| walking next to you...

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

life in the city:)

the last time i posted, i spoke of a new journey. it has begun and it is happening and i am feeling so grateful. i live in the city now, SF that is, and every day there is something new. life here is not what we expected it would be, it is not necessarily going along with the goals we had set for ourselves but during this time, i have learned and am learning something very important. one day at a time. one day at a time. that is the most important life lesson anyone can learn. i really do believe this. it is also the hardest one and i think i will have to continue to learn it and relearn it at future points in life. i am ok with this fact. things never turn out how we expect them to. at this point in my life, i am glad that they don't. because if they did, i wouldn't be where i am with zack.

let's move right along. we live in the most lovely home. i have not posted photos so here are just a couple:)

it's such a sweet and wonderful home with character and now that chloe and toby are here, it is so fun:) we live in a part of the city that is sort of removed from the hustle and bustle. it is a treasure. there are the streets that are staircases and they lead to a location where you can see the entire city AND there are slides! random slides! zack took me on a walk when we first moved in and it was the perfect way to get acquainted with our neighborhood...and i went down a slide...duh:)

the weather here is wild:) i went from nearly hot weather year round to wearing jackets in august. i love this. i forgot how to layer my clothes so i am slowly learning again! zack is helping me a lot- he bought me my first comfortable pair of city boots and i love wearing them. they are so lovely but mostly, they keep my feet warm:)

in the few months that we have been back on the west coast, my body has been on a slow mending process. just a few months before we left florida, i found out that i was allergic to a lot of things, most native to the state, and it explained why i had been sick for months. sick doesn't really do it. i lost my voice and was devastated at the idea of never being able to sing again. well, fast forward to now, and i am happy to say that i feel good. i can't say great yet but i havent been able to say i feel good since january so good is amazing! AND my voice is recovering and i can sing and i am grateful.

i had to stop eating a lot of things. seriously, a lot. the hardest thing--- bread. BUT i can honestly say that a diet change and an environment change was just what the doctor recommended and it's doing my body a great deal of good. AND i can eat some bread:) well, one kind:

my sweet mom loves me. she searched and searched until she found a trader joe's that carried a yeast free and gluten free bread! and it's not gross and it doesn't make me sick!!! she sent two loaves up with zack and it will last me until thanksgiving:) zack is also becoming quite the specialty chef. he has found great recipes for things that i can eat- my favorite is the pizza!

so as my body is getting older, it is speaking to me and i am glad it is. there are so many things i can't eat now but it is for my own good and i will take it.

last month z and i celebrated 15 months of marriage. it's so hard to believe that it has been 15 months! i came home to lovely flowers:) they have been wonderful, these 15 months. they have been real and we have grown so close and can talk about anything even when we don't agree and are actually best friends and it has been good:) we are good together. i am learning that more and more with each day and am so grateful for the way that our Creator works all things together for good. even things like a relationship. zack and i. i know that we are being used here together and as individuals and i know that will continue.

PS- if you're reading, please remember that i tend to be very scattered when i write:)

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Friday, August 24, 2012

music, music, muzac 2:)

way back when i wrote about music. what it is, why it is so important, how much i love it. i am writing about it again:) why? because a couple days ago i heard a funny story about students looking at a teacher strangely because he asked them if they liked jazz. i laughed a little bit because i know what a lot of young people think about music today. or at least that they know what the good stuff is:)

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Monday, August 13, 2012

a new journey has begun...

