Work in Progress

January Books

2012-02-01T15:26:00.001-06:00

I decided I'd like to start keeping a record of the books I read. My memory for books/movies is so bad that I often can't remember whether I liked a book, or even if I've read it. So, I thought I would do a brief review of each of the books I read at the end of the month. I normally don't read this many books in a month, but schoolwork hasn't really ramped up yet.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
I had heard really good things about this series and decided to go for it over the break when I knew I'd have a lot of time to read. I absolutely loved the first book, really liked the second, and thought the third was only so-so. But, overall, the series was great. The characters are very relatable, and it brings up interesting ideas about sacrifice, free will, and our addiction to reality TV. I think the third book falls apart when the focus changes from a character-driven story that takes place in the future to a more traditional, plot-heavy science fiction story.

Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
This was offered for $0.99 on Kindle, and I thought it might help with my word of the year: "discipline." Like most self-improvement books, it was a bit repetitive and had a lot of common-sense ideas. But, it was a quick read and I think worth the time for the few really interesting ideas in it. It certainly inspired me to try to curb my insane multi-tasking.

51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life by Kristen McGuiness
This was offered for free on the Kindle, and it seemed like it would be right up my alley. I love memoirs, especially ones about crazy life experiments. In this one, the author decided to go on 51 dates in 50 days in order to hopefully find her life partner. While it was interesting and funny in parts, the author's worldview was just too different from mine (she's way into mysticism) for me to get into it. Additionally, in her attempts to overcome her lack of confidence, I think she became over-confident. She expresses the idea that she didn't fit in in Texas because she "thinks too much." Boo. I don't think Texas wants her. ;)

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People
This is a book that I borrowed from my dad a while ago and just got around to reading. The back cover says, "If Jane Austen had been lucky enough to set foot in modern-day India, she would have written [this book]," and I completely agree. Like Austen's books, it offers a strong critique of the status quo but does so through lovable characters and an ultimate happy ending. I would describe it as "light" but certainly not "fluffy." The influence of Indian English is obvious in both the dialogue and the narration, which was interesting for me to read as an ESL teacher.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
I cannot believe that this book has been sitting neglected on my shelf for years. When I finally began it, I finished in a matter of days. It is about a group of Jesuit priests and scientists who make first contact with alien life on another planet. It is such a smart, compelling, and heartbreaking story. And it offered a very challenging perspective on the nature of faith and doubt, the problem of pain, and the level of God's involvement in day-to-day life. Highly recommended.

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark
I agree strongly with the premise of this book: that we should always be questioning our religious beliefs and not be satisfied with trite answers. However, I found the stream-of-consciousness style of the author hard to follow. And, while he claims to be apolitical, he obviously equates liberal political views with true Christianity, which I think can be just as dangerous as the opposite view. Ultimately, the philosophy that everything should be questioned falls apart. How can one even say that everything should be questioned without questioning that statement? So, while I agreed with much of what the author said, I found the book impractical.

Running by Patrice Fitzgerald
This was another Kindle freebie. It is about a presidential race between two female candidates, centered around a blackmail scandal. The main character is very likable, and it is definitely a page-turner (or page-toucher, hee-hee). But, the criticism of our current political system, especially the Tea Party, was not subtle enough and definitely too one-sided for my taste. Probably not worth your time.

M-I-C-K-E-Y

2012-01-30T20:42:00.003-06:00

On Friday, our church had its annual "Beat the Blues" banquet and talent show. This year the theme was Disney, and I was asked to make a Disney-inspired dessert. I found the idea for these Mickey Mouse cupcakes on Pinterest. They were pretty easy. Just frost the cupcakes, dip them in Oreo crumbs, and then make Mickey's head and ears using half of a full Oreo and two mini Oreos. If you make them, be sure to place the Oreos on at the last minute. Nobody likes soggy Oreos!

Another girl made Minnie Mouse cupcakes. I wish I had gotten a picture of hers because they were awesome!! Definitely showed me up, but I'm ok with that. I'm the first to admit that my decorating skills are quite lacking. Anyway, it was a fun evening, and Darby won a door prize (the movie Julie and Julia...lucky me!).

On a side note, Darby's parents have an adorable home video of him singing the Mickey Mouse song when he's about 3. But, he sings "M-I-C-Cake-E-Y" over and over. Cutest thing ever, even if toddler Darby looks suspiciously unlike adult Darby. I'm still not sure he wasn't swapped at some point around 4th grade.

Last semester - or not

2012-01-25T16:48:00.002-06:00

So, in December I made the decision to extend my degree for one more year so I'll finish at the same time as Darby. I figured it's safer to stay in school, keep my health insurance and stipend, and get one more year of teaching experience than to risk trying to find a job, in a relatively small city, for only one year. I feel really good about this decision. And I know I am so fortunate to get paid to go to school. But, I must admit, it was a little hard to start this semester and realize that, instead of only having 4 months until I'm done with school forever, I now have 16 months. Oh, well.

One plus side of staying an extra year is that I have time to take some "fun" classes. I'm in an oral Spanish class, and I LOVE it. It's basically just a time to practice speaking and listening in Spanish, which is exactly what I need.

I'm teaching the same class I taught last semester. I enjoyed last semester, but I kind of felt like I was just scraping by, trying to stay one step ahead of the students. Now, I know what I'm doing, and it's so much less stressful. I'm really excited about trying some new ideas. My first challenge is memorizing everyone's name, though. Hopefully I'll have that done by the end of the semester. :)

Mi piace l'italiano

2012-01-15T20:52:00.003-06:00

In preparation for our trip to Italy in May (yay!), Darby and I took a two-week intensive Italian class at the university. It was awesome! Even though it was a beginning class, it was taught exclusively in Italian. The teacher spoke very slowly and used a lot of gestures, so we were able to understand most of what she said. My Spanish background helped a lot too. I had forgotten how fun it is to begin learning a language. And while we're still far from proficient, I feel like we have enough to get by in Italy. We made sure to learn how to order in a restaurant. Priorities.

It was so fun to be able to take a class with Darby. We've committed to continuing to study on our own every Sunday. One funny story: During one of the first lessons, we learned that "tesoro" (treasure) is a term of endearment used in Italian. So, Darby started calling me that, except he could never remember the word. One time he leaned over to me and said "I love you, mi trattoria (small restaurant)". We couldn't stop laughing about that one.

30 before 30

2012-01-11T11:54:00.001-06:00

So, on my birthday, I told you about my plan to do a list of "30 before 30" goals. Well, it's taken me about 6 months to decide on all the goals, but I finally have them all. I separated them into categories mainly for my own benefit. As I update, I'm going to bold the ones I've accomplished and italicize the ones I'm actively working toward.

Education
1. Get my master's degree
2. Earn a graduate teacher certificate
3. Take at least two Spanish classes
4. Begin studying two other languages

Hobbies
5. Learn to sew
6. Create a card stockpile
7. Start a successful container garden
8. Take piano lessons

Finances
9. Save 10% down for a house
10. Increase retirement savings to 10% per month
11. Increase percent saved on groceries each month to 40%
12. Get life insurance for both Darby and me

Travel
13. Go to Italy
14. Visit 3 new states
15. Go camping

Cooking
16. Learn how to cook steak
17. Take a cake decorating class
18. Completely replace 3 storebought staples with homemade versions (e.g., chicken broth, sandwich bread, croutons, etc.)
19. Whittle "to try" recipes to under 100

Health
20. Switch to antibiotic-free animal products
21. Maintain my goal weight (except, see 23 below)
22. Take four different fitness classes

Family
23. Have a baby (I know this is really weird to put at as a "goal," but it is one major thing I hope to do before I turn 30, so it's in.)
24. Go on a trip with my sister

Spiritual
25. Create two new units for the Cradle Roll class
26. Teach an older children/adult Bible class
27. Read 18 spiritual books

Friendship
28. Plan/attend three Fat Tuesday reunions
29. Plan/attend at least two reunions with my high school friends
30. Start/join a book club

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

So, I'm a little late on this, but I'm finally getting around to writing my New Year's post.

We celebrated New Year's at my friend Jessica's parent's house with several other friends from the youth group and their husbands. The party is basically an annual tradition, but Darby and I haven't been able to go for the past several years. It was so fun to spend time with everyone, and we're already planning a Labor Day reunion.

Whitney, Stephy, me, Jessica, Adriel. Love these girls .

At the end of 2010, I wrote about some prompts from a project called Reverb. One of those was to summarize the year in one word and choose one word that you hope will capture the next year. I chose contentment for 2011. All in all, I think I did a good job living up to that. I tried to focus on the positive, even though I had my moments of negativity. And I think I definitely did a better job at living in the moment and not worrying so much about the future.

I think my word for 2012 will be discipline. I love being in school for many reasons, but I especially love the flexibility I have in my schedule. I often have mornings or afternoons at home by myself. But, I don't feel like I always use that time very wisely. There are a lot of home projects I would like to complete. But even my "relaxation" time could be put to better use by reading or playing piano instead of watching TV and surfing the Internet. I'm going to try this year to use my time more wisely. Part fo that is setting goals for myself. In my next post, I'll share my "30 before 30" goals. It took me six months, but I think I've finally finished the list.

Christmas - Hewitts

2012-01-04T21:17:00.003-06:00

We got to Darby's parents' house Sunday night and opened gifts with them. They got me a new Kitchen-Aid blender, which I am so excited to use! My old blender only has one speed, but this is a really nice one. I can't wait to enjoy some smoothies.

We had a great week with John and Debby. We put together a super-hard Christmas puzzle, hit the after-Christmas sales, saw We Bought a Zoo (very cute!) and War Horse (pretty good; I think I would have liked it better if I were an animal person), and ate TONS of great food. Debby always makes the best breakfasts for us. I love it.

Darby's brother Jeremy and sister-in-law Janice came up on Wednesday night, bearing lovely gifts from their recent trip to Spain. It was great to catch up with them a little, and the girls dominated in Mexican train.

I never remember to take pictures at Darby's house because no one else is there with a camera to remind me. :) But I did manage to get one shot of Darby with his parents.

It was a wonderful trip, and every year, I am reminded how blessed we are to have two wonderful, supportive, generous families.

Christmas - Andersons and Thompsons

2012-01-02T21:38:00.005-06:00

We got to Waco Tuesday evening and spent the rest of the week with my family. Both Hannah and Matt were able to be there the whole time, so we had a great time playing games, watching YouTube videos, eating Mom's delicious candy popcorn and toffee, and talking.

Darby brought his guitar, and we had a little Christmas carol sing-along. It was really fun, and we rocked "Feliz Navidad."

My parents got me a Kindle for Christmas. I LOVE it!! It's so convenient, and there are lots of great free or cheap books available on Amazon. I bought all three "Hunger Games" books with a gift card, and I'm hooked. I finished the first two and can't wait to start the third.

On Saturday, we drove up to my grandma's house in Garland to see my mom's side of the family. We had a new addition to our family this year. My cousin Amy had a little boy, Samuel, in June. He is such a cutie. I loved playing with him.

Traditional girl "frousin" picture. Hannah, me, Amy.

It was great to spend time with all of the frousins, and, as always, my Grandma made tons of yummy food. After church and lunch on Sunday, it was back to Waco for our 4th Christmas with Darby's family. Coming next time... :)

Christmas - St. Louis and Arkansas

2011-12-31T17:50:00.004-06:00

We have had a wonderful two-week Christmas trip. We left Champaign two Saturdays ago and drove down to spend a night in St. Louis. It's our tradition to have a very mini get-away at the end of the fall semester. This year, we stayed at the Westin downtown. I HIGHLY recommend the hotel. The room and bathroom were the biggest I've ever seen and very nice. And, if you're not there during baseball season, it's relatively cheap. We ate dinner at Copia, which was delicious, and then walked around City Garden to enjoy the lights.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast at Rooster (also delicious) and then headed down to Wynne, Arkansas, to see Darby's mom's family. We had a wonderful steak dinner and got some great gifts from everyone. Darby has a lot of cousins and they are all about the same age, so it's always fun to get together.

All the cousins and Grandpa and Alma

We stayed in Wynne an extra day and hung out with cousin Todd and his wife Rachel. They took us to the Memphis zoo, which was awesome. My favorite was the panda bears, but I didn't get a picture because they were behind glass. I also enjoyed the little meerkats. I love zoos.

How many meerkats do you see? There are three! The two on the edge are sitting on one in the middle! :)

We usually are only able to stay in Arkansas for one night, so it was great to have a little extra time to spend with family there.

ACU AlumNight

2011-12-26T22:17:00.003-06:00

Well, I have a few pictures and memories to share from our Christmas celebrations. But, I can't find my camera cord right now, so those will have to wait until later.

I've mentioned our ACU group a few times on this blog, but I don't know if I've ever explained exactly what that is. A year after Darby and I moved to Illinois, two other Physics majors from ACU (Austin and Daniel) moved up with their wives (Erin and Liz). The other two couples had been pretty close at ACU, but Darby and I hadn't known them very well. Austin and Erin started attending Philo Road, so we became friends with them pretty quickly. Eventually, the six of us started watching LOST together every week. After LOST ended, we decided to keep the tradition of a weekly get-together going. Someone (I think it was Austin) came up with the clever name "ACU AlumNight." For the past two years, we've spent time together each week (more or less) bowling, skating, going to corn mazes, eating, playing games, and talking, talking, talking (often heatedly...Austin and I are big debaters, much to everyone else's chagrin). We are so blessed to have this group of friends. Even though we've met some great people in Illinois, there's just something about sharing a common background that brings you closer. We enjoy reminiscing about ACU and talking about how perfect Texas is in every way. ;)

Before we left Illinois for Christmas, we had to say good-bye to Austin and Erin. They are moving to France for 3 years, so Austin can finish his research. That's one of the really hard things about living in a college town---almost everyone leaves at some point. Selfishly, I wanted us to be the first to leave. It will be so weird to go back and not see Austin and Erin at church. And I will miss mine and Erin's weekly coffee/chat sessions. But, I'm very excited for the adventures they will have living in Europe.

Before they left, we had a friend of mine take pictures of the 6 of us in front of the University of Illinois "Alma Mater" statue. I think the pictures turned out great. I can't wait to get one framed and displayed.

(Photo by Ryan Salvador)

Wildcat pride :) (Photo by Ryan Salvador)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T16:38:00.002-06:00

Well, I survived another semester and am now frantically baking, wrapping presents, making Christmas cards, and generally trying to cram a month of Christmas merriment into 2 days. :)

Darby and I decided not to give each other presents this year since we're saving for our Italy trip. But we did fill each other's stockings (with a $25 limit, which was actually pretty difficult). Darby had mentioned that he would like some guitar picks, so I went to the music store downtown and picked these out. I thought they were nice--plain but still interesting. They came in a pack of 10.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the back of the picks in the package. When Darby opened them, he died laughing. This is what the back looks like.
Oops. I lost the receipt, so we can't return them. Oh, well.

