Christmas 2010

2010 marked Derek and my first year as husband and wife! We got married 3 weeks after Christmas, so last year at this time I was anxiously finishing up wedding details and getting ready to move out of my parents house. This year has definitely been different! I had my first Christmas away from my parents and brothers and celebrated with Derek's side of the family. He has had quite a few holidays with my side, given that we met at school and lived in the Santa Cruz area for almost 4 years, and my parents lived about 45 minutes away from us. We had a great day...woke up early to open stockings and presents, and a little later went to see his dad, step mom, and other sister and brother. Later on we came back to his parents house and had a big Christmas party with both sides of their families. I have survived the first big Ramsdell/Brown Christmas gathering :) AND! April and Tommy, who live in Boston (which is just about an hour away from us) came up for the party. April and I went to school together, and lived on the same hall. We have been good friends for a few years and somehow both ended up on the East Coast :) It was so good to see her! It's amazing how welcoming a friendly, familiar face can be after spending a few weeks with people you are still getting to know.

So far, living in New England has been great as well as challenging. I finished my semester the week after we arrived (I got an A in Econ!!) which was a great relief. We've been unpacking boxes we need and storing those we don't need now, and have been searching for jobs. We have both had a few prospects come up but no job offers yet. It's frustrating, but we are trusting that God is bringing about the right jobs with the right pay for us soon. His parents have been very gracious to us and are helping us look for work and being patient that we haven't found anything yet. I am not sure I've ever had so much free time on my hands...I don't have work and school doesn't start again until January 3. I've been enjoying some relaxing and lazy days :)

Like I expected, I have been freezing since the day we arrived. Apparently, its not cold yet! But tomorrow (or I guess today technically) we are supposed to get a blizzard. A blizzard? That's always been a dessert at Dairy Queen for me. We'll see how this goes.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, celebrating Christ's birth! I know that this year in particular I have felt incredibly blessed.

The Johnson's first Christmas

Normally I'm not too sentimental, but I did get us a "our first Christmas" ornament :)

She was my present last year...she is so darn cute!

day 1.

We made it! We're here!

Traveling with all our luggage AND the cat was one of the longest, most ridiculous, and stressful experiences of my life. But, we survived and arrived safe and sound, the cat only slightly worse for wear. None of our luggage got lost, and no flight delays.

Today, for the first time in a long time, we slept in without setting an alarm. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't a slave to boxes and packing. For the first time all week I've been able to sit down and do homework! The semester ends next week, and I am counting down the days (8 to be exact).

I'll post some pictures of our sweet house later :) Well, its my in-laws house, and its gorgeous. It is nice to not be crammed in a tiny apartment anymore with limited storage and no space for anything. I could get used to it, pretty quickly :)

mmmmmmmmm

I feel like I have gorged myself today. My three favorites places in the Bay Area center on food. In order, they are: 1. Dana Street Roasting Company, 2. In N Out, and 3. Taqueria Vallarta (Taco V). I have had all three today. It was the trifecta of deliciousness. And I don't even feel bad about the calories.

Now tomorrow night, for dinner, I get Nicks Roast Beef. NICKS ROAST BEEF!!! If you've never eaten there (and chances are you haven't because there is only one in the world, and its in Beverly, Massachusetts) you are missing out. I have been dreaming about tomorrow night for months. The last time I had Nicks, which was when we went to Boston in March, I ate there three times within about 5 days. My poor tummy couldn't handle any more rare roast beef sandwiches, but I didn't care. So good! And I'm going to be minutes from it!

The next time I post I will be in New Hampshire. Weird. Goodbye California, you've been good to me.

%@#$%@#$!@#

well, since its technically the 1st of December, we move tomorrow. We are leaving our apartment just before 7 am tomorrow to get to the airport on time. I may not sleep tonight. The past few days have been insane and I almost managed to forget that I need to work on homework this week. I am overwhelmed and I'm sure I've worked myself into a frenzy. If I have to pack one more box I might snap...too bad there are probably about 3 boxes left. I'll leave those to Derek.

