Our First Home

Karl knew at first sight. It took me "just one more" rental company showing to know we better JUMP QUICK on this cute little thing, even if it didn't have washer/dryer hookups! And how we've LOVED IT.

The proximity to downtown is fabulous! In two minutes flat, we can be at a coffee shop or restaurant. It sits on a corner so the round-about view with all the shades open draws in a lot of natural light - love! A few other little things that made it our first home....

These bathroom cupboards ROCKED! Tall and narrow - who knew! They fit all things bathroom and I never had to squint into dark recesses of a cupboard to see what was in the back. Brillant.

Built-In Closet. I really like you. Again, very easy to see what was what. No dark recesses for lost items to hide. Incredible storage cupboards above and drawers below. I organized to my heart's content.

This is a poor shot of the natural light that spilled into the place throughout the day yet it captures it for what I want to remember as our first home.

The built-in and arched doorways! Need I say more? Now the fireplace draft protection didn't really make the list. Had a wood stove insert been there instead....it would have ranked for sure.

It's not the latest model yet it is still a simple light under the kitchen cupboards. What is it about a soft glow that just makes things softer and not as intrusive? This light and the one above the sink were favs in the kitchen. Well, 1950's house, you made a memory that we are quite fond to call our first home.

You've provided a lot of fun and quirks - bathroom light switch in the hallway, anyone? Or, the fact that we could run laps in the house since the kitchen opened into the guest room which opened into the miniature hallway which led you to the living room and around through the dining room to the kitchen and around you could go...and go...and go.

We're on to our next adventure of the first home we've bought together. Papers will be signed soon-ish - hurrah!

Breakfast Boxes

I've been sick - the achy body, headache, chills kind of sick. It's moved into a cold and slowly but surely energy is returning.  At 11:00 a.m. on my first day back at work, I was tuckered out if that tells you anything! In the midst of this, Karl began teaching his first of two two-week summer classes. This first set is the most intensive as he's tweaking quite a bit of his curriculum. He's up at 5:00 a.m. and out the door by 6:00 a.m. Yes, I was definitely still sleeping at that hour to beat out the sickies!

Even though I'm sick, I want the best for my man! A tidbit of info about my hunk of a man is that he doesn't notice whether he's hungry most of time. How in the world did he survice without me in his life?! It's rare I don't notice when I'm hungry. In fact, it was a trait Karl was warned about :) 

I knew he'd be headed to the office early so I asked him the night before his first class if I could pack up some cereal and milk so he'd at least have something to take with him for the morning. "Nah!" he said, "I'm fine." I knew he really meant it even if I didn't like it very much. Being sick and without much energy, I took him at his word. I included an apple with the lunch I packed him so he at least had an option in the morning! The next night I asked again about anything I could send for breakfast. He mentioned he just needed a bar of something since he's running around so much. As soon as he said those words,  I thought, "AH-HA!! I know exactly what I'm going to try!" 

I've been enjoying finding random blogs here and there, and with that, some fun recipes! I tag them in my homemade spreadsheet to track my interests since pinterest still has yet to do what it does to accept people. My sister even tried sending me an invite but it's not coming through. Whatever. I'll find my own way to track what I like :) So back to breakfast for my man!  The most wonderful thing of all is that the recipes I wanted to try were easy-peasy. Perfect for not having very much energy.

The first is the 5 Minute Muffins - High Protein. He loved them! Success :) I did have a moment of clear thinking as I was finishing scooping up the last of the batter into the mini muffin tin....dark chocolate chips. Who doesn't need a little bit of antioxidants in the morning?! Done. Delicious addition. On a side note, I don't have a blender but a hand mixer did just fine.

The second is the  Chocolate Chip Granola Breakfast Bar (the original is called a triangle but I like a bar better!) I'm going to ease up on the honey the next time I try it since the honey we bought from a local has a bit of a strong taste to it. I also want to try adding some raisins and possibly some nuts. Mmmm. The hubbs liked it again! Another recipe winner! These will be great for hikes on the trail too - whenever we get to that. Needless to say, my man now has some on-the-run breakfast boxes!! I love that he's getting some all natural goodness into his system as fuel for his long days. 

Small Things

Awhile back, I shared the adventure of learning my feet had popped out bunions! I don't think I'll ever forget that day. (Moment of silence, please.) Then it was on to the adventure of shoe shopping for these new feet of mine! And it's certainly been interesting!

