Relaxing weekend

David is in North Carolina for the weekend (really just today and part of tomorrow) so I get to have a relaxing weekend alone in our apartment. Although I love his company, sometimes it is just necessary to have a little alone time. I was a little productive doing dishes and such, and I plan on doing some more cleaning tomorrow morning. I am trying to decide if I want to go to church this weekend, or wait until next weekend. I should probably go ahead and go tomorrow, but I don't really want to go alone! I am not sure that many people from work (other than the pastors) go to church, so I might not know that many people there. However, that shouldn't prevent me from getting up and going to church. Hopefully it isn't snowing so the walk up there won't be too bad.

A lot of things have happened since my last post, which I will quickly wrap up here. I went home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it was very nice to see my family and enjoy the holiday season. David and I threw a New Year's Eve party which was super fun and it was nice to finally show our apartment to our friends. I have now survived my first Christmas season at work and I learned so much during that time. I believe I am finally getting the hang of the job and I am glad that I enjoy being there and becoming friends with my co-workers.

I decided not to really make New Year's resolutions this year because I always seem to keep them up for about a month, then totally forget about them. However, I am hoping to eat healthier (sadly as I eat some Mint M&Ms) and work out frequently. I have already lost a few pounds simply walking to and from work each day (it is about a mile each way) and ideally, I would like to lose about 10 more pounds before the summer. 

I have exciting news! David and I are planning a vacation for February to leave the cold weather of Chicago. We found an amazing deal and are headed to Mexico the weekend before Valentine's day. I just bought a new bathing suit and will be super excited to embrace the sun in Mexico. One thing that I realize I really miss is the sun. Even during the day up here in seems like the sun is never shining like it did in North Carolina. Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures in Mexico and will post them here!

At the mention of pictures, here are some recent pictures taken with my phone:

 Smores (we had an entire meal before this dessert as well) at this awesome Japanese restaurant.

 Shedd Aquarium to see the jellyfish exhibit.

 

Cool blue frogs.

 I was greeted by this lovely fish, who pretty much scared the crap out of me.

 Snow from my office window.

 Shadow picture on our walk home from the aquarium (out of order).

 (Old) Roommate picture on New Year's Eve.

 My first Chicago Bulls game!

 Accumulation of snow over the work day. Snow angel on Michigan Ave. below.

  Snow!!! View from our balcony after the first (real) snow this season.

I hope to blog more often so that each post won't be so long, but who knows if that will happen. 

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend and yay for having Monday off of work!

Updates galore!

Many things have happened since I last updated this blog. Some of the major things include:

1. moving to a new apartment;
2. attending my first Chicago Bears football game vs. the Carolina Panthers;
3. landing an AWESOME job as an editorial assistant at a wonderful church;
4. attending a benefit at the field museum;
5. and watching Mickey and Minnie Mouse in the Chicago lighting ceremony.

I am in a wonderful place right now in my life and so happy to be here. I absolutely love my new job and I hope that I will continue to love it as we push through the busy season surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas. While I enjoyed having lots of free time during the day on my mini-vacation from work, I am very happy to have something to do. So far I have walked to work every day and walked home all but one day (it was pouring rain so I took the bus instead). I just took over one of the major parts of my job (typesetting the Sunday bulletins) so I have a feeling I will be a little stressed this week, but thankfully it is a short week! I am super excited to go home for Thanksgiving and can't wait to spend some time with my family.

Here are some pictures from the last few months:

 The view from our seats at the Bears/Panthers game.

 Wearing our Panthers jerseys surrounded by Bears fans.

 The view from our new apartment balcony, overlooking a park.

 Flowers from my boss on my first day of work.

 The view from my desk at work, with some people dressed up as Mario to support a new video game.

 Walking to work on a really foggy morning.

 View of the Hancock Tower from my office.

 David standing in front of a bison at the Field Museum.

 The front of the Field Museum at night.

 Flowers from David for my birthday!

 The huge crowd waiting to see the parade at the lighting ceremony.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

I already had to pull out my big winter coat due to the sudden drop in temperature this past week. I haven't had to wear my boots yet, but I know that day is coming soon...

