Jesse Katsopolis: Original Hipster.

I have a little known secret that I only reveal to the rare few who I know won't judge [too harshly].

I love Full House. 

Yes, the late 80's, early 90's sitcom masterpiece which paved the Olsen twins' road to stardom. I'd say it is a healthy obsession, as far as television show interests go; It's trumped in my TV memorable pastimes of the era only by Boy Meets World. 

[sidenote]  It's strange. 

No one will say a word when it 

comes to a Boy Meets World interest, 

but pop a Full House DVD in 

and immediately everyone is TCFS*. 

The purpose of this post is not to discuss the array of life lessons, wholesome role models, or riveting plot sequences that this show offered to viewers all over, but rather to highlight a reason why I believe it would thrive in today's culture: 

Jesse Katsopolis = hipster. 

Some have argued that Steve Urkel was ahead of his time for today's hipster-infused era.

 See here, here, or here. 

But I'd like to argue that Uncle Jesse, while less obvious than Urkel, exhibited trademark, unmistakable signs of hipsterdom:  

1.Real hipsters never admit that they are hipsters.

Jesse constantly lived under the stereotype of "biker dude," musician, or "bad guy" That's so hipster.

2. Hipsters wear large rimmed glasses.

3. Hipsters wear deep v-necks, large sweaters & suspenders. 

I could go on and on, but I'll leave this clip for the two hipster-trendsetters to face off. Which is the original? You decide. Notice the cowboy boots-urban look. hipster.

Ps. Happy Halloween

[*too cool for school.]

Design.

If anyone were to take a look at my craft closet, they would see that I am full of good intentions. Unfortunately, my not-so-good relationship with commitment has left me with lots of creative supplies, but very few completed projects. 

Wednesday night, my roommate, friend and I decided that the new winter weather was a perfect setting for some crafting. 

So that's what we did.

 

I've collected lots of pretty paper over the years, so I decided that

 I'd work on something inspired by this. I've got plenty of partially finished projects, so it felt good to sit down and work on something I've wanted to make for a while. 

Rather than make a mobile, I just wanted to make a paper lantern garland for above our big, 

living room window. 

I seriously cannot wait until I graduate so I can craft more. Until then, I'll just chip away at the many started projects, just waiting to be finished. 

Next: A colorful top tube pad for my bike. 

[and perhaps one for the boy's bike.]

Fickle.

This is me:

The reason I have such a large grin on my face is because this picture was taken on June 21, 2011. Yes, the first day of summer. There's something not-so-threatening about a summer snow. Sure, it sneaked up on me as I was working in the mountains of Granby, CO, but I knew it would be a short-lived. In fact, if I had not taken this picture when I did, I probably would have missed the snow altogether; it came and went so fast. 

This is yesterday: 

Nothing at all is threatening about this picture. In fact, it's rather pleasant. The kind of weather you go for a run in wearing shorts and a t-shirt. (Which I did yesterday). 

That's the difference between June and October in Colorado. 

Changes in the weather are much more threatening. 

This is today: 

Notice the branches ALL OVER the ground. A combination of heavy, wet snow and leafy, still-thinking-it's-autumn-trees caused tree limbs all over the city to break and fall. 

If my house did not look so darn cute in the snow, I might be mad. 

Feels like I travel, but I never arrive.

I've been wanting to write for a while. I've been afraid to, because I've found myself in a semester where I've been avidly listening to lies as opposed to the truth. I don't want to give anything that is not true the time to marinate in my mind by writing about it, but I've found it is probably a good idea to process anyway.

I am not a processor. 

Life is a lot easier for me when I quickly move on from things. But there is a difference between dwelling on the past and remembering. 

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth. 

Do you not perceive it? 

I will make a way in the wilderness  

and rivers in the desert. 

In other news, this song is controlling my life.

Sky Writing.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.  May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.  ~Edward Abbey

Drinking through a fire hose

Holy Moly. The last 4 weeks [what? it's been that long already?] have been IN-TENTS. [I work at the campground] But seriously, things have been quite a whirlwind since I arrived at Snow Mountain Ranch on June 5th. Kara's wedding was a blast. She was beautiful and the wedding was one of the most fun I've been to. It was quite exciting, with some beautiful weather, a fun wedding party, some fainting by members of the wedding party, and LOTS of dancing. It was really fun to dance like crazy with people I don't know very well. It's a bit strange having one of your best friends married, but I suppose that's how life goes. I am really excited for her life with Chris and even more excited that she'll be in Colorado for a bit longer before she starts the exciting life of a military wife. 

