Simple & Sweet = Simply Sweet

Silly me! I wrote out my last posting before our actual anniversary! I knew Paul was planning on proposing before the end of the year... but I figured he would do it on a random Tuesday. That he would really catch me off guard!

Well... he did! In all of my thinking of Paul picking a random day to propose... I was caught off guard when he did! Sunday morning Paul was picking me up for church and as he came up the stairs I spied a card in hand. I had attempted to set up a ground rule the week before about no cards/gifts on our anniversary. Not that I didn't want them... don't get me wrong! But I felt that I wouldn't have enough time to get something together since I just got home from South Dakota. I opened up Paul's card and it was so sweet! The front said "Happy You and Me Day" - how great is that? The words he wrote were perfect and I of course teared up a bit. I gave him a big hug and that is when he said he had a present for me and out of nowhere there was a ring in his hand.

The next words out of his mouth were perfect: "I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?".

I cried. I laughed hysterically. And then I cried. And then I laughed some more. I was completely overwhelmed. Somewhere in between crying and laughing I said "Of course!!"

Thank you Lord for this wonderful man!

Happy Anniversary

One year ago today, God brought an Amazing man into my life and things just have not been the same ever since!

I don't think I've ever written out our 'How We Met' story. I think in the beginning of our relationship there was the uncertainty of knowing if this relationship would last and then as we moved to more steady ground, life was too busy to write things out. But as I take a moment to reflect on the past year of dating I thought it a good time to share the story.

Technically Paul and I met on match.com. I was somewhat bored with school not taking all of my time and felt that I had my student routine solidified. And I must admit I never actually thought I would meet someone. Paul joined match.com on a Sunday. He was home sicker than a dog and for some reason decided it would be a great idea. I think he wanted someone to come and take care of him ;)

There are two funny components to us meeting on match. First is the fact that we emailed each other at the same time. The same, exact, time. As soon as I hit send and went to my main page there was an email from Paul.

Secondly, even without match, our worlds were already colliding. We were both members of the same church and served in the same ministry area. We have plenty of mutual friends and are certain of at least one party we were both at attendance.

Our first date was at Kings Hardware in Ballard and it was perfect. We got there early for a Saturday night and had a booth seat. We sat for hours and talked. Paul kept having to tell me that I didn't have to be nervous. But I had a serious case of the first date jitters. That same evening was the first snowfall of December. Our waitress knew we were on our first date and she suggested that we step outside and check out the snowfall and that she would save our both. How perfect and serene to walk out to the stillness of the night and see the flurries fall.

Since that first date... we've been pretty much inseparable. I love this man fiercely and look forward to growing with him and learning more about him. He makes me laugh, and is known to make me cry (mostly when we argue about my driving). He challenges me to learn more about God, and encourages me to repent of sin. I have learned so much this past year about the character of God and His love for me as I interact with Paul.

Love, Loss, and Regrets

I am sitting at the airport now - up since about 3am and feeling that lack of sleep! 

Almost two weeks ago my dad called me just after 5am which is out of the ordinary. He was in tears, also out of the ordinary. His wife passed away the evening before. Mary had some health issues, but they had a good evening that last night. They had watched a movie, talked about thanksgiving plans and Mary wanted to get a start on her Christmas cards. Suddenly, as my dad told me, she started coughing. Then blood started pouring out. Mary stopped breathing but my dad was able to recessitate her, but only for a few moments -then her heart stopped.

I met Mary almost five years ago. I didn't like her. It wasn't anything about her - it would have been anyone that my dad was with. I was angry with my father. Angry at the hell he put us all through and then angry that he was happy. Over the past 5 years I never took the time to get to know Mary. If you read farther back on this blog - there were two years that I didn't even talk to my dad, let alone his wife.

Then things changed. I found forgiveness for my dad. I found grace in my heart to let go of the past. I found trust in God that he was redeeming history. 

This last January dad and Mary spent a couple days in Seattle. After that visit I realized and said to Paul that I liked Mary. She was good to my dad. I saw her in a new light.

I realize that my dad's health is not so great and I don't know how much time is left for him - especially after this loss. I would like no regrets when he passes. I would like to know that I loved him to my fulleset abilty. So I'm sitting at the airport waiting for a flight to South Dakota where Mary is from. There is a final funeral service on Tuesday and i'm going to stand beside my father to be the best support possible.

Ultimately i can only do so much which is really so very little. So I pray to the one God who has all power and all strength and can support my dad.

So here is to love, loss, and no regrets!

Wish list(s)

Is it ever too early to be wishing for something you can't quite afford? I didn't think so!

I love cooking and baking in the kitchen and yet GASP I don't even own an apron. It makes me feel kind of incomplete. Well, slight exaggeration but I've been eyeing aprons from anthropologie.com - so many great choices!