hello, hello:)
and you will have to forgive my extended break…like a year long or so since my last post. oops. i considered starting a new blog being that so much has changed since i last wrote anything worth reading. i am so sad that i hardly had time to write about anything…especially since the past two years have been so meaningful to me. i am hoping that as i remember things, especially from the past year of my life, that i will write about them, BUT i also want to focus on the now. every day from today on. i will be writing from san francisco- a city that means a lot to zack and i…a city that we will now call OUR HOME. yesterday i told zack that it will be at least six months before i will be able to embrace this reality… perhaps even longer. it is something i have hoped for but never imagined being a reality…but luckily i serve a Creator who is bigger than my desires, imagination, me:)
so here we are and it is real and everyday is giving me something different, something new.
a recent something new- i have a niece now and she is the sweetest little lady in the world. her name is olivia jane, she is going to be really tall i think, and i love her a lot. her parents created an email account for her so that we can send her notes and videos and photos and such. i am taking full advantage of it…she is going to love me:)
today, my experiences led me to blog. i have been meaning to for days now…months i guess, but one thing or another has kept me away…today was different. this morning, i went to get coffee and to read this book i started yesterday. if you know me, you know there are few things i love more than books- reading books. it is called no longer a slum dog. it is about the caste system in india and the lifestyle it has created for a large percentage of the people of india. it is just breaking my heart. it deals with the issue of bondage and its many faces but the major story in the book is hope. something we all long for and need no matter where we come from. i am reading about the selling off of children, prostitution circles, starvation… ugly injustice basically. but there is hope and people talk about being freed from life's bondage and it is beautiful.
there is another part to this story but i still have to process it. it happened after my morning coffee and well, i guess i just need to think about it before i write about it. i am learning a lot about poverty. spiritual and physical and how it has so many different characteristics.
i am so grateful that zack and i get to be here. i love it- the people, the places, the food…the food:) i think it will be hard but i think every moment will be worth it. i am glad we will grow together in this new chapter in our book. i am glad that God is moving us, that He is refusing to allow us to get too comfortable. i don't want to be too comfortable. it's nice sometimes but i don't think i was wired to be like that even if i long for it sometimes.
i will write again soon about friends, work, food, other people, lessons on life, other things.
i hope today is lovely for you, rain or shine, 100 degrees or 75, just enjoy it:) find something positive to dwell on. don't say you can't.
love,
roxi

ps- please have mercy and remember that my writings tend to be pretty scattered:)

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

i will update so soon:)

so much. since christmas. oops:)

enjoy this for now:

The Morning Benders - Virgins from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

soon:)

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

a new year!

happy new year:) a few days late is better than never, right? i have a great deal of holiday updating to do and hopefully that will all happen this weekend. for now, here is one update that is really near and dear to my heart. today was the first day of classes and they were really great and i am glad to be back. there is one new class that has been added to my schedule and it is one i have hoped to teach for a very long time and never could have imagined it would happen at MVA:) today, i taught my first Holocaust class and even though it was only the first day it was so good and i just can't wait to get to teach this class for an entire semester to high school students. i love all of my classes so much but this one has a special place in my heart due to the subject. God is so faithful in the big things and in the little things.

happy tuesday.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas to you:)

love,

the Piankos

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

so little time!

this one is just going to to quick and photos are going to do most of the talking:)

we drove to tennessee for thanksgiving to visit big sis and it was amazing...first road trip together... success:)

the scenery was just stunning...we wanted to stop every few minutes that passed!

thanksgiving is my favorite:) we watched the parade and ate cinnamon pumpkin pancakes...yummers!

spending thanksgiving with these three was perfect:)

we made lots of food...and ate it too:)

and we skyped with our whole family...and received a little bit of news:)

our thanksgiving miracle...i am finally going to be an AUNTIE!!!! hip! hip! hooray!!!

on our way back, we filled our tank with the cheapest gas ever!!!

when we got back, i started reading this, thanks beccers:) it is so beautiful. God is.

and just before we left for tennessee, i got a copy of this...my voice got to be a part of it. it was super. so grateful.

side note-> we love to spend time in the kitchen together:)

also at work:) i am so lucky to work down the hall from my sweet:) i recognized the penmanship;)

i love this man...so much:)

we finally took chloe in. she was fixed. completely different cat. in a good way...she's not crazy anymore:)

last night, he went out...and came back with "i love you" flowers. perfection.

and he had this too. red velvet? yes, please!

and then this morning at 3:30, something happened and it led us to the ER. my sweet fellow was feeling so horrible this morning and it turned out to be a kidney stone:/ he is so brave says me and the doctor who treated him. that darn thing is still there but it will be out of there soon!

the past couple of months have been just chaotic but i am so happy that my God is bigger than all of it. i can hardly believe Christmas is just days away. Cali, see you SO soon! saturday to be exact;)

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Monday, October 31, 2011

spooky!

can't believe it's already that time of year:) i love halloween, even if this year zack and i are sitting at home reading and grading and basically everything school:) the lower school had a costume parade and oh my goodness, they were so stinking cute!!! the craziest part is realizing we are three weeks down the road from thanksgiving which is my favorite:) i love everything about it with the exception of note being with my entire family when it comes. that's what christmas is for:) i hope you all have a wonderful night. safety first and always, friends!