The remainder of the time between Kara's wedding and today, July first have been packed full of excitement, fun, bonding, learning, and work. I wish I had time to lay out everything I've been doing in detail, but seeing as I have about reached the halfway point and am just now blogging for the first time, I'm going to have to get to that later. I'll try to summarize the highlights in a somewhat concise, articulate way. 

• My TEAM! The girls on my team are named Michelle [CU], Kelsey [UCCS], and Karla [CSU]. I really lucked out and was given the three most fun, teachable, mature girls here. They all are an absolute JOY and I love getting to know them better. 
• CAMPGROUNDS! I work at the YMCA campgrounds with two other team leaders [David and Reese]. The three of us get along very well and have an absolute blast just about every day we work. I am very thankful that my work experience at SMR is something that I continually look forward to. 
• My parents and brother were able to visit on June 22 and it was really fun to see them all. While I am meeting lots of wonderful new people, familiar faces are always refreshing to see. It was also a great excuse to head into Grand Lake to see them for an evening. 
• We're currently studying the book of Colossians and it has been enlightening and challenging to really apply the truths that God has been confronting my heart with from this book. I love it. 
• BOYFRIEND! Mickey Brooks blindsided me with a visit to Colorado after I had completely resolved it in my heart that he would be unable to visit. It brightened my entire summer and I was excited to be able to share him with the new friends I've made. As I was afraid it would be, it was all-together too short of a visit, but I was happy to reset my countdown to the next time I'll see him. He continually reminds me of what a wonderful boyfriend he is. 


• During his visit we did some hiking in Grand Lake, and had a couple friends join us to a look out spot that was absolutely breath-taking.
• It was, again, wonderful to spend some time with someone who knows me extremely well outside of this program. It gets exhausting trying to get to know people all the time. 
• God is teaching me so much. I'm writing lots down and taking time to process things. For the first time in a long time, I am seeing myself slow down and focus on things that are important, and that's encouraging. As I process I will add more here, but much of this program is like drinking out of a fire hose. 

Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Snow Mountain Ranch. It's beautiful, I am learning a lot, and I am excited for what's to come. 

Home is wherever I'm with you.

This hurts my heart it's so cute. 

home again, home again jiggity jig

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind: 

Finals week [cleaning, packing, cleaning, packing] I said goodbye to Fort Collins and some of my best friends. The boy and I drove 20 hours through the night to his lovely home in Sugar Land, TX. [his car is a manual] We spent 6 days with his family. [i love them] I said goodbye to Michael Brooks for at least 11 weeks. [lots of tears] I flew back to Denver. [my flight was delayed] Kara had her bachelorette party [so fun. so tired] And now I'm here in Colorado Springs attempting to get every little piece of my life for the summer figured out before June 3rd. [deep breath] 

June 3rd and 4th is the weekend of Kara's wedding and after that I am off to Granby for the summer. I'm excited and nervous, but more excited than nervous. You'd think I'd be getting pretty good at this summer away from my boyfriend thing, since this is our third apart, but each time I think about it, it makes me a little sick to my stomach. Luckily, I'll be busy enough to hopefully make it a little less painful. 

Through everything that is going on, I am mostly excited for a summer full of growth, new friends, and fun. I'm excited to see God show himself to me as a stable constant even while my heart is unsettled. I'm excited to live in a beautiful place where I can feel his creation praising him. 

Instrument of Peace

I made these for one of the girls I meet with. I thought I'd share. They're all prayers that have changed my life. I'm thinking about putting together a book of all of them and asking others to join me. They're a bit difficult to read on here, but it's all inspired from Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel Visual Edition. 

730 days.

Friday marked two years that I have been dating Mickey. It's strange to think that we've been dating for that long, especially when I think about how much I have yet to discover about him. It's a neat thing really, how complex people are. It seems like I am constantly learning something new, seeing a new expression, or realizing something different about who he is and is becoming. It makes me wonder if this still happens to couples who have been married a long time, or if there comes a time when you know someone completely. I wonder. I wonder. I'd like to think that as dynamic creatures, our lives are never able to be totally defined. But maybe I just think that because I've been dating Mickey for 730 days, but I am still surprised, almost daily, with the intricacies that make him, him.

It makes me excited for the future when I think about the fun thing's we've already done. We've traveled to Utah, Texas, Florida, Seattle, and even the Bahamas. I've grown to love his family, and have loved watching him get to know mine. We share so much in common with our interests, but I am constantly reminded and impressed by his individuality.

We spent yesterday afternoon at the Denver Aquarium, and then had an appetizer and a couple drinks at a local restaurant and bar called City O'City.Then we headed back up to Fort Collins for dinner in Old Town. I appreciate Mickey's love for trying new things-it's one of my favorite things about him. It was a lovely night and I'm excited to see where the future takes us.