Quite the year…

2007 was really an amazing year. My first move away from my hometown, my first wedding anniversary, and the beginnings of a lot of long-held dreams coming to pass. There were also a few low moments, like the robbery and regular life difficulties. All in all, though, I really love my life right now.

I’m looking forward to what this next year is going to bring. My band, Ladder, just released our first single online at www.myspace.com/jladdermusic and we’re in the process of getting CD copies pressed. A large local radio station (Energy 92.7 San Francisco) messaged us on Myspace to ask for a copy of our songs – which might be getting air-play soon! How awesome is that?!? The guy from the station is even going to send in our tracks to possibly be included on a compilation CD put out by the station.

What I’m most excited about at the moment is that Nathan and I have finally found a church that we really feel is the best fit for us. It’s alive spiritually and a very vibrant community. We had made some friends at the other church we had been going to, but it didn’t feel like the right fit. This morning we went to Living Hope Community Center in Emeryville, which is actually pastored by an old friend from Santa Barbara. Both Nathan and I have been feeling a bit depressed on a spiritual level and not being truly connected to a local church community has left us a bit worse for the wear. I know a lot of our Aqueous friends that we talked to when we visited over Christmas have kept us in our prayers about this and I’m very thankful.

Both Nathan and I felt touched spiritually at this morning’s service and God just spoke right to our hearts and we knew before we even talked about it that this was the place for us – it had that fundamental element we were looking for. And wouldn’t you know it that they are currently in need of help on the sound team and need vocalists on the worship team? God’s perfect timing I tell ya!

LHCC’s theme this year is growing as sons and daughters of God through discipleship in Jesus. I think what Nathan and I were missing was that clear focus on learning to be a true follower of Jesus, not just how to be a Christian. Even though that simply sounds like a difference in semantics, there is a real, deep difference. I’m so excited about joining with this faith community on this journey.

I still have a couple weeks left of break, although I’m sure they’re going to go by MUCH too quickly. I’m hoping to finish getting things caught up at home so I can start the semester off on the right foot. I’ve had enough of a break at this point that I’m ready to get some stuff done and get things a little more settled in at home (a feat which would be a little easier if someone else wasn’t home so often as well, haha!).

So far I haven’t been sitting on my butt, though. I’ve been doing a fair amount of cooking. I’ve made two batches of soup, most of which I froze in jars so I can have meals to quickly prepare. I’ve also done some baking (cornbread, banana bread), and that’s been pretty fun.

And of course, I’ve been knitting and crocheting! Here are a few FO’s:

Crocheted Bath Poof out of Sugar ‘n Cream Cotton

Matt’s Hat out of Cotton-ease – Christmas Gift

Mom’s Felted Bowl out of Crystal Palace Taos (two strands together) – Christmas

Veronica’s Fetching out of Cascade Cash Vero – Christmas

I’ve got another FO, but I don’t have a picture yet.

Here are a few in progress using techniques I haven’t really done before, or haven’t done much of…

Luna Moth Shawl out of Misti Alpaca Handpainted “Purple Pleasure”

Annetrelac Socks (Entrelac technique) out of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino

(from Loop & Leaf – a new Awesome Local Yarn Store in Santa Barbara).

I also have some new stash yarn that I’m excited about…most of it has been cast on the needles to become something, but here a little yarn porn for you yarnies who read this

Crystal Palace Panda Wool (Bamboo, Wool, Nylon) to become “Citrine Socklets” – Purchased at K2Tog

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock “Black Purl” – Purchased at Knit & Pearl Boutique in Santa Barbara

I think that’s enough for now!

 

One whole year

Tomorrow is our first anniversary! I can’t believe it has been a year already. It has gone by SO fast. Many people say the first year is the hardest to get through, but I think ours was a really good first year. It hasn’t been full of sunshine and roses, but we both have grown a lot and come to know each other so much better than I could have thought. And we still have many more years to go even deeper!

Marriage is really an amazing and sacred thing. Before getting married, I used to read anything I could get my hands on that had to do with marriage, including advice columns specifically for married couples. I wanted to make sure that I would be prepared to be the best wife I could possibly be. But I never really understood it until actually getting married to Nathan. It’s a lot of sacrifice and it requires you to put someone else before yourself, but the rewards are pretty cool!

