Special Day

I can't let yesterday go by without saying that on July 24th 3 years ago, Joe proposed to me at Yosemite. Like everything else about life that I am figuring out, the reality of what it has turned out to be is better and different that I imagined. Life with my buddy by my side is so satisfying and good. He amplifies my life in every way. Even though the wedding was 6 months later in January, and that's when we made vows to each other in front of everyone, July 24th is really the start of it all, when we promised to be each other's for life. It has a special place in my heart. That's all.

OK, so I'm hooked

As I was heading out of the apartment to Target last night, there was something on the doormat. Lo and behold it was a glorious little package from Amazon, with my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I let out such a big gasp that Joe came running into the room thinking something was wrong. Being the mature adult that I am, I squealed, jumped up and down, then calmly put the package on the coffee table, determined to do my shopping and open the package when I got back. So I did. When I returned I ripped into that bad boy, and proceeded to read until 5AM this morning. I don't even remember the last time I did that. I didn't even feel tired. I finished it this afternoon. So before, I was completely ignorant about the wizarding world, not really caring about what I was missing, and somewhere along the way Harry and the gang won me over. I think it was around book 3; that's when I found myself wanting to know what happened next. I have to say, I love the way the series ended. I like it when there's a definite ending, and you know where the characters end up in their lives. So to sum it up kudos to Harry, Hermione & Ron, and kudos to J.K.Rowling for creating an awesome world/sport/story... (what would it be like to spend a day in her imagination?) it was simply smashing.

Enjoying the "now"

Lately I've been ruminating about how I love different periods of time. Seeing as how history was my major, this isn't really surprising. I think it's fascinating to learn about people, places and how day to day life was. WWII, the pioneers, the Tudors, the Spanish Inquisition, the Boston Tea Party, I'll take it all. You'll either find my nose stuck in a book reading, or when I'm not doing that, I'm day-dreaming about the future. Funny, huh? I mean, complete opposite end of the spectrum. I like to imagine what our house will be like, what colors I'll paint the walls, what flowers I'll put in the backyard, where the playhouse and swing set will be in the backyard, and three cute kids bouncing around. It doesn't seem to take much to spark some sort of dream in my head; just getting the new Pottery Barn out of the mailbox does it. Seriously, that thing is to me now what my American Girl catalogue was to me when I was 9. I love to pore over every page, see what's new, read all the descriptions, you get the idea. The thing is though...I don't think I give enough attention to the present. Not that I'm not happy with my life now (quite the opposite), but it just doesn't seem as interesting. By thinking about the past or the future, I don't know if I'm getting as much as I can out of right now - and I don't like that very much. I don't want to cheat myself out of all the great things that my life has to offer me right now. I think some of my problem is that I compare myself to others, and see where they are in their lives, and instantly think that I need to be right there too...even though I know that what's right for them now, isn't necessarily right for me. I don't think that loving history, or thinking about the future are bad things, but being consumed by them sure is.

Relying in the Lord's timing isn't easy...I know that I'm being prepped for the next stage of life, even though it sometimes seems like I'm going nowhere fast. But God ushers us into different seasons of our lives, not a day too early or late. That's a comforting thought. So while I'm here, I will embrace all things that He's put on my plate and in my life. I will embrace all that each day has to offer me. I will embrace the now.

Oh, happy day

Indiana Jones is coming back into my life sometime in the spring/summer of '08. I actually squealed with delight when I saw this production photo - proof that they really are making a fourth one. I CANNOT wait! It's a good thing when Joe and I were dating that no whip-cracking, antiquity hunting archaeologist ever ran into me, because things might've turned out very differently... Just to clarify, it's Indy I have the crush on, not Harrison Ford. And also, I'd just like to say that when I'm 64, I hope I look as good as he does.

Lake Berryessa, CA & Italy, baby!!

So I'm in the bedroom, while Joe is languishing on the sofa watching Apocalypto (which is why I'm hiding in the bedroom. No way am I about to watch that movie). He got a nasty, nasty sunburn on his entire back this weekend; so bad, that he didn't go to work today. Poor guy. So I'm the go-fur girl, and aloe vera applier extraordinaire, since coincidentally I was off work today too.

We were up at Lake Berryessa this weekend, helping our friends Brian & Cami with their newly purchased houseboat. They went in on it with our other friends, Luke & Amy Taylor (who just had the new baby), so we'll probably be up there quite a bit. It was a lot like camping - no running water, no electricity, and HOT!! The guys built the swim deck on the back, and we organized and cleaned inside. The entertainment of the weekend were their too cute for words kids, Grace (5) and Sam (3). Sam has the deepest voice on a kid that I've ever heard, and is obsessed with trucks. He carries around an orange monster truck and asked Joe about every 20 minutes "Joe, where your truck?", and when Joe wasn't around to be asked, he asked me, then his parents. Very funny. We were also there to witness Sam catching his first ever fish with his brand new Shrek fishing pole. He was about ready to jump outta his skin he was so excited, and proceeded to bellow for about an hour after to everyone who walked down the dock that he caught a fish. So it was a good weekend, other than the burning. I assumed it would be me who came home redder than a lobster, seeing as how I have a love/hate relationship with the sun. I hate being this fair, and how anal I have to be about protecting it. I love being on the boat, and in the water, but in that intense of a setting, sometimes its just not enjoyable - its a pain to have to reapply the sunscreen, and still feel yourself toasting up, and then being all splotchy, red and stingy the next day. Oh, the crosses I bear... I know, I know, whine whine whine.

On a much more exciting topic, ITALY HAS BEEN BOOKED!!! We bought our round trip tickets to Rome, so it is definitely happening. I don't think there's a word for being this outrageously excited. Just the thought of walking around some palazzo, eating gelato gets my adrenaline pumping. We'll be taking off August 24 and coming home on September 2. It's not a very big chunk of time, but we kind of felt like it's a now-or-never kind of deal. Who knows when Joe will get this amount of time off for vacation again, and we don't have any super big responsibilities...so, off we go! We'll be in Rome then take the train to Florence and on to Venice. It is cramming a lot into a little, but we figure we're young and can do it. We won't be able to see everything, and that's OK - at least we're going. There's a lot of choices to make, and they're not all easy. We came to the conclusion that we can't make it to London this go-round, which is disappointing. I love it there, and Joe really wanted to see it...we were really tempted to get round trip tickets to London, and then just catch a charter flight to Italy, but in the end it would be more expensive, and eat up 1.5 days with extra travel, so it's just not worth it. Just another reason to go back there though, right?

So today, I've been pricing accommodations and enjoying every second of it. I think so far, the place I'm most excited to be staying at is what we've found in Rome, the Hotel Santa Maria. It is a converted cloister, and right in the heart of the ancient section of the city, the Trastevere, which (supposedly) is central to all the big sights. It looks quaint, beautiful, and like it's got a lot of character. I was super opposed to staying at the Marriott, or something like that; I want a real taste of the local flavor - and I think we'll get it with this place. As soon as I wrap up this post, then I'm gonna jump into Harry Potter #2. I finished the first one over the weekend, and I liked it. I'm curious to see what this one'll bring. I hear Joe, gotta go slather on some more Banana Boat...