Yes, yes. Women worked pretty hard for a long time to finally bee seen as worthy then more then just in the home and kitchen and caring for the kids.... but that is actually of my favorite things to do on a normal day.
Work for me is caring for children. I am what I like to call a "part time nanny". I don't live in their homes and I have a couple families I work for on a weekly schedule. "Babysitter" is much different, they only care for the kids when the parents are going on a date or have a meeting; its very unpredictable work.
While Tim is the bred-winner and has his 8-5 job, I like to take care of all I can around the house. Whether my house work is cleaning, organizing, decorating or even fixing things, I do all I can. YES, I even have my own tool box and know how to use power tools. I even thoroughly enjoy my ability to do yard work and gardening. In the next couple of months we will finally be filling in our garden bed and planting our first crop of veggies.
Today I find myself taking this day off to do things in the kitchen. I need to go through my recipes I have saved and finally put them on recipe cards. I just sliced up a bunch of apples and having it run in the dehydrator so we have tasty and HEALTHY snacks and I am about to make my first of kale chips.
Guilty pleasure, I am about to watch last night's episode of "The Bachelor". I will be sipping a cup of home ground and French pressed brewed Verve coffee (so good! http://www.vervecoffeeroasters.com/), looking through the new Paleo book I got on Tim's and my "date" to Barns and Noble last weekend.
Then later, I will most likely go out and rake up the leaves that are littering the end of our cul-de-sac. Going for a run, and reading some more of "The Chronicles of Narnia - The Last Battle" (my first time finally making it through the books).
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Zealand
Tim has been once already a few years ago, before we met. He went with his cousin Dan and spent two weeks during winter there. They spent their whole time on the south island, loved it and wished they had more time they could have spent there.
I think it is a bit of a family thing, going to New Zealand. Tim's aunt Margot and uncle Bob have been once and I believe Tim's grandparents on his mom's side has been at least once, maybe more? And now Tim and I are planning a trip there in a year from February.
Taking his own advice from last time, we are planning to spend 3 weeks and will be there for summer. We will be on the south island for the duration of the trip.
We don't have anything planned for the trip yet because we wanted to pay attention to funds first, but after Christmas and looking forward, we should be set.
We will keep you all informed as plans are made.
** This trip is what we are waiting on kids for. We wanted to be able to go on this big trip together before we get further tied down.
I think it is a bit of a family thing, going to New Zealand. Tim's aunt Margot and uncle Bob have been once and I believe Tim's grandparents on his mom's side has been at least once, maybe more? And now Tim and I are planning a trip there in a year from February.
Taking his own advice from last time, we are planning to spend 3 weeks and will be there for summer. We will be on the south island for the duration of the trip.
We don't have anything planned for the trip yet because we wanted to pay attention to funds first, but after Christmas and looking forward, we should be set.
We will keep you all informed as plans are made.
** This trip is what we are waiting on kids for. We wanted to be able to go on this big trip together before we get further tied down.
Weddings & Babies
These seem to come in spurts! When one person gets engaged everyone seems to. Good gracious! Its is quite fun though and I totally enjoy it. This was the same thing as was for us. The time we got engaged so did everyone else. Counting the friends whose weddings I didn't go to, there must have been 20 weddings being planned that I knew of in my circle.
Here we are again. A couple of months ago Tim's cousin Kendall got engaged, date set for June. My cousin also got engaged, date set for May. Last weekend Tim's other cousin Laura got engaged, don't know the date yet. Six other friends of mine that I can think of got engaged in very recently. I am not sure among Tim's friends, but there might be a few too.
Same goes with babies. NO TIM AND I AREN'T HAVING ANY YET. But it seemed that in just the last several months all of the sudden there are a bunch of gals from our church, plus maybe 10 friends of mine and maybe more with Tim's friends. And and good many more (including cousins and our niece just had babies in the last 6 months.
When it rains, it pours!
Here we are again. A couple of months ago Tim's cousin Kendall got engaged, date set for June. My cousin also got engaged, date set for May. Last weekend Tim's other cousin Laura got engaged, don't know the date yet. Six other friends of mine that I can think of got engaged in very recently. I am not sure among Tim's friends, but there might be a few too.