I had a bit of apprehension of looking for shoes. What in the world am I going to find? AND where in the world will I find anything?! A pure and simple fact that God continues to remind me about with various life circumstances is his intimate knowledge of the small things. I see his love and care through these random small things. There are much "bigger" issues and heart needs in this world than for me to have shoes. Yet, as I've needed shoes to accomodate my newly formed bunions, slowly but surely I've seen God provide. Here's how He's done it with shoes....

A couple days ago I was wearing my "girly" shoes - you know, ladies, the ones that just make you smile and love the fact that you're a girl?! Yes, those shoes. Here they are - my girly shoes! For my new bunion feet! (FYI: Our camera has officially died. All proceeding pictures were taken with my phone which doesn't capture the colors very well.)

They were on a fantastic sale - one of those days you're not looking for anything but it just happens and you find yourself finding a pair that fits AND you learn it's been given a great big discount. "Don't mind if I do, I'll take them!" Those are fun finds. I did need to have them stretched at local shoe store since they rubbed my bunions just a wee bit too much. That cost $8. I found that interesting. It's not often I need to have my shoes stretched! A fun fact is that I can do a solid four hours in these cuties. Then my feet begin to kindly tell me it's time for .... wait for it .... what I affectionately refer to as "my grandma shoes."

Don't laugh. My feet LOVE them. I was skeptical. I'll be honest. I didn't know what I'd have to change to adapt to this new foot feature and I knew it might be something like these. The unique part about these is that they don't do the typical curve into the arch area - it's a solid base. Can't miss it. All I can say is, "when my feet are happy, I'm happy."

I never thought I'd say that. These are my go-to. My comfort. My home away from home. That is was grandmas should be about though, right! Thanks, grandma shoes, I really appreciate you. For the record, these babies offer a good toe box for the bunions (wiggle, toes, wiggle!) and the solid base I need for the pronating that I do when I walk. Check it out:

Yes-sirree! Can't get more solid than that I say. One. Solid. Block. Of. Shoe.

Some other finds that have joined the journey....

Rain/Snow boots! Never thought I'd have boots with this much fur. Yet when I again found a pair that fit (with my inserts!) at 70% off, I bought them! Fur and all.

Speaking of these inserts, because of the pronation (roll in) when I walk, the podiatrist recommended having inserts to help with the arch support and to slow the bunion growth. I insert them into all my shoes, except my "girly" ones. Here are my trusty Asics that have seen me through a triathlon and half marathon. Well, not these specifically but former friends that I've since retired.

I'm totally putting a plug in for Sole products. A sales guy told me about the inserts AND that they have sandals for feet problems - oh, that would be me! I bought the inserts from him (they're fantastic!) AND went online and found flip flops on clearance. Yes, I bought two.

Good arch support AND the straps go further down the foot than normal, which bypasses the tender bunion area - Win-Win.

Finally, Karl loves the sporty look. Again, a good toe 'box' and the wide base on the bottom. I'm glad he likes them! They are growing on me.

As I've been on this journey, I learned from an older woman friend who also has bunions that it's a good idea to rotate the shoes my feet are in each day. I can't remember her reasoning yet remember thinking it made sense. Now that I've been at this awhile, I would agree. My feet do much better as I rotate things around. I'll try to remember that the rain/snow boots won't work too well in the summer warmth though.

Along with being reminded of God's intimate knowledge of the small things, since adapting these new shoes and not necessarily being able to choose any style I want, I've learned that the shoe styles I couldn't figure out why anyone would buy much less wear.... well, they serve a purpose. They may not be the cutest or the most stylish yet they serve a need. Don't judge us that wear these weird shoes. They make our feet happy. Oh the lessons that I'm learning through shoes - it's the small things :)

Never Once

Hindsight is 20/20. And I'm still kind of in awe.

Last week as we were hanging out with our village (fancy name for a small group of people that intentionally interact with each other and the Bible and how it impacts our day to day life) from church to talk about the sermon from Sunday, the question was asked, "Do you have an experience where your vertical relationship with God affected your horizontal relationship with a person in your life?" Need I say that Karl and I turned towards each other, caught each other's eye and burst out laughing?! I proceeded to say, "Why yes, yes I do have an experience to share."