Weekend of Fun!

Since David is in the office all week, we decided to go out and have fun this weekend. On Saturday morning, we decided to see what all was happening over the weekend, including festivals and touristy attractions. We decided to pick a festival at a local 50's-type diner but with a few back-ups, because we weren't sure how great the festival would be.

It was a very nice day as we set out to check out the festival. It is only a few blocks away, which was nice. As we passed the restaurant, there was a band setting up, and a few people milling around, but nothing special. Since it was already an hour in, we decided to skip that festival and head to our next destination: CHICK FIL-A!!! It is the only one in Chicago, and it just opened up a few months ago. It is rare that I have fast food (and David eats it less than I do) so it was a nice treat after a failed festival. While in line to order our food, we saw one of David's friends, John. It was really nice to see him and we decided to all have lunch together.

After lunch, we decided to head to Navy Pier! I haven't been there yet, and it is a pretty big Chicago place. Also, it is free!!! So we walked down the boardwalk and finally settled at the Beer Garden, where we each had a beer and listened to some great cover music by Tanglewood, with a few original songs thrown in. We also checked out a great exhibit on Nikola Tesla, which was very exciting for David and actually quite interesting to me. Once we left Navy Pier, we walked over to our new apartment to check out the surrounding area for grocery stores, bars, and cool places. We found a grocery store very similar to Whole Foods, which may come in handy! Also, we found a little quiet bar that could also be a nice place to hang out by the river.

On Sunday, we decided to take another walk (lots of walking this weekend) and join in on a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!!! How exciting! The record was to have at least 250 people simultaneously tie a bow-tie. It was a free event and if you were one of the first 500 people, you received a free bow-tie! It was sponsored by The Tie Bar, which seemed like a pretty cool place. We had an awesome time! I got a little stressed out at one point because I had finally learned how to tie it, and then it wasn't working any longer! But once I calmed down, we were ready to break the world record! It was a great experience.

Here are some pictures I took with my phone this weekend:The smaller building in the middle is our new place.
This is a picture of Windy, the pirate ship on Navy Pier.This is the Beer Garden, where we listened to some great music.Here is the view of the Chicago skyline from Navy Pier.David at the entrance to the Navy Pier boardwalk.After we tied our bow-ties for the world record!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that everyone is safe after Hurricane Irene.

The First of Many Posts

Since the last time I posted, I made a few MAJOR life changes.

First of all, I decided not to renew my lease in Chapel Hill. Then I quit my job at the library. Finally, I moved to CHICAGO!

I hope to post over the next few days my first few weeks here in Chicago. I am currently unemployed, but constantly looking for new jobs! I am applying a lot and hoping to hear back soon. I have been taking pictures when possible (which certainly helps with an iPhone!) and I will post them here when I can.

Here are two pictures that I took before I left NC. The first was taken in a bar when Liz came to visit me the weekend before I moved out! We had a blast and I was so happy that I was able to spend a weekend with her before I moved. Even though we had a few problems with transportation to the bar, we eventually figured everything out and had a wonderful night. The second picture is of David, finally reunited with his precious Star Wars light saber.



I will post my Chicago pictures later and start telling all about my adventures!

Happy New Year!

So I may be a few days late (or over a week late) but Mom was pushing me to blog again, so I figured that I would make her happy and send out a few little updates.

My last blog was in October, so I guess I will give a short run down of the last few months.

October: Halloween! I spent it in Chicago, and that was lots of fun! David and I dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, but unfortunately didn't have any trick-or-treaters! I guess he is a little too close to the city for families! We still had a blast and that meant that we had TONS of candy left over!

November: Work was pretty slow, since we couldn't do much until the end of the semester, but we were gearing up to take a few courses off reserve and put lots more on! It is really easy to do all the e-reserve classes, but a little more difficult when we are dealing with the actual hard copy of book and such. Also, I turned 23 (and now feel super old)!!! David made me a delicious dinner and then we went out to Top-O with Whitney, Clay, Graham, and Caroline! It was a perfect way to spend my birthday, although I certainly missed having all my friends around! It felt a little incomplete, but I was still glad that I was able to share my special night with close friends and David! Thanksgiving was also a wonderful time with family and David made a special trip down to enjoy the meal with my family! We had a pretty large crowd and it was certainly nice to see everyone again.

