house this picture came from? The true test...

Weekend Review

1. Saw No Reservations with KRawls, Brooke, & Char

2. Cheesecake Factory...minus the cheesecake

3. Running the Tobacco Trail with Jeanne and running into Sarah, Eddie, & Charity (first time I've ever seen someone I know out there)

4. Lunch with a customer

5. Stalking Isabelle Fiore's latest creations

6. Drove to Southpoint Mall and immediately left once I saw how crazy the parking lot was on Tax Free Weekend

7. Dressed KimW...makeover moment

8. Went to Cindy's morning focus group...I'm hooked

9. Birthday lunch for Jeff & Eric

0. Dinner party at Charleigh's

Some Things I'd Like to Do in Durham This Summer

Visit and Taste Loco Pops

Eat Outside by the River at the American Tobacco Campus for an NPR Backporch Music Series Concert

Go Wafting on the Eno with Wiva Dave

Visit the Scrap Exchange.

Go to the Farmer's Market

Picnic at Duke Gardens

American Tobacco 2007 Duck Race

Free Yoga in the Park on Saturdays sponsored by Scrap Exchange

INTERESTED? COME EXPLORE WITH ME!

Tennis, anyone?

One of my favorite sounds have to be a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot on a racquet. Jaimie and I went out yesterday evening to play and it was fabulous.

Any closet tennis players out there?

We are looking for people to join our own league!

Family Moment

MSNY (our church plant in Manhattan) meets at the Lamb's Theater in the Broadway district of NYC. It turns out that my fabulous Aunt Maxine, my fellow ENFP in the family, actually went to a church that met there when she first came to New York when she was my age.

I've learned a lot about life from her and some things about myself. When it comes to hospitality and family, she is definitely an inspiration. As the oldest child in the family, she has always been the keeper of the stories.

Possibly without realizing it, she has been one of the biggest factors in binding our extended family together and reminding us all that we have history together. When you are an Albrecht, that is everyone's mentality. I have always appreciated that I am close to my cousins because our parents were able to prioritized time spent with each other when we were young.

I have always loved that out of all the buildings in the city, there was that commonality. They are tearing the building down soon and Kevin Singleton recorded a CD, "Last Night at The Lamb's Theater". A good friend gave it to me as a birthday present