American Gothic...

I'm sure you have all seen the famous "American Gothic" painting in some form or another through the years. The picture of the man with the pitchfork and the woman in front of an old farmhouse. But have you ever seen them in GIGANTIC statue form? Matt and I ran across this exhibit one day as we were walking down Michigan Avenue. As a point of reference, that is me standing next to the suitcase in the second picture. I'm serious when I say it is gigantic!

Chinese New Year...

A few weeks ago, Matt and I, along with several of Matt's classmates, headed down to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration parade. Unfortunately, the parade was somewhat disappointing. Although there were a few Chinese Dragons that were worth seeing in the parade, the rest of the parade was not spectacular. However, following the parade, we had some wonderful Chinese food at one of the top restaurants in Chinatown which made up for the parade!! And, we did manage a few snapshots of some of the highlights of the day. Overall, the Chinese New Year celebration was a fun experience!

It's official...

Matt finally got his law license from Texas. So, he is now officially "Attorney and Counselor at Law" in the great state of Texas! Very exciting!

Valentine's Day

Matt and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Since Matt loves planning surprises, he decided to schedule a full day of fun and I had no idea what we were going to do!

The day began with a manicure and pedicure at our local nail salon (this was just for me, Matt didn't participate...although he has had a pedicure before!)



Then we were off to a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory (courtesy of a gift card from my parents that we got for Christmas!) We love to split the Crusted Chicken Romano...it is amazing & way too much food for 1 person!



We then took a lovely stroll down Michigan Avenue (to walk off our lunch), and ended up in Millenium Park where we spent some time ice skating...

(click to enlarge)

Ice skating was tons of fun, and as you can see from the picture above (bottom row, middle), I am well on my way to the Olympic Winter Games! We did manage to avoid falling the whole time we were skating! After we finished skating, we took a bus back up Michigan Avenue to the Hancock Building. One of Chicago's best-kept secrets is the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building. You can pay $15 to go to the 97th floor of the building to the Observation Deck and only see a magnificent view of the city. Or...you can spend the same $15, go to the 96th floor to the Signature Lounge, get appetizers and/or desserts, and get the same spectacular view! The first picture is the view from our table. The 2nd picture is the amazing view from the women's bathroom window (sorry, it's a little blurry)!



After a full day of fun, we headed back to the apartment where I had another surprise waiting!


What a wonderful way to spend Valentine's Day in Chicago! After all the surprises and fun that Matt planned, I felt a little guilty that all I got him was a book. But at least he was excited about the book! :) I hope you all got to spend Valentine's Day with someone you love.

Science & Industry

I realized yesterday that I've taken a lot of pictures, but haven't posted any lately. So...here is the first of a few posts of things Matt and I have been doing lately. A couple weeks ago, we decided to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. It's on the south side of Chicago, and took us about an hour to get to it on the Bus. It was a Saturday and the last day that the museum was going to be free, so it was VERY crowded. Although we had heard many great things about the museum, we weren't extremely impressed. Several of the interactive exhibits were broken, and some of the exhibits were closed. But, in spite of that, there were a few interesting finds in the museum.

First, we got to see the German Submarine U-505, which was captured during World War II. It's capture was kept secret until the war was over, so that the Germans wouldn't change their war strategy. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go on board the ship (the tickets were sold out), but it was interesting reading about the brave men who worked for months to capture this German Sub.


We also saw the train exhibit in the museum, which was pretty interesting. They had a huge model of the city of Chicago, complete with an operating "El" train (Chicago's rail system). It was really fun to watch the trains move around the track, and to see the intricate details in the model of Chicago's skyline.




There was also a car exhibit that had many cars from different eras, in addition to race cars from the early 1900's to race cars of the "future". Below, you can see an 1896 Benz, a race car from 1911, and a Solar Powered race car.

Wicked...