December: Carey had her "sprinkle" at the Olive Garden and we had a really good time! It was nice to spend time with my mom and sisters, as well as her mother-in-law and a few good friends. I really think she enjoyed the food, company, and the gifts! I also went back up to Chicago and got to test out my new snow boots! There was snow all on the ground and your footprints went away in less than 5 minutes! I couldn't believe it. It has certainly been a long time since I have seen that much snow. Normally we can still see the grass when it snows in North Carolina! We also had the family Christmas party, which was exciting! David made the trip down from Chicago for that too, which was a really nice addition. I have never had a boy to bring to family Christmas!

Christmas this year was definitely a new experience. Due to work, I wasn't able to come home until Christmas Eve, and only stayed until the day after Christmas. I really missed having a Christmas vacation! This was the first year in about 17 years that I haven't had that pleasure! I was envious of all my friends who are still in school or teachers that got that long break! I guess I am glad that I have a job in this economy and probably shouldn't be complaining, but oh well! On Christmas Eve, I went to TWO church services! First my Dad and I went to our old church, Plaza, to spend Christmas with some old friends and family. It wasn't the same without Granddaddy there, and I could tell that he was missed. Katie was also missed this year, but I am glad that her parents and sister were able to make it out to the service, despite the grief. After that service, I had a few hours before I left to go to Sardis for the 11:00pm service with my mom. It felt weird that I wasn't able to go to one Christmas Eve service with both of my parents, but I enjoyed the time I was able to spend with each of them. I was woken up REALLY EARLY on Christmas (7:30!!!!) to open a few presents before the Campbells and Dalys arrived around 10 or so. I got an amazing picture of Dad and me riding on the motorcycle on the way to Sturgis, South Dakota. I really love the picture and I was super excited that my parents got it blown up, and now it hangs over my TV! My parents opened lots of presents from each other, and we were forced to get dressed really early (I wasn't too happy I had to change out of my pjs before noon) and prepare for company! I had a great time opening presents with all of my family and I got a lot of really cool presents! The Campbells made candles that smelled lovely and the Dalys made really cool coasters! I can't wait to try both of those out!

I spent New Years Eve in Chicago, which was a new and exciting adventure! Kendall and Cam came over for about an hour or two before they went out to a club to celebrate the new year. It was weird not watching the ball drop, but I guess it wouldn't have dropped on time there anyway! We had some champagne and I enjoyed a quiet night in this year.

To sum it all up, I had a great 2010. I graduated from college, got a job, got my own apartment, and started dating a wonderful guy. I flew on an airplane by myself for the first time and with all my traveling, I have gotten pretty good at flying! I went to Mexico for the first time and enjoyed an amazing week with friends. I hope that 2011 is just as great as 2010!

If I can actually come up with good new years resolutions, I will post those soon. The students start classes tomorrow, so I am guessing work will be pretty busy with angry, confused instructors, meaning I better head to bed.

Goodnight!

CHICAGO!

So this is a picture of the famous Chicago Bean in Millennium Park. Unfortunately, I got this picture from Google images, but only because my crappy little camera didn't like taking pictures of it at night! It is actually a really cool statue and we were even able to walk under it!!!

However, that was Saturday night, so I will start from the beginning!!!

Thursday morning was slightly stressful, because of course I fell asleep Wednesday night without packing! I quickly packed my book bag and rushed out the door to work (D drove me, thank goodness!!!) While at work, I made sure to send D a few emails, reminding him of certain things to pack so that he wouldn't forget! Moving to a new place is very stressful!

Around 3:30p, I was picked up from work by one of our friends and his little sister. They drove us to the airport, where we checked in right where we were dropped off! While you do have to tip the people (apparently to ensure that your bags make it...) it seemed SUPER convenient for the 3 huge bags we were checking. One bag was over 50lbs, but with a little rearranging (and two hardback books going into my purse) we were successfully checked in! The helpful guy also printed out our boarding passes for us, although D didn't realize and we checked in again anyway. I suppose you can never be too careful???

