paulanderica

2010-07-03T12:08:00.008-05:00

This post is written specifically for my lovely cousin, Katelyn, who requested a blog update and reminded me that although I've posted house photos on facebook, I haven't yet posted anything about the house on this site.That means you better be reading this Katelyn, or else...

So here I sit in our very own kitchen (well, maybe it's Bank of America's kitchen) which just this morning we fixed up a bit. See? Before and after:

Perhaps it's due to having to retrofit so many florescent light fixtures back in the day at Redwood Chapel, but Paul abhorred the kitchen fixture that came with this house and it was numero uno on his list of things to fix (Actually, I think it was more like numero seis, but that's not a trite little American phrase now, is it?). These photos also showcase our beautiful "popcorn" textured ceilings. So pretty and easy to clean and they don't collect cobwebs at all. Just lying. I hate them. Luckily, we found out that the texture is not at all difficult to remove and already took it off our guest bathroom ceiling. The proof:

And here is evidence pointing to the reason why we haven't yet tackled the ceiling in the kitchen or any of the other rooms yet:

Just a wee bit messy. I may have ceiling texture in my hair for the rest of my life. We haven't yet gotten to patching and painting, but it is such a good feeling to have that gross stuff gone and to know that it can easily be accomplished. (And luckily our house was built post 1980, so no risk of asbestos.)

That's about all I've got, Katelyn. Plus I'm super hungry.

2010-05-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

Fun fact! I just seriously almost threw up in my cereal bowl when I saw a photo of a little girl proudly cradling her freshly extracted tooth in the palm of her hand. I looked away fast but not before I saw the bloody little roots. Can we say major tooth phobia?

2010-04-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

Presenting the modest little house that we hope will soon be our new home. Pictures don't do her (yes, I've decided it's a she and am currently trying to name her) justice, but she's a bit practical and plain, cute in her own way, and extremely clean. I can't wait to get our little red dinette set in that kitchen and make the first meal. And, hey, we'll have a backyard and our little grill so Paul can make the first meal! We have some designs to paint her exterior a different shade and the mirror covered in fake ivy that's over the sink is obviously coming down, but other than that she is move-in ready! And did I mention that she comes with all of the appliances including the washer and dryer?! A nice first place. I think Millie (Eloise?) will treat us well.

2010-02-28T18:47:00.011-06:00

Correct me it I am wrong but, I think that I have posted only once on this blog and (seeing as how my name is in the title) I may as well at least post twice. So, in no particular order here are my ten favorite things about Texas. (actually I lied they are in order)

10. scorpions. (not the band)
Although I have yet to see one, I am still hoping.

9. rocks.
It is true, the Alamo is made of stone as is literally everything else in and around San Antonio. It is truly majestic.

8. The Grackle.
This little dastard is as loud as all get out. They are ubiquitous as well.

7. rivers.
Being land locked never looked so good.

6. B.B.Q.
True it may take some getting used but you'll have many chances (any social gathering you attend) to become accustomed.

5. Austin.
Aside from reminding me slightly of Oakland, many cool bands play there. It was also the birthplace of Mineral, and numerous crazy music festivals.

4. Beer.
Flying Saucer is THE best place ever. I think that I shall be buried there someday.

3. Geneva.
Really it is what makes all of this possible, at least for me.

2. Hank Hill.
Although this is a fictional character on, sadly, a canceled cartoon program, there really are quite a few people in Texas that actually remind me of him, as well as the many other unforgettable characters on "King of the Hill."

1. Erica.
I know, I know "spare me the cheese." Even if I sound like a cornball, I have to admit that she makes everything better. I am positively certain that Texas would not be as good (no offense Texas, I am not messing with you) without her around.

...Now you know, and knowing is half the battle...

2010-01-06T21:36:00.004-06:00

Once again there's been quite a lapse in blogging activity and I have several good excuses this time. I had the flu for two solid weeks in November, I got lazy due to a social-networking website (which shall remain nameless), and our Little-Engine-That-Could-iMac crashed. Again. And to top it all off, for a couple of months life seemed to be paused. That is, until Christmas vacation.

This Christmas we decided to drive back to California during Paul's two-week break. I will spare all of the gory details of the drive except to say that on the way back to Texas we left Hayward, CA at 9:30pm and drove straight through to Fort Stockton, TX. Insanity. I thought riding a horse was bad, but try sitting in a Chevy Aveo for twenty hours. I swear the meager shower head with water that barely drizzled out at the Motel 6 in Fort Stockton that night felt like a spa at a five-star resort. We slept like logs in those scratchy sheets too (Paul even had a conversation with me and took my socks off and I had no recollection of it).

One of the bonuses of a road trip too (aside from making the not-so-luxurious seem luxurious) is that it practically forces you to take the time to think and plan out your life and have deeper than normal discussions. Taking long walks seems to have a similar effect. It's fun to talk about what career you want to have next, where you want to live, what kind of house you want to live in, etc. (Paul - University Librarian, Erica - Preschool Teacher, Seattle, Arts and Crafts style Bungalow) Who knows if any of those aspirations will ever come to fruition, but it's nice to imagine the possibilities. Kind of like playing M.A.S.H. married grown-up style.

I will have to post more on Christmas later. We are still on California time it seems and have been getting less than six hours of sleep every night since school re-commenced because we haven't been going to bed until midnight or later. I didn't realize that it was already 9:30 and the computer has a caffeine-like effect on my brain. So, hasta manana.

2009-09-08T08:10:00.012-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a most unique dining experience. We went to the Dodging Duck which is probably our favorite place to eat in Boerne - it's kind of a pub with a big front porch and it's across the street from the river that's full of ducks (hence the name). Anyhow, as we were waiting for our food two ladies walked up to the porch leading horses and proceeded to hitch the horses and some feed bags to the porch posts. We met the horses, one's name was Charlie I remember, and the ladies encouraged us to take pictures and such. It was pretty neat, and seemingly uniquely "Texas" to dine with horses.

It got more unique a few minutes later though. You may be guessing what happened, but the waitress brought out my food, Paul says he saw the horse's eyes get really big, and, well, all of a sudden there was Charlie with his great big head between me and my plate, his nostrils quivering. I, trying desperately not to look like a Californian, tried to nonchalantly push my plate out of his reach, but Charlie just kept straining toward the plate with his bashful eyes looking at me as if to say, "please?" He never did eat any food (do horses eat cow anyway?), and his owner came over and flicked him on the nose and said "no" in a firm voice (and instructed me to do the same!) and got him to back off. Charlie went back to his feedbag and Paul and I started to laugh so hard at the absurdity of it all. It was a very memorable evening. Oh, and this is going to sound like the punch line to a really dumb joke probably, but in all seriousness - guess where Paul had said he wanted to go for dinner before we chose The Dodging Duck? Are you ready? This is no joke. THE HUNGRY HORSE! Seriously. I'm really not joking.

I think we moved to Hazzard County.

We went to a parade downtown on Saturday. It was two hours long and mostly consisted of hundreds of Shriner's club men (A cult? They have a prophet and a priest? So weird.) and tons of beauty pageant queens, princesses, and little misses. Above is a girl doing gymnastics on the bed of a moving pick-up truck.

Oh, and here come Charlie and his friend!

We then went from the parade to the county fair. There wasn't anything there to see except some goats. It really was an unimpressive fair. I was hoping for the Hall of Flowers but we're just not in Sonoma County any more. =) There was even only one cow on the grounds and she was just there for a milking demonstration. I'm sure there must be better fairs in Texas, but this one was just lame.

The highlight of the fair was this cute little girl trying to get her floppy-eared goat to stand in the correct position.

They did have horses at the fair, but they seemed destined for the glue factory. Most of them came right up to the gate as we approached them, seemingly desperate for attention. Except apparently one horse couldn't be bothered. (I don't know why but that picture just makes me laugh, it looks so snoody.) They were all very old, very tired looking creatures, but the one whose tongue just hung out of the side of its mouth was the worst. It was both funny and sort of gross and sad.

Our ticket to the fair did include admission to the rodeo later that night which was much, much better than the fair itself. Coming from California we could hardly believe this, but they actually prayed (in the name of Jesus) before the events started! I'm wondering when that kind of stuff will fail to shock me. Anyway, just as the rodeo was starting it began to pour and then as the sun set we saw lots of lightning. The rain continued to come down forcefully for at least half an hour and it made the rodeo so fun and exciting! I tried to take a picture of how huge the puddles were but our camera doesn't capture things well at night. The first time I took a picture the only thing I accidentally left the flash on so the only thing I got was the cowboy hat of the man sitting in front of us, but I thought that was appropriate.

