December 31

Happy New Year!!!

We had a couple girls over to ring in the new year. We had a lovely time of CatchPhrase and food!

December 30

I picked up this little book over Christmas. It is a 52-week weekly devotional. I started it today. I think it will be a nice way to start my weeks this year.

December 24

You would think I actually enjoy baking from the looks of all this... chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, coconut bars, peanut butter cookies, brownies. Seriously, does anyone need that much variety when it comes to Christmas sweets? And tomorrow, I think we have lemon bars, orange cranberry bread, peanut butter balls, and cinnamon rolls. Sugar coma here we come!

December 23

This is Leo, my mama's poor little gay rescue yorkie. He's the most effiminate creature I think I've ever seen. We have two female dogs, and he out girls both of them. Anyway, I've been home for three days now, and have no one to play with, so the poor dogs are the recipients of my creativity. And poor little Leo, he's the smallest and easiest to mess with. I took his Christmas neck scarf and tied it around his head to make him look like a little old Russian lady. I think he's quite adorable! He was none too happy.

I get a chuckle everytime I look at the picture... heeheehee!

December 22

After all of yesterday's shopping, today we wrap!

December 20

We're moving tomorrow (again!) so I had to pack everything up today before I left, since I'm flying home tonight. My cubicle was so sad looking when I left, no Bamm-Bamm, no Tinsel Tim, not even any sticky notes anywhere...

December 19

Ashley found out about a week ago that she was going to be directing the Christmas program at school. It was tonight, so Amanda and I went. It was hilarious! The kids did a really great job and were so funny, especially my new friend Trey and Amanda's new friend Derek. We went to Dunlay's for dinner after. What a fun family night!!!

Ashley directing the choir

December 18

Meet Tinsel Tim! I found him in my stocking last Sunday...

December 17

It snowed on Saturday. Today, there are still massive heaps of snow all over Hyde Park. They don't do much plowing down there, not sure why. I ended up wedging my car into a snowbank because the parking lot was so poorly plowed. I had to crawl out the passenger side! I sure hope no one saw me...

December 16

Tonight was the Christmas concert "Concert of Carols". It was a lovely evening of music celebrating Christ's birth. They also had a little bit of drama between some of the songs telling the story of how "O Holy Night" was written, by a non-believer! It was really nice. Ashley and Amanda both sang, and I was a penguin for the opening song!

Our Christmas Finery!

December 15

I bought shampoo today! So this may not seem like a big deal, but I haven't used shampoo since February. So for me, it was a pretty big deal. I was in Lush doing a little Christmas shopping and saw that they carry shampoo. They have these great little solid shampoos which don't have a lot of chemicals in them. The one I went with is "Squeaky Green" and has rosemary, nettles and peppermint. I guess we'll see how this goes...

December 14

Poor Bamm-Bamm, I had to take out the stalk that had turned yellow. It was very sad. This stalk has a little bit of yellow, but hopefully it will be okay and won't turn completely yellow like the other stalk!

December 13

Nothing too exciting going on today... I went to prayer meeting, which is always wonderful! I took this picture of Shelly. I really like the fleece she's wearing.

December 12

Today was our office Christmas party. Everyone I work with is really great, so we always have a great time together. We did secret santa and a cookie exchange; this is the plate we made up during the cookie exchange. So festive!!!

December 10

Amanda left today for a conference in Atlanta. She's gonna kill me for putting this picture on here... heeheehee!!!

December 7

We had our office party tonight. It was at Fulton's on the River. I didn't get a picture.

December 6

Tonight I got to chat with Honey after church for a little while. She's so wonderful... I love hanging out with her. She's always so encouraging!

December 5

Tonight I went over to Pastor Armand and Julie's to spend a little time chatting with Julie. She's not due until 12/30, but I don't think she's gonna make it that long...

And on another note... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN-PAUL!!!!!

December 4

We've had a lot of snow lately. Mama wanted me to take some pictures to send her, so I took this one from our front window. I liked the reflection of the Christmas lights in the window.

