The week in review...

So I realized that it's been a very long time since I've done much posting - almost a month, as a matter of fact! Except for the pictures of my jewelry that I posted yesterday before the power outage (lasting 4 hours) and the -even worse- cable outage, lasting almost 24 hours. I'm as happy as a clam to have internet back, and figured it was time to do some blogging. It's crazy to realize how dependent we are on the internet, at least in this household, in 2008. We don't have TV, so this is our source for all things informative, not to mention how I check on the jewelry business, communicate with friends and family and follow things at the hospital while I'm on call (like right now!). Anyways, the internet is back, and so am I!

Since it's been so long, I just thought I'd post some updates...

First, we have a wonderful new outdoors patio set, which we just assembled last night. Check out the picture (a view from above on our balcony) - it was made from tropical woods (maybe acacia?!?) in Indonesia, and we were ever-so-pleased to purchase it, knowing that it was Forest Stewardship Council certified, which means sustainable and responsible methods of forestry were used to get the wood to make our super sweet table. The best news is that I ordered the table, chairs and benches on clearance, and when I ordered them, it said that there were only three chairs left, so, I ordered three chairs and two benches to have seating the whole way around our 7 foot table. When they arrived, the cartons for the chairs said "two chairs per carton." What a surprise! No where did it say that on the website nor the order form... so it seems like we got 2 for the price of 1! And we thought they were a bargain when they were the price for just one! So now we have a table, six chairs and two benches. We put the extra bench on the front porch for now, to create a sitting area out there to watch the cars and people go by on our quiet city street. Isn't our furniture lovely?!? Now you'll all have to come over and have dinner with us! We're starting with my parents tonight to break in the new table and chairs.

While having new patio furniture is exciting, it was a bit of a sad week, because I went to my third-ever funeral of a patient. This funeral was particularly sad, because it was a baby that I had delivered the week before, that was born still-born. Everything seemed fine up until the day the baby was born, when the teenage mom developed belly pain and all of a sudden didn't feel the baby move anymore. We still don't know what happened, and likely never will. My patient is doing as well as can be expected, but this is incredibly difficult for her and her family. Some things are so hard to understand no matter how old you are, but especially when you've just finished 9th grade. I was glad to be able to get coverage during my office hours to make it to the funeral - my patient and her family were all very appreciative.

We had a lovely surprise in our front yard! Which was a wonderful reminder of growth and new life (even when there are sad times and death). My sister-in-law, Lydia, had done landscaping for us in the front yard (which is gorgeous!), and somehow snuck in a surprise. About two weeks ago, I noticed leaves that didn't seem like anything else in our yard, yet strangely familiar to me. Sure enough, out popped my favorite flower, a calla lilly, and then more and more. They keep coming, one at a time! They're beautiful, and in MY yard (as opposed to some garden or alongside the road in Mexico). Thanks, Lydia.

Tim and a friend, Jason, spent the day doing the prep work to re-do the electrical work in our master bedroom. We only have two outlets, as it stands now, but soon we'll have a total of 6, plus lights in the closet, that don't currently exist. One step at a time, the master bedroom will become a wonderful retreat! Can't wait to have lots of zzzz's in that space. :)

Tim and I both must have been distracted this week, because three days in a row, we did a load of laundry and forgot that it was there! Of course, with the dampness and the hot, steamy days of July, by the next day when we remembered, the items were asking to PLEASE be washed again! At least we use eco-friendly laundry detergent, but so much for doing our deed in terms of minimizing our carbon foot print this week!

I guess we didn't do too badly, now that I think about it - we dry all of our clothes on drying racks or on the line (some day I'll have a wonderful pully system to dry our clothes on, but for now it's been added to the "list"), Tim has upped our rain barrel count to 10 (I told him that I bet no one else in Lancaster City owns so many rain barrels), and I ride my bike to work while Tim car pools with two other guys.

