Beach Getaway

We made it to the beach last weekend for a quick weekend getaway. Rain or shine, there's just something peaceful about the coast. 

Love these chairs in front of the cabin.

Blake doing his duty and feeding the birds.

This was opening weekend of the Illwaco Saturday Market so we started the day off with breakfast and a slow stroll through the art vendors. 

Breakfast at the Beach House
Kind of a nothing picture.. but I like something about it. 

We also walked down through the marina since it seemed like it might make for good photos. Can I just brag about my hubs here for a minute.. he is not only patient about my newest hobby, but he also actively encourages it. He'll think of places that would be good photo spots, all on his own, he is always willing to stop for a picture when the light is right or when either of us see something that catches our eye and he will stand there and be so supportive when I take frame after frame (after frame...) of seemingly the same subject. I just adore him and feel so adored by him. 

No trip to the beach is complete without a visit to Adelaide's for coffee and a new book, and this trip was no exception.

Simply delicious.

Adelaide's was formerly the Taylor House, and old hotel.
Such a neat building.

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This time I bought Tyler Florence's Dinner at My Place and have not been disappointed. Say what you will about Tyler's personality (he has a bit of a reputation for being arrogant and cocky), but the man knows his way around the kitchen and I enjoy many of his recipes (e.g., my go-to chocolate tart recipe is his). The book is organized by meal rather than course/ingredient and each chapter gives a full menu for one night. The menus are both elegant and practical and the photos are fantastic. I love how cookbooks these days are half art, half cooking. I literally read this cover-to-cover on the way home and have already added several recipes into next weeks meal plan. I'm also making one of the desserts for Bible study this week. (Stay tuned.)

A little surprise bonus was a lengthy chapter on baby foods! It should come in handy in a few years.

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After Adelaide's we were off to take some (more) pictures. My photographer cousin Macey had joined us and Blake was a great sport, along for the ride (okay, he was actually our chauffeur). We were going to walk through a park that we haven't been to on the other end of the peninsula, but we found giant mosquitoes there and didn't make it more than 100 feet down the trail before turning back. Scary. I did snap a couple of pictures though.

Actual size (or so it seemed)

We retreated to the beach and spent a good amount of time there playing with lenses, poses and remotes. We had a blast and got some great pictures. Macey, being a professional photographer, obviously has a little more to show for the afternoon, you should check out her post about the day. It was really fun to get to spend some time with her and our new common interest (it's been her interest for along time, but you know what I mean). She is in the process of moving to Portland and I'm excited that I might be seeing more of her now. She does a great job explaining our relationship in her post, but I'll just say that she is the closest I'll ever come to a sister and it is a joy whenever we get some time together.

So, we thought we'd try out my remote and take some stop-action jumping shots.. I mean.. how fun, right!? We had no idea how funny and difficult it would be.. here's a video (pretty short and no sound.. hope it works) of our attempts...

Seagulls

How fun is this beach chair!?

 Did you know that Blake is silly? Well, he is.

We also couldn't leave without doing a puzzle. This was a great one. Only 550 pieces, so perfect for the shorter visit, but really interesting the way it is designed. Each edge starts it's own garden scene, with all of them meshing together and their skies meeting in the middle. It was really nice to have the puzzle right side up for everyone! 

Well, that was our weekend. What a fantastic little break from reality, it is totally worth the five and a half hour drive there and back. We make the most of the car ride too of course!

Bummer

I started to write a post about our weekend at the beach, I hit save and walked away. When I came back... it was gone! So out of defeat, I'm posting this for a little perspective and humor until I have the energy to write the beach post again.

Source

I just have to say that I thought that Blake and I came up with this as an inside joke... but I came across this picture/list on Pinterest the other night and I see that we aren't as original as we think.

Whenever we find ourselves starting to complain about something that boils down to a convenience item (and we Americans have plenty of those) we stop ourselves and make a hash-tag (#) symbol in the air followed by "American Problems" in an announcer voice. At some point we started also saying "First World Problems" and sometimes "Developed Nation Problems" but you get the idea.

Basically, we're just reminding ourselves or each other  to keep our lives in perspective. When I complain about not having enough closet space, I stop and think about how lucky I am to have both a closet and things to fill it. Or when something cosmetic happens to my car.. again, a little perspective would say.. oh how thankful I am to have a car.

So now I'll put my frustration with blogger in perspective and start writing a new beach post.

Movement

I like to be comfortable. I like to make a plan and put on cruise control. I like feeling in control and having my bases covered. I like learning from my mistakes and I like learning from other people's mistakes even better.

I don't know many people that like unpredictability, instability and constant change. I sure don't.

Lately, God has been moving me to a new place. I love it. I love that God is stretching and growing me. I've said it before but I'll say it again. If you aren't growing you're dying and I'm glad to be in the place of growth. I'm glad that He cares enough to challenge me.

That said, growth sometimes (usually) comes from discipline or trials that push us out of our comfort zone and ideally, push us toward greater dependence on God. We're so independently minded in our flesh, but God created us in His image, and His image is dependent... I know, I know that sounds like a fault but it isn't. Look at God, He is three in one. He is the definition of relationships and interdependence. He knows that we are at our best when we are in constant communication with Him and consider His ways in every aspect of our lives. He knows that we are going to stumble and get lost when we forge ahead on our own, in our own power and with our own plan. He knows, just like any parent knows, that sometimes the uncomfortable things lead to a better long term outcome.