Parking lots at fair grounds typically aren't paved and this one was no exception. And due to the rain this parking lot was a huge vat of muddiness. With each step I took my shoe would get sucked into the mud and be completely submerged and then only my foot would resurface and I'd have to dig around with my toes for the missing flip flop. After a few slow steps (slow both because of the mud and because we were laughing so hard), Paul took a cue from a young cowboy and hitched me onto his back for a ride to the car. Yep, our little Honda Civic with the Apple sticker on the back, looking as out of place amongst the F-350's crowded around it as we probably did amongst the cowboy boot-clad Texans.

2009-08-18T22:36:00.008-05:00

These pictures were actually taken a few weeks back. I can't believe how cloudy it looks in these photos because it seems like nearly every day we wake up to the sun blazing brightly at 7AM, its rays already heating us up to 80 degrees. (According to our computer it's a balmy 84 degrees right now and it's nearly midnight. Is that crazy or what?) The day we took those pictures though was a very hot and sweaty day, in spite of the clouds. Which is weird coming from California. If I see clouds or rain I automatically think - bake cookies, curl up on the couch and watch an old movie, read under the covers. But here it tricks me. My brain still associates those things with rain but then I step outside and it's not 60 degrees, but 100 degrees. Not the best kind of day to bake.

As long as I'm already on a little rant about Texas weather peculiarities, it's funny too how our bodies have acclimated to the heat. Take for example the other day - we walked out to the car to head to the grocery store and said to each other, "Wow, it doesn't feel very warm today." Then as we were driving we passed by a bank thermometer that said 93 degrees. Normally it says 98 or 100 so we were right in thinking that it was cooler, but how demented have we become to think 93 degrees is not very warm?? Did I mention that we have no air conditioning in our car?

These pictures were taken in the King William Historic District in downtown San Antonio. The photos pretty much speak for themselves, so I don't really feel that I have anything to add except to point out that in the one vertical picture of Paul he's standing on what we believed to be some sort of step for getting out of your carriage. Neither of us had ever seen that in person before. Also pictured is the checkerboard sidewalk - I don't know if it's original or not (it didn't really look like it) but a few houses had patterned walkways instead of boring pavement between the street and their gate. Pretty nifty.

Oh, and the cat. A random cat came up to us and then proceeded to follow for quite a distance. Remember the cat we saw at Becker Vineyards? Cat karma. Which reminds me that we have been watching a lot of My Name is Earl lately. Carson Daly.

2009-08-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

Oh, how we have longed to be back at St. John's Anglican Church! We miss the beautiful historic building (which is no longer theirs now anyway), we miss our friends, we miss Rev. Miller, and we miss having a place where we feel at home on Sunday mornings. St. John's was the first and only church we ever attended in Petaluma, no "church-hopping" required. It was too easy.

It has not been so easy to find a church here in Texas, even if we do now live in the so-called Bible Belt. Prior to today we visited three churches in Boerne: St. Helena's Episcopal Church (too liberal), St. John's Anglican Church (no one under the age of 60), and St. Mark's Presbyterian Church (just not right).

The Sunday that we attended St. Mark's Presbyterian church Paul and I were discouraged - to the point of wondering aloud if we weren't really supposed to move to Texas. It seemed like everything fell into place so naturally when we had moved to Petaluma. Though we realized three weeks of visiting churches is nothing compared to how long some people search, we were eager to become a part of a new church family in the same way that we had been at St. John's in Petaluma.

So that Sunday afternoon we sat down in a cafe and wrote out on the back of an old receipt a list of the things that we were really looking for in a church in order of importance. I'm pretty sure it went something like this:

1. Liturgy - Basically any church where we would actively take part in the service by reading Scripture and praying corporately.

2. Communion - This is really #1 for us, but we didn't think we could place it in the top spot because so few churches in Texas celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday. At St. John's I loved/hated saying the first line of the confession every week that reads, "we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone." For me at least, that means a lot of repenting if it includes my thoughts, words, and deeds, and then, if that weren't enough sins to confess, it goes on to include not only the things that I have done, but the things that I have not done?! I never once got callous toward saying that every week, it always stung a little. But then you feel a great relief from confessing and receive the assurance that your sins are forgiven through Christ's death, and you get to celebrate the feast! It is a great way to start a new week! Perhaps for selfish reasons alone, I don't want to go to a church that relegates this to once a month.
Here's the full confession in context, by the way:

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

This confession alone seriously almost makes me want to become an Episcopalian, no matter what else they may get wrong.

3. Fellowship - Preferably we would like to find a church with some younger couples/single people/families to befriend, but also older, wiser people too. We're finding in Boerne that it's difficult, and maybe even impossible, to find a church that meets all of the first 3 criteria.

4. Proximity - We used to be able to walk to St. John's and I think the majority of the congregation lived in Petaluma, maybe even the on west-side. =) We would prefer to find a church in Boerne, but know that this should not be the most important factor in deciding upon a church.

That was our list and we set out today with that criteria in mind. (But knowing that no matter what kind of Church service it turned out to be, we were there to worship and glorify God - I hope I don't give the impression that it was like we were out apartment hunting or something. We've been glad to be able to go to church at all every Sunday since we've been here.)

And this is the church we attended today. Well, really this not an actual picture of the place, but it did meet in a school cafeteria. (Quite a stark contrast to the old St. John's building in regard to aesthetics.) Despite its not-so-reverence-inspiring- appearance however, I am soooooo happy to be able to say that it meets criteria #1, #2, and #3 beautifully. It is in San Antonio, meaning a 35-45 minute drive, so it doesn't fit criteria #4. We don't feel like we can complain about the distance too much though as there were people there from Austin (who, by the way, recognized Paul from attending Redwood Chapel in the late 90s/early 2000s - small world).

But most of the elements of the liturgy that we so enjoyed at St. John's were present - we read Scripture responsively, sang the Doxology, confessed our sins corporately and privately, recited the Nicene creed, prayed the Lord's prayer (but not necessarily in that order), and stood up, sat down, stood up, sat down, stood up, sat down. We both found the sermon to be very thought-provoking and challenging too. And, hooray, they celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday! (I like that rhyme.) We even got to eat lunch (melt-in-your-mouth brisket, no less) after church with everyone and the people at our table included a young couple with a 4 month old baby, a single guy who was also there for the first time, a middle-aged mother with 7 kids (who was so nice that even though we had just met, she hugged me when we left - and it didn't seem weird), and a dad in his early 30s - a pretty nice mix to enjoy fellowship with.

We came away feeling like we were finally at home in Texas.

2009-08-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

Some day last week we visited a really neat town called Fredericksburg. (As a side note, we spend every day of the week except Sunday not knowing or really caring what day it is. It's strange - like we're old people or something.)

This is a really nice winery just outside of Fredericksburg. Yep, a winery! We moved from wine country to more wine country apparently. By the way, there are trees everywhere in Texas it seems, so it's hard to take panoramic-type pictures. I probably could have moved to get a better shot, but I'm trying to convince Paul that I need a better camera. =) (Hey, he tricked me into buying a Wii because he needed a better video game system...)

A lavender field at the winery.

It might not show up well here, but there were huge ants where we stood to take a picture of the lavender. It was fascinating to watch them, but from a distance as we were wearing flip-flops and have been warned to stay away from ants in Texas.

I told Paul I wanted to take his picture on the porch of the winery and as he was about to pose he noticed a cat sleeping peacefully next to him atop a wine barrel. So we took pictures of the cat instead.

Another building on the winery property. Every building is made out of stone in Texas.

Part of the inside of the winery. We didn't taste any wine because it was morning, but we did purchase an award-winning bottle. (And we're waiting until YOU visit us to open it!)

After visiting the winery we went to a place called Wildseed Farms. It's basically just a nursery but they have flowers and grasses planted too and you can take a walk around the mini-fields.

Fredericksburg not only has wineries, but also a local brewpub.

Paul was pleased. (Not necessarily ecstatic about taking this picture though.)

I was excited by this bread muffin thing that came with my salad. It was half pumpernickel (or is it rye?) and half wheat! We have a new-found love of pumpernickel/rye since moving to Texas because of all the German culture here.