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE fan of the Wizard of Oz! Seriously, when I was little I watched it all the time! In fact, I watched it so much that my parents would turn on the movie, put it on mute, and I would say all the lines and sing all the songs. I would even sing the "Munchkin Land" song, complete with funny voice and dance. Well, this year for Christmas, my parents got me tickets to see Wicked! In case you don't know, Wicked is the story of the Witches of Oz. It's about the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch. I was SO EXCITED to go see the musical. Not only do I love the Wizard of Oz, but I love musicals too! The tickets were for the last evening performance of Wicked in Chicago. It has been playing here for 3 years. So, Matt and I got dressed up (I got to wear my bridesmaid dress from Jen's wedding again!), went out for a nice dinner, and then headed off to the Oriental Theater for the musical. When we got there, we were amazed by the beautiful architecture inside the theater. But the best was yet to come. The show started with a huge mechanical dragon that moved above the stage, and continued with beautiful scenery, amazing costumes, and an incredible performance all around. Even Matt watched intently, and he generally doesn't even like musicals! The entire production was magical, and made me feel like a kid again as I sat there, eager to learn the story of these witches, and to see how it all fit together with the Wizard of Oz. And the two stories fit together seamlessly. Wow! It was so amazing! I wish each of you could have been there to see this amazing show. Sadly, it is no longer playing in Chicago. But if you ever have a chance to see it, you should definitely take the opportunity! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the theater, or during the show, but here are a couple we took outside.

(Click to Enlarge)

P.S. Please note, you can tell in the picture of me by myself that I am not wearing anything on my legs. Let me just say, this was NOT a good idea! Forgetting that I live in Chicago, and that the wind chill was -20 that night, I got ready and rushed out the door, without thought of putting on hose. Now, in Alabama, or even Oklahoma on a cold night, this would not be a problem. Rush out of the house, into the car, turn on the heater, and you're fine. Not so much in Chicago. I did rush out of the building into a taxi on the way to dinner. However, the taxi dropped us at the wrong restaraunt, so we had to walk a block outside to the right one. My legs were cold, but it was bearable. However, when we left dinner, we had to walk 4 blocks (into the wind) to the theater. By the time we got there, I honestly could not feel my toes and everytime I took a step, it felt like needles were stabbing all over my legs. By the time we got into the theater, it was all I could do to keep from crying. We got to our seats, and I wrapped Matt's coat around my legs and put my gloves on my feet (seriously). About 10 minutes later, the feeling came back to my toes. Lesson learned.

Perspective...

I realized today that many things in life are just a matter of perspective. For example, we were at church this morning and it was "praise time." (Side note, our church is really small...maybe 70 people. So, on Sunday mornings we have a time for people to say their prayer requests, or things they are thankful for if they want to, and then we have a prayer.) Anyway, 2 people gave thanks for the "really warm weather" we were having today...it was 30 degrees outside at church time this morning. Yes, they were thankful for 30 degrees. Also, yesterday when Matt and I went outside to head to the museum (a post with pics of that trip to come), I commented to Matt what a nice day it was and how glad I was that it had warmed up. Matt agreed. It was 31 degrees. Now, I must admit that I never thought I would be thankful for 30 degree weather, and certainly never imagined that I would consider it to be "warm weather," but I guess it's just a matter of perspective. Living in Alabama, I would put on warm clothes and gloves to go outside if it got down into the 40's. However, after a few weeks of weather in the 0's and wind chills in the negatives, 30 degrees seems like a wonderful temperature, and I even took off my gloves and hat because I was hot! Hope you have a wonderful, warm week, whatever temperature that may be!

The Apartment...

Well, as promised, I have taken pictures of our apartment to share with the world. I'm not sure they capture just how tiny it really is, but you might get an idea. Honestly, after I got over the initial shock of how small it is, I've started to get used to it. It's actually pretty cozy, and really easy to keep clean! I didn't take a picture of the closet (which is where I'm sitting to write this post...I like to call it the office) or the bathroom. The closet is actually a nice size, and the bathroom is small, but big enough to use. So...enjoy!

This is a picture from the corner of the room. It shows most of the room, besides the futon (which I was standing on to take the pic).


This is a close up of the kitchen. Notice the 2 inches of counter space we have between the sink & stove...that's the only counter we have!


This one was taken from the other side of the room. I was standing in front of the sink to take it.


So, hopefully that gives you a good idea of what our apartment looks like!

A moment to brag...

Please indulge me in a moment of bragging. I am so proud of the hard work that Matt put in last semester in his LLM program. Check out his grades from this semester...

