Super Bowl

I'm a little late in posting this and, sadly, I forgot to take any pictures of the night, but I like to write at least a little something about big events, so indulge me. :) For the Super Bowl, we invited a bunch of people from my program over to "watch the game" (i.e., eat a lot and stop talking long enough to see the commercials). A lot of people turned out, so it was a little bit crowded but very fun. I enjoyed making a bunch of snacks, including a brownie swirl cheesecake. I forgot to take a picture of the whole cake, but here's one of the pieces. I thought it turned out very pretty---and there was no huge crack down the middle. Yay!



It was a fun evening. And, since there are a lot of international students in my program, it was several people's first Super Bowl party. I hope we did this American tradition proud.

January Books

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

M-I-C-K-E-Y

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

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

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

Last semester - or not

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

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

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

Mi piace l'italiano

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

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

30 before 30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy New Year!

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

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

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

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

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

Christmas - Hewitts

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

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

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

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

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

Christmas - Andersons and Thompsons

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christmas - St. Louis and Arkansas

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

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

All the cousins and Grandpa and Alma

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

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

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

ACU AlumNight

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

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

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

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

(Photo by Ryan Salvador)

Wildcat pride :) (Photo by Ryan Salvador)

Merry Christmas!

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

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



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

And here's our traditional Christmas tree picture.

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

Favorite Ornaments

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

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


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


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


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


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

Thanksgiving Highlights

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

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

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

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

Jessica's Wedding

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

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

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

The beautiful bride and me

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

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

Me and Stephy

Krista and Me

Me and Whit

Halloween Fun

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

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

Procrastination

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

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

Freedom

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

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

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

Sugar 'n spice

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

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

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

The adorable centerpiece Erin made.

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

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

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

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

100,000

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

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

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