Except it doesn't rhyme. Apparently an "ode" is supposed to rhyme.

Regardless, moving forward!

I want to be fair to the Bay Area. I know there has been a lot of griping and complaining on this blog about Berkeley, this area, CA in general. So I want to clear the air. Yes, there are many things I dislike about the Bay Area (constant noise, way too effing expensive, crazy lifestyles, too much traffic) but there are a lot of things that I really do love about Berkeley: the weather, the perpetually ripe avocados, magnolia trees, hummingbirds, weird people to watch and meet, seeing the Bay from our rooftop.

But besides all of those perks, this has been an amazing school year and Berkeley has been an amazing place to live. This is the place where John has spent two incredibly challenging and rewarding years. This is the place where we began to fuse our lives together. This is the crazy city we began our lives as very poor and very unknowing newlyweds. We have seen the crazed and destructive lifestyles of those around us and have been able to (hopefully) focus on what our goals, dreams, priorities are.

The Bay Area is a weird mix of the poorest of the poor, some by choice and some by misfortunate, and some of the wealthiest people. There are students from the Midwest, students who have never been out of California, and students from (seemingly) almost every country.

I'm getting so nostalgic.

Our tiny apartment has taught me how to be neat and tidy, and strategic about how to put away things (aka throw everything under the bed). Our tiny kitchen has been the stage for some real cooking wonders and some really incredible flops. Our new apartment in CO has a washer and dryer in unit and, you guys I kid you not, sometimes the thought of that makes me tear up. No more walking across two parking lots and up four flights of stairs and praying for open machines! The things I am grateful for are truly ridiculous. We are going to have two closets. A full-size fridge.

But that has been part of the gift in Berkeley. I'm grateful for little things that I really should be grateful for.

I get to move with my husband to a new city and we both have jobs doing things we enjoy! #blessed

So thank you all for your kind texts and comments and calls. Berkeley has also been a crazy lonely place and it has meant so much to me to have people reach out. Even in the smallest of ways.

oooooooookay that's enough genuine emotion for awhile now. Wow, if you stuck around for the word-vomit-no-picture-post you are a real trooper.

You guys rock. Happy Monday

 It's Easter and He is risen. Let's just dive right in. This Easter hit me harder than any other Easter, maybe ever. I know that is a mighty claim but Holy Week hit me like a ton of bricks and celebrating the Vigil on Saturday set my weary heart free.

John and I have been in the "achieving" mode for NPF since we got married in November and so far we haven't gotten pregnant. Now, I know it's only been 5 months and that's not very long. I know that there is no real reason to be worried/frustrated/overwhelmed/fed-up etc. I know that lots of other married couples want babies too. I know that my cycle is normal and that "it's only a matter of time" (to quote many people). I know all of these things. But that doesn't make my disappointment disappear. It certainly lessens the severity of it, it certainly helps me to keep a rational mind-set, but pain is pain is pain. And I want to be able to articulate this on my blog so that (hopefully) years from now I can look back and remember that the first months of our marriage were amazing; good and bad.

Anyway, Holy Thursday came (and so did proof of  not pregnant me) and all of the feelings got me to. Like, my Myers-Briggs is probably just FFFF for Feeling Feeling Feeling Feeling.

I was rude and impatient with everyone, especially John, I was tired and mopey all day, I was constantly worrying about moving again and potentially finding a new job, I was frustrated and fed up with our moderately heretical services here (uuuuugggghhhhhhhhh) and I was just a little bit done.

But
But
But

Redemption is real. We went to a different parish for Easter Vigil to support our teammate's fiance as he entered the Church (!!!) and the Exsultet brought me to tears like it does every year.

I felt like literal human trash, a week's worth of failings and disappointments on my heart, but Jesus was there, Resurrected, for me.

Whew.

So here are some photo highlights.

(1) Sriracha and cilantro deviled eggs. Good. I didn't use a recipe, I just mixed until it tasted good. Sorry, y'all

(2) Stations of the Cross on Berkeley campus was beautiful.

