joy

when we were riding in the car last weekend, chad asked me what i was thinking about and i replied with, "joni kabana's blog post about photographing in developing nations."  in her post, she talks about how people in africa experience joy in life like americans never experience. "often people will break out in song and dance, expressing pure and unadulterated elation." i have often thought that, when viewing photos from developing nations, there is a happiness in the faces of people there that we don't experience in this country.  they have so few material possessions, but hearts that are full of happiness and joy.  it seems that here in america, it is the opposite.  we have more than we could ever ask for, and yet we still complain.

i also can't help but think about how disconnected we are in this country.  we're disconnected socially (we're so wrapped up in our blackberries and iphones, we've completely forgotten how to interact face-to-face), agriculturally (there aren't many foods that we eat that wasn't first put through a lab), and physically (it's not uncommon to hear about how someone bought the latest and greatest video game system or the new flat-screen tv with a sharper picture.  heck, we even have video games that supposedly help get us in shape.  god forbid we actually go outside and walk around.).

i can't help but think that with all of our gyms, our top-of-the-line healthcare systems, our fad diets, we still couldn't physically do what ethiopian men and women do every day just to live.  the physical strength they need to collect wood to build a fire so they can cook their food, or so that they can walk to collect water, or so that they can walk for days just to get to a hospital.  it's beyond what any of us in this country could ever imagine.

when i mentioned this to chad, he had some interesting insight.  he said that they put all of their effort in to just living... getting from day to day.  whereas americans (or the developed world in general) take our shelter, food, water, clothing, for granted.  it's just there, provided for us at the store, or out of the tap.  he said that americans are looking for something else to fill the time other than just living.  they're looking for the next level.

it's a valid point.  however, the more i think about it, the more that i realize that is exactly what i DON'T want to do:  fill the time with meaningless things (blackberries, video games, reality tv) instead of living.  i want to know what it feels like to experience "pure joy and unadulterated elation."    i want to seek joy.  so, how do i get to that "next level" without using technology to get me there?  how do i stay connected, socially, agriculturally, physically, spiritually? most importantly, what can i do to help people?

tell me, what do you do to seek joy in your life?  

count 'em: seven

chad and i had a GREAT day in sonoma county!  we visited seven wineries today: seghesio, rochioli, copain (I ♥), j vineyards, ridge, bella, and sbragia.

it was a little bit hit-and-miss, but our favorites by far were copain and sbragia.  ridge was a very close third.  the guy pouring at j vineyards wins the style award, though.  

tonight we're going out for a vietnamese dinner!  having so much fun and loving my husband!  i'm a lucky girl.  :)

eugene

chad and i just returned last night from eugene, oregon where we attended the oregon wine symposium.  here are a couple of shots i took while there.  the one of the guy on the computer was for my photography class assignment this week (to take a photo of someone i don't know).  i really like what's going on with the three guys in the background.

goals list check-in

on 17 june, i made a list of goals i wanted to accomplish before i turned 30.  i figured since i only have 4 months to go, i might as well check in:

1) run the cascade lakes relay and the portland marathon (training in progress)  i did the cascade lakes relay and had an awesome time!  i'm actually signed up to do the hood to coast in august 2011 with my tnt girls.  we are called the 'fit beaches.'  hehe.  

unfortunately, the portland marathon thing didn't work out because of IT band syndrome.  i'm trying again for the eugene marathon on 1 may, but - honestly - i'm not feeling so confident.  i had IT band problems again on saturday (the first time this season).  i'm debating on whether i want to go through the whole physical therapy debacle again.  it didn't work last time.  i'm running again tomorrow (12 miles if all goes well), so i'll know more once that happens. 

2) sell the house in nz; explore options for buying here in the valley  we have the house back on the market as of the end of november, but not one person has looked at it.  so frustrating!  the market in cromwell is dead as a doornail right now and the realtors don't seem to have anything optimistic to say to us (that is, if they say anything at all - communication doesn't seem to be their strong point).  we might just have to call this goal a wash for now.

3) start a 401k (i.e. finally be a responsible adult) - plus some other financial goals  started the 401k, but then stopped contributing in january, as i am now working on my debt snowball.  according to my schedule, i should have my two student loans paid off in 18 months!!  how amazing will that be?  

4) buy a nikon d90, keep reading photography books and blogs, and see if we can't create some acceptable images!  i am extremely happy to say that, due to my amazing employer, this is underway!  i got the camera last month and started photography classes this week!  i'm SO, SO, SO excited!!!