I think the oddest thing has been that I have come to understand myself better too. My relationship with Nathan has opened my eyes to both good and bad things I didn’t see in myself before. I have more confidence in some ways, and more humility in other ways.

It really is amazing to me how God can bring two people together and they become a greater force as a team than they could be by themselves. Marriage has made me see more of who God is as well, and what His relationship with His people is really like.

The more I come to know Nathan and the deeper our love grows, the more I understand who God is and how He loves us. I think that’s the most amazing thing about marriage. That and the fact that our relationship is designed to reflect that to the people around us as well.

I love you Nathan! It’s been a great year

 

Crackyarn, Clapotis, and the Kiss

Evidence of my newfound addiction. I saw the update on K&P’s blog yesterday, stopped by after picking up Nathan from work and bought a hank, once I got home, I cast-on for a skinny Clapotis.

PS: It is actually “Indigo”

I’ve also had some other projects going on lately. This is a puzzle version of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. We bought it over a year ago (maybe even two years now) and never got started on it. This is what we’ve gotten done in the last week (and we weren’t watching TV or movies all last week). IT IS RIDICULOUSLY HARD. I didn’t think it would be this difficult. I’ve been working on it on my lunch breaks and we’ve both been working on it in the evenings.

It’s 1000 pieces (there are actually some in a box off to the side, so that isn’t even all of them) and 26×17 inches.

This is the Home Resource Binder I recently put together. A reference guide to our family, if you will.

Notice the lovely decorations instead of the Ugly Black Bar. Hee.

 

CRACK!!!!

Yes, that is right folks, I am now the proud owner of my first hank of what is affectionately known as “Crack Yarn” around these parts. I got a pretty purpley-blue kettle-dyed color (I think it’s Marine, but I’ll have to check later) from Knit & Pearl for $12.50.

Julie wound it into a ball for me using the ball winder and swift, and Nathan was positively fascinated. He turns to me and says “Why don’t you get one of those?” [referring to the swift and ball-winder]*faint* I love this man!!

Julie then says “Do you have an anniversary or birthday coming up soon?” Why YES I DO! Ha! Anniversary in three months, birthday in four. Oh yeeeeaaaahh. Maybe I will end up with my own swift and ball-winder (or at least the winder). That would be awesome.

So later after my small group at Starbucks in Goleta, I called Chauntel to get suggestions for what to make with it. After stalking her at Kmart (hee), she suggested the currently popular chevron scarf. Very good idea. But then I got home and realized that I’ve been wanting to make a Clapotis, and what better yarn to use? (I’ll still make a chevron, though. It’s such a fun design)

I think I’m going to try to make a “skinny” Clapotis. We’ll see how well that works. I’ve already cast on for it, so if I need to buy another hank to finish it, well, I suppose I’ll just have to do that then won’t I! hehehehehe….

(I’ll take pictures and post later).

Oh, and speaking of crack, Nathan is teaching me how to play Counter-Crack…I mean…Counter-Strike. I am getting my badass self ON! At the end of our late-night terrorist adventures, I’d been killed about, oh…20 times, after making a measly 2 kills. Hopefully I’ll get better once I start playing before 11:30pm without Aunt Flo pestering me.

I am stealing the DomiKnitrix’s name for my CS alias cause Nathan agreed that it was awesome. We’ll see how long this lasts. If I get frustrated (or Nathan gets frustrated with me commandeering the computer, hehe), then I’ve always got my crack yarn.

 

I am a blog addict!

Yup, I have created another blog on top of the two I update regularly.

http://nathanandmarieke.wordpress.com

I designed it to keep family and friends updated on what’s up as Nathan and I get ready and move to San Francisco. I’m gonna start by giving info on our preparations (apartment hunting, visiting the schools and whatnot) and then what comes up after we move. Hopefully both of us will update it, depending on what’s going on.

(I also have an option for people who want to get the info via email if that’s easier for ya.)

I will still be regularly updating this blog and “Raining Grace” through the summer, and hopefully beyond since these are more personal ones.

 

So many happenings!