Same goes with babies. NO TIM AND I AREN'T HAVING ANY YET. But it seemed that in just the last several months all of the sudden there are a bunch of gals from our church, plus maybe 10 friends of mine and maybe more with Tim's friends. And and good many more (including cousins and our niece just had babies in the last 6 months.
When it rains, it pours!
Christmas Vacation
Tim and I spent Christmas in Willits again with his parents. We drove over on Saturday morning.
Friday evening we had a Holiday party with the catering company I work for called Bacio Catering. My mom works for them too, but in the kitchen, I work at the events. We found out the date for it last minute and decided to stick around in town for it. It was fun, we got to make connections between the people we know who work there that done realize we are related.
Saturday, after we arrived in Willits Tim and I got to set up a new full size bed in the Steven's bedroom. Tim's room already had a full size bed, but with there being two of us married couples now and events are a lot bigger. There was a great need for both rooms to have big beds.
That evening Tim's good buddy Jason had a birthday party. He still has them just like he used to as a kid. We got to see people Tim hasn't seen in a long time and people I still haven't gotten to meet yet. Games, food and a birthday cake. A new generation got to join the party this year as Jason & his wife Jeanette have a new baby, and Jason's sister and brother-in-law (Jamie & Matt) also have a new baby.
The next couple days was just hanging out at the house with Tim's parents, my parents, Tim's brother and sister-in-law (Steven & Teresa) and their new baby Elena, and Teresa's brother Benji and their mom Sue. Tim's grandma Eileen was going to join us, but she was feeling a little sick so she stayed home.
Every year, Tim's good buddy Tedd's parents host a Christmas eve run on their property. Mr. Smith was the running coach at their old high school until recently. All the kids who ran on the team over the years and their friends come up as tradition to run the 2 or 3 miles and have a pancake breakfast afterward. Yet another fun time spent with friends.
Back a few months ago Eileen moved down near Turlock in a retirement facility near her daughter (Tim's aunt) Dale and her husband Scott. Gram (Eileen) still has her house in Willits and Tom & Sandy are renting it as an extra space when we all are there to visit. With so many of us, we don't fit too well in their place. We did breakfast and gifts Christmas morning at Gram's house. Its was a nice time spent there.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The following Saturday Tim & I joined Tom, Sandy, Steven, Teresa, Elena, Scott, Dale, Gram and Tim's cousin Andrea & her husband Craig, and Geoff and his girlfriend Michelle. We were all at Scott & Dale's house in Turlock.
We had a gift exchange with them that afternoon and a lovely prime rib dinner. So good! Such a fun time. Most of the group went home, but Tim and I stayed the night with Scott & Dale, and Tom & Sandy stayed with Gram. We had a nice breakfast back at Gram's place.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Years we had a bunch of friends come over and celebrated the arrival of 1213. Almost 15 people I think showed up.
Friday evening we had a Holiday party with the catering company I work for called Bacio Catering. My mom works for them too, but in the kitchen, I work at the events. We found out the date for it last minute and decided to stick around in town for it. It was fun, we got to make connections between the people we know who work there that done realize we are related.
Saturday, after we arrived in Willits Tim and I got to set up a new full size bed in the Steven's bedroom. Tim's room already had a full size bed, but with there being two of us married couples now and events are a lot bigger. There was a great need for both rooms to have big beds.
That evening Tim's good buddy Jason had a birthday party. He still has them just like he used to as a kid. We got to see people Tim hasn't seen in a long time and people I still haven't gotten to meet yet. Games, food and a birthday cake. A new generation got to join the party this year as Jason & his wife Jeanette have a new baby, and Jason's sister and brother-in-law (Jamie & Matt) also have a new baby.
The next couple days was just hanging out at the house with Tim's parents, my parents, Tim's brother and sister-in-law (Steven & Teresa) and their new baby Elena, and Teresa's brother Benji and their mom Sue. Tim's grandma Eileen was going to join us, but she was feeling a little sick so she stayed home.
Every year, Tim's good buddy Tedd's parents host a Christmas eve run on their property. Mr. Smith was the running coach at their old high school until recently. All the kids who ran on the team over the years and their friends come up as tradition to run the 2 or 3 miles and have a pancake breakfast afterward. Yet another fun time spent with friends.