We're coming up on our 1st anniversary very, very soon! Just three days away! So hard to believe that we've been married now for one whole year. When I think about what the year has brought, I'm overwhelmed with joy and blessings. I have a wonderful husband, a great house (with lots of projects to keep us all busy for a long time), a fabulous group of partners to work with (go SELHS!), family and friends close by, and wonderful vegetables to eat everynight from our local CSA. Yum!

Speaking of vegetables, it's time to get on with dinner - chard cheese bake (delicious recipe from Simply in Season), grilled corn on the cob, beets, sweet potatoes, and pineapple (not from the CSA, sadly, but every now and then we break down and go with the splurges beyond what our local produce can offer), fresh baked bread from Ric's Bread at Central Market, something to do with cucumbers, and surely blueberries for dessert... all at our new table! Summer is great!

ZiZi Designs "Showcase" today on Etsy!

We've launched a showcase spot on Etsy today for the first time. We have a lot of great new pieces that Heidi and I have been working on recently. Check them out, and be sure to tell all your friends and family members about us! Remember, 100% of our proceeds go to support our friends Ralph and Deb Muenstermann, who will be serving as missionaries with YWAM in Germany starting in early 2009! Spread the word!

My first successful bread making!

I've been dying to make bread from scratch for the longest time... first, I had multiple unsuccessful attempts, and ended up with unleavened bread (or at least it seemed), only to find out that most likely my yeast was a bad batch. Then, it was a question of getting the perfect pan to bake it in. I finally got a wonderful pyrex dish that's lovely for bread making, got some fresh-off-the-shelf yeast, and went to town yesterday. I was bound and determined to make a good loaf of bread, with lots of love and lots of flavor. Of course, I chose a steamy, hot summer day to crank up the oven and go to town kneading bread.
Baking bread is a LABOR of LOVE... especially when you're supposed to knead, then wait til it rises, then punch, knead and wait again - all sorts of waiting and muscle work! Tim took several pictures of me in action to prove that it was for real! We ended up with a big loaf of yummy oatmeal wheat bread (from More with Less, one of the best cookbooks ever published) that we took as part of our picnic dinner (note: bread still warm... so good!) at the concert in the park. Hooray! Can't wait to try more bread recipes and buff up my muscles.

Happy Birthday Tim!

Today I celebrate Timothy Dean Martin - my husband! What a wonderful man God has blessed me with! Tim showers me with love, caring and service.

• He's a man of God, who has a servant's heart.
• He is faithful and incredibly dedicated to the people he loves and the things he holds dear.
• He puts others first, even when he's fatigued or suffering.
• He listens - really listens.
• He loves children, and they love him.
• He is patient and kind.
• He knocks down walls and puts new ones up again.
• He doesn't take any medicine (that's good and bad for a doctor's husband :))
• He prays the most sincere and earnest prayers; he prays for the people of the world and the people we encounter in our daily walks.
• He asks for cleaning supplies for his birthday - warms my heart.
• He walks to church and car pools to work.
• He has taught me the beauty of composting.
• He refinishes hardwood floors and he redesigns closets.
• He has a heart for missions and cultures of the world.
• He supports my jewelry business and always lends a helping hand.
• He loves ginger brew!
• He sometimes starts laughing uncontrollably when he's lying in bed and overly exhausted - the smallest thing (that may not seem so funny under less tired circumstances) sets him off.
• He reads reviews about most things before purchasing them.
• He uses spreadsheets.
• He introduced me to g-mail!
• He's expanded my family and my circle of friends.
• He is my life long partner and my best friend. I love sharing life with him. I love you, Timothy!

Happy birthday, my love.

Duane & Audrey's Wedding - Slideshow

Pics from our Vacation - Slideshow

Vacation photos...better late than never!

We had a wonderful time on vacation along the central coast of California. Life picked up immediately, with its normal, very busy pace, as soon as we were home. We're happy to share our photos with you. Here are some of my favorites, with a slide show to follow in the next post!