And here's our traditional Christmas tree picture.

We leave tomorrow to start our trek down to Texas. We're so excited to see everyone. I love Christmas!

Favorite Ornaments

2011-12-07T17:07:00.004-06:00

A couple of years ago, I shared some of my favorite ornaments. We've acquired quite a few new ornaments since then, so I thought I'd share some more. I love putting up our tree each year. It's so fun to remember the stories behind the ornaments and think about the people who gave them to us.

Darby's parents send us an ornament each year, and they are always so perfect and personalized. Last year, John and Debby made these adorable Scrabble ornaments.

And this year, we got this cute one. I love it. It reminds me of home.

A couple of years ago, Hannah started a tradition of giving us all ornaments as part of our Christmas gift. She said she will continue "until she gets tired of it or forgets." Ha! This is the one she gave me last year. We're suckers for gifts with "sisters" quotes on them.

On our honeymoon, I started a tradition of buying an ornament for every trip Darby and I go on. However, that has proven a little difficult in practice. So, our collection of trip ornaments is a little incomplete. I did find this one to commemorate our first-ever camping trip in September.

I hope we never have an "elegant" tree. I love our mismatched collection of meaningful ornaments.

Thanksgiving Highlights

2011-11-30T21:42:00.003-06:00

Well, I took a whopping 1 picture during our 10 days in Texas (and stole one from my mom). Oops. We had a great trip. I'll just list some of the highlights.

Getting to enjoy a delicious Cajun lunch with Darby's brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and cousin.
A whirlwind trip to Oklahoma City to visit Darby's grandpa (and talk briefly with Uncle Greg and cousin Beth).
Cooking some of the Thanksgiving meal with Debby
Finding out I'm awesome at Wii boxing :)
Mom's apple pie and Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream
Neighborhood walks with Dad, Hannah, Matt, and Tori (Matt's girlfriend)
A Just Dance 3 marathon with Hannah, Matt, and Tori
Black Friday shopping with Hannah
2 Sundays at Robinson. It's always nice to go back and see everyone. Although I'm starting to feel like an old woman. Every time I go back, I just can't believe that all of the little kids I knew are now in high school or college.

It was such a fun time to be with everyone. Since we had such a long time, I really felt like we got to spend quality time with both of our families and weren't rushing from one place to another all the time. And I ate so much good food. I decided to wear the same jeans I had worn on the trip down on the way back, and they were soo tight. :/

Unfortunately, fall completely left Champaign-Urbana while we were gone. It is now decidedly winter. But, we get to go back to Texas in just a few weeks for Christmas, so it's not too bad.

Jessica's Wedding

2011-11-15T16:15:00.003-06:00

Last week, I went down to Texas for my friend Jessica's wedding. Jessica was part of my group of high school church girlfriends. I don't get to see those girls very much, but they are still so special to me. I missed the weddings of two of them (Krista and Stephanie), and I felt so guilty about it. I hated missing out on their special days, and I also hated missing out on time with all of the other girls. So, this summer, I made a commitment to not miss out on any more friends' special days, if at all possible.

I'm so glad I was able to go. The wedding was lovely, and Jessica looked absolutely beautiful. A lot of us stayed at Jecca's house the night before the wedding, and we were talking and laughing just like old times. (I also talked in my sleep just like old times.) Jessica put together a dance workout class for us after the rehearsal dinner. It was hilarious. Picture about 12 people with the same level of coordination as me and 2 actually good dancers.

I was so blessed to have such a strong group of girlfriends during my middle school and high school years. And, even though, they're not as much a part of my daily life now, I feel equally blessed that we can pick up where we left off whenever we do see each other.

The beautiful bride and me

Steph, me Krista, and Whitney in the photo booth at the reception

And to prove that we didn't look that bad:

Me and Stephy

Krista and Me

Me and Whit

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T15:26:00.005-06:00

We had a relatively low-key Halloween this year. On Friday night, we helped out at our Fall Festival at church. Darby and I were in charge of the bucket toss, along with our friend Kim. The woman I tutor came with her husband and 15-month-old, so I had a lot of fun showing them around. I tried to convince Darby to dress up, but he didn't feel up to it this year. Oh, well. I'll save my idea for next year. :)

Last night, we had the ACU group over for a fall dinner. I made this yummy Pioneer Woman soup and this autumn sangria. I set up a little caramel apple bar where people could dip them in different toppings (Heath bits, Butterfinger, peanuts, chocolate). I really like caramel apples but only about once a year. They're just so messy! This time, I melted the caramel in the Crock-Pot, which really made it a lot easier. It was a nice evening with friends. I'm trying to soak in the remaining fall loveliness before dreaded winter sets in.

Procrastination

2011-10-26T21:32:00.003-05:00

I've never really needed a reason to waste time online, but the middle of the semester brings out the worst in me. And this semester I've discovered Pinterest. So it's all over. Have you seen this site? It's like a virtual bulletin board where people pin images from all over the Internet: food, crafts, clothing, organization, decorating, funny pictures of animals. It's all there. And it's so addictive. If I spent half the time I spend looking at ideas actually doing some of them, I'd be Martha Stewart. :)

Just this week, I actually tried one of my "pins" for the first time. I made this "monster munch" from Our Best Bites and packaged it up as a little Halloween treat for some friends. Because, really, who has time for homework when there are Halloween gifts to be made?

Freedom

2011-10-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Darby went to a week-long conference. I'm happy that he gets the opportunity to go on trips like that, but I really don't like him being gone. However, I know that moping about it won't help, so I try to look on the bright side when he's gone. I can wake up whenever I want; I can watch whatever I want on TV; I can decide on a whim to go out to dinner with friends, etc., etc. But, even with all of my little pep talks, I still just feel kind of blah when Darby's gone.

I kept asking myself, "Why can't I just enjoy not having to think about anyone but myself for a week?" And then, one day, as I was walking home from the bus stop, feeling mopey that no one would be there to greet me, it hit me. The flip side to not having to think about anyone but myself is that no one's thinking about me. And to me, that about sums up why the benefits of marriage far outweigh any loss of freedom. Sure, there are probably some things I gave up by marrying young. But I can't even begin to explain all of the things I've gained. I have someone at home who cares where I am, who makes sacrifices for me, who is on my team no matter what.

So, I'll still try to make the best of my alone time in the future. But I also won't be so hard on myself when I find that I much prefer interdependence to freedom.

Sugar 'n spice

2011-10-17T10:30:00.004-05:00

Our good friends Katy and Jon are back in town visiting for a couple of weeks. They're expecting a baby girl in January, so we threw a baby shower for them at church on Saturday. The theme was "Sugar 'n Spice," so we had tons of candy and cupcakes. It was my ideal shower. :)

The cupcakes. More came later. There were a lot of cupcakes.

The candy bar. The kids at the shower loved this.

The adorable centerpiece Erin made.

The hostesses. Me, Billie, Erin, and Casey. We had so much fun putting everything together.

Jon and Katy opening one of their many gifts. There was such a great turnout at the shower and they got tons of adorable clothes.

Katy, Jon, Darby, and me. Jon's black eye is a long story. Poor guy.

It's been so great having Jon and Katy in town. We haven't seen Jon since last November and Katy since February, and we missed them so much. I really wish they still lived here, so we could be there when their little baby arrives. But, I know they're going to have a great life in San Diego, and hopefully we can go visit them someday (perhaps in the middle of winter!).

100,000

2011-10-05T22:34:00.002-05:00

Tonight, just as we pulled into the garage after church, the odometer on our trusty blue Escape turned to 100000. The Escape was a (very generous) high school graduation gift from my parents. I love it. I think it's the perfect size car. It's higher off the ground than a sedan, but it's still short, so it's easy to maneuver into tight parking spaces. And you can fit tons of stuff in the back, especially if you fold the seats down.

I've been very fortunate in that I haven't had to make any major repairs to the car. The brakes make an unsettling noise, but we've been assured by multiple mechanics that there's nothing wrong. My little car even held up quite well the time I was hit by a gas tanker. I'm hoping it continues to hold up, as we have no plans to replace it any time soon.

When it does eventually bite the dust, I'll be so sad to see it go. So many good memories in that car (and some not-so-good, but quite funny ones, like getting a ticket the very first night I drove it, or backing it into a billboard for no apparent reason). That car took me to ACU and back and forth to Waco a million times; it took me to visit friends all over Texas; it took Darby and me on our first real vacation together. It got us to Illinois (and you better believe we used every inch of that trunk space). And now it's taken us to Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. And I'm hoping that in a couple of years it will take us back to Texas for good. :) I'm planning on driving this baby into the ground, so hopefully you'll be seeing a 200,000 mile post in several years.

The Lovely Lemmons Ladies

2011-09-29T21:50:00.003-05:00

While we were in Abilene, we had the good fortune of getting to stay at Emerald's house. It was wonderful to be able to see her and Lily again (twice in three months...yay!). And, despite the title of this post, Em's husband, Eric, was also at home. It was very good to see him, too, but I don't know that I'd call him lovely. :)

Lily wasn't quite sure what to think of Darby, but she did enjoy ~~bossing~~ instructing him on the xylophone.

Don't you just love her tutu and cowboy boots?

While we were in Abilene, we even got to tour a historic home. In fact, we had the special privilege of sleeping there. :)

Me and Em in front of her house. It's an actual landmark. Isn't that awesome?

Darby and I wanted to get a picture with Lily before we left on Sunday. But, Lily had just woken up, and, as you'll see from the pictures below, was NOT receptive to Darby's attempts to cheer her up.

Oh well. Even without a smile, she's still pretty cute.

Laura and Dan's wedding

2011-09-27T08:11:00.003-05:00

This weekend, Darby and I went to Abilene for my dear friend Laura's wedding. I met Laura while I was working at ACU after graduation, and we immediately "clicked." We have very similar oldest-child personalities and share so many of the same interests. I only knew her for about 18 months before we moved, but in that time, we talked for hours and hours and were in a supper club and book club together. And, since I've moved, we've continued to talk and e-mail regularly, but I've only been able to see her once very briefly. So I was very thankful to be able to attend her wedding.

The beautiful bride and me. The photographer got a picture of Laura, Dan, Darby, and me together, but, obviously, I don't have it yet.

On the morning of the wedding, Laura invited many of her close girlfriends over to eat brunch together. I had heard so much about many of these friends but had never met them, so it was wonderful to get to finally see them in person. Laura is incredibly sweet and went around the room telling what she admired about each person. She has done such a good job of keeping up with people from all stages of her life. It inspired me to do a better job of that.

The wedding itself was incredibly sincere and moving. It was held in her parents' backyard and was so beautiful and personal. Laura's brother performed the ceremony, and she and Dan had both prepared very moving vows. Dan is also a wonderful person, and he and Laura make a great team. They have been dating for 8 years, so this wedding was very eagerly anticipated by everyone. :) And the reception was catered by Abuelo's. Yum!

You know how you sometimes go to a wedding and you just feel a little unsettled about it? Maybe you don't know either the bride or groom very well, or you do know them both, but you're not sure they're a good match? Well, this was the complete opposite of that. I feel so confident in Dan and Laura's commitment, and I think anyone who witnessed the ceremony would say the same thing. It was a very special day, and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it.

Early retirement?

2011-09-16T15:27:00.002-05:00

I use an online program, Mint, to keep track of our finances. Overall, I think the program works very well. But, when I logged on today, this is the balance that was displaying for our checking account.

Saving a little bit here and a little bit there really adds up, I guess. :)

Roughing It

2011-09-12T21:23:00.003-05:00

This weekend, Darby and I went camping in Indiana. It was our first time to camp together (and only my second time to camp ever), so it was quite the adventure for us. We borrowed a tent from Liz and Daniel and set up a cozy little campsite.

We did some hiking in Turkey Run State Park. I forgot to bring my camera on our hike, but it was absolutely beautiful. (If you're interested, google "Turkey Run State Park" and click on Images to see some nice pictures.)

Darby did a great job of tending the fire, so we could enjoy our hot dogs and s'mores. Sleeping was a little difficult because a group of frat boys were partying very loudly until about 1 a.m. Also, if we go camping again, we'll definitely buy a foam pad to put under our sleeping bags.

Darby remembered making "biscuits in a bag" in his Boy Scout camping days, so we gave it a shot. Despite how it looks, it actually tasted pretty good.

I must admit that camping was somewhat of a pretext for getting us to Indiana so we could buy...Blue Bell ice cream!! Darby just found out that Blue Bell has started distributing out of Indianapolis. We had to go about an hour out of our way to the store that carries it, but it was so worth it. We bought two pints for immediate consumption and two half-gallons to bring home. Yum! Soo worth it.

Welcome, Fall!

2011-09-05T16:34:00.002-05:00

After a couple of weeks of abnormally high temperatures, it is so wonderful to see highs in the mid-70s in the entire 7-day forecast. I was getting tired of coming home from school all sweaty. Now that I'm teaching, I have to dress up a little, and I just don't have too many dress clothes appropriate for 100 degrees. :)

This long weekend has been the perfect balance of productivity, relaxation, and socialization. I've enjoyed a U of I volleyball game, brunch with friends, a wedding, free Custard Cup, lunch with the Millers to celebrate Dick and Kim's birthdays, a long walk with Darby, and some reading time. Tonight, we're going to a barbecue at some new friends' house. I made homemade Spiced Brown Sugar Banana ice cream, so I'm looking forward to that and lots of other yummy food.

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend as well!

Top-5 Tuesday: Recipes

2011-08-30T08:31:00.001-05:00

As you all know, I LOVE to try new recipes. In fact, Darby jokes that he can't get too attached to any recipe I make because I'll probably never make it again. :) However, I do have a few "tried-and-true" recipes that I go back to over and over. The common denominator (except for the red velvet cake) is that they are all quick and easy (and taste great, of course!). So, here are my current 5 favorite recipes:

1. Cheesy Stuffed Shells

20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water
1 26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
16 oz. cottage cheese
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 c. grated mozzarella, divided
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
1 tsp. oregano

Spoon thin layer of spaghetti sauce into 9x13 pan. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 c. mozzarella, Parmesan, and oregano. Spoon filling into jumbo pasta shells and place in pan. Top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake 25 mins. at 400 degrees. Uncover. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake 5-10 mins. more until cheese is melted and bubbly.

2. Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
I usually add 4 oz. cubed Velveeta during the last 30 minutes of cooking instead of topping with cheddar cheese before serving.

