Back to School!

I start classes on Monday, and I could not be more excited! I got to go school supply shopping, which I love. I'm all set with my Pilot Precise V5 pens, a 3-subject notebook (hot pink, what else?), and a very cute messenger bag from Target. I did a practice bus ride with Darby on Monday morning. Riding the bus makes me very nervous. If it's late at all, I worry that I missed it; I start getting so nervous when it's time to pull the cord for my stop—what if I pull it too early or too late?; and I cannot read the bus schedule to save my life. Good thing I have Darby. :) Despite my efforts to push it out of my mind, I've even been worrying about what to wear. I guess no matter how old I get or how many times I start a new school or job, there will always be a little of that 14-year-old girl in me, wondering whether her clothes are "cool" enough and nervous that she won't have anyone to talk to. (Thankfully, there's just a little of her in there; I'm much more self-confident than I was at 14—much.) Anyway, I'm just so grateful that I have this opportunity to go back to school (remind me of that in 3 months when I'm stressing about tests and papers)!

Darby's parents came to visit last Tuesday. Darby and I had to work on Wednesday and Thursday, but we were able to enjoy dinner and relaxing time in the evenings. And to keep herself occupied during the day, Debby stocked my freezer with her famous crescent rolls. Yum! On Thursday evening, we drove up to Lombard, a suburb of Chicago. We had dinner at a Weber Grill restaurant. Their pretzel rolls are delicious!

On Friday, we rode the train into the city. If you're counting, this was mine and Darby's fourth trip to Chicago in five months! We're practically locals. ;) Debby planned some really neat excursions for us this time. We did an architecture boat tour in the morning and a Segway tour in the afternoon. I had always been curious about Segways, and it was really a lot of fun! It took me a little bit to get the hang of it, but once I did, it was easy. Of course, we had to cross some incredibly busy streets and we got some strange looks and comments, but I figure I'll never see those people again! It was a beautiful day—sunny with highs in the low-80s—a nice break from the multiple 110-heat-index days we had in Champaign last week.

On Saturday morning, John and Debby headed up to Wisconsin and Darby and I came back home. It was wonderful visit; I'm so glad they were able to come.

On house-hunting and marriage

I just had to share this excerpt I read today on A Practical Wedding, a blog that I follow. The writer, Sharon, perfectly describes my feelings toward the concept of soulmates and the role of choice in love. You should really read her entire post, but here's the part that made me tear up a little:

I think dating/deciding to marry is something like deciding to buy a house and make it your home. . . . [Y]ou will see many houses, and most of them will have some aspect of what you want. One will have the gorgeous bay windows and gleaming hardwood floors. Another will have the giant kitchen with the granite countertops. A third will have a turret and built-in shelves. . . . You can see yourself living in all of them. But the day comes when you decide that one house is the one you're going to buy. You move in. You clean. You do a bit of painting. You learn to live with the slight incline in the floors and to jump the creaky step in the staircase. You have dinner parties that last until 2am in this house. You host holidays in this house. You bring your babies back to this house. You could've had any of the houses you looked at, all those years ago. But you chose this one and it's now the only home you can imagine having.

I think this metaphor is so lovely; I wish I had thought of it. You choose to marry someone because you love them. But the very act of choosing, and everything that follows from that choice, helps you to love that person forever, creaky steps and all.

Goodbyes

We had to say goodbye to several people from church this week. Our friend Jon is leaving for Marine boot camp tomorrow. We hosted a going-away party for him last Saturday. We went to Olive Garden, then came back to our house for dessert and games. It was a lot of fun, but we are certainly going to miss him. His wife Katy will be staying here for several months longer, so we don't have to say goodbye to both of them yet. It will be very hard when they move to wherever he is stationed. Why do friends have to pursue their dreams? They should just stay where they are forever. ;)

The group at Olive Garden. Katy & Jon are beside Darby.

Wednesday night was my last time to have my little buddy Torin in the Cradle Roll class. I've been teaching him since he was 4 months old---17 months ago! On Sunday mornings he is our only student, so my co-teacher, Stephanie, and I have gotten to know him very well. It's been so neat to watch him grow from a baby into a little boy. He's incredibly smart; seriously, his vocabulary and ability to put together sentences is equal to many 3- or 4-year-olds. His parents are in our Young Marrieds group, and we will miss their whole family; they are moving to Nebraska. I keep saying that someone at church needs to have a baby, so I'll have a student in Cradle Roll again. But, I'm not volunteering for the job, so I guess I better keep my mouth shut!

BFFs: Whitney

Thanks for the advice on my last post. I did want to emphasize that I am very thankful for the friendships I do have. I have several friends that I know I can call anytime and that really do "get me." It's just that they live hundreds of miles away. And, while long-distance friends are great, and I definitely want to maintain those relationships, sometimes you just want someone within 20 miles, you know?

So, in that spirit, I thought I would do a post about my BFFs over the years. My very first best friend was Whitney. My family moved to Robinson Church of Christ when I was 6, and Whitney and I became fast friends soon after. Looking back, the funniest thing to me about our friendship was that we argued all. the. time. We didn't really get in a lot of fights, per se, just bickered back and forth like an old married couple. But, it didn't stop us from being close friends. I don't know how many nights I spent over at her house. Below are just a few of the quirky things I remember about our relationship.

• When the JCPenney Christmas catalog would come, we would call each other and flip through every page together. We were allowed to pick one item per page. (Not to have, obviously; this was some kind of weird fantasy world.) This wasn't just limited to toys; we'd also pick out women's clothes, men's clothes for our future husbands, everything.
  
• We used to make these crazy concoctions of raw eggs, spices, mayonnaise, basically whatever was in the fridge. Then, I guess we'd just throw it out. Not sure why we thought this was fun, but we loved it.
  
• In the summer, I would go with Whitney to visit her grandmother in Corsicana. We'd swim in her aunt's pool and watch soaps with her grandma. Her grandma was so sweet and would do all of our laundry before we went back home.
  
• After Princess Diana died, we bought all these tabloids and magazines and spent an entire evening reading about it (and looking for pictures of Prince William!)
• We became pen pals (yes, even though we lived in the same town). We would write each other letters and deliver them to church on Sunday. Not sure why we couldn't just tell each other what was in the note. :)
• We loved The Babysitters' Club and read all of the books. My mom took us to Dallas to see Ann M. Martin and get one of our books autographed.

I could go on and on. I have so many precious memories of Whitney. We didn't spend quite as much time together in the later years of high school, but our friendship remained strong. And we argued a lot less ,too! I'll talk more about Whitney when I share about my other best friends from the youth group. I am very blessed to have her a lifelong friend. Even though we don't see each other very often, we can always pick up where we left off. And now, I get to keep up with her through her blog. I love to hear her thoughts on books and Christianity and see how well she and her husband are doing in Ft. Worth.

And now, a little photo trip down memory lane.

Our earliest picture together (that I have). My 8th birthday party. Whitney and I are on the left. Hannah's the dork on the floor. :)

Sleepover at my house. Yes, I believe we are only wearing nightshirts, no shorts. We were very comfortable with each others' families.

Skiing in Monarch, Colorado

Our 14th (me) and 15th (Whitney) birthday party at Whitney's house. Probably way too old for a Veggie Tales theme. :)

Dressed up as Sonny and Cher (or at least our ideas of them) to sing "I've Got You Babe" during karaoke night at our friend Jessica's.

At Whitney's wedding 4(!) years ago. She's married to a great guy, Clint, who's in medical school now.

