Looking Up

We've had these gorgeous flowers blooming all down our street the last couple of weeks, and I've been dying to get out and try some pictures of them. Today, I made it out and enjoyed trying out our new camera and a couple of new styles. Tell me what you think!

The good, the bad, and the rest of it

Yes, I'm still here - just not being inspired to post much these days. Sorry! I've been caught up in job applications, summer planning, itching crazy rashes, etc. etc. etc.

The good news is (da da dada): I passed my licensure exam!! Another check mark toward graduating this summer and becoming full-fledged.

The bad news is (du du du): Jon's leaving me for 8 weeks this summer to travel to China/Japan. Now, I know, that may seem like good news to some, but it is bad for 3 very important reasons. 1. That's a very long time to be apart from my love. 2. Going to China and Japan is so totally cooler than going to Ephraim for the summer (no offense, Kaitlyn and Christian). 3. What was the third? what was it, what was it? (don't you hate it when that happens?!) But, all is well, and I'll be honest, I'm secretly kind of excited (emphasis on "kind of") to be able to spend some quality time with the sibs.

Lest this become all about me, though -- do you want to know why Jon's going to China and Japan this summer? Well, let me tell you: he's going on an all expenses paid trip to study the exotic subject of Paleography (don't ask, I don't really know) in China for 2 weeks, then 6 weeks in Tokyo brushing up on his Japanese (answer: because he needs to know it to do research). It really is a great opportunity -- just don't expect me to smile when I say goodbye.

A parting photo of our latest outing - to the Jelly Belly factory with my old friend (Mrs.) Wendy Sue. For some reason we have a tendency to move near famous factories that you can take tours of. Don't feel bad, though, you don't have to live in California to experience the joys of Mr. Jelly Belly... you can take the virtual tour and it's like you were really there (minus the jelly bean shaped pizza for lunch)!

We love Cambria! (Cambria, CA, that is)

We've returned from our spring break adventure - had a lovely time and many adventures. Not everything went exactly according to plan (a family of raccoons is currently gloating over that fact), but, upon some reflection, that is as it should be and we had lots of fun (take that, thieving raccoons!) Here are some pics to enjoy:

Happy Birthday, Jon!

My own Mr. Lincoln turns 27 today (which means I'm only 27, since I've decided I'm only as old as my husband!) We're turning it into a week-long celebration, starting with a BBQ yesterday with friends and tomorrow heading off on a spring break adventure down the California coast. We'll be seeing Carmel, Big Sur, scenic Hwy 1, and my own home town of Cambria, CA. I'm very excited, and not to worry, I finally decided on and purchased a fantastic new camera which we will be debuting for the trip (pictures will follow!)

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln!

For those of you who don't know, this year marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth! Since Jon is such a fan of Lincoln, we've been making extra efforts this past week to remember our 16th president. There is a special website set up to the Lincoln Bicentennial, with trivia, news, Lincoln's speeches, and other random stuff. We also found this crazy mosaic of Lincoln done all with pennies (link the picture and you can see the video making of it).

The other thing we did to celebrate Lincoln this year was to have a Lincoln meal with some of Lincoln's favorite foods, Fricaseed Chicken and Mary Todd Lincoln's White Almond Cake. This is actually our second annual Lincoln meal, and we're thinking we'll make it a family tradition.

I love my husband

Last night Jon and I went and played racquetball together for FHE. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am horrific when it comes to any sort of sport, and that includes racquetball. Because I am really bad, I really don't typically like sports all that much and avoid them at nearly all costs. However, one of the only exceptions to that is racquetball. I think it's the peow of the ball against the wall (come on, if you've ever been on a racquetball court you know exactly what I'm talking about!) that gives me a certain thrill. So, yes, I enjoy racquetball even though I am not good at it.
Even though I like playing it, though, I still do not like being bad at it. Therefore, in order to keep enjoying it, I play a modified version of the game that basically consists of throwing out any sort of structure or rules, and just hitting the ball against the wall to the best of my ability (1 bounce, 2 bounces, even 5 bounces on the floor, as long as I hit the back wall it's all the same to me). There are no points, there is no competition, it's purely for the chance to move around and hear the ball hit the back wall as often as I can get it there.
This brings me to my point of why I love my husband so much. Now, most men are not motivated to play sports for the entertainment of knowing that they have gotten their workout in for the day, nor even for the chance to hear some silly sound (though I'm sure they still get a secret thrill out of this also). We all know they play sports for that manly competitive feeling they get. It is just not as entertaining otherwise. Jon is no different -- he'll brag about his exploits on the basketball court just as quickly as the next guy. And I know that playing me at racquetball, with my total rejection of any points or rules, is at times totally and completely boring to him. But what I love is that he plays with me anyway. He plays with me, and he congratulates me on my good hits as if we were really playing for points, and he makes me feel like he's having a good time too. And so, as we played our racquetball game last night -- and laughed together about our bad hits, and congratulated each other for our good ones -- I just couldn't help but smile to myself and think again how much I love my husband!

Asian Art Museum

One of Jon and my new year's resolutions this year was to get out and visit more of the many sites we have around us here in California. So far this year, we've been doing pretty well, and yesterday we headed up to "the city" to visit the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Of course, Jon's been wanting to see this since we moved here, and there is a big exhibit on Afghanistan that is ending this month -- so we decided to get up there before it ended.

The museum is pretty amazing, with exhibits ranging from South Asia to East Asia as well as some of Persia and West Asia. Given the huge area and history which that encompasses, and in comparison to many other Asian museums, it's not a huge collection of Asian art. It is a very well-designed collection, though. Going through the museum feels like an introduction to and review of Asian culture and history through art. The size helps keep it from being overwhelming, and it is designed in a way that allows you to really take in the big picture of all that is Asia. For me, it was great to go through and learn more details about so many of the things that I have been introduced to by Jon and from our visit to China this summer.

We've started compiling a list of "things to do" around here for those who come to visit, and this will certainly be added to the list for those more culturally-minded visitors.

p.s. There's a great story (click on the picture for the link) about the piece pictured above (from the Afghan exhibit), for anyone interested.