Dining & WINE-ing

So let's reverse....TWO weeks...

Jon's Grandparents came to Cali and visited us.  This was one of the most refreshing weekends since we've been here as the homesickness is really kicking in.  Their visit gave us the strength and encouragement to hold on until JUNE until we get to go home for a few days!

It was a rainy, dreary day, but that didn't stop us!  We started out the morning in Woodland at the Savory Cafe--one of our favorite places to eat lunch.  We hadn't ever tried breakfast, so we knew we wanted to try it out.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but for some reason I was exhausted to I started out with a Cup O Joe.

Followed by a GIANT breakfast: 

ONE Cinnamon Raisin Pancakes (these were HUGE so one was more than enough--these might be one of THE best kinds of pancakes I've EVER had!), hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs.  I can't claim that I ate nearly any of this as Jon got his sticky fingers on most of it.  (Phew!)

Jon's Grandma ordered three, yes, THREE, of these suckers....

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Despite wanting to curl up and take a nap after one huge breakfast, we headed for Napa Valley.  I've been waiting to visit Napa since the day we arrived!! I couldn't have been more excited to enjoy the day in Napa with some of my favorite people...

We didn't have a CLUE where to start, so we headed to the Visitors Center (haha very touristy of us, we know) but thankfully we did because we got the scoop on all of the wineries that had specials going on that weekend.  Beringer was having a cellar sale and 2-for-1 wine tastings, so that's the one we picked!

Heading to taste some wine...I hope Jon and I live to be this old and this much in love...

After shopping around for a bit, it was time for my favorite part...wine tasting...the man serving us the wine kept saying, "Don't you worry, I'll take care of you ;)" That statement = too much (delicious) wine!

Followed by a wine tour that ended with the BIGGEST bottle of wine I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, it was NOT for sale.  :(

(Sorry, I lost the picture where my thumb WASN'T in the way!)

After all of our wine sampling, shopping, and tours, we made our trip back to Davis.  On our way, we stopped in Winters to have supper at Buckhorn Steakhouse.  We've been waiting for a special occasion to eat there, and this seemed like the PERFECT time.

After THE best onion strings, I dominated the steak and shrimp with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.  It was SO tasty and we can't wait to go back again!

Needless to say, we were exhausted after this day.  We all headed home and said our good-byes :(  When we arrived home, we were in for a surprise as one of my closest friends, Lu from http://headoverten-nies.blogspot.com/, is PREGNANT!!! This was WONDERFUL and super exciting news.  Her and her husband are going to be amazing parents, and I can't wait to learn from their example and meet their little bundle of joy SOON!

The next day, I had the "itch" to "fix" the haircut that I had just gotten.  I can't stand a bad style, so  I hit up a different Aveda Salon, called "Willo" in Roseville.  I was MUCH more pleased with this cut and WILL be returning to this same stylist next time :) Check "Finding a hair stylist in Cali" off of the list. Bye-bye hair...

While I was getting my hairs chopped off, my super sweet hubby hit up the Vera Bradley store and surprised me with the traveler and make-up bag that matched the straightener case I already have!! He also entered my name in a drawing and...I WON! Best. Day. Ever. Thank you Jonny!

At church that night, the message was given from Pontius Pilate's point of view of the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus.  This is something that I haven't ever really heard of OR thought about.  It was neat, and definitely touched my heart.  The main message was to HAVE COURAGE when faced with opposing crowds...have courage to stand up for what you believe in, stick to your guns, to what you know is right.  The MOST important thing that I heard was to seek Jesus Christ MORE than seeking job security.  It makes complete sense, too, because if we're seeking Christ, EVERYTHING else will be taken care of! What an incredible concept.

We had a pretty typical week--work, eat, exercise, sleep, repeat.  I managed to get back in the pool for a swim workout for the first time in SEVERAL years.  I was on the competitive swimming team growing up and used to get up 3 mornings/week at 5:30 to go to practice, and practiced the other two days/week after school.  Most mornings I'd fight with mom so I wouldn't have to go, but it was only because of the time!! I LOVED being in the water, and if I hadn't fallen MORE in love with volleyball, I would've swam competitively in high school.  I'm thanking her now that I can hop in the pool and add it to my cardio workouts and train for my first Sprint Marathon!! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I spent MOST of my evenings reading the first book of the "Hunger Games" which is why I've fallen so far behind on this blog. Jon was studying for his mid-term, so it gave me time to enjoy a good book!  My surprise treat on Friday: a date to Bistro 33 followed by The Hunger Games movie!!  Woo Hoo :)

Saturday was the Final Four, so I made my meal plan for the week, and headed to the grocery store and picked up ingredients to create my own Taco Dip from two Taco Soup recipes I had.  The recipe is soon to come...but here is what we enjoyed while watching the games:

Although this past week and a half has been filled with a lot of fun, I'll be honest, I've been struggling tremendously! I want to keep this blog as positive and uplifting as possible, but I also promised that I'd be honest.  Life is HARD, and marriage is HARDER! As true as this is, I believe that "anything worth having is worth working for." Marriage is by far the hardest thing yet the most blessed thing I've ever done.  Jon and I have decided that there is NO way to really prepare someone for marriage.  This is obvious, but just so real for us right now.  We definitely condone pre-marital counseling, and went through the Prepare & Enrich program with our wonderful Pastor.  We learned so much about each other through that, but marriage is a whole new world, and SHOULD be as it's reserved for a special time and season in our lives.  We love each other tremendously and are 100% committed, but we both grew up naively in wonderful homes, not TRULY realizing HOW much work went into our parent's amazing relationships.  We have BIG shoes to fill!! :)

 Anyways, I read THIS article yesterday at work, and it spoke to me BIG time.  I won't share with you what my "itch" is quite yet, but it hit home with me. I shut down last night, and just needed to cry and cry and cry, and then pray and sleep.  I feel awful when this happens, because I feel as though nothing gets accomplished.  Quite the contrary.  I woke up feeling refreshed, and felt a HUGE tugging on my heart to get into God's Word.  I had seen a 31 Days of Encouragement study online and decided I was either going to give that a try, or read a Proverb/day.  (In case you don't know, there are 31 Proverbs making it the PERFECT go-to if you want to get into God's Word and don't know where to start, OR want to read through Proverbs each month.)  I decided I was going to start with the 31 Days of Encouragement study.  I spent time in God's Word before work, the first time I've done this since being here, and although my day wasn't perfect, I had a different peace in my heart.

I read Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." The part that sticks out to me is "repeat them AGAIN and AGAIN"--so much repetition is needed...not just a one time deal and then done and do NOT be ashamed---CONSTANTLY have our minds on the Lord and seeking Him---CONSTANTLY, in our heart, our home, our mind, our relationships, everything. I find myself WANTING to do the Lord's will...and will even pray about it...but neglect the Word as a source for God to speak to me :(

When I got to work this morning, I received an e-mail from one of my closest friends, Brooke, asking me to do a Proverbs/Day with her.  That was SUCH a blessing, and made me smile as I KNEW God had His hand in it.  We hadn't spoken yet that day, and she had no idea that I was in such a bad place the night before, but God knew I needed to be lifted up, and He delivered!  I would definitely recommend, even if you don't have someone to go through it with, to do a Proverb/Day and see, just SEE, if there's any difference in your days, or even month.  I'm not magically back to who I want to be, but I'm working on getting there!

After getting to talk with my Dad tonight, I miss home even more.  Thankfully, I know being here is the Lord's will, and He will help me through yet another journey, and I WILL rejoice! Off to catch some zzzz's!