• Parisian Cafe Apron
• 3-D Toile Apron
• Twittering Teatime Apron

Books/Projects

• Wallpaper Projects
• Fun Gift Wrap (for projects)
• More great gift wrap
• Great Food Fast (cookbook)
• The Flavor Bible
• How to Eat Supper
• Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it
• Or perhaps another wish list

Just because...

• Sunshine Clips (I'm in love with these

And the ridiculous over-priced item that is beyond wishing:

• Canon Digital Camera (My camera is big, bulky,, and really... it was given without asking what I might want - and let's be honest... the canon digital cameras can do no wrong!) (ps Destiny don't tell mom I said this!)

More Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup - Delicious! I don't have any real pumpkin puree so honestly... I used the canned stuff at the store that is practically ready for pumpkin pie. So I'll be trying this recipe in the future - after I make my own pumpkin puree! Since I was using the canned stuff... I really couldn't play with the consistency - I think if I were doing it again with the same ingredients I would add the broth more slowly to see if that would make a difference in thickening things up!

Next up on the pumpkin agenda? Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes If I thought Pumpkin Black Bean Soup was the best of both worlds for me and Paul (he LOVES black beans) - well these cupcakes are the best of MY world... chocolate and pumpkin HELLO!!

PS - What I love about Fall

Pumpkin.

Obviously you may have gotten that from my last post - pumpkin beer!!

But I am obsessed with what else I can be doing with pumpkins! I am finding pumpkin recipes everyday that get me excited for a free minute to whip something up.

I have got the pumpkin pancakes down now... and made the royal mistake a couple weeks ago of not making enough and both Paul and I were looking at each other when we finished and I got back into the kitchen and whipped another batch. DELICIOUS!

Slight alterations (i.e. using what I had) ground nutmeg and canola oil worked great!

This title is dedicated to a very special man in my life.

The blog however, is not ;)! Kidding... sort of. Apparently though if I put a title on my blog it shows up with a cleaner look in the RSS reader that Paul is building.

Well with work and school and life it appears that I am up to blogging at least once a month or should I write down to once a month?

Anyways what has been going on? Well my mamasita came and visited for a weekend and it was wonderful! I've been harassing her for oh say 9 months about getting down to Seattle to meet Paul. It was a great weekend of the three of us hanging out and eating a LOT of good food! By the way if you have not checked out Bastille in Ballard... you are missing out!

Surprisingly enough much of my time has been spent doing... well... school work! I've got nine credits and generally I am trying to understand some complex statistical terms and get a lot of reading done! Good times...

In other news:

After a couple of years of praying and hoping to have reconciliation and closure with an old friend - that finally happened! God is good! I ran into the person a few weeks ago at church and again raised the idea of getting together. That happened last week and was very encouraging! There is a lot I wish I could redo as far as how I treated this person but so thankful for the work that God has done in my life since then.

One other big piece of news is that Paul and I will be switching church campuses. We're moving up to Lake City (slowly) and I think hope to be fully integrated (serving, attendance, and community) in the campus by the new year. We like Lake City because of the smaller campus, familiarity with the preaching pastor (hello he met AND remember us!), an older crowd, the intentionality of being in the community around them, and feeling that they want to see people growing - so it's more than a once a year retreat, it's investing in people throughout the year. And that is the soapbox!

In between it all there has been plenty of time to enjoy friends and eat great food, birthday celebrations and pumpkin beer. Yes... love my pumpkin beer!

Weekend in Review!

The premise here is that I've been wanting to take my camera around on a weekend and just document the different things that happen! I'm never quite on the ball to remember to charge and bring my camera... so this weekend I pulled out my iPhone to take the pictures! I figure I need to start somewhere. Enjoy!!

Friday night Paul and I made dinner for our friends Brad & Nell who welcomed sweet Asher into the world just three short weeks ago! After some baby time we went back to Paul's and enjoyed our share of the meal and tried this new wine I found which will be a repeat!

Saturday: We helped a friend move in the morning... I figured you didn't want to see any pictures of us huffing and puffing. Since it was such a gorgeous day we took Charlie to Greenlake to do a lap and enjoy the last of our Summer (even though Fall has already kicked in). Charlie got to burn off lots of energy and what a happy pup! Afterwards we picked up some sandwiches from QFC and then I took a nap. I woke up to start perusing homework for my second research class and Paul did what he always does on the computer - get stuff done! In the evening we met up with our friend Justin and had dinner at La Isla which is hands down mine and Paul's favorite restaurant! From there we moved to Kings and enjoyed the rest of the evening. The darker picture was me taking a picture of bathroom art... it says something like "Give away what you desire to receive." Profound eh?

Sunday: So we were on the go-go-go today! I served at the 9am service at Ballard... we hauled ourselves over the Lake City Campus for church... then ran right back over to Ballard for our pre-marriage class! Came home and pour Charlie had diarrhea... another picture I knew you didn't want to see! The last picture cracks me up because Paul has been on such a smoothie kick! He gets excited like a little kid at his latest concoction and even though I might already be freezing... I can't help but get excited too!