In the spirit of dependence, God has been teaching me that my plans are lovely, but what is important is that I continuously seek Him. No cruise control allowed.

Through some unexpected changes at work God has taught me that He will provide. He has better plans for me than I could imagine, so just trust Him. I won't go into all the details but essentially I have no idea what my employment future looks like after this contract ends. This has happened before, and God always provides. I'm excited to see what is ahead and what I'll learn from it. I'm thinking of James 1:2-4 and finding joy in this situation, because I know that it will produce good things in me. God is moving us toward a deeper relationship and dependence on Him, and I'm rejoicing in it.

: :

The other part of this post (or maybe it should be its own?) is the blessing that has already come from seeking Him. Not only is God moving us closer to Him, He's also literally moving us!

The possibility came up that a house next door to and down the street from some good friends would be available to rent. We love the area and have talked about looking around there when it's time for us to buy/build a house. The couple that owns the house are going on a mission trip for 18-23 months (in Russia) and would need just short-term renters.

It sparked our interest because as we count down to starting our family, their return from Russia would fall in line with when we need to be thinking about permanent housing. The time line fit ours... but it really would come down to the money. We don't need to move.. but would sure love to if it didn't upset the budget. However, most rental houses are smaller than our apartment and cost more to rent, so it's never been cost effective to move into a house.

So, after much prayer and consideration (remember that I'm not sure when or where I'll be working soon!) we met with the couple that owns the house and discussed it. Initially, they wanted more than we wanted to pay (which the house is totally worth: 3 beds/3 baths/3 car garage, on some acreage), but after meeting with us they decided that we could work something out (we are appealing short-term renters because we have no kids). So after more prayer and consideration, we came back to them on Sunday with a number that we thought was do-able, even though it would mean still paying more in rent than we need too (because actually, we don't need to move). When we told them our number they smiled and said that after our last meeting they talked and had agreed on an amount that was fifty dollars less than what we'd offered to pay!

That just felt like God's stamp of approval. Not only would he bless us with the ability to enjoy living in a bigger space, with a fantastic yard, deck and garden, which is also really close to several of our friends.. but he would also do it for less money than we'd expected.

We are SO excited to have more space and to feel a little more grown up in a house. I'll miss our apartment and moving is never fun.. but it's an adventure and a step forward. It's God's movement and it feels good!

Post Processing

I have been post processing in more ways than one. First, we are finally getting caught up from being gone for a week. Second, God has been challenging my thinking and stretching me in some specific areas lately (more on that later). Third, I've been processing all the photos from the last few weeks month. What a job! I expected to have tons of pictures to sort through during these first few months (years?) of learning the ropes of photography. I just didn't realize how much time it would take to actually do the sorting/editing.

This has really been my first attempts at doing any editing outside of basic crop, straighten, contrast and red eye removal. So the learning curve was pretty steep, but I think I'm starting to understand some basics and stepping out of the box a little too. *Warning.. this post is heavily photography related. If you want real life updates, skip to the links at the bottom*

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND -unknown 

(This is on a second grade classroom door at one of my schools. Good advice, I think)

I hope that I eventually learn to compose, expose and capture the picture that I want to end with, instead of taking hundreds a few pictures with different settings so that I have all my bases covered when it comes to editing. One thing I wasn't sure about and have learned, is that composition isn't as crucial as I thought. I find that I almost always crop my photos down a little and so the hundreds several pictures I take with the subject in different parts of the frame aren't as necessary. Also, I'm starting to discover my style and what I like my pictures to look like, which will help me be more selective in how many pictures I take 'just in case'.

I also started shooting my pictures in RAW+JPEG. This eats up a ton of memory.. but has also saved some photos I would have otherwise ruined because I forgot to reset my white balance or didn't check the exposure etc. I also find that I like the results from editing the raw image over the results from editing just a jpeg. Basically, I'm sold on raw ... even if it means I'll probably need a bigger memory card and an external hard drive for my computer. I like it that much.

So as I process images, and experiences. I'll leave you with some links to the retroposts about recent events, rather than loading this post with pictures.

Pendleton on A Sunny Evening (my first editing)

Spring Break in Mexico

Easter

A Windy Afternoon

Date Night

A Windy Afternoon

Thursdays are one of my favorite days.

First, my schedule is nice and I basically play with preschoolers all day - fun.
Second, Thursday is {almost} Friday.
Third, Thursdays is Bible study night, which I look forward to for the obvious reasons of fellowship and studying God's word.
Lastly, Thursdays are often the first night that I don't have to work after work, which gives me time to run errands, work late, or stop and take pictures at the park when the light is gorgeous. [segue].

Here are some pictures from this Thursday afternoon. I really love blossoms.