(3) Vigil! A little sponsee and sponsor love from Peter and John, their arms are almost touching. I braided my hair into a crown and felt v. v. v. accomplished

(4) + (5) After Mass with our team at a bar. Feeling elated and blessed.

Hope your Easter was extraordinary! And it's not even done yet.

People who know me IRL (in real life) know that I'm a big fat nerd. Harry Potter? I'm in. Lord of the Rings? So there. Doctor Who? Duh. Star Wars? Obvi. Video games? For days. Board games? A lifestyle.

You get the idea.

I didn't think it was possible, but I've become an even bigger nerd now. I married the King of Nerds. John worked at a video game store in high school and zoomed through the ranks at Best Buy after college. And now we are just two "grown-ups" living in Berkeley, the Land of Nerds, and it's insane.

We play board games because, slightly serious, I used to watch a lot of Netflix and hulu and the like (and I still dabble a little) but I would get depressed and worn down and so emotional that I had to cut back. Some people can totally watch movies and shows on end and it's totally fine but I would get wigged out. Maybe it was a decrease in melatonin or something. SO! Games.

So, without further ado, here are some of my/our favorite board games. (I also linked each to webpage for further investigation/buying. I'm not sponsored. But I'm totally down to *nudge nudge*)

//ARRAY//

This is the newest game we have and I got to pick it out. We have a lot of strategy and really nerdy games and I wanted one that wasn't so rule-intensive. This one is fun. It's a lot like playing dominoes (matching colors instead of numbers) but with an element of Uno (draw 1, draw 2, draw 5, etc.)

I like it because it's visually appealing and it's easy enough to play and have a conversation at the same time. The only downside is sometimes the colors make your eyes hurt and/or you start to question whether or not you are colorblind. Linkity link.

//BOHNANZA//



I had my doubts about this game. A friend of ours got it for us as a wedding present and the serial killer bean on the front did not look enticing. But it's actually pretty fun! It's a little hard to explain but you are planting beans (I know that sounds boring) in your two bean fields and you want to sell them (I know that sounds boring) when your yield is highest so the price is higher (blech math, but it's fun!).

It's a good two player game because you don't spend the whole game plotting your competitors demise (like Settlers of Catan) but it is still really rewarding if/when you win. Beans bean beans.

//STAR REALMS//





And now we've made it to the nerdy games.

My mom got Star Realms for John for Christmas and my brother and John played it for 3 hours straight. It was nuts. It's a deck building game that takes place in space. You purchase bases and ships to do damage to your opponent and defend your own authority (health) while beefing up your deck with kickin' ships.

It's a great two player game that only takes 20-30mins, which is super nice since a lot of our games can take forever. Pew pew pew!

//SMASH UP//




This game is my favorite. You take two factions (ninjas, pirates, zombies, robots, dinosaurs, etc.) smash them together (like the name suggests) and then take over different bases. Your minions have certain features or powers and you have action cards to make them stronger or destroy your opponents minions. It's fun with two people and it's fun with a group of people.

I like it because it knows it is a ridiculous game. It knows that making a faction called "Bear Calvary" and styling it after Soviet Russia will make nerds everywhere laugh ("You're Pretty Much Borscht"). It's great. 10/10 recommends.


Hey, thanks for reading. Thanks for being you. Hope you have happy gaming! Tell me what games you like!

 

As many of you know I am getting married real soon. I promise I won't dedicate every post to that, but I can't promise that quite yet.

So we were also looking for an apartment because married people like to live together. But Berkeley is legit the worst for apartment hunting. We applied to maaaaaany different places, were beat out on all occasions, lost a lot of money to pay for application fees (maybe not constitutional) and mostly just got our hopes up.

The good news (whew) is that the apartment John lives in now is perfectly fine. Just over-priced. And very small. Like really small.

But it's not a studio, so it has walls, which is a lot better than a lot of our options out here.

So get excited for this blog to become me attempting to make a teeeny apartment more homey.

I should probably get my own show on HGTV. Something to think about.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Cook time sweet potatoes

Basically a million years. Why does it take so long to cook them? Do they take a million more hours than normal potatoes? Or am I just that impatient when it comes to that delicious orange tuber?

What is kombucha?

A mushroom that hippies eat. No gracias.

Bed bug bites

We don't have them. Whew, PTL.
 

Is it illegal to shoot people with air soft guns?

I didn't actually google this...like I started typing it but then...you know, I didn't want incriminating evidence. We live on Greek row and last night some punks were partying in our alley way, directly beneath our window, at 2am. So, I was just wondering.

I wasn't going to do it.

So.

Keep about your Saturday, people!

Hannah has mentioned multiple times that she doesn't know what Berkeley looks like and would like me to send her photos.

That sounds like a lot of work. Also I don't want to stand out and take photos because people will know that I'm new and it will ruin my street cred.

So instead I'm taking y'all on a digital tour oooooooh

Using pictures from google.

Professional.


This is what our chapel looks like. Nobody likes it. Well, few people like it. Our chaplains compare it to the Flinstones. It was designed to look like a tomb so...check.

Pro: you are never sweaty.


This is my favorite coffee shop!

Orrrrrr this one

Sacks is great, you can sit on coffee bean sacks. Also the guy who runs it is hilarious and they play the best music. Strada is busy so it's only good when you go at like 8am...so...

Obviously these are the important things about Berkeley.


My favorite cheap eats is El Burro Picante and they have this weird little burro outside. Anyway, like I said, these are the important things.



Here's a beautiful scenic picture that someone else took. But it's pretty legit. The clock tower is the Campanile in the middle of campus. It's great. It has bells and plays music (not the Harry Potter theme so UNL's got them beat there).

And of course the bay and the Golden Gate bridge, which I can sometimes see from the top of our hill on a clear day (it's always foggy).

There you go! A free tour! It's really beautiful here. And full of stone cold weirdos but I love that about it.

Thanks for all your prayers. You are in mine as well.

Bad news first: we didn't get that apartment either.

Wah wah so sad. Ugh. Pity party.

Okay, now that we've moved on.

We saw the Avett Brothers this weekend. WHAT.

It was pretty stinkin' legit. Brandi Carlile opened and she was legit and then my heart exploded because I love the Avett Brothers.

Do you ever have a day where you just can't.

Like, nothing bad happened or whatever but you just feel bleeeeeeeh. Or meeeeeeeeh. Or blech. Or blurgh.

I feel that. I feel all of that.

I definitely ate dairy. And probably fructose. Sometimes I get a liiiiiittle bold and I eat things I probably shouldn't because I feel invincible. I'm not.

Anyway here are some things I found online while being a little bit dead.

This is my new desktop. Thanks, Buzzfeed and Andy.

Gilmore Girls is going to be on Netflix, so I should probably get Netflix again.

Our wedding invites are officially out in the mail. So if any of you want to make the final decisions, I would love that.

Things to be decided still:
1. Reception music....
2. Readings. All of them
3. Something else...
4. Probably something else.

As you can see, I'm a veeeery focused bride-to-be.

Sorry this post hasn't lived up to the usual peppy/snappy/energizing self.

Keep it real.

You know when you move and you feel like the first couple of days you are just treading water? Just trying to keep your head above the waves?

Well I finally feel like...maybe...I'm past that point. I mean, I'm sure I will feel it again BUT now all my stuff is (basically) put away and I have groceries in my cabinet and I've finally met some students.

Praise the Lord.

Exciting CA news in 3 bullet points!

1. At 3:20am there was a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Northern CA! You guys! It was crazy. I've never experienced an earthquake before so it was nuts. My teammates share a room so we all woke up and waited until it was over and nothing feel over or off the walls. Literally the only damage is that our floor lamp tipped over (but didn't fall)...but also it's old and jankey so that may have happened before.

But pray for Northern Cal, especially the Napa area because it was rowdy up there; fallen furniture, fires in trailer parks, no electricity, etc.

2. So John and I are getting married in November which means our teammate Carlos needed to find a new roommate. And today there was 2 (two) people who got in contact with him about living with him. A great problem to have.

While he figured that out, John and I hip hopped over to padmapper and began to hunker down on our own apt search.

Carlos took a picture because it was "Sooooo cute".

And then he asked what a garbage disposal was and we rocked his world.