The picture is a little blurry, but he definitely made straight A's!! Actually, he made 2 A+'s. And check out that GPA...4.0014! The director of the program "strongly discouraged" him from taking 14 hours because she said it would be too much work & doubted he would be able to graduate with honors if he took that many hours. Well...I guess it worked out OK! Ok, enough of the bragging. If he reads this, his ego will be too big to handle! Ha ha!! Have a great weekend!

More pics from Galena...

Here are a few more pictures from our trip. Notice the temp & wind chill in Galena on the weather maps...that was Wednesday, and we didn't go outside all day!! Also, there is a better pic of the frozen Mississippi at the bottom of the collage. Enjoy!























(click to enlarge)

Galena...

For our first day in Galena we decided to drive over to Iowa and go skiing. Yes, we were surprised that there are places to ski in Illinois and Iowa, but there are. Now, skiing in Illinois was certainly not with skiing in the Rocky Mountains, but it was still enjoyable! We had to cut the day short, since a small blizzard decided to blow in, making it hard to see and ski. Despite the cold, we still managed to have fun...and I skied a black diamond for the first time (although Matt said it was easier than "normal" blacks in Colorado!) Here are some pics from our day:



The slopes:















Our skiing attire before the snow came:





























After the snow started, ready to go back out and ski:






























On the final run of the day, Matt made an impressive jump in the terrain park:




















It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but this is the Mississippi River...and it's frozen!

Chicagoland...

Well, we arrived in the great city of Chicago on Friday night, to a light dusting snow and a TINY apartment! After I got over the shock of the small apartment, we started unpacking my things and trying to organize everything. We went out to dinner, and I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I told Matt that I felt like country mouse goes to the city! Although I've been to Chicago several times, the thought of actually living there seemed a little stressful. Once we settled in and got things situated on Saturday, I was starting to feel much better. Saturday evening we went to dinner with a couple that Matt knows from church, Blake and Julie. Blake and I were actually at OC at the same time, although I didn't know him really well. It was good to have friends to hang out with, and helped me to feel a little more comfortable. Sunday, we went to church and I was warmly welcomed with many hugs from everyone! Since Matt has been here for a few months, everyone has been expecting me to come. My first weekend in Chicago also brought over a foot of snow. One of the snowiest weekends they have had all winter! This week there is supposed to be a blizzard...and there hasn't been a blizzard in 8 years! So, I'm quickly being introduced to Chicago winters! Matt and I are spending this week in the small town of Galena, IL for a little vacation before he starts back to school. It's nice to have a few days together to reconnect, after spending a semester apart. Here are a few pictures from our first weekend in Chicago:

Me in front of our apartment building (I'll post pictures of the inside of the apartment when we get back to Chicago)

Matt and I on the snowy streets of Chicago:

Oh, I forgot to mention that we parked Matt's truck at the church building for the weekend when we got to Chicago to avoid the expensive parking fees downtown. We're planning to leave it in Missouri at his Aunt's house for the semester, but we needed it to get my stuff to Chicago and then to travel to Galena. When we went out to get in the truck after church on Sunday morning, this is what we found:

After quite a bit of shoveling (I did help, I just paused to take some pictures), we finally got out of the church parking lot! With snow like this, I see why most people walk everywhere! It's too much trouble to shovel your car out and then try to drive on the snowy streets. Besides, it's fun to stomp around in the snow!

An update...finally

Well, I've obviously been a little behind on updating lately. Ok, a lot behind. We have been so busy for the past month that I haven't had a chance to sit down and write. And the longer I wait, the more daunting the task seems. So, I thought I would backtrack a bit, and try to catch up on what has been going on with us lately. Let's go back to....

Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving break brought welcome relief from the stress of the 5th grade & school work. By the time the break came, I finished my 2 weeks of teaching in 5th grade (although I continued to teach after the break), completed all of my school assignments and had my exit interview for my Master's program. Whew! It was a lot of work to get it all done, but it was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the break! Another exciting thing about the break was that I got to see Matt. We hadn't seen each other in almost 7 weeks by the time he made it to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, our time of living in separate states is now over & we survived! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although I wouldn't really recommend it or want to do it again! Anyway, I wasn't very good about taking pictures on Thanksgiving, but here's one pic that I have. It is of me, my mom, my dad, and my cousin Brook. We were all busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner. If you're wondering what Brook is holding, it's the Tofurkey. Don't worry, my family isn't weird or anything. We have regular turkey & ham, but Brook (being a health nut) thought she wanted to bring a tofu-turkey. Gross!

