paintings and pathways

Hello Hello! It's pouring down rain in Welli today. But Justin & I have had a good weekend nonetheless. We did some babysitting on Friday and took 2 girls from our church for pizza. Saturday was most excellent as we had our whole flat to ourselves for 4 days!, so we took advantage of the time and had a lil date. We both think our place still feels a bit like a vacation home- and yesterday this was accentuated as we slept in, walked down to the waterfront where we went to another awesome cafe (I had the most amazing butterscotch and pear pancakes), came home to read some of my novel for book club, and Justin made us dinner at our place. We are feeling a bit spoiled and sometimes I worry about what life will be like when we don't have so much leisure time. But for now, we will enjoy it and be thankful for the opportunities! Today is Sunday and since the bad weather canceled Justin's golf match, he made some donuts, while I got to chat with my Dad. Loved catching up Dad, and thanks for the tire advice:) This afternoon we went with some friends to the Monet & the Impressionists exhibit at Te Papa (NZ's national museum). I feel very cultured and loved learning about Monet as we got the $5 audio guide. He did amazing work capturing the mood of a natural setting. He would set up his canvas in one place and camp out all day, painting sometimes 5 canvases of the same setting in different lighting. He saw colors that no one else saw. And his dedication was amazing. The lily pond paintings- they came from a garden he set up at his home and painted them for over 20 years! Who knew that 1 nature setting could be that captivating? I think his work points to something that I've been thinking about- giving yourself and your life to something or some cause.

I've always had a hard time choosing just one thing to invest all of myself. Making the choice to be about 1 thing, means you have to forsake all other things and this is painful to me. I have realized though that my desire to want to do, or be good at many things has actually disabled me to become great at anything. I don't see myself as a devoted person to any 1 subject, topic, or hobby and as I'm processing through this, I'm hitting that place in my life where I want to focus and become an expert at something. I want to retain my excitement about many things, but I also want to hone in on what makes me tick. My desire to go to grad school is also helping me process this- and currently I'm thinking that I want to make people my thing. Yes a very big and broad category I know. But I want to study people and what makes us do what we do. There is a program at the University of Victoria which I'm thinking about taking called the Masters in Management Studies. Most of the courses are dealing with topics such as leadership, motivation, strategy and organization. It focuses on the theory of business, not the numbers, and seeks to understand both the psychological aspects, as well as the leadership side of business.

So I'm wondering what the people who know me most think about this potential path? I can be a person of very rash decisions, and as I'm trying to grow out of this, I'm trying to deliberate this decision better. The degree isn't highly known or recognized, but I think I could still use the degree to teach at other business programs at the university level, and/or run seminars and advise businesses (thanks to Lib who has given me her feedback and suggestions). I think this plan fits me rather well and I'm excited to see where it could take me. But what are your thoughts or questions as I process this path?

I'll leave you with something much more intriguing than my writings... a Renior painting... 1 of my favorites from the exhibit!

Good ol pros and cons list:

Hello again! So this week was a bit off. We only had a 4-day week as Monday was a holiday for us, but then Justin and I both got a sinus infection- stink. We managed to not skip any work (it's funny that our kiwi friends think were kinda crazy for not staying home), but we have taken this weekend real easy and I'm starting to feel a little lazy. Yesterday (Saturday) was actually pretty awesome as we took a trip to the library to get a membership, ate at a new cafe which is now one of my favorites, sat by the waterfront to read our books, and then had a party at our place to watch rugby. (I did forget Jill's party in the afternoon- sorry Jill if you're reading!) This is an ideal Saturday for me- but there is something about being sick that takes away a bit of the enjoyment from everything. Friday and Saturday have given me a tinge of homesickness- who knows why it hits when it does- so I had the idea to blog some of the things I'll miss about NZ when we move home... and some of the things that I just don't think I'll reflect back fondly upon. Here goes:

NZ's amazingness:
-gooood coffee & amazing cafes!
-delicious wine had at any and every occasion
-Natural beauty right in front of me no matter where I look
-people from tons of different cultures who teach me lots about the world's happenings
-morning & afternoon tea breaks
-the old-fashion feel of hanging clothes on the line
-people who are excited about our American-ness
-taking life a bit slower
-rubgy
-an appreciation for quality and not quantity
-using English terms like reckon, piker, keen, & heaps
-food with less sugar & preservatives so we can live past 60! -including cheese!


NZ's pitfalls:
-it's stinkin far away from America
-Marmite
-houses without central heating or insulation
-the feeling that NZ is so small that it's inconsequential (it's not, but sometimes it feels that way)
-it's stinking far away from my friends and family
-texting rather than calling people
-dress up partys for adults- I'm just over it.
-no good donuts
-and... it's stinking far away from America.