I feel like all my posts lately have been “updates”. This one is a long time coming (I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve started over the last couple weeks, but then not managed to finish and get posted).

There’s so much going on, I’m finding it hard to limit what I say without getting overwhelmed by all the details. I’ll try to make this short (HA! Who am I kidding?!).

School

I finally got my official Acceptance Letter from SF State (after a Notice of Denial scare a couple weeks ago…). Technically I am “Conditionally Accepted”, but they just need to get my final transcript for my current classes at SBCC (which I just took care of last night). *whew*

I had issues (big surprise) with the math placement test….they never got my registration form (I suspect it got lost in their offices or something because I faxed it to the right place), so I had to take a chance and try to walk-in to take the exam. Which meant I had to be there way before check-in at 8:30am (I was there at 7am). I did get in to take it, so that was good! And we stayed at Nathan’s grandparents’ house in Oxnard the night before so we wouldn’t have to drive as far. It was so nice to see them and go out to dinner. We’ve never spent time with them without other family around. They are so cute and still in love after 40ish years of marriage!

Also, I found out that I’ll need to go up to SF State for an orientation in mid-July for priority registration, advising, etc. Of course it smack dab between when we go up to finish up stuff for Nathan’s school and when we’re planning on moving AND in the middle of the week. I found a cheap flight out of LAX ($108.80 RT), though, so I’m just gonna fly up the night before, do the orientation thing, and fly back that night.

So, everything is on track. All I have to do is sort out financial aid, go to the orientation and register for classes! I’m in the home stretch…woot!

As far as SBCC is concerned, I’m nearly done! I turned in all my Work Experience assignments last night, now I just have choir rehearsals tonight and tomorrow night, then performances Saturday (7pm) and Sunday (3pm) at First United Methodist Church on Anapamu (in case you want to come *grin*)

Financial Aid

I’m waiting to hear if I have gotten a Cal Grant or not (should know next week), and I’ve got a couple music scholarship apps out. I’m auditioning for one later this month, and I’ll hopefully hear back about the Santa Barbara Foundation music scholarship in a couple weeks.

I’ve also got to get back on Fastweb.com and apply for the miscellaneous scholarships they’ve got on there.

I’m a little nervous about managing the cost of both of us being in school. I’d like to live with as little debt as possible. I’m really (trying to) trust God to take care of us. I know He will, but I still can’t help but be a little nervous about it at times. Hopefully I can find a flexible job (I really cannot figure out what type of job I should try to go for…I’m gonna have a relatively big commute, so I want to find a job either on campus, or close to home and it will need to be flexible due to school and performances etc).

If I get a Cal Grant, then we might be able to live off the federal student loans plus part-time work, and not have to take out more loans (at least for my school – Nathan’s is much more expensive, though).

Fiber projects

The bag for my mom is complete! I haven’t gotten around to taking pictures yet (the lighting has been bad by the time I get around to it), but it turned out well. I just need to figure out what to put in it. It may end up being gifted by itself cause I don’t have time to shop before Saturday and we’re probably going to celebrate early due to the crazy weekend (choir performances, sisters’ work, etc).

I’ve also been working on the black tank-top I’m designing. I’ve started the waist decreases (I actually started a little early cause the yarn stretches more than I thought) and it looks like it’s going to work out pretty well as long as I can get the short-row bust shaping done right. I’ve just been trying it on every once in a while as I go to check shaping.

Food!

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately, here are some pictures and links:

Oatmeal Bread (Yummy recipe!)
I’ve made this a couple times now. It just needs to be given plenty of time to rise.

Easy and quick recipes that I use regularly:
Oven Baked Brown Rice
Oven-Baked Basic Polenta

(These are my bulk food purchases and a few Farmers Market veggies: organic flour for bread, brown rice for recipe above, and white rice that I used to rice pudding)

Oh, and I shelled peas for the first time a couple weeks ago – I felt very domestic *grin*. They are SO much better than frozen ones! I did it while my first batch of bread was baking.

Moving

It’s only about 2 1/2 months now till we move. I keep saying that “once school is over I’ll start working on [de-cluttering, packing, getting together with people, etc]“. Well, school is over after Wednesday of next week! The reality of moving is going to be staring me in the face and I don’t want to be rushed at the last minute.