December 3

My desk looked dead and boring, so a while ago I bought one of those little bamboo plants that's not really bamboo at all. I bought it at Jewel for a dollar. I was very proud of my little non-bamboo; I named him Bamm-Bamm. Well, today I realized I have been a terrible mother. I thought the little stick in the pot that tells you what to do with it said it needed little water and little in-direct light, so he's been on my dimly lit desk and I've watered him about once a week. Today he looks terrible and sickly. The stalks are wrinkly and turning yellow, some of the leaves have turned yellow... he looks so sad. So, off to the internet I go, looking for info. Apparently these things need lots of water. They can actually grow in just water, with no soil. I've been starving the poor thing; he's completely dehydrated! One website I looked at said that by time they turn yellow, there is usually nothing you can do for them, they're just too far gone. Please join me in prayer for little Bamm-Bamm, as I am believing for a full and complete recovery despite my failure as a mother!

December 2

Tonight we decorated our house for Christmas. Yay for Christmas trees!!!!!!

Us under the tree. Yes, Ashley is wearing snowflake garland on her head...

December 1

Today we went to a surprise baby shower for Julie. She was very surprised! It was a lot of fun and she got a lot of great things for Sofia.

Later, we went to Lindsay's for a Christmas Decorating party. This is her tree after we decorated and made cookies... lots of cookies!

November 30

Winter has definitely arrived! The high today was 35 or some such nonsense. And to think, it only gets colder until May! When I left for prayer band, my car registered only 27. So, it was no surprise when Jen came out to the car looking like Nanook of the North...



Gotta love the crazy tree branch lights in the background!

November 29

I love living in Chicago... I really, really do! On my way from work, I picked up Amanda Sue so we could go to TBP #2 before the prayer meeting. As we slowly worked our way through downtown, we passed the Merchandise Mart. It was so beautiful, all lit up for Christmas...

Oh, the wonderful city we live in!

November 28

At the last Graham School seminar I went to, there was a lady who decided to make me her project. I don't so much mind; she has a lot of connections in the science/medicine realm. Today there was a surgical ethics lecture she thought would be beneficial for me. The title was "Ethical, Theological, and Philosophical Considerations in Embryonic Stem Cell Research". It was very interesting.

November 27

I tried to go to work today, even though I wasn't feeling 100%. Cathleen took one look at me and told me to go home. Before I left, she gave me a Wal-born tablet; it's Walgreen's version of air-born. You drop the little tablet in a glass of water and it effervesces. (I like that word.) Then you drink it. It looks pretty gross, but it really didn't taste bad at all. By time I got home, I could already tell a difference! PTL! Hopefully by morning I'll be completely better...

(Okay, so technically I didn't take this picture, but I really don't think anyone would have wanted to see anything I would have taken a picture of today. And besides, I did "take it" off the Walgreens website!)

November 26

So I'm sick. I woke up Thursday morning with a sore throat and stuffy head. I'm not getting sick, I'm not getting sick... Yeah right! Everyday I got a little worse. That did not, however, keep me from midnight shopping or frigid putt-putt! It is, or was rather, just the kind of head cold that irritates you with all the snot and inability to breathe, but you don't feel too bad to go about normal life... until Sunday. I woke up with blisters in my mouth, my snot was so bountiful I had to leave church, I was alternating between chills and sweat. Beautiful. And I was driving home. I called my boss somewhere in Indiana and told her I wouldn't be in today.

So, my day has consisted of oj, chicken soup, cough drop, sleep, repeat...

November 25

I had to head back to Chicago today. I love going home to TN. Seems like I don't get home for ages (but thankfully mama & daddy come up to visit often) and then I'm home every other week. Well, not quite, but I was just home six weeks ago and I'll be back in a month.

Leaving the Menagerie...

Left to right: Belle (the matriarch), Daddy, Me & Macy, Mama & Leo

Sorry the picture isn't so great; we took it on my phone.

I have pictures... they're just stuck in my camera right now!

November 20

We went out to visit Jasmine and Josiah tonight. Amanda made a wonderful dinner for us - Cod with creamy leek sauce, sweet potato casserole, and roasted vegetable salad. It was so yummy!

