... Oh, Irish Green ...

{In honor of St. Patrick's Day}

Short Story:
Two weeks after I graduated from college, I boarded a plane set for Ireland. I convinced a friend to accompany me on my Irish adventure and we set out in search of just that, an adventure. For four months, we worked, we traveled, we lived, we learned, and we loved everything Irish. It was a blessing, a journey, a life-changing experience.

Oh, how I miss Ireland. I dream of the day I get to walk through the green fields, smell the turf, and climb the MacGillicuddy's Reeks surrounding the town of Killarney ... with my husband. I want to show him the castles we stormed, the trails we rode, the fields we danced in ... I want him to be a part of my Irish Adventure!

Ross Castle: Home of our afternoon picnics and journal sessions

The view on our drive through the Ring of Kerry

An Abbey we found driving around

An Enchanted Castle: The Killarney Castle
A friend from work took us through private property to show us this castle ... unknown to tourists ... truly, a hidden treasure!

Dreaming

Today, like most days, I am dreaming of Rome. I have been blessed with the opportunity to have walked the grounds of the Coliseum, sat on the Spanish Steps, gazed upon the Sistine Chapel, strolled along side the Vatican, and I even threw a penny into the Trevi fountain to ensure I would soon return with the love of my life. It has been 6 years and I am very ready to revisit the romance with Erik. He has always dreamt of seeing the home of the gladiators and the Roman Empire ... and oh, there is so much romance.

Someday ...

"All Roads Lead to Rome"

{LIVING & EXPERIENCING}

Being 3 months into this "new year", it no longer feels so "new". Although it is hard to believe that it is already March, I have come to realize that the year is well on it's way. The 2010 Winter Olympics have already come and gone ... and the dreams of spring have already begun to grace my wardrobe. {NOTE to SELF: even if it looks sunny outside, check the temperature before putting on that sundress}

Since we do not have T.V. (well ... we have a T.V. but its connection to the wall only allows us to watch movies), we have missed out on nearly ALL major sporting events thus far. Yes, that means we missed the Superbowl ... and the Olympics. Is it a shame? Are we Un-American? Am I depriving my husband of sports fanatic-dom? Am I depriving myself of ... anything at all? I can honestly and easily answer you ... NOPE. I love the fact that I can truthfully say this was a mutual decision. While I am sure that someday we will have T.V., for now, we love not having it. While I offered to find Erik the best venue for watching the Superbowl, he asked if I would like to go find new antique shops and thrift stores with him instead. We saw the first 5 minutes at our favorite restaurant (the gourmet, Chevy's). We shopped around, treated ourselves to a few trinkets, caught the half-time show, caught the score, then retreated to our apartment to watch a marathon of movies. First, a romantic comedy, then an action. I love Superbowl Sunday.

With February came Valentine's Day ... and a 3 day weekend! Woohoo! That NEVER happens where I work ... and Erik's boss is a real tough guy too (or Erik is just an over-achiever ... one of the 2 ... or maybe both!). BUT, since most of our friends and family were out of town, we were left to spend time with only ourselves ... and it was truly a blessing! Erik brought to my attention that Valentine's Day weekend was the first time {since we were on our HONEYMOON!} that we have spent a solid 2 1/2 days together, with no commitments or obligations! That is TOO long.
Needless to say, our weekend was amazing! We visited nearly every "old town" on HWY 80 between Sacramento and Tahoe. We drove all around the lake and back and TALKED and talked and TaLkeD. Another one of God's great blessings ...
As we are just weeks away from our 1st ANNIVERSARY, one of the greatest things we have learned is that our continual focus on our personal relationships with GOD bring us CLOSER to each other. Without that anchor, we sink. The Benson's have decided that we like our heads {and marriage} well above sea level. It's a fun adventure :) We are not perfect, therefore our marriage is not perfect ... but with God's help, we are trying to be the best we can be ... While I would like to portray the perfect little life in this little blog, I cannot. My antique-shopping, romantic-comedy-watching husband is not perfect (although I think he's pretty close) and he certainly knows that I am VERY far from perfect. So, I'll just say that we try ... it's a VERY good thing we have forever to get this right!


RECENT CULINARY UPDATE:
For my sister's 28th birthday, the ladies in the family decided to battle and CONQUER Julia Child's Boef Bourgingon. Might I say ... Julia is brilliant {and a little crazy} and we are successful adventurers.
My cooking resume is continuing to grow!P.S. I'm not entirely sure this is what it looked like when Julia made it, but who would really know that?? Right?!!

Time Traveler

The beginning of the “New Year” has flown by so quickly … I was barely used to saying “January ___, 2010” and now, I have to say “February”. Alas, a problem that will probably continue throughout the year until I will have to readjust, yet again, to “2011.” I remember when 2010 sounded like a time when we would be flying like the Jetsons … ah, my imagination got a little ahead of the technologically gifted. {Come on people, get on it!}

Maybe it’s the adventure, or the stress, or the general busyness of life that makes time travel so quickly. Regardless of the true reason, I prefer to think it’s the adventure in life that travels with us as we age instead of the stress that gives us wrinkles. That is simply an unhappy thought … the wrinkles I will wear in my later years will be from nothing more than laughter, adventure, and love … not stress. It is one of my many goals in life to make that the truth.