We successfully got through security, although D forgot that his projector was in his book bag, and that caused a minor hold-up. Thankfully, no one was behind us, so it didn't really matter!!! Once we were putting our shoes back on, there was a little kid, around 3 or 4 who would NOT stop crying, most likely because someone had taken his little book bag away, as well as his shoes! At that age, there is no way he can understand airport security, just the fact that someone was taking away his things! After security, we quickly grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the gate. The plane ride wasn't anything too exciting, but I loved looking out the window and seeing Chicago as we approached! Due to the three large bags, we took a taxi to D's new place! Like most places in Chicago, it has one of those circular doors that are super cool for someone from North Carolina. I always thought they were just super fancy, but also found out that they prevent the wind and cold air from coming into the building in the winter. Imagine that!

The rest of Thursday night wasn't that exciting, just filled with a little unpacking and walking around to find food, which was a little harder than we expected! Where D lives seems to shut down at the end of the work day, so not as many places were open! We finally settled on Qdoba, which was good, as usual! Since both CVS and Walgreens were closed by the time we left dinner, we ran into the 7/11 to get some basic things (toothbrush/toothpaste etc.) for the night and then settled in to watch a little Modern Family!

Friday morning started off with a Starbucks run (of course) and a call that the movers were an hour and a half early! Moving in wasn't that bad, with the exception of the broken bookcases and TV stand. I was in charge of checking off what numbers came in, and I messed up twice, but I still don't think the movers said the right number!! They said it wasn't that big of a deal, which is nice.

While the movers were bringing in all the boxes, the groceries arrived! It was nice to already have them in the apartment! After the movers, we grabbed lunch at Potbelly's, which was an awesome sandwich place! We also walked around the Merchandise Mart for a while, which was nice! I tried deep dish pizza for dinner, and could only finish a half of a piece! After pizza, D and I traveled to Wicker Park to visit K and C. It was nice to see her place and visit with old friends, but I may not be making that trip again...

Saturday was filled with more walking around Chicago (in the northern direction this time) and we found a cute little used bookstore! There were also new titles, but lots of used books! I was in heaven! I bought two books (one for D) and they were still cheaper than the cost of one book normally! Following the bookstore we caught a late breakfast at EATT. The service was amazing, probably because they were about to stop serving breakfast and we were able to order super fast. My banana pancakes were amazing! Of course, I had leftovers for Sunday's breakfast!

The rest of Saturday included unpacking 5 boxes of books and organizing them (me) while D unpacked the kitchen and started washing all the dishes. He was also able to go through a lot of his clothes and wash them too! After a little unpacking we walked over to Millennium Park and checked out the bean and saw a LOT of people. It was a bit overwhelming, but apparently there was a free country concert going on that night. For dinner we found Ronny's steakhouse, which was in itself an adventure. We shared a meal and tried their famous pink lemonade, but the place was slightly sketchy. The food was pretty good, but hurt my tummy just a little bit.

On Sunday we woke up to the CHICAGO MARATHON! Even with the windows closed, we could still hear all the music and cheering for the runners. We quickly ate our leftovers from EATT and I packed up my stuff to head to the airport. Due to the potential marathon street closings, we left with plenty of time to make it to the airport. We grabbed Starbucks on the way, which also included a Chicago mug for me! I promised D I would buy him the North Carolina mug, so that we could have the respective mugs at our places. We took the orange line to Midway and found out that my plane was delayed an hour! It was nice because we had a little more time to spend together. We sat at near the check-in counter and some guy even trusted us enough to leave ALL his bags next to us while he went outside for about ten minutes. He didn't even ask us, but I guess we looked responsible enough to not take his stuff...

Around 2pm we said our final goodbyes and I headed through security. The two people in front of me kept forgetting things in their pockets, included coins and a beer bottle cap, but overall it wasn't that bad. The worst part was getting to my gate almost an hour early and there wasn't anywhere to sit! I sat up against the moving sidewalk, but I kept sliding down!

