Cheers

 

 [photo by]

Husband and I are f i v e days away from leaving for our three month get-a-way. Who gets to do that? I haven't been away from home for more than a couple weeks for six years. I'm not worried about where we're going. And it is exciting to spend three uninterrupted months with my sweet man and together with our sweet Lord. But I woke up realizing that today I need to process through and maybe grieve a little over what we will leave behind. I love my husband, and he is certainly my home. But I also do love my family and friends here. Right now it feels sad to leave them to experience the summer in Southern California without us. It will be sad to not be able to pick up the phone to tell my mom what silly thing I just did that no one else would understand because those are moments only she and I share. In that, we are really the same. Besides missing weddings and weekend trips with friends, it's the little things I'm grieving over today. I'll miss our notorious girls' nights with incredible food and the best chats I've ever had. I'll miss evenings spent with my mom - they are so rare nowadays anyway. I'll miss what I know. What is familiar. What I've somewhere along the way claimed as "mine". 

With all that said, I do not put my foot forward with regret or even sorrow. I also leave those behind. I enter into the new season with my sweet husband with such anticipation of adventure. We will be collectors of stories for three months. No one else will collect them, but they will be immensely valuable. We will collect memories. We will build on what is Us by sharing experiences together. Good, bad, scary, fun, new, exciting, odd, hysterical. We will be challenged as people, as a couple. We will grow as individuals and as One. That is irreplaceable and we walk into this adventure praying that we soak up all that the Lord would have for us. We will come back different people and that is something I so look forward to. I am so grateful to dive into this summer of so many unknowns.  Although I'm having a moment of sadness, it is just that. A moment. A necessary moment. It says that I'm blessed. I don't expect to come back to a life that was on pause for three months. This life here will also grow and develop and change. Just as we will do. And that is also thrilling.

Cheers to loving what I have and loving what's to come,

MrsZulu

Explosions of fun. Everytime.

i've got a good fabulous bunch-o-ladies.

So delicious

Austin and I love our blends. Since receiving our blender from a lovely wedding guest back in January, we've explored the world of smoothie combinations. We've dabbled with mixing Nutella with anything and everything possible. Bananas, strawberries, peanut butter, etc. {if you have not yet tried a Nutella, Peanut butter and banana shake - you have not yet lived.}

Today, after a quick trip to the trusty laundry mat on 25th, I stopped by the local market to purchase some produce - they have the BEST prices. This inspired me to make a fruit smoothie at home! My body has been fighting off a mean head cold and coupled with my never ending sweet tooth, I figured some mixed fruit would do my body good as well as satisfy my sweets craving. Aaand, I remembered we have left over frozen mango and pineapple from the lovely Alee's b-day bash from Miss Brittan and they should probably be used instead of be forgotten in the freezer...


Behold, the newest combination to be birthed into the Scheiwe Kitchen:



Bergopineapperrypeaches Madness!

I love the purple color. So much fun.
This cup-o-joy includes:

Blackberries
Mango
Pineapple
Applesauce
blueberries
Canned peaches
{i would usually use fresh peaches, but didn't have any. Also, if using canned peaches, include a tad bit of the juice to make the blending easier.}

No ice was needed seeing that I used frozen Mango and frozen pineapple.

So delicious.

Zulu

constantly moving

June 2011 we were home a total of 12 days. only 12 days.

We had a blast in NYC.









We adored Spain.


















And we F E L L in L O V E with Portugal.





















And we saw God move in grace in Haiti. And in us.















We feel so very grateful to have had the opportunity to travel together and experience so many cultures in one month.

Now, July we are back home. We cannot live the same way we lived before. Experience does that to you. It shifts you. Good or bad, you are shifted. We have been learning a lot about ourselves and each other. Sometimes that can be difficult, but we have to embrace it. July seems to already be a month of processing what just happened. We now must allow God to move in our hearts and solidify what He has been showing us, teaching us, revealing to us. Let us be shifted by the mighty hand of God. Whether we realize it or not, we are so desperate for Him.

I pray that Austin and I be constantly moving in Christ. That He be constantly moving in our hearts and marriage.

Now, since we're back home, I must take care of our cute apartment. We are blessed to have it and we get to take care of it. we g e t to! Praise Jesus.

I just wanted to say Hi.

It won't be long until hubs and I are off to Spain! {Two weeks, three days away.}
It is definitely that time of the semester when I've lost close to all my drive and motivation to finish strong. I realize I'm only one week away from turning in my VERY LAST project for the semester and just one test away from summer. I can do this. Really, it will not be that big of a deal.

Aus and I will be gone most of the summer. After Spain (and Portugal), we will rest for one week at home (well, hopefully we'll work) then we'll be off to HAITI! We're going with our church to Leogane for ten whole days. We've begun the Typhoid pills and they are making me feel funky...two more to go....I suppose feeling funky is better than feeling Typhoid-y.



Fun things as of late:
1. my hair is now long enough to pull into a bun without having to use bobby pins in the back.
2. Spain, of course
3. Haiti
4. We picked out colors for our kitchen and living room. Bring on the color! We've chosen bright teal for the living room and Orange Peel for the kitchen. It's more like a yellow-orange. I adore how happy and vibrant our home is becoming. We will probably finish the painting this weekend.
5. We are getting to know many more people in our new community and developing what I can already tell are great friendships.


I am hoping that in our downtime this summer I get better at snailing mail. I have plenty of ideas for letters and cards and hope they come to life.

Okay, this blog is a tad scattered but I just wanted to say hi.
I'm looking forward to the jacuzzi and wine later tonight. God bless good friends.

Love always,
Zulu


p.s.Here is a picture of Hubs and I just a couple of weeks before he said the L-word.

Twisted tongue

My husband is a man of many talents. He can craft a beautiful dining room table, plant an abundant garden, make the best crepe in town, have the best adventure ideas on a bike, or on foot and a variety of other things that would take up most of my day trying to list.

I learned of a new depth of his creativity this morning when I got a text from him while he was teaching. Today is Tuesday. Tuesday = tongue twister day. He teaches his foreign students a new tongue twister every week to help with their pronunciation. He texted me a new one, one I'd never heard before. One that blew me out of the water! And he - my talented English-teacher-of-a-husband created this one all on his own. Of course, I would never have put it past him.

Please enjoy this as much as I did. And still do.

This butter's middle's bitter;
only bad butter's bitter-middled.
That butter;s middle's better;
better butter's got a better middle
than a bitter-middled butter.

Did your tongue twist?

Gorgeousness

Today is Wednesday and it is GORGEOUS!
March 9th, 2011 is nearly a perfect-weather kind of day.
I might take my semi-new bike {Miss Ruby Red} out for a spin pretty soon.

I just got back from the grocery store and snagged the last of the Carne Asada for dinner tonight! This meat is SO good! Aus and I love making this dinner!

This weekend we'll be off to Lake Arrowhead to witness Corey and Keri get married! I have been pumped over for months! Its about time for a weekend get-away anyways...Every three months sounds perfect to me! Its crazy to believe that after this, our next adventure will be
SPAIN & PORTUGAL!!!
I'm brushing up on my Spanish...Thank goodness my husband!

Here's a little picture update from our Honeymoon.

Hammock swinging in Seaport Village


Austin and the Blues


The Newlyweds





Santa Barbara, CA


Our Alice in Wonderland themed B&B in Santa Barbara...so cute.


Solvang RUINED me for life - Truly, the best danish I've ever had.






The 1880 Union Hotel in Los Alamos was SO grand.


Antique Shopping in Los Alamos


Honeymooning can be a full-time job. Here we are, resting.