Happiness Project: Friendships

A few months ago, I shared my thoughts on the book The Happiness Project. I've been thinking off and on ever since about what happiness resolutions I should make in my own life.

One area that I really want to concentrate on is friendships. I am not one of those people that needs a lot of friends; I have always been content with having a few, very close friends. But, I've felt like things have been a little lacking in the friendship department ever since we moved to Illinois. Now, don't get me wrong, I do have several wonderful friends here, and there are a lot of nice, smart, fun people at church. But, I feel like I don't have that one special friend—someone I can talk to about anything for hours, someone I can call any time without worrying I'll bug them, someone who "gets" me.

I have been fortunate enough throughout my life that those types of friendships have just fallen into my lap. But that hasn't happened this time. I'm not sure what it is. Am I being too picky? Am I not trying hard enough? Am I just a complete dork? Just kidding about that last one. Kind of . . . I realize that it probably does become more difficult to make friends once you are out of school, but I know plenty of people who have best friends they met as an adult so it is possible.

After 2 years of throwing myself a little pity party, I've decided that I'm going to have to do my part to be more satisfied with my friendships. I came up with a couple of goals to help me:

• Twice a month, I will initiate plans with friends. I am very guilty of waiting around for someone to call me. I am often reluctant to ask someone to do something, thinking the other person will say yes just to be nice. But, that's ridiculous, and I've got to get over that. If they don't want to hang out, it's their responsibility to say no. And, probably, there are other people like me just waiting for someone to call them, right?
• Once a month, I will call one of my college friends. I'm pretty good about staying in touch with friends via e-mail, facebook, etc., but I think there's something different about a phone call. Any time I talk to one of my friends, I feel so much happier after I hang up. I'm not much of a "phone person," but I think once a month is something anyone should be able to handle.

Ok, everybody, hit me with your best friendship advice. How do you initiate a friendship? If a friendship doesn't immediately "click," how long do you keep trying? How do you keep up with friends from high school, college, etc?

3 years

On Wednesday, Darby and I celebrated our third anniversary. I'm so grateful for another wonderful year together. Our initial transition into married life was smooth, and it has only continued to get better. The longer we are married, the more appreciative I am of all of the little routines and traditions that make up our life together. Obviously, we love taking trips and going out for special occasions, and so forth. But those aren't the norm. The norm is waking Darby up after I get out of the shower, him doing the dishes while I put away leftovers, rushing home after church to start our Sunday afternoon nap, trying to beat each other to the punch on "that's what she said" jokes, kissing Darby goodnight in the office while he works on homework, sitting on the couch playing Dr. Mario, eating way too much ice cream, admiring our work after our Saturday cleaning sessions, Darby coming to meet me in the garage to carry in the groceries, getting up at 5:30 a.m. to eat breakfast together before I go to work at 7, texting each other to say "I need some encouragement" and getting a response 30 seconds later, going to Starbucks to read, working out together, and saying "I love you" twenty times a day.

There's no one else I'd rather share life's little (and big) moments with. I am a blessed woman.

Florida!

We just got back from the second annual Hewitt/Wann 4th of July trip. Last year, we met our friends, Dylan and Andrea, in Nashville. This year, we decided to go to St. Petersburg, FL. The Wanns live in Georgia, so they were able to drive down. Next year, we'll go somewhere near us, like Chicago.

We had a wonderful time! We stayed in a cute little beach house in a town called Pass-a-Grille. We could easily walk to the beach, and our little section wasn't crowded at all. It was a fairly rainy weekend, but that didn't stop us from swimming, looking for shells, and going on a dolphin-watching boat ride. Thankfully, the rain let up long enough for an awesome fireworks show. And, of course, playing games, eating ice cream, and chatting don't depend at all on the weather. And, as you can see from Darby's forehead in the pictures below, we got more than enough sun. :) What you can't tell from the pictures are that my legs got burned completely unevenly. I was sitting cross-legged on the beach reading a book, so only the insides of my legs burned. It looks pretty strange.

Darby and Dylan goofing off in the water. This was the beach right next to our house.

See what I mean about Darby's forehead?

Andrea and Dylan. On the 4th, we grilled out on the porch of our house. We had yummy steak, potato salad, and corn.

Dolphins! About a third of the way through our dolphin boat tour, it started pouring. The lower deck of the boat was covered, but it was easiest to see the dolphins from the uncovered part, so we stood in the pouring rain for about 30 minutes. It was worth it to see the dolphins, but...

we ended up looking like this! The funniest thing was, when we got back to our car, which was parked on the now-deserted beach, we saw two dolphins swimming maybe 30 yards from shore! Oh, well, it was an adventure.

Another year, another great trip. It was so nice to just relax and spend time with our good friends. I wish we lived closer, but living far apart is a good excuse to take mini-vacations together!

Texas Trip: Part 3

We drove back to Waco late Sunday night. On Monday, mom took me to get a pedicure while Darby cleaned out his old bedroom. Tee-hee! That night, both sets of parents took us to Chuy's to celebrate our birthdays. Yummy. Afterward, we ate dessert and opened gifts at my parents' house. My mom made me an Oreo cheesecake, and Darby's mom made him an apple pie. I had a little of each. ;) I got a new wireless printer and Wii Fit for my birthday. They were shipped to our house, since we were flying. My printer came Wednesday, and I love it. I can't wait to get my Wii Fit!

On Tuesday, we headed to the airport---after a healthy breakfast of cheesecake and apple pie. It was such a wonderful, busy trip. I always wish we had more time to spend with everyone, but I'm so thankful that we were able to see so many friends and family.

Now, we're headed to Florida to meet up with some friends from ACU for the holiday weekend. Pictures to come. Have a happy 4th!

Texas Trip: Part 2

We left Dallas Saturday night and drove to my Aunt Lea's house in Abilene. On Sunday morning, we went to church at Westgate, where Darby and I attended for four years. It was wonderful to see everyone again. Darby and I have so many fond memories of Westgate.

After church, we went to lunch with the Ashlocks (our preacher, his wife, and their two kids). Darby and I absolutely love Rodney and Laura, and it was so great to catch up with them. We were close with the Ashlocks' daughter, Bonnie, when we were at Westgate. She's now going into her junior year of high school and is so beautiful and mature. It was fun to see how much she had grown up. All of the kids we knew had grown so much. It was crazy.

Rodney Ashlock, just before performing our wedding

The hostesses at my bridal shower at Westgate: Connie McSherry, Jackie Lee, Sherry Gumm, me, Laura Ashlock, Laura Carroll. I got to see most of these lovely ladies at church on Sunday.

After lunch, Rodney took us on a tour of the new welcome center at ACU. It was beautiful! And, I got to see several people that I had worked with in Student Life and other various on-campus jobs I had as a student. Seeing all of the new students brought back so many good memories. I, of course, got mistaken for an in-coming freshman. Sigh...

Sunday afternoon, I had a chance to chat with my good friend Laura for several hours. It's the longest time we've had face-to-face since I moved, but it still wasn't enough. We could talk for days and probably never run out of things to say. I'm so blessed to have her as a friend. We just "get" each other. I really wish we lived in the same town.

Right before going back to Waco, we went to dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin Robert. I had no idea Rob was going to be in town, so that was a fun surprise. He's moving to New York to go to school in a couple of weeks, and I'm so excited for him. My aunt Lea has always been so generous with letting us stay at her house. (Darby stayed with her many weekends when I was a freshman at ACU.)