So...homework. Lets see if I can bring a coherent thought to anything right now.

thankful.

I have an infinite number of things to be thankful for. And it feels like this year, more than any other year, my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for the life He has given me. So, in pictures, the top things I am thankful for this year.

Derek and I started dating almost 4 years ago and on January 16, 2010 we got married! I am so lucky and so thankful to have him as my husband. He truly is my best friend :)

 On January 20th, (four days after our wedding!) my little brother Kenny got deathly ill. We found out he had double pneumonia, caused by the MRSA virus. He nearly lost his life; all the doctors were telling us to start saying goodbye to him because there was no way his lungs would be able recover from the damage that was being caused. However, God healed my brother and today he is alive and well! He was in the hospital for over a month. That picture was taken a couple of days after he was able to wake up from the drug-induced coma he had been put in. Seeing my little brother smile again was one of the most thankful moments I've ever had. Medical professionals are astounded that he is not only alive but does not have any lingering effects from his illness. This next picture was taken in early June, only about 3 and a half months after he came home. I am so unbelievably thankful that my little brother is alive!

I am so thankful for my whole family. The only person missing from this picture of the Christenson side of the family is my grandma. I have great parents, great siblings, a beautiful niece, a great aunt and uncle, and great cousins! This picture was taken in March, after Kenny came home. Our out of town family came in to celebrate his being home from the hospital. We have become a stronger, closer family after the events of the past year and I love each and every one of them dearly.

I truly got blessed and married into a wonderful family. I have a great new mom, dad, and sister! They have been so supportive of us and have really welcomed me into the family. I love them and I am looking forward to getting to know them better after we move to Boston! I get to have my first Christmas with them this year; I'm very excited :)

My list could definitely continue, but these are the highlights. Happy Thanksgiving!

13 days...

13 days until we fly out to Boston. 13 DAYS!! Holy moly. We said goodbye to my older brother, sister in law, and niece this week. We were able to fly down to San Diego to see them for a few days, because we were unsure of when we would next be able to see them after moving. It was so great to see them, but also was a hard realization that the Christenson side of my family is really going to be spread all over the country. I can't wait to be close to Derek's side of the family, but I am going to miss my parents, brothers, sister, niece, grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins. I wish the East Coast was closer to the West Coast.

She hugged him like this for at least 10 minutes :)

On another note, my niece Grace is quite a handful. She's 2 1/2 and into EVERYTHING. I know that comes with the territory of a toddler, but oh man. I love that little kiddo...I'm pretty sure she's the cutest thing, ever. I also witnessed the incredible drug-like power that Barney has on a toddler. 

In the next 13 days I need to finish a ton of homework and manage to get things wrapped up with our apartment. 13 days really isn't a long time...if you think about it, pray for my sanity :)

oh boy.

I've officially reached the point of overwhelmed. I am taking the hardest class I've ever taken in my entire life (graduate level economics...blah), I have another class on top of that, and we are moving in less than a month. We need to finish packing, sell our car and furniture, and hopefully have a moving sale. Whatever isn't sold we'll have to cart to the Salvation Army...moving across town is such a process, and moving across the country on a very limited budget (both money and time wise) is proving to be incredibly stressful. My semester doesn't end until the week after we get to New England, which I suppose is good because I'll be able to take my econ final without having to worry about finishing packing. There is just so much to do, and its not like Derek can lighten my homework load for me.

A week from Sunday I will be in my great friend Terra's wedding, celebrating her and Josh's new marriage. I am so excited for them! We're wearing super cute dresses and TOMS wedges, I can't wait! Their wedding is 2 days before Derek and my 10 monthaversary :) Can't believe we are closing in on our 1 year anniversary!

I haven't had a complete break down yet, but that may be a different story after December 11th (the day classes end for the semester!) I think I may sleep for a week.

where to begin?!

