We're off to see...

The Wizard! A few weeks ago, Matt surprised me with tickets to see the Wizard of Oz at the historic Chicago Theater! I was so excited! Apparently he bought the tickets last semester when he heard that the show would be playing in Chicago. He knows me well! So, one lovely Saturday afternoon we were off to the theater. It was such a nice day, and the play was wonderful! Matt especially enjoyed the fact that they had a real dog to play Toto! I think I may have been more excited than all the 5 year old girls that were there (although many of them dressed up like Dorothy!) Since the play was only in Chicago for a short time, the set wasn't as elaborate as the set of Wicked, but the show was still great. It was a wonderful afternoon spent somewhere over the rainbow!

Job Search...

Please keep Matt and I in your prayers as we continue to look for jobs. His job hunt has been ongoing for quite awhile now, and I think we're both starting to get frustrated with it. We are trying to be patient & trust that God will work it out...but sometimes my patience fails me! We appreciate your prayers!

Matt's Graduation...

Well, it's 2:24 am and I should probably be in bed or grading papers. But, I was tired of grading papers and Matt seems to have passed his insomnia off to me (since he is already in bed). I have so many things to post, but Matt and I are now sharing a computer so I haven't had much time! Don't worry...I will update with pictures from our exciting lives soon. But tonight, I need to post about the most important event in our recent history...Matt graduated from his LLM program! Sunday, May 17th was his graduation day. He graduated WITH HONORS (so far he still has a 4.0 gpa...we're still waiting on the rest of his grades). I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him. It was such a wonderful day as we celebrated with all of his classmates. There were over 400 graduates (this included the JD students, as well as all of the LLM programs), so the ceremony was 2 hours long! A justice on the Illinois supreme court was the speaker, they awarded 3 honorary doctorates, gave out several awards to JD students and professors, and spent 45 minutes handing out diplomas! Like I said, it was a long ceremony, but I was so proud when they finally got to the LLM students & Matt and all of his "foreign" friends walked across the stage. I lovingly call them the "foreigners" because they're all from different countries. Following the ceremony, there was a wonderful reception & we took lots of pictures of this momentus occasion. Here are a few pictures of the wonderful day:

Matt & me at the reception


Outside after graduation:


Matt's dressed & ready to go:


Matt and the foreigners (clockwise from left: Alonso from Mexico, Matt, Rafi from Puerto Rico, Gioncarlo from El Salvador, Fatma from Turkey, Lauri from Paraguay):


I took a video of Matt's LLM section (LLM in International Business and Trade). I know graduations aren't too fun to watch, but I thought the family that was unable to be with us to celebrate would enjoy watching Matt walk across the stage! Be sure your volume is turned up and press play. Enjoy!


Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day. It's now 3 am (videos take awhile to upload) so I am going to try to get some sleep!

Refrigerator Artwork...

We have some very special artwork adorning our refrigerator. First, is a picture from Caleb & I love it! According to him, it is a picture of me and him (although it says Lori & Matt in the corner). He sent it all the way from California! Thanks, Caleb, your picture is wonderful!

Next, we have a masterpiece drawn by Chloe. This is a close likeness of Uncle Matt that she drew on Easter Sunday while he was leading singing. It is also a great artistic creation! Both art pieces are proudly displayed on our fridge for us to see everyday.

*Update* Kentucky Fried Chicken...

Well, Matt and I tried to take the suggestion from Lindsy's Blog and visit KFC for some of their new grilled chicken. Oprah had a coupon on her website for a free 2 piece meal, and I'm all about some free food! Matt has been wanting to try the new chicken, so this was a perfect chance! In spite of the thunder and lightning, and the weather forecast that said it would be raining for the rest of the night, we decided to brave the weather and head to KFC. The closest one is kind of far away, so we walk the block to the bus stop, hop on the bus, the back of my pants get wet from the wet seats (I'm hoping this was from the rain!), sit in traffic, wait, wait, make a detour for construction, get off the bus, walk 3 blocks, see the KFC sign, eagerly approach the door, and STOP. The sign on the door apologetically explained that KFC will be closed until NEXT WEEK to "update equipment." REALLY?!? We braved the storm for nothing?! Matt was very upset & very hungry. But, no big deal. We walked a few more blocks (still in the rain) and ate at one of our favorite pizza places. We certainly weren't going to go all the way back home with no food! I guess we'll try again next week for KFC! Lindsy, thanks for the coupon tip...hopefully we can use it soon!