A few from our group had read the previous blog about our time in Cabo but I filled in the others who had not. We even had some of those good-from-the-gut laughable moments as I shared and Karl filled in with his antics. As I was sharing, it dawned on me....Had Karl actually been saying for this for the last several months yet I just wasn't getting it?! I asked him after we were done sharing and he kindly smiled at me and nodded his head. Apparently, I need a 2x4 to wake me up sometimes! A little "self-righteousness" and "self-absorbed" thrown at me will also do. AHH! I get it. Thanks, honey, for helping me wake up! For helping to draw me back to Jesus as the One who is the Righteous One, who is the Lord and who gives His glory to no other.

It's a mystery sometimes how blind I can be. Then again, no, no it's not. I've fallen short of God's glory - He's the perfect one. I am not. Ten-four - Roger that! A song we sang in church tonight (yes, we meet at 5 pm on Sundays - it's awesome!! P.S. I adore sleeping in on Sunday mornings and getting to spend the morning with my husband!) yes....back to the song, it's called "Never Once" by Matt Redman. The lyrics really meant something to me tonight:

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Yes. He is faithful. He can be nothing but faithful. It's His character and He doesn't change. I've been thinking about the motto of our wedding, the phrase we put on the magnets we gave our guests - a reminder that our marriage is "For His Name's Sake." 

He never left us on our own. Even as we struggled to understand each other. Even as I just wasn't getting it. Even as we kept hitting wall after wall. As I poured out my heart to God these last several months asking Him to change me because I just didn't know what else to do and in the midst of that wondering where He was because I just wasn't seeing the change...He was faithful. It may not have been in my timeline but in His time. He is faithful. Never once did He leave us alone. 

Picking up Rocks

Over the weekend, I didn't know how to share our Cabo vacation experience with words as I contemplated where to begin. There was just too much! Thus, the post of Cabo began with pictures! Yet they don't tell the whole story.....

Believe it or not, Karl and I are far from perfect. It's hard to believe I know (meant to be read with a ton of sarcasm!!) And when God brings two sinners together in marriage - well, it becomes a kaleidoscope of colors! Sometimes it forms conflicting layers of color - perhaps when we expect the other to meet a need only God is meant to fill.  At other times it brings the colors into an amazing blend of beautiful layers - such as when we're both looking out for the interest of the other and not just our own interest. Our vacation was definitely a combo of beautiful and some not-so-pretty layers of color. This is the story that the pictures don't tell.

A book we are beginning to read and talk through with another couple is Timothy Keller's "The Meaning of Marriage." We read the first chapter on Tuesday morning during our vacation. In chapter one, Keller says (italics mine), "Marriage is glorious but hard. (Can I get an AMEN!) It's a burning joy and strength, and yet it is also blood, sweat, and tears, humbling defeats and exhausting victories." This whole quote stood out to me yet the phrase "exhausting victories" captured me in a different way. I was soon to find out why.

The beginning of our time in Cabo was amazing. Great weather, fun time hanging out, good back and forth of relaxing for Kristy (aka reading by the pool or ocean!) and something active for Karl (exploring the tide pools, making guac with Ferdinand, etc!). Some beautiful kaleidoscope layering of color! Then we hit our wall. Here comes the kaleidoscope not-so-pretty picture. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty, people! It was the blood, sweat, and tears....and exhausting victories that Keller referred to in his book.

Why in the world are we sharing this?! We both believe in transparency. We're not perfect. Our marriage isn't perfect. We don't want pictures to tell some idyllic-what-seems-to-be-perfect story. It's not the whole truth. We want to be real. We want to tell about what God is doing.

As a way to tell about what God does through our lives, we began to collect rocks. In fact, here's our jar:

Kinda weird, huh! Let me explain. One of the very first times we hung out in person, we went to Portuguese Beach on the Northern California coast where Karl taught me to juggle with some small rocks. I didn't quite master the skill but Karl secretly kept the rocks!  A year later he presented these rocks as a reminder that God was orchestrating our relationship.  From that point, we decided to start a tradition that whenever we saw God's faithfulness in our lives, we'd take a rock from the area to remember His work. (Somewhat similar to the alters that were built in the Old Testament when God did something and the person/people wanted to recognize it - i.e. Joshua 4:1-7) We added two more rocks to the collection as we were in Cabo.

We picked these two rocks up from the beach on the Sea of Cortez to remind us that God is good. He is faithful. As you'll notice, they are layered - one with various spots and one with actual layers of color (usually we only choose one but sometimes ya just can't decide :) Sitting on some rocks on the beach, we had to peel a number of our own personal layers away as we talked through our very different personalities. As we pressed into the hard areas of our hearts, we felt the blood, sweat, tears, and humbling defeats of marriage. Over the course of the conversation, we felt God begin to break through both of us. Yet, as the day progressed we realized it was only the beginning.

