aloha!

ever thought it would be nice to move to hawaii??  {I’ll just assume your answer is yes, whether you’ve been there or not}  well, guess who is moving to the tropical island of oahu.

nope.  wrong.  not me. 

next guess???  it’s my sister!  yay for her.  boo for us.  I already have to deal with a 7 hour drive between her current residence and my own.  now I have to account for a 5 hour flight {driving no longer optional} and a time change.  when she I’ll be waking up, she’ll still be sleeping.  see how this might cause some difficulty?  {forgive me for being selfish, but come on!}

all in all, I’m super excited for my big sisty.  in just 3 weeks, she will walk down one last isle {her first led to her high school diploma, the second led to her bachelors degree, the third led to her husband, the fourth led to her masters degree – how many isles can you walk down in a lifetime?  although, I think elizabeth taylor still has her beat}.  anyways, this one will lead her to her PhD.  her doctorate.  the little 5 foot 2 inches of knowledge has conquered the world of academia in the highest way possible.  such a brainiac.

and 3 days after she officially become Dr. Kristy Collins, she hops on a plane with her hubby, also known as Dr. Collins, to fly away to the land of sandy beaches, tropical fruits, and warm water.  I guess 28 years of schooling deserves the change in pace that hawaii will soon provide.

all that to say, this weekend she is coming to visit ME {the fact that the rest of the family will be seen on her trip up here does not take away from the fact that I am convinced she is coming to see me and me alone} just one more time before I watch her fly away. 

yes, we are both aware of the fact that we have abnormally large mouths.

and her “sister/maid of honor” pic is way better than the one my photographer got.  lame.    

betch ya didn't know ...

that we moved.  yup, it's true.  i know i've been a little absent from the world o' blogging, but i'm going to use the move as my primary excuse.  and maybe a lack of interesting things to say/write/update.

it all happened pretty fast and turned out to be a great thing.  one thursday morning, i received a phone call from our landlord {i.e. my grandfather}.  he hesitated as we stumbled through his request to ask us to move out of the place i have loved so dearly ...  my entire life.   well, it was time.

we had already made the decision that we needed to move ... blame the gas guzzlers for the decision.  it was far and a lot of work, but we loved the opportunity we had to live up there ... 10 acres, garden, orchards, and lots of memories.  but alas, my grandpa made the difficult decision {aside from our personal decision to move} to sell the beautiful homestead we call The Ranch.  being 83 and the primary caretaker of his dear wife, he just couldn't keep up two houses at a time.  it's not on the market yet, but within the month, strangers will have the opportunity to tour the home that encapsulates nearly every vivid childhood memory i have.  ahhhhh, i'm trying not to think about it.

moving on.  we found a townhome perfectly located near church, friends, and work.  with a yard.  fit for a dog.  wow.  and a garage.  fit for a contractor.  {ok, maybe it's a little small for a full blown contractor, but it's still near perfect for now}  the place is great and has everything we need.  it's close to everything, which means less driving.  less time sitting strapped to your vehicle.  more time sitting across from each other eating a relaxing homemade meal.  needless to say, we are in heaven.  we can actually take naps on sunday afternoons.  we can do laundry before small group.  we can play with the pup before dinner.  we are in heaven.  {i think i already said that}

we still get up at the same time in the morning, which means we have time to make breakfast together.  share what we are reading with each other.  we eat healthier too.  MUCH healthier.  i have been making smoothies every morning {full of the protein power Erik got out of the gym when he tried cancelling our membership - notice the work, "tried"}.  here is proof of our newfound love of the smoothie:

My new favorite thing ever.  greek yogurt.  honey flavored.  perfect smoothie filler.

i know, when i said i moved, the first thing you wanted to see pictures of was my blender and random contents from my refrigerator.  i totally read your mind. 

in much less exciting news, i'll try to post pics of the new digs soon.

hi, I’m julie and I live in sunny california

finally.

I may not live in sunny southern California, but I do live in California.  even if I do call the northern region my home {although it’s a long state and I’m not even that far north}, we are still accustomed to a significant amount of sun come june.  and I’m sorry that many of my posts seem to be occupied by the weather, be it an over-abundance of something we’re not used to – but think about it, what else have we got here if not our weather {and mountains and ocean within just a few short hours} – a bunch of crazies {mind you, that’s coming from my Christian-relatively-conservative perspective, if you haven’t noticed}. 

aaaannnddd, I digress.  today is day 2 of nice weather.  soon to be hot weather.  bring.it.on.  I haven’t heard so much whining from grown adults in a long time.  well, at least on a topic that doesn’t have to do with politics.  april showers brought may flowers … and then more rain.  too much in fact, that the flowers couldn’t even be appreciated.  it was really quite tragic, if you ask me.  

all that to say, I’m gonna enjoy me some sun.  not sure when, but eventually I will break away from the midst of the desk that establishes me as a “career woman”, in order to enjoy that huge light source we call the sun.

