WHAT?!?!

Major changes have been underway. And grace after grace has been poured out from our Father in heaven.

For those who don't know the full story, I will tell you how last week on Tuesday I came to be on a plane to Michigan with a one-way ticket. That's right, I moved back to Michigan just one week ago after a 15-month stint in California.

Sheer Craziness.

It all started with a phone call from Steve at 7:45 a.m. two Thursdays ago. I awoke and answered, and he spewed out the news: the Tesla project was officially finished from his end and we were going home. They asked if he wanted to be on a plane that very evening! We were moving back to the snowy Midwest -- and imminently.

I knew we'd move back eventually, but WHAT?! The news hit me like a load of bricks and the first things that came to mind were all the things in California that I'd miss out on. I burst into tears. Dear friends' faces came to my mind. I had made plans for February with a friend just the previous day! I hadn't gotten to eat the porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti yet! There was still so much discount nail polish to buy!What about our trip to Southern Cal? (Is this what the Israelites felt like when they were following God as the pillar of fire/cloud in the desert wandering years?)


After I wiped my tears and ended my selfish little pity party, I started thinking about selling my car. I didn't have the title. How would we sell it in four days, including a weekend? I got to work. Steve got to work. We started working on it at about 10:30. By 1:00 pm that same day, it was sold.

Thankfully, they did not have us on a plane that very day. But we made our plans to leave four days after getting the news. I bought a plane ticket and Steve's employer bought him his. We got to sit together on the same flight!

The rest of the time in California was a whirlwind, but evidence of God's grace and faithfulness was everywhere! He orchestrated everything and brought us home. He gave peace. He gave us time to say goodbye to at least some of the people we love in California. Though it was a shock to me, it didn't surprise God (nothing does). It was all in His sovereign plan and His timing is perfect. (Had to remind myself of that often!)

Here's a quick recap:

On Friday evening, we had Bible study with our church family. We got to spend time with a dear family beforehand for dinner and many of our close friends from church were at the study that night when we announced the news. Tears were shed. Hugs were exchanged. A photo was taken. Love was shared.

God, by his abundant grace to us, led us to be a part of this wonderful spiritual family. We are so thankful for them and the time we got to spend knowing them, sharing our life with them, growing with them.

Since the project was officially "complete," Steve didn't have to work that weekend. On Saturday we had Chick-Fil-A (another thing we'll miss!) and saw Bedtime for Bonzo and Harvey at the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto. And indulged in some French macarons. (One thing on the checklist to cross off!)

Sunday was a blessed time with our church family both in the morning, afternoon, and evening. We shared the news with them and during the evening service, the elders prayed for us. (Oh, why did I not have tissue with me?!) More tears, more hugs, more photos.


On Monday we packed up our stuff from "Home Sweet Homewood Suites" and put it in Steve's work vehicle. We dropped it off at the plant, where it would be loaded on the work flatbed and driven home. At no charge to us, we got all of our stuff shipped home.

Our last evening was spent again with some of our church family at Dickey's BBQ Pit. (Can you tell we love them and will miss them terribly?!) 

More hugs but fewer tears this time. So thankful to God for these people and our whole church family in California. We will miss them but know that parting is only such sweet sorrow because of the love we shared. Love rooted in Christ. And we know we'll see them again! If not on this earth, we will spend eternity with them in heaven! All because of the grace and love of our Heavenly Father.

Michigan friends and family: despite the difficulty of leaving, we are so happy to be home. And we can't wait to catch up with you all!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

Thank you, Father, for providing abundantly for us during our time in California and for bringing us home. We don't deserve it, but you poured out blessing after blessing upon us. I thank you for your faithfulness, Lord. Help my forgetful mind to remember all that you have done for me that I may praise you always!

The Making of a Wedding Cake

You may remember that a few months ago, I took a cake decorating class with 6 others from church. We had a fun time baking, decorating, and sharing our treats with others from church (good way to get rid of all the cake and cupcakes we made!). But we never thought we'd be baking a wedding cake only 2 months later! (God knew, though!)

A couple from church was getting married and we undertook the cake as our project. How fun for us to be able to get together and use the skills we'd learned to bless this couple! (Even more fun that we kept the fact that it would be a real wedding cake a surprise!)

So how do you make a wedding cake, you may ask?

First, mix and bake a dozen cakes of different sizes.

 Step 2: Mix a LOT of frosting and some filling.

 Next, take a photo of the team with all of the baked cakes!

4: Assemble cakes with filling in between.

(4 1/2: Test by eating some cupcakes made with the extra batter, frosting, and filling! Repeat as necessary :) )

Fifth, glob lots of frosting on the whole thing and spread (this is the crumb coat). Freeze for 15-30 minutes.

After that, add another layer and smooth that out as best as you can, drill some holes for the dowels, and freeze again. Meanwhile, make 100+ icing roses.

Step 7-9: Come back the next day and add a fancy design (looks great and hides flaws!).

Finally, load the pieces in the car and drive to reception site. Assemble and add roses/fresh flowers (only the non-toxic ones). Step back and be amazed!

Any questions?...

Monsters and Robots and Toys! Oh, my!

