from steaming jungles of lustria, to a big blueberry, to a golden grove.

When Ben and I first moved in to this place we call home, just 3 weeks after we got married, we were super thankful for such a fantastic townhouse. We did, however, move into this extra wonderful home right after two sets of boy roommates had just called this very place their home. Needless to say, there was some cleaning that needed to be done... and some painting that needed to be done. Our dining room was the first place, in my opinion, that needed some immediate help. There was a map drawn on to the wall. A well done map, I must say, but a map nonetheless, which was totally fictitious and yet had a striking resemblance to the actual map of the world. For some, it was hard to watch as we painted over this masterpiece. It's not that I didn't respect this art-- but with "countries" named things like the Steaming Jungles of Lustria and Nippon, it just made it difficult to eat dinner in that room. Seriously, I did not make those names up (but someone did...).

We chose this great bold blue to cover the map as well as the other walls in the dining room. If you know anything about me, you probably know that I paint, and repaint, maybe more than most people. I love repainting rooms- it really changes the whole feel of the room, and sometimes I get tried of the original feel I created with one color and have the desire to change the feel completely. I love color so much too, and its hard to pick one perfect color from the wall of paint chips the stores put before you. So, I usually pick one and then get tired of it in a year or two (or in some cases a day).

It all started when I was pretty young, my aunt let me paint my room a bright blue and then when I lived at home in college she let me move rooms and paint that one the color of a purple grape. Isn't she great? Anyway, she allowed me, from a young age to express my love of paint colors and now its just on a bigger scale- I have my entire house as a canvas! I have repainted our living room twice, our foyer once, our bedroom 3 times, our bathroom twice, the office just once, the kitchen once... And, as you probably guessed, I got tired of that blue. And now I have repainted the dining room twice. Ben is so gracious to have helped me with most of these projects. Sometimes, he just comes home and a wall is a totally different color. Together we spent a good part of our week trying to cover the blueberry of a room with about three coats of paint. Ben swears we are losing square footage in our house because of my "hobby".

I had a vision of golden pear happiness in my dining room and... so it is. Golden groves on two walls and white on the other two, to make the room feel a little bigger (and because we found a $5 gallon of "oops!" paint in white). Here it is- the finished product! for now...

bea's pumpkin pie

Everyone knows someone who makes the best something. Your mom might make the best lasagna, your sister might make the best pot roast, your aunt might have the best bread recipe... for me I mostly think Rachael Ray does it best but that is just because I didn't spend countless hours watching and learning as my aunt made the best anything in the kitchen. She can attest to this- I believe her words are "I don't cook". I was child number 4 in her life with more than a decade separating me from the rest of her children. In addition, my aunt and I were busy girls and my uncle often worked the night shift. All of these factors caused me to become well acclimated to Stouffers' and mac 'n' cheese a la Kraft. What my aunt lacked in the cooking department she more than made up for in her love for me- and I appreciated her honesty ("I don't cook").

With that being said, there is one thing my aunt made (and not very often) that was made very well. I didn't grow up saying it was the best-- mostly because it was all I knew. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving Carolyn would make pumpkin pie, and all I knew was that I loved it. I would help her made them and I would help her eat them. As I say, I didn't necessarily hold fast to the idea that this was the best pumpkin pie and now that I am married I have even made pumpkin pie on my own and with different recipes. Let me say, they were not as good. No match, really. Now, I am not trying to throw my self-proclaimed non-cooking aunt under the bus here, but you should know this recipe is not just her own (she just executes it very well). My Grandma, Bea, is the one responsible for passing down this pumpkin pie recipe. This Thanksgiving I will be using Bea's recipe and I might even say that my Grandma made (and my aunt makes) the best pumpkin pie. And who am I to keep a good thing from you?

Bea's pumkin pie:

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tbs. flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 ½ cups pumpkin (1 regular can)

1 slightly beaten egg

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

2 tbs. Dark molasses

Mix dry ingredients together well. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until smooth. Pour into unbaked 9” pie shell. Bake at 450* for 15 minutes, then reduce temp. to 325* and bake for 45 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

the crap i read

I have never been much of a reader. I enjoyed being read-to, but reading big ol' thick books has never really been for me. I don't have much of an imagination. No, really, it's true- I watch movies that take place in other "worlds" such as Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Harry Potter and I just leave feeling confused. I watch movies that don't have predictable endings and often feel frustrated. As for books, I remember having to read novels in school and let me just say, I failed one too many "pop quizzes" on the reading assignments. I would join in class conversations after someone had offered their opinion by simply building off of their ideas (I found with all that fantasy stuff you can make up whatever opinion you want because it's not real anyway).

