june.

[image from our trip to Irvine Lake]

June is here.

It snuck up on me, this month of leaving work, traveling to a new state, finishing an entire year of Chinese classes, starting grad school.

I'm a little bit nervous, a little bit anxious. I'm ready to say goodbye to the grind of a 3+ hour daily commute and 4:30a wake-up calls, but reluctant to leave people who I now call my friends. Ready to jump on the bandwagon called grad school, but apprehensive over whether people will want to have lunch with me or if I'll get stuck doing all the group work.

I'm praying that whatever this month is, that it will be good. That it will be a month of healthy change, welcome challenges, and new relationships. I'm praying that I'll build character, stay focused, be diligent, and try new things, like riding to class on my bike.

 I pray that I remember to make time for a cup of coffee and a morning devotional, a daily dip in our mediterranean oasis of a pool before we move out, to read books that aren't required for school, to have a glass of wine on the patio with my boys. I'm praying that it will be a month where the little joys don't get forgotten amidst the bigger changes.

we work out.

Ok, sometimes we work out. Sometimes we just wear our workout clothes to frolick in the grass, taking ridiculous pictures and jogging... a little. Don't judge.

Irvine Lake

We spent this Memorial Day's weekend camping at Irvine Lake with our friends, Zach and Steph. Even though it means a lot of packing, being constantly dirty, and a lot of cleaning afterwards, camping is just fun. One of my favorite things is watching the sun set on the water while toasting up some marshmallows.  And being able to spend an entire weekend lakeside is even better. 

Not that there weren't a few hiccups. Like Dave's sunburn and the WORLD'S WORST MUSIC FESTIVAL playing hippie trance music ONLY from the time we went to bed until 8 in the morning. 

But in spite of those little (in the long run) things, I'm thankful. Thankful for having such great friends to spend a weekend with. Thankful for more than enough food which kept us eating all weekend long. Thankful for a time devoted solely to rest.

Every weekend should be like this one.

Happy Cinco!

Cinco de Mayo is not a holiday to go uncelebrated in our household. We're trying to stick to our food budget, so we had a DIY cinco this year (which I think might actually be better than going out). Saturday night, we whipped up some Petron margs, Mexican rice, and, in my opinion, the best carne asada ever. And really, one day just isn't enough. So we continued our celebration on Sunday with this 7-layer taco bean dip for dins.

I was so happy with all of the recipes we used (linked above), and so was my tummy. Cheers!

good morning.

After seeing these on tumblr, I wanted to make my own. I picked up these mugs and a glass paint marker (also for use on glazed ceramics) from Joann's. The whole craft took less than 5 minutes (plus setting time). I'm thinking that these will be the perfect mugs to sip coffee out of on a Sunday morning in bed.

our Easter celebration.

We spent this past Easter with my family: brunch at church followed by a late lunch BBQ at home. It's a little bittersweet thinking about how different next year's Easter will be, but right now, I'm still soaking in how incredibly blessed we are with healthy bodies, a loving family, and undeserved grace for every moment of every day.

Shanghai, here we come!

The last couple months have been, for lack of a better word, crazy. Busyness is consistently the story of everyone's life these days, but lately my schedule has been a taken to a whole new level of exhausting. Commuting combined with spending every waking hour studying Chinese combined with personal statement writing combined with regular life... whew. The great thing is (and I'm so, so thankful for this) that it is paying off!

I applied, was admitted, and just a week ago, accepted admission to this graduate program. The summer semester takes place in Irvine, which is just perfect. I'm looking forward to leisurely sipping homemade lattes on my patio at sunrise, whipping up breakfast fruit bowls in my sunny kitchen, reading poolside, the 10 minute commute, and making happy hour at this rooftop bar. After which, we move to China!

In August, we'll be moving to Shanghai, where the rest of the program will take place. I'll be taking classes, teaching English, writing my thesis, and immersing myself in Chinese language and culture. Husband will most likely continue working in finance, ideally just transferring over to the Merrill Lynch office in Shanghai.God has brought us this far, and we trust that He has a plan for all aspects of this move. We plan on bringing our fur baby, although the quarantine period is a little scary. The details are still being worked out, but the process has officially begun!

I've had a great time living and working in LA, and Irvine has been the setting for all of our newlywed memories, which I will always treasure. Leaving behind family and friends for almost a year will be so hard, especially as our flight date approaches, but I can honestly say that I'm ready for a change in scenery. LA has worn me down with its traffic, its parking, the time consumed just trying to get from one place to another. I'm ready to be present. To just stop shuffling around so much. We can't wait to explore a new city, learn a new language, try different food, while we're young and while we can. And after this, who knows where we'll be (I'm secretly crossing my fingers for Palo Alto). I'm hoping that this is just the first in a lifelong series of cities that we can call home.