**Update: KFC Take 2 was also unsuccessful. Today Matt and I had to run an errand to the south side of the Loop, and there is another KFC down there. So, we grabbed our coupon & headed out. As we approach the door, we see another sign..."No Grilled Chicken." Again? Really? Since we're hungry, we go ahead and head inside to get some plain ol' fried chicken. We ask the manager why they don't have grilled chicken & he said the equipment for it is broken & it will take 6 weeks before they have it. Hmm... When we got home, Matt looked online & it said they are no longer accepting the coupons. So much for free food. Now we have paid to eat out twice when we were trying to eat out for free. So the free food coupon cost us $30. Nice.**

The Tiny Kitchen...

So I have mentioned before that it's slightly difficult to cook in our "kitchen" since we only have one inch of countertop. I thought I would show you what it looks like on a typical night when I'm cooking dinner...






I wasn't making an elaborate meal, just cheese dip and quesadillas. Notice the cheese grater, plate, and cutting board precariously balanced on the edge of the sink. Also notice that the skillet and pan are touching each other while sitting on the burners (no, these aren't extra large pans)! It definitely makes for some interesting cooking experiences (sometimes I burn myself, other times I knock things in the floor or the sink). But, I won't complain because, after all, we do live in downtown Chicago & the weather is starting to get BEAUTIFUL!!

Our Chicago...

I thought I would post some pics of the places we spend our time around Chicago. They're mostly places around our neighborhood. I haven't taken pictures of all the places I wanted to show you, but I keep forgetting to take my camera with me. Maybe I'll remember if it ever stops raining.

This is our building. I think I've posted this picture before, but it's the only one I have! We love the location of our apartment...it's near everything! We wouldn't mind if we had 2 rooms instead of 1 though!


This is our local Starbucks. It's about 3 blocks away, and Matt likes to call it his "office." I call it my "living room." This is where I met the infamous "Starbucks Girls" that I mentioned in previous posts. Funny fact, Matt and I saw the girls for the 3rd time yesterday when we were there!


I absolutely love this little area of our neighborhood. It's referred to as the Rush Street Triangle, and it's a block from our house. There are lots of restaurants and stores, and in the middle there is a fountain and tables. It's so charming! Matt and I had a picnic out there when the weather was nice last week. I'll have to get a better picture now that the trees are green and some flowers are planted.


We also spend a lot of time at Corner Bakery. I guess it could be called our "dining room," although we don't really eat there. It's our alternate option when we don't want to go to Starbucks to work. We like to switch it up so the employees don't get sick of seeing us at their place everyday! On more than one occasion I've gotten a free cookie for agreeing to fill out an online survey about their store...love it!


The only place in this post not within walking distance in this post is Matt's school. I don't know if it's one of his favorite places in Chicago, but he spends a lot of time there (and that's why we live in Chicago) so I thought it was blog worthy!


Well, that's all the pictures I have for now. I just realized that it looks like it is really cold in all these pictures. Some of them were taken awhile back when it was cold. We're still having weather with highs in the 50's, but we have had a few 70 degree days mixed in there! On the warm days, I love Chicago even more!

Please keep praying for Matt's job search. There are a few possibilities floating around, but nothing is nailed down yet. Right now, it looks like we'll be back in Montgomery. We're excited about that possibility, and that Matt has some prospects, but also growing weary of the waiting and wondering what will happen next! Also, I'm on the hunt for a teaching job, so if anyone knows of any openings, let me know!

Traveling and Visitors...

Well, since the last time I posted, Matt and I have been busy, busy, busy! It all started out with the Jones School of Law Moot Court team coming to town for a few days. Since Matt loves Moot Court (and I've come to love it after watching countless practices and rounds when Matt was in it), we wanted to support them and go to their rounds. They were here for 4 days & there was all sorts of excitement! Not only did they invite us along for their delicious dinners, but we got to see them advance all the way to the national finals! What a great accomplishment! They had a tough panel of judges in the final round, but I thought they should have won (but I'm sure I'm a little biased). Anyway, it was a pleasure getting to spend time with them and getting to see Matt support the program he was so involved in during school.

Shortly after their departure, Matt and I headed to Novinger, Missouri to spend time with his family over Easter weekend. And, now that Heath (his cousin) and Brook (my cousin) are engaged, I got to see a member of my side of the family too! It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend with so much delicious food! Here are some pics from the fun weekend...

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We brought Jen, Heather, & the nieces back to Chicago with us for a few days which was so much fun!! We went to the Field Museum, the Lincoln Park zoo, the Hancock Building, and lots of fun restaurants (I've just noticed that I have mentioned food several times in this blog...guess I love food!). We also squished into our tiny apartment, laughed a lot at Allie's silly faces and singing in her sleep, helped Chloe write some wonderful papers about her trip, and saw that both Chloe & Allie have their Uncle Matt wrapped around their fingers. I think my favorite quote from the trip was when Chloe said, "Mom, can I take a bath tonight? I need a break from Allie." When Chloe had finished with her bath that night, she came out of the bathroom and Allie said, "Chloe, that wasn't a very long break from me." Those girls crack me up! Here are some pics from that trip to enjoy...

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To top off all our traveling fun, Matt and I made a spur of the moment trip back to Alabama. Actually, we left Chicago the same day that the girls left! Matt was asked to be a judge on the final panel of the 1L Moot Court tournament. Again, he loved being able to participate in the Moot Court program & see the Board of Advocates continuing to flourish after he worked so hard on it last year. We also both had the chance to do some "networking" for job possibilities in case we move back there. (By the way, we are pretty much planning to go back to Montgomery unless something unexpected comes along in Texas.) Spending time with our friends was, of course, the highlight of the trip! We had lunches and dinners with a lot of them (again with the food focus), as well as staying with Stephen and Kayla. Oh, well the highlight of the trip for Matt was probably actually getting to see Lucy! Sorry friends, you come behind Man's Best Friend!! More pictures to enjoy...


After all of that excitement, Matt and I were glad to be back in our tiny apartment with a few days to rest and relax. Well, Matt can't relax too much because he has 2 papers and several briefs to write in the next couple of weeks! We don't have much planned for the next few weeks, but I'm sure we'll find something to keep us entertained in the exciting city of Chicago!!

P.S. I chopped off my hair while I was in Alabama!

Starbuck's Girls...

For those of you who are loyal readers of this blog, you may remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that I was eavesdropping on the conversation of some High School girls at Starbuck's. Well, let me just say, I am hanging out at Corner Bakery this afternoon and the SAME GIRLS are here! They're only 1 table over from me. Seriously. Their conversation isn't quite as exciting today, although I think they are talking about one of the girls who was there for the last conversation but is not present today. Interesting. I'll keep listening & keep you posted if I hear any other juicy bits of info!

Spring Break, etc...

Well, things have been busy around here lately! 2 weeks ago we had our friends, Stephen & Kayla, visiting for Spring Break. 4 of us squished into our tiny apartment was definitely an adventure, but we had so much fun! We toured the city, went to the zoo, ate at some WONDERFUL restaurants, convinced Steve to go up to the 96th floor of the Hancock Building (in spite of his fear of heights) & just truly enjoyed having good friends to spend time with. What a blessing they were to us (not to mention, they let our dog, Lucy, live with them while we're living here)!


Last week was filled with substituting, editing a book, and training to be a teaching assistant for me. I subbed 3 days at a private, Christian school which was great! I'm training to be a teaching assistant for Ashford University. They have a large online program, and I will be grading papers, etc for introductory English & Psychology classes. I think I will enjoy it! Matt was busy with school & writing briefs. Not to mention, we started our new running program last week! Matt has already lost 3 pounds, but I'm still just stuck at the same weight. Oh well, such is life! I'm still not a fan of running, and I don't foresee myself becoming a running fanatic, but each day got a little better. We'll see how it goes as the distance we have to run increases.

The next 2 weeks hold more excitement, and more visitors! At the end of this week, the Jones School of Law Moot Court team will be here for the National Competition. We look forward to seeing them compete, as well as showing them around the city & spending time with friends! Next week, Matt and I are taking the Amtrack to Kirksville, to see Matt's family. His sisters, nieces, and Heath & Brook are all meeting us in Kirksville for the weekend. We'll stay with Heath's parents and spend lots of time with everyone. It should be a great way to spend Easter Weekend. Then, Heather, Jen & the nieces will come back to Chicago with us to spend a few days! So, we'll continue to stay busy, but we're looking forward to it! I hope everyone is doing well, and having a wonderful week!

Running...

Well, Matt and I started a new workout routine yesterday. We were inspired by our friends Steven & Kayla last week while they were here. The workout plan is supposed to prepare you for a 10K run in 10 weeks, and we're also adding in a little weightlifting. I don't mind the weights, I actually kind of like that part. But, for those of you who know me well, you know that I don't run. It's mostly my knee's fault...they like to get swollen when I run. Actually, I think I just blame it on the knees. They do get swollen, but the truth is I just HATE running. I wish I was one of those cool people who think running is wonderful and feel great when they run a thousand miles. Like my cousin, Brook. She runs marathons, and I'm jealous that I can't get inspired. The whole time I'm on the treadmill, I just think about how I wish I was anywhere but there! Anyway, I decided that I would suck it up and try this workout plan with Matt. Pray that I don't pass out while trying to run less than a mile at a time this week! Did I mention I'm a HUGE wimp? I am. So...we'll see how it goes.

St. Patty's Day

Well, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Matt and I headed downtown to the St. Patty's Day parade. It was actually on Saturday, so a few days early, but it was festive nonetheless. Lots of green, lots of people, and lots of unions (I think every union in the state was in the parade!). The parade was 3 hours long, but it was a beautiful day so we enjoyed every minute! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy...

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Top row, from left: A dog dyed green, Happy St. Patty's Day!, the Green River, The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, and a Green Elvis

Middle row, from left: A festive car, A large leprechaun, tiny little leprechaun, a fun floating balloon, and A bagpiper

Bottom row, from left: The pope on roller-skates, A smokestacker, Matt & me, color guard leading the parade, and the best treat ever given out at a parade!

Nothing New...

So, not much has been happening around here lately. Things have been pretty quiet, as Matt is in full-swing with his classes and work, and I try to find ways to keep myself entertained. I have had lots of time to read, and have enjoyed sitting in Starbuck’s, Barnes & Noble, or the Corner Bakery reading & people watching. One day, I overheard some high school girls having a very serious conversation about their friendship. It was a group of 5 girls, and apparently some of them used to be much closer than they are now, and they all seemed very upset about it. I’m ashamed to say that their conversation kept me entertained for a good hour. I wanted to go back to Starbuck’s the following day because they made plans to meet again to finish the discussion, but I forgot to go back. Hopefully their relationship problems have been resolved & they’re all friends again!

Other than eavesdropping on unsuspecting high school girls, I really haven’t been too busy! I obtained a substitute certificate from the Illinois Board of Education, only to find out that Chicago only allows Illinois-certified Teachers to substitute. So, that was a $30 lesson learned. I am on the list to sub for some private schools, but I guess their teachers don’t miss work very often. One teacher did ask me to sub on March 27^th. I guess he likes to get his subs signed up early! That should be fun…he teaches 7^th & 8^th graders. This week I have started editing three chapters of a book, and will soon begin training to be an online teaching assistant with a university. So, hopefully these 2 endeavors will keep me busy!

As far as Matt’s job search goes, he still hasn’t gotten any offers from Texas. The economy seems to be hitting lawyers hard, as he read an article recently that said 1400 lawyers had been laid off nationwide in the last week. Another article reported 4000 lawyers being laid off in the last couple of months. These statistics are not promising for the job search. This has, however, led us to consider the possibility of the Air Force JAG more seriously. Matt was accepted to the JAG before he began his LLM program here in Chicago, and requested that he be able to postpone his acceptance of the offer until after the completion of the LLM. Obviously, there are pros and cons to be considered before accepting the JAG offer. We have been fervently discussing this option, and praying that God will show us his plan for the next phase of our lives. We would certainly appreciate prayers on our behalf in this area. Sometimes I don’t feel old enough to make such big, life-changing decisions, but I guess I am that old! Well, I better close for now. Matt is sleeping soundly, and I should get to bed as well. I’m sure tomorrow holds another adventure in the Windy City!

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...

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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.

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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!