Tuesday, August 27, 2013

7 Days Until...

I fly to Istanbul! My dad informed me the other day that I haven't posted in a while. This is very true. Actually, I have at least 3 blog posts in my "Drafts" that I have started, but it's been sort of crazy around here and none of them have gotten published. So, here goes.

First - I would like to give a huge shout-out to my Boopapa and Boomama! They are such strong supporters of my various adventures and very loyal followers of Faithful Nomad. I love you both so much that it seems silly to try to express it in words because my love for you is simply unexpressible. So here's to trying to express the unexpressible!

Want to know why I call my dad's parents Boomama and Boopapa? Here goes...

So, when I was young and still learning how to talk, my parents thought it would be great for me to call my dad's parents Grandpa Joe and Grandma Lori (or something like that). I had different plans. My grandparents are so much fun and they played peek-a-boo with me a lot. So, my little toddler self decided that they deserved extra special names. Thus, I have called them Boopapa and Boomama ever since I can remember...and I'm not stopping any time soon :) Because I called them this all the time, my Sis has known them by that name all her life. I wonder what I would have called them if some other childhood activity we did together had stuck out to me more...maybe if we read DC Comics together, they would be Superman and Wonderwoman??? Well, I guess we'll never know...

Second - Since my Istanbul adventure is coming nearer and nearer, you might want to take advantage of all the ways to follow me. I am now on Instagram! Follow @faithful_nomad if you want to see my personal pictures, and @k_rover_explores_the_world if you want to see everything from K ROVER's point of view. His pictures are pretty cute, if I say so myself. Also, make sure you go over to the right -> and put your email address in the "follow" box. You should get an email update when I post something new.

Third - Since I've been hanging out with my family, I have been recruited to help out with family dinners :) I recently made kale chips and guacamole from scratch (guacamole pictures on @faithful_nomad). Aren't you so proud of me?

Fourth - Tomorrow starts my week-long coffee fast to get ready for Turkey (where drinking black tea at breakfast is the norm). I'm going to go ahead and get my coffee withdrawal out of the way (I only drink a cup a day, but I still get headaches if I skip). Will let you know how it goes...

And finally, Fifth - Did you know that 21 in Turkish sounds like "year me beer". It's sort of funny...I don't think I need to worry about forgetting how to say my age in Turkish.

Talk to you soon, and prayers are appreciated as I get ready for this huge leap!

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Many Names of...

Ok, most of you know that I really do <3 Starbucks. I may talk coffee trash and say that I don't like their coffee and think it tastes too acidic (yada, yada, yada), but in the end, I really do love the atmosphere, the fact that their menu is always the same no matter what state (or country) you are in, and the fact that I can always count on them to be a safe haven for a quiet time on my laptop or in a good book. BUT, there is one thing that I can't count on them for....spelling my name right.


Here are the many names of Kaelin, according to Starbucks. 


Keilan. Pretty close, I must say. Just a few vowel mix-ups.

Kateland. Glad to know that in the future, there may be a distant country named after me.

Kaylee. Evidently I did not pronounce my name very clearly...

Caitlyn. Someone stole my "t", people, can't you get it right?

Katelynn. Wow, 2 n's. That's creative.

Kaylynn. Who wants to bet this was the same person who checked me out above? At least there isn't a 't''.
Wow, she got it right!! Actually, the nice lady asked me how to spell my name. Great customer service :)
Eventually, seeing what form my name would take ended up making it more fun to go to Starbucks, but I still greatly appreciate those employees who go, "Kaelin? How do you spell that?"