Finally I boarded my first plane ride by myself! It wasn't really anything that exciting, especially since I didn't have anyone to talk to! The flight went smoothly and Roman picked me up at the gate pretty soon after I arrived. While it was nice to make it back to my place, I was exhausted! I am glad that I don't have to travel that much each week.

Overall, my first trip to Chicago was a blast! I go back in a few weeks and I can't wait to see other sights while I am up there! I miss D, but we are trying to email a few times a day and talk on the phone when we can. Also, I am super excited to see my family this weekend and perhaps hang out with a few friends back home.

Maybe I will get around to uploading my Chicago pictures at some point, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

Crazy Weekend of Happiness and Sadness

One word to summarize this weekend: intense.

While I expected Friday to be packed full with birthday celebrations and wedding preparations, I never expected the death of my beloved grandfather. I know that he is in a better place, free of the pain of cancer, but I certainly wish that I would have spent a little more time with him in these last few months. I am so glad that I was able to go home last weekend as well, and I was given the amazing chance to see him and basically say goodbye. He was sitting in his recliner, watching NC State play football (just like normal!). I believe that has to be one of the best final memories for me to have of my grandfather.

The news came via a phone call from my sister while I was visiting with D outside. Thankfully, he brought good (on one front) news. HE PASSED THE BAR! Of course I never doubted his ability to pass, but I know that it was a very stressful time for him, and a good birthday present! And he was able to find an apartment in Chicago, so the move is now certainly going to happen. I will miss him, but I am glad that he has a job (since so many are unable to find decent jobs...) even if it takes him away for a few months (or years). We have talked about our future plans, but have also realized that we need to settle in before making any major plans.

To celebrate D's birthday, we went to Kanki with his mother and sister. The food was amazing and I didn't really mind being picked on by the guy making our food. I still think that he should have picked on the birthday boy, but I suppose I was the next youngest at the table! After dinner, we shared a cheesecake made by his sister and decorated by his 2 year old nephew. The one potential setback was the lack of silverware, but we just used chopsticks instead!

Following dinner, we said goodbye to his mother and sister and headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a few quick things (including Halloween candy and Star Wars pjs!) for the wedding on Saturday. Then we got ready to go out to celebrate with our friends, for both his birthday and his going away party. It was a lovely night with friends I hadn't seen in a few weeks, some even since summer! While I believe I pulled off being pretty normal, my grandfather's death was in the back of my mind all night. Looking back, I think I did a little too much on Friday, which led to a minor breakdown early Saturday morning.

After some good beer on Friday night, we headed to Locust, NC for B and T's wedding! I wasn't really sure how happy the wedding was going to be, with my family being pretty torn up over Granddaddy's death, but it was a lovely wedding and even Grandmama was very composed during the ceremony and reception. T looked very happy and B was gorgeous! It really seems to be true that every bride looks amazing on her wedding day. I loved the unique look to B's dress and she seemed to know both of her grandfathers were looking down on her big day. And I caught the bouquet at the reception! Granted all the other girls (there were only 4) stepped backwards and I had to lunge in order to catch it before it fell to the ground, but still. So now I suppose I am next in line? Although, if I am next in line to those girls, it makes perfect sense...

After the wedding we headed to Charlotte, to celebrate my dad's birthday. Saturday night consisted of hanging out, watching college football. It was nice to just be there with my parents and enjoy a few quiet moments after two very busy days. While I didn't really enjoy waking up early for church on Sunday morning, the service was lovely and I believe D enjoyed the more laid-back atmosphere of my church. I hope wherever I end up settling down, I can find a church very similar to Sardis.

All of the family got back together Sunday afternoon for Dad's birthday celebration, which was a lovely affair. I think my dad really enjoyed seeing everyone there for his birthday, even if his own father couldn't make it. The funeral is tomorrow, and I believe that is the time I will finally cry. Thankfully D offered to drive me to Charlotte tomorrow, giving me the opportunity to be sad and NOT have to focus on driving on the highway.

I believe that is basically a summary of my intense weekend. Lots of much needed family time! I will be glad to see everyone again tomorrow, even if the terms are not the happiest.

D and I leave on Thursday evening for Chicago, I can't wait!

Maybe I will post pictures soon? Don't look too forward to them, though...