Our blood, sweat, and tears lasted through the night - literally. Neither of us got much sleep. It was a rough night. The only thing that held us that night was being able to cry out to Jesus.  Although the night was rough, the next morning we felt that God had done more work chipping away at the hard areas of our hearts. So without much sleep, we headed off on a whale watching tour before catching our flight home.  

Believe it or not there was still more work to be done.  Lasting throughout the weekend, the conversation that began on Tuesday was still rubbing raw and bringing light to the areas that needed it. And just so we're not talking abstractly here, two issues Karl brought to my attention that he was seeing in me were that one I had become self-absorbed and two I had become self-righteous. Ugly! I was not expecting that! Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback with those observations. And yet after the shock wore off, I had to agree with him. Confess it, repent of it and ask his and God's forgiveness.

That is where life begins to get beautiful layers of color. Sin is ugly. It definitely does not glorify a pure and holy God. YET it sure shows me how beautiful Jesus is as He willingly laid down his own life by taking not just my sin but the sins of the world upon himself so that we would no longer be separated from a pure, Holy God. Jesus puts me back into a right relationship with God every time I sin.

As Karl and I continued fighting for our marriage over the weekend (in the sense that we both know there is more God wants to do in each of us and in our marriage if we fight for it rather than ignore issues or stuff them), we continued to see God chip things away. Especially after Karl called me out on what he was seeing and I repented and asked for forgiveness. There was a new softening on my heart. I didn't know that I had had a hard heart. I kinda knew my relationship with God over the last year had been different and had attributed it to ALL the changes that had been taking place. I think all the changes were a piece of my relationship being different yet now know that somewhere along the line, seeds of self-righteousness and becoming self-absorbed had begun to sprout.

If marriage has taught me anything thus far, it is definitely the fact that Jesus has absolute reign and everything is for His glory - not my own. I can do nothing on my own. There will continue to be things we work through. This was one of those "exhausting victories." What the pictures don't tell - Vacation ended up being exhausting. The fact that we continued to press into hard conversation, peeling layers back, and being real with each other led to the victory of having my heart softened. Only something God can do.

One day at a time. One victory at a time - some more exhausting than others :) And picking up rocks along the way to remind ourselves of God's faithfulness. His goodness. He doesn't change.

Cabo

A picture is worth a thousand words...

The view from our room 

A closer look at the Sea of Cortez

Our room - A jacuzzi tub is through the shutters that are open into the bathroom!

Nothing like an ocean sunset!

Aquarobics - sounds good to me!

It didn't take much for me to stare at this view for awhile.
Karl definitely got antsy. We learned we need to do more excursions!

Hacienda Encantada has a great kids area!!

Karl helped Ferdinand with the demonstration of guacamole!

He makes a mean guac! 

I decided while looking at the waves crashing that a few of
these pics in white frames will look great in our bathroom!

A friendly lady picked up our camera to get some shots of us - kinda funny!

Another view that wasn't hard to stare at for a time. 

The pool bar behind me was fun to sit at and order food and drink(s).

Infinity pools have great views. 

Another picture to be framed!

The Arch between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez
- on our way to some whale watching! 

A bird on a rock.

Another bird. On a rock.

I like having life jackets on the ocean!


We came upon a HUGE pod of dolphins.
And by huge I mean at least 150 swimming all around us.


Then a mama whale and her calf caught our attention.

Our room was the top balcony on the very right of this picture.

Drink of choice for the week was a margarita for Karl and mudslide for me.
I did try a Sea Breeze - cranberry & grapefruit juice & vodka - delicious, fresh, crisp.
I'm noting this so I can reference it when I wonder "what was that drink I had that one time"!

One last view during our final lunch after whale-watching.

They might be in America now yet new flavors are always to be had internationally -
chocolate and strawberry was a new one for me!

Karl Adventures!

A lot of adventure with Karl before I knew him involved stories with his belated (aka: given to a friend) Subaru with water or mud, lots of digging in basements, countless road trips, European wanderings, and of course hiking of various extremes. Since being married to him, I've had the fortune of being apart of new European wanderings, hiking, and even basement digging! Unbeknownst to us both, when he said yes to teaching a new course this semester his adventure recently has been this: 

Exciting, huh!! :D Well, mentally anyway. I'm so proud of him. He has had a new course for the last six semesters. That is a total of three years and not one semester without a new course needing to be created. If you're not aware of college course creation - in Karl's definition not some bored, unexcited college professor's definition (not that there's any like that!) - it's a lot of time, effort, creativity, etc! Not only does he create each course with diligence and creativity to engage the students, but he also continues to refine and develop the other courses he is teaching. 