It was a crazy 24 hours, but totally worth it. I get so nostalgic when we go back to Abilene. I used to think that I would never want to live there. But now that we've been gone a couple of years, I think I would really enjoy moving back there. I don't know if it's a case of "the grass is always greener" or "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." I know things would be quite different if we lived there and weren't in college. But, it really is a special place. Everyone is connected to everyone somehow, and there are so many Christians! (There are probably more churches of Christ in Abilene than there are churches total in Champaign-Urbana.) Of course there are negatives, as well, but I really get a "warm, fuzzy" feeling when we go back to visit. I just wish it were closer to anything else, so we'd have more excuses to go out there.

Texas Trip: Part One

We flew down to Texas late Wednesday night. Darby's parents picked us up from DFW, and we drove to Waco. On Thursday, we went to our favorite used bookstore, ate out twice, and went to see Toy Story 3 (sooo cute!). Hannah came in Thursday night, so we went over to my parents' house to chat and play games. On Friday, Debby took us to see the recently-opened mammoth fossil site in Waco. It was pretty cool. All of our families ate lunch together, and then Darby and I headed up to Dallas.

We spent the night with my Grandma Katherine and Aunt Katina. Grandma made us a wonderful meal, as usual. On Saturday, we went to the wedding of a good friend of mine from ACU, Carolyn. She married a wonderful guy named Josh. It was a sweet ceremony, and, of course, she looked gorgeous. It was so fun to see all of the Fat Tuesday girls (minus Kalyn, who we all missed terribly!).

Emerald, Brittany, Carolyn, Erin, Me

Darby and Me

Afterwards, we all (minus Carolyn and Josh, of course) went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Yum! Em's daughter, Lily, who's 9 months old, joined us. She is such a little cutie! And so good-natured. She let everyone hold her and play with her and hardly fussed at all.

Lily and Darby

It was so good to see my Fat Tuesday girls. It's getting harder and harder to find time to see each other, what with grad school, jobs, babies, and out-of-state moves. But I hope we always make time to catch up. It's so fun to hear about everyone's lives and see how well everyone is doing. And if the reunion involves cheesecake, then all the better. :)

25

I had a wonderful 25th birthday weekend. On Saturday night, we had a few of our friends over for pizza, cake, and games. I baked the cake and Darby frosted it. It was a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, garnished with Reese's. Darby really liked it, but the taste didn't live up to my expectations. It looked pretty, though!

Darby hard at work. He did an excellent job. He's a much better decorator than I am.

The finished product

We played Catch Phrase and had a wonderful time laughing and talking for hours. We are very blessed to have these friends. We're all in our mid-20s, have been married between one and three years, and are childless. Of course, we enjoy being friends with people who are older, younger, single, parents, etc. But there's something special about spending time with people who are in the same life stage.

The beautiful flowers Katy arranged for me.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Darby took me out to lunch at Olive Garden. And I enjoyed birthday phone calls and cards from many friends and family. It was a wonderful birthday weekend. And Darby and I get to celebrate both our birthdays with our parents when we're at home this week, so the fun isn't over yet!

We had a great time with my parents this weekend. They got in on Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, Dad and Darby took the train to Chicago for the Blues Festival. I had to work, so Mom and I drove up later that evening. We got pizza at Pizzeria Uno (meh) and then walked down to the lake. Mom and I put our feet in the water but immediately regretted it when we had to walk back to our hotel in wet, sandy sandals. :)

On Saturday morning, we got up and ate breakfast at the West Egg Cafe. I had strawberry banana pancakes...yum! While the guys went and listened to more blues, Mom took me shopping! We went to an outlet mall that had an Ann Taylor Factory Store, so I was in heaven. I don't know at what point you're too old for your mom to buy you clothes, but I'm glad I'm not there yet!

For my dad's 50th birthday a few weeks ago, I gave him a certificate for a homemade birthday dinner. I gave him several choices for entree, sides, and dessert, and he could pick his favorites. So on Sunday I made the meal. He chose prosciutto and fontina-stuffed chicken, bacon-wrapped grean beans, grilled corn (which actually ended up being oven-roasted because I ran out of propane), and cherry-o cream cheese pie. I forgot to take a picture of the meal, but here's Mom and Dad eating their pie.

I was sad that I didn't get to be at home to celebrate my dad's 50th birthday, so I was glad we could do something while he was here. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful parents who take time to visit (and pay for everything when they do) and to have a wonderful husband who gets along with family (sometimes better than I do!).

Little fun, big fun

I cannot believe it's already June! It seriously feels like 2010 just started. This summer has been so fun already. Even though Darby and I both work every day, it feels like we have a lot more free time. It's nice to be able to do stuff in the evenings without Darby having to worry about homework. We're enjoying the small pleasures of summer:

• Grilling (hot dogs, corn on the cob, chicken, s'mores)
• Eating at Custard Cup (although, really this is a whenever they're open thing, not a summer thing, but we do sit outside in the summer!)
• Watching the church softball team
• Tuesday night game nights with the Basyes and the Jumpers. Now that LOST is over (don't even get me started on the finale), the group of us that used to watch together gets together to hang out.
• Taking walks. A couple of weeks ago, we walked to the farmer's market and back (about a 4-mile round trip). There are few things that give me more satisfaction than walking somewhere. I enjoy walking anyway, but when you have a specific destination, it's even better.

And, we have quite a few big things to look forward to this summer as well:

• My parents are coming up tomorrow and we're going to Chicago for the weekend. Dad and Darby are going to the Blues Festival, and Mom and I are going to shop. Woo-hoo!
• At the end of June, Darby and I are going to Texas for my friend Carolyn's wedding. While we're down there, we're going to see as many friends and family as possible. Should be fun!
• On the 4th of July weekend, we're going to St. Petersburg, FL, with our friends from ACU, Dylan and Andrea. We've rented a beach house, and I'm so pumped! If there's oil on the beach, oh well. We'll still have fun hanging out, eating at restaurants, etc.
• In August, Darby is a groomsman in his friend Ben's wedding in Hot Springs, AR. They've rented a lakehouse for all the attendants and spouses to stay in for the weekend. Nice!

And, of course, I have a real summer for the first time in a long time. My last day of full-time work is next Friday. I've made a list of projects I'd like to get done during my free time. Hopefully, this will keep me motivated not to spend all day watching TV. It will be nice to have a break before I start school in the fall. I have a feeling it's going to be a teensy bit difficult for me to get back in the swing of things after several years of no studying. But, I'm super excited!

P. S. Thanks for the advice on my last post. I knew you guys would come through. I forgot to mention that I do wear Olay moisturizer with SPF 15 every day. I'm all about the sun protection. The general consenus seems to be that makeup is the only way to brighten skin. I might try some bronzer. We'll see. Darby is not a fan of make-up, and while I don't think he has the ultimate say over how I look, I do try to respect his preferences. He's only really seen me wear fairly heavy makeup (prom, weddings, etc.), though, so I think he might be surprised by how natural makeup can look. I'll start slowly. ;)

Beauty Advice

Ok, as most of you know, I'm not much of a "product" girl. I don't wear makeup, use only a blowdryer and round brush on my hair, and can be ready in 20 minutes if I don't eat breakfast. But lately, I've been thinking I might need to add to my regimen. It seems that 25 might be the age when your skin starts to go downhill. Or maybe that's just me? I have been noticing a lot of wrinkles on my forehead and an especially deep crease between my eyes (from squinting). Darby says I'm crazy, but I swear, they were not there two years ago. Of course, I still get mistaken for a high-schooler quite often, so they must not be that noticeable.