Pixar movies are some of my favorites... From Up to Monsters, Inc. to Wall-E, Toy Story, and Finding Nemo... they really tell great stories! And coincidentally (or not), they all made me cry. (Not that that's hard.) I even had a stuffed turtle from Finding Nemo and a stuffed Sully from Monsters, Inc. (Yes, if you did the calculation and found out that both of those films were released after I turned 20, you are right. And?)

Well, Pixar Studios is in Emeryville, CA, (about a half hour's drive from us) AND I have an awesome friend from college, Hasia, who works there! (Talk about a cool job!) So my friend Sarah and I (two Sarah's necessitates nicknames, so she's "T" and I'm "Koz," FYI) went to visit for lunch one afternoon, and a brief tour. My inner child was so excited!

It was so fun walking in past the iconic desk lamp (Luxo, Jr., from their logo) and ball, from their first animated short film. And then inside, to be greeted immediately by the some of my favorite characters, Sully and Mike Wazowski! 

T and I pushing the Pixar ball... and it's clearly no contest.

"Kitty!" (I really wanted to hug Sully but I restrained myself!)

 

Buzz Lightyear and Woody made of Legos! (Careful!)

In addition to good food, great company, and incomparable photo ops, it was so interesting to see a little bit of behind the scenes of how they make the awesome animated films! We got to see color boards, sketches, and models they used in the making of their newest feature, Brave. Hasia works in their PR department, so she was a great tour guide! It was a pretty brief tour, though, because much of the areas are closed off to the public and TOP SECRET! :) Overall, the facilities are amazing -- they have a beautiful swimming pool, a tennis court, and an amazing cafeteria on site.

It really does look like a fantastic place to work.... too bad they don't need a toxicologist!

Summer Visit

Where did summer go? That is what I'm asking myself lately. The days are getting shorter and a touch cooler and breezier. It rained recently (so I hear) and there are also rumors of leaves changing colors (I haven't seen it yet). It's a far cry from the beautiful falls in Michigan, but while there are no cider mills and the air doesn't have that pleasant nip of fall, I've already had three pumpkin chai lattes from Peet's Coffee and am looking forward to more of the fall goodies! :)

But anyway, summer is almost gone, so I'll set out to update you on my summer in the next few posts, starting with a quick overview of one of the highlights.

I was so excited to have two visits from friends this summer. One was Memorial Day weekend, which was (sadly) my last post. The next visit was from dear friends from Michigan who made a week of touring the Northern California beauty! Whew, we sure did pack a lot in there (ask my car's mileage for proof!)... From San Francisco to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur, a day trip to Santa Cruz (with Steve), Yosemite, and Napa Valley! Phew!

We started in San Francisco, where we explored Fisherman's Wharf (including a yummy seafood lunch), Ghiradelli Square, a Bay tour and a bus tour! That gave the girls a good overview of the city, and then they checked out some of the other nooks and crannies in the city, including the Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, and a cable car ride! (Not to mention witnessing San Francisco's lack of a public nudity ordinance! Yikes!)

Near Ghiradelli Square after enjoying lunch at Fisherman's Wharf

Gorgeous weather to enjoy a Bay Cruise in SF Bay

Enjoying many of the delicious offerings of the Ferry Building

Cable car ride that ended in their trolley breaking down!

Then we spent an afternoon at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz (with special guest, Steve) where we stuck our toes in the Pacific (burrrr!) and enjoyed the lively atmosphere. This visit included a ride on the hang-glider ride and a sampling of deep fried Twinkies and Oreos (so bad and yet so good!).

Mindy's first time touching the Pacific!

Love!

Next, the girls and I drove down the coastal highway to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. The grey skies didn't stop us from enjoying the immense beauty of God's creation in Big Sur or the quaint beauty of Carmel (or the pastries in Carmel!).

 

Then we adventured to Yosemite (and thankfully did not stay in the camp that had the Hantavirus outbreaks!) where we were awed by God's creativity and majesty in his creation there. Amazing! (If you've read other blog posts about Yosemite, you probably get that I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!) We did some hiking (er, some of us did some hiking) and exploring by car and "glamped" (glamorous camping) in a sweet cabin with a wood-burning stove (which I managed to keep a fire going in thanks to my sweet Girl Scout training... haha, that's a joke, folks! Girl Scouts was social hour for me and my friends!).

View from Olmsted Point, including the back side of Half Dome, upper right

Meredith and I climbed Lembert Dome and were rewarded by amazing views

And finally, we made our way to Napa and Sonoma Valleys and explored some gorgeous vineyards there (including, apparently, the one owned by one of the former Bachelors...ya know, the TV show). And we feasted on a lunch of fancy cheeses and salami with fresh bakery bread. So good!

Lunch at V. Sattui Vineyard

Arriving for our tour at Mondavi Vineyards

It was so fun to have friends visit and to show them a bit of Northern California! These are only a few photos from the week (this post is already long enough!), but I may post more someday on Facebook when I get around to it!