Busy 2 weeks:
The 2 weeks after Thanksgiving was a flurry of activities, packing, and goodbyes. I still can't believe I managed to fit so many things into 2 short weeks! I finished up with my 5th grade internship. Although the 5th graders mostly drove me crazy, I did start to love them by the end of my time with them. I learned a lot during those 8 weeks, and when I finally realized the best way to relate to them, I actually found myself enjoying them more and more. On my last day of 5th grade, all 3 of the classes gathered in the cafeteria to tell me goodbye. They gave me a framed picture of all the kids, and each class made a book for me, with each student writing why they thought I would be a good teacher. I must admit, reading what they had to say brings a tear to my eye. It was very touching. After they presented the presents, the teacher asked if any of the kids had anything to say to me. A few kids said "goodbye" and that they would miss me, and then one boy raised his hand. To be honest, I was surprised that he would have anything to say because he was one of the "cool kids" that always acted like he was too cool for school. So, when the teacher called on him, I wasn't sure what was coming. Well, he proudly announced, "I think you're pretty!" All the kids clapped, and I cracked up laughing. It was so funny, especially the proud look on his face. The teacher said, he's probably been waiting 8 weeks to say that! That definitely helped end the day on a light note!

Packing was a challenge all of its own. No matter how much I tried to get rid of stuff and clean out my room, the boxes and bags of things seemed never ending! After several trips to the trash can and the storage building, I finally managed to get all of my things together, and did my best to get the things I would take with me down to the bare essentials. After all, I am moving to a 12x14 apartment & I have to share with Matt who already lives there! Clothes and toiletries are all I have room for, although I did manage to pack one small box of scrapbooking stuff to take with me. I will need something to keep me busy while Matt is busy studying and working! I have to say, although I was excited to get to live with my husband again, I was sad to leave Rebecca's house. We had some good times over the semester, and I really enjoyed living with her. However, I'm sure she will be glad to get her guest room back!

Goodbye Parties:
I've never understood why it's called a "party" when someone is moving away. Personally, I don't like goodbyes at all. Although, I did have a good time with all our friends at the 2 parties I had before I left. The first one was with friends from work at Peggy's (my boss) house. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, and her house is absolutely beautiful & the view is spectacular! It was nice to spend a few hours with people I have worked with over the last 3 years. Time went so quickly, and I developed some wonderful relationships with all of them. They were so sweet and started a scrapbook for me, so I could keep a record of the places that Matt and I live. The first page was of Alabama & had a picture of everyone in the office, as well as my Master's class. I also got a giftcard to Lowe's, since it's our favorite place to shop on our Friday night date nights! Now we can actually buy something there!



































The second going away party was the night before we left Alabama. This one was with the many wonderful friends we have made in Montgomery over the last 3 years. Thankfully, Matt got to be there for this party, so we could say goodbye to our friends, and Montgomery, together. To be honest, when we moved to Alabama I didn't think I would be sad when we left. I just felt that it was a place we needed to be for a short while, but that I wouldn't ever feel at home there. However, as the time came closer to leave, I quickly started to realize that I would miss it. Well, not necessarily Alabama, but the people. We made some wonderful friends and have wonderful memories there. Matt wrote in his blog about our time in Alabama in the last paragraph of this post, and expressed how I feel about it so well. I will cherish the last 3 1/2 years in Alabama forever. As we were saying goodbye after dinner, Emmy Hunt gave me a hug and took off her scarf and put it around my neck. She told me to wear it in Chicago and always remember that she was thinking of me, praying for me, and giving me a hug when I needed one. Even as I write this, her support and encouragement over the past few months bring a tear to my eye. Without being asked, she looked out for me and gave me encouragement at every opportunity. She was truly like my mom, and I only wish I had more time to spend with her. She always made me laugh, and made my heart happy, even if I was feeling a little sad or lonely. Thank you, Emmy!















