A California Girl in Kansas

I. Am. Exhausted.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:22:00 -0600

I’m in love with verb [ICT]. I am. I can’t help it. I gave birth to my internet baby on Monday and I keep looking at it and cooing and feeling this intense burst of pride and happiness.

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s possibly the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I’m exhausted. I haven’t managed to squeeze in more than 6 hours of sleep (that’s being generous) in over a week. I feel like I am constantly going. Moving. Emailing. Typing. Calling. Googling. Trying to find another goddamn Creative Commons photo that fits a story.

The timing has proven to be interesting. I received a promotion at my day job that coincided with verb’s launch. As in, the site went live on the exact same day that I started working in my new role. So let’s talk about stress for a moment. Because that and fumes are basically what I am running on. And adrenaline. Man, lots of adrenaline.

90% of the time, I think this is what I was meant to do. Create. Build. Make cool shit. Monday - launch day - was a high like I’ve never experienced. As one of my co-conspirators said, “Can we launch something new every day? Because this is awesome.” But then I look at the days and weeks and months in front of me and I realize that the workload isn’t going to shrink. It’s going to grow. And I’m going to be getting 6 hours or less of sleep every night for the foreseeable future. And I’m going to be a perfectionist about every photo, every word, every link, every decision. And then I think about the people who are counting on me to make this work. To turn a profit. To make it stick. Last. Mean something. That’s not an insignificant amount of pressure.

But it pushes me. Drives me to be better. To learn to manage people better. To learn to make better decisions.

Even after four days of a live, awesome site, I feel like I’ve aged four years (luckily it doesn’t look like it… yet). I know so much more than when I started.

Maybe giving birth to an internet baby isn’t that much different than giving birth to a human baby. It changes you. It pushes you to be the best you can be.

And it’s really, really rewarding. It’s also really, really tiring.

But I wouldn’t change a second of it.

"Hi Shea, Sylvia this is carl A and I just wanted to call and wish you a happy for them for street if..."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:14:00 -0600

“Hi Shea, Sylvia this is carl A and I just wanted to call and wish you a happy for them for street if and how you then. Bye love. My number is. Restocked and I will be better next time she became leaking Western anyway, so there’s bath and they are you talking a whole lot because I really want to see how google always decade about the prospect of sick X P L. A. X. Talk to you later. Bye.”

- A voicemail from Carly (erm, carl A) as transcribed by Google Voice.

I have no idea what this means.

We were mountain men. There’s nothing sexy about wearing a...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:20:00 -0600

We were mountain men.

There’s nothing sexy about wearing a big ass beard. Aaron obviously wears it much better than I do.

Also, real men don’t smile in pictures.

Note to self: it’s really hard to drink beer with a giant, fuzzy beard. Do not attempt again.

So… I’ve been super MIA from blogging in the past...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0600

So… I’ve been super MIA from blogging in the past month (or two). You might say I’ve been a little… preoccupied.

Back in August, during the last pool crashing day of the summer, Ashley, Carly and I threw around the idea of starting our own Wichita-focused online magazine. We knew lots of talented writers and photographers. We knew we could design something useful, attractive, fun and well-written.

So… we did.

After months of hard work, putting together an awesome, unstoppable team of writers, designers, photographers and web nerds, we launched verb [ICT] this morning.

As the comments and compliments keep rolling in, I’m sort of in disbelief. We did it. We made something that I am so insanely proud of. Something that is going to make a difference in Wichita’s new media scene. The timing was right and we went for it.

To everyone who has supported us, to everyone who has doubted us, to everyone who has given us their time and energy, thank you. I am so excited to be a part of this and so excited for verb [ICT] to continue to grow and thrive and become a significant part of the local community.

It’s Pug-o-ween at the Sylvia/Kennison household.

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:35:03 -0500

Ollie the Bumblebee

Lola the Ladybug

Checking each other out

Kisses :)

It’s Pug-o-ween at the Sylvia/Kennison household.

Um… want. And P.S. I’m still alive. In case you were...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:21:52 -0500

Um… want.

And P.S. I’m still alive. In case you were wondering. I’m going to pretend you were.

(via ellenclare)

"I love the internet so much I could open mouth kiss it. And even throw in some tongue for..."

