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...

This is me, jumping on the bandwagon

Again I manage to have a huge gap in my postings...I don't mean to, but here it is almost 2 weeks later...excuses, excuses...I have lots, but they don't really matter. The bottom line is, I just haven't done it. McCloud was fun, I took lots of pics, but honestly, I don't even feel like posting the pics because there are so many to choose and write about, it feels like an overwhelming task. Eek! Someday...onto other things...


Here's something juicy about me (OK, well, maybe not)...I have never read the Harry Potter series. And I was given the first 4 as a Christmas present about 2 years ago. I dunno, just never had the urge. I suppose I have a preconceived notion that I won't like them because they're in the fantasy/science fiction realm, and I just can't get into that genre. I've attempted many times to read Lord of the Rings, can't do it, it is way too painful. It's like my brain can't conjure up the worlds because they're just too weird, nothing makes sense, so I give up. A Wrinkle in Time and the Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe were as far as I could delve into all that. Plus, when big phenomenons like the Harry books or trends come along, I'm never on the breaking wave of them - usually I'm at the tale end. I guess I like to see if they really pan out before I invest time or money into them. Anyway, I've heard that if I can get past the first two, it gets a lot better. I'm ready to see what all the fuss is about - I mean, lots of people I know and respect adore these books and are voraciously rereading them before they get the last one this summer. That is dedication - they wouldn't do that for a lame series, right? I also think that it will be good reading material for the plane; you know, something easy and quick. So here I go with book one, jumping on the Hogwarts bandwagon.


In crafting news, I've been stitching some onesies that are to be baby presents, but as luck would have it, the little guy that was supposed to be born on July 8th, decided to make his appearance yesterday morning in the wee small hours, and I only have one onesie done, one in the works, and a blanket to make. So. I have a little catching up to do on that front. But I learned that I can get one stitched pretty much in one night. My mom called yesterday and said that there was an impromptu baby shower thrown together at her church for this Friday night, and she has a gift card, but was hoping I could stitch her a onesie to go with it (one for a little girl), so could I pretty please do it? I said yes, and this is the result.




I really like how it turned out - so cute! When I was ironing on the transfer, I also prepped another onesie, because its my goal to make a semi-duplicate of whatever I'm currently working on and stash the other away to sell for our church's Holiday Boutique in November, so that way when it rolls around I'll be set and won't have to scramble last minute as much. I'm really curious to see if my goods'll sell, and if people even like them (and of course to raise $ for missions too). I also want to use my spiffy camera and take some pics to decorate the kitchen wall with - I have some ideas that I'm really excited about and can't wait to start! So much to do, so little time...
***BTW*** The Prilosec-like meds have really been helping my stomach, I feel great! Finally 2 days ago I got the results from the blood test. The #'s are alright, it shows that I am anemic (which most likely means the ulcers bled a little), so I have to come back in for another bloodtest. Lucky me! Thanks for all the kind prayers and words.

Wilderness Survival 101

That's what I call it. To Joe and his family, they call it camping. And that's what we'll be doing this weekend. But they can't fool me. There's no public sinks/showers, or outhouses with the crescent moon on the door. You wanna wash up? Jump in the creek. Need to go to the bathroom? Here's the shovel. Of course, I do have to say that when the girls are along for the trip, they do pull out all the stops, and set up a shower in the trees, and set up a little port a potty for us...but still. They have a serious aversion to campgrounds and all the people in them, and really never go to them.. So they head out to their little Shangri-La up by the base of Mt. Shasta called McCloud. You know you're there when you see a little bar, post office and gas station all rolled into one building. Turn immediately left off the highway, drive around the forest for a ways, then stop. Set up camp, you have arrived. This'll be my second time going. It's all a little shocking to me - I was not brought up to be a camper. My family has a cabin, so that's where we would always head because there was always work to do on it, and my mom loathes camping. She says that its no vacation at all for the woman, and I do see her point. Its a lot of packing/preparing, and then a ton of clean up/ laundry. But, Joe adores it, so I better get used to it, right? Besides, I get totally soft when he talks about doing stuff with our future kids there, and teaching them stuff, and keeping the tradition of going there with his bros up. So really, it's a lost cause.
Of course, McCloud does have its charms...it is very tranquil, and beautiful. At night you hear the creek rushing by, and the stars are awesome to see. And, its just fun to be together. So even though I was a punk when writing the first paragraph, I'm not really dreading the trip. But I am dreading the heat. I saw today that one of the towns up there was at 103 degrees - yuck. And it won't be a restful weekend by any means; I overheard Joe and his brother Jake go over the pros and cons of a day hike, and there's rumored to be a night hike in the works. The boys and Lisa left today to go set up camp and stuff (and they're the real hardcore campers anyway), and I am heading up tomorrow night with Joe's parents after work. Hooray for a 6 hour drive plus weekend Bay Area traffic when we'll be trying to get out of town! Smile!! Then we come home on Sunday, and jump right back into the grind. So, here I am, blogging, when really I should be packing my bag.
It's a little weird without Joe here. It's not like I can't sleep if he's not here, but it is a little strange, all the same. When I got dinner tonight, I just chose something that sounded good to me. Didn't think about quantity or making a complete meal. Trying to combat the blazing heat, I treated myself to cold shrimp with lots of cocktail sauce, corn on the cob, and some lemon gelato for dessert. Yummy! I also had total domination of the TV and computer (a rarity), the alarm won't go off at 4:30am, I don't have to iron him a shirt or pack his lunch...so that's all swell. And I'll definitely enjoy it. But I'll be glad when he's back. I miss him.