No Black Thumb!

Here are some pics of as close as I have ever come to having a garden. My basil is growing like crazy and our tomato plant is huge. I took a close up of our two baby tomatoes.


I probably should have taken better photos but I'm feeling lazy. Regardless, I really wish we had a plot for a real garden. I want to grow my own produce now that I know I can w/o killing everything :)

John & Janet/ Trip to MN

We just got back from Luke's cousin's John's wedding. The couple live in Madison, WI, but the wedding was held in Northfield, MN, where most of Luke's (and John's) MN family live. We had a wonderful time staying with Luke's grandparents. The cermony was held in the Carleton chapel and the pig roast/reception in a nearby park. Having been to several weddings now, I'm really glad Luke and I decided to take the do-it-yourself approach rather than going with a specific format. Especially because neither of us are religious I liked having a very personal ceremony. The religious standard just doesn't hold a lot of meaning for me (not that it doesn't for other people, just not my thing).

Luke and Jack had the honor of carving the 200 lb roasted pig for the reception. I met a number of Johnson friends and family, and helped the bride by sewing a bustle into the back of her wedding gown (the seamstress forgot to add one).

Cannon Falls, where Luke's grandparents live, was beautiful. Although it ws warm and humid, it didn't ever seem to get too bad. We took a lot of walks and went on a 2 hour cannoe trip our last day there. going down the river was a blast and has made we want to try kayaking here.

First Anniversary

It's my first anniversary! It's hard to believe that a year ago today we were just starting our cocktail reception (It's 11am here, but we got married in NJ). I'm very happy in my marriage, the transition has been very easy and... comfortable is about the best word I can come up with. We lived together for almost 3 years before tying the knot, so we didn't have the first year adjustment issues. I am blessed to have a partner who is as easy going as Luke. His patience and sense of humor have helped me through some stressful weeks this year. We haven't been out swing dancing as much as I would have liked, but we've certainly explored our new home and had our fair share of adventures. Recently we've been enjoying reading on the beach, going for walks, searching for sea otters, and generally enjoying the warm summer sun.

Luke's out picking up bagels and coffee for this morning. We both greeted out wedding day with bagels and coffee (thanks, George :) ) so we thought it was a good way to start today as well. As a gift to the two of us I've booked a couple's massage at the local spa . Luke as never had a massage before, so it'll be a new experience for him. We have a male and a female masseuse, I'm frankly sort of curious to see who he will choose. I prefer a male masseuse b/c I like a much firmer touch in my massages then most women. After our afternoon at the spa we're going to wander around downtown, pick up Thai food and have it with champagne for dinner. We discovered this combination on our honeymoon- I think we ate it twice in our 12 days on Maui. Very spicy and sweet Thai cooking is complimented nicely by a dry champagne with enough acid to cut the fats in the cooking. Sort of like beer with curry, but more delicate. I've also made a chocolate cake with mocha frosting for dessert. We couldn't duplicate our wedding cake because I came from a bakery in NJ, but I was able to duplicate the kind of cake we had here at home.


The major changes in the past year have been our move to Santa Cruz and the start of our graduate programs. Living in Santa Cruz is wonderful and it has caused us to rethink the kind of life we want live. Although on the whole I still consider myself to be a city person, I love living in a smallish town (55K) that is near enough to a big city. Being able to hike right out my front door and watch animals from my balcony are two newfound pleasures. Luke and I have enjoyed many evenings trying new recipes, n or grilling. Don't get my wrong, I like to go out (mainly because I hate doing dishes and don't have a dishwasher), but here we've both deepened our love for cooking. I hope one day to live in a house that has a big beautiful kitchen, land, and a pool. Less traffic than an LA suburb would be nice too.

We'll see, we have time. We'll be here for at least another 3-4 years and then to wherever the fates may blow us. So far, so good.