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:59:59 -0500

“I love the internet so much I could open mouth kiss it. And even throw in some tongue for introducing me to my bestie.”

- Carly

On Halloween Costumes

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:52:18 -0500

Erin: Any good ideas for me?
Erin: Wait -
Erin: Let me rephrase
Erin: Any good ideas that would incorporate my gold lamé leggings?

ReallyKatie, this one’s for you!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:10:57 -0500

ReallyKatie, this one’s for you!

Starbucks money-saving tip: Order a tall espresso over ice. Pay...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:12:00 -0500

Starbucks money-saving tip: Order a tall espresso over ice. Pay approximately $2. Then add milk and your favorite sweetener. Result: a tall iced latte for a buck or two less than you’d pay if you ordered one.

[thanks to BFF Jill for the idea!]

UPDATE: Apparently this is also known as the Ghetto Latte and has been around since 2006. Thanks, Dustin, for enlightening me.

The best part of my (super busy, stressful and, later,...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:13:43 -0500

The best part of my (super busy, stressful and, later, migraine-filled) day?

Coming home to find a copy of THIS waiting for me!! A week before it’s available, no less.

How special do I feel? Crazy special. And how hungry am I after looking through it? Uh, starving.

If you haven’t already been reading The Pioneer Woman’s blog, you must start. And if you haven’t been making her recipes (her mashed potatoes changed my life, people), you must.

A huge thank you to Ree for the sneak peek! I can’t wait to start cooking and I’m pretty sure Aaron can’t wait either. I’m almost positive it was the night when I made the Marlboro Man’s favorite sandwich that he decided living with me was a very, very good idea.

Conclusion: these recipes will change your life and very likely encourage a cute, funny man to move in with you.

My sisters obviously had a busy summer between this and their...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:52:00 -0500

My sisters obviously had a busy summer between this and their epic Just Dance video.

Yes, this is normal for my family.

No, I wouldn’t change a thing.

GPOYW - Me & Juan Diego - my favorite server at El Rodeo. I...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:00 -0500

GPOYW - Me & Juan Diego - my favorite server at El Rodeo. I give him hugs. He gives me free margaritas.

As Carly said, Juan Diego approves of this message.

My sisters performing Lady Gaga’s “Just...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:44:27 -0500

My sisters performing Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.”

Special cameos by my mom, step-dad and junior high cheerleading uniform.

So… This night is pretty great. $1 margaritas, yes please.

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:43:40 -0500

So… This night is pretty great. $1 margaritas, yes please.

mikhailovna: Belle’s Halloween costume being picked up this...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:51:20 -0500

mikhailovna:

Belle’s Halloween costume being picked up this week.

This is going to be fabulous!

Aaron and I stand in front of the dog costume display at Target at least once a week and try to figure out what Lola and Oliver are going to be. I think Ollie would make a great hot dog. Lola? A bumblebee. We’ll see…

I think I've figured it out

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:41:52 -0500

You know you’ve found your (for lack of a better word) soulmate when you are at your absolute craziest and they still love you. Not only do they love you, but they are barely even phased by your breed of crazy.

I’ve been so stressed and so anxious and so focused on work and side projects that I know I’ve been a bear to be around for the past few weeks (my control freak tendencies have been at an all-time high). I asked Aaron how awful I was to live with, on a scale from one to ten, and he said “Hmmm…. 3?”

THREE? I was expecting eight. Or nine. Three?

I know this is completely cheesy, but it’s just like in Bridget Jones’s Diary when Mark Darcy tells Bridget that he loves her, just as she is.

As it happens, I love him too. Just as he is.

It’s also sort of irresistible that he lets me take pictures of him wearing ridiculous hats. And he POSES.

And then we laugh uncontrollably for a few minutes and I realize how incredibly lucky I am.

Excused absence?

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:19:10 -0500

My dad’s tumblarity is higher than mine.

I guess that’s what happens when you are too busy with work/life to catch up on your dashboard or, like, post something.

I miss you guys.

*sniff*

Alone - Glee Cast

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:46:34 -0500

Alone - Glee Cast

mydadisonfacebook: Best. One. Yet.

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:19:24 -0500

mydadisonfacebook:

Best. One. Yet.