There is a lot more to share but it's now 12:20AM CST. So, goodnight.

2009-08-05T18:42:00.000-05:00

I found this sign in a store window near our house in Boerne and I love it. It seems to speak volumes about our new hometown. As does Jim's Beverage Barn, a drive-through liquor store. Er... a beer, wine, soda, water, cigarettes store - Texas has interesting liquor laws. But more on that later. (I'm sure you're dying to know!)

So there's your first peak into our new neighborhood. A more formal update will follow soon. =)

2009-07-22T15:12:00.001-05:00

Life here in Texas sure is rough. I don't know if I can handle it, it's so awful. There are rattlesnakes rattling and scorpions stinging and you can barely breathe the air is so heavy. Everyone drives a huge truck, says y'all, and moves sooo slowly. Sike! Well, okay, there are a lot of huge trucks. With bumpers that are made of steel. But hardly anyone has an "accent", people work noticeably fast (almost too fast when they are making your sandwich at Subway - it's just thrown together), it doesn't feel Wisconsin-humid, and we've yet to encounter any poisonous wildlife. However! We did spot a pink Mary Kay Cadillac being driven by a truly stereotypical big-haired southern woman which was sort of surreal. And at a church we visited on Sunday (where, by the way, we were at least 30 years younger than anyone else in the congregation) we did also see a woman who had white hair but thickly penciled brown eyebrows and overall garish make-up taste. I'm sure these two ladies aren't typical of Texas since they stood out, but I kind of wish they were. I'm not sure if Texas has turned out its promise as being "a whole other country."

Here is our small slice of the real Texas though. These pictures show (off) how we spent our morning - lounging in the pool while catching up on some summer reading. We spent two hours out here after working out for an hour at the gym and had the whole pool area to ourselves. I must say that although I would never consider choosing a home based on such amenities, they are a pretty nice perk and something we intend to enjoy while we can.

I promise to put more pictures up soon, but here are a couple of photos of our new home from the outside.

Our car is officially a Texan!

2009-03-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the arrival of spring (although I guess technically it has not quite yet arrived), Ava and I planted wheatgrass and some herbs. Amazingly enough, the picture of the wheatgrass was taken only 1 week to the day after we sowed the seeds. The herbs are so slow in comparison with only the basil barely sprouting above the soil's surface. As you can see we also had a lot of fun smudging dirt on our faces and pretending to eat it since we were using spoons as makeshift shovels. I even tricked Ava later by eating an oreo and convincing her that it was dirt. (I'm sweet like that.)

Yep, we're Roman Catholics now. Really we go to an Anglican church which does have an Ash Wednesday service because as our pastor would say, "we look like Catholics and preach like Baptists." (He also likes to say that "he dresses up like mother to play 'father.'") So on Ash Wednesday we looked like Catholics. It turned out to be a really good, humbling service and we're both really glad we attended it, but there was a lot of debate over it beforehand (in our house, not in the church) based on this passage from Jesus' sermon on the mount:

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:16-18

Unbeknownst to us, Matthew 6 is the gospel reading for the Ash Wednesday liturgy! We understand it better now though. And our pastor just advised us to go home and wash our faces. (But here I am posting pictures for all to see. Our countenances are not sad, so maybe that helps??)

Last weekend we decided to mow through our jungle of a backyard with the knee-high grass as we finally saw a break from the rain. I decided to wear my Wellington boots, and from the looks of the picture it's a good thing I did! Besides the grass clippings, I was trying to guard myself from all of the spiders, beetles, potato bugs, slugs and other creepy things that could have crawled up my pant leg if I had not been wearing those boots. Our lawn doesn't look so hot in the after photo, but it at least looks so much more tame than it did. And, it reminds me that summer is on the way!! I cannot wait for the barbecues. (Paul takes over the making of meals!) =)

2009-02-18T13:40:00.000-06:00

It's been two months since the last blog post, and i feel it's high time for another. Unfortunately, I don't have much to write about. I guess it's been a bland two months.

This morning though, as I was organizing our collection of children's literature, I was thinking that I should make a list of the books that I really adore reading to Ava (and to myself!). I am quite lucky to take care of a girl who loves reading as much as I do. We seriously read for an hour to an hour and a half every morning and then again for about an hour as we eat our lunch. I know it may be unique to Ava, but I think it's funny when you take a child development class in college and are taught that a child's attention span is roughly 3-5 minutes per year of age. Ava is four so that would make her maximum attention span 20 minutes. Hogwash. I know that I built up her listening endurance though as the first day she came to my house we read half of a book before she wanted to move onto another activity (although the first thing she asked me the very next day was if we could maybe finish that book we started) and then slowly I just kept adding books until we were reading at least ten in one sitting. I choose the books (so we have a little more variety) and she gets to choose the order in which we read them. I have really come to love reading out loud and I especially enjoy all of the illustrations - we have lots of Caldecott medal books on our shelves. Perhaps if I could go and do it over again I would be a children's libarian (oops, librarian). =)

So, here, in no particular order, are my favorite children's books to pour over again and again:

A Child's Garden of Verses written by Robert Louis Stevenson, ill. by Alice and Martin Provensen
In the Forest written and ill. by Marie Hall Ets
Chanticleer and the Fox adapted from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, ill. by Barbara Cooney
Three Little Kittens written and ill. by Paul Galdone
Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pocks written by Erin Dealey, ill. by Hanako Wakiyama
Blueberries for Sal written and ill. by Robert McCloskey
The Story of Johnny Appleseed retold and ill. by Aliki
The Biggest Bear written and ill. by Lynd Ward
Cinderella translated and ill. by Marcia Brown
Many Moons written by James Thurber, ill. by Louis Slobodkin
Wee Gillis written by Munro Leaf, ill. by Robert Lawson
Doctor DeSoto written and ill. by William Steig
A New Coat for Anna written by Harriet Ziefert, ill. by Anita Lobel
The Story of Ferdinand written by Munro Leaf, ill. by Robert Lawson
Frog Went A-Courtin' retold by John Langstaff, ill. by Feodor Rojankovsky
The Storm Book written by Charlotte Zolotow, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel written and ill. by Virginia Lee Burton
Ox-Cart Man written by Donald Hall, ill. by Barbara Cooney
Millions of Cats written and ill. by Wanda Gag
Stone Soup written and ill. by Marcia Brown
Bread and Jam for Frances written by Russell Hoban, ill. by Lillian Hoban
Billy and Blaze written and ill. by C.W. Andersen
The Best Loved Doll written by Rebecca Caudill, ill. by Elliott Gilbert
The Story of Babar written and ill. by Jean de Brunhoff
Harry the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham
Make Way for Ducklings written and ill. by Robert McCloskey
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher written and ill. by Beatrix Potter (all of her stories are lovely)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea written by Cynthia Rylant, ill. by Arthur Howard (we LOVE all of the Mr. Putter books)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Bake a Cake written and ill. by Maj Lindman (again all of the books in the series are great!)
Frog and Toad are Friends written and ill. by Arnold Lobel (we love the whole series plus Owl at Home)

since our computer crashed it's not quite the same yet so this will probably have an odd font and font size. and i don't have any pictures right now. so sad...

2008-12-17T10:59:00.000-06:00

Well, old man Winter decided to show his face around Petaluma this morning. He's an early guest - I thought he was supposed to arrive on the 21st! As long as our heater is on (which you will be glad to know PG&E lit the pilot last Thursday), we don't mind his visit. It's really pretty actually. Everything is sparkling in the sunlight. I went for a walk to take these pictures but couldn't go too far because my socks were so thin my feet felt like they were going to freeze and break right off. I think as a Californian I'm a bit unprepared to face 25 degree weather. I guess the city thinks so too because they actually coned off streets that were deemed too icy - which I'm sure a northerner would find rather humorous. Don't those Wisconsin folks drive over a frozen lake all winter? (I know the answer is yes. And in light of that I want to say "thank you" to my parents for moving 2000 miles west.) =)

2008-11-18T22:06:00.000-06:00

I guess we should have registered for two sets of bedding? On Monday morning after washing the bedding I was remaking the bed and went to put the pillowcases on and instead of the pillows going into the cases, the cases practically tore in half. These are not just any pillowcases either, they are our wedding present pillowcases that my parents gave us three years ago. Our incredibly soft, ridiculously high thread-count, superior Egyptian cotton pillowcases. I am incredibly disappointed to see these go. I may even make handkerchiefs out of them for posterity. (Maybe our grandchildren will want a little piece of our first Crate and Barrel pillowcases?)