3. Cottage Cheese Bread
This sounds weird, I know, but it's so good.

1 pkg. yeast (regular or rapid-rise)
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. cottage cheese
1 tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2-1/4 c. flour
1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Sprinkle yeast over water. Let stand 5 mins. and stir gently. In mixer, blend yeast, cottage cheese, sugar, salt, and egg. Add flour, 1/2 c. at a time, until stiff dough forms. (I use the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer, and I only mix until the dough pulls away from the bottom of the bowl. I'm sure you could knead by hand as well.) Cover dough and let rise 1 hour (mine never rises very much, but it always turns out fine). Press down dough and mix in cheddar cheese with your hands. Transfer to greased 1-1/2 quart round casserole dish. Bake about 40-50 minutes at 350 (until golden brown on top). Brush with melted butter.

4. Big, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
You can make these cookies smaller, but they're not nearly as soft and good. If you do make them smaller, be sure to reduce the baking time.

2 c. plus 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 c. chocolate chips (milk or semisweet)

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto baking sheets. (Make sure to leave 2-3 inches between cookies. They will be very big!) Bake 15-18 mins. at 325.

5. Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This cake is a little fussy but so worth it. I've switched to using cake mixes for almost all cakes, but I still do this one from scratch. Note that the original recipe calls for 3 oz. red food coloring. That is A LOT. I use just 1 oz., and it's plenty red. Also, I make my cream cheese frosting a little differently. I like it really tangy, so I start with 16 oz. cream cheese and 1 stick butter. Then, I just add powdered sugar and vanilla until it tastes right. I don't like it to be super sweet. Whatever you do, do NOT overbake this cake. Check it early and often.

Good News Brownies

2011-08-27T22:19:00.003-05:00

I've just started reading Here If You Need Me, the memoir of a woman (Kate Braestrup) who went to seminary and became a chaplain for search-and-rescue workers after her husband died unexpectedly in a car crash. I'm not too far into it, but so far it's a very good read and an interesting look into a life of somewhat unconventional faith.

One passage in particular really touched me. Just after the author learned of her husband's death, a person came to her door with a religious tract, asking "Have you heard the Good News?" The authors neighbor, who had answered the door, slammed it in the young man's face. Then, Kate writes:

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again. This time, I answered it. It was my neighbor, an elderly woman I had exchanged no more than a dozen words with in the ten years I'd lived in Thomaston. She had pot holders on her hands, which held a pan of brownies still hot from the oven, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I just heard," she said.

That pan of brownies was, it later turned out, the leading edge of a tsunami of food that came to my children and me, a wave that did not recede for many months after Drew's death. I didn't know that my family and I would be fed three meals a day for weeks and weeks.... All I knew was that my neighbor was standing on the front stoop with her brownies and her tears: she was the Good News.

This is exactly what I think Christianity should be: loving our neighbors. But it's so easy to let those opportunities to show love pass us by. Or, in my case, to make up excuses for not doing things. For example, if I were the old woman I'd probably say to myself: "Oh I hardly know her. She doesn't want me coming over with my brownies." But that one small gesture stayed with Kate for years. It's worth it to make that effort. And the worst thing that could happen is that my brownies might be rejected and I'd have to eat them all myself. I think I can live with that. ;)

Top-5 Tuesday: Summer Memories

2011-08-23T11:40:00.000-05:00

This summer went by way too fast, but that was mostly due to it being full of fun trips and time with family and friends. So I guess I can't complain too much. As I begin the semester, I'm looking back on some of my favorite moments from this semester.

1. Our trip to Texas, of course. Loved every minute of it: spending time with our families, Fat Tuesday reunion, holding Finn and Samuel.
2. Mini-trips to Madison, St. Louis, and Chicago. (I had to cheat and include all of these as one. I realized I have way more than 5 favorite memories!)
3. Anniversary lunch at Timpone's. Darby and I accidentally made other plans for the evening of our anniversary, so we decided to meet on campus for a lunch date. It was so fun to do something different. Having a little celebration in the middle of the day actually made it seem more special.
4. Swimming in Memphis. I know this is kind of lame, but I love swimming, and I never get to do it anymore. We stayed in a hotel in Memphis that had a nice pool, and we had it almost to ourselves. I loved it!
5. 4th of July weekend. The other 2 summers we've lived here, we've been out of town for the 4th. This year, it was great to relax at home and spend time with friends here. Plus, we got to see 2 fireworks shows!

What were the highlights of your summer?

Back to the grind

2011-08-22T11:24:00.002-05:00

Despite my best efforts to keep it from happening, I guess summer had to end. Although I'm not looking forward to homework, I am excited about getting back into the semester routine. I'm still very much a nerd who loves getting my textbooks and writing all of my assignments in my planner. :) And I am both excited and nervous about the class I'll be teaching this semester. I can't wait to meet all of the students tomorrow. I don't have classes until the afternoon today, so I'm enjoying my final few hours of freedom at home.

Top-5 Tuesday: Local Restaurants

2011-08-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

One thing that I really love about Champaign-Urbana is the number of great, non-chain restaurants we have. For the size of the town, it's really amazing. Here are my 5 favorites:

1. Sun Singer - This is mine and Darby's go-to date place. It's technically a wine bar and store, but their food is excellent, too. And, unlike most restaurants, the portions are reasonable, so you don't leave feeling overstuffed.
2. Jim Gould - This is definitely a splurge, but it's worth it. We've been there twice for special occasions, and both times have been wonderful.
3. The Bread Company - This is a charming little on-campus bakery that also has great, upscale dinner food. Darby and I love the chocolate fondue.
4. Papa Del's - Another on-campus gem. This is my favorite pizza ever (including several famous Chicago pizzerias). And Papa Del's will always have a special place in my heart as the first meal Darby and I ate in C-U.
5. Custard Cup - So I don't know if this technically counts as a restaurant, but it's my list, so I'm saying it does. :) 4 words: Heath Bar Cheesecake Snowstorm.

What are your favorite restaurants? I'd love to hear, even if you don't live in Champaign. Darby and I always enjoy visiting local restaurants when we travel.

Trapped

2011-08-14T16:26:00.002-05:00

On Friday, I was administering an oral test for incoming international students. I would take students individually into a classroom, give them the test, and then they would leave while I stayed in the room to mark their score sheet. I had been working for several hours without a problem. Then, a student left and shut the door behind him. When I went to leave the room, I realized the door was locked. I was a little bit panicked, as I wasn't sure how I was going to get anyone's attention. The classroom was a little far from where everyone was congregated, and there was construction going on in the building, so it was very noisy. I started banging on the door. I was reluctant to yell "Help!" because it seemed a bit melodramatic. I was afraid I was going to have to call Darby to get him to come over to the building and tell someone that I was trapped in one of the classrooms. But, after a couple of minutes, the test coordinator heard my banging. She tried the door, but it was locked from the outside as well. So, she went to go get someone who had a key. They tried one key, but it didn't work, so they went to get another key. The whole ordeal lasted maybe 7 or 8 minutes. When they opened the door, there was a whole crowd of international students clustered around, and they started clapping and asking if I was OK. I felt like one of the Chilean miners. It was quite embarrassing. And made even more embarrassing by the fact that several of the students I was about to test had seen the whole thing. I bet they were wondering about the reliability of their scores, what with their test proctor being such a dummy. ;) I won't be using that classroom again, that's for sure!

Recipe Round-Up

2011-08-13T11:40:00.003-05:00

My friend Mary Kay requested the recipe for the corn salad I posted a picture of last week. It's from a cookbook my brother gave me for my birthday, called Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time. It's a very cute book and has all of the traditional Southern potluck, funeral, and new baby recipes.

Corn and Black Bean Salad
Dressing:
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.

Salad:
2 (15-oz) cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced red onion
2 cups diced (fresh) tomatoes
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Add dressing. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Obviously, I like quintupled the recipe. :)

Along with the corn salad, I made these French Dip sandwiches from my favorite cooking blog, Our Best Bites. They were very yummy.

And, of course, I've been trying out new dessert recipes like crazy. My favorites that I've made recently are these candy fudge bars and this Heath bar cake.

Enjoy!

Top-5 Tuesday: TV Shows

2011-08-09T13:54:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to start some kind of weekly series on my blog for a while now. That way, I'll at least have a guaranteed post once a week. I've decided to call it Top-5 Tuesday, and each Tuesday (hopefully), I'll share 5 of my favorite things.

This week, it's TV shows. I was never much of a TV watcher until the past two years or so. It was just too much trouble to follow more than a couple of shows each season. Now, though, with the popularity of TV on DVD and streaming Netflix, we've become much bigger TV watchers. I'm not sure whether this is a completely good thing, but I have enjoyed getting into series, and it's nice to have a way to unwind and relax with Darby. So, as of now, here are my 5 all-time favorite TV shows.

Psych - This is a light-hearted comedy/detective show about the very observant, but somewhat aimless Shawn, who pretends he's a psychic in order to work with the police. The snappy dialogue and likable characters keep the formulaic storylines from becoming tired. I think the show really hit its stride in the third season when they started developing each of the characters a little more. And, of course, the friendship between Shawn and his partner and childhood buddy, Gus, is very sweet. The sixth season came out on DVD in May, and Darby and I are very impatiently waiting for it to become available on Nextflix.
Friday Night Lights - We started watching this show after Kalyn and BJ recommended it. Although the show features a lot of football, it is truly about relationships of all kinds. The depiction of the relationship between Coach Eric Taylor and his wife, Tammy, is one of the most realistic portrayals of marriage I've ever seen on TV. The show occasionally veers into melodramatic, teen soap territory, but always finds its way back. We watched the first four seasons on Netflix, and the fifth and final season just aired on NBC. The series finale was one of the best I've ever seen, providing closure without seeming trite (take note, LOST!).
Friends - An oldie but a goodie. I own all 10 seasons and have watched them straight through twice. And yet, I still tune in almost every afternoon I'm home to watch the reruns on TBS. Now, that's the sign of a good show. It is immensely quotable. Almost every time Darby and I leave the house, we say "Got the keeeeeyys?" And we never tire of watching and quoting "The One with Russ" and "The One with the Screamer [Ben Stiller]." I still cry every time I see the episode where Chandler convinces Erica to choose him and Monica as adoptive parents. Great show.
The Office - I've been a little disappointed in the past three seasons, and I'm very skeptical of how the show will continue without Steve Carrell. But the first four seasons were good enough to overcome any shortcomings. Like Friends, I've watched episodes over and over and never get tired of them. And Jim and Pam are my absolute favorite TV couple. The episode where they find out they're having a baby gets me every time. And who can even count the hours of entertainment "That's what she said" has provided?
Mad Men - A co-worker introduced me to this show, and Darby and I were immediately hooked. It's set in a New York advertising firm in the '60s and centers on Don Draper, the mysterious, womanizing creative director. I can't reveal much about the show, as there are a lot of surprises in the first season, but it has it all: excellent writing, acting, and cinematography. And although I would hate to be treated like the women on the show, I would sure love to wear their dresses. Be forewarned, though: This is not a feel-good show. You might want to follow each episode with an episode of Friends or something. :)

What are your favorite TV shows?

Memphis wedding

2011-08-04T18:50:00.003-05:00

How can it be August already? The summer has gone by too fast. :( I'm trying not to think about the semester starting too much and just enjoy the few weeks of relative freedom I have left.

We had a great time in Memphis last weekend at Darby's cousin's wedding. It was great to see all of Darby's family, and we actually had quite a bit of free time to relax, swim in the hotel pool, and enjoy some great Memphis restaurants.

The cousins and cousins-in-law (minus the Dillard crew, who somehow escaped the picture-taking)

The beautiful couple (Todd and Rachel) at the reception

I forgot to take a picture of Darby and me until late in the night. Excuse our somewhat disheveled appearance. We didn't hold up too well sitting outdoors in the Memphis heat and humidity at the reception. :)

On a different subject, I made dinner for our weekly Wednesday night dinner at church last night. We had French dip sandwiches, chips, and corn salad. After I loaded the GIANT corn salad in the car, I just had to take a picture. It took up a whole car seat!

John and Debby's visit

2011-07-28T14:30:00.004-05:00

John and Debby came up last week for their annual summer visit. We met them in Lombard on Thursday evening and rode the train into Chicago on Friday morning.

Right after we got to the city, it started pouring, but, fortunately it cleared up in time for the afternoon Cubs game. It was our first time to go to Wrigley Field, and I really enjoyed it. We were a little torn about who to cheer for, since they were playing the Astros. I decided to go with the home team, and they won!

Darby and me at Wrigley. Please ignore my hideous hair. We got caught in the storm, and my ponytail didn't fare too well.

After the game, we went over to Navy Pier and took a boat ride around the lake.

Debby and John

Saturday morning, we hit up the Art Institute, which I absolutely love. After enjoying some delicious Cajun food at Heaven on Seven, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Before we left Lombard on Sunday morning, we had breakfast at a very cute little crepe cafe. It was delicious and evidently pretty authentic. The chef was a very enthusiastic French man.

John and Debby went up to Madison for a couple of days and then came back to our house on Tuesday. It was great to have them at our house, and not just because Debby stocked my freezer with several dozen of her famous crescent rolls. :) I broke out my ice cream maker for the first time this summer (where has the summer gone?) and made Heath Bar Crunch ice cream from the Ben & Jerry's cookbook. Yum!

John and Debby headed south this morning, and we'll meet up with them in Memphis tomorrow for Darby's cousin's wedding. Phew. It's been a crazy summer, but it's been wonderful to get to spend so much time with friends and family.

Proud wife

2011-07-20T20:56:00.002-05:00

Guess who's married to a published author? That's right! Darby's first article was published online in Applied Physics Letters this week and it will be coming out in print soon. Now, I will admit I haven't read the article. (Shocking right? The title just reaches out and grabs you. How have I been able to resist?) But that does not diminish my pride in Darby's accomplishment one bit. He's worked very hard for the past few years, and it's great to see the product of that work. I'm sure this is only the first of many publications for J. D. Hewitt. :)

Facing my fears

2011-07-16T14:21:00.003-05:00

Last week, some friends of ours called us, frantically looking for someone to feed their pets while they were out of town. Evidently, the people they normally ask were out of town, as well. Darby said that he was going to be out of town, but that I could do it. (Now, I don't blame Darby for this incident; I doubt I would have been able to say no either.) We knew what their pets were: a giant lizard and two frogs. What we didn't know (and probably should have suspected) is what they eat: live crickets. So, this whole week, while Darby was in Ohio, I had to scoop up crickets from a tank and feed them to these animals. At first, I didn't know if I could do it. But, Darby was able to go with me the first time, and I saw that there was no way the animals could escape from their tanks, so that made me feel a little better. And I was able to use a cup to catch the crickets, so I didn't have to touch them. So, I did it. By. my. self. This was a big accomplishment for me, especially with my irrational fear of lizards and lizard-like creatures. And actually, I grew a little fond of Sandy the lizard. Now, I still would never touch her, but I did talk to her sweetly. That's progress, I guess.