I promise, I won’t complain about the heat until at least September, when it shouldn’t be here anymore.

scratch that …

scratch the whole “it’s spring and the sun is out” post.  because it is definitely not out.  in fact, saturday evening yielded a snow so white, one would think it was january.  promtply after we {grudgingly} left the warmth of our bed on Sunday morning, Erik’s dad sent him a message from South Dakota {a place normally colder than “sunny” California} saying he was drinking coffee, outside, in his shorts.  well, our morning included coffee, but nothing outside or in shorts. 

while the snow has since melted, the clouds are now leaking a less frozen type of precipitation.  rain.  accompanied by a little thunder.  and lot’s of wind.  {by “wind”, I mean, gusts strong enough to rip branches from their trunks and throw trees against power lines}.  you know, just a normal MAY.  {note strong sarcastic emphasis} 

to add a little comedy to the situation, the thunder rolled so loud during the sermon at church on sunday, that the pastor stopped mid-sentence, knowing that he wouldn’t be heard over the roar.  God made His presence known!

spring into summer {note: this post is very un-exciting, please accept my apologies}

Easter often seems to mark the beginning of spring {at least for those of us in Northern California}.  It always falls around the time when the sun shows it’s face for more than a 24 hour period of time.  Thus, I consider it, the beginning of spring.  {It’s quite simple, really}  And other than the major reason why Easter is such a fantastic day to celebrate {i.e. Jesus, coming, living, and dying for my weak, dirty, little-self – thank the LORD for His everlasting love! – in case you were wondering}, the extra bit of sunshine is a reason worth having a BBQ and picking some flowers. 

Aaaannndddd, that’s all I have  … consider my writing creativity temporarily out of commission.  Not sure why, I just don’t have anything to say other than, “oh, hey, don’t my husband and I look cute, frolicking in the fields?” Lame, I know.

And as my dear friend’s from looney tunes used to say {and I’m sure they still say it in the homes of those that actually have T.V.’s … i.e. not my home}

“That’s All Folks!”
{for now}

what’s worse …

than sitting on a wet chair?  I’ll tell you …

photo via

Sitting on a wet chair in your car for the 40 minute drive to work.

I guess that’s what you get for leaving the sunroof open … all night … when it was supposed to rain …

Even though I adorned the seat with the thickest of thick towels and cranked the wonder of a seat heater up for the long drive down the long hill, upon removing myself from the vehicle, I still felt the damp repercussions, causing my jeans to cling, ever so uncomfortably.

lesson learned.

2 years and counting

I’ve only had the privilege of experiencing two anniversaries so far, but the appreciation I have for the excuse to break away with the love of my life for just a day, if not any longer, is truly extraordinary. I believe anniversaries are meant to be celebrations! Now, I am fully aware that two years is not a milestone, {although in our world of “oh, hey, would you like to be my first husband/wife? we’ll see if this works out, shall we?”, two years may seem like a lot}; however, the date marking the beginning of the 2 GREATEST years of your life {to date}, is worthy enough for a celebration if you ask me. To say the least, March 21st, 2011 filled my little heart with SO much excitement for the future, it was kind of ridiculous. Yes, I am also aware of the fact that I’m a bit of a sap. A romantic, lovey-dovey, sap. But what can I say, I’m married to man that just makes me that way. {He’s a total bit of a romantic too!}

Needless to say, it’s been 2 years {plus a couple weeks, a few days, a number of hours, and a lot of minutes} … and I still can’t believe that I get to be married to Mr. Erik Benson for the rest of my life. {mind currently blowing right now}

Ok, I’ll move on from the mushy stuff. The actual date marking 2 years since the “I do’s” was a Monday. A breakfast date before work made the fact that it was Monday much easier to deal with … and then a bright arrangement of flowers happened to make it’s way to my desk, by the hands of the man whose hands I get to hold {did you get that? I barely did}. I’m a spoiled girl.

Since the weekends surrounding the 21st were booked with work and failed immune systems, we scheduled the “Anniversary Celebration Weekend” for the first weekend of April. And this is our official documentation of the weekend that commemorated our very own historical date:

Ok, I’m done bragging about how cool {and cute} my husband is. Until next time.