So long, thanks for reading! Next time (hopefully soon!) I'll tell you how Steve needed a trip to San Francisco after hearing about the fun we had there! :)

Whirlwind Memorial Weekend

Wow, I'm so delinquent in my updates! In my defense, it has been not very busy and also very busy. Make sense? I guess what I mean is, when it rains, it pours! Long periods of not-much-going-on (hence no updates) followed by crazy busy-ness (hence no updates). Oh yeah, and not to rub it in, but the weather's been pretty great and I try to get outside (to the pool) as much as possible :)

Anyway, enough excuses... here's the overview with a few photos here and there to keep it interesting.

My friend Katie from Detroit-via-Denver (she now lives near Denver) came and visited over Memorial Day weekend. We hit the big city to ride the cable cars, see the wharf/beach/bridge, and trek back to our car making stops in North Beach (Italian district) for some gelato and espresso, and getting a glance of Chinatown.

We also went to Yosemite and went on the Mist Trail (to see Vernal Falls) but then were rained out the second day after "glamping" at Curry Village...

Our lunch spot!

Awesome tent cabin at Curry Village with heat and electricity (and equipped with a bear box)

And then also visited Monterey and Carmel (and Steve got to come, too!). Isn't Carmel just beautiful?

Whew! That was a lot of fun to have in one weekend (and a lot of driving... and the CR-V is still holding up fantastically!) I had a great time... thanks for coming, Katie! :) More fun this coming week as three more friends from Detroit are coming tonight/tomorrow morning!

Don't give up on me yet, more blogs from beautiful, sunny CA soon!

Bay Area Experience: Chinese Pearl Tea

We (okay, mostly I... Steve works most of the time!) have had a lot of fun experiences since moving to the Bay Area and some of them involve experiencing different cultures.  I thought I'd share one with you... One of the things the BSF crew I hang out with these days likes to do is go out for Chinese pearl milk tea (aka bubble tea aka boba tea) and they have re-introduced me to it (I tried it once in college years ago).  Instead of going to Starbucks after BSF (as we did in Farmington Hills), we go to Verde, a local Chinese tea cafe.  So what is it?  Basically, what I'm going to tell you I have learned from Wikipedia... 

"Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup) and/or milk. Ice-blended versions of the drinks, similar to slushies, are also available, usually in fruit flavors.

One of the famous categories of bubble teas is "pearl milk tea" (also known as "boba milk tea" in parts of America), which contains small chewy balls made of tapioca starch, called "pearls" in Chinese (also known as "fenyuan 粉圆" or "zhenzhu 珍珠"). Pearls made of tapioca are also available in many places."

Let me just say this, I'm not sure about the "tapioca pearls" but the tea is yummy and refreshing.  It's just a creamy, sweet tea... that is sometimes fruity (although I haven't tried the fruity variation yet but need to!).

Here's a photo so you can see what I'm talking about.  Check out the big, fat straw that is big enough for the pearls to be sucked up! (Those dark brown balls at the bottom are the pearls.)

Just in case you're wondering, it has NOT replaced coffee in my life :)  But I will admit that the day these photos were taken I was satisfying my first pearl tea craving!

By the way, Michiganders, can you please send the sun back?  It seems to have left us (though I shouldn't complain because we need the rain!)... hopefully only temporarily.  Then maybe the sun will have the strength to be in both states (and maybe a few in between) all at once!  

So anyway, there you have it, pearl milk tea.  You are now informed.  Come visit and I'll take you for one :)

Wine Country (Again!)

If you recall, the last weekend Steve had off, we drove up to Napa Valley and visited Sterling Vineyards and the Calistoga Hot Springs.  Well, lucky me!  I had another chance to visit wine country this past Thursday with some girls from BSF and I took it!  I met up with three girls, one of whom was a visitor from Taiwan, and we drove up and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day, good food, and great fellowship!

Our first stop was at a winery called V. Sattui, where they have a great little market with lots of yummy foods.  We enjoyed a picnic feast of fresh bread, cured meats (coppa and salame), eggplant/red pepper spread, and cheeses (brie, fontina, and artichoke cream cheese).

Oh... and a couple of tangerines I snatched up from church one night that someone had brought from their tree at home :)

Then we visited a 13th century Tuscan castle!

It is, naturally (since we were in Napa), a winery and vineyard called Castello di Amorosa.  And, naturally, not built in the 13th century!  The owner of V. Sattui (where we had lunch) built this as his retirement project and it was a fun place to visit.  And it is just as damp and cool as a 13th century Tuscan castle and even has a great room with frescoes, a chapel where they hold Roman Catholic mass in Latin, and a "torture chamber!" 

Oh yeah, and they have peacocks!

After our taste of 13th century Italian architecture, we traveled down the road to a modern hillside winery called Artesa.  And when I say "hillside," I mean it in the most literal way possible...

The door pictured above is the entrance into the winery.  Outside on this level of the hill there were also some great water features and fantastic sunset-bathed views of the valley!

Afterward we went to a French-inspired restaurant called "The Girl and the Fig" before heading home.  It was a 12-hour day full of fresh air and lots of walking around and sight-seeing... not to mention good food and getting to know new friends!  You can be sure I slept well that night! :)

Well, thanks for stopping by and catching up on the latest buzz!