Hope for the Future

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

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!

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!

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

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

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'

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. 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?
2. 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...

• 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...

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).

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

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

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

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.

1. 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.
   
2. Take and pass at least one of my seven comprehensive exams. This should happen in April or May.
   
3. 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. :)
   
4. Lose 5 lbs. and maintain it. Haven't really tried. I'm starting for real now.
   
5. 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.
   
6. Finish my one-year Bible. Getting there slowly but surely
   
7. Make it through my housecleaning checklist. Ha! Pretty much haven't started this one.
8. Make cheese. Not yet.
   
9. Come up with at least 2 healthy vegetarian meals that Darby and I actually enjoy. Not yet.
   
10. Start my personal Happiness Project. Not so much, but I am a happier person in general now.
    
11. Go to three events at the U of I. We've been to 1.
    
12. Make crepes. Not yet.
    
13. Reduce our monthly gift budget. We squeaked by just under budget for gifts for the year, but I think I can still do better.
    
14. 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. :)
    
15. Save an average of 25% on every grocery shopping trip. So far, so good. My current average is 33%.
    
16. Take a Spanish class. I finished this. It was fun, but a little too easy. I'm looking for an advanced Spanish class next.
    
17. Make homemade tortillas. Not yet.
    
18. Initiate plans with friends twice per month. I think I've done this
    
19. Whittle "to try" recipes saved online to 200 (currently at 272). I'm down to 234!
    
20. Redesign my blog. Obviously haven't done this.
    
21. Read 3 faith-related books. I've read 1.
    
22. Plan an event for our college group. Not yet.
    
23. Stay in better touch with my sister and brother. I still need to do better on this one.
    
24. 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.
    
25. Become a Conversation Partner. Done! And we're going to continue this semester.
    
26. 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'

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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. :)
  3 generations of Hewitt men

• 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.
  

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.

26 before 26

So, ever since my birthday, I've been trying to come up with my goals for my next birthday. Obviously, I had to do a lot of thinking. :) I was determined this time to actually come up with 26. That was kind of difficult. I don't know that I'll be able to match my number of goals to my age for many more years. I've started on some of the goals already, but I waited to post until I had them all in mind. So, in no particular order, here are my goals for the next 10 or so months:

1. Finish couch-to-5K. I'm up to running an 8-1/2 minute mile continuously, and then another mile broken up with brief intervals of walking.
2. Take and pass at least one of my seven comprehensive exams.
   
3. Finish my shelf of unread books. I'm down to 12!
4. Lose 5 lbs. and maintain it. I am not unhappy with my weight, but I do keep gradually putting on a few pounds each year. I'm trying to combat that.
5. Take at least 100 pictures.
   
6. Finish my one-year Bible. This is actually a two-year Bible for me. :)
7. Make it through my housecleaning checklist. I made a list of things to do around the house when I thought I wasn't going to be working this summer. I ended up working full-time or being gone most of the summer, so I didn't get around to all of them.
8. Make cheese. I just think this would be cool to say I did.
   
9. Come up with at least 2 healthy vegetarian meals that Darby and I actually enjoy. I try to limit our meat intake to save money, but my vegetarian repertoire is limited to unhealthy things like pasta and quesadillas.
   
10. Start my personal Happiness Project.
    
11. Go to three events at the U of I.
    
12. Make crepes. Darby loves them, and I've promised him I'll learn how to make them.
13. Reduce our monthly gift budget. I don't want to buy fewer gifts or lower-quality gifts, but I want to think ahead so I can make more gifts or find them on sale rather than paying full price at the last minute.
    
14. Go to St. Louis (for real this time).
    
15. Save an average of 25% on every grocery shopping trip.
16. Take a Spanish class. I'm starting in a week!
17. Make homemade tortillas. I tried this once a couple of months ago, and it was a complete disaster. I will not be defeated!
    
18. Initiate plans with friends twice per month.
    
19. Whittle "to try" recipes saved online to 200 (currently at 272).
    
20. Redesign my blog.
    
21. Read 3 faith-related books.
    
22. Plan an event for our college group.
    
23. Stay in better touch with my sister and brother.
    
24. Watch at least 4 football games on TV. Darby thinks this is ridiculous, but I'm trying to make myself a football fan. I feel like sports fans always have something to talk about with other people. And there's something so appealing to me about being able to lay on the couch and watch TV every weekend without feeling guilty b/c you're supporting your team.
25. Become a Conversation Partner. This is a program at the university where you're paired with an international student to get together and talk for an hour a week. I've actually already signed up for this, but I had to include some things I've already done to get to 26!
26. Spend no more than 1 hour per day on the Internet (unless it's for work, school, or personal finance reasons). This will be necessary if I plan to accomplish all of the above!
    

First Impressions

Well, I made it through my first week of grad. school. I am soo tired! It has been difficult for me to get back in the swing of things. What's this homework stuff? :) I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though. My classes are very interesting and all my professors seem nice. A few random impressions:

• Bigger does not mean nicer. One of my classes is in a building called the Armory. It is this huge warehouse-type building that's been converted into a gym/classrooms. It has at least 10 different staircases, and they each only go to certain rooms. The desks have got to be 50 years old, and there are still old-school overhead projectors in the rooms. Plus, the building doesn't seem to be air conditioned, or at least not well. I only thought Chambers at ACU was bad. :) Granted, Illinois does have some extremely nice facilities (like the rec center), but when buildings are bad, they're really bad.
• I have walked more in my first week than I probably walked in a year at my job. I'm enjoying the exercise now, but I'm not sure it'll be quite so fun when it's -20 degrees.
  
• I had no reason to worry about my first-day outfit. Several girls have shown up to class in workout clothes. ACU this is not. Nary a high heel in sight (see above point about walking). I fit in just fine. :)
  
• When you are bad at remembering names, remembering Chinese, Japanese, and Korean names is virtually impossible. I've got to get better at this!
  

Overall, I'd say the first week was a success. I'm really glad it's Friday, though!