Do you ever have those weeks (months) where the last thing you are able to comprehend is what day of the week it is? Seriously, I don't know why this has been such a struggle but my days all run together and about 50% of them are Mondays.

My teammate Carlos is pretty much one of my favorite human beings in the whole world. He's hilarious and insightful and brilliant and also sometimes just waaaaay too gullible. While we were in Napa I asked him to take some egg shells out to the compost pile and I was met with the blankest of all stares.

"What...?"
"The compost pile...?"
"..."
 "Carlos, the compost pile?"
"What is that?"

 It literally took forever for him to get to the actual question.

Other things that are hard, what is a plus-one, and the difference between lemons and limes.

Later he asked when we would grind up the compost pile to make dirt.

Berkeley is amazing because the people here are straight up weird. They say whatever, wear whatever, do whatever. This poses some problems as missionaries, but it also makes getting dressed in the morning really easy because no one cares.

We had dinner with our Newman Center priests last night and, because we are near wine country, we had some wine. It was CVS wine, but still.

Specifically, it was Menage a Trois wine. It's a mighty unfortunate name because the wine itself is pretty good for cheap wine, but a sketchy name. Anyway, Fr. Al who is literally almost 100 years old (93) looked at the bottle of wine, turned to Carlos and said, "That's a pretty sexy name for wine." And then he laughed and laughed.
And we nervously laughed.

Will you guys pray for us? Missionary life is hard and trying to do everything at the start of the semester is pretty overwhelming.

I also accidentally spilled the beans to John that I have a blog. He wasn't aware of it. Whoops. So now I need to zip back into the archives and make sure there isn't anything embarrassing about him written on it before he finds it. If y'all find something, holler at me.
 

I knew there would be a lot of perks to moving to Berkeley and being a missionary here.

1. I would be with John. That's the main one.
2. Berkeley is a cool place.
3. Our offsite retreats and planning weekends take place in Napa Valley.

Game changer.

It takes a lot of get FOCUS onto a campus, but it takes even more effort to get it into a diocese or a state that's new. Getting FOCUS to CA took literally 15 years. One of the main reasons why there are even missionaries out here is because of Judy Barrett.

Judy and her late husband Jim own a winery called Chateau Montelena. In 1976 there was a wine tasting in Paris, now called "The Judgement of Paris" and no American wine had ever won the competition, or taken seriously, but the Barrett's entered their chardonnay and it won a blind taste test and won the whole dang thing. They basically put Napa on the map. Also there is a movie about it, which is grossly fictionalized says Judy.

Anyway, they are amazing people. They love FOCUS and Judy is our Berkeley Mom. She has a sweatshirt to prove it.


She just loves us. And we are so grateful since we don't know a lot of people out here and we are desperately missing our family and friends. It was such a gift to be in a home and not a barely unpacked apartment.

She gave us strength for the journey and I am so grateful.

Okay let's just jump right in! Sorry I haven't been blogging. I basically started this blog so I could better document all the changes that are happening in my life so when big changes started happening...I stopped blogging.

Whoops!

So, good news...

I made it to Berkeley!

This is what we packed:



Yikes. John and I for sure don't have that much stuff on our own. However, apparently, when you get married you need to have furniture to, like, use. So we packed a queen size bed (wooooot) and some dressers and a kitchen table and chairs etc.

And all the sweet bridal shower gifts!

But it all went right into storage because we decided (begrudgingly) to wait to use our sick stuff until after we are married. Only eighty-some days until we are united, Crock Pot.

Here are some photos I snagged while driving for 23849237 hours through NE, WY, UT, and into CA.
Also if you follow me on instagram you've seen most of these, sorry not too sorry.

Salt flats in UT, c-r-a-z-y

Driving for s-o-m-a-n-y-h-o-u-r-s

Sierra Nevada Mountains

But now the whole team is here and it's great. I'll update you all on even more exciting details (I'm sure you can't wait) and post some thought provoking questions like; what the butt is kombucha and why is everyone drinking it here?

I guess this is why people have instagram, but on instagram I can't write long drawn out captions. Well, I could but I feel like it's bad form.

Here we goooooo