30, Flirty and Thriving!

My birthday started off last night with a romantic dinner for two at the local wine bar. Marc and I had a really good time sitting outside in the courtyard sipping cocktails and wine while enjoying delicious food. When dinner was over we decided we weren't quite ready to go home so we stopped at another restaurant on our way and enjoyed a few more drinks and some delicious tiramisu. We ended up staying up until midnight so that we could celebrate the very beginning of my birthday.

Today, I wanted to kick off the morning with a chocolate croissant and a mimosa. Sadly the French bakery in town was out of chocolate croissants so we ended up with some delicious Danish pastries. Marc and I shared an almond croissant, cinnamon danish and a peach turnover. Along with the mimosas it was definitely the best way to start the day.

After breakfast I started opening the 47 birthday cards that I had received in the mail. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was to have so many cards to open. As you can see below the 3 inch stack was enough cards to cover most of our dining room table! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family to make my birthday wish come true.

After opening all my cards we watched the Forty-Niners beat the Bengals in football. Which reminds me that the cake my coworkers got to celebrate my birthday was also in Niners colors.

So far 30 is living up to the hype. I've had a wonderful birthday and birthday weekend. I'm even more excited to see what else is in store for the year. I owe a big thank you to everyone who sent me a birthday card, called, left a Facebook message and generally made my birthday so very special. Cheers!

Last Day of My 20s

Today is the last day of my twenties. Everyone keeps telling me that my 30s are going to be awesome and some of the best years of my life. I don't doubt it but as I reflect on my 20s I feel like they were also awesome and some of the best years of my life. So I figured today should be a celebration of my 20s.

• Places Traveled: England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mexico, Tanzania
• Number of Times Driven Across the United States: 2
• Job Positions Taken: Office Assistant, Receptionist, Guest Service Associate, Babysitter, Receptionist, Registered Dietitian, Senior Registered Dietitian
• Apartments Lived In: 5
• Degrees Earned: Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Business Economics and a Minor in Exercise and Health Science, Master of Science in Nutritional Science
• Languages Forgotten: French
• Languages Learned: Spanish
• Weddings: 1

I turned 20 when I was studying abroad in England. That year was full of ups and downs. It was only a few short weeks after 9/11, it was the year the euro launched in Europe, I had some of the hardest Economics classes I had ever taken, and I got to do a lot of things I loved - photography, horseback riding, and loads of traveling. The following year I celebrated my 21st birthday back in Santa Barbara. My dad got to watch his youngest and final child graduate from college and I was suddenly faced with figuring out what I was going to do next. So I did what any independent 21 year old would do and I traveled around New Zealand and Australia for a month with friends that I have known since 4th grade.

When I returned to the US and turned 22 I decided to go back to school to get a Masters in Nutrition and moved to Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to share an apartment with one of the girls I met when I studied abroad and honestly, it was the best roommate situation a girl could dream of. When I was 24 I went to Mexico for 2 months to live with a host family, attend school and learn Spanish. Personally and professionally this was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I even took a part time job at a children's museum to help fund my way.

25 was my "golden" birthday (the birthday when you turn the same age as your birth-date) and I celebrated in style with a sunrise hot air balloon ride over Temecula Valley followed by a day of wine tasting with my closest friends. That year I also graduated from Grad School, made the move across the country to Washington DC, and spent a month traveling around China. When I was 26 I spent 3 weeks traveling around Tanzania.

My 27th birthday was the first birthday I celebrated with Marc. He took me out to dinner at Sonoma a delicious restaurant in South East Washington DC and gave me tickets to watch the Capitols hockey team (although it might have been as much a present for him as it was for me). Little did I know that the following year we would be celebrating my 28th birthday in our apartment in San Diego and the year after that I would be celebrating my 29th birthday and our engagement. I also didn't imagine that I would have the best wedding day I could have planned.

When I look back now I had some of the most adventurous, challenging and exciting years that a single independent girl can have. I can only imagine what my 30s will bring and how life will be different as a married independent lady.

Being an Aquila 101 - Groceries

Today I experienced an important lesson I had already learned about being an Aquila. Marc and I had just gotten home from our errands; we had stopped by Costco, Tip Top Meats (our local butcher), Albertsons (the grocery store) and the dry cleaners. As we pulled into the driveway Marc surveyed the items in the car and said to me "We might have to make two trips to get all this into the house." My response, "But that's not the Aquila way. I bet we can make it one trip." So we loaded up our arms with 3 shopping bags, 2 boxes and a bunch of dry cleaned shirts each and made it into the house in one trip.