A couple of weeks ago our fitted sheet split right down the middle too. This also was a wedding present in a way, in that we bought it for ourselves after returning some registry items that were duplicates. I can remember standing on the third floor of Macy's Men's at Stoneridge trying to justify the cost of this (sixty dollar? eighty?) sheet -"We'll spend eight hours a day lying on this piece of fabric!" Actually, the price really does seem quite warranted if you look at it that way. Maybe I can convince Paul again... I replaced the sheet two weeks ago with a sheet of the Bluelight special variety. And guess what? The two-week old sheet is already completely pilly. It's downright horrid. I hate sleeping on it and I swear that I have gotten less sleep because of those pills. (I'm weird like that though, I can't sleep well with bunchy sheets or while wearing pajama pants or socks. I seriously just got goosebumps thinking about how awful it is to sleep in pajama pants.)

Is anyone still reading this post? I know that I should be grateful that my problems amount to deteriorating sheet sets and not being able to sleep in socks. But I do just miss our nice lovely bedding and I'm feeling a little nostalgic because it was one of the first things that belonged to us as a couple.

We're still sleeping on those pillowcases by the way - afterall, they are only ripped halfway down the middle on one side. So far the other side is still in relatively good shape. I learned from the K-Mart mistake (which was way more extravagant than buying the fancy sheet the first time around if you look at how poorly it's held up already!). You have to hold on to these good things as long as you possibly can!

Now I've got "Jack and Diane" in my head. You know, "Hold on to sixteen as long as you can! Changes come around real soon make us women and men." Oh John Mellancamp. How your gift of poetry has stuck with me. Thank you.

And you're welcome, reader, for this wonderful post.

2008-11-15T19:29:00.000-06:00

A day in the life of a stay-at-home preschool provider. Well, this represents more than one day, but every day is always filled with books, art, and eating.Today I got another little girl to join us! Woohoo! I'm so excited. She's two and her name is Ansleigh and her family seems cool. This blog post is very picture heavy because I'm too excited about having another kid coming to my house that I don't even know what to say!

2008-10-10T17:28:00.000-05:00

Autumn has arrived! The other day Ava (the 3 year old I watch) and I went for a walk and collected a basketful of leaves for an art project. As we were leaving the house to go on our leaf hunt she looked up at the sky and decided she would wear her rain slicker and galoshes "just in case." (Really, though, who wouldn't want to wear ladybug boots?) As we were walking down the street and marveling at all things waterproof, she stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk and exclaimed, "AND! these are bendy boots!" and proceeded to demonstrate how easy it was to squat down while wearing her boots. It made me laugh and very glad to being doing what I do.

2008-09-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

This past week our kitten, Minnie, discovered that she can climb fences! It's really quite scary to think of all of the trouble she can get into now that she's out in the big, wide world beyond our little backyard. I made her a makeshift collar out of a scrap of ribbon I had and attached a little piece of paper to it with our address and phone number on it, just to be safe. So far though, she just perches her little body on the fence most of the time. It's a little scary to know that she's wandering off, but she does look cute up on the fence with the ribbon around her neck.

2008-09-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I turned twenty-eight and Paul and I went out to dinner at Dempsey's to celebrate. I'm sure I've blogged (can that really be turned into a verb?) about Dempsey's before - it's this great little microbrewery restaurant situated on the riverfront in downtown Petaluma. It's fun to go there because you can park downtown and then walk across the river on a little footbridge (more on that later), and the scenery is particularly charming after dark as they have strung lights in the trees lining the riverbank which dance on the water's surface. The restaurant itself has an outdoor patio overlooking this whole scene and even though it was drizzling that night we chose to sit out there. It was a wise choice too because with the exception of one other couple sitting on the far opposite end of the patio, we had dinner to ourselves. Thanks to an umbrella over the table the rain didn't bother us either. It was a very nice, memorable evening out. It was made a little bit more memorable on the walk back to our car as well. That quaint wooden footbridge, the first rain of the season, a slight downward slope, and my flats proved to be a rotten combination. With seemingly no warning, my feet slipped out from under me and I fell really hard on my rear end. It totally knocked the wind out of me, but I regained my composure quickly. It was actually quite comedic. Knocked down but not defeated, Paul dusted me off and we went home and ate huge slices of birthday cake. It was truly a joyful, memorable evening.

P.S. You might think that Paul and I look like we are totally wasted in the picture above, but I just want to clarify that when you are outside and it is dark when a flashbulb goes off in front of your eyes it's incredibly difficult to keep them open. Believe it or not, we took about 6 pictures prior to this one and this was the only one in which both of us actually had our eyes semi-open. I wanted to keep trying to take pictures, but Paul's like Chandler from Friends - after a while he forgets how to smile (which you can sort of tell in this picture) - so he asked if we could stop. Below are a few priceless "out-takes:"

Apparently, we're not so photogenic. Paul said he was trying to get something out of his tooth in that one picture - guess he forgot what we were doing.

2008-09-16T11:27:00.001-05:00

I hate political games.

As I have previously written, I am currently in the process of obtaining a license through the state of California to operate a childcare facility in our home. This process basically includes: attending an orientation to the licensing process and CA Title 22 requirements, submitting an application, getting fingerprinted, passing a T.B. test, attending a CPR/First Aid class, and finally, having a home inspection by a representative of the licensing department. I have completed every step in the process and I am now ready for the final step - the home inspection. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? One would think so, until one remembers this is a government agency and, even worse, a government agency whose budget has been recently cut.

So this morning I called the local social services office and spoke with my "analyst," Kelly, in the hopes of scheduling the home inspection with her. When she picked up I stated the reason for my call and after a long pause she said, "Yeah... did you apply recently?" To which I responded, "I'm not sure what your definition of 'recent' is, but I applied at the beginning of August, so it was over a month and a half ago." Then after another long pause, she replied, "I have been instructed by my supervisor not to schedule any inspections with new applicants. If you have a problem with this I'd suggest you phone your state representative." I laughed when she said this which I think confused her, but that is such a ridiculous statement to me!

Clearly they are trying to get me to be a player on their team in this silly little political game. They are not stupid. They know that A) the government is elected by the people, for the people, B) if they want more money for their department they must make the budget cuts have a direct negative effect on "the people," and C) if they can rile up enough of "the people," "the people" will go to the government and make demands on behalf of the department and then they win by getting the money they want. Maybe she was hoping that I was stupid enough to fall for this ploy? But why would I join their team when they are punishing me because they were punished for mis-allocating my tax dollars?

Perhaps I'm wrong about all of this, but it just seems like nonsense to me. I'm seriously considering being an unlicensed childcare provider, which sounds kind of horrible, but since when do you need a license to take care of kids? Besides, perhaps these budget cuts won't allow them to find unlicensed childcare providers since it won't allow them to license childcare providers. (Did I mention that I already paid them $85 to obtain a license?) I really don't feel like playing.

P.S. Analyst Kelly just called a few minutes ago. I think she was a little unnerved by my response (or lack thereof). She told me to call back in a couple weeks and said that maybe then I would be at the top of her list. She also asked me to not give anyone her name if I did complain. This makes me feel a little bit better, like I have some control over the situation. She called me and she seems worried that I might get her in trouble. But still, I just don't want to play.

2008-09-06T15:39:00.000-05:00

My new foray into the world of childcare has officially begun! For the past couple of weeks I've been taking care of a sweet three-year old girl. It's been fun and exhausting at the same time. It's surprisingly taxing to always be playing some sort of role (teacher, patient, mom, dog ((yes, dog)), principal, etc.) when you are a twenty-seven-year old girl! I'm glad she's an imaginative child though, and I certainly don't want to be the one to kill that imagination. By the way, I think I've raved about the Goodwill in a previous post, but I got all of the above-pictured items at the Goodwill for well under $10 (total). I'm completely addicted to thrift stores and garage sales now.

Paul has been very busy getting ready for school which is to start this Wednesday if all goes as planned. He is down at the school today (Sat.) helping to move furniture into classrooms, although his classroom still needs to be painted and carpeted. It's funny because last year the room he was in at the old location had odds and ends stored in it and tiles hanging off the ceiling until 2 days before school began, and so it was a last minute push to get his room set up for the first day of school. I guess this year will prove to be the same. Maybe that's just part of the profession - you have to be flexible. This year Paul is teaching grammar (which encompasses English & Latin grammar) for 6th, 7th, & 8th grades, literature for 7th & 8th grades, and Bible for 6th grade. So, six classes total, with 2 periods for each grade - a nice balance. Oh, plus once a week he'll be teaching a guitar elective.