Meet Me in St. Louis

2011-07-10T19:46:00.008-05:00

This weekend, Darby and I met Carolyn and Josh in St. Louis. Carolyn and Josh live in Kansas City, so St. Louis is roughly halfway between us. We've been planning to get together ever since they moved, and I'm so glad it finally worked out.

We got there on Friday afternoon and went to the City Museum, which is more like a giant playground than an actual museum. It has all sorts of tunnels and slides. Carolyn and I had a little bit of trouble in our flip-flops (and Carolyn in a dress!), but Darby was in heaven.

My head looks so giant compared to Darby's. :)

Carolyn and Josh in the fake caves

Me at the bottom of the 10-story slide. It was a little scary but very fun.

Darby near the top of the giant jungle gym. The rest of us were too chicken to go quite that high.

Josh and Darby, being awesome

On Saturday, after a wonderful crepe breakfast, we went to the zoo. The zoo is free, and it is awesome! Even though it was crazy hot and humid, we enjoyed seeing all the animals.

Darby petting the sting rays (and a couple of sharks). We all paid $3 to enter the special exhibit, but I think Darby's the only one who got his money's worth.

The giraffes. See the little baby in the background? So cute!

Penguins! The best thing about the exhibit was that it was 45 degrees in there.

After thoroughly exploring the zoo, we went to fortify ourselves (and cool down) at Pi Pizzeria, which was recommended by none other than President Obama. It was delicious. Then, we went back downtown to take a few obligatory pictures in front of the Arch.

It was such a fun little getaway. Of course, it was wonderful to see Carolyn again. And Darby and I both really enjoyed getting to know Josh a little better. They are such a fun couple. Hopefully someday we'll be able to visit them in Kansas City.

4 years

2011-07-07T17:04:00.004-05:00

I thought and thought today about what I should say to commemorate our fourth anniversary. But, anything I thought of, I felt like I'd already shared before. I've said how much I love Darby and how much I love being married to him here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, for example.

Then, I tried to think about what made our fourth year of marriage distinctive. And, honestly, I couldn't really think of anything. Like every other year, we've laughed, we've cried; we've fought, we've made up; we've enjoyed trips and special dates and we've also enjoyed the daily routine; we've been reminded of how much we love each other, and, yes, we've occasionally been reminded of why we annoy each other. :)

And then I realized that this consistency is what I love about our marriage. Our fourth year hasn't been dramatically different from our first, second, or third year. They've all been wonderful. And the more years we put under our belt, the more faith I have that they will continue to be wonderful. Our life circumstances change, but our marriage is a foundation for us during those changes.

A few weeks ago, on the Today show, they were talking with an author of a book on marriage, who was saying that a majority of couples in America have mediocre marriages. She defined this by using her own marriage as an example. She said something like, "Sure, my marriage is doing okay at this moment, but I always know in the back of my mind that this might be our last year together." She said this as if most married couples think this way. Darby and I could not believe that. How sad. One of the most wonderful things about marriage is the security of knowing the other person is always going to be there for you. I can't imagine living in a marriage without that.

So, today, on our 4th anniversary, I'm thankful that all I can say is what I've said a hundred times before: I'm so blessed to have Darby as my husband and I'm looking forward to many years to come.

4th of July

2011-07-05T22:18:00.002-05:00

Our long weekend was wonderful and filled with great:

Food,

Friday night, we went to a new restaurant in town, called DeStihl, to celebrate Darby's birthday. We actually went there for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and liked it so much we had to go back. The food, service, and ambience are all great.
Per Darby's request, I made a lemon-blueberry cake that I had made before. The frosting is very involved; you can read about the first time I made it here. I completely failed on my first attempt at the frosting this time, but I recovered on my second try, and I think it turned out pretty well.
I made these bars for a pool party and really enjoyed them. They're very rich.

Friends,

At the aforementioned pool party, I got to hang out with several of the girls from my program, most of whom I hadn't seen since school got out in May. It was a lot of fun, despite the less-than-ideal water temperature.
Saturday night, we went over to the Oelzes' house to play Pandemic, a new game they just got. Their daughter, Eden, made the cutest birthday card for Darby, and we enjoyed a really good conversation after the game-playing.
On Monday, Darby and Daniel got together to brew some beer and "jam." So, Liz and I had a little girl time. We went shopping and watched the seventh Harry Potter movie in preparation for the final movie coming out next week.

and Fireworks!

Sunday night, we went with Daniel and Liz to see the fireworks in Monticello. It's a small town, but they put on a huge show. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed playing games while waiting for the show to start.
Then, on Monday, we met Mica and Harrison at the fireworks here in Champaign. They weren't quite as impressive as the ones in Monticello, but they were still really good. Mica is in my program, and Harrison is getting his Ph.D. in Physics. They've also been dating since high school, so I think they are like our couple twin. :) It was fun to hang out with them, and not just because they let us eat their french fries.

I've always loved the 4th of July, and this one did not disappoint. I love fireworks, so getting to see two shows was incredible. And we're still being treated to random fireworks going off in our neighborhood at midnight. Awesome! ;)

26 before 26 update

2011-06-28T12:14:00.004-05:00

So, now that my birthday's over, I decided I better check to see how well I did on my goals. I totally completed 16 of them, and sort of completed or am in progress on 7 of them. I think that's decent. Setting goals really does help me accomplish more than I would otherwise. For example, after I got up to running about 2 miles, I really wanted to quit and just go back to using the elliptical. I expressed this wish to Darby and told him, "I wish I had never made that goal." I thought maybe he would say something like, "Well, just forget about it." Instead, he said, "Well, that's the reason you make goals, right? To push yourself?" Grrr...I hate it when my husband tries to make me a better person. :) So, I kept going up to 3 miles, and, even though I still don't like running, I'm glad I did it.

I'm going to do something slightly different for my next set of goals. I'm getting too old to continue with a goal for every year! So, I'm working on a list of "30 before 30." That way, I'll have four years to accomplish them and can set some goals that would be difficult to accomplish in only one year.

~~Finish couch-to-5K.~~
~~Take and pass at least one of my seven comprehensive exams.~~
~~Finish my shelf of unread books.~~ But I started all over again with more books. :)
~~Lose 5 lbs. and maintain it.~~ I lost 10!
Take at least 100 pictures. I definitely took over 100 pictures. Not all of them were good, but I did better than I usually do, I think.
~~Finish my one-year Bible.~~
Make it through my housecleaning checklist. Nope. I'm still trying to plow through it this summer.
Make cheese. I don't know why I never got around to this. I still want to do it.
Come up with at least 2 healthy vegetarian meals that Darby and I actually enjoy. Well, I tried a couple, but they weren't big hits. I have a couple more bookmarked to try.
Start my personal Happiness Project. I didn't do this because I was feeling so much happier anyway. But now I'm a little bit down, so I think I might tackle it.
~~Go to three events at the U of I.~~
~~Make crepes.~~ ~~It took me a while to get the hang of flipping them, but once I did, it was fun, and they turned out well.~~
Reduce our monthly gift budget. It's hard to tell. So far this year we're doing well, but November and December are the true tests.
Go to St. Louis (for real this time). We made a brief layover in St. Louis on our train trip, but we're going back in a couple of weeks to meet up with Carolyn and Josh, who live in Kansas City.
~~Save an average of 25% on every grocery shopping trip.~~ My average was 33%.
~~Take a Spanish class.~~ I took two!
Make homemade tortillas. Not yet, but I did bookmark a promising recipe. :)
~~Initiate plans with friends twice per month.~~
~~Whittle "to try" recipes saved online to 200 (currently at 272).~~ I'm down to 189.
~~Redesign my blog.~~
~~Read 3 faith-related books.~~
~~Plan an event for our college group.~~
Stay in better touch with my sister and brother. I think I did a little better, but this is an ongoing goal.
~~Watch at least 4 football games on TV.~~
~~Become a Conversation Partner.~~
Spend no more than 1 hour per day on the Internet (unless it's for work, school, or personal finance reasons). Ha! This was kind of a bust, but I'm still trying.

Texas Trip - Dallas and Waco

2011-06-25T10:23:00.008-05:00

The rest of our Texas trip was awesome, as well. We flew from Champaign to Dallas on Monday. Hannah picked us up at the airport, and we hung out with her for a little while before going over to eat lunch and visit with Grandma and Aunt Katina. That evening, we went to dinner and spent the night with Darby's brother Jeremy and sister-in-law Janice.

On Tuesday, Jeremy drove us to Waco, and we spent the next few days with Darby's parents. Debby spoiled us with many delicious meals, and we had fun playing games and watching Super 8.

After we got back from Abilene, we celebrated birthdays/Father's Day with both of our families. As usual, we were spoiled with lots of great gifts.

John, Darby, Debby

Me and Hannah

The awesome s'mores cheesecake Mom made me. It was sooo good!

Hannah was able to stay in Waco the whole time we were at my parents' house. We discovered our mutual love for the Wii game Just Dance. After we went to Jazzercise with Mom, we showed off our moves for Darby. :)

Matt had to work, but he was able to come to town for one evening. We convinced the boys to join us in Just Dance. Check out that coordination!
I didn't get any pictures of my dad, but I promise he was there! He even took off work on Monday, so we could all spend the day together, which was awesome.

On Wednesday, Mom drove us to the airport. On the way, we stopped to see not one, but two precious newborn babies. My childhood friend, Whitney, had given birth to her son, Finn, a week earlier. I had told Whitney to tell Finn to come early so I could see him while I was in Texas, and he obeyed! It was so great to see Whitney and Clint and to hold sweet Finn. Unfortunately, we were having such a good time that I forgot to get any pictures! :( You'll just have to take my word that Finn is adorable.

Our next stop was at Amy and Matthew's to meet our newest red-headed frousin, Samuel. It was only his second day at home, and he was tuckered out from staying up all night the previous night. ;) So, he let us hold him for a long time while he got a much-needed nap. We hope that didn't ruin his sleep for the coming night!

Mom telling Samuel to be a good boy and let Amy and Matthew sleep

Samuel telling me that I'm his favorite frousin

I am so thankful it worked out for me to meet both of the babies. I know Whitney and Clint and Amy and Matthew are going to be wonderful parents, and I'm so excited for them.

After spending so much time with family, it was really hard to come back. Even though I know we are blessed to see our family as much as we do, it's still hard to miss out on all of the little trips for birthdays, baby showers, etc. It seems like every time we go home, there are always so many people to see and so little time. I'm thankful that our families are so flexible and really try to work with our schedules, so that we can see everyone for at least a little while.

I was pretty down when we got back on Wednesday night. But, after enjoying time with friends this weekend (and enjoying the 30-degree cooler weather), I'm coming out of my funk. Yes, I would still love to be closer to family, but we do have a great life here, as well. Plus, we don't have to wait very long to see family again. John and Debby are coming to visit in about a month!

Fat Tuesday Reunion

2011-06-23T21:37:00.005-05:00

The primary reason for the timing of our Texas trip (although we would have certainly gone sometime during the summer) was a reunion with my 5 best girlfriends from college---the Fat Tuesday group. We met at Emerald's house in Abilene and had a great time eating at some of our favorite Abilene restaurants, exploring the many new additions to ACU, playing with the two newest members of our group (Lily, 21 months, and Shepherd, 8 months), and talking, talking, talking.

Although I've seen all the members of the group at various times over the last several years, we hadn't all been together since the summer of 2008. Many things have changed since then (namely, we've gained one husband and two babies), so we really needed to catch up. I'm hoping this is something we can make an annual tradition.

Me and Lily. She took a little while to warm up to me, but by the end of the weekend I think we were pretty good buddies. She's such a petite little thing, but she sure knows what she wants. Lily bosses people around in this tiny voice, and it's hilarious. But, seriously, she is such a sweet, smart little girl, and it was so fun to watch Em be such a good mom to her.

The whole gang (Lily, Emerald, Erin, Kalyn, Shepherd, Carolyn, Brittany, and me). I think it's pretty amazing that we were able to get everyone with their eyes open and looking at the camera except for Shep.

Lily's suspicious of Carolyn. :)

Miraculously, someone got Shep to laugh at the exact moment the picture was being taken. I wish I could take credit for that grin, but it wasn't me. I'm in love with this little boy. All he wanted to do was crawl around, but I kept picking him up and making him let me hold him. :) One day, I was kissing him on the cheek, and he turned around and gave me a peck on the lips. It was so cute! I just about died.

Erin and Britt enjoying dessert at Cypress Street Station

And what would a Fat Tuesday reunion be without a cake? Erin is a girl after my own heart. We walked into McKay's for a little snack and walked out with this deliciousness. Yummmmm.

Lily enjoying a little bit of Em's dessert. When I'm a mom, my child will have to order her own dessert. :)

While I was having my "girl time," Darby had a little mini-reunion with two of his closest friends from ACU. On Sunday, we were able to visit Westgate together. It was so wonderful to see everyone. We miss Westgate soooo much. Several people there are trying to convince us to move back to Abilene when Darby graduates. And, in fact, the big news is that ACU is starting an engineering program, so we'll see. . . . In all seriousness, I don't think we'll go back to Abilene, at least not right away, but I NEVER thought we'd live in Illinois, so I'm not ruling out the possibility. I cannot tell you how excited I would be if that happened. When I was at ACU, I loved it, but I never thought I'd want to live in Abilene. Now that I'm gone, I really appreciate what a neat community it is. At least, if we don't live there, we know we'll always have friends and family there who will welcome us and give us an excuse to eat our beloved Sharky's burritos!

Feels like home

2011-06-16T14:22:00.002-05:00

We're back in Texas for a 10-day vacation. Already, we've spent time with both sets of parents, my sister, my grandma and Aunt Katina, Darby's brother Jeremy and sister-in-law Janice, and my Aunt Lea. And we've still got many more friends and family to visit! My favorite thing about coming to Texas is seeing family, of course. But there's so many other little things that just make this place feel like home.

Chatting with every cashier and waiter
Late sunsets
That nearly suffocating feeling of getting in the car after it's been sitting in the 102-degree heat for a couple of hours (yes, believe it or not, I actually kind of miss this. It's strangely comforting.)
Going for walks and waving at every car that drives by
The abundance of pickup trucks
Coke and Dr. Pepper as the drinks of choice (not Pepsi...yuck!)