To sum up the days that have been “2010” so far, the Benson’s already feel greatly blessed and are thus thrilled to see where the Lord takes us in the months to come. Christmas spent with my family was fabulous … absent of drama, full of joy. New Year’s Day was entered into with new friends and many laughs ~ couldn’t ask for anything better. {SIDE NOTE: For anyone who enjoys a night on the town but hates to suffer the crowds and overly-loud music; January 1st is the day! Erik and I enjoyed an evening at the Lounge on 20 in Downtown Sacramento … with a fire pit to ourselves; we bundled up and enjoyed the first night of the New Year with nothing but each other! Again, fabulous}

It was quickly decided by the Benson’s that the this would be “The Year of Finished Projects”. We started off on a good note when a beautiful piece of furniture was completed on January 1st (after a year of sitting half finished in our apartment) … it was a joint effort (joint meaning: Erik 99% Julie 1%) and spurred our excitement to work together in the future. Oh, our dreams are big :)

Not long after the New Year began, my dear grandma {affectionately referred to as Omie} was taken to the hospital for treatment of an infection. Although the infection (though not good) was not an immediately life-threatening situation, her stay at the hospital was lengthened when her heart stopped during a picc line procedure. Sitting in the hospital hearing “code blue” followed by my sweet grandma’s room number was paralyzing. The Lord gave her back to us after CPR, 2 weeks on a ventilator, and long days in the ICU waiting room (seriously in need of a make-over). However, I am extremely excited to report that after almost a month in the hospital, she is home with her husband with more life in her than I’ve seen in a very long time. She is full of beautiful smiles with rosy cheeks and her witty sense of humor. God has blessed our family greatly with the opportunity to enjoy her sweet company for as long as He sees fit. I love HIM. We were even able to throw my grandparents a small party in the hospital to celebrate their impressive 55 years of marriage. They graced us with their love story for the hundredth time … it will never get old.

I can’t wait for 55 years.

To add another “PRAISE” to the list of 2010 events, I can now refer to my very own handyman as a General Contractor, licensed and ready for business! Erik is working hard (thank God, yet again, for the full schedule) and loving every minute of it. I am so proud to be his wife, to be chosen by him, and to walk beside him through this absolutely incredible journey! FABULOUS.

Introducing
Creo Casa Construction
Owner: Erik Benson, General Contractor

Chocolate Truffles and Poems

The countdown to Christmas is just about at its end ... 2 days to go ... well, for anyone {like myself and my family} who have pre-celebrations on Christmas Eve, we have 1 day before the festivities begin! I have printed out my recipes and made my last-minute grocery shopping list to get all the yummy components of this years attempt at creating a chocolate masterpiece. I have searched through the books, the internet websites, and family favorites, and have come to the realization that homemade chocolate truffles have never graced the Christmas Eve table at the Paredes/Richardson/Herbertson celebrations. Thus, it has become my new goal ... and to my surprise, the recipes don't look as complicated as I thought. These should be a piece of cake {or should I say, a piece of chocolate?} In the years past I have decorated the Christmas table with decadent chocolate crème brulee, killer chocolate cheesecake, rich peppermint dark chocolate layered cake, and the like ... let's hope these truffles will continue to build my baking confidence as the "wows" of the past have done.

As this is the time of year to thank the Lord for the blessings of not only his gracious gift of salvation and love, but also of the adventures experienced, the lessons learned, and the opportunities to come, my desire to write increases. Having left school and given up the opportunity to pay smarter people to force me to write papers then tear them to shreds, I have few excuses to really write anymore. My creative hand was briefly exercised while I lived overseas as I wrote my dear loved ones in the States stories of my adventures; but I no longer have much reason to write {not that it's necessarily worth reading}. My current job requires no more writing than a 3 sentenced e-mail on occasion ... not that anything I would or could write to the homebuilding industry would elicit anything creative, but that still serves as one of my excuses.

THUS, in order to exercise my writing muscles, I have taken to filling the in-boxes of my dear family with poems; celebrating accomplishments, wishing happy birthdays, and offering congratulations and thanks. My goofy notes of rhyme have thoroughly entertained them and have even inspired my mom to continue her passion of poetry. Now, my poems are simple and involve the most basic structure ... and they almost always include a touch, if not a handful, of humor. It is for these reasons that I would never consider myself a poet. I'm not sure I want to be a poet, actually. I enjoy rhyming and creating an extraordinary line of words by adjusting the proper usage of syllables and grammatical sentence structure. That is the extent of my poem writing ... not poetry. {Very simple}

THEREFORE {sorry for the long explanation}, I included a short poem in the few Christmas cards distributed by the Benson's this year. For those who did not receive a card and note {if there are any who read this at all}, here is the story of the Benson's first 9 months together:

It’s carol time and Christmas too,

The season’s bright with winter’s dew,

With new to come, time flew so fast,

Our story here of this year past,

The month of March, day twenty-one,

Vowed we did and became one,

Now, in a drought the weather said,

But God thought not when we would wed,

The clouds came out and filled the sky,

We prayed that they would say good-bye,

But “no” He said to dry weather,

“Trust me now, rain is better,”