Anyway there you have it - another brief update on our lives. And, once again, I'll try to get Paul to post something. He really does have something to post about too and it's pretty cool. A couple of things actually. I have to laugh as I am typing because my right ring finger has this humongous monstrosity of a blister on the knuckle. I threw some zucchini (homegrown from our own garden, I might add...) into some very hot olive oil last night (stupid, huh?) and received a nice splash of burning oil on my poor unsuspecting finger. Not only that, but this burning flesh came in addition to my awful cold which began with a sore throat and high fever and has settled into a nice seal-bark cough. The idiom when it rains it pours seems to be an accurate assessment of the way things go in the Johnson household. I guess that's just life.

2008-08-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've done this blogging thing - I feel a little rusty. First, I should say that we gave away (I'm always tempted to say "got rid of," but that doesn't sound very nice) two of our little kitties a couple of weekends ago. I know that it's said that animals have keen instincts, and those kittens seemed to know that their day of separation had arrived. They were just exhibiting really unusual behavior - hiding inside instead of playing outside like they normally would - and this was hours before the people who were going to give them a new home had arrived. It was no treat rounding them up when it was actually time to hand them over to their new families either. One cat lady got scratched on the hand trying to keep Chewbacca from escaping her makeshift kennel and was bleeding quite a bit. I offered her a band-aid, but she refused and sort of ran to her car, toting a crying Chewbacca in a plastic file crate with a piece of a cardboard box for a lid. I can imagine that he may have escaped that contraption before they reached the stop sign at the end of our street. Two teenage girls also came for a kitten as their cat had recently "passed on." We gave them Sam because he/she was the only one we could catch. So we were left with this one, Minnie.

Minnie! The runt of the litter who would hiss at us and run away if we got too close! In a way it felt noble to keep Minnie, like we were making some sort of selfless sacrifice since she was too shy and mean, and maybe too weak and small, to give away. Much to our surprise, however, Minnie has turned out to be the sweetest, cutest kitten of all! She must have really gotten picked on by her siblings because now that they are gone she has a completely different personality. Anyway, enough about cats. Although I will say that we bought one of those soaker hoses and all of the kittens loved to drink the water from that hose and that is what they are doing in that top picture. And Minnie really enjoys sleeping in the shade of the green waste bin for some reason.

We also recently found some cans of paint under the house and I repainted our steps and deck. As you can see, even just one coat made a huge difference. And best of all, it was a totally free make-over. We always seem to be finding things like this at our house that previous tenants have left for us. I always wanted some of those metal hanging flower baskets and Paul found two of them, in perfect condition, laying between the side of our house and the fence. There was also this great piece of furniture someone left in our garage that we recently salvaged:

Can you believe that that was just sitting (on its side I might add) in our garage? It was only partially painted, dirty, and covered with cobwebs but - with the aid of Paul's skateboard to get it out of the garage and into the house (skateboards are fantastic for moving heavy things!), and about twenty bucks worth of paint and new hardware for the drawers - we now have a nice big hutch with lots of storage space sitting in our dining room. And partly due to the inspiration of that virtually free piece of furniture, our dining room is now going to become a little playroom. In case you didn't already know, I've quit my job as the secretary at HCS and I am in the process of obtaining my license to have childcare in our home. I'm really excited about it! I've put out an initial ad to take care of a child from one family, as that is all I can do until I receive the go-ahead from the state. So far I've only gotten two responses which I did not respond back to because I thought that they were weird. One was from a man named Fetcher who said that he was temporarily visiting the U.S. with his son, but the way he worded the e-mail it sounded almost like he was looking for housing and not a nanny, or maybe even a wife. He talked about how quiet and patient he was (not his child, but Fetcher). He also asked for a full name and address to send the initial check to, in order to hold his child's spot. Weird. Needless to say, I deleted it. I also deleted the first response I received mostly because in her e-mail the mom spelled the word "interested" like this: i-n-t-r-e-s-t-e-d. I'm kind of kidding about that being the reason, but that did bother me and I did delete it. Anyway, more on that later as more developments occur. And I'll try to get Paul to post too.

2008-07-17T12:25:00.000-05:00

The time has come. Two out of three of our adorable kittens will likely be gone by the end of next week. We are considering keeping one as a playmate for kitty, but we can't decide who to keep. Should we keep the slow one, Minnie, who walks in circles and runs away as soon as you come near her, but who is hilariously entertaining and will chase anything that moves (except humans)? Or should we take Sam, the one sleeping on my lap in the picture above who is definitely the cutest and follows Kitty around everywhere like they are playing a game of follow the leader? Or should we keep Chewbacca who is the friendliest and most curious and follows Paul and I around everywhere we go? Big decisions to be made. =)

2008-06-27T20:32:00.000-05:00

Displayed above are some photos from our trip to Disneyland earlier this week. (Can it really still be the same week?!) For those who were there, the top photo makes me laugh so hard I cry every time I look at it! I really need to get off of the computer, but here is a brief update on our summer thus far:

Paul is in Austin, TX for a teacher training conference - it's awful not having him home and I can't wait until he returns (which, thankfully, is tomorrow). He's having a great time though. I called him on Wednesday night as our former college pastor, Steve, was giving him a tour of the city and the first thing Paul said to me was, "we have to live here." Apparently, Steve is an excellent tour guide.

I am working full-time right now for Kala Brand Ukulele. It's a cool job and I'm learning totally new things. I spend my days taking orders over the phone listening carefully to differentiate between the letters "C," "E," "T," & "B" (every product has a code and it's surprisingly difficult to hear these sounds without seeing the person's mouth - it can make a big difference as C=concert B=baritone T=tenor and E=E.Q., as I'm sure you were dying to know), entering orders and receiving customer payments in Quickbooks, filing mounds of invoices, and practicing my Hawaiian phrases.

We still have our kittens, although we will be getting rid of one of them soon. They are pretty big and very fast and feisty. I haven't been letting them out of our laundry room while Paul has been gone because I don't think I can catch them all by myself or contain them in our yard. When I go to feed them they come charging at the door and I have to nudge them back with my feet. Usually one escapes under the door, but it's a lot easier for me to round up than three.

Our weather has been nasty due to the fire in Napa. It's smokey and hazy all day long. I can't wait to see some blue sky again! On our way home from Disneyland Paul and I stopped at this bike warehouse in Torrance called XYZ bikes and he bought me a 24" (I'm short) vanilla cruiser like this one. Because he had to leave at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, immediately after we returned from Disneyland, it's still sitting in the box. I'm hoping for some clean air and blue sky this weekend so we can go bike riding through the countryside together!

Aloha!

2008-05-20T23:12:00.000-05:00

Introducing (from top to bottom) Minnie, Chewbacca, & Sam. Our kittens have grown from little blobs of fur into miniature cats. They walk (Minnie generally walks backwards), run, spin in circles (Minnie does this constantly, we think she's trying to figure out how to get out of reverse), chew on plastic bags, fight with each other, jump at sudden noises (Chewbacca is particularly jumpy), lick bare feet, and eat kitten chow. They are really cute and very entertaining to watch.

I took this one picture of them before they could walk and it really reminds me of that Genesis video for that song "I Can't Dance." Paul denies any similarities, but it makes me laugh every time I see this picture.

2008-05-20T22:45:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night we got to spend the evening with a group of Paul's students. HCS recently had an auction and one of the items to bid on in the silent auction was bowling and pizza for four with Mr. & Mrs. Johnson. We had a really great time and they are a hilarious bunch. They were so funny that as Paul and I were walking to church on Sunday morning we were recounting the funny things that they had said and could barely stand up we were laughing so hard. Good times.

2008-04-28T00:10:00.000-05:00

Three peas in a pod.

Kitten wrestling.

More kitten wrestling.

Chewbacca (guess who's getting attached!) was the first to open his eyes.

2008-04-19T14:36:00.000-05:00

We have rats in our house! (Not really, but don't they kind of look like rats?) In the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, Kitty Johnson gave birth to three kittens. Actually, she gave birth to two kittens before we left for work and when I came home for lunch, a third one had appeared! They are really pretty cute even though they are still deaf and blind and spend all day nursing or sleeping. We'll post more pictures as they mature and start to play!