5) go to nz for dane and julia's wedding and christmas with the douglas clan  due to dave ramsey, i opted to forgo this trip.  chad and i went solo for a few weeks -- i went to michigan for the holidays and he went to nz.  it worked out very well, as i hadn't been back to michigan since the previous christmas.

6) book trip to chile and peru (even if the actual travel doesn't happen until after my 30th birthday)  the plans for this trip are underway, although it has been edited to include peru and argentina!  we have a whiteboard on our fridge that is tracking our savings goals and we should be on track to book flights in june for travel in november.  we're tentatively going to peru to hike to machu picchu, followed by a couple of weeks in argentina -- mendoza, salta and buenos aires.  


i guess - overall - this isn't so bad.  goals 1 and 2 are kind of out of my hands, goals 3 and 5 got amended for bigger goals, and goals 4 and 6 are very much underway.  

10 random facts about me

1. i am obsessed with photography blogs. i love them. i read them every day and live vicariously through the photographers. i am saving up for a nikon d60 and in the meantime am pouring over photography books like understanding exposure and the adobe photoshop cs4 book for digital photographers. maybe one day i'll be able to take photos that are half as good as some of these folks: Esther Havens Photography, Gary Chapman Photography, Jasmine Star Photography, The Beautiful Mess (owned and operated by a guy i went to high school with and his uber-talented wife), and Love the Schultzes. there are many more photographers that i follow online, but these are some of my favorites.

2. i am obsessed with goals. i have fitness goals, financial goals, weekend goals (get "insert chore here" done). for example, i decided last fall that i was going to run a half marathon this year... well, i've done that, am doing the cascade lakes relay in a couple of weeks, and the portland marathon in october. my half marathon turned into a running trifecta... and that's just the way i like it.

3. my dog is my child. i love her like i imagine i will love my future human children. i worry for her safety, i spoil her, i'm proud of her when she learns something new, and i love, love, love cuddling with her. she makes me happy.

4. i have a husband (and a dog!) that can't sit still, which is probably why we're so good together. if we have a day off, we're off to the lake, on a hike, golfing, biking or playing tennis. he also hates shopping. i think he's been a good influence on my fitness level and my spending habits.

5. i have nervous breakdowns when things are messy or out of place -- not so good when you live with a man and a dog. when they first arrived in oregon in february, i was constantly stressed out about my messy car for WEEKS! i still hate that there is dog hair, dirt and dust everywhere in my car... but i try not to get upset about it.

6. i have visited 9 countries and lived for a period of time in 2 of them (france for 13 months and new zealand for nearly 4 years). next up: chile and peru in 2011 (see? another goal.).

7. my husband and i had a fairy tale start to our relationship. we met in france where we lived at an abbey, and on our first date we kissed in front of a castle. we both cried at the paris airport when we had to leave each other because, at the time, we didn't know when we'd see each other again. and then he missed me so much, he asked me to move to new zealand to be with him -- and it took me about 1/2 a day to decide to go. that's just how i roll.

8. if my checkbook isn't up-to-date down to the penny at any given point, i feel unsettled! weird but true. i like knowing exactly how much money i have.

9. chad and i are one of those fancy couples that own property overseas -- we have a house in new zealand. not because we necessarily want to, though. we tried to sell it last year and couldn't, so we put tenants in it. we'll put it back on the market late this year. better luck this time.

10. ice cream and espresso are two of my favorite things. put them together in a milkshake and i'm one happy girl.

refreshed

our little family spent the holiday weekend in manzanita on the oregon coast. what an charming little town! there is something about the beach and the ocean that leaves you both relaxed and in awe. we'll definitely be back again this summer (hopefully when it warms up and we can lay out in the sun)!

here's a shot of chad and fife playing in the pacific ocean. doesn't this look idyllic?

the thing i'm grateful for today is summer heat and sun! we hit 87 today - the highest temperature so far this summer. it's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow. i say BRING IT ON!!!!

summer tunes

i walked through the cellar today and the guys were all jamming to Fat Freddy's Drop, a favorite new zealand band of mine. chad and i saw them in concert at Peregrine Wines during my first summer in nz. in fact, we took in a cooler (aka "chilly bin") containing cans of red bull and a bag of ice. when the lady at the gate asked us if we had vodka in our bag of ice, we just awkwardly laughed because, well, we actually did. thankfully she let us through anyway - which made for a fun night, lol! at any rate, this band is one of my favorites, especially for sitting out next to the bbq on a warm summer's evening... or just for listening to at your desk, which i'm doing as we speak.

you can find them here on itunes.

in other news, i promised yesterday that i'd try to keep a "things i'm thankful for" list going. here is day 2:

i am thankful that i have a healthy body which allows me to do things like run a 216.6 mile relay! t minus 5 weeks and 3 days until the cascade lakes relay. i see LOTS of hill training in my near future...