I have never bought into the idea that people outside of the South are rude. In our experience, we've encountered wonderful people in Illinois and other places we've traveled. However, I can't deny that people in the South are at least superficially friendlier. I'm no longer accustomed to talking with strangers in the checkout line or saying Hi to people as you pass them walking. I miss that.

Before we left Texas, I really didn't know how much I'd miss it. I knew I'd miss my family, but I didn't think I was too attached to the state itself. Well, I was wrong. I'm a Texan through and through. I really hope Darby and I will be able to move back after we finish school, but, if that doesn't happen, I'll always eagerly anticipate our trips "home."

Happy early birthday to me!

2011-06-08T17:11:00.003-05:00

On our way back from Madison, we stopped at IKEA to pick up my birthday present. I had seen this table and chairs when we were there in March and decided I wanted to ask for it for my birthday. Now, I just have to cross my fingers that my parents actually get it for me. ;)

We haven't eaten on it yet because it's been incredibly hot and humid, but I look forward to enjoying lots of meals on it this summer and fall.

Madison

2011-06-01T16:17:00.004-05:00

Darby and I spent the Memorial Day holiday in Madison, WI. We're trying to take little road trips to some of the cities around here before we move. We don't want to move away and think, "Why didn't we ever go there?"

Madison is a beautiful town. It has a really neat university area that runs into downtown. And there's so much free stuff. We visited two art museums, the zoo, and the botanical gardens, and all were free. Of course, we made up for that by eating tons of great food. On Saturday night, we went to a place called Monty's Blue Plate Diner. It served breakfast and dinner. Darby couldn't make up his mind about what to get, so we decided to go again for breakfast the next day!

Darby with his Donut French Toast. Yes, it's exactly what you think---french toast made with donuts. Darby said it was delicious. I couldn't bring myself to get it...stupid Weight Watchers. ;)

The downtown area. We went on an "ice cream social" cruise of the lake. As you can see, the weather wasn't the greatest, but the all-you-can-eat ice cream more than made up for it.

A pretty view of the lake from the Botanical Gardens.

Me and D at the Botanical Gardens

The State Capitol Building

It was a wonderful weekend. Both of us really needed a relaxing trip to decompress from the semester. And now we can cross another neighboring state off the list. Next up: Michigan?

Not-so-relaxing summer

2011-05-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

So far, my summer has actually been kind of stressful. I started a two-week intensive Spanish course on last Monday. I'm really enjoying it, but it's 3 hours per day and that, combined with my 10 hours of tutoring per week (and the 10 different lesson plans required), my GA, and a new baby-sitting job have left me with much less free time than I anticipated. After this week, things should slow down quite a bit, though. And Darby and I are looking forward to a mini-vacation to Madison, WI over the holiday weekend.

Even though it's causing me a little stress, I'm so glad I decided to take this Spanish class. It's very focused on conversation, and that's what I desperately need to practice. It's sad to realize how much of my vocabulary I've lost through lack of use. I'm definitely motivated to practice more on my own. I'm also realizing that all of my ESL courses have really changed the way I look at learning languages. Before, I kind of thought of learning Spanish as a finite goal. One day, I would wake up and say, "I know Spanish." But now I view it much more as a continuum. I'll always be learning Spanish. In some ways that is daunting, but it's also very freeing. Before, I had somewhat unrealistic expectations about what I could achieve in Spanish. But now that I've worked with students who have been learning English as a second language for many, many years, I see that perfection is unrealistic. My goal should be to communicate effectively. I'll always make mistakes, but that shouldn't stop me from speaking with native Spanish speakers. And I have so much more empathy for the international students I work with now. After three hours of listening and speaking solely in Spanish, my brain is fried. Next, I want to take some courses in a language from a completely different language family (e.g., Korean, Mandarin, or Arabic). I think that will help me identify even more with my students.

Halfway there!

2011-05-15T20:05:00.003-05:00

Well, I finished my first year of grad. school on Friday. I can't believe I'm already halfway done. Time is really flying by. I am still so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to go back to school. And I absolutely love working with ESL students. This summer, I'm continuing some tutoring that I started this semester. I really enjoy getting to know all of the students and seeing them improve.

Darby reached a huge milestone this semester. He is now completely done with his coursework. So, for the next two years, he'll be doing full-time research and dissertation writing. I'm so proud of him for all the hard work he's put in so far, and I'm so excited that he'll no longer have homework!

We had a great first weekend of summer (even though it's COLD! I had to turn the heater back on tonight. Boo.). On Friday night, we had a celebration dinner at Crane Alley, one of our favorite local restaurants, and then, being the huge nerds we are, we worked a puzzle. :) Saturday morning, we got up and walked to the Farmer's Market and then had coffee at a little cafe near there. I grilled steaks for dinner Saturday night and then watched a chick flick (New in Town) while Darby hung out with some guys from the lab. After church this morning, we went with our preacher's family to the brunch buffet at Kennedy's. Yum! There was soo much food, and it was all delicious. It's so nice not to have to worry about homework for a little while. I think this summer is going to be awesome!

Fiesta!

2011-05-10T14:07:00.004-05:00

So, this weekend the ACU group had a belated Cinco de Mayo celebration. And, I think Erin and I might have found the ideal entertaining arrangement. She hosts, and I cook. The party was at their house, but I brought all of the fajita ingredients and used their grill. It was so much less stressful than having to cook and clean the house. And I didn't have to feel guilty for being "in the zone" when I was cooking, since I wasn't the official hostess.

Austin and Erin got a pinata for us, and it was soo fun! I think perhaps spinning 10 times around the bat was a little much, though. Both Darby and Liz fell over, and I almost did.

Uh, the pinata's the other way, Erin...

Liz, pre-falling down. The streamers on the ground are from my ferocious hitting. :)

Austin, putting an end to it. Actually, Liz was the one who busted it open, but we hung it back up, so everyone could have a turn.

On Saturday morning, Liz invited me to a brunch/clothing swap at her church. It was a lot of fun; I got a few cute new things, and, more importantly, I got rid of a lot more things. I made these raspberry breakfast bars, and they were so good!

Normally, when I try to transfer bars from their baking dish to a plate, I end up with a crumbly mess. But these actually turned out looking pretty decent. I think the secret was lining the pan with parchment paper, then buttering the parchment. And, the bars are healthy because of the raspberries. :)

Hope for the Future

2011-05-04T10:31:00.003-05:00

Riding the bus every day gives me a lot of opportunities to people-watch (and eavesdrop). Often, this is a little depressing. But, every so often, I see something on the bus that just makes my day. Today was one of those days.

A group of 18 4th-graders (mostly boys) got on the bus with their teacher. I assume they were taking a field trip to the university or one of the public libraries. Anyway, this group of boys spent the whole bus ride bragging about their Accelerated Reader scores. They were asking this one kid how he had managed to accumulate so many points, and he said, "I just love to read." They asked him why, and he said, with complete sincerity and the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen: "Because reading is an adventure. When you read a book, you can go anywhere." Another kid said, "Yeah, but you could be playing video games or playing outside." And the little bookworm said, "No, you don't understand. You can go anywhere. I just ignore everything else around me. One time I got grounded for reading too much because I wasn't listening to anyone." And, except for the one dubious boy, the other kids were hanging on to every word and seemed truly envious of the boy's reading ability. It was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. So, don't believe people when they talk about kids these days just wanting to play video games or text. If this group of boys was any indication, I'm very impressed with the next generation. (Gosh...am I really old enough to be part of an "older" generation? Scary.)

My experience is in sharp contrast with an experience Darby had several months ago. On his way home, he was reviewing some notes in his lab notebook. A group of middle-school boys was sitting near him. One of them read the title on the cover out loud: "Laboratory Notebook." Then, he turned to his friends and said, "Nerd!" Poor Darby. :)

Mom and Dad

2011-05-02T23:01:00.002-05:00

My parents came to visit this past week. Because of Dad's crazy work schedule, it ended up working out better for mom to fly in on her own on Tuesday night. It was wonderful to have her here for more than just a weekend. We had fun shopping, getting pedicures, going out to lunch, and talking, talking, talking. Of course, I had to go to class, but Mom was so sweet to drop me off and pick me up, and it was so fun to come home to a non-empty house (just like growing up!).

Dad flew in from a business trip in Boston on Friday night. On Saturday, we enjoyed breakfast at Steak & Shake, a quick look at the U of I botanical gardens, game playing, an early Mother's Day/mom's birthday celebration, and watching Source Code. I had really been missing my parents, so I was so glad they were able to come. It really means a lot to me that they make it a priority to visit, even when their schedule is busy. And it's less than 2 months until we see them again in Texas! Yay!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:14:00.003-05:00

After church today, we had 6 of our friends over for an Easter brunch. I wanted to get a picture of all the food arranged so prettily (if I do say so myself), but by the time I remembered to do it, the food had been basically demolished. :) So, you'll have to believe me that it looked nice. The menu consisted of:

Asparagus and Swiss Egg Bake
Ham, Egg, and Cheese Cups
Sausage Cheese Muffins
Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins
Fresh Fruit Bruschetta
Strawberries and Cream Cake
Strawberry Citrus Slushies

All of the recipes turned out well, but I especially liked the Strawberries and Cream Cake. I served it with homemade whipped cream, and it was so delicious! Perfect for a spring or summer dessert.

Meredith and Brett

Ryan and Megan (They had just biked 30 miles to return home from a camping trip!)

Austin and Erin

Darby and Me

It was a wonderful Easter. The sun was shining, the service at church was very uplifting (we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," which I LOVE), and we got to enjoy food and fellowship with some of our good friends. So thankful for the many blessings God has given us in this life and, more importantly, for the hope we have of eternal life.

Success!

2011-04-20T16:10:00.002-05:00

Well, I made it to my goal weight! The weight came off faster than I thought it would, which reinforces to me that I was heavier than I needed to be. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to ease up on the points counting without going totally crazy. In that spirit, I thought I'd share some of my favorite healthy snacks. Of course, I still enjoy my ice cream and baked goodies, but I'm trying to practice a little more moderation. :)

Sargento Light cheese sticks
Fiber One yogurt mixed with 1 sliced banana and 1/4 c. Cascadian Farm maple brown sugar granola
sliced cucumbers and baby carrots with 2 tbsp. Sabra roasted red pepper hummus
smoothies made with half a banana, 1/2 cup of frozen, unsweetened mixed fruit, and 1/2 - 1 cup of 1% milk (enough to make the smoothie drinkable)
Kashi TLC honey almond flax granola bars

What healthy snacks do you like? I need variety to keep going.

Multi-tasking

2011-04-17T20:49:00.002-05:00

Well, the good news is: I passed my exam! I'm very glad to have that out of the way. 1 down, 6 to go. But the other 6 won't be until next school year, so I just won't think about that yet. :)

The bad news is: I learned I'm a TERRIBLE single-tasker. Now, I always knew I preferred multi-tasking, but I thought that I could choose to single-task when I needed to. I found out this past week that that is not the case. I really needed to devote almost all of my non-class time to studying for the test. So I decided ahead of time that I was just going to let everything else go: no housework, no grocery shopping, minimal cooking, etc. But when it came time to follow through, it just about killed me. It makes me so stressed to see laundry unwashed, dishes not put away, e-mails unread, etc. And having to eat pizza and sandwiches for dinner feels like some sort of personal failure, even though I know that's ridiculous. (Also, side note: Darby and I have a very fair division of labor. So all of the chores not taken care of were my responsibility, not his. And even though I'm in charge of making dinner, he NEVER complains about what we have. So any pressure I feel is totally self-imposed.)

Darby, on the other hand, is a great single-tasker. Sometimes this is a problem, as he can't put a project out of his mind until it's done, even if he really needs to do other stuff. But this week, I realized that single-tasking can be an asset, especially in grad. school. I think next time I need to study I'm going to have to go to a coffee shop or some place where I can't see the mess. Maybe I should go to a hotel (hee-hee)!

Are there any other chronic multi-taskers out there? Do you have tricks for making yourself focus on one thing when you have to?

MIA

2011-04-12T22:44:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I've been MIA around here lately. Perhaps I'm giving myself too much credit to think anyone even noticed. :)

I am taking one of my comprehensive exams for my degree on Saturday, so I'm studying like crazy. I'll be back next week with an update. Have a great week!

What's Cookin'

2011-04-03T21:13:00.002-05:00

One of my goals is to whittle my "to try" recipes I've saved online to under 200. So I've been trying to make quite a few new recipes. Of course, I keep adding recipes, so my progress is a little slow. :) Here are some of the favorites I've tried recently:

Crockpot Refried Beans. I LOVE beans, and these are so easy. You don't even have to soak the beans beforehand, which saves a lot of time. I made a double batch (without doubling the salt, as Darby and I try to limit our salt), and mashed half and froze the other half.
Baked Oatmeal. I'm not much of an oatmeal fan (texture), but this stuff turns out almost cake-like. As suggested, I subbed unsweetened applesauce for half of the butter. One serving is 7 Weight Watchers points, which isn't terrible, but I might try to reduce the sugar next time I make it to bring the points down even more.
Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes. These were made pre-Weight Watchers (I don't even want to know how many points are in these babies!), and they were soooo good! Extremely rich. If you like chocolate and mint, you have to try them.
Mexican Chicken Kiev. I'm a sucker for stuffed chicken recipes, and this one did not disappoint. The chicken turns out so flavorful and moist. And this was my first foray into the world of Panko crumbs. They are sooo much better than regular bread crumbs; I can't believe I lived without them for so long.

Enjoy!

Look what I got!

2011-03-31T07:55:00.003-06:00

My friend Kalyn is an artist and recently started an etsy shop. One of Kalyn's blogger friends did a giveaway of the beautiful piece above, and I won! I just got it in the mail the other day, and I love it! I'm so proud of Kalyn for starting her own business. She has a lot of charming (and affordable!) pieces in her shop, so go check it out.

Spring Break, Part Two

2011-03-28T16:32:00.007-06:00

Britt and I headed back to Champaign on Sunday afternoon for a special ACU group gathering. Daniel's parents, who are wine connoisseurs, were in town, and they graciously agreed to host a wine tasting for our ACU group (oh, the irony). Daniel, Liz, and Daniel's parents prepared quite a feast for us, and we got to try 8 or so different wines. It was so fun, and I feel like I have a better grasp of the characteristics of some of the different types and a better idea of which "supermarket" wines are relatively good.

Erin and Liz

Monday, Britt and I did some shopping and then took it easy watching episodes of Scrubs on Netflix. That night, Darby and I introduced Brittany to Custard Cup (our favorite pastime!) and went to see The Adjustment Bureau.

Yum! (Notice my small cup--trying to be good; it's all relative)

On Tuesday, we went to this huge scrapbooking store about an hour away and then sat and read magazines in Barnes & Noble. For dinner, we went to Papa Del's and then came home for some chocolate chip cookie pie and game-playing.