But I’m getting REALLY excited about all the possibilities! We’re going to go up to the East Bay area at the beginning of July to take care of some administrative stuff for Nathan’s school, then hopefully find a place and put down a deposit (I really don’t want to have to go up there again to look for a place). Later that month I’ll be flying up for the orientation, and then we’re gonna move up.

I’m gonna try to make June the big “push” month to get everything in order and start packing up the stuff we don’t need till we get there.

So that’s my big huge update!

 

Too much craziness…

So…things have been a little nuts lately. The last two Thursdays were, um, *interesting* to say the least and unfortunately made me miss knit group.

Last week
Last Thursday, I got a call from my stepmother-in-law saying that she and Nathan’s dad wanted to come up for a visit THAT WEEKEND! Mind you, this was their FIRST visit to see us since we got married and since we’ve been living together, so this was a big deal. I stayed home and cleaned like crazy Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday morning before they came up.

The good news is that we had a great visit with them, they liked the dinner I made for them Saturday night,and the apartment is the cleanest it’s ever been! We went to the Earth Day Festival on Sunday and after they left I spent five hours hanging out with Suzanne and Oliver. It was great!

This week
First, I had a long week, a not-so-great day at work (my co-worker has been out most of the last two weeks – ugh), and I think PMS is starting to hit me. THEN, I go home and there’s a letter from San Francisco State waiting for me! I think “Yay! It’s my official acceptance letter”. I open it and it says in bold: NOTICE OF DENIAL

So NOT cool! I think *I* was in denial that it was actually true because of the reason stated (an issue I’d already talked to a higher-up about). Anyway, that was the last straw. In the car on the way home, Nathan had noticed that I was much edgier than normal and seemed like I was really overwhelmed, so he suggested canceling all potential plans and just going out to dinner and then go home and watch a movie or something. After I opened that letter, I was glad we chose to do that.

(Note: I called the person I’ve been talking to – the “higher-up” – and he said the letter was sent in error and that the person who sent it didn’t pay attention to the flags or notes in my file – HELLO PERSON!! Wake up! Sheesh….)

THEN, as we’re leaving the restaurant, I get a call from my mom who informs me that a good friend of mine was missing for about three days and it turns out she had a mental breakdown in a restaurant, the cops were called, and she’s at the County Psychiatric Department! No one had been in to see her except her brother, but she was asleep so he didn’t even see her face (they told him not to wake her up). So, I called someone who had more info on what exactly was going on and got the details on how to go visit her. Apparently the particular type of mental illness she’s dealing with that caused the episode runs in her family on her mom’s side (nearly all the women on that side have it), and it onsets at her age.

I called the Department this morning and I’m going to try to see her tonight during visiting hours and possibly tomorrow as well.

*whew*

To end on a happier note, Nathan and I have been married for 8 months as of yesterday! Yippee!

 

Spring Break!

This week is spring break for me and I am OH SO HAPPY about that. Although I can’t really sit back and chill *too* much since I still have plenty of homework to do, scholarships to apply for, life to catch up on, yadayadayada. But at least I don’t have to go anywhere in the evenings.

This past weekend was a bit of a break, though, since we went down to San Diego and just hung out for the weekend before celebrating Passover last night. It was a really nice trip and we had a good time with the in-laws. We even played pool at a local pool hall on Saturday night! For some reason, that struck me as both amusing and very special. I guess it’s partly cause I can’t really imagine doing that with my parents! Hee. Not that they wouldn’t be willing to, just not as likely to happen, I guess.

I also managed to get a decent amount of knitting done. Saturday, after playing pool, Nathan went to hang out with one of his best friends and I grabbed a movie and went home and just knit and watched Le Divorce. Not the best movie (it couldn’t seem to decide whether it was a chick flick or a drama), but it was good for knitting! And I snuck in knitting whenever I could and carried it with me everywhere (not that I always pulled it out, but I had it just in case….very handy when I got stuck at his friend’s house while they played video games *sigh*).

Even with all that time I had to knit (and knit I did), I have about 4-5 inches done. I don’t even want to know how many hours this thing is going to take me. But I am determined. I brought other projects with me, but the tank (projet du mois) was all I worked on. I suppose I could think of it this way, if I weren’t working in the round, I’d have about 9 inches done! There. That made me feel better.