I know this is all very terrible, but it has just never really held my attention. I just, don't, get it. Period pieces often bore me, fantasy confuses me, and self-help books just make me feel self-loathing for all the thing I lack. I desire so much to read books by Christian authors who offer encouragement and conviction through their words. I can't tell you how many of these kinds of books I have started and never finished. The Sacred Romance- great... for the first 6 chapters. The Five Love Languages- I only got through 4. Velvet Elvis- I didn't get deep enough into that one to realize what that title even meant. I would truly love, to love reading. The idea seems so romantic- curling up with a blanket and a cup of tea and reading one of the classics. I was an English major in college for about a minute. I took a few of the appropriate classes and after reading nine of Shakespeare's plays in depth, I realized I wasn't so much cut out for that kind of thing.

There is one author whose books I read cover to cover usually within 3 or 4 days and I have, in fact, read almost everything he has written. Plane rides, beach lounging, late night insomnia-- I turn to the same stuff over and over. If you don't already know this about me let me confess- the crap I read is Nicholas Sparks. Now, calling it "crap" is no blow to Nicholas, I think he is talented (obviously) and probably the nicest most feeling man ever. But, his books have a common theme- always- there are two (sometimes more) people in love, they live in North Carolina and they meet some adversity that will threaten to end their love forever. Often a character dies and often I throw the book on the ground when it's over and think "that was stupid." Nevertheless, I can't stop reading him. Why? Because I like the way he writes, mostly they are believable and predictable stories, and I don't have to get accustomed to a far off land that appears in a wardrobe, or believe in a portal that takes you to a secret school, or even believe that though a couple is in love they can't be together because he wants to feast on her for dinner- But North Carolina, I can wrap my brain around that.

Don't get me wrong, I only read a couple a year, I am still no star reader. Though, I have been reading a lot lately (kind of). In the past week and a half I have really been pumping out the slightly melancholy yet feel-good musings of Nicholas Sparks. Something about reading allows my mind to think of something that is totally unreal and unrelated to me and I create this concern for people that don't even exist- like an escape maybe. Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe this is why you people read... fantasy novels even...

oh, and also I went to Colorado

I just got back from a short visit to Colorado. Essentially I haven't really been home for about 2 weeks. But, now I am home!

I went with two friends to Colorado because Kristi was speaking at a women's conference there.

Kristi shared her experience-- a trial in her life that God allowed a little over a year ago, when her husband and our friend, Anthony, died. But Kristi didn't speak to those 100 women about what it is like to be a widow. She shared with us all about trials that God allows in our lives because He says trials make us mature and complete in our faith, not lacking anything. She shared that she had learned that God's end result will always be the same and we cannot live in fear of trials, nor be surprised by them, because God promises that trials come.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything". James 1:2-4

The conference, overall was encouraging, with Annie Chapman as the main speaker. We got to play "tourist" a little bit (before the snow storm came)! We drove around Colorado Springs, Kristi's old stompin' grounds and then visited the Garden of the Gods... which is always beautiful.

But, the highlight of the weekend might have been the hospitality of Kristi's sister. We ate and ate... and ate. I am telling you, that Swedish-bred-traveling-missionary-family can cook!

Then, it snowed! A lot...

It was beautiful and abundant- and caused us to miss our flight on Sunday. We actually got snowed in and spent a day lounging, watching movies, and even playing a little in the snow. I made this snow-angel.

This one's for you Kaley...

I do love snow, but I was slightly distressed to learn that while it was snowing in Colorado it was 73 degrees at home! As much as I love to travel, and I love friends, and I do love snow, it is good to be home.

Road Trip- Day 5 & my visit in San Diego

The light at the end of the tunnel. We had to bear the desert for a few more hours but then we began to see signs of hope-- signs indicating just how close we were to the west coast. There was something almost nauseating about thinking that we had just driven from the east coast all the way over to the west coast, but at the same time, it felt so great.

We were only hours away from San Diego, so we even extended our road trip just a bit (as if the previous 45 hours of driving just weren't enough). We stopped briefly in Laguna Beach, because, who doesn't want to see Laguna? This was my first view of the pacific ocean and my first understanding of the California hills- or rather steep cliffs that just abruptly drop off and become the beach.

San Diego was fantastic. It was like a big city with a ton of tiny "downtown" areas all throughout it. So much was just like I had imagined. Warm days, mild evenings, sunshine, palm trees, posh shops, weird 80's inspired fashion that hasn't hit the east yet.... It's California- I mean, people write songs about this place. We visited the sea lions in La Jolla- that's right, sea lions- real ones- wild ones.

They seemed so sweet in their own blubberous way. I really enjoyed La Jolla a lot. And Cali sunsets.

We also visited the Gaslamp Quarter. It's special and historic- we mostly just appreciated its delicious food.

In fact, we enjoyed a lot of delicious San Diego cuisine. Lots of Mexican food, sometimes complete with a mariachi band!

Then- the zoo. Who doesn't love a good zoo? It's been years since I have been to a zoo actually (except for the completely odd semi-unattended Salisbury zoo in college...), but this is the San Diego zoo- how can you resist?