The concept of moving across the country is perplexing to me. Where do I begin to pack? We are flying and taking as much as we can in suitcases (thank the Lord for Southwest Airlines and 2 free checked bags each), and the rest of what we want to take we are shipping. We are going to sell all our furniture and our car. The idea is to take as little as possible, only the things that are sentimental/irreplaceable/easy to pack, and going to re-piece together the rest after we move in. But...what am I going to want?! What will be worth it to take and what is easier to just replace?! Ugh. And, how come books have to be so darn heavy and so many different shapes!? I figured out that the large flat rate boxes from the post office are the best deal to ship our books, but for the rest we'll just do the regular slow parcel post. We're still going to save a ton of money over using any type of moving service (I've looked into them all), but sheesh. Moving is no easy task, and moving 3,000 miles away is daunting. Thankfully, I am not too afraid to get rid of things, because after all, most of it is just stuff. I would like to think I'm not too attached to just stuff. We are moving to be closer to family and reduce our cost of living, so that is what is important. We will have a few months to piece back together furniture and things we'll need for a new apartment, since we'll be living with Derek's parents in their massive, beautiful new home for a few months while we're getting on our feet.
On a side note, I am thankful we'll be moving to a place with friendly faces and where there are people that we love. That is one thing that is definitely making this transition exciting. Really, it is one of the main reasons we are going.

fear the beard

I love baseball, and I really love October. 162 games all lead up to a best of 5 series, which leads to a nail biting best of 7, which leads to the World Series...I can hardly handle the stress. I find myself yelling at the tv, heart racing and fists clenched. I love three teams: the Red Sox, the Giants, and whoever is playing the Yankees (I am currently a HUGE Texas Rangers fan).

our first Fenway date, 2007

My husband introduced me to Red Sox Nation--he took me to my first game at Fenway Park the summer we started dating. He paid entirely too much for seats about 40 rows deep in the right field bleachers. They lost to the Blue Jays, but never have I been to a more mesmerizing game. I drank a Sam Summer, ate a Fenway Frank, and donned a rally cap when we were still losing 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th. Fenway is like baseball heaven.

Derek has been a Red Sox fan since he was 5 years old...it was the 1986 World Series, when the Sox were playing the Mets. His uncle Brad got him from his room and told him to come watch the Sox win the World Series. Moments later, a ball trickled through Bill Buckner's legs. Game over. Series over. Mets win. That was the first inning--first PLAY of baseball little Derek had ever seen. He was born a Red Sox fan into great heartache. He made the profound decision as a 5 year old that the Red Sox did not have to win in order for him to love them.
He honestly cried when Keith Foulke underhand tossed the ball to 1st base, securing the final out of the 2004 World Series. He still gets goosebumps when we talk about it, or see replays on tv. He still gets nervous watching those replays, because he thinks he just might make an error, drop that ball, or throw it into the dugout. But no, they still win, every time.

I hope the Giants can pull this one out--its been one heck of a nerve wracking series. Honestly, I think my favorite part has been Brian Wilson's beard.

away we go!

I haven't had a blog since Xanga back in the day! I thought now would be a good time to start writing again, especially since Derek and I are in the process of transitioning across the country. I've done my fair share of moving, living in Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and then California all within the period of 3 years. The last time I really moved, though, was 7 years ago. I was 15 and about to start my sophomore year of high school...weird. I would say time flies but it feels like moving to California was forever ago. Even before I had gotten to California, I told myself that I would get out as soon as I could. To me, it was an over-hyped, over-priced state that had taken me away from so many friends. Well, now, 7 years later, I have to admit that it has grown on me quite a bit, although I'm still reluctant to call it home, in the "I'll always have a desire to move back there" kind of way. I still think its over-hyped and over-priced. I have made a lot of good friends, and have found a love in my heart for the weirdness and beauty of the Santa Cruz Mountains. My parents and little brother are still in the Bay Area, and it will be hard not living near them.

More than anything, I am looking forward to a new adventure with my husband. He is an East Coast boy through and through, and he really misses home. I am excited to make New England my home, with him.