Britt's flight home wasn't until Wednesday evening, so we got to enjoy a walk and lunch at the Courier Cafe before driving to Chicago. I am soooo glad she came. It was wonderful to catch up and have some extended "girl time." One of the hardest things about living up here is not being able to see my Texas friends very often or for very long, and feeling like I'm missing out on their lives. This was just what I needed.

Spring Break, Part One

2011-03-25T16:00:00.004-06:00

I had a fabulous Spring Break with Brittany. I'm so glad she came to visit!

Her flight got in Friday night (to Midway, not O'Hare, which I very luckily realized just in time). We checked in to our hotel and then split some delicious cheesecake at the Grand Luxe Cafe (Weight Watchers was decidedly NOT in the picture this week).

On Saturday, we went to the Hancock Observatory where we enjoyed our coffee with a view.

After that, it was on to the Art Institute, then lunch at Pizano's Pizza (just so-so), wandering around Millenium Park, and a little shopping on The Magnificent Mile.

The obligatory "bean" photo

Saturday night we had dinner at a great Italian place, Topo Gigio. I highly recommend it. Then we went to see a comedy show at Second City. It was a really funny show and so much fun to do something completely different.

Sunday morning, we went on a walking architecture tour. It was very interesting, and I probably would have enjoyed it even more had it not started pouring about halfway through. We finished out the tour, then tried to warm up with some soup. We were hoping to go to the aquarium, but the line was really long, so we went to the Field Museum instead. After that, it was back home.

It was such a wonderful girls' weekend. Britt and I both have issues with asking people to take our picture, so we didn't get any pictures together (besides the fuzzy bean one above). But, Darby took one of us at my beloved Custard Cup, which I'll post in Part Two. :)

Spring is here!

2011-03-18T09:27:00.002-06:00

One thing I enjoy about living in a colder climate is that the long winters really do make you appreciate nice weather more. Yesterday, it was around 70 and sunny and everyone was in such a good mood. During the first few days of spring, everybody goes outside and just walks around with huge smiles on their faces, saying, "It's warm!" I don't remember that happening on such a large scale in Texas.

Spring break starts today, and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Brittany is coming in tonight and we're going to spend a couple of days in Chicago; then, she's going to come down to Champaign for a few days. It's going to be AWESOME! Just two more classes and a workout to get through, and then the fun begins. Yayyyyy!

Grown-Ups

2011-03-14T16:05:00.002-06:00

I've always enjoyed sleeping in on Saturdays (until about 10 or so), but lately both Darby and I have been noticing that we feel really sluggish on Saturdays and often have headaches. We wondered if it could be the disruption in our normal sleep schedule. So, we decided to try getting up at 7:30 (just one hour later than normal). We've done it for two weeks now, and I really like it. I have a lot more energy, and I'm able to truly enjoy my Saturday rather than feeling like I've wasted half the day already. I think this means that we are officially grown-ups. :)

Also, I know I said I wouldn't give a weekly Weight Watchers update, but I can't resist. Even after a week in which I had: pizza (twice), dinner out at an Italian restaurant, and fettuccine alfredo at a friend's house, I still lost 2 pounds! I'm very excited but also amazed at how badly I must have been eating before this.

Weight Watchers

2011-03-07T18:33:00.003-06:00

So, one of my goals before I turn 26 is to lose 5 lbs. Well, before last week, that wasn't going so well. In fact, it was going the opposite direction. I had actually gained a few pounds. I really was trying to eat healthier, but there always seemed to be some excuse not to ("it's someone's birthday"; "someone brought cookies to school"; "friends invited us out to eat"; or, let's be honest, "it's Monday"). So, I finally decided enough is enough and joined Weight Watchers. Most of my family has done Weight Watchers in the past, so I was familiar with the program.

And, after one week, I have to say, I LOVE it! Having a very structured goal was exactly what I needed to get my eating on track. I've been eating a lot more fruits and veggies, eating smaller portions, and not mindlessly snacking on pieces of candy here and there. I like that I can still basically eat whatever I want; I just have to decide if it's worth it. My true test last week was when some friends invited us to Texas Roadhouse. I got the grilled chicken salad and, here's the kicker, only ate one of those delicious rolls. And guess what? I didn't die. :) I was telling Darby that the strangest thing about being on this program is that I hardly ever feel full. I'm used to feeling full basically every day. I didn't really know how to stop at the point where I'm not hungry anymore but not full; it's nice.

Anyway, my goal is to lose 11 lbs. I weighed in this morning, and I've already lost 3! I'm so excited. I know that every week won't be such a drastic change, but I'm glad I'm off to a good start. And, don't worry, I won't bore you with an update every week or anything. Just had to share my good news. :)

I'm mean in my sleep, part 2

2011-03-04T08:56:00.002-06:00

See part 1 here.

My sleep-talking has been pretty minimal lately, but I guess I've been kind of stressed because it's happened twice this week. And poor Darby has to put up with it.

On Monday or Tuesday night, I started whimpering and saying, "Should I have done something?" Darby said, "Should you have done what?" Then, I said, "There's a card I could have used." Evidently, I was dreaming about Dominion, a game Darby got for Christmas and we've played quite a bit. Not sure why I was crying about it, but I do take games pretty seriously...

Anyway, that was a little annoying but not mean. Then, Wednesday night, I started telling Darby, "Stop it. Just stop it." He said, "What?" I said, "You know." He said, "No, I don't." Then, I said, "You're such a self-assured (slang term for male anatomy)." I have NO idea why I said that. I've maybe used that term once or twice in my life. But I've certainly never called Darby that. Our conversation went on for a little while with me insisting I had a right to be mad at him. I guess I had a dream that he was being mean to me, but I can't remember that part. I do remember getting mad at him, though. Poor guy. I apologized in the morning; luckily, he has a sense of humor about it.

Lessons from reality TV

2011-02-27T20:55:00.003-06:00

Perhaps this is just a sorry attempt to justify the hours I spend viewing bad reality television, but I've been thinking a lot lately about how grateful those shows make me for my family.

One theme that keeps coming back to me as I watch Say Yes to the Dress and Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht is that I am sooo thankful for my mom. Of course, I'm grateful for my dad, too, but these shows are more about the moms. And the moms are CRAZY! Daughters will come out in a gorgeous dress that they are obviously in love with, and the mom will say, "Really? I think it makes your hips look big." It's unbelievable. So grateful that my mom knew to be tactfully honest when asked but also knew that her main job in dress shopping was moral support.

And don't even get me started on Kate Gosselin. There are so many problems with her mothering skills. But one particular sad thing is that she says she does the TV show so she can give her kids opportunities they wouldn't have otherwise---like going on lavish vacations. But, when they're on vacation, the kids complain the whole time (of course...they're kids). I can guarantee you they would give up the hot air balloon rides, the spa days, the over-the-top birthday parties to have a happy mom who would get on the floor and play with them. While I was fortunate in that I did get to take fun (but not over-the-top) vacations with my family, the memories I look back on most fondly are singing silly songs in the car together, playing games in our living room, going on church trips together.

I'm so thankful for the great example my mom was and is to me. I've always known she's a great mom, but the older I get, the more I appreciate her. And speaking of my mom, she started a blog! So, you should go check it out. I'm sure she'll have plenty of nice things to say about me. ;)

Good-bye

2011-02-22T08:20:00.002-06:00

Katy and Jon (picture taken from Katy's facebook)

Well, I was living in denial, but the day finally came. Last Friday, Katy moved to California to join Jon who's in Marine Corps training. I'm so happy that they are back together after six months apart, but I was so sad to see her go. Jon and Katy were our first friends when we moved to Illinois, and the transition would have been so much harder without them. When we had been here just a few weeks, Darby had to go back to Texas for a wedding, so I was alone. Jon was busy, and Katy invited me over to eat dinner at her house. While I was getting ready, she got a call from her parents (her dad is the preacher at our church) saying that her brother and his family wanted to meet them for dinner in Decatur (about 45 mins away). She could have just canceled on me, but instead, she invited me to come along for the family dinner. I felt awkward, but I went, and had a lot of fun. Since then, we have spent countless hours eating dinner and playing games with Katy and Jon and Katy's family. Thankfully, Katy's family is still here in town, so we won't be losing them too. And, of course, we'll still see Jon and Katy when they come back to visit. I'm so glad Jon and Katy were here to welcome us when we arrived. At a time in our lives when we really needed friends, they were there for us (and still are). And while we'll no longer be seeing them several times a week, we are excited about keeping up with their new adventures.

The two best parts of this week

2011-02-17T16:35:00.004-06:00

It was WARM! Like, in the 50s and 60s warm. :) Here's the snow mountain today. It really shows how solid it was since it's been above freezing for almost the whole week, and it still hasn't melted completely. And yes, those are huge chunks of our yard in it. Our neighbor on the bulldozer got a little carried away with the snow plowing, but at least we didn't have to do it, right?
We got a new couch for our guest room. We had an inflatable queen size bed, but it sprung a leak this summer and couldn't be patched. We've been avoiding putting an actual bed in that room because the room is small and Darby uses it as his music room. Darby's mom suggested a pull-out couch. And, since my ACU roommate and BFF Brittany is coming to visit in March (yay!), we had the push we needed to get it done. So, tax refund in hand, we headed to Ashley and got ourselves a sleeper sofa. I think it looks very nice in the room.

You know you've been together a long time when...

2011-02-14T08:55:00.003-06:00

you have to put back half the Valentine's cards you pick up at the store because you've already given them in previous years. Seriously, why can't Hallmark make some new cards?!?
your big Valentine's date involves going to an early dinner, then going home to play a game and work on homework.
you can admit to your honey that you don't feel like you have time to make the special Valentine's dessert that you were planning on, and he knows just what to say to make you feel ok about it.

So thankful to be celebrating my 10th(!) Valentine's Day with my wonderful husband. This past week has been pretty stressful with school/work stuff, and he has kept me sane, as always. I'm reminded every day how blessed I am to share my life with him.

I wonder...

2011-02-04T16:46:00.002-06:00

how long it will take that pile of snow to melt completely? Considering the expected high for the next 10 days is no higher than 33, I'm thinking it might be March. Sigh.

We had a snow day on Wednesday, and it was wonderful. Although I'm a bit jealous of all of our Texas friends and their four snow days. I know, I know, no salt trucks or plows. Blah, blah, blah. But let me tell you, the roads aren't great here. Notice our snow/ice-covered street in the picture above (taken today, 3 days after the storm). But you're just expected to drive on it. In fact, I think the city just relies on the fact that people will drive on the roads and keep them from freezing over completely. Wah! Not fair! Only 2 more winters after this one, only 2 more winters after this one...

Goodbye, cable (for real this time).

2011-01-29T22:13:00.004-06:00

Well, it happened. The cable we had been getting free for over a year finally went away. No, Comcast still never came and unhooked it. But, they changed all their channels to digital, so you can't get them unless you have the box.

The pain has been lessened by the fact that we now have Netflix streaming on our Wii. It's incredible. Darby and I have watched all of the seasons of 30 Rock, Seasons 1-4 of Psych, and are now starting Season 1 of Friday Night Lights. We do work on homework while we watch, so it's ok, right?

The loss of TLC and HGTV were a pretty big blow for me, but I've consoled myself by watching previous seasons of 17/18 Kids and Counting, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and Say Yes to the Dress. Pretty high-brow, I know. I console myself with the fact that I have stayed strong this year and avoided any episodes of The Bachelor. Baby steps. ;)

First week

2011-01-21T16:36:00.002-06:00

Well, the first week of the semester was a little rough. Classes were fine, but I had a nasty cold, and the weather was not cooperating at all. For the first time, I literally walked to school in the snow. (Well, walked to and from the bus stop.) It snowed ALL DAY yesterday, so no one had shoveled because it was pointless. So I trudged through a good four inches of snow and slush. Good thing I have my fake Uggs. I swore I'd never wear those, but then I moved to the Arctic Tundra and, in my regular boots, the cold was seeping through the soles and making my feet ache, so I gave in and bought some. And oh.my.gosh. they are the most comfortable things I've ever put on my feet. And oh so warm. I never want to take them off. I even wear them around the house with my pajamas. :) It was sunny today, but COLD. Darby asked me to check the temperature this morning, so I went to weather.com and just started laughing. It was -5 with a windchill of -18. There are really only two choices in that situation: laugh or cry. Then, Darby checked the weather thing on his computer, and it said -11 with a windchill of -28. I chose to believe the more optimistic forecast. I survived thanks to multiple layers and the hand warmers from my stocking.

So, it wasn't the best week, but I survived, and I'm looking forward to a much better second week. And reeeaallly looking forward to Spring.

On Domesticity

2011-01-15T12:27:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, I have long considered myself a feminist. However, my interests seem to lean decidedly to the "unfeminist" side of things. I enjoy cooking, entertaining, and crafts, and I plan to be a stay-at-home mom to some degree when I do have kids. In my mind, feminism and domesticity are not antithetical. As my family has heard me say over and over: "I cook because I want to, not because I have to." But, I still sometimes feel a bit uneasy, like maybe I'm not a real feminist.

And then, on a whim, I picked up The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. It's a beautiful book filled with photographs and musings on baking, quilting, crocheting, and in general, the simple pleasures of home. The author was educated at the height of the second-wave feminist movement in the 1970s, and domesticity was strongly discouraged. So she entered the corporate world, but always secretly enjoyed the projects she did at home. When her husband got a job in Germany and she found out she was expecting twins, she decided to become a full-time homemaker. Here's what she said about her decision:

Full-blown domesticity was now finally forced upon me and I admit I gave in willingly. Instead of fighting the glaringly anachronistic corporate-wife lifestyle, I realized I didn't have to kowtow to that particular set of expectations. Instead, I saw that enforced domesticity could be tremendously liberating and would allow me to do all the things I had loved for so long and yet had felt guilty about practicing. Knitting, baking, buying flowers and bread, exploring a different domestic culture, reading the Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell--all this suddenly became worthwhile, and a way of being me in the face of impending motherhood and, that dreadful label, a trailing spouse.

Reading this, I felt like someone finally expressed my thoughts on the subject of homemaking, albeit much more eloquently. Now, I am not nearly as accomplished a domestic artist as Ms. Brocket (namely, I don't sew in any form). But, I do enjoy being at home more than anything else. And I'm glad to see a departure from the view that being a feminist means you must be a (preferably single) businesswoman.

If you're interested in baking, sewing, design, or looking at pretty things, I'd highly recommend this book. It's not a "craft book," that is, it does not give directions for craft projects. But it's a great source of inspiration and a fascinating reflection on why the "gentle arts" are so appealing.

