Tuna

Tonight was the first night I opened tuna and only one cat came running. I miss Chaz. Sammie is a completely different cat now. He never leaves me side and cuddles as Chaz used to. There is nothing I would change about Sam, but I miss having 2 kitties who come running to greet me at the door, or sleep next to me or come running when I open a can of tuna. Miss you Chazzy!

Thanksgiving Weekend

This weekend has been the best Thanksgiving weekend I've had in a LONG time! The holiday was great with my family at my aunt and uncle's house in Yorkville. Black Friday was spent cleaning my entire place which was way overdue. That evening we met Rebekah out for drinks at Martini Ranch; it was nice to see her and catch up! Not to mention the amazing martini's they have there - YUM. Saturday we were lazy, lazy, lazy but finally went out for soup at the Soupbox, which was a great way to welcome winter back to Chicago! However, that evening was unseasonably warm for late November so our walk there and back made me fall even more in love with Chicago. Today we went to church and did our normal Sunday routine of breakfast after then Jason packing and watching football while I nap. This weekend was wonderful! So thankful for that!!

Engagament Party

Sorry for the ridiculous delay, but we had an amazing time at our engagement party. A HUGE thank you to my parents for helping plan with buying all the paper goods and to my mom for making a lot of the food and dad for the excellent brownies (and not putting nuts on all of them ;-) Thanks Shawn and Tiffany for hosting the party, it was so nice of you to offer your place since mine was too small and we thought by having it in Chicago wed miss out on a lot of our suburban family/friends. Maybe this will be your last big party at that house?? Thanks to Phil, Laura, Judy and Mark for traveling in from Iowa for the entire weekend to be with us. We are so glad you got to meet my family and all our friends! We are so excited to have all of you be part of our special day and hope you will be able to attend! Thanks again for joining us at our party! Click here to see the pictures from that night! Thanks again!

Our Wedding Party

Phil, Chris, Meredith and Shawn (not pictured, Katie, our flowergirl)

click here for our friend, Christy's, post on our party. Those umbrella's sure were great, Christy! LOL.

What I'm Thankful for this Thanksgiving

I've created my thankful list every year but this is the first year that my blog is public. Feel free to share your top 5.
*these are in no specific order!

• fun coffee mugs
• cats
• nice people
• family
• red wine
• heat
• greeting cards
• my new couch
• my honda
• good health
• 90210
• Jacinda
• Mexico
• not working at a recent place of employment anymore
• my apartment
• pictures
• Dad
• hand lotion
• being engaged to my best friend
• glasses
• God
• Jason's family
• cheesy movies
• small group
• xsport
• love
• nail polish
• Meredith
• tea
• good sales
• Sam
• Hobby Lobby
• birthdays
• my iphone
• Grandma
• Panera
• my parent's lakehouse
• facebook
• dental care
• Mom
• lipgloss
• milk
• my lap top
• Shawn and Tiffany
• my cousin's children
• being baptised this year
• hugs
• my bike
• Barnes and Noble
• friendly dogs
• blankets
• sunshine
• girls nights
• flowers
• air conditioning
• hooded sweatshirts
• doctors
• summer
• Christmas trees
• horses
• Olive Garden
• books
• Klove
• Target
• easy recipes
• clean sheets and towels
• unemployment benefits
• Dominicks salsa
• Sophie
• my engagement ring
• holiday candles (perfect autumn and perfect christmas from BBW)
• college degree
• Chicago
• snow
• Labor Day and Memorial Day weekend
• DMB
• warm towels
• running shoes
• our freedom
• Jason's condo
• hospitals
• Lakefron bike path
• Willow Creek
• When Jason lets us drive to church (instead of el!)
• popcorn
• The Bible
• Wrigley Field
• Real Simple magazine
• our wedding website
• Young Associates Board
• Christmas music
• children
• safe drinking water
• Disney movies
• blistex
• an education
• vacations
• friends
• Walgreens

Noticable Changes

So I'm almost through week one of really trying to get into shape and eating better. I've kind of eased into this with trying to eat better, drink less wine and incorporate some form of daily activity in on a daily basis. This week was the real deal! Monday I took Sophie for a walk/run. She was so good as a running partner, never stopped to smell anything and every time I stopped to walk, she turned around and gave me a dirty look, so definitely a good motivation to keep me running. (who wants to disappoint the cutest black puppy?) Tuesday I went to an ab class at the gym. It's Thursday and it still hurts to cough, sneeze, bend over, breathe, etc. Wednesday I met with a personal trainer. I have 2 more sessions left from back in the day and thought I'd get good use out of them. My new trainer, Adriene brought me brought me through the typical orientation/assessment. I shared my goals of losing 10-15 lbs, gaining muscle and basically just getting myself into shape again. Today I went to the gym and did the elliptical, so today makes 4 days straight of doing something! We've been eating better too and not drinking. It's Jason's birthday and we're not even toasting with a glass of wine. (that was not my idea...I think birthdays require a glass of wine!)

We'll see how long I can keep this up but I'm off to a good start! :)

i-heart.org

I am honestly at a loss for words of how to even begin to descibe what I am feeling in my heart. What I I do know is that I need to put something down in writing to come back to tomorrow and the day after to review and pray about.

It is by no accident that I have been emailing back and forth with the global team at Willow about me possibly co-leading and then leading a group to Mexico or beyond next year.It was also no accidnt that my plans were canceled tonight which allowed me to meet Christy to see Hillsong United's documentary, "I Heart Revolution." I know in my heart that I have been prompted to listen to where God sees me in the next year and though I really only have it in my head to plan a wedding, find a job, start grad school, marry the love of my life and begin our future together, God may have some other plans for me. I'm scared out of my mind but am trusting Him to lead me the next few weeks, months or even years as I now have a much clearer understanding of my calling.

More to come on this but in the meantime, here's a tiny intro to what Christy and I saw this evening. (click here) and then see i-heart.org. I am not sure what the plans are for this film being released onto DVD and when that will happen but you can be assured that it will be a top priority of mine to make sure everyone I come into contact with sees it. It wrecked me. AMAZING. Thank you Jesus and thank you Hillsong United for the impact I pray you are making all over the world.

Uh-Oh

There's a dead squirrel in front of my building. I really hope it's not Rusty! :(

I love my small group!

I've been in 3 different small groups (fancy word for a group of 10-15 people who meet regularly to study a book of the Bible or certain topic led by one or two trained individuals.) It was joining a small group which helped me to grow in my relationship with Christ. Therefore, I am a firm believer in belonging to one for accountability reasons and I especially love what I gain from the community aspect since I am the extrovert that I am.

My first group was through Park Community and was a group of girls all in very different places in our spiritual journey but I met one of my closest friends, Virginia, in that group. Then I joined another group which didn't have a leader and was a bit over my head, but my third group was an amazing group of girls all on very different paths in many ways but I grew so much for this group as well.

Back in May or June, Meredith and I wanted to join a group together so we registered for what we thought was a women's group. Turns out it was co-ed but still wanted to be in a group for the summer so we moved forward. Being that it was co-ed, I asked Jason if he wanted to join us and he registered as well. Over the summer we studied the book of Acts with a focus on community. We had a social outing every other week which was a great way to get to know everyone. We went bowling, had a picnic in the park, happy hour at Sushi Samba (yum!) and a few other outings. It is an extremely non-threatening environment and a wonderful group of women and men who help each of us in our walk with God and act as a support system in whatever we may need. Jason and I are in our second semester with the group, this time studying Tim Keller's "The Prodigal Son" which isn't holding my attention as much as it is is for others but value the fellowship and friendship I've gained from these individuals.

*The picture above is from last Sunday night. We served together at Joshua Center which is a women's shelter on the west side. We prepared lasagna and spaghetti served with salad and bread. Amazing group. Amazing time. I am so thankful for each other these individuals! Love you guys!!

*not pictured: Christy, Jason and Ismael. The woman in pink is the women's shelters staff and my friend, Michelle, in red joined us that evening as well.