But, besides the wrinkles, my skin has just seemed dull, for lack of a better word. I drink a lot of water, so I don't think that's the problem, although I do have very dry skin naturally. Do any of you have recommendations for moisturizers, exfoliators, masks, etc? I'm still hoping to avoid make-up for a while longer. But maybe there are some skincare products I should try? Help, please!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

This week, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It is the story of one family's attempt to eat only locally grown produce and meat for a year. It was entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking. Kingsolver definitely has a political agenda, as evidenced in this and other books, so I took some of the information with a grain of salt. However, overall, I think she made some very good points. I have always been very skeptical about organic produce. It is so expensive, and it's unclear to me how much it actually differs from other produce. Well, turns out my skepticism was somewhat founded. "Organic" food from large, national companies is very loosely regulated and often not substantially different from other produce.

Which is one reason Kingsolver advocates locally-grown food and/or maintaining a personal garden. When you know the farmer, you can be sure that his or her products are actually organic and that the workers are fairly paid. Another big concern of Kingsolver's is reducing fuel consumption. Each item in a typical American meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. The number of calories expended in producing, packaging, shipping, and refrigerating food can often be hundreds of times the calories available in the food itself. Some of this is understandable for foods that don't grow well in the Northern hemisphere, for example. But, the U.S. imports 1.1 million pounds of potatoes and exports 1.4 million pounds. That seems a little ridiculous, even to a non-tree hugger like myself.

The information about cattle and chicken farming was particularly disturbing. Animals are often forced to live in tiny cages, eating their own excrement and the by-products of their own kind. This greatly increases risk of disease, especially mad cow disease. The UK now tests 100% of its cattle for mad cow. The U.S. tests less than one-half of one percent. Yikes.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with this information. I try very hard to keep our grocery budget low, and the prices at our farmer's market seem high to me. But, I could probably cut out some other items in order to afford more local produce and perhaps some grass-fed beef or free-range eggs. I could not rely solely on locally-grown produce, though. First of all, Illinois' growing season is fairly short. Second, I could not give up tropical fruits like bananas or pineapple completely. I will definitely look into the issues raised by this book more (in some less-biased sources) and take some baby steps toward changing our food habits.

If you're interested in gardening, cooking, or where your food comes from, I highly recommend this book. While I think sometimes it leans toward "the sky is falling" thinking, (the author predicts near-starvation conditions in the not-too-distant future due to the lack of biodiversity and fuel shortages), it does present a great case for growing your own food, eating more whole foods, and supporting small farmers. It also includes some good recipes.

Random

Darby and I went out last night to celebrate him passing his qualifying exam and me getting into grad. school. We went to Jim Gould's, a nice restaurant in downtown Champaign. It was really good! We decided to get dressed up, even though it wasn't necessary. I wanted to wear my new dress I got on clearance at Ann Taylor Loft. I used the last of my gift card money from Christmas to get it. I believe that's the longest I've ever held on to a Christmas gift card; usually they're gone in 2 weeks! (Sorry for the fuzziness of the picture. It was underexposed, and I had to fix it manually, which makes it fuzzy; can't decide which is worse.)

I went and saw Letters to Juliet with my friend Megan yesterday morning (yeah, we went at 11:35 a.m.---we're that cool). It was really cute. Totally predictable, but who goes to a chick flick to be surprised?

Tonight is the LOST series finale. I've NEVER been this excited for a television show before. It is comparable to the excitement I had when the last Harry Potter book came out. I'm so nervous. What if it's not resolved satisfactorily? What if I still have questions that I'll never get answered? I don't know if I can handle it. I know Darby is probably happy it's ending. Every Tuesday night for the past 4 months, I've been rehashing the show with him for hours (sometimes days) afterward. He does not like to speculate like I do, so I get a lot of "uh-huh, hmmm, ok." It's probably better for both of our sanity that it's ending.

Goal Update

Well, with only one month to go, I'm pretty proud of my progress toward my goals. There are a few that probably aren't going to happen, but I definitely think I accomplished more things than if I hadn't written goals at all. And, I accomplished my most important goal (#4), so the rest are just icing on the cake. I think I'm going to do this every year. Below is an update on my progress. The ones I'm completely finished with are in bold.

1. Take a cooking class. I'm not sure this is going to happen. I found a class that looked fun. But, it's $35 for one session. I don't know if I want to spend the money, and I certainly don't want to ask someone else to spend it, but I don't want to go alone.
2. Bake one new recipe from each of my cookbooks. I only have one more to go!
3. Learn two new songs on the piano. Well, this one has become "re-learn" two songs. I didn't realize how rusty I had gotten. Yikes!
4. Decide once and for all if/when I'm going back to school and what I will study. Yay! This one is DONE! I am starting a Master's in Teaching ESL at the U of I in the fall. I've known for a little while (and most of you have also), but I didn't want to write about it until I had gotten everything squared away at work. I'm super excited (and a little nervous); I can't wait to be back in classes again. Remind me of that in six months when I'm stressed out and complaining.
   
5. Read 5 books that I've owned for at least a year.
6. Find a local charity to get involved with. I am going to volunteer at the Crisis Nursery, which provides emergency, short-term childcare to area families. I haven't started yet, b/c they want you to make a weekly commitment at the same time, and my schedule is about to change drastically.
7. Take another workout class. I didn't do this because of time/money issues. But, I did start a strength-training routine on MWF mornings at home (in addition to our TuThS gym schedule).
8. Start at least two more herbs. Sprouted basil, cilantro, and parsley from seed. Parsley's taking off; the others are a little slow. My chives miraculously came back to life after being outside all winter. And one of Darby's colleagues gave me a mint plant.
9. Visit St. Louis. We're trying to save money, so this might not happen before June 20. We did go to Chicago twice, though!
10. Devise and stick to a housekeeping schedule. We've been cleaning every weekend pretty faithfully since January. Darby and I have our assigned jobs, and it's working great.
11. Have 3 "dinner parties" (with party defined as at least two other people besides me and Darby).
12. Go camping/hiking. Not yet . . .
13. Try 2 new restaurants.
    

Recipes

I feel like I have been cooking constantly lately. Or, at least, the dishwasher has needed to be loaded and emptied constantly. Is it sad that with only two people we could seriously use two dishwashers?

I made these Fruit Bruschetta from Our Best Bites for my friend Megan's wedding shower. They were a big hit and very yummy. They are perfect for a wedding or baby shower. (Although Darby enjoyed the leftovers a lot, too; they're not just "chick food.")

As you might remember, I've been on a quest for the perfect homemade salsa for about a year. Well, I think I finally found it. It's this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. And the secret ingredient is Rotel. I never would have thought to add that, but it does give the salsa a nice kick without too much heat. I tweaked her recipe just a little. I added only one can of Rotel (because my food processor is not big enough for two), and I did drain some of the juice from the tomatoes first. You can always add the juice back in if the salsa is not the right consistency.

We've been enjoying the salsa with these taquitos from Our Best Bites. If you haven't noticed, I love Our Best Bites; it's probably my favorite food blog (and I read a ton). Every recipe I've tried from them has been delicious. They're usually simple enough to appeal to everyone and to make on a weeknight but unique enough to make for special occasions.