2008-04-12T20:52:00.000-05:00

Paul and I went to the lovely V. Sattui winery in St. Helena today. The weather was perfect as we sat on the lawn under the shade of a tree, talking, people watching (unfortunately, one woman we watched passed out), eating some very delicious sandwiches, and, of course, drinking a glass of wine. V. Sattui is one of my favorite places to go because they have this amazing barbecued tri-tip. I seriously have no idea how they make the tri-tip so tender and flavorful, but I have never had anything like it anywhere else in my whole life! Suffice it to say, I highly recommend visiting the V. Sattui winery.

2008-04-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

Summer weather is here! Hurray!

2008-03-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

I feel like we are past due for an update on our blog. Which reminds me that we have some overdue library books as well... Anyway, today is the last day of our week-long spring break. We had a really good vacation - we were able to accomplish a few projects around the house, spend time with friends and family, and recreate. (This is a tangent, but I just read somewhere that the word recreation is generally misused these days to simply mean to go for a bike ride or something, when really it originally meant to stop, think, and "re-create." Although, I do think that going for a long walk and thinking about one's life seem to go hand and hand. So maybe the modern definition of the word is not so far from its origin.) I could go into great detail about all of the things that we did, but I'm feeling rather lazy. And no one really wants to read all of that junk anyway, right? The pictures above were taken on Easter Sunday post-sunrise (I guess that's obvious!); the following picture was taken pre-sunrise of that amazing full moon.

The photograph doesn't do it justice, but I can still picture in my mind how truly breathtaking that morning was. Everything was so still and quiet and pristine. Paul and I got up before dawn that day, feeling pretty sleepy and grumpy and a little overwhelmed by the things we had to accomplish before heading off to church, but when we saw that moon, we suddenly remembered what day it was and what was important (and not so important) about that day. We spent a long time in silent awe.

Anyway, Paul is bugging me to get off the computer and watch something with him. But for those who have been to our house, I have to post a picture of our latest improvement. Last night we had the bright idea to move our computer out of the dining room and into the small alcove between the kitchen and the back porch. The computer is basically just sitting on a board that is attached to the wall, but it makes a great desk area, which we sorely needed. I don't know about Paul, but I feel more prepared to face the last nine weeks of school already. (Yay! Only nine weeks left!!)

Hasta luego,

erica

P.S. Can anyone please tell me why you can't click on the pictures in these posts to make them open up full size in another window? I haven't changed the settings, and I can't figure it out. The only thing that has changed is that we now use Safari instead of Firefox. Also, why is one paragraph of this post spaced differently?

2008-02-29T17:27:00.000-06:00

The weather has been fantastic the last couple of days around here and it reminded me of how wonderful it is to live in California as others are still braving ice and snow. (Seventy-three degrees in February?!) These pictures remind me of a lazy summer day, the kind of day that Paul and I are quite eager to return to. It seems to me that the picture of the sidewalk should have a wayward scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on it.

Before we get to summer vacation though school will be quite busy. Paul is organizing an art show that will be held next Friday, and shortly thereafter we'll be holding a speech meet, spelling bee, and science fair. Then we'll have spirit week, diem compite, an old-fashioned school-wide picnic, Butter and Eggs Day parade, and the school auction. Many activities to cram into only fifty-seven school days! But I think we can handle fifty-seven days of craziness, knowing that summer vacation is on its way. =)

By the way, it's probably obvious, but I didn't take either one of those pictures. They really are both in Petaluma, but I found them on flickr.

2008-02-09T15:57:00.000-06:00

Signs of spring are all around! Trees are budding, flowers are blooming, temperatures are rising, and our cat is mating. Yes, our beloved little kitty is apparently "in heat" right now. So perhaps we'll have some kittens running around come April. (No, we haven't had our cat spayed yet and yes, she become an out of doors cat. And yes, we are horrible, irresponsible human beings.)

Latin class is going very well. It's very challenging, but in a good way. Translating sentences is really fun because of all of the declensions - it's like a puzzle that you have to piece together, with little clues to guide you along the way. We had our first test two weeks ago, and both of our tests came back with "optime" written on them because both received an A+! We have another test this week and I'm really hoping we'll both get an A+ again. Which reminds me that I really should probably be doing something other than writing this blog. Valete!

2008-01-26T16:09:00.001-06:00

If there is any more rain, we're going to have to grow gills. Yesterday it rained steadily from dawn till dusk and more rain clouds are expected to head our way over the next few days. We don't mind though. Last night Paul and I put on our water-resistant jackets, pulled the hoods up over our heads, and took a stroll around the downtown in the midst of the down-pour, feeling a bit like little kids (minus the splashing in puddles and picking up worms). This morning we went for a walk around the neighborhood and I took some pictures of the effect El Nino had on our little 150 year old town.

2008-01-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

Today Paul and I went thrift store shopping and it was so much fun! We got so many useful and unique items in great condition for a fraction of what we would normally pay - I'm totally sold on thrift store shopping now (Paul was convinced long ago). I still don't really want to wear someone else's old clothes, but I'll use their gently used dishes and furniture in a heartbeat. The chair pictured above has a tag on the underside of the seat from some fancy schmancy Scandinavian furniture store in San Francisco and the turquoise creamer is from the 1940's. We picked up some other stuff too, but those were my favorite. We also went to this used bookstore called Odyssey in Novato that is going out of business and has therefore slashed their prices to 80% of the already marked down price. It was amazing. I did the math and on average we paid 93 cents per book (and two of them were N.T. Wright books that sell on Amazon for over thirty dollars). Even though we spent money, we paid so little and got so much that it felt like we were somehow being good stewards. I guess if we had just stayed home we wouldn't have spent a dime though. Oh... but if we had stayed home we wouldn't have given our charitable donation to the Boys and Girls Club or the Hospice of Petaluma!

On another note, Paul and I start taking Latin at the Petaluma junior college on Tuesday. We're both super excited. Perhaps we'll be able to read Winnie Ille Pu by June! (I'm kind of being facetious, but that would be cool.)

2007-12-30T00:53:00.000-06:00

I am so grateful for Saturdays - especially when one is sandwiched between a two-week vacation. =) Today Paul and I have been feeling a bit under the weather, perhaps due to the raininess and cold that apparently is part and parcel of Petaluma's winter season. But, since it's a Saturday, we were able to laze around the house, letting the Nyquil work its magic, watching movies, cleaning, napping, doing laundry, and baking up some treats for coffee hour at church tomorrow. Now the house looks clean and orderly, we have freshly laundered clothes to wear, the smell of brownies baking is in the air, and we're feeling better overall. Even Kitty Johnson is enjoying the day, as you can see.

2007-12-27T20:24:00.000-06:00

Paul and I just returned to Petaluma after spending four very busy, but very fun days in the East Bay for Christmas. Saturday we celebrated Christmas early with my parents, cousins, uncle and aunt, and great-aunt. We basically played Scrabble, gorged ourselves on swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes, and exchanged gifts. On Sunday Paul and I went to Bay Books, played more Scrabble, enjoyed some delicious food and drink and some rowdy college football fans at the Englander, and drove around to look at Christmas lights. Sunday was a quiet, restful day before the second round of Christmas hoopla began. On Monday afternoon we rode out to Ripon with Ken and Tess for "The Johnson Family Christmas Eve." It was quite the extravaganza with 33 Johnson family members in attendance - we sang a lot of songs, participated in a pirate gift exchange, and ate a huge potluck meal. Afterward the four of us stopped in Livermore to see the legendary Deacon Dave's Christmas lights, which is where I took the photo of the jailed deer. (My photos of the lights didn't turn out very well, but you can get a glimpse of it here.) Then we attended an 11 o'clock Christmas Eve service at St. Clare's Episcopal Church in Pleasanton. The service was interesting - everyone who read spoke with an affected British accent, the choir members wore ruffled collars up to their chins and sang in an operatic style, and the organist was a knight. It all seemed a little pretentious in comparison to our church, but it was still a good service and Paul and I determined that attending a church service on Christmas Eve is the one tradition we intend to keep above all others. On Tuesday, we spent the morning at Paul's dad's house for a delicious pancake breakfast and exchanged our gifts with him and Tess, then we stopped by Tess' family's Christmas celebration, followed by a brief visit to Paul's grandpa and grandma Johnson's, and, finally, we were off to Paul's mom's house in Pleasanton for Christmas dinner. And what a Christmas dinner it was - melt in your mouth prime rib (like, seriously), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffed mushrooms, breadsticks...yum. Following dinner, we opened presents, and had yet another Scrabble match.