Being an Aquila - I would rather carry 10 grocery bags in each hand then take two trips to bring my groceries in.

Readings - Part 2

Our second reading was read by the other Mrs. Aquila, Katie. Katie is Marc's sister-in-law and also the mother of our flower girl. Marc and I both couldn't picture our wedding without having Katie involved. But with her husband as best man, her daughter as flower girl and her son also in attendance we didn't want to make it too hard on her. Thankfully she agreed to read an excerpt from The Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle during our wedding ceremony. She apologized when her son had to join her for the reading but I think that made it even more special.

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

Readings - Part 1

We were lucky to have some amazing people do readings during our wedding. Our first reading was by Meg and Derrick. It was at their wedding that Marc and I officially met and what I consider as the start of us dating. Their reading was parts of Sandol Stoddard Warburg's "I Like You" and they did a great job of splitting it up between the two of them.

I like you and I know why.

I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it's special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, "Remember when you told me something special?"
And both of us remember

When I think something is important
you think it's important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I'm funny and you think I'm funny too
Hah-hah!

I like you because you know where I'm ticklish
And you don't tickle me there except just a little tiny bit sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too

That's because you really like me
You really like me, don't you?
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that's the way we keep on going every day

If you find two four-leaf clovers, you give me one
If I find four, I give you two
If we only find three, we keep on looking
Sometimes we have good luck, and sometimes we don't

I like you because I don't know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can't remember when I didn't like you
It must have been lonesome then
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do

So many reasons
On the 4th of July I like you because it's the 4th of July
On the fifth of July, I like you too
See what I mean?
Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was the 13th of August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again

That's how it would happen every time
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you because I like you

Our Wedding Ceremony

***Now that we are home and finally settled back in to our normal lives I figured it would probably be a good time to start sharing more about our recent wedding and honeymoon. Our wedding ceremony occurred on a boat as it cruised around the Casco Bay (Portland, Maine). Marc's cousin Jess did an amazing job officiating our ceremony and since a few people have asked to read the words that were spoken during our wedding ceremony I figured this would be the best way to start . . . enjoy! ***

Welcome family and friends as we gather here today on this ferry in the middle of beautiful Portland Harbor to celebrate the love shared between Christina and Marc.

This marriage ceremony fulfills many purposes. First, we are here to celebrate the loving relationship that Christina and Marc have created together already. Second, we are here to witness the commitments and aspirations they will exchange in today’s ceremony. To that, the bride and groom would like to acknowledge that parts of their ceremony mirror the weddings of friends and family that they have witnessed and loved. Finally, we are here to offer our love, support and encouragement to them as they embark on this joyful and courageous adventure of marriage.

Christina and Marc’s paths have brought them together and they are happy today, not only because of their unity and the unity of their path, but because they can share the joy and meaning of that unity with we who are lucky enough to be in their lives.

It is very important to Marc and Christina that they share this day with those they love. Many people have traveled from not only all over the country, but across the world, to be here. So welcome to one and all who have traveled from near and far. Christina and Marc thank you for your presence here today, and now ask for your blessing, encouragement and lifelong support, as they begin their married life together.

One of the reasons I was asked to officiate this marriage ceremony is because I was lucky enough to be there at the beginning of Christina and Marc’s relationship as they were getting to know each other while we all lived in Washington, D.C. And then I was lucky enough to see their relationship grow into so much more. It struck me early on just how much these two were comfortable with the other, and simply liked being around and bringing out the best in each other. And to this day that hasn’t changed.

I know this because – in their own words – Marc’s green “Pirates Arrrr Great!” t-shirt, which he was wearing the first time Christina laid eyes on him, still makes her laugh every time. When she gets excited, Christina is a bouncing off the walls, thrilled-with-life, can’t wait excited, which Marc finds infectious. Christina likes that Marc’s hug-o-meter and belly need to be kept full; he is a romantic at heart; he supports and provides for those people dearest and most important to him, but will also go out of his way to help a stranger; and he is a doer – he simply likes to do stuff – rather than being content to sit and watch the world go by.

Marc likes that Christina has the most beautiful, genuine, eyes-light-up-happy smile that he’s ever seen; she’s an independent, organized and strong-willed woman, but every once in awhile she knows it’s okay to lean on him for help; she cares deeply for her friends and family; and she is more thoughtful and patient than he thought possible. Plus, she makes him bagels. They like that in each other they have found someone who shares a motivation and determination to go after what they want – as individuals, together, and as equals.