Have you made any good recipes lately? Please share. I have 300 online recipes bookmarked to try, but I'm always eager to add a few more. :)

Great expectations

So, I saved a lot of my textbooks from college---mainly literature anthologies. I wondered what was the point of selling them back to the bookstore for pennies on the dollar when I could keep them and own so many great works of literature. Well, for the past 3-1/2 years, they have sat on my bookshelf, unopened. I have moved them twice (and they're not light). Every time I walk by the bookshelf, I feel the burden of my own unmet expectations. Did I really think I would one day get the urge to reread "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" or "Measure for Measure"? I'm more likely to reach for Julie and Julia or Better Homes and Gardens than The Norton Anthology of Poetry. Who was I kidding? I also had the idea that one day my kids might need them for school. But then it occurred to me that by the time I have any kids in college, the books will be at least 25 years old. And I actually hope none of my kids want to follow in their mom's footsteps---better to be interested in science like their dad. (If their interest is English, I won't discourage them, but, let's face it, people who are interested in and talented at science are positioned much better for the job market.)

So, last night, I decided enough is enough. I'm going to get rid of these books and the guilt that goes along with them. I looked two of them up on Amazon's textbook buyback page. Sure enough, they would take them, and pay me $70! I'm now 20 lbs. lighter, $70 richer, and have a foot of extra space on my bookshelves to fill with "low-brow literature." Ahhhh...that feels better.

Anything to save a buck

This weekend, Darby and I went up to Chicago to visit my dad (who was there on business) and Darby's brother and sister-in-law (who, coincidentally, were vacationing there at the same time). My dad treated us to dinner on Friday night. (Giordano's pizza—yum! Our favorite Chicago pizza yet.) After we dropped him off at the airport Saturday morning, we had some time to kill before meeting Jeremy and Janice for dinner.

We didn't want to spend much money, so I looked around for free stuff and found out about the Chicago Botanic Garden. Admission is free, but parking is $20 per car! We decided we'd try to find somewhere else to park and walk in. We drove around Glencoe for a while until we saw a sign pointing in the direction of the entrance. We turned onto that street and decided to park at a school and walk from there. We walked and walked and walked, seeing no sign of the gardens. We then reached a street that I thought I remembered seeing online. So, we turned and walked and walked some more. Finally, we found the entrance. We had parked a little over a mile away! :)

The gardens were absolutely beautiful—lots of tulips and crabapple trees in bloom. After several hours of walking around, we were pretty tired, and we knew we still had the walk back to the car. (Did I mention I wasn't wearing tennis shoes?) We made it, though. We were planning to go to Evanston to walk around the Northwestern campus afterward. But my feet were hurting so much from the walk that we just ate lunch and then sat in a coffee shop and read the rest of the afternoon. I think it was worth it to save $20, but next time we plan something like that, I'll definitely wear tennis shoes.

After resting, we met Jeremy and Janice at Katerina's, a jazz club/restaurant, for dinner. Both the food and music were only so-so, but the ambience was good, and it was nice to get to spend a little time with J & J. We drove home late Saturday night. It was a tiring weekend, but a lot of fun. We are lucky to live near a fun city that people want to visit! I'm not sure we'd get near as many visitors (except our parents, of course!) if we lived in Idaho.

Third Eye Blind

For years, Darby and I have talked about how fun it would be to go to a concert together—the problem is, we don't really have the same taste in music. We finally decided that either Third Eye Blind or U2 would be enjoyable for both of us. U2 is super-expensive, so I figured that wasn't going to happen, and I hadn't heard of Third Eye Blind touring in years. A few months ago, I was listening to the radio and heard an ad for Third Eye Blind coming to town. I was so excited! They were playing at a small venue, so tickets were relatively cheap ($25). And since it was small, we were pretty close to the stage. It was awesome! I forgot to bring my camera, but concert pictures never turn out that great anyway. I figure I can always find a video on YouTube if I want to remember it.

The show brought back so many good memories. They played most of their very popular songs (except 10 Days Late—boo!). I remember listening to their first CD at my friend Melanie's house when it came out in 1997. At the time, it was very edgy, and we felt so cool listening to it. And, of course, true fans knew all the words to "Semi-Charmed Life," not just the radio version. I discovered the song "Wounded" when part of it was used in an anti-drug commercial (an irony that was lost on me until this concert). On the day of my high school graduation, I called my friend Desiree and blasted "Graduate" into the phone. Being a rule-following, naive, somewhat nerdy teenager, listening to alternative music was just about my only "rebellion" (well,
there was also my ill-fated relationship with a "skater" guy, but that's a story for another time...or never). :)

Unfortunately, Third Eye Blind is not as cool as they used to be. Most of the people Darby and I told about the concert laughed. This was very disheartening to me. They are one of the coolest bands I actually like; if they're not cool, I'm sunk. Darby told some of the students in his lab section (mostly freshmen and sophomores) about the show, and they looked at him blankly. He was telling me this, and I was like, "What?? I mean I know they were too little to remember the first CD, but their second CD, Blue, was also pretty popular, and that came out in 1999, so they would have been...7 or 8...ohhh..." Then I realized, it has begun. From here on out, it will only get worse. I'm going to be that old woman talking about stuff that no one remembers or cares about. I really did not expect this to start until age 40 or so. Oh, well. The show was really fun, so if going to it makes me an old loser, I'll just have to be ok with that.

Bad Endings

For about the past two months, I have been reading Lonesome Dove. It is a long (945 pages), dense book that was difficult to get into for about the first 200 pages. However, the story soon picked up, and I became attached to many of the characters. For the past few days, I read steadily, excited to see how the story would end. And then, last night, I turned to the last page, and it just . . . ended. Seriously, there was absolutely NO resolution for any living character. They were all miserable, and the author gave little indication of what their next steps might be. I don't have to have a tidy, happy ending by any means, but a little resolution, even if sad, would be nice. I was so mad. I literally started crying and threw the book down on the ground. I just felt like I had been cheated; I had invested so much time and effort in that book, and I didn't even get a satisfying ending? There is a miniseries based on the book; I'm thinking I might watch that. I have a feeling it will have more of a resolution, as television usually demands some sort of finality. I hope so. Otherwise, there's no telling how long it will take me to get over this.

Stereotypes

On my way to work for the past couple of days, I have heard the same commercial for Meijer, the grocery store I shop at. It's a group of women chatting, making fun of their husbands for all standing around the grill and laughing at how possessive men are of their grills. One woman says, "Yeah, but at least it keeps them out of the house." Then they all laugh knowingly.

This commercial is annoying for several reasons, but the main one is the implication that all men are just bumbling idiots who women have to "put up with." Darby and I are always annoyed at this depiction of men on TV. There's one particular commercial (I think it is for Stanley Steemer) that shows a man attempting to make a smoothie without the blender lid on. The smoothie flies everywhere as the voiceover says something like, "With kids, pets, and a husband, it's no wonder you can't keep your house clean."

These commercials do not in any way appeal to me. I mean, if men were that incompetent, why would we marry them? I didn't grow up with that model, and I certainly don't live it now. I would never think Darby incapable of fixing his own lunch, cleaning up his own messes, or operating a blender. I must confess, however, that I do sometimes tease him about his inability to find stuff in the refrigerator or cabinets...sometimes you have to move stuff around. :)

So, why is the stereotype of the bumbling husband still so prevalent? It seems like it must resonate with someone, or the advertising wouldn't be effective. Are women really living in marriages like this, where they just want their husbands to stay out of the house and out of their way? How sad. Do these commercials bother anyone else? Or, am I just taking them too seriously?

Blast from the past

So, I just rediscovered the old Xanga blog I had before I started this one. I'm not going to include the link, because, wow, it was dumb. It kind of makes me worry. In five years, when I read this blog, will I be embarrassed that I wrote it? I hope not.

Anyway, there was one choice tidbit I thought I would share with you:

Tuesday, March 15, 2005
(after a Spring Break Campaign to New Jersey)
I have decided that I NEVER want to live where it's cold. I got so sick of having to put on 30 layers of clothes every day. Snow is pretty, but only up to a point. Give me 100 degree heat any day. I guess I'm a Texas girl at heart.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! I guess God didn't care about my emphatic NEVER.

It was also fun to remember some college events I had forgotten. (For that reason, I'm glad I had the blog, even if it was 95% stupid.) I had totally forgotten about the time there was a fire in our sophomore dorm on Saturday morning, and we all had to go sit in the Teague center (where there was an event going on) in our pajamas.

I had also forgotten about my famous aphorism: "You can't be sexy until you're 20." Emerald had a "little sister" through Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I think she was about 11. Anyway, one night we were all eating dinner with her at Mr. Gatti's. The girl had on a necklace that said "Sexy." And thus, the line was born. I still think it's a good rule. Although, maybe with my daughter I should say, "You can't be sexy until you're married." :)

Old

Well, I've officially turned Darby into an old man. Last night, we went to a friend's birthday party and then out to eat with some friends from church. When we got home, we we watched an episode of Seinfeld and got ready for bed. While we were brushing our teeth, Darby said, "Wow, this was a pretty late night for us." It was 11 p.m.

Tonight, we had a guy from Darby's lab, his wife, and their little boy over for dinner. They had to leave pretty early to get the boy in bed, so Darby and I went to Starbucks afterward. On our way home, Darby said, "Do you want to play a game when we get home?" I said, "Sure." Then he said, "Oh, it's already 9:30. Never mind." It's not just me anymore! :)

Happy Easter!

I made these cupcakes for our small group tonight. I am probably more proud of them than is appropriate, but I just think they're so cute! The top ones I made with stencils that Debby gave me in my stocking at Christmas. And I stole the idea for the bottom ones from a magazine (I think Family Circle).

I spent all weekend cooking. Without realizing it, I signed up to bring dinner for our small group on Sunday and dessert for my women's Bible study on Monday. So yesterday and today I made 3 9x13 pans of chicken and rice, carrots, 2 dozen rolls, 2 dozen cupcakes, and a pan of cheesecake bars. I'm tired! Of course, most of that is probably my fault. It's not like I had to spend 4 hours decorating cupcakes. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We didn't do much to celebrate (besides going to church, but that's not out of the ordinary). I always think it would be nice to do a big meal for Easter, but I don't know how I would get it all done after church. Darby and I will NEVER miss our afternoon nap, so we have to be done with lunch by 2 at the latest. Usually, we're done eating and in bed by 12:30 or 1. I've thought about doing a nice breakfast, but that would involve getting up early. I guess I'm just too lazy to celebrate Easter (until I have kids that is, I'll get up early for them).

Thanks!

Thanks for all the feedback! Brittany and Kalyn (sweet, sweet friends that they are) suggested I get a dog (or two dogs and a cat). While that might provide some interesting blog fodder, I don't think getting a dog for blogging purposes only is much better than having a baby for blogging purposes. So, for now, I'll stay childless and puppyless. Nice try, though, guys.

My family seems to enjoy my posts about my childhood. Since my mom is my most dedicated reader, I will oblige her. I'm thinking about going through my old photo albums and scanning some pictures for your enjoyment (particularly pictures of my "awkward" stage). I ran out of time to do that tonight---it's already waaaayyy past my bedtime. So, for now, just a quick story:

I was about 12, and Hannah was about 10, I think. This was back in the day before cable internet, when going online meant tying up the phone line; crazy how much has changed since then. Anyway, Hannah was on the phone with her BFF, Sara, and I wanted to check my e-mail. I tried to check it, and it made that crackling, beeping noise on the phone. Hannah said, "I'm on the phone." For some reason, I was really anxious to check my e-mail, so I marched back to her room, grabbed the phone from her, and hung up. She, understandably, got mad, and kicked me. Well, she kicked me square in the knee, so she hurt her toe really bad. I, of course, was laughing so hard. She had to go the doctor; I think it ended up being sprained. (Edited to add: In the comments, Hannah informed me that her toe was broken, not sprained.) I don't blame here for kicking me; I was being really rude. But, at the time, l thought she had gotten what was coming to her. Mom didn't punish her because she said she had been punished enough. I don't remember if I got in trouble; I probably should have.

Inspiration

I am in need of some blog inspiration. I try to post at least once a week. For a while, I was posting 2–3 times a week, but now it's a struggle to do one post. I'm not sure why I have this self-imposed goal; I don't think any of you just sit around waiting for me to post (except for Mom, ha!). Maybe I should have a kid so I can just post cute pictures all the time. Just kidding. Kind of. :) No, really, just kidding. So, if anyone has any great ideas for blog topics, leave them in the comments. Otherwise, you can just keep reading my boring posts.

A couple of weeks ago, I threw a little birthday party for my friend Megan. When I asked her what kind of birthday cake she wanted me to make, she said "An Oreo ice cream cake. Can you make those? Or do you have to buy them?" I had never made one before, but sure I was up to the challenge, I told her I'd make one. I looked online and found a recipe. It was one of the easiest cakes I've ever made, and everyone went crazy over it! Seriously, every single person said, "I didn't even know you could make an ice cream cake!" So, if you want to impress people with very little effort, the recipe is below.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake
1 pkg. regular Oreos
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1 12-oz. jar hot fudge sauce (warmed so it's pourable)
1 tub Cool Whip

1. In food processor (or in gallon bag with rolling pin), crush half of oreos into fine crumbs. Mix with half stick butter, and press in bottom of springform pan.
2. Spread half of ice cream on top of crust
3. Place remaining Oreos (reserve a few for garnish) in food processor and break into small crumbs (not quite as fine as the crust). Mix with hot fudge sauce. Spread on top of ice cream.
4. Spread remaining ice cream on top.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze several hours or overnight.
6. Just before serving, top with Cool Whip. I crushed a few of the remaining Oreos and sprinkled on top for decoration.
7. To serve, dip knife in warm water and run between cake and edge of pan. Remove sides of pan and slice.

Note: My springform pan does not form a perfect seal at the bottom. When the ice cream started melting, a little seeped out the bottom. I would recommend wrapping the bottom of the pan in foil or plastic wrap before you start.

Sibling Reunion!

Hannah and Matt came to visit this past week. It was so much fun! Darby and I went to pick them up on Saturday from O'Hare, and we spent the weekend in Chicago. We saw a lot of the touristy stuff, but some of the most fun moments were crazy situations that we got ourselves into, involving me getting very mad at a Central Parking Service employee who threatened that our car would get towed because the machine where you pay for parking was broken, Darby getting very mad at Subway employees who almost refused to serve us because we had the nerve to come in 20 minutes before closing, and a guy almost jumping off the "L" train because he missed his stop. Aaahhh...memories.

Unfortunately, Darby and I both had to work all week, but Hannah and Matt seemed to have plenty of fun staying at home and playing Wii. And we were able to fit in a lot of game-playing between 5 and 11 p.m. I'm so glad they came; Darby and I are pushing for them to make it an annual trip.

Now, Darby and I are in Arkansas for his cousin's wedding. It's been a crazy but fun week. Below are a few pictures from Chicago.