All in all, Christmas '07 was a fun time filled with family, food, and...Frabble?

2007-12-20T00:16:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. I hope Paul doesn't kill me...

Click here to see what I mean: Merry Christmas from the Johnsons

Thanks for the inspiration uncle Kent and aunt Jeanne! =)

2007-12-16T10:28:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from Harvest Christian School! We're all smiling so big because there are only four and a half more school days until Christmas vacation - or perhaps it was the Bear's Lair merlot we imbibed.

2007-12-11T23:25:00.000-06:00

A couple of weekends ago Paul and I went to Union Square on a whim to go Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived most stores were already closed, but we still enjoyed seeing all of the lights. (What is it about Christmas lights in particular that is so mesmerizing?) Petaluma doesn't seem to decorate for Christmas much and I have to say that, in a strange way, I kind of miss the big, tacky, burn-your-cornea, displays that Castro Valley puts out for the holiday season.

2007-11-27T23:57:00.001-06:00

Paul and I had the opportunity to spend four and a half days back in the East Bay during our Thanksgiving vacation. In that relatively short amount of time we were able to see a lot of people and go several places. Some of the more memorable highlights include, eating delicious smoked turkey at Paul's mom's house on Thanksgiving, seeing Beowulf (that movie was hilariously ridiculous) from the second row in the theater (why do they put seats that close?) with Andre, Tiffany, and Steve and enjoying some Krispe Creme donuts afterward, and holding Paul's cousin Brian's 3 week old baby, Isabelle. We are very grateful to have been able to stay at my parents' house too, where we could sleep in, take a shower without having the water getting cold after ten minutes, and always be able to count on having a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner provided. We had so much fun spending time with family and friends and it was a refreshing break from our regular day-to-day routine. We are definitely glad to be back home in Petaluma again, but we are looking forward to spending time with even more family members and friends in just a few short weeks!

2007-11-18T12:32:00.000-06:00

We spent the afternoon in Sonoma yesterday and even though it's only about a twenty minute drive away from our house, it felt like a mini-vacation. I wish these pictures could fully capture how beautiful that town is when autumn hits it. I realized yesterday that I really enjoy this season because the weather is still pleasant (in the seventies most days), every grassy hillside and meadow is green, the sun is lower in the sky, and the sky is sprayed with thin and wispy clouds that never obscure the sun (stratus clouds or cirrus, maybe?). Also, it's very entertaining to watch our cat chase and stomp leaves as they fall to the ground. Spring is still better when everything is fresh and clean and new. But it wouldn't be so fresh and clean and new without fall and winter putting it all to sleep. That's another thing I like about fall, it kind of lulls you gently into the deep sleep of winter. If only we could join the bears and slumber away 'till April.

Just as another side note, as mentioned in a previous blog, Paul had the opportunity to lead a song in church last Sunday. It was funny though, because several people came up to Paul afterward asking him if he had really written that wonderful song. As you can see, the prelude was written by Bach and the offertory was apparently written by Paul. (Not really though!) Just click on the picture and you should be able to spot the error.

2007-11-04T21:39:00.000-06:00

Today marks our two-year wedding anniversary! I thought it would be appropriate to post some of our wedding pictures to commemorate the occasion.

I don't know why it's not grouping the pictures on the blog in the way that I arranged them, but whatever. I've tried for a half an hour and I'm giving up. Plus we are going out to Dempsey's with a bunch of people from church and we're supposed to be there at 8:30 and it's now 8:26.

So, to our family and friends - thanks for coming to our wedding and showing us your support. We are very thankful and know that our marriage would very likely not exist (or at least would look very different) if it were not for your support, encouragement, guidance, and example.

2007-10-30T23:52:00.001-05:00

Paul will be busy grading papers and calculating percentages this weekend as report cards are being sent home on Monday. In a way it's difficult to believe that a quarter of the school year has already passed. Paul was just saying to me "what was I doing a year ago today?" and we realized that he was still a janitor at the church. A lot has changed in a relatively short amount of time.

2007-10-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

So, I went to get my hair cut yesterday and left the salon looking like an early nineties version of Jennifer Aniston's character "Rachel" on that show Friends. Not exactly what I had in mind. So I decided to take the matter into my own hands and spent the evening hacking off all of those funky awful layers. And I have to say, I now know why kids like lopping off their own bangs. It is such a cool feeling to take a big section of hair and slice into it, and it makes the best sound! (sssh-YAWK! - if you can hear that in your head.) I got lots of compliments on my hair today too, so it must not look too shabby. You can judge for yourself, but take off your glasses first.

2007-10-30T21:39:00.001-05:00

Have we become "cat people?"
Here is our little fur friend fast asleep in her usual contortionist-like positions.

2007-09-30T20:12:00.001-05:00

As promised a while back, here are some photos of the new place we call home. It's a petite thing, but it is very bright and airy which helps make it feel a bit bigger than it actually is.

Kitty Johnson is getting awkwardly cuddly as she matures. She was, amazingly, sound asleep at the time this photo was taken.

We found this book at a bookstore in Santa Rosa a couple of weekends ago. It's Winnie the Pooh translated into Latin. We also picked up Min Forste Ordbook by Richard Scarry - a Norwegian/English wordbook for children. They are both so cool. Sometimes I think about how horrible it would be if our house caught fire and we lost all of our books. But then again, we'd have a good excuse to go out and try to replace them, which would be fun.

We also just received a FREE Credenda Agenda audio cd in the mail on Friday and listened to it in its entirety today. I recommend everyone should get one before they run out. Just go here: http://www.canonpress.org/shop/item.asp?itemid=1196 and this, too, could be yours. If they have run out though, you could just go here http://www.credenda.org/ and read it for free online.

Right now Paul is playing and singing that song See What a Morning. I think that's what it's called anyway. He has been asked to lead singing at the school chapels which happen twice a month and he really enjoys it. Actually, he was also asked to consider whether or not he'd like to lead music at church on Sunday mornings too. We'll see...

So, there you have it. A brief update on our lives. Hope all is well for everyone that we don't see so often. We miss everyone very, very much. And for now, we really must go to the grocery store.

Erica

Discipulus

2007-09-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

So I am sitting here at the computer and our kitten, Kitty, decides that it is fun to jump up on the bookcase and kick-it behind my books. Really, I wouldn't care that she was back there but she also seems to think that it is fun to kick the books on the floor. Scratching and biting the books is also a fun bookcase sitting activity. You see I like to keep my books as tooth-and-claw-mark free as humanly possible. So I squirt the cat with a water bottle indicating that she should remove herself quickly. This "squirt" tactic usually works. She jumps away and cleans off the water. The problem is that she jumps on the shelf again, and remains there for so long sometimes to endure nearly fifteen squirts.
Why does this game of squirt the cat strangely remind me of teaching? Sometimes it seems like no matter how much you might try to convince or prod some people they will jump back to the shelf from which you just removed them. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that students are only as intelligent as cats, they are mostly very bright. The problem seems to be a lack of a desire to think.
Funny though that I sitting here contemplating cats, kids, and discipline when I should be reading.
so bye.

2007-09-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures taken at school:

Mr. Johnson's seventh grade grammar class in action.

Mr. Johnson's students participating in class.

Mrs. Johnson sitting at her desk.

2007-09-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

School has officially begun. And Mr. Johnson has taken the school by storm. First graders and sixth graders alike flock to him, hoping that he'll even glance in their direction. A group of first grade boys interrogated him one day asking "if he was from the future" (to which he responded, "yes", much to their excitement) and "if he liked girls" (to which he also responded, "yes," much to their disappointment). One particular fifth grader, when asked by his mom why he thought Mr. Johnson was so cool, candidly responded, "He has such cool glasses and a faux hawk!" Duh.

Life is good for Mr. Johnson.

2007-08-11T22:24:00.001-05:00

Kitty Johnson has turned out to be one ferocious feline. (Actually, she has the habit of blinking every time the camera flashes.) Can you spot Kitty in the picture on the top right? She's very fond of hanging out with Paul.