It's no wonder they made a TV drama called Meerkat Manor- those things were high drama.

I. love. koalas. It's a little known fact, but they were my favorite stuffed animal to collect as a kid. I had a lot- too many really. I remember loving to look at their pictures in Zoobooks, and there was even a TV cartoon when I was little where this little girl Sandy had a secret koala best friend. Noozles or something, is that weird? Anyway- I just have always kind of liked koalas, I can't explain it. And they were at the San Diego zoo. I think this may have rekindled my love for them.

They slept curled up in tiny balls leaning their heads against the tree. What can I say? They were just the cutest.

Overall, it was really great- and really hard to leave San Diego. But, we have lots of great road trip memories, pictures, matching t-shirts and even a few souvenir ornaments!

Here's to road trips! As well as the great gift of the Wright Brothers-- the airplane.

Road Trip- Days 3&4

Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Arizona again, Nevada.

We were prepared for Day 3 of our road trip to be the longest day ever. It was also the day that we entered the great desolation that is the desert. Once we trekked through the last portion of Oklahoma we entered Texas. I am sure Texas is great, I know people from there, I have a friend who is there now and everyone knows that "everything is bigger in Texas"

...but Kaley and I traveled through the panhandle of Texas (just the tippy-top) and I can say with the utmost certainty that the panhandle is probably the worst part of Texas, ever, ever, ever- at least from what we could see from the highway. Let me introduce you to the panhandle:

Fun, right? I guess since Texas is such a big state I can excuse them of the tiny area we traveled through. This is how I felt after driving an hour or so through it.

This is how Kaley was feeling.

Next, we entered the "Land of Enchantment" (as they call it), New Mexico. I must say, new mexico was a welcomed change. It was still the desert, but it was pretty.

The red cliffs and sand were unlike any terrain that either of us had experienced before. It was beautiful in its own deserted way. We also found old route 66 in NM and drove on it for about 30 seconds.

The downside of New Mexico was that bathrooms, gas stations and fast food were few and far between and cell phone service was just about obsolete. Little did we know, this is how it would be pretty much for the next 12 or so hours of driving.

We drove through the painted desert and passed by the petrified forest in the dark. We were only mildly disappointed by this but it got us to talking a lot about geography facts of the desert. We quickly learned that neither of us know much at all really when it comes to that sort of thing. We bravely asked Ben a few of our geography/Native American history questions and he could barely hide his disgust with our lack of knowledge. Oh well... We arrived in Flagstaff Arizona that night and went to bed almost as soon as we got there.

We woke up early for Day 4 of driving and it was freezing. Something we learned about the desert in November-- in the shade or in the dark it is cold enough that it snows and doesn't melt. In the sunshine, you might sweat if you are wearing long sleeves. So we drove, though even more desert.

We were headed to the Grand Canyon! We went up about 8,000 feet above sea level and drove through winding roads and eventually, out of nowhere, we hit a forest. It was pretty bizarre. The GPS (our trusty guide which we aptly named Sacagawea) had led us all the way to Arizona without a hitch. We asked her to lead us to the Grand Canyon (the biggest hole in the earth) and somehow, we got lost. Lost, trying to find the Grand Canyon.

Her leadership skills failed us, and this is why: As clueless East Coast women we trusted her, but eventually learned that any advisement to follow "unpaved road" was not good.

With the help of our own navigational skills, and directions Kaley had printed out from the computer, we found the Grand Canyon (thank goodness)!

It's something I have always wanted to see, but never thought I would go because I figured there really wasn't anything in Arizona other than the Grand Canyon. I was right about that, but I am SO glad that I go to see it. And I am very thankful to Kaley that she was willing to go and even spend a considerable amount of time there so that I could take 6,000 pictures.

This is how I felt when I first saw it:

This is kind of how Kaley felt about it:

I loved it. The Grand Canyon. Wow. It was so quiet and peaceful and gigantic. And God did it. Wow.

We even saw a heard of wild bison.

After a full afternoon at the Grand Canyon we headed, back into the desert to our night's destination- Las Vegas! We learned that because much of the Mojave Desert has nothing but sand and mesa formations and is made up of many Indian Reservations, we could not drive straight into Nevada. The roads didn't go that way -- so to arrive in Las Vegas we went from Arizona, through a small part of Utah and then into Arizona again before finally arriving in Nevada. Utah was a blessing though, it provided us with food, gas, and toilet. Thank you Utah!

Then, out of complete darkness came Las Vegas!

We stayed at the MGM Grand in beds that felt like marshmallows.

We just simply enjoyed the ridiculously bright and busy strip. We treated ourselves to Serendipity's signature frozen hot chocolate- hopefully just as good as it is in NYC! We certainly thought so.

We flirted with Sinatra and tried to be like Marilyn.

The fountains at the Bellagio...

We felt like swanky city girls just for a night. I had such a good time with her, even in the "city of sin", as it were...