Tents popped up, umbrellas out,

People stood and froze no doubt,

But friends and smiles filled the day,

So blessed we were in God’s own way,

Since then, in love, we’ve laughed and grown,

Experienced even a kidney stone,

Visited friends and the E.R.,

Drove around & killed our car,

Months flew by, filled to the brim,

We worked, we played, we took a swim,

We learn a lot, every day,

And see the world in a new way,

Football, camps, an amusement park,

Youth group keeps us young at heart

Mastery of the ping-pong game,

Brought the Benson name some fame,

Good news, too, we have to tell,

He studied hard and did so well,

The test he took said yes he can,

Be an official contractor man,

It’s only been 8 months or so,

Adventures down the road, we know,

We can’t wait for a lifetime more,

Together, forever, for rich or poor,

So to you now we pray you’re blessed,

May Christmas bring you peace and rest,

God gave us every single day,

May you abide in Him along your way.

Merry Christmas

from the Bensons!

Thankful for {YOU}

Well, the weather has certainly decided to move FALL along quite quickly, thus, we have welcomed winter with extra blankets, warm scarves, and heavenly mint truffle hot chocolate. (For those who don't believe California can get cold, this past weekend, it snowed 6 inches at our church - unfortunately, not where we live in Sacramento, but it's been in the 20's ... and for us, THAT is FREEZING!) Our first Thanksgiving as "The Benson's" was fabulous ... it was filled with visits from old friends, family photo shoots, big meals, rainy trips to Apple Hill, Christmas trees, and more memories to store in our story book of life.

One of my best friends from college (and roommate for 3 years), Kylee, and her husband, Nic, came to stay with us the Monday before Thanksgiving. They were on their way north to visit Kylee's grandma, and they made a stop by our little apartment to enjoy some dinner and to stay the night. I can't tell you what a joy it was to visit with them! They hadn't had a chance to meet Erik before our wedding, so it was wonderful to visit together ... and to introduce Erik to the couple that defines most of my Pepperdine experience! (I am lame and did not take a picture)

We spent Thanskgiving Day with my family at The Ranch and it was a beautiful day! Thanksgiving is a special day for us, because it is the anniversary of the first day we laid eyes on each other. We met at The Ranch in 2006, when Erik came as a guest to our family celebration (invited by my cousins). That was the day our worlds changed. We later had the incredible opportunity to get married at the same place we met ... can you say PERFECT??!!

{Our decorated Thanksgiving Table}

{The Siblings}

The day after Thanksgiving, we participated in family (Julie's side) tradition and hunted down the perfect Christmas tree in Apple Hill ... in the RAIN. It POURED on us! It was crazy and we were soaking wet, but thankfully, we like to see small obstacles like rain as an ADVENTURE ... hence it didn't stop us from getting married outside.
We then visited with Davey and Jess Anderson who were in the area visiting Davey's family. Again, a fabulous evening with great friends!

We ended our Thanksgiving celebration with the Paredes Family Pumpkin Chuck. This is the day when we rid the house of all Thanksgiving pumpkins by throwing, rolling, chucking, kicking, and my personal favorite, shooting them over the cliff. Classic.{So talented!}

{A Family Picture}

Unfortunately, the airlines that fly from Sacramento to anywhere near South Dakota like to be cruel and prevent families from seeing each other over the holidays (hating holiday rates right now), so we won't get a chance to see Erik's family this Christmas ... we will miss them dearly and can't wait to see them in the SPRING!

Good-Bye Summer, Hello Fall!

Summer technically ended a month ago and we are finally starting to get some FALL weather. I have been waiting for the red and orange and yellow trees to shower the ground with their leaves. I embrace the crisp air and the ability to see my breath! The coats and scarves that have sat in my closet for the last 9 months are fantastic new additions to my wardrobe. The smell of pumpkin and the cravings for peppermint are invigorating! I am in awe of the new season that is sure to bring new adventures ... Fall is SPECTACULAR.

I can't wait to visit Apple Hill! It's almost a crime that we haven't been able to break away for a day of roaming through the apple orchards while drinking hot apple cider! The apple strudel is incredible, no matter how cold it is! Thanksgiving break will surely be our first opportunity to visit the beautiful hills that remind me so intensely of my childhood. I can't wait!
The apple bushels at Apple Hill

Apple Hill is so beautiful, Thomas Kinkade painted it.
"Sunday at Apple Hill"

The last days of summer for the Benson's were busy as usual, and they were enjoyed to the fullest! Erik spent many hours playing ping pong with the only real competition from the youth group ... Danny and Stephan ... and I am sure ping pong tournaments will continue through the winter.

The shoes are off and the game is on!
It get's intense!
{A good pair of flip flops were destroyed by ping pong}

We also celebrated Erik's 28th birthday on September 1st! I planned an evening out on the town for him. We had reservations at a fabulous restaurant and we enjoyed a great evening with friends. I hope he felt truly celebrated as it was just the first of MANY birthday's as a family!

The restaurant printed Erik's name on the menu for our special celebration! Woohoo!