Goal Update

2011-01-05T15:02:00.005-06:00

I figured the first of the year would be a good time to evaluate my progress toward my "26 before 26" goals. I must admit I haven't made quite as much progress as I would have liked. School took up a lot of my time in the fall, and frankly, I just didn't make these a priority. But, I'm still committed, and I'm going to do better from now until June.

Finish couch-to-5K. I got up to 2 miles continuously before I kind of quit. I've been doing workout videos at home instead. But I'll get back on it.
Take and pass at least one of my seven comprehensive exams. This should happen in April or May.
Finish my shelf of unread books. I'm down to 3! But, I brought back a bunch more books from home, so it's starting all over. :)
Lose 5 lbs. and maintain it. Haven't really tried. I'm starting for real now.
Take at least 100 pictures. By this, I meant 100 pictures that I could frame if I wanted to (my standards aren't that high). The cruise helped a little, but I need to stay on it.
Finish my one-year Bible. Getting there slowly but surely
Make it through my housecleaning checklist. Ha! Pretty much haven't started this one.
Make cheese. Not yet.
Come up with at least 2 healthy vegetarian meals that Darby and I actually enjoy. Not yet.
Start my personal Happiness Project. Not so much, but I am a happier person in general now.
Go to three events at the U of I. We've been to 1.
Make crepes. Not yet.
Reduce our monthly gift budget. We squeaked by just under budget for gifts for the year, but I think I can still do better.
Go to St. Louis (for real this time). We went to the Arch when we had a 5-hour layover while riding the train. And I think we maybe decided we've now seen enough of St. Louis. :)
Save an average of 25% on every grocery shopping trip. So far, so good. My current average is 33%.
Take a Spanish class. I finished this. It was fun, but a little too easy. I'm looking for an advanced Spanish class next.
Make homemade tortillas. Not yet.
Initiate plans with friends twice per month. I think I've done this
Whittle "to try" recipes saved online to 200 (currently at 272). I'm down to 234!
Redesign my blog. Obviously haven't done this.
Read 3 faith-related books. I've read 1.
Plan an event for our college group. Not yet.
Stay in better touch with my sister and brother. I still need to do better on this one.
Watch at least 4 football games on TV. Done. And it was fun! I'm not sure I'm a die-hard fan, but I like it.
Become a Conversation Partner. Done! And we're going to continue this semester.
Spend no more than 1 hour per day on the Internet (unless it's for work, school, or personal finance reasons). Hmmmm...some days are better than others. This is an ongoing process.

Cruisin'

2011-01-03T22:33:00.003-06:00

We made it back to Illinois last night after a long day of traveling. It was such a great trip, but it is nice to be back in my own bed.

For our Christmas gift this year, my parents treated all of us kids to a cruise. And to make it even better, Darby's parents came, too. (And we are really grateful to Darby's parents for chipping in so Darby and I could have our own room; otherwise, we were going to be divided girls and boys.) We all had a great time; besides the little stomach bug I caught at the very end of the trip, it was a week full of fun and relaxation.

We left Galveston on Sunday on the Voyager of the Seas. It was a little bit chilly for the first couple of days, but we had fun playing games, watching the shows, and, of course, eating.

Our first stop was Cozumel. Dad and I went to a Mexican cuisine cooking workshop. Because there was an open bar (which Dad and I took full advantage of--ha!), there were no knives allowed. So it was less of a cooking class and more of an "assembling" class, but it was still a lot of fun, and the food was yummy. I also got a huuuge bottle of cheap Mexican vanilla. Woo-hoo!

Our instructor taught us some cool decorating tricks. Here's my attempt. I think with a little more practice, I'll get better.

Dad and me in our awesome chef hats.

Our second stop was Roatan, Honduras. It was absolutely beautiful. Darby, Matt, and I went to a wildlife preservation park where you could hold monkeys and macaws. I passed on the monkeys, but, as you'll see below, I did hold a bird. Afterwards, we laid on the beach for an hour or so.

Matt

Darby

Darby and me

Finally, we went to Belize. Our whole family went ziplining, which was awesome and a little bit scary. Unfortunately, the camera with the zipline pictures on it was lost, so you'll just have to imagine how ridiculous I looked.

Dinnertime was so fun, since the whole gang got to eat together. Our waiter, John, was strictly business. He was training a new waiter, Mu, who was obviously very nervous but so sweet. We celebrated New Year's Eve on the ship. There was a huge balloon drop on the main deck. I couldn't get any good pictures because it was dark, but it was pretty cool.

The Anderson fam on the second formal night. (Hannah's boyfriend Jeremy was taking this picture. I'm so glad he was able to come. It was good to get to know him better.)

The Hewitts on the first formal night.

It was a great trip, and I'm so grateful to both of our families for treating us. So many people that we told about our trip couldn't believe that our families could get along well enough to go on a cruise together. I guess it is kind of an unusual situation; we are very blessed.

2010-12-25T21:37:00.002-06:00

Highlights since we began our trip last Thursday:

Staying in a beautiful cabin in Carbondale and enjoying a relaxing time with Darby between the stress of school and the (good) craziness of our Christmas trip.
Seeing Kalyn and BJ and holding sweet baby Shepherd in Kentucky.
Spending time with all the Arkansas cousins, but especially Alison and Joey, who let us stay at their apartment and kick their butts at Mario Kart. :)
Meeting Jeremy and Janice for lunch at Gloria's in Dallas.
Many delicious meals and chats with Darby's parents.
Meeting Brittany and Erin at Magnolia Cafe in Austin for dinner and a long chat.
Trading in books at our favorite used bookstore, Book Rack.
Staying up late playing Settlers of Catan and Dominion with Hannah and Matt.
Dinner, dessert, and gifts with our family friends the Joneses and Hasslers. We've been getting together with them since I was a toddler.
Getting a pedicure with my sister. We both got like a 20-minute foot and leg massage. It was awesome!
Making cake balls with my mom.
Watching this video dozens of times and cracking up. It might be a "have to be there" type thing, but my family is now obsessed with saying "I like turtles."
Christmas dinner at La Fiesta and gift-opening with my family.
Time with the frousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma in Dallas. We had some intense CatchPhrase games.
Exchanging gifts with Darby's parents tonight.

Whew. Now that I wrote it all out, it seems like a lot to cram in to 10 days, and I guess it has been busy. But it's been super-fun and fairly relaxing, too. Now, we're getting ready to leave on our CRUISE!! I'm so psyched!

I love everything about the Christmas season: the food, the decorations, the gifts, the shopping, etc. And I don't think it's bad to enjoy those things. But I also want to be sure I take time to remember what's behind the sparkly lights and shiny paper, the true wonder of Christmas. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

To 15-year-old Kayla

2010-12-20T09:41:00.003-06:00

I really like the second part of this prompt, so I'm going to focus on that.

December 21. Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?) (Author: Jenny Blake)

Dear Kayla,

I'm writing this to you from the year 2010, at age 25. First of all, let me say that 25 will not seem nearly as old when you actually get to it. :)

If I could give you only one piece of advice, it would be: stop worrying. So many things that seem like a big deal now will not matter at all in 10 years. I know that's hard to believe, but if you can believe it, it will save you so much heartache.

Stop caring so much about what other people think of you. Ten years from now, you will not wish you had been more popular; you will wish you had been more confident. Be kind to the "weird" kids. When you're 25, you'll see the way teenagers treat outsiders, and it will make you so angry. You'll be ashamed to know that, when you were in their shoes, you didn't act much better.

Stop worrying so much about the future. I don't want to ruin it for you, but I don't think you would be able to guess right now who you're married to, where you're living, and what you're doing (and have done) at age 25. Everything will work out. In fact, much of it has worked out in spite of your planning, not because of it. So, relax a little.

When people say high school is the best time of your life, they're either lying or they have a pretty lame life. You'll have a lot of good times during the rest of high school, but don't be discouraged if these years seem difficult. The best is definitely yet to come.

Love,
Kayla

Moment and Wisdom

2010-12-12T07:48:00.003-06:00

Here's a couple more Reverb prompts.

Dec. 3. Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

Hmmm...this is a tough one. I'm not sure if the moment I'm about to describe is the one in which I felt most alive, but it is a small moment that has stayed with me.

One afternoon in October, I was walking home from the bus stop. It was a beautiful sunny fall day, and I was admiring the orange and red leaves of the trees against the bright blue sky. All of a sudden, this verse popped into my head: "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1). Now, that hasn't been one of my favorite verses, and I hadn't been reading Psalms at the time. I really felt like it was God who gave me that verse in that moment to remind me that I should be praising him for the beauty that surrounds me. I don't have those feelings very often; I have a very intellectual faith. So, I am always grateful when I feel like I have those reassurances of God's presence.

Dec. 10. Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

I think the wisest decision I made in 2010 was to apply to graduate school. Now, I sort of made this decision in 2009. But, the process didn't end until 2010, so I'm counting it. It's my blog; I can do what I want to. ;) The decision was a tough one for me. I went back and forth about what I wanted to do; my confidence had been shaken by my denial the previous time I had applied (for a different program); I had to really push to get all of my application materials in on time. But here's the part of the decision where I think wisdom came into play: I really wondered, "Is it even worth it to go back to school?" Because, when I have children, I plan to stay at home at least at first. So I might not have the opportunity to use my degree in the traditional sense for very long before I become a stay-at-home mom. But I finally came to the realization that I need to make the best decision for my life now because I just don't know what the future will bring. We might not be able to have children. I might stay home for a while and decide I want to go back to work. We might not be in a financial position for me to stay at home. I decided I can't let what might or might not happen in the future prevent me from being happy now. (Obviously this position can be taken to the extreme, such as not saving any money, but I'm in much more danger of the other extreme.) I'm so glad I made the decision I did. I love what I'm doing now. And, I'm realizing that there are a lot of opportunities for part-time ESL teaching and tutoring. So, it will be a great career to have if and when I have children.

One Word

2010-12-07T21:21:00.003-06:00

So, I recently found out about an online project called Reverb '10, which encourages bloggers to reflect on the past year and think about what's ahead by answering daily prompts for the entire month of December. Now, I think it's more of a project for serious writers, which, obviously, I am not. But I'm a sucker for self-reflection (and predetermined blog topics). So I thought I'd take a look at a few of the prompts.

December 1. One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)

I think my one word for 2010 would be "purpose". Starting graduate school has really helped me feel that my life has a specific purpose again. I really missed that feeling.

Also, I feel like I really strove to live more purposefully in general in 2010. I set a lot of goals for myself, and I accomplished quite a few of them. One thing I'm really trying to be mindful of is that I have control over my time. I'm trying to eliminate the phrase, "I don't have time" from my vocabulary. Because, really, we all make time for the things we want to do. And I don't think there's anyone who doesn't spend at least some time each week watching TV, playing video games, or browsing the Internet. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it just proves the inaccuracy of the "I don't have time" excuse. A more accurate expression is, "I'm choosing not to spend my time that way." Just my little soapbox for the day. ;)

I would like for my word for 2011 to be "contentment." I want to spend less time complaining and more time being grateful for the blessings I have. I want to continue to set goals for myself and achieve them but also remember that my life is fulfilling even if I don't cross everything off my "to cook" list and I have to run around frantically cleaning up every time someone's coming over.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-06T09:25:00.004-06:00

Well, we're in the full Christmas spirit at our house. When we got back from Texas, we put up our tree and other decorations. After Christmas last year, we brought back Darby's nutcracker collection, so we were able to display those this year. I think they look great on our ledge.

It is looking very Christmasy outside, too. This weekend, we got about 8 inches of snow (they had predicted 1–3). The snow is pretty, and we can actually enjoy it as we haven't had to live with it for very long yet. It is VERY cold (highs around 20 and strong north winds). This is the first winter that I've actually had to spend much time outside. Even with triple layers on, it's a very cold walk to the bus stop. I'm surviving, though.

Last night, we hosted a little Christmas party for our ACU group. After Christmas last year, Debby and I went shopping and she bought me these adorable Christmas plates, so I needed an excuse to use them. :) I fixed a few appetizers and desserts, and it was a lot of fun.

The boys: Austin, Daniel, Darby

The girls: Me, Liz, Erin

Thankful Wrap-Up

2010-11-28T21:47:00.003-06:00

Well, we made it back to Urbana this afternoon. It was a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break. Now, we just have 3 weeks until we head back to Texas for Christmas! :)

I really enjoyed focusing on thankfulness this month, and I think it did help me appreciate the holiday in a deeper way. I'll wrap up the last few days of thankfulness in this one post (since I don't seem to do too well at posting everyday).

I'm thankful for:

Being able to see Darby's brother Jeff and his wife and two sons. We don't see them very often, so it was nice to be able to spend some time together. Darby's nephews, Josh and Joey, just adore him, and it's fun to see him play with them.
Darby's grandpa, Elmer. He came down to Waco for a couple of days, so we were able to talk with him some. He is 90 years old but seems much younger. He goes on trips all the time with an LCU alumni group. I got to see pictures from his most recent trips to Philadelphia/Niagara Falls and Alaska. He is such an interesting person, and I really hope Darby inherits his genes so he'll live to at least 90. :)

My wonderful high school girlfriends. I had coffee with Jessica and Whitney on Friday night. I love that we are able to maintain our friendship even though we don't see or even talk to each other all that often. It's so nice to catch up on each others' lives, but I really appreciate that we can move beyond small talk and share stories about the difficulty of making friends, the challenges of supporting significant others through grad school, and post-college job disillusionment. That makes it sound like we're all really depressed people; we're not! It's just nice to have people that you know you can be open with. Hopefully, I'll be able to see Krista and Stephanie at Christmas.
The news that my cousin Amy is expecting her first baby in June! For her whole life, Amy has dreamed of being a mom. She used to carry around Matt like a baby when he was far too old to be carried. I'm so excited for her and her husband, Matthew, and I can't wait to have a new little frousin around!
Being able to see our friend Jon, who just returned from Marine boot camp, tonight. He's been gone for 16 weeks and will be gone off and on for the next few months, then he and Katy will move to Massachusetts for 7 months, and then who knows where. :( I'm so glad we made it back in time to see him and hear about some of his boot camp experiences. I know he and Katy are going to do great things wherever they end up, but we sure will miss them here.

Since I tried to be timely with my Thanksgiving posts, there are some things I didn't mention. I'm thankful for all of my extended family: my Grandma Katherine, my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I'm thankful for our church family and all of our friends. I'm thankful for our health and our financial security. I think it's wonderful that I have too many things to be thankful for; I can't get to them all in one month!

Of course, I could write for pages about how thankful I am for my family and Darby's family. Every time we go home, we are reminded of how truly blessed we are. We love spending time with our families. And, even though I mentioned him once before, I feel like I should emphasize how incredibly grateful I am for Darby. I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure he's the best husband in the world.