Back a few months ago Eileen moved down near Turlock in a retirement facility near her daughter (Tim's aunt) Dale and her husband Scott. Gram (Eileen) still has her house in Willits and Tom & Sandy are renting it as an extra space when we all are there to visit. With so many of us, we don't fit too well in their place. We did breakfast and gifts Christmas morning at Gram's house. Its was a nice time spent there.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The following Saturday Tim & I joined Tom, Sandy, Steven, Teresa, Elena, Scott, Dale, Gram and Tim's cousin Andrea & her husband Craig, and Geoff and his girlfriend Michelle. We were all at Scott & Dale's house in Turlock.
We had a gift exchange with them that afternoon and a lovely prime rib dinner. So good! Such a fun time. Most of the group went home, but Tim and I stayed the night with Scott & Dale, and Tom & Sandy stayed with Gram. We had a nice breakfast back at Gram's place.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Years we had a bunch of friends come over and celebrated the arrival of 1213. Almost 15 people I think showed up.
Here is to the New Year
I am not one to make new years resolutions. They are too easy to put on the back burner and forget. You then find yourself at the end of the year looking back and thinking, "Well, that was a waist." Setting goals that are reasonable and have room to improve in is a good idea. Leave it open ended with the opportunity to get more out of it. We just might find ourselves growing in ways we might not have other wise.
I am a person who likes and needs to have lists to remember to do things and when they have been completed, I cross them out. I also need to start looking at the things I do with my day when I am not working, figuring out what really is important and making more time for those things and spending less time doing those things that aren't beneficial to my life and important to me.
LESS: TV, social media, shopping.... etc
MORE: reading, spending time in the word, blogging about our life, spending time outside and exercising, quality time with friends
Time control! I don't do a ton of things, but what I do takes a lot of time.
Last year did hold a lot of life changes since it was the first whole year of being married. But I am looking back thinking that there were a good number of things on my list that I do wish I had already gotten started or finished. I should start conducting a calender, weekly and monthly with things to keep me working toward my goals. Taking baby steps is the only way.
I need to remember to not get caught up in the things that aren't important and jump gear for what is and follow through. It will be a work in progress, but I want to be standing on the edge of 2014 and say, "That was a productive year."
I will update the progress as the year goes on so you can see how its working out.
I am a person who likes and needs to have lists to remember to do things and when they have been completed, I cross them out. I also need to start looking at the things I do with my day when I am not working, figuring out what really is important and making more time for those things and spending less time doing those things that aren't beneficial to my life and important to me.
LESS: TV, social media, shopping.... etc
MORE: reading, spending time in the word, blogging about our life, spending time outside and exercising, quality time with friends
Time control! I don't do a ton of things, but what I do takes a lot of time.
Last year did hold a lot of life changes since it was the first whole year of being married. But I am looking back thinking that there were a good number of things on my list that I do wish I had already gotten started or finished. I should start conducting a calender, weekly and monthly with things to keep me working toward my goals. Taking baby steps is the only way.
I need to remember to not get caught up in the things that aren't important and jump gear for what is and follow through. It will be a work in progress, but I want to be standing on the edge of 2014 and say, "That was a productive year."
I will update the progress as the year goes on so you can see how its working out.
Reconnecting with friends
I still remember a lot of my childhood. Times as far back as when I was three. One part that still stands in my book as important was my friends and the times I had with them. Stephanie I met when I first moved to Santa Cruz (I was 4). We went to preschool together and conditioned all the way through high school together. Crystal I met in 3rd grade and same story with her as Steph. Sarah I became great friends with starting in high school because of running and she was already good friends with Steph and Crystal. The four of us are still good friends, but are feeling the effects of what life post HS brings. College in different towns or states, marriage or even starting a new family. We try to stay in touch as much as we can, but its hard. These are the friendships that endured because they had the opportunity.
What about the other friends? Most often times them moving away changed things. We didn't get the chance to cultivate a relationship as we got older.
