Instagram dump: The Netherlands and Belgium

We're back! And we had an awesome trip. I feel like every time E and I vacation together we get better at traveling in general and traveling with each other. There are so many stressers during out-of-country vacations that things can sometimes get tense and very un-vacationlike, but this trip went really smoothly and was so fun.

I"m going to do a series of posts on what we did and saw, but in the meantime, here's a little instagram recap from the trip (more than half of these photos are E's! he's much more talented than I) :-)

     
     
    
    
      
                  

We're off to The Netherlands and Belgium!

Last July E and I decided to start researching where to use my hard-earned airline miles for another big trip to Europe. We had to book nine months in advance in order to get seats on reward flights, so we went for it!

But then nine months went by really, really fast. April seemed SO far away that we suddenly panicked last month and got to planning. Traveling to Europe is a lot of work! But now we're off tomorrow to The Netherlands and Belgium, with a long weekend trip to see our dear friends in Milan, Italy on the way. My youngest sister and her husband are meeting us in Amsterdam halfway through the trip and we can't wait to see them and show them around Europe on their first trip out of the country.


Bruges, Belgium

I've been so down after our house robbery, but the past three days have been packed with good news after good news and now we're leaving on this trip! (and with our good friends are house-sitting, so I'm much less anxious to the leave the house.)

We would love to hear any suggestions on restaurants or sites off-the-beaten-path in the Netherlands or Belgium (Bruges and Brussels) if you have them.
 (And we just found out we'll be in Amsterdam on Queen's Day!)

theft.

The ironic thing was, E and I have always had this silly habit. Every time we walk into our house, especially if it's dark outside, we slowly unlock and crack open the door and call out "Robber? Are you there?" You know, to give the thief a chance to get away. The goofy little warning to the nonexistent thief makes me laugh away the nerves when arriving home alone.

Little did I know that joke would cease to be funny any more.

I would feel better if a window had been broken, but we still aren't sure where the thief came into our house, just that it was is in the middle of the day. And on April Fool's Day, no less. They made off with pricey, but [eventually] replaceable gadgets. Also, every single piece of my jewelry - except the wedding ring on my finger.

I can't really describe what I'm feeling. A lot of people have said being robbed must have felt violating. And yes, we feel violated, but it's not the most prevalent emotion.

I think what I'm still feeling, is something more like sad disbelief. Every morning I go back to my little bedroom nook by the window where all of my jewelry used to hang and I cannot believe that every last chain, bead, earring, watch is just...gone. I cannot believe someone could take all of those prized possessions (with no resale value!). The beloved things I had spent 10 years collecting - from a 16th birthday gift to my great-grandmother's heirlooms, and my expensive pieces like my mom's gold watch, my pearl necklace, and the earrings and bracelet I wore on my wedding day.

All I could think was: take my camera (they did), take the ps3 (they did), take the laptop (they did) but whhhyyy did you have to take my precious THINGS?

So while I'm still having a pity party, and finding out how emotionally attached I am to forever21 necklaces, I keep reading these verses to remind myself of the important, eternal things.

p.s. I'm grateful to Holley for sharing their house burglary experience and tips so I can feel a little more safe and prepared in the future. We can't replace any of the stolen items because we can't get renter's insurance - our house is apparently in a wildfire hazard zone.:-/

a few months' perspective

The weird thing for me about transitions and difficult phases in life is that it's really hard to talk or write about them while I'm in the midst of them. Unless it's that stream-of-consciousness, I'm-not-sure-where-this-is-going babble...and there is a place for that, but for me it's not usually on the internet, or even on paper. I can't stand to write when I don't know what I want to say. (which is probably why I'll never be a brilliant author). I don't know that I have good perspective even now, but the itch to write returned, so I did.

I guess I should back up a few months.
This past summer and fall were really great for E and I. I (we) felt blessed and really thankful that we were both employed, staying in San Diego area for the foreseeable future, and having more time together after a long four years of E in school. We had a little extra income and could start paying down loans and enjoying a dinner out every few weeks without feeling guilty. We got more involved at church and spent more time with friends.

But then winter crept in, and we started feeling like maybe something should be happening. E had a good, but temporary/low-skill job while he waits for a pastoral call and I was getting restless and discouraged in my own job. We wrestled back and forth with what our next step should be and I started to get pretty down. After a few months we decided that we shouldn't put our life on hold indefinitely just because E might get a call to a church soon across the country or across the world. We needed to live in the present. So if he gets a call - great! We'll evaluate it when it comes, and if necessary, pick up and move. But if it takes one year, or five - we don't want to be living a lifestyle of waiting and settling for less, because 'just in case'.

I was ready to progress in my career, so I started the (nerve-wracking, exhausting, discouraging, frustrating) endeavor of job hunting in a field that I haven't directly worked in, and have good, but limited experience in - web communications and social media. I'll save that saga for the next post.

Almost five years post-college, I feel like I'm just starting to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. And I'm starting to realize why people say that they love their thirties...because they're actually starting to figure out what they want in life. (I want to be thirty and past this stage!) But I'm thankful for God's Word telling me WHO I am - a redeemed and beloved child of God - even as I struggle through the mess of growing up and getting older.

for old times' sake

I have few words to wax eloquent about the year gone by or the year to come. I had great intentions this month to spend time in reflection through WEverb12, and failed at that too.

But I wanted to get back here just to write. Just to remember what it feels like to sit down and record what I am thinking at a moment in time.

We just got home from 10 days back in Chicago with my family. We're emotionally and physically exhausted, but SO thankful for the opportunity to have been able to spend so much time with our nearest [furthest] and dearest. A few highlights were going to my sister's ultrasound and seeing my little 2 inch long niecephew kicking and rolling around, looking through old slides with my grandparents getting to glimpse into their life when they were my age, and taking my youngest sister out to celebrate her 21st birthday.

my grandparents circa 1957

I'm so thankful for our visit there, and so thankful to come home.  Calling California 'home' has been a long transition, but every time I leave, coming back feels more settled and more right.

In a dozen ways 2012 was an unexciting year for us. But it a thousand little ways, it was a blessed year and it was a gift. I don't know what 2013 holds - maybe the same things, maybe drastic changes - but it's enough for me to know that I don't have to know. Our plans are in His hands.

Happy New Year!

[Listen] staying in the moment

Staying in the moment is something I think most people struggle with, and I am no exception. I sometimes wish I had been born in a different era - one that allowed more reflection and fewer distractions. Technology can be so invasive (I guess we make it so), and the fast pace of life around me forces me to constantly be looking forward instead of looking at the present. (That and the fact that people are just always asking - "what's next?").

 For me, staying in the moment this year has been leaving my camera in its bag; not seeing all of my experiences through the lens of a camera, but just enjoying the view from here. It's amazing the perspective you get when the pressure is off to capture the moment in photo. Sometimes, things are best left to memory. This doesn't make for good blogging, Christmas cards, or photo books. But it has made an impact on how I experience life, travel, and special occasions. And I hope it will make an impact on how I write - describing my experiences with words instead of visuals.

I'm also trying to stay in the moment at work. It's been a restless few months and really hard for me to focus on tasks at hand. I've been a day dreamer (and, to be honest, lazy), but not being in my ideal career is not an excuse to become apathetic. I've also discovered (over and over again) that multi-tasking makes for frustration and feeling (being!) unaccomplished. I'm not the only one who thinks so. So a goal for 2013 is to stay in the moment at work. (here's some advice I'm hoping to implement)

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