we got a new espresso machine at work yesterday, which caused me to be just a tad overcaffeinated. as i was having trouble sleeping at night, i randomly thought of where i was exactly a year ago…2 years…3 years… and things have changed quite a bit. here’s my trip down memory lane:

1 year ago

i was living in mountain view, with a 7 min commute on a good day, 20 min commute in rush hour. i had a job where i still knew exactly what i would be working on the next day. mark and i were finally in a small group together for the first time, and spent most of our spare time serving in various ministries at church. in our rare pockets of free time, we loved biking to the numerous farmer’s market in the area. we needed a way out of domestication and complacency fast.

2 years ago

seattle was finally starting to feel like home. i was living in downtown seattle with no intention of leaving the city i had finally figured out the kind of job i wanted and fortunately i was dang good at it. doors were opening left and right and i loved every minute of my career fast track. personally, i was trying hard to get plugged into a community, while keeping in touch with my close friends from texas and also juggling a long distance relationship. biggest wallet eater: plane tickets. biggest time waster: webcam chats.

3 years ago

a year and some into my life in seattle, a whirlwind year into my relationship with mark. he was getting ready to move to san francisco. all the newness about california kept things exciting…little did i know i was about to enter the most challenging yet defining years of my life to date. living with 1 of my best friends from high school also means that we are getting to know the bar/club scene very well. at the same time, i finally had the courage to act on my realization that my first job ever would not become a fulfilling career so it’s time to start distributing the resume.

so crazy how things change. none of the snapshots into my life is like any of the others. where do i go from here? at times like these, i especially find jer 29:11 comforting because god is always faithful with his promises. mark and i talk and dream about the future, but for me personally i don’t think i’ve had clear confirmation of where i should go since college graduation…yet i’ve come this far. so i will persist in my request for divine direction.

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on a different note, leaving for tahoe in 3 hrs!!! better get some shut eye now.

been a while since i last updated.  needless to say, with all the wedding planning, we have been  B U S Y!  let’s see…a little progress report:

• venue & food for ceremony & reception – check
• wedding dress – check
• registry – check
• save the date’s – check
• wedding website – half check (mark!)
• premarital counseling – on track
• photographer – on track
• bachelor party planning – check

i would say the biggest accomplishment so far is the bachelor party.  if you’ve heard stories of mark and i’s “adventures” we have been without shelter, so to speak, at whistler, yosemite, seattle, mount rainier, tahoe, etc.  each trip we take is a surprise as to where we may spend the night.  so the fact that he’s got a hotel picked out is hopefully the most pleasantly surprising for his groomsmen.

i’m pretty happy with our progress so far.  i’ll update later with some of my thoughts on wedding planning/preparation and also our crazy 8 hr trip to bed bath & beyond!!