Danielle. Dear sweet girl. I miss her and think of her fairly often. I still get tears in my eyes when I think too much about her. She didn't get the chance to live a life of her own, it was taken from her at the age of 9 from ovarian cancer. I remember her getting sick and was pulled out of school for a while so she could get better. They didn't know what she had for a while and after they did, it was hard to understand how it could have been. I was expecting her to come back to school at anytime, but got the dreaded and unexpected call saying she was gone.
Friends like Jodee and Shelby both moved away back in elementary. Both friends I loved getting to hang out with and missed very much when they were no longer around. I didn't know it until after Jodee moved away that she was gone. And when Shelby left I knew she was going, but didn't understand too much what her leaving would mean. Over the years I had thought of them both and missed the friendship that was no more.
Thanks to this thing we call the internet, we can connect with friends all over the world; we can keep in touch and reconnect with those we had been out of touch for so long. When I found my two "long lost" friends again I got to fill in some of those details that were blank for so long. I had no idea before where Jodee went and now I have gotten to see it. I knew where Shelby went, but I got to see that she stayed there. Both friends I have gotten to follow the little details that they have posted and pictures they put up, getting to see some of their past and now the current. Who they became and how/why.
My heart is filled with great joy to be able to get to know them now, from this point. I am so excited about this. Though we are still living no where near each other, we have a chance again to restart now, something new.
What about the other friends? Most often times them moving away changed things. We didn't get the chance to cultivate a relationship as we got older.
Danielle. Dear sweet girl. I miss her and think of her fairly often. I still get tears in my eyes when I think too much about her. She didn't get the chance to live a life of her own, it was taken from her at the age of 9 from ovarian cancer. I remember her getting sick and was pulled out of school for a while so she could get better. They didn't know what she had for a while and after they did, it was hard to understand how it could have been. I was expecting her to come back to school at anytime, but got the dreaded and unexpected call saying she was gone.
Friends like Jodee and Shelby both moved away back in elementary. Both friends I loved getting to hang out with and missed very much when they were no longer around. I didn't know it until after Jodee moved away that she was gone. And when Shelby left I knew she was going, but didn't understand too much what her leaving would mean. Over the years I had thought of them both and missed the friendship that was no more.
Thanks to this thing we call the internet, we can connect with friends all over the world; we can keep in touch and reconnect with those we had been out of touch for so long. When I found my two "long lost" friends again I got to fill in some of those details that were blank for so long. I had no idea before where Jodee went and now I have gotten to see it. I knew where Shelby went, but I got to see that she stayed there. Both friends I have gotten to follow the little details that they have posted and pictures they put up, getting to see some of their past and now the current. Who they became and how/why.
My heart is filled with great joy to be able to get to know them now, from this point. I am so excited about this. Though we are still living no where near each other, we have a chance again to restart now, something new.
The End of the World
I didn't post on that day, but I did think about it when I woke up that morning.
December 21st, the end of the world according to today's beliefs of what a past civilization's calender said. Making assumptions from something that was so simple as a calender. All calenders have an end, ours happens to be at the end of the year, their's ended here. They couldn't go on forever and they certainly had no idea that their civilization would end well before their calender.
This wasn't the only speculation made, not that the Aztecs had this in mind. Harold Camping has made his predictions numerous times and those days never turned out to be anything either. There have been plenty of other men and women to give dates and try to provide cold hard facts why it has to be this day or that.
People these days are so twisted and obsessed with trying to predict the end, that they are striking fear into the hearts of people who could just live life enjoying the day in front of them rather then what tomorrow could bring. Our world (US especially) is so self-consumed and polluted that we have fallen so far away from what is truly important that we have no way of being rescued. We are drowning ourselves in fear and telling ourselves lies.
Those of us who know better, know God's word. His love for us is so great and he is always here holding out his hand over the water hoping we will grab it. He is a God of wonder and mystery, He wants us to know and seek Him. The more we know Him, the more He has us dig for the next even more wonderful layer of who He is. Even though we can't see Him, He isn't transparent, He isn't going to just make things obvious even if they are. We are very stupid beings, but he gives us more credit then that. He knows we can't help ourselves when there is a mystery and so He makes Himself just that, but He leaves us clues. Pretty easy and obvious clues, but we expect it to be harder and somehow we have let the world take over our minds and souls and we loose faith and trust in Him. We need to walk in Faith, while being cautious. Some of us let the mystery drive our lives and it becomes a disease that drives us and twists us. The world is so filled with sin and we have been blinded to it. We live in the devil's play ground and we need to remember to take God's hand and be rescued every day.