goals before 30

in three days, i'll turn 29, which means there is still a lot to do before i hit the new decade.

i can't say that 28 has been bad, that is for sure. the last year brought a lot of changes. in fact, it was my last birthday which saw chad flying back to nz (not the best of birthday presents, but hey...). the fact that we got married, he and fife are now in oregon, and he is working as viticulturist is pretty fantastic!

so, with that, here are some things i want to accomplish within the next 368 days:

1) run the cascade lakes relay and the portland marathon (training in progress)

2) sell the house in nz; explore options for buying here in the valley

3) start a 401k (i.e. finally be a responsible adult) - plus some other financial goals

4) buy a nikon d90, keep reading photography books and blogs, and see if we can't create some acceptable images!

5) go to nz for dane and julia's wedding and christmas with the douglas clan

6) book trip to chile and peru (even if the actual travel doesn't happen until after my 30th birthday)

so, now that this is all out in public, i'll be held accountable!

chad and fife are in the air!

well, chad and fife are somewhere over the south pacific as we speak. their auckland to l.a. flight took off about 2.5 hours ago and they are due into l.a. around 7.00 a.m.

alison sent me a photo of them at the airport.... doesn't my little girl look ready to fly?!!! i hope all the american dogs over here understand her kiwi accent! :-)


i am so excited to see them, i can hardly stand it!

chad and fife arrive tomorrow!!!!!!!

i'm doing my little happy dance! it has been 5 months since i've seen chad and 8 months since i've seen fife. it's long overdue to have our little family back together again. i'm hoping they love oregon as much as i do!!

please pray that the flights go ok and that fife travels well. i'm a bit worried about her being in a crate for so long, especially since she hasn't spent much time in it at home. my fingers are crossed for a safe and happy arrival.

start living... we are really dying

the church I attend started a 5 week series the other day about "really living." what would you do if you had 6 months left to live? tim mcgraw's song "live like you were dying" was played and i couldn't believe what a great gift i had been given that day - to be reminded that we are not here forever. take advantage of the time god has given you - seize the day, carpe diem and all that. i think we all know in the back of our minds that we should "just do it" instead of "putting it off until someday," but we all get caught up in our daily lives and simply forget. before we know it, "someday" turns into "6 months left to live." so, i am reminded - stop waiting for "someday" and make things happen.

i have to admit that i really enjoy my life right now. like everyone, that feeling sometimes slips away (think "i hate monday mornings!" and "why don't i have more money?" and "i wish i had more vacation time."). i am definitely very guilty of that.

but isn't it great to know that you have a bed to get out of on Monday mornings, that you have a roof over your head, running water, food... that you even have a job to go to when so many others don't right now?

isn't it great to know that you have two legs that work, that you even have the physical ability to go to the gym and work out? isn't is great to know that you are healthy. that your car, however crappy you think it might be, was not in the car accident that i witnessed on i-5 a few days ago? that you made it home safely from work, the gym, the grocery store... to tuck yourself into your comfortable bed?

isn't it great to know that we have loved ones in our lives who will be there for us in case something unthinkable ever did happen to us?

i, for one, am very thankful. i'm so glad that i have the opportunity to run a half marathon, that i have fantasic friends and a supportive and loving family, that i have a great job that i truly enjoy... and if i ever start complaining, i give you all permission to smack me upside the head and bring me to my senses.

to close, i'll leave you with the chorus in tim mcgraw's song, live like you were dying, and my bucket list (at least for the next five years):

i went skydiving,
i went rocky mountain climbing,
i went two point seven seconds on a bull named fu man chu,
and i loved deeper,
and i spoke sweeter,
and i gave forgiveness i'd been denyin'

and he said, someday i hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying


my bucket list
- run a half marathon, a marathon, an olympic duathlon, and the hood to coast relay at least once
- buy a dslr camera and learn how to use it (instead of sitting back and coveting beautiful photography, why not do it myself?)
- finally take a cheese-making course (or 10)
- buy an around the world ticket and travel for weeks, if not months, to south america, eastern europe, central america and maybe asia if there's time... hike macchu picchu... walk on the great wall of china
- roadtrip across the united states with my mom and sister
- ride in a hot air balloon and a helicopter with my husband
- climb at least one mountain - even mt. hood would be awesome
- go bungee jumping, and not the woosie 40 meter one either
- hike and camp non-stop with my husband and our dog, because when it comes down to it, sharing nature with my favorite people truly makes me happiest
- and what the heck - go skydiving again, but this time from the highest elevation possible