Dreamland is coming to a close.

I think I'm finally coming to the realization that the husband and I are not on a very long vacation. We were living a very unsettled life for the first two weeks in northern California. We were surrounded by boxes, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and all of our earthly possessions.

Most of the boxes have been unpacked and collapsed. The blank canvas that we entered three weeks ago is starting to feel like "home."

Even though the house is feeling more and more like ours, I'm still in a type of dreamland. I've been very thankful for this time off, otherwise the house would be in a complete disarray and the husband and I would probably go some kind of bonkers. The dreamland, though, is starting to wear off in a series of small events. The first small event was my online student loan counseling. The second was an email from the dean of students. The third was an email from my student advisor, asking me out to coffee next week.

Another funny sign of my eroding dreamland status: trying to figure out how to get to campus. It looks like bicycling is out of the question, especially after reading this link. Interesting to know the route to school is known as "Death Climb 1." Looks like I'll be bicycling to the North Berkeley BART station, then catching the Martin Looper to campus.

The Rhythm is gonna get ya

The husband and I had a very comfortable rhythm while we were living in Glendale. We normally woke up together, sat on the sofa, drank a cup of coffee and talked about the plans we had for that day. We would go our separate ways, the husband to the office and I would go to school. We would meet up again around 6:30PM, have dinner together, then have an open evening.

One of the hardest yet most exciting things about relocating is trying to find a new sense of rhythm. I probably won't find mine until I start school. In the meantime, I've been unpacking the house, and I have been grateful for this time. It's been interesting seeing how our old lives will transform into new lives in a new place. While there are still boxes around the new place, it's not as overwhelming as it was the day the movers showed up will all of our stuff. Each day, more and more of the boxes are being unpacked and collapsed. The contents of those boxes are finding new places to live. One of the more exciting unpacking adventures involved wedding china, crystal, and flatware. The husband and I have been married for five years, yet our full wedding china set never left the gift boxes. Trying to piece together what pieces we had was kind of fun. We placed the china, crystal, and flatware into a lovely built-in china cabinet in our kitchen. We plan to break in the fine china with pizza from Amici's; hopefully the same Amici's where we had dinner for our first wedding anniversary.

The adventure continues.

New beginning

I'm sitting on the floor of our new house typing this post. Our possessions are currently en route. It's actually been nice to live without our stuff for a few days. Living without our possessions is making the husband and me realize that we don't need "stuff." The arrival of our stuff seems like an end to our adventure. Our new lives and new experiences are going to hit us head on.

So much has happened since my last post. The husband and I traveled to Berkeley to find a new place to live. We were blessed when we found a house less than three miles from PLTS. Alas, the drawback is that the husband will have to commute quite a ways to the peninsula. This will be a change from his 15 minute bicycle commute he had in Glendale. But we're hopeful that we'll find our new rhythm and new routines before long.

I preached my first sermon, which was an incredible experience. It was an experience I got to share with so many people from such different phases of my life. Annie, my friend since the 7th grade, flew in from Denver. Karl's family was also there. So were many of my friends from Clemson. And friends from Fuller. New friends the husband and I made while living in Glendale. Leigh was there too; she's the catalyst that started this adventure.

I turned 30. Funny though, I don't feel 30. I feel like I'm 18, getting ready to go to college and preparing to start a new adventure. It was fun to celebrate with so many friends and family.

Then we packed up all of our possessions and moved north. It was really difficult for us to leave Glendale. Our last Sunday at Salem Lutheran was very emotional. The husband and I said our goodbyes to our church family. I missed UniLu when we moved from SC, but this move and detachment was emotional on a different level. The husband and I didn't want to leave. We did a lot of second guessing our last week in Glendale. It was hard to close the door to our apartment the last time, leaving what was once our home for three and a half years as an empty canvas.

Which brings me to the empty canvas the husband and I will be calling home for awhile...

Homiletics Crash Course

1. Spending the morning at church talking to Pastor about my upcoming sermon. Lots to think about. I then met with Matt to talk about VBS activities. I'm looking forward to this year's program, which is "Paul and the Underground Church of Rome."

2. Speaking of sermons, I had a crash course in homiletics today. Clay was so kind to take time out of his day to give me a VERY condensed version of his class.

3. Talking to Pastor Marcus. I cannot wait to see him on Friday evening!

4. Making dinner with a recipe from "The Art of Simple Food." I made plain and simple pork chops with a ridiculously simple pan sauce.

5. More leads on rentals in Berkeley. We'll see how it goes starting tomorrow! Eep!

Last day to tap away.

1. Tap class. It was my last class with Laura Fremont, who has been a fantastic teacher. It was fulfilling a childhood fantasy. I hope I can find a class in Berkeley...

2. Green grapes right out of a refrigerator.

3. Lots of leads on apartments in Berkeley/ Albany. I just hope that the husband and I will be able to find something.

4. A lazy afternoon mostly to myself.

5. A rechargeable battery pack for the Wii Fit. This way, the husband and I don't waste tons of batteries.

Back to yoga.

1. Being able to attend my yoga class after such a long hiatus. My physical therapist didn't want me to attend yoga, since I wouldn't be able to support my weight in some of the poses since it would put too much pressure on my wrist. But I finally got the okay, and I finally had the time to spend a peaceful hour at class this morning.

2. Getting some great leads on places to live in Berkeley. I pray that the husband and I can find a new nice place to call "home."

3. Getting rid of a lot of clutter. Four large trash bags exited the apartment today.

4. A brain check session. So thankful for those!

5. Homemade turkey reuben sandwiches for dinner.

Potluck Sunday

1. Making Leigh's mac and cheese for the church potluck. I have ever so fond memories of that mac and cheese.

2. Sleeping in and going to the 11AM service. The husband and I normally attend the 8:30AM service; it was a nice change of pace.

3. Talking to the husband's parents.

4. Sorting through old birthday cards and notes. Many wonderful memories.

5. Time for needed rest.