(Sorry if any of that got confusing, it just flowed out of my mind and through my figures like this.)
God's book of clues as to who He is very big and He tells us, guides us with His words what He has planned for us. Matthew 24:36 reminds us that no matter what, only He the Father knows when the world will change according to his promise. We need to remember that if we know and love him, we have a life waiting with him that will put this life to shame 70 times over.
May we always remember that and live life today for him.
December 21st, the end of the world according to today's beliefs of what a past civilization's calender said. Making assumptions from something that was so simple as a calender. All calenders have an end, ours happens to be at the end of the year, their's ended here. They couldn't go on forever and they certainly had no idea that their civilization would end well before their calender.
This wasn't the only speculation made, not that the Aztecs had this in mind. Harold Camping has made his predictions numerous times and those days never turned out to be anything either. There have been plenty of other men and women to give dates and try to provide cold hard facts why it has to be this day or that.
People these days are so twisted and obsessed with trying to predict the end, that they are striking fear into the hearts of people who could just live life enjoying the day in front of them rather then what tomorrow could bring. Our world (US especially) is so self-consumed and polluted that we have fallen so far away from what is truly important that we have no way of being rescued. We are drowning ourselves in fear and telling ourselves lies.
Those of us who know better, know God's word. His love for us is so great and he is always here holding out his hand over the water hoping we will grab it. He is a God of wonder and mystery, He wants us to know and seek Him. The more we know Him, the more He has us dig for the next even more wonderful layer of who He is. Even though we can't see Him, He isn't transparent, He isn't going to just make things obvious even if they are. We are very stupid beings, but he gives us more credit then that. He knows we can't help ourselves when there is a mystery and so He makes Himself just that, but He leaves us clues. Pretty easy and obvious clues, but we expect it to be harder and somehow we have let the world take over our minds and souls and we loose faith and trust in Him. We need to walk in Faith, while being cautious. Some of us let the mystery drive our lives and it becomes a disease that drives us and twists us. The world is so filled with sin and we have been blinded to it. We live in the devil's play ground and we need to remember to take God's hand and be rescued every day.
(Sorry if any of that got confusing, it just flowed out of my mind and through my figures like this.)
God's book of clues as to who He is very big and He tells us, guides us with His words what He has planned for us. Matthew 24:36 reminds us that no matter what, only He the Father knows when the world will change according to his promise. We need to remember that if we know and love him, we have a life waiting with him that will put this life to shame 70 times over.
May we always remember that and live life today for him.
Christmas Past and Future
Isn't it funny how magical and mysterious Christmas is when we are young. That month leading up it is SO exciting and you can hardly wait, but the days seem so long and that month just ticks on for ever. Finally when it does arrive, there you are, laying awake in bed, hardly able to sleep because you know in only a few hours "Santa" will have come and you will be waking up to one of the craziest most fun days of the whole year. And it was just that. So fun, so full of happy times with family.
Here we are now.... summer comes to a close in August and stores are already decorating and selling stuff for Christmas. Even in summer there are big sales for "Christmas in July", I guess just another opportunity to sell stuff they couldn't get sold after the last holiday season. So essentially they are making the season leading up to Christmas last for months. But some how still, as we get older and time speeds up we are looking down the road of those months ahead of us still expecting it to go as it once did, but we wake up the next morning to find that all of a sudden its the new year and I have to take down all my decorations and pack them up.
I know what the true meaning of the season is and have great pride in it. Jesus' birth is so great to celibate! But its weird to think that something that used to hold so much magic and mystery to us has now lost that original feeling. I still try to fully make everything out of it that I can and look forward to the day we have kids and I can make it special and magical for them. Some how through their wonderment of the holidays I will get a renewed sense of feelings past. I want to embrace and provide the ability for our kids and to explore that wonder and build on to it in their own way. I want to embrace their ability for as long as I can to make those special times of childhood every bit exciting and wonder filled.
So here is to the years past and the ones still to come. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)