Matt and Darby being dinosaurs. Wow. I had no choice in my brother, but I did choose my husband. What was I thinking? :)

Our reflection in "Cloud Gate," or, as Hannah calls it, "The Big Kidney Bean."

Hannah and Matt chowing down at Gino's East. We stood in line 1-1/2 hours for this pizza. I don't know that it was worth that long a wait, but it was pretty good.

What I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

• Going to a women's Bible study at church. We're doing the Beth Moore study on Esther. I've done one other Beth Moore study in the past, Believing God. I think I liked that one better. Some of the homework for this one seems a little superficial, but I really enjoy the videos and our small-group discussions.
• Getting ready for Hannah and Matt to come. I'm so excited! Darby and I are going to pick them up in Chicago on Saturday. We're going to spend the night there and do some sightseeing, then they're coming back to our house until Thursday! Yayyy!
• Eating ice cream. My beloved Custard Cup reopened for the season last Friday, and, embarrassingly, Darby and I have already been 3 times. I told Darby last night, "We can't keep this rate up." We'll be broke and very fat by the end of the summer. But it's just so good!
• Enjoying the spring weather. The past two days we've had highs in the 60s! (A little rainy, but who cares?) I'm not getting my hopes up that winter is completely over yet, but I'm enjoying being coatless while I can.
• Being excited for my friend Kalyn. She is having a baby! I have been praying about this for a year (as many others have), and I'm so thankful that God chose to answer our prayers in this way. Baby Gensic will be making his/her (I think her, but Kalyn thinks his) appearance in October. Many excited phone calls and e-mails have been traded back and forth among the Fat Tuesday girls about our 2nd little addition to the group.

Happiness

So, last night I spent about an hour typing up a post about the book I just read, The Happiness Project. I went to publish it, and Blogger freaked out and logged me out. When I logged back in, a very early version of my post was all that remained. I believe this was a test . . . to see if I actually learned anything about being happy. I whined for just a minute, but then tried to put it in perspective. It was a blog post—it wasn't like I lost a term paper or something. I think I passed the test. I decided not to mess with it last night and re-create what I could in the morning.

I highly, highly, highly recommend The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. It is the memoir of a thirty-something woman's year-long attempt to increase her happiness. I saw so much of myself in the author. She wasn't unhappy to begin with; she just felt like she wasn't appreciating her life enough:

I had everything I could possibly want---yet I was failing to appreciate it. . . .
I didn't want to keep taking these days for granted. The words of the writer
Colette had haunted me or years: 'What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish
I'd realized it sooner."

She set up a happiness resolutions chart (a la Ben Franklin's Autobiography), where she tracked her progress toward different goals each month. (Most of the goals were very specific, but each month had a general theme: marriage, parenting, work, fun, etc.). This methodical approach appeals to me greatly. Gretchen has a website where you can set up your own charts and other resources; I think I might try it.

Two major themes of the book really affected me:

• You aren't happy unless you think you're happy, and, conversely, you're happy if you think you're happy. This was a big realization to me. A huge part of happiness is believing that you're happy and acting accordingly. I always figured that I act happy when I feel happy, but really I have much more control over it than that. Why not act happy, and therefore be happy, now?


• Happiness is work, and it's not always as easy as it looks. Gretchen talks about how it's so much easier to be negative, critical, and cynical than to be upbeat, energetic, and encouraging. She discusses how we assume naturally happy people are that way effortlessly, but, in reality, they likely work hard to maintain that happiness—especially in the face of negative people who try to bring them down.

Several of Gretchen's specific goals struck a chord with me, as well:

• Tackle a nagging task. She wrote a 5-page to-do list of all of those little things she never seems to get around to and crossed them off one by one. I don't think my list would be 5 pages, but there are several little things (like getting renter's insurance) that I need to do. Remembering them takes so much mental energy; why not just do it now?


• Enjoy now. She discusses the arrival fallacy: the belief that when you arrive at a certain destination, you'll be happy. This is rarely true because (1) you've been anticipating the destination so long that it is already built into your happiness and (2) the destination brings more responsibility. This is a big one for me. I'm always looking forward to the next thing (in high school, college; in college, marriage; in my job, a new job). I'll never have this time in my life again; I should enjoy it now.
  
• Cut people slack. "Fundamental attribution error is a psychological phenomenon in which we tend to view other people's actions as reflections of their characters and to overlook the power of situation to influence their actions, whereas with ourselves, we recognize the pressures of circumstance." Busted again. I am really going to work on giving people the same slack I give myself.

As you can see, this book gave me a lot to think about. I could go on and on, but Gretchen explains it much better than I can. If you have any interest at all, I highly recommend getting the book. I'm going to be working in the next few weeks to come up with some "happiness resolutions." I feel like my list of goals before I turn 25 is a start, but I want to set goals for my attitude, as well as my actions.

Siblings

A few weeks ago, Darby and I were hanging out with some people who work in his lab. One of the women, an international student from China, had seen some pictures of our family Christmas on Facebook and asked if I had a big family. I said, "Well, I have one sister and one brother, so not too big. What about you? Do you have siblings?" She said, "No . . . we have a one-child law." (At this point, I felt pretty bad and ignorant, but she didn't seem offended.) Then, she kind of sighed and said, "It must be so fun to have brothers and sisters."

And, it got me thinking, she's right. It is really fun to have siblings. Sometimes I take that for granted. (Disclaimer: I know there are many happy families with only one child. I'm not saying that siblings are necessary for happiness, just that it's easy to forget what a blessing it is if you do have siblings.) I've shared quite a few stories about my sister on this blog, but I haven't shared as much about my brother (part of the reason being that he's not quite as crazy as Hannah). To rectify this, I thought I'd share some of my favorite memories of the three of us together.

• When we were little, Hannah and I would play school, and Matt always wanted to play with us. We didn't think he played the right way, though, so we'd make him sit in the other room and be the principal. I still remember him yelling from the other room, "Hey, aren't some of the kids being bad?" And we'd just yell, "Nope!" and keep on playing. (That was kind of mean... I'm sorry, Matt!)
• We loved to play church, mainly so we could take "communion." We'd get Saltine crackers and break off little pieces and eat them, along with our grape juice.
• Hannah and I would dress up in my mom's wedding dress, and Matt would be the groom (one of the downsides of having only sisters).
• On Christmas Eve, we would all sleep in the same room. We weren't allowed to get up until 6 a.m., but usually one of us would wake up earlier too excited to go back to sleep. Whoever it was would wake the others up, and we would softly sing Christmas carols to pass the time until 6 a.m. (I recently shared this story with Darby, and he seemed to regret that he had married into our family. I think he's afraid I'll try to pass these traditions on to our children... he's right!)
• Hannah and Matt (or Mom and Dad) are going to have to help me out with this one. I have a vague recollection of listening to some Christian rap/hip-hop (seriously!) CD and singing along and jumping on and off the couch. Did this happen?

And, because he doesn't get enough press on this blog, here's a story involving only me and Matt. I think this incident happened when Matt was about 10 and I was about 14 (a fact that will be very embarrassing for me when you hear this story). I went out to get the mail while Matt was playing with a remote control car on the driveway. As I was walking back up the driveway with the mail, Matt thought it would be funny to chase me with the remote control car. Well, I got really scared and started screaming and running toward the house. I tried to open the door, but the knob didn't turn, so I just smashed my wrist against the door and fell to the floor crying, scattering the mail all over the garage. I went in the house sobbing, telling Mom (and maybe Dad) how Matt had terrorized me with his car. In the words of Andy Bernard: "That was an overreaction." We still laugh about that one.

