The Delta

One of the only things we love about our little city is the Delta, a body of water in which the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers meet and then funnel out to the sea. We live about five minutes from the Antioch Marina, which might lead you to believe we live in a nice area, but that is not the case. It's so strange to me that here, the closer you get to the water, the trashier it gets. But anyways, we love the Delta and it has become our new favorite place to go to on free dates. The marina is beautiful and maintained well because it's a Dow Wetlands Preserve so it's not a scary place to hang out, like the rest of our neighborhood. We went on a walk around the marina the other night and while we were circling it, the tide came in. It flooded past the tule reeds and cattails and over the sidewalk. It was only about six inches deep but it was still really exciting and we had fun wading back to dry groud. We even saw a baby bass swim across the sidewalk on our way back. We're really happy to have found such a quiet little place to spend evenings together free of charge, and we look forward to exploring the other natural wonders of our not-so-wonderful little city.

Driving Stick Shift

Bleh. Being here, without Steven, and having the car has made me learn it much faster than I was allowing myself to back when we had two cars. My grandma Browning would say “Bless his heart” about Steven putting up with me during this process.

DDR Above Us

The balcony above our patio is devoid of personal belongings; no chairs, or barbecue, or plants. The blinds to the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony are continually shut. I’ve never seen anyone going in or out of it. My ceiling is silent during the day. But, in the night, the stomping begins. I would swear someone is up there playing dance dance revolution.
Needless to say, I cannot wait to catch a glimpse of this night-dancing phantom.

Pictures of our Apartment

Our little kitchen

Living Room

Come What May, and Love It

Steven and I have been married since February of this year. It’s been quite an adventure. From eloping in good ole Boise, to living in Santee and working hard to find Steven a job, and me saving every one of the three pennies I made in that time period, to the excitement of getting hired by Rocky Mountain Power, to the crush of losing it by a delayed background check, to now, being here in Antioch, CA, having the opportunity to work for the best power company in the nation. It all looks so simple, laid out in writing like that. But it’s been difficult, and wonderful. We’ve grown closer in the 5 months of our marriage than we did in the entire year that we dated.
In our year and a half together, we’ve spent seven and a half months apart. That includes the first two months of our marriage. After every separation, we’ve sworn to each other that that was the very last time we’ll ever be apart. And then something new comes up. And when that separation is over, we swear it again. That was the last time. But here we find ourselves again, separated. For the first seven weeks of Steven’s job he’ll be living at his training center in San Ramon, about 45 minutes away from Antioch, Sunday night through Friday night. The training is so intense, and the company is so intent on punctuality, that someone in Steven’s group has already been fired. For being two minutes late. Terrifying. That is what’s keeping us strong during this time apart. We need this job. And Steven needs to be there.
We always find a way.