P.S.

Almost forgot-- I cut my hair! You like?

Long Time No Write :)

So I haven't posted in awhile... mostly because I made each post quite the production of storytelling and pictures. However, as my summer is winding down, I've decided to actually keep this little online view of my life updated so that when I move back across the country, my family and friends can be virtually updated.

This past summer I've spent with my family at our home in Connecticut, which has been simultaneously relaxing and stressful. It IS family, after all! I never was able to find steady employment, as I initially chose to avoid minimum wage jobs, and then it was too late. Instead I've been doing the classic "Odd Job" routine. I've been a part-time janitor in a variety of interesting locations, cleaning actors' rooms, mansions, and the ever-present bathroom; I've been an assistant to my game-inventing neighbor, cutting cards and helping with computer confusion; I've worked on a 200-300 year old farm on the Connecticut River, painstakingly painting details to help restore its beauty; and most often, I've been babysitting my butt (really my mind) off! So, even without an "official" job, I've somehow managed to stay employed thanks to my much appreciated neighbors and friends. (I'm actually about to head off to a new babysitting job-- my dad made me create fliers to advertise my skills (I was rather proud of the tagline I created: "I'm available for when you aren't.") and someone actually called in response to my ad! Huh. Will wonders never cease? :P)

Anyways, I just wanted to reconnect with my as-of-yet lonely blog, with its few posts and nonexistent readers. TTYL!!!

<3

I've Got Mad Skillz... Yo

This past Sunday, I walked into work and was informed that my coworker Matt was looking for me; I found him grinning ear to ear in the hallway holding a pile of baggy clothing. To explain: Matt is from Michigan, and I am from Connecticut. Michigan State and UCONN just played in the college basketball tournament, and we had made a little wager on the outcome-- loser had to wear whatever the winner brought in for the entire day of work. UCONN lost :( Matt decided to dress me in (his phrase) "Michigan Gangsta." It was an interesting work day, to say the least :P (Especially trying to mop in the men's size TWELVE shoes!! (To put it in perspective, I'm a mere size 5 in men's!)) Enjoy my transformation!

Playing Catch Up

The other day I baked delicious blue/straw-berry muffins. I decided to cut the sugar from the recipe and hoped that the fruit would compensate. They turned out tasting somewhat like biscuits, and they were delicious with a little honey or jam! I'm all in favor of experimenting!


It has been a good food week overall- on Tuesday, Nicole and I went to the Creamery and bought the delicious Sundae of the Month: Fried Oreo... Mmmm :)


Exciting news: I FINALLY finished my major advertising project!! This project has been a PAIN!! For my advertising class, we were sorted into groups and assigned a product to do an entire campaign on: my group got Blockbuster.com. I volunteered to put everyone's work together into the book, but I ended up editing and writing a lot more than I was supposed to. (Case and point- I was in the library for SIX HOURS one day working on it!!) Anyways, it was all just one problem and set back after another, including Word deleting my font and the printers messing up, but when it was finally done, I practically danced all the way home! (Speaking of dancing, I LOVE my final dance for Intro to Modern-- I'm not a dancer, but I love our joyous celebration of life and the gospel... maybe a video to come?)

(One of our ads)

(The finished product and I!)

On Friday, Nicole and I went to Dew, a little restaurant near our apartment and drank delicious hot chocolate while it was snowing (yes- SNOWING... in APRIL!!) and indulged in a "molten lava" chocolate dessert and superb creme brulee.... major YUM! I highly recommend it.

We also hung out with our friend from Connecticut- Tito Hardy- this past weekend. On Friday, we went to the BYU men's volleyball game (our first, and the last of the season) and then went dancing. The dance was waaay fun, with great music and high energy!!! It was held at Seven Peaks, of all places! Then, yesterday, we introduced him to Creamery ice cream and watched a movie on our next door neighbor's (The White House) couch :)

(on the dance floor)

(totally tired!!)

This past weekend was also General Conference. I really appreciate this weekend as a rejuvinating boost for the year! I might have fallen asleep at points (cough, cough), but I truly love hearing from our prophets :)

Till next time- I have to go to work!!!

<3

Hope is Here!

I have officially started a blog! Be excited people! (Because I sure am!) I love reading my friend's blogs, and I am looking forward to a better way to keep people updated on my life (since I am NOT the world's best correspondent) and to keep my days and thoughts and pictures organized. We'll see how it goes :P

To explain the name of my blog: my full name is McKenna Anne Hope Kramer. I have always loved the name "Hope"-- it is a pretty great name and belief. If you don't believe me, read the book Hope Was Here and President Uchdorf's talk "The Infinite Power of Hope." I'm hoping (no pun intended) that this blog will be full of optimistic chatter and fun experiences.

I was expecting to have all sorts of exciting things to write about after the weekend, but my plans all kind of fell through. However, that in itself is an interesting story... To explain: Before I came out to BYU, I saw all of these really great pictures on Facebook of people covered in a colorful powder- I learned it was a yearly event called the "Color Festival" at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. I made it my goal to go while at BYU. The festival was last Saturday, and I and Nicole (my roommate and friend from Connecticut who now lives in California) were planning on going with my other roommate Sara. However, Sara had a very stressful weekend, so she decided not to go. I texted our friend Matt to see if we could borrow his car, and he, being a total sweetheart, said yes. I called up David Seth, my brother, to see if he and some friends wanted to come with us; he called back, informing me that his friends were already going, and asked if we wanted to carpool with them. The festival started at 4pm, but they had found out that the colors weren't being thrown till 5:45, so we negotiated between our original leave time of 2pm and their time of 4:45pm to decide on 4pm. BAD idea. Our group ended up leaving closer to 5pm; there were two major accidents on the highway and about a bajillion people trying to go to the same place we were. While thousands were celebrating spring in a cloud of colors, we were slowly inching along Main Street. The group decided that they just wanted to park and walk to the festival anyways... about 3 miles away from the temple. After about a mile along the highway, Nicole and I realized we really weren't that interested. We turned around, thinking we could get back to Provo with some friends, but learned that our prospective ride had gotten a flat tire and wouldn't be able to fit us in the back seat with it. We were STUCK! Nicole was discussing the situation with her friend on the phone (we jokingly talked about walking to Provo- it would only take 3 hours or so... right?) when these boys in front of us turned around. They told us they overheard our dilemma (Nicole was talking kind of loud) and offered us a ride to Provo. They looked nice, and, when we asked if they were serial killers and they said "no," that cinched the deal for me! (The fact that they were nice BYU students helped too!) Anyways, these boys- Aaron, Drew, and Clay- gave us a ride back and were very friendly. They got our numbers when they dropped us off (at that point, they were our new best friends; we LOVED them for turning our day around). Anyways, we were finally home and starving, so Nicole and I went and bought a 5 buck pizza, and ate it ALL sitting in the grass in front of the store. (We got a few weird looks). Overall, an interesting day :)

(Nicole and I with our Hot'n'Ready Pizza!)

Till next time!

<3>