In the book Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, author Louis de Berniéres writes:

Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

When I originally read this passage, it struck me as sad. I mean come on – can you honestly tell me that there isn’t some part in all of us that wants the temporary madness, the breathlessness, the burning passion? But I changed my mind the more I thought about it. And that is because in this day and age, it is easy to fall in love – or at least easy to believe you have fallen in love; but if you are very lucky, you find a love that lasts and grows roots that may bend, but will not break. And what Marc and Christina have found in each other is not only a real love that will last forever, but a real like for each other that will last for always.

It is said that a circle has no beginning and no end. But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metal is melted in a furnace, poured into molds, cooled and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful is made from raw elements. Marriage is like that. It’s hot, dirty work. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.

We end the ceremony and begin the celebration with the words of an old English toast:

Here is a toast to lying, cheating, stealing, and drinking:
If you lie, lie in each other’s arms;
If you cheat, cheat death;
If you steal, steal each other’s kisses;
And if you drink, drink deeply of the joy of your new life together.

Christina and Marc, now that you have exchanged vows and celebrated your union by giving each other these beautiful rings before all those here present, it is with great joy and happiness that I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may kiss each other!

Compost Happens

Today Marc and I headed down to the local Patagonia store for a workshop on urban composting. Right now we don't really have a garden that needs compost but Marc and I have dreams of moving to a place where we will actually have a yard and will thus be able to compost and grow food to eat in our garden. And we figured it's never too early to start learning. Plus we really like the idea that the scraps of food that we would normally throw in to the garbage can will now end up in our compost and go towards growing us food instead of into the local landfill.

One of the highlights of the workshop was the 4 foot long puppet worm that one of the master composter volunteers had on his arm during the beginning of the presentation. He even called worm poop - craptonite (like Superman's kryptonite). This same presenter was a big fan of passive composting and you could tell that he loved his worms compared to the female presenter who was passionate about being an agressive hot composter. It was pretty entertaining.

worm harvesting - castings on the left and worms on the right

We had a lot of fun learning about traditional hot composting but what we found most exciting was the worm composting. Especially since we don't really have too much organic waste to get rid of at this stage of our lives. When we have a yard I might go for the traditional composting along with the worms but for now with our balcony gardening the worm composting is probably our best bet. So now we have to decide when to set up our worms and what we will plant first to receive the benefits.

In the Dark

So you may have heard that there was a little power outage yesterday in San Diego County. This meant that Marc and I were able to head home from work at about 4 o'clock. The big bummer of the evening was that we were unable to watch the first football game of the season.

Thankfully we had the essentials:

A crank radio so we could listen to the news updates

on what was going on, or try to find the game on the radio.

A working kegerator so we could stay hydrated.

And leftover s'mores supplies so we could have

dessert after our candlelit dinner from the grill.

The best part of the night was that Marc was able to use his work supplied wireless card for his computer so he was able to complete his fantasy football draft. Beer, candlelit dinner, fantasy football draft and s'mores . . . not a bad night after all.

Camping

Over labor day weekend Marc and I drove out to Southern Utah to meet up with Steph and Sasha for some camping fun. Despite the fact that it was over 100F the entire weekend and our camping neighbors almost burned down the entire campsite, we had a fantastic time. Below are some of the highlights of our weekend:

Time Spent Fishing is Time Well Spent

Sasha, Steph and Marc getting the fishing lines ready.
Sadly we only caught two sticks.

The beautiful red rocks of Southern Utah.

One of the hiking trails at Zion National Park. Note the chain drilled into the wall of rock, the narrow path and the cliff of death to the right. Needless to say, it was pretty scary.

At the end of the day we all had a great time!

Happy Septina!

Happy first day of Septina! We celebrated by having lunch together at Pizza Nova, one of the restaurants near our offices. In case you were wondering what Septina is, it's my birthday month (September + Christina).

Yesterday Marc and I were talking about my birthday. Since we had the best party of the summer last month, our wedding, it's really hard to believe that I would be able to have something equivalent this month for my 30th birthday. I also realize that I just asked all my friends and family to fly to Maine for my wedding so I can't really ask them to fly to the other corner of the United States and come celebrate with me in San Diego.

So it got me thinking, what can I do instead? In the hopes that people will be willing to put something into the mail for me I have decided that I would like to try to get at least 30 birthday cards to open on my big day. They can be bought or handmade, they can include stories about me from the past or advice for my next 30 years, but honestly I would just love to have some cards to open on my birthday. Not too much to ask for, right?

The only thing to remember is my birthday, the 25th, is on a Sunday. So you will have to make sure you send them so that they arrive Saturday or before, and I promise I will collect them and not open them until my big day.

So that's my goal . . . 30 cards to open on my 30th birthday. Will you mail me one?