My beautiful niece!

Tim & me at the wharf in Santa Barbara.

Our favorite artist/architect at the Italian Street Art Festival at the Santa Barbara Mission.

My nephew digging for dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara.

Tim & me at the bluff along the Pacific Ocean, where we camped at El Capitan State Park, north of Santa Barbara.

The refreshing pools along the river in Los Padres National Forest, where we camped and hiked.

My super swell cousin, Duane, who's happy as a clam, with his new, lovely bride, Audrey. Congratulations! We love you both! Welcome to the family, Audrey.

PEACE for Memorial Day

Vacation was fabulous! Photos will be posted soon... but I wanted to start with a little glimpse of a Memorial Day Message we found on the beach in Santa Barbara - an exhibit set up by Veterans for Peace.

Vacation at last...in Paradise!

Our lives have been very full of late, and we've felt like we just kept going and going and going... but not so much like energizer bunnies. Tim worked late at the office on Thursday night, and I didn't get home from the hospital until about 8pm (sigh). It had been a really tough week - a busy service in the hospital, with many very sick patients, some dying (or trying to, at least), family meetings to transition patients to palliative care (comfort measures only), consultants with varying opinions and things to say about my management of patients (I guess they have to say SOMEthing - that's their job as consultants), not getting home until very late every night, many admissions during the day, and very few discharges. I usually like inpatient medicine and making rounds in the hospital, but this week I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, that I wasn't doing a good job, and just couldn't get on top of things. Fortunately it's over, and I made my final phone call to one of my partners from the Chicago airport to ask him to do a few things I had forgotten to do... cuz we're on vacation!

Tim and I hadn't prepared for this trip at all, so we spent the evening into the wee hours of the morning Thursday into Friday doing laundry, packing, and getting ready to be away for 8 days - that's right 8 days! We went to bed around 1:30 AM, only to have the alarm go off at 3:45 AM to get up and get ready to catch our flight. We picked my parents up, and headed to the airport. It was a long day, but ended gloriously, when we arrived at the vacation home we've rented in Santa Barbara, California.

SB is truly a paradise, in and of its own, but our little oasis is very special. I found this house on Craig's List several months ago, and we decided to share the accomodations with my parents. Our house sits on acres and acres of gardens and fruit trees on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The gardens are AMAZING! We had fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast today. We have patios and decks all around, with indoor and outdoor firepits and a hot tub to top it off (we have yet to try this out). We both have king sized beds and our own bathrooms, and there are turtle doves inside a museum sized bird cage to sing the good morning song each day.

Last night we ran to Trader Joes, my favorite unique grocery store, and picked up all sorts of goodies for breakfast and snacks, not to mention our favorite beverage - Reeds Ginger Brew, which is a super strong ginger ale, Jamaican style. We had a breakfast of champions this morning with omelettes, home fries, toast, fruit smoothies, OJ and coffee. Delicious! We had breakfast on the deck overlooking the garden and ocean.

We had dinner at La Super Rica Taqueria last night, which is claimed to be Julia Child's favorite place to get tacos. It was super rico!

We've rested well, and now we're about to head out to explore the sites of Santa Barbara and participate in some of the wedding festivities that are forthcoming. My cousin Duane is about to get hitched - he's the 10th and final cousin in the Johnsen family to take the leap. We're so excited for him and for Audrey. They make a great pair, and we're looking forward to celebrating with them.

Enjoy some pictures from our little paradise!

Buy Fair Trade! A plug for World Fair Trade Day...

Saturday, May 10th is World Fair Trade Day, an annual event designed to increase the visibility of fair trade. If you are interested in supporting some fair trade and socially-conscious companies, check out Fair Indigo's list.

Also check out the FairTrade Foundation and Fair Trade Certified - organizations that promote Fair Trade around the world.

Note, the images above are from FairTrade Foundation and Fair Trade Certified. Please support them!