Simple pleasures

I've been trying lately to appreciate the little things in life. The winters here can be very hard. Even though it is staying light longer, February is always difficult because you are so ready for it to warm up, but you know that it will be realistically be about 2 months before that happens. But, even with the cold, wet weather, there are so many things to be thankful for. Of course, I'm always thankful for the big things like Darby, family, friends, health, financial stability, etc. But it also helps to think of all of the little things that bring me joy. Here are a few that I've been thankful for recently:

• A steaming cup of coffee in the morning
• Waking up and thinking that your alarm didn't go off and then remembering that it's Saturday
• Getting a card in the mail
  
• The sun coming through my office window in the afternoon
• The smell of bread dough
• Surprise coupons that print at the register
• Turning on the TV and happening to catch a favorite movie
• Someone bringing homemade goodies to work

What are the little things that make you happy?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Darby and I have never made a big deal of Valentine's Day, but we did have a nice little date on Friday night. Any excuse to eat out, right? We went to Red Lobster on Friday because I figured it would be less crowded than Saturday, and we went super early, so we could get home in time to watch the Olympics opening ceremonies. (How lame are we?) When I went to pick up Darby from school, he surprised me with a single rose and a package of conversation Jelly Bellys. So sweet!

I made dinner for our small group tonight. Now that that's over, I'm just relaxing watching figure skating. I love the Olympics!

Special visit

My mom and dad came to visit this past weekend. Darby and I always enjoy it so much when our parents come stay with us. I've always had a good relationship with my parents, but living far away definitely makes me appreciate time with them even more.

It snowed about 6 inches in the 24 hours before they arrived. Darby was at a conference until Saturday afternoon, so Dad got to shovel the driveway. Fun trip, right?

We had a fun time talking, playing games, going to see Sherlock Holmes, making food for our small group's Super Bowl party, and, of course, eating a lot.

Darby and Mom playing Dr. Mario. Mom has her game face on. :)

I always enjoy having company because it's an excuse to make lots of food. Darby was making fun of me because I actually made lunch on Saturday. Normally, we just eat whatever's available. For dessert Saturday night I made a "banoffee pie." It was very rich and very good. The recipe is below:

Banoffee Pie
Slightly adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy Gooey by Jill O'Connor

Filling ingredients:
2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened, condensed milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2 oz.) brown sugar (If I make this again, I might leave this out; the filling was a little sweet for my taste.)
4 Tbsp. (2 oz.) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
boiling water, as needed

1. Stir together the milk, vanilla, brown sugar, melted butter and salt. Pour into a 6 cup oven proof dish. Cover with foil.
2. Place the dish in a 9 x 13 baking pan and fill the pan with boiling water until it reaches half way up the sides of the dish.
3. Bake the milk mixture, stirring every 15 minutes, until it has turned a toasty caramel color, 1 1/2 -2 hours. Remove from the water bath and let cool.

Make graham cracker crust following the recipe on the back of the graham cracker crumb box. Let cool. (You can, of course, use a store-bought graham cracker crust, but homemade is so much better and not hard at all.)

When the toffee has cooled but is still soft, spoon it into the crust, spreading it evenly. Refrigerate until the filling is set. You can cover the pie with plastic wrap and keep it chilled for 24 hours

Topping ingredients:
3 medium ripe bananas
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. Peel and slice the bananas into 1/2” thick slices and arrange over the toffee.
2. Whip the cream at medium speed with the confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. (Tip: Stick your mixer bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes beforehand, and the cream will whip up much faster.)
3. Pile the whipped cream on top of the bananas, spreading it toward the edge of the crust. Cover all of the bananas to prevent them from browning.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The rest of the story . . .

It's only fair that I now share about my role in the infamous piano recital costume disaster. I was playing songs from The Entertainer, so my mom had sewn me a flapper costume. It was a red and black boxy dress with sequins and fringe (which my grandma had found for some outrageous price). I had helped mom pick out the pattern, but when I saw the dress, I refused to wear it. I thought it was too flashy (which, hello, was kind of the point). Despite my parents' reminders of how much time and money had been spent on the dress, I remained adamant. I ended up wearing some pink dress my mom had in her closet. It didn't look 20s-ish at all.

This was 12 years ago, and I have only just now been able to think about this story without gut-wrenching guilt. I feel so bad for treating my mom like that! I didn't consider her feelings at all. It didn't help that the dress was hanging in my closet for years after the fact, mocking me. Now, we all kind of laugh about it, but it was not funny at the time.

The funniest part of the story is that the main reason I was embarrassed to wear the dress was that I had a crush on one of my fellow piano students (who is now married to my friend Whitney's friend, Jenna—small world). But do you know what he wore? A full lion costume! I don't know that I've ever told my parents that that was the real reason, but they probably guessed.

Sadly, this was not my worst bratty moment. No, that prize would have to go to the time I pitched a fit because I didn't like the color of the new car my dad had bought for me (and eventually my sister) to drive. My poor parents.

Fun weekend, bad Monday

Darby's brother Jeremy came to visit us this past weekend. He had training for his new job in Chicago, so he rode the train down for the weekend. We had a lot of fun---ate at some yummy restaurants, played Wii, and went to our first Illini hockey game. That was quite an experience; the fans are pretty rowdy. It was fun, though, and much cheaper than most of the other sports at the U of I. I'm glad Jeremy was able to come up; we don't see him that often. Hopefully next time his wife, Janice, can come too.

Darby and Jeremy

In other news, I found out on Monday that I will have to get a crown on the tooth I had a root canal on 18 months ago. Boo! The dentist who did the root canal said I most likely would not need a crown. Then, I had to switch to a new dentist to get the discount offered through my health insurance. From the beginning I didn't like the new dentist, so when she told me I'd have to get a crown, I was suspicious. I called the old dentist, and they told me to bring in my x-rays, and they'd take a look at the tooth.

Well, the new dentist gave me a PHOTOCOPY of an x-ray of that one tooth. Thanks a lot. When I got to the old dentist, the hygienist was really rude and made a big deal about my x-rays not being good enough (like it's my fault). She told me they would have to do more x-rays, and I said I wasn't going to do that and I would just wait 6 months until it was time for me to get x-rays again because I don't have dental insurance. The hygienist said, "Those are a different kind of x-ray." At this point I was really frustrated and started getting choked up. I did NOT want to end up paying for x-rays on top of the crown. I told her, "Well, maybe I'll have dental insurance by then or something." She said, "So, if we have to do x-rays, you're going to leave." I said yes. At this point, she decided she could ask the dentist if he could look at the tooth without x-rays. And, imagine that, he could! It took him like 5 seconds to determine that, yes indeed, I will need a crown. To the tune of $1,000. Ouch.

I am very glad I refused the x-rays, although I wish I had done it without crying. Everyone in the office was treating me so gingerly after that, like I was going to blow at any minute. They were like, "Have you heard about our payment plan, sweetie?" "Do you want to make an appointment now or think about it for a while." I do not have a good track record dealing with doctors. It's just horrible when you feel so powerless, and there's so much pressure to get hundreds of dollars worth of procedures done, and they don't give you any time to think about it. Ugh! I get so emotional. But, after a couple of days, I'm feeling better about it. I'm going to sign up for the 12-month 0 interest payment plan, so I won't have to take all of that money out of savings. And I have a plan to save money on groceries and entertainment each month until I get it paid off. By the time this is over, this stupid tooth will have cost me well over $1,500. Maybe I should have just had it pulled. :)