Here’s a pic:

 

The future

For some reason, today on my way home for lunch I was imagining what my life might be like at different points in the future. Where Nathan and I will be, what kind of house we’ll have, how many kids, what I’ll be doing, etc. I think part of what prompts this thinking in my mind is admiring all the nice houses along upper Santa Barbara and Anacapa Streets that I see every day on my way to and from work.

I wonder what difficulties we’ve gone through at those specific times and what twists and turns we’ve navigated. I wonder what our kids will be like, what our careers and hobbies will be and how much they will overlap. It’s interesting to think about.

5 years

Nathan and I are most likely still in the Bay Area, although we could be anywhere at this point. We’ve had one kid and are either considering TTC for #2 or I’m already pregnant with #2. Nathan’s got a good job as a sound tech and has an album or two out of his own stuff. He’s learned to produce his music live and does some occasional shows. We’re saving up for our first home, or for a bigger one if we purchased a “starter”. I’m a stay-at-home mom, but I’ve got an album or two circulating and play some local shows in the Bay Area. I might be on a break from playing shows, though, depending on whether I’m pregnant and how far along. We have a *real* piano and I am continually writing songs, whether or not I’m performing at that point. I might teach voice lessons on the side.

We’re connected to a church community and I lead or sing in the worship ministry and Nathan leads or helps the audio team. We frequently have people over to our home for Bible studies, dinners, and just to hang out.

10 Years

The kids are in school during the day (with maybe one preschooler at home), so I’m able to focus on writing more music and performing. I might even occasionally go on small tours, but my first priority is my family. I might still be, or start, teaching voice lessons.

We’ve definitely purchased a home at this point, or are renting a nice one if the area is more expensive.

Nathan is well-established in his career and is continually doing new and creative things. He sometimes does tours doing live versions of his music.

30 years

Our kids are out of college and off on their own (the eldest would be about 26). Maybe a couple are married, or in serious relationships. We might even have a grandkid or two (now that’s a weird thought!). We’re very active in our church and mentor young couples who are engaged, or are seriously thinking about engagement. Our home is open to people who need a place to stay and we frequently have people over just to love them and encourage them.

Our musical creativity is still alive and well and we’ve collaborated on a few projects together – maybe even toured together. We might not be monetarily rich, but we’ve gained a lot of richness in other areas of our lives and we’ve given to other people, most importantly in terms of time and energy.

Hopefully others will see us as people they can go to when they need encouragement or wisdom, as people who love others sacrificially, as people who follow Jesus with all their hearts and have shown it in their actions. Hopefully others will see us as examples to follow – in our relationships with God, in our marriage, in the way we’ve raised our kids, and in our relationships with others.

We’ll still have a lot of life ahead of us, and new or renewed dreams and pursuits, but all of it will be covered with the maturity we’ve gained through God’s work in our lives.

 

So scary!

Yesterday afternoon, there was a fatal stabbing (gang-related) right new Nathan’s work.

http://www.independent.com/online_onlys/2007/03/stabbing_on_state_street.html

One kid (15 yo) died and a 14 yo allegedly killed him. Another kid went to the hospital after getting hit with a bat, but was released.

When I went to drop off the car and drop in to say hi before I took the bus up to school, but I couldn’t go in to Kinko’s because his store was on “lock-down” since they were looking for weapons (there was an officer blocking the back entrance).
The street was blocked off from the intersection above Nathan’s work and below for two blocks. The stabbing (gang war really cause there were a lot of kids involved) happened just down the block from where Nathan works.

I was SO freaked out that I couldn’t go in to see my husband (he waved from the window, though I couldn’t go near it) and I felt really emotionally upset that he was stuck there with all that going on and I couldn’t do anything…and that I had class to get to. I didn’t know much of what had happened at the time, and I was so worried! I knew that he would be fine…but the fact that happened so close to him. And it’s so rare for stuff like that to happen in my town!! I nearly started crying on the bus.

Thankfully, he was let out of work early (people could leave, but not come back in, and he was working on jobs, etc), so he was on his way home before I got off the bus.