My blissfully carefree summer vacation officially ended last week. (By the way, I'm helping Paul figure out his grammar curriculum for this year, so I can't help but analyze every sentence I write - pronoun, adverb, adj., adj., noun, adverb, verb, adj., noun - that's all that's going on in my head as I type.) On Monday, Paul convinced me to go with him down to the school to see if he could set up his classroom and while there I got suckered into starting my job as the school receptionist/secretary at 8:00 am the following day. Whoopee. Actually, it's a good thing because it means we'll receive a paycheck a few weeks earlier than we expected and it gives me a chance to get settled into my job a bit before school begins. But still, it's funny - it always seems like once you really begin to relish something (in my case, not waking up to an alarm clock, taking long walks around the neighborhood every morning, eating breakfast and lunch at a leisurely pace, reading for hours on end), it's quickly gone. Which somehow reminds me that I should get off the computer and go mop the hardwood floor.

2007-08-06T18:28:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday Erin came to visit! We went to this great restaurant called Dempsey's which is located right next to the river in Downtown Petaluma. We had delicious food, great scenery, and a really fun time hanging out with Erin!

2007-07-29T23:12:00.001-05:00

After church today Paul and I decided to go to the Sonoma County fair. We got really lucky too, because as we were walking toward the entrance these two older ladies were walking out and asked it we wanted two free tickets. We accepted their generous offer and saved fourteen bucks! The fair was pretty fun - we saw a sheep shearing contest, lots of pretty flowers, and some huuuuge Holsteins. We also saw a goat named Sonya (that's for you, mom). =)

Yesterday we drove to Dillon beach which is located about a half an hour from our house. It was so windy that it almost wasn't enjoyable, but it was pretty and we enjoyed seeing our proximity to the coast. (Now we understand why we get so much fog.)

Right now Paul is at a place called Finbar Devine's with some guys from our church. Everyone at church has been very welcoming to us - inviting us to dinner, softball games, Bible studies, etc. It's been great. We have so much to be thankful for.

2007-07-27T00:04:00.001-05:00

We got a little kitten today from the Rooks! We are so excited!

But, we are even more excited that Andrew and Bekah's baby was born today! Congratulations Andrew and Bekah!!

2007-07-26T15:50:00.000-05:00

My favorite "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey. Not everyone finds these funny, but I do - and I hope you do too. Also, I'm bored at work and have nothing better to do but write a meaningless blog.

As we were driving, we saw a sign that said "Watch for rocks." Marta said it should read "Watch for pretty rocks." I told her she should write in her suggestion to the highway department, but she started saying it was a joke, just to get out of writing a simple letter. And I thought I was lazy.

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, "Probably because of something you did."

If you define cowardice as running away at the first sign of danger, screaming and tripping and begging for mercy, then yes, Mr. Brave man, I guess I'm a coward.

Laurie got offended that I used the word "puke." But to me, that's what her dinner tasted like.

To me, it's always a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?," you can say, "Sorry, got these sacks."

The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.

2007-07-20T22:52:00.001-05:00

One of the teachers from Harvest Christian just e-mailed us some photos she took during our trip. Here are some of our new friends/co-workers:

Thea (art), Chelsea (1st gr.), Me, Paul

Kari (5th gr.) and Paul

Me and Terra (choir)

Chelsea and Jason, Me, and Paul - smelling his armpit

We didn't go on this walk, but apparently everyone else did.
Jason (4th gr.), Chelsea, Thea, Kari, Lauchlan (6th/7th), Shelley (2nd/3rd gr.), Jon - the one being held (the principal), and kneeling is Elizabeth, but she doesn't work at Harvest.

It was cool to be able to go to the conference with the rest of the staff - we feel like we got a jump start on getting to know everyone before the school year starts. We will be working with two other married couples (Jon & Thea and Jason & Chelsea), so it will be nice to not be the only co-workers who happen to be husband and wife! We hung out a lot with Jason and Chelsea, in fact, several hours on their 2 year anniversary - they might have hated it, but were at least too nice to tell us to get lost. Everyone we met was very nice and fun to be around - we look forward to working with them in a little over a month.

2007-07-20T15:01:00.001-05:00

One of the best things about moving from an apartment to a house has to be, being able to do laundry without having to go get quarters, and having a spot to line dry clothes.

This is how we've been spending the morning while our clothes flap above us in the balmy breeze:

Tough life, huh?

2007-07-18T01:42:00.001-05:00

Some snapshots from Paul's birthday celebration - including a scrumptious dinner at McNear's Saloon in downtown Petaluma (located only a few blocks from our house!) and a homemade birthday cake.

Happy 27th birthday to Paul!

2007-07-16T19:37:00.001-05:00

A little kitty visited me in our yard this morning. It was pretty much the excitement of the day. It wasn't wearing any tags nor a flea collar, so Paul and I are assuming that it is a feral cat. Also it drank a lot of milk - something most pet cats aren't usually super interested in.

I asked Paul what he thought we should name it (not that it's ours) and the first name that came to mind was Agamemnon - a pretty big name for such a little guy, so I'm calling him Aggie for short. We'll see if sweet, cuddly, Aggie ever lazes about in our yard again. I hope so!

Moscow and beyond

2007-07-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

Howdy, Erica and I recently returned from Moscow, Idaho where Logos School Holds their annual teacher training seminar. The seminar was great. We learned a lot and can't wait to put these ideas about classical Christian education into practice. If you have heard us talking about classical schools and wonder what it is all about, here is a link to the essay that started the most recent movement of classical education: http://www.issuesetc.org/resource/archives/sayers.htm
We also had the opportunity to spend the week with our future co-workers since most all the faculty attended the seminar. They are all awesome people and I am excited to work with a group that understands and is excited about Christian and classical education.
So for the time being I will be studying a lot and learning (hopefully) a lot.
talk to you later.
paul.

2007-07-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from my cousin Katelyn's wedding from which we just returned. It was a fun day as we got to hang out with cousins!

We are excited as tomorrow we fly to Idaho for a week of teacher training. I'm sure that we will learn a lot and have the opportunity to meet some pretty cool people. Paul is hoping to get a book signed by Doug Wilson - we'll see if he actually does! He'll post more on the conference and what he's been doing to prepare for teaching once we return.

Thanks to those who have been continuing to pray for us throughout our move. We've had a lot of fun our first week living up here and we love our little house, but it's been surreal - I keep thinking that eventually we're going to go "home." Nothing feels super familiar yet and the few places that do (namely, Petaluma Market and Tagliaferri's Deli) are the places we went to the first time we ever visited Petaluma and we find ourselves frequenting them repeatedly. They are like our macaroni and cheese, if that makes sense. Paul and I both feel that it will be nice to start working again. But we're trying to relax and make the most of our summer vacation since we won't have time off again for awhile. Except for the two weeks for Christmas...and the week for Easter...and then all of next summer... =)

2007-07-06T00:50:00.001-05:00

Our very own white trash Independence Day celebration.

2007-07-06T00:42:00.000-05:00

The church we attended on Sunday.

2007-07-06T00:38:00.000-05:00

Our trip to the countryside. (Really, this is only about 5-10 min. from our house.)

2007-07-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Father's Day A's game.

2007-06-14T14:41:00.001-05:00

We got the keys and we're starting to move some of our stuff in!

2007-06-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Paul and I spent a good portion of the day sanding, stripping, staining, and finally, painting, a retired entertainment center Paul's dad gave us. It was a lot of work and today we have really sore throats, but it was worth it! To finish it we're going to get a piece of frosted glass to put in the door, but we might wait on that until after we move. (One less thing to break?)

2007-05-31T18:28:00.001-05:00

our little house. it looks a little unkempt right now, so i'll post another picture once we spruce it up a bit. we can't wait to move in!

2007-05-31T18:04:00.001-05:00

i just found out that in petaluma there are still milkmen.

this blog is pretty boring so far.

petaluma

2007-05-30T10:45:00.001-05:00

Hi. We are moving to Petaluma. this blog may be a kind of electronic cup and string so that we don't feel too far away. We will post pictures and all the things that we like or that we are doing. All for free. you can't pass up this offer! Anyway we are moving because I have been offered a teaching position at Harvest Christian School (in Petaluma), and we will be livng in a small one bedroom house that erica absolutely adores. If you want to know why this school is particularly important to me you should read the essay by Dorothy Sayers entitled: The Lost Tools of Learning. talk to you later.

paul.