The current new course, Mechatronics, is in the mechanical engineering side of things. Since it was his Master's emphasis, it's not foreign to him. His PhD and latest study and teaching, though, has been within civil engineering so this particular course has definitely been more of an adventure to create since it's not as recent material for him! His days have ranged from 12 to 18 hour work days. It's a good thing we have not been given kids yet - and one reason we choose to say yes to a new course now and not later.

Needless to say it's been quite the semester! We're still glad we made the choice to have him teach it. It's highlighted some good things for us to talk through and it also means we get the summer to play again! Yes, please! It also continues to give him diversity in his teaching and role within the school of engineering at WSU. With one year contracts each year as a clinical assistant professor, it's always up in the air what we'll be doing the following year, especially with state budget cuts. Always an adventure with Karl. Always an adventure living life with God! I love and enjoy being apart of both, even if both do involve growth and change!

As busy and long as this semester has been, there are two things that have been good to have on the horizon. The first was a work conference for Karl. In early Januray, we talked a little about me going with him. I was hesitant since I had already asked for spring break off in December (second thing to look forward to!) and was the next week after the conference. I am so used to throwing myself into work as a single - how can I ask for another two days off!? Long story short. I did. Big deal for me! I realized my relationship with my husband is much more important than my part-time work. I want to invest in my husband.

A sneaky plan began forming. I touched based with his dad and asked if I could use some of his airmiles to join Karl for the conference to be held in Washington, D.C. His reply, "That's what I love using the airmiles for!" Big smile on my end - I have great in-laws! I then had to contact the administrative assistant for the civil engineering department who did some footwork for me to get Karl's exact flight schedule - Another win! With info in tow, Dad Olsen booked my flight even scoring seats next to Karl on all our flights, except our final leg from Seattle to Pullman on our return home. Hurr-rah! A nice dinner with a decorated birthday envelope at his plate and VOILA - an early birthday present. OH! Did I mention it would be Karl's birthday on the last day of the conference and when we would be flying home?! An added reason for me to get the time off and join him! He loved the surprise.

And we throroughly enjoyed our time! A few highlights.....

All of sudden Karl is standing next to this sign as we wonder why....look closely....upper right...

After a delicious finger-lickin' Ethiopian meal at Dukem's with Karl's buddy Amos Saturday night, we ended up at H Street Country Club for a little putt-putt and for the guys to enjoy a beer. Karl: "I'm feeling a little awkward."

More eating ensues with Amos on Sunday after church at Logan Tavern. I was very excited about the "best french toast, carmel pecan sauce & bacon" - sounds amazing, huh! But first, Karl realized Donovan McNabb was waiting for a table too. Who? Yup, my point exactly. Apparently the quarterback for the Washington Redskins. Cool. Back to the french toast! I was told they had just served the last one. Mmmm-Hmmm. That's okay -  the mango key lime pie made up for it! And then it was off to see the Cathedral. We really enjoyed our time wandering!

Karl's conference started Sunday evening and he was there all day Monday as well....until we hopped on the Metro to head for a tour at the Pentagon with Amos. It was fantastic! It's a small city in there along with some amazing American history displays. 

Karl and Amos met at WSU, went to bible college together in Austria and have some funny travel stories  of their time in Europe! It was great getting to know Amos throughout the weekend as we hung out and he taxied us everywhere! 

After dinner at La Tasca, a very delicious tapas and sangria place in Old Town Alexandria (can you tell our theme was to eat a wide variety of food not found in Pullman?!), Amos drove us to the Iwo Jima monument before he dropped us at our hotel and we said good-bye.

The next morning was more "conferencing" for Karl and then we began the trek home. The stewardess' learned it was Karl's birthday and gave him a free digeplayer (or whatever its name is!) to watch movies on for our flight from DC to Seattle. AWESOME! We also received Alaska Airline wings. It was a big deal. 

Happy 34th Birthday to my creative, hard-working, full of integrity husband!

The second middle marker of this busy, long sememster to look forward to?! Spring break. In Cabo, Mexico. A-maz-ing. Thank you, Lord, for splurges that at the time of booking seem extravegant yet You know how much we'll need it before we do. Thank you for creating seasons - a time for laughter and play.

Cabo. Here. We. Come.