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Sunday, October 30, 2011

going home home:)

last weekend, zack and i took a very short trip home home:) where the families are, california. my little brother, who is not so little anymore, tied the knot and it was such an honor to be able to be a part of something so special. he married a gal who is perfect for him, i think we were all kinda hoping joe would make her our sister, and last saturday he finally did! laura is such a special girl and the way she loves my little brother makes all of us so happy and we know God is the reason for all of that:)

even though our trip was so short and we were not able to see so many special people, we were able to spend time with our families and that was so important for both of us. i remember just before leaving for california i told zack the thing i was most excited about was hugging my mom...i really needed a mom hug and i got one:) spending time with my entire family and zack getting to see his mom and spend time with her was so needed and such perfection and i am so grateful for the short weekend we were able to have together.

i know a lot of people say they have the best family. but i am so sure i do:)

now for some photo madness:

zack and i, love him:)

had to sneak this one in because they just celebrated 33 years of marriage!

my amazing sisters- and oh so gorgeous!

the happy couple and my sweet folks:)

the original six- love, love, love them:)

love:)

the gals and their mama:)

married!

our new sister:)

happily ever after:)

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Monday, October 24, 2011

thankful for all things.

today is one of those days. zack and i are sitting at home grading:) we grade a lot... all the time. luckily, we love what we do:) anywho, it is one of those days where here and there i am distracted by my thoughts and today, thoughts of things i am grateful for...not a bad distraction at all. next week, we are driving to tennessee to spend thanksgiving with my big sister. i am so grateful and excited that we get to do this. we are going to be driving for hours and it will be just us and the road and that is going to be good quality time for us! we also just purchased our tickets to fly home for christmas! over two weeks of family goodness, all of us together:) i am so grateful for my husband. he is a wonderful man. he does little things, like every time we walk near a car door, he runs ahead of me to make sure i don't open it because he likes to do it. that's just one thing among the many. i just wanted to point out something that may seem small but really, it's lovely.

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attention florida drivers....

apparently, florida drivers are our worst nightmare. yesterday, a women tried to make a u-turn on the turnpike- a freeway that's not free, and she almost slammed right into us. thank goodness I hit the brakes, otherwise we may have had a serious problem...

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Sunday, September 11, 2011

3 months

this is our first photo we took as a couple way back when:)

today is a day to remember in so many ways. we did a great deal of 9/11 rememberence but we had to take a little bit of time to remember that today is our 3 month wedding anniversary:) i know, i know, three months, woohoo. BUT it really is a woohoo! it has been the best three months growing with zack. starting the school year together. making new friends. plugging into church. and the list goes on and on and on:) words will never be able to fully express just how grateful i am for this guy:)

God is good. Amen.

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Sept. 11th- ten years

on friday, i had a student ask me why september 11th happened. my initial reaction was shock and from there i moved right along and explained it to her. globalization, terrorist organizations, all of it. as my day went on, i kept thinking about her and her question. i had this weird question mark in my head- i didn't get why i was being asked that question and soon, slowly but surely, it hit me. That horrible day was going to be having its 10 year anniversary in a couple of days. TEN YEARS. and all the pieces fell into place. my sweet student was so young 10 years ago. i was in high school, senior year, and i will never forget that day. we hear at home and at school, a great deal of our day went to different news stations. i will never forget the horror i felt in my heart. i was young too, but old enough to understand what was taking place AND more so, that hatred is such a real thing and such an ugly thing. i remember feeling so brokenhearted and even this morning as my husband and i are sitting here watching the ceremony that is going on, my heart is still hurting and i'm fighting back the tears and it feels like maybe two years have gone by since that day.

i don't know if it will ever really feel like it was 10 years ago, or 15 years ago, or 25 years ago. i don't know why, but with this one thing, it doesn't feel like it happened so long ago. it feels like it is staying really close to us, following closely or something. and maybe that is because we have a responsibility to keep it fresh and to remember and to share it with those who were young or perhaps not even there when it took place. it's a history thing. if history is cyclical, which i believe it is, we must remember things like this and pass it down and learn from them and do what we can to bring about change.

i hope you take a little bit of time to just remember those who lost their lives on such a dark day. one of many dark days in our history but more than deserving of a little bit of our time.

that's all. i know my thoughts may be a little bit incomplete but i don't think anyone out there really has complete thoughts about something like this. thanks for reading.

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Saturday, September 3, 2011

the new year!

it has been too long since my last post so i am going to try to give a quick summary of the past few weeks... i have tons of grading to do:) we made it through the hot florida summer and it is getting cooler every day, or so it seems. we are now in school and just finished week two and are both very grateful for a lovely three day weekend. i started my second year at MVA and the only thing that could make it that much better is that i didn't start alone... zack began this year with me...and our classrooms are in the same building:) how amazing is that?!

seeing the old faces come back and seeing the new faces has just been such a treat. there is chaos but it has just been so wonderful and i know it will just get better. zack and i are loving it all so much. we don't have very much time these days for anything but lesson planning and grading but we love that we get to do it together. i love, love, love so much that he gets to be a part of something that is so special to me. something that i tried to make him understand for so long and now don't have to anymore because he is living it with me. the only word that comes to mind is...BLESSED. cliche? sure but so very true.

sometimes we draw up pictures in our minds what life will look like and even if we think we have it right, we are most of the time wrong. but it's ok because our creator already drew up the picture and it is always so much better than anything we are capable of drawing up for ourselves. i would take where i am now over anything i could have imagined life like a year ago.

i have an amazingly supportive family at home, i work at the most amazing place with the most amazing people, i have the most amazing students...really, i am married to a man who loves me terribly and i him, i have the loveliest friends any gal could ask for...here and those i miss dearly at home, i have a sweet little home with two crazy little cats, and the list goes on and on. i am glad that i don't get to decide how life goes because it wouldn't be as good as what it is if i had my way:)

i love having zack here with me. it has been so fun getting to learn how to live with a boy full time. we are both so different and learning how to compromise may not always be fun but it sure is hilarious and when all is said and done...we are so good together:) zack cleans different, does laundry different, does dishes different, pretty much everything different....but i don't care because he does it:) i love that sometimes when i am grading, i hear the kitchen faucet running and know he is in there doing dishes. i don't ask, he just does. so i am learning that IT DOESN'T MATTER if it's different because it is from the heart and it is getting done:)

i love that we get ready for school together in the morning. i love that we have lunch together at school. i love that he tucks me in sometimes when i go to bed before him because i get sleepy first:) i love that sometimes after long grading sessions, we sit together and watch hey arnold! i love that last night he took me out on a date because we were lacking in us time. i love that he took me to see a movie that he knew i would love and took me to a mexican restaurant with mariachi men:) he is good to me and God is good to me for giving him to me:)

zack on his first day:)

and me too:)

my students are still working on the new name thing;)

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

detox

the kit cats are so sleepy lately:)

we are working away in the kitchen.

yum veggie chili is almost ready.

life is so lovely:)

we are children of a God who truly cherishes us:)

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Monday, August 1, 2011

the wedding:)

ok, so it has been long enough and it's not on purpose. life, it is a crazy thing and it is just so hard to keep up sometimes...especially posting things on here. the wedding morning came and what can i say? i didn't have butterflies in my stomach, true story:) i was just ready and excited and a little bit/ a lot emotional. i couldn't help but look back on all that zack and i had been through and experienced together and apart and how it all led up to this one special day.

we all woke up early and made our way over to the wedding site and began the setup. it was very smooth because everyone was incredible. we worked so hard and we worked together and when the time came, i got to make my way over to redlands for hair and make up. my to lovely friends ash and danielle did a brilliant job and truly truly, i just felt so grateful. the flowers came while i was away so when i got back up there, i was absolutely beside myself when i saw all the lovely pieces arranged by my ever so sweet friend, diana:)

it was all happening and gosh oh gosh, my heart was more than full!

when i put my dress on, i don't know, there was just something so good about that moment. my sisters and lovely friends were there with me. it was wonderful. we had the loveliest gals shooting our special day. erica and amy. twins. photographers. lovely people. they really captured our day. from getting ready to walking down the aisle to our first dance to cake eating(yum:), they captured it.

walking down the aisle, i will never forget it. looking at zack and him looking at me. and our ceremony was so wonderful. i know people say those are the details you forget, but i don't think i ever will. our friend jon officiated the ceremony and it was personal and full of God and perfect and unforgettable.

the reception was lovely, the details, the food, and our cake...well, it was five layers of so much goodness:) thank you jen strahl:)

so all in all, it was an unforgettable evening:) so enough of the chit chat and time to share just a few photos. there are tons so i had to be picky but there are hopefully enough just to share what an amazing day it was:)