Thankful #24

2010-11-24T23:01:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my sister, Hannah. She got in to Waco today, and I was so excited to see her. When we had dinner with my family on Tuesday night before she got here, Darby commented, "Your house was kind of quiet tonight." We realized it was because Hannah wasn't there. :) We make fun of her quite a bit, but she does bring a lot of fun and excitement to our family. There's never a dull moment with Hannah, and I like that. I'm really looking forward to our annual sisters shopping day on Friday!

Thankful #23

2010-11-24T13:34:00.003-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my brother, Matt. He got into town yesterday, so we were able to eat dinner, chat, and play games with him last night. He's a junior at ACU, and it's been so fun to see the age gap seem to narrow as we've gotten older. 4 years seemed like a lot when I was 18 and he was 14, for example. But now, it really doesn't seem to matter too much. I really enjoy talking with him, and I'm excited to see the great things he accomplishes as he gets older. He wants to be a youth minister, and I know he's going to be an awesome one!

Thankful #22

2010-11-22T22:18:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my hometown. Waco really was a great place to grow up. I love coming home to visit---brings back a lot of good memories. This town just feels comfortable to me.

Today, Darby's mom had to work, and Darby and his dad went to the shooting range, so I went to my parents' house to hang out with my mom for a little while. I took Darby's old car (which now belongs to his dad). As I was driving the familiar route between Darby's parents' house and my parents' house, I thought about how crazy it was that for years I used to ride as a passenger in that car with Darby when we were dating. And now I'm his wife, and I'm a part of his family, and they let me borrow their cars. I can't explain it very well. Going home always makes me realize how far our relationship has come. The setting is so similar to what it was 9 years ago, but our relationship is so different. I'm so glad we made it through the somewhat tumultuous early years. No matter what had happened, I'm sure Darby and I would each return to our hometown often. I'm glad we get to go back home together.

Thankful #20 & 21

2010-11-21T20:18:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my in-laws. They came to pick us up from the train station this afternoon, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at home (very welcome after a day in which I ate only mini bagels, Cheez-Its, and a Fiber One granola bar), and now we're relaxing watching "Undercover Boss." I'm looking forward to spending the next few days with them.

I'm also thankful that I survived my first long-distance train ride. 21 hours on a train is quite a long time! :) But, I got in plenty of reading and some sleep, so it wasn't too bad.

Thankful #18 & 19

2010-11-19T16:41:00.001-06:00

Today, I'm thankful that I'm off of school until Nov. 29th!

And, I'm super super thankful that we're leaving for Texas TOMORROW!

Thankful #17

2010-11-17T21:20:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my parents. Obviously, I'm thankful for them every day. But I got to talk to them both this evening, which was great. They both called separately to check on me because they had seen my post yesterday where I said I was sick. It's nice to be taken care of, even as an adult. :) And I'm so excited to see them in just a few days for Thanksgiving!

Thankful #15 & 16

2010-11-16T20:57:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my sweet husband who takes care of me when I'm not feeling well. I have a little cold, and I'm blogging from bed, because Darby insisted I not work on any homework and go straight to bed. This was after he made me hot chocolate and helped me not to feel guilty about skipping my Spanish class. :)

I'm also thankful because I finished one of my major semester projects this evening. That's a big weight off my shoulders!

Thankful #13 & 14

2010-11-14T21:25:00.002-06:00

Today, I am thankful for answered prayers. I just found out some good news about a person I'd been praying for for a long time. I won't share the news because it's not mine to share, but I have been thanking God since I found out.

I'm also thankful for the opportunity I had to talk to my friend Laura on the phone last night. Laura and I worked together at ACU and became good friends during that time. Every so often (I wish it could be more often), we have marathon phone conversations to catch up on each others' lives. I love our talks and am so thankful that Laura makes an effort to keep in touch with me. We have now been friends in separate states much longer than we were friends in the same city, and, happily, time and distance have not hurt our friendship (although I'd love to be in the same city again!).

Thankful #11 & 12

2010-11-12T11:18:00.001-06:00

Ack! I can't keep up! :) I seriously think about posting every day, but then I forget when I get home.

Today, I'm thankful for my Secret Sister. The women at church did this thing where we were assigned a secret sister who we gave little gifts and cards to. On Thursday night, we had the "reveal" at Olive Garden. The woman who had me was out of town and couldn't be there, but it was still fun to get to talk to all of the other women. My secret sister gave me some really neat gifts and wrote very encouraging notes. It was a fun program; we're going to do it again in the spring, so I'm excited.

I'm also thankful for my conversation partner. We meet every Wednesday and talk for an hour, so that she can improve her English. She is so sweet, and I really enjoy talking with her. This past week, we went and got Custard Cup and then walked around the park while we talked. It was a beautiful day, and we had such a good time.

Thankful #8, 9, 10

2010-11-10T09:05:00.003-06:00

Oops. I got a little behind on my thankfulness! So I'll do three today.

Today, I'm thankful for:

Sunshine. We've been having beautiful sunny days, and I'm just soaking it in. The time change has been a little easier to handle this year. I still don't like that it gets dark at 5 p.m., but at least I am able to be outside some during the day to enjoy the sunlight.
Temperatures in the 70s. In November!! It's awesome!
Cell phones. Isn't it amazing that we can talk to/text friends and family basically whenever we want? It makes being far away sooo much easier.

Thankful #7

2010-11-07T21:07:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for Sundays. They are always such a wonderful day. Today was especially so because my friend from school came to church with us, and then our preacher and his wife treated the three us to the brunch buffet at Silvercreek. If you live in C-U and you've never been to Silvercreek on Sunday, you have to go. There is so. much. food. And it's all delicious. They have both breakfast and lunch items, plus dessert. After brunch, we came home for our requisite Sunday afternoon nap and then headed to our small group. We reformulated our small groups this semester, and it's been fun to get to know some new people. After small group, it was home for some episodes of 30 Rock, housecleaning, and homework. A good day.

Thankful #6

2010-11-06T22:17:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for an extra hour of sleep tonight. :)

A funny story related to this: When I was little, I always heard people making such a big deal about an extra hour of sleep. So, I got the impression that the extra hour of sleep occurred every night between "fall back" and "spring forward." I would wake up every day thinking, "Wow, I feel so rested!" I don't remember how old I was when I finally figured out that we only got an extra hour that one night, but it was much too old, I'm sure. I wish I could convince myself that was true again, though. I'd love to feel extra rested every day.

Thankful #5

2010-11-05T22:09:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for new friends. I feel like it has taken a while, but I'm finally getting to know some of my classmates better. Our program is really neat because we're divided into two cohorts, and we take classes with the same people every semester. So, I'm glad I'm starting to make connections because I'll be with the same people for the next two years!

Thankful #4

2010-11-04T21:25:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for my house. I still remember how excited I felt when we saw it for the first time on the day we moved in. And for those first few months, I would just walk around thinking, "I can't believe we live here." After our tiny apartment in Abilene, it felt like a mansion! But now that I'm used to it, I catch myself saying, "I wish we had a bigger living room," or "It'd be nice to have an island." And, sure, it would be great to have those things, and I'm sure we will at some point in our lives. But I don't want to let wishing for that make me take for granted what we have now. Because what we have now is awesome! :)

Thankful #3

2010-11-03T18:38:00.002-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for things that keep me warm on cold days: my coat, my heater, my garage, coffee, and Panera soup in a bread bowl. :) I think about people that can't even afford a coat, and here I am with coats to spare, not to mention a centrally-heated house. I complain about the cold quite a bit, but really, I don't have much to complain about.

Thankful #2

2010-11-02T15:43:00.003-06:00

Oops! Already messed up. Forgot to post anything yesterday. I had to backdate this one. :)

Today, I'm thankful for old friends. On the first of each month, I send an update e-mail to all of the Fat Tuesday girls. Each person hits "Reply All" and sends their own update. It's so fun to hear what everybody's doing. I'm thankful that, even though we're spread out across 4 states, we can keep in touch easily. We're planning a reunion for June, and I'm so excited!

Thankful #1

2010-11-01T18:08:00.002-06:00

Well, Halloween's over. So you know what that means?? It's officially the holiday season! I absolutely love Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year I want to really try to slow down and focus more on the "reason for the season." I don't know if it's friends having babies or just turning the ripe old age of 25, but I've really been thinking a lot lately about what I want life to look like when Darby and I have children. I definitely want to find ways to emphasize the religious parts of holidays, not just food and gifts (although I looooove food and gifts!). And, I thought, the best way to do that is to start now, in my own life, so that it's natural for me to pass that on to my children some day. (Now, passing on good eating habits is another story . . . )

So, I really want to try to focus on being thankful this month. God has blessed my life so immensely. I try to remember to be thankful all of the time, but Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to practice gratitude even more. I'm going to try to post every day this month with a different thing I'm thankful for (whether big or little).

Today, I'm thankful for the opportunity to be in school. These past couple of weeks have been kind of stressful, but even in the midst of that, I wake up every day so happy. I love my classes, and I really think ESL teaching is going to be a great career for me. For the 3-1/2 years after I graduated college, I really struggled, feeling like I had no purpose. I still wish I had decided what I wanted to do earlier, but I am grateful for that time because it helped me really appreciate this opportunity. I don't think I would have such a positive attitude about schoolwork if I hadn't seen the alternative. I want to remember to be thankful for this every day for the next two years.

Hurry up, November 2nd

2010-10-28T15:56:00.003-05:00

I am so tired of political commercials! I don't know if it's as bad everywhere as it is here, but literally every other commercial is a political ad, and 95% of them are negative. I have no idea what any of the candidates' platforms are; all I know is that, according to their opponents, every single person running for office in Illinois is a selfish, lying idiot (which may be the truth...it is Illinois). My favorites are the ones that say "Alexi Giannoulias, U.S. Senator...You've got to be kidding!" and one that says "Bill Brady...Who is this guy?" The commercials basically imply that anyone who would even consider voting for these people is a complete idiot. Alexi is a Democrat, and Bill is a Republican, so this is on both sides. I used to be a big proponent of exercising our right to vote, but I'm just so fed up, I don't even care any more. Any candidate who would allow these negative ads to run would not make a good leader, in my opinion, so that rules out almost everybody. Is anyone else super frustrated with this whole process?

"Master" Darby

2010-10-17T22:13:00.004-05:00

Well, I feel bad because I kind of let this slip through the cracks, but Darby got his master's degree in August. It's kind of a weird situation. For Ph.D. students, at least in Electrical Engineering at the U of I, the master's degree is just not that big of deal. Many programs don't even require a master's for students who are pursuing a Ph.D., so this program is unusual. Darby decided not to walk for his master's because August graduates have to walk the next May. Besides it being so far away, it's kind of anticlimactic to go from your graduation ceremony straight back to your lab to continue working.

But, I realized, this is crazy! A master's degree at all is a big deal. And, in a very difficult program . . . that's huge! Darby got his diploma in the mail a couple of weeks ago and we got it framed, so I thought this would be the perfect time to post about his accomplishment. I am so incredibly proud of him. He is such a hard worker and has done so well with his research. In all honesty, I thought grad. school would be much more difficult for our marriage than it has been (I say this realizing we still have 3 intense years ahead of us). I'm very thankful that, in the midst of school stresses and worries, Darby sees our relationship as a blessing rather than another demand. I've never (ok, rarely) doubted where I rank in his priorities. I am so proud to be his wife, always, and especially when I see him achieve something he's worked so hard for. Next stop: Dr. Darby! :)

Frousin Wedding Weekend

2010-10-12T22:50:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, I went to Boulder, Colorado, for my cousin John's wedding. We call our cousins "frousins" (friend + cousin). This was the first time that all of the frousins had been together in probably 10 years. Sadly, I don't think anyone got a picture of all of us together. :(

It was a beautiful wedding (if a bit chilly), and it was wonderful to see all of my family. Our new frousin, Melanie, is very sweet and I'm so happy for her and John.

Melanie and John. John's dad (my Uncle Gary) performed the ceremony, and it was very personal and sweet.

Me, Matt, and Hannah. This is not a very good picture of me, but it's the best one I got of the three of us. Darby couldn't come because of school. I missed him a lot, but it was kind of fun to share a hotel room with my mom, dad, sister, and brother again. It was just like old times, especially since Hannah and I shared a bed.

Me and Amy at the reception. The food was delicious, and all of us frousins had a great time dancing together. We're kind of crazy (it even rubs off on me a little).

Hannah and Gavin, my cousin Faith's son. I really like the tuxedo/bottle look. You can't tell from this picture, but he is just the sweetest, happiest little guy. He loves to be tickled and zerberted(?) and has a precious little giggle.

Update

2010-09-27T15:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last posted. The great thing about being in school is that the weeks really fly by. The semester is already a third over---crazy! Here's a little update on what I've been doing for the past few weeks:

Taking a Spanish class through the adult education center. It's so fun! The teacher is a middle-school Spanish teacher and has a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I haven't seriously practiced my Spanish in years, so this has been great.
Meeting with my conversation partner. She's a Korean woman who has three teenage children. We get together every Wednesday at a coffee shop to chat for an hour. It's been very fun to get to know her, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how her English improves throughout the semester.
Not cooking. :( Having class until 6:30 on Tuesday and Thursday, and events on Monday and Wednesday evenings has really cut into my cooking time. We've been eating out a little more, and I've been making a lot of easy stuff like sandwiches, pasta, salads, pancakes, etc. I miss cooking nice meals, but this is just the way it has to be right now.
Eating my candy corn and drinking my pumpkin spice lattes. Mmmm...fall!
Watching 30 Rock. On a recommendation from my friend Erin, Darby and I decided to rent the first season. We had occasionally caught parts of episodes on TV and always found it kind of annoying. I'm so glad we decided to give it a chance. It's hilarious! I laugh out loud multiple times per episode. We're almost done with Season 2 now.

2010-09-15T09:59:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I went to Kentucky for my friend Kalyn's baby shower. She's expecting a little boy on October 20th. This was the first time I had seen her during her pregnancy. She was adorable! I'm so excited for her and her husband, BJ.

Even 8 months pregnant, Kalyn was the perfect hostess. She fixed 3 delicious meals and a great apple dessert. We spent hours and hours talking, which is always fun.

She got a lot of great gifts at the shower---lots of little boy clothes. So cute! I can't wait to meet the little guy and hold him. Darby and I are going to try to see them on our way south for Christmas. I'm glad we live within driving distance of each other, so that I can experience this exciting time with her.

Isn't she precious? Still so little except for the belly.

The cake at Kalyn's shower was so cute! It was made by an amateur baker. Wow.