Amanda, Shelly, Jasmine, Me, and Ashley in Josiah's nursery.

Amanda took Jasmine the hat she has been making for Josiah. Shelly modeled it for us...

November 19

Well, today wasn't too spectacular. I came home from work and started cleaning and packing in preparation for going home on Wednesday.

The fruits of my labor...

November 18

I didn't realize I didn't post today... oops!

Well, we had a tailgate at church tonight. I went with Ashley and Amanda when they went for choir and instead of singing, I watched football. It was a lot of fun. I got to spend some time talking with Idara and Pastor Armand. Unfortunately, even though I had my camera, I did not take any pictures.

The bears lost...

And the Skins lost, to Dallas no less!
We didn't actually watch either of these games. I'm not sure what we did watch... hmmm

November 17

I missed the prayer band retreat this weekend because I had to become certified in phlebotomy. So, I spent the entire day in a hotel conference room with fake arms full of fake blood...



I'm proud to say, I passed each practical on the first attempt. I am now a certified phlebotomy technician... whoopee

November 16

This evening Tiffany came over to hang out with us. We had pizza & gyros & chocolate chip cake. Then we watched the movie The Ultimate Gift. It's a really good (clean) movie.

The gift of friendship...

To-Do List

I came across this blog the other day - http://www.todolistblog.com/. Apparently this woman has nothing better to do than analyze people's to-do lists and compile them into a book. Some of the lists are quite interesting. There's one from a Christian guy "110 things to do before I die". A woman's list from when she was 12 of what she wanted in a husband - that one was pretty funny. Got me thinking...

I'm a list maker. I make lists of things I need to do, should do, would like to do. I even make lists of lists (that makes sense in my head, promise!). I prefer my lists to be on post-its so I can stick them everywhere. I also like that the walls of my cube are that stuff you can thumb tack onto, so I have lists tacked all over the walls of my cube. It's much more exciting and efficient than when I had real walls!

Most of my lists are rather mundane - errands to run, patients to contact, work stuff to follow-up on, groceries I would like to buy but probably won't make it to the store for, you know - everyday life stuff. Here lately though I've been making a mental list that I decided to write down after looking at this blog.

Things to do before I get married (if not before marriage, definitely before kids):

• Tour Italy with Mama
• Memorize Proverbs 31 and Psalm 119
• Learn to sew
• Make a quilt or afghan (or both!)
• Spend a year in another country
• Learn another language (see above)
• Publish something
• Compete in some sort of race
• Learn to make a fabulous flaky pie crust from scratch, even if I only do it once
• Learn to bake bread from scratch, even if I only do it once
• Go fishing, maybe deep sea fishing
• Parasail
• Grow a garden

I guess we'll see how far I get. At the looks of things, I'll have time to get through quite a few of these...

November 15

Tonight Amanda introduced me to Taco Burrito #2, the best taco burrito joint in town. It was lovely. Then we went to prayer meeting, reeking of taco burrito of course, which was also lovely.


Us, happy as clams, after our chorizo and prayer!

November 14

I missed the last bus to the hospital, so I had to walk over, but I saw this beautiful tree and couldn't believe the sky behind it. Amanda said it looked like I messed with the colors, but all I did was crop it a little... the metra tracks kinda seemed out of place.

It reminded me of that old hymn...

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight,

for the mystic harmony, linking sense to sound and sight;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thy church, that evermore lifteth holy hands above,

offering up on every shore her pure sacrifice of love;

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thyself, best Gift Divine, to the world so freely given,

for that great, great love of thine, peace on earth, and joy in heaven:

Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

November 13

Every woman loves a new pair of shoes. My car is no exception...

I went to buy tires for the first time in my life today. The man was super nice and I got a great deal! If anyone needs tires, check out Discount Tire Co. http://discounttire.com/.

Then I drove my new tires over to see Jasmine and Josiah again. He's my new buddy!

November 12

There's a mouse in that bag!



He's been living in our kitchen, but today he landed on a sticky trap so out to the dumpster he went. Hallelujah, the mouse is gone!!!

November 11

We went for a family jog tonight before the girls had to go to choir.

I look a little crazy in the eyes...