Graduation:
What a relief it was to finally graduate! Although I may have been more excited and relieved when Matt finished law school (it was longer & more intense than my Master's), I was so happy when graduation day finally came. Although the happiness was mixed with a little sadness, since it was also our last day in Montgomery. My graduating class was the first class to complete the Master of Education program at Faulkner, and it was a great sense of accomplishment as we each crossed the stage and received our diplomas and hoods. Although everyone in our program was close over the 2 years, those of us who did our internships in Elementary Education this semester got especially close over the past few months. We leaned on each other for support, encouragement, ideas, and sometimes for our sanity! But, we made it at last!

Matt and Me at Graduation















The Elem. Ed. Graduates: Monica, Me, Vivian, Whitney, & Frank















Whitney & Me















Dad, Me, and Mom















Christmas:
Our "Christmas Break" has been quite extensive this year. We left Alabama on December 15th, and Matt doesn't start back to school until January 20th. So, we took this free time to spend quality time with family and friends. We spent a few days in Duncan with my parents, went up to Oklahoma City for a surprise birthday party & a graduation party, spent several days with our nieces, went to Broken Arrow for a few days & Christmas Eve, back to Duncan for Christmas Day, to OKC for a weekend visit, back to Duncan for New Years Eve, to Grand Lake with our friends, and we're now in Kirksville, Missouri. Wow! It's been a busy few weeks. We also added in a few trips to OKC and back for Christmas shopping and visiting friends. I just realized that I wasn't very good about taking pictures, but here are a few that you might enjoy.

Aunt Paula, Aunt Robbie, and Mom in their matching Christmas pajamas















My cousin Zack & Me















Austin, my cousin Amy's baby















Chloe & Allie with Santa















Allie















Well, like I said, it's been a busy month! We have had some wonderful times with friends and family, and spent a lot of time travelling! Tomorrow we head out for Chicago, and I will get to see just how tiny our apartment really is! But our vacationing isn't over just yet! Thanks to the generosity of Matt's cousin Heath, we're headed to a resort in Galena, IL to spend a few days together before Matt starts back to school. I pray that God is blessing you in this New Year, and that you take advantage of every opportunity you have to make precious memories with friends and family. We have been so blessed over the past few weeks & look forward to many more adventures to come!

I've been tagged...

Emmy tagged me (maybe a few weeks ago), so I thought I'd follow through and answer below...

8 Shows That I Watch:
Brothers & Sisters
Law and Order
Law and Order: SVU
Desperate Housewives
NCIS
CSI
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice

8 Favorite Restaurants:
Taco Bueno
Ted's
Girodano's
Salsarita's
Zio's
Jim 'N Nicks
Panera Bread
Carrabba's

8 Things I did this weekend/week
(we'll go with the last 2 weeks):
Graduated with a Masters in Education
Said goodbye to Alabama & many friends
Celebrated Christmas with my mom's family
Drove from Duncan to OKC and back 4 times
Spent time with my nieces
Ate lots of Party Mix
Met my uncle's wife
Saw old friends I haven't seen in a long time

8 Things I Look Forward To:
Moving to Chicago
Worshiping with the church in Chicago
Going to Galena, IL for vacation
Seeing my nieces open Christmas presents
Meeting Aidan for the 1st time
Seeing Caleb again (& Gina)
Having friends visit us in Chicago
Finding out where we're moving next

8 Things On My Wish List:
Matt to get a job
Safe travels over the next few weeks
Visit Europe with Matty
Not freezing to death in Chicago
Matt to get a job (this is a big wish!)

Well, I can't think of anymore wishes right now. I guess I must be satisfied with life right now!

Ol' Red is Dead (almost)...

Well, it looks as though it's time for me to part with Ol' Red. We've been together for 10 1/2 wonderful years. She has always been good to me. We have traveled together over many, many miles, and only once has she decided to leave me stranded on the side of the road (at 2 am in the middle of nowhere), but I don't hold that against her. So many memories have been made in Ol' Red. Driving to OC on the first day of college, Spring break road trips, trips to Duncan with many friends, making the decision to move away from Oklahoma on the way back from Alabama, and so many good memories, but I'm afraid all good things must come to an end! In case you haven't figured it out, Ol' Red is my car. A 1997 Mercury Tracer. No cruise control, no power windows, no power locks, no cd player, and now missing an air conditioner. Despite all those things, she's been a good car. A really good car. We've driven back and forth to Alabama MANY times and, as I said, she only broke down once. Luckily, it was close enough that my dad and Paul (our wonderful friend and mechanic) were able to come pick us up and haul us in to Duncan (only after we spent a long night sleeping in the car!).