I think I'll keep returning to this list to help myself process what I like about here, but what I also miss about good-ol-America! And there are many things to be missed! But hopefully this list helps you all understand life down-under a bit more.

K- back to teaching my flatmates how to play euchure and making buckeyes (our friends here love them!) I do love weekends. ~Lace

reading by the water

New day.

Happy Easter everyone! It has been a good time here celebrating the hope that comes with Easter. We had a special dinner at our place for 35 people- complete with readings, candlelight, and after dinner entertainment of story telling & poetry- it was memorable! It's still throwing me for a loop though that Easter is leading us into Autumn and not Spring. My sense of the seasons and time passing by is blurred and I often find myself stopping to think- what month are we even in? Does this happen to anyone else?

I find myself relishing in the fact that the Easter story tells us that the way our story ends is with a new day, a new sunrise, a new hope. The darkness is not the end of the story. I know we say this at Easter- but do you think our culture really gets that? Do we believe that there is a new sunrise coming tomorrow? The words to one of my favorite songs says, "If you're like me you need hope, coffee, and melody." And we do. Our culture truly needs hope (not to mention coffee too).

In the last month, I have had 3 close encounters with young people who have attempted to run away or end their life. It's worrying me. A lot. Why are people my age not believing that the sun will rise tomorrow? Why don't they know that the story doesn't have to end in darkness? Why do they feel hopeless when most of life is ahead of them? Is our culture missing out on hope?

Sometimes I think we are such a selfish generation, that when we see darkness, we think that's all there is. Our reality is the entire reality. But this isn't true.

I want to be a person of hope. I want my life to show that things can change. And lately- I've been learning through marriage- that I can change. We can change. I am so thankful for Justin and his ability to show me that I can work through things. I don't have to stay in the state I am now- together we can work on the parts of ourselves that need improved, and with God's power- we come out the other side- more alive, more human, more Lacey & Justin than ever before. The process is not that fun or comfortable to go through. But there is hope.

And our culture needs hope. The next line to that song says, "Yesterday's gone and today's waiting on you to show your face. And it might not be the prettiest thing that you'll ever see, but baby it's a new day." When things seem bleak and done for, I remember these words. When I wake up and I'm disappointed in the day before, or the hour before- I tell myself- baby it's a new day. The story doesn't have to end in darkness.

So I'll keep working on the parts of myself that I don't like. And please know that Justin and I are loving and missing you all lots! Our hope means baby it's a new day.:)



Our attempt for dusk-time photos. & Our Passover dinner table- we had a special dinner Thursday, too to remember Passover. Gooooood times and laughs!

trying to capture the night time view!!!!

Weekend Walks

This weekend Justin & I took a nice lil walk along Makara Beach. We saw sheep, World War 2 hideouts, windmills, and lots of picturesque scenes. Justin even tried to have me chase a sheep off the mountain. Ouch.

we think it would work for a calendar

such beauty!

peace...ful

Makes me want to jump in!

proud sheep and windfarms

Justin loved getting to see these wind farms! He is doing research about them right now.

on top of... who knows what?

Justin really does love to climb things.

A lil Windy

yeah it's really that windy.

Our address... just in case you need it:)

Hi everyone! It was a gooooood week in Welli- March is still my favorite weather month- even if we had a Southerly come through on Monday and we had to turn the heaters on. We're starting to adjust more and more. Our flat is now officially "warmed" as we had a flat warming party on Saturday- good times! We've kept busy this week with work, Mosaic, and getting ready for our party. And yes, Justin loved getting a speeding ticket in the mail for $120- good thing he was driving when we got it- hehe. We chatted with the crew in London:), Rachelle, and my Mum this week as well which we loved! Still missing everyone! Keep us updated on your lives when you can. And here's our address for those who have been asking for it.
Justin & Lacey Blass
48 Palliser Rd.
Roseneath, Wellington 6011
New Zealand

Thanks for keeping up with our blog! - Lace

For Grandma Speck!

Grandma- I have proudly displayed the Speck Sales American calendar in my office- and yes I think about Bowling Green, Ohio every time I look at it:)

Nate the constable.

Good work girls.

These girls did good with their costumes!- we had a Mum, a cheerleader, a nurse, a ballerina, and an air hostess.

Friends and flatmates

Our flatmates- Jono the carpenter and AJ the princess. Oh and our friend Joel who was about 5 different things.

What 5 year old wouldn't like this?

Our food for the party... all 5 year old foods- complete with donuts, pb&J sandwiches, and mini pizzas.

Flat Warming!!!!

So... we threw a great bash on Saturday at our new flat. It was themed "What you wanted to be when you were 5".... Yep Justin wanted to be Michael Jordan, and I wanted to work at Dunkin Donuts:) Good pair.

Yumminess!!!

Fat Cop Begins!

Yes it is true... we are endeavoring to start a donut company in Wellington! My childhood dreams are coming true:)

Oh what a beautiful beginning.

Justin and the gang.

Crazy movie statues.

Stare down with Gollum

Nice Lace, very nice.

King Kong or Justin???

A lil scary I know.

Checking out the Weta Cave!

Good times seeing the mini-museum and store that the sweet-as film company has in Welli!

Our wedding gifts!

Yes!- we finally have all of the gifts off of our wedding registry! Thought we'd take a photo so everyone at home can be re-assured that the on-line purchases worked! We're loving getting settled with our new items! Thanks everyone!

our first car

It may be a bit of a lemon... but she's ours and I like her!

what we do's.

I didn't know if it was possible or not... but now I've written 2 weeks in a row! I'm pretty stoked about this:)

I thought I'd write to tell about J and I's jobs b/c we're so thankful and excited to have them! We really can’t believe we have such great opportunities at a time when so many people don't have jobs or really don't like what they do. Of course we can't wait till Friday’s come around either....but during the course of the week we have some pretty great moments, too.

Justin is working as an Operations Planning Engineer at Transpower. The company has been good to us as they paid to move us over here and to help us get residency! He isn't too thrilled about the number crunching, mundane jobs to come... but right now he's working on something right up his alley. The first job he was given was to help track the patterns of the wind and the turbines that are collecting wind power so they can spread the power out better. He was so pumped to get a job working with power generation and green energy. He's soaking up all that he can now and learning what it looks like to be and engineer…. in the adult world. He did buy a Xbox 360 to help him unwind when he comes home. The day he bought it was one of the happiest days of his life I thinkJ.

So for me…I tried the job search thing for a few weeks and when I got totally sick of it, a friend of mine mentioned a role that sounded pretty fitting for me. Basically I work for Paul (Phil’s friend & co-worker) as a personal assistant. I've been there for 2 weeks and each day seems more and more enjoyable. The job is challenging, yet learnable and Paul, my boss is awesome! He owns 80 properties and about 25 cars which he rents or leases out, while some of the profits go towards housing for those who can't afford it. I do anything from take cars to the service station, find new tennants for a property, send out invites to his daughters wedding shower, or research for a talk that he's giving at church on Sunday. He has worked on publishing a few books before and wants to get those project back out.... he's even mentioned paying me to do some work for him in the States if we do get some publications out-- I'm so excited! My favorite part this week was coordinating some car work that needed done b/c all of the people who lease from him work for Weta Workshop- the company that made Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and Chronicle of Narnia. Justin is afraid I may run off with Peter Jackson, but it is a blast for me to work with these people and walk around the place- it's amazing and the people all look so incredibly cool and interesting to me. I basically want to walk up to all of them and ask if I can be their friend.

So this week was by far my favorite since we've been bacck. I'm starting to feel like there is some normalcy to our lives. Some rhythm and spontaneity at the same time. I truly think we were made to work hard during the week. And rest well on the weekends. I'm loving getting into the groove of things! I can’t help but feel taken care of. That’s the phrase that keeps coming to my head when I give it a think… “Man, how well Justin and I have been taken care of!” Life is a weird thing. But also a pretty amazing one.

Hopefully a lil video of our place will be next!

no... not our lil happy family....but a favorite photo ever!

Adorable. I miss them.

goooood cooking

First we make the food.... then we sit down to eat it together!

goooood eating!

The Kitchen! Where Justin and I are learning to cook. This week we learned how to cut veggies- and I totally needed it! ....shamefully these are a few of our only photos since coming back... I vow to get better at that!

2 of my fav wedding shots

we call this... the kiss:)

Setting up shop

Man how life can move! It's March now! In the last 7 months (when I blogged last) Justin and I have gotten married, moved back to Wellington, and started new jobs. Three life events which can be high on the stress level I'm told. We're seeing how that plays out. And besides just our lives moving along- everyone is growing up! A bit of a look-back before moving to today's stuff:

Getting married was so much fun! I truly loved our wedding and thinking back on our memories is a new favorite past time:) It was so awesome to gather our friends and family to celebrate. And being married is such a great adventure, too. Justin and I are loving finally getting to stay together with no good byes and learning how to love each other through plenty of bad moments. He loves waking up next to me, but since I just hate waking up period... I love laying down next to him at night. I'm so grateful for all of the things he knows and skills he has! He doesn't so much love my need for organization, but he's learning that everything has a place:)

During the whole wedding process we got to spend 3 months at home! It was great to get so much time- I think it was not too long, not too short. We'll see if we can get 3 months vacation time for our next visit:) The definite highlight was time with both of our families!!!!: staying with Lib & Josh at their new house in NY, Lib staying in Ohio for a month with me, time in Florida with Mom & Dad, Settlers with Jake & Brittany, days and days with Steph, Ella and the newest Speck- EASTON WAYNE!, walks with Jamie, meeting the most adorable ELLE!!!!, good catch-up conversations with Jenn & Wade, amazing games of euchure with Jim & Brian (of course J & I coming out victourious), goooood laughs with Mary:), and lots of story telling with all 5 of our grandparents! I needed all of these things and am so, so thrilled that we got to spend lots of time with each other's familes! I do think it's true that as we get older- our family truly is our best friend. But we can't not mention that time with our friends in the States was an amazing blessing as well! We even got to spend the night at a lot of our friends' places as we campainged around the Mid-West (at least that's what it felt like). Our friends taking the time to tell us about their last year, and listen to us tell of ours was so appreciated! Experiencing life through all of them and knowing what they're learning through their experiences is crucial for us. Realising that moving thousands of miles away does change friendships is another part of life that we continue to process- but our frinedships are something we hold dearly. Like tightly. Like a todler holds her blankie:)

And then we moved back to New Zealand! Crazy! Who knew? Moving back to a foreign country is a strange feeling. Upon arrival I kept thinking, "Yeah I know this place. Totally normal." And just like the first time we were here, the longer I'm here, the more I realize how much I don't know this place. And now that were working full time with and for Kiwi's and living with Kiwi's and doing church with Kiwi's-- I sometimes feel like a total foreigner. But I think this comes and goes in phases. I'm learning the ways here. And loving watching how our friends go about doing simple things like laundry, shopping, and cleaning. It's different than at home!

So I think I'll stop there. Yes so much more to talk about- our jobs, our new place, our "bit of a lemon" car, and our Mosaic community... but for the sake of anyone actually reading this all, I'll stop and catch up more later. I'll end with what has been so helpful for me as Justin and I have been setting up life here. I have realized that there is truly always something to be upset, worried, or frusturated about. But there is always something to be thankful for. And life is sooooo much better when you choose to be thankful and grateful and overwhelmed by graciouness. But it is a choice. Gratefulness is not our default. But be awed by what you have and not what you're missing. It's amazing!

All my love from Kiwi-land. -- Lace

August...good times with good friends!

Justin and I looking small in the Wairarapa- the country side of Welli- there is nothing like a sunny day with friends. Nothing.




Our crazy team had a de-licious dinner at the Tinakori Bistro followed by some reflection time to tell one another what we love about him/her. I personally love our funny faces. This night made me feel like our year here is coming to an end... crazy!!!











Justin & I in front of the Chateau with AJ & Jono-- this photo, along with this trip, is a memory of feeling like we have real friends far far from home.

My first time skiing! Such an awesome experience. I was terrified and thrilled all at once. Pretty sure I would not have left the kids' slope if Justin wouldn't have made me. Then again I may not have gotten whiplash then either. But it was soooo worth it. (That's Mt. Doom in the background.. from Lord of The Rings- for all of the nerds reading:)

life is moving!

It's September now! That's my favorite time of year in the States...here it doesn't have the excitement of season change and back-to-school feel... we're headed out of school soon...but it has still been an exciting time. August was even one of my favorite months! I feel like Justin and I have been spoiled by good friends who have taken us on a skiing trip, and another couple who took us on a weekend excursion to the countryside. Kiwis really do know how to do hospitality and how to show off their country!

The last month has also been a challenging one for my personal growth. I think Justin and I both feel like we've matured 2 years worth in 2 months. Marriage preparation has proven itself to be a challenge.. but a very worthy one so far. I waiver between the feelings of being completely in over my head with decisions, and excitement for all of the new changes to happen! My eyes are being opened to just how much determination and care it takes for 2 people to love one another well for a lifetime. Our pre-marriage counseling has given me plenty to process and work on! Who thought it would be a good idea for a couple planning a wedding to also process such things as children, conflict, and finances:)? I thought those were all things that magically figured themselves out?

I am completely thankful for couples like Phil & Michele who are willing to sit down with J & I to talk about all things marriage. Through our marriage prep with them I've realized that I have a lot to learn about conflict. I realized that as a kid I felt like I never won a conflict so my solution was to never have conflict. Throughout high school and university I saw myself as someone who didn't need to learn about conflict because I could avoid it by being super nice. In a committed relationship... this just doesn't work. Realizing that it's not conflict that tears people apart, it's how we handle (or don't handle) disagreements that leave scars and separation. This actually has been super helpful to me! One night Justin and I had a dispute about cleaning up after guests-- and after we settled it-- I said to him-- wow, I actually can have conflict and still like you all in the same day- this is kinda fun! I'm not sure that it's healthy to find fighting fun-- but the fact that I could get over something so quickly and still like him- huge for me.

There are times like this when (I know it sounds strange but) I feel like my soul is actually learning. Who I am is actually changing. It's such a cool process to see God work in our lives. I hope you experience soul-stretching times like these as well. All my love-- Lacey