I like the creamy bokeh in some of these pictures but other than that I'm not actually that happy with them. It was really windy that day so in some pictures I put my scarf on the branch to show the movement of the wind. I like the colors and the contrasts but I'm really not sure how to edit these ones. I feel like they need something to liven them up and give them some character. I kind of feel that way with all of my pictures actually. They're okay.. but nothing special. It's time for me to get serious about post processing. Any suggestions?

Edited with Picasa, using Lomo-ish filter.
(I have no idea what that means)

Basic crop/contrast/lighting with Picasa

Basic crop/contrast/lighting with Picasa

Crop/contrast/lighting and saturation with Picasa

Basic crop/contrast/lighting with Picasa

Date Night

Blake and I rarely have a traditional 'date night'. We like to make the little things in life special by doing them together when one of us could do them alone. Grocery shopping, for example, is kind of like a date for us. We really enjoy strolling through Costco discussing life. We don't get to spend a ton of time together - two weeknights (and one of those nights is Bible study night) and Saturdays are it really. We occasionally get up for the early service on Sundays, which makes some afternoon time together but I still have to hurry off to work eventually. So just the luxury of curling up on the couch and watching a tv episode is special to us. We like our little routines and just enjoy the moments we have together.

Tonight, however, we went all out ;).

We started in the afternoon with a movie (The Hunger Games movie because Blake just finished reading the book last night), then we went to dinner (Famous Dave's - A guilty pleasure. As much as I try to avoid chain restaurants... man I love their pulled pork!). Next Blake drove us out to a hillside that he'd scoped out before and determined that it would be a great spot to watch the sunset (and he sat there super patiently for an hour while I snapped pictures). After the sunset we went into our favorite local store called Sweet Treat and got some frozen yogurt to bring home and eat while watching an episode of a tv series we're Netflixing our way through (Criminal Minds).

Here are some sunset pictures :). Edited with Picasa, mostly just crop/color/contrast/lighting and some saturation and boost adjustments.

Rattlesnake 'Mountain' ... I think

The view behind us, gotta love the wind mills.

Easter 2012

We landed in Portland, OR, got in the car with my younger brother and his girlfriend (a.k.a. the Jordans) who were kind enough to pick us up in our car and drove to Bainbridge Island, WA for Easter. It was a long day of travel, but I really can't complain when part of it was a flight home from a fantastic vacation.

It was a short visit, but a great one, nonetheless. It could only have been more complete if my brother Jared was there (instead, he was at our house because of work. Irony!) and maybe a dear cousin or three with my other aunt and uncle and their families. Still, it was great to see my parents, the Jordans and my aunt and uncle. Easter is fairly self explanatory.. but here are some pictures anyway. Also, I got to try my hand at some family pictures, which was fun.

The cooks in the kitchen

Easter Eggs! Which came in...

Easter 'baskets'! Basically, my mom rocks and even though we're
all grown adults.. she still made us Easter baskets!

(This was the fun inside the bag!
Isn't my mom great!?) :)

Sisters

Our hosts, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Rodney

My parents

I couldn't pick just one.

The Jordans

Us

The obligatory family dinner table picture :)

We took the ferry over to Seattle on the way home, and I had to take the opportunity to try out my wide angle lens. 

Spring Break in Mexico

This was a fantastic vacation. One of those vacations that actually felt like a vacation. I returned home fully rested, rejuvenated and refreshed. It was also extra special for the following reasons.

01. Blake and I work a lot. Specifically, in March we worked an extra lot. We were so ready for some extended quality time together. We just love hanging out and that darn work is always getting in the way.

02. We were returning to the same place that we went on our honeymoon, two and a half years ago. I thought we might go back there for our 5th anniversary, but it just happened to work out for spring break this year.

It was so fun to relive our honeymoon a little and so incredible to see how much we've grown since we were there last. We both agree that our honeymoon was magically perfect. Yet, we also agree that our love has done nothing but grow since our magical time two and a half years ago. It is a total credit to God's faithful love and good work in us. Sitting in the same lounge chairs and taking long walks on the same beach really drove home how much greater marriage gets every day when God is at the center of it. We just walk through life a little closer now than we did before. We know each other better and we communicate better - usually with fewer words. Not surprising changes, just more obvious because we were in the same environment but a few years older.

03. Our good friends Jason and Whitney Saura were down in Cabo for spring break the same week we were. Whitney's grandma gave them use of her timeshare as a Christmas present and it happen to work out for us to be there at the same time (different resorts, but not too far).

And now, here are some pictures. Oooh the pictures. I took about 1000 (926 actually) and narrowed it down to about 150 keepers. I'll try to narrow it down even more here ;)

Dinner, our first night

Followed by a walk on the beach. I didn't realize I was doing
this with the lights.. but now I know how to do it on purpose!

These crabs were everywhere!

On a sunset cruise.

The whales really gave us a show!

Sunrise

Early morning fishing

After this picture, Captain Victor told me that I take too many pictures.
Psht. If he only knew.

Blake caught a Yellow Fin Tuna! Mmm!

Relaxing on our balcony

Blake could watch the waves crash all day :)

Whitney gave us a scare and got sucked out into the waves.
She ate some sand and saltwater before making it out okay.

Oops.. here comes a wave!

All safe and sound back on the dry sand.

Goodnight!