Anyway, it seems the end to our long relationship has finally come to its end. I took Ol' Red to the mechanic yesterday. (Side note...if you're in Montgomery and need a good mechanic, I would strongly recommend Joe McClendon. His shop is downtown on Decatur, and he was SO nice! I got to his shop at 3:30, expecting to have to leave my car overnight and pick it up the next day. Although he closes at 4:00, he took the time to drive the car, put it up on the rack, figure out what was wrong, show me what was wrong, and then give me some good advice which did not include me paying him to fix it.) Now back to the demise of Ol' Red. I knew it wouldn't be good when Joe heard the noise my car was making and said, "Hmm. That's strange. I have never heard a noise like that before." Keep in mind that he has been a mechanic for a long time! Nonetheless, he was determined to figure out the problem. After a quick trip around the neighborhood, a discussion with the other mechanic, and a few minutes looking at it, he came inside the shop and said he wanted to show me what was wrong. As we were walking to the car he says, "have you ever thought about trading it in?" Again...not good coming from a mechanic. Apparently, I have inplay in the crankshaft. I may be saying that wrong because I know nothing about cars. Basically, from what Joe said, the motor is moving back and forth, causing a piece of metal to bang into the back of the motor when it moves. Apparently this is a bad thing. I told him I needed to drive it to Oklahoma, and then to Chicago. Apparently this is not a good idea. He said it might make it, it might not. After talking to Matt, dad, and Paul we came to the conclusion that it is, in fact, time to put Ol' Red to bed, or at least sell her. So, if you know anyone who wants a cheap car that may or may not last awhile, just let me know! Perhaps it would be a good option for someone who knows how to fix cars. On the bright side, Matt and I don't really need a car since we're moving to Chicago, and we can drive his truck up there with our things. Well, I know it's been ages since I've updated and I'll try to give more updates on our lives soon!

India...

So, Matt is India right now, New Dehli to be exact. He left this past Sunday night, and he'll get back early in the morning next Sunday. He went over there for an international debate competition with another student from John Marshall, but they will also have time for some sightseeing too. Anyway, he sent me a message, and I thought everyone might like to see what he has to say about his trip so far. Enjoy!

"India is unbelievable and not always for the good. The poverty and living conditions of the majority of the Indians is astounding. The air is so dirty with smog that looks like you are a near a fire constantly. I took 20 or so pictures today and tomorrow will be even more because we go to the Taj Mahal...I saw a lot of chipmunks but no monkeys so far. I took some pictures of the 'sacred' cows laying in the roads and we went to the India Gate (Memorial for the Freedom Fighters)...the gate was very impressive. The opening ceremony dinner tonight was very nice and really made you realize the two distinct classes of people in India. The haves and the have nots are not even close in this country. There is no middle class from what I can tell. The food was nice but very spicy...they encouraged everyone to dance but my roommate from Austalia and I were successful in avoiding it. The entire ceremony, dinner, party was outside in a very nice courtyard. I made friends today with a guy and girl from Vienna, my roommate from Australia, a couple fellas from Dubai, Singapore, Sweden, London, South Africa, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Canada, and Hong Kong. I was told there would be other American schools here and there is a team from DC but one member is Canadian and the other British...so I am the lone American in the group thus far. There are many more people to meet and mingle with tomorrow I believe. For lunch today we found a pizza place that was actually very good...Lenka and I split a pizza and got two cokes for $5. We are going to a very good market place during our Delhi tour on the 13th so I will try to buy most things then. One thing everyone seems to be struggling with is the lack of toilet paper in the hotel...they have a bidet. Everyone has complained and they should have toilet paper for us all tomorrow. Perhaps in the morning I will try to post some of the photos thus far but right now I am so exhausted that I must get some sleep. I should also mention that the Indian people are some of the nicest most hospitable people I have ever met. We walked nearly 3 miles today to a marketplace and to exchange money and we got lost twice. When we asked for directions, instead of explaining where we should go (maybe because there are not street signs) the person would walk us a good bit of the way and talk to us about where we were from. Some vendors are out to get money from you for doing this but we would usually ask a woman walking by herself and they would help and actually refused any offer of a tip. Hopefully the debate will go well tomorrow, the trip to the Taj Mahal is going to be a long one we have heard but should be an amazing experience. So apparently traffic lanes are only suggestions, as is which side of the road to drive on...we have seen multiple people driving the wrong way and buses with 15 seats loaded with 50 people. It is crazy. The streets are so dusty that you don't even recognize your shoes when you get in from walking around. I got a 2 liter bottle of water today for 40 cents...so I can brush my teeth and stay safe..."

I'm sure he'll post a long blog when he gets back, but internet for his laptop is $5/hr, so he's trying to use it sparingly. I'll try to update on his trip as I hear from him.

The Bar...

Well, it's official!! Matt just found out that he PASSED THE BAR EXAM!!!! The results weren't supposed to be posted until Friday, but he checked during class tonight and they were already posted. Yes, ladies and gentleman, he is OFFICIAL!! I am so very proud of him, and I am sure I will write more later. For now, I'm trying to tone down my excitement so I can go to sleep! I am a little disappointed though, that he's all the way in Chicago and I can't celebrate with him. Congratulations, Matty!

Absence makes the heart...

They say "absence makes the heart grow fonder." But is it really true? Does the simple absence of someone really have the power to make your heart grow fonder of them? I've thought about this question many times this semester, and I've decided that someone's absence doesn't change your heart. Rather, I think it simply has the power to remind you of your heart's feelings. Let me explain...This semester while Matt and I have been living apart, there have been many times when I start to miss him. A lot. But I don't think missing him means that I'm growing fonder of him. I think absence just reminds me of the things I already love about him, but may have taken for granted before he moved to another state. Or maybe not even taken for granted, but the little things you forget to notice because they're always there. The things that I didn't realize I would miss until I started to miss them. For example, sometimes I just want a hug from him, sometimes I want to talk to him about what happened that day and have him tell me it will be OK. Other times, I would like nothing more to just sit next to him, in that comfortable silence that is only possible with your best friend. With Matt away, I have realized how very much I appreciate the little things he does. Cooking dinner for me, helping me clean (even when I have to explain exactly what to do), encouraging me to actually buy something when I go shopping (for those of you who know me, I never spend money!), leaving me sweet notes, surprising me with trips and special dates, and so many other things. (If my mom is reading this, she's probably thinking that I'm terribly depressed, but please be assured that I'm NOT. Yes, I miss Matt. But at the same time, the semester is almost over, and I know that I can handle a few more weeks). I say all this to say that this semester, I have realized that I need to take the time to truly appreciate the wonderful husband that God has blessed me with. So, after 15 weeks of "absence," I think I would change the quote to say "absence helps the heart remember."

Social Hour...

The 5th graders have "social hour" on Friday afternoons. This is really just a glorified name for recess. I guess it makes them feel more mature to call it social hour. Anyway, it is also part of the discipline plan, and the teachers can take away the privilege of social hour for various infractions in the classroom, including misbehavior and failure to complete homework. Since I have started teaching, I now have the ability to take away social hour privileges if I deem it necessary. Today, one of my students felt she needed to clarify just exactly why I took away her social hour. This was her question: "Mrs. Bell, do I have to sit out at social hour because I was cheating, or because I was talking during class?" Really? Did she really need to ask me that? Shouldn't she know that BOTH cheating AND talking during class are not allowed?!?! She definitely should have known after I had to give her conduct checks EVERY DAY THIS WEEK for laughing, talking, talking back, and one day for cheating!!!! Oh, but it wasn't her fault that she was cheating (that's what she told me today anyway). I still haven't figured out how you can accidentally cheat. Any ideas on that one? Oh, and another boy got in trouble for sleeping during class. Apparently that wasn't his fault either. 5th graders come up with some great stories and excuses for why they're misbehaving. They generally don't deny the fact that they were doing something wrong, but boy can they spin a tale as to why they were doing it!! They're very creative...it's pretty impressive really.

I start my 2 weeks of teaching on Monday. This means that I'm in charge of all of the classes, by myself for 2 straight weeks. It should be interesting, but I think it will be fun. Definitely a good learning experience. I have a lot of fun activities planned, so hopefully the kids will cooperate